🕷️ Scarlett Johansson Against OpenAI

Scarlett Johansson is suing OpenAI… wtf happened? May 28, 2024 | Peel #718 Silver Banana goes to... [Interactive Brokers. ]() In this issue of the Peel: - 🤔 We just got the latest durable goods report—how did we do? - 💰 Someone, please tell me why Coinbase’s stock spiked. - 🤖 Scarlett Johansson is suing OpenAI… wtf happened? Market Snapshot 📸 Banana Bits 🍌 - Immigration might’ve taken “er jerbs,” per Randy Marsh, but it also [saved us from](=)[some]([inflation](=) - Finally, an oil war oil that’s not taking place in the Middle East—[it’s in American boardrooms]() - Getting cash out of your stocks is about to become a lot easier as markets upgrade [from 1980s technology to 1990s technology]( - Gold, silver, and copper prices finally [caught their breath a bit]() Help boost your returns with IBKR’s Stock Yield Enhancement Program = Interactive Brokers’ Stock Yield Enhancement Program helps you earn extra income on fully paid shares of stock in your brokerage account. 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Open an Interactive Brokers account today and start earning extra income on the shares you own with IBKR’s Stock Yield Enhancement Program at [ibkr.com/SYEP](=) Macro Monkey Says 🐒 Durable Goods You could say that the whole pandemic thing caused a *slight* disruption among U.S. manufacturers for a while, leading them to feel very “how you say broke in Spanish? Mi no hablo.” But a few years later, and especially over the past 3 months, U.S. manufacturing has been much more “I got a problem with spending before I get it,” to continue quoting the great American poet and economist Kanye West. We always talk about consumer spending, as it’s the largest contributor to GDP, but private business investment makes up a respectable 15% on its own. So, let’s see how their contributions to the economy have performed in recent weeks. The Numbers On Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau published its latest Monthly Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, and Orders—a.k.a. “the durable goods report.” [Source]( Clearly, the Census Bureau needs help coming up with catchier names, but manufacturers haven’t needed any help getting the economy fired up for the past 3 months. Chief among these metrics is the new orders section of the durable goods report. This tells us the total dollar amount invested by private businesses into property, plant, equipment, and other goods with useful production lives of at least 3 years. It’s like the NFL combined but for manufacturing companies, and much less exciting. Anyway, new orders rose 0.7% to $284.1bn in April, a slight decline from the 0.8% increase seen in March and right in line with economist guesstimates. Keep in mind—this data is not adjusted for inflation. So, factoring in April’s 0.5% monthly PPI jump, we’re seeing real growth of 0.2% for new orders of long-term goods. Generally speaking, any growth in this sector of the economy is positive, as it implies that businesses are at least more optimistic than pessimistic that the investments they’re making in durable goods products will lead to a positive return on investment. In turn, that implies businesses are confident that end consumers are in a good financial position for the foreseeable future. Of course, by “good financial position,” we mean these businesses think consumers have too much of their own money and that it’s becoming an issue because, obviously, that cash belongs on their bottom line. But, perhaps the most valuable reading we get with this report is that of the spread between the monthly changes in new orders vs. that of inventories. When new orders rise, it’s generally a good sign. But, when new orders are rising in excess of inventories, this can signal that demand is even stronger than previously projected. Rising inventory with slowing new orders would imply demand isn’t there, so pretty much anytime the above line chart is in positive territory, it’s a good sign for the manufacturing sector. For context, inventories in April grew just over 0.1%, a healthy increase when paired with the previously discussed new orders data. The Takeaway? Like anything, however, manufacturers and macro watchers found a reason to complain. Like playing country music at a house party, high interest rates are still here to kill the vibe. Plus, supply chain issues lingering from the pandemic along with newer supply chain issues thanks to fun stuff like trade wars, actual wars, and collapsing bridges here in the U.S. are also contributors holding this sector back. So, U.S. manufacturing remains in a good position and appears to be continuing down a path of normalization in the post-pandemic world. Expect these metrics to maintain their choppiness at least in the intermediate term as well, as rates and supply chains show little signs of moving in a constructive direction anytime soon. But, as the old saying goes, smooth seas never made a skilled sailor. While I’m not sure where that saying came from, as long as it wasn’t the captain of the Titanic or a former employee at Boeing, we should be alright. What's Ripe 🤩 Ross Stores (ROST) 📈7.8% - Like the craze of wealthy suburban students taking over thrift stores across America, discount retailers are loving their newfound high-income clientele. - Sales grew over 8% annually to $4.8bn, beating estimates, while EPS of $1.46/sh smashed estimates for $1.36/sh. Margins also improved 1.4%. - Guidance smoked Street estimates nearly across the board as well. It’s a great sign for the company, but once again, not the vibe the economy wants. Coinbase (COIN) 📈8.6% - Drake and Kendrick’s beef has been brewing for a while, but they got nothing on Coinbase vs the SEC. The difference is that the latter’s fights actually have winners. - And last week’s approval of spot Eth ETFs was a big win for the exchange… for now. Those custodial service fees are looking juicy. - But, the expectation for Coinbase to be the provider of choice for custodial services on digital assets to large asset managers ignores the long-term implication of lower trading volumes on the exchange. What's Rotten 🤮 Workday (WDAY) 📉15.3% - Less Workday makes everyone happy, except their investors. The