Today’s Highlights

• AI: Google’s AI-Equipped Chess Game and other Games

• Design: Analog Design Trends in 2025: Foresight by Canva

• Science & Tech: Diamond can Store Data for Millions of Years

• Founding: Accumulating Customers with Artificially Forged Scarcity: A Positive Scarcity

• Product: Product roadmaps aren’t always the best option

• Today’s AI image: Diamond CDs: The Rich Store Data Like This

• Quote for the day: From Confucius

AI

Google’s AI-Equipped Chess Game and other Games

Google’s taken a creative leap into the chess world with GenChess, a quirky experimental game that lets you design your chess pieces using GenAI.

You simply describe what you want for the white pieces, and the Imagen 3 model works its magic to bring them to life. Once that’s sorted, it cleverly proposes a complementary design for the black pieces.

Sure, it’s not overflowing with features you’d expect in a hardcore chess app, but it functions just fine. The real goal? To flex an effortless way of integrating character customisation into gaming.

This nifty little experiment coincided with the 2024 World Chess Championship, where Google happens to be the marquee sponsor.

Currently, GenChess is one of five AI-driven experimental experiences Google has put on the table for anyone to try. Here’s a quick rundown of the others:

• Food Mood: Feeling peckish? This AI suggests recipes to get your culinary creativity flowing.

• Learn About: Tailored AI learning assistance for whatever topic you’re keen to dive into.

• Say What You See: A fun little challenge to sharpen your skills in crafting image prompts.

• Musical Canvas: Draw something, and the AI will whip up a soundtrack to match your doodle’s vibe.

Why is this a Big Deal?

This isn’t exactly flipping the chessboard of innovation, sure. But this kind of tech hints at a future where generating personalised characters could be the norm across a variety of games. It’s a minor piece of the gaming puzzle, but it’s a meaningful one, showing how AI can add value in unexpected ways.

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Also in AI

• Eleven Labs Launches GenFM: converts text-based long-form content like PDFs, articles, e-books) into podcasts with AI co-hosts

• Alibaba head-to-head with OpenAI: Company’s new reasoning model further commonises open-source AI

• AI2’s Fully Open Llama Competitor

• AI Can Predict Neuroscience Research Outcomes with 81% Accuracy: Ahead of Human Experts who had 63% accuracy

• Qwen2.5-Coder Artifacts for Prototyping: Transform text descriptions into live, interactive web prototypes instantly

• Elon Musk is soon to bring AI gaming studio with xAI

• xAI plans a standalone ChatGPT competitor

• OpenAI paused Sora beta after leaks

Design

Analog Design Trends in 2025: Foresight by Canva

Canva’s latest trend report sheds light on how design might evolve in 2025, based on its platform’s user activity. The overarching theme is a blend of high-tech innovation with nostalgic, human-centred aesthetics.

Key Trends and Insights:

1. Motion graphics gathered much love: Expect to see more motion gradients, animated typography, and interactive graphics to cater to the digital-first audience.

2. Escapism through Entertainment: Users are leaning towards "silly", "funny", and "humour". The "serious fun" trend favours colourful, playful, and nostalgic graphics to offer entertainment and visual escape.

3. Humane aesthetics are surprisingly the new beautiful: Despite AI’s rapid growth (Canva’s AI tools used 10 billion times), users are embracing analog aesthetics like scrapbooking, hand-drawn scribbles, and torn-edge collages.

4. Hybrid Human-AI Designs: Combining AI-driven sleekness with organic, hand-crafted visuals is emerging as a hallmark of this hybrid era.

Why is this a big deal?

These trends reflect a balancing act between grabbing advantage of AI’s capabilities and maintaining a human, relatable aesthetic. The demand for fun, escapism, and human-centric designs could accelerate as brands look to stand out in an increasingly AI-dominated landscape.

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Also in Design

• Zoom Expanding the Video Boundary: Rebranded as Zoom Communications Inc., signaling a broader focus

• Apple’s App Store Awards Finalists: 45 apps and games shortlisted across 12 categories

• Shazam’s UX: Simplified one-tap interaction with real-time feedback enhances user delight

• Keep knowing your user more to perfect your design assets: The Importance of User Research in design

• What Role does a Developer Play in Design?

• Modern Devices are Too Diverse for Accurately Responsive Design: Challenges in Creating Responsive Design

• AI Shifting Designers’ Roles: AI automates repetitive tasks, letting designers focus on curation, strategy, and ethics

Science & Tech

Diamond can Store Data for Millions of Years

Apparently your millionth descendant would be able to see your family photos and videos. But you’d need a diamond storage disc.

What’s Happening?

Researchers at China’s University of Science and Technology have made a stunning leap in data storage technology, breaking records with diamonds.

