The Eco-Friendly Hope of Chat GPT

There's a lot in the news these days about AI, especially Chat GPT. I'm sure like all technology it will evolve to reveal light and dark aspects - some days it scares the bejesus out of me - but I found a sliver of hope this past week in some news about its latest version, Chat GPT-4.

There's a fellow named Jackson Greathouse Fall who's running a thought experiment with the technology - asking Chat GPT-4 to make as much money, as quickly as possible, with a hypothetical grubstake of $100. Sounds like a question for the robber barons or crypto kings, right? Now I haven't a clue how AI works, but of all the permutations the tentacles of its algorithms crunched and the billions of choices it considered from its perch somewhere in the Cloud, Chat GPT-4 rendered this advice: create a marketing affiliate site making content around eco-friendly, sustainable living products.

That's hopeful, right? I'm choosing to believe it says something about current strength of conscious consumer demand and our ability to address environmental problems from the ground up, by acting eco-positively through our purchases and our choice of careers and employers.

There's more: Jackson, a brand designer, is using Chat GPT-4 as his spiritual muse and strategic guide for actually building out the eco-friendly content business, from logo design to store creation. You can follow the progress on a fun thread on Jackson's twitter account. Be sure to check out the resulting the website, Green Gadget Guru.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ‌

Cool Tools & Resources

• A tiger never changes its stripes (unless...) If you're running an e-commerce store (eco-friendly products, perhaps?), here's reason to consider Stripe for your payment processing: Its Stripe Climate feature allows you to easily direct a fraction of your revenues to help scale emerging carbon removal technologies.

• What's your water footprint? While carbon footprints seem to steal the headlines, we denizens of the water planet should also understand the choices we make based upon their water usage. A cool tool for you from the Water Footprint Network.

• Such a beautiful contradiction! We're big fans of Tom Greenwood's newsletter, Oxymoron, which explores the complex and confusing world of sustainable business. Tom's writing is thoughtful, provocative, and creative. Give it a read. ‌

Quick Hits

• "Who knew that everything we'd been building would go up in smoke?" Jay Coen Gilbert is such a baller. He co-founded AND1, an underdog street ball brand that challenged Nike back in the day, selling basketball shoes and apparel. His experience there was formative in later co-founding B Lab, the nonprofit that runs B Corp certification. Since it's March Madness AND #BCorpMonth, give yourself a treat and check out the Netflix documentary, UNTOLD: The Rise and Fall of AND1.

• The sound of climate change. Ever wonder what climate change sounds like? Or in keeping with our theme of "hope," the sound of springtime? The New York Times put together this Spotify playlist for its article, "The Poignant Music of Melting Ice."

• Hoops of a different March Madness. Every time I watch this video of Nakotah LaRance performing at the Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest, I get the chills - so in awe of his athleticism, talent, and the beauty of the dance. Nakotah, who was Tewa, Hopi, Navajo, and Assiniboine, crossed cultural boundaries by performing with Cirque de Soleil. You are missed, Nakotah.

Find the Most Meaningful Work of Your Career

Ever thought about working "cooperatively?" Our partner One Work has you covered with meaningful work that goes beyond a paycheck, a cubicle, or a weekly team Zoom call. Check out this week's job opportunities, starting with a farmer-owned cooperative, a social impact business model whose primary stakeholder objective to benefit its members:

• TILLAMOOK COUNTY CREAMERY ASSOCIATION - Churn out memorable marketing campaigns for Tillamook, a farmer-owned cooperative that makes delicious cheese, ice cream, and dairy products. Creative Manager, Portland, OR.

• OVERDRIVE - We LOVE libraries! And so does, OverDrive, an early innovator in digital education, helping advance literacy through partnerships with libraries and schools. Site Reliability Engineer, Cleveland, OH.

• ASPCA- It's your time to come the rescue! American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals needs your passion and your talent. Client Programs Liaison, New York, NY.

There's more! Check out One Work's full roster of purposeful jobs with mission-driven companies and organizations.‌

Have an interesting social impact tool, idea, or trivia question you'd like to share? Reply to this newsletter or hit me up at rstoddard@oliverrussell.com