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The remedies start with raising the minimum age for social media to 16 or 18 and requiring identity certification. Photo / Getty Images

The theme of Distrust is attacks on both the process of science and its popular credibility. The book is generally accessible and readable, a polemic in the genre of Ben Goldacres Bad Science. It will be most interesting to people without much knowledge of the area; many of the examples will already be familiar to those who follow discussions about the conduct of science.

Three reasons are given for a credibility crisis in science: disinformation, data torturing and data mining. Disinformation is part of a populist backlash and is mediated by the internet and social media and reinforced by those who profit from it. Data torturing is driven by scientists insistence on empirical evidence, and data mining is the automated version fuelled by the big data and powerful computers that scientists created.

The stories of Gary Smith, an economics professor in California and author of The AI Delusion, with the possible exception of digressions on Bitcoin, are compelling illustrations of a problem for science.

One of the inside-cover blurbs compares the book to Carl Sagans The Demon-Haunted World, a comparison that actually highlights one of the books problems. Distrust has many historical examples, but its thesis of a modern crisis is somewhat weakened by the similarity of past and present errors.

The section on disinformation begins with a review of classical supernatural beliefs and conspiracy theories, as an introduction to the new post-fact, post-truth world. The internet is certainly a contributor to change. Its now easy for people to connect with like-minded folks outside their immediate social circle. There are flourishing internet communities of queer teens, blacksmiths, otaku, sourdough enthusiasts, Covid deniers and neo-Nazis.

As the inventors of the internet hoped, information circulates freely; disinformation does, too. During the height of the pandemic, then-prime minister Jacinda Ardern called for the government to be the single source of truth about Covid. There was no real prospect of this happening, nor should it: individuals such as epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker and groups such as Te Rp Whakakaupapa Urut, the National Mori Pandemic Group, were invaluable. The internet makes it harder to manufacture consent, and that is genuinely both a threat and an opportunity.

The remaining two main sections of the book, on data torturing and data mining, are basically statistical. Data torturing has two themes: statistical significance without meaningful effects, and fake statistical significance from overly flexible research practices.

Data mining automated analysis of large quantities of data is not, I think, treated fairly in the book. There is a lot of argument that computers cannot understand or think, and therefore they cannot make good decisions or find meaningful associations. This is supported by the argument that big data analyses do very large numbers of comparisons and so must return many false positives. The conclusion does not follow, and I will give two examples where blind analysis of large databases has been genuinely useful.

There are three relatively new drugs, alirocumab, evolocumab and inclisiran, that reduce cholesterol more than older drugs. These drugs not subsidised in New Zealand, although approved inhibit a target, PCSK9, that was found by testing across the entire genomes of people with unusually high and low cholesterol. The algorithms used to discover PCSK9 didnt understand anything about cholesterol or heart attacks, but the results are real. Statistical control of false positives is entirely feasible in this sort of research. One might argue that looking for genetic correlations is a priori sensible and so doesnt contravene the rule against data mining, but that makes the distinction between good and bad data mining quite fuzzy.

My second example is much more straightforward. Many, perhaps most, computational linguists would have argued 20 years ago that good machine translation could not be done just from correlations; some sort of understanding was intrinsically necessary. The likes of Google Translate, Deepl and Microsoft Translator have shown they were wrong.

The book ends with proposed remedies. Those for data mining and data torturing are reasonable, and many of them have been standard recommendations for some time, if not followed as much as they should be.

Smiths remedies for the disinformation crisis will be more controversial. They start with raising the minimum age for social media to 16 or 18 and requiring identity certification. The list goes on with a range of filtering and moderation proposals, such as prohibit forwarding until a post has been reviewed and fact-checked.

The identity and age restrictions would reduce the value of social media enormously even in the US, but especially in countries with less liberal speech laws with the largest impact on those who have the fewest other ways to form communities.

The filtering restrictions, if feasible, would have benefits, but also come with important trade-offs.

During the recent brief Russian coup attempt, many people were bemoaning the loss of Twitter as a rapid source of information with clear provenance. Limits on amplification reduce active disinformation, but will hit the few who provide good information harder than the many who provide noise.

Distrust: Big Data, Data-Torturing, and the Assault on Science, by Gary Smith (Oxford University Press, $US30 hb)

Thomas Lumley is chair of biostatistics at the University of Auckland.

