Peaks of excitement as girl-power tours rock the globe (shoutout to our beloved queens of pop - Taylor Swift and Beyoncé) and valleys of impatience and activism through the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Peaks of shared fandom and connectivity with pointed valleys of global crisis, conflict, and despair. Peaks of tech and wellness innovation and valleys of AI misuse and misinformation. And add into that mix that it was the hottest year on record – we are living in times that simply exude uncertainty.

AI is getting better and smarter at mimicking reality with little to no regulation - “anyone [can] create fake images, synthetic audio and video, and text that sounds convincingly human.” Tech solutions and policymakers are struggling to keep up in the fight against distinguishing AI-generated content from original creations. Professionals are encouraging content consumers to practice “media literacy” by taking further steps to verify content they are seeing. Professor Arvind Narayanan says, “just be skeptical, fact-check anything that could have a large impact on your life or democratic processes.”

CBS has tasked Taylor Tomlinson (30) with taking on a new late night show on the network. She’s had numerous stand-up specials and has utilized the coveted TikTok as a way to reach her audience where they are. Stephen Colbert made the selection, saying they needed to find someone "fun, likable, young, and in touch with online trends." It’s no surprise that this late night offering is ready to switch things up, and that it’s time to appeal to a new generation and demographic of viewers - and Gen Zs are here for it!

While technology can be one of the causes of loneliness for Gen Z, it can also be one of the cures. For people looking to create new friendships, Bumble has an answer. Back in July, the dating app announced a separate app called “Bumble for Friends” aimed at helping people make new connections. Currently launched in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, the U.K., and the U.S., users can now create a profile outlining their interests and what kind of friends they are looking for and then can swipe through profiles with similar interests — just like in the Bumble app — and match with other people. According to TechCrunch, the company is also rolling out a group chat functionality to plan meetups that suggest pre-written prompts for activities such as “meet for coffee,” “let’s grab a bite,” “live music or a show,” and “game night.”

Four For ‘24: The Cassandra 2024 OutLOOK is available exclusively to Cassandra Report members. For additional information about this report and how to become a Cassandra Member, please contact michael.corti@cassandra.co or visit us here.