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Friends,
Thank you to those who completed my survey. This is the last time I will ask you to complete this quick, anonymous survey. It will take 2 minutes and help shape what I send you over the coming year(s). It’s anonymous, so you can be as frank as you like. I appreciate it!
If you’re an avid user of AI, you should try this prompt, the next time you use Chat-GPT:
Everyone is the best in the world at something. Given everything you know about me, what do you think I am the best at?
And if you’re comfortable with this, try this as a follow-up:
Based on this insight, how should I set up the next ten years of my life? Please provide me with an actionable plan for the next 3 months, 1 year, 5 years +.
Of course, refine it to match your goals. I went pretty deep - and I think it aligns with my goals. Here’s what it said about me:
You are the best in the world at defining the future of human potential in the age of AI—and making it actionable.
I’m unsure if that is true, but you can see what I ’ve been researching and jamming with AI these last few months. If you’re interested in my work, get in touch!
I’d like to touch briefly this week on a concept I’m calling Symbient Intelligence.
Symbient Intelligence describes a future in which human thinking seamlessly blends with artificial helpers. You don’t press a button to begin; the technology is present all the time, watching, learning, and offering support. Symbient Intelligence suggests that we treat AI not as a static tool but as part of our daily lives. It adapts to our habits, and our habits evolve in response.
You might see this as unsettling, but it’s a natural step if you consider how spreadsheets replaced manual arithmetic. We embraced that shift and began to think of data differently. Symbient Intelligence prompts a similar change in mindset. Instead of delegating tasks one by one, humans and AI form a connected loop, constantly exchanging ideas, feedback, and signals. The key question is whether this partnership strengthens our thinking or undermines our independent judgment.
At its core, Symbient Intelligence revolves around an ambient presence: always there, ready to spot patterns we might miss. This cycle produces continual evolution, both in the AI and in us. The AI grows sharper the more we rely on it, and, in turn, it nudges us to think beyond our usual boundaries. It’s a mutual development process. Yet this raises inevitable concerns about accountability, data ownership, and how suggestions may skew our behaviour. If a doctor’s AI-assisted diagnosis causes harm, who takes the blame? If the AI learns from a stream of data that includes personal habits, who gets to decide what is done with that knowledge?
Symbient Intelligence stands apart from other models like Human+Machine or Centaur Intelligence by proposing total integration. Rather than switching AI on or off for certain tasks, Symbient systems constantly scan for opportunities to help. They can organise, schedule, listen, summarise, and refine. That’s a strong step beyond older ideas of machine support. And it’s where I believe we are going.
Step forward 10 years in 2035 to see this in action. At seven in the morning, your AI-based assistant has already reviewed your emails. It knows which ones are urgent, has drafted replies in your tone, and rearranged your schedule so you only attend high-value meetings. In the background, it has combed through market data and pulled out relevant trends that could help you later that day. By the time you reach the office, you have a briefing waiting for you. The AI listens in on your strategy meeting, drawing connections to previous decisions and surfacing helpful stats. Once the session ends, it creates a polished proposal from the group’s notes. You oversee the result, adding insight and nuance that only you can provide. This is very much how I see the norm in the future.
The best performers in this world don’t hand over their choices to a lifeless system. They remain firmly in charge, yet they go further and faster than anyone relying solely on manual effort. Humans still remain in the loop, but technology expands their abilities, giving them time to focus on creative decisions and human-level judgment. Symbient Intelligence is a reimagining of how we relate to machines. The aim is to move from passive tool use toward an active, always-on conversation with technology, where empathy and ethics guide the partnership. And it’s why always-on wearables like Bee, Omi and Limitless are starting to define the new future before they’re bought by big tech.
Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,
Here are my recommendations for this week:
One of the best tools to provide excellent reading and articles for your week is Refind. It’s a great tool for keeping ahead with “brain food” relevant to you and providing serendipity for some excellent articles that you may have missed. You can dip in and sign up for weekly, daily or something in between - what’s guaranteed is that the algorithm sends you only the best articles in your chosen area. It’s also free. Highly recommended. Sign up.
