🐤 Taking it to court

🏦 Markets: Wall Street responded positively on Tuesday to the latest inflation-fighting rhetoric of the Federal Reserve, which pushed all three major indexes up for the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each gained more than half a percent while the Nasdaq continued its winning streak with a 1% boost.

The cryptocurrency market extended its recent rally despite news that trading platform Coinbase would be cutting about 20% of its workforce in its second round of layoffs within a year.

🤑 Microsoft moves: The rise of a powerful new chatbot known as ChatGPT has sparked fear in some tech titans who are afraid that the artificial intelligence platform could threaten their grip on certain segments of the market. Microsoft is apparently interested in hedging its bets by making a bid of up to $10 billion to acquire a 49% stake in OpenAI, the company responsible for creating ChatGPT. If successful in its current effort, Microsoft would rake in a staggering 75% of OpenAI’s profits until it ultimately recovers its full investment. Along with its 49% stake, Microsoft wants to ensure that other investors would control another combined 49% with the remaining 2% left for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm.

❗ Sesame shuffle: In light of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to list sesame as a major allergen, many companies are struggling to find ways to remove it from products. According to recent complaints, however, some businesses are actually going in the opposite direction. Instead of taking the steps necessary to remove sesame from products, restaurant chains like Wendy’s and Olive Garden are serving more of the potential allergen. This requires them to advise customers that there is sesame in their products, but it lets them off the hook when it comes to meeting the strict requirements of providing an allergen-free environment.

🛡️ Stove safety: Millions of Americans enjoy the capabilities of a gas-powered stove, whether in their own homes or the kitchen of a favorite restaurant. The Biden administration could be bringing all of that to an abrupt halt, though. A new report suggests that emissions from gas stoves could cause respiratory issues and other problems. In response, the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicated that it would be reviewing the data and, if deemed necessary, going so far as to ban the sale of such appliances in the future. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health determined that more than 12% of asthma cases in kids were linked to exposure to gas stoves.

🐉 D&D on TV: With production companies and streaming platforms always in the market for new subjects to turn into films and television series, it’s no surprise that popular games have been given the Hollywood treatment in recent years. Now, fans of the roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons will soon be able to see the game brought to life in a live-action series ordered by Paramount+. According to reports, writer and director Rawson Marshall Thurber — the driving force behind “Red Notice” and “Dodgeball” — has already created a pilot episode. In addition to the series, Paramount is also said to be working alongside Hasbro’s eOne company to create a film based on the game.

The rise of artificial intelligence is overtaking many sectors of our society, from internet searches to art. But if there’s one area in which you’d probably want a qualified (and human) professional, it might be when you need representation in court.

Nevertheless, recent reports indicate that the first-ever AI-powered attorney is prepared to take the lead in a case.

Starting off small

It’s probably a good thing that the inaugural use of this technology comes as part of a case with pretty low stakes. It’s a traffic violation case that’s going to court next month.

Joshua Browder, whose company DoNotPay has developed the program, thinks it could be the start of a new industry trend. In fact, the firm has used AI of some type to help settle more than two million disputes already.

How it works

If you’re picturing a robot in a suit showing up to plead on behalf of a defendant, rest assured that we’re not there … yet. This high-tech creation runs on a standard smartphone and is programmed to listen to everything that’s going on in the case.

The defendant is allowed to listen to the chatbot via headphones and is given instructions about what he or she should say to the judge at any given time.

Your mileage may vary

It’s worth noting that although such technology is permitted in courts across portions of the country, it might not be a legal remedy in your neck of the woods. Before you set out to let an app defend you against your next traffic ticket, you should definitely review all the applicable local laws.

Browder is optimistic that the trend will catch on, though, explaining: “If these cases are successful, it will encourage more courts to change their rules.”

The media has paid a lot of attention in recent years to the fight for a higher minimum wage. After decades of stagnation at the federal level, many state and local governments began to implement higher hourly rates all employers would have to pay even entry-level workers.

While this has been a step in the right direction for many low-income Americans, advocates want to clarify that there’s a lot more to the story.

Fighting for a living wage

As consumer costs continue to tick upward due to persistently high inflation, the flat minimum wage rate passed in locations across the county in recent years simply doesn’t buy as much as it once did. That means people who were already struggling to make ends meet are falling further behind without seeing their income increase.

Sure, there have been some positive examples in corporate America — including Target, which bumped its lowest hourly wage to $24. For most entry-level workers, however, it’s still a big challenge to simply buy the bare necessities.

That’s why a growing number of activists and organizations are calling for a “living wage,” not just a “minimum wage.”

Difficult to define

Although it certainly sounds nice to seek a living wage for all citizens, the parameters can be hard to pin down.

North Carolina State University Poole College of Management economist Steve Allen explained: “Ultimately, this boils down to a philosophical question of what the bare necessities really are.”

Beyond that, companies will always be motivated by profits, and keeping payroll expenses as low as possible is good for business.

That hasn’t stopped people from putting increased pressure on the corporate and political world to implement a wage that would provide access to safe housing, nutritious food, adequate health care, and reliable transportation.

Mankind has been infatuated with the concept of space travel throughout recorded history, but it has only been feasible over the course of the past few generations. And as a recap of last year reveals, it seems that a few incredible achievements pushed the entire industry ahead by leaps and bounds over the course of just 12 months.

Here are some of the highlights:

• SpaceX flights: In just over a decade, Elon Musk’s space exploration company has taken the world — and beyond — by storm. It launched a record 66 times in 2022 and continues to supplement NASA on various missions while focusing on its own bright future.
• Webb telescope: A powerful telescope that took about 20 years to perfect and roughly $10 billion to develop began sending back some unbelievable images of our universe last year — including an unprecedented glimpse of the so-called Pillars of Creation.
• Artemis I: Despite a long and arduous road to its first mission, the Space Launch System finally blessed off in November for the Artemis I mission. It was successful in testing the Orion spacecraft ahead of plans for future manned missions into space.

All of these accomplishments and more set the stage for a monumental increase in our ability to explore and conquer space. But where do we go from here?

Experts are looking toward a few achievements that we’ll likely reach in the relatively near term — and commercial space stations are near the top of that list.

Such a development would allow for space tourism while opening up the realm not only to government entities but to private firms like SpaceX and its rivals.

Based on the level of huge space news that broke last year, it’s possible that 2022 will go down as the catalyst for a new age in extraterrestrial humanity.