An analysis arguing that modern consumer technology feels less exciting due to lack of novelty, excessive ease of use that removes engagement, and risk-averse mass-market design. The author contrasts forgettable digital purchases and uniform smartphones with memorable devices like the Nokia N97 and Palm Pre 2 that offered distinctive design and tactile interaction.
OpenAlex is considering adding a novelty score to its platform based on a winning approach from the Metascience Novelty Indicators Challenge. The Jülich team's method uses large language models to analyze papers and their citations to assess novelty at publication time, providing scores, confidence intervals, and written justifications. The score aims to fill a gap where citation counts measure usefulness but not newness, though the team emphasizes it should support rather than replace human judgment.