firm lowered its 2024 outlook in a great sign for the mental health of the economy. - The maker of hiring and other human resources software said a slower hiring market and cuts to IT budgets will slightly lower revenue for the year. - And markets absolutely lost it. The cut was only ~$50mn on ~$7.7bn, but EPS missed for the latest quarter, and revenue barely beat as well, killing the vibe. Intuit (INTU) 📉8.4% - Things you love to see—the owner of TurboTax sank as Americans are ostensibly evading more than usual taxes. It’s enough to make a grown man cry. - Intuit also owns other brands behind annoying *ss commercials like Credit Karma and Quickbooks, and despite beating on sales and EPS, markets weren’t happy. - The lame-software firm said it’s next quarter EPS should come in around $1.80-$1.85/sh while the Street wanted $1.93/sh. Thought Banana 🤔 Scarlett Johansson v. Scarlett Johansson We’ve been afraid that AI would go full Terminator for a while. But now, it seems like the real fear is that AI’s danger is more similar to Jordan Peele’s Us. Or, maybe the better movie reference here is Her, considering that’s the one our plaintiff of the day actually starred in. What Happened? Who knew that a tweet as simple as this one below could cause so much ruckus: [Source](=) On the same day that OpenAI released its way overhyped “new” model GPT-4o, which focused largely on new voice features for ChatGPT, CEO Sam Altman released the above tweet. To most people, at least those of us with properly functioning brain activity, the above tweet was a clear reference to the 2013 movie Her, in which the main character suffers the fate millions of us are likely to suffer in the not-so-far-off future. Essentially, the male main character falls in love with his AI assistant, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. So, the above tweet was obviously a reference to this film, done in the most condescending tech-bro manner possible, as is classic of Sam Altman. Given that part of the GPT-4o update was new, enhanced voice features of ChatGPT, it’s clear that the above is a reference to ScarJo’s prescient 2013 film. OpenAI wanted to use her voice to power GPT-4o or at least be one of the voices to do so. But, the problem comes when we realize that OpenAI was ostensibly rejected twice from using Johansson’s voice, once in September 2023 and once on May 11th… when a phone call between the actress and OpenAI had an even shorter message than Sam’s tweet: “No.” = [Source]() However, one of the 5 speech modes for ChatGPT, called “Sky,” sounded exactly like Johansson and her character in Her to the point that the actress was allegedly fielding congratulatory phone calls from her friends and family on her “new deal” with OpenAI. OpenAI currently denies the use of ScarJo’s voice, claiming it was one of the 400 people who submitted voice applications, but they have refrained from naming the actual actor that they used and we’re all supposed to pretend like we don’t know why. Who Cares? Now, the legal gloves have been dropped, and there appears to be an ongoing battle between OpenAI and Johansson. Since all of this came to light, OpenAI has paused its “Sky” voice feature per a cease and desist from Johansson’s lawyers. So, in summary: - OpenAI asks Scarlett Johansson if they can use her voice for ChatGPT - She says no… twice… once literally 2 days before the release - OpenAI appears to use Johansson’s voice anyway - Johansson sues It’s been understood in Hollywood and broader media for quite some time—both legally and socially—that the use of any likeness of an actor/actress must receive that person’s approval. It’s her voice, so it’s her property. But OpenAI is new to the game, and they seem much more geared to “ask for forgiveness” than to “ask for permission.” Needless to say, this will be worked out in court over the coming weeks, months, and likely years (knowing the U.S. legal system, maybe they’ll get it right in a century or two). OpenAI already has high-profile legal cases open against the likes of the New York Times for similar allegations, so it’s interesting to consider these battles in the context of the recent departure of several key employees, like Ilya Sutskever. Sutskever, formerly OpenAI’s chief scientist, led the Alignment team at OpenAI, essentially the company’s AI safety team. He and dozens of other members of that team have left the firm in recent weeks, creating questions as to why. Paired with the battle for Scarlett Johansson’s voice, real concern is warranted for this company whose explicit goal is to be the first to develop artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which is when we can finally start to be scared that a Terminator-style future is coming. I haven’t been this excited about a legal battle since Sam Altman was getting ripped to shreds by his former girlfriend and best friends. I hope this is even slightly as entertaining as that blessing of a comedy show was. The Big Question: How will this ctase play out in court? If OpenAI doesn’t need Johansson’s permission to use her voice, could they use anything from anyone at any time without permission? If so, I have some files to delete… Banana Brain Teaser 💡 Previous 🗓 The product of two negative numbers is 160. If the lesser of the two numbers is 4 less than twice the greater, what is the greater number? Answer: -8 Today 🕐 After driving to a riverfront parking lot, Bob plans to run south along the river, turn around, and return to the parking lot, running north along the same path. After running 3.25 miles south, he decides to run for only 50 minutes more. If Bob runs at a constant rate of 8 minutes per mile, how many miles farther south can he run and still be able to return to the parking lot in 50 minutes? Send your guesses to vyomesh@wallstreetoasis.com Wise Investor Says 🤓 “If you feel glamorous, you definitely look glamorous” — Scarlett Johansson How Would You Rate Today's Peel? 😁[All the bananas]() 😐[Meh]() 😩[Rotten AF]() Happy Investing, David, Vyom, Jasper & Patrick [ADVERTISE]( // [WSO ALPHA](=) // [ACADEMY]( // [COURSES]( // [LEGAL]() [Unsubscribe]( IB Oasis Corp. (aka "Wall Street Oasis") 14435 Big Basin Way PBN 444 Saratoga, California 95070 United States