Katie’s Notebook: October 16, 2024

Written By Katie McMillan

Get out your sunglasses, I’m throwing some shade 😎 in this issue. No introduction necessary.

  • 🏥 Longevity Medicine is one of the hot topics in medicine these days (put it on your bingo card for HLTH) and frankly, I have some ethical concerns about the top 5% of the healthiest humans chasing another few years of life through expensive supplements, lab tests, and concierge medicine when there is so much inequity in healthcare. Turns out a few researchers published an article in Nature titled: Implausibility of radical life extension in humans in the twenty-first century and put some evidence to my hunches. 🎤 drop. (H/T to Shân Osborn for sharing this.)

  • 🌍 And while I am stirring the pot...everyone is losing their minds over AI. Yes, there are many interesting things coming out of it and the potential is tremendous, but when I read this piece about the environmental impact of running AI models (the energy use by 2026 is expected to be equivalent to the entire country of Japan’s annual consumption) it really made me question if we need ChatGPT recipe plans when there are already millions available on Pinterest. Do consumers need unlimited access? If we are going to demand unlimited access maybe we should also be demanding greener energy investments to go along with it.

  • 🏆 Some serious side eye was thrown at the scientific Nobel Prize winners this year — all of which used AI models to help them achieve their research findings. Did they really earn it? Or is this the latest iteration in building on the backs of giants? Geoffrey Hinton, who won for Physics actually warned about unintended consequences about the technology. Will he join in the regret of the founder of the Keurig? Only time will tell.

  • 🧦 Did you hear that everyone’s favorite parental anxiety baby sock took a hit from the NYSE? “Last year, Owlet was notified by the NYSE that it was not in compliance with Section 802.01B of the NYSE listed company manual because its average global market capitalization over a consecutive 30-day trading day period was below $50 million and its last reported stockholders’ equity was less than $50 million.” Apparently everything is fine now, except for the fact that the stock is trading at $4.55 a share. Hark! Is that the sound of pediatricians rejoicing that they may have to field fewer panic calls?

  • 💰 Ok ok, there is some good news: Melinda Gates is absolutely crushing it with her new organization, Pivotal Ventures, and announced that she will grant $250 million to support women’s health around the world. Who run the world? I think you know.

My Latest Content

Fun Finds

If you are looking for a healthy pumpkin muffin for breakfast (yes I am still in pumpkin season) this quick recipe fed my family over a few mornings. I just added this gorgeously simple silk wrap dress to my wardrobe and it looks like it will be perfect for conferences as well as date nights. If you are between sizes, size down. We had to turn the heat on and with it comes dry skin. This is my favorite moisturizer that just melts into your face and is unscented! Started your Christmas shopping for the kids? Hannah Andersson is running a 40% off sale and this zip up hoodie is one of their best quality products. I’ve washed ours a zillion times across 2 kids. Add it to your cart for any of the children in your life. PS— if you’ve made it this far, I started writing this up while Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was on in the background — one of my favorite fall movies.

Note: As a solopreneur I use affiliate links for some of the products I believe in as a means of diversifying my income. When you buy something I have linked to, I may receive a small commission from that company at no cost to you.

Katie McMillan
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Katie’s Notebook: November 14, 2024
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Katie’s Notebook: September 26, 2024