Optimistic Observer 08/08/24
By Capital Investment Counsel - August 8, 2024
Humanoid robots begin work on BMW assembly line.
In January 2024, California robotics company Figure signed an agreement with BMW to deploy its humanoid robots in a factory in South Carolina. Six months later, one of those robots is executing its first job by participating in the vehicle assembly process. The 1.6-m, 60-kg robot is fully autonomous and runs on a vision-language model from OpenAI, mapping pixels directly to actions. Watch here.
A breakthrough treatment for cycstic fibrosis.
The introduction of Trikafta has been a game-changer for those with cystic fibrosis (CF), a condition that once meant a significantly shortened lifespan. This triple-drug combination therapy targets a defective protein mutation, which is present in about 90% of CF patients. Since its approval, Trikafta has not only improved lung function and reduced pulmonary exacerbations but also dramatically increased life expectancy for many patients, offering a chance to experience aspects of life they never expected to reach. Read more here.
There are fewer low-wage workers in the US:
According to new Oxfam data, the percentage of U.S. workers earning less than $15 an hour has significantly decreased from 31.9% two years ago to just 13% today. This change reflects a substantial shift in the wage distribution, with fewer than 1 in 4 workers now earning less than $17/hour. Notably, the definition of low-wage workers has been updated to those earning less than $17 an hour, capturing a broader range of earners. In 2022, 52 million Americans were earning less than $15/hour. Today, 39 million Americans are earning less than $17/hour. That's a meaningful change. Read more here.
Global negative emotions drop for the first time in a decade.
This will come as a surprise to anyone with a regular news habit, but Gallup's annual global survey of 146,000 people across 142 countries reports that in 2023, positive emotions reached their highest since the beginning of the pandemic, and negative emotions declined for the first time in a decade, with an uptick in people feeling more well-rested, experiencing more enjoyment, and smiling or laughing more. Among all age groups, young people were by far the best off, and Latin American and Southeast Asian countries topped the list of places where people report more daily positive emotions. Read more here.
Oklahoma is outpacing California (and Texas) in green energy.
Oklahoma is emerging as a key player in the energy transition, surpassing many of its peers in clean energy advancements. Since 2018, the state has boosted its clean electricity generation by 35%, significantly outpacing the national average. This growth has been largely driven by aggressive expansions in wind power, with wind's share of Oklahoma's electricity mix jumping from 32% to 42% between 2018 and 2023. Additionally, Oklahoma has seen a substantial reduction in its carbon intensity, with emissions from the power sector dropping by 20% over the same period, a far greater decrease than in Texas and California. Read more here.
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