Welcome to your weekly dose of uplifting news and actionable insights. As we hit the midpoint of a long work week between two bank holiday weekends in Good ol’ Germany, let's take a moment to focus on the positive and interesting developments shaping our world and explore ways to enhance our professional lives … and have a wee bit of fun while we are at it.
But before we dive in …
How are you feeling today?
Symbol | Price | 5 Day % Change | 1 Year % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
S&P 500 | 5,935 USD | 1.40 | 12.35 |
DAX | 23,902 EUR | - 1.44 | 28.42 |
BSE SENSEX India | 80,689 INR | - 0.85 | 5.52 |
Shanghai Comp | 3,361 CNY | 0.46 | 9.21 |
BTC | 92,208 USD | - 0.71 | 47.13 |
INTERESTING READSDespite a third fiery conclusion for the Starship, Elon Musk remains determined to ensure the spaceship touches down on Mars by the end of 2026. But what's the rush? Well, there's a unique alignment of Earth and Mars coming up, creating the shortest path to the Red Planet. If they miss this opportunity, Musk and his SpaceX team will have to wait another two years for the next chance.
🏔️⛰️ Humans Are Evolving
Imagine witnessing evolution as it unfolds, no time machine needed. High in the Himalayas, Tibetan communities are showcasing human adaptability at its finest. Over the past 10,000 years, they've developed unique physiological traits that enable them to thrive in oxygen-thin air where most would struggle.
A recent study led by anthropologist Cynthia Beall examined 417 women living above 3,500 meters in Nepal. The findings revealed that women with intermediate hemoglobin levels and higher oxygen saturation had the highest number of live births. This balance allows efficient oxygen delivery without thickening the blood, reducing strain on the heart - a remarkable adaptation to high-altitude living.
These adaptations aren't just fascinating—they're evidence that human evolution is ongoing. The Tibetan Plateau serves as a natural laboratory, offering insights into how our species continues to evolve in response to environmental challenges.
So, next time you're catching your breath on a mountain hike, remember: evolution isn't just a chapter in a textbook - it's happening right now, high above the clouds.
In a groundbreaking achievement, the Swedish-engineered Candela C-8 electric hydrofoil boat has successfully completed the first-ever full electric crossing from Europe to Africa. Departing from Sotogrande, Spain, and arriving in Ceuta, North Africa, the 24-nautical-mile journey across the Strait of Gibraltar was accomplished in just over an hour, matching the speed of conventional fast ferries
During the voyage, the C-8 consumed only 40 kWh of energy—approximately €8 worth—while a similarly sized gasoline-powered boat would have used 50 liters of fuel, costing around €90.
💣💣 Talk about Sitting on a Ticking Bomb
This Monday, 3 American World War II bombs ( 2 Twenty-Tonne and 1 Ten-Tonne) were discovered in Cologne leading to the evacuation of 20.000 people.
It is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 unexploded bombs from World War II buried underground in Germany.
🛰️🛰️This Week In History: 03.06.1965
Ed White emerged from the orbital spacecraft Gemini 4 and became the first American astronaut to walk in space.
AI THAT WAS TODAY - TODAY IS TOMORROW'S HISTORY🤡🤡 Builder AI: From left pocket to right pocket - No AI was harmed (4 min read)
Oh, the irony! Builder.ai, once hailed as an AI trailblazer, has now become a cautionary tale of tech hype gone awry. The company, backed by heavyweights like Microsoft, allegedly engaged in "round-tripping" with VerSe Innovation, exchanging invoices without actual services to inflate revenues.
But wait, there's more. An internal investigation revealed that Builder.ai's so-called AI-powered platform was, in reality, powered by 700 engineers in India masquerading as artificial intelligence. This revelation led to a drastic revision of their 2024 revenues from $220 million to a mere $55 million.
Adding to the drama, co-founders Sachin Dev Duggal and Saurabh Dhoot are entangled in separate criminal investigations in India, involving allegations of money laundering and loan fraud.
In summary, Builder.ai's saga serves as a stark reminder that in the world of tech startups, substance must match the sizzle
"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity."
— Unknown👩💻👩💻Async Jules is at your service! (3 min read)
Jules from Google, which debuted in December 2024 has entered public beta. It will be your coding agent to develop, refactor or upgrade while embedded in your workspace
Jules operates asynchronously, allowing you to focus on other tasks while it works in the background. Upon completion, it presents its plan, reasoning and a diff of the changes made. Jules is private by default, it doesn’t train on your private code, and your data stays isolated within the execution environment.
