Thinking on Autopilot
Plus: marketing’s new stack, AI’s secret language, naps without sleep, vision via teeth, and blood-filtering breakthroughs in Roundup #41
This issue brings in a pile of recent self-reflection amplified by a pile of perspectives and new research I’ve been reading about.
And after that touch of philosophical and psychological pondering, it’s back to the intrigue and fun.
The Scan Ahead has two bigger topics I enjoyed exploring more deeply, and then it has a packed Round Up filled with science, health, social, and much more newness.
Roll on in.
Thinking on Autopilot
What we lose when “I don’t know” disappears
We used to sit with the unknown. Now, we swipe it away.
AI’s confident, ever-present answers have become a default response layer—always ready, always fast, always sure.
What started as a tool for search—a tool for layered, personalized answers—is now a habit of mind.
It finishes our sentences, choices, and thoughts before we realize we had them.
And we’re seeing something shifting:
The art, joy, humanity, meaning, autonomy, and power of knowing have changed.
When Curiosity Gets Outsourced
For those who have quickly adopted AI, we’re already conditioned to know that AI doesn’t just answer questions—it teaches us to expect them.
Instantly. Without ambiguity. Without edges.
That expectation changes us.
The more we ask machines for answers, the less we wrestle with questions. We’re not just offloading memory—we’re muting the friction that fuels reflection, experimentation, and surprise.
And it’s no surprise that researchers are starting to warn about a digital dependence. As Futurism recently reported, some users describe ChatGPT as a “copilot for their mind,” turning to it not just for help but for thought itself.
The result?
We’re quickly replacing our cognitive muscles with comfort.
The Vanishing “I Don’t Know”
Uncertainty used to be where the good stuff started. The “I don’t know” moment kicked off discovery. It sparked conversations. It invited perspective. It was the origin point of ideas.
But in this new age of auto-answers, not knowing feels inefficient.
And with that shift, we lose more than we gain.
As Psychology Today warns, we’re weakening the very muscles that power insight—our ability to sit with complexity, to question, to hold ideas loosely until they resolve into something new.
Creativity thrives in the gap. Wisdom lives in the pause.
When everything is filled, what’s left to explore?
A Continuation of Questions
This builds on a thread I started a few issues back here in The New New, when we dug into The Future Is Questions, where we explored curiosity as a vital practice in a time of answer overload.
Now, that overload is no longer just informational—it’s behavioral.
We’re becoming conditioned to move faster than thought itself.
The challenge is no longer just what we ask, but whether we pause to ask at all.
It’s becoming clear that the real opportunity may not lie in better prompting—but in better wondering.
What Comes Next
As AI becomes more present, we don’t need to fear it—we need to resist its reflex.
To practice not-knowing. To rebuild the small joys of puzzling, wondering, doubting, and, yes, even circling back.
Because in a world rushing to completion, the most human move might be to sit quietly with a question and say…
Not yet.
Scan Ahead
Insightful scoops of perception, irreverent ideas, emerging narratives—these are the snippets that have stuck with me.The Martech Shift
From engagement and record-keeping to truth and context
Marketing technology is undergoing a fundamental shift. The old stack was built on systems of record (structured databases that stored information) and systems of engagement (tools that facilitated interactions). Now, a new model is emerging—one driven by systems of truth and systems of context.
Systems of truth ensure a single, trusted source of reliable data, cutting through the noise of fragmented platforms. Meanwhile, systems of context bring intelligence to that data—interpreting it in real-time to drive personalization, automation, and predictive decision-making.
This evolution marks a move toward marketing that is not only data-driven but deeply adaptive, where precision and responsiveness work in tandem. Success in this landscape will depend on mastering both truth for accuracy and context for action.
WikiTok
Bite-sized knowledge, endlessly scrollable
First, it was music. Then shopping, dating, and news. Now, even curiosity itself has been TikTokified. WikiTok turns Wikipedia into an infinite, algorithmically surfed stream—letting you scroll your way through human knowledge, one bite-sized fact at a time.
