A large part of the problem of any polluting material is ‘Who done it?’. This is nearly impossible when the fallout of plastic waste drifts around the world, not only in poorly managed waste logistics, but also as microscopic particles too small to see. Can tracing these materials help the consumer experience of shame?

In terms of endings, theft is a really frustrating and disturbing version. Beyond the material theft of a product, like a bike or a phone, the theft of a personal or artistic endeavour is particularly disturbing. It is a common experience for artists across history, who have had to grapple with individuals copying their work, to businesses profiting from it. And once it happens, it is impossible to undo it. Any technical leap forward has to be grappled with legally, artistically, and emotionally. What should artist do with AI?

AI is everywhere. Being sold as the greatest human achievement. How might it do at doing endings and the complexities of off-boarding.

This week Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, presented the latest updates to Google’s Gemini AI. Within the celebratory examples of its achievements was a scenario of returning some recently purchased sneakers to a store.

Product leaders are easily persuaded that their product is the best. I worked in a big corporate company for a few years. They kept polishing the old operating system their past products had relied upon. Despite it never matching new competitor products entering the market. They just couldn’t end its life.

Walking through my building, and seeing a brand new drone box with a broken drone inside made me think about the consumer experience of these products. Broken quick enough to put it straight back in the packaging you only just unwrapped it from. Is it the quickest ending for a product?

Climate change is one of the biggest stories in recent history. It seems the hopeful story we told ourselves has ended.

A business account I use auto renewals 30 days before the service period starts. They have now locked me in until 2025. As a consumer I feel super trapped. Let’s look at this as an ending.

Let’s look at common product endings at Christmas.

Here are some of the highlights from 2023 for Endineering.

Of all the sectors in consumerism where you want reliability, few are more critical than the medical sector. Here the consumer experience needs to be solid, reliable and of course, if its going to end, it better be planned. Surprisingly even here the end is not as thought through as you might think.