Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter as I find myself in Istanbul, Türkiye. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

PS: do I need to mention it? This newsletter is not AI generated… each link is personally handpicked and curated.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

The life saving haircut. AI new cottage industry: lawyers defending students accused of cheating . Microsoft and Mayo Clinic are teaming up to answer your most pressing health questions by building a new AI model. Apple could put cameras into the next airpods. Synthetic diamonds to see a surge in demand due to AI: they are exceptionally good at conducting heat but poor at conducting electricity, which makes them useful ‘heat spreaders’ for silicon chips. The resulting demand for a user-repairable tractor birthed a Canadian tractor company that’s intentionally “built without computer controls.

Our future

China’s tech rise is creating a new kind of tourism. The world is loosing colors. Coild this be the end of Dubai? Sensing the third horizon. Gen Z works more jobs concurrently than any other living generation. Future headlines. Private capital to close its $4.7 trillion infrastructure gap by 2050 in Canada alone. Towards 2050: Megatrends In Industry, Politics And The Global Economy,

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The Shanghai Futures Exchange is designing futures contracts for AI tokens. The new bibliomaniacs. Summer Camp Isn’t Free From Teen Career Anxiety. The silent keynote. Double-sided fan scarves to celebrate dual identities. Warner Music Group acquired Sureel AI, a company that develops tools for tracking how intellectual property is used by generative AI models. Meta is launching a free “workforce academy” that trains people for data-center construction… and guarantees a job upon graduation. Google partners with American Airlines to reduce CO2 emissions.

Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored The list of list of lists of lists on wikipedia.

On my radar

I am preparing a series of interactive workshop to train board members and executive time on how they might use AI to test scenarios, formulate strategy, and red-team the results: first the theory with Artificial Intelligence and Strategy Formulation. AI is facilitating strategy development. A step-by-step guide. How AI is reshaping military wargaming. Using AI for simulation and scenario planning in strategy.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board ?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The oldest name. Expanding the radius of dialy life: Travel behavior and mobility. The "14-Day Bikini" video breaks down step by step exactly how Chinese manufacturers can create fast fashion. Clipping in Nigeria. Anatomy of a rabbit hole. Crossword Alarm: The Puzzle That Nearly Stopped D-Day. Are brains growing in the winter?

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

Nestlé built an AI business coach trained on the market expertise of West African mammies. Outcry is an LLM designed specifically and explicitly to help activists plan campaigns. Selling a house with AI.

Numbers

95%- An August 2025 MIT Media Lab report said 95% of generative AI pilots at companies fail because of flawed integration and a “learning gap” between available tools and the teams implementing them.

36- An investigation by Beyond Plastics found that 0 out of 36 tracked Starbucks cups placed in the chain’s own in-store recycling bins ended up at a recycling facility – instead travelling to landfills and incinerators.

4.5 - More than 100 UK data centres are requesting gas connections – not as a backup, but as primary power. Those requests add up to 15 terawatt hours a year, enough to run the whole of London for four and a half months.

Feeling good

The Accursèd Alphabetical Clock. Europe’s largest lake landscape. The baguette index. .

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter as I find myself in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

PS: do I need to mention it? This newsletter is not AI generated… each link is personally handpicked and curated.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Photo: The Leaf Sheep Slug: The Animal That Eats Sunshine. A few animals can get their energy from photosynthesis; one of those is the adorable leaf sheep, which steals chloroplasts from algae and stores them to run on solar.

Competitive Intelligence

Hackers have breached tank readers at US gas stations. Search the Earth,
in minutes, empowering environmental defenders with AI to understand local trends. AI chatbots know more about you than you realize. Beyond Credit Scores: Considerations When Using Alternative Data In Underwriting.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Uber wants to turn its millions of drivers into a sensor grid for self-driving companies. Branded condo buildings are popping up all over Miami, turning the city into the capital of blue-chip residences. Robot dogs priced at $300,000 a piece are now guarding some of the country’s biggest data centers. When ripples become tidal waves: Can we predict when the next global crisis will hit? S everal iconic restaurants to offer reservations… for 2046. Amazon is allowing other retailers to build their own shopping assistants using the technology behind Alexa for Shopping.

Our future

The rise of emotional surveillance. What will be scarce? The economics of structural change and the post-commodity future of work. What if the future of mining looked like a farm? The Great Depopulation. Is surveillance pricing coming to a grocery store near you? Mapping real-world scenarios to the science fiction stories that explored them first. Four Scenarios for the World of 2050. Why the Future of College Could Look Like OnlyFans.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The disappearance of the public bench. People Are Getting Plastic Surgery to Look More AI-Generated. Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough. Instagram truly is the new LinkedIn’. ‘Ninja Warrior’ Is Now an Olympic Sport. 6-7 (try typing it in Google and watch…). McLaren Racing has signed 11-year-old British driver Harry Williams to its esteemed Driver Development Programme.

Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the Global Mind Health Report.

On my radar

I have been working this month on scenarios for the future of spaces: homes, offices, cities. This included brainstorming this week about airports: Japan prepares to open the world’s first Pokémon-themed airport. Tokyo’s Haneda Airport will start a pilot program to use humanoid robots as baggage handlers, aircraft cabin cleaners, and other ground crew. Airport innovation: enhancing the passenger journey with transformative tech. Keflavik Airport entertains stopover passengers with cultural micro-tours. The journey of modern sports and entertainment facilities. Chigoo’s airport trolley will guide, inform and entertain. Anime-Themed Airports.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board ?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The Netflix effect. What color is your porch? The 19th-Century Iron Balls Still Cleaning the Paris Sewers. Not a single tracked Starbucks cold-beverage cup ended up at a recycling facility . Hospital Prices Across All 50 States. The criteria used to decide which sports get added to the Olympics has 35 different factors. Too Much Is Happening Too Fast. How Much Is Your Kidney Worth? A Close Look at Security Envelope Patterns. A Stunning New Verdict Rewrites the Rules of Corporate Morality.

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

Coinbase announced that it’s reorganizing its workforce into “pods,” where humans work alongside AI agents. Tokenmaxxing : White-collar workers are quietly rebelling against AI as 80% outright refuse. Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, a 83-page letter is about “safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence”.

Numbers

65%- Sixty-five percent of girls who use voice-activated assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Home say they view them as friends.

-6.6%- graduates in the least AI-exposed quintile, philosophy, education, civil engineering,saw full-time employment drop just 1.5 percentage points, while those in the most exposed fields like computer science, computer engineering, information science fell 6.6 points.

