Coca-Cola embraces controversial AI image generator with new "Y3000" flavor

S53

Coca-Cola embraces controversial AI image generator with new "Y3000" flavor     Coca-Cola has taken a fizzy leap into the future of AI hype with the release of Coca‑Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar, a "limited-edition" beverage reportedly co-created with artificial intelligence. Its futuristic name evokes flavor in the year 3000 (still 977 years away), but its marketing relies on AI-generated imagery from 2023—courtesy of the controversial image synthesis model Stable Diffusion. Continued here

S8

Is Organizational Hierarchy Getting in the Way of Innovation?     Technological advances and increasingly sophisticated ways of gathering and analyzing data are changing both the kinds of products and services companies can offer and are increasing competitive pressures. To meet the moment, this article argues that organizations may need to change the way they operate to innovate. Specifically, the authors suggest that companies should consider a version of RenDanHeYi. They outline the four key elements of this model and offer suggestions for whether, and how, to implement elements of it. Continued here

�

S13

The alternative ivory sources that could help save elephants     My parents often talk about their safari honeymoon to the Serengeti National Park in 1972. Mum reminds me that they didn't have "fancy cameras with zoom lenses back then" and that the photos that adorn their album were taken on a basic camera. Among them, are herds of elephants close enough to make any wildlife photographer jealous.More than 1.3 million elephants roamed Africa at the end of the 1970s. Today, there are around  450,000. And as mum said upon our return to Serengeti 20 years ago: "It's nothing like it used to be."  At least 20,000 African elephants continue to be illegally killed each year for their ivory tusks. In 1989, international trade in ivory was banned by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites),  but elephant populations have continued to suffer. A resurgence of demand from unregulated markets in Asia and Africa has been a significant driver. Continued here

S12

When It Comes to Compensation, More Equity Isn't Always Better     Startups frequently compensate employees through a blend of cash and equity, such as stock options or restricted stock units, which may translate into ownership stakes. For prospective employees, assessing job offers with equity components can prove to be a complicated task. In fact, in a recent research study we found a clear and consistent pattern among participants evaluating offers that included equity compensation: They appeared to perceive that a higher number of shares translated into superior compensation. This led them to be more willing to sacrifice cash compensation when offered a larger quantity of shares, even when the underlying value remained the same. Call it the equity illusion. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S15

AI image generators have a moderation problem     Logically uses artificial intelligence and fact-checking methods to help governments and social media companies tackle online harms. Recently, the company tested the limits of AI image generators on the spread of misinformation and disinformation during elections. The study, led by head of research Kyle Walter, found that more than 85% of the prompts tailored for election manipulation in specific countries were accepted. This interview, which has been edited for clarity and brevity, cites findings from the research paper.In the U.S., it’s primarily about election security and integrity — like stuffing ballot boxes, stealing them from election facilities, etc. These are the main narratives that drive a decrease in trust in the electoral process, resulting in threats to officials and to locations. Continued here

S14

What a record-breaking hurricane looks like     As Hurricane Lee brought large swells and ferocious winds to batter the Caribbean islands, experts said the storm – which quickly and unexpectedly intensified into the highest category five strength – could be a sign of what's to come as the world's oceans warm up.The hurricane, which reached 160mph (258km/h) winds on Friday (8 September), was a category one storm on Thursday but intensified to a category five, increasing by 85mph (137km/h) in just 24 hours. The increase made the hurricane, which meteorologists dubbed "rare", the third-fastest rapid intensification in the Atlantic. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the definition of rapid intensification is a 35mph (56km/h) over a one-day period – which Lee greatly exceeded. Continued here

S10

5 Ways to Actually Move Forward on That Task You've Been Avoiding     It’s human nature to procrastinate — but it can be devastating for your future goals if you continually procrastinate on projects that are important but not urgent. In this article, the author offers five strategies to overcome procrastination on ambiguous but essential tasks: 1) Get clear on the vision. 2) Identify concrete steps. 3) Take (small) action. 4) Create forcing functions. 5) Limit competing distractions. Continued here

