👀 Lensa’s problematic pictures

Plus: An esports slowdown, Christmas tree wars, Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards winners, and more. [View Online]( [The Hustle] Sony’s upcoming thriller, 65, stars Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt as two humans from the future who are forced to fight dinos after being sent 65m years into the past. In today’s email: - Apple: Sideloading in the EU. - Chart: An esports slowdown. - Lensa needs a cold shower. - Around the web: Funny animal photos, collaborative drawing, Christmas tree wars, and more cool internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast]( to hear Jacob and Juliet discuss changes coming to Apple’s App Store, the Google Killer, app consolidation, and more. The big idea [Apple logo]( Apple’s big changes, courtesy of the EU Some significant changes are coming for Apple devices in the European Union, and not just [USB-C chargers](. We’re talking about “[sideloading](” — downloading software through third-party sources. It’s something Apple has long resisted, forcing both iOS users and app devs to deal with its App Store: - Apple says it ensures safety and privacy, [claiming]( third-party stores could result in users downloading malicious or spam apps. - It also nabs 30% of App Store sales, something companies including [Epic Games](, [Meta](, and Spotify have decried. Why change now? The EU’s new [Digital Markets Act]( (DMA) is designed to regulate its digital economy and prevent tech “gatekeepers” from using unfair practices. - Gatekeepers are defined as companies with a market cap of ~$80B+ (Apple’s  is $2T+) and 45m monthly EU users. Among other rules, gatekeepers must allow sideloading, or else face fines. Apple… … will lose money from its EU commissions, and potentially ad revenue due to fewer eyes on App Store ads, [per]( Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley. But the App Store only accounts for 6% of Apple’s total revenue, [per]( Bloomberg, of which the EU — Apple’s second-largest market behind the Americas — likely makes up less than a third. Apple hasn’t made a decision on other DMA rules, including whether devs can use third-party, in-app payment systems. What about outside the EU? It’s not clear whether Apple will make sweeping changes or only where it must, or if other nations’ lawmakers will follow in the EU’s footsteps. In the US, a DOJ [antitrust suit]( against Apple may arise. In the short term, some companies’ shares did get a bump on Apple’s news, including Match (10%) and Spotify (9.7%). [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Apple%E2%80%99s+big+changes%2C+courtesy+of+the+EU%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12152022-Digital-Markets-Act%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12152022-Digital-Markets-Act%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDING [eyeball wearing a hat] Twitter suspended the [popular account]( that tracks Elon Musk’s private jet, which Musk previously said he wouldn’t do as a commitment to free speech. Twitter then [announced]( a ban on sharing others’ live locations in most cases, and Musk [detailed]( a security incident that appears to have prompted the move. SNIPPETS The Federal Reserve announced an interest rate [hike]( of 0.5%, a lighter increase than in past months that puts its benchmark interest rate at 4.25%-4.5%. The SEC charged eight influencers with leveraging their social media followings to commit [securities fraud]( to the tune of $100m. Sears Hometown Stores, a Sears spinoff, has filed for [bankruptcy](. The chain currently has ~121 stores, and $50m-$100m in liabilities, but less than $50m in assets. AMC Theatres will [release]( a Visa credit card next year for AMC Stubs members that will allow them to earn rewards points. Pfizer plans to up the price of its covid vaccine by[400%]( when it enters the commercial market next year — a 10k% markup from the estimated manufacturing cost. Redwood Materials is planning a second [$3.5B]( factory in South Carolina to recycle lithium-ion batteries and make EV battery components. Google has not publicly released its ChatGPT-like products because of the [“reputational risk”]( of something going wrong. Oof: A Connecticut legal clerk who sank $30k into FTX wants to [sue]( Tom Brady and other celebs who endorsed the failed platform. Produce woes: As farmers pay more for water due to drought, vegetable prices are up [80%+]( YoY. SmartHelio, a company that uses AI to measure live data and suggest fixes for solar panels, raised [$5m](. Mastering product: The Hustle blog created a [deep dive]( on the world of product management, including tips and tricks to create products that sell. CHART [investments in esports]( Olivia Heller Esports aren’t immune from a downturn Long reliant on a