🌌🌌Introducing Stargate UAE and free ChatGPT (3 min read)
OpenAI has unveiled Stargate UAE, marking its first international expansion under the "OpenAI for Countries" initiative. This groundbreaking partnership with the United Arab Emirates aims to build a 1GW AI compute cluster in Abu Dhabi, with 200MW expected to go live in 2026. The collaboration includes tech giants like G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank, and was developed in close coordination with the U.S. government.
As part of this partnership, the UAE will become the first country to enable nationwide access to ChatGPT, empowering its citizens across sectors like government, energy, healthcare, education, and transportation.
📰🗞️New York Times partners with Amazon (2 min read)
The New York Times has signed a landmark AI licensing deal with Amazon, granting access to its editorial content—including NYT articles, Cooking, and The Athletic—for use in Alexa and AI training. This marks NYT's first major generative AI partnership, aimed at monetizing its journalism in the age of artificial intelligence. The move comes amid its ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft over unauthorized content use, highlighting a growing trend of media companies securing paid deals with AI firms. For Amazon, it boosts content credibility; for NYT, it's a strategic step into the AI future.
The New York Times is generally considered to lean left. While it doesn't exclusively support one political party, it has a history of endorsing Democratic candidates in presidential elections and generally reflects liberal perspectives in its reporting and editorial pages. Question is: Will the Model have political leanings?
🔐🔐WhatsApp will finally let users hide numbers with privacy-first username system WhatsApp is gearing up to launch a long-awaited feature: usernames. Users will soon be able to connect without ever revealing their actual phone number. The feature, which is still in development, has appeared in recent beta builds of the app.
🌞🌞Northern lights in US The speedy solar storm arrived in style, sparking stunning aurora displays as far south as California and New Mexico
PODCASTS THIS WEEK💵💵Expanding A Family Dynasty: Marcus Wallenberg Jr.
Marcus Wallenberg Jr's impact on the Swedish industry was so substantial that during the 1970s, Wallenberg family businesses employed about 40% of Sweden's industrial workforce and represented 40% of the total worth of the Stockholm stock market. The Wallenberg family is one of the most fascinating family dynasties you can read about. The family has survived — and continues to thrive — for 170 years. In a family full of talented entrepreneurs and investors Marcus Wallenberg Jr. stands out. This episode is based on the book: “Furthering A Fortune: Marcus Wallenberg Swedish Banker and Industrialist” by Ulf Olsson.
Listen on Spotify:
OPINION PIECE: Shifting to Best Cost Country as a StrategyA well-crafted strategy, while essential, is not a guarantee of success on its own; it is the execution of that strategy that truly determines the outcome. Even with an excellent roadmap in place, various factors such as misalignment across different time zones, weak governance structures, or the absence of critical quality gates can transform potential financial savings into significant financial waste. Simply shifting the responsibility to others only serves to exacerbate these issues, leading to increased frustration and the potential for the entire program to fail.
The root of the problem often lies in the absence of strong local leadership, as well as a failure to prioritize communication and cultural understanding over mere cost considerations. Additionally, compromising on engineering quality for the sake of short-term economic benefits can have detrimental long-term effects. The most effective approach to overcoming these challenges is to treat offshore teams as true partners, fully integrating them with local teams to enhance both technical and execution capabilities.
And with every true partnership this also means that the offshore team as well as the local team have to jointly tackle the challenges that occur along the way both taking ownership to ensure the best possible outcome.
This integration process not only provides local teams with a sense of control over the execution of projects but also fosters a sense of responsibility to support and enhance the productivity of offshore teams. As a result, local teams begin to view their offshore counterparts as extensions of their own team rather than as threats to their job security.
In my experience, innovation tends to thrive in environments where challenges are present, and it is not something that can be easily outsourced. The elimination of local teams ultimately leads to a significant loss of technological and innovative advantage. By maintaining a strong local presence and fostering a collaborative environment between local and offshore teams, organizations can ensure that they remain at the forefront of technological advancements and continue to drive innovation in their respective fields.
Wishing you a productive week ahead!
As of May 18, Landerneau, France, holds the distinction of being home to the largest gathering of people dressed as Smurfs, United Press International reported. Perhaps because of excitement about an upcoming Smurfs movie, the town gathered 3,076 costumed people together, breaking a record set in Germany in 2019. "Schtroumpfs," as they are known in France, were created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, better known as PeyoCanadians say “sorry” so much that a law was passed in 2009 declaring that an apology can’t be used as evidence of admission to guilt.How did we do today? Was it interesting for you?
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FINAL THOUGHTThe DJI Mini 4K drone will probably never be this cheap again (Affiliate Link)
If you have been in the market for a DJI drone or camera lately, you probably know that prices have been extremely volatile. Looming tariffs have had some models selling well above market price since the beginning of the year. Right now, however, Amazon has the DJI Mini 4K for just €299, which is €50 less than its retail price and likely the lowest it will ever go in the future.