OVERWORLD:
-OpenAI rips Scarlett Johansson’s vocal cords-

ONE BETWEEN:
-r/GoonCaves is no more-

THE DEPTHS:
-Ships are cool-

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.”
— Mark Twain

✦DISCOVERY PICKS✦

▶️ YouTube:
Where Do Skyrim's Rivers Come From?

👽 Reddit:
Bees cuddling in a flower

✖️ X:
In 1931, Spengler published one of the most idea-dense books of all time. Here’s the top 13 insights.

❓
Mystery link.

One for the books

OpenAI rips Scarlett Johansson’s vocal cords

Let’s cut to the chase. Sam Altman has beef with Scarlett Johansson, and it’s kinda evil.

Here's the drama timeline, very quickly:

Black Widow is mad: In a statement shared with NPR, Johansson expressed her pissed-off-edness, stating she has "been forced to hire legal counsel."

Her legal letters to OpenAI demand a report of exactly how the soundalike voice was developed.

According to OpenAI, they used a voice actor that sounded a lot like Scarlett. But word on the street is that some AI training was mixed in there.

✦Sam says…✦

In response to the controversy, Altman clarified to The Verge that Sky's voice was not intended to mimic Scarlett’s and was cast before any outreach to her.

He apologized for the lack of communication and announced a pause in using Sky's voice. OpenAI confirmed the voice actor used their natural voice and declined to reveal their identity for privacy reasons.

The issue is consent: Artists, writers, and actors don’t want their work used without permission. Scarlett Johansson explicitly said "no" to voicing ChatGPT, yet her likeness was used regardless.

OpenAI has been accused of theft of intellectual property before. This doesn't help. Especially after its board replaced Altman in November for inconsistencies in transparency.

Altman's recent actions, including his evasiveness about OpenAI equity and misleading the Senate, reveal a pattern of behavior.

If how you do one thing is how you do everything... maybe this guy shouldn't be in charge of developing something that might wipe out humanity.

Here are some well-put-together comments from Hackernews:

✦QUICK HITS✦

✦Business & Tech✦

Jamie Dimon believes JPMorgan Chase shares are too expensive to buy back now. He stated this clearly during the annual investor meeting, noting the bank won't boost its repurchase program. JPMorgan's shares have surged 40% in a year, reaching a 52-week high before falling 4.5% after Dimon's comments. Dimon highlighted economic risks and maintains a cautious approach, preferring to hold cash.

What’s going on here? iOS users have been experiencing a bug causing deleted photos to reappear, and Apple's silence is fucking the trust up.

Up we go: Cryptocurrencies surged Tuesday due to optimism around the SEC's decisions on spot ether ETFs. Ether led with a 12% rise to $3,785.42. Bitcoin gained 2%, reaching $71,350. Crypto equities also rose. Investors now anticipate SEC approvals for ether ETFs, potentially ending the crypto lull.

Hims & Hers Health Inc. now offers Wegovy's active ingredient for $199/month - an 85% discount. Their stock surged 38%, and weight-loss drugs are their fastest-growing segment, expected to hit $100 million in revenue next year.

✦Fashion & Culture✦

You shouldn’t know this name: Belle Delphine revealed that PayPal confiscated $90K from her viral 2019 bathwater sales. After five years, PayPal reversed its decision and returned the money.

Hedi Slimane, despite rumors of leaving CELINE, is still going hard. His recent Winter 2024 menswear collection is sick. It’s inspired by Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique. Highlights include psychedelic opulence, collarless blazers, motorcycle jackets, and disco ball coats.

The Vietnamese Computer Scientist Who Made Toy Story Possible

✦Hmm… Interesting✦

Interesting, for some reason: An Ode to Deluxe Paint

For developers: Coding My Handwriting

Watch: What "Follow Your Dreams" Misses

ONE 

BETWEEN

Genocide

r/GoonCaves is no more

Yes, r/GoonCaves is dead.

“What the hell is even that?” a normal human might ask.

Well, it’s a Reddit community where porn enjoyers share(d) pics of their elaborate porn-viewing setups.

As of a May 9 archive, r/GoonCaves had over 80,000 members, doubling in size over the past year. However, it wasn’t the largest gooning community on Reddit; r/Gooned holds that title with nearly 1.4 million members and remains active.

While r/Gooned focuses on posting porn and arranging gooning meetups, r/GoonCaves was dedicated to creating intricate porn-viewing setups.

Gooning, described as an extended edging session marked by a loss of control and mindlessness, has grown in popularity.

Some goons even identify as “pornosexuals,” preferring porn over real-life sex. The term “gooning” has also become slang for indulging in any activity with abandon, such as binge-playing a video game.

The ban was due to a violation of Reddit’s rules against non-consensual intimate media, though specific details about the offending content are unclear.

Now, goons have nowhere to showcase their pride and joy. Where will they go? Time will tell.

THE DEPTHS

Big ass steel

Ships are cool

Here are some cool photos, taken by Edward Burtynsky. He’s a Canadian photographer and artist with a special perversion for industrial imagery.

This series is called Shipbreaking, and it’s about the breaking of ships. Because ships have to be broken, at some point.

Edward’s interest in shipbreaking began after the Exxon Valdez oil spill when he learned about the dangers of single-hulled ships.

With insurance companies refusing to cover these ships after 2004, only double-hulled vessels would be permitted to sail, leading to the decommissioning of many single-hulled ships.

Edward saw this as an opportunity. For him, shipbreaking is the ultimate form of recycling. So, he embarked on a journey to India and Bangladesh, where much of this dismantling occurred. That’s how the documentation of where and how these massive vessels were dismantled.

Shipbreaking, just like his other series on industrial sites, comments on the residue of destruction left by human progress.

There’s haunting beauty in these vast ships. And there’s a lesson, no matter how monumental a human endeavor is, nature will eventually reclaim and reset it all.