Just Product brings you by-weekly Product Ideas, Stories, and Thoughts about Product Development. It is one of five sections in the Just publication: Just Thoughts, Just Poems, Just Culture, and Just About Life. Find them at Just Home.
In the previous Just Products #3, we discussed where good ideas come from with Jarno Saarinen. We did so in Finnish, which made for a smoother conversation.
However, that posed the challenge of translating this content in the fastest, most meaningful way possible. I aimed to crowdsource ideas, but none were given 😂, so I started to figure out some stuff for myself.
I randomly tried dropping the YouTube clip in NotebookLM to see if it could use the content, and guess what? Yes, it can! This is a free solution to get a full transcript, an accurate enough text file you can use for whatever purpose, and directly prompted to create an English discussion summary. The capturing quotations are hilarious while being “one-click” wonders!
Check the NotebookLM AI-generated summary below;
Just Thoughts Podcast #3 Briefing Doc: Where Do Good Ideas Come From?
Guest: Jarno Saarinen, Founder of Subsoccer
Main Theme: The genesis of good ideas, specifically in the context of problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
Key Takeaways:
Ideas stem from problems: Saarinen emphasizes that good ideas don't appear in a vacuum; they emerge from identifying and confronting problems. He uses the analogy of a stubbornly unopened plastic bag and the frustration it causes as an example of a seemingly insignificant everyday problem that, when analyzed on a larger scale, reveals a pattern ripe for innovation.
The importance of perseverance: Saarinen stresses the need to constantly challenge existing solutions and seek better alternatives. Even with seemingly "solved" problems, there's always room for improvement. He highlights his journey with Subsoccer, where the initial concept, inspired by his daughter's playful interaction, went through numerous iterations before arriving at the current, globally recognized design.
Learning from failures: Saarinen embraces failure as an integral part of the creative process. He shares anecdotes about prototyping the Subsoccer arcade game and the numerous failed attempts before landing on the final, successful version. This approach emphasizes rapid prototyping and learning from each iteration.
Leveraging the power of community: Saarinen is a strong advocate for seeking external input and collaboration. He recounts how he utilized platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit to reach out to experts and solicit feedback, ultimately leading to valuable partnerships and solutions. This underscores the importance of actively seeking expertise and embracing diverse perspectives.
Turning challenges into opportunities: Saarinen's experience with Subsoccer's expansion into the US market exemplifies this principle. He recognizes the need for expert guidance in navigating the complexities of international business and actively seeks out the right partners to overcome these hurdles.
Notable Quotes:
"Ideat tulee aina ongelmista." (Ideas always come from problems.)
"Oikeastaan mitään ongelmaa ei oo koskaan ratkaistu valmiiksi parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla." (Actually, no problem has ever been completely solved in the best possible way.)
"Sun täytyy feilaa nopeasti." (You have to fail fast.)
"Älkää tehkö tosa kompromissia." (Don't compromise on that.)
Subsoccer Insights:
Origin Story: The Subsoccer game was born out of Saarinen's desire to both engage with his daughter's playful energy and simultaneously enjoy watching a football match. This seemingly trivial problem led to the creation of a unique and engaging game.
Global Expansion: Subsoccer has gained significant traction, particularly in the US, where major league teams have adopted it. Saarinen emphasizes the need to adapt the business model to different markets and the ongoing process of learning and iterating.
Evolving into a Sport: Saarinen outlines his ambition to transform Subsoccer from a game into a recognized sport. He's actively developing an app and organizing tournaments to build a dedicated community and ranking system.
Arcade Innovation: Saarinen discusses the innovative use of near-field communication (NFC) technology for the Subsoccer arcade game. This eliminates mechanical parts prone to failure, simplifying maintenance and enhancing durability.
Current Challenges & Requests for Assistance:
Establishing a US Entity: Saarinen seeks expert legal and financial guidance to establish a US Subsoccer entity. He specifically requests assistance from individuals or firms with experience in navigating the complexities of international business expansion.
Contact Information:
LinkedIn: Jarno Saarinen
This briefing document provides a comprehensive overview of the main themes and important takeaways from the Just Thoughts podcast episode featuring Jarno Saarinen. It highlights the importance of problem-solving, perseverance, and community in the entrepreneurial journey, exemplified through the Subsoccer story.
