Thinking On Paper

In 1983, a Soviet officer named Stanislav Petrov faced a critical choice: trust a faulty missile warning or follow his intuition. His decision to ignore the alarm may have thwarted nuclear disaster. The hosts discuss how Petrov's unique mindset, shaped by his education, influenced his actions under extreme pressure. They delve into the idea that machines, limited to binary logic, lack the consciousness and intuition necessary for true decision-making. This gripping tale highlights the difference between mechanical compliance and human judgment in moments that matter.

Don Norman gives the clearest, most accessible explanation of humanity centered design there is. He invented the concept, after all.In this Thinking On Paper short, the Godfather of Design lays out the foundations of why design must expand beyond the individual user and account for society, the planet, and long-term impact. The core idea is simple: designing for individual users is no longer enough. “What’s wrong,” he says, “is what’s left out.” Every digital product relies on a physical product. Power systems, infrastructure, data centers, electricity. You can’t ignore these systems when designing a new product.Designers need to widen their frame. Traditional human-centered overlooks environmental and social consequences.The hidden costs of digital technology show up far from your phone, laptop, car or magic pen.Humanity Centered Design teams work with communities instead of imposing solutions. They focus on long-term impact more than short-term convenience.Efficiency isn’t always a virtue.Simple metrics distort real outcomesResponsible design must consider ecosystemsDon Norman is a legend. He argues that the future of design depends on understanding how products influence society, policy, and the planet, not just usability.The conversation moves from principles to practice: what sustainable design looks like, how to design without repeating “colonial” patterns, and how to build technology that strengthens communities instead of weakening them. “We’re all together,” Norman says, summing up his approach. The responsibility is collective, and so is the impact.Please enjoy the show. And share it with a friend. --Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz--Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingonpaper/videos

Can humanoids dance? Or will the billions of Tesla human robots choose to forgo such technological frivolity? And why is the universe so empty? Where is all the extraterrestrial life....If space colonization and exploration of the galaxy is fundamental to a level 2 or 3 Kardashev civilization, surely there should be aliens knocking around this corner of the Milky Way?Perhaps they don't like us. Perhaps they don't want to change our trajectory and choose to remain hidden, giving reckless glances of their power and prowess at random moments. Teasing us with their faster-than-light spaceships. Or are we as rare and unique as we appear?Philip Johnston is CEO of Starcloud. They build data centers in space. You'll have seen them trending on Twitter recently as their first satellite was on the recent Space-X Falcon 9 launch. You can track it orbiting the Earth.This is a short from our much longer conversation. Which you can listen to once you've had a flavour of it.Alternatively, check out our other Thinking on Paper episodes. There is something for every curious mind. From space electronics and personal AI, to spin qubits, IBM quantum computing and a book club.Cheers,Mark and Jeremy--Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

AI agents can read feeds, make decisions, coordinate with other agents, and even speak on your behalf. In this short conversation, Andrew Hill breaks down what an agent actually is, why every company is racing to build them, and how close we are to personal agents that manage our schedules, explain our thinking, and interact with other people’s agents without us in the loop.The discussion pushes into a harder question: people are already sharing their most intimate details with AI. At what point do these systems become better relationship partners than other humans?If agents are about to represent us online, what does that mean for trust, privacy, and everyday interactions? This episode gets into the shift that’s already underway, and where personal AI agents could go next.If agents end up knowing us better than anyone else, who are we really talking to?Rock on.Cheers, Mark & Jeremy--Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

To survive in space, you don’t just need engineers. You need a musician. Ideally, a guitarist. Fortunately, the technology for this exists. Jeremy and Mark think on paper with physicist and CEO of Sunburn Schematics, Danny Andreev. What starts as a question about electrical engineering and power supplies in space, turns into human psychology and Mars Mission survival. Elon, are you listening?🎸 Could Jeremy's 1969 Vibrolux guitar amp actually work in space? What modifications would it need to play on the moon? 🎸 Why analog amps shrug off radiation.🎸 How studies on submarines and Arctic bases show that having a musician changes how crews handle isolation🎸 Mars needs musicians, comedians, and people willing to risk dying in space so the rest of us don’t have toThis isn’t a gear review. It's about culture, space, guitars and the human condition. Rock on.Cheers, Mark & Jeremy--Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