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Review: Author's controversial remedies for the disinformation crisis - New Zealand Herald

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Comedy

Soho theatre, LondonAn AI comedian cracks jokes tailored to the audiences internet search history in this spoof corporate presentation

Thu 13 Jul 2023 12.38 EDT

Streaming platforms increasingly tailor content to our own, unique tastes. Imagine if a standup could do the same? Thats the promise held out by Richard Eagleton, founder and CEO of Standup Solutions and developer of KENN, the worlds first AI comedian, in this spoof corporate presentation by Conner OMalley. This US act has cultivated a covetable reputation for his online work, and theres much to enjoy in this parody of Silicon Valley values and tech utopianism. But its not subtle, and its characterisation of OMalleys digital guru alter ego is not a surprising one.

The joke to begin with, and the first seed sewn that Eagleton may be something less than a slick success, is that the revolutionary AI development were promised is endlessly withheld. First we get to hear about Eagletons childhood in Des Plaines, Illinois. Then all about his beloved car, extensive tech spec very much included. Then about his workout routine and diet, a livelier section sending up the bizarre, macho behaviour of performative, competitive wellbeing.

The problem is that OMalleys loud and overhyped character can make for grating company, and the joke about how boring he is isnt always funny enough to forestall actual boredom. Just as later, the joke that KENN (whom we encounter on-screen only) is a crap standup doesnt offset the crapness of his comedy. But we mustnt blame KENN: he works, his inventor claims, by data-mining his audience, and delivering the jokes their internet history suggests theyll find funny. These are compelling ideas, but they too often devolve here into jokes about porn and poo. When Eagletons backstory reveals itself, meanwhile, as one of cuckoldry and business failure, its not exactly unexpected.

In the shows favour, OMalley gets this across in his vulnerable if not his brasher moments with some artful character work, and latterly, some neat faux home videos too. No mere online comic, hes also good with the crowd, his improvised material more sensitive and less strident than the actual set. A show tailored to my tastes, by AI or otherwise, would see this lighter touch more widely applied.

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Key Insights

Every investor in Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual insiders own the lion's share in the company with 40% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And last week, insiders endured the biggest losses as the stock fell by 14%.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Anglo Asian Mining.

View our latest analysis for Anglo Asian Mining

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Anglo Asian Mining does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Anglo Asian Mining's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

Hedge funds don't have many shares in Anglo Asian Mining. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is the CEO Mohammed Vaziri with 29% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 3.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is a little analyst coverage of the stock, but not much. So there is room for it to gain more coverage.

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Anglo Asian Mining PLC. It has a market capitalization of just UK90m, and insiders have UK36m worth of shares in their own names. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 32% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 3.9%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Anglo Asian Mining (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Find out whether Anglo Asian Mining is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Anglo Asian Mining PLC (LON:AAZ) CEO Mohammed Vaziri, the company's largest shareholder sees 14% reduction in holdings value - Simply Wall St

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Libraries preparation

A total of 265 medicinal plants were selected and introduced into the ChEBI database to extract the effective compounds. After removing duplicates, 87 potential compounds were obtained from the 265 native plant species. The PharmMapper website has introduced 423 potential target candidates for these compounds. In addition, the NCBI database has introduced 3312 colorectal cancer-related targets. Finally, 34 human protein molecules were selected, which could be targets of these compounds and play a role in colorectal cancer.

Of these compounds, 7 did not have common targets in their top 30 targets. The names and 2D structures of both the groups of compounds used in the screening and their targets are listed in Supplementary Tables S1S3.

A DT network with 87 compounds and 34 targets was constructed consisting of 114 nodes and 416 degrees. The NetworkAnalyser results calculate parameters such as the number of degrees, betweenness, and edge betweenness centrality values, which are used to select the best molecular targets and potential chemical compounds (Fig.1). Figure1A shows a bipartite network configured with node sizes based on the number of degrees; the larger the node size, the greater is the number of associations. Based on the network analysis, the compounds showed degrees ranging from 1 to 8. To screen the best compounds as ligands for molecular docking analysis against targets, compounds with six or more nodes were selected. Therefore, 31 compounds listed in Table 1 were selected for further study. Carbonic anhydrase 2, with a score of 0.44, showed the highest centrality among the targets, followed by mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (0.14), estrogen receptor (0.07), and angiogenin (0.07). The remaining molecules had a score of less than 0.05. Moreover, Carbonic anhydrase 2 (71), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (38), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (35), and estrogen receptor (34) showed the most connections, based on the number of degrees associated with the nodes.

