Look Ma, No Steering Wheel

PRESENTED BY 1440 MEDIA

Happy Friday, Future Party. Well, it looks like all the FIFA love is souring… from the inside. On the heels of the news that the soccer-governing body is planning to create a private holding company that would sell a 20% stake in the organization, soccer associations across the world are trying to block it. All 55 UEFA member countries (representing Europe) said they would boycott all FIFA events — including the upcoming Women’s World Cup and the 2030 World Cup — if the plan goes through. Meanwhile, all 41 Concacaf member countries (representing North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) have publicly opposed the proposal. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has threatened to withhold payments from countries that don’t support the plan. 

Yeah, this is getting as dramatic as any World Cup match.

Zoox, the robotaxi service owned by Amazon, can now charge customers for autonomous rides.

Why It Hits: There are an increasing number of robotaxis on the road, but none are specially built for autonomous driving or lack typical controls like brakes and a steering wheel. With Zoox ready for primetime, it could revolutionize what cars on the road look like.

Between The Trips: Watch out, Waymo. Zoox is pulling into your lane.

Final Route: With the paid service, Zoox is definitely playing the AV guinea pig with the NHTSA. The company is working with the agency to help “develop new vehicle safety standards that will create the first-ever national regulatory standards for AVs,” according to WSJ. That would supersede the patchwork of state and local laws, allowing AVs to reliably drive from city to city and state to state.

That will prove necessary if other AV hopefuls like Waymo’s Ojai and Tesla’s Cybercab hope to follow Zoox’s lead. No pressure.

The Future: Expect TV networks, film studios, and even gaming giants to fight over the exclusive rights to put their content inside Zooxes — it’ll be the driving equivalent of in-flight entertainment.

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An international bidding war for the hot new book Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body quickly cooled over allegations that it was written largely with AI.

The Big Picture: As AI use seeps deeper into culture and gets better at writing, it’s no surprise that some people are using it to write books or screenplays and pass them off as their own. But the legal and labor issues surrounding these systems are a tightrope no company wants to walk.

Behind The Scenes: An unpublished crime novel by first-time author Jerry Falade was on track to become the biggest book deal of the year.

Closing Thoughts: The issue stems from the fact that AI-generated writing is generally not copyrightable because public AI systems are trained on previously copyrighted works. No copyright means no protections… which is something any company wants to secure before handing over millions of dollars.

Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding, and Falade will be able to move forward with a deal. If not, it’ll serve as a cautionary tale for anyone trying to pass off AI-assisted writing in professional literary circles.

Coming (Not) Soon: Expect the publishing world — especially Minotaur and Macmillan — to pursue cutting-edge AI detection tools so nothing like this happens again.

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39.5% of you voted 10-15 hours in yesterday’s poll: What’s the longest nonstop flight you’ve ever taken?

“NYC to Rio de Janeiro.”

“JFK to Cape Town. The plane refueled in the Cape Verde Islands. Grueling flight, though being in first class helped a bit.”

“Made the Atlanta-to-Johannesburg flight once for work — in a middle seat in economy.”

“Chicago to Dubai.”

“Dallas to Auckland has been my longest leg thus far. Add to that connecting flights before and after, and this was one long day (or two).”

“I live in Australia, so long nonstop flights are expected.”

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.

🍿 Spider-Man: Brand New Day is tracking for a $195 million opening in North America — the biggest of the year.

🎮 Electronic Arts’ $55 billion sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is expected to close as early as next week.

📺 Netflix has tapped unscripted veteran Mike Darnell (The Voice, The Bachelor, American Idol) to provide “strategic creative guidance” across its entire unscripted slate.

🦾 Google unveiled a new Gemini model that can coordinate movement across a robot’s entire body while reasoning as it executes tasks.

🧮 AI labs and Wall Street firms are offering hefty six-figure salaries to recruit young math grads.

💸 The White House is considering charging international students $100,000 for the opportunity to stay and work in the US after graduation.

🥡 DoorDash has received FAA approval to launch a drone delivery service.

👕 Reformation went public on the NYSE, raising over $210 million for the popular retailer.

🏀 LeBron James broke the jersey debut sales record with his No. 23 Philadelphia 76ers jersey, according to Fanatics.