ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

In Case You Missed It (v29)

Misinformation and bots are everywhere, but at least there’s one baseball team with a lot of heart. Should you hop on the AI train, or wait until it’s a smoother ride? Who actually gets the tip when you order out? Here’s what we noticed, in case you missed it:

Join the fight against misinformation

Students across the country are encountering more and more misinformation online. What are students supposed to do when they can’t tell what information is real? Many people are saying we need to ramp up educational programs in response. Students need to develop their critical thinking and digital literacy skills from an early age. This seems like an easy-in for CUs, especially those looking for younger members. Get connected to a local school, teach digital financial literacy to the people who need it most.

The robo-takeover might be now

According to Imperva’s 10th annual Bad Bot Report, last year 47.4% of all internet traffic wasn’t even human. This is more than a 5% increase in bot activity from 2021’s report, and it’s definitely showing us a concerning trend. This news comes in the midst of a lot of news about the rise of AI, which could make anyone feel a little nervous about SKYNET becoming a real thing. Sci-fi horrors aside, it’s definitely a good reason to make sure your website is secure and up to snuff.

AI won’t replace designers, but…

Designers who use AI will replace those who don’t. At least, according to Shai Krishna, whose personal mission is to “build superpower designers who can become recession proof.” If you are looking for ChatGPT cheatsheets for UI or UX design, color palettes and brand design systems, user personas and more, take a look. Or maybe you’d rather learn “perfect” typesetting with Deep Floyd, or “perfect” product shots with Perfusion. Me, I’m leaning toward having my own Disney-esque animation studio with Stable Animation. Too many toys, too many toys…

Or maybe the AI train isn’t quite ready…

This article by Anil Seth on Nautilus discusses why “Conscious AI is a bad bad idea“. Along the way, it delves into a lot of the problems we humans have with perceiving and evaluating consciousness and intelligence. This article is also a great way to get your mind around some of the high-level concepts around AI, what may be possible and not possible, and potential impacts.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going bananas!

CU Marketers, you might want to pay attention to this one. Because baseball, one of the oldest, most boring games ever*, has finally been turned into something entertaining! The Savannah Bananas have built a crazy, entertainment production that is “less America’s pastime and more Globetrotters on grass.” They’ve eliminated bunts, mound visits, walks – basically any of the game’s lulls, and even put a time limit on the game. If a fan catches a foul ball, the player is out. Ping-pong games pop up in the outfield. One player is on stilts while another rolls by on a barrel. Their dance team, the Banana Nanas are all senior women. It’s “a circus what happens to have a ballgame in the middle of it” that started playing for laughs in 2016 and has sold out ever since.

Is tipping getting out of hand?

This fascinating LA Times article examines how tipping has weaseled its way into more and more new places. Most people are fine with tipping 20% or so for a restaurant meal, but exactly what are you paying for when the screen on a takeout order is now demanding a tip, or you have to pick up your food and bus your own table? Who’s getting the money, anyway? It would be interesting for a credit union to examine how and where tipping has increased locally.

Will we ever get a marijuana banking bill?

The folks over at CU Collaborate are counting, and we’re currently on the seventh try for a Federal bill providing a safe harbor for CUs and banks to serve marijuana businesses in states where pot is legal (it remains illegal at the Federal level). There’s broad public support for the idea, but it’s hard to say whether this bill has much more of a chance than the last six.

*(Can you tell I’m not much of a baseball fan?)

AllofUs iDizians
Latest posts by AllofUs iDizians (see all)

Email this article to a friend or coworker.