Taylor Swift wrote an original song for "Toy Story 5." Pixar; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Taylor Swift announced this week that she wrote an original song for the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack. The collaboration makes perfect sense when you consider what Swift and "Toy Story" have in common. Both brands have spent decades leveraging creative, original works to sell merchandise. Imagine a family-friendly brand with the initials "TS" that floods the market with bespoke merchandise. Are you thinking of "Toy Story" or Taylor Swift? For now, at least, they're one and the same. Swift confirmed long-simmering speculation this week when she announced her new single for the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack, "I Knew It, I Knew You," will be released on Friday. "You knew it! My new original song "I Knew It, I Knew You" for Disney and @Pixar's @toystory 5 will be yours on June 5th," Swift wrote on social media, making a nod to her most devoted detectives, who had collected Easter Eggs from across the internet that hinted at the collaboration for months. "I've always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I've adored since I was a 5-year-old kid watching the first 'Toy Story' movie," Swift continued. "I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?" Swift's admiration for "Toy Story" makes sense not just because she's a millennial who grew up with the classic movie franchise. The devotion she inspires from her own fan base has a lot in common with that of Woody, Buzz, and the gang. After all, few have proved better at turning sentimental affection into a money-making empire than Pixar. Swifties inadvertently became Pixar's promo team — and everybody won The cast of "Toy Story 5" attends the London premiere. Kate Green/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited It all started in April with paparazzi shots of Swift wearing the "Toy Story" color palette: a blue-and-white dress, yellow bag, and red shoes. It could have easily been a coincidence. But when billboards emblazoned with "TS," set against the franchise's iconic cloud background appeared, the Swiftie cipher machine kicked into high gear. Soon after, a subtle change was made to the "1989 (Taylor's Version)" cover art on streaming services, swapping the seagulls above Swift's head for clouds, and Pixar shared a video of "Toy Story" cowgirl Jessie dancing, captioned with paraphrased lyrics from Swift's hit "Shake It Off" ("She's making those moves up as she goes!"). Finally, a countdown appeared on Swift's website. When it expired, the site refreshed to reveal three "collector's edition" CDs of the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack, each featuring a different version of Swift's new song: standard, acoustic, and piano. It's a strategy ripped straight from Swift's favorite promotional playbook. She's a master at manufacturing a hoopla, whipping her loyal fans into a frenzy while barely lifting a finger, then channeling that anticipation — the realization that, "She was teasing new music! I was right!" — to sell more merchandise. Naturally, the CDs were only available for two days on Swift's website, or while supplies lasted. All three sold out within hours. Swift's 'Toy Story' collaboration furthers her own career narrative Taylor Swift in a promotional image for "I Knew It, I Knew You." Beth Garrabrant Only Swift could turn a massive franchise like "Toy Story" into her own personal promo vehicle. "I Knew It, I Knew You" is already being touted as a triumphant "return to country" for Swift, who launched her songwriting career as a teen in the Nashville country scene before pivoting to pop in her 20s. Not-so-coincidentally, "Toy Story 5" will hit theaters on June 19, which is the 20th anniversary of Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw." Fans are hoping that Swift will rerelease her self-titled debut album to mark its 20th anniversary later this year. Even though she took ownership of all her music last year, rendering the "Taylor's Version" rerecording project moot, Swift also confirmed that "Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)" exists, and said she would consider releasing it "when the time is right." Some of the original tracks on "Taylor Swift" were written solely by Swift, back when she was a curly-haired tween grappling with all the classic growing pains: crushes, cliques, feeling like an outcast, dreaming of a bigger world. What better way to build hype for Swift's walk down memory lane than by teaming up with "Toy Story," a franchise that epitomizes childhood wonder, millennial nostalgia — and masterfully leverages both to make a profit? Both Swift and 'Toy Story' expertly turn fans into consumers Taylor Swift performs "Fearless" during the Eras Tour in Amsterdam. Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Both Swift and the minds behind "Toy Story" endeared themselves to audiences through true creative genius — crafting sincere, moving, original works that appeal to a wide age range. Swift's earliest releases, including 2006's "Taylor Swift" and 2008's "Fearless," received widespread acclaim and ushered in a new era of confessