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☆ The Old-Fashioned Library at the Heart of the A.I. Boom
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Cade Metz | Christie Hemm Klok | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The two-story library has Oriental rugs, shaded lamps dotting its desks and rows of hardbacks lining its walls. It is the architectural centerpiece of the offices of OpenAI, the start-up whose online chatbot, ChatGPT, showed the world that machines can instantly generate their own poetry and prose. The building, which was once a mayonnaise factory, looks like a typical tech office, with its communal work spaces, well-stocked micro-kitchens and private nap rooms spread across three floors in San Francisco’s Mission District. But then there is that library, with the ambience of a Victorian Era reading room. Its shelves offer everything from Homer’s “The Iliad” to David Deutsch’s “The Beginning of Infinity,” a favorite of Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive.

Persons: “, David Deutsch’s “, Sam Altman Organizations: Francisco’s Mission Locations: OpenAI, Francisco’s

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan testifies before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission," on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 13, 2023. Surrounded by tech workers and VC investors in San Francisco, Khan reiterated her focus on artificial intelligence, an area her agency has been tasked with looking into by President Joe Biden's executive order this week. "We’re very much focused on using our laws to protect everybody: Consumers, but also workers," she said in a standing-room-only nightcap appearance in San Francisco on Thursday. Big Tech companies, particularly Amazon (AMZN.O) and Meta, view Khan, who rose to prominence after publishing a 2017 academic article pointing to Amazon’s practices as anticompetitive, as an impediment. Reporting by Krystal Hu and Greg Bensinger in San Francisco; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lina Khan, Kevin Wurm, Khan, Kahn, Joe Biden's, he'd, “, Krystal Hu, Greg Bensinger, Jamie Freed Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Federal Trade, Big Tech, D.C, Mission, Stanford University, Meta, Republican, Activision, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Silicon, New York, San Francisco

☆ In photos: The queer ‘renegades’ of 1990s San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Suyin Haynes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Photographer Chloe Sherman had rarely used social media, until a chance discovery by her daughter prompted her to revisit her work documenting the queer community in 1990s San Francisco. Although she had previously exhibited some photographs from her time in San Francisco, the majority of her work, which she shot on 35-millimeter film, only existed as negatives. So, after Sherman’s daughter and a friend helped create an Instagram account for her, she began digitizing and uploading her photos onto the platform. In this context, San Francisco was widely seen as a safe haven, with a long history of welcoming LGBTQ people. For Sherman, who had grown up making photographs and later studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, it felt important to document the moment.

Persons: Chloe Sherman, Sherman’s, ”, ” Sherman, Sherman, Paula, Carmen, San Francisco, Brandon Teena, Matthew Shepard, Castro, America’s, Harvey Milk, Chloe Sherman Sherman, “, ’ ”, Anna Joy, lounging, isn’t, —, San Francisco — Organizations: CNN, “ Renegades, San Francisco’s Mission, Fair, San Francisco Art Institute, Anna Joy Post, Sherman, Mission Locations: San Francisco, City, San, Schlomer, Berlin, Germany, San Francisco’s, Francisco, Folsom, Folsom St, California, Portland , Oregon, ”, Mission

☆ AI companies are flocking to San Francisco — giving the city's commercial real-estate market a much-needed boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The city may have the recent AI boom to thank for the boost, experts say. According to data from VTS, San Francisco saw a recent boom in demand, experiencing a 10.2% demand increase in the most recent quarter. It's perhaps unsurprising that AI companies seem to have San Francisco in their sights. Quinn said JLL had 10 AI clients eyeing around 750,000 to one million square feet of San Francisco real estate. One AI company, Hive, recently announced it was subleasing three floors of a downtown San Francisco office — taking over space previously occupied by software company Okta, Bloomberg reported.

Persons: Alexander Quinn, Jones Lang LaSalle, Nick Romito –, –, There's, Romito, It's, Quinn, JLL, —, VTS's Romito, He's Organizations: Morning, PayPal, ChatGPT, San Francisco's Mission, San Francisco's, Economic, Workforce Development, Bloomberg Locations: Francisco, VTS, San Francisco, San Francisco's

Unlike past tech booms that have touched San Francisco, the generative AI craze brings fewer jobs, because AI firms excel at staying lean and automating work. "I think we should curb our optimism that San Francisco commercial real estate will bounce back because of AI," said Silicon Valley investor Jeremiah Owyang. Eleven of the country's top 20 AI companies are in San Francisco and have raised $15.7 billion collectively between 2008 and 2023. That amount is just 2.3% of the estimated 150,000 daily workers that downtown San Francisco lost during the pandemic. Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh, Anna Driver and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Carlos Barria, San, Jeremiah Owyang, Erin Price, Wright, OpenAI, Matt Schlicht, Mike Grabowski, Grabowski, Owyang, Lee Edwards, Daron Acemoglu, Anna Tong, Sayantani Ghosh, Anna Driver, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Intelligence, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Francisco, San Francisco Mayor London Breed's, San, Microsoft, Octane, Google, Nordstrom, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Valley, NFX, Dubai

☆ OpenAI's mysterious new headquarters features nap rooms, a two-story library, and lounges for viewing both sunrise and sunset, according to planning documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's only fitting then that OpenAI should have a headquarters befitting its status as the vanguard of new AI revolution. But the company has kept details about its San Francisco headquarters a closely guarded secret. A reporter for Insider was even less successful, turned away by a security guard on an intercom who refused even to confirm or deny the existence of an OpenAI office at the location. But we may now have some hints about what it's like inside the offices of the world's most famous AI company, thanks to architectural plans and planning documents viewed by Insider. "It's an impressive space," said Peter Eisenbeiser, a city official who performed the final inspection of the 1960 Bryant Street space.

