Take that, machines: A real photo was disqualified from an AI photo contest. Photographer Miles Astray’s submission — a photo of a flamingo on a beach, which took third place in the 1839 Color Photography Awards’ AI category and even won the People’s Vote Award — was ultimately disqualified from the competition for not being AI-generated. But after several instances of AI beating humans at their own games, it was still a win for Astray, who only meant to send a message: “There is nothing more fantastic and creative than Mother Nature herself.”
What are Gen Zers up to now? Guiding their investments with tarot readings, apparently. Day trading has always been an uphill climb — previous studies have projected 80%+ of solo investors lose money — but that’s because all those idiots didn’t have art of divination on their side. There’s a rising trend of young TikTokers pulling tarot cards to seek stock-trading guidance trades and, amazingly, it’s (allegedly) working for some of them? One influencer who mixes “energetic influences” with Robinhood says she received a $6k/month gift from the universe.
But wait! We've got even more people making money divining the future. Officials in Norfolk, Virginia, nixed its 45-year-old ban on psychic services, clearing the way for soothsayers to legally conduct business in the city. Previously, palm reading, phrenology, and other means of clairvoyance constituted a first-degree misdemeanor and could lead to one year in jail. Lifting the ordinance may lead to a solid boost for Norfolk’s local economy — the US psychic services industry tallied an estimated $2.3B in revenue last year. Unlike America’s 97k practitioners, we never saw that kind of economic impact coming.