today on https://patrickreads.org est. 2020 A collection of things I've been reading, and sometimes watching, around the web. Patrick Reads
If America's So Rich, How'd It Get So Sad?

A really great and in-depth look at the data around American happiness (or lack there-of) in the post-pandemic world – with a perhaps surprising extension to many anglophone nations.

The Vergecast: The beginning and end of the iPad

The Vergecast: The beginning and end of the iPad

I really appreciate the way Nilay has pulled apart the macro and micro concerns about the newest iPad commercial. This clip in particular:

In a month, Apple is going to announce AI features across its operating systems – huge sweeping AI features from the reports we've read. [...] They want to add generative AI capabilities to the products directly. And I think what they just learned is even a hint of breaking creative stuff is bad for them. [...] It's just an ad, it's a very expensive ad, but it's not born out of a love of those things because if you truly loved those things, you would not smash them. Maybe it's just a metaphor, maybe it's silly, maybe it's just a misfire. But a month from now they're gonna launch a bunch of AI features that are trained on a bunch of creative work and they're gonna have to answer a bunch of questions about whether or not they paid for that training data and whether artists are gonna compensated for it. And when you type into GarageBand "Make me a beat in the style of... whoever" – that person gets money. And like, are you ready for this? Because the reaction to this ad suggests that you are not.