“Nature is healing” never really happened

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The Futurist is your daily tech, cosmic, and science (both weird or otherwise) newsletter with articles and content curated just for you.

Google Health developing GenAI models for Fitbit, clinicians

“Google Health has announced some of the latest strides it has made in the healthcare industry with its use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models. … In collaboration with Google Research and Fitbit, Google Health is developing a Personal Health Large Language Model [which] aims to power personalized health and wellness features in the Fitbit mobile app, providing individuals with tailored coaching and recommendations based on their health and fitness goals. [Additionally,] Generative AI is proving to be an assistive tool for clinicians, helping them with administrative tasks such as documentation … Google Health is expanding on this work [with] the introduction of AMIE (Articulate Medical Intelligence Explorer), a research AI system optimized for diagnostic reasoning and clinical conversations.”

// PYMNTS »

I scream, you scream, we all scream for… Dice Cream?!

Yeah, you read that right. Dice Cream is the revolutionary new bot that serves ice cream in fun square-shaped servings. The idea is simple: Minimize the costs and labor required at your traditional brick-and-mortar ice cream parlor and replace it with robots. While there’s already a functioning prototype, they need more support from investors like you to help bring it fully to life. Shares start at just $250 a pop with eligibility for bonus shares for any investment over $1,500. Invest today to become part of the future of robotics and, more importantly, ice cream. [Ad]

// Get invested »

Elon Musk says ketamine is his special medicine

“During the hour-long interview [with former CNN anchor Don Lemon], Musk doubled down on his use of ketamine, a potentially hallucinogenic anesthetic that has been used as a treatment for depression. … ‘From an investor standpoint, if there is something I’m taking, we should keep taking it,’ he added, arguing that his ketamine use was in Tesla's best interest.”

// Futurism »

Nature wasn’t healing: What really happened with wildlife during pandemic lockdowns

“During the lockdowns of the early pandemic … People reported animals re-claiming territory from humans in much-memed (and often fake) posts. Nature was — supposedly — healing. Except that it wasn’t, really. The effects of Covid-19 restrictions on peoples’ activity and wildlife were nuanced and varied, according to a study published March 18 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. The ‘nature is healing’ narrative was far too simplistic to capture the full breadth of what really unfolded between humans and animals in the pandemic’s early stage, says Cole Burton, co-lead study author and a conservation biologist at the University of British Columbia. ‘I can understand why we wanted to believe that,’ he adds, ‘but there was no one-size-fits all response with animals.’”

// Popular Science »

To travel or not to travel? The answer is actually pretty easy (and cheap)

There are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who go on cool international vacations and the rest of us who get jealous. Don’t want to be in the latter group? You could search for cheap airfare the old-fashioned way: opening up a hundred tabs and comparing a million flights. Or, you could get OneAir, which does all that dirty work for you. The membership also comes with exclusive savings of up to 60% off hotels and resorts, making bougie vacays actually affordable. With OneAir, you’ll save up to 90% total on each trip you take, which is more than most jetsetters can say. Your next adventure and envy-inducing Insta post await. [Ad]

// Travel smarter »

5 video games we wanna smell, now that it's kinda possible with GameScent

“Games are onslaughts of sight and sound, and with rumbling controllers, even touch. But have you ever wondered what all 1,000+ Pokémon smell like? Because we have. With the news of a weird device called GameScent, we’ve rounded up a list of which game worlds we’re most curious to get a whiff of — for better or worse.”

// New Atlas »