OVERWORLD:
-Kids are building relationships with chatbots-

ONE BETWEEN:
-SBF and CZ: Crypto prison buddies-

THE DEPTHS:
-Pop-Tart ads: from kinda lame to animated gore content-

“Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.”
— Honoré de Balzac

✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

▶️ YouTube:
Anti-Marijuana PSA: "The Death Drug" (1996)

👽 Reddit:
Maybe maybe maybe

✖️ X:
Grok’s summary of Drake vs. Kendrick beef is up-to-date with Kendrick’s “Not Like Us” from a few hours ago.

❓
Mystery link.

AI

Kids are building relationships with chatbots - is it a problem?

Remember hopping into an anonymous chatroom as a younging?

It was like a little microcosm of what real-life socializing is like - but anonymity meant you could be who you want. It’s kinda like a distorted version of real-life socializing.

Now, imagine that times 100: Everybody in the chat treats you however you want + you can speak to whoever you want (even the President, or Naruto).

That’s what kids are doing these days with Character.AI.

Launched in 2022 by ex-Google Brain engineers, Character.AI is probably what your sibblings and kids are on all day.

A quick swipe through the r/characterAI subreddit (1.2 million users) you’ll realize:

a) The majority of users are young, like kids and teens.

It’s the type of stuff a young brain just generally is drawn to. You know, experimenting with identities, learning to socialize, trying out relations, and so on.

b) Everybody is using it differently.

Some people are just having a few laughs with Freddy Fazbear… while others are roleplaying literal lives and children with anime characters.

✦Emotional support✦

Besides just being outright entertaining, many users are invested beyond lols and hahas.

Tons of people on the r/characterAI speak highly of the software for reducing their anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

Here are some bittersweet comments:

✦Addiction and perversion✦

But the potentially useful virtual support is mixed in with some pretty weird shit - and several users report addiction clocking in 10hrs/day in chats.

Following comments, screenshots, and memes should speak for themselves.

Here goes:

Sure, it seems like AI companions offer some sort of shelter from the storms of adolescence. But something is also just not right here.

These kids are shitting where they’re eating. It’s hard to argue how having “Psychologist” and “Abusive Boyfriend” is one-sidedly good.

✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech✦

Boom goes the dynamite: Apple's shares surged 6% after announcing a record $110 billion buyback - marking its best day since 2022. Despite a 4% sales drop and 10% decline in iPhone sales, analysts remain optimistic, raising targets and anticipating new AI features to boost future iPhone upgrades.

Nokia might tap into that sweet nostalgia by reintroducing the classic Nokia 3210, potentially launching as soon as May 8th. Leaked images suggest color options in cyan or yellow, with a price around $95.

Sad/weird: PlayStation's mandate for PC players to log into PSN for Helldivers 2 has led to its removal from Steam in over 100 countries, sparking massive backlash and negative reviews, with some players obtaining refunds despite extended playtimes.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

Welcome, dude: New Era appoints Dao-Yi Chow, co-founder of Public School and former DKNY co-designer, as creative director to launch its first apparel line, "Brand New Era," enhancing its iconic cap brand's influence in sports and streetwear.

Watch: FKA twigs testifying to Congress, revealing her development of "AI Twigs," a deepfake to manage her fan interactions.

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

Read: In Praise of Idleness (1932)

Watch: How the US Is Destroying Young People’s Future

For developers: The Guide To Git I Never Had.

Also for developers: Websites Every Aspiring Programmer Should Visit At Least Once

ONE 

BETWEEN

👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏼 SBF and CZ: Crypto prison buddies
In the latest episode of crypto Game of Thrones, both emperors are imprisoned. Spicy.

Last month, Changpeng Zhao received a four-month prison sentence, a stark contrast to the 25-year sentence handed to FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried in Manhattan just a month prior.

• Bankman-Fried, 32, faced charges for stealing billions from FTX customers, resulting in a severe 25-year sentence.

• Zhao, 47, pled guilty to lesser charges of regulatory failures as part of a $4.3 billion settlement, leading to a significantly shorter prison term.

Zhao’s lesser sentence reflect issues of compliance and regulatory oversight, while Bankman-Fried’s actions pointed to direct financial misconduct and deception.

Zhao, a figure of control and compliance, maintained a low profile, while Bankman-Fried’s more public and chaotic persona ultimately contributed to his downfall.

It seems they’re both sociopaths, the only difference is how elegantly they handle it.

THE DEPTHS

Old ads

Pop-Tart ads went from kinda lame to animated gore content.

It’s 1964. A culinary freakshow just landed on supermarket shelves, changing man-children’s morning routines forever.

Yes, Kellogg’s just introduced Pop-Tarts.

This wasn't just a new food item; it was an innovation that catered to the burgeoning desire for convenience and speed in the American lifestyle.

The 50s and 60s were eras obsessed with kitchen efficiency—a trend Pop-Tarts fit perfectly into. You barely needed to be in the kitchen to have some.

And that was much thanks to the ingenious design of Pop-Tarts; a no-refrigeration, foil-packaged product that could be stored forever.

And while a lot of that convenience came about via WW2 food innovations, it wasn’t made for the trenches.

Pop-Tarts were for children and teenagers, or the parents of such humans.

Which is interesting, because since they started advertising Pop-Tarts, the ads have seen some crazy cultural evolution.

It starts off kinda tame, but by the 2000s, the ads are seemingly about murdering and eating anthropomorphic Pop-Tarts.

Here’s how their ads evolved:

60s: Aiming at the parents

70s: Milton the Toaster

80s: “Hot, Hot, Hot”

90s: Sugar Jaws

00s - 10s: The Pop-Tart Genocide