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☆ With day-trip fee 'Disney-fication' of Venice, the world hits its overtourism tipping point
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

In the 1970s, there were about 175,000 residents in Centro Storico, the main island and historic center of Venice. In fact, there are now more tourist beds in Venice than there are residents. Last week, Venice took action on overtourism, introducing a 5€ fee to day trippers who want to access the city. "You can't impose an entrance fee to a city; all they're doing is transforming it into a theme park. Marco Bertorello | Afp | Getty ImagesDespite its many detractors, the day fee is a significant move on the part of Venice's government to confront the challenge of overtourism, which has become a significant global problem since the pandemic.

Persons: Stefano Mazzola, Luigi Brugnaro, Mark —, There's, Matteo Secchi, Marco Bertorello, Antonio Paolo Russo, Russo Organizations: Piazzale Roma, Getty, Venice, Centro Storico, Guardian, Tourists, Afp, Virgili University Locations: Piazzale, Venice, Italy, Centro, Piazzale Roma, Santa Lucia, Tarragona, Spain, Bali, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Europe

☆ How Spotify AI plans to know what's going on inside your head, and find the right track for it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Over the past decade or more, Spotify has been investing in AI and, in particular, in machine learning. Its recently launched AI DJ may be its biggest bet yet that technology will allow subscribers to better personalize listening sessions and discover new music. The AI DJ combines personalization technology, generative AI, and a dynamic AI voice, and listeners can tap the DJ button when they want to hear something new, and something less-directly-derived from their established likes. Behind the dulcet tones of an AI DJ there are people, tech experts and music experts, who aim to improve the recommendation capacity of Spotify's tools. A Spotify spokesperson said the generative AI tool allows the human experts to "scale their innate knowledge in ways never before possible."

Persons: Y, we've, they're, it's, Julie Knibbe, —, Knibbe, they've, Ben Ratliff, Ratliff Organizations: Spotify, Discover, Technology

☆ How climate change is beginning to be built into employee pay and benefits
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

There are some companies all-in, as a brand, in fighting climate change , such as Patagonia. So-called green perks, also referred to as climate change benefits, could help to bridge that gap. A rising, though still marginal trend in the job market, employee enticement and compensation packages tied to climate change can help to make these abstractions clearer and more actionable in the workplace. "There's a nascent but growing interest in climate change benefits," Schneider said, pointing out that Google searches for commuter benefits, as an example, are trending up. Green perks are a benefits arena where the demand would seem to outstrip supply, and green commuter benefits may be the first indication of a wider adoption wave.

Persons: enticement, WTW, Caroline Mangiardi, Mangiardi, Lauren Schneider, it's, Schneider, Mercer, Lizzy Kolar, Kolar, Kolar's Organizations: Walmart, Apple, Bank of America, Compt, CSR, employee's CSA, Fortune Locations: Bentonville , Arkansas, Patagonia, Bentonville —, Bentonville, employee's

☆ The plane ticket upgrade option most U.S. airlines don't offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Now on many international air carrier flights there is a more civilized way to compete with fellow passengers: a seat upgrade auction. How it works is fairly simple: a week or so before a flight, passengers receive an email letting them know about potentially available seat upgrades. But no other major U.S. carriers offer upgrade auction programs. "Most major U.S. airlines offer a few ways to upgrade your flight experience, whether you're looking for extra-legroom, premium economy or business-class seats. From the airline's perspective, there will be a highest bidder, and those who don't win the auction are no worse off than before.

Persons: Zack Griff, Guy, Griff, doesn't Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Major Locations: U.S, Major U.S, Delta

☆ A.I. human-voice clones are coming for the Amazon, Apple, Google audiobook
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

"For many publishers, audiobook production can be a major investment," said Judy Chang, director of product management for Google Play Books. Even with AI voice, there is nominally a voice actor somewhere in the process. What voice actors sayFor some voice actors, the choice is being made to stay away. Kinsella noted that AI voice played a foundational role in the integration of AI into daily life at an earlier point. But he added, "I've yet to find a client who tells me they've chosen an AI voice over hiring me.