Now
Your Boss Wants You Back in the Office. This Surveillance Tech Could Be Waiting for You. I don’t work in an office, so I need to monitor and check myself! Employers have embraced new forms of workplace surveillance, relying on location tracking, under-desk sensors, and monitoring software to manage recent return-to-office mandates. These systems collect vast amounts of data on attendance, movement, and digital behaviour. Different legal frameworks offer uneven safeguards, with stricter rules in Europe forcing some companies to drop biometric or desk-based sensors. Government agencies have also installed more surveillance tools, prompting anxiety that officials will misuse gathered data. Critics call for a focus on fair leadership and supportive environments rather than constant supervision.
The ‘Spy Sheikh’ Taking the AI World by Storm - Abu Dhabi’s Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan has more than $1.5 trillion to spend and he’s in a hurry; grappling with Mark Zuckerberg
Is Everyone the Same Person? - I found this fascinating in the exploration of personal identity through several compelling angles. It begins by illustrating the traditional view, in which a core self weaves through memories and personality traits over time. It then goes into the possibility that no self endures, stripping away the usual foundations for selfish behaviour. That perspective can release anxiety about the future yet risks draining all motivation. The aticle’s boldest claim proposes a shared consciousness that links every individual into one “experiencer”. This feels radical, this is a careful, step-by-step argument. Readers see how sense impressions differ, how memory can fragment, and why a purely physical account of personal continuity might fall short. Some might view this position as liberating; it empowers compassion by erasing firm lines between people. Others might find it unsettling because it blurs their sense of autonomy and invites them to ponder unending responsibility for others’ pain. A bit of philosophy to push you into the week.
8 'Micro-Habits' That Can Help You Live A Happier, Healthier Life
If you have a few seconds, you can easily accomplish these goals. - A quick reminder. Time to stretch
Huh? The valuable role of interjections - Utterances like um, wow and mm-hmm aren’t garbage — they keep conversations flowing
Next
Dear Student: Yes, AI is here, you're screwed unless you take action...Not just for students, not just for techies. This is your call to change.
How to Make Superbabies - Researchers are exploring ways to edit or select genes in embryos to create children with higher intelligence, healthier lifespans, and reduced disease risks. They propose direct embryo editing using CRISPR or a sophisticated approach that turns somatic cells into embryos with a reprogramming factor called “super-SOX”. Success in animals such as mice and livestock could lay the groundwork for safe application in humans. The aim is to validate methods that allow dozens or hundreds of genetic changes at once, overcoming the limits of simple embryo selection. Scientists hope to minimise trade-offs between traits, address ethical questions through open dialogue, and eventually offer parents more control over inherited conditions. Some see this as insurance against uncertain futures, especially if advanced artificial intelligence poses significant threats within the coming decades.
Amazon’s subscription-based Alexa+ looks highly capable—and questionable - Personally, I’m not sure I can use Alexa much more than the 4.5 minute timer to make my perfect poached eggs but Amazon is rolling out Alexa+, a subscription version of its voice assistant that taps into large language models to improve natural conversation and perform actions like booking reservations or reading documents. Prime members get this for free, while everyone else will pay a monthly fee. Through its partnerships with apps such as OpenTable and Thumbtack, Alexa+ can fetch real-time updates, answer casual questions, and complete tasks that go well beyond original Alexa’s simple duties. However, the system works best on Echo Show or Fire TV devices, which let you see and manage Alexa+ interactions on a screen. Amazon is betting that improved AI functionality and an extensive network of collaborators will persuade users to integrate Alexa+ into daily routines—despite monthly costs for non-Prime members and the privacy concerns that accompany a more powerful and proactive voice assistant. I don’t quite buy it. Alexa hasn’t given me a good answer in a long time.
AI Promise and Chip Precariousness - AI’s continued growth depends heavily on chips made by TSMC in Taiwan, which places the US in a precarious position: China is spurring its own chip production to lessen its reliance on TSMC, while the US is arguably more dependent than ever on that same Taiwanese supply. A good deep dive on the importance of chips and Taiwan
The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects
New York City’s transit authority is one of a few US systems experimenting with using sensors and AI to improve track inspections.
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