Feeling good

A searchable, open-source database of 8,000+ surviving Latin and Greek letters from 97–800 AD. Swapping windows. Hunting numbers. Personal websites.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter as I find myself in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Data and the atlas of development. Trillions of miles of data: Your car is spying on you, and it’s only just the beginning. The AI coding tools letting anyone "build" software without engineering skills are also letting medical records, financial data and Fortune 500 internal docs leak onto the open web. Surveillance pricing is everybody’s problem.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

The Real WPP Story Is in the Margin, Not the Revenue. Is surveillance pricing coming to a grocery store near you? Martha Stewart is joining the AI-driven economy with a new startup called Hint, which autonomously manages home maintenance and paperwork. Japanese snack packaging is turning grayscale amid ink shortages. Dawn of the Electric World Order. Food is becoming a staple at luxury fashion stores, with Gucci, Ralph Lauren, and Louis Vuitton all getting in on the action. Introducing TikTokGo.

And this essay: On Seeing Through and Unseeing: The Hacker Mindset and this quote:

“for the hacker, all complexity is essential, and they are instead trying to unsee the simple abstract system down to the more-complex less-abstract (but also more true) version”

Our future

“The Extrapolated Futures Archive is a reverse-lookup for speculative fiction. A New Blueprint for Big Food. People actually can’t afford to date anymore. The Era of the Tiger Mom Is Over. Enter the Beta Mom. Enter the Killer Robots: The Ukrainian Forging the Future of Warfare. Higher Education Global Trends Report.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

US SEC proposes allowing public companies to opt out of quarterly earnings reports. The Ordinary sells $176 bananas to make a point about beauty markups. Projecting movies at x1.5. Apple has announced a shortage of Mac minis as people use them to run local AI models. Late last year, a Klimt sold for the highest price ever paid for a modern artwork at auction.

Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the Future Timeline.

On my radar

I have already shared here in the past my work in identifying new strategic opportunities linked to the rise of the “silver generation”, and aging population creating new age segments for products and services (Growing Old, the Imagination gap). here are some signals this week on that theme as I prepare a keynote on the future of travel: LEGO raises age limit for playing sets to honor David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. Rapper Bad Bunny who aged himself 53 years to show up as an 85-year-old man. Governing Aging Economies: South Korea and the Politics of Care, Safety, and Work. aging population is reshaping healthcare – unlocking a trillion-dollar opportunities.

Need to provide a workshop for your teams to investigate new strategic opportunities provided by an aging population?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Boring conversations. You have no choice in reading this article. The Tower Ravens. One Calf Shows Why Record Beef Prices Still Aren’t Coming Down. Visualizing history within a grid. Clipping, the practice of paying an army of random accounts to create and post short-form clips from longer videos has taken over the algorithm. When the eternity glaciers disappear. Once a sacred duty, hospitality was also a test of how societies welcomed strangers..

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

AI Surveillance in Universities. Researchers at GovAI and Brookings estimated vulnerability to job displacement due to AI. Meta reportedly had an unofficial leaderboard tracking who used the most tokens. South Korea is considering an “AI dividend” for citizens. Prompting is already dead.

Numbers

16%- Coveo’s 2026 Commerce Relevance Report found that only 16% of consumers would let an AI agent shop for them

10,000$- There’s a new $10,000 EV in China

Feeling good

Betting on trains. A map of us. Through a rainy window. A collection of 183 works of play in unlikely places..

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter as I find myself in beautiful Tofino, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Google Has a Secret Reference Desk e.g. verbatim mode “returns results for exactly what you typed, stripped of personalization and synonym-swapping. Avtually relevant news. A crowd counter.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Caterpillar Ventures seeks software to help create the fully autonomous bulldozer. More parents are done pushing college. 1 in 3 are now betting on trade school instead. The bone-ash apartments. Spotify is debuting a physical book storefront on its platform. These Gen Z artists cracked the code to getting a stable paycheck: snail mail clubs. Britain will encourage households to use more electricity this summer. Allbirds, which recently sold off most of its assets in a fire sale, is pivoting to become an AI-compute company. Screwdriver Plant or Independent Automobile Producer? Nordics and Estonia rolling out offline card payment back-up in case internet cut.

Our future

We gave an AI a 3 year retail lease in SF and asked it to make a profit. The 2026 Megatrends report. Canada’s Energy Future 2026: scenarios results. Beyond Tomorrow: Four Scenarios for the World of 2050. Earth 2050.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The Small but Wonderful World of Bird Memorials. Distance Brings Strava’s ‘Shadow Runners’ Behind the Online Likes Out of the Dark. These Gen Z and millennial readers are reimagining L.A. book clubs. AI influencers are ‘everywhere’ at Coachella. Coachella 2026 Billboards Gain Relevance As Gen-Z Embraces Physical Media. File for a filet. Italy to Limit Number of Sinochem Directors on Pirelli Board.

Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored The 2026 AI Index Report.

On my radar

I will be working for a client over the next few months on identifying how the future of brick and mortar retail will be looking like: the « beyond trade » diversification. Retail Real Estate Outlook. Retail renaissance. A framework for the future. How experience, technology and connection will redefine future retail. Appraisal of mixed-use developments: insights from Shanghai’s megacity context. The city in 2050.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board ?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Frugal AI. The cognitive offloading paradox. Google researchers have even found that telling models to “take a deep breath” can improve math performance. An archive of 700 hand-drawn charts and graphics from India's census, and why they were made. Coming up with instant coffee.

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

Chatbots are now prescribing psychiatric drugs. World’s “Proof Of Human” Tech Pops Up Everywhere. Rent a Human.

Numbers

22%- 22% of prospective college students now turn to TikTok to search for available scholarships.

1%- Since 2000, for every dollar of new wealth created globally, 41 cents went to the top 1%. The bottom half of humanity received 1 cent.

Feeling good

The cultural atlas. The bench with two backs. Train jazz. Who is the world thought a that name was a good idea? A collection of transit tickets.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter last week as I find myself in Milan, Italy. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

A collection of sorting algorythms. Real-time Global Animal Consumption Stats. How AI-Powered Web Scraping is Transforming Retail Intelligence. Five Findings About Today’s Market And Competitive Intelligence Programs.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

The AI boom wasn’t built for the polycrisis. HBO is premiering the new season of its hit show Euphoria at Coachella. TikTok filed to become a financial lender and payments issuer in Brazil. The age of robustness. What a beautiful train ride experience. Chokepoints are the true crossroads of history. Fox to integrate the prediction market’s data across the media giant’s various cable networks. Uber and Volkswagen are rolling out their new microbus robotaxi service

Why we should know what we don’t know … and avoiding the swiss tunnel.

