Amazon’s Super Delivery Drivers

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Happy Thursday, Future Party. Here’s something to keep you up at night — several prominent figures, including leading AI researchers and thinkers, are urging tech firms to pause their pursuit of superintelligent AI. Why? Because, as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned, things could go very wrong. Their open letter is backed by surveys showing that American adults are also uneasy about how quickly these systems are evolving. Basically, everyone’s rightly a little shook.

Indie film studios like Focus Features, A24, Neon, and IFC are rolling out marquee events, interactive activations, and unique merch to build demand not just for individual movies, but the brands themselves.

The Big Picture: Independent and arthouse cinema has been struggling for decades — especially post-COVID. Much of that stems from audiences favoring pre-branded, event-style films in theaters over everything else. But a new wave of younger cinephiles is embracing weird, original storytelling. Now, indie studios are trying to build a sense of FOMO to get them to actually show up on opening weekend.

Behind The Events: Marketing a movie has evolved from a broad digital blitzkrieg to curated in-person experiences.

Final Itinerary: Jason Cassidy, vice chairman of Focus, told THR that a successful movie opening now largely depends on creating cool, IRL experiences. And it’s working — the 18–34 crowd is filling seats again, even as the over-50 arthouse audience stays home. Much of that buzz comes from Letterboxd, which has turned niche filmgoing into a social flex.

It’s no surprise that a generation proud of its brand affinities would gravitate toward studios producing more elevated projects. As Patti Williams, a marketing professor at the Wharton School, puts it: “They’re really becoming an identity marker — they represent taste.” And what person in their 20s or 30s doesn’t love to project having good taste?

Next Campaign: Indie studios may soon start developing films with built-in experiential hooks — mirroring how major studios consult marketing teams before greenlighting a would-be blockbuster.

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Amazon is testing AI-powered smart glasses for its delivery drivers in North America that could make the job both easier and safer.

Why It Hits: Amazon is rapidly modernizing its operations and logistics network for the AI and robotics era. Alongside the glasses, the company has unveiled a robotic arm (“Blue Jay”), a management chatbot (“Eluna”), and — according to leaked reports — plans to replace up to 600,000 workers with robots by 2033. In other words, a future is coming where Amazon may employ fewer humans — but far more productive ones.

Between The Shipments: Amazon is trying to lessen delivery drivers’ reliance on smartphones.

The Future: For delivery drivers — who are now handling roughly twice as many packages as they did five years ago — any tech that makes the job easier is a major win. That’s especially true since locating the correct drop-off point is one of the biggest reasons they fall behind schedule — and a major source of stress.

Prediction: Amazon may be trying to optimize its operations to the point where same-day delivery will be available on any product. How could any other company compete with that?

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69.7% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Have you taken a vacation yet in 2025?

“I didn’t used to take vacations when I was working, but I retired — and this year I went to Madagascar, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Vietnam, and Cambodia. I’m making up for all the years I didn’t take one.”

“Had a fun weekend in San Diego going to the zoo, Legoland, the beach with family. Only problem is that I only had the time off to begin with because I was on unpaid maternity leave...”

“With the economy as it is, I can’t afford a vacation — and I don’t trust getting on an airplane right now — so I just keep working, trying to pay the bills, keep a roof over my head, and food on the table.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, 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.

🖋️ Famed Hollywood writer Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) has launched a screenplay competition called Gauntlet to spark the development of more original scripts.

🎮 Wolf Games — founded by Elliot Wolf, the son of hit TV producer Dick Wolf — has raised $9 million and inked a deal with NBCUniversal.

🎥 Netflix has sealed a deal with game publisher Asmodee to develop movies and shows based on Catan.

💄 LVMH is looking to sell its 50% stake in Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, which is estimated to have a value between $1 billion and $2 billion.

🏒 The NHL has struck a licensing deal with prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket, making it the first major US sports league to do so.

🛍️ Merchants aren’t too pleased with TikTok Shop’s new ad tool, which bars them from linking to external websites.

🏛️ Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri, and Snap’s Evan Spiegel have all been ordered to testify in the first trial examining the effects of social media on young users.

🤑 The Interactive Advertising Bureau, the organizer of the NewFronts, is launching CreatorFronts — the first upfronts for creators to pitch their programming to advertisers.

💰 Affiliate-link platform ShopMy has raised $70 million in a round led by Avenir for a $1.5 billion valuation.