booming ad market, free-flowing venture capital, and a crypto bull run — esports are experiencing a [slowdown](, per Bloomberg. - In recent months, the two most valuable esports groups, Team SoloMid and 100 Thieves, have reduced headcount. - Major game publishers, best positioned to tolerate losses in the space, are also narrowing their esports operations. - FaZe Clan — essentially a publicly traded brand of gaming pros — has seen its stock plummet ~80% since going public. Monetization is proving to be the biggest problem. Esports’ 216m viewers each generate only $5.30 in revenue per year. Sponsorships help, but crypto firms reportedly made up 15% of that revenue in 2022 — the value of which is likely to shrink. Still, esports may have a bright future. The industry draws in 261m viewers every month, and Saudi Arabia has invested [~$1.5B]( into esports as part of a $38B gaming bet this year alone. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Esports+aren%E2%80%99t+immune+from+a+downturn%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12152022-Esports%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12152022-Esports%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource Trends flare: sober bars and water sommeliers Sober Bars We covered them back in 2019 when “sober curious” was gaining traction. With health-conscious living on the rise, the movement is [heating up again](. We re-interviewed Trendster Chris Marshall, who owns [Sans Bar]( in Austin, Texas, and plans to launch another location in 2023. Water Sommeliers Skip this if “Professional Water Taster” is on your resume. These rare experts know which type of water pairs best with a coffee, cocktail, or dinner. “Fine water” from glaciers and icebergs can cost $3.85-100+ for 25 ounces. Candice Jansen keeps hosting sold-out, private tastings. Here are our [bougie water]( startup ideas. [Access Trends]( for niche market research and the bright community of 15k+ digital pros. [Try Trends for $1 →]( Hmmmm [phone app]( Why is this AI app undressing female users without their consent? If your social feed is currently inundated with stylized portraits, blame [Lensa](. The [four-year-old]( AI app turns selfies into illustrations, starting at [$3.99]( for 50 images. Since introducing the “magic avatars” feature in November, the app has seen 17m+ downloads. Does everyone like their portraits? Def not. Women have noticed a disturbing trend: Even when they upload above-the-shoulder [headshots](, or ask the app to depict them as [men](, they get [hypersexualized]( — or straight-up pornographic — images in return. People of color have also reported that the app [altered]( their features, [lightening]( skin tones and eye colors. Like most problems, humans are ultimately to blame: - The app uses Stable Diffusion, an AI model that generates images from text. - Stable Diffusion is built using LAION-5B, an open-source data set that scrapes images from across the internet. And what does the internet have a lot of? Degrading photos of women. If AI really is the future… … we gotta fix this. Lensa isn’t alone in pulling from the dark corners of the web: Google’s Imagen and OpenAI’s DALL-E use similar [training](. That means AI could come preloaded with all the human biases we hoped it would eliminate. Plus, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to reckon with [sexism]( in AI. Right, Siri and Alexa? [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Why+is+this+AI+app+undressing+female+users+without+their+consent%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12152022-Lensa%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12152022-Lensa%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 🖥️ On this day: In 1995, web browser AltaVista [launched](. Once a popular browser, Yahoo acquired it in 2003, and shut it down in [2013](. 🎄 That’s interesting: Several cities claim to be the Christmas tree capital of the world, each with its own [argument]( as to why. ✏️ Cure boredom: If you’re a fan of Reddit’s r/place, [this site]( lets you draw to your heart’s content. 🤣 Haha: The [winners]( of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are here, including a duck traipsing across a line of turtles. 🏃 Aww: And now, [group fitness](. TWEET [burnout tweet] Follow Sara on [Twitter]( TELL FRIENDS → GET PRIZES Help your friends aboard our growing pirate ship. Share The Hustle Daily to start winning loot. [all prizes]( [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? [Love It]( [Meh]( [Hate It]( Today's email was brought to you by [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Sara Cravatts](, and [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Mark “Sideloader” Dent. Was this email forwarded to you? 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