Our future

The first batch of Gen Beta parents is here. Researchers at GovAI and Brookings estimated vulnerability to job displacement due to AI. Why ‘Punk Health’ Foods Are Popular with China’s Youth. The Drones Coming to Schools. Chatbot Companionship: A Mixed-Methods Study of Companion Chatbot Usage Patterns and Their Relationship to Loneliness in Active Users. The atlas of new futures.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Rage rooms: demand is surging and 90% of customers are women. What would you pay to bring your fictional boyfriend to life? Allbirds, the once-DTC sneaker darling of Silicon Valley, is being sold to American Exchange Group for $39 million, a 95% discount of its valuation just five years ago. A truck carrying 12 tons of KitKat bars, roughly 414,000 packages of chocolate wafers, was stolen. The mysterious Redditor who’s changing the way we do laundry. Waymo will start sharing pothole data with city officials in the municipalities where it operates.

Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the world of beautiful public data.

On my radar

I have been working on a training program for board of directors, which I am giving in April in Canada, about how boards are increasingly using AI to help them prepare, and participate to board meetings: Using AI in the Boardroom—New Opportunities and Challenges. Do’s and Don’ts of Using AI: A Director’s Guide. Using AI in the boardroom. AI in the Boardroom: Which Industries Are Leaning In, Which Are Holding Back. How activist investors could turn AI use into a governance test.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board on artificial intelligence tool can or should be used in the boardroom?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The Scottish island that bought itself. Notes on dinergoths. Owning the Future of War Tech: Mishaps, Delays, and Challenges Abound. The hypercurious mind. A record number of objects went into space in 2025.

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

America Needs AI That Can Do Math. A study by Stanford University researchers found that chatbots, in order to keep us engaged, are overly flattering when we ask for personal advice. What happens when AI can hack everything?

Feeling good

Obsolete sounds. Articles from Wikipedia that have had fewer than 2,000 views in the past year. Places to draw on. The balance bench.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Lausanne, Switzerland. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

A video meta-search engine. World Monitor, a website that turns any browser into a makeshift situation room. How to Use Twitter Search Without an Account.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Gen Z has become the largest share of the moviegoing audience. Shein is rolling out a new product that will allow smaller brands to tap into the company’s supply chain logistics. TikTok is going on the radio in a new deal with iHeartMedia. The pleasures of poor product design. As Hollywood Gigs Dry Up, Actors Are Playing Fake Patients in Real Hospitals.

Our future

Four Scenarios For The Future of Smart Rings. Foresight Africa 2026. Meet the Researchers Who Can Engineer Your Dreams. Embryo scoring: 10 breakthrough technologies. In the Status Economy, Even Groceries Are a Flex. Assembling the future. Swarm biotactics.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Hundreds of firms poised to be banned from snatching up homes. How much sleep does a banker need? A US firm settles lawsuit. US farmers are rejecting multimillion-dollar datacenter bids for their land. What color is your butter? French stickers turn aging devices into badges of honor. How Gen Z ‘corporate girlies’ took over TikTok. The baby-bite controversy. Are reading rooms the new clubs?

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the TikTok Discover List 2026.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The strange death of private life. Does culture make emotion? Where Censored Words Find a Safe Haven: Inside Minecraft. Social Connections and Loneliness in OECD Countries. The lonely runner problem. About peninsulas. Genome modelling and design across all domains of life with Evo 2.

Unpacking AI

I choose here a few articles that demystify how AI will be pragmatically embedded in our world

Keeping filmmakers at the center of the process. Fly anywhere on Earth (once a pilot, always a pilot…). An interactive biomedisa database. The flood hub. Offline World. Can We Run Experiments on History with AI?

Numbers

19% - Billionaires made 19 percent of all reported federal campaign contributions in 2024

4 mns- In India, the daily electricity budget is sufficient for only 44 minutes of AC. In Nigeria, just 13 minutes; and in South Sudan, just 4

Feeling good

These Travel Videos Have No Host, No Voiceover—and They’re Addictive. The Color Game. Bahnbet or bet on the the slow decline of the German rail system. The origins of Pokemon. Ring the doorbell if you see a fish.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Welcome to this 173rd issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Inside the world of medieval espionage. OSINT tools for working with images. The community-maintained successor to the CIA World Factbook (comprehensive data on 254 countries and territories). 1 dataset, 100 Visualizations.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Uber announced a partnership with eVTOL startup to launch Uber Air , an all-electric air taxi service. The DJI Romo robovac had security so poor, this man remotely accessed thousands of them. The PBOC, The State Banks, and Backdoor Intervention. The Disappearing American Mortgage.

Our future

Apple is reportedly working on an AI-powered wearable pin. Testing ‘Employees’ That Aren’t Human. ‘Looksmaxxing’ Reveals the Depth of the Crisis Facing Young Men. Irreplaceable Instinct. Broad, global developments from Finland’s perspective. Agrihoods reimagine urban living by putting food, not cars, at the center of the community.

And: a reading list for strategists who want to think dangerously, the “Imagination Curriculum”

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Ghostposting. Viral app in China taps into national loneliness by asking: ‘Are You Dead?’ The local dive bar, or regularmaxxing. Aura farming, the new Gen-Z craze. Burritos from heaven. The BÄSINGEN series. Autism-Friendly Vacation Rentals Are on the Rise. Word mentions in quarterly earnings calls. Family deepfakes help people celebrate and grieve in India. Dining in silence. Japanese builders are rapidly acquiring U.S. homebuilders.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored data-to-art.com, a "curated online gallery showcasing the work of international data experts."

On my radar

I am working on a series of engagements with family businesses: Passing the baton: Creating value through CEO succession at family businesses. The succession drama of the Wallenbergs. Chandaria family office opens Kenyan empire to Investors. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is now 77. Thanks to a shareholder change to company bylaws, he can continue as boss until he’s 85.

You work for the family business and want to understand the governance dynamics? Our other newsletter is here.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Under-Automated, Overlooked. Choosing friction. U.S. Olympic speed skaters adapt NASCAR ‘bump drafting,’ revolutionizing team event. Why Gen Z Is Unprepared for the Workplace. The straight truth. California’s Deadliest Avalanche Turned on One Choice.

Unpacking AI

On algorithmic wage discrimination. Burger King is rolling out a new AI chatbot named Patty, accessible through employee headsets. But beware: Patty is judging you, too. The next AI whistleblower could come from anywhere in the world. Uber employees have created an AI version of their CEO.

Numbers

3/4 - Nearly three in four restaurant orders are now takeout

157,000 - In the United States, 157,000 welders are nearing retirement, while most welding remains manual

4.15 bn- Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show generated a record 4.157 billion global views in its first 24 hours.

Feeling good

Mic’d up (also available at Wimbledon and the NFL). Where to cry in Montreal (such a beautiful thread). Department Store Catalogs. Slow ways. Flight traffic.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet. Leveraging RSS feeds for intelligence scans. There is a dashboard for pizza places around the Pentagon.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Alien Assumptions. Aurora’s driverless trucks can now travel farther distances faster than human drivers. How History Can Guide Our Assessment of the Future. Amazon to shutter all Amazon Fresh and Go stores. Sustainable shoe brand Allbirds is closing nearly its entire brick-and-mortar footprint by the end of February.

