Iterate Weekly - Issue 163

This week we ChatGPT's new voice assistant, knowledge workers lie about AI use, Equinox's $40K gym membership, Netflix streams NFL games, and "Pure Invention"!

Welcome to issue 163 of Iterate Weekly.

Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.

Thank you as always for reading!

---

🤖 Tech

ChatGPT’s GPT-4o makes the movie “Her” a reality

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

I’ve always loved the movie “Her”.

If you’ve somehow missed it, Joaquin Phoenix plays the role of a man who falls in love with his AI assistant voiced by Scarlett Johansson. What makes the assistant so compelling is her ability to really connect with Phoenix by learning, growing, and essentially changing her tone to meet his needs.

We’ve come pretty far with our voice assistants since the movie came out. And the latest version of ChatGPT is getting eerily close to duplicating the voice assistance offered by Johansson’s character in the film.

Just take a look at this clip:

verge

A post shared by @verge

Isn’t amazing how quickly the voice is able to adjust its tone, style, and feeling? Yes, the voice is also eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson whether that’s a coincidence or not.

But this could signal the end of the era of voice assistants without personalities. I’ve always been a fan of the way Google Assistant can get snarky when you ask it to tell you a joke. Or it can amp up the holiday cheer in its voice when you ask it about Santa Claus in December. It’s clear that this demo from OpenAI takes things even further.

Getting more granular with the feeling behind ChatGPT responses will be a game changer. It will make it feel a lot more like asking a friend for advice rather than demanding a computer regurgitate an emotionless fact.

Everything looks amazing in product demos performed by the company, but if this really is as impressive as it looks, the competition has a lot of work to do.

---

🎓 Education/Productivity/Work

Knowledge workers aren’t being truthful with their use of AI

llustration by Kait Cunniff with Leonardo.AI

I’ll be honest. I don’t use a ton of AI in my day-to-day workflows.

But am I being honest? If I’m anything like the average knowledge worker in the United States, I may be less than truthful when it comes to the help I get from from my automated friends.

It’s true. People are using a ton of AI services to help with creativity and productivity, they just seem reluctant to tell people about it, namely their employer.

And that makes total sense. Lots of people are legitimately terrified of robots taking their jobs. So why on earth would they admit to their boss that they already outsource some tasks?

The bigger question here is how will companies properly train employees to use these services in a transparent manner? The best companies will figure out a way to empower their workforce to use these tools without fear of judgment or potential replacement.

If it’s not already on your list, it may just have to be one of those tough discussions you have during your next job interview. It’s better to think about it now rather than being caught off guard when the time comes.

---

♻️ Health/Environment/EVs

What will Equinox’s $40K annual gym membership get you?

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Many people never went back to traditional gym memberships in a post-pandemic world (me being one of them).

No, it will take more than just treadmills and dumbbells to get people exited to workout these days. Just take the latest Equinox membership for example. It’ll set you back $40,000 USD for an annual membership.

What does this get you? Well it’s more than just a typical gym. They call the service “Equinox Optimize” and with it you will get access to those traditional gyms and personal trainers, but that’s not all. The real value here is in the medical testing and lab work that the service will provide.

They’ll offer two lab sessions each year that can track 100 different biomarkers to see if your body is where you want it to be. While some of these things may be superficial, they’ll also look for signs of serious health risks like cancer or risk of organ failure.

Obviously, a service like this isn’t aimed at your average person looking to lose a few pounds. But it is clear that there is a growing need for “longevity services” like this and people are willing to pay for them. It all sounds neat, but I think I’ll stick to just running, cycling, and wild gym workouts.

---

🛍 Grab Bag

Netflix gets the right to stream NFL Christmas games

Image courtesy of Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Yep, that is the exquisitely named Jacksonville Jaguars mascot “Jaxson de Ville” above in his finest holiday attire.

What’s the occasion? Netflix is getting into the streaming NFL game!

Yep, the rumors are true. Netflix has won the right to exclusively televise NFL games taking place on Christmas Day this year. And yes, Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year. But traditional NFL scheduling be damned! There are billions of dollars to be made when families gather around the tree to watch some live gridiron action no matter what day of the week it is!

I’m torn on this for two reasons.

1. The NBA has always owned the Christmas Day sports viewing in the United States. I don’t want to be jumping back and forth between football and basketball all day. Don’t make us choose.

2. Another exclusive streaming deal just feels like an NFL cash grab. And there is no guarantee that Netflix is going to do a good job at streaming these games. There just aren’t that many good NFL broadcasters anymore. Let’s hope this comes together and feels like a proper telecast

Netflix is really diving into the world of live content these days. They’re broadcasting the insane Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight as well as some live comedy broadcasts from John Mulaney along with the Tom Brady Roast.

Toss on another required subscription for hardcore sports fans. And be sure that there will be plenty of angry football fans confused on Christmas as they’re flipping through channels looking for the games.

---

💬 Quote of the Week

"You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog."

-Harry S Truman

📕Content Recommendation

Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World

Image courtesy of Penguin Random House

This week I have a fascinating book recommendation.

It’s called “Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World” by Matt Alt.

I wouldn’t consider myself a huge Japanese culture fan, but I learned a ton from this book. While Hello Kitty and anime are great and all, the highlights for me were the detailed origin stories of tech like the karaoke machine, Sony Walkman, and early video game systems.

It’s definitely worth a read especially if you’re already a fan of some of these fine Japanese exports.

---

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!

Hey! Could you use some help establishing healthy habits? Do you have a big project or new business that you want to get off the ground but could use some advice? Maybe you could benefit from hiring me as your coach. If you’re interested, read more about my coaching services here, or go ahead and book some time on my calendar to discuss further.

Iterate is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you should let me know that this writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless I enable payments at some point in the future. Think of it like an IOU in a tip jar.