Sept 2024: Magic, Emotions and Crowns

[ssandino]

Sept 2024 → Subscribe to Monthly Updates

Magic, Emotions and Crowns

written by Aurélie

Emotional ease

I’ve often highlighted the psychological benefits of UBI with scientific evidence. While this is necessary for some rational minds, simply listening to recipients often offers enough common sense to grasp the true impact of UBI. This realization hit me when I read the statement of a UBI recipient in the New York Times:

For that 18 months, this stress was washed away, I felt like there was an umbrella over my head protecting me from an imminent storm.
Jacinta Bunnell

To hear from Social Income recipients, check out our short film—real change, human to human, phone to phone.

Coders crown

Over 50 million open-source projects start on GitHub every year. Getting into their official social impact program—where only 9 open-source initiatives were accepted in 2023, and 27 in 2024—seems impossible. We did it not once, but twice in a row. I’m so proud of our developers for helping to make Social Income scalable. I learned HTML for these newsletters. Does that make me a coder too?

Favorites feeds

A podcast a day might not keep the doctor away, but brings you closer to the Social Income team. I asked them for recommendations on their favorite podcasts during tour annual barbeque:

• The Ezra Klein Show (Spotify / Apple)
• Believe in Magic (Spotify / Apple)
• Social Science Bites (Spotify / Apple)
• Perfect Person (Spotify / Apple)

Magic machine

We've all heard a lot about LLMs over the past year, but have you ever truly grasped how they function? I recently came across this amazing visualization that breaks down how these bots actually work. Before the machines replace us, they must first reshape the way we work, and they have certainly transformed mine. Prove that you know how LLMs work.

Chosen chains

Remember last month when I told you that reducing screen time by just one hour can boost your well-being? If you need another reason to unplug, here’s a quote from Chul Han that stuck with me since I first read it (on my phone): “The smartphone is a mobile labor camp in which we voluntarily intern ourselves.” Harsh, but strangely true.

My World in Data

42,000,000,000,000

The richest 1 percent have amassed $42 trillion in new wealth over the past decade, the equivalent of nearly 34 times more than the entire bottom 50 percent of the world’s population. This sharp divide underscores the urgent reality of rising economic inequality. How rich am I?

362,000,000

One in 22 people globally are in need of humanitarian aid—362 million in total, a record high. Over 110 million have been displaced, and 260 million are struggling with severe food insecurity, including some facing famine. Conflict, climate change, and financial crises are worsening the situation. Sierra Leone is the 11th most vulnerable country on this planet.

4.1

In 2024, the fertility rate in Africa is 4.1 children per woman. By comparison, the fertility rate in Europe is 1.6 children per woman. Just imagine the mental relief direct cash transfers can bring to mothers of 4 or more children!

My World in News

• A Sierra Leonean’s dreadlocks influence change. (Washington Post)
• China said it will give one-off cash handouts to make citizens happier. (Bloomberg)
• Africa’s debt crisis has devastating consequences for the world. (The New York Times)
• UBI provides benefits that have nothing to do with AI. (Vox)

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