Sonal Somaiya

Currently chief of staff to the CSO @google • @chicagobooth @georgetownsfs • Founder @AyanaArtsNY Passionate about tech, cities, climate, innovation • SF | NY

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

Published a piece on the Cost to the Feed the World https://t.co/F8YnaVjGH8 - delve deeper into farm subsidies, food supply chains and why farmers are throwing out milk and eggs!

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

The flattening of society

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

Doing anything we can to avoid making and taking trains..

[Caltrans HQ @CaltransHQ]

🚍💨 Can high‑speed buses safely travel 80–140 mph on California freeways? Join Caltrans to explore new research on feasibility, safety, roadway design, and the innovations that could make next‑gen high‑speed bus travel a reality.
👉Register: https://t.co/YgXXs7KGn0

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

Incomplete Sentences... building for humans https://t.co/2ANC2OwzTD

[Dion @2024dion]

A similar dynamic explains why we no longer plant canopy trees on new suburban streets. There's the liability. The falling limbs. The upkeep needed to grow them to maturity. The coordination. The leaf removal! Much easier to just plant a little ornamental tree in each front yard

[FOX 5 DC @fox5dc]

In Prince George's County, fewer drivers are rolling through stop signs, officials said. Cameras utilizing artificial intelligence appear to be a reason why. https://t.co/SAAZO544Tn

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

This is a crisis brewing and without a concerted effort to invest in training junior employees, going to be a huge disruption to society. Make no mistake, it won’t be cost effective in the short term, but without investing in junior employees, how do you grow senior employees…

[Crémieux @cremieuxrecueil]

Pretty interesting:

Companies that have adopted AI aren't hiring fewer senior employees, but they have cut back on hiring juniors ones.

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

@mcsquared34 When do we go full circle back to pen and paper..

[John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch]

NEW: Is the internet changing our personalities for the worse?

Conscientiousness and extroversion are down, neuroticism up, with young adults leading the charge.

This is a really consequential shift, and there’s a lot going on here, so let’s get into the weeds 🧵

[Jeffery Tompkins @JATompkins]

One thing I wish we could take from Mexico City are their camellóns - interior trails within the median of streets

[Andy Boenau @Boenau]

If engineering decisions should be based on facts & case studies rather than emotions & anecdotes, then prepare to build a whole lot of roundabouts.

🛑to roundabout:
82% reduction in fatal and injury crashes

🚦 to roundabout:
78% reduction in fatal and injury crashes

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

Probably because we no longer know whom we’re stealing from - robbing a corner store run by your neighbor probably feels different than robbing a big company you don’t care about

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

The shoplifting surge is real, @mffisher writes. People think it’s okay to steal—and no one knows how to stop them. https://t.co/iX0r7ZL6Rb

[Sundar Pichai @sundarpichai]

Today we signed a pioneering agreement to purchase clean energy in the US from @KairosPower, a leader in building small modular nuclear reactors. It’s the latest step in our history of accelerating clean energy sources and will help support AI investments. https://t.co/euRuuIjgdk

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

@MorningBrew So all buses need is a makeover and a marketing team…?

[David Zipper @DavidZipper]

If you're visiting NYC, a 15-minute e-bikeshare trip now costs $10.19. (pricing: https://t.co/iD7qLNr2mH)

That's 3.5x the subway fare -- for 15 minutes on an e-bike.

What the hell are we doing?

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

In its first full month of service, @Amtrak’s new daily service between the Twin Cities and Chicago saw 19,000 riders, 6x original estimates. 🚂 🇺🇸
https://t.co/B8mIO8pmn1

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

@Boenau Excellent! I wrote a little about the history of why we are so irrationally averse to roundabouts here https://t.co/ayx8QJNH3a

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

@SecretaryPete Why can’t we invest the same in our rail system… it would cost taxpayers less, be more efficient, be more sustainable and frankly 10000x more enjoyable.

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

🛑 the stoplights!

https://t.co/JNKTdaSNn0

[Naqiy Mcmullen @NaqiyNY]

Rapid transit ridership outside of NYC is so sad, Chicago and DC should have at least a million daily riders

[Sonal Somaiya @SonalSSomaiya]

@CNBC The why is actually quite interesting - I wrote about it’s history here: https://t.co/JNKTdaTlcy