Hollywood's last act, Threads vs. X, Sam's Worldcoin soars, Elon's new truck, militarized IRS, VR sex, Rocket Man launches another one, and more stuff you should know...
Jennifer Lawrence is ready to play Katniss, the girl on fire again if there is a Hunger Games sequel. "Oh, my God – totally!" the Oscar winner told Variety last month.
As outsiders, it has been fascinating to watch all the studio heads flipping out over the writer and actor strike. Disney’s reincarnated boss Bob Iger, who just inked his $27 million-a-year contract, started bitching about actors like Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence joining the picket line. They are 'not being realistic' and 'disruptive,' and their actions threaten to 'bring Hollywood to a halt.' And the strikers are '"adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing."
At first, we thought they were just annoyed that the strike happened just as they were jetting off to Allen & Co's annual 'billionaires' summer camp' in Sun Valley, where they hang-out with their fellow titans. But at a closer look, their outbursts reflect much deeper issues. Linear TV is not coming back, content distribution and marketing are going peer-to-peer, and content creators will increasingly turn to crowdfunding to finance their productions.
First-time camper at Allen & Co's annual media and tech honcho retreat Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, using chatGBT to find his way around the Sun Valley compound.
You will have to keep your eye on Sam’s Worldcoin cryptocurrency project for it to work
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's bold idea of creating a 'universal currency and a digital identity and privacy standard took its Worldcoin cryptocurrency (WLD) public yesterday, and it had risen 30 percent by midday, with a market cap that flew past $200 million.
The world vision of Worldcoin is to be 'the largest and most inclusive identity and financial network, based upon an iris-scanning ID authentication system, a cryptocurrency, and a crypto wallet, with the eventual goal of becoming a DAO-like entity with decentralized decision-making. Worldcoin's tokenomics strategy is equally altruistic, as they plan to freely distribute WLD as a universal basic income to everyone 'just for being a unique individual' and reward for 'establishing a unique digital identity' to prove 'humanness in the online world that is increasingly populated with advanced artificial intelligence is possible.'
The company announced making 1,500 of its eye-scanning orbs available in 35 cities. The project has raised significant privacy concerns. Of course, whenever you bring up biometrics, the Antichrist, 666, and Bilderberg Group alarm bells go off for many people. In 2021, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and other privacy advocates dogpiled Mr. Altman and Worldcoin. Mr. Snowden blew a hole in Worldcoin's claim that its centralized database of hashed iris scans was not a privacy risk, arguing that biometrics should never be used for identity or security because 'the human body is not a ticket-punch.'
While the Worldcoin project does have an Orwellian vibe, it is more the extent of its lofty ambitiousness, touchy-feely altruism, and hardware dependency that has us rolling our eyes. However it works out, this project will take a ton of capital to pull off. So far, so good in the fundraising department. Worldcoin raised $115 million in May, led by Blockchain Capital, which makes $505 million in total funding from all backers, including the venerable Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
Did you know?
(Overheard on the streets of the global Silicon Valley—Got any hot tips?)
Twitter's new 'X' logo might not fly, either. Meta owns a federal trademark registered in 2019 covering a blue-and-white letter "X" for fields including software and social media. Experts say it would be up to a judge to decide.
Meanwhile, TikTok is taking on Twitter and Instagram's Threads with a new feature that lets users add text posts, sound effects, and stickers. The ByteDance-owned app out of China has seen explosive growth in the US thanks to creative tools and highly effective recommendation algorithms.
Benchmark, an SF-based VC, tagged former portfolio company cofounder and CEO Victor Lazarte as a general partner, says GP (since 2017) Sarah Tavel in her blog. 'Low ego' Victor, who 'traverses with alacrity,' took $100 and turned it into a gaming company generating hundreds of millions in annual sales.
Speaking of Benchmark, all-time starting 5 VC Bill Gurley quietly split the fund and moved to a high rise in Austin. Bill G wasn't trying to be fashionable like Joe Rogan or Jimmy Breyer. "Amy and I are from Austin,' he says. "Everyone thinks Austin is so entrepreneurial, but it hasn't really delivered.'