Our future

AI executives are thinking in centuries. Can they take the markets with them? 10 AI Marketing Trends for 2026: Agentic AI and Search Shifts. A geometric twist boosts the power of robotic textiles. From One Game to Many Games: Understanding the Transformation. Living in a culture of futurelessness. Next in design. Demand for shared workspaces is heating up again

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The DIYctionary. Influencers, bouncers and lines around the block. How Hamburg Combats Loneliness With ‘Culture Buddies’. Why Angel Numbers Resonated with Gen-Z. How Danish Cookies Became Hong Kong’s Favorite Lunar New Year Snack. This Relaxation Competition Finds Out Who Can Chill the Best. People are increasingly turning to social media personalities for weather reports rather than traditional news sources.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the fabulous forecast reports by the 10F Consortium ( thank you Patrick at Sentiers).

On my radar

I will be keynoting on March 5th the annual conference of the Hotel Association of Canada: Ghost Kitchens Transform Hotel Dining and Food Delivery. Hotel 2034: Four Decade-Defining Trends. 2026 Hospitality Industry Outlook. Hotels That Belong to Their Landscape. Spatial intelligence will redefine the future of smart hotels. 24 Tech Leaders Reveal Where Hospitality’s Future Is Being Built. Suite 2046, or reinventing the hotel.

Need to provide training for your executive teams or your board on how trends will affect your strategic plan??

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Chinese tech companies are shaped by fragmented and uneven governance. The Entry-Level Hiring Process Is Breaking Down. If a Tree Falls. Brain drain: how the exodus of talent is redefining the map of Europe. The Bamboo Flutes of Japan’s ‘Monks of Emptiness’. Where in the world are people proud of their country’s culture and lifestyle?

Unpacking AI

OpenClaw Showed Me What the Future of Personal AI Assistants Looks Like. AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It and this quote:

AI introduced a new rhythm in which workers managed several active threads at once: manually writing code while AI generated an alternative version, running multiple agents in parallel, or reviving long-deferred tasks because AI could “handle them” in the background

Numbers

70%- The average down payment for a married couple is 70% of household income, versus 45% in 2000.

88 trillion- Baby boomer wealth has skyrocketed to $88 trillion - over 2 times that of Gen X and 5 times larger than the Millennials.

4.7M- Social media companies have revoked access to 4.7 million accounts belonging to children in Australia

Feeling good

A stylised streetmap of wherever you like in the world. Cars that never made it. Show me your vehicle and I'll tell you who you are.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

How Alternative Data And AI Are Shaping M&A Deal Origination. How Wall Street Tracks Your Phone to Beat You at Trading. No credit history? No problem.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Navigating the Malacca dilemna in 2025. Every minute a train was late triggered an equivalent discount on a Swebus bus ticket. Heart broken? There is an insurance for this. Nielsen is testing a new measurement tool during the Super Bowl to gauge how many people are watching events in packed bars and hotels. An unexpected pair of Nike sneakers quietly dropped at Costcos nationwide… and is already lighting up the internet and resale markets. UN risks ‘imminent financial collapse’, secretary general warns.

Our future

The event trends shaping IRL culture. The rise of singlehood is reshaping the world. The future of human performance. The Contrary Tech trends report. Rent a Human. Installing sunpanels on railways. Why Science Fiction Can’t Predict the Future (And Why That’s a Good Thing). The Future 100.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Goldman Sachs is considering launching a prediction market in collaboration with a big company like Polymarket or Kalshi. HireVue, a major vendor of AI-based hiring tools, announced today that it will stop relying on “facial analysis” to assess job candidates. A grumpy museum guide. baby. Drone Controlled by Cultured Mouse Brain Cells Enters Anduril AI Grand Prix. Between the sheets at the Excel college championships. A Chinese company says it is unable to h (and the share price went up!)

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored Archivio Grafica Italiana, the first online archive dedicated to the entire Italian graphic design heritage.

On my radar

I have been working this week on attention span, and what it means for products, services, and brands: Micro-theaters. 49 pages books. The average attention span has shrunk to 40secs. Average attention span by age. Attention spans and customer insights.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board on how trends will affect your strategic plan??

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Doggerland, the Europe that was. The submarine cable boom. The shape of time. Becoming a centenarian. Why the samourai still matter. American Food Traditions That Started as Marketing Ploys. The Hottest Commodity in the Mining Business: American Generals.

Unpacking AI

Ambitious AI startups are partnering with F1 teams to supercharge their technology and operations. How the World lives with AI.

Numbers

95%- 95 percent” of organizations see no measurable profit-and-loss impact from generative AI.

2.2x- Deaths now exceed births by 2.2x in Japan

Feeling good

Building energy. The Montreal icesurfers. What ants see. A clever format idea for a restaurant: a split screen showing the preparation of a dish in the kitchen and its tasting by the customer in the dining room. San Francisco grafitti.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Welcome to this 170th issue of our newsletter “Weak Signals and other Trends”.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Toronto, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Parallel Search, a Web search tool built for AI agents. Breaking news. Any airport. Beautiful public data.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

The LEGO Group unveiled SMART Bricks. The day the cloud went out. The New Arteries of Power. Google is adding shop features directly in Gemini chat and AI Mode in Search. OpenAI has acquired AI healthcare app Torch for $100 million. AI’s green-energy goal is devastating Taiwan’s coastal villages.

Our future

Hyundai announced that it’ll build 30,000 humanoid robots a year to deploy at its factories. The Validation Machines. A ricin antidote. Health tech trends. Becoming a Centenarian.

Neat visualizations: The Nieman Lab predictions, mapped. Axios' yearly visualization of Google Trends. .

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Criminalizing insider trading on prediction markets. Hasbro has developed a board game that literally gamifies the role of the company’s CEO. Boredom Is the Latest Online Trend Trying to Sharpen Young People’s Short Attention Spans. Danish postal service to stop delivering letters . Polymarket Launches Bets on Housing Prices. Mirumi. Sony Files for AI Ghost Player Patent.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I dove into Curious maps, as it made me reflect on how maps shape our perception of the world, and how they also mirror it.

On my radar

I am preparing a keynote/firechat/conversation I will have with 1,000+ finance professionals mid-February on what the future holds: The future of accountants: 11 big shifts on the horizon. A vision of how AI will reshape the accounting industry by 2030. Finance 2030: Four imperatives for the next decade. The Future of Financial Planning Is Autonomous.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board on the new AI-induced risks and opportunities?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Christopher Columbus and the problem of longitude. The Genius Whose Simple Invention Saved Us From Shame at the Gas Station. Survival psychology. Redefining the timepiece in every era to make life better. Where are your taxes going (US)? The night runners. Critical ignoring.

