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Sony Music Appoints Stephanie Yu to General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs
Sony Music today announced the appointment of Stephanie Yu to General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs. She reports to Rob Stringer, Chairman, Sony Music Group and Kevin Kelleher, COO, Sony Music. Yu will be responsible for overseeing the business, legal and governmental affairs strategies and activities for the company globally. Stringer […]
Sony Music Appoints Stephanie Yu to General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs
Sony Music today announced the appointment of Stephanie Yu to General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs. She reports to Rob Stringer, Chairman, Sony Music Group and Kevin Kelleher, COO, Sony Music. Yu will be responsible for overseeing the business, legal and governmental affairs strategies and activities for the company globally. Stringer […]
MrBeast Sales Slow, Angel Stock Falls, MUBI and Neon Look for Hits, and Will an NBA Franchise Set a Sales Record?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) You probably remember egg prices spiking a few years ago. This led to a lot of debate between the pro-market/pro-competition/antitrust/Neo-Brandesian crowd and the center/center-right/center-left/abundance/libertarian crowd over the cause, whether it was the avian flu outbreak or whether industry consolidation led to price fixing, using avian flu as a convenient cover. Basel Musharbash wrote a whole investigation at BIG looking at it. Well, two years later, we have our answer: it was price fixing. The Justice Department found proof, via emails, of price fixing. Indeed, just the threat of an investigation brought prices down two years ago: I bring this up because at least half a dozen of my favorite political writers and pundits, who were skeptical about price fixing at the time, haven’t written any mea culpas on this issue. It’s really dispiriting and makes it much, much harder to trust their work on other issues. If you take a hard stand on an issue, then you get it wrong, you need to explain how and why you got it wrong. Or update your priors. This is how epistemological bubbles are formed! All of which is to say, it’s time for another installment of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. Last issue, I mostly focused on the “wrong” side of the equation, so today’s is a bit more balanced, but with one big mea culpa (though I still stand by my original concerns). Let’s dive right in! Subscribe CORRECTION: UFC Didn’t Release Subscriber Data (But Seems to Have Bragged About It Internally) In my analysis of the viewership of UFC Freedom 250, I wrote... “Paramount has also released datecdotes bragging about their subscriber numbers. Earlier this year, they claimed that the first UFC fight on Paramount+ brought in 1 million subscribers.” Well, that datecdote did not come from a PR rep, but from great reporting from James Faris at Business Insider. The actual quote was this: “Paramount’s flagship streaming service generated about a million new subscribers on the day of its first-ever UFC event, Paramount product chief Dane Glasgow told employees in a town hall on Tuesday morning, three staffers who attended the meeting told Business Insider.“ This wasn’t the biggest goof in the world; even Faris emphasized to me that this is more a “clarification” than a correction. Still, it sounds like, internally, the folks at Paramount were very happy about this result—and I’m guessing they were happy with this news getting out—even though the gains didn’t last through the quarter, dropping to 700K adds. RIGHT: MrBeast’s Struggles Continue... I’m very skeptical about MrBeast’s burgeoning media “empire” and, in particular, its $5 billion valuation, as I wrote earlier this year and last year. Sure enough, according to Business Insider, regarding its “booming” consumer products division_:_ “US sales volume grew 13% year-over-year in 2025, following a 33% leap the previous year, according to a presentation deck dated May 2026....A February 2025 investor deck viewed by Business Insider showed Feastables’ net revenue more than doubled in 2024 from 2023, to $215 million, and was forecast to grow 74% in 2025, to $375 million.” [Emphasis mine.] If you told investors that you projected 74% growth but delivered 13%,1 that’s not ideal. But it’s not just MrBeast. Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime had sales drop in half for their energy drinks. It’s one thing to build a successful entertainment company and an entirely different thing to succeed in the heavily-consolidated-but-also-very-competitive consumer packaged goods space! CPGs are dominated by a few firms with very wide moats compared to YouTube, which has few barriers to entry. These businesses require different skill sets and have completely different business environments. WRONG: Does the NBA Have an $8 Billion Bidder? Almost as soon as I published my article about the NBA’s finances, casting skepticism on NBA expansion, I saw this Front Office Sports headline: One group “claims to have already raised $8 billion” for the Vegas expansion team. I mean, wow. That’s just $2 billion less than what the Los Angeles Lakers were valued at when they were sold just last year. And they’re arguably the most popular team in the NBA. (Side note: the new owner is now under an investigation for fraud in how he went about financing the Lakers and the Dodgers purchases.) So much for the “dried up” language I used in that article. (This is why I usually stick to my “Entertainment Nuance Guy” tone in articles...) I went off old information—from April, when I read/heard about the NBA downplaying expansion efforts—instead of doing a quick double-check for new news. That said...if you read the article, the market for Seattle is “slow”, with just one reported bidder. So I wasn’t entirely off. This goof has annoyed me since I first published it, mainly because it undercut that article’s real point, which I stand by: NBA franchises are really overvalued right now. Now, I get why NBA teams are overvalued. When it comes to owning sports teams, it’s basically never wrong to assume that some rich person somewhere will care more about owning a team (or just being part of a group since they’re so expensive) than the actual financials. There are only so many teams to own, and opportunities to buy in preferred markets don’t come along very often. This explains why the teams sell for such high multiples (usually above a 10 to 12.5 revenue multiple, which is very high). You only need one person to overpay! Beyond the ultra-wealthy luxury good explanation, I worry NBA teams are becoming speculative assets. More and more private equity investors are buying into NBA teams. But the value, in owning a team, comes from selling it later, not any meaningful relationship to revenue or profit growth. In other words, the newer NBA owners are increasingly expecting someone later to buy their inflated asset. That’s not sound economics; that’s the “greater fool” theory at work.2 At some point, actually making money has to matter. Especially since revenue growth is now below the growth of the stock market. (And this matters because the NBA doesn’t have easy levers to pull to drastically lower their costs—half of their revenue has to go to players and then you actually have to run a team, including coaching, training, travel, media expenses, and more—or raise revenues aside from one-off expansions in America and overseas.) I just don’t see how investors make their money back buying NBA teams, except for selling at a higher price later on down the line. But if revenue/profit growth continues to slow, at some point, someone will be left holding the bag. RIGHT: Baseball and Basketball are about equally popular. Related to the above, I wanted to cite two quick pieces of evidence for one of my other theories: that the NBA and MLB are about as popular as each other, but the NBA gets much, much better media coverage. One YouGov survey has that fans prefer basketball to baseball by 52% to 48%, which I’m guessing is within the margin of error for that poll. That’s virtually even, meaning they’re about the same popularity. Over on NBC, a recent Red Sox-Yankees game averaged 4 million viewers, higher than Sunday Night Basketball’s average of 3.4 million on the same network. A Yankees-Dodgers game averaged 3.9 million two weeks ago. Not every game averages this much, but it shows you that baseball isn’t far off from basketball, depending on the matchup. Altogether, the NBA is just slightly more popular than baseball, but NBC is paying MLB a fraction of what they pay the NBA, a point I’ve made before. RIGHT: Angel, MUBI and Neon Updates... I’ve long been skeptical about many of Hollywood’s buzziest startups/smaller indie studios. It’s not that they don’t make great movies—films like Anora and Everything Everywhere All at Once are amazing—or that they’re not (rightfully) pushing the majors to make better films, but...they get a ton of hype, and that hype often doesn’t live up to the reality or difficulty in scaling up. Starting with MUBI, well, The Wall Street Journal wrote a feature on MUBI’s struggles last April, best summarized by the subheader “After Sequoia valued Mubi at $1 billion, a left-wing revolt sent the indie film company into a tailspin”. MUBI lost $7.3 million on $200 million in revenue in Q4 2025, but reportedly hit a record 1.7 million subscribers at the end of Q1. As for Neon, Department M purchased a “significant stake” in the company earlier this year. How much is that “stake” worth? According to Deadline, “No financial figures for the Neon-Department M deal were disclosed.” So...that’s not great! If it was a big valuation, we’d hear about. Also, I found this curious: “Both Neon and Department M already have separate partnerships with Qatar. The Qatar Film Committee has a slate deal in place with the former, and a biopic production pact with the latter.” Color me skeptical about much Middle Eastern investment dollars. See: LIV Golf. Finally, as for Angel (formerly Angel Studios), their stock very, very slightly popped last month after Young Washington ($20 million budget) which made $45 million