Category: Thoughts

Reclaiming Craftsmanship: When “Better” Means More Than Cheap

In Future, Ideas, ThoughtsApril 13, 2024Leave a comment

For the past 50 years, the relentless pursuit of affordability has defined our collective notion of “better.” Cheaper prices became the paramount metric, overshadowing critical variables like quality, style, sustainability, and even health impacts. This myopic view has had stark repercussions, leading to a race to the bottom fueled by mass production, standardization, and planned obsolescence.

But now, a renaissance is stirring – one that recalibrates our understanding of “better” through a more holistic lens. We’re beginning to recognize that

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The Rise of Robot Savants

In AI, ThoughtsApril 11, 2024Leave a comment

Mehrad

When we imagine the robotic future, our minds often conjure visions of generalized androids – the metallic jack-of-all-trades adept at any task we throw their way. However, this generalist perception belies the true revolution brewing in the world of robotics and automation. The real disruptive force may not lie in general-purpose robots, but rather in the rise of highly specialized robot “savants” armed with deep, nuanced skills that transcend human mastery.

The allure of General Purpose Robots (GPRs) is undeniable

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Today is Tomorrow: Autonomous Agents

In AI, ThoughtsMarch 15, 2024Leave a comment

Mehrad

In the last 18 months, the landscape of artificial intelligence and robotics has undergone a seismic shift, altering our collective perception of the potential and applicability of these technologies in our daily lives.

At the heart of this transformation was a pivotal moment: the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI on November 30, 2022. This event propelled Large Language Models (LLMs) from the domain of tech aficionados to the forefront of mainstream consciousness, revealing a future where AI could blend seamlessly

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Embracing “Logical Imagination”: Charting a New Path in Innovative Thinking

In Ideas, Innovation, ThoughtsJanuary 27, 2024Leave a comment

Mehrad

My journey in climate tech investment has always revolved around pushing boundaries while remaining anchored in reality. To do anything less would be to undermine the urgency with which we need to act.

I’ve recently been delving into a novel approach that blends foresight processes with systems thinking in a concurrent manner, which I’ve termed “Logical Imagination“.

As I define it, Logical Imagination is the cognitive process of creatively visualizing future possibilities and innovations, firmly rooted in logical reasoning and

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Remote Learning’s Hidden Curriculum

In Education, ThoughtsAugust 27, 2020Leave a comment

Mehrad

My involvement in EdTech through the work being done at Qureos has had me thinking of how we could localize for a more specific US-market problem. Product Market Fit in Dubai might be able to translate into PMF in a different region but just trying to adapt for the same PMF, we might miss opportunities for other grander problems that could potentially be solved with the same solution.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about

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The Role of Politics in Progress

In climate change, politics, ThoughtsAugust 22, 2020Leave a comment

Mehrad

I recently read The Atlantic article “How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared” and it made me rehash a previous thought-note I had made before.

The role of politics is not to be underestimated in the progress we make (or don’t make) in society, whether it comes to energy/climate, health, infrastructure, technologies, etc.

Political opinions aside, I want us to look at how certain decisions by politicians

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Biology vs. Sociology

In ThoughtsJuly 29, 2020Leave a comment

Mehrad

With optimistic projections of a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon sometime in late 2020 or early 2021 (see: Pfizer and Moderna beginning Phase 3 trials and Oxford’s ‘so-far’ successful trials) there is another factor often not talked about in the fight against COVID-19.

We might be tackling the biological issue with the development of vaccines, but the societal issues of actually administering and distributing the vaccine are yet to be widely

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Thoughts on Quibi

In ThoughtsJuly 11, 2020Leave a comment

Mehrad

Quibi was ambitious in thinking that the format of content should adapt to how we watch (whether portrait or landscape) and empowered users to watch in the format of their choice.

However orientation is barely scratching the surface, what they failed to consider is that context and co-creation matter more in a short attention format.

Consider

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Everything old is… old (for now)

In ThoughtsMay 14, 20201 Comment

Mehrad

As author Stephen King wrote in The Colorado Kid,

“Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”

It maintains some truth if we look back at the Spanish Flu pandemic, a time where some defied face mask usage and individual cities tackled the pandemic in various ways. However, there are some things that just feel old now.

If you watched Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy special on Netflix, “23 Hours to Kill” it was very apparent it was filmed

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Restarting the Global Economy

In ThoughtsMay 10, 2020Leave a comment

Mehrad

Following up from my previous post on the Test of Modern Capitalism. I decided to look into what would an economic restart look like and what new behaviors, costs, and actions would need to be considered to reimagine businesses in a Post COVID19 world.

Let’s start by looking at some data collected over the last 3 months. KPMG UAE put out a report that UAE grocery sales were up but non-food retail has dropped by up

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