(A) The bipartite DT network. (B) The circle layout of DT network based on degree. (C) The circle layout of DT network based on betweenness centrality. (D) The betweenness centrality of nods. The green circular nodes represent the targets, and the brown triangular nodes represent the chemical compounds. The larger the size of the node, the greater the number of nodes and associations.

Finally, the compounds showed a number of degrees ranging from 1 to 8. To screen the best compounds as ligands for the molecular docking step against the targets, all compounds with six or more nodes were selected, in which there were 31 compounds with six, seven, or eight nodes.

After checking using the GEPIA database, the TOP targets that showed increased expression in colorectal cancer were selected. The target structures were downloaded from the PDB database (PDB IDs: 6AY2 for CTSB, 5T4E for DPP4, 6FVE for MIF, 7AUV for MAPK1, 4QTD for MAPK8, and 1SMO for TERM1). The Chimera 1.8.1 software was used for essential protein preparations, including removing water, ATP, ligands, and adding hydrogen charges. Critical ligand-binding sites were considered and docked to 31 compounds using the PyRx software. 31 molecules were selected after analyzing the pharmacokinetic properties and parameters of ADME. The centroid of the binding sites for the targets was calculated as the coordinates of the centroid of the ligand-binding sites using the UniProt database. The docked complexes were analyzed using PyMol and DiscoveryStudio software. Finally, molecules that presented the highest interaction energy against their target (above 7.5 for TERM1, 8 for CTSB and MIF, above 9 for DPP4 and MAPK1 and above 10 for MAPK8), respectively and had more binding with the amino acids of the binding site in the study with DiscoveryStudio. These findings led to the selection of Multiorthoquinone, Liquiritin, Hispaglabridin A, Isoliquiritin, Gibberellin A98, Cyclomulberrin, Cyclomorusin A, Cudraflavone B for simulation (MD), which produced a more stable complex with a lower energy level than TREM1, MAPK8, MAPK1, MAPK8, CTSB, MAPK1, MIF, and DPP4, respectively. The positions and amino acids involved in the binding are illustrated in Fig.2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, Supplementary Tables S4S6. The RMSD score showed slight fluctuations and was approximately 0.2nm. These findings indicate the stability of the compounds in the target complex. The RMSF values for all protein structures were computed to accurately determine how the binding of the compounds affects flexibility.

Two-dimensional representations of the Multiorthoquinone against TREM1. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Liquiritin against MAPK8. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Isoliquiritin against MAPK8. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Hispaglabridin A against MAPK1. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Cyclomulberrin against MAPK1. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Cudraflavone B against DPP4. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Gibberellin A98 against CTSB. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Two-dimensional representations of the Cyclomulberrin against MIF. (A) Root-mean square deviation of the complexes (RMSD). (B) Radius of gyration (Rg). (C) Hydrogen bond analysis from the simulation system. (D) Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF). (E) The binding conformation of 3D view. (F) Binding site interactions of 2D view.

Analysis of the liquiritin- and isoliquiritin-associated RMSF plots revealed that Liquiritin and Isoliquiritin flexibility were significantly different in the five regions of 35, 183, 199, 246, and 307 and two regions in 200 and 328 in MAPK8, respectively. In addition, multiorthoquinone flexibility was extremely high in the three regions 34, 76, and 107 in TREM1, which may be attributed to a lack of interaction between the three regions and multiorthoquinone. For Cyclomulberrin and Hispaglabridin A residues 94320, and 35, 300350 in MAPK1, the flexibility of amino acids was lower and higher, respectively. The RMSF plot associated with DPP4 indicated high interaction between most regions of DPP4 and Cudraflavone B. Additionally, Cyclomorusin A and Gibberellin A98 flexibility were extremely different in the two regions of 5070 and 150170 in the CTSB, and 80100 region in the MIF, respectively.

RG nature was constant for the individual domains during the entire simulation period associated with Gibberellin A98, Cyclomorusin A, and Cudraflavone B, indicating that the individual domains did not melt or unfold. These compounds did not affect the secondary structures of CTSB, MIF, or DPP4. However, the RG value associated with Liquiritin, Isoliquiritin and Hispaglabridin A, Cyclomulberrin throughout the MD simulation led to unfolding and activation of MAPK8 and MAPK1, respectively.

