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Cactus Jack vs. Posty. Happy Monday, FutureParty people. ICYMI, there’s a small billboard battle brewing between Travis Scott and Post Malone. The two superstars dropped new full-length albums on Friday, sparking speculation about who will have higher first-week sales. While the head-to-head showdown isn’t as fiery as the legendary Oasis vs. Blur rivalry (IYKYK), it is stirring up quite the debate online.
In other news… Facebook’s impact on public opinion, the Emmys hit pause, and GPTZero tries to verify humanity online.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook doesn’t change political views, but it does change what we see
The Future. Is Facebook responsible for political polarization in the US? The answer, thanks to four new studies published across Nature and Science, is complicated. What’s clear is Facebook’s proprietary algorithm does have a profound impact on what users see on the platform, but whether that content changes hearts and minds is another thing entirely. That phenomenon runs deeper than the influence of one app… and may be at the heart of 12 more studies on the way.
Algorithmic echo
The Verge breaks down three experiments to test if what’s on a user’s FB timeline has the power to change their views:
One where users couldn’t see “reshared” posts
A second where the feed was in reverse chronological order
A third where “like-minded” sources were reduced by a third
The results?
The changes to the feeds did alter how much “political,” “uncivil,” and “untrustworthy” content the users saw, with different outcomes for each experiment.
Yet the users didn’t report any “measurable” changes to their views on various issues, refuting the belief that changing the newsfeed to show posts chronologically will fix polarization.
But there is one universal conclusion: users spending less time on the platform wasn’t as compelling without Meta’s underlying algorithm.
Unsurprisingly, Meta (which provided access to the studies) took a victory lap with those results. But one of the researchers, Meagan Phelan, said not so fast: “The findings of the research suggest Meta algorithms are an important part of what’s keeping people divided.” It’s the classic algorithms create echo chambers conclusion — amplifying our already deeply-held beliefs.
But as Platformer’s Casey Newton notes, the studies, which focused on data from September to December 2020, occurred after Meta enacted “break the glass” measures to ensure users saw higher quality news and also didn’t take into account how social media, in general, has changed how people ingest information. If anything, these studies are just the start.
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ENTERTAINMENT
The show must not go on // Illustration by Kate Walker
The Emmys get indefinitely postponed
The Future. With two Hollywood strikes raging, the Emmys are moving out of September to… nobody knows. As long as the industry is on pause, so will the awards show (the first time it’s been moved since 9/11). Coupled with some high-profile movies and TV shows getting postponed, the once-abundant fall entertainment calendar may soon become a desert.
Strike shuffle
The Emmys are the latest strike casualty.
The 75th annual awards were supposed to air on September 18th on Fox, but they’re getting moved out of September entirely.
The Television Academy hasn’t dated the show yet but stressed it won’t take place until after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have concluded.
There are no plans to take the show away from Fox.
The move was inevitable because… well… barely anyone was going to show up. According to THR, 16 of the 25 awards during the telecast go to writers and actors. And they won’t be there if the strikes are still happening. Additionally, Fox understands the show’s audience will be just as absent without stars.
Nonetheless, the second phase of voting is still slated for August 17th. So, the winners will likely be decided way before the red carpet ever rolls out.
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The best part? It’s FREE and ridiculously easy. Even your boss who can’t convert a Word doc to a PDF will be able to use (and will LOVE) GroupTogether.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI check
GPTZero catches AI cheating in the act
The Future. AI text detection tool GPTZero wants to be the Turnitin of the new generative AI era. And so far, it’s pulling it off. With CEO Edward Tian inspired to create the tool to fight the rise of disinformation, the company may have the makings of building software that becomes the go-to plugin for not just academic but all online text.
Code-handed
GPTZero, which Tian built during his senior year at Princeton, wants to make sure no AI-generated writing goes undetected… by checking for the “humanness” of it.
The tool does so by scanning for a paragraph’s “burstiness” (variability of word choice and sentence structure) and “perplexity” (how comprehensible it is to the system).
The tool has become a hit with educators and had 30,000 signups in its first week when it launched in January.
It’s self-admittedly imperfect and can trip up on non-English speakers, but it’s proven more successful than industry leader Turnitin’s own software and OpenAI’s proprietary tool.
GPTZero is free for up to 5,000 characters of text, with paid subscriptions ranging from $9.99/month to $19.99/month.
The company’s newest tool, a plugin called “Origin,” can be integrated into Microsoft Word and track a user’s writing to show they’re the original author.
During his spring break, Tian turned GPTZero into a full-fledged company and raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Uncork Capital and Neo. Not a bad way to leave college.
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Fans in Seattle were so hyped up during Taylor Swift’s show that they caused as much seismic activity as a 2.3 magnitude earthquake. Read more → thr
The new “dressing up for the occasion” is pulling up to the latest Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or Harry Styles concert mimicking their look (which is very extra). Read more → bbc
Roku’s stock is on the rise because people really love the platform’s constantly-transforming screensaver, “Roku City,” which has become the newest destination for creative advertising. Read more → fastcompany
Fashion & E-Commerce
Kid Cudi’s new fashion label, Members of the Rage (or MOTR), dropped its first collection, available exclusively at Selfridges… and already almost sold-out. Read more → highsnobiety
Walmart is collaborating with Rubi Laboratories to capture carbon emissions made in clothing production that can then be manufactured into yarn to make more clothes. Read more → bof
Crocs hit a record billion dollars in revenue last quarter, emphasizing the clog’s unlikely fashion ascent. Read more → hypebeast
Tech, Web3, & AI
BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis are joining forces to create an EV charging network throughout the US and Canada. Read more → theverge
After becoming the first publisher to strike a licensing deal with OpenAI, the Associated Press made sure to get a “most favored nation” clause in writing so it can renegotiate the terms of its deal if another publisher strikes a better one. Read more → wsj
Travel is so hot and expensive right now that frequent flyer miles have become some of the most valuable currency in the world. Read more → bloomberg
Creator Economy
The Barbie craze is turning every Barbie-adjacent YouTube video into real-life hits. Read more → tubefilter
With its bankruptcy fate almost sealed, Tupperware has somehow become the latest retail investor meme stock after seeing a 350% surge in its stock price. Read more → fastcompany
A Twitch user named “DerpyIsFishing” is making AI clones of top streamers and letting them loose on the platform. Read more → tubefilter
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.