Robots Perching on Kid's Screens
your Saturday roundup
Professionally, I focus on creating social benefit startups. In my Saturday morning emails I share what I’m learning and thinking. Topics range from better living and parenting to business and philosophy.
I’ll be back with you on Dec 7, as I’m taking time off to be with family for Thanksgiving.
Screens and Kids. Being a fan of Jonthan Haidt’s work, I was looking forward to seeing him speak in person this week. Maybe I should have been scared instead. He presented a summary of his book The Anxious Generation with strong and alarming language. He is particularly concerned about algorithmically-selected short-form video, social media, video games and the ability for strangers to contact children. He is sometimes interpreted as being against screens entirely but I think there is more nuance. It matters what you’re doing on the screen, with more benefit from watching long-form stories, creating and learning. Still make time for outside in-person play. At least in the US context, I do find his recommendations appealing:
Give children far more time playing with other children. This play should ideally be outdoors, in mixed age groups, with little or no adult supervision.
Look for more ways to embed children in stable real-world communities.
Don’t give a smartphone as the first phone.
Don’t give a smartphone until high school.
Delay the opening of accounts on nearly all social media platforms until the beginning of high school (at least)
Construction Robots. A few months ago I shared a video of a humanoid robot. They've come a long way and offer the possibility of quickly interfacing with all our other tools built for humans. But what if it takes us longer to build the software to drive these humanoid robots. In the meantime, specialized robots could help us build more housing. There are so many robots for different specialized tasks. I’ve had fun learning more about innovation in this area. For example there are robots that :
3d print walls in concrete
draw lines on the floor based on construction plans
Move earth and do site work
Monitor construction progress compared to plans
Even just drill holes in ceilings
Locations for Perch. At Purpose Built, we’re working with a founder to build Perch. Perch is a network of curated vending machines stocked with the latest and greatest independent brands. We’ve identified a few launch partner locations and are looking for a few more. Do you know any hip hotels, fitness locations, or other retail brands with 10+ locations? Let me know.
Until next time,
Miles