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.