Is it time to re-start building the internet?

April 10, 2024

Here are some thoughts that have been kicking around my head for some time. They're most definitively related, but I'm not 100% confident about the...

A whole bunch of links [newsletter]

April 10, 2024

Hey hey, So I just realized that an earlier draft of this had been sitting in a text file for quite some time and so I figured it made sense to build on...

Large Action Models, Data Voids, and thinking differently about social media [newsletter]

January 18, 2024

Hey hey, Lots of interesting stuff that's been collecting in my tabs and notes. From Large Action Models to Data Voids to some ideas on how to think...

It's AI Week! [newsletter]

November 22, 2023

Surprise, it's AI week! And this newsletter is a short one. Enjoy! (I) Since OpenAI has been playing Game of Thrones for the last few days, I have AI top of...

The state of election disinformation 2024 is: Meh [newsletter]

November 3, 2023

So... we're heading towards a major election year. More specifically, a major election year, with something like 50 elections globally, including the US...

Don't bother with that manifesto [newsletter]

October 20, 2023

A Shipwreck, Felice Giani, Italian, 1758–1823, via the Smithsonian (CC0) Hi there, It's truly autumnal here in Berlin. It's grey and wet and cold-ish, and...

What even is LinkedIn today?

September 5, 2023

Hey hey, While summer is having a roaring comeback here in Berlin, I'm mostly heads-down. I got a busy rest of the year ahead (which is good, of course) and...

What even is LinkedIn today? [newsletter]

September 5, 2023

Hey hey, While summer is having a roaring comeback here in Berlin, I'm mostly heads-down. I got a busy rest of the year ahead (which is good, of course) and...

Hit Reset [newsletter]

August 4, 2023

Hi there, I hope this catches you on vacation somewhere, or enjoying a slight summer lull in your busy schedule. In Berlin, where I'm based, the city seems...

Emotional Algos & the Failure of Capitalism [Connection Problem]

July 21, 2023

Hi there, This is me sending my weekly newsletter for this quarter. So it's been a while, partly because I've been busy, partly because I didn't really write...

Mimicry not Meaning (Connection Problem S09E06)

March 6, 2023

Hi there, It's been busy and a great start to the year, which is also the reason I haven't sent any updates since the end of last year. I'm happy to be able...

The End of Big Social (Connection Problem S09E05)

December 16, 2022

× Hi there, Thanks for indulging me with my silly little generative AI experiment. Today and going forward, it’s of course all hand-crafted like before....

Generative AI Edition (Connection Problem S09E04)

December 6, 2022

× Hello and welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter! I apologize for the delay in getting this issue to you - the truth is, I've been so busy that I...

The age of the digital railroad tycoons (Connection Problem S09E03)

November 10, 2022

Hello Friends, This newsletter hasn’t been a regular occurrence in your inbox, simply because it easily falls by the wayside. I’m tempted to ramp it up a...

An overdue check-in (Connection Problem S09E02)

September 8, 2022

From Unai no tomo: Catalogues of Japanese Toys (1891–1923), Public Domain Review × Hello Friends, Time for a long-overdue check-in. Before jumping into...

#2022

January 7, 2022

× Hello Friends, After a long hiatus, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some updates. Before I get into details, because it's been quite a while, a...

Time to catch up

May 7, 2021

× Hello friends, I hope this finds you well. It’s been some time since I sent the last update — just over 2 months — which usually would qualify as the kind...

Independent Research in the Public Interest

February 26, 2021

× Hello there, I hope this finds you well, in whichever socially distant place you’ve built your nest this past winter. Peter × You’re receiving this because...

A New Year, a New Season

February 5, 2021

× Welcome back to Connection Problem, I hope this finds you well and you had a good start to the new year. If you don’t remember what this newsletter is or...

S07E24 of Connection Problem: End of the Year, End of the Season

December 18, 2020

× Hello hello, A happy end of the year. I hope this finds you in good health and in even better spirits. This is going to be the last newsletter I’m sending...

S07E23 of Connection Problem: Good Things Fest

December 7, 2020

× Hey y’all, Just the quickest of shout-outs instead of a regular newsletter: This week, the whole week, is ThingsCon’s annual festival, Good Things Fest. So...

S07E22 of Connection Problem: Season Passes vs Subscription Fatigue

November 26, 2020

× Welcome back, I trust this finds you well. You’ll find announced a new collaboration with long time friend and must-esteemed collaborator Patrick Tanguay...

S07E21 of Connection Problem: Autonomous orgs, revisited

November 19, 2020

× Hi there, Looks like in between all the chaos of our collapsing late-capitalist world order 2020, there are some quite hopeful news: There are multiple...

S07E20 of Connection Problem: Time to leapfrog

November 12, 2020

“Old words obscure new situations” — Kim Stanley Robinson × Welcome back, Today features some strongly held opinions on societal change, so strap on the...

S07E19 of Connection Problem: Signals, signals, signals

November 5, 2020

× Hello hello, Given the news cycle this week is pretty much a DDoS attack on our attention, this is going to be a short newsletter: A few small updates and...

S07E18 of Connection Problem: Announcing SPECIAL PROJECTS and a Book

October 29, 2020

× Hi there 👋 This installment features a new membership experiment I’m starting; a book announcement; and shout-outs to mindblowing synthetic media...

