OVERWORLD:
-Demand for sexiness drives down Ozempic prices-

ONE BETWEEN:
-TikTok activists try to punish the Illuminati-

THE DEPTHS:
-AI existed 300 years ago… kinda-

“I don't trust words, I even question actions. But I never doubt patterns.”
— Ben Baller

✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

▶️ YouTube:
Juvenile - U Understand

👽 Reddit:
Footage of meteor that was seen last night in Portugal.

✖️ X:
The longest-serving Apple employee has been there since he was 14 years old in 1976

❓
Mystery link.

Fat-no-more

Demand for sexiness drives down Ozempic prices

Here's a rumor: Celebrities spend over $1,000 monthly on weight loss drugs.

Which is a lot for us pesky peasants, but it’s also getting cheaper. And it’s all thanks to start-ups like Alchemy 43.

Who? Alchemy 43 is an upscale medspa chain. And they've introduced a new GLP-1 program offering weight-loss treatments at a fraction of the cost of brand-name drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic.

If you didn’t know: GLP-1 is a natural hormone in the body that lowers blood sugar and makes you feel full. With holy science, we’ve synthesized GLP-1 and can provide it via drugs like Ozempic to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Why it’s a big deal, not just for celebrities:

✦It’s trickling down✦

So yeah, the elites need for looking red carpet-ready could potentially trickle down to lower classes.

Alchemy43’s method of cheapening is via drugs from compounding pharmacies. This is cheaper than the costly brand-name versions à la Ozempic and Wegovy.

Other companies balling: Found, a weight-loss telemedicine start-up, offers brand-name GLP-1 medications when available, supplemented with behavioral coaching and alternative medications.

Meanwhile, Hims and Hers have opted for a weight-loss program featuring other medications due to the instability of the GLP-1 supply chain.

Companies like Equinox and supplement brands like Veracity and Pendulum are exploring alternative ways to leverage the GLP-1 trend. Pendulum's "GLP-1 Probiotic," for example, aims to naturally increase GLP-1 levels without injections.

Regulation, schmegulation: Despite the demand, the FDA has expressed concerns over the safety and efficacy of compounded weight-loss drugs.

They caution that compounded versions are not reviewed for safety, effectiveness, or quality, and have issued warnings to providers making illegal claims about these drugs.

But the FDA doesn’t have Instagram followers either.

✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech✦

Yikes: Facebook and Nike’s former diversity manager is going to prison for stealing. She was sentenced to five years for embezzling over $5 million from DEI initiatives. She used fake invoices and kickbacks to fund a luxury lifestyle.

Reddit shares surged 11% after announcing a partnership with OpenAI, allowing the AI to train on Reddit content. OpenAI gains API access, while Reddit offers new AI features and gains OpenAI as an ad partner. This follows a similar Google partnership. OpenAI's new model, GPT-4, is also now available.

Risky business: OpenAI disbanded its team focused on long-term AI risks just a year after its creation. Key leaders Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike have left, citing disagreements over the company's priorities. Leike expressed concerns that safety and societal impact were being overlooked. The team’s dissolution follows recent leadership changes and the launch of new AI products.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

Sorry? Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized for a 2016 assault on Cassie Ventura after a video surfaced. Despite settling her lawsuit, he faces other legal threats, including five civil suits and a federal investigation.

Cool leak: Valve's next game, Deadlock, is a multiplayer hero shooter, according to leaks verified by dataminers. Screenshots show characters, including one named Grey Talon, battling in city maps. Described as a mix of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch.

Did it flop? Maybe: At 85, Francis Ford Coppola premiered his self-financed film "Megalopolis" at the Cannes Film Festival. The ambitious movie, set in a futuristic New York and featuring Adam Driver, received mixed reviews. Some called it "megaboring" and "a disaster," while others praised its creativity. Coppola emphasized the theme of human unity.

The Sunday Times Rich List revealed that several major UK retail and fashion players saw their net worth decrease. The Rich List tracks the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain — it’s cozy and scandalous.

Also, Paul McCartney is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds. McCartney is ranked 165th on the list of the UK’s 350 richest people.

Canada Goose reported better-than-expected sales growth, with revenue of C$358 million ($263 million) in Q4, driven by strong retail results in China and the US. Shares jumped over 12%. The company projects slow revenue growth but higher profitability in fiscal 2025, with a shift towards direct-to-consumer sales.

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

How Makers of Nonconsensual AI Porn Make a Living on Patreon

The five-year journey to make an adventure game out of ink and paper

Read: Mortgages are a manufactured product (2022)

ONE 

BETWEEN

Political turmoil in the metaverse

TikTok activists try to punish the Illumintati

People are pissed. And pissed people do TikTok activism, apparently.

As protests over the war in Gaza unfolded nearby, last week’s Met Gala largely avoided political statements on the red carpet.

And so, the Illuminati’s lack of political fucks (surprise) has ignited a mob. A fast-growing online protest movement has since emerged on TikTok, a Met Gala sponsor.

Called Blockout 2024, or Operation Blockout, the movement targets celebrities not using their platforms to address the Israel-Hamas war and other humanitarian crises.

This began on May 6 when influencer Haley Kalil posted a video in a lavish gown, echoing Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat cake!" Critics called it "tone deaf" given the global conflicts.

The movement encourages people to block celebrities on social media if they haven’t spoken out about the conflict.

Why it works, probably: Blocking reduces celebrities' social media influence and, consequently, their appeal to brands. Key targets include Zendaya, Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, along with Vogue for its ties to the Met Gala.

While some view Blockout 2024 as cancel culture, supporters argue it pressures celebrities to use their influence for social good. Some celebrities, like Lizzo, have since posted support for aid organizations in response.

Now, Lizzo will fully grasp her powers to stop the Israel-Hamas conflict, haha.

THE DEPTHS

Premeditating machine superiority

AI existed 300 years ago… kinda.

You probably know this, but AI has existed in the brains of humans long before it became a real thing. Obvious examples include Hollywood films such as The Terminator and whatnot.

But what you probably didn’t know is that they had AI in the 18th century ... but not really.

✦Here’s the story✦

In 1770, there was a automaton called the Turk. And it seemingly beat human chess opponents.

The Turk, first appearing in Vienna, was a mechanical figure dressed in Turkish clothing, seated above a cabinet with a chessboard.

Johann Maelzel, the operator, would show an impressively whirring mechanism inside the cabinet before inviting a challenger to play chess.

Then, the automaton would ponder the opponent’s move and then make a stiff but certain move of its own.

The Turk was a sensation, playing games with notable figures like Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte. People thought artificial intelligence had arrived.

Sorry to break it to you, but it was a hoax — a hidden chess player inside the cabinet controlled the moves.

When word got out, people were still amazed. Who was the genius chess player hiding inside the machine?

✦The truth fascinates✦

In reality, Maelzel employed various competent, but not exceptional, chess players willing to work cheaply.

This underestimation of available talent and overestimation of the required skill level speaks to a broader truth: we often overrate masters and underrate mastery.

Fun fact: Charles Babbage, the father of computers, saw the Turk and imagined what kind of machine would be needed to play chess, leading to his development of the difference engine.

So yeah, that’s the Turk.