Unpacking AI

Anthropic debuted a new tool called “Cowork,” which hopes to take over office administrative duties. In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks.

Numbers

100 bn- The major streamers are set to spend over $100 billion on content this year for the first time.

54%- A new Microsoft report released last week confirms the UAE extended its lead as the top-ranked country for AI adoption globally, with 64% of the working-age population using AI at the end of 2025

Feeling good

Why You Should Repeatedly Explore the Ordinary With Your Camera. Tweet to magazine. The Lost Automats and Cafeterias of NYC. Why paint when you can pedal?

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

News, news, news (not a bad new year resolution to keep that curiosity going): A visualisation of news popularity. See how a story spreads. Ripple, by the Washington Post.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

PayPal has filed to become a bank so it can provide loans to small businesses. Facing a major demand downturn, industrial bitcoin miners are transforming into data centers for AI. SpaceX has filed for a trademark to roll out its own mobile carrier. Running out of copper. People are starting to use dating apps to connect with others who can help them find open jobs.

Our future

Regenerative futures 2050. The robotics industry is struggling to figure out the best safety standards for shutting down rogue humanoid robots. Évolution des valeurs dans le champ économique à l’horizon 2050. The Trendhunter 2026 report. A Magazine from the year 2046.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

The parallel parking championship. “Slop” to the top: Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is here. Luxury-branded board games want to up your game night next year. Trains cancelled over fake bridge collapse image. The 5 coolest gadget innovations of 2025. Patent and design trends: Australian IP Report 2025.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored The 2025 jealousy list where journalists identify the one piece of journalism that they think is absolutely not to be missed.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Philosopher of pride. Prediction Markets and the ‘Suckerifcation’ Crisis. Who we choose to spend our days with. Social Relationships and Mortality Risk. How Google Maps quietly allocates survival across London’s restaurants. How the National Park Service became a social media behemoth. South Pole Ice Tunnels. An oceanic order for the 21st century. How Ferrari’s F1 Team Improved Medical Care for Children.

Unbundling AI

OpenAI has rolled out an app store directory of all the platforms that have connected to ChatGPT. What If? AI in 2026 and Beyond.

Numbers

0.7% - Nearly 0.7% of US exports, by value, are human blood or blood products.

1mn- The Danish Government pays over $1mn each year to private metal detectorists for archaeological finds, according to a law passed in 1241.

5%- Food spending drops 5% in households where at least one person is on Ozempic or other GLP-1 drugs.

Feeling good

This website displays airplanes in the skies in real-time in 3D. Forget the website, just add a Google Spreadsheet. Size of life. Google language explorer. The Globe of history.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

A search tool for traffic offenses, misdemeanors, court records, judgments, felonies, bankruptcies, relatives, phone numbers, online profiles, assets, , and address information. Search for usernames across a variety of social networking communities. Search engine that provides a person’s aliases, age, family members, and sometimes the first several digits of their phone number or the cities they’re associated with.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Disney plans to adopt a dynamic pricing model similar to airlines and hotels at its US theme parks. Target is making its app available in ChatGPT, giving the retailer more control over its customers. A new app called Social Agent is launching a marketplace to find content creators. Amazon is planning an ultrafast delivery option that would get “everyday essentials” to your doorstep in 30 minutes or less after hitting “order now.” TikTok is testing a new feed called “Nearby Feed,” which serves content near where you’re located.

Our future

A Housing Complex Designed to Tackle Loneliness. This ultrathin wearable lets you ‘feel’ textures on a screen. The Pentagon is looking to quantum sensors as a secure alternative to GPS. The Quiet Transformation Reshaping Financial Advice: Longevity Moves to Centre Stage. Pantone’s color of the year is “Cloud Dancer”… a shade of white.

A few selected reports about the 2026 Outlook:

• IFTF Ten-Year Forecast 2025: Urgent Futures Perspectives

• Julius Bar: Secular Outlook

• Deloitte: TMT Predictions 2026

• Foresight factory: Trending 2026

Thanks Neil at DeadFish: “Each year a group of strategists collate a folder with all the trends decks you could wish for (over 100 of them). The latest 2026 trend file has arrived. Ben Malbon helpfully did a summary of key themes and produced a summary deck, a 4,000 word summary, and a 6 minute video.”

We keep you updated on those trends and more on X/Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Holiday music and video catalogs are more popular this time of year than even sports. A Korean retailer launches bananas at different maturity levels. In a small corner of Belgium, randomly selected citizens discuss how to solve local problems through modest citizen assemblies. Crayola Color Each Generation Voted as Its Fave. ChatGPT rolled out ‘group chats.’

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends. Contact me to get the list of 250 weak signals spotted in 2025.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored Project iceberg : Measuring Skills-centered Exposure in the AI Economy.

On my radar

I am teaching a class for boards of directors on some of the dilemmas that are hitting boardroom tables around Artificial Intelligence. We discussed current practices and debated how a board would handle those. A deep dive this week for me in algorithmic pricing: A new law seeks to prevent retailers from ripping off consumers by using artificial intelligence and their personal data to charge them higher prices (read also: On Orbitz, Mac Users Steered to Pricier Hotels). FTC Surveillance Pricing Study Indicates Wide Range of Personal Data Used to Set Individualized Consumer Prices including mouse movements. Your Data Might Determine How Much You Pay for Eggs.

Need to provide training for your executive team or your board on the new AI-induced risks, and other governance topics?

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The billionnaire migration map. Inside the $22 trillion world of private capital. The “$140,000 poverty line”. Did Ancient Greece Pioneer Modern Wealth Stewardship? Data poisoning. The 100 life decisions people dread most, according to psychologists.

Numbers

33%- Oregon chronic absenteeism rate remains among highest in US at 33%

x 2- Sensor Tower found that Amazon sales doubled for shoppers who used its Rufus AI chatbot, compared to 20% for those who didn’t use it.

Feeling good

An internet radio for people in Antarctica, physically or mentally. Poetic Textural Landscapes. An excuse generator. Play Tiny Mario on your URL Bar. Fortune cookies.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Montreal, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Scrape and monitor data from any website. 15 mental models to see what your competitors can’t. The longest-standing data breach search engine. A dark net explorer. Search engines for cybersecurity researchers.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Bodybuilders find new calling in Japan’s struggling care industry. Europe’s China Blind Spot Is Strategic Negligence. How to use AI for weak signals. Google v Microsoft: the battle of AI business models.

Our future

Eurasia Development Landscape 2040. The rise of vigilante justice. New material offers potential for unlocking gravity-free technology. Executive resume trends for 2026.

