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☆ In the Age of A.I., Tech’s Little Guys Need Big Friends
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Cade Metz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From Hewlett-Packard to Google, the tales of bootstrapped companies that have turned into giants has inspired generations of entrepreneurs. In 2019, Aiden Gomez and Nick Frosst left Google to create an A.I. Several months later, they went back to Google and asked if it would sell them the enormous computing power they would need to build their own A.I. The big companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, he added, are controlling the chips. “They’re controlling the computing power,” he said.

Persons: Google Bard, Aiden Gomez, Nick Frosst, Sundar Pichai, ”, David Katz, Cohere’s, They’re, “ Organizations: Hewlett, Packard, Google, today’s, Radical Ventures, Microsoft Locations: Toronto

LOS ANGELES, June 23 (Reuters) - Film and television directors voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new three-year labor contract with major Hollywood studios on Friday, averting a second work stoppage that would have added to upheaval caused by an ongoing writers' strike. The DGA represents 19,000 directors, assistant directors and others who work on film and TV productions. During the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. Striking writers have insisted that the directors' latest deal will not influence their position this time. Hollywood actors, meanwhile, are in the middle of their own labor talks with studios.

Persons: Lisa Richwine, Steve Gorman, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Hollywood, of America, Alliance, Television Producers, Walt Disney Co, Netflix Inc, Guild of America, WGA, DGA, SAG, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, Los Angeles

☆ Dior's Kim Jones sends models rising up from the floor at Paris Fashion Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Models present creations by designer Kim Jones as part of his Menswear ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 2024 collection show for fashion house Dior Homme during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, France, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, June 23 (Reuters) - Dior men's artistic director Kim Jones took to a sparse, futuristic setting at the Ecole Militaire in central Paris, kicking off his summer show with an army of models that rose up from a metallic catwalk. A whining blast of scratchy electronic sounds set the runway presentation in motion, and the catwalk lit up as floor panels rolled back. Models emerged slowly, filling the room in rows. Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Jones, Dior Homme, Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS, Dior, chunky loafers, Winnie Harlow, Demi Moore, Cha Eun, Gwendoline Christie, Delphine Arnault, Bernard Arnault, Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton, Jay, Helen Lasichanh, Williams, Mimosa Spencer, Sandra Maler Organizations: REUTERS, Ecole Militaire, Louis, Thomson Locations: Paris, France

☆ Reddit users bombard site with John Oliver pictures in latest protest over new policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —After staging a widespread blackout to protest Reddit’s plans for a controversial new pricing policy, some users are now trying a different tactic: flooding the social network with John Oliver pictures. There have been numerous pictures of Oliver posing in sharply tailored suits, and screenshots of humorous moments from his show. And an AI-generated image of Oliver as a “Game of Thrones” character (“John Oliver Snow”). More than 2,500 communities on Reddit remain blacked out nearly two weeks into the protest. Over the past week, many Reddit users have expressed hopes that Oliver might air a future segment about suddenly becoming the face of the revolt, and perhaps feature their content on his show.

Persons: John Oliver, Oliver, John Olive ”, “ John Oliver Snow ”, Tim Cook, Reddit didn’t, Reddit’s, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Elon Musk, Reddit, ” Organizations: CNN, Apple, Twitter Locations: “

☆ Hollywood actors authorize strike as writers still out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LOS ANGELES, June 5 (Reuters) - Hollywood's actors union voted to authorize a strike if contract talks break down, turning up the heat on major film and television studios already grappling with a monthlong work stoppage by writers. No new negotiations are scheduled with the striking Writers Guild of America (WGA), which represents 11,500 film and TV writers. A strike by actors would lead to a broader shutdown across Hollywood and increase pressure on studios that need programming to feed their streaming services and the fall TV broadcast schedule. In the negotiations, actors are seeking higher pay and safeguards against unauthorized use of their images through artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA leaders said the industry had changed dramatically with the rise of streaming television and the emergence of new technology such as generative AI.

Persons: AFTRA, Bravo, Fran Drescher, Duncan Crabtree, Lisa Richwine, David Gregorio, Lisa Shumaker, Kim Coghill, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Bravo SAG, Guild of America, Warner Bros, HBO, SAG, Alliance, Television Producers, Walt Disney Co, Netflix Inc, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, Hollywood, Ireland

☆ Croatia's little-visited coastline above Dubrovnik
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Mary Novakovich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

There’s even Kornati National Park, one of Croatia’s most compelling natural spaces, spread over 89 islands. Meanwhile, Trogir – whose old town occupies its own little island – is a magical place protected by UNESCO World Heritage status. In just one square within the walled old town you’ll be immersed in centuries of history. Primošten’s old town is on its own little island connected to the newer town by a causeway. Look out for a little promontory just to the north of the old town, where you’ll see pebbly beaches backed by pine trees.