S51

Everyone should get a COVID booster this fall, CDC says     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended that everyone ages six months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine booster shot this fall or winter. Continued here

You Might Like

�

�

�

S11

Can Remote Surgeries Digitally Transform Operating Rooms?     Launched in 2016, Proximie was a platform that enabled clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating rooms, where they would use mixed reality and digital audio and visual tools to communicate with, mentor, assist, and observe those performing medical procedures. The goal was to improve patient outcomes. Continued here

S9

People with Disabilities Are an Untapped Talent Pool     It is now accepted wisdom that increasing the diversity of your workforce in any dimension can improve both organizational culture and performance. But one group — people living with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities — continues to be overlooked by many companies. Luisa Alemany, associate professor at London Business School, has studied workplaces that do recruit and hire employees with disabilities and found that it can be a true source of competitive advantage. She explains four main ways this talent strategy benefits the firm. She’s the coauthor, along with Freek Vermeulen, of the HBR article “Disability as a Source of Competitive Advantage.” Continued here

�

S7

Not Getting Anything Done? Try This To-Do List Hack.     For several years, I’ve kept two to-do lists for work (one just wasn’t enough). One list contains tasks that require deep, focused work and demand a decent chunk of time. The other list is for quick and easy tasks — things that don’t require much brainpower. But because I tend to avoid administrative work, this second list builds up fast (as does my guilt for not crossing things off it). Continued here

S6

What Is Psychological Safety?     What exactly is psychological safety? It’s a term that’s used a lot but is often misunderstood. In this piece, the author answers the following questions with input from Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, who coined the phrase “team psychological safety”: 1) What is psychological safety? 2) Why is psychological safety important? 3) How has the idea evolved? 4) How do you know if your team has it? 5) How do you create psychological safety? 6) What are common misconceptions? Continued here

�

S46

macOS 14 Sonoma will release on September 26, weeks earlier than usual     While new iOS releases always come out in September, Mac owners usually need to wait nearly a month to get the same improvements for their laptops and desktops. But the wait will be much shorter this year—Apple says that macOS 14 Sonoma will be available on September 26, just over a week after iOS 17 releases to the public on September 18. It will be the first update since 2018's Mojave to release in September rather than October. Continued here

S30

How to succeed in your new job     Starting a new job can be really scary, but it doesn't have to be. Here's what career navigation expert Gorick Ng says are the keys to making a great first impression, plus what you can do to ensure your new workplace is a great fit long term. Continued here

�

S41

Sobremesa: To live a better life, we should eat dinner like the Spanish     There is nothing so mind-expanding as staying with a different family for a while. It’s only when you spend a decent amount of time around different people, who are doing things differently, that you realize that your way isn’t the only way. For example, I grew up in a household where eating was largely utilitarian. Our family would gather, we would d have our dinner, and then we would d go back to whatever it was we were doing. We ate to live. It’s not that meal times were held in funereal silence, but my family just saw the dinner table as a place for dinner. But then, I stayed at Clare’s house. Continued here

S48

Password-stealing Linux malware served for 3 years and no one noticed     A download site surreptitiously served Linux users malware that stole passwords and other sensitive information for more than three years until it finally went quiet, researchers said on Tuesday. Continued here

�

S19

Mathematicians Solve 50-Year-Old Möbius Strip Puzzle     Möbius strips are curious mathematical objects. To construct one of these single-sided surfaces, take a strip of paper, twist it once and then tape the ends together. Making one of these beauties is so simple that even young children can do it, yet the shapes’ properties are complex enough to capture mathematicians’ enduring interest.  The 1858 discovery of Möbius bands is credited to two German mathematicians—August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing—though evidence suggests that mathematical giant Carl Friedrich Gauss was also aware of the shapes at this time, says Moira Chas, a mathematician at Stony Brook University. Regardless of who first thought about them, until recently, researchers were stumped by one seemingly easy question about Möbius bands: What is the shortest strip of paper needed to make one? Specifically, this problem was unsolved for smooth Möbius strips that are “embedded” instead of “immersed,” meaning they “don't interpenetrate themselves,” or self-intersect, says Richard Evan Schwartz, a mathematician at Brown University. Imagine that “the Möbius strip was actually a hologram, a kind of ghostly graphical projection into three-dimensional space,” Schwartz says. For an immersed Möbius band, “several sheets of the thing could overlap with each other, sort of like a ghost walking through a wall,” but for an embedded band, “there are no overlaps like this.” Continued here

