Omar Yacoubi
@omaryak.net
What I’m reading about the news, urbanism, tech & the zeitgeist. UX designer / strategist @omyk.co and 2x Big 5, Cisco alum thinking globally 🌐 posting locally in the
📍SF Bay Area, CA
┃ Opinions mine (not shared at work)
🔗 linktr.ee/omaryak
📍SF Bay Area, CA
┃ Opinions mine (not shared at work)
🔗 linktr.ee/omaryak
Pinned
Omar Yacoubi
@omaryak.net
· 23d
The value of the AI is not its ability to create product for us, but to engage with us in our process
AI doesn't have to replace our competencies or even our employees.
www.fastcompany.com
The value of #humanity in the AI era is finally explicitly labeled in a #business article: because AI is not yet AGI, it’s not yet ready to replace us for complex endeavors like work in #tech
www.fastcompany.com/91422738/ai-...
www.fastcompany.com/91422738/ai-...
Since Gen Z is all about vibes, maybe they could use this lesson in song from the 1990s about #resilience
“I ain’t gonna go blind, when the vibration’s reflected” (avoiding fragility)
Make sure you’re connected 🤙🏼 (“if your mind’s neglected, stumble you might fall”) 🎶 #music
youtu.be/aatK_l9Yuyk
“I ain’t gonna go blind, when the vibration’s reflected” (avoiding fragility)
Make sure you’re connected 🤙🏼 (“if your mind’s neglected, stumble you might fall”) 🎶 #music
youtu.be/aatK_l9Yuyk
Stereo MC's - Connected (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by StereoMCsVEVO
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Since Gen Z is all about vibes, maybe they could use this lesson in song from the 1990s about #resilience
“I ain’t gonna go blind, when the vibration’s reflected” (avoiding fragility)
Make sure you’re connected 🤙🏼 (“if your mind’s neglected, stumble you might fall”) 🎶 #music
youtu.be/aatK_l9Yuyk
“I ain’t gonna go blind, when the vibration’s reflected” (avoiding fragility)
Make sure you’re connected 🤙🏼 (“if your mind’s neglected, stumble you might fall”) 🎶 #music
youtu.be/aatK_l9Yuyk
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
The construction industry, where more than a quarter of workers are foreign-born, has long struggled to find enough workers. Now, industry officials say Trump's immigration crackdown is making it worse.
ICE is sending a chill through the construction industry
The construction industry, where more than a quarter of workers are foreign-born, has long struggled to find enough workers. Now, industry officials say Trump's immigration crackdown is making it worse.
n.pr
November 11, 2025 at 3:52 AM
The construction industry, where more than a quarter of workers are foreign-born, has long struggled to find enough workers. Now, industry officials say Trump's immigration crackdown is making it worse.
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
Getting covid-19 for the first time slightly increased the risk of heart inflammation, blood clots and bleeding disorders among children, whereas being vaccinated against the virus was much safer and sometimes protective
Covid raises risk of heart issues in children more than vaccination
Getting covid-19 for the first time slightly increased the risk of heart inflammation, blood clots and bleeding disorders among children, whereas being vaccinated against the virus was much safer and sometimes protective
www.newscientist.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Getting covid-19 for the first time slightly increased the risk of heart inflammation, blood clots and bleeding disorders among children, whereas being vaccinated against the virus was much safer and sometimes protective
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
“There’s a fragile tension that’s keeping us going,” Depeche Mode sang in 2009. “It may not last forever”
As AI quantifies things, and business routinizes them, minimizing tension on the job has shut out innovation. “There’s no logic to our plans”
#humanity
youtu.be/FkVxlK8Qt50
As AI quantifies things, and business routinizes them, minimizing tension on the job has shut out innovation. “There’s no logic to our plans”
#humanity
youtu.be/FkVxlK8Qt50
Depeche Mode - Fragile Tension (Official Video)
YouTube video by Depeche Mode
youtu.be
October 31, 2025 at 1:12 AM
“There’s a fragile tension that’s keeping us going,” Depeche Mode sang in 2009. “It may not last forever”
As AI quantifies things, and business routinizes them, minimizing tension on the job has shut out innovation. “There’s no logic to our plans”
#humanity
youtu.be/FkVxlK8Qt50
As AI quantifies things, and business routinizes them, minimizing tension on the job has shut out innovation. “There’s no logic to our plans”
#humanity
youtu.be/FkVxlK8Qt50
Steve Jobs often gets misremembered because the times he was an asshole live longest in people’s memories. I overlooked that and was inspired by him differently: he believed in empowering his teams
#culture #strategy
www.inc.com/nick-hobson/...
