Thursday’s here… and so are skin-wearing humanoid robots. Well, almost. Using human skin cultures, researchers from Harvard and the University of Tokyo created an artificial skin mask that can adhere to and move on mechanical surfaces without tearing — i.e., a robot face. The videos are pure nightmare fuel… and they bring us one step closer to being able to construct Westworld.

In other news… NBCUniversal brings Al Michaels back to the Olympics as a chatbot, TikTok wants to buy music rights, and IATSE and the studios reach a deal.

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• YouTube – Here

• X (Twitter) – The Bear

• Google – Bill Cobbs

• Reddit – The Apprentice

• TikTok – “Hold On” - Ann Marie

• Spotify – “The girl, so confusing” - Charli xcx, Lorde

.ENTERTAINMENT.

NBCUniversal debuts Al Michaels chatbot for the Olympics

The Future. As part of its innovative coverage of the Paris Olympics, NBCUniversal is bringing back one of the most famous voices in Olympic history… with a twist. A voice-and-image deepfake of the legendary commentator will give Peacock users personalized daily recaps of this summer’s events. If the recaps are a hit, expect more celebrities to license their likeness for similar personalized features as a new form of passive income.

Personal pundit
The Al Michaels chatbot will host the mobile-focused, 10-minute “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock.” 

• The show can offer almost 7 million different recaps that “provide fans with their own customized playlist featuring highlights of the events most relevant to them from the previous day,” per Deadline.

• They’ll include NBCU’s 5,000 hours of coverage of the Games, including viral moments and athlete backstories.

• Those will be accompanied by a “high-quality A.I. recreation of Michaels’ voice,” trained on his decades of Olympics coverage for the network, to provide the accompanying voiceover.

• NBCU stresses that a team of human editors will review the highlights to ensure they are accurate and don’t include anything crazy.

Michaels, who delivered arguably the most famous line in Olympics history when the USA men’s hockey team beat the USSR in 1980 and was NBC’s lead Olympics commentator from 2010 to 2022, approved of the feature after he was shown a demonstration.

A new generation will now be introduced to the icon.

67.1% of you voted Yes in yesterday’s poll: Do you engage with online content in a deep way (for example, by double-checking its accuracy)?

“Otherwise, what’s the point of ingesting any of this sh*t?”

“I read material from several sources daily, probably 4 to 6 news outlets. I know where they lean and take that into account. I do not rely on social media AT ALL for information, news. I research with fact checks when necessary. I am very aware of misinformation and political propaganda. However, nothing is perfect these days.”

“One’s perspective is not always the whole truth.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT UPWORK.

Your business deserves this

We’re living in a crazy world, no doubt.

AI has blown up, consumer trends are constantly in flux, and technological advancements are happening at the speed of light.

So, how is your business keeping up?

We have one word for you: Upwork.

You might recognize Upwork as a platform where freelancers get their gigs, but have you considered it a way to grow your business and optimize your resources?

Over the past couple of decades, Upwork has been a pioneer in transforming the workforce and a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes. By connecting with Upwork, you’ll tap into their extensive network — AKA an Olympic-sized pool of skilled workers — offering a unique opportunity to access top talent.

Imagine the possibilities.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• IATSE, the major Hollywood union for crews, reached a tentative deal with the studios on a new contract… averting another strike. [Read More]

• A24 got a fresh investment round led by Thrive Capital, raising the studio’s valuation to $3.5 billion — 40% more than its worth in 2022. [Read More]

• AEG Presents inked a deal with Tim Hinshaw’s creative studio, Free Lunch — which helped put on Kendrick Lamar’s “The Pop Out” — to boost its hip-hop, R&B, and gospel touring power. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Amazon is rolling out a discount clothing and home goods section on its site to rival SHEIN and Temu. [Read More]

• Balenciaga showed off haute couture dresses made from melted plastic bags at Paris Fashion Week. [Read More]

• MSCHF is turning Venmo into Survivor with a new lottery stunt called “MSCHF Plays Venmo.” [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Waymo dropped its waitlist for its robotaxi service in San Francisco, giving anybody the ability to hail an autonomous ride via its app. [Read More]

• Google is taking a page out of Meta’s and Character.AI’s book with a new chatbot feature that could license the likeness of YouTube celebrities. [Read More]

• The Supreme Court upheld the White House’s ability to direct social media companies to remove misinformation from their platforms. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Rough creator economy: 48% of paid creators make $15,000 or less per year and only 13% make over $100,000, per a study by influencer marketing agency NeoReach. [Read More]

• MrBeast is collaborating with Moose Toys on his own toy venture called MrBeast Lab. [Read More]

• Snap is rolling out several new features to curb the rise of tragic teen sextortion schemes on its platform. [Read More]

.MUSIC.

TikTok wants to acquire music rights

The Future. TikTok is wading further into music by creating a new team focused solely on buying up music rights. If it’s successful in acquiring some catalogs, expect those artists to start getting a boost in discovery from the platform’s algorithm… literally engineering viral hits.

Warning labels
TikTok wants to take over music one deal at a time.

• The company is forming a team, dubbed the “Music Content Investment Team,” to acquire or invest in music rights.

• That would put TikTok in direct competition with music labels and private equity firms, which have been on a music-rights buying spree to capture growing royalty revenues.

• But it could also give TikTok the ability to withhold music from rival services and make songs TikTok exclusives… a move that may give YouTube and Instagram some ideas.

The news could be sending shivers down streamers like Spotify and Apple Music, which are increasingly finding themselves in competition with TikTok as it builds up its music ambitions.

And it’s already in competition with labels. Just last year, TikTok started directly signing artists via ByteDance’s SoundOn program.

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT THE ANTHEM AWARDS.

Who’s been good?

Yup! It’s that time of year again: when The Anthem Awards (brought to you by The Webby Awards) is taking entries for good work.

ICYMI, The Anthem Awards is the most wholesome award out there, honoring the purpose and mission-driven work of people, companies, and organizations.

Join past winners like REI, The Daily Show, R/GA, Sesame Workshop, Havas, UNICEF, Elton John AIDS Foundation, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, and Vote.org in inspiring others to take action in their communities.

Have good work to share? Enter by July 12th!

• Read: John Mayer speaks to Variety about the trippy visuals created for Dead & Company’s performances at The Sphere.

• Listen: The debut of The Official Marvel Podcast features none other than company president Kevin Feige, who shares several updates about its upcoming film slate.

• Watch: Toys ‘R’ Us is the first major brand to create a commercial using OpenAI’s Sora… and people have some very strong opinions about it.

Digital downsizing is a doozy.

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.

Director, Production Health & Safety
Netflix
Los Angeles, CA

Sportsbook Writer - Sports & Social (Part-Time)
FanDuel
Washington, DC

Senior Designer, Cross GenStudio Visual Design
Adobe
San Francisco, CA

Ripple Trading and Markets Director
Ripple
London, UK

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today, on an extra special bonus episode of Future Forecast, our hosts Boye and Chris sit down with Larry Fitzgibbon, the co-founder and CEO of Tastemade. Tastemade is an independent media company that creates award-winning video content and original programming in the food, travel, and home & design space.