in the US, but their stock is still way down from its opening. Smaller Updates RIGHT: The WGA should focus on antitrust concerns! I’ve been on this for years. Post-WGA/AMTPT deal in 2023, I wrote an article for the Ankler calling on the WGA to focus and organize against industry consolidation. Sure enough, the WGA filed a lawsuit against the Paramount-WBD merger, and people are organizing around this issue now. I wish this energy had coalesced earlier (specifically to lobby Washington much earlier), but better late than never! WRONG: Actually, the chip shortage might be due to market manipulation. In my last “Long Reads for the Long Summer” article, I shared an article about how LLMs are causing memory chip prices to spike, which will make all electronics more expensive. Well, turns out, three RAM manufacturers control 90% of the market, and now a private lawsuit accuses them of price-fixing. So yeah. WRONG/UPDATE: The Odyssey will hold! Two weeks ago, I wrote, “As of this moment, we haven’t had a super-blockbuster, though The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday could all cross the $500 million mark. (At this point, The Odyssey would need a very strong hold to get there.)” Well, it’s safe to say it’s going to have that hold! It only dropped 30% in weekend two and IMAX screenings are sold out all month. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also off to a great start. RIGHT: People are rushing to get shows out yearly. I’ve long been bullish on yearly, weekly-released shows, and Leslie Goldberg at The Ankler wrote about how many people in town are now listening. WRONG: Mark Carney reverses Canada’s stance on homegrown production. After writing about Canada installing domestic production quotas, Canada has backed off. WRONG: I don’t trust Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s online “views”. When I originally wrote about the latest Spider-Man film’s record-breaking trailer, I thought this was just YouTube views, but after watching this Corridor Crew video and doing more research, well, it’s all social views of the trailer globally. Really? That stat includes TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts views. Basically, I don’t trust it anymore. (This film will probably set record, but I trust the pre-sales data more.) RIGHT: Celebrity Production companies are still struggling. I’ve written about this for years, but the company that I didn’t track was Kevin Hart’s HartBeat, which was valued at $650 million but is struggling now and might just end soon, especially after Kevin Hart pulled his endorsement deals. And Bad Robot is moving to NYC. CORRECTION: SpongeBob is a “second run” title. In my 2025 recap article, I had _SpongeBob SquarePants_labelled as a “library” title, when it is still a “second run” show, with new episodes still coming out on Nickelodeon. CORRECTION: In my last “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong” update, I offered a correction from Doug Creutz and misspelled TD Cowen. Thanks, Grammarly! 1 Though he could have increased prices to make up for the gap, he couldn’t have increased them that much. 2 There’s a theory, which I think that Daryl Morey created and Bill Simmons popularized, that, to be successful building your team, you only need a handful of bad GMs in the league to take advantage of. To be clear, Daryl Morey’s theory was also for signing bad contracts, that you could always get out of bad contracts. Basically, there’s always someone who will make a bad trade. It’s not the same exact thing, but similar enough to the Greater Fool Theory that I really like it.
Rice researcher honored for advancing science behind AI and human assessment
Rice psychological scientist recognized with early career award for distinguished contributions to research methods research, practice, education and service.
UMass Chan receives Massachusetts Life Sciences Center funding to advance health equity in pregnancy care and biomedical discovery
UMass Chan Medical School researchers have received funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to advance research using artificial intelligence to improve early identification of pregnancy-induced hypertension and to establish a colorectal cancer biobank that will accelerate biomedical discoveries.
People With Disabilities Fear Service Cuts as Trump’s DOJ Questions Legal Protections
By Stephanie Armour | KFF Health News Amanda DeSimone-Shabrack relies on a home healthcare aide to help her high-needs autistic 12-year-old son. Virginia’s Medicaid program covers the assistance, enabling her to work as both an education technology specialist and a professor, run errands, and keep ...
Phillies' Brandon Marsh: Getting break with lefty starting
Phillies' Brandon Marsh: Getting break with lefty starting
Guardians' Foster Griffin: Dealt to Cleveland
Guardians' Foster Griffin: Dealt to Cleveland
House Ethics Panel Finds Rep. Chuck Edwards Likely Violated Sexual Harassment Rules
The Ethics Committee called for the censure of Representative Chuck Edwards, Republican of North Carolina, who showered two female staffers with lavish gifts and affection.