I also asked it to create a podcast of our podcast (featured here), which would give me an English version of our discussions. Here is a fascinating angle: What content would you prefer and why?
Would you like to hear and watch me & Jarno, live, in a podcast, in what language, an English AI summary of our discussion with other voices? What will be the key driving factors for content consumption? Will it be language, quality, or the discussion dynamics, or is it “real” or “it isn’t”? Someone should do a study of this.
What you lose here is who said what. Everything discussed now gets attributed to Jarno, and nuances, such as names dropped, etc., are entirely lost in the NotebookLM version. I’ve also intentionally made the interviews so that we look at something together, an item in the space or a picture. Otherwise, we may as well produce content without video and save ourselves the hassle and the environment some computational work.
As “we looked at something,” which was the game and how it works, it’s worth highlighting that the time has come for this product idea because any content of people playing the game is highly likely to go viral due to the nature of the game itself, as highlighted in this video they released a week ago and now has 40M views on Instagram alone;
It’s hard to imagine AI generating a lifelike clip like the one above anytime soon (..?). Still, it is becoming increasingly apparent that I can already generate perfect human-like single-modal content, that is content using only one medium at a time. HeyGen is the first product to combine audio, video, and text in a seemingly coherent human-like fashion, but this is likely something Facebook has already achieved earlier.
What about a more extended format?
In Just Thoughts #27 I reviewed Lex Friedmans’s 8-hour world record marathon podcast interview. I spent 4,5 hours listening to the thing (I listen to everything at 2x the speed), and probably a few hours writing an opinionated summary. Here’s what NotebookLM generated in less than 10 seconds, and I add a perfect copy-paste format;
Here’s the 10-minute summary of the 8-hour marathon.
Neuralink and the Future of Humanity: A Briefing Doc Based on Lex Fridman Podcast #438
This document summarizes key themes and insights from the Lex Fridman Podcast #438 featuring Elon Musk, Neuralink president DJ Seo, and Neuralink trial participant Noland.
Main Themes:
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) as a transformative technology: Musk believes BCIs represent a fundamental shift in human evolution, enabling communication speeds vastly exceeding current limitations. He envisions a future where humans seamlessly interact with technology, enhancing their capabilities.
Neuralink's progress and technical challenges: The podcast delves into the technical intricacies of Neuralink's technology, highlighting the miniature size and flexibility of the threads, the R1 robot's precision placement, and the challenges of scaling the number of channels and ensuring long-term biocompatibility.
Noland's experience as a trial participant: Noland provides a first-hand account of living with the implant, detailing his initial experiences, the process of learning to control the cursor, and his aspirations for future capabilities.
Ethical and philosophical considerations: The conversation explores the potential impact of BCIs on human cognition, the concept of will and purpose in a world with advanced AI, and the ethical considerations of enhancing human capabilities.
Key Ideas and Facts:
1. Neuralink's Technological Advancements:
Miniaturization and Flexibility: The Neuralink threads are incredibly thin (thinner than a human hair) and flexible, minimizing tissue damage during implantation.
"The width of a thread starts from 16 micron and then tapers out to about 84 micron. So average human hair is about 80 to 100 micron in width." - DJ Seo
Precision Robotic Placement: The R1 robot inserts the threads into the brain, avoiding blood vessels and ensuring precise placement.
"So controlling every, like the 3D geometry of the placement?" - Lex Fridman "Correct." - DJ Seo
Scalability: Neuralink is working on increasing the number of channels (electrodes) from 1,024 to potentially 16,000 in future versions.
"So for next versions of the implant, the key metrics that we’re looking to improve are number of channels, just recording from more and more neurons. We have a pathway to actually go from currently 1,000 to hopefully 3,000 if not 6,000 by end of this year. And then end of next year, we wanna get to even more, 16,000." - DJ Seo
Biocompatibility Testing: Neuralink uses an "accelerated life tester" simulating brain conditions to ensure long-term implant stability.
"And we look at whether the implants still are intact, including the threads and-" - Lex Fridman "And operation and all of that. It obviously is not an exact same environment as a brain, ‘cause brain has mechanical, other more biological groups that attack at it. But it is a good test environment, testing environment for at least the enclosure and the strength of the enclosure. And I mean, we’ve had implants, the current version of the implant that has been in there for, I mean, close to two and a half years, which is equivalent to a decade. And they seem to be fine." - DJ Seo
2. Noland's Experience:
Initial Impressions: Noland expresses a sense of normalcy and acceptance regarding the implant.
