Here’s some Monday motivation. Spacewalks can be long and complicated… which is a bad situation to be in if you really need to pee. So, inspired by the full-body “stillsuits” in Dune, researchers at Cornell University have developed a wearable filtration system that recycles urine so it can be used as drinking water. This definitely beats wearing a diaper, which is what NASA astronauts currently do. It just goes to show there’s always a better way to do things.

In other news… Saudi Arabia levels up its esports ambitions, ChatGPT wants to convince you, and Hulu spends big for stand up.

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• YouTube – Captain America: Brave New World 

• X (Twitter) – Wimbledon 2024

• Google – Trump

• Reddit – Longlegs

• TikTok – “28” - Zach Bryan

• Spotify – “DREAMS I SEE” - Kid Cudi

.ESPORTS.

Saudi Arabia could host the inaugural esports Olympics

The Future. The International Olympic Committee has recommended that Saudi Arabia host the first edition of the Olympic Esports Games in 2025. While the plan still needs to be approved, the move shows that the country’s aggressive “sportswashing” strategy has been a success… and the Saudi Arabian market may be the most important customer base in gaming moving forward.

Game on
Saudi Arabia has transformed into the hub for esports.

• The IOC is proposing a 12-year partnership with the Saudi National Olympic Committee.

• The country is currently hosting the inaugural Esports World Cup, which includes 22 events across 21 video games.

• Through a company called Savvy Games Group, Saudi Arabia already controls 40% of the global esports market.

• It’s also building a gaming-focused city, Qiddiya, which will have a dedicated esports district.

It’s all part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to invest $38 billion in the industry by 2030 through its Public Investment Fund, which includes launching 250 new video game developers and creating 39,000 new jobs in the sector.

While Saudi Arabia’s controversial human rights record is well-documented, it’s becoming more challenging for the gaming industry to ignore the country. The industry has recently been struggling around the world, leading companies, gamers, and even the US government to strike deals that incentivize Saudi engagement.

74.8% of you voted No in Friday’s poll: Do you want to go to Mars?

“Let’s leave Mars alone. We’re already ruining one planet.”

“Mars colonization seems like a way for billionaires to escape Earth rather than use their money and power to fix many of the problems plaguing society now. It’s looking out for their own self-interest disguised as innovation.”

“While I’m not into the idea of taking my Earthling problems to Mars with me, I like the idea of a totally fresh start lol.”

.A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS AT SURF.

Say hello to the dishwasher of the future

Modern dishwashers just don’t get it. They’re designed for a fully packed load of rando dishes, not what you actually use.

Enter Surf Dishwasher, a newly developed dishwasher that takes the cake and washes it, too. The dishwasher is no joke because it was created by a rocket engineer and computer engineer with the modern lifestyle in mind.

The Surf Dishwasher has special modules for the things you use all the time (think plates, bowls, cups, silverware). Plus, it gives you the option to use a standard washer whenever you need one. The best part? It gets the job done faster and with reduced water consumption.

Now’s your chance to be one of the first Surf Dishwasher owners ever. All you have to do is make a dishwasher pledge on their Kickstarter.

Media, Music, & Entertainment

• Hulu is entering the stand-up comedy space in a big way by inking a deal for Bill Burr’s next special after nabbing Jim Gaffigan’s for a November premiere. [Read More]

• Corpus, a new program created by AI startup Avail, is positioning itself as the go-to tool for small media companies and creators to license their work for AI training. [Read More]

• Warner Bros. Discovery is rebranding two of its upcoming shows, Dune: Prophecy and The Penguin, from Max Originals to HBO Originals… signaling that the company may believe the latter is a better label for premium quality. [Read More]

Fashion & E-Commerce

• Amazon’s AI shopping tool, Rufus, is rolling out to all US users on the retail giant’s mobile app. [Read More]

• The famous Barneys New York brand could get a resurrection thanks to a pending $2.65 billion deal between Saks, Inc. and Neiman Marcus. [Read More]

• Kevin Parker, the mastermind behind Tame Impala, is collaborating with Parisian fashion brand A.P.C. on a psychedelia-inspired capsule collection. [Read More]

Tech, Web3, & AI

• The COPIED Act, a bipartisan Senate bill, hopes to give artists, songwriters, and journalists more protections against AI scraping, including setting terms for licensing and compensation and giving creators the right to sue for illegal use. [Read More]

• AT&T suffered a hack that compromised six months of customers’ mobile phone data in 2022, affecting nearly all of its 115 million users. [Read More]

• SpaceX is seeking FAA approval to do up to 25 launches of its Starship rocket annually from its base in Texas. [Read More]

Creator Economy

• Popular creator IShowSpeed signed a contract with pro soccer team A.C. Milan to boost the team’s viewership and marketing reach. [Read More]

• New platform noplace, which aims to bring back the early social media vibes of Myspace, briefly hit No. 1 on the App Store. [Read More]

• X has become the first social media platform to be sued under the EU’s Digital Markets Act over allegations that its paid verification checkmarks deceive users. [Read More]

.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

OpenAI wants chatbots to persuade you

The Future. ChatGPT is reaching new advanced capabilities as a number of headlines show that its “intelligence” is becoming more persuasive and humanlike. As the technology rolls out to consumers, a legal framework may be developed that protects against the addictiveness of taking AI’s advice since giving up privacy is a function of using a personalized chatbot.

Program pressure
ChatGPT may soon join your local debate team.

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined Thrive Capital in launching the Arianna Huffington-led Thrive AI Health, which will develop a personalized chatbot coach to provide “nudges and recommendations” to improve users’ health.

• OpenAI formed a safety team called “Preparedness,” which is focused on analyzing AI’s “persuasion” skills, especially as conversational LLMs are designed to use words and phrases that they find will be more compelling to humans.

And just last week, OpenAI announced that its system is allegedly on the verge of reaching Level 2 of a five-level track toward creating AI that can outperform humans. Level 2 is called “Reasoners,” meaning it can “do basic problem-solving tasks as well as a human with a doctorate-level education who doesn’t have access to any tools.”

John Burden, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, said the fear surrounding reasoning AI is that systems “would be able to come to conclusions that we don't like.”

In other words, now you’ll have to rally the energy to argue with humans and robots.

• Listen: The Spiel, a new podcast from the hosts of The Kingcast about the legendary filmography of Steven Spielberg, launched last week with special guest Kumail Nanjiani for its inaugural episode.

• Read: NYT digs into Eno, the new Gary Hustwit-directed Brian Eno documentary that uses a software program to change its content, length, and structure every time someone streams it.

• Watch: Vox digs into whether Parisian officials will be able to clean enough poop out of the River Seine in time to use it for the quickly approaching Summer Olympics.

Every goal is now a long-term goal.

LATEST PODCAST EPISODE

Today we get into a recent study on the digital habits and informational literacy of Gen Z, how the secondhand clothing market is struggling to maintain their popularity online, and the most recent updates on the Paramount Skydance merger.