Persons: Trogir, Anastasia, Danny Lehman, –, you’ll, Trg, Mary’s, Boonchet, Nikola Bašić, you’ve, Nin, Veli, it’s, Anton Petrus, there’s, Jakov, Ivan Coric, You’ll, George, Andrey Omelyanchuk, Mary Novakovich, “ Organizations: CNN, Dalmatia, UNESCO World, Kolovare, Getty, Yugoslav, UNESCO Locations: Split, Dubrovnik, Croatian, Croatia’s, Zadar, Trogir, You’ll, Šibenik, Zadar's, Donat’s, St, Mary’s, you’re, Kolovare, Bibinje, Nin, –, Sakarun, Dugi, Murter, Sibenik's, Lawrence’s, Krka, Skradin, Primošten, Čiovo, Riva

☆ Directors Guild's deal with Hollywood doesn't necessarily foreshadow end to writers strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Writers picket in front of Netflix on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, as the Writers Guild of America goes on strike, May 2, 2023. Hollywood producers have struck a tentative deal with film and TV directors, but that doesn't mean we should expect sudden resolutions to the writers strike or talks with the actors union. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America is entering the second month of its strike. During the last writers strike in 2007 and 2008, which lasted 100 days, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. "The AMPTP will not be able to negotiate a deal for writers with anyone but us."

Persons: AFTRA, Chris Keyser, Keyser Organizations: Netflix, Writers Guild of America, Hollywood, Guild of America, Alliance, Television Producers, DGA, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television, Radio, WGA, Warner Bros, Disney, National Board, SAG, YouTube Locations: Hollywood , California

During the last WGA strike in 2007 and 2008, a studio deal with the DGA prompted writers to head back to the bargaining table. If approved, it could offer a blueprint for the striking writers and upcoming talks between studios and SAG-AFTRA, the union representing Hollywood actors. In the DGA's agreement, directors secured wage increases starting at 5% the first year, an increase in residuals from streaming, and a guarantee that "generative AI cannot replace the duties performed by members." AI has emerged as a major concern of writers and actors, who see their jobs as especially vulnerable to the new technology. The WGA work stoppage has disrupted production of late-night shows and shut down high-profile projects such as Netflix's "Stranger Things" and a "Game of Thrones" spinoff.

Persons: Chris Keyser, Keyser, AFTRA, Lisa Richwine, Maria Caspani, Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: of America, DGA, Alliance, Television Producers, Netflix, Walt Disney Co, Guild of America, WGA, YouTube, SAG, Hollywood, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, New York

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are ripped, tech workers work less than 4 hours per day, and tech's Texas real-estate invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI, the company that created the chatbot, won't share the books it used to train ChatGPT. But a group of researchers discovered a method of quizzing the chatbot to figure out which books it has read. Many tech workers are only productive for four hours per day. In an anonymous poll, nearly 45% of tech workers said they spent four hours (or less) on "focused work." Only around 25% said they worked eight or more hours per day.

Persons: I'm, Siu, Hannah Towey, Robyn Phelps, Moby Dick, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Adam, Matthew Busch, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Zuck, Bezos, Peek, Austin Evans, Evans, Mercedes, Diamond Naga Siu, Alistair Barr, Nathan Rennolds Organizations: American, Pacific Islander Heritage, Ikea, The Washington, Getty, NASA, US Air Force, Pacific Command, Pentagon Locations: Sweden, California, Swedish, EVs, . Texas, scrawny, San Diego, San Francisco, London

☆ ChatGPT Secret Training Data: the Top 50 Books AI Bots Are Reading
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

To figure out what GPT-4 has read, they quizzed it on its knowledge of various books, as if it were a high-school English student. One way to answer the question is to look for information that could have come from only one place. Genre — sci-fi, mystery, romance, horror — is, broadly speaking, more interesting, partially because these books have plots where things actually happen. Bamman's GPT-4 list is a Borgesian library of episodic connections, cliffhangers, third-act complications, and characters taking arms against seas of troubles (and whales). See what a bot makes of Gene Wolfe's "The Book of the New Sun," maybe, or Sheri Tepper's "Grass."