finance.yahoo.com/news/steve-j...
#culture #strategy
www.inc.com/nick-hobson/...
finance.yahoo.com/news/steve-j...
Steve Jobs Said These Are the 3 Elements to Building a Dream Team
He wasn't innovative just in how he thought about technology.
www.inc.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Steve Jobs often gets misremembered because the times he was an asshole live longest in people’s memories. I overlooked that and was inspired by him differently: he believed in empowering his teams
#culture #strategy
www.inc.com/nick-hobson/...
finance.yahoo.com/news/steve-j...
#culture #strategy
www.inc.com/nick-hobson/...
finance.yahoo.com/news/steve-j...
I had felt like pop #psychology was holding us back in the workplace because half of the diagnostic criteria for these conditions is how smart people behave anyway (over-therapization)
#culture
www.economist.com/leaders/2024...
#culture
www.economist.com/leaders/2024...
ADHD should not be treated as a disorder
Adapting schools and workplaces for it can help far more
www.economist.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:11 AM
I had felt like pop #psychology was holding us back in the workplace because half of the diagnostic criteria for these conditions is how smart people behave anyway (over-therapization)
#culture
www.economist.com/leaders/2024...
#culture
www.economist.com/leaders/2024...
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
“Challenging expectations” is another way of saying #systemsthinking. The article invites us to “observe the environment around you” & “its structure”
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
November 9, 2025 at 12:33 AM
“Challenging expectations” is another way of saying #systemsthinking. The article invites us to “observe the environment around you” & “its structure”
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
I’ve posted before about the #health effects of PM 2.5, especially as they relate to cognitive decline. Glad to see @wired.com picking up the mantle on this one. Covid raises your risk too; air pollution isn’t the only reason to mask up
www.wired.com/story/one-of...
www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
www.wired.com/story/one-of...
www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
Bad Air Is One of the Biggest Threats to Your Health. Here’s How to Protect Yourself
Even though you can’t see it, fine particulate matter from woodsmoke and industrial pollution can cause everything from heart attacks and diabetes to brain damage.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:36 AM
I’ve posted before about the #health effects of PM 2.5, especially as they relate to cognitive decline. Glad to see @wired.com picking up the mantle on this one. Covid raises your risk too; air pollution isn’t the only reason to mask up
www.wired.com/story/one-of...
www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
www.wired.com/story/one-of...
www.unep.org/news-and-sto...
@economist.com has a primer on the #socialcontract for those who may have slept through #history class or need a refresher
They call it “liberalism,” and “economic liberalism” in Europe means laissez-faire capitalism (not social)
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.instagram.com/p/DQ1pnYBkcJ...
They call it “liberalism,” and “economic liberalism” in Europe means laissez-faire capitalism (not social)
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.instagram.com/p/DQ1pnYBkcJ...
Liberalism: A brief history
From Locke and the “social contract” to Rawls and the “veil of ignorance”, here are the people, ideas and world-shaking events that made liberalism what it is, and isn't, today
www.economist.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:11 AM
@economist.com has a primer on the #socialcontract for those who may have slept through #history class or need a refresher
They call it “liberalism,” and “economic liberalism” in Europe means laissez-faire capitalism (not social)
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.instagram.com/p/DQ1pnYBkcJ...
