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Text-to-3D. If you aren’t yet breath-taken by the sheer speed of AI’s development, you might be now — OpenAI just released research and code for their newest model, Shape-E, which can produce complex, diverse 3D assets from simple text. Buckle up, folks.
In other news… Spout distills water from thin air, consumers cry foul at tip screens everywhere, and Hollywood CEOs are in the hot seat.
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TECH
Spout aims at alchemy // Illustration by Kate Walker
Spout distills fresh water from thin air
The Future. Climate change has made droughts more common and access to clean water more limited. To address this issue, Spout has developed a small device that creates potable water from the surrounding air. If successful, the machine could be revolutionary for humanity’s overall quality of life.
Something from nothing
Fast Company covered the ins and outs of the new device.
The portable Spout system absorbs water from filtered air with clay, vaporizes it with a heating coil, and condenses that vapor into liquid water. The water is then alkalized with minerals, diverted to a pitcher, and disinfected with UV light.
Spout can produce 1.5-2.5 gallons of water per day, and its ¾ gallon container fills in 6-9 hours.
Spout works in any home with electrical access.
The launch model costs $599, with customers expected to spend another $100 annually on filter replacements.
Making it rain
Globally, around 4 in 5 homes are located in areas humid enough for Spout to work. Given that 3.6 billion people currently struggle to get enough potable water and that desalination can be too costly, Spout may prove to be the best solution for much of earth’s population– if they can afford the price tag.
BUSINESS
Are we tipping too much? // Illustration by Kate Walker
Consumers cry foul at self-checkout tip screens
The Future. As self-checkout grows more prominent in retail outlets, consumers are distressed by the proliferation of electronic tipping prompts. While tipping is expected in the American service industry, it’s harder to justify in situations without human interaction — especially because businesses might be exploiting the custom.
Gratuitous gratuities
Consumers complained to the Wall Street Journal that tip prompt screens are guilting them into tipping even when it’s unwarranted.
Some feel that the prompt amounts to “emotional blackmail” by implying that a tip is expected even during transactions that lack verbal engagement with an employee.
Others said they tipped only when a friend or employee could see the screen when they entered their answer.
Data suggests these prompts work. According to point-of-sale tech firm Square, tipped transactions rose 17% YoY at full-service restaurants and 16% at quick-service restaurants in Q4 2022.
Just business
More tipping seems better for workers, but some tipping researchers say that tips entered via automatic checkout circumvent federal labor laws and let companies take some or all of that money. Even if they don’t, businesses can use these tips in place of wage increases for workers — so maybe less is more.
TOGETHER WITH UPWAY
Time to ride the e-bike trend
Upway, the electric bike revolution that has taken over Europe, recently launched in the U.S.
Now, you can get where you need to go faster without breaking a sweat. Anytime you want. No more searching the streets for an available e-bike or finding one only to realize its battery is dead.
Whether it's for a work commute, leisurely rides around town, or avoiding beach traffic on the weekends, Upway has the right bike for you.
New to the e-bike game? Not to worry – their handy 3 question quiz will set you up with a selection personalized to your specific needs.
All of Upway’s bikes are 20-point certified by a master mechanic, given a one-year warranty, up to 60% off retail prices, and can be shipped directly to your doorstep, anywhere in the U.S., in 2-5 business days.
Right now, Upway is running a spring sale for up to $300 off selected bikes. AND they’re generously offering TFP readers an additional $150 off a purchase of $500 or more with the code TFP.
ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood pulls back on everything except CEO pay
The Future. From massive layoffs to project pullbacks, Hollywood has seen a host of cost-cutting efforts across the industry, especially amid economic headwinds. But one area that hasn’t seen a reduction is CEO pay. In the midst of a gnarly writers strike, it isn’t a great look — might it finally prompt more equitable cost-cutting across all of Hollywood?
A cut above
Cost-cutting measures across Hollywood seem to have hit everyone but top execs.
The Hollywood Reporter found that compensation packages for executives across media and entertainment have gone up 7.7% since 2021.
Driven by large stock awards, several top Hollywood execs saw their 2022 paydays increase.
For example, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish saw a 60% bump in pay, while Comcast’s Michael Cavanagh got a 48% pay raise.
Bad optics
The compensation disclosures have been made public at quite possibly the worst possible time (or best, depending on how you view it), with the recent writers strike and layoffs across the industry.
Emphasizing the inequity, Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted: “Last year, 8 Hollywood CEOs made nearly $800 million, yet pay for TV writers has fallen by 23 percent over the last 10 years.”
TOGETHER WITH MUNCH
🎬 Your own AI video editor 🎬
Keeping up with all the AI tools isn't easy these days, and neither is sifting through hours of footage to make a little social video you hope will go viral.
Here’s a solution to both: Meet Munch (your newest AI video editor)!
They'll slice, dice, and serve you up bite-sized clips from your long-form video content. 🌟 Munch’s all-in-one platform automates editing, captioning, and publishing with a single click (or two).
Munch's AI magic uses GPT-3, OCR, and NLP to create engaging vids and social posts from your content – making it perfect for YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram. 🚀
Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
The spoiler etiquette debate
Spoiler alert: spoilers won’t actually ruin your show. If you’ve been following along the Succession drama online, you may have also witnessed the return of a long-debated internet question: just how long should watchers wait before posting spoilers online? But wait — a new study posits that the hubbub may be all for naught. Apparently, we’re just as caught up in a story even when we know what’s coming.
Read More → nytimes
The Weeknd wants to retire The Weeknd
Don’t worry — Abel Tesfaye, the force behind The Weeknd, will still be making music, but Tesfaye wants to “kill The Weeknd,” to “shed that skin and be reborn.” The proclamation from the GRAMMY-award-winning (and boycotting) artist comes amid discussions of his newest project — an upcoming musical drama set to premiere on HBO later this June.
Read More → variety
Privacy regulations and retail media networks
Retail media networks are advertising platforms created by retailers or stores — they help brands show ads to folks when they’re shopping online or in-store, and they’re an important way to help buyers see ads that are actually relevant to their interests. But new privacy regulations, made to protect people’s information, may be making things a bit tricky for the networks.
Read More → digiday
Paris Hilton makes her singing debut
Socialite- and reality star-turned-DJ and singer Paris Hilton will be making her singing debut, an official live performance, this June at LA’s Fonda Theater. The event will reportedly feature “a variety of popular artists and musical guests” who have yet to be revealed.
Read More → billboard
The Great Imgur Download Caper
Something Awful, an American comedy/parody website, hosts a variety of blog entries, forums, feature articles, and more. But recently, image host Imgur announced it would be deleting old and unused content. Cue The Great Imgur Download Caper, a preservation effort from Something Awful’s members to download and save the source images of as many Imgur links as possible.
Read More → theverge
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