Ethics panel finds GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards violated House sexual harassment rules and recommends censure
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee said Monday it has found “substantial evidence” that GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards repeatedly made unwanted advances toward two of his female staffers and is recommending that the full House vote to punish him on the floor.
Orioles' Anthony Eyanson: On move to Baltimore
Orioles' Anthony Eyanson: On move to Baltimore
Orioles' Alex Hoppe: Baltimore-bound in four-player deal
Orioles' Alex Hoppe: Baltimore-bound in four-player deal
Angels' Jacob Cozart: On move to Anaheim
Angels' Jacob Cozart: On move to Anaheim
Giants' Jung Hoo Lee: Multi-hit effort in loss
Giants' Jung Hoo Lee: Multi-hit effort in loss
Tigers' Jackson Jobe: Looks strong in latest rehab start
Tigers' Jackson Jobe: Looks strong in latest rehab start
Nationals' Andrew Alvarez: Recalled to start Monday's game
Nationals' Andrew Alvarez: Recalled to start Monday's game
Red Sox's Willson Contreras: Hitless in return
Red Sox's Willson Contreras: Hitless in return
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Heating up since break
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: Heating up since break
UMass Chan summer outreach programs inspire next generation of physician-scientists
Classrooms and labs kept busy this summer at UMass Chan, hosting high school and college students participating in outreach programs.
Fire reported at downtown De Smet business
According to witnesses, a fire broke out at a downtown De Smet business sometime after 5:30 on Sunday evening.
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Tagged for five runs in loss
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly: Tagged for five runs in loss
Tigers' Spencer Torkelson: Plates three in win
Tigers' Spencer Torkelson: Plates three in win
White Sox's Everson Pereira: Season-high four RBI on Sunday
White Sox's Everson Pereira: Season-high four RBI on Sunday
Athletics' Mason Barnett: Garnering another start
Athletics' Mason Barnett: Garnering another start
Angels' Ryan Zeferjahn: Secures five-out save
Angels' Ryan Zeferjahn: Secures five-out save
Dodgers' Ben Casparius: In midst of rehab assignment
Dodgers' Ben Casparius: In midst of rehab assignment
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Set to play catch
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Set to play catch
Giants' Christian Koss: Retreating to bench Sunday
Giants' Christian Koss: Retreating to bench Sunday
Mets' Emilien Pitre: Sent to New York in Peralta deal
Mets' Emilien Pitre: Sent to New York in Peralta deal
Rays' Freddy Peralta: Heading to Tampa Bay
Rays' Freddy Peralta: Heading to Tampa Bay
Nationals' Luis Garcia: Late scratch from starting nine
Nationals' Luis Garcia: Late scratch from starting nine
Royals' Luinder Avila: Hits shelf with forearm tightness
Royals' Luinder Avila: Hits shelf with forearm tightness
Rays' Victor Mesa: Left out of lineup vs. lefty
Rays' Victor Mesa: Left out of lineup vs. lefty
Kelvin Sheppard Sends Blunt Message About Terrion Arnold
Kelvin Sheppard delivered a pointed assessment of former Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold. Detroit’s former first-round pick is now facing a serious legal battle after his release from the organization.
Diamondbacks' Paul Sewald: Falters in low-leverage spot
Diamondbacks' Paul Sewald: Falters in low-leverage spot
Athletics' Tommy White: Three knocks in Saturday's loss
Athletics' Tommy White: Three knocks in Saturday's loss
Padres' Freddy Fermin: Snaps power drought Saturday
Padres' Freddy Fermin: Snaps power drought Saturday
Pirates' Gregory Soto: Locks down 14th save
Pirates' Gregory Soto: Locks down 14th save
Dodgers' Will Klein: Lands on IL with elbow discomfort
Dodgers' Will Klein: Lands on IL with elbow discomfort
Rays' Drew Rasmussen: Dominates in win No. 10
Rays' Drew Rasmussen: Dominates in win No. 10
Dodgers' Mookie Betts: Getting rest Saturday
Dodgers' Mookie Betts: Getting rest Saturday
Angels' Jose Soriano: Scratched from start
Angels' Jose Soriano: Scratched from start
Twins' Garrett Acton: Activated, optioned to Triple-A
Twins' Garrett Acton: Activated, optioned to Triple-A
Angels' Ryan Johnson: Handed sixth loss
Angels' Ryan Johnson: Handed sixth loss
Smerconish: The growing power of the Democratic Socialists of America
Champion Aphrodite FNCS Cup Battle Royale in NA Central: Session 1
Drop into the Champion Aphrodite FNCS Cup! Duo up and compete for a chance to earn Aphrodite cosmetic rewards before they hit the shop. Good luck and have fun!