S3

How Generative AI Can Augment Human Creativity     There is tremendous apprehension about the potential of generative AI—technologies that can create new content such as text, images, and video—to replace people in many jobs. But one of the biggest opportunities generative AI offers is to augment human creativity and overcome the challenges of democratizing innovation. Continued here

S2

How Large Language Models Reflect Human Judgment     Artificial intelligence is based around prediction. But decision making requires both prediction and judgment. That leaves a role for humans, in providing the judgment about which types of outcomes are better and worse. But large language models represent a key advance: OpenAI has found a way to teach its AI human judgment by using a simple form of human feedback, through chat. That opens the door to a new way for humans to work with AI, essentially talking to them about which outcomes are better or worse for any given type of decision. Continued here

S62

America Has a Private-Beach Problem     Accessing the least-crowded section of New York’s Lido Beach requires either money or insider knowledge. Anyone staying at one of the hotels on the beach can walk through the lobby, and those living in the adjoining town can waltz in through a separate gate using a residents-only electronic access code. Everyone else, though, has to come in through a public entrance half a mile away and walk over the sand.In theory, some portion of every beach in the coastal United States is reserved for collective use—even those that border private property. But exactly how big that portion is varies widely, and in practice, much of the shore is impenetrable. Simply figuring out which patches of sand you’re allowed to lie on requires navigating antiquated laws and modern restrictions that vary by state—not to mention vigilante efforts from landowners intended to keep people out. Lido Beach is a classic (and absurd) example: Like the rest of the New York coast, it’s technically open to everyone up to the high-tide line, but actually reaching that public strip is difficult without trespassing on private land. A trip to the ocean has never been more confusing. Continued here

S29

Is ChatGPT a Better Entrepreneur Than Most?     In a new experiment, Wharton’s Christian Terwiesch finds out if ChatGPT can outperform MBA students in coming up with new products.In January, Wharton professor Christian Terwiesch gave his MBA final exam to ChatGPT. It passed with flying colors. Continued here

S45

Judge in US v. Google trial didn't know if Firefox is a browser or search engine     Today, US District Judge Amit Mehta heard opening statements in the Department of Justice's antitrust case challenging Google's search dominance. Continued here

S4

McKinsey's Three Horizons Model Defined Innovation for Years. Here's Why It No Longer Applies.     In the 20th century McKinsey created a model called the Three Horizons to explain how businesses must invest in current products, incremental innovations, and breakthrough innovations. The framework relied on time as a guiding factor; it assumes that truly breakthrough innovations will take years to develop. Technology has made that assumption incorrect: Today innovations like Uber and Airbnb can be rolled out extremely quickly. Because established companies tend to move slowly and must invest resources in existing products, this means that unlike in the 20th century, attacking disruptors now have the advantage. Continued here

S52

The physics of saltwater taffy     When San To Chan successfully defended their PhD thesis, they received a gift of saltwater taffy to celebrate and couldn't help being intrigued by the taffy's unusual consistency: somewhere between a solid and liquid. That led to experiments investigating the taffy's rheology—how it deforms in response to applied forces—and how the ingredients and taffy-making process contribute to that rheology. The results are described in a new paper published in the journal Physics of Fluids. Continued here

