On Wednesday, Runway AI presented the 10 finalists in its festival for AI-generated short films at a private event in San Francisco, showcasing what filmmakers can do today with generative AI tools.
Why it matters: This tech isn't just used by industry insiders who are enjoying playing around with the latest shiny thing: professional artists are already tapping them to expand their storytelling abilities.
The intrigue: Runway AI co-founder Cristóbal Valenzuela told me that the company plans to host its film festival again and has already received interest from other established festivals to partner.
What's more, he added that instead of being worried that AI will replace them, filmmakers so far seem enthusiastic about the tech.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-N.Y.) first and only TikTok video has gone viral — and in it, she outlines her case against banning the Chinese-owned social media app as its fate hangs in the balance.
Why it matters: With more than 150 million monthly active users in the U.S., TikTok is one of the most popular smartphone apps in the country. Lawmakers are pressing forward with bipartisan efforts to facilitate a ban in the U.S. amid scrutiny surrounding the firm's relationship with the Chinese government.
The pandemic changed everything — and yet a lot of the world would feel very familiar to a time traveler from late 2019.
Why it matters: Change doesn't affect everything equally, and sometimes it takes us on a circumbedibus that deposits us unceremoniously exactly where we started.
Generative AI startups may be getting all the attention and venture checks right now, but the next fund raise may be a tougher road.
Why it matters: The market downturn has been raining on startupland’s parade for the past year, but AI has emerged as a bright spot of excitement for entrepreneurs and investors.
The art market is defined by the awkward combination of the financial with the ineffable — and the influence of the former over the latter has been growing consistently for decades.
Why it matters: By shopping around its art loans, Sotheby's is revealing the degree to which the genteel protocols of the past are no longer necessary, or even desired.
Almost no oneunderstands how banks and bank accounts work — and the government isn't helping.
Why it matters: All stable banking systems stand on a solid bedrock of trust. When that trust is eroded, only government can rebuild it. The problem is that government actions haven't managed to rebuild the trust that was lost over the long weekend of March 10.
The government's initial strategy, on the weekend that SVB failed, was simply to assert that public confidence in the banking system was strong, in hopes that confidence would thereby magically manifest. When that failed, the Plan B comms strategy seemed as though it wasn't entirely thought through.
Why it matters: Every bank in the country, with the possible exception of the ultra-giants sitting on more than $1 trillion in assets, now has depositors worried about the safety of their money. The banks need the government to reassure those depositors — and the government isn't doing a great job.
