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Two nights of bad sleep can age you by four years. You see, just 48 hours of tossing and turning can make you feel four years older than your real age. So, if you’re feeling extra tired after a few rough nights, it’s not just in your head — your body’s clock is literally taking the hit.
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What’s in store:
UK PM thinks media outlets should have control over AI usage.
Is Waymo’s new AI the future of driving?
Around the web: Nintendo’s new app lets Switch Online subscribers enjoy classic game soundtracks.
Ryse is the next hot smart home product!
Read Time: 5 minutes
AI GOVERNANCE
Keir Starmer has emphasised that media outlets should have control over their content and be paid for its use as AI changes the UK economy.
Calling journalism the “lifeblood of democracy,” he pledged to protect press freedom, saying digital technology should not weaken the role of journalists in supporting democratic values.
Backing the News Media Association’s Journalism Matters campaign, Starmer highlighted the importance of AI, media and the creative industries in economic growth.
The government, he noted, is working with these sectors to create a balanced policy.
For Starmer, it’s essential that publishes control and are paid for their content, maintaining a media landscape based on trusted information.
This stance follows opposition from media organisations, including the BBC, to government plans allowing AI companies the scrape content by default unless creators opt out.
Google recently warned that the UK may fall behind without more data centres and expanded permissions for AI use of copyrighted content —a move publishers say is like asking homeowners to prevent break-ins themselves.
Here’s what you should know:
Starmer stresses media control and payment rights in response to AI’s growth.
Organisations like the BBC oppose automatic AI content scraping without consent.
New policies aim to reduce tech dominance and defend press freedom.
Swipe right for fair use
Starmer also referenced the upcoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, intended to limit the influence of a few major tech firms.
He cited recent data showing a rise in people avoiding the news but noted the strength of UK news, which still reaches over 80% of the population.
Defending press freedom, Starmer praised the role of journalism in holding leaders accountable and acknowledged the risks journalists face worldwide.
He also promised action against “Slapps”—lawsuits designed to silence journalists and campaigners—as part of a broader commitment to protect investigative journalism.
Because you probably didn’t have enough politics in your life right now, right?
Should publishers be paid when AI uses their content, or is it just part of the digital game? |
Vote for live results and see results + opinions from yesterday at the bottom of the email.
AI STARTUPS
Best Buy has a knack for picking the up-and-coming tech products that go on to dominate the market. Their early bets on household items like Ring (acquired by Amazon for $1.2B) and Nest (acquired by Google for $3.2B) have a proven record of paying off.
Now Best Buy is lifting the curtain on their latest find, launching RYSE’s SmartShades in over 120 retail stores. RYSE has already hit $9M+ in lifetime revenue with over 60,000 units sold, and the numbers are rising (along with the window shades).
RYSE shareholders have seen their value increase 40% year-over-year, with strong upside remaining as they scale into retail and high-volume B2B channels.
The smart home industry is booming with double-digit growth projected until 2033 and billion-dollar acquisitions for companies like RYSE with retail distribution and patented technologies.
On This Day
November 2nd 1947 - Howard Hughes pilots the H-4 Hercules, famously known as the “Spruce,” on its only flight which landed in about eight minutes.
AI Image or Real?
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Mystery Link…
SELF DRIVING CARS
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car company, is upgrading its tech with a model called EMMA built on Google’s Gemini AI.
This move highlights Waymo’s reliance on Google’s AI knowledge and hints at new uses for AI beyond chatbots and email.
Waymo’s latest research explains EMMA, an “End-to-End Multimodal Model for Autonomous Driving.”
EMMA processes sensor data to help cars plan routes, avoid obstacles, and handle sudden road situations.
Until now, self-driving tech used separate “modules” (for mapping, perception, and planning). but these modules can struggle in unpredictable settings due to limited cross-communication.
Waymo thinks Gemini’s “generalist” AI could help, thanks to its broad data and “chain-of-thought” reasoning, which handles complex tasks step-by-step.
In tests, EMMA helped Waymo’s cars make decisions in tough situations, like avoiding road construction or navigating around animals.
EMMA also showed strong skills in route prediction, object detection, and reading road layouts.
But, there are limits: it struggles with 3D sensor data from lidar and radar, and it can only handle a small amount of image frames, impacting efficiency.
Here’s the info:
Waymo’s EMMA model, using Google’s Gemini AI, aims to make complex driving tasks simpler.
Unlike modular systems, EMMA might better adapt to new settings, thanks to Gemini’s broad data and logical processing.
Processing limits and occasional errors in MLLMs mean more research is needed before scaling for large use.
Not your average robotaxi
Although Tesla and others are also working on end-to-end autonomous models, Waymo is further ahead in real-world deployment.
Still, Waymo knows that more research is needed, as MLLMs like Gemini sometimes struggle with simple tasks, which could pose risks for fast-driving scenarios.
Hey Google, drive me to Starbucks.
Mindstream Picks
Space: NASA has revised its list of possible Artemis 3 landing sites near the lunar south pole, factoring in surface conditions and SpaceX’s Starship capabilities, updating the initial 13 sites identified in August 2022.
Crypto: Brazil’s crypto industry is surging, with digital asset imports hitting $1.4 billion in September —a 40% increase from $1 billion in September 2023.
Games: Activision Blizzard announced Call of Duty has surpassed 500 million units sold, with Black Ops 6 breaking records for players and hours played in its opening weekend.
Music: The Cure celebrated their first album in 16 years, Song of A Lost World, with two intimate BBC performances ahead of its release.
Don’t Miss: Nintendo has launched a new mobile app, Nintendo Music, exclusively for Switch Online subscribers, offering classic game tunes like Spaltoon, Animal Crossing, and the Legend of Zelda. Available on iOS and Android, it features curated playlists, a spoiler filter, and extended looping options for uninterrupted listening.
AI Art
Our Image of the Day
Artwork submitted by Mindstream reader Craig C: “A tornado of Candy cotton”
Daily Image Prompt
The upside down from Stranger Things
Yesterday’s Poll
“Is Meta's big-spend approach the key to VR success?”
Yes, it's a necessary investment. 48%
No, it feels like a high-stakes risk. 52% ✅
Your Views:
“Once we get VR right so that it becomes an integral part of the ways we interact and transact, someone is going to own the space. The only way to get there is by investing time and money. The cautionary tale is that Meta could be the first one in and break the ground, and someone could swoop in and do it better - just like Facebook did to MySpace in social media.” - jvander
“sounds like a bad mix of overstimulation and social isolation” - reller12
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