The \Brief — Backslash

A weekly snapshot of the latest in culture, technology, and business.

“Hey, Mercedes” Mercedes-Benz is adding ChatGPT to its infotainment system as part of a 90-day trial. The integration of ChatGPT would make in-car voice commands more fluid and conversational. As ChatGPT moves beyond the smartphone

Backslash - 6/21/23 Backslash - 6/21/23

“Hey, Mercedes”, Block Party Fund, Dementia Basic Act

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Rewilding Mode Husqvarna has released an autopilot mode for its lawn mowers that ensures 10% of grass remains untouched. The new feature allows pollinators and other wildlife to stay in tact — creating a special zone for biodiversit

Backslash - 6/13/23 Backslash - 6/13/23

Rewilding Mode, Free Sunscreen, Smart Toddler Suit

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Cigarette Warnings Canada will require individual warning labels on all tobacco products by the end of April 2025. The hope is that labeling individual products will make health warnings virtually unavoidable. With tobacco killing

Backslash - 6/6/23 Backslash - 6/6/23

Cigarette Warnings, Meme Education, Crispr Greens

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Dupe Swap Lululemon is tackling dupe culture by allowing customers to trade in their Align knockoffs for the real deal. The hope is that once people touch and feel the difference in quality, they’ll never go back to knockoffs. As p

Backslash - 5/16/23 Backslash - 5/16/23

Dupe Swap, Project Gameface, Fisher-Price Credit Card

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Soft Hiking “ Soft hiking ,” a slower, more relaxed style of outdoor fitness is trending on TikTok. Rather than focusing on the number of miles walked or calories burned, soft hiking aims to nourish your body and soul. As we look to

Backslash - 5/9/23 Backslash - 5/9/23

Slow Hiking, EV-Charging Road, House of Healers

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Backslash - 5/2/23 Backslash - 5/2/23

Direct-to-Avatar, Doll Diversity, Sludge Content

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Next-Gen Wearable Tech startup Humane previewed a screenless wearable device that acts as an AI assistant.  Instead of pairing with a smartphone, the device projects relevant information right in front of you.  New tech p

Backslash - 4/25/23 Backslash - 4/25/23

Next-Gen Wearable, Abortion Pill Approval, Aboriginal Culinary Journey

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Backslash - 4/19/23 Backslash - 4/19/23

AI-Crafted Beer, Microbial Textiles, Inflation Cookbook

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Influencer Crackdown A new bill in France will ban influencers from promoting cosmetic surgery and require edited photos to be labeled. The government hopes greater transparency will help tackle unrealistic beauty standards. Social

Backslash - 4/12/23 Backslash - 4/12/23

Influencer Crackdown, Aviation Restrictions, Dal y Mellt

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AI Training Halt An open letter is calling on all AI labs to halt the training of AI systems more powerful than Chat GPT-4. Over 4,400 people—including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak—have signed it so far. With generative AI progressi

Backslash - 4/4/23 Backslash - 4/4/23

AI Training Halt, WhatsApp Grocery Groups, Animal Crossing Activism

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Midjourney Magazine Midjourney is launching a $4 monthly subscription for a print magazine featuring AI art. Each edition will also include interviews with community members—sharing how Midjourney is used around the world. AI is co

Backslash - 3/29/23 Backslash - 3/29/23

Midjourney Magazine, 40-Hour Work Week, Temple Craze

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Backslash - 3/21/23 Backslash - 3/21/23

FitChix, #STEMTok, Inclusive Camera

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Hologram Receptionist Thirty Aiden by Best Western hotels in Scandinavia will be manned by holograms instead of humans.  Guests will be greeted by a life-size hologram video and presented with options via a touchscreen.  As

Backslash - 3/15/23 Backslash - 3/15/23

Hologram Receptionist, Vinyl’s Comeback, 100% AI Ad

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Pokémon Sleep The Pokémon Company has revealed a new game that works as a sleep tracker. Players can attract different types of Pokémon creatures based on whether they’re dozing, snoozing, or slumbering. Rest is getting gamified as

Backslash - 3/8/23 Backslash - 3/8/23

Pokémon Sleep, #SaveTheManuals, TikTok Time Limit

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Autism Certified Legoland By the end of March, Legoland parks in North America will become Certified Autism Centers . This involves training staff, rating rides based on sensory levels, and adding quiet rooms for some downtime. Them

Backslash - 2/14/23 Backslash - 2/14/23

Autism Certified Legoland, Bare Minimum Mondays, Recession Core

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Human Hair Sweaters Netherlands-based Human Material Loop is turning hair waste into wearable sweaters . Up to 158 million pounds of human hair waste ends up in landfills in Europe alone. With the fashion industry falling under scru

Backslash - 2/7/23 Backslash - 2/7/23

Human Hair Sweaters, Fresh Connect, Buzz Lines

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AI Content Creation BuzzFeed stock jumped 150% upon announcing that AI will be used to power its daily content creation. The AI will assist in brainstorming stories, personalizing content, and improving the quiz experience. AI’s ro

Backslash - 1/31/23 Backslash - 1/31/23

AI Content Creation, Sweet Dreams Cereal, RxPass

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Save Now, Buy Later Malaysian banking startup Sugar is replacing “Buy Now, Pay Later” with “ Save Now, Buy Later .” The model rewards people for making small pre-payments until big purchases have been paid in full. As financial uncer

Backslash - 1/24/23 Backslash - 1/24/23

Save Now Buy Later, Quiet Mode, Working With Cancer Pledge

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Voice-Cloning AI Microsoft researchers are working on an AI model that can mimic your voice with just a three-second sample. The tool, called VALL-E, can even match the speaker’s emotion, intonation, and acoustic environment. In addi

Backslash - 1/19/23 Backslash - 1/19/23

Voice-Cloning AI, PlasticFree, Braille Medicine Labels

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Rage-Applying Gen Z and Millennials are “ rage-applying ”—applying to as many jobs as possible when fed up with their current one.  Social media users are encouraging the trend, sharing how it helped them get significant raises.&n

Backslash - 1/10/23 Backslash - 1/10/23

Rage-Applying, Single-Use Tableware Bans, Financial Cleanse

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