New Sequoia boss, Roelof Botha, tightens ship. Sequoia Capital, another firm that just ended a hugely prosperous 18-year investing run in China (how come they aren't in front of Congress?), parted ways with 5 partners, including Michael Moritz, and cut seven people in its talent areas.
AI on the March
Australia's Office of National Intelligence, with a Melbourne-based startup, Cortical Labsto, is studying ways of merging human brain cells with AI. The team has already successfully demonstrated how a cluster of roughly 800,000 brain cells in a Petri dish can play a game of "Pong."
Warning to journalists. Google is pitching an AI tool to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal owner, News Corp., that can supposedly write news articles based on current event details. Google says the tool could help journalists by automating tasks and freeing up time 😉😉.
Due to pressure from the Biden administration, the top 7 artificial intelligence companies—Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI—committed to sharing models, reporting vulnerabilities, and testing their systems rigorously to ‘reduce potential harm.’
A little help from my autistic brother. Set in the 1980s, the comedy-drama Rainman starred Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, seen here running the table.
Online crypto casinos, such as BitcoinCasino.us, use cryptocurrencies for transactions, enabling faster transaction times and enhancing players' security, fairness, and privacy. Players worldwide can also use Bitcoin without the need for currency conversion or international banking issues.
Follow the Crypto
Time To Buy Dogecoin. Dogecoin remains one of the popular coins despite the crypto bear market, and its resilience has boosted its following. A reason to buy now is the expectation that Elon will integrate the meme coin as a payment method for Twitter, er, I mean X. At least, that's what he should do.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed Japan's welcoming stance to Web3, calling it "a new form of capitalism." The world's top crypto exchange Binance, acquired Japanese crypto exchange Sakura Exchange BitCoin last November and is set to start serving Japanese customers.
Bankrupt FTX sued founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former execs, seeking to recoup more than $1 billion they spent to finance luxury condominiums, political contributions, speculative investments, and other ‘pet projects’ while committing ‘one of the largest financial frauds in history," says the suit.
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were an infamous robbery team responsible for a 21-month crime spree (from 1932 to 1934) robbing gas stations, restaurants, and small-town banks, primarily in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri.
In another crypto fraud case, the so-called 'Bitcoin Bonnie & Clyde,' —Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan will plead guilty to laundering $4.5 billion in hacked Bitcoin stolen from Hong Kong's Bitfinex, one of the world's largest virtual cryptocurrency exchanges in 2016.
Bringing sex dolls to life:Google X's former CBO Mo Gawdat said realistic sex will be simulated with Apple's Vision Pro or a Quest 3 VR. He also said ‘there is money in’ dating apps offering AI avatars. AI and virtual reality risk creating a 'very significant redesign of love and relationships,' says Mo.
Japanese energy firm JERA is committing $300 million in corporate-startup funding for companies with leading-edge technologies or business concepts in decarbonization, renewables, AI and blockchain-based energy platforms, and corporate well-being and femtech.
Not so “roaring 20s” for Gen Z. While drinking is often the occasion for the Millennials, Gen Z is not so crazy about booze and prefers to be in bed by 9 pm. They do like to travel, go to festivals, and create meaningful memories, but there is less peer pressure to binge drink all along the way.
Know Thy Enemy
Mexican cartels are adding mass thefttargeting big-box stores, luxury retail brands, and small businesses to human trafficking and fentanyl sales to their expanding US operations. The cartels sell stolen goods online and launder profits through Chinese brokers.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter walk from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) site inspection last November.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from Pyongyang that flew 341 miles before landing into its eastern sea early Wednesday. This exercise was an act of defiance by Kim Jong Un as the US deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades.
China's rebound from its strict Covid-19 lockdown policies is spluttering. Official figures showed that the world's second-largest economy expanded by just 0.8% in Q2, having grown by 2.2% over the previous three months. Output was 6.3% higher than a year earlier, below the 7.3% analysts forecasted.
