Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Just Evil Enough, Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

• The Next Four Years. “A fictional novel, written by AI, updated constantly based on recent news. It’s not terrible, either. I’ve been interested in alternate forms of books since Hugh and I gave a talk at O’Reilly‘s Tools of Change that broke down Bram Stoker‘s Dracula (and I upset a roomful of editors by saying CTRL-F was the new index ;-)).” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Why Canada’s Trust System Rewards Belonging Over Building – Danger. “I’ve always thought David Crow was sharp. But this piece is a scathing indictment of how three cultures – Canada, the US and China – began their climb to some of the world’s great societies, and what happened to each of them. It rings true for me in so many ways, particularly as Canada struggles with its identity, sovereignty, and independence. Curious if you two feel the same.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• On The Courtyard – Impossible Toronto. “Canada is having a hard time with housing costs and availability. It seems as if there will need to be some radical changes, and ultimately the biggest cost and hindrance to building seems to be regulations about what can be built and where (a separate link for another day, but Tokyo deregulated just about everything so you can build a T shirt shop in your back yard, put a bike repair shop on your first floor and add three more stories to your house with a sushi restaurant on one, a hotel on the other and your family living space on the third). Anyway, the ‘single-family dwelling with backyard’ is Toronto’s default urban plan, now supplemented with glass condo towers. The first is inefficient for space, the second incongruous with quality of life. Europe has opted for urban residential planning of 4-5 storey apartment/flat blocks with interior shared courtyards with trees and nature. This proposal shows how this could be done in Toronto… with gradual changes to regulations that make it impossible.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• Simon Wardey On AI, Education, And China – LinkedIn. “I’m just loving Simon Wardley lately with his take on AI. Here he talks about the huge existential risks of AI (that the techno owners will have massive influence on our reasoning), and how China is approaching AI in education. The key is the critical thinking that goes along with the use of the tools.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• What Is Intelligence – Amanda Gefter – Nautilus. “This is definitely the type of conversation I seem to have been having lately over coffee, at lunches or even post-keynotes on the road. I have been wondering deeply about the definition of ‘intelligence’ and whether or not the current existence of these generative artificial intelligence tools is forcing us to redefine what intelligence actually means. I’m happy to read this and see that I’m not alone. Scientists, philosophers and writers met to rethink intelligence beyond machines. It seems like they’re arguing that intelligence is circular, living and deeply rooted in the relationships of a physical body, environment and other types of experiences. Is it safe to assume that actual intelligence is caring, self-maintaining and woven through the whole biosphere? Or is it something we can rate, as we place us humans at the top of that rating system?” (Mitch for Alistair).
• First Shape Found That Can’t Pass Through Itself –  Erica Klarreich – Quanta Magazine. “I’m not going to lie, it’s a headline like this that is perfect grist for our weekly Six Links exchange mill. It turns out that after centuries of examples showing many solid shapes can pass a copy of themselves through a straight tunnel, two mathematicians just proved a counterexample exists. I’m not even going to try to spell out the type of shape that they created, but they’re able to demonstrate that no straight tunnels let a second copy pass through it. They even use computer-assisted proof that divides all the orientations and rules out any potential to pass, proving some shapes cannot pass through themselves. SCIENCE!!” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

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