Why Elon Musk is suing OpenAI… ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Monday, Mar 4 2024

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Good morning. In today’s edition:

  • ⚖️ Elon Musk is suing OpenAI
  • 🍿⚡ Dune: Part Two had a good weekend
  • 🤔 How old is the game Rock, Paper, Scissors?

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be about a 4.54-minute read.

P.S. First time reading? Subscribe here for free.

💬 Daily Sprinkle

“If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.”

–Thomas Watson (1874-1956)

🗣🌐 Dose of Discussion: A 360° Look at a Hot-Button Issue

Elon Musk claims OpenAI broke its agreement to benefit humanity

Images: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

On Friday, Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founders, alleging that the ChatGPT-maker broke its founding agreement to pursue AI research for the good of humanity instead of profit.

Some quick background… Musk’s ties with OpenAI go back to its founding in 2015, when he served alongside CEO Sam Altman as the first two board members of the nonprofit organization (which also oversees for-profit subsidiaries).

  • In 2018, Musk left OpenAI after feeling the startup was straying from its goals, per the lawsuit – though at the time, the nonprofit publicly said he stepped down to avoid a conflict of interest with Tesla.
  • The suit also notes that Musk invested ~$44 million in OpenAI between 2016 and 2020.

The arguments: Musk claims OpenAI breached its contractual agreement to make the nonprofit’s advanced technology “freely available” to the public, and instead shifted to a for-profit model after partnering with Microsoft (which has invested ~$13 billion).

While OpenAI has yet to publicly comment on Musk’s suit, executives sent internal memos saying the nonprofit has tried to balance its founding agreement to benefit humanity with its obligation to generate the large amounts of cash required for AI research.

  • Legal experts say Musk’s lawsuit faces an uphill battle in court, since OpenAI’s founding agreement allows the nonprofit to decide whether its technology is advanced enough to forgo commercialization in the best interests of humanity.

❗🤖 It marks Musk’s latest warning of the potential threat posed by AI. The billionaire, who has consistently described AI as the "most disruptive force in history," was among the hundreds of tech leaders who signed an open letter calling on researchers to pause the development of powerful AI systems for six months over “risks to society.”

On the flip side, some critics argue Musk’s warnings may be aimed at giving his own AI ventures, including startup X.ai, a leg-up in the industry.

📊 Flash poll: What are your thoughts on the idea that artificial intelligence represents an existential threat to humanity?

See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
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⏱💥 Speed Rounds: Quick, Impactful Stories

Our daily voyage around the world

Image: AFP

🇵🇸🇺🇸 The US began airdropping food and supplies into Gaza. White House officials on Friday said the airdrops would be a “sustained effort” aimed at improving conditions in Gaza, where UN data shows an estimated one-quarter of the population – at least 576,000 people – are one step away from famine. The airdrops were announced one day after 100+ Palestinians were killed and hundreds more injured as a crowd of people waited for humanitarian aid trucks.

🇭🇹 The vast majority of inmates at Haiti’s largest prison were freed in a gang attack. The Port-au-Prince facility, built to house 700 prisoners, held an estimated 4,000 men – nearly all of whom were released when armed gang members stormed the prison on Saturday night. The attack was claimed by Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer who leads an alliance of Haitian gangs, as part of his ongoing campaign to remove Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

🌎 More than 1 billion people worldwide are considered obese, per a new WHO study. The findings, based on data from 220+ million people in 190 countries, found that global obesity rates more than doubled among women (8.8%→18.5%) and nearly tripled in men (4.8%→14.0%) between 1990 and 2022. While obesity rates in many wealthier countries remained relatively unchanged over that period, the opposite was true for lower-income nations, where obesity became more common on average than being underweight.

“Dune: Part Two” is giving the box office a much-needed jolt

Image: Tenor

This weekend, US moviegoers flocked to the box office like sandworms to thumpers.

Dune: Part Two pulled in an expectations-exceeding $81.5 million in its domestic debut, good for the biggest opening weekend of the year as well as the largest since last October’s Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film ($93 million). At the international box office, the Zendaya- and- Timothée Chalamet-led sequel added $97 million to bring its global tally to $178 million.

Premium formats ruled Arrakis the movie theater

Showings across IMAX, Dolby Cinema, PLFs, 70mm, and motion seating drove 48% of the film’s domestic box office total.

  • IMAX specifically accounted for $18.5 million of domestic ticket sales, representing 23% of the box office total.
  • Globally IMAX also stood on business😤, driving 18% of the film’s total gross. In 10 markets, IMAX enjoyed its biggest opening ever.
  • Demand to watch Dune: Part Two on 70mm film – director Denis Villenueve’s format of choice – has been so high that some have resorted to 3:15 am showtimes.

The box office needed a jolt. Prior to this weekend, domestic box office revenues were 20% behind the same period in 2023. But after the arrival of Dune: Part Two, that gap sits at 13.5%, according to Comscore.

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🔥 The Hot Corner

💬 Quoted…Its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other [respiratory viral] illnesses, including influenza and RSV.