The 2026 reports are coming up, I will post them here as I read them:
Horizon Futures - Top trends 2026
Waldo- To be in 2026
Mintel- Global Predictions 2026
Trendhunter- 2026 Trend report
AXA- Future Risk report

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

This project celebrates the art and culture of laptop personalization each laptop tells a story through its stickers and gives us a glimpse of the personality of the owners. The Farmers’ Almanac will cease publication after their 2026 edition. ‘Kidults’ Took Over the Toy Industry. The sham of the “rental family” . What does ‘67’ mean? A zoo in Denmark asked patrons to donate their pets. Not as attractions, but for food.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the world of psychotechnology.

On my radar

I am taking part of a panel on December 4th on the Future of Work and how this will impact the work of board of directors: A new workplace baseline. Inside the Bank where almost every employee is a gig worker. Realizing 2030: Future of Work report. Jobs and skills in 2030. Research perspectives on the Future of Work by the European Commission.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Why two tiny mountain peaks became one of the internet’s most famous images. Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts? A (Somewhat) Scientific Investigation. History. The Surprising Origins of Our Obsession with Creativity. How the traffic light changed the world. Dashboard Culture vs. Camouflage Culture.

Numbers

3.2m - the combined paychecks of all 3.2 million cashiers are about as valuable as Musk’s average annual compensation

71%- 71% of senior managers consider their meetings unproductive and inefficient

Unpacking AI

Giving your AI a Job Interview. Trouble in Toyland 2025: A.I. bots and toxics present hidden dangers. A new restaurant in Dubai has installed an AI as its head chef.

Feeling good

Dangerous roads. Football Stadium Turned Community Garden.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

I have prepared this newsletter this week and am sending it from Budapest, Hungary. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Lenders tap alternative data as next frontier in credit fraud fight. AI got faster. Business intelligence didn’t. Until now. Using Retail Industry Newsletters to Predict Client Challenges. ChatEurope, a LLM-based system that crawls through European news.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Amazon is expanding its grocery footprint by using technology to deliver the food you don’t see stocked. Amazon’s new AI-powered shopping feature ‘Help Me Decide’ makes it easy to quickly pick the right product. Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free .

A fantastic guide to learn to think differently: Take Weird Ideas Seriously , and this quote:

One of the best ways to be different is to feed your brain different ideas, and let it really chew on them. Go deep. Read books no one else is reading. Speak with people no one else is speaking to. Give yourself time and space offline, disconnected, to let your ideas take their own shape. Make connections between your new weird ideas and normal ideas.

Our future

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Project Suncatcher is exploring how we could one day build scalable ML computer systems in space. Teaching AI to Predict What Cells Will Look Like Before Running Any Experiments. Predictions for the Arrival of Singularity. Changing geopolitical environment reshapes science, technology and innovation policy. The future of advertising.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

TikTok is rolling out the red carpet for its inaugural TikTok Awards in the US. The Australian government announced that residents in three states will get free electricity for a portion of each day thanks to the surplus created. The introvert chair. The Maldives has officially passed a “generational” smoking ban. Millions of people worldwide are posting or live-streaming a silent stare.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored conversations starters.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Aging as a Loss of Goal‐Directedness. What we die from. Consumer Goods Strain Deepens in 2025. European ant is the first known animal to clone members of another species. Research paper mills: The rising network of scientific fraud. These scientific breakthroughs could save lives. A history of tatoos.

Numbers

48.7 - The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing PMI for the U.S. dropped to 48.7 in October 2025, marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction.

Unpacking AI

This week, we focus on the humans behind AI: Inside the race to train AI robots how to act human in the real world. Offshoring automation: Filipino tech workers power global AI jobs. 1X Technologies has human operators step in when the company’s home humanoid can’t handle certain tasks.

Feeling good

How to make friends. Anna’s Secret Garden. An online geography toolkit. Geospotting that photo. The terminal guestbook.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Edmonton, Canada. This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Jusqu’où peut aller l’espionnage des télétravailleurs ? Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data. 5 Major AI SEO Trends That Are Shaping The Future of Search.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

The biases that undermine our ability to predict accurately. The Genius of Playing Dumb. Why Amazon’s Anticipatory Shipping Is Pure Genius. How high-end restaurants went global. Host kitchens: How your next upmarket takeaway might secretly come from your local kebab shop. Friendly Bookkeeping for Unique Businesses. The US AI eco-system. Airbnb and Strava team up to inspire rural ‘run-cations’ for experience hungry travellers.

Our future

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

The Future of Sport and AI 20. The future risk report by Axa. Trendhunters’ 2026 report. The robot that’s coming to live with you. Metaverse K-pop idols reshape fame and labor in South Korea.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Google’s Flood Hub sends cash aid before floods in Bangladesh. Chinese Freighter Halves EU Delivery Time on Maiden Arctic Voyage to UK. Too burned out to travel? This new app fakes your summer vacation photos for you. Gen Z’s latest wellness hack is a “stop-scrolling” analog bag. Rent a Cyber Friend. As fashion changes, so do the colors used each season. Count the color usage every year in Vogue Magazine’s ready-to-wear collections

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored the wonderful polymath world of Open Culture.

On my radar

I am leading a series of keynotes this month and am updating the latest research on future risks: Intuition and exponential growth: bias and the roles of parameterization and complexity. Updating Mental Models of Risk. The future risk report by Axa.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The US-China AI Companion Race. OpenAI Looks to Replace the Drudgery of Junior Bankers’ Workload. The AI Office manager. 11 types of cross-industry innovation. Alpha School, an education system for children that emphasizes software and optimizing metrics over giving a nine-year-old a snack

Numbers

83- The world’s wind and solar farms have generated more electricity than coal plants for the first time this year, meeting 83% of the global increase in electricity demand

375 bn- Global spending on AI is projected to hit $375 billion by the end of the year

Unpacking AI

An AI tool for learning critical thinking.

Feeling good

I love this diary of 52 weeks of obsessions, and in particular beautiful words. Find a book, anywhere.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Quebec City, Canada.

This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for your patience as this comes out a few days late. Share it with those who look into the future!

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

NASA Worldview is an even more robust alternative to Google Earth. News, elevated. Beyond KYC: Lenders turn to ‘alternative’ data to assess risk, detect fraud. How To Track Ships Like a Pro. Fifty Shades of OSINT: from Investigative journalism to economic intelligence.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Mortality in the news vs. what we usually die from. Amazon Pharmacy is rolling out vending machines for prescription drugs like antibiotics and inhalers. OpenAI Wants ChatGPT to Be Your Future Operating System. Reese Witherspoon’s famous book club has partnered with WhatsApp to expand its customer offerings globally. Corporate Anxiety Is Fueling a Multimillion-Dollar Industry of Gen Z Translators. Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds.

