Automakers Hit Pause on EV Ambitions as Demand Lags

  • Ford, GM, and other automakers are postponing EV manufacturing expansions as consumer demand lags expectations
  • High EV prices and rising interest rates have dampened enthusiasm, with EV sales growth slowing
  • Automakers are abandoning short-term production goals amid the pullback

Israel Ramps Up Attacks on Gaza

  • Israel has intensified airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza, knocking out most internet and phones
  • Israel says it is targeting Hamas' tunnel network in Gaza after failed negotiations over hostages
  • The attacks come after Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel

Jury Hears Testimony From Sam Bankman-Fried

  • Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand again in his criminal fraud trial over FTX's collapse
  • The judge ruled he could not make most of his desired statements about relying on lawyers' advice
  • SBF said he did not defraud anyone but acknowledged "a number of small mistakes and big mistakes"

Lifestyle News

Luxury fashion made with bacteria

  • Fashion startup Normal Phenomena of Life is selling high-end clothing and beauty products made with bacteria, fungi, and algae.
  • Offerings include a $5,000 bacteria-dyed jacket, face oil from fungi, and prints using algal ink.
  • The company wants to pioneer sustainable production through biotech for eco-conscious luxury shoppers.

Startup using concrete dust to combat climate change

  • Carbon removal startup Silicate is spreading concrete dust on U.S. farmland to absorb CO2 through natural weathering.
  • A pilot test near Chicago aims to permanently remove 100 tonnes of carbon and improve soil health.
  • If successful, the technique could be expanded to capture 50-100 million tonnes of CO2 annually across the Midwest.

Boston Dynamics' robot dog given ChatGPT voice

  • Boston Dynamics gave its Spot robot dog a ChatGPT-powered voice for conversational commands.
  • Spot narrates a factory tour, answering questions with different personalities and accents.
  • Responses are generated using ChatGPT and other large language models.

Speechmatics Speech Intelligence

  • Speechmatics Speech Intelligence leverages ASR and AI to extract insights from audio.
  • It enables real-time transcription, translation, and analysis across languages.
  • The tool aims to help businesses unlock value from speech data.

Shutterstock launches AI image editing

  • Shutterstock integrated AI image modification into its platform.
  • New features let users alter stock photos with tools like Magic Brush.
  • For now it uses DALL-E 2, with plans to upgrade to DALL-E.

OpenAI announces AI preparedness efforts

  • OpenAI formed a Preparedness team to assess risks of advanced AI.
  • It aims to identify dangers like persuasion, nuclear, and cyber threats.
  • OpenAI also announced a challenge for ideas to mitigate AI risks.

Poe launches monetization for creators

  • Chatbot platform Poe introduced a program to pay bot creators.
  • Makers can earn revenue shares and fees for their AI bots.
  • It aims to incentivize talent to build inventive bots.

D-ID launches mobile app for AI video

  • D-ID released a mobile app for its AI video generation tech.
  • It lets users make digital avatars from phone photos.
  • Creators can integrate avatars, voices, scripts to scale content.

The environmental impact of fashion returns

  • Fashion returns have a large environmental impact due to unsellable returned inventory
  • Bracketing leads to more returns in fashion compared to other categories
  • Returns management software can help fashion brands be more sustainable

Coca-Cola cracks open stronger Q3 than rival PepsiCo

  • Coca-Cola's revenue rose 8% to $12 billion in Q3
  • Global unit case volume increased 2% but flat in North America
  • Raised full-year organic revenue growth guidance to 10-11%

Strong Q3 earnings for Meta and other tech companies

  • Meta had record revenue of over $34 billion in Q3 2022.
  • Google also saw double-digit revenue growth this quarter.
  • The growth signals a rebound in digital ad spending after cuts last year.