Scroll down to read about Venezuelan-Americans, what people really think about ICE, and how equal rights aren’t that popular.
Stats to power your week
🌎It’s been a frantic start to the year, with Venezuelan (ex-?)President Nicolás Maduro now sat in US custody. Other than being the fastest-growing Hispanic group, what do we know about Venezuelan-Americans? Thanks to the brain drain from the country in recent years, the US has taken on some of the country’s best and brightest, with Venezuelan-Americans three times more likely to hold a specialized degree than other Hispanics. GWI USA
🧊Recent events have brought the already salient and divisive topic of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (aka ICE) to the fore. But how do Americans actually view current policies on immigration control? Depending on how you look at it, it’s almost perfectly balanced, or perfectly polarized, with 41% in favor and 39% against. GWI Zeitgeist
🏷️“It will be more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media”. So says Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, on a recent Threads post, alluding to the now-ubiquitous AI-generated content. But how do consumers rate their skills in identifying it? Only a quarter of global consumers are very or extremely confident in their ability to do so. GWI Zeitgeist
🤧We’ve had a rummage through our GWI USA data set to establish some of the most distinctive traits for how consumers in each state see themselves. To give some examples - West Virginians are the most rebellious, Montanans are the most thrifty and adventurous, while those silvertongues in DC are the most persuasive. GWI USA
What’s on our radar
Both OpenAI and Claude have unveiled new products focused specifically on health, carrying that all important HIPAA approval.
Co-developed with Google, Shopify has announced a new Universal Commerce Protocol to let AI agents reliably do real commerce flows, which might be an important moment in pushing people to think about AI platforms as a source of recommendations into actual storefronts. Meanwhile, JD Sports will allow consumers to buy its products directly through chatbots.
Anyone watching coverage of the Golden Globes might have noticed scores from prediction markets overlaid on screen, another sign they’re moving from niche to normalized.
On the subject of predicting the future, it seems like humans still hold the edge over AIs for now, but that might change for good by the end of the year.
Last year we wrote a hot take about how (some level of) alcohol consumption is good for you, actually. It seems like the US government was listening, as they’ve just released new alcohol guidelines that favor looser guidelines of general moderation, as opposed to 2 drinks for men and 1 for women. As Dr. Mehmet Oz alluded to at the press conference, the vibe might be shifting in favor of alcohol’s prosocial qualities.
Chart of the week
1 in 5 now say a 4 day week is on the cards at their company. Employees in companies that broadly allow it are 54% more likely to be extremely satisfied with their job and 26% more likely to rate their company as excellent for productivity.
But it’s easier for startups to trial than big corporations, and for C-suite, editors, and consultants than support staff, retail managers, or nurses. Some cultures like Japan have an “always on” culture that makes them more likely to push back against it. Beyond that, the job market has got tougher, and employers have more power than they did in 2020, with hybrid working benefits tightening up.
These early results suggest that the way we work could be improved, encouraging employers to experiment. We expect the 4-day work week to pick up in certain markets and industries, just not to become standard practice anytime soon.
🔥 Hot take
Punchy perspectives, with data that nudges the narrative
“Equal rights aren't that popular”
Who wouldn’t agree with a statement like “I believe all people should have equal rights”? Quite a lot of people, as it turns out. Worldwide, it’s only just over half (54%) of global consumers who agree with this statement. Even in France, the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, only 39% are advocates of equal rights for all. What’s going on?
To be fair, some people might be neutral to the concept, as opposed to being fully against it. But even so, it’s a reminder that not everyone thinks in egalitarian terms around the world. Some might balk at giving equal rights to criminals, for example. In many societies across the globe, there is an outgroup of some kind. And it’s a helpful reminder that many values we assume are universal and natural are in fact quite local and institutional.
More from GWI
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