You’ve probably seen that this week was the start of the civil trial between the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and another billionaire and arguably the most influential leader in AI, Sam Altman. Musk is suing Altman because they started Open AI together (with Musk’s $$) as a non-profit with “the goal to advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return.”

Musk claims that he was duped when Sam restructured into a (predominantly) for-profit enterprise and is seeking $135B in damages and the removal of Sam and Greg Brockman (Open AI’s president). Open AI says the lawsuit is a baseless distraction based on Elon’s jealousy of OAI’s success.

Given the AI heavyweights who are going to battle, and the stakes (Open AI hopes to go public at a ~$1 trillion valuation later this year), it’s something to pay attention to.

My thoughts: honestly, I don’t know who I’m rooting for in this trial - there’s no David against a Goliath - and I’m not at all confident either one is trustworthy or suited to guide humanity through this massive societal shift. But here we are. Argh. (I guess if I had a preference - acknowledging I do not know the nuances or evidence - Open AI wins, but fires Altman anyway and replaces him with a deeply qualified, brilliant, virtuous woman 💪.)

In 2022, the US launched 988, a national suicide prevention hotline, and it has fielded more than 25 million contacts, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. New data shows that since inception, the rate of suicides among young people dropped 11% below projections. And, they decreased most sharply (18.2% below projections) in the states with a higher volume of 988 calls.

This is encouraging. 💪

Also encouraging: many of the leading AI chatbots have been working to improve their mental health crisis escalation protocols including inline click-to-call/text/live chat 988.

I haven’t been shy about how important it is to prioritize quality, trusting friendships in our lives. But building close friendships takes time and investment (200+ hours?!) and as we get older, this is frankly hard.

I was intrigued by a (not new) concept I came across this week created by psychologist Arthur Aron called the “Fast Friends” procedure (yes, too sterile-sounding!).

Essentially, it’s 36 questions that become progressively personal in nature. Pairs who completed the 36 questions reported greater closeness compared to those who completed comparison tasks together, and this has since been corroborated by many subsequent studies, including with children and teens.

aka: completing these questions with someone can rapidly create a deeper connection with one another.

So here’s a challenge for us over the next couple of weeks: pick a friend or acquaintance who we’ve been wanting to get to know better (and who we think might be up to try something like this) and have a “Fast Friends” sesh.

Make it fun and do it over happy hour or brunch or a long walk where you can dedicate an hour or two and not feel rushed.

I even made it easy for you - I put the exact questions used in the studies into a fun a little app you can use to trigger the questions as you go along.

P.S. I have no doubt that the hardest part of this will be to have the guts to ask someone to try it with you 😂… but beyond the benefit of deeper connection, people say it is a super positive and fun experience - and a confidence booster.

P.P.S. As a warm up - and bonus- try it with your kiddo. ❤️

I fondly remember working on Google Translate back when it was in it’s infancy 15-20 years ago - at the time, it felt magical and was one of the earliest truly useful consumer applications of AI. And it remains awesome today.

Over the past month or so, Google has launched a few game-changing AI-powered features, including live translation and pronunciation practice, that will come in very handy if you’re traveling or trying to learn or communicate in another language.

Give it a spin! Download the Google Translate app and:

Translate with your camera: simply point your camera with the app open at any sign or menu item and it will translate it for you:

Live translation: put your headphones on and get live translation of what everyone is saying around you as you walk around a foreign town. Or, in conversation mode, it will help you converse in realtime.

Want to study-up ahead of time? Hit the “practice” button, select what language you want to learn and in what context (traveling, getting better at your job, etc) and it will give you personalized mini lessons.

As a former competitive swimmer, I am skeptical that these wouldn’t be annoying (but still pretty cool): there are now “smart swim goggles” that show your stroke rate, time, pace, and heartrate in realtime.

Talk about turning a problem into a solution… scientists are taking plastic waste and turning it into a primary medication used to treat Parkinson’s. 🤯