Supplementary Fig. S1 shows the projection of the trajectories on special eigenvectors (vectors 1 and 2) and time-dependent motions of the components in a particular vibration mode. The overall analysis of the eigenvector plots indicated that most vibrations occurred along eigenvector 1. According to the first two PCs, TREM1 and MIF proteins have almost the same trace values of the covariance matrix for the bound and unbound states with a slight shift. This indicates that the ligand is well equilibrated and stabilized with the protein, as reflected by theleast conformational changes due to reduced collective motions from unbound states. However, in other cases, 2D projection plots of the trajectories revealed that the ligand reduced the conformational diversity during the simulations, leading to a more compact cluster distribution. Sampling of different regions and showing different movement behaviors of proteinligand complexes compared to unbound proteins points to the binding of ligand effects on the rigidity of the structural conformation, which also affects the function of proteins.

The MM/PBSA binding free energy results are shown in Table 2 including the van der Waals energy (kJ/mol), electrostatic energy (kJ/mol), polar solvation energy (kJ/mol), SASA energy (kJ/mol), SAV energy (kJ/mol), WCA energy (kJ/mol), and binding energy (kJ/mol), are shown in Table 2. Compared to liquiritin, isoliquiritin had the lowest binding energy score of 183.04kJ/mol interacting with MAPK8 and formed a stronger binding. In addition, hypoglabrin A and cyclomulbrin interact with MAPK1 at almost the same binding energy (154kJ/mol). However, the number of hydrogen bonds in the interaction with hypoglabrin A is relatively high. MIF-Cyclomorusin A, with the most negative energy score (243.768kJ/mol), showed the strongest interaction among all docked complexes.

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Investigation of the therapeutic role of native plant compounds ... - Nature.com

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As some of the richest and most influential people on the planet descend on Sun Valley, residents and visitors who end up intermingled among the billionaires and power players hold varying opinions about the annual conference hosted by private investment bank Allen & Co.

I think its incredible, said part-time Sun Valley resident David Dirienzo, who was out for a bike ride around the village Wednesday morning. These are the doers. The creators.

Another resident, picking up his mail at the Sun Valley post office and declining to give his name, said he was not in favor of them coming at all, describing the attendees as arrogant and just throwing their weight around.

Konditorei, which remains open to the public, is something of a central hub to the comings and goings of conference staff, attendees and tourists alike, as well as Sun Valley residents just getting their morning cups of coffee.

There is a general understanding of being respectful toward the conference-goers and giving them privacy, said longtime Wood River Valley resident Doug King.

Beat the traffic: Private jets are the order of the day ahead of Allen & Co.s annual media, business and technology conference in Sun Valley. Once Friedman Memorial Airport reaches capacity, pilots simply drop off attendees and turn around in search of parking.

Its a very important piece of business for Sun Valley, King noted. And while he said it might restrict movement a little, his coffee and newspaper routine was unaffected on Wednesday while the conference attendees gathered nearby in the pavilion for a closed-doors panel discussion.

Its a classic example of, if you let something bother you, its going to bother you, said Elkhorn resident David Wray. Its kind of fun and interesting, and to me, not disruptive. I dont pay much attention; it doesnt really affect my life, but its kind of fun having them around.

Wray noted over the years the security has gotten more stringent, and he cant walk or bike around as freely as he used to.

But the week adds a little excitement and gets the conversation going, said King.

Examining the stock market reports, King and Wray both said the one conference attendee they would like to have join their breakfast table was Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet.

On Wednesday, one of the Berkshire Hathaway stocks was valued at over $21,000 a share.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick strolls through Sun Valley Village on July 12.

Hes kind of my hero, Wray said. Hes one of the few guys who made tons of money and has done it above board.

If the opportunity arose, King said hed ask the legendary business magnate, investor, and philanthropist for his thoughts on the railroad business.

Wray said hed ask, Whats the one thing I should consider when investing?

Enjoying coffee and pastries at a table outside the Konditorei, Ketchum firefighters Kjirsten Fieguth and Hannah Baybutt were just getting off a 24-hour shift. Theyd come to Sun Valley to replace a wheel on their rescue litter, a stretcher-like device used to retrieve injured people from single-track mountain bike trails.

Baybutt said she worked as a babysitter for the conference when she was a teenager. Following an intensive interview process and signing her first (and, to date, only) non-disclosure agreement, she said it was a very positive experience.

Allen & Co. did a great job setting up fun things for the kids to do, she recalled.

While Fieguth said she was impressed by the gathered groups influence on the world, on the spot she couldnt think of any questions for attendees.

I feel so detached, she said. Their world is so different than my world. Its hard to relate.

