Robot Bellhop

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Happy Thursday, Future Party. Turns out parts of the US Constitution were quietly deleted from the official US government website about a month ago — specifically, sections of Article I that deal with protections like habeas corpus and protection against unlawful detention. The changes were first spotted by a few eagle-eyed Redditors and have since gone viral. According to the Library of Congress, the issue was caused by a “coding error” and will be “resolved soon,” but it’s wild to think something this important could slip under the radar for so long… or even happen at all.

The Savannah Bananas — a barnstorming exhibition team that plays their own version of baseball called “Banana Ball” — are racking up ticket sales, virality, and influence.

The Big Swing: In an era of shrinking attention spans, America’s favorite pastime has been pressured to… well… pick up the pace. It’s hard not to imagine that the antics of the Bananas pushed the MLB to add some time-crunch elements to pro ball. With golf and other sports dabbling in similar stunts, this could be a broader playbook shift.

Between The Plates: The Savannah Bananas are to baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters are to basketball.

Last Inning: Banana Ball is the brainchild of club owner Jesse Cole, known during games as the “Man in the Yellow Suit.” His pitch? Make games short (under two hours), add stunts (batting on stilts, dancing umpires), and involve fans (a caught foul ball counts as an out). Turns out that pitch was a home run.

Amazingly, Cole says that the franchise doesn’t spend any money on traditional advertising — the growth has all come from online virality, word of mouth, and media attention. They’ve also taken no outside financing and have no intention of selling the team.

Prospects: Don’t be surprised if pro players start moonlighting in stunt leagues to boost their profile… or just learn how to cartwheel into a double play.

Talking trash is easy. Kitting out your wardrobe in your team’s colors? That’s commitment.

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The Henn na Hotel chain in Japan has become almost entirely staffed by robots.

Why It Hits: The human-facing hospitality industry is still in the early days of automation, but it’s already creeping into the US — with San Francisco’s LUMA Hotel using four onsite “digital curators” and Disney testing robots in its parks. Southeast Asian countries often lead the way in adopting emerging tech, making destinations like Japan a proving ground for innovations that could shape your next vacation.

Behind The Front Desk: Social distancing during COVID accelerated Henn na’s push to automate.

Check Out: Henn na first experimented with robot staffing in 2015, but tech hiccups — like in-room bots waking guests who snored too loudly — forced a partial rollback. Fast-forward a few years, and advances in tech (coupled with Japan’s aging population and falling birth rate) have reignited the automation push.

Future Visit: As humanoid robots become more common in hospitality, prepare for a dip into the uncanny valley — where they’re just helpful enough to be disappointing. Basically, automated customer service, but IRL.

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86.8% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you think AI will become a standard tool in movie production within the next decade?

“Most definitely, especially to reduce production costs. I’m sure the quality will only improve over time where the viewing experience is on par or surpasses what we see today.”

“It’s already happening in the ad business, so it only makes sense it will be in movies.”

“I work in the industry, and AI has already replaced tons of post-production jobs like ADR and edging tools. Adobe now has built-in AI features, and Respeecher has taken over all ADR studio work.”

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.

🎞️ Universal Pictures has started including an explicit legal warning to the credits of its recent releases that the films “may not be used to train AI.”

🎮 Grand Theft Auto VI is expected to retail for $100 and generate $10 billion in its lifetime, per a report by Wedbush Securities.

📺 Disney announced that the ESPN streamer will launch on August 21st and that the Hulu app will be phased out as it totally integrates into Disney+.

📈 Palantir’s stock is up over 600% from this time last year, thanks to its strategic positioning at the center of tech upgrades within the US government.

🤖 OpenAI announced that US government agencies can license ChatGPT for just $1 per agency for the following year.

🚗 Uber is working to make its rides safer after a report found that a sexual assault or an incident of sexual misconduct was reported every eight minutes between 2017 and 2022.

👀 YouTube is redesigning the homepages of select accounts to resemble how a show appears on Netflix.

🗺️ Instagram is taking (another) page from Snapchat with the launch of “Instagram Map.”

📌 Pinterest reports that men now make up more than a third of its users, searching for content related to health, style, tech, and parenting.