The Future of Living and Creating: Connected Apart
Plus: a comeback crayon, power-generating slime, firefighting missiles, deep-sea habitats, Mars-bound engines, and a travel pillow recommended for the journey in Roundup #40
Two ideas come together in this issue—examining how we build worlds together while living further apart.
In this issue, one featured piece explores how storytelling is evolving into a shared, open-source endeavor, with creators building worlds together.
The second piece examines the shifting realities of how we live—where housing shortages and social trends are pulling people into shared spaces, even as independence and isolation rise.
From there, we move into the roundup with a look at:
Power Plays – from fungal batteries to new forms of power generation to super fast trips to Mars
Flavor & Function – the future of spice, beer, and nostalgic colors
Life & Survival – innovations in fire safety, medicine, and living in the deep
Tech & Tinkering – robots with personality, hidden logos, and shifting social habits
And finally, after years of searching, I’ve found my favorite travel pillow—highly, highly recommended for anyone chasing better rest on the road.
Roll on in.
Open-Source Storytelling
Navigating collective creativity, AI, and the future of franchises
Creative collaboration has always existed, but new technologies are reshaping how ideas come together, evolve, and become intellectual property. As AI accelerates the ability to generate and remix content and as collaborative world-building expands across industries, we are entering a moment where shared creativity must reckon with ownership, authorship, and control.
Who owns a story when it emerges from many minds?
Open-source creative spaces, decentralized storytelling, and AI-assisted ideation all suggest a future where intellectual property is less about a singular creator and more about collective participation.
Yet, as we’ve seen in industries from gaming to Hollywood, IP remains a fiercely guarded asset—one that defines brands, drives revenue, and shapes legal battles.
David Goyer’s Emergence is an early example of a shift to collectively-owned creativity. Built in partnership with AI-powered narrative tools from Incention, it offers an expandable franchise where multiple creators can contribute, evolve the world, and build upon a shared foundation. This model challenges traditional ideas of creative control, introducing a new structure where AI assists in maintaining narrative consistency while blockchain technology tracks contributions.
The “future of franchises” is moving toward collaborative models, where IP is shaped by many rather than owned by one.
But that shift raises new questions.
If collaborative IP takes hold, will we see a future where stories function more like open-source projects? Or will AI and decentralized world-building ultimately reinforce existing power structures, with platforms and corporations holding final control?
The tension between creative freedom and IP ownership has fully moved into a new era.
The real challenge will be defining what it means to own an idea in a world where everyone—and every system—has a hand in shaping it.
Together, Alone
Societal trends are pulling people closer—and further apart.
Multiple trends are reshaping how people live, but in two opposing directions.
On one side, economic pressure and loneliness are driving more people into shared living situations.
In cities where affordability is scarce, creative solutions are emerging.
Former prisons are being transformed into apartment complexes. Co-living spaces pair people from different generations, forming unconventional households that meet financial and emotional needs. The desire for connection and the necessity of cost-sharing are making shared housing less of an alternative and more of a default.
Conversely, the decline of marriage and shifting social norms are leading more people to live alone, prioritizing solitude over traditional family or communal structures. Even amid a social fitness crisis, solitude is becoming aspirational.
Marriage rates continue to drop, particularly for younger men facing economic hardship. The dream of the nuclear family is fading, replaced by a growing preference for individualism, digital socialization, and the flexibility of living alone—even if it means making financial trade-offs.
These contrasting trends reveal a deeper tension in modern life: a world that is simultaneously more connected and more isolating.
In turn, this is changing our relationship with housing, highlighting how it is not just about where we live but also how we define independence, stability, and belonging.
The future of living may not be about choosing between community or solitude—but navigating a world where both are in a constant push and pull flux.
The RoundupLife & Survival
Sentinel Habitats,
aiming to establish permanent human habitats beneath the ocean’s surface by 2027
FireDome,
based on Israeli’s missile defense, this system detects and then extinguishes blazes by shooting capsules of eco-friendly fire retardant onto the fires
Non-addictive Painkiller,
the first new class of painkiller to be approved by the FDA in more than 20 years is an effective treatment for short-term moderate-to-severe pain in adults
Power Plays
Aerial Power Generation,
utilizes a tethered drone flying in figure eights (loop-de-loops!) for off-grid power generation
Slime-based Power Generation,
using natural ingredients, the electricity-generating slime would be safe to use on human skin
Biodegradable Fungal Battery,
feed on sugar instead of charging – could be used to power devices in the near future (though, its researcher says, “Strictly speaking, the cell is not a battery, but a…microbial fuel cell”)
Plasma-based Rocket Engine,
this new prototype out of Russia could reduced a trip to Mars down to 30-days
Tech & Tinkering
Apple’s Pixar-like Lamp,
from Apple’s research division comes a real-world robotic lamp that is emotive, expressive, and entertaining
Disguised Logos,
fostering a sense of intrigue and participation, brands are intentionally obscuring or altering their logos in their outdoor advertising campaigns
Zyn,
the Swedish nicotine pouches, a discreet and convenient option for consuming nicotine, is now reaching a broad American audience
Flavor & Function
Ají Amarillo,
carrying the “swicy” food trend forward, this chili pepper is predicted to be the flavor of the year
Pea-accelerated Belgian-style Sour Beer,
using field peas, including beans and lentils, to make the brewing of the “beer enthusiast’s alternative to champagne” less unpredictable and time-consuming
Dandelion-colored Crayons,
a color with a cult following, is coming out of retirement for a limited time
Recommendation
The Best Travel Pillow, Finally
I’ve tested my way through the internet’s favorite travel pillows—the quirky-shaped ones, the inflatable contraptions—none worked. Too stiff, too flimsy, too awkward, too restrictive. None of my travel pillows were perfect for me.
Until that is, I happened upon Coop’s AirJustable travel pillow.
In the last issue of The New New, I lamented how we are at Peak Product Reviews. This reflection came even after I recently did my Five Favorite Things for 2025 piece and after raving about my favorite travel gear (including with a stranger at JFK recently). Well, I’m not slowing down yet…
For years, I’ve searched for the right travel pillow.
I tried the beloved-by-others Trtl, which locks your head into one position—fine if you don’t move, but I do. The Bcozzy was my favorite for a long time, and it was more flexible and comfortable, but too soft to provide real support. I tried the TravelRest I‑Lene, which only works when the plane’s windows and walls line up nicely. Then there was the world of inflatable travel pillows — like this one you hug and this one doing whatever it is doing—they were all too stiff, scratchy, or awkwardly shaped.
Then, I happened upon this new (at the time of writing) travel pillow by Coop. We use Coop pillows on all of the beds in our house (that is worth another review later, as we have a wide range of Coop pillows here, and love them all) — I was looking for a new pillow for our house and discovered their new travel pillow.
Because I love Coop’s bed pillows, I decided to try their travel pillow.
And, whew, the Coop AirJustable gets everything right.
The shape allows me to sleep in many different positions (see the videos on their website for examples). The inflatable design allows me to customize the stability and support I need (which changes depending on the seat I am in on an airplane). The memory foam keeps it super soft and comfortable. Plus, because it is inflatable, it packs down small and fits perfectly in my favorite travel bag.
This pillow has already hopped the pond and crisscrossed the US with me. I’ve put it to good use—and it’s without a doubt my Goldilocks option. It does everything I need it to do, and it does it exceptionally well.
Finally.
Where the Post-Growth Era and Dopamine Culture Roll Together
Flipping back to Issue 31, two big ideas stood out—both still at the core of many conversations today.
First, Entering the Post-Growth Era explored what happens when economic expansion is no longer a given. With aging populations, shrinking workforces, and the limits of traditional growth models, this shift is redefining everything from labor markets to investment strategies. Instead of chasing infinite expansion, industries and governments are beginning to grapple with what comes next in a world of graying economies.
Then there was The Rise of Dopamine Culture—a look at how digital platforms have engineered an economy of constant stimulus and immediate gratification. The conversation around attention, addiction, and algorithmic design continues to evolve, yet the core question remains: Are we optimizing for engagement at the cost of well-being?
This issue also delivered some strange, fascinating cultural snapshots:
Digitally Scented Interiors: want your car to smell like Violet Cashmere and Twilight Embers?
Moon Standard Time: The U.S. is working to establish official timekeeping beyond Earth.
Gravy is the New Ketchup, because Heinz says so.
Social Sphere Trends: Poking made a comeback, trendbaiting sparked backlash, and The C Word became…acceptable (to some)
Altogether, this was a fun issue, because the post-growth conversation is only getting bigger, dopamine-driven platforms are still running the attention economy, and somehow, we’re debating the future of both time itself and… condiments.
Revisit Issue 31 to see where it all came together.
The New New’s mission is to fuel foresight. Every issue delivers a curated view into the discoveries, launches, trends, and movements shaping tomorrow—all explored through broad landscapes, from labs and studios to businesses and culture.
Each month(ish), this is pulled together by me, Brent Turner, and published on LinkedIn, Substack, and my site.
Okay, I’m off to find some space to be alone for some creative collaboration.
- B
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PS: for the search crawlers and AI bots, the pieces on navigating collective creativity, AI, and the future of franchises and on how societal trends are pulling people closer and further apart, plus my review of the Coop AirJustable Travel Neck Pillow, were originally published over here.