April 17, 2024

The Appetizer

“If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much – if you do too much of anything – you’re going to suffer eventually.”

• Englishman John Alfred Tinniswood, who has been confirmed as the world’s oldest man. At 111 years old, he follows no special diet, except for fish and chips every Friday.

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• $6 billion: How much of a financial boost the recent eclipse was projected to bring to the U.S. economy on extra spending for hotels, restaurants, and travel.
• 38-0: The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team’s record, after winning the national championship.
• $6 million: The sale price of a comic book featuring Superman’s first-ever appearance (from 1938), becoming the most expensive comic book ever sold.
• 22 million: The number of high school and college papers submitted to Turnitin that used some form of generative AI in 2023.
• 550: The number of U.S. cities in February 2023 where the typical home is worth more than $1 million, according to Zillow, a new record ...

Dig In
Real-Life AI Applications

With the 2022 release of ChatGPT, people can see and experience firsthand the power of generative AI. For many though, its full potential is still hard to grasp.

Generative AI learns to think and make decisions like a human by binging on massive amounts of data. It’s estimated that we (humans) create 2.5 billion GB of data, the equivalent of 19 million 128 GB iPhones.

So the question is who’s using it to their benefit already? Get this, 42% of large-scale businesses worldwide have already deployed AI.

AI-powered machinery is zooming across farmland, scanning 2,100 square feet per second, allowing farmers to spray only weeds, reducing the amount of herbicide used on their crops.

Ever heard of a voice-enabled makeup assistant? AI has that covered too, helping visually impaired people apply their makeup.

Yet, the transformative power of AI isn’t just about glam and crops, it’s also a game changer in healthcare. Take sepsis for example, a nasty infection response. AI is on it, diagnosing like a pro.

For more insights on this topic, check out last week’s Sight|Lines.

Weekly Specials

If you’ve managed to hold onto your solar eclipse glasses, congrats! Hold onto them a little longer for the 2026 eclipse extravaganza over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, and a smidge of Portugal.

Who knew U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was a foodie? Forget economic talks – ever since her Beijing trip last July where she ate mushrooms that can have psychedelic effects, the interest is all about her culinary adventures. On her trip back to China last week, the menu included a Chinese beer made with American hops.

Get ready for a trillion cicadas emerging from the grounds in the Midwest and Southeast by the end of April. These ancient-looking critters will be buzzing around for about six weeks, making them pretty hard to miss!

Every Gen Zer and Millennial has uttered “that’s not the vibe” at least once, often about dinner plans. Now, are people basing economic views on vibe checks? Some are all calling it a “vibecession,” where consumers base their view of the economy on feelings over actual finances.

Corporate Lunch

Elon Musk announced that another announcement is coming August 8, when Tesla will reveal a robotaxi. Regulators responded saying Tesla still needs to file some paperwork and obtain permits before this dream can come true.

Nvidia is planning to build a $200 million AI center in Indonesia to eventually deploy AI capabilities in datacenters across Southeast Asia.

Google is considering charging a fee for its new AI-based search product. This may offset potential losses in revenue from lower click-through on sponsored results.

Costco is selling out of one-ounce 24-karat gold bars, leaving treasure hunters to settle for the next best thing: giant tubs of mixed nuts.

Adobe just released an Acrobat AI assistant. The true test of its intelligence will be if it can summarize a terms and conditions agreement.

In a shocking turn of events, pun intended, BP’s EV charging arm is downsizing after its bet on commercial EV growth did not pay off.

A T-shirt shop went viral for its “I Survived the NYC Earthquake” shirt and pulled in $9,800 in 21 hours.

99 Cents Only Stores is shutting down all 371 locations across California, Nevada, Texas, and Arizona due to inflationary pressures.

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Past performance is not indicative of future results.