🌐 This week's brainfood: Thinking machines, hurricanes, & virtual influencers

Hi there,

Welcome back to "You Got a Minute" by LifeAt! We're thrilled to hear that many of you enjoy our Thursday quick links, so we're back with this week's trending topics. On Sunday, we'll share more productivity tips.

If you’re new here, you can get caught up by checking out our blog here!

Brain bites 🍎

A weekly digest of interesting tech news, curated just for you:

• 👩‍💻 Changing how we work with Machines that Think: A world with thinking machines requires new thinking styles. But new technologies demand new thinking styles - this essay deep dives how we will change the way we approach working with thinking machines.

• 💻 Virtual Influencers are a thing - but marketers are on the fence about them: The rise of AI and the creator economy has sparked a fresh interest in virtual influencers. Brands such as Coach and platforms like TikTok are embracing virtual influencers, but the marketing industry seems to have mixed feelings about their adoption.

• 🌐 Your Best Semester Yet: Tools for Success:This special Back-to-School webinar features an exclusive panel with all three co-founder/CEOs—Dylan Field from Figma, Ivan Zhao from Notion, and Josh Miller from The Browser Company—as they share insights from their student days.

• 🤖 Rethinking Hurricane Tracking: Why the cone graphic needed a redesign: 2 weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Milton arrived. The classical cone graphic used by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is a familiar sight - but one that is badly flawed.

What we learned this week 🧠 

Here are a few of the things the team has loved this week

• 🔎 Is Product Design Dying? Why are our fav apps boring us?: Ashika found this article fascinating—exploring how the app world has become stale, repetitive, and uninspiring. Can we breathe new life into one of the largest creative fields and bring back true innovation?

• 💾 Web Design’s Time Machine: This is one of Marisa’s favorite websites - she checks this resource when she wants a little nostalgic inspo ✨ 

• 👔 Creator Founder Mode: Outlines important product management lessons learned from Instagram, Airbnb, and more.

• ⏳ 4000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals: This book puts into perspective the brevity of life and how readers can begin to rethink their relationship with time and productivity. Rorrie really enjoyed the overall concept of embracing imperfection & the insights on how we can challenge the concept of busyness.

What you loved this week ❤️ 

These are a few of the spaces we noticed our community has been productive with lately:

• cat by the window

• rainy apt by the lake

• cotton candy sunrise

• underwater bedroom  

See you on Sunday 🥰 

We’re glad you spent some time with us today - sure to check out our Sunday Slowdown where we bring you some tips on how to slow down and be mindful in your daily life. 🦋

finish the week strong!

devin 🌎 & rorrie 🌱