It’s happening, Future Party people. Last week, the Australian government became the world’s first-ever country to recognize psychedelics as medicine — MDMA as a treatment for PTSD and psilocybin as a treatment for depression. The times, they are a-changin’ — read more below.
In other news… the psychology of sports betting apps, Australia pioneers the psychedelic renaissance, and Big Tech unlocks generative AI.
Culture Trends
YouTube → Internet Trolls
Twitter → #TheBachelor
Google → Powerball
Reddit → Winnie the Pooh
TikTok → #galentinesday
Spotify → “Best Friend” - Shania Twain
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SPORTS
Take a gamble on sports wagering apps // Illustration by Kate Walker
The psychology of sports betting apps
The Future. While sports wagering apps can fluctuate from vendor to vendor, and even from state to state, they all satisfy our very human desires for reward and pleasure. Even better, they deliver these opportunities straight to a user’s phone for immediate gratification — no trip to the casino necessary. But with such addictive apps, online gambling has the potential to wipe players out — unless users set spending or loss limits to keep the apps low-risk and fun.
Don’t become an app’s best customerMeredith K. Ginley, an assistant professor of psychology at East Tennessee State University, explains in Fast Company how there may be some structural aspects of sports wagering apps (beyond the rewarding nature of gambling itself) that make them particularly attractive and even riskier for some players.
People are more likely to participate in activities that have low barriers to entry. Sports betting apps essentially load a casino onto a user’s phone.
Features like push notifications, free play, and leaderboards can increase engagement, but they can also detach players from the money they’re spending and make it harder to close out when they’re down.
Always be earning (and learning)There were roughly 19 million online sports bettors in the US in 2022, according to Fast Company. That number is expected to increase as more states legalize these apps.
For people who want another way to engage with their favorite sports team (and win a few extra bucks, of course), this can be a great side hobby.
But for those who are worried about their gambling, there’s always the option to set deposit, loss, and wagering limits and, in extreme cases, to block software. Stay safe.
CULTURE
The shroom boom is here // Unsplash
Australia will recognize MDMA and psilocybin as medicine
The Future. Beginning July 1st, Australia will let authorized psychiatrists prescribe MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. The world will be watching as the land down under becomes the first country to offer these drugs for therapeutic purposes. How the legalization unfolds in Oz (especially if it misfires) could impact whether or not other countries like the US jump on the bandwagon, too.
Warning labelAustralia may not have gathered enough information on how to roll out psychedelic treatments safely and effectively before it legalized them, according to Wired.
Because Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has yet to approve any medicine that contains MDMA or psilocybin, patients will initially receive “unapproved” medicine containing the substances.
Before psychiatrists are authorized by a human research ethics committee (and then the TGA), they need to prove that they can justify the treatment plan, that they will have control over the treatment plan, and that they will use suitable measures to protect patients. Providing therapy in conjunction with the drugs will likely be required.
The treatments won’t be covered by health insurance (no surprise there), “so it’s probably initially going to be a therapy for relatively well-off people who have these conditions,” Daniel Perkins, adjunct associate professor at the Centre for Mental Health at Swinburne University, told Wired.
The longest data researchers have is 12 months, so they don’t know what happens to patients after more than a year’s worth of treatment.
Magic antidote?Still, the benefits of psychedelic substances, especially for treatment-resistant conditions, could be life-changing.
For patients who’ve exhausted all their options and can’t find relief with any other therapy, magic mushrooms could be the magic antidote.
TOGETHER WITH INTELLIFLUENCE
Be an influencer, find an influencer
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Creators: do y’all want the chance to share products and services you know will make a positive impact on people’s lives?
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It’s an influencer marketing network that specializes in warm contacts rather than cold outreach. Every influencer, micro to celebrity, has opted into the platform and agreed in advance to work with brands — making it easy and efficient to connect and manage campaigns from both sides!
Intellifluence is free for influencers, and right now, brands can even snag a month for free.
Try it out and meet your marketing and money makin’ goals.
TECHNOLOGY
Welcome to the augmented jungle // Illustration by Kate Walker
Big Tech sees the creative potential of generative AI
The Future. Generative AI is more than just a tool for research, composition, and measurement — it allows people to make their imagination real. Major tech companies understand its power on multiple levels, from planning marketing campaigns to tweaking ad copy to building virtual worlds. As Big Tech stretches generative AI beyond its current abilities, it’ll also expand its offerings beyond search engines and social media — which might soon feel as outdated as hard-copy encyclopedias or magazines.
