Photo of the Week #1

Happy Friday!

Welcome to the first edition of photo of the week where I send you one cool photo I took this week. No shots from the archive, no obsessive editing – just sharing a moment as it happened for your enjoyment.

An In-Between Week

This week was slow. I’m in an in-between place, finishing old tasks and waiting for the beginning of the new ones.

I spent most of the week proofreading my thesis for publication, listening to rain, and working on things for prospective clients. It’s my birthday next week and I’ve resolved to clear as many old tasks from my todo as possible. I want to start the next year of my life fresh and with a light load. The process of getting there has had its ups and downs. Mostly, because I like to have cleaned, but don’t love cleaning in the moment.

Photo of the Week, #1

This week’s photo is brought to you by nature. Last Sunday, I went to one of my favorite huts in the mountains. It’s a short hike, the perfect choice for a day with so-so weather. As an added bonus, the owners of the hut make fresh pastries (Strudel!) every Sunday – and only on Sundays. A very welcome excuse to leave the house – not that I would need any…

Here’s a photo I took on the way home. It’s so bucolically blissful! I love to watch cows. They radiate a calm elegance that’s lovely to take in. Just look at how she’s positioned herself, like the sphinx of the mountains.

As a bonus, here is a photo I took of a cow’s coat at the same hut earlier in May. The marbling was so pretty. Clearly, this is a fierce mountain cow with her leopard spots.

3 Links: Is It Time to Chill on the AI-Hype?

Before I leave, here are three links for you: one for seeing and two for inner vision.

Inner Vision:

AI has been front and center of my mind, as I’ve been diving deep into the tech and democracy nexus while I was rereading my thesis.

One thing I took away from editing the tome is to stay mindful of hype cycles and tech’s skillful marketing. Tech companies and investors are very adept at guiding our perception. Seeing., truly, is easier when you block the noise and reflect on your own.

Here are two interesting takes on AI by Paris Marx at Disconnect:

- The AI hype is over

- Sam Altman’s self-serving vision of the future

Seeing.:

Champions of the Golden Valley is a documentary about Afghan skiers and so much more. It’s a glimpse into an unknown, very human aspect of life in a country most of us only know from the news. I’ve been following the skiing project since the 2010s. It’s a touching story that I hope will continue in these uncertain times. The film premieres at Tribeca Film Festival next week. Here is the trailer on YouTube.

Have a great weekend,

Johanna