Stay At Starbucks

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It’s Wednesday, Future Party. Yesterday, film icon Robert Redford passed away at 89 years old. Redford had a storied career both as a movie star in front of the camera (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All The President’s Men) and behind it as an Academy Award-winning director (Ordinary People, Quiz Show). But his greatest legacy may be founding the Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Institute — an organization that reinvigorated indie film and launched countless incredible careers. RIP.

YouTube Shorts is rolling out a suite of free AI creator tools powered by Google’s video-generator, Veo, and music-generator, Lyria, that could transform the biggest social-video site in the world.

The Big Picture: The coming wave of AI-generated content is nearly upon us, and YouTube’s new features might be the thing that pushes it into the mainstream. That could evolve into what kind of videos trend on the platform.

Behind The Scenes: Welcome to YouTube’s AI era.

Final Render: According to Dina Berrada, YouTube Shorts director of product and generative AI creation, the final video will be credited to the creator. However, the company is aware that these tools may raise concerns about the authenticity of the videos. YouTube will be labeling all AI-generated or augmented videos with DeepMind’s SynthID. Additionally, it’s expanding its deepfake tool in YouTube Studio so that creators can report if someone steals their face. 

But considering how fast things go viral, playing Whac-A-Mole with billions of users could be… to put it lightly… a challenge.

Next Up: These new tools could mint a new class of creators that leverage AI in creative or ironic ways.

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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is introducing a new company plan, “Back to Starbucks,” that aims to undo the past ten years of quick, contactless, mobile-first transactions at its locations.

Why It Hits: Fast-casual dining has been recently inundated with a culture of optimization, favoring the ability to get customers in and out of the door as fast as possible instead of building a deeper relationship with them. Starbucks now wants to flip the script.

Between The Seats: With younger generations looking for places to hang out IRL, Niccol realizes that the best store makeover is by going back to the company’s roots.

Here’s what’s coming back:

The Future: Believe it or not, there was a time when people enjoyed sitting inside Starbucks to have their coffee, hitting peak popularity roughly ten years ago. That’s what Niccol wants to recapture, which also involves a menu revamp, including drinks and pastries that have more protein… because everyone wants more protein right now.

That may be what’s needed to get Starbucks growing again, which has been relatively flat for the past five years (roughly annual revenue of $36 billion). While the company is still the biggest coffeehouse on the market, competitors like Dutch Bros, Dunkin’, and Luckin Coffee are nipping at its heels.

Brewing Soon: The revamp of Starbucks could kick off a literal vibe shift among mass-market food and drink brands. Mariachi Band Mondays at Taco Bell? Don’t count it out.

54.2% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Would you feel comfortable investing in a company that only reports earnings twice a year?

“It depends on the company.”

“Too much can happen in 6 months, without visibility of corporate finance, I would not feel comfortable.”

“This would probably also reduce market volatility.”

“In business, you need information as soon as it’s available, so a hard no to that question.”

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.

🎥 Former Paramount owner Shari Redstone has found her next gig — Chair of the Board of Israeli content studio Sipur.

👀 Film and TV analytics firm Comscore is launching an interactive insights platform called “The Scoreboard.”

☕ Central Perk, the coffee shop from Friends, is getting an actual permanent location in Times Square.

📱 The US and China may have finally struck a deal for TikTok’s US operations, with Oracle, a16z, and Silver Lake part of a consortium that would own an 80% stake.

👓 Meta accidentally leaked its upcoming Ray-Ban smart glasses with an in-lens display and wristband controller.

🤖 OpenAI is releasing a version of ChatGPT specifically geared towards teens, which will enable parents to set usage limits.

💰 Robinhood is launching a venture fund that will allow retail traders to invest in private companies before they go public.

🛒 YouTube is doubling down on becoming a shopping destination with the rollout of automatic AI product-tagging and exclusive shopping for top viewers.

👕 UNIQLO has named KAWS as its first Artist in Residence.