Disney Fingerprints Guests, Google Eats Rocks & Black Widow Calls Foul on ChatGPT
#NEWSLETTER | A very data Disney weekend from questions about fingerprinting to Scarlett Johansson calling her lawyers on OpenAI. What we are talking about now...
My friend visited Disney World over the long holiday weekend and found herself holding an index finger over a scanning device to enter the Magic Kingdom (somehow there’s a joke in there). It’s something I did in haste as well this past January.
What gives? Well, according to Disney, fingerprinting guests is an exercise in efficiency and fraud prevention. Although it barely scratches the surface of what we ultimately give up to the company in personal information. Read my investigation here ⤵️
In Other News…
From pondering AI job losses to continued big data plays, notable investments, and a continued illustration that Big Tech intends to live by its “move fast and break things” mantra, there is no slowdown with AI as we head into summer. News highlights this week ⤵️
Cringey Google AI
Maybe you’ve seen the tweets, or tried to ask a question yourself and found Google’s top of the page AI-generated answer to be, well, insane. It’s an issue causing some consternation for the company. But the truth is Alphabet (Google’s parent) has more data than any of its competitors, so considering data is the “new oil,” it’s unclear if Google really cares about the wonky answers.
Twitter ↪ X ↪ xAI
It’s always been clear that Elon Musk bought Twitter (now X) for its rich, AI-worthy data. And now he’s ramping things up with a new $6 million round of investment to better compete with the other men, err, “leaders” in the space.
Protecting Artists from AI Displacement
There is no doubt that Hollywood is in a panic over how AI will impact (and/or replace) talent. It’s a valid concern highlighted by OpenAI’s pursuit of Scarlett Johansson to voice its new AI model recently.
When the star declined, OpenAI went ahead and found a *similar* voice to slot in anyway (sending ScarJo lawyers to CEO Sam Altman’s door). Now senators are proposing legislation to address and it’s probably a good idea. (…more thoughts on the ScarJo kerfuffle below).
AI Transforming Altered Lives
There is no doubt that AI will transform the lives of those less able to move, speak, and more. For anyone who knew of Sarah LaGarde’s harrowing story of falling onto the Tube tracks, this follow up story about how AI is allowing the mom of two to move more freely is incredible. The hope is that others will benefit too as the technology improves and the costs decrease.
Other thoughts? News to report? Let’s talk!