🤖 Appropriate Use of AI
Google backtracks on its hard stance on AI, and in fact will now enhance the SERPs with it. Plus updates on the markets, online business, startups, crypto and real estate.
MARKETS UPDATE
US stocks dropped yesterday due to hawkish comments from the Fed, considering a more modest pace of rate hikes.
PIMCO still forecasts a US recession despite resilient economic data.
Disney announced it will be slashing 7000 jobs (~3% of employees) to cut ~$5.5B in costs and will restructure the company into three divisions focused on entertainment, parks, and ESPN. The share price rose over 5% yesterday.
ONLINE BUSINESS UPDATE
Microsoft will integrate a more advanced version of GPT-3 within Bing, as well as within its Edge browser. As a response, Google will enhance the SERPs with AI features.
In new search guidance, Google backtracks on its negative stance on AI-generated content, stating “Appropriate use of AI or automation is not against our guidelines. This means that it is not used to generate content primarily to manipulate search rankings.”
Sports Illustrated is using Jasper AI to generate articles. It’s owner The Arena Group’s share price is up 24% over the last month.
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STARTUPS UPDATE
SALT Lending, a crypto startup that offers blockchain-backed loans, raised a $64.4M Series A, after the planned acquisition by the online investing platform Bnk To The Future fell through.
Moderne, a startup that claims it can fix code for developers, raised a $15M Series A, bringing the total to $19.7 million.
Follow, the social investment platform that enables users to subscribe to influencers’ investment portfolios, raised a $9M round.
CRYPTO UPDATE
Robinhood plans to purchase 7% of the company back from Sam Bankman-Fried; says it’s working with the DOJ but can’t guarantee a deal will happen.
Lawyers and advisors in FTX bankruptcy have billed nearly $20M for 51 days of work - a good day rate.
FTX gets court approval to subpoena SBF and members of his family.
REAL ESTATE UPDATE
Bloomberg estimates that Chinese property developers have had their worst earnings in at least the last seven years.
Canadian employee’s hybrid work model has had an impact on commercial real estate markets.
Adam Neumann wants his apartment residents to feel like owners, regardless if they have equity or not.
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