Pandora’s boxAdAge outlines how tech companies are unlocking the full potential of generative AI in their products and services.
Google uses AI to help marketers pick the right creative, set campaign goals, and target consumers on the Internet. After unveiling Bard earlier this week, the company will air a Super Bowl commercial for the Pixel 7 (whose camera leverages AI editing) this weekend.
Meta employs AI to offer content recommendations to users on Facebook and Instagram. It also uses AI-enabled campaigns to look for the best audiences and AI-generated text services to send products and offers to consumers with its “click to message” ads.
Snap uses AI to help build 3D models for its augmented reality program. The company is developing a mixed reality device that could make AR features available anywhere, through glasses.
Optimistic visionsBeyond the 2D assets that we can already create with generative AI, it’s fun to think about the 3D avatars, images, and videos that we might be able to whip up with the tools one day.
“Imagine playing around with your kids wearing AR glasses and pointing, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a pirate ship and a big monster,’ and we can bring those to life using generative AI,” mused Snap CEO Evan Spiegel in AdAge.
We can’t wait.
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
You can now order takeout from your TV
Roku has just sealed a multi-year deal with DoorDash that grants free access to DoorDash’s membership program, DashPass, and new shoppable ad offers. For the first year of the partnership, DoorDash will be the exclusive marketplace for US restaurants and grocers that want to buy interactive shoppable ads on Roku. The ads will run directly on Roku, where viewers can interact with the offer. They’ll receive the promotion on their phone or email, which will launch the storefront on the DoorDash app. Streaming and delivery just go together, y'know?
Read More → adweek
The odds of a recession have diminished
According to Goldman Sachs, there’s now just a 25% chance the US economy will slip into a recession in 2023. Last Friday’s labor market report showed the US added 517,000 jobs in January, proving hiring is still going strong. Inflation has declined for six months in a row to 6.5% as of December, which has also led to the upgrade in forecast. But surveys from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal have found a consensus view that there’s a 65% chance of “a sharp and severe” downturn within the coming year. Whether or not the US will narrowly avoid a recession is anyone’s guess.
Read More → insider
New app lets users invest like influencers
Follow, the new social investment platform launched this week, allows users to subscribe to a fintech influencer’s financial feed and set up an investment portfolio that mimics that person’s investment strategy. Users pay a monthly subscription fee determined by the influencers, which ranges from $1.99 to $19.99. While Follow will profit from these subscriptions, the majority of the revenue will go to the influencers. “Our biggest competitor is inertia,” says CEO Manning Field. “There are 57% of people not putting money in the market. [We’re] meeting new people and bringing them into the game.”
Read More → techcrunch
ChatGPT is coming for Valentine’s Day
In a recent McAfee survey of 5,000 people, 42% of US men said they plan to use AI to write a Valentine’s note this year, compared to less than 20% of women. McAfee’s research suggests most people wouldn’t be able to tell if a Valentine’s Day letter was written by ChatGPT or not. When shown a ChatGPT-written love letter, 39% of respondents said it was “obvious a person wrote this.” Another 37% said they had no way to tell. Only 24% got it right. Meanwhile, 50% of all US respondents said they agree or strongly agree with the statement: “I would be hurt or offended if I found out my Valentine’s message was written by a machine.” Just write the note yourself, Future Party people.
Read More → fastcompany
It “looks, cooks, tastes, and flakes like fish…”
As more environmentally conscious people seek seafood alternatives, fake fish is on track to become a $1.6 billion business over the next ten years. In the US alone, investment in plant-based, fermented, or cell-based fake fish reached $178.2 million in the first half of 2022, according to fishfarmingexpert.com. Unlike fake meat, which is usually more expensive than the real thing, fake fish could be cheaper for consumers, as the cost of real fish has skyrocketed. Investors hope fake fish will appeal to those already buying plant-based meats. Thoughts?
Read More → cnbc
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Today's email was brought to you by Kait Cunniff.Editing by Melody Song. Publishing by Sara Kitnick.