Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 💰 The employee Google paid $2.7 billion to get back
• 🐙 Punching octopuses
• 👎 A Bridgerton fail

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.90-minute read (1,304 words).

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"Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it."

–Gilda Radner (1946-1989)

Earlier this year, Google paid Character.AI, an AI-chatbot startup, $2.7 billion to license its technology.

But the deal included another stipulation (the one that mattered the most to Google, according to employees): that co-founder Noam Shazeer, who quit Google in 2021 to start Character, come back to work for the tech giant again.

Who’s Noam Shazeer? A man who could reasonably walk up to any AI and say “I am your father.” In 2017, he published a paper with seven other Google researchers called “Attention is All You Need,” which detailed a computer system that could reliably predict the next word in a sequence when prompted by humans. And if this sounds familiar – it’s because it became the underpinning of the generative AI tech that followed.

As outlined by the Wall Street Journal:

• While at Google, Shazeer teamed up with a colleague, Daniel De Freitas, to build a chatbot originally named Meena that could banter confidently on a range of topics.
• But the company declined to release it to the public, citing safety and fairness concerns, leading the pair to quit and launch Character – which was built around the idea that people would pay to interact with chatbots that can provide practical advice or mimic celebrities like Elon Musk and fictional characters like Percy Jackson.

AI wheeling and dealing

Google isn’t the only organization who’s acquired an AI company without actually acquiring an AI company. Microsoft and Amazon have made similar deals this year, in large part to lock up talent and avoid regulatory scrutiny.

In the know: Many of the deals, including the Character.AI-Google tie-up, have also occurred as a result of fundraising fatigue.

• Developing AI is a costly business, meaning startup founders – many of whom are engineers – are forced to spend their time raising money instead of writing code. Being “purchased” by a large tech organization provides a large payout, and offers the ability for them to focus on development instead of feeding the money machine.

🤖💰 Brrrrrr: Organizations are projected to spend $235 billion on AI this year, with this figure expected to increase to $630 billion by 2028 (30% CAGR), according to research firm IDC.

Asutra’s topical magnesium solutions gave Venus Williams’ tired muscles so much relief, that she became part-owner of the women-owned company. So what makes their products like Spray Pain Away so effective?

• 🙌 1 in 2 people are magnesium deficient and it’s responsible for over 300 bodily functions – Asutra sources pure magnesium from the Zechstein Seabed in the Netherlands.
• 🌶️ Then they added capsaicin, an FDA-approved pain reliever derived from chili peppers that provides an extra boost of relief

The results? A fast-acting spray where 92% of users felt an improvement in chronic or recurring pain, and 96% of regular Spray Pain Away users felt better overall. It even promotes better sleep.

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🇵🇪 Hundreds of ancient Nazca drawings were discovered in Peru with the help of AI. The 2,000-year-old geoglyphs are carved out of the soil and measure up to 1,200 feet long. They depict various animals or abstract shapes, including decapitated heads and killer whales armed with knives (which experts say hint at human sacrifice). ~100 such geoglyphs were previously discovered in the Peruvian desert and declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994 – but researchers were recently able to detect an additional 300+ images, thanks to satellite photos combined with AI image recognition.

🇹🇭 Thailand’s king signed a landmark same-sex marriage bill into law. The law, which grants full legal, financial, and medical rights for marriage partners of any gender, will officially go into effect in 120 days. With the measure, Thailand becomes the first Southeast Asian country – and third Asian country overall – to legalize same-sex marriage.

🇨🇭 Swiss police made several arrests after a controversial suicide pod was used for the first time. Local authorities say “several persons” were arrested on suspicion of inciting suicide, as well as aiding and abetting the act, after a 64-year-old US woman from the Midwest used a novel suicide pod to unalive herself this week. While assisted dying is legally protected in some circumstances in Switzerland, the practice is strictly regulated – and in this case, officials say the suicide pod hasn’t been legally authorized.

+IMPORTANT: If you or someone you know needs help, visit 988lifeline.org or call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Octopuses have long been thought to avoid other members of their species and prowl solo across the ocean floor using camouflage.

But, according to a study published this week, some octopuses have surprisingly rich social lives, in which they lead hunting groups containing multiple species of fish.

How it works: Various animals appear to have distinct roles in the operation, with the octopus serving as group leader, according to ~120 hours of underwater footage captured by scientists from Germany’s Max Planck Institute.

• One of the octopus’ biggest helpers is a species of fish called the blue goatfish, who explore new crevices and show the octopus where to find prey by hovering over the area or moving back-and-forth from it.
• Other species of fish, like blacktip groupers, aren’t quite as helpful and sometimes hang around waiting for others to do the work – in which case they often receive a swift octopus punch to the gills for freeloading (seriously).

The motivations: While the octopus earns obvious benefits, the arrangement also helps out the fish, since prey sometimes escapes the octopus and is flushed into their waiting arms flippers. Per the researchers, both octopuses and fish increase their catch rates of crustaceans, fish, and molluscs by participating in the hunting groups.

👑 That’s Chief Octopus to you: Dr. Eduardo Sampaio, the study’s lead author, says the octopus’ role in the hunting groups resembles that of a CEO, while the fish act more like a research and development team.

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“[A]n evening of sophistication, grace and historical charm.”

