Today we may get the most famous mugshot in history. Imagining the possibility, we had an office conversation yesterday about who would have the funniest mugshot. The answers ranged from Bill Nye the Science Guy to James Corden. It’s today’s Question of the Day, so excited to see your picks!

In today's edition:

• India lands on the moon

• Reggie Bush sues the NCAA

• AI Love You

 🔑 Key Stories

Yevgeny Prigozhin Dead

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian warlord who led a rebellion in June, died in a plane crash

• Prigozhin founded the Wagner group, a powerful mercenary army that fought for Russia in Ukraine, Syria, and Africa. In June, he led an uprising and shot down several Russian planes before agreeing to live in Belarus in exile

• On Wednesday – exactly two months later – Prigozhin was traveling on a private jet from Moscow to St. Petersburg that crashed. Russia’s government confirmed his death. Eyewitnesses said the plane appeared to have been shot down

Dig Deeper

• Soon after the news, President Biden told reporters, “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind. But I don’t know enough [about the crash] to know the answer”

Chips Reading Brains

Two studies published in the journal Nature on Wednesday showed advances in brain-reading tech

• In the first, Stanford researchers attached electrodes to the head of a woman who lost the ability to speak due to Lou Gehrig's disease. The test was 76% accurate at pairing her thoughts to the correct word. It operated at a rate of 62 words per minute; for context, humans typically speak at 160 words/min

• In the second, University of California, SF researchers were 75% accurate at translating the thoughts of a woman who lost the ability to speak due to a stroke. That program ran at a rate of 78 words per minute

Dig Deeper

• In a study published in the journal PLOS Biology earlier this month, University of California, Berkeley researchers recorded patients’ brain waves while they listened to a Pink Floyd song. A computer was then able to recreate the song from their brainwaves alone, and although the translation wasn’t perfect, it captured the song’s basic sound and rhythm

India Lands on Moon

On Wednesday, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s South Pole

• Scientists believe the Moon’s South Pole has significant quantities of water ice. NASA and other space agencies plan to one day exploit those resources to sustain a lunar colony

• In 2019, India tried and failed to land a spacecraft on the Moon’s South Pole; on Sunday, Russia also failed. On Wednesday, though, India announced that it had successfully landed a spacecraft on the South Pole. That makes India the fourth country to land on the Moon and first to land near its South Pole

Dig Deeper

• The landing was widely celebrated in India

• “We have [landed] on the moon! India is on the moon!” the director of India’s space agency said following it

UK’s First Womb Transplant

Surgeons performed the first uterus transplant surgery on a UK woman

• The uterus, a.k.a. the “womb,” is a pear-shaped female organ where a fertilized egg transplants and develops into a fetus. Since 2014, 90+ uterus transplants have occurred across several countries

• On Wednesday, health officials announced that in February, UK surgeons performed the country’s first uterus transplant. The patient’s sister donated her uterus, and the procedure took 17+ hours. Doctors said it went well and that the uterus recipient has a “very high” chance of being able to give birth

Getting spammed with unsolicited calls and texts?

Sponsored by Incogni

In 2020, political campaigns on both sides of the aisle and special interest groups paid over $20M to data brokers for personal information on millions of Americans

• Elected politicians have the ability to make data privacy laws surrounding the purchase and usage of Americans’ personal information

• There is, however, no federal law in the United States that specifically regulates data brokers – the companies that buy and sell your personal information, such as SSNs, DOBs, home addresses, health information, contact details, and more

• Data brokers compile this data from your purchases, websites, apps, and public records. If you use the internet, data brokers likely have information on you

• Having your data online means that in addition to basically anyone (including bad actors) being able to buy your personal data for cents on the dollar, the US government can and does purchase your data as well (i.e. if you are a US taxpayer, a portion of your tax dollars are being used to buy info on you)

Dig Deeper

• We asked Roca readers earlier this month if they answered unsolicited phone calls and 90% did not. Incogni works to scrub your personal information from data brokers so you don’t have to get the calls in the first place

• If interested in learning more about data brokers, check out Incogni’s blog. Roca readers can get 55% off Incogni annual plans with code ‘ROCA10’

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Bush legal push: Former USC star running back Reggie Bush filed a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA. Bush lost his 2005 Heisman Trophy for allegedly taking payments in college

