Happy hump day, FutureParty people. Things are moving fast — maybe too fast. A swath of current and former OpenAI employees released an open letter to management and the public yesterday expressing concerns that the company was pushing to develop generative AI programs in a way the employees believe is reckless and even dangerous. They also want enhanced whistleblower protections since generative AI is largely unregulated, and whistleblower protections typically only extend to illegal activity. Maybe AI can write the new legislation…

In other news… banks want to sell your data, Asian-American audiences call out to streamers, and Big Tech builds data centers faster than ever.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe

• YouTube – “Sweet Dreams” - Koe Wetzel

• X (Twitter) – Shawn Levy

• Google – Cyndi Lauper

• Reddit – Jon Stewart

• TikTok – “Fake Jammin” - Sexyy Red

• Spotify –  “Echo” - The Marías

.MEDIA.

FMNs may be the future of ads

The Future. Banks and financial services firms are launching financial media networks (FMNs), online platforms that use customers’ first-party data to advertise in place of third-party cookies. FMNs yield huge quantities of valuable customer data that could be the future of advertising… and an enormous privacy risk for consumers.

Banking on data
Digiday covers the new technology of FMNs and their implications for customer privacy.

• FMNs are similar to RMNs (aka retail media networks), which major retailers like Walmart and Target can use to observe customers’ spending habits and monetize as data.

• FMNs are trying to cash in on RMNs’ popularity now that RMN spending is estimated at $140 billion this year and set to tie social media for the second-largest means of global ad spending in 2027.

• The big difference is that FMNs — often run by banks — can examine all the activity in customers’ bank accounts. This is way more informative (and invasive) than RMNs.

Chase Bank launched an FMN this April, while PayPal, Revolut, and Klarna all have similar services in the works.

“Just checking”
Data harvested by FMNs is certainly valuable; economically, it could rival or even surpass third-party cookies. The real question is whether it can be gathered and sold in a way that preserves consumers’ privacy since the whole point of outlawing cookies is consumer protection.

Will customers be able to opt out of FMNs? Or is the cure worse than the disease?

71.1% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Does the studio behind a movie ever affect your decision to see that movie?

“Normally, it’s the story that does that.”

“Yes, but only when it’s 40’s noir from Warner Brothers.”

“If it’s A24, I am in. But they’re the only one.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT CLEEAI.

Feel like you can’t trust AI?

It looks like you haven’t met CleeAI yet. We’d be honored to make the intro.

CleeAI is the world’s most accurate search engine.

Forget about Googling non-stop or wondering if AI has delivered something sketchy again. CleeAI uses advanced contextual awareness to provide nearly 10% more accurate results than other AI (we’re not naming any names).

Yup, that’s the difference between looking for a promotion and looking for a new job.

CleeAI is faster, more accurate, and easier to use — and that’s why professionals actually trust it. So, go ahead and try it.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Simon Cowell is holding open-call auditions in the UK in search of the next One Direction. [Read More]

• Gizmodo, a tech news and review site, has been sold for the third time in eight years — this time, to European publisher Keleops. [Read More]

• Y3’s Yohji Yamamoto is working with the Japanese national football team for the first time to design their 2024 kits. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• DTC health company Ro is making a gummy to help treat ED. [Read More]

• Deadly heat waves are sweeping manufacturing hubs across Asia, highlighting a growing challenge for the fashion industry. [Read More]

• Outdoor Voices has been acquired by Consortium Brand Partners, three months after reports that the athleisure brand was planning to file for bankruptcy. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• Joby Aviation, an electric air taxi company, is acquiring the autonomy division of Xwing Inc. [Read More]

• Eternos wants to use AI to help grieving people by recreating people’s voices to survive them after they pass away. [Read More]

• Nearly 50% of Americans won’t be going electric for their next car purchase, a new poll shows. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Trump’s on TikTok… and he already has over five million followers. [Read More]

• Erewhon, an LA-based chain of upscale specialty supermarkets, is selling a sunscreen smoothie that apparently tastes like, you guessed it, sunscreen. [Read More]

• IKEA is launching a game inside Roblox, which will pay players a (real) hourly wage to work there. [Read More]

.MEDIA.

“Super Streamers” could supercharge the TV industry

The Future. Recent reports show that Asian-American audiences, dubbed “Super Streamers,” are spending significantly more time on streaming platforms than the general US population. With film and TV giants struggling to compete with social platforms like YouTube and TikTok, focusing on Asian-American households might shift the tide.

Super-sized streaming
The film and TV industry could get an edge by catering to a growing interest in Asian-American content.

• Per McKinsey, over 80% of Hollywood execs said that increasing on-screen representation of Asian Americans could lead to Asian populations spending more on film and TV.

• Given population patterns, experts estimate that the value of additional spending by AAPI communities could rise from $4 billion to $8 billion by 2060.

And that number could be an underestimate since Asian audiences aren’t the only ones interested in Asian-American content. In fact, 59% of Americans said they want to see more Asian Americans in dramas and comedies.

Asian culture has already proven its broad appeal with movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Crazy Rich Asians. Media companies that fail to embrace diversity may run the risk of being left behind.

• Read: Why data centers are getting built faster than ever and why it’s scary that Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are building virtually all of them.

• Watch: The final trailer for Inside Out 2, which depicts the mental changes a child experiences as they reach adolescence.

• Listen: How high inflation is turning traditionally cheap staples like McDonald’s and Starbucks into expensive treats for the average American.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today we get into the NFL potentially allowing private equity into team ownership, how brands are paying school tuition fees, and how streamers are trying to change the way they pay their talent.