Our future

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Inversion Unveils Arc - A First of its Kind Space-Based Delivery Vehicle. Opportunity in a Time of Change. Jobs of tomorrow. Future of Professionals Report 2025. 2026 Global Consumer Predictions. The Creative Power of Teens You’ve Never Heard About.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

OpenAI had created an internal tool called DocuGPT. “Calligraphy” for a digital age: Docusign is making its first major update in 20 years, adding new typefaces. Latin American judges struggle to rule on crimes involving AI evidence . The best inventions of 2025. Tagwalk Trends Dashboard. Flashfoods. Someone Finally Made Chips That Taste Like Licking a 9-Volt Battery.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored prompts in nano banana.

On my radar

Many board of directors and executive teams are gearing up this fall for a new 3-year strategic plan in a very chaotic context. I have been investigating practices and toolkits to help them navigate complexity: What if the Storm Is the New Climate: How Boards Can Govern in a World That No Longer Makes Sense. Rethinking Resilience from the Top Down. Boards can take a cross-functional approach to resilience to avoid crisis mode and enable growth during periods of disruption. How to Identify the Best AI Leader for Your Organization. How boards can tackle geopolitical risk.

Are you also thinking of a training session for your board of directors in these tumultuous times? Contact here.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The product of the railways is the timetable. India’s former royals who draw a meagre pension. The Lesson of 1929. Cognition all the way down. Map of which countries have paid their UN membership fees. The economics of migration. Migration waves.

Numbers

150- Our Brains Evolved to Socialize, but Max Out at About 150 Friends.

83%- The world’s wind and solar farms have generated more electricity than coal plants for the first time this year, marking a turning point for the global power system and meeting 83% of the global increase in electricity demand..

Unpacking AI

My research this week seemed to have taken the direction of the impact of AI on honesty, trust: AI legal risks are proving uninsurable. Delegation to artificial intelligence can increase dishonest behaviour. Signs of AI writing. Human Error Is the Point: On Teaching College During the Rise of AI. AI is reshaping childhood in China, as parents rush to integrate AI tools, from robot tutors to chatbots, in education and caretaking. Job Interviews Are Broken.

Feeling good

Test your your knowledge about world demographics. Data guesser. Weird spotify lists. Ambigrams. The world, in real time.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Winnipeg, Canada.

This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Yesterday news. Using synthetic personas and research to explore ideas. Competitive Intelligence in Marketing: AI Tools and Strategies for 2030. 27 Competitive Intelligence Sources to Monitor.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

A Giant Simcard farm in New York Threatened US Infrastructure. Will machines make strategy? Montblanc is getting into the digital notepad game. Stripe has applied for a federal banking charter. OpenAI has announced a TikTok-style social app for AI-generated videos. Marriott introduces Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors, dedicated to adventure-focused properties and activities. Google funds UW’s institute on future of work and learning.

Our future

Envisioning three tomorrows. AI-Enabled Shopping Hits 74% Adoption. In-Space Manufacturing: Building Our Future in Orbit. Navigating the future of polar tourism: Trends and challenges in Antarctic cruising. The Future Shopper 2025. The fight over the future of your mailbox. The Untold Future Of Design.

The 2026 trends reports are starting to trickle in: 2026 Trends report by Trendhunter, Outlook 2026: Flavor Trends, and Future Consumer 2026 are out.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Meet AI Actress Tilly Norwood. Perfume shop in Swedish forest asks people to pay with their time instead of their kronor. Use of the word “evil“ in official congressional e-newsletters, over time, by party. A wearable patch for early detection of heat exposure. The most hated company in New York. As more employees return to the office, home offices are being rebranded and remodeled as spaces where they can pursue hobbies.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored futuristic words.

On my radar

I have been working this week on a training session for a board of directors in the medical industry: How will the future treat you. The sci-fi future of medicine. How IoT is transforming the future of medicine. Healthcare horizons revisited. Watch list: Artificial Intelligence in healthcare 2050. The optimal number of physicians. Out of hospital.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

1,000-year-old seeds could grow ancient plants in England’s ice-age ghost ponds. How Singapore became obsessed by shade. Consumer Trends: 2025 Mid-Year Report. Why do wind turbines have three blades? Internet Shutdowns. Are we in a crisis of rudeness? More founders are now handing the reins to two CEOs when they step down. We should be living in the golden age of hobbies.

Numbers

0.34 - The Earth got darker from 2001 to 2024, as average solar energy intake on Earth is 240 to 243 watts per square meter.

34%- A new survey found that 34 percent of U.S. adults, – including, somewhat counterintuitively, 40 percent of those aged 18 to 44, always or often use closed captions when watching television shows or movies.

Unpacking AI

There is so much written about AI these days, that I am simply sharing here those articles who triggered for me ideas, reflections: The personhood trap: How AI fakes human personality. Analysis of AI companion usage. Passive vs Basic Hope Chess. Your emotionally-attuned AI car might soon be here. Cops pulled over an empty robotaxi for a violation. What happened next? Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’.

Feeling good

Bird Migration Explorer. A web tool to try fonts and edit them down to each individual character. Drawing around 2,547 stations from different European cities.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

I have prepared this newsletter this week in Brussels, Belgium.

This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Seems I’ve tested mostly newsites these past two weeks: News ranked by significance. Papers from today. Find The Archived Version Of Any Webpage In One Click . The news in Poland right now (but other countries are coming soon in this neat newsclipping site).

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Montana is rolling out new rules that allow pharmaceutical companies and biohacking startups to test experimental drugs at scale. OpenAI have decided to take on LinkedIn with an announcement about a future plan to develop an AI-driven hiring platform. Brands are launching their own TV shows to appeal to those fed up with ads. Artificial stupidity.

Our future

Technology 2040, A vision for the European Space Agency. Climate impacts and future trends of hailstorms. There are building an army in here. 2025 Strategic Foresight Report – European Commission. Finnish City Inaugurates 1 MW/100 MWh Sand Battery. Wifi signals can measure heart-rate.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Pollen banks. How Pumpkin Spice Went from Ancient Seasoning to Modern Craze. Le jasmin égyptien sous tension. Albania appoints world’s first AI-made minister. Every overseas trip by world leaders since the end of the Cold War. Defiant nuns flee Austrian care home for their abandoned convent in the Alps. Live-human alarm-service. Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones. LEGO has launched LEGO Masters Academy at its location in Denmark to teach building skills.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored diffrent stories about blue… Future Screens are Mostly Blue.

On my radar

A short section this week as I am travelling to Europe with back to back board meetings. Mostly, I focussed on an existing research about the Future of Work, particularly the transformation of large professionnal firms, as I prepare a training session on Wednesday for the board of one of my clients in this field: OpenAI released the findings of what they say is the largest study to date into how people are actually using ChatGPT. AI Is Coming for the Consultants.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Technicolor goes dark. Generative AI as Seniority-Biased Technological Change. Mathematicians’ body movements change before an “aha” breakthrough. One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants. The Lost Art Of Thinking Historically. Significant Incidents & Close Calls in Human Spaceflight. Divine dividends. The pen that became a symbol of France.