☆ Reliance's JioCinema signs content streaming deal with NBC Universal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, May 29 (Reuters) - JioCinema, the streaming platform run by India's Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS), has signed a partnership with NBC Universal Media in a push to increase Hollywood content on the platform for Indian viewers, the companies said on Monday. The multi-year deal will give JioCinema's premium subscribers access to popular shows such as "Downton Abbey", "Suits" and "The Office," the companies said in a joint statement. This comes after JioCinema signed a content streaming deal with Warner Bros Discovery Inc (WBD.O) in April for shows such as "Succession" and "Game of Thrones". JioCinema announced its premium pricing earlier this month, moving away from free content model to fight rivals like Netflix (NFLX.O) and Disney (DIS.N) in the content streaming space. Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and Hritam Mukherjee; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pedro Pascal says he got an eye infection from fans recreating his ‘Game of Thrones’ death scene
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —When it comes to weird fan interactions, Pedro Pascal wins. During roundtable with The Hollywood Reporter, Pascal had a chat with Jeff Bridges, Kieran Culkin, Damson Idris, Michael Imperioli, and Evan Peters. Talk turned to some interesting encounters with viewers of their shows. “And then I remember getting a bit of an eye infection.”Yikes! During the fourth season of the hit HBO series, Pascal’s character is killed by Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane (played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson), who gouges his eyes out before cracking his skull.

☆ Where to go this summer: A dozen destination ideas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Marnie Hunter | Jane Levere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Peru"Peruvians are welcoming travelers back with open arms," says travel one travel expert. And perhaps most importantly, the city offers excellent value, in part because it will be the winter/low season there during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer. It’s home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including megalithic temples that date to the 4th millennium BC. Although summer is the rainy season, Gellis says showers are often brief and intermittent. AlbaniaAlbania is a Mediterranean gem that’s likely to be less crowded this summer than Greece and Croatia, says Joao Donadel, another EMBARK Beyond travel advisor.

CNN —Dutch police arrested over 1,500 people after Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked a motorway in The Hague on Saturday. Hundreds of police were deployed to “maintain public order” during the climate protest, Dutch police said in a press release Saturday. Oscar Brak/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesActivists are arrested after blocking the A12 motorway in The Hague. Michel Porro/Getty ImagesVideos of the protest posted in social media showed protesters dressed in swimsuits and raincoats, prepared for the water cannons. Forty people were arrested for other criminal offenses including obstructing, blocking, vandalism, and insulting, according to the press release.

☆ ‘Succession’ Is Over. Why Did We Care?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Sunday night, with the second son, Kendall, poised to take it all, his younger sister, Shiv, betrayed him. The company would be sold to Lukas Matsson, a Swedish tech anarchocapitalist, with Shiv’s husband, Tom Wambsgans, as C.E.O. In its final season, “Succession” drew fewer than half the viewers, across all platforms, of “The Sopranos” or “Game of Thrones.” So if this was a water cooler show, that water was filtered. Yet its queasy, stinging satire of the ultrawealthy exerted an outsize influence on its audience. If you hardened your heart, or if your heart came pre-hardened, it made for a mutinous kind of comfort viewing, in which pleasure, envy and outrage could twine.

☆ The ‘Succession’ Finale Is Almost Here. Will They Get It Right? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Theresa Rebeck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Do they shoot forward in time, stealing a page from the legendary finale of “Six Feet Under”? Maybe offer a glimpse of the future with that handsome sociopath and potential president they have put in power? While I usually have a vague idea of an ending when I start writing a play, I don’t want everything set in stone. A great ending can be about transformation, in which our central character escapes, or finds true love, or discovers a profound truth and achieves inner wisdom (as in “Mad Men,” except the profound truth was about Coca-Cola). Or it can be about justice, which rains down on those who deserve it and ruins those who don’t.

☆ Opinion | My Fantasy Bookshelf
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

After filing last week’s newsletter comparing “Succession” to a work of “Game of Thrones”-style fantasy, I recorded a podcast episode with Razib Khan in which we talked about our shared affection for actual fantasy novels, our experience as early George R.R. It was a wide-ranging conversation, but one that stayed mostly with the big names of the genre — Martin, J.R.R. To be clear, this isn’t a list of my all-time favorites or even a list of “fantasy novels that should be adapted for TV instead of making more seasons of ‘The Rings of Power.’” It’s just me turning a glance at my bookshelf into a newsletter. You can think of this list of novels, maybe, as various inspirations for that imagined perfection. Hobb’s hero, Fitz, is one of the most successful examples of character-building and compelling interiority in recent fantasy.