FTC Sues Hims & Hers Over Health Privacy And Billing Practices
By Ellyn Vohnoutka HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, July 31, 2026 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued telehealth company Hims & Hers, alleging it shared consumers' private health information with advertising platforms and unknowingly charged some customers for ...
What Dad Eats Before Conception May Influence Baby's Health
By HealthDay Staff HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, July 31, 2026 (HealthDay News) — When it comes to preparing for a healthy pregnancy, the focus is usually on moms. But new research suggests dads' nutrition plays an important role, too. "Maternal nutrition and health before, during and after the baby's ...
FIFA wants World Cup expansion assessment amid pressure on Infantino
FIFA is seeking an independent agency to assess the expansion of the men’s World Cup to 64 teams, according to documents seen by the Press Association. FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, is under increasing pressure amid mounting opposition to plans to seek private investment in a company which would run the World Cup, with three confederations having rejected it and his senior adviser having quit over it.
Daily Routine Key To Good Health, Study Says
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, July 31, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Finding a comfortable, consistent daily schedule could be crucial to boosting your mental and physical health, a new study says. People who maintain a consistent routine tend to have lower levels of pain and depression,
Local advocates mark Medicare, Medicaid anniversary, push for affordable health care
13WHAM ABC Rochester provides local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, health reports, notices of events and items of interest in the community, local sports and entertainment programming for Rochester and nearby towns and communities including Greece, Victor, Pittsford, Penfield, Henrietta, Webster, Irondequoit, Fairport, Chili, Gates, Rush, Wheatland, Canandaigua, Farmington, Spencerport and Hilton.
They Worked To Protect Public Health. Now They Want the Public’s Votes.
By Phil Galewitz, Christine Mai-Duc, and Amanda Seitz | KFF Health News A handful of former public health officials are campaigning for top statewide offices across the country, testing whether their experience with covid and other hot-button health issues will appeal to voters in November. The ...
Nationals getting healthier in time for Braves series
Jake Irvin will come off the 60-day injured list to make his first start in more than two months when the Washington Nationals open their four-game series against the host Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
Meet & Greet with Laura Galloway
Laura Galloway began her new role as dean of Whitworth University’s School of Business on July 1 after relocating to Spokane from San Diego, where she previously worked for University of Massachusetts Global, a California-based online institution, most recently as associate vice chancellor for institutional curriculum, assessment, and academic policy.
Top entertainment headlines on Wednesday, July 29 with Studio 13 Live
Mireya Garcia dives into the top entertainment headlines for Wednesday, July 29 on Studio 13 Live—From a new documentary exposing Jared Leto's sexual harassment allegations to updates on box office performances and celebrity engagements.
Opinion: Data disruptions put powerful maternal and child health tool at risk | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The consequences of disruptions to the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System are falling heaviest on already-vulnerable populations.
Fauci to face Republican questions over Covid pandemic origins
Veteran medical adviser likely to face questions over disputed ‘lab leak’ theory in investigation seen by scientists as ‘vilification and harassment’ of 85-year-old
The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think
A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment
Cyclospora Boosts Fears That Deadlier Foodborne Outbreaks Are Ahead
By Kate Wells and Stephanie Armour | KFF Health News The next foodborne illness outbreak could be much worse. That’s the concern of food safety leaders across the U.S. who are raising alarms over federal cuts they say have made it harder to detect and stop the spread of foodborne illnesses, such as ...
Survey results to shape Brown County health priorities and future improvement plan
The survey is confidential, and open to anyone in Brown County—age 18 and over—until the end of September, in print or online.
MCAP data: View 2026 standardized test results for Maryland, schools, districts
View new and historical Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program data for individual schools, districts and the state as a whole and 2026’s statewide achievement gaps.
