🐤 Having a ball

Markets: Yesterday marked the end of the week and the conclusion of the first half of 2024 on Wall Street, leaving a fairly strong record in the books despite a prolonged period of economic uncertainty.

All three major indexes finished lower for the day, but artificial intelligence has provided a longer-term boost to the market — including the Nasdaq S&P 500, which are up more than 18% and 14%, respectively, since the beginning of the year.

In today’s breakdown, we’ll discuss the impact of an encouraging inflation report that dropped on Friday.

Flipping out: The lineup for Team USA is starting to take shape ahead of next month’s Summer Olympics in Paris. And a fan favorite is almost guaranteed to join the list of gymnasts who will be competing for a medal. Team trials will be held this weekend in Minneapolis, and insiders say Simone Biles is on her way to a third straight Olympic appearance. The official announcement of the men’s and women’s teams are expected to be announced today and tomorrow, respectively, based on performance at trials as well as other major competitions.

Tech overload: If it seems like new products and features from Big Tech companies are coming faster than ever before, it’s not just your imagination. Apple announced its AI, updated iPads, a powerful M4 chip, and the Apple Pencil Pro. Google introduced the latest Gemini AI system, its Wear OS 5 smartwatch and a new tablet, the Pixel Slate, among other gadgets. Plus, an endless array of other weird, wonderful announcements have come from startups and companies that haven’t traditionally been considered particularly tech-focused.

Losing interest: Wall Street investors and millions of American consumers have been eagerly anticipating a drop in historically high interest rates, and a new economic report released yesterday could signal such a change will be coming sooner rather than later. An influential inflation gauge showed costs increased at a slower rate last month, which is what the Federal Reserve has been waiting for to signal the coast is clear for rate cuts. Inflation still isn’t down to the 2% annual target, but chances are good the central bank will lower rates this year.

God complex: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg certainly hasn’t been the most popular figure in the Big Tech sector, but his recent remarks about AI have attracted some praise. In a new interview, he emphasized the perceived importance of allowing more people to access AI tools, thus preventing a select group of individuals from dictating exactly how it will impact every aspect of our lives. Zuckerberg opposed the idea of “that AI technology is a thing that should be kind of hoarded,” adding that others are acting as if they’re “creating God.”

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Whether you call it table tennis or ping pong, you’re probably familiar with the basics of the game. Two players grab their paddles and try to keep a small ball in play on a tabletop surface that resembles a miniaturized tennis court.

But if you’ve ever gone up against a skilled player, you know the game is deceptively simple. And mastering it might provide quite a bit more than just bragging rights.

The brain game

A new study published in Brain Research highlights the cognitive changes that players undergo while learning the ins and outs of this fast-paced game. Table tennis requires quick decision-making and laser-like focus, and growth in the respective regions of the brain can be seen in the world’s most elite players.

Researchers compared brain scans of 20 ping pong pros with a group of college students who hadn’t trained for the game but otherwise had similar attributes.

The results were pretty conclusive, with the skilled players showing evidence of:

• Enhanced brain structure and function
• Increased neuron communication
• Better performance in attention-related tasks

While this was a limited study and correlation doesn’t always signal causation, this research seems to suggest that the brain’s white matter improves as a person becomes better at ping pong.

Should you pick up a paddle?

If you enjoy the challenging fun of this game, then by all means you should play to your heart’s content. But if you’re doing it just for the brain benefits, it’s worth noting that this is just one study.

But the researchers are interested in conducting even more robust testing to see if they can replicate these early results, specifically that the game’s “high demand for visual attention and information processing speed” leads to “plastic changes in white matter structure and functional connectivity in the brain.”

No matter your age or background, you’re probably at least a little intrigued and/or worried about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. And regardless of whether you have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook on the topic, there’s likely a little confusion mixed into the equation.

For business leaders, this confusion can lead to costly mistakes or missed opportunities, so an increasing number of them are soliciting the advice of specialized consulting firms.

Cashing in

Businesses want to leverage AI to boost their bottom lines. But before they get richer with this new technology, those who help them understand it are already raking in the dough.

A full 90% of advisory firm PwC’s top clients are seeking guidance regarding the implementation of AI into their operations. And last year alone, McKinsey & Company reported $16 billion in revenue — a record sum boosted in large part by the demand for AI consultancy.

Now that powerful AI features have been around for a while, the nature of that advice is shifting from answering basic inquiries to providing customized plans.

“Eighteen months ago, the conversation was all about, ‘What is GenAI?’” explained Boston Consulting Group’s Allison Bailey. “Today, it is, ‘How do I actually drive value with AI and drive meaningful change in how we work?’”

Stay in your lane

Even though AI is likely to infiltrate every conceivable industry over the next few years, it’s important for businesses to understand the most effective ways to use it for their specific goals. And you don’t have to shell out a fortune to consultants if you’re just getting started.

Experts recommend beginning with a broad game plan including what you hope to achieve with AI, how to find the right team to pursue those goals, and what roadblocks you’re likely to encounter along the way.

When “South Park” debuted on Comedy Central in the late ‘90s, it soon became famous (or infamous) for its ability to push the boundaries of basic cable. But a couple of years later, the driving forces behind this irreverent cartoon — Trey Parker and Matt Stone — had an opportunity to completely demolish those boundaries by releasing the film “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.”

It’s been how long?!?

Here’s yet another statistic sure to make all you Millennials and Gen Xers feel instantly old: Tomorrow will mark 25 years since the South Park movie premiered.

Since then, a lot of things have changed, both in American society and in the lives of Parker and Stone.

But South Park remains a surprisingly relevant cultural force to this day, and much of that can be traced back to the decision to release this movie. Sure, it was easy to dismiss the crass, vulgar screenplay as a big middle finger to the censors, but it came packaged in a funny, memorable, and surprisingly timeless animated musical unlike anything that had ever hit the big screen.

And little did those who watched it at the time know, but this film paved the way for creators to release more expressive (and less repressive) content for decades to come.

The partnership continues

Parker and Stone are still busy producing episodes and specials as part of a lucrative deal with Paramount. But their fans have also been treated to a host of other projects that have employed many of the same attributes that have made Cartman and company such cultural icons.

From the marionette musical “Team America: World Police” to the Broadway hit “The Book of Mormon,” the spirit of “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” can be seen in just about everything this duo has produced since.