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Cultural intelligence unit of @TBWA.
Turning today’s stories into tomorrow’s opportunities.

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Tuvalu, an island nation in Oceania, is set to be fully replicated in the metaverse.

It is going digital to preserve its culture in the event that the island is lost to climate change.

Though the move might seem drastic, it’s reflective of our current environmental reality.

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What if your AC could sense when you were losing focus, and send out a cool breeze to help you stay alert?

That scenario is now possible thanks to Mitsubishi’s mood-detecting AC.

Our moods are being added to the long list of things that companies already know about us.

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UPSIDE Foods became the 1st company to have its cultivated chicken product cleared for human consumption by the FDA.

The company must first get additional clearance from the Department of Agriculture.

The next challenge will be convincing consumers to give lab-grown meat a try.

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If you’ve played video games, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced some not-so-pleasant interactions.

Ubisoft and Riot Games are aiming to combat the toxicity with a joint research project—“Zero Harm in Comms.”

Competitors are coming together for the good of the industry.

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If you’re looking for a new way to discover music, look no further than your local library.

Over a dozen public libraries across the U.S. and Canada have launched their own streaming platforms.

This could be the alternative music-distribution model we’ve been waiting for.

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“Sad girl makeup” is social media’s latest beauty obsession.

Makeup artists are sharing tutorials explaining how to achieve the perfect crying look—complete with puffy lips, glistening under eyes, a red nose and cheeks & a sorrowful stare.

Perfection is no longer aspirational.

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Compared to men, women are 17% more likely to die in a car crash and 73% more likely to sustain serious injuries.

A team of Swedish researchers has developed the first-ever female crash dummy.

The next step is for governments to actually mandate female crash dummy safety tests.

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For the first time ever, two individuals were injected with red blood cells grown in a lab.

The trial, which was run by NHS Blood and Transplant, aims to see how long lab-grown cells can last in the body compared to standard blood cells.

Healthcare is moving into the future.

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Cardboard pets are all the rage at Chinese universities.

As China doubles down on its zero-Covid policy, several quarantined students are finding comfort in hand-crafted companions.

It coincides with increasing frustration over the government’s zero-tolerance approach.

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When you think of the AARP, you probably think of silver-haired seniors.

On TikTok, young people are posting videos to explain that there’s no age requirement for an AARP membership.

Gen Z is embracing frugality with zero shame.

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The next generation of fashion designers will be Roblox-certified. 

This week, Roblox and Parsons School of Design announced a new course that will teach students how to create 3D digital fashion using Roblox tools.

The digital clothing industry is getting formalized.

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Rising energy costs are driving tourists to warmer weather.

While going on holiday to escape the cold is nothing new, a growing number of travelers are now also fleeing their high energy bills.

The cost-of-living crisis is putting households under serious pressure.

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With burnout at an all-time high, rest is resistance.

That’s the message being spread by Tricia Hersey, also known as the Nap Bishop, who founded the Nap Ministry.

From rest temples to quiet quitting, it’s clear that grind culture is being put to bed.

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The hottest new social media app is all about hyping up your friends.

Teens in the U.S. are flocking to a fast-growing app called Gas, where they anonymously compliment each other through a polling system.

Gas is part of the push toward authentic, hyper-localized social media.

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There’s a new political party in Denmark—and its leader is an AI chatbot.

The Synthetic Party aims to represent the values of the 20% of people who don’t vote.

As AI becomes increasingly politicized, people are going to extremes to showcase the risks and the potential benefits.

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Of all the inhumane foods out there, foie gras is near the top of the list.

Gourmey recently banked $48 million to bring lab-grown foie gras into the mainstream.

Lab-grown meat has the potential to unlock a more sustainable, animal-friendly future of food.

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You’ve seen AI-made art and AI-generated videos. Now, AI is entering the podcast arena.

In a newly-released podcast, a fake Joe Rogan interviewed a fake Steve Jobs.

As AI creator tools become more advanced & accessible, it’ll only get trickier to distinguish what’s real.

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Remote workers might have a case for keeping their cameras off after all.

According to a Dutch Court, requiring employees to turn on their webcams is a violation of human rights.

New laws begin to establish clearer boundaries between our private lives & our professional lives.

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87% of the materials used in clothing production end up as waste. North Face’s first circular collection wants to change that.

Every item in the new collection was designed to be easily recyclable at the end of its life.

Responsible disposal is becoming a key selling point.

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Imagine looking up at the stars and seeing an ad staring back at you. 

According to a new study from Russian researchers, that scenario is not only possible, it could also be profitable.

Just because we can advertise in space, however, doesn’t mean we should.