  • The era of social distancing after coming down with Covid is officially over, according to the CDC. On Friday, the agency updated its Covid guidance and removed a previous recommendation for Americans to self-isolate and stay home from work/school for five days after testing positive. The CDC’s new, simplified guidance calls for Americans to stay home when they are sick and symptomatic – regardless of which virus is at fault – and to resume normal activities if symptoms have improved and they’re fever-free for 24 hours.

🏀 Stat of the Day: What does a faulty turntable have in common with basketball superstars LeBron James and Caitlin Clark? They’re all breaking records. On Saturday night, LeBron became the first NBA player in history to score at least 40,000 points in their career. Then, one day later, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark scored her 3,668th career point to break the all-time NCAA record across men’s and women’s basketball, which previously stood for 50+ years.

🤔 Did You Know?... The game “Rock, Paper, Scissors” (or “Rochambeau”) can be traced back to China’s Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BCE to 220 CE.

📰 Worth a Read: How Vice News, once valued at $5.7B, collapsed and went bankrupt → (The Hollywood Reporter)

🍩 DONUT Holes

Images: Reliance Industries

  • ☝️ Around 1,000 VIP guests from around the world – including Rihanna, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Ivanka Trump – attended a massive pre-wedding party in India this weekend to celebrate the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani (the richest man in Asia).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Niphtio

  • 💰 US markets rose across the board on Friday (S&P: +0.8%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: +1.1%); the Nasdaq closed at a new record high.
  • 🛢️ OPEC+ members will extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels/day into Q2.
  • ✈️ Boeing is reportedly in talks to buy back Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for Boeing’s 737 Max jets.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

  • 🏈 The NFL Combine officially wrapped up yesterday; see the highlights from all four days.
  • 🎭 Hollywood union leaders warned that film crew members would go on strike this summer if they can’t reach a deal with studios before their current contract expires.
  • 🥎 Oklahoma softball’s 71-game winning streak, which represents the all-time record for NCAA Division 1, came to an end yesterday when Louisville upset the No. 1-ranked Sooners.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Forecaster

  • 🚖🤖 Waymo received regulatory approval to expand its self-driving taxi operations to Los Angeles and additional locations in San Francisco.
  • 🐋 A lone orca was recently observed killing and eating a great white shark off the coast of South Africa, marking the first documented attack of its kind.
  • 🎶🤖 Adobe is testing a new AI tool that allows users to create and edit music from text prompts.

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MISCELLANEOUS

  • 🔥 An ongoing wildfire in the Texas panhandle has grown to encompass 1+ million acres, making it the largest fire in state history; two people have died as a result of the wildfire, which was ~15% contained as of last night. | 🌨️ A weekend blizzard across California and Nevada brought up to 10 feet of snow in some higher-elevation areas.
  • 💊 CVS and Walgreens announced plans to start selling the abortion pill mifepristone in US states where it’s legal.
  • 🗳️ Former President Trump easily won GOP caucuses in Idaho and Missouri on Saturday; Trump also swept all available delegates at this weekend’s Michigan GOP convention. (From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

CLICKBAIT

📅 The Week Ahead

Monday: North Dakota holds GOP caucus

Tuesday: Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one US territory hold presidential primaries

Wednesday: National Dentist’s Day

Thursday: President Biden delivers the 2024 State of the Union address

Friday: International Women's Day; the latest deadline for Congress to avoid a partial gov’t shutdown; latest monthly jobs report released

📊 Poll Results

On Friday, we covered a series of newly released documents that could support the theory that Covid first originated from a lab leak – though not all experts and analysts are convinced.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, which of the following is the most likely explanation for Covid’s origin?

  • 🔬 Lab-leak hypothesis: 67%
  • 🦇 Natural transmission: 21%
  • 🦠 Other: 12%

Click here to read some of the best longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 4,911 votes and 427 longform responses.

🤗 Daily Dose of Positive

🌎 Around the world, and then some

Image: Johnny Ward

Meet Johnny Ward, a travel blogger who's made it to nearly every corner of the world.

📝 Bucket-list moment... Johnny recently became the first person to claim the "Ultimate Explorer’s Grand Slam," a feat that involves reaching the highest peak on every continent, visiting both the North and South Poles, and traveling to every country in the world.

  • It's been a dream more than a decade in the making, and as Johnny descended the Vinson Massif in Antarctica – his final hike – he shared that he "felt relieved."

What's next for the ultimate adventurer? Helping other people have access to travel experiences and adventures like his own. 

🧠 Trivia

We're root-ing for you

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words.

  1. Aqu
  2. Cis
  3. Chlor
  4. Heli
  5. Kine

(keep scrolling for the answers)

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🧠 Answers

  1. Aqu = Water (e.g., aquarium, aquatic)
  2. Cis = Cut (incisor)
  3. Chlor = Green (chlorophyll)
  4. Heli = Sun (helium)
  5. Kine = Movement (kinetic)

*Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Investing involves risk. See Important disclosures at www.masterworks.com/cd

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