Numbers

2 bn- According to the new report from the World Literacy Foundation, 2 billion people worldwide struggle to read a single sentence.

100,000- Japan sets record of nearly 100,000 people aged over 100.

Unpacking AI

It turns out that chatbots can be manipulated through flattery and peer pressure. I liked this mapping of AI use cases in advertising. The Atlantic has launched AI Watchdog, a database tracking all the copyrighted works used to train AI. What you can do with Google AI image tool. Your Brain on ChatGPT.

Feeling good

Welcome to space imagined. Glorious fats. Movie colors. Archive of Japanese train-station melodies.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

I have prepared this newsletter this week from Montreal, Canada.

This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

The espionage revolution. In-car sensors track driving habits, and the insurance industry leveraged them. Apple is developing its own AI-powered search engine for Siri. Polymarket, the largest prediction market in the world, is relaunching in the US after a three-year ban.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Rufus remembers me. Biotechs Turn to Digital Coins, Crypto to Boost Stock Prices. Games of uncertainty. Amazon now sells used Hertz rental cars. There's a Stunning Financial Problem With AI Data Centers. GM has filed a patent for new technology that can determine when someone is no longer fit to drive. A hospitality platform called ResortPass allows luxury hotels to offer their amenities in an à la carte marketplace.

Our future

Why Gen Z is redefining the workplace with "career minimalism" . Anxiety about AI drives Gen Z career pivot to blue-collar work. AI robot dolls charm their way into nursing the elderly. A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education. China’s urban planners could determine the future of city life. Space conference unveils future trends of deep space economy.

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

How Microschools Became the Latest Tech Mogul Obsession. A New Monumentality. Here is Lego’s $1,000 Death Star, the most expensive Lego set ever. Luxury car sales plunge as buyers put off by South Korea’s neon green licence plates. The new Arctic Express opens up this month connecting China to Europe. What counts as rude behavior in public, by age group. Taylor Swift’s next album, The Life of a Showgirl, will reportedly be available on cassette tape.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored unknown heroes.

On my radar

I am taking a deep deeper into the future of work, and how AI will change careers, and how we attract, grow, and retain employees. This has already resulted in numerous public speaking engagements, but I am working with a young researcher on a new framework for boards and executives: Why Gen Z is redefining the workplace with "career minimalism" . Anxiety about AI drives Gen Z career pivot to blue-collar work. C-suite leaders grapple with conflict, silos amid AI adoption. 21 Ways People Are Using A.I. at Work.

Contact me if you need a speaker on this topic.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

The color of a car can have big implications for the temperature of the area around it. “ghost cars” in NASCAR and Formula 1 races are created. Bioregioning. In psychoanalysis, nostalgia was a sickness. It needn’t be. The Mongolian Meta. The Rise of the Traveling Third Space. The History of The New Yorker’s Vaunted Fact-Checking Department. Trust (human-machine and machine-machine) is going to become the currency of the future in the era of AI.

Numbers

13- people leave the office 13 minutes earlier than they did in 2019

45%- In 2020, 45 percent of the calories grown were lost during the production of animal-based foods.

112.3bn- The global market for educational AI will hit $112.3 billion by 2034

Feeling good

Dodge the dot. Extra-ore dinary. The Art of Street Typography. The Official Map of the Star Wars Galaxy.

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.

Each week, I personally sift through hundreds of sources of inspiration to track where we’re heading. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter, take the time to send me a note and introduce yourself, I love to understand who is reading.

Leave a comment

You can subscribe to this (roughly) bi-weekly newsletter here to get it directly by mail.

Subscribe now

I have prepared this newsletter this week from Montreal, Canada.

This is what I noticed these past couple of weeks, thank you for sharing with those who look into the future.

Share Weak signals and other trends

Estelle.

Competitive Intelligence

Search Google from different locations and languages. The myth of the modern identity graph. Capture evidence quickly before it disappears. A meta search engine. Home Depot and Lowe's Share Customer Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops.

Strategic blindspots and business models

Looking at the familiar with “alien eyes” allows you to unlock new business model opportunities while avoiding risks stemming from strategic blindspots. This section also is about the risks we miss.

Mini Ikea stores will be opening inside some Best Buys. Mavericks, intellectual curiosity, and changing entire industries. Using AI for simulation and scenario planning in strategy. Amazon will start making same-day deliveries of perishable groceries in 1,000 US cities… and 2,300 cities by the end of the year. Is fashion rental ready for its second act? How North Korea's IT army is hacking the global job market. About time we got something different: smartphone design has been stagnant forever.

Our future

We keep you updated on those trends and more on Twitter and Bluesky.

Migration Is Remaking Our World, and We Don’t Understand It at All. A day in the life of a GenAI-enabled workforce. The future will be mundane. Retiring in 2035? Here's What Your First Day Could Look Like. These tiny flyers levitate on the Sun’s heat alone. Future jobs: Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Platforms in East Asia and Pacific. Global Foresight 2025 by the Atlantic Council.

Weak signals

Weak signals are indicators of a change, a trend or an emerging risk that might become significant for the future. They allow us to run hypothesis, expand our thinking, and challenge assumptions. How will you interpret those in your industry or field of expertise?

Labels are commissioning music videos for old hits. The “Pretend to Work Company”. Challenge travel. Single women are turning to 'Bob the Builder trend'. Resignation By Proxy. 40 wonderfully weird celebrity baby names. The 9-volt chip flavor.

Book a speaking engagement about weak signals and emerging trends.

Down the rabbit hole

This section highlights a subject that led me to many useful threads, or a single site, that opened many doors: “A rabbit hole is not a distraction. A rabbit hole is your brain trying to tell you to pay attention to something you’re curious about. Ignore algorithmic rabbit holes” ( by are.na):

This week, I explored (this is summer after all) The 100 Best Podcasts of All Times.

Hodgepodge discovery

Articles for curious minds and the polymaths.

Address formats around the world. The reward of ruin: research is finding that everyday people, serfs, peons, farmers, day laborers often become healthier and wealthier after an empire falls apart. An explosion of efforts related to atmospheric water harvesting. State of the Consumer 2025: When disruption becomes permanent.

Numbers that make you think

51% -51% of older Americans say they plan to skip retirement altogether and work indefinitely

1.2 bn- Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people will reach working age.

6,000 - 6,000 new words officially enter the Cambridge Dictionary

Feeling good

Finding the movie according to the place. The binder clip. Stick Figures in Peril. Bad luck, hot rocks…

Share your favorite issues of the newsletter, or send friends - or random strangers…

Share

Thanks for reading Weak signals and other trends! Subscribe to receive new posts and support my work.

Subscribe now

Contact me at Competia with your feedback or ideas. Thank you for reading.