Alexandra Samuel

If you can describe a project in plain language, you have what it takes to customize a valuable AI assistant.

It’s how too many people describe their experience of remote or hybrid work — and it’s also how it feels to vote from abroad as an overseas citizen. Next week is the first time my kids will vote in a…

How to create an A.I. assistant to share your voice with the world This is the second part in a series, Inside You There Are Three A.I.s. Sign up for my newsletter to get the full guide in your inbox, right now. The Creator is an inward-facing A.I.…

It’s time to work like us There’s no one best way to work — but it’s not easy to figure out the work practices that align with our individual preferences and talents. How do creative thinkers find their own best way to work? What tactics and tools…

We can only sustain our attention for so long before we need a cognitive break. That’s one of the key points in Attention Span, by Gloria Mark. Her book takes decades of research on human attention and pinpoints the reasons our devices make it so…

Hybrid work warmed us up for the world of generative AI in many ways: When you’re already used to interacting with your colleagues via chat rather than in person, it’s easier to get used to riffing with a chat-based AI. When you’re constantly…

I love implanting computer chips in my friends’ brains. At least, I did until recently, when Elon Musk announced he’d gotten in on my action by actually implanting the first Neuralink chip in a live human subject. That’s when I realized Elon had…

But for many years, it was hard to find that special relationship. Once society embraced the idea of romantic marriage (as opposed to arranged marriages or marriages based on more practical considerations), our expectations for compatibility…

Summary. On a hybrid project, communication and coordination become both more critical and more challenging. Digital tools and meetings may be the only way some team members can keep in touch. In the author’s experience running dozens of web…

If the emergence of generative AI has prompted a lot of excitement and anxiety about the future of work, that’s because it’s arrived a moment when we’re already asking huge questions about our working lives. Tools like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Bing Chat…

There’s plenty that retailers can do to make life better for customers with hybrid work schedules. Illustration: Andrea Ucini It’s time for shops, restaurants and other retail businesses to notice that it’s no longer 2019.

Re-imagining a communications experiment with the help of ChatGPT The Smithsonian Magazine published a terrific story, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Other — and the Birds Loved It. It details an experiment that used video chat to…

I never take a business trip without squeezing in some kind of personal respite or adventure. And I’ve yet to take a vacation without putting some hours into work. So I’ve learned to make the most of this messy, delightful overlap—by developing my…

What if you had a perfect memory of every professional interaction or task you had tackled for the past 20 years? What if you could zip through your inbox in five minutes, instead of 50? It’s all possible if you embrace a single principle of digital…

To state the obvious, no relationship or marriage is all joy, all the time. My husband, Rob Cottingham, and I have been married for 22 years, and even though we still love each other (and even more amazingly, still like each other!), living with…

Photo: Everett Collection (3) I love office TV shows. As a longtime remote worker, I’ve probably logged more hours watching fictional office life than I’ve spent in offices myself. There’s something about watching friendly office banter that replaces…

Is the new hybrid plan working? That’s what a lot of companies are asking, as they step back and review their progress toward a new hybrid workplace. More and more businesses have at least a portion of employees who spend some of their time working…

A very personal list of shopping recommendations As a compulsive shopper with a lot of friends who don’t log the same volume of hours reading Wirecutter reviews and comparing Amazon deals, I figured it might be useful to share my favorite purchases…

How to reinvent your work routines to beat the blues This post originally appeared in the Thrive at Work newsletter. Subscribe now. If you don’t need to be on camera, or need to take only minimal notes, go for a walk during the call. I’ve found that…

I’ve tried working at a desk in our open-concept loft. I’ve taken Zoom calls from the dining-room table. I’ve written articles while perched at the little table on our front deck. But my favorite place to work? The comfort of my own bed. I know, I…