The rise of “workslop,” Alibaba’s insane new deepfake model, Tether’s MASSIVE valuation, and more | E2183

This Week in Startups

Today’s show:

What is “workslop”? And is it already slowing you down at the office?

On a new This Week in Startups, we’ve got full co-host quorum with JCal, Alex, AND Lon tackling a meaty docket of news at the cross-section of tech, startups, and pop culture.

For starters: A new Harvard/Stanford study suggests that AI isn’t massively improving workplace efficiency because SOME workers aren’t using it properly. Are low-quality, lazily-assembled AI outputs costing US enterprises millions in lost productivity? It’s certainly possible based on these results.

PLUS, why YouTube invited back all those banned creators… a deep-dive into CA’s new social media law that’s dividing tech and civil rights advocacy groups… what we can learn from Stripe’s mega-share buyback… a look at what Polymarket’s sharps think will happen with the US TikTok deal… and much more.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro. What will South Park have to say about prediction markets?

(06:06) Alibaba’s new AI model will turn you into any celebrity… can you still believe what you see?

(09:49) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

(11:03) Show Continues…

(19:42) AWS Activate - AWS Activate helps startups bring their ideas to life. Apply to AWS Activate today to learn more. Visit https://www.aws.amazon.com/startups/credits

(21:02) Is CA’s new proposed law a boon for civil rights, or a weapon against free speech?

(29:47) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(32:21) Why YouTube invited banned creators back

(41:24) What is Workslop? And is it costing companies MILLIONS?

(48:42) PolyMarket asks… when will the US TikTok deal go down?

(52:27) Would Jason invest in Tether?

(01:01:29) Why Stripe is buying back so many shares… and what the future may hold.

(01:12:16) Another Reddit Rapid Response: should startups do pilot programs?

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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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