Department Of Call Of Duty

TGIF, TFP. Just how wild has the AI-startup boom gotten? An Austin-based smart-toilet startup called Throne has raised $4 million in a funding round led by Moxxie Ventures to develop a toilet-mounted device that uses AI to monitor a squatter’s gut health. According to TechCrunch, it “analyzes indicators of certain chronic conditions, as well as hydration and urological function — all in the privacy of the home.” But don’t worry — it anonymizes the poop photos it sends to researchers. Who here wants that job?

Hit Activision game franchise Call of Duty has helped 150,000 American veterans find steady jobs since 2009… making it the largest private funder of vet employment and now more effective at doing so than the federal government.

Why It Hits: As the federal government cuts costs and contracts its workforce, innovative organizations that can close the gap on lost services may be the most important ones in the current economy.

Behind the Placements: The Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) has truly leveled up vet employment.

Final Boss: C.O.D.E. was first launched by former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick to address “super high” unemployment rates for veterans, says Goldenberg. The team realized that steady employment was crucial for veterans’ community reintegration, especially after active combat. Goldenberg explains that “if you have a meaningful job, you probably have health care, you have colleagues, you have purpose.”

Prediction: Considering that 86% of veterans say that gaming provides them a “healthy outlet for stress and anxiety” (with Call of Duty ranking as the favorite game), the partnership makes a lot of sense… and could even lead to more non-gaming partnerships between Activision and the military.

The clock is ticking, and so is your shot at free Apple AirPods Pro 2. ⏳

We’re in the final 24 hours of the giveaway, so if you want to block out the noise in style, now’s the time to rack up more entries.

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Washington, D.C.-based, youth-focused polling company Generation Lab created a new app called VERB.AI, which is offering young people at least $50 per month to track them online and use the insights for market research.

The Big Picture: It’s old news that every major website and social media platform tracks its users, leading some states to give people the option to opt out. But the prevalence of the practice (and the online Whac-A-Mole to stop it) is exhausting some users… so it’s inevitable that some would rather just receive a paycheck for what’s already been happening for free.

Behind the Payments: How much is your privacy worth to you?

The Future: Even though Gen Z reportedly protects their data more than any other generation, they also are likely to agree that they “don’t mind being tracked by website or apps,” per a 2023 Malwarebytes survey. 88% of Gen Zers are willing to personally share data if they’re “fairly compensated either with cash or a personalized social media algorithm,” according to a 2022 Euromonitor International study.

In other words, there’s a price on letting go of your privacy.

Prediction: The global data broker market is expected to balloon from $389.7 billion to $561.5 billion by 2029. It’s possible that the growth could be partly driven by people who are willing to offer up their data as passive income.

AI won’t take your job, but a person using AI might. That’s why 1,000,000+ professionals read The Rundown AI – the free newsletter that keeps you updated on the latest AI news and teaches you how to use it in just 5 minutes a day.

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58.3% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you ever put on a TV show to keep yourself company when you’re feeling lonely?

“Yes, I’m guilty of this. I have five kids, so if they are all out, and I’m here alone, the silence is maddening. So, I hit the TV power button just for some background noise.”

“All the time. Living solo for the last two years, the TV is always on.”

“Can’t say that I really think of it that way, but upon further reflection, sometimes I guess that I do. I love that I can tune it all out when I want them all to just go home and leave me alone again.”

“I find more peace sitting in silence. It takes some getting used to but is very calming.”

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.

🎥 Lionsgate’s now-free-from-Starz studio arm reported 22% higher revenue last quarter and said its movie division hit its highest profitability in 10 years.

📺  Connected TV ad platform MNTN, which counts Ryan Reynolds as a strategic advisor, saw its shares pop 65% in its IPO.

👻 Blumhouse teamed up with Meta to launch an immersive horror experience, Blumhouse Horrorverse, in Horizon.

🤖 The AI device that Sam Altman and Jony Ive are working on is reportedly a screenless, aware AI “companion” that can fit in a user’s pocket or sit on their desk.

💸  The United Arab Emirates is the first country to buy ChatGPT+ subscriptions for all of its citizens as part of a new data center initiative.

🚗 The Senate banned California’s EV rule that would have outlawed the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.

🥡 Amazon reported that its five-year strategic partnership with Grubhub has led to a 50% increase in Grubhub+ signups since it integrated with Prime.

👟 Tyler, the Creator is collabing with Converse on an archive-inspired footwear line, dubbed “1908,” that will be released on June 20th.

📱Social fitness app Strava has acquired running app Runna and cycling app The Breakaway over the past couple of months in its quest to debut an all-encompassing fitness-training assistant.