INBOXIFY ORIGINAL's [28/July/2023]

Welcome, Friday! Embrace the End of the Week with Open Arms and an Exciting Spirit! Let's make this day filled with positivity, joy, and anticipation for a wonderful weekend ahead!

TECH

There’s AI-lot riding on tech earnings

Big Tech stocks have been surging this year as investors scramble to get in on the ground floor of what could be the next technological revolution: generative AI.

Yesterday, it was time to face the music. Two AI heavyweights, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet, dropped their first earnings reports since sinking tens of billions into AI projects—the first test of whether their investments in the technology measure up to the hype.

Keep calm and carry on

• Alphabet, which declared a “code red” for Google Search late last year as rivals like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s AI-equipped Bing came on the scene, is chugging right along. Google’s search advertising sales grew to a better-than-expected $42.6 billion, showing that most people haven’t made ChatGPT their default search engine.

• Microsoft beat expectations on its top- and bottom lines and told investors that it had spent, and would continue spending, gobs of money to build out AI infrastructure.

Big picture: Microsoft’s and Google’s reports show that investors will continue to give tech companies a long leash to invest in AI even as some analysts question whether the AI-fueled stock boom is a bubble waiting to burst.

• After Microsoft announced earlier this month that it would charge an extra $30 per month for Office 365 with AI tools, shares rose to a record high.

• Before Alphabet reported earnings yesterday, its stock had risen 47% for the year, compared to the S&P’s 19% gain. In after-hours trading, shares climbed another 6%.

And then there’s Snap. You may not associate Snapchat with AI, but the social media platform rolled out an AI chatbot, My AI, and boasted that 150+ million users have sent over 10 billion messages to it. That was the only exciting news from yesterday’s report. Still fighting against the likes of TikTok for ad spending in a sluggish market, Snap’s sales dropped for the second straight quarter, causing shares to plummet 19% after-hours.

Looking ahead…this is the start of a busy period of afternoon conference calls for tech giants. Meta reports earnings today, and Amazon and Apple report next week. Expect artificial intelligence to be mentioned so many times it’s going to lose all meaning. In S&P 500 earnings calls last quarter, AI was mentioned over 1,000 times, and Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta together said the abbreviation at least 200 times. That led to a ban on earnings season drinking games in our office.

SHIPPING

Daring mission begins to prevent oil disaster

Yesterday, a dramatic rescue operation years in the making began to prevent an oil spill four times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

What’s going on? The FSO Safer, a decaying cargo ship carrying 1.1 million barrels of oil, is sitting in the Red Sea off the Yemen coast.

It’s a ticking time bomb: Due to civil war in Yemen, the crumbling ship hasn’t received maintenance for eight years, and if it falls apart or explodes, the leaked oil would disrupt a heavily trafficked shipping route, contaminate desalination plants used for drinking water, and destroy marine ecosystems. Recovering from a spill would cost $20 billion, the UN estimated—and it would never fully be cleaned up.

What’s the plan, Stan?

Get all of the oil off the Safer without the ship leaking or exploding. The UN bought a $55 million tanker that it’s pulled up next to the Safer and yesterday began transferring the oil.

It’s a highly complex and delicate mission. The UN-led team has even formed a water-balloon shield around its own ship to avoid a disastrous boat-on-boat collision. If you had to distill the complexity of this project into a single number, it’s that 13 insurers have been syndicated to backstop the operation.

Looking ahead…if all goes according to plan, the UN will soon be in possession of $75 million worth of oil from the Safer. It’ll try to sell the crude and put the proceeds back into the Yemeni economy.

INTERNATIONAL

Israel passes divisive curbs on Supreme Court power

Israel’s Parliament passed a controversial law diminishing the power of the country’s Supreme Court yesterday, further energizing massive protests against the reforms that have been rocking Israel since January and threatening the stability of its economy.

The new law limits the high court’s ability to overrule decisions made by the government. And it’s just the first part of a polarizing effort by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, to overhaul the court system. Further steps (which Netanyahu has postponed until November) would give the executive and legislative branches more control over appointing Supreme Court justices and reduce independent legal oversight of ministries.

It’s hard to overstate the stakes: Critics say the judicial overhaul removes checks and balances from the government, threatening Israel’s very democracy, while the governing coalition maintains it will strengthen democracy by limiting overreach from unelected justices.

Much of Israeli society is not on board: 150 large companies went on strike in protest, army reservists vowed not to show up to duty if the law passed, and demonstrators in Jerusalem risked getting drenched in “skunk water” by police.

Political uncertainty shakes the shekel

The nation’s business community is not pleased with the political order getting shaken up, and the discontent is threatening Israel’s status as a hub for tech startups.

• A recent poll shows that 68% of Israel’s startups are reacting to the anticipated judicial reform with various measures that include moving money, employees, and/or headquarters out of the country.

• The Israeli shekel was the world’s worst-performing currency yesterday after a volatile day of trading that showed investors’ concern about domestic politics weighing on it.

Looking ahead…The effects on the economy could be grim. Moody’s downgraded the country’s economic prospects in April, citing the “deterioration of Israel’s governance” in light of the planned judicial overhaul.