"They put it in front of me. Like this is like real-time your brain firing. That’s super cool. My first thought was, 'I mean, if they’re firing now, let’s see if I can affect them in some way.'" - Noland
Controlling the Cursor: Noland describes the process of learning to control the cursor, highlighting the importance of mental focus and practice.
"I'm trying, yeah. So it’s like, it’s imagining over again what I had to do to take a step, because it’s not something any of us think about. You wanna walk and you take a step. You don’t think about all of the different things that are going on in your body. So I had to recreate that in my head as much as I could. And then I practice it over and over and over." - Noland
Breaking Records: Noland has achieved record-breaking cursor control speeds (bits per second), demonstrating the potential of the technology.
"Yeah, I’m at 8.5 right now. I would’ve beaten that literally the day before I came to Austin. But I had like, I don’t know, like a five-second lag right at the end. And I just had to wait until the latency calmed down and then I kept clicking. But I was at like 8.01 and then five seconds of lag, and then the next like three targets I clicked all stayed at 8.01. So if I would’ve been able to click during that time of lag, I would’ve been over nine BPS.” - Noland
3. Decoding and Bits Per Second (BPS):
Decoding Explained: Decoding involves interpreting neural signals and translating them into actions, such as cursor movements.
"Decoding is, given the pattern of spikes across the electrode array, can you guess what I’m trying to do?" - Elon Musk
BPS as a Performance Metric: BPS measures the speed at which information is transferred from the brain to the computer.
"The BPS is a function of both how quickly you can acquire and label data as well as how accurate the decoder is. So you could have a very, very, very accurate decoder, but it takes a really long time to acquire the data and label the data. That’s gonna slow your BPS down. And then vice versa, you could have a very, very fast way of acquiring and labeling data, but it’s not that accurate. That’s also gonna impact your BPS.” - Elon Musk
4. Ethical and Philosophical Implications:
Humans as a Source of Will: Musk suggests that even in a future with superintelligent AI, humans may retain value as a source of purpose and direction.
"I think there is some argument for humans as a source of will." - Elon Musk
Enhancing Human Capabilities: The podcast raises questions about the ethical implications of using BCIs to enhance cognitive abilities, sensory perception, and memory.
"You wanna see in radar? No problem. You could see ultraviolet, infrared, eagle vision, whatever you want." - Elon Musk
Neuroscience as a Tool for Understanding: BCIs offer a powerful tool for studying the brain and uncovering the mysteries of consciousness.
"And I mean, I certainly think that BCI and really BCI at the end of the day is a set of tools that help you kind of study the underlying mechanisms in both like local but also broader sense." - DJ Seo
Overall, the podcast paints a picture of a future where BCIs could profoundly alter human capabilities and our relationship with technology. While many challenges remain, the progress made by Neuralink and the experiences of early trial participants like Noland suggest that this future may be closer than we think.
With the speed with which you can create content, and based on how AI can even seemingly make it “better”, it makes you think about the balance between quality and quantity. Does it even make sense to aim for perfection when AI can cover up those mistakes? And how much do you need to make of something before AI can generate more content at will in the same style?
Whatever your preferred style of “creation,” AI is best used to translate it to different mediums and languages while helping you replicate your work. For example, I write and will stick to writing, using AI to translate writing into videos, pictures, audio, etc. I also enjoy good conversations, so I use technology to augment that: summaries, better quality, different styles, or simply distribution.
Finally, reflecting on the current capabilities of AI it reminds me of the quote;
The only thing that distinguishes between man and anything that he can make is the ability to pursue an ideology - Russel L. Ackoff, Pioneering Systems thinker
Hence, it remains essential for us to remember what we stand for, what our values are, and what we believe so we do not lose our sense of self, our sense of hope, or our sense of control over this overwhelming change. If you need inspiration to find your purpose, check my prosecc described in Just Thoughts #2.
Just Products - Welcome to the new era of product creativity
What did you think? Would you create a generated summary of all content, or would you rather always watch the sources?
Who should see or hear about these ideas? Share if you’re inspired!
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