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☆ Customers are being asked to tip even at self check-out. Some say it's 'emotional blackmail.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Self-checkout machines at cafes, sports stadiums, and airports are asking people to tip — and customers aren't happy about giving their extra money to machines. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal noted the rise of digital, self-checkout kiosks hitting customers with a tip prompt at the end of their transactions. This prompt has frustrated people who are being asked to tip workers with whom they've had no interaction. "I was confused, because it wasn't entirely clear who I was tipping," he told the Journal, though he tipped 20% anyway. A spokesperson for OTG told the journal that all tip money collected is pooled and then paid out to the staff members working that particular shift.

☆ Peter Thiel would back Ron DeSantis — but he isn't ditching Silicon Valley for Miami anytime soon due to high home prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Home prices in the state have been on the rise after tech workers flocked to the state during the pandemic. Rising home prices and property taxes followed. Single-family property taxes in the city increased by 12.6% from 2021 to 2022. "That kind of economic cost is probably not enough to offset all the wokeness in the world," Thiel said on Weiss's podcast. The discussion came up as he and Weiss discussed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the potential Republican presidential nominee.

☆ AI is going to offer every student a personalized tutor, founder of Khan Academy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, recently gave a TED Talk on AI's potential impact on education. The technology could offer personalized tutors to every student at a large scale, he said. Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, an educational nonprofit that aims to provide free learning resources, is not necessarily fearful of the technology. In a TED Talk that was released this week, Khan explained the potential benefits of AI across the field of education, likening the possibilities to a personalized tutor for every student. Khan said AI could also offer personalized assistance to teachers, by helping with pre-class work like lesson planning, filling out report cards, and general administrative tasks.

☆ Airbnb will now tell you about any annoying checkout chores a host requires before you book — and take off listings that get low reviews for chore lists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Listings can now also be rated based on chores — and will be removed if they are too extensive. From now on all checkout instructions will be available on a listing's page ahead of booking, Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, announced on Twitter. Users will also be able to provide ratings on checkout tasks, and if a listing receives enough negative feedback, it will be removed, he said. One host, for example, has changed her approach and no longer requests any tasks from visitors upon checkout. Other new features include "Airbnb Rooms," which makes it easier for guests to stay with locals in spare rooms, and an interface that helps visitors find and book longer stays.

☆ Pornhub blocks access in Utah in response to age verification law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The move was made in response to a new law that requires age verification to access adult content. Utah residents trying to access Pornhub are in for an unexpected — and likely disappointing — surprise. "In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply. DeVille goes on to advocate for an alternative method of age verification, which would require users to identify themselves through their devices. Another Utah law that won't go into effect until March 2024 will require all social media users to verify their ages.

☆ Crypto mining in Texas could be costing energy customers an extra $69 per year on their electrical bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Texas has become home to crypto mining companies due to the state's cheap electricity. When considering the more than 26 million customers on Texas' Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, that's an extra $69 per annual bill. Crypto mining companies needed to move elsewhere, and some rural counties in Texas welcomed these companies. "Texans have continued to experience high electric bills due to a number of factors," an ERCOT spokesperson told Insider. The spokesperson cited weather and fuel prices as the main reasons for increased electric bills.

☆ The first movie to cross $1 billion so far this year wasn't a superhero movie — it's 'The Super Mario Bros.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' continues to dominate the global box office. It has become the first movie of 2023 and the first video game movie ever to reach this benchmark. Over the weekend, "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" officially surpassed the $1 billion mark at the global box office. It grossed more than double the box office of the second highest-grossing movie of the year, Marvel's "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," per Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, "The Super Mario Bros." has a tight run time of just 92 minutes.

☆ Border patrol seized $290,000 worth of counterfeit Apple AirPods Pro and Watches at Virginia airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US Customs and Border Patrol officers detained four shipments of Apple products suspected to be fake. The products, Apple AirPods Pro and Apple Watches which came from China, were seized. Handbags and wallets were the most common items seized, accounting for 30.3% of all seizures, the agency reported. Counterfeit Apple products are nothing new. In 2020, Apple removed more than one million online listings for counterfeit products, with most of these sellers based in China.

☆ A fake AI-generated Travis Scott album was taken off YouTube as the fight against AI music continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI Hub is a Discord server housing over 36,000 members making AI music. Members from the group created "UTOP-AI," an AI album featuring the voices of Travis Scott and other artists. "I ain't talking Uber, come take a trip into my mind," croons Travis Scott on a song called "Winter Snow." Warner Music Group and representatives for Travis Scott did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. The alarm bells sounding off in response to AI music have already been rung by the power players in the industry.

