Blog - All 4 you Hit Radio

Comparing cities that won and lost Olympic bids: economic effects on regional GDP

09

Nov

Culture and Entertainment

Comparing cities that won and lost Olympic bids: economic effects on regional GDP

There are two figures in circulation about the Olympic Games and both deserve examination. The first is the cost overrun: a frequently cited University of Oxford study put the average deviation from Olympic budgets between 1960 and 2012 at 179% in real terms and 324% in nominal terms. The second is the benefit: the economic boost that justifies the bid.What makes this instance fascinating is that each has faced scrutiny using empirical figures. A re-examination released in 2022 failed to duplicate the findings of the Oxford study covering the 2000-2016 timeframe, instead registering direct investment cost overruns ranging from 13%…

Comparing Polish and Norwegian studies on AI-assisted colonoscopy skills

09

Nov

By Mitchell G. Patton

Science and Technology

Comparing Polish and Norwegian studies on AI-assisted colonoscopy skills

In August 2025, The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology published a finding that travelled the world: at four Polish centres, endoscopists who had spent months working with AI-assisted detection found fewer adenomas when performing a colonoscopy without it. The rate fell from 28.4% to 22.4%. Four months later, a Norwegian prospective trial with 5,013 colonoscopies and three phases found exactly nothing: neither loss nor gain of skill when the tool was withdrawn. And a third study, over three years, found sustained improvement. This article sorts out a scientific controversy that is live right now, and explains what separates the three designs.The…

Can machine learning models beat analysts in earnings predictions?

08

Nov

By Mitchell G. Patton

Investments and Business

Can machine learning models beat analysts in earnings predictions?

Analysts' long-run earnings growth forecasts are less accurate than a naive model that simply predicts zero growth. That is not a provocation: it is the literal conclusion of an evaluation published in an accounting and finance journal. And there is more: the random walk beats analysts over long horizons and in small firms, and a naive extrapolation of their own one-year forecast is more accurate than their explicit two- and three-year forecasts. At the same time, the comparison with machine learning models concludes that analysts remain superior to the linear models actually in use. This article sets out what has…

increased engagement with AI chatbots does not translate to long-term benefits

08

Nov

By Mitchell G. Patton

Science and Technology

increased engagement with AI chatbots does not translate to long-term benefits

Meta-analyses consistently indicate that mental health chatbots alleviate symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Although an effect size hovering around 0.3 remains modest within this academic field, it is nonetheless tangible. The core issue surfaces upon reviewing individual clinical trials one by one. Specifically, when a specialized therapy application was pitted against standard ChatGPT, the dedicated app failed to surpass the generic bot across any evaluated metric. Meanwhile, a six-week study tracking 540 participants revealed that the artificial intelligence variant boosted interaction frequency by 2.4 times and engagement duration by 3.8 times, yielding symptom reduction comparable to traditional static workbooks.…