However, both women, who have also worked as ski patrollers, agreed that in terms of the job as emergency responders, they never think about celebrity. No matter who the patient is, we treat them with the same dignity, care and respect, Fieguth said.

Asked what they would do with a billion dollars, Fieguth said she could use a new vehicle, but its hard to imagine that kind of scale.

Baybutt said, Id buy a house in Hailey. I want a home with a yard.

Without a billion dollars, they agreed, they still really love where they live, as well as their jobs.

A jet rolls into the Friedman Memorial Airport ahead of the Allen & Co. conference on July 11.

As breakfast turned to lunch, several hundred conference-goers filed along the road from the pavilion to lunch served under tents next to the duck pond.

A wall constructed with a double layer of potted shrubs and defended by security guards shrouded the luncheon in secrecy.

The media, confined to a pen about 40 yards away from the stream of conference-goers, snapped photographs. A Bloomberg reporter tried to yell a few questions, but he was just too far away. The photographers would quietly call out a name if they saw a notable, largely only identifiable through powerful zoom lenses.

Warren Buffet, with a reported net worth of $114 billion at age 92, had been spotted in a golf cart earlier in the morning, but wasnt seen going to lunch.

Its a whole new cast of characters, one seasoned photographer commented.

So those are the people running the world right there, another bystander mused.

Alex Karp, cofounder and CEO of data mining firm Palantir Technologies and who is reportedly worth $1.4 billion, was one of the few people to walk anywhere near the media pen. Lawyer Bob Werbel walked right behind the pen, joking, Im the only one here Ive never heard of.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was spotted in front of the Sun Valley Lodge.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was seen walking with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who gave a fist bump to CNN analyst Van Jones.

Also spotted were Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin.

While the seeding of high-stakes mergers and acquisitions is typically the hot topic at the conference, this years economic landscape was deemed less favorable to deals. The economys elite may have much to discuss in a year marked by massive layoffs in tech and in newsrooms, the spread of generative AI, and high-profile labor disputes, wrote Sindhu Sundar in Business Insider.

In a town accustomed to celebrity, the Allen & Co. guest list steps things up a notch in terms of gossip around the resort. There was a member of the royal family in the toy store, one shop employee said, but because of the gag order essentially blanketing the whole event, most people are hesitant to name names.

New England Patriots CEO Robert Kraft, left, walks with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at Sun Valley Village on Wednesday, July 12.

Back at the Konditorei, part-time Sun Valley resident Maija Eerkes lunched with a couple of visiting friends. The only real inconvenience Eerkes had experienced was not being able to get a parking spot at her Elkhorn mailbox the previous eveningthe lot filled was with black SUVs.

It brings in great revenue and visibility, she said. I have no issue with it. I like how they seem to do wonderful job planning activities for the kids and giving them great exposure to the area.

One of her dining companions was less enthusiastic, saying she really couldnt stand anyone in the Allen & Co. group.

Eerkes said if she could ask someone a question, shed like to know what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos really thinks about journalism.

While a lot of new people are brought on to help staff the event, coded by different colored lanyards and bright blue jackets, it isnt clear just how many come from other locations and how many are local hires.

Anyone who works for the conference signs a non-disclosure agreement, and while it is an undeniable labor boost, one regular resort employee said the whole ordeal just brought added hassle to performing daily duties.

There are ridiculously high-maintenance requests and demands from some of the attendees, noted the worker, who declined to give a name. There is intense security surveillance on every move made, and, the worker noted, not everyone is impressed by billionaires.

But at Sun Valley clothing retailer Panache, the annual gathering is great for business, and they look forward to the tradition of hosting a trunk show and cocktail party with fashion designer and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg, who is credited with inventing the wrap dress and is reportedly worth $1.2 billion. The store employees love picking out one of the designers dresses to wearor getting help from the icon herself to choose their perfect floral-printed wrap.

While everyone has an opinion and some with more vested interest than others, on the whole, the non-billionaire and non-millionaire folk who find themselves at the resort during the conference are perhaps slightly entertained and largely indifferent to goings-on. After 40 years of hosting the high and mighty (minus one year cancelled during the pandemic), its really just another busy week in July. And for many residents, the unusual sight of billionaires, CEOs and cadres of private security seems to do little to distract from their morning coffee, and beauty of the valley they see every single day.

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Amid Allen & Co.'s power players, life goes on in Sun Valley - Idaho Mountain Express and Guide

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