They call it “liberalism,” and “economic liberalism” in Europe means laissez-faire capitalism (not social)
www.economist.com/interactive/...
www.instagram.com/p/DQ1pnYBkcJ...
Stumbled across this article from August that talks about the nature of reality itself, and how #dataism (HBR’s word for it) is creating an illusory effect blocking good decision-making in #business
The machine learning in #AI is built on reducing error rates, not synthesizing new things
#humanity
The machine learning in #AI is built on reducing error rates, not synthesizing new things
#humanity
Truth is deeper than mathematics | Joanna Kavenna
iai.tv
November 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
I saw this on a recent UI project. People are told to do the same—“fake it until you make it,” and AI has a corporate bias since it hasn’t yet been trained by ethical actors
#latecapitalism #ethics
www.science.org/content/arti...
#latecapitalism #ethics
www.science.org/content/arti...
AI hallucinates because it’s trained to fake answers it doesn’t know
Teaching chatbots to say “I don’t know” could curb hallucinations. It could also break AI’s business model
www.science.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I saw this on a recent UI project. People are told to do the same—“fake it until you make it,” and AI has a corporate bias since it hasn’t yet been trained by ethical actors
#latecapitalism #ethics
www.science.org/content/arti...
#latecapitalism #ethics
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
When the idea of a predictive, forward-looking annual was first proposed, many journalists at The Economist were sceptical. The whole venture, they predicted, would end in failure.
That forecast, at least, turned out to be spectacularly wrong
That forecast, at least, turned out to be spectacularly wrong
A look back over the first 40 years of The World Ahead
Some rights, some wrongs, no conspiracies
econ.st
November 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM
When the idea of a predictive, forward-looking annual was first proposed, many journalists at The Economist were sceptical. The whole venture, they predicted, would end in failure.
That forecast, at least, turned out to be spectacularly wrong
That forecast, at least, turned out to be spectacularly wrong
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
Another way of putting “weirdness” in a #business context is #humanity, or individuality. In times that seem to demand more and more conformity, that spark becomes more and more essential over time. May it never die
bsky.app/profile/omar...
bsky.app/profile/omar...
Humanity is a theme I am seeing a lot lately in #culture, whether it’s more humanity in business, at the workplace, or in our personal relationships—the antidote to mechanized, data-driven times
www.newstatesman.com/culture/qa/2...
www.newstatesman.com/culture/qa/2...
Anne Sebba Q&A: “A spark of humanity is enough to ignite the will to live”
The author on Ernest Shackleton as maverick and a year in Rome in 1972.
www.newstatesman.com
August 4, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Another way of putting “weirdness” in a #business context is #humanity, or individuality. In times that seem to demand more and more conformity, that spark becomes more and more essential over time. May it never die
bsky.app/profile/omar...
bsky.app/profile/omar...
Have I stumbled upon a bridge to cure America’s #culture war?
Having some radical candor with fragile white males reacting to a #diversity article on @science.org’s Facebook feed, I may have uncovered a nuance previously missing in our “common” understanding of the concept
Having some radical candor with fragile white males reacting to a #diversity article on @science.org’s Facebook feed, I may have uncovered a nuance previously missing in our “common” understanding of the concept
They call it “cultural Marxism” because maybe being considerate of one another looks like communism to them. But being “cruel to be kind” is a Shakespearean concept (what JD Vance calls “Anglo culture”)
Autodesk calls it “mature directness”—and they test diverging ideas
hbr.org/2025/07/why-...
Autodesk calls it “mature directness”—and they test diverging ideas
hbr.org/2025/07/why-...
November 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Have I stumbled upon a bridge to cure America’s #culture war?