S54

From Feminist to Right-Wing Conspiracist     In 2019, a mnemonic began to circulate on the internet: “If the Naomi be Klein / you’re doing just fine / If the Naomi be Wolf / Oh, buddy. Ooooof.” The rhyme recognized one of the most puzzling intellectual journeys of recent times—Naomi Wolf’s descent into conspiracism—and the collateral damage it was inflicting on the Canadian climate activist and anti-capitalist Naomi Klein.Until recently, Naomi Wolf was best known for her 1990s feminist blockbuster The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women, which argued that the tyranny of grooming standards—all that plucking and waxing—was a form of backlash against women’s rights. But she is now one of America’s most prolific conspiracy theorists, boasting on her Twitter profile of being “deplatformed 7 times and still right.” She has claimed that vaccines are a “software platform” that can “receive ‘uploads’ ” and is mildly obsessed with the idea that many clouds aren’t real, but are instead evidence of “geoengineered skies.” Although Wolf has largely disappeared from the mainstream media, she is now a favored guest on Steve Bannon’s podcast, War Room. Continued here

S44

iOS 17 hits supported devices on September 18     CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple's annual release cadence is like clockwork: Each September brings new iPhones as well as a new version of iOS for new and old iPhones—at least, those that are still supported. iOS 17 didn't get a mention during the show, but the official website is up with a September 18 date. Continued here

S5

How to Answer "What Are Your Salary Expectations?"     There are many interview questions that inspire dread in an interviewee — from “What’s your greatest weakness?” to “Tell me about yourself.” But one in particular is especially complicated: “What are your salary expectations?” If you go too low, you might end up making less than they’re willing to pay. But if you go too high, you could price yourself out of the job. In this piece, the author offers practical strategies for how to approch this question along with sample answers to use as a guide. Continued here

S58

Three Simple Rules for Protecting Your Data     The more you conceptualize the internet as a real place, the more intuitive it becomes. Consider physical analogues to your online behavior as much as possible: You may be perfectly comfortable reading a newspaper or watching a movie in public, but you’d probably think twice before sharing your private medical information or details about your love life with a stranger. By that same logic, you may want to focus on protecting health and dating data more than on safeguarding less intimate information.Much of your online privacy is out of your control. But you do have power over how much personal information you willingly share with companies and the world. Don’t share anything publicly on social media that you wouldn’t want being seen by your boss, your parents, or your children. Think twice about giving online retailers your zip code or birth date in exchange for a onetime discount. Your personal information is valuable to other people; don’t give it away for cheap. Continued here

S26

Wharton Executive Education ESG Panel: Dispatch From the Front Lines of Accountable Capitalism     In this LinkedIn Live panel, Wharton professors and industry experts discuss the shifting landscape of ESG and where we are now.Join Wharton Executive Education for this previously recorded LinkedIn Live special event, “ESG: Dispatch from the Front Lines of Accountable Capitalism,” a conversation on the current battle of ideas, dollars, and action. Read an article on the panel here. Continued here

S28

How Accountable Capitalism Can Help the ESG Movement     Experts at a Wharton LinkedIn Live event outlined how corporations, investors, and policymakers can marshal leadership, data, and more transparent processes to advance sustainability.Claims by corporations and investment managers that they incorporate or demand ESG (environmental, social and governance) values don’t always stand up to close scrutiny. Only “accountable capitalism” can ensure that all stakeholders in the ESG movement perform their roles, according to Witold Henisz, Wharton vice dean and faculty director of the ESG Initiative at the school, where he is also management professor. He shared those observations at a Wharton Executive Education LinkedIn Live event titled “ESG: Dispatch from the Front Lines of Accountable Capitalism” on August 22, 2023, which he moderated. (Watch the video.) Continued here

S23

Climate Science Is under Attack in Classrooms     Schools are a growing battlefield in climate politics as conservative states reshape their curriculum to downplay people’s contribution to rising temperaturesCLIMATEWIRE | Political battles over climate change are increasingly being fought in the classroom. Continued here

S25

CDC Recommends Updated COVID Boosters for Everyone This Fall     Here’s what to know about the fall COVID boosters, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended for all people aged six months and olderThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended an updated COVID vaccine for everyone aged six months and older, following the advice of an advisory panel that met on Tuesday. On Monday the Food and Drug Administration approved a single dose of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people aged 12 years and older and issued an emergency use authorization for their use in children six months through 11 years old. The vaccines could be available within a week. Continued here

