I hope that Apple Vision Pro will fail.It has to. And I say that as one of the biggest fans.For decades, Apple and other tech companies have been in a race for resources: money and attention. This time with a new way to capture our most important resource - attention. My argument is simple: This device must fail in order for us to get a chance at better managing our time spent around screens. We've got the screens strapped to our hands; we are taking our phones everywhere.We use them to find meaning, fall in love and break things up. To connect to strangers and disconnect from the reality.We pay attention to screens when we work, travel/drive, cook, and exercise; we even use them when we are supposed to relax, meditate or fall asleep. This new proposal is to strap a screen to our head.Let that sink for a minute.The ultimate proposition from Apple is to give up reality altogether and surrender 100% of our attention in exchange for an illusion.It is an illusion designed well in a context where relationships fail at a crazy rate and productivity is the only metric attached to a career. In a context where loneliness is a pandemic and we have become unable to manage our attention and our boredom. Here is the Vision Pro product page: https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/

Generative AI technology seems to be used in some seriously messed up ways. Unfortunately, there's been a rise in the creation of explicit/pornographic content (including depictions of minors) with the help of these new tools. Yeah, I know, it's disturbing. The worst part? This content is out there and accessible for free, so it can quickly spread like wildfire. This episode is an attempt to ask an important question: Do we even care if the content we consume has been faked? Will anyone care if the image or the video is stimulating enough or serves their bias? I'm asking this because most people (especially older people) with access to the internet have yet to develop a concept or appreciation for privacy or source of information. It is not their fault - there was no educational phase before they either inherited your old Android phone or a cracked-screen iPhone.

I'm back. In this episode, for the first time, I have a guest. Join me, and let's delve into the fascinating world of conversational AI with my special guest, Pi. Pi is an advanced AI bot renowned for its conversational abilities. Join me as I anxiously explore the intricacies of natural language processing, machine learning, and the future of human-computer interaction. To better understand its capabilities, please follow this link: https://inflection.ai/press To install the bot on your iPhone, follow this one: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pi-the-curious-ai/id6445815935

If are quiet and pay attention, you can hear the funeral march in the distance. I wrote on this topic before. You can read my on my Medium channel. It was long, probably boring and most of everyone, never read the end of it. So I decided to publish it in a different format, because some things have changed in my head and also, just  to piss-off a few people. For those who aren’t patient enough — I tell you the end of it. The persona as is used today is dead weight. It is a corpse that pulls all projects from the centre, down, in the unknown. I'm making a referrence to one of the most interesting expeiments done in a while - learn more about it by searching Alexander Nix at Concordia. Enjoy!

The actual context (the lockdown), is creating the opportunity for change. One important aspect is work. We can't be returning to the old normal, we must explore new ways of large scale and long-term collaboration. Excessive commute, the open plan office and endless meetings are the worst enemies for our attention and productivity. Let's keep the conversation going and do something about it. I plan to do my part.

I love Monzo but Monzo needs to mature, soon. If they keep growing but forget about the relevant details, they will end up in the same place with the monsters they challenged in the first place. This episode is about managing the expectations, being transparent and helpful so you build the right kind of brand. A brand you can rely on when the s**t hits the fan. Enjoy!

I keep saying that you and me, as designers, we need to learn when we need to be bold and celebrate our victories but also be humble, recognise and learn from our mistakes. This episode is about two important failures from design perspective coming from two big companies that hire some extraordinary people and then completely ignore one sacred basic rules of design -  deliver what you promise. By the time you listen to this, the mistakes will be forgotten by most of their customers but as designers, is our duty to learn from those mistakes.

The current pandemic, beside the loss and distress is giving us also an opportunity to learn something as designers. We can see that motivated by a crisis, humans will change behaviour and embrace new attitudes that will stay with us for a while. We talk too much about empathy in design, sometimes just to show the others that we care and feel validated. We pretend better and better to care instead of being more compassionate, more humble and honest about what we design. And it really shows.

The way we test digital experiences today is outdated and produces toxic data. Data that alters the products we create and slows us down as designers in learning how to learn about users. The methods mostly used by (usability) testing platforms are delivering almost nothing. It is time to change this and I am ready to do my part. For start, I will invite seasoned designers to the conversation but until then, please consider this the spark that starts a fire. As designers we need to become more interested by data, by personality traits, by business propositions and context. We need to get out our bubbles and get familiar with the tools and methods the scientists are using. We have by now, enough bad examples of abusing the power of those tools and knowledge - it is time to reclaim those methods and use them for good. Two relevant examples (I hope) to give you more context to this conversation: a.Cambridge Analytica - The Power of Big Data and Psychographics b.1Personality tests - 16personalities.com If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to [email protected] or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!

For generations, millions of people tried to save the Earth. Don’t use plastic, don’t buy gas, turn off the lights, stop the engine, walk more, eat less. Save the trees, save the bees. By all means, these are skills we need to embrace to counter the effects of consumerism but to save the Earth, it is a different game. I think we are looking at this huge problem the wrong way. It is impossible to save the Earth. We don’t have that kind of power and by power, I mean knowledge. If we can save something, we can save ourselves. We are part of this planet, as trees and bees. Out desire to be different, our socio-political framework won’t allow this. We solve this issue and the planet and we might survive. As for the planet, it will be just fine with or without us. If you have questions or suggestions, send an email to [email protected] or find me on twitter @alinbuda If you find this conversations useful, don't forget to subscribe. Thank you!