Elon Musk and other tech leaders signed an open letter calling on developers to “pause giant AI experiments.” The petition, which more than 1,000 AI experts have signed, warns that artificial intelligence poses “profound risks to society and humanity” and asks AI researchers to put their projects on ice for at least six months.

That’s asking a lot: OpenAI launched the latest version of its language model, GPT-4, this month; Google started rolling out its AI chatbot called Bard last week; and Microsoft added AI capabilities to its Bing search engine in February. Goldman Sachs even shared a report on Monday that said AI could boost worker productivity so much that annual world GDP would jump by 7%.

So, why stop the progress now?

For Frankensteinian reasons: Per the letter, developers are “locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one—not even their creators—can understand, predict, or reliably control.”

The letter calls out AI systems’ tendency toward confidently pumping out misinformation and discusses AI’s potential to automate jobs and “outsmart” and “replace us” to the point that we “risk loss of control of our civilization.” *Sips coffee.*

It was penned by the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit organization focused on mitigating existential threats to humanity, particularly AI. Notable signatories besides Musk include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, and politician Andrew Yang.

To ensure AI ends up being more WALL-E than Skynet, the letter asks AI labs to use what it calls an “AI summer” break to create and implement safety protocols that ramp up oversight on the development of artificially intelligent systems. If not, it asks governments to step in and force the pause.

Yeah, but…other experts, including Bing’s AI chatbot (!), say that even if the tech has issues, a pause isn’t the right solution. Critics say the letter contributes to “AI hype” and overfocuses on the threat to knowledge workers above other concerns.—JW

The FDA approved over-the-counter sales of an opioid overdose drug. The agency decided that Narcan can be sold without a prescription, paving the way for the lifesaving nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses to become more widely available. The move follows the deaths of more than 100,000 Americans due to drug overdoses last year. Narcan has been available with a prescription since 2015, and the company that makes it expects to sell it in stores and online by late summer.

Adidas decides not to object to a BLM stripe design after all. Adidas withdrew its objection to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s application for a US trademark featuring three parallel stripes—48 hours after filing it. The company didn’t explain its decision to yank its complaint, which stated that the design was too similar to its logo, but Reuters reported it was because the concern could be misconstrued as opposition to BLM’s goals. The sportswear brand is likely looking to avoid that kind of attention after parting ways with Kanye West over his racist and antisemitic statements.

Marvel chief out at Disney. Disney fired Ike Perlmutter, who sold Marvel to Disney for ~$4 billion in 2009. Disney described the termination as part of its recent decision to lay off 7,000 employees (it also cut the entire Marvel Entertainment unit he ran, which is distinct from the Marvel Studios unit that makes all those blockbusters). But Perlmutter wasn’t just any Disney employee. He’d recently butted heads with CEO Bob Iger by backing activist investor Nelson Peltz’s failed bid to get a seat on the company’s board.

Interim Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz appeared at a Senate hearing yesterday to talk about the company’s role in the wave of unionization efforts hitting its coffee shops—something he only agreed to after Sen. Bernie Sanders threatened to subpoena him into the hot seat. And Sanders was not interested in a light roast: He accused the coffee company of “the most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country.”

In the hearing, Schultz responded to the accusations, saying, “Starbucks coffee company, unequivocally…has not broken the law.”

But it’s no secret that Starbucks has fought unionization efforts

Since fall 2021, 290 Starbucks stores have voted to unionize. In that time, Starbucks Workers United has filed 500+ charges of unfair labor practices against the company, and judges have ruled that Starbucks broke federal labor law 130 times.

Bernie’s not the only one asking questions:

• Republican lawmakers have voiced support for Starbucks, and a Republican-led House committee subpoenaed the National Labor Relations Board for records. They believe the federal agency improperly handled a union election in Kansas City.
• Plus, Starbucks investors voted last week on whether to have a third-party group look into the company’s alleged union busting but have not released the vote count publicly.

