Thousands of people mirror our cats’ trading strategy
Her partner bursts into the room, wearing a look of disbelief.
- You did what?
She takes a deep breath while ignoring incoming requests.
- It was just an experiment. I hooked up a trading account with cat cameras and a fancy visual automation model I worked on some months ago, classifying different types of visual inputs as signals initiating specific actions.
- You were streaming our cats?
- Well, technically, it was not a stream, as camera input only fed the algorithm. I trained a model initiating transactional sequences based on our cats’ behaviour. Each time the cats stretch in front of the camera, the algorithm interprets it as a “buy” signal in tech stocks. When they roll over, it flags a short commodity position.
Her partner pinches the bridge of her nose like she does when juggling fifteen emergencies at work, murmuring to contain disbelief.
- You turned our cats into traders? This is beyond insane.
- Think of it as assigning different asset classes to different toys, markets to rooms, and activities to types of trade sequences. Randomised by cat-on-cat interactions.
- And?
- Well, I got the training data I needed and forgot about this.
She scoops up the purring black cat, burying her face in its fur, stalling for time to process this madness.
- Thousands of people mirror our cats’ trading strategy. I’m ignoring multiple contact requests from everyone who wants to interview the genius behind the top-performing account.
The cat purrs enthusiastically.
- What am I going to tell them? My strategy? Lick yourself, place Mr Fish on the scratcher, puke fluff and go hard on the litter box twice…
- Let me get a drink. How much?
- A hundred.
- No, no, I mean, how much did they make?
- I’m not sure about the exact gains, but more than you would imagine.
- Jesus, so if it was set up for a baby, it could build a trust fund just by shitting and sucking tits.
- This is super random, but technically, it’s just a chain of visual automations… Hmm, remember that finance guy your boss was dating?
Another cat jumps on the counter and tilts its grey head, staring at them or the fridge.
- See? They’re already worried you’re going to undersell their IP. Catnip won’t cut it if they discover their net worth.
She smirks, pressing her nose briefly into the cat’s fluffy neck.
- Do you think those little moochers will demand stock options?
- More, at this rate, at least a seat on the board and an upgrade to the glitter box.
Hello Practical Futurists,
Welcome back from the future, where visual automation turns camera feeds into opportunity detectors, and your pets might trade your way into early retirement.
Hit the "Like" button at the top or bottom of this page to inspire others and help them discover the stories you've enjoyed.Great leaders practice experiencing the future, not just thinking about it. Like athletes visualizing their performance, they build vivid mental pictures of tomorrow to make better decisions today.
Our weekly workouts use futures thinking and product sci-fi to help you create a library of future memories - turning abstract possibilities into reference points that can inform your choices.
To spark your imagination, here's a thought to start with:
Let's make this future personal.
We'll start by connecting this story to your life, transforming abstract possibilities into memories you can use to navigate tomorrow's challenges.
Personal life reflection prompts
1. Would you let your child, pet or robot vacuum trade stocks in an automated way?2. If you could start today, what 3 visual automations would you use your home cameras for (e.g. restocking an item with a gesture, picking a playlist based on your shirt selection)?3. Create a memory of your first experience with visual automation at home: - What simple activity did you decide to automate first? - What unexpected pattern did the system notice? - How did it change your daily routine? - What made you laugh about the system's interpretation?
4. What three seemingly random aspects of your life would you be curious to analyse for hidden patterns or potential value?5. Picture the moment you realised random events could be meaningful signals: - What were you watching when it clicked? - Which random behaviour turned out to be predictive? - How did you explain the connection to others? - What "useless" data suddenly became valuable?
6. Describe a prank you would play on your kids, spouse or housemates with visual automation.Good job!
Your future memory library now has some valuable personal references. Let's fire up your thinking to add some professional leadership moments.
How will you help others navigate this future? It's time to create those memories.
Professional life reflection prompts
1. In what 2 ways could visual automation improve your organisation's best-performing offering?2. Picture presenting your accidental innovation at a conference: - How did you make the unlikely story credible? - What question caught you off guard? - How did you handle scepticism? - What unexpected opportunity emerged?
3. Name 2 upsell or 2 cross-sell strategies that could revive revenue on dated or underperforming products with a visually automated service layer.4. Create a memory of your first successful visual automation product: - What everyday activity inspired it? - How did users surprise you? - What unexpected market emerged? - How did it change your industry?
5. If you had an opportunity to introduce a single visual automation this year in your organisation, what would it improve, and how would you measure it?6. Who would lead the visual automation implementation initiative at your organisation?7. What unconventional data sources in your industry are being overlooked that could drive next-generation algorithms? Think beyond traditional metrics.You did amazing! Excellent work!
Today's memories are added to your growing library of future experiences.
Thank you for expanding your imagination with us.
Leaders with bold ideas move our world forward.
Think bright, and see you soon.
Pawel Halicki
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