Meredith Poll Assesses Public Opinion on Legalized Sports Betting
A Meredith Poll conducted in July 2026 provides one of the first comprehensive statewide assessments of public opinion regarding legalized mobile sports betting in North Carolina.
Georgia Company Launches AI-Powered Episodic Entertainment Marketing Initiative
Park Ave Cosmetic Center has launched an initiative to evaluate AI-generated episodic storytelling as part of its digital marketing strategy.
Unlikely duo seeks ban on using campaign funds to fight sexual harassment claims
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) have teamed up on new legislation in response to a spate of scandals.
Grizzlies' Scotty Pippen: Competing for top point guard role
Grizzlies' Scotty Pippen: Competing for top point guard role
Celtics' Payton Pritchard: New role incoming
Celtics' Payton Pritchard: New role incoming
Texas investigates major tampon, cosmetics manufacturers for alleged deceptive health claims
The Texas Attorney General's office has launched sweeping, industry-wide investigations into major manufacturers of feminine care and cosmetic products over concerns that companies may be misleading consumers about the presence of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
Texas investigates major tampon, cosmetics manufacturers for alleged deceptive health claims
The Texas Attorney General's office has launched sweeping, industry-wide investigations into major manufacturers of feminine care and cosmetic products over concerns that companies may be misleading consumers about the presence of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
Popular School Cafeteria Meals Need An Update To Meet Healthy Food Standards, Researchers Say
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, July 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Spicy chicken wings, tacos, pizza, sausage biscuits and breakfast smoothies offered by school cafeterias must be reinvented, lest they vanish from the menu, a new study says. These items all contain loads of added sugar ...
'Yo-yo' Weight Loss Linked To Decline In Muscle Mass
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterMONDAY, July 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Middle-aged folks have a higher risk of muscle loss if their weight “yo-yos” due to inconsistent dieting, a new study says. People who repeatedly dropped and regained weight wound up losing nearly four times as much thigh ...
Restaurant owner launches GoFundMe after fire leaves Southside business “beyond repair”
Johnathan Streeter wrote that he noticed a burning smell at the restaurant around 4 p.m. Saturday, left the premises at 7 p.m., then got a call about 9:30 p.m. telling him the restaurant was on fire. He said the damage was so extensive “the restaurant is no longer fixable.”
Athletics' Tommy White: Settling into full-time role
Athletics' Tommy White: Settling into full-time role
Twins' Joe Ryan: On track to start Wednesday
Twins' Joe Ryan: On track to start Wednesday
Hidden genetic diversity helped inbred brown tree snakes conquer guam
A notorious snake invasion that devastated Guam’s native birds may have succeeded because the reptiles carried hidden genetic advantages. Using advanced long-read DNA sequencing, researchers uncovered more than 19,000 large genetic differences in brown tree snakes, many concentrated in genes tied to immunity and smell. This overlooked diversity may have helped a population founded by only a few snakes survive inbreeding, adapt to a new environment, and multiply to extraordinary densities.
Pelicans' Kobe Bufkin: Inks pact with New Orleans
Pelicans' Kobe Bufkin: Inks pact with New Orleans
Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Shut down for a couple days
Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Shut down for a couple days
Astros' Kai-Wei Teng: Earns win in relief Friday
Astros' Kai-Wei Teng: Earns win in relief Friday
Health alerts issued for poor air quality across Montana
The smell of smoke and hazy skies has become a familiar sight in Bozeman summers, raising concerns about air quality.Wildfire smoke contains tiny particles know
Broken Politics and AI Jailbreaks: The Week in Review
Americans’ hosting duties are over with the 2026 World Cup now in the rearview mirror, but a recent poll shows they’re dissatisfied with the nation’s leadership. Meanwhile, a surveillance state might be upon us as AI and consumer tech creep into Americans’ personal lives. Holliday Woodard here with ...
Ex-NFL Coach Provides Honest Assessment of Ravens’ Lamar Jackson
There have been different opinions on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson of late, but everyone knows he’s among the best players in the NFL.Last year was an outlier for Jackson since he dealt with so many injuries during the season. That affected his play on the field, finishing with a 63.6% completion percentage for 2,549 […] The post Ex-NFL Coach Provides Honest Assessment of Ravens’ Lamar Jackson appeared first on HEAVY.
