Your Brain Has Rights

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Nothing better than Taco Tuesday. But we suggest standing up and walking to get your tortilla-wrapped treat because sitting for too long can give you “dead butt syndrome.” While it’s a hilarious name, it’s no joke — it can cause a host of lower-back and knee problems. So, get up and save your butt.

DAILY TOP TRENDS

California Says Your Thoughts Aren’t For Sale

California passed a law extending the state’s Consumer Privacy Act to protect the privacy of a person’s brain data collected by neurotechnology companies (i.e., pretty much everyone in Silicon Valley).

The Big Thought: Applications and technologies as diverse as mixed-reality headsets and meditation platforms can in some way record and collect the neural data of users… and there are few legal guardrails to protect that data. Without the law, targeted advertising and digital manipulation efforts could eventually reach a whole new level of personalization.

Between the Tissue: Our thoughts and feelings are now as recordable as a keystroke… so California stepped in before that data could be widely monetized.

• Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and passed unanimously in both the State Assembly and State Senate, California now protects “neural data” (a user’s brain activity and connected nerves that send signals to the rest of the body).

• Neural data now has the same protections as facial images, DNA, fingerprints, and other biometric data — all considered “personal sensitive information.”

• That means California residents can request, delete, or correct info that has been collected and opt out from firms being able to sell or share it.

Brainstorm: Consumer neurotechnology is a pretty unregulated industry, mainly due to the tech extending from smartphones, smartwatches, and smart glasses that are already widely used. But how real is this brain data threat? Studies have already shown that thoughts and feelings can be decoded and that images of what someone saw can be reconstructed.

Now that a brain’s output is protected, we can focus on input. That’s right — we have to prepare for outlawing inception.

Go Deeper: Putting literal technology into our brains makes protecting neural data more important than ever.

Together with Vinovest

The Rising Demand for Whiskey: A Smart Investor’s Choice

Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?

One word: consumption.

Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey’s popularity.

That’s not all.

Whiskey’s tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Hilton Reports That People Want To Slow Down

Hilton found that modern travelers are actually, finally, looking to relax on vacations and slow down instead of making them an endless sprint to see as many hotspots as possible.

Why It Hits: The past few decades of travel have been defined by traditional tourism. But as the desire to find unique experiences and the need to recover from collective burnout ramps up, finding novel ways to recharge is about to be all the rage.

Behind the Itinerary: Hilton’s Annual Trends Report, which surveyed 13,000 adults from 13 different countries who plan to travel within the next year, reports that itineraries are getting a revamp.

Fast Company has a breakdown:

• 20% want to lounge in bed all day (in an exotic or luxurious location, no less), while 25% are focused on wellness experiences or simply disconnecting from social media.

• 70% want to get active, with 20% reporting that their adventuring will focus on exploring the great outdoors.

• 64% are picking up a good book to travel with (afternoons at coffee shops, anyone?), 25% are bringing a pet (dogs are wellness), and 30% are traveling with friends from work (taking the “work” out of “remote work”).

The Future: Hilton writes that a big focus of the slow travel trend is “immersing oneself into a destination for an extended time as a local to fully experience the culture” — so more European summer holiday break than a weeklong cruise with four different ports. In other words, it’s about stepping outside one’s routine. And if it can be done in what Hilton calls “secondary” locations like Sardinia and Bodrum, all the better.

Go Further: Airbnb is already all over these trends.

DEEP DIVES

• Listen: Decoder chats with Matt Strauss, NBCUniversal’s head of streaming, about Peacock’s winning coverage of the Summer Olympics.

• Read: On the heels of Governor Newsom vetoing the bill focused on averting AI-related catastrophes, here’s a breakdown of all the new AI laws in California, courtesy of TechCrunch.

• Watch: WSJ explores why technocrats are suddenly obsessed with having as many children as possible.

63.4% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Are you experiencing extreme weather right now?

“I live in Toronto, Canada.”

“We live in the County of Fife in Scotland.”

“Hurricane Helene.”

“Heat.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

QUICK HITS

→ Entertainment / Media

🎧 Coldplay is collabing with film distributor Abramorama to host listening parties of their new album in theaters worldwide.

🎤 Drake’s “It’s All A Blur” Tour is now the highest-grossing hip-hop tour after generating $320.5 million in revenue.

🦸 Marvel and DC have lost their joint trademark over the phrase “Super Hero” after a battle with publisher Superbabies Limited.

→ Technology

🤖 SoftBank is entering the AI fray with a whopping $500 million investment in OpenAI, valuing the firm at $150 billion.

🤑 MNTN, the ad-tech firm that counts Ryan Reynolds as its chief creative officer, has tapped Morgan Stanley for a potential 2025 IPO.

🔋 Ford is offering customers a free EV charger (with installation) if they buy an EV… all in hopes of accelerating adoption.

→ Creator Economy

🧐 Google now considers select digital content creators as “experts” in the “Knowledge Panels” that accompany Search results.

📱 A study by MIDiA Research found that 25% of indie artists are distributing their music directly on TikTok.

💸 Fidelity now values X at roughly $9.4 billion — 79% less than when the firm invested in Musk’s acquisition of the platform at $44 billion.