NEWS ANALYSIS

The true story of ‘Oppenheimer’

Even Oppenheimer hypebeasts have to admit: Its creators had more extensive source material to work with than branded plastic doll lore.

Christopher Nolan’s sprawling, star-studded thriller centers on the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, aka the father of the atomic bomb. The three-hour IMAX spectacle draws from a correspondingly hefty tome: the 721-page biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.

To sum up (with no spoilers for anyone who’s taken a US history class): It chronicles Oppenheimer heading the Los Alamos Laboratory responsible for executing the Manhattan Project during World War II, his troubled postwar years grappling with the terrifying implications of his work, and his falling out with the government during the Cold War.

Who was Oppenheimer, really?

Oppenheimer’s internal conflicts and tumultuous circumstances make his life the perfect fodder for dramatic depiction. Despite being just one (very influential) person, he fits into a large number of roles.

The troubled genius: In his college days, Oppenheimer suffered from mental health challenges, including severe depression. He also experienced deep jealousy and acted on it, once poisoning an apple and putting it on his professor’s desk at Cambridge.

The underdog: Though he was an accomplished scientist, Oppenheimer was an unlikely choice to lead a massive lab tasked with developing cutting-edge weapons of mass destruction before Nazi Germany did. One colleague said he wouldn’t trust Oppenheimer to run a hamburger joint, Bird and Sherwin wrote in American Prometheus.

The national hero: In 1943, Brigadier General Leslie Groves took a gamble and appointed Oppenheimer as the lead scientist on the Manhattan Project, putting him in charge of a research dream team composed of brainiacs including Richard Feynman, Enrico Fermi, and Niels Bohr. Oppenheimer finally said “I guess it worked” in the summer of 1945, after witnessing the first successful detonation of a nuclear weapon in history during a test in the New Mexico desert. Atomic bombs were soon dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan’s unconditional surrender.

The conscientious campaigner: After the war, the violent destruction Oppenheimer’s invention caused in Japan weighed on him. Recalling his thoughts upon seeing the bomb successfully explode, he famously quoted Hindu scripture: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” He also told President Truman he felt he had blood on his hands—a conversation that reportedly didn’t go well. He advocated for arms control and, in 1949, opposed Truman’s plan for a more powerful hydrogen bomb.

The tragic figure: Postwar America was a bad time to campaign against weapons of mass destruction as the government became obsessed with building more of them to counter the Soviet Union. Oppenheimer’s leftist sympathies and Communist Party-affiliated wife aroused suspicions of disloyalty at a time when many people were accused of being communist spies. He was stripped of his security clearance after a voluntary hearing at the US Atomic Energy Commission (it got posthumously restored in 2022).

The pariah: The entire ordeal left Oppenheimer severely depressed and feeling like his legacy was tarnished. He spent many of his remaining years in self-imposed exile, splitting his time between Princeton and the tiny US Virgin Island of St. John until he died in 1967 at age 62.

What role does Oppenheimer play today?

Understanding why Oppenheimer’s story resonates now is certainly much easier than figuring out what’s going on in Inception. The parallels to artificial intelligence, another technology that scares its own creators, aren’t exactly subtle. Nolan himself said he believes the film is a “cautionary tale” for Silicon Valley.

Kai Bird, coauthor of the book the film is based on, wrote in an Op-Ed for the New York Times that Oppenheimer’s legacy should push the government to heed the warnings of tech trailblazers urging caution, like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Nolan claims he’s heard AI researchers talking of being in their own “Oppenheimer moment,” and he hopes the film could teach them a thing or two about taking responsibility for their inventions.

1. Relax and Unwind: Take some time to unwind and de-stress after a busy week. Enjoy a leisurely morning, indulge in your favorite activities, or simply take a moment for yourself.

2. Plan Weekend Activities: Plan exciting weekend activities to make the most of your days off. Whether it's exploring a new hiking trail, trying a new recipe, or attending a local event, have some fun adventures in mind.

3. Connect with Loved Ones: Reach out to friends and family to make plans for quality time together. Catch up over a coffee, have a virtual hangout, or plan a fun gathering to enjoy each other's company.

4. Organize and Declutter: Use Friday as an opportunity to tidy up your living space, declutter, and organize your belongings. A clean environment can bring a sense of calm and productivity.

5. Set Goals for the Next Week: Reflect on your accomplishments from the week and set goals for the upcoming one. Plan your tasks, prioritize, and look forward to achieving your objectives.

6. Enjoy a Friday Treat: Treat yourself to something special, whether it's a delicious dessert, a spa day at home, or a small indulgence that brings a smile to your face.

7. Stay Informed: Keep yourself informed about the latest news and updates, so you can make informed decisions and stay connected with the world around you.

8. Show Gratitude: Take a moment to express gratitude for the positive aspects of your life. Write in a gratitude journal or share your appreciation with someone you care about.

9. Embrace a Hobby: Dedicate time to your hobbies or passions. Whether it's reading, painting, gardening, or playing an instrument, immerse yourself in what you love.

10. Spread Kindness: Practice random acts of kindness to brighten someone's day. It could be a compliment, a small gesture, or supporting a charitable cause.

Remember to keep the tone light, positive, and inspiring in your newsletter, encouraging your subscribers to make the most of their Fridays and kickstart their weekends on a high note!