☆ Snapchat's AI tool is a total fail with users
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Snapchat's AI tool made its debut across the application last week, and users aren't loving it. Only Snapchat+ subscribers can opt out of the service, which is powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT. My AI, Snapchat's ChatGPT-powered chatbot, launched to all Snapchat users earlier this month, and ever since, the app has been met with a surge of one-star reviews in the App Store. The feature, which offers a more stripped down version of OpenAI's now ubiquitous tool, was first introduced to Snapchat+ subscribers at the end of February. My own screenshotThe tool's access of personal information — including a user's location — has also been criticized for being creepy.

☆ Grimes says she'll split the royalties on any 'successful' AI-generated song that uses her voice
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Grimes, the electronic music producer and singer, took a stance on generative AI in music. "I'll split 50% royalties on any successful AI generated song that uses my voice," she tweeted. This 50/50 split is apparently the same deal she would ink with any other artist collaboration — robot or not. Boucher went on to essentially invite the use of her voice for AI-based musical projects, saying, "Feel free to use my voice without penalty. A business associate of Grimes didn't immediately return a request for comment; 4AD also didn't immediately comment.

☆ People think AI is to blame for the mysterious case of the Spotify song with 49 different names
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One Spotify user was recommended the same song under 49 different names and suspects AI is behind it. Turns out, AI-generated songs are taking over conversation in the music industry. Spotify user Adam Faze took to Twitter to try to find out. except every time I looked, it was a different song name and artist entirely." He decided to add each of these recommended tracks to a playlist, which now includes 49 "different" songs.

☆ A purely cosmetic set of virtual weapon accessories from video game 'Counter-Strike' sold for over $500,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The items from the "Counter-Strike" video game series recently sold for over $500,000. The virtual items, a weapon skin and knife, are purely cosmetic. Or, if you're a "Counter-Strike" enthusiast, you could use that money to buy a set of purely cosmetic, virtual items. Weapon skins, which are colorful wraps that adorn guns, and custom knives do not actually impact user performance in the tactical first-person shooter. Prices for in-game "Counter-Strike" items are experiencing a rise across the board because the next entry to the "Counter-Strike" series, which will be called "Counter-Strike 2," is set to be released this summer.

☆ Shaq was finally served in FTX lawsuit over the weekend, after a 3-month chase
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Will Gendron | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Shaquille O'Neal was finally served in an FTX lawsuit over the weekend following a three month chase. Shaquille O'Neal was served papers over the weekend in a lawsuit involving the fallen crypto firm FTX — after a three month chase, according to a law firm representing investors in the suit. "Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @SHAQ outside his house," The Moskowitz Law Firm tweeted Sunday night. O'Neal had evaded getting served the lawsuit for three months, according to additional tweets from the law firm. Following the collapse of FTX, O'Neal tried to separate himself from the fiasco, noting to CNBC that he was "just a paid spokesperson."

☆ Netflix is ending its DVD-rental service after 25 years. Here's how the company grew into a Hollywood disruptor with over 230 million subscribers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Travis Clark | Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

1998: Netflix launches a DVD-by-mail rental service. That same year, Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos offers to buy the company. Charles Krupa/APIn his book "That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea," Randolph wrote that he and Hastings met with Bezos in 1998, who offered them "probably something between $14 million and $16 million," Randolph wrote. But they turned down the offer.

☆ Pressing 'Print Screen' on your keyboard may do something different if you have Windows 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Print Screen button on Windows computers has been associated with screen capture for decades. A new beta version of Windows 11 now opens the Snipping Tool when the Print Screen button is used. A new Microsoft Windows 11 update marks the end of an era: Using the Print Screen (PrtScn) button will no longer capture one's entire screen. Screenshots taken using the Snipping Tool will be saved to the Screenshot folder and copied to the clipboard. Accordingly, other methods of screen capture, such as the Snipping Tool, that allowed users to capture only portions of their screens.

☆ An AI safety expert outlined a range of speculative doomsday scenarios, from weaponization to power-seeking behavior
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A research paper by an AI safety expert speculates on future nightmarish scenarios involving the tech. A recent paper authored by Dan Hendrycks, an AI safety expert and director of the Center for AI Safety, highlights a number of speculative risks posed by unchecked development of increasingly intelligent AI. Emergent goals: It's possible that, as AI systems become more complex, they obtain the capability to create their own objectives. An AI safety expert outlined a range of speculative doomsday scenarios from weaponization to power-seeking behavior. A similar sentiment was recently expressed in an open letter signed by Elon Musk and a number of other AI safety experts.