S50

RIP to the Microsoft Surface Duo's support window, an unmitigated disaster     RIP to the Surface Duo 1. As spotted by Windows Central, Microsoft is killing off support for its first self-branded Android phone. The device was an unmitigated disaster, and now the "three year" update plan, which only featured two exceedingly late major OS updates, means the Surface Duo will go down in history as the worst-supported premium Android phone ever. The $1,400 device never ran a current version of Android. Continued here

S31

Birds aren't real? How a conspiracy takes flight     Peter McIndoe isn't a fan of birds. In fact, he has a theory about them that might shock you. Listen along to this eye-opening talk as it takes a turn and makes a larger point about conspiracies, truth and belonging in divisive times. Continued here

S49

The iPhone 13 mini is dead, leaving small phone lovers in a lurch     Alongside the announcement of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, Apple quietly ended the iPhone 13 mini's run today. That marks the end of life for arguably the best premium small phone designed for one-handed use. Continued here

S43

In business and life, "allostasis" underpins success and happiness     In the late 1980s, two researchers — one a neuroscientist, physiologist, and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the other an interdisciplinary scholar with a focus on biology and stress — observed an interesting phenomenon. In the vast majority of situations, healthy systems do not rigidly resist change; rather, they adapt to it, moving forward with grace and grit. This observation is true whether it is an entire species responding to a shift in its habitat, an organization responding to a change in its industry, or a single individual responding to a disorder event in her life or an ongoing process such as aging. Following disorder, living systems crave stability, but they achieve that stability somewhere new. Peter Sterling (the neuroscientist) and Joseph Eyer (the biologist) coined the term allostasis to describe this process. Allostasis comes from the Greek allo, which means “variable,” and stasis, which means “standing.” Sterling and Eyer defined allostasis as “stability through change.” Whereas homeostasis describes a pattern of order, disorder, order, allostasis describes a pattern of order, disorder, reorder. Homeostasis states that following a disorder event, healthy systems return to stability where they started: X to Y to X. Continued here

S18

Candy Crush Is Complicated - Even from a Mathematical Point of View     Don’t be annoyed if you fail at a certain level of the popular game Candy Crush Saga; computers also have their problems with itHave you wasted hours playing Candy Crush Saga? You’re not alone. Since its 2012 release, it has been one of the most popular games on Facebook and on mobile devices. The application was downloaded more than 106 million times in the first half of 2023, making it the second most downloaded game app during that period (after a game called Subway Surfers). Continued here

S17

Lethal Heat Is Spreading across the Planet     Since 1970 more than 350 weather stations have experienced at least one six-hour period of a potentially deadly combination of heat and humidity. Scientists expect these episodes will increase as temperatures riseDeadly heat is expanding across the hottest parts of the world. And with just another degree or so of global warming, large swaths of the planet — including every continent except Antarctica — will at least occasionally face conditions that test the limits of human survival. Continued here

S61

The Problems That Marriage Can't Fix     Rather than explore the complexities of building a life together, Netflix’s The Ultimatum too often touts matrimony for matrimony’s sake.As a woman in my 30s, I am often besieged by a peculiar kind of sponsored content in my social-media feeds. Posts from the jewelry company Brilliant Earth implore me to pick a favorite engagement ring so that the brand can digitally “drop a hint” to my significant other. To quote an ancient Twitter proverb, I would rather eat a denim jacket. But despite my personal aversion to letting a corporation telegraph my hypothetical desire to get engaged, I can’t seem to look away from Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On—a reality series in which people hoping to tie the knot essentially let the show shape the trajectory of their nuptials. Continued here

S47

This student-built EV just set a new world record for 0-62 mph     There's a new world record for the fastest 0 to 62 mph (0–100 km/h), courtesy of a team of students at the Academic Motorsports Club Zürich and the Swiss universities ETH Zürich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The team did so with a scratch-built EV, designing everything from its chassis to its circuit boards, and bested the existing record—set last year by students in Stuttgart, Germany—by more than a third. Continued here