Having some radical candor with fragile white males reacting to a #diversity article on @science.org’s Facebook feed, I may have uncovered a nuance previously missing in our “common” understanding of the concept
Having some radical candor with fragile white males reacting to a #diversity article on @science.org’s Facebook feed, I may have uncovered a nuance previously missing in our “common” understanding of the concept
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
Analysts have been sceptical that recent job cuts by the likes of Amazon were really driven by AI. There are two other possible explanations econ.st/4hNRtNe
Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
November 9, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Analysts have been sceptical that recent job cuts by the likes of Amazon were really driven by AI. There are two other possible explanations econ.st/4hNRtNe
Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
Illustration: Fortunate Joaquin
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
“Solving the puzzle” can happen as a team effort sooner if #designthinking is deployed on #AI projects to reduce ambiguity, add #clarity of purpose, and define metrics and objectives for success
#systemsthinking supplements these #firstprinciples
hbr.org/2025/10/desi...
hbr.org/2025/10/use-...
#systemsthinking supplements these #firstprinciples
hbr.org/2025/10/desi...
hbr.org/2025/10/use-...
Designing a Successful Agentic AI System
Agentic AI systems can execute workflows, make decisions, and coordinate across departments. To realize its promise, companies must design workflows around outcomes and appoint mission owners who defi...
hbr.org
November 6, 2025 at 1:47 AM
“Solving the puzzle” can happen as a team effort sooner if #designthinking is deployed on #AI projects to reduce ambiguity, add #clarity of purpose, and define metrics and objectives for success
#systemsthinking supplements these #firstprinciples
hbr.org/2025/10/desi...
hbr.org/2025/10/use-...
#systemsthinking supplements these #firstprinciples
hbr.org/2025/10/desi...
hbr.org/2025/10/use-...
“ #designthinking is just thinking,” a coworker said once. A mentor also told me, in different words, that #design is mostly about the why. It follows, then, that you should design your data 😁 — @mitsmr.bsky.social calls it a framework
hbr.org/2019/05/do-y...
mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
hbr.org/2019/05/do-y...
mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
Do Your Data Scientists Know the ‘Why’ Behind Their Work?
Data science has been around for a long time. But the failure rates of big data projects and AI projects remain disturbingly high. And despite the hype, companies have yet to cite the contributions of...
hbr.org
November 9, 2025 at 8:12 PM
“ #designthinking is just thinking,” a coworker said once. A mentor also told me, in different words, that #design is mostly about the why. It follows, then, that you should design your data 😁 — @mitsmr.bsky.social calls it a framework
hbr.org/2019/05/do-y...
mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
hbr.org/2019/05/do-y...
mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-t...
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
Recent #business magazine articles have been praising the virtues of #ux without calling it UX
Design thinking may be out of style, but #firstprinciples never fade (“hidden pillars,” @fastcompany.com says)
#innovation #strategy
www.fastcompany.com/91433745/3-s...
hbr.org/2026/01/a-sy...
Design thinking may be out of style, but #firstprinciples never fade (“hidden pillars,” @fastcompany.com says)
#innovation #strategy
www.fastcompany.com/91433745/3-s...
hbr.org/2026/01/a-sy...
3 software building fundamentals your customers will love
Customer relationships are the key to growth, and these software fundamentals encourage loyalty.
www.fastcompany.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Recent #business magazine articles have been praising the virtues of #ux without calling it UX
Design thinking may be out of style, but #firstprinciples never fade (“hidden pillars,” @fastcompany.com says)
#innovation #strategy
www.fastcompany.com/91433745/3-s...
hbr.org/2026/01/a-sy...
Design thinking may be out of style, but #firstprinciples never fade (“hidden pillars,” @fastcompany.com says)
#innovation #strategy
www.fastcompany.com/91433745/3-s...
hbr.org/2026/01/a-sy...
“Challenging expectations” is another way of saying #systemsthinking. The article invites us to “observe the environment around you” & “its structure”
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
November 9, 2025 at 12:33 AM
“Challenging expectations” is another way of saying #systemsthinking. The article invites us to “observe the environment around you” & “its structure”
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
Reframing any complex problem helps us solve it better: on teams, in communities, and in society at large: #politics
hbr.org/2024/01/to-s...
The benefit of #clarity in #business also applies to other fields to help advancement. “Talent and grit matter, but so do structure, transparency, and care.”
#leadership
www.science.org/content/arti...