Techstars tops the list of 10 most prolific accelerators in Europe, with 661 investments since 2018.
From the Streets of Silicon Valley
Stanford President out. Yahoo cofounder and now chair of the Stanford Board of Trustees, Jerry Yang announcedMarc Tessier stepped down after it was determined that research projects under his purview fudged results that "spanned labs at three separate institutions."
Would Arnold drive one of these? Nah.
There have been multiple sightings of Tesla's Cybertruck prototypes in the US and New Zealand with pixelated camouflage wraps. "This is the first truck that we are aware that will have four doors, over a 6-foot bed, and still fit into a 20-foot garage, and a lot of new technology too!" says proud pappa Elon.
Shia LaBeouf and George Lopez starred in The Tax Collector, a 2020 American action thriller film that follows two enforcers known as the "tax collectors” who workfor a Los Angeles crime lord known.
The militarization of the IRS. The US tax agency spent $10 million in the last 3 years on weapons and tactical gear. If armed agents kick down your door, you probably assume they come from a law enforcement agency. Not so, it seems. Tax collectors now carry guns too. Better pay your taxes 😅.
Revive Thyself! (or not)
East meets West: Habits are your brain on auto-pilot. Neuropsychology can help install healthy habits by developing these mindsets: 1) not all at once, 2) mindfully consider the consequences, 3) change your environment, 4) surf the urge, 5) check in with your core motivation, and 6) it’s not “all or nothing.”
Gene therapy eyedrops restore a boy’s sight. A teen born with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic condition that causes blisters on the body and in the eyes. The boy’s skin improved when they tested the world’s first topical gene therapy, which inspired the idea to apply it to his eyes.
Add up to 24 years to your life. You shorten your lifespan with low exercise, opioid use, and smoking (30% to 45% higher risk of death), stress, binge drinking, poor diet, poor sleep (20% increase), and lack of positive social relationships (5% increased) found the American Society for Nutrition.
Flashback Interview
Meet the father of virtual reality Jaron Lanier circa 1993
He coined the phrase 'virtual reality,' developed the DataGlove, the EyePhones on your head-mounted displays, and DataSuits, which makes sensual immersion possible. He also plays over 300 instruments.
By Anthony Perkins From May 1993 issue of Red Herring (the first issue!)
One of VR's pioneers and chief spokesmen is Jaron Lanier. Variously described as "amiable, round, and dreadlocked....a Rastafarian hobbit," "the wizard of odd," "Bigfoot," "a new age Jabba the Hut," and more recently by Business Week, as "an enigma" and "a Guru without a portfolio," Lanier epitomizes the kind of alternative personality required to pursue a field as unconventional as VR.
We interviewed Lanier in his unmarked bungalow in Sausalito, close to the offices of Domain Simulations. His house sits atop a quiet hill overlooking the San Francisco Bay. In this scenic and remote setting, Lanier works away on several new virtual reality projects. Even at night, his answering machine is constantly working—it's not unusual for Lanier to get 40 to 50 calls in a single evening.
Perkins: You coined the term "virtual reality." What does it mean to you?
Lanier: Oh that question. Well, the term "virtual reality" is applied to just about everything. There are clothing stores called Virtual Reality and rock bands and for all I know rubber kitchen items. If I was raising money from you, it means one thing. If you're an academic, it means something else. Ultimately it's the marketing term; general purpose simulation technology. It also forms a rubric over a community of researchers and entrepreneurs very much as other terms like biotechnology or the famous horror story of artificial intelligence. What happens is that you have to create a certain shared set of philosophies and goals in a community in order for them to work together, and virtual reality vaguely defines such a community.
"You can sell a bag of cocaine one time. But a child, the most precious child, you can sell a five-year-old kid 5 to 10 times a day for ten years straight. Over two million children a year are being sucked into the deepest recesses of hell. Trust me, man, if we do nothing, their pain will spread until someday it's going to reach the likes of you. And that will be a nightmare you'll never wake up from.'
—Tim Ballard, Founder & CEO of Operation Underground Railroad
