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Happy World Theatre Day, FutureParty people. If you’re gonna pick one day every year to appreciate the value of performance (and maybe pay attention to your one annoying theatre friend), today’s the day. Jokes aside, World Theatre Day is devoted to promoting a Culture of Peace, which we can all get behind.

In other news… Big Tech creates a gold rush for AI experts, creators are leaving generative AI behind, and Mark Zuckerberg is scaring everyone.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

YT: Bellingham, X: BTS, G: Carol Burnett, R: Tibet, TT: “Lullaby for Erik”, S: “Lose Control”

🚨 Mark Zuckerberg alarmed employees with a company email that commanded them to find ways to bypass Snapchat’s encryption in order to gather analytics on the company. Read More → insider

🤖 The hype around AI chatbots is beginning to cool now that the technology faces serious hurdles concerning the accuracy of chatbots’ responses. Read More → axios

👡 Perth, Australia has become the surprising new target of investment for major fashion brands. Read More → bof

🍎 A new study finds that childcare benefits for employees provide outsized returns to employers in the form of more consistent and reliable workers. Read More → axios

🛍️ Creators are ditching mobile advertising for “shoppable images,” which are 15-to-30-second ad spots on streaming platforms. Read More → digiday

75.2% of you voted Newsletters in yesterday’s poll: Newsletters or podcasts?

“Definitely newsletters. I can skim and only read what I am interested in. Podcasts take up too much time for me, and I often find my brain wandering elsewhere until I realize I’ve truly heard nothing said in the podcast.”

“More trust in specific podcasters than the media in general.”

“Just because I need to be in the right space and environment to listen to podcasts, so I don’t listen to too many of them.”

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.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Big Tech hoards all the AI experts

The Future. The explosive popularity of generative AI programs — particularly large language models (LLMs) — has created a huge demand for workers with backgrounds in the technology. Big Tech is offering programmers, copywriters, and even product managers record sums for AI jobs, but that’s made it nearly impossible for small, open-source startups to compete in the sector. For now, at least, the rich will only get richer.

(Not so) open season
Tech giants are hoarding AI experts by offering them lavish compensation packages.

• AI has become one of the highest-paid employment sectors, with major firms offering $100,000 to fresh talent and up to nearly $1 million to seasoned veterans.

• While engineers and programmers fluent in Python and deep-learning databases are the most coveted employees, companies now also need copywriters and product managers who understand AI well enough to train models.

• Major tech firms can essentially monopolize this talent by paying more for it than startups can afford to.

On the horAIzon
It probably won’t always be this way. As companies prioritize integrating AI into their corporate processes, and the general workforce sees more opportunities to become fluent in the technology, the supply of AI experts will grow and become more evenly distributed throughout the economy.

For now, though, it’s an AI specialist’s market. Now’s a good time to become one.

• Watch: TikToker @the.productivity.coach lays out how a chair can increase productivity.

• Listen: Brooks Duncan and Thanh Pham of The Productivity Show discuss overrated productivity techniques.

• Read: Author Cal Newport breaks down the principles from his book Slow Productivity with Katie Couric Media.

.MEDIA.

Creators are stepping back from generative AI

The Future. The rapid evolution of generative AI is causing major concerns for creators about the technology replacing human creators’ jobs and extracting from their hard work. More and more creators are looking to limit or stop their use of AI tools, but it ultimately might not be enough to stop the tide of technology.

AI-nxiety
Last year, creators were excited about using AI to speed up their creation process. This year? Not so much.

• Rapid improvements. 2024 saw the launch of powerful new tools, like OpenAI’s Sora, causing widespread unease.

• Creativity fracking. Creator Cassey Ho, founder of fitness empire Blogilates, said AI is “extracting our creativity and not giving back in any way.”

• Pushing out humans. Tristan Tales, a VFX creator, says he’s alarmed that AI could eliminate many crew roles in filmmaking and hopes that “regulations are put in place soon.” 

Not very DEI
While some creators are leaning in, many others are starting to limit or avoid AI altogether due to bias and inclusivity concerns. Kahlil Greene, known as the “Gen-Z Historian” on TikTok, said:

“We don’t have enough Black people working in AI and developing these tools, so that’s going to be reflected in the finished products… AI has a long way to go before… people like me feel comfortable using it.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NIKE

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JOBS OF THE WEEK

Explore a weekly curated list of the latest and greatest opportunities in business, tech, and entertainment. For more listings, check out the complete job board.

Live Booking Intern
Live Nation
Los Angeles, CA

Senior Designer - Communications
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New York, NY

Producer (Apex Legends)
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Senior Account Manager
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Chicago, IL