US vaccine roll-out, workplace activism, washed-up treasures

Plus: Apple gets into the fitness game [Quartz]( Sponsored by Good morning, Quartz readers! Here’s what you need to know The US begins distributing vaccines. High-risk healthcare workers [and White House staffers]( will be among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech [jabs today](. Electors in the US meet today. They are [casting their presidential votes]( which must be counted by Congress before Joe Biden can be inaugurated in January. Meanwhile, there was [violence at pro-Trump marches]( over the weekend. John le Carré died of pneumonia aged 89. Many of [the British author]( Cold War thrillers became major movies and TV series. Born David John Moore Cornwell, he wrote his first three novels while working as a spy. Brexit talks are dragging on. The UK and the EU have [given themselves an extension]( to resolve a critical trade deal. The two parties are currently deadlocked and “[very far apart]( on key issues.\ Facebook is reportedly reluctant to ban Indian extremists. [According to the Wall Street Journal]( (paywall), the tech giant’s security team is warning of possible reprisals if powerful right-wing groups are removed from the platform. Indian workers ransacked an iPhone plant. More than 100 people were arrested for smashing furniture and setting a car on fire [over claims of unpaid wages]( at the Taiwanese-run Wistron Infocomm factory near Bangalore. China fined Alibaba and Tencent. Market regulators said the two tech giants [failed to properly report deals]( for antitrust reviews—it’s another warning shot from the government. Sponsor content by Evernorth Quality employee healthcare and company savings aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, quite the opposite. Investing in your team's well-being can improve both their lives and your company’s bottom line. [These six charts break it down.]( What to watch for Today Apple [is launching Fitness+]( a streaming fitness service. For $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year, Fitness+ will offer classes and workouts in yoga, cycling, dance, strength training, and more. But home fitness is a crowded market: 🚲 Hardware companies like [Peloton]( Variis, and Mirror combine streaming workouts with bikes, treadmills, and other exercise equipment. 🥇 Social fitness apps like [Strava]( track your workouts and keep you motivated. 💪 Gyms have taken a hit during the pandemic but local fitness studios have in some cases [built stronger relationships with customers](. 📱Plenty of trainers offer [at-home workouts]( on YouTube and Instagram. ⌚️ Apple is betting that its expansive ecosystem will allow it to surpass the competition. Fitness+ classes will be available on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV and will integrate with the Apple Watch and Apple Music. It’s the same playbook the company used to [compete with Spotify](. Charting AI research Artificial intelligence, more than most other fields of research, is dominated by corporations. And no company is more dominant in AI than Alphabet, parent company of Google and its AI-focused sister lab DeepMind. Combined, the companies’ labs accounted for twice as much of the research published at AI conferences like NeurIPS as any other company or university. [Google has published more papers at a top AI conference than any other company or university.] Quartz But the past few weeks have provided a case study in [the perils of turning so much AI research over to Big Tech firms](. On Nov. 30, DeepMind announced a breakthrough in its protein-folding prediction model AlphaFold. The company drew criticism from academics because it made its claim without publishing its results in a peer-reviewed paper. Then on Dec. 3, renowned AI ethicist Timnit Gebru claimed that Google had forced her out of her position as co-leader of the company’s Ethical Artificial Intelligence team. Both stories raise questions of accountability, but because of the massive computational costs associated with training AI models, research gets concentrated in the hands of a small number of institutions. The activist’s toolkit Illustration by Thomas White Employee activists are transforming the workplace—and [making companies better in the process](. Quartz [asked six employee activists]( at Whole Foods, Google, Facebook, and McDonald’s for their best advice for people who are considering becoming organizers themselves, such as: 💪 Hit employers in their pockets, where it hurts 🤝 Let employees be involved in activism on their own terms ⏰ Generate maximum impact with good timing ✦ Our field guide on [The rise of employee activism]( has more advice for workers (and corporate leaders) who are trying to improve their organizations. [Try Quartz membership for free for seven days](. Quartz announcement How well do your investments match your values? Listen in as [Quartz]( CEO [Zach Seward]( and Ellevest CEO [Sallie Krawcheck]( discuss the state of sustainable finance, the third installment of our lively LinkedIn Live series Make Business Better. Tune in Tuesday at 11am ET and follow [Quartz]( on LinkedIn for new episode alerts. Surprising discoveries Electric airplanes are close to a commercial breakthrough. The [newest models]( are called STOL, short for “short take-off and landing” aircrafts. Treasure is washing up on the shore of a Venezuelan fishing village. The source remains [a mystery](. People don’t hate video dates. Nearly [70% of singles who went on a virtual date]( say they’d continue to do so even after the pandemic. The bubonic plague may have shaped Shakespeare’s tragedies. The Black Death reached Stratford-upon-Avon, the Bard’s hometown, in [the year he was born](. Kenyan wildlife wardens moved two giraffes off a sinking island by barge. [Rising water levels]( are threatening their habitat. SHARE AND EARN REWARDS Share the Quartz Daily Brief. Our new referral program means you can earn premium Quartz bounty by sharing the Daily Brief with friends and coworkers. [Get your personal link]( to refer others and start reaping your Quartz rewards. Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, virtual dating tips, and a giraffe to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by [downloading our iOS app]( and [becoming a member](. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Hasit Shah, Mary Hui, Alex Ossola, Tripti Lahiri, Anne Quito, and Walter Frick. [facebook]( [twitter]( [external-link]( Enjoying Quartz Daily Brief? Forward it to a friend! They can [click here]( to sign up. If you’re looking to unsubscribe, [click here](. Quartz | 675 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Fl | New York, NY 10010 | United States Copyright © 2020 Quartz, All rights reserved.