Hi there! It's been a while. I hope your summer was great. The best part of mine was the swimming lessons I took my small children to, for two weeks in July every day after work. And while I was at work, I was reporting and writing a series of deep dives into machine learning--often colloquially called "AI"--that challenged me in ways I haven't felt challenged since I dove head-first into exploring/explaining the "P versus NP" problem in computer science for Scientific American, way back in 2012. 

Here are the results:

1. Can you program a sense of curiosity into a computer? These researchers at Berkeley tried. But how did they translate something as mushily psychological as "curiosity" into ones and zeros? And for what purpose--why would anyone want a curious computer in the first place? {Please enjoy the opening paragraph where I got all "what it is like to be a bat" on World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros.} 

2. Why is Google shoehorning machine learning into its mobile chat app? I mean, beyond than the obvious reason (ie, because Google is shoehorning ML into, well, everything)? {My favorite part of writing this piece was something I shoehorned in near the end--a nerdy factoid about how long it would take to try out ~500 quadrillion combinations of something.) 

3. Stop pretending you really know what "AI" is and read this instead. I've wanted to write a "what we talk about when we talk about 'artificial intelligence'" essay for a while. {Alan Turing × George Orwell = lots of RTs on Twitter.}

In non-AI matters: I also reviewed a 500-page design manual by one of my favorite researcher/creatives, Jan Chipchase. (Those of you who were reading this newsletter last year may remember him.) I also outsourced my life for a week to an app called "Magic". (It didn't take.) 

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And now for something (that feels) completely different: I'm on the lookout for a job. 


I've been freelancing as a writer/filmmaker/media-consultant for a decade now. Whoa. Not bad for someone who only started freelancing because he got fired from an episode of National Geographic Explorer! (Don't worry, we stayed friends.) 

So: why this now? 

I won't bore you with the mundane details of my work/life-balance struggles. Let's just say: I'm ready to start optimizing my work around contribution and connection, not just ambition and achievement. That ego-fueling glamour that comes from running a high-maintenance freelance practice has its own appeal and momentum. But as someone who's curious for a living, I'm curious about doing it differently now.
 

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Here's the part where I ask for your help. If you enjoy this newsletter, you may have an intuition about what kind of role could make a good fit. Maybe you work in a team or organization (or know someone who does) that has an unaddressed need that lines up with my [assumes Liam Neeson voice] specific set of skills, or can take advantage of the natural inclinations of a "lifelong kindergartener" who grew up watching 3-2-1 Contact and could never choose between writing and filmmaking. In any case, don't be shy about contacting me to start a conversation. I'm used to seeing intriguing opportunities emerge from unexpected places. 

Until next time,
J