Actors living forever (against their will)

// You deserve to take it easy and automate your life a little more »

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The Futurist is your daily tech, cosmic, and science (both weird or otherwise) newsletter with articles and content curated just for you.

In today's edition:

// AI actors

// Copywriters beware

// Aspartame

// Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic's first private passenger spaceflight will launch as soon as August 10th

"Now that Virgin Galactic has flown its first commercial spaceflight, it's ready to take civilians aboard. The company now expects to launch its first private passenger flight, Galactic 02, as soon as August 10th. You can watch a live stream on the company website.

Virgin is carrying three passengers, although only one is a paying customer. Jon Goodwin, an 80-year-old Olympian from the 1972 Munich games, is an early ticket buyer. The other two won seats in a fundraising draw for Space for Humanity — Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastasia Mayers are both the first Caribbeans to fly to space as well as the first mother-daughter duo. Virgin's chief instructor Beth Moses will join the trio."

// Engadget »

The WHO Says Aspartame is "Possibly Carcinogenic" — But This Public Health Organization Disagrees

"Aspartame, the low-calorie sweetener that flavors Diet Coke, Trident gum, and sugar replacement packets like Equal, has been deemed "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer research branch, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). The WHO released the news on July 14. IARC and FAO/JECFA conducted their research independently of each other."

// Inverse »

Gen Z is headed for a career calamity

"The generative-AI boom has become a boon for companies that want to automate away spreadsheet building, generic copywriting, and other monotonous tasks in the name of becoming more "efficient." The technology has seized the fascination of CEOs and the workplace industrial complex, leading many companies to give AI a whirl (with mixed results). While executives and the managerial class are all in on AI, there's been less consideration for the people this new tech will actually affect."

// Business Insider »

Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, forever

"During today's press conference in which Hollywood actors confirmed that they were going on strike, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator, revealed a proposal from Hollywood studios that sounds ripped right out of a Black Mirror episode.

In a statement about the strike, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said that its proposal included 'a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members.'"

// The Verge »