A diamond can now store 1.85 terabytes of data per cubic centimeter, setting a new storage benchmark. This equals about 2,000 Blu-ray discs' worth of information in a single diamond.

The Need for Bigger Data

With industries like AI, quantum computing, and supercomputing needing vast amounts of data storage, diamonds could be the answer.

Current storage solutions (like SSDs) can't handle the huge petabytes of data these fields demand.

Diamond's Durability

Unlike other methods vulnerable to degaussing or tampering, diamond storage is incredibly stable, with data retention lasting millions of years at room temperature.

This makes it a promising option for long-term, high-volume data archiving.

How It Works

The team used lasers to create tiny atomic-level storage spaces in diamonds, then encoded images (like paintings and historical films) into them.

Results show an impressive 99.48% data fidelity.

Why is this a big deal?

Though the process is expensive and complex, advancements could shrink the equipment size to something that could fit inside a microwave.

This breakthrough actually promises an ultra-secure, long-lasting storage solution that could keep valuable data safe for centuries—quite a handy tool for the future, especially as data needs skyrocket.

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Also in Science & Tech

• Figure 02 Robot’s is 400% More Efficient

• AI's future is heavily reliant on Nvidia: The demand for powerful supercomputers grows

• Comprehensive breakdown on fluoride's safety and health implications in tap water

• People from Different Linguistic Cultures Around the World React Similarly To Pain: "ouch," "aïe," "yakayi"

• Science of Thanksgiving: It began in desperate times of survival

Founding

Accumulating Customers with Artificially Forged Scarcity: A Positive Scarcity

There is one human emotion that can not be induced in customers easily. But some select brands who were successful in making them feel that way are beholding extraordinary success. It’s the feeling of belonging. Belonging to a special group. An exclusive tribe. 

Customers love to be a part of an elite team. If they get that by buying your product, you will gain their loyalty in masses. 

Limited = Luxury

The best way to mould your product, precisely your brand, to appear premium is by creating a scarcity situation. Artificial scarcity. Position your product to be a luxury piece to own and limited in numbers. Position it as rare. 

An example to back this philosophy- contemplate on why exactly do we humans value materials like gold and diamond so high (besides being pleasant to the eye)? You’ll realise it all boils down to them being rare. 

Now if you manage to market your product as limited-edition (if not as gold), you can attach purchase of your product with the emotions of excitement and special belonging. 

The end result? A large army of customers that a) are loyal b) make repeat purchases c) trigger a word-of-mouth chain. 

Traditional Scarcity VS Positive Scarcity

Sparking a fear of missing out is the traditional way of premium positioning. Brands combine two FOMOs: “Limited edition product” and “Limited time deal”. 

The idea of positive scarcity eliminates the latter. Or at least the fear mongering meant with it. Here it’s all about excitement and the spirit of teaming up.  

Brands who’ve aced Positive Scarcity 

Nike’s SNKRS App: Offers insider access to limited-edition sneakers, creating a gamified shopping experience. Customers feel the thrill of securing rare items, encouraging repeated app use and purchases fueled by exclusivity and dopamine rewards.

Starbucks’ Seasonal Drinks: The annual launch of holiday drinks like the peppermint mocha taps into nostalgia and joy. 

Paired with festive-themed cups, Starbucks enhances the customer experience, driving repeat visits before the flavours disappear for the year.

Ulta’s Holiday Sale: Instead of rushing buyers with a ticking clock, Ulta’s emails showcased the desired outcome—thoughtful gifting with great deals. 

By highlighting the joy and relief of early holiday shopping, the promo encouraged immediate action while fostering goodwill.

Read more

Also in Founding

• How Senja Leverages AI to Level-Up B2B Onboarding

• How to use AI to better your sales pitches

• Board Observers: Are they a worthy investment for your startup?

• A Content Culture: Encouraging employees to share insights, build personal brands, and integrate content creation into workflows

• Open Graph images get clicked at more: Leveraging OG images to improve Social media CTRs

Product

Product roadmaps aren’t always the best option

Product roadmaps trace a product’s probable evolution journey by defining the vision, direction, target and priorities. These roadmaps don’t help much when-

1.Longer-term forecasting is not possible- When the environment is too dynamic to forecast circumstances in the distant future, it is better to set short-term goals and act according to the environment's stimuli. 

2.You don’t have a validated product strategy- When your product strategy is wrapped in significant risks and contingencies, a product roadmap is not a practical approach.

3.Your stakeholders consider it an apparent outcome- When the stakeholders hold the conviction that the product roadmap is exactly what must take place in the future, you should avoid making one. 

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Today’s AI Image

Diamond CDs: The Rich Store Data Like This

Quote of the Day

From Confucius

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Confucius

What we’re working on

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