S07E17 of Connection Problem: Climate Change & Un-Fracking the Future

October 23, 2020

× Hi there, This week is all about climate change, with a bit of an anti-monopolist theme thrown in, and plenty of small bits & pieces towards the end. My...

S07E16 of Connection Problem: Philanthropy, Responsible Tech & Smart Cities

October 15, 2020

× A big hello, wherever this finds you. I hope you and yours are doing well, the plague passing outside the window but not interfering too much. We certainly...

S07E15 of Connection Problem: A New Chapter of Big Tech Antitrust

October 8, 2020

× I’m in a rush today so just the briefest of welcomes: Enjoy this week’s installment! P × You’re receiving this because you signed up for this newsletter on...

S07E14 of Connection Problem: Musings on virtual events

October 1, 2020

× I hope this missive finds you well, wherever in the world you are. As Berlin has just hit a new record of coronavirus infections per day, we’re probably up...

S07E13 of Connection Problem: Brain-Computer Interface for Subconscious Decision-Making

September 24, 2020

Image: Moebius × Hey hey, Thanks for the many folks who’ve been taking up my let’s-jump-on-a-call experiment; for October there are still slots available...

S07E12 of Connection Problem: On Global Maxima & Writing Bots

September 16, 2020

× Hey hey, Hope you’re doing well. This installment comes a day early because, if things go according to plan, by tomorrow afternoon I’ll be in the Bavarian...

S07E11 of Connection Problem: City Coronavirus Strategies

September 9, 2020

× Bonjour, It’s been a productive couple of weeks since the installment, and it’s nice to see a bunch of stuff coming up for fall and winter — so this is a...

S07E10 of Connection Problem: The Ryanair Test for Tech; Generational Ponzi Schemes; New Imaginations

August 14, 2020

× Hi there, A relatively quick on this week. Enjoy! Yours, — Peter × You’re receiving this because you signed up for this newsletter on tinyletter.com/pbihr...

S07E09 of Connection Problem: Congressional hearings and the new tech narrative

August 6, 2020

× Hello friends, I hope you’re doing well, wherever this finds you. Last week I touched on some traditional politics and some folks were a bit surprised....

S07E08 of Connection Problem: Such a pretty triangle

July 23, 2020

× “I (…) love reading what people recommend me to read because then you learn something about a) that thing, b) that friend, and c) how you relate to that...

S07E07 of Connection Problem: Who makes the rules?

July 16, 2020

× Dear Reader, I hope this finds you well and in good health. Using the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to rethink habits and modes of working, I’m...

S07E06 of Connection Problem: The digital collapse of time

July 9, 2020

× Hello hello, I hope & trust this finds you well. Today, a quick one with just a couple of articles. But those open up pretty deep rabbit holes, so let's...

S07E05 of Connection Problem: Ripples of the Unknown

June 25, 2020

Good morning/day/evening to you, wherever you’re reading this. As a regular reminder of why you find this in your inbox, this is the personal-ish newsletter...

S07E04 of Connection Problem: A City That Might Endure Into The 22nd Century?

June 5, 2020

Charles Lemaire - Descriptive Iconogryphy of Cactus (1841) × Hi there, I hope this finds you well, wherever you are. Since the more personal / less work-...

S06E03 of Connection Problem: The pressure cooker of a global crisis

May 28, 2020

A cab driver taking a break at the near-abandoned Berlin Tegel airport × Hi there, As I try to ease this newsletter back into a regular rhythm, thank you for...

S06E02 of Connection Problem: Filter for "Virtual"

May 7, 2020

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot (1827–1895): The Zodiacal Light × Hello, So it’s been a while since the last issue. Maybe I can just blame it on some mysterious...

S06E01 of Connection Problem: End times? No thank you.

April 8, 2020

Fence by Kōno Bairei (1844-1895) × Hi there & welcome back, So while I had ducked for a bit, the world started spinning into the end times apparently. But I...

2 new reports out: On Europe’s AI & Society Ecosystem and Smart Cities from a progressive policy perspective

March 2, 2020

Hi there, A quick inter-season missive before I fully disappear into my vacation: I’m extremely happy to announce that two reports I’ve been working on for...

S06E25 of Connection Problem: Publishing season

February 27, 2020

× Hi, Today marks the end of Season 6 of Connection Problem. Thanks for indulging me and for giving your attention: It’s not a small thing to give and I...

S06E24 of Connection Problem: Smart Cities & Civil Rights

February 20, 2020

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot (1827–1895) Partial Eclipse of the Moon × Hi, It’s launch week, apparently. The European Commission published their AI plans...

S06E23 of Connection Problem: Giant Dams & Green Belts

February 14, 2020

Image: Miranda's Flying Man de Groof Falling × Heya, Reading the headlines of the last couple of days — Trump and Johnson grabbing ever more power; a neo-...

S06E22 of Connection Problem: Jackpot

February 6, 2020

Image: Deb Chachra Back on a normal, productive schedule, personally. That’s against a backdrop of somewhat ghastly news around the globe, including our own...

S06E21 of Connection Problem: VCs & the fossilized internet

January 30, 2020

Image: The highest resolution observation of the Sun’s surface to date. “The cell-like structures – each about the size of Texas – are the signature of...

S06E20 of Connection Problem: Hindsight is 2020

January 23, 2020

Virginia Frances Sterrett - Tanglewood Tales Hi there, This week’s a little delayed and on the short side of things. First the kid got some infection, then I...