Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 36

How Airbnb “Icons” Illustrate the Future of Immersive Entertainment

The future of entertainment will be driven by more immersive experiences. This week, there was a story about how the Meta Quest VR headset will be accessible by passengers on long haul flights. The possibilities to tie this into tourism, destinations and the overall travel experience are vast.

Also this week, Airbnb has been getting some attention for their new Airbnb Icons series of overnight experiences that create legendary moments for people to buy.
Among the initial 11 experiences is ...

Should All Celebrities Be Advocates?

Earlier this month, a campaign on TikTok known as Blockout 2024 was launched as a response to tone-deaf social media posts from celebrities and online influencers about the over-the-top fashion choices from the Met Gala. The movement encourages people to “block all the celebrities, influencers and wealthy socialites who are not using their resources to help those in dire need” and has been described as a “digital guillotine.”

When one online influencer tried to explain her silence by sayi...

Momternships and How to Fight the “Motherhood Penalty”

This past Mother’s Day one recurring story was about the impact that motherhood has on the careers of women. One survey found that two-thirds of new mothers have considered leaving the workforce due to the cost and stress of childcare. Many others leave the workforce by choice to be at home for their kid(s).
Regardless of their reasons, when moms do come back, they face a motherhood penalty that makes it harder to get hired, lower wages, and more bias in the workplace. This is a problem we can so...

The True Story of How America Killed the Jalapeño Pepper

Have you noticed that the jalapeño pepper seems to be getting less and less spicy? For the longest time, I figured this was just a personal issue with my spice-adjusted Indian taste buds, but it turns out jalapeño peppers are indeed getting less spicy, because Americans are intentionally making them like that.

This is the “great chili pepper controversy” and it’s been decades in the making. If you want to listen to a fascinating story of farming gone wrong (or perhaps right, depending on your per...

Imagining the Future of Hip Hop and Art in 50 Years

The day after the Met Gala, the Internet was flooded with deep fakes of celebrities who weren’t there, wearing things they never wore. Some of them were pretty convincing. The future of art, fashion, and music will see all sorts of disruptions in the coming years from technology like this. Where is all of this headed?

WIRED magazine imagined a vision of the future of hip hop music 50 years from now. The Afrofuturist story that WIRED contributor C. Brandon Ogbunu and Grammy-winning rapper ...

The Most Idiotic Idea in America Is Getting Worse … and No One Seems Ready to Change It

Here’s an oversimplified but basically accurate sales pitch for publicly funded stadiums: you (the taxpayer) give millions of dollars in tax incentives to pay for a stadium, but instead of having any ownership of this asset or ability to make money on the profits it will surely generate, you agree to put those profits into the hands of a small number of super rich sports team owners. Forever. And then you do it again and again and again across the country.

Welcome to the most idiotic idea in Amer...

The Lost Emotion of “Perfectly Colorized” Old Black & White Photos

A photographer edited and colorized 30 vintage black and white photos. His intention was to “breathe life into these vintage snapshots, turning monochrome memories into vibrant realities.” Some of the images look strangely AI-generated with the colorizing. Others look fairly good, but the very act of adding color removes some of the intrigue and romance from the original image.

Though the post about these photos is more “clickbaity” than I would usually share, it struck me while looking a...

How Netflix Solves Content Overload with the Entertainment Industry’s Best User Interface Design

How does a company that offers more than a billion hours of programming make it less intimidating to find something to watch? This is a problem Netflix has been working on for well over a decade. In a rare behind-the-scenes interview, Fast Company shared a Q&A with Netflix VP of design Steve Johnson about how exactly Netflix makes it easier for people discover new shows without getting frustrated and giving up.

The interview ranges from discussing the thinking behind Netflix’s popular Top...

AI Startups Are Too Power Hungry, But Scientists Are Working on A Solution

In aviation, most people know that a huge portion of the costs in that industry come from paying for fuel. Recent projections are that it will account for more than 30% of the overall expenses for most airlines. When it comes to AI startups, investors and industry watchers are starting to get a similar picture of just how big of an impact the energy costs are likely to have on that growing sector. 

An article from the MIT Tech Review suggested that using AI to generate just one image uses as much...

Lessons From Daniel Radcliffe’s Journey to Leave Harry Potter Behind and Reinvent Himself

If you were cast into the role of a lifetime at the age of 11 and went on to play one of the most beloved bespectacled characters in modern movie (or book) history, what would you do when the series was over? Plenty of child stars struggle to leave the past behind, choosing to either escape the spotlight altogether or trying and failing to recreate their success. Daniel Radcliffe is different. 

In this profile piece about his journey to be seen as more than just the boy wizard from JK Row...