Jack Dorsey returning home, funny AI IQ testing, Musk master plan and more in The Programmable Edition #31

This week Jack is back at Twitter as CEO. Some are happy, including me (I don’t know him personally but I know he’s a cartography nerd, which means he’s an objectively good person).

At the same time, Twitter is going to turn off the public API
and updated its product (finally!) with
Twitter Moments, its answer to the information overload problem.

SpreadRank.io

People are following more people and more brands, yet none of us have enough time to see everything. Just like Google and their beloved PageRank, we need a filter, a service that helps us navigate this information overload, like our dear SpreadRank.

Twitter Moments is an interesting move, which need to go further both on the user experience side, with personalization (i.e. my own moments about topics I’m interested in, not just globally sports, news, etc.), and on the business side with their own AdWords model.

On the other hand, Medium, the other information (long form) network, is getting a logo revamp and a brand new publishing API.

It would be great to see synergies between you guys Ev, Jack… just sayin’.

Best,

Benoit


Which kind of data scientist are you?

Are you the Analyst, the Automator or the Augmentator? As the position gains more and more awareness and maturity, we can start making distinctions between the different tasks of data scientists.


How LA, Medellín or Mecca prefigure the future of our cities

Rare water, over-population, massive waves of visitors, expensive energy: these are the kind of challenges our cities will face in a near future. Fortunately, some cities are already exposed to one or several of these challenges, and have already started developing great answers.


Bookmarking and the Wish economy

MFG Labs extensive experience in data-driven ecosystems, with recommendation engine at core, has made us very aware of the infinite value of intention data: I want to see this film, I want to buy this product etc. We thus always keep a eye on bookmarking services, generators of pure intentional data. Here is a deeper look at the huge value they create.


Musk’s master plan might be a (big) problem for Uber

Tesla Motors’s founder launched the Model X earlier this week. What everybody saw: super cool features that will spare us painful tasks. But what if these cool features were not built to satisfy our laziness, but to slowly but surely build a future where Tesla has a monopolistic place in transportation. Problem, Uber?


AI matches 4-year-old child at IQ test — but makes funnier mistakes

IQ tests are commonly accepted as a good way to measure human intelligence. Researchers at the University of Illinois have created an AI capable of passing IQ tests designed for 4 yo children. Obviously, it sometimes fails in an unexpected manner: for instance, when asked “Why do we shake hands”, it replies “Epileptic fit”.


Welcome to Programmatic Farming

Agriculture is Embracing the Programmable World at speed. What was traditionally a activity widely relying on intuition now heavily uses robots, drones, and data analysis.


TinyLetter or the new life of email

Email, because it is a massive and yet very personal way to reach people, is an alternative to social media, through which we sometimes have the feeling to loose control because of algorithmic content curation. TinyLetter, a free service owned by Mailchimp aims at capitalizing on the power of email to propose new, simpler ways to follow the people we care for.


A comprehensive mapping of HR startups

The HR startups ecosystem mapping — thanks Work-Bench

HR is a very fertile ground for startups. From talent scouting to people analytics, deep dive into a full scope of life-changing tool and services for recruiters and decision makers.


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