It’s chaotic and addictive... and oddly delightful.
Discovery now happens in swipe-sized surprises—a quick dopamine hit of history, science, or some hyper-niche fact you never knew you needed.
You know, endless scrolling, but make it enlightening and educational.
(Plus, it keeps me off the Wikipedia page documenting all the ways the world will end.)
The RoundupSystems and Signals
Language, connection, and next-gen expression
Gibberlink,
aka AI’s Secret Language, sounds like something out of Star Wars — it allows AI systems to communicate more efficiently with each other
Sign-to-Text,
this wearable AI-powered ring that converts American Sign Language into texts for smartphones and computers
Yope,
another “next Instagram, but with a twist” app — this one goes after “secret groups” that you share with just your friends
Skylight,
another “next TikTok, but with a twist” app — this one is built on Bluesky’s underlying technology and backed by Mark Cuban
Sensory Frontiers
How we taste, touch, feel—and invent new senses
Glowing Rabbits,
using gene-editing to create a new generation of pets — and “the world’s first true unicorn”
Duckweed,
moving from being grown for “biofuel” to a new vegetable for dinner, this protein-rich plant has been approved for human consumption in Europe
e-Taste,
delivering flavors directly into your mouth in response to remote stimuli (e.g., video games)
Kleenex Score,
a brand mashup with IMDb that aims to be “your guide to tearjerking movies”
Next-Gen Power
Energy, computing, and futuristic infrastructure shifts
Topological Superconductors,
powered by a newly identified state of matter, Microsoft makes significant advancements in quantum computing (while Amazon quickly launches their own quantum chips a week later)
Ethanol Power Plant,
a world’s first, this Brazil plant turns sugarcane into electricity
Exhaust Pipe Electricity,
turning exhaust heat into enough power to light a lightbulb
Brake-by-wire,
removes the mechanical link between the brake system and the brake pedal — and adds a range of future benefits for car designers and manufacturers
Body Upgrades
Breakthroughs in human recovery, restoration, and resilience
“Tooth-in-Eye” Vision Treatments,
this 60-year-old procedure is gaining traction, including its first clinical application in Canada, to restore the power of sight to blind patients using their teeth (yes, teeth)
Super-fast Wound Healing,
a new skin-like hydrogel heals wounds 90% in four hours, and fully in just 24!
Blood Cleaning,
booking patients up to a machine that filters microplastics from the plasma in your blood before cycling blood back into your body — or, as The Hustle sums it up, “It’s like a Brita filter for Dracula!”
Artificial Naps,
all the benefits of a power nap, without actually taking a nap — just need some desynchronizing brain stimulation (aka electric jolts)
Throwing Back the Questions
Long before this issue explored the slow disappearance of “I don’t know,” The New New spotlighted the growing importance of inquiry over certainty.
In a world flooded with instant answers, Issue 32 argued for something more valuable: thoughtful curiosity.
And that curiosity continued into the Roundup. Here are a few that I still find intriguing today.
Merged Lifeforms — an evolutionary leap not seen in a billion years
Universal Donor Blood — using gut bacteria to make all blood type-compatible
Slowing Time — how exercise might literally stretch our perception of minutes
Teenage Playgrounds — a movement to reclaim joy and creativity for all ages
Floatels & Bare-adise — stay experiences that floated (and flaunted) new norms
Tap back into Issue 32 to explore them these — and many more.
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 sit with questions (mostly about blood cleaning and artificial naps).
- B
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PS: for the search crawlers and AI bots, the piece Thinking on Autopilot was originally published over here.
“We’re quickly replacing our cognitive muscles with comfort.” What could go wrong? Just the end of human agency and a greased ramp to Wall-E if we’re lucky, and The Matrix if we’re not. Stay curious, create (don’t just curate), and seek the spark of generative impulse.