Tyler Le/BI
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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, a roundup of some of our top stories. A car enthusiast spotted a rare Koenigsegg Regera, a supercar that can cost more than $4 million, and snapped a quick video.
More than a month later, he looked again at the footage and recognized the driver: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
On the agenda today:
- Tesla prioritizes Musk's and other "VIP" drivers' data to train self-driving software.
- AI is quietly being used to pick your pocket.
- Citi's massive transformation team is struggling to fix its regulatory woes.
- How Andy Jassy wooed Wall Street and turned Amazon around.
But first: Startups and venture capitalists are betting big on the next trend in warfare.
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This week's dispatch
Firestorm; Shield AI; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
Welcome to the new Fightertown
Remember the Top Gun movie? No, not the 2022 sequel. The original Top Gun, where Tom Cruise first plays the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
Cruise's character is based out of an air station in San Diego. The training facility later moved to Nevada, but 40 years on from the movie, Southern California is reclaiming a place as a driver of innovation in aerial warfare.
San Diego is home to a burgeoning defense tech scene with a focus on AI-powered unmanned aerial vehicles, just as the industry attracts more funding from investors.
"The future of [naval aviation] is unmanned, autonomous systems that don't have people being shot off an aircraft carrier, but autonomous drones," a former Navy SEAL and VC founder told Business Insider.
In many ways, the unmanned future of war is already here.
They buzz the battlefield in Ukraine, which has successfully used naval drones to attack Russia's naval fleet in the Black Sea, with satellite imagery of the waterway showing Russian naval assets on the run in the region.
In the Red Sea, US warships have been battling Houthi missiles and airborne and surface drone attacks for months, and there are calls from those involved for more training on drone warfare as threats become more pervasive.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI
Not all self-driving cars are created equal
Tesla employees say they were told to prioritize data from self-driving cars belonging to Elon Musk and other VIPs.
Current and former staffers say the result was excessive attention to routes frequented by high-profile drivers — and an uneven use of Tesla's resources.
Tyler Le/BI
AI is ripping you off
You might be willing to pay more for an airplane seat than the person next to you — and airlines know it.
Companies are using AI to mine users' data, in order to determine and charge the highest price you're willing to pay. In a world ruled by personalized pricing, you never know if you're being ripped off.
Personalized pricing's personal hell.
Also read:
Citi; Chelsea Jia feng/BI
Citi's woes won't subside
Citi committed 12,000 employees and billions of dollars to fix its regulatory problems and outdated tech. It's going terribly.
The bank was hit with a $135.6 million fine on Wednesday for failing to shore up its problems. Even worse, the fix-it program's top executive is accused of pressuring employees to lie to regulators.
Also read:
- Citi CEO Jane Fraser pledges to fix data mess and appease regulators. Here's what she told analysts.
- Investment banking is finally gaining steam. Here's why JPMorgan's Jeremy Barnum says it might not last.
REUTERS/Mike Blake; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI
Amazon's amazing comeback
Andy Jassy's takeover from Jeff Bezos was no smooth transition. Beset by the collapse of a pandemic boom when he took the reins in 2021, Amazon's stock plunged — and whispers swirled about bringing Bezos back.
Three years later, Jassy's leadership has pushed Amazon's value to record highs. He did it through significant strategy changes, including a renewed dedication to Amazon's investors.
Also read:
- Inside Google's augmented reality reset
- Flying car startup Pivotal, backed by Google cofounder Larry Page, quietly delays shipments to next year
This week's quote:
"It can prompt the candidates with the right thing to say at the right time."
— Michael Guan, CEO and cofounder of Final Round AI, whose AI "magical teleprompter" can help people ace job interviews.
More of this week's top reads:
- I was scammed out of nearly $300K and forced to abandon retirement dreams.
- WhatsApp's new TV ads tell you a lot about the company's growth plans.
- Meet the ex-Goldman Sachs partner behind the scenes of the Skydance-Paramount deal.
- Mark Zuckerberg said he's the most well-known millennial in a newly revealed email. So, is he?
- Warren Buffett's heirs might be in for a "Succession"-style fight.
- Early Prime Day headphone deals include discounts on the Apple AirPods Pro.
- Influencer marketing is booming in 2024 with brands taking creators more seriously.
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Reports of illegal evictions are on the rise. Yet police rarely enforce the law.
The Insider Today team: Matt Turner, deputy editor-in-chief, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.
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