☆ ChatGPT needs to 'drink' a water bottle's worth of fresh water for every 20 to 50 questions you ask, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Training GPT-3 requires water to stave off the heat produced during the computational process. Every 20 to 50 questions, ChatGPT servers need to "drink" the equivalent of a 16.9 oz water bottle. While training GPT-3 in its data centers, Microsoft was estimated to have used 700,000 liters — or about 185,000 gallons — of fresh water. When asked about LaMDA's water usage, Google pointed to a November 2022 report that published 2021 data on the broad consumption of water across data centers. "While it is impossible to know the actual water footprint without detailed information from Google, our estimate shows that the total water footprint of training LaMDA is in the order of million liters," the researchers wrote.

☆ YouTube has revealed its NFL Sunday Ticket pricing — and it won't come cheap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last year, YouTube secured the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. Pricing will begin at $249 for YouTube TV subscribers and go up to $489 for non-subscribers. In a press release, YouTube announced that it is offering pre-sale packages to Sunday Ticket starting at $249 for YouTube TV subscribers and going up to $349 for non-subscribers. Afterwards, the price jumps up by $50 for YouTube TV subscribers and $100 for non-subscribers. Here is a breakdown of the pricing structure:Sunday Ticket via YouTube TV: $349/season ($249 presale)Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone via YouTube TV: $389/season ($289 presale)Sunday Ticket via YouTube Primetime Channels: $449/season ($349 presale)Sunday Ticket + NFL RedZone via YouTube Primetime Channels: $489/season ($389 presale)YouTube TV subscribers can also get access to RedZone through the Sports Plus add-on, which costs $10.99 per month.

☆ Demand for Apple computers has dropped 40% since last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A recent International Data Corporation report outlined global PC shipment data from Q1 of this year. Demand has dropped across the industry, with a 29% decrease compared to last year. Apple, in particular, has suffered from a 40.5% drop off in demand for its computers. Among the five biggest manufacturers, Apple was impacted the most: The number of Apple PCs shipped dropped 40.5% from the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. Global shipments include shipments to end users and distribution channels, like BestBuy and other electronics retailers.

☆ AI image generators' latest challenge? Depicting unicycles.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The latest thorn in AI art generation's side? It turned out the image was made using the AI text-to-image program Midjourney, ringing the alarm bells surrounding the growing capabilities of AI image generators and the resulting possibility for the spread of misinformation. But while AI art generators can depict a very true-to-life Pope, they still struggle with other images — including, it seems, unicycles. Stable Diffusion 2The technology not only seemed to have trouble depicting unicycles themselves, but also humans' interactions with them. Human hands had previously given AI image generators trouble.

☆ Tony Hawk turned down a $500,000 payment for 'Pro Skater,' opting for royalties instead. He ended up making at least 8 times that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tony Hawk made an appearance on "The Diary of a CEO" podcast and discussed his best financial move. Ahead of the release of video game "Pro Skater," he was offered a $500,000 payment for his likeness. Activision's fiscal report from 2002 cites the video game series as "the single largest independent U.S. video game franchise for the fiscal year" and credits the game, in part, for the company's increased revenue. 2020's "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2" would go on to sell one million units faster than any other iteration of the series, per Activision. "Nowadays an entire generation of kids, have asked me if I'm named after a video game," Hawk said on "Diary of a CEO."

☆ The Alex Murdaugh Murder Trial: Key Themes and What’s Next
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Buffalo Supermarket Shooter Rushed in Court During Sentencing Payton Gendron, the man who killed 10 people in a racist massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., last year, was ushered out of court on Wednesday after a man rushed him. Gendron was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

☆ Buffalo Supermarket Shooter Sentenced to Life in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Payton Gendron pleaded guilty to 15 counts, including first-degree murder and domestic terrorism, stemming from a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket. The man who killed 10 people in a racist massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., last year was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday. The gunman, Payton Gendron , pleaded guilty to 15 counts brought by Buffalo prosecutors stemming from the May 14 attack at Tops Friendly Markets in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Gendron’s charges included first-degree murder and domestic terrorism, with the latter carrying a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

☆ Buffalo Supermarket Shooter Set to Be Sentenced
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Payton Gendron pleaded guilty to 15 counts, including first-degree murder and domestic terrorism, stemming from a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket. The man who killed 10 people in a racist massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., last year is expected to be sentenced to life in prison Wednesday. The gunman, Payton Gendron , pleaded guilty to 15 counts brought by Buffalo prosecutors stemming from the May 14 attack at Tops Friendly Markets in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Gendron’s charges include first-degree murder and domestic terrorism, with the latter carrying a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

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