The government killed this nature study. Scientists finished it anyway. » Yale Climate Connections
When the National Nature Assessment was shut down, the scientists who worked on it kept going. In this Q&A, one author shares what the research reveals about nature’s powerful, underused role in supporting health.
Lysol Maker Reckitt to Offload Sanctions-Hit Russian Hygiene Business
The deal with Russia’s Arnest Management—which manufactures cosmetics and household goods—is expected to complete during the second half of 2026.
Georgia: Journalist jailed and comedian attacked for political satire
Reacting to the 14-day jailing of journalist Vakho Sanaia over his satirical Facebook posts and a reported assault on comedian Onise Okriashvili following a smear campaign in pro-government media prompted by a joke he had made, Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Regional Director, said: “Beating up and imprisoning government critics […]
Meta Toes the Line on Smart Glasses Harassment With New Instagram Ban
It's now a bannable offense to use Meta's smart glasses to film and post videos of harassing prank videos.
Florida-Based Science and Technology Company Crescel Announces Landmark Peer-Reviewed Medical Publication
Crescel LLC, a Florida-based innovative science and technology company, today announced publication of its landmark PubMed-indexed, peer-reviewed clinical study showing that its biobotanical technology produced statistically significant improvements over the leading prescription standard of care for rosacea in a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the study represents a major scientific milestone for the company's pioneering prop
SFA continues dolphin health research through leadership role in PHASM drone development project
NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– Stephen F. Austin State University continues its leadership role in drone-based dolphin health research using the Passive Health Assessment in Sea Mammals, or PHASM, platform in Galveston.
Tongue Pacemaker Might Improve Sleep Apnea Patients' Health
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, July 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Do you have sleep apnea, but find CPAP machines too uncomfortable or noisy? A pacemaker for the tongue might help improve your sleep and overall health, a new study says. People who received a hypoglossal nerve ...
In private call, Michigan Republican running for Senate sees himself in ‘good shape’ against one particular Democrat
As Michigan Democrats debate who is their best candidate for Senate, the presumptive Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, has a frank private assessment of the field.
Orcas Keep Punching Giant Sunfish to Smithereens, And Scientists Are Mesmerized
Orca SMASH!
Nevada congressmen introduce bipartisan bill to ban sports betting on prediction markets
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Rep. Mark Amodei's (R-NV) bill would also ban casino-style games on sites such as Kalshi.
Teen Plaintiff Suing Meta Over Mental Health Harms Drops His Claims Against Company Days Before Trial
By Diana Novak Jones July 22 (Reuters) - A Florida teen whose lawsuit claimed Meta’s platforms were to blame for his depression and anxiety dropped his case against the company just days before the trial in Los Angeles was set to start, his attorneys said on Wednesday. The lawsuit, brought ...
If You Aren't Going To BlizzCon 2026, You Can Still Spend Money Like You Are
Cosmetic bundles for Blizzard's biggest games are live now.
US to Spend $5 Billion on Health, Construction Research Powered by AI
By Courtney Rozen WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. will spend $5 billion to tackle long-standing scientific problems across multiple fields using AI, the Trump administration said in a statement on Wednesday. The agencies will use the funding to identify the root causes of chronic ...
Anthropic to Donate $20 Million to US Political Group That Supports AI Regulation
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - AI giant Anthropic will donate $20 million to a lobbying organization that supports AI regulation, according to a company statement released on Wednesday, its latest move to influence U.S. policy on the technology. The company is donating to Public First Action,
American scientists see prosecutions as part of federal campaign against them
Federal officials charged two virologists they stopped en route from an African disease outbreak with violating import rules. But scientists tell KFF Health News the inactivated samples they carried posed no threat to the public, and they characterize the arrests as part of a government harassment campaign.
Poland, Hungary's Foreign Worker Curbs Create Headache for Business
By Gergely Szakacs, Canan Sevgili and Alan Charlish KISVARDA, Hungary/GDANSK, Poland, July 22 (Reuters) - Facing a choice between upsetting businesses and a public opinion backlash, the Polish and Hungarian ruling centrists are opting for curbs on foreign labour — something economists warn may ...