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 (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: 

• To Watermark AI, It Needs Its Own Alphabet – Wired. “Since I’m feeling promotional, here’s an Op/Ed I wrote for Wired a couple of weeks ago. There’s been a ton of talk about watermarking AI-generated content. But how? We can digitally sign music and photos, but text is the lingua franca of the Internet. So how do we identify things an AI generated on a character-by-character basis in blended paragraphs? And how do we do so in a way that doesn’t need the permission of the platforms (Word, Facebook, Gmail, iMessage, etc.)? Turns out there may be an answer hiding in plain sight, which is already supported by billions of devices and everyone knows how to use. Just give AI its own Unicode 𝖺𝗅𝗉𝗁𝖺𝖻𝖾𝗍 (and yes, if that last word looks weird, it’s because it’s a demonstration).” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Block ‘Em Pop ‘Em Puppets – Broke Deck Creations. “If you remember Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, you may want to stretch and drink some water, because you’re probably old. But the kids are OK: Second only to the chicken-on-the-feet, pool-noodle Marco Polo game that took the Internet, this is a genius idea. I don’t usually promote merch (mine or others), but this one’s kinda worth it. Definitely making myself one when I get a free afternoon.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Oregon could be oldest site of human occupation in North America, UO find indicates – The Oregon. “Humans may have been in North America 1,000 years before previously thought, with a new archaeologic find in Oregon suggesting human habitation from 18,000 years ago, placing Oregon as the original site of humans on the continent.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• How solar power is keeping Lebanon’s lights on – Future Planet – BBC. “Lebanon is one of those fascinating places — famed as a beautiful city, dubbed the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ (that sounds pretty colonialist, doesn’t it?), but more known in the past decades as a city torn apart by civil war and unrest. It’s also a place where solar energy is having a huge impact.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Abandoned Home of a Toy Store Owner – 60 years of unopened toys left behind! – Dark Exploration Films – YouTube. “What makes something truly collectible? Something worth saving? Something worse holding on to and passing down over generations, as its value and rarity increases? Someone once told me that it doesn’t matter what you paid for an item… it’s what the next person is willing to pay for it that truly matters. This could be Post Malone paying over two million dollars for a Magic: The Gathering card or a random Funko Pop! that I have displayed in my home office. I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I collect comic books and follow many YouTubers and TikTok channels. I watch people buying, selling and trading comic books online (someone once coined it, “expensive paper”) and I see so many of the same books showing up again and again. I’ve begun to wonder what truly makes something so collectible if it’s so readily available. It’s not like you don’t see the same key comic books over and over and over again. Then, I stumbled on this video. There’s that other saying… one person’s garbage is another person’s treasure? I’m seeing tons of good in this abandoned home just laying there that would garner heavy prices at their local ComicCon…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Chaos in the Hamptons: Tracy Anderson devotees gripe about $5,500 mats, $90 classes, and power struggles among ‘queen bees’ – Business Insider. “Collectibles are one thing. Status is another. One could argue that they are concentric circles of the human condition. This is a wild read. Health matters. Health is important. Getting healthy and staying that way is something we all need to focus on. The bigger question here is: What makes this one some much better than any other one? We’re pulling at a thread this week: Value, quality and reality in a world where we can make almost anything seem like a scarce commodity. It could be a comic book that was just published last Wednesday or where a yoga mat is located is someone’s studio. The strange things that people do…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

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