May 10, 2025 Dispatch

Edition 31 – Supermarket Risks, Ancient Wolves, and AI

New on my blog

From dealing with discovery overload to mastering knowledge integration, this guide explores the best apps to transform your reading habits. Check out my detailed review of standout apps like GoodLinks, MyMind, and Feedbin and discover how they can streamline your content workflow and inspire you read faster and learn more.

The big stories

Global grocery shopping habits have dramatically shifted towards chain stores and online platforms, with a 23.6% increase in supermarket density worldwide from 2009 to 2023. Online grocery spending has surged by 325% since 2014, with UAE residents spending an average of $617 annually on digital food shopping. This retail transformation has led to a concerning 10.9% rise in unhealthy processed food sales, particularly impacting developing nations where annual increases reach 5%. The study demonstrates a direct correlation between increased chain store presence and obesity rates, which have climbed from 18.2% to 23.7% globally, suggesting urgent need for regulatory measures like the UK's restrictions on unhealthy food placement and promotion in stores.

A Dallas biotech company's recent claim of resurrecting extinct dire wolves has sparked controversy in the scientific community. Colossal Biosciences created three white-furred wolf pups through genetic engineering, making just 20 edits to gray wolf DNA, with five changes solely focused on coat color. Scientists, including Jeremy Austin from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, strongly dispute this claim, noting that dire wolves diverged from other canids 5.7 million years ago and would require hundreds of thousands of genetic changes to truly recreate. While the research demonstrates valuable advances in genetic engineering, the company's assertion of "de-extinction" raises important questions about scientific integrity and the ecological role of such creatures in our modern world.

Digital technology use in older adults shows promising benefits for cognitive health, countering common fears about tech's negative effects on our brains. A comprehensive analysis of 57 studies involving over 411,000 people aged 50+ revealed that tech users had a remarkable 58% lower risk of cognitive impairment and up to 34% lower rates of cognitive decline over time. These benefits likely stem from the mental stimulation of learning new tech, maintaining social connections through digital platforms, and using apps that help manage daily tasks independently. For those concerned about aging relatives, introducing simple tech like photo apps or digital calendars could be a valuable step in supporting their long-term cognitive health.

TV streaming platforms have evolved from simple content delivery systems into sophisticated advertising networks that collect extensive user data. Roku, which began as Netflix's hardware partner, now generates 85% of its $3.5 billion annual revenue from advertising and has amassed detailed profiles of its 90 million users. The widespread adoption of Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology allows smart TVs to monitor viewing habits across all connected devices, including gaming consoles, by capturing screenshots and audio snippets. To truly escape this data collection and advertising ecosystem, viewers would need to revert to offline viewing methods, though 43% of Americans have accepted ad-supported streaming as a trade-off for more affordable entertainment options.

Google's AI Overviews feature has gone viral for confidently providing detailed explanations of completely made-up phrases and idioms, treating nonsensical queries like "never throw a poodle at a pig" as if they were legitimate expressions. At its core, this behavior stems from two key characteristics of generative AI: its probability-based word prediction system and its tendency to please users by accepting their premises as true. While the feature won't generate explanations for every made-up phrase, when it does, it creates plausible-sounding definitions complete with origin stories and reference links, highlighting how AI can convincingly present fiction as fact. This quirky demonstration serves as an important reminder about AI's limitations and the need to approach AI-generated content with healthy skepticism, even when it appears authoritative.