Looking ahead…Starbucks has yet to agree to any union contracts, and even with new CEO Laxman Narasimhan at the helm, the coffee chain is unlikely to reverse course and accept the union any time soon.—MM

It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball, and the main storylines we’re following are a) all the rule changes intended to speed up the game and b) the stunning transformation of the NY Mets from a hapless franchise laced with self-pity to the biggest spender the league has ever seen.

That makeover is the work of Steve Cohen, a hedge fund billionaire who bought the Mets for $2.4 billion in 2020. This offseason, Cohen maxed out his AmEx Black Card on free agents to bring the team’s projected 2023 payroll to ~$370 million, shattering the MLB record.

• For comparison, the team with the second-biggest payroll is the Yankees, who are spending about $210 million on players this year.
• We should mention the Mets are also expected to owe a record luxury tax of ~$100 million.

What’s Cohen’s deal? If you’ve seen the show Billions, the investor Bobby Axelrod is loosely based on him. In 2013, Cohen’s hedge fund, SAC Capital, pleaded guilty to insider trading, resulting in Cohen paying $1.8 billion in fines and getting temporarily banned from managing money for clients.

Zoom out: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said this week that Cohen’s unheard-of spending spree has “real benefits for the game” but also widens the gap between the small- and large-market teams. Others say Cohen isn’t the problem—other ultrawealthy owners should be required to open up their wallets just like he has.—NF

Stat: Getting into an Ivy League school is hard, but paying for it may be harder. The cost of attending classes in a Gothic building is approaching $90,000 per year, according to Bloomberg. While ~50% of students at these institutions receive financial aid (enough that one economist said the price of attendance has gone down for students from households making less than $125k), it still puts the sticker price for becoming someone people roll their eyes at when you name-drop your school above the annual income of many US families.

Quote: “It is something we can leverage to convey that idea of unapologetic enjoyment once again.”

Pepsi is getting a new look: Just in time for its 125th birthday, the second-most iconic American soda brand has gotten a logo redesign that execs think will spark joy. The updated logo puts the Pepsi name in the center of the circle (where everyone always thought it was anyway) and incorporates the color black to help highlight the black-canned Pepsi Zero Sugar line that the brand hopes to keep Gen Z drinking pop.

Read: The real story behind “Rosie the Riveter”—it’s not the myth you know. (JSTOR Daily)

Maybe the book’s not always better: The movie adaptations literary culture writers say surpass their source material.

Age vs. experience: The senior citizens in this video are not impressed by firefighters’ safety tips.

Snores on a plane: Experts explain how to sleep on a flight.

Get ready for whimsy: The trailer for Wes Anderson’s new movie looks…very Wes Anderson.

Eavesdrop on the future: Get an inside look into business and tech trends with The a16z Podcast, including interviews with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and AI innovator Karen Cheng.+

Solving osteoarthritis: Cytonics has developed a genetically engineered protein to fight OA at its core—amazing news for the more than 600m people dealing with this ailment. Invest before the opportunity ends tonight at 11:59pm PT.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content. +This content is from an editorial partner.}

Brew Mini: Solving today’s puzzle requires a little bit of fourplay. While one should never rush it, the time required to beat Neal is 2 minutes and 3 seconds. Play it here.

Three headlines and a lie

Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than the meat inside an off-brand hot pocket. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. Hitman hires hitman who hires hitman who hires hitman who hires hitman who tells police
2. Amsterdam launches stay away ad campaign targeting young British men
3. Hackers say they can access Teslas and make them honk wildly
4. The atmosphere of Venus makes lava from the planet’s volcanic activity cool enough to touch

Tech Brew chatted with Pinterest’s chief revenue officer to better understand its 2023 tech investments and how they will impact business. Check out the interview here, and see what you can apply to your own work.

Learn how to protect your business from potential financial risks today in a free virtual event sponsored by Oracle NetSuite.

Don’t miss NYC’s marketing event of the year, The Brief. Register here.