Persons: Ciccarell, Ciccarelli, David Ciccarelli, Alexa, Judy Chang, It's, it's, Bret Kinsella, Brad Ziffer, Michele Cobb, Cobb, Siri, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Kinsella, … Siri, ChatGPT, Ziffer, Andrea Collins, Collins, John Kubin, I've, Kubin Organizations: Google, Apple, Audio Publishers Association, Alexa Locations: U.S

☆ How Ford, GM auto dealers are thinking about Detroit's EV transition and their future
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

If consumers are to be sold on the mass adoption of battery-powered electric vehicles, car dealers are going to be essential to the pitch. But she expects more Ford dealers will opt in at a future date, once they observe a meaningful consumer shift to EVs. "Despite significant increases in EV sales in 2023, dealers are largely skeptical about the OEM's timeframes on the EV rollout," Kerrigan said. A dealer in Santa Monica may decide more quickly, "I need to be all-in on EVs," Maas said. It also caps their total EV sales at 25% of inventory.

Persons: Robb Hernandez, Hernandez, Brian Maas, Maas, EVs, Kerrigan, Ford, Erin Kerrigan, Kelley, BEV, Dealers, Jim Farley, Farley, Tesla, Tesla's, Ford's Organizations: Ford, Bloomberg, Getty, EV, GM, Camino Real Chevrolet, Car Dealers, California Air Resources Board, Kerrigan Advisors, Toyota, ICE, CNBC, Auto Locations: Colma , California, Monterey Park, Calif, California, U.S, Santa Monica, EVs, Eureka

☆ How ChatGPT and generative A.I. are already changing the way we book trips and travel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Already, generative AI is being experimented with inside the travel sector, albeit with mixed results. "Travel is fundamentally about connecting people and communities, and that human connection will always play a crucial role in the travel experience," Fogel said. It described ChatGPT "as a virtual travel assistant," allowing for more conversational interactions with Kayak's search engine. There may be not better example today of travel plan disruption than the airport experience. Breed predicts that at least some of the anxiety can be eliminated or mitigated by focused use of AI and generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

☆ Airlines can price climate change into your plane ticket. There are reasons to not buy it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

United Airlines , for example, has committed to net zero carbon by 2050 without any contribution from traditional carbon offsets. Southwest Airlines ' "Wanna offset carbon?" Consumer psychology and the environmentIt's not just about the dollar amount of the carbon offset purchase in the consumer psychology. If airline travelers want to stay environmentally conscious without paying carbon offset fees, Keyes recommends choosing cheaper airlines when traveling. "It's true that we all have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions.

☆ Is Patagonia the end game for profits in a world of climate change?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As far back as 1985, Patagonia deployed portions of its profits to the environment, via an "Earth tax." "The Patagonia model is a little more sophisticated." It often is very attractive from a corporate tax perspective, too, which has been noted of both the Ikea and Patagonia business models. One hundred percent of Patagonia profits are now committed to its new non-profit Holdfast Collective — which owns all of the company's non-voting stock (98% of the total stock). "What people fail to understand about Patagonia, both the past and the future, is that we are unapologetically a for-profit business, and we are extremely competitive," Ryan Gellert said.

☆ How the airline industry plans to wean itself off one billion tons of carbon emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

But Taylor has nothing on the airline industry, whose annual CO2 emission is pushing one billion metric tons. Airlines have completed test flights with sustainable aviation fuels, and the deals with sustainable aviation fuel producers have started to accumulate. American is the first airline globally to receive validation from the Science Based Targets initiative for its intermediate GHG emissions reduction targets and the only U.S. airline to report using more than 1 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel in 2021. From ethanol, Gevo then processes further into a product that is chemically identical to standard aviation fuel. Judged against the standards of its own industry, American remains a leader in carbon reduction efforts.

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