Creative freedom from the machine
AI, cordyceps and robots who watch YouTube
Welcome to the first newsletter post for Ally's Newsletter, a creative and fluid space to talk about tech, food, mindfulness, scuba diving, blockchain, entrepreneurship, and anything else that comes up.
Sound broad? Yes, yes it is.
If this concept doesn’t sit well with your brain, think ~wannabe-Asian-Tim-Ferriss~ vibes.
Why would you read this?
You want to exercise your creative brain a bit. Maybe you just devoted the last several years to work and forgot about a world outside of your job and you’re trying to unlearn that behavior (I have no idea what this is like, shut up!!). Maybe you’ve always been creating and learning. Maybe you’re a polymath who wants to meet other people who are balanced in the arts and sciences. All are welcome.
You’re exhausted by all these biz influencers who write hardcore click-bait headlines around productivity hacks that make you feel like you’re perpetually behind. I write terrible headlines, and this space is meant to talk about all the business-y stuff AND life shit like food and travel. Following someone who only talks in Twitter threads about all the ways you should be using AI is like having a friend who consistently reminds you that you really shouldn’t be eating gluten.
You’re curious about a lot of different things. For example: entrepreneurship, meditation, traveling, blockchain, philosophy, skincare, economics, leadership, holistic medicine.
If this is you, you are badass. Let’s ride.
So, WELCOME
To kick us off, here’s a picture of a diving trip I went on in Bali.
Just kidding, this is from Unsplash and a guy named Radek Skrzypczak took this photo in Italy, but it is a goal of mine to go diving in Bali in the next 2 years (hmu sponsorships).
Quirky tech updates
Google challenges ChatGPT by ramping up its own AI programs and firing shots, but it’s still playing catch-up until Gemini launches.
Robots watch YouTube, too. Teaching robots to do a useful task can take a long time, so CMU researchers developed an algorithm to allow robots to watch videos of humans performing tasks and teaching themselves how to do it!!
People are making a scene about Airbnb’s hot take on product management, and are just now starting to calm down.
Curiosity of the week: mushrooms
Mushrooms, both psychedelic and non-psychedelic, are having a moment in our society rn. Psychedelic mushrooms may be getting more hype but non-psychedelic mushrooms also have a lot to offer in terms of holistic biohacking.
Obviously, this isn’t medical advice and pls DYOR (do your own research), but I thought I’d give a shoutout to my main ‘shroom, cordyceps.
Don’t let The Last of Us ruin cordyceps for you, they offer way too much benefit.
As I get older and less impressed with Western medicine, I’ve started exploring more of what Eastern medicine has to offer. Cordyceps have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine to provide energy, reduce fatigue and increase sex drive. Since it’s generally been shown to decrease inflammation, some studies have concluded that cordyceps can also increase exercise performance, although the verdict isn’t definitive.
Personally, I noticed an increase in energy that allowed me to focus and get way more stuff done during the second half of the day (when I normally hit a slump) after taking cordyceps for about 25 days.
Not all cordycep supplements are effective - make sure it includes C. sinensis or C. militaris. This is the brand I buy from Amazon.
Thanks for reading the first edition of Ally’s Newsletter, and subscribe if these topics are your cup of tea.