• America’s Mugshot: Rudy Giuliani had his mugshot taken at a Georgia jail. Giuliani is a former prosecutor who earned the nickname “America’s Mayor” as NYC’s mayor from 1994 to 2001

• Autopsy out of the oven: The cause of death for the Obama family’s personal chef was ruled an accidental drowning. He died paddle-boarding at the Obama’s Martha’s Vineyard estate

Wildcard

• Aye, a porch pirate: Police arrested a Georgia man after he allegedly stole a “full-size 8x10 porch” from his neighbor’s front yard. He faces a felony theft charge

• Out on one’s skis: A Chinese dissident fled to South Korea on a jet ski, riding 250 miles across the Yellow Sea from China to South Korea. He had been jailed for likening Xi to Hitler

• When you’re here, you’re soup: A Michigan man sued Olive Garden for over $25K after allegedly discovering a rat’s foot in his soup. He initially mistook it for a needle, causing him to vomit

👇 What do you think?

Today’s poll is sponsored Incogni. Use code ‘ROCA10’ to scrub your phone number from data brokers with the help of Incogni

Today's Question:

Who would have the funniest mugshot?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

More American couples now meet on dating apps than through any other means.

All the most popular dating apps have the same basic structure: Upload pictures, provide some written prompts, and sort through profiles. If two people approve of each other’s profiles, they match and can talk.

But statistics show many people find those apps difficult or unpleasant to use.

A disproportionate share of “likes” goes to a small portion of the most sought-after users, leaving some users with a demoralizing number of matches. Some don’t like being judged on their pictures or over their messages, or struggle to feel confident about the pictures or messages they send. Others don’t like the way people treat each other on the platforms.

Millions of dollars are being invested to solve those problems with AI. Among new platforms are ones that screen out matches, help craft profiles and replies, provide advice, or even act as a substitute companion.

One platform, Yourmove.ai, says, “Our AI profile generator takes your best features and spins it into a dating profile that will tell everyone you’re witty and your dog thinks you’re cute.” Once it has customized your profile, you feed it the messages you receive and it crafts responses.

“All that’s left? Go on the date.”

Another platform, Rizz.app, bills itself as an “AI wingman.”

“Upload screenshots of your conversations with your matches, and even your matches' bio, and receive instant and witty replies tailored to your unique situation.” “The more you use RIZZ the better your rizzponses get.”

Another app, Teaser AI, lets you create a bot that does the pre-date small-talk for you. You give it characteristics that you believe represent you – including “traditional,” “toxic,” and “unhinged” – and when people match they can talk to a match’s bot before deciding whether to actually engage in conversation.

Another set of apps is using AI to improve the matchmaking process, claiming that by analyzing troves of data about what makes a good couple, they can reduce the number of bad dates and increase the likelihood of a romantic connection.

Some of these apps act as premium matchmaking services; others feed you AI images to figure out your exact preferences and find you someone who fits them.

Some apps combine human matchmakers with AI data analysis to find ideal matches. And others seek to eliminate the need for dating altogether by offering AI companions that provide advice, emotional support, and erotic conversations.

The AI dating apps’ developers and users say they are improving an online dating process that can be difficult or intimidating. Their critics say that by removing the human element and providing total customization, they are harming the matchmaking process and generating unrealistic expectations.

Can love for an AI companion be real? Should AI be a part of dating?

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Do you like Lizzo’s music:

Yes: 71.6%
No: 28.4%

Yesterday's Question:

If every person on Earth had to have a job based on their unique skills, what do you think yours would be?

Stephanie from Oklahoma: “Prior to colonization, every tribal member had a purpose; a skill. No delinquency, no feeling "left out" and no addictions. My unique skills are Wildcrafting edible and medicinal plants and brain tanning hides of the animals my husband harvests. We live off the land.”

Marc from Los Angeles: “My job would be teaching or counseling people. I am very good with understanding both sides of everyone's story, and can talk and reason with pretty much anyone, when others have either not tried or given up.”

Melissa from Illinois: “Well, my special skill is problem solving and mediation. But I’m a nurse who delivered babies, saved lives in the ER and defended the underdog (the elderly). So probably a nurse because I would have rather not had an education if I had to be a lawyer. I’ll stick with nursing.”

🧠 Final Thoughts

Did you watch the debate last night? If so, we’re curious to hear your thoughts. If not, we don’t blame you. Watching politicians shout at each other on Fox News isn’t our idea of a good time either.

Hope you’re having good weeks!

—Max and Max