#leadership
www.science.org/content/arti...
To increase diversity in STEM, a foot in the door isn’t enough. We need better support
“Through my struggles, the program never checked in on me,” this student writes
www.science.org
November 8, 2025 at 11:47 PM
The benefit of #clarity in #business also applies to other fields to help advancement. “Talent and grit matter, but so do structure, transparency, and care.”
#leadership
www.science.org/content/arti...
#leadership
www.science.org/content/arti...
A bit of local history about my current neighborhood, Mayfield, near the California Avenue Caltrain stop. I had always wondered why we had two downtowns in Palo Alto. And we used to have a streetcar
www.kqed.org/news/1173529...
www.santacruztrains.com/2021/10/stre...
www.kqed.org/news/1173529...
www.santacruztrains.com/2021/10/stre...
How Stanford's Desire for a Booze-Free Town Gave Birth to Palo Alto | KQED
Palo Alto wasn't the first choice to be Stanford University's college town.
www.kqed.org
November 8, 2025 at 11:32 PM
A bit of local history about my current neighborhood, Mayfield, near the California Avenue Caltrain stop. I had always wondered why we had two downtowns in Palo Alto. And we used to have a streetcar
www.kqed.org/news/1173529...
www.santacruztrains.com/2021/10/stre...
www.kqed.org/news/1173529...
www.santacruztrains.com/2021/10/stre...
“A picture is worth 1,000 words.” Conversations are serial, and deep thinking runs in parallel. That’s the power of #design in #business —lately rebranded as #systemsthinking
Machines serve #humanity, not the other way around. “Good design is problem-solving”
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
Machines serve #humanity, not the other way around. “Good design is problem-solving”
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
Why So Many MIT Students Are Writing Poetry
A professor at the Institute discovered that his students were quietly meeting outside class to write verse. What might it mean for the future of AI?
www.theatlantic.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
“A picture is worth 1,000 words.” Conversations are serial, and deep thinking runs in parallel. That’s the power of #design in #business —lately rebranded as #systemsthinking
Machines serve #humanity, not the other way around. “Good design is problem-solving”
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
Machines serve #humanity, not the other way around. “Good design is problem-solving”
www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
The competitive advantage of #humanity in #business rephrased, better than I could have put it:
“The future belongs to cognitive sovereignty”
www.instagram.com/p/DQuIgXNj1-o
“The future belongs to cognitive sovereignty”
www.instagram.com/p/DQuIgXNj1-o
When AI tools have many of the answers, what’s the value of expensive experts? It’s their ability to ask better questions and recognize gray areas, which shifts their value from content to context.
Read the full article >> https://mitsmr.com/3WBqnzf
Read the full article >> https://mitsmr.com/3WBqnzf
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 PM
The competitive advantage of #humanity in #business rephrased, better than I could have put it:
“The future belongs to cognitive sovereignty”
www.instagram.com/p/DQuIgXNj1-o
“The future belongs to cognitive sovereignty”
www.instagram.com/p/DQuIgXNj1-o
#abundance works better if the working class has more financial security. One of FDR’s Four Freedoms: economic freedom makes the other kind possible
#antifascism
#antifascism
Zohran Mamdani argues that “freeze the rent” is not just a way of delivering relief from exorbitant housing costs—it is the only way to get enough voters on board with a growth agenda. Rogé Karma spoke with Mamdani to see if he has a point.
Mamdani Has a Point About Rent Control
The YIMBY case for rent control
bit.ly
November 7, 2025 at 5:40 AM
#abundance works better if the working class has more financial security. One of FDR’s Four Freedoms: economic freedom makes the other kind possible
#antifascism
#antifascism
Reposted by Omar Yacoubi
Few features are more beloved by drivers than Apple CarPlay. Enjoy it while you still can, writes Patrick George. https://theatln.tc/sBsAA2h0
November 6, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Few features are more beloved by drivers than Apple CarPlay. Enjoy it while you still can, writes Patrick George. https://theatln.tc/sBsAA2h0