Pop culture; Innovative harm; Generalists
Issue #372
💡Think
Hey everyone,
I took a proper European summer break this year, hence the exceptionally long time between newsletters.
As I’ve slipped back into work, I’ve noticed something within the tech industry which feels particularly magnified at the moment.
From what I can see and hear, people get into tech because they have creative itches to scratch. They want to build “user centric interfaces”, or show high levels of craft in a shiny new product. The reality is that this is not the average day job – far from it.
What we then end up with is a majority of dissatisfied and creatively dehydrated workers who either job job every few years to search for the next artistic fix, or spiral into thoughts about leaving the industry altogether and working in a cafe (pro tip: you would not enjoy that one bit).
This has a knock on effect of the word “creative” and the work produced conflicting and grinding against each other to a scenario where portfolios…suck. Product design is unfortunately a lot of boxes, tables, and forms, but this isn’t what people get into it for.
We need to look hard at the definition, and expectations, of creatives roles within tech to understand what it is we’re doing here, in an attempt to protect and provide for current and future satisfaction in something we spend 9 hours a day doing.
Have a great week!
Luis
📷 Look
📖 Read
A quick note: Just like how in 2020–2022, the internet could only write about COVID, apparently we’re experiencing the same with AI now.
I will strive to provide alternative interesting stuff, but it’s proving difficult to see anything other than that topic at the moment.
❶ Goldman Sachs and pop culture
Who knew that investment banks were interested in inflating the truth of the zeitgeist to make a big buck? Well, turns out they’ve done it with AI to absolutely no one’s surprise. This is an article ripping Goldman to shreds about their impact on the industry’s success, or lack of.
❷ Avoiding harm in technology innovation
Innovation is typically paired with breaking things, fast. MVP culture and getting the product out the door is great in theory, but when you’re dealing with sensitive or potentially harmful technology, this can be disastrous. This article provides examples of this, as well as a framework for avoiding harm when innovating. I’ll leave you with an alarming quote:
“manager [are] not routinely encouraged to question the ethical implications of the products they are developing”
❸ Why generalists own the future
This is generally the sentiment in tech, as jobs become broader with the technological enhancements we have at our finger tips. I personally don’t know if this is true at scale. Perhaps at smaller companies, but that’s always been the case. What I think is going to change is that people become more specialised in the types of companies they work for. E.g. “I’m a startup designer”.
🎧 Listen
Dare to be basic
This touches on the opener when I was writing on our day jobs often being quite…boring. They mention that a lot of work they produce isn’t “special”, but perhaps that’s fine? This quote made me laugh:
“Few people have the courage to admit their life and work isn’t that complicated.”
Listen to this podcast (25 minutes)
Spotify – Apple
Have a great week,
@disco_lu