☆ A world in three islands on the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pavlo Fedykovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

CNN —In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea lies a small country made up of three inhabited islands and irresistible allure. Across its three inhabited islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – you’ll find every sun-soaked aspect of the perfect vacation. The solution: Marsaskala, towards the southeastern tip of Malta island. Mellieħa Bay and St. Paul’s BayBugibba is a classic seaside resort town in St. Paul's Bay. The population is a modest two people, there are no cars, and no signs of globalization – just the untouched Mediterranean.

☆ China's internet giants bet big on A.I. as Beijing looks to rival U.S. on tech 'paradigm shift'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"This kind of computing power needs to be provided as a kind of public service or infrastructure. China, specifically, "has some of the most advanced AI tech in the world," he added. "We believe this is a Game of Thrones also playing out in the China Tech market as the gloves are on for this battle," Ives said. Many innovative vendors are going after this market and China tech is now in the midst of a secular shift around AI." The comments from some of China's top tech companies last week hint at how Beijing is seeking to ramp up its rivalry with the U.S. on AI.

Persons: BABA BABA, Robin Li, Baidu, Ernie Bot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Tencent, Martin Lau, Lau, Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, Dan Ives, Ives, Hao Hong, CNBC's, —, Tencent's Lau, Baidu's Li, Didi, Meituan Organizations: HK, Microsoft, Google, Wedbush Securities, CNBC, China Tech, Big Tech, Baidu, U.S, Nvidia, chipmaker Micron, Grow Investment Locations: China, Beijing, U.S, Alibaba

☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

☆ Big-name investors are going all-in on AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Some of the best-known names in investing are betting big on artificial intelligence stocks. Bill Ackman recently revealed a $1 billion bet on Google parent Alphabet, while Stanley Druckenmiller pumped a combined $430 million into Microsoft and Nvidia. Tiger Global founder Chase Coleman, billionaire trader Paul Tudor Jones, and Ark Invest CIO Cathie Wood are all bullish on AI. Billionaire investors including Bill Ackman, Stanley Druckenmiller and David Tepper are betting big on firms at the forefront of the AI race - such as Microsoft, Alphabet and chipmaker Nvidia. Here's how seven top players are responding to the AI trend:

☆ A suspect has been arrested for leaking the 'House of the Dragon' finale episode — and the alleged hacker made a rookie mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Will Gendron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Two days before the "House of the Dragon" finale aired last fall, the episode was leaked online. The mysterious case of the leaked "House of the Dragon" finale is one step closer to being solved — and the alleged hacker's cat helped tipped off authorities. Last October, two days before the "Game of Thrones" spin-off's series finale was set to air, the episode was leaked to pirating sites. Despite the leak, "House of the Dragon" was quite succesfull with 9.3 million viewers tuning into the series finale legally. That made it HBO's most-watched finale since the "Game of Thrones" finale in 2019, per Variety.

The Hollywood writers’ strike has shut down production and writing for a number of hit TV shows. Many creators and directors tweeted support for the Writers Guild of America, with some joining picket lines. The union is pushing for contractual changes to reflect the new world of streaming. The two sides aren’t close to a deal, so the strike could drag on. Here’s a look at the shows where work is paused, for now.

LOS ANGELES, May 9 (Reuters) - The Paramount Pictures “Transformers” film franchise has switched gears in its latest installment by adding more diversity to its lead roles, namely “In the Heights” actor Anthony Ramos and “Swarm” TV series actor Dominique Fishback. "Right, like people around the world can feel somebody in all parts of the world can watch this and go 'Yo, that's me. Problems arise when the two, who barely know one another, are thrown together with the shape-shifting robots. He's (Director, Steven Caple Jr.) like, yo, yo, yo, this is the first time you all are meeting, so it was an exercise to try and detract from our real relationship in real life,” Ramos added. Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary Milliken and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LOS ANGELES, May 8 (Reuters) - Writing for a new season of "The Handmaid's Tale" and a coming "Game of Thrones" prequel was halted as a nearly week-long strike by thousands of film and television writers rippled across Hollywood on Monday. Writing of the dystopian drama stopped when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called a strike last week, Chang told Reuters on Monday. Martin said in a blog post that the writers' room for prequel series "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight" was "closed for the duration of the strike." Warner Bros has not announced a release date for "The Hedge Knight." The second season of "House of the Dragon," another "Game of Thrones" prequel, began filming in April, Martin said, and will continue in London and Wales.

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