😮 OpenAI staffers reportedly 'taken aback' by 'ominous' logo rebranding

• OpenAI is planning a rebranding, including a new logo, which has received negative feedback from staff who find it uninspired and lacking creativity compared to the current hexagonal flower symbol.
• The redesign aims to solidify OpenAI's identity as it transitions to a more traditional for-profit structure, moving away from its complex non-profit origins.
• The company has undertaken the redesign process after realizing it does not own the typefaces for its current logo and website, seeking to establish a more cohesive brand presence.

😲 OpenAI’s Murati shocks with sudden departure announcement

• Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI, has resigned after six-and-a-half years with the company, announcing her departure in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
• Her resignation coincides with OpenAI's plans to restructure its organization into a for-profit benefit corporation, which could significantly change the leadership dynamics and governance at the company.
• Murati has played a crucial role in overseeing the development of major projects like DALL-E, Codex, and ChatGPT, and her departure follows a series of other significant resignations at OpenAI, leading to speculation about the company's future direction.

💰 Salesforce Ventures ups its AI fund to $1B, doubling it again

• Salesforce Ventures announced a new $500 million fund for AI companies, increasing their total AI investment to $1 billion since June 2023.
• The firm is influential in attracting AI startups to San Francisco, hosting events for its portfolio companies, and has notable investments in firms like Anthropic and Hugging Face.
• Meta Connect 2024 introduced innovations including new AR glasses and advances in AI capabilities for social media apps.

🔍 LinkedIn scraped user data for training before updating its terms of service

• LinkedIn trained AI models on user data without initially updating its privacy policy to inform users, particularly affecting U.S. users who have an opt-out option that isn't available to users in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland due to stricter data privacy laws.
• Users can opt out of having their data used for training by toggling a setting in the "Data Privacy" section of LinkedIn, but any opted-out data won't impact training that has already occurred.
• Concerns have been raised by organizations like the Open Rights Group regarding the adequacy of opt-out measures, advocating for opt-in consent as a necessary standard for data processing practices.

🚀 For the first time, Blue Origin has ignited an orbital rocket stage

• Blue Origin successfully conducted a 15-second hot-fire test of the GS2 second stage of its New Glenn rocket, marking their first integration and firing of an orbital rocket stage.
• The New Glenn rocket stands at 320 feet tall and will be powered by seven BE-4 engines in its first stage; a November launch is still targeted despite previous delays.
• Challenges remain, including the assembly and integration of stages, potential weather impacts, and typical engineering issues that could affect the launch schedule.

🤔 Will A.I. Be a Bust? A Wall Street Skeptic Rings the Alarm

• Jim Covello, head of stock research at Goldman Sachs, warns against building unnecessary technologies, suggesting it often leads to negative outcomes.
• Covello is skeptical about the A.I. boom, highlighting that companies may not see adequate returns on the significant expected spending, which could amount to $1 trillion.
• Following Covello's critical analysis, Goldman Sachs's basket of A.I. stocks has decreased by 7% since its peak, amidst growing concerns about the viability of A.I. investments.