Curious Minds Learn about THE REAL IMPACT of technology 👇 Thinking on Paper goes holistic. Your learning goes ballistic.Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyzAI, Quantum computing, space manufacturing, robotics and Web3! From the CEOS and Silicon Valley Founders spending millions and billions making them useful.Or destroying the planet for their Egos. Take your curiosity, push it to its limits and see what technology can really do.Our mission is to help ONE MILLION curious minds ditch their Twitter and LinkedIn feeds and connect the dots for themselves. Each week, hosts Mark and Jeremy take you inside IBM, NASA, Coinbase, D-Wave, and more. They focus on how systems work, what they cost, who benefits, and the impact on work, policy, culture, and family. There's a Book Club too. Because the oldest tech is still the best. Stop scrolling and subscribe.

AI Ethics is a mirage straight from a Kafka novel. Questions of justice, principles and the rule of law are incompatible with machine learning. Machine learning is statistical analysis of data that outputs responses human beings are likely to find attractive, not true or ethical. That is not a good way to design ethics.Carissa Veliz joins Makr & Jeremy to Think On Paper. She outlines how AI depends on surveillance and statistical pattern-matching that can’t meet the basic standards of a democracy: clear rules and the ability to appeal a decision.AI thinking clashes with the foundations of a liberal democracy: public rules, transparency, and the right to challenge decisions that shape your life.We cover:😀 Why machine-learning decisions are opaque😀 Why that conflicts with the rule of law😀 How surveillance sits beneath modern AI systemsPlease enjoy the show.Cheers, Mark & JeremyOther ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

Exxon & Chevron are using Microsoft AI to extract more oil. Faster, cheaper. The goal? The extraction of every last drop of oil.Holly and Will Alpine of Enabled Emissions paint a stark picture. Just look at Microsoft’s own figures: Ai contracts signed for 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day with Exxon and 400,000 barrels a day with Chevron. That’s roughly 6.4 million and 51 million tonnes of CO₂ a year. Microsoft’s entire FY23 footprint was about 17 million tonnes, and it has just 5 million tonnes of carbon removal booked over 15 years. Those two deals alone dwarf both numbers.Over in Saudi Arabia, Aramco’s CEO says AI has helped hold production at $3/barrel for two decades. AI keeps fossil fuels competitive and weakens the economics of clean energy. It touches every stage of the fossil-fuel lifecycle. It's ugly. It's real. You're fed a lie. Learn more here. Thanks for watchingMark & JeremyOther ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

What is a spin qubit? Brandon Severin, CEO of Conductor Quantum, explains it like this: put a single electron in a magnetic field and it behaves like a tiny compass needle with two orientations, spin-up and spin-down. Those are your 0 and 1. By isolating that electron on a gated silicon device and hitting it with precise pulses, you can flip, hold, and combine those states (superposition).He also explains that spin qubits are built with the same fabrication tech as classical transistors. If we can print tens of billions of transistors on a modern NVIDIA or Apple chip, the same infrastructure could eventually produce comparable numbers of spin qubits, because each qubit is essentially one electron you can address and control.Listen to the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LeN3VBvG0o&t=1sCheers,Mark & JeremyOther ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz

Mind Blowing to the banks, but Stablecoins already move more volume than Visa and Mastercard combined! There's a financial revolution in the air, and this time, you're invited.Robby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands, shows how people move dollars across borders in minutes with near-flat fees, from market traders in Nigeria to institutions shifting tens or hundreds of millions. This is a short from our full length deep dive into web3, the decentralized internet, DOAs, AI and what Animoca has in store for the coming year.Subscribe to Thinking on Paper for the full conversation.--Other ways to connect with us:⁠Listen to every podcast⁠Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠Follow us on ⁠X⁠Follow Mark on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Read our ⁠Substack⁠Email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyzWatch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/O_Iy1jYTRz8