A Lil’ Midnight Interview

PRESENTED BY STORECLAW

Happy Tuesday, Future Party. If you’re a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, then you’ve probably already heard that the team is doing the basketball version of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket. The NBA team is offering two season tickets for 32 years, on top of a signed, game-worn Cooper Flagg jersey and a photo with the superstar forward… all in exchange for a Topps 1-of-1 Flagg card containing one of his game-worn patches. Here’s the wrinkle: that card could also sell for millions on the resale market. So, the decision comes down to this: How big of a fan are you?

Topps is about to sell a lot of cards.

Thanks to AI screenings, job seekers are taking interviews in the middle of the night.

The Big Picture: Getting a job feels harder than ever, especially as AI has made the interview process seem unprecedentedly inhuman and abstract. The growing trend of completing automated interviews in the middle of the night demonstrates just how much of an afterthought landing a role has become… but it could also create opportunities for people who typically don’t have time to interview, like working parents and hourly workers.

Behind The Interviews: The always-on work mentality has now extended to finding work, according to Wired.

Last Question: If you’ve looked for a job in the past couple of years, then this is already familiar: many first-time interviews are now actually screenings in which you have a couple of minutes to record yourself answering a series of questions. These recordings are then supposedly watched by human recruiters to see who they really want to meet with.

Unfortunately, many times, the AI simply gives applicants a score based on whatever criteria the company is looking for (such as an “enthusiasm score” for salespeople). Companies then make decisions based on what are essentially employee CliffsNotes.

As expected, this is not improving job-seeker morale. The Greenhouse survey also found that 38% of job seekers withdrew from the hiring process if the company required them to be interviewed by AI.

The Future: It’s only a matter of time until there’s an online trend of applicants simply listing off buzzwords during voice-AI interviews… and one of those stunts may just work.

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The new edition of Madden is making news headlines and media narratives a major part of its franchise mode gameplay.

Why It Hits: How news, commentary, and social-media discourse shape both the entertainment and business experience of pro sports can’t be understated. Madden developer EA understands that, which is why it’s trying to reflect the real-world experience more accurately. That could set off a trend of other types of games wanting to play more in the real world.

Between The Headlines: To win at Madden NFL 27, you now need to focus on the noise happening around the gameplay.

Final Game: EA has been experimenting with these real-world news updates in EA Sports FC through a partnership with The Athletic, while Take-Two Interactive does something similar for NBA 2K through a deal with Bleacher Report. But Madden NFL 27 is the first to integrate this more directly into the actual gameplay using AI.

And fun fact: integrating the power of opinion into the game is also a cool nod to the titular John Madden, who was both a legendary coach and an iconic commentator.

Coming Soon: Maybe the new Madden will put some fresh interest in great sports journalists… just as major publishers cut down on them in the newsroom.

Finally, a work email you’ll actually look forward to: Girlboss Daily.

Career inspiration and intel — with a welcome dose of pop culture and hot takes. Girlboss Daily will perk up your workweek, Monday through Friday.

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40.4% of you voted Yes, from multiple artists in yesterday’s poll: Do you currently own any artist merch?

“It’s outrageous how pricey merch is for the quality you get (poor). That said, I have multiple merch items from the shows I go to. I’m a sucker.”

“My wardrobe is made up of roughly 30% band merch T-shirts! I like to give a little extra support to a group when I see them live, especially if they happen to have a shirt that appeals to me. Also, it’s nice to remember that show when you put the shirt on.”

“In high school. After that, it all just felt lame and generic, so I love what Olivia is doing! Curious if they did an official collab with Etsy behind the scenes and are going to put some promo for it on the platform.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join Poll Of The Day, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

🎥 The Odyssey is now IMAX’s highest-grossing film, with $289 million… and counting.

📺 Disney has struck a video podcast licensing deal with iHeartMedia.

🎤 The Weeknd is actually keeping his name.

🤖 Mark Zuckerberg wrote a manifesto defending AI and Meta’s vision for the tech.

👀 Apple is considering making a screenless AI device.

🚗 Ford is getting an in-car chatbot that can tell you about your ride.

📱 An appeals court is allowing thousands of lawsuits claiming that social media companies are harmful and addictive to move forward.

🤳 YouTube is doubling the metrics creators need to hit in order to start monetizing.

👨‍💻 X is replacing its current monetization program with one that rewards more original content.