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It’s a new week… And if you need a detox from social media but still have things to share, then Palmsy may be right for you. The new social app lets you post text and photos and rack up those sweet likes… but it’s all fake. The engagement is all artificial, but the dopamine hits are real. As a society, we may have a bit of a problem.

In other news… OpenAI clones your voice, Warner Bros. gamifies Godzilla, and Beyoncé wins the Spotify rodeo.

We hope you enjoy this and all upcoming issues, but we have one request: please share your feedback. If you have any thoughts at all about our new look, format, and direction, please reply to this email. It’ll go straight to us. Do not hold back.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

YT: Unfrosted, X: Kurt Russell, G: Franklin, R: Chance Perdomo, TT: “Blue Monday”, S: “Mary Boone”

🤖 Amazon increased its stake in OpenAI-rival Anthropic by $2.75 billion for a total of $4 billion — the most Amazon has ever invested in another company. Read More → wsj

🤠 Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year after it dropped Friday — a first for a country album in 2024. Read More → thr

📰 Meta is finally turning the lights off on Facebook News after pulling its news features in several countries over the past few years. Read More → fastcompany

📱 YouTube is allowing creators to put Shorts behind a paywall with a new feature called “Members Only.” Read More → tubefilter

👔 LinkedIn is testing a TikTok-like vertical video feed in its push to become the suit-and-tie social media king. Read More → techcrunch

66.7% of you voted Yes in Friday’s poll: Do you like LIFE Magazine?

“It’s a throwback to my growing up in the 50s and 60s. 🥰”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT KOI CBD.

Dig cannabis?

Well, then, you’re going to love Koi’s THCA pre-rolls. 

Whatever effect or mood you’re looking to bring — they’ve got it. Their lineup is no joke, with invigorating sativas, soothing indicas, and euphoric hybrids. Forget DIY-ing it — enjoy their expertly rolled 1g diamond-infused pre-rolls or 6-pack kief-infused mini pre-rolls.

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Excuse us while we go light one up…

.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Open AI mimics human voices

The Future. OpenAI revealed a new tool dubbed “Voice Engine,” which can clone a person’s voice using only a 15-second recording. Coupled with its video-generator, Sora, Voice Engine could give people the power to become a one-stop production studio… for better or worse.

Clone generator
Open AI is mastering mimicry.

• Users will be able to upload a recording with text of whatever they want to say, and the system will spit out a synthetic reading in their voice… in almost any language.

• The tool isn’t available to the public yet (just like Sora) as the company gathers tests on how the tech can be abused. (Hint: there are a lot of ways…)

• OpenAI said that it was working on a way to watermark synthetic voices and add security layers that prevent people from cloning the voices of politicians or other public figures.

The system is currently testing with a handful of companies, such as Spotify (which has used the tool to translate podcasts from creators like Lex Fridman) and Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute (which used it to replicate the voice of a patient who lost her voice due to a brain tumor). Those are definitely positives.

Not so positive: OpenAI is already asking banks to find an alternative to customers using voice authentication to access accounts… for the obvious reasons.

• Watch: Forbes gives a play-by-play on how the highly-anticipated auction for NBA’s media rights could go down now that streamers are circling.

• Listen: Influential Washington Post tech columnist Taylor Lorenz launched a new podcast, Power User, on the Vox Media Podcast Network.

• Read: WSJ goes deep into last year’s cyberattack on Las Vegas’ MGM Grand and how it’s sent a chill down the spine of corporate America.

.GAMING.

Roblox sends the kids to Skull Island

The Future. Warner Bros. took its trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to the next level by making it an interactive game on Roblox. It’s been successful in capturing players’ attention and may set a course for Hollywood to have a dedicated marketing strategy for platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft, and other metaverse-like platforms in order to reach Gen Z.

Monster marketing
Hollywood advertising is getting gamified.

• Warner Bros. released Godzilla x Kong Obby on Roblox two weeks before this past weekend’s release of the new Monsterverse sequel.

• The interactive experience allowed players to “enter the 2D video and come out in the movie’s world of Hollow Earth,” per Variety.

• Players could then navigate an obstacle course as Suko (the adorable Mini-Kong in the movie) to collect movie-themed crystals.

The game has reportedly been a hit for both Warner Bros. and Roblox. Users spent an average of eight minutes playing, and a survey found that a vast majority of players was more likely to go see the movie (or ask their parents to take them) after playing the game.

With the movie opening to $194 million worldwide, the game looks to have been part of a winning marketing strategy.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT VINOVEST.

SOLD! Bourbon generates a 23% return for investors

Vinovest sold its bourbon casks for $1,850 each, resulting in a 23.3% return for clients over 1 year. This is Vinovest’s third whiskey exit. (Quite a track record.) And with Barron’s projecting that whiskey investing is “a global phenomenon that shows no signs of slowing down,” now could be a perfect time to add casks of whiskey to your portfolio.

Vinovest is the all-in-one platform that allows you to capitalize on this lucrative asset class in just minutes. Schedule a call with a whiskey advisor today.

Post-Zoom vibes