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In other news… AI descends on Washington, D.C., Neon aims to revive arthouse, and Coca Cola collabs with AI.
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Testimony titans // Illustration by Kate Walker
Tech titans and union leaders descend on D.C. to chat AI
The Future. With artificial intelligence becoming the talking point in culture and technology, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) convened a closed-door, all-Senate sit-down with the most influential stakeholders in the industry’s development and the leaders ensuring American workers aren’t left out of the equation. If talks are constructive, the meeting could supercharge an in-the-works bipartisan framework for AI laws that was recently announced.
United States of AI
Yesterday, Washington, D.C., became Silicon Valley as major tech CEOs came to the Senate to pitch their visions of artificial intelligence.
Sam Altman (OpenAI), who believes AI will reach a human level of reasoning, has called for a new agency to be created to monitor the industry and for the implementation of a new tax system to give Americans income if they lose their jobs to AI.
Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) believes AI software should be open source to allow for rapid innovation (a move that has safety experts and ethicists very concerned)... especially as Meta tries to catch up to OpenAI’s ChatGPT with its Llama 2 system.
Sundar Pichai (Google) is obviously a big proponent of AI thanks to the launch of Google’s Bard system and investment in DeepMind. But Google has also voluntarily policed itself and called for existing agencies (not new ones) to immediately start regulating the industry.
Elon Musk (Tesla, xAI) is the most doom and gloom about AI, signing the famous open letter to pause development on AI systems… but he’s also starting his own mysterious startup called xAI to possibly see if we’re living in the matrix.
But Senator Schumer didn’t want the chat to be some Big Tech love affair, so he also invited prominent AI researchers (like Inioluwa Deborah Raji who’s worked for UC Berkeley and the Mozilla Foundation) and major union presidents (the WGA’s Meredith Stiehm, the American Federation of Teachers’ Randi Weingarten, and the AFL-CIO’s Liz Shuler).
Their message: AI regulation must consider inherent biases in systems, the potential for these tools to displace American workers, and the need to protect copyright.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Ferrari // Courtesy of Neon
Neon shifts into a winning strike position
The Future. Unlike rival A24, which has had major successes with Everything Everywhere All at Once and Talk to Me, indie-minded film distributor Neon has had a tough time re-igniting moviegoers’ interest in arthouse and international fare since COVID. But with a couple of mainstream offerings in the next few months (and the ability to actually have actors promote the movies since it’s not part of the AMPTP), Neon could find success amid larger Hollywood chaos… and ensure smaller distributors still have a chance in the theatrical market.
Box office boost
Neon is trying to get back on track, according to Variety.
Its highest grossing movie since theaters started recovering was the Kristen Stewart-starring Spencer, which only made $7 million at the domestic box office.
One reason is that, in the past few years, the arthouse theatrical sector has crumbled, leaving even studio-backed Oscar-hopefuls in the red.
Case in point: While 2019’s Parasite was a big win for the distributor ($53 million at the domestic box office and a bunch of Oscars), Neon has tried to recreate that success by acquiring every Cannes winner since… and none have made a mark.
Still, Neon is looking at this fall as a window of opportunity. While it has festival favorites like 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Australian thriller The Royal Hotel slated for this month, it’s also expanding into mainstream horror with the release of It Lives Inside, which it acquired out of SXSW.
But it’s the studio’s push-all-the-chips-in bet on Michael Mann’s Adam Driver-starring Ferrari that could bring it glory. Neon likely dropped a lot — multiples more than it ever has — to pick up the $90 million racing biopic from STX Entertainment. The film comes out on Christmas Day… and we’re positive Neon would love its version of a Christmas miracle.
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Real estate. Real returns. Real impact.
“Landlord” doesn’t have to be such a dirty word, at least according to Roots CEO Daniel Dorfman. Roots is the real estate fund that’s giving tenants seats at the table. Finally.
Here’s how it works:
You invest in the Roots fund (get started with as little as $100!)
Roots buys properties, fixes them up, and rents them out
Roots residents get invested in the fund for paying on time, taking care of the property, and being good neighbors
And guess what? It’s really working. The fund is up 36% since July 2021.
FOOD & DRINK
Courtesy of Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola collabs with AI on a new flavor
The Future. Coca-Cola has announced a new limited-edition beverage that was partly created with AI. It’s the first beverage at the company to be made using the technology. While no one knows quite yet if Y3000 actually tastes good, it may simply be an experiment to see how AI can be utilized across the company.
Caffeine code
Even Coke is cracking open some AI.
The “Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar” was co-developed by humans and a proprietary AI system.
So, what does it taste like? According to the soda giant: “future-flavored,” which Coke says combines “fan perspectives across the world and AI insights to create the unique flavor.”
It’ll be available in select markets around the world (including the US), with a full-sugar version also available in North America.
To go with the drink, the brand is launchingY3000 AI Cam, which lets consumers scan a QR code to view an AI-generated rendering of what the year 3000 looks like.
Spoiler alert: it’s a lot of Coke colorways.
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Highlights
The best curated daily stories from around the web
Media, Music, & Entertainment
Marvel VFX workers have officially and unanimously voted to unionize with IATSE, which is the first time a solely VFX unit has ever done so, according to the union. Read more → variety
Spotify is letting artists (or their labels, really) purchase promotional space on its platform’s homepage via a new tool called “Showcase.” Read more → techcrunch
USA Today is hiring a dedicated Taylor Swift reporter. Read more → variety
Fashion & E-Commerce
Birkenstock has officially filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange at a possible $10 billion valuation. Read more → bof
Michael Jordan wears New Balance one time for a photo in Life magazine, and Nike gets sued for using the image as the basis for Air Jordan’s famous “Jumpman” logo. Read more → complex
California, the home of Silicon Valley, passed a right-to-repair law that requires companies to make spare parts for new devices available for purchase for up to seven years. Read more → theverge
Tech, Web3, & AI
Australian startup Micro-X is trying to redesign the airport security experience to get you through the screening process in 30 seconds flat. Read more → forbes
Ford, Honda, and BMW are partnering on a new electricity startup called ChargeScape that allows both EV drivers and state grids to send energy back and forth. Read more → theverge
Artifact, created by Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, wants to be the Instagram of links… and maybe change how news gets shared in the process. Read more → techcrunch
Creator Economy
Sports-centric Web3 startup Lockerverse has recruited a roster of pro players, signed with CAA, and is planning to grow its footprint in helping athletes monetize their fanbases via exclusive drops. Read more → thr
TikTok says advertisers are undervaluing impressions on the platform by as much as 73% because reach and influence don’t convert to sudden clicks. Read more → tubefilter
TikTok is hiring marketing influencers to help creator influencers make money using its livestream features. Read more → insider
JOBBY LOBBY
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Austin, TX
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Hartford, CT
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Melody Song. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.