Sunday, December 29, 2024

Netflix's foray into live sports caps off a strong year, with its share price up 90%+ in 2024, but the stock's rich valuation sets a high bar for follow-up act (Dan Gallagher/Wall Street Journal)

Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal:
Netflix's foray into live sports caps off a strong year, with its share price up 90%+ in 2024, but the stock's rich valuation sets a high bar for follow-up act  —  Foray into live sports caps a strong year, but stock's rich valuation sets a high bar for follow-up act



Mexico plans to launch an app in January 2025 that will let Mexican migrants warn relatives and alert the nearest consulate if US immigration agents detain them (Russell Contreras/Axios)

Russell Contreras / Axios:
Mexico plans to launch an app in January 2025 that will let Mexican migrants warn relatives and alert the nearest consulate if US immigration agents detain them  —  - “I have personally attended several open meetings where the key message is to tell our fellow citizens that they are not alone and will not be alone," De la Fuente said.



US politicians fully embraced influencers in 2024, blurring lines between punditry and journalism and paving the way for lawmakers to become creators themselves (Makena Kelly/Wired)

Makena Kelly / Wired:
US politicians fully embraced influencers in 2024, blurring lines between punditry and journalism and paving the way for lawmakers to become creators themselves  —  Politicians fully embraced the creator economy in 2024, blurring the lines between punditry and journalism.



Sources and documents detail OnlyFans' journey from an obscure, porn-free site to an adults-only platform fueled by erotic performers and celebrity influencers (Reuters)

Reuters:
Sources and documents detail OnlyFans' journey from an obscure, porn-free site to an adults-only platform fueled by erotic performers and celebrity influencers  —  OnlyFans is among the world's most successful social media platforms - but a secretive one.  Reuters traces its journey from an obscure …



Saturday, December 28, 2024

Finland, Canada, the US, and other countries are testing tech for passport-free travel, including facial recognition and a "digital travel credential" (Matt Burgess/Wired)

Matt Burgess / Wired:
Finland, Canada, the US, and other countries are testing tech for passport-free travel, including facial recognition and a “digital travel credential”  —  Smartphones and face recognition are being combined to create new digital travel documents.  The paper passport's days are numbered—despite new privacy risks.



A look at Google's pressure-filled 2024 under Sundar Pichai, notching some AI wins with new Gemini models and navigating product mishaps, layoffs, and more (Jennifer Elias/CNBC)

Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
A look at Google's pressure-filled 2024 under Sundar Pichai, notching some AI wins with new Gemini models and navigating product mishaps, layoffs, and more  —  Google's blowout earnings report in April, which sparked the biggest rally in Alphabet shares since 2015 and pushed …



Analysis: mentions of deepfakes or AI-made content in X's Community Notes were more correlated with new image generation model releases than elections in 2024 (Clara Murray/Financial Times)

Clara Murray / Financial Times:
Analysis: mentions of deepfakes or AI-made content in X's Community Notes were more correlated with new image generation model releases than elections in 2024  —  The panic over AGI disinformation in this year's political cycle seems to have been overblown  —  Around this time last year …



What to expect in 2025: increased hype around AI agents, new generative AI-powered gadgets, better weather forecasts due to Google DeepMind's GenCast, and more (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
What to expect in 2025: increased hype around AI agents, new generative AI-powered gadgets, better weather forecasts due to Google DeepMind's GenCast, and more  —  Weather forecasts will get smarter, EVs could get pricier, crypto will be for everyday investors and AI will be everywhere



Friday, December 27, 2024

Montenegro says Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the US, potentially ending a standoff over competing demands by the US and South Korea (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
Montenegro says Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the US, potentially ending a standoff over competing demands by the US and South Korea  —  “Most criteria envisaged by the law are in favor of the extradition demands from the institutions of the United States of America …



OpenAI says the PBC will oversee commercial operations, and the nonprofit will hire staff to pursue charitable activities in health care, education, and science (Hayden Field/CNBC)

Hayden Field / CNBC:
OpenAI says the PBC will oversee commercial operations, and the nonprofit will hire staff to pursue charitable activities in health care, education, and science  —  OpenAI said Friday that in moving toward a new for-profit structure in 2025, the company will create a public benefit corporation …



OpenAI says its non-profit arm would receive shares in the new public benefit corporation at a valuation determined by independent financial advisors (Cade Metz/New York Times)

Cade Metz / New York Times:
OpenAI says its non-profit arm would receive shares in the new public benefit corporation at a valuation determined by independent financial advisors  —  OpenAI said it will be restructured as a public benefit corporation, and the nonprofit that controls the organization would receive shares in the new company.



OpenAI says its board of directors is evaluating its corporate structure, including a plan to turn its for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (OpenAI)

OpenAI:
OpenAI says its board of directors is evaluating its corporate structure, including a plan to turn its for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation  —  A stronger non-profit supported by the for-profit's success.  —  OpenAI's Board of Directors is evaluating our corporate structure …



Chinese video game giant NetEase reports Q4 revenue up 3% YoY to ~$4B and net profit down 29% to ~$903M, below ~$1.2B est., as it pushes self-developed games (Sherry Qin/Wall Street Journal)

Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal : Chinese video game giant NetEase reports Q4 revenue up 3% YoY to ~$4B and net profit down 29% to ~$903...