Persons: OpenAI, Peter Eisenbeiser, Travis Organizations: San Francisco's Mission, Microsoft, San, San Francisco, Florida Street, Bay, Eaton Hall, Architects, Boston Consulting Group Locations: San Francisco's, London, San Francisco, Florida, Seattle

☆ Cops yell at stalled self-driving Cruise car to get out of the way during a mass shooting in San Francisco, video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Cruise self-driving car seemed to block first responders during a mass shooting in San Francisco. A Cruise self-driving taxi disrupted emergency crews responding to a mass shooting in San Francisco on Friday night, according to witnesses and videos posted online. pic.twitter.com/fICRtS6e05 — Paul Valdez 🚲🏳️‍🌈 (@paulvaldezsf) June 10, 2023Videos show an officer shouting at the stalled Cruise car, its logo visible on a rear door, to move from the middle of the street. The incident is the latest safety issue for self-driving cars in the streets of San Francisco. In May 2023, a Waymo driverless car wandered into the middle of an active fire in San Francisco, forcing firefighters to helplessly yell "No!

Persons: Cruise, fICRtS6e05 — Paul Valdez 🚲🏳 Organizations: city's Mission Locations: San Francisco, city's

☆ San Francisco Mission District shooting: At least 9 shot in a 'targeted and isolated incident,' police say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Andy Rose | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —At least nine people were shot Friday in what police believe was a “targeted and isolated incident” in San Francisco’s Mission District neighborhood. All victims are expected to survive the shooting, which happened while “some sort of block party” was ongoing, San Francisco Police Department Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya said during a news conference. At least five of the victims were hospitalized, according to Santiago Lerma, a legislative aide to a San Francisco Board of Supervisors member. San Francisco Police Department officers were called to the Mission District around 9 p.m. local time. The Mission District, better known as The Mission, is a large and diverse neighborhood often known for its historic architecture in the east-central portion of San Francisco.

Persons: Eve Laokwansathitaya, Santiago Lerma, Lerma, “, ” Organizations: CNN, San Francisco Police, San Francisco, KPIX, San Francisco Police Department, Mission District Locations: Francisco’s, San Francisco

☆ A San Francisco builder converted a former garage into 3 tiny homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A San Francisco housing organization transformed a garage into three small apartments. The affordable housing units cost $600,000 and are seen as a victory in the city's housing crisis. But critics told San Francisco Standard the cost of the units is high considering the square footage. An organization in San Francisco has turned a six-car garage into three 550- to 600-square-foot units, each with a bedroom, bathroom, and small kitchen. According to The San Francisco Standard, the Mission Housing units raised eyebrows among architects and building professionals.

Persons: —, Sam Moss, Rebecca Möller, Möller, Moss, I'm Organizations: San Francisco, Service, Housing, London, Mission Housing, San Francisco Standard Locations: Francisco, California's, San Francisco, Mission District

☆ Can tiny homes save California? 4 villages illustrate their potentials and pitfalls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Kelsey Neubauer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While this is the first time the state is providing this many tiny homes directly, the solution is not a new phenomenon. Here is a list of some of the municipalities that have built tiny homes to solve this issue and how they have fared. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSan Jose was quick to adopt tiny homes as temporary shelters, per the East Bay Times. It's set to send tiny homes to cities already constructed, eliminating much of the cost and process for local governments. It — like many cities in California — has turned to tiny homes as temporary shelters for people living on the streets.

☆ In San Francisco, some people wonder when A.I. will kill us all
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

If the super-powerful AI is aligned with humans, it could be the end of hunger or work. Or, as a sign at the Misalignment Museum says: "Sorry for killing most of humanity." Most of the works are around the theme of "alignment" with increasingly powerful artificial intelligence or celebrate the "heroes who tried to mitigate the problem by warning early." As AI technology becomes the hottest part of the tech industry, with companies eying trillion-dollar markets, the Misalignment Museum underscores that AI's development is being affected by cultural discussions. Even as companies and people in San Francisco are shaping the future of artificial intelligence technology, San Francisco’s unique culture is shaping the debate around the technology.

☆ The generative AI boom is bringing San Francisco’s tech scene roaring back to life
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Techies fled from San Francisco during the pandemic, and its resurgence stalled for a while. It's just south of Japantown, mere blocks from San Francisco City Hall, and north of the Mission District. Someone even said it would be "irresponsible" to not work on generative AI in San Francisco. There aren't any skeptics in the space yet, and the majority of generative AI investments land in the Bay Area. Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

☆ Two companies race to deploy robotaxis in San Francisco. The city wants them to hit the brakes.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is trying to slow the expansion of robotaxis after repeated incidents in which cars without drivers stopped and idled in the middle of the street for no obvious reason, delaying bus riders and disrupting the work of firefighters. Some believe self-driving cars will never happen on a wide scale, but they’ve been gaining momentum in San Francisco. San Francisco doesn’t want robotaxis operating in the city’s downtown core, for example, or during morning and evening peak commuting times. He also provided letters in support of Cruise written by local San Francisco merchants associations, disability advocates and community groups. City officials argue that stopped robotaxis are hazards that can cause human drivers to react dangerously.

☆ Remote Work Is Gutting Downtowns, Will Cost Cities $453 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Emil Skandul | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Even 2 1/2 years later, most city downtowns aren't back to where they were prepandemic. Without more-robust policies to address failing downtowns, cities are going to start hurting. The increased cancellations of office leases have cratered the office real-estate market. Since 2016, only 112 commercial office spaces in the US have been converted, while 85 projects are underway or have been announced, according to CBRE's data. The birth of the central social districtTo avoid a commercial real-estate apocalypse, cities will need to streamline conversions.

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