Those attending the “Bridgerton Ball” experience, a recent event held in Detroit unaffiliated with Netflix but based on its show carrying the same name, were promised a night of elegance and opulence – and what they received was…not that.

Attendees, who paid between $150-$1,000 for tickets, say they expected classical music with Regency dancing, a good dinner, and plenty of prizes that would be given away. Instead, they received a sparsely decorated room with limited seating, raw food, no prizes, and (wait for it) a stripper for live entertainment.

• The event organizer, Uncle N Me LLC, issued a statement this week apologizing for the poor experience.

👥 Zoom out: Though the disastrous Bridgerton event was unaffiliated with Netflix, the streaming giant has increasingly been leaning into in-person events and experiences, with plans to open two massive entertainment venues in the Dallas and Philadelphia areas.

• ☝️ On Tuesday, an uninhabited house collapsed on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras in North Carolina; it marks the area’s third house-collapse in four days, and the 10th such incident since 2020.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with 120/Life

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: -0.2%; Dow: -0.7%; Nasdaq: +0.04%).
• 📱 YouTuber Marques Brownlee recently released Panels, a wallpaper app. It’s getting flamed in online reviews.
• ✈️ Southwest Airlines is reducing service to and from Atlanta, the world's busiest airport, in order to reduce costs.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📺 Sean “Diddy” Combs is the subject of an upcoming Netflix docuseries produced by 50 Cent that will address recent abuse allegations against the music mogul.
• ⚾ The baseball from Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run – which made him the first member of the MLB’s 50-50 club – is going up for auction; bidding starts at $500,000.
• 🤖💬 Warner Bros. Discovery is partnering with Google on a new AI tool that will automatically generate captions for the Max streaming service. | 🎥🤖 Director James Cameron joined the board of Stability AI, which created AI image generator Stable Diffusion.

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with JadeYoga

• 🌋 A type of magma found within extinct volcanoes could contain an abundant supply of rare earth elements, which are crucial to producing EVs and other green technologies, per a new study.
• 🫀🌌 Human heart tissue shows signs of accelerated aging after a single month in space, according to a new study published in PNAS. | 😬 Space is hard on other organs, too.
• 🧀 The world’s oldest cheese was recently discovered by researchers who noticed a mysterious white substance smeared on the heads and necks of 3,600-year-old mummies in China.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🌀 Hurricane Helene is projected to further strengthen into a Category 4 storm – the strongest to hit the US in over a year – by the time it makes landfall in Florida sometime this evening; local governments in the early path of the storm have issued evacuation orders. | 🚂 Several communities near Cincinnati, Ohio, were forced to evacuate this week after officials warned a train car in the area was leaking a dangerous and highly flammable chemical; an “all-clear” was declared last night.
• 🥤 Coca-Cola is abandoning its new permanent Spiced soda flavor six months after it was released.
• 🗣️ Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made separate economic-focused speeches while campaigning in battleground states yesterday; one day earlier, Harris said she supports eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass legislation restoring abortion rights nationally. | 🗽⚖️ New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a federal grand jury on unspecified charges, per multiple reports; Adams would be the first sitting NYC mayor to face criminal charges.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏡💔 Secret Trusts, a Bitter Divorce and the Battle Over One of America’s Biggest Homes.

📹👻 Stat of the Day: If there's something strange, in your neighborhood – who you gonna call? Your doorbell camera provider, of course. On Tuesday, Ring unveiled a nationwide competition to submit the most compelling paranormal activity captured by a Ring device – staged or otherwise – with a cash prize of $100,000 *Vince Vaughn voice* on the line. Judges, including Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard, will choose the winner based on visibility of the “ghost,” uniqueness, entertainment value, and engagement.

🤔 Did You Know? More than 85% of the world’s canned pumpkin is produced at a single Nestlé USA/Libby’s plant in Morton, Illinois.

📰 Worth a Read: The crypto bros who dream of crowdfunding a new country → (BBC)

Yesterday, we covered how a growing number of Americans are joining the “yes, in my backyard” (YIMBY) movement, which aims to boost affordable housing by changing regulations around single-family homes.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you agree with the YIMBY movement’s push to eliminate most single-family zoning restrictions and allow the development of multi-family housing in those areas?

• 👍 Yes: 38%
• 👎 No: 37%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 25%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,010 votes and 319 longform responses.

A little over five years ago, British man Simon Dell started building tiny homes for a wild mouse he found in his backyard.

• While the little buildings were originally meant to keep the mouse safe from cats, Simon found that they also helped his mental health. He had struggled with depression on and off for years, and the mouse houses gave him a new purpose and daily joy.

Fast forward to this year: Simon has expanded the little village to include multiple homes, stores, and tiny hobby areas for the mice. Also included are instruments for painting, photography, sailing, and more. Simon has about 20 mice that frequent the homes, while he also documents the mouse village on social media for 150,000+ followers.

💬 What he's saying: “Without photography, and the fun of making little things for little things, I could soon sink back into deep depression," Simon told the Good News Network/SWNS. "Photography [of the village] gave me a reason to get up and out again and the mouse village gave me back my smile. I hope it gives others the same joy it gives me.”

+Editors Note: This story first appeared in the Daily DONUT in April 2024.

Which country has more ancient pyramids than Egypt?

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