Super-Soldier Dogs For Sale

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Happy Monday, Future Party. Elon Musk has made good on his promise (threat?) to make an AI-generated version of The Odyssey that’s allegedly “historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.” Well, he released the first seven minutes, at least. Filled with slow-motion shots, actors who live squarely in the uncanny valley, and battle scenes that feel bloodless, it certainly looks like it was made with Grok Imagine. In other words, you may crave a rewatch of Christopher Nolan’s epic take on the epic.

A startup called Warhound is developing a new breed of biologically and technologically enhanced military dogs.

Why It Hits: With the advent of AI, AR, drones, and other cutting-edge tech, the defense industry is undergoing a major upgrade… and, by extension, so is war. Developing super soldiers — combatants with enhanced fighting capabilities — has been an ambition of militaries around the world for a century. Looks like super-soldier dogs are up first.

Behind The Science: Founded by Ben Lamm (co-founder of woolly mammoth-revival startup Colossal Biosciences) and Palmer Luckey (founder of next-gen defense firm Anduril), Warhound aims to shore up the at-risk pipeline of high-quality military dogs.

Warhound would also really like people to know that the American Humane Society has certified its program and is working with it.

Final Product: Warhound is run by CEO Dave Spirk, a Marine Corps vet and the Department of Defense’s first chief data officer. It has already raised a $200 million seed round from investors including Sequoia, 8VC, Corner Ventures, and In-Q-Tel, “a venture firm backed by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies,” per TechCrunch.

The hope is that cloning these dogs will reduce the need to buy military-grade pups from European partners (which currently supply 80%) and cut down on sunk costs (training a dog costs about $60,000, and only 45% ultimately become certified for deployment). Currently, over 2,200 military dogs are on active duty.

The Future: While military dogs are a highly specialized market, Warhound could potentially commercialize longevity therapies for the broader dog population. If they work, that could be an instant bestseller.

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Top US banks are sounding the alarm over third-party AI agents attempting to make transactions using customer accounts without direct authorization.

Why It Hurts: It’s no surprise that some people are giving their bank login credentials to AI agents — one of the biggest use cases is allowing agents to buy things, cancel subscriptions, or manage finances on their behalf. The problem is that banks don’t really allow this kind of activity and haven’t kept pace with updating their systems to accommodate rapidly advancing AI technology.

Between The Accounts: Axios found that banks are bracing for the worst.

Final Warning: Banks are in the midst of rewriting their rules to restrict the use of AI agents to “read-only” tasks — i.e., creating a budget for you based on your transaction history. The big fear among bank executives is that AI agents could collectively make major financial decisions on behalf of users (potentially triggering a bank run) or go rogue and make wild purchases. Those actions could ruin lives.

Figuring out how to recognize those activities and stop them quickly enough might be one of the biggest challenges banks face moving forward.

Prediction: Expect some major sit-downs between banking brass and Silicon Valley execs to develop an AI-agent financial protocol that safeguards customer security. No one wants to get this wrong.

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32.8% of you voted No, I haven’t in Friday’s poll: Have you ever taken time off work for entertainment?

“Not since high school.”

“Yes! Took off the day after midnight movie premieres. I even took my daughter to the Twilight midnight premiere and let her have the next day off from school.”

“I took off work to attend the first Lollapalooza concert. Epic. Historic. Worth it.”

“If your Hamilton tickets impacted your work hours… Hamilton, hands down.”

“Before lights were installed at Wrigley Field, taking the afternoon off to see the Cubbies play was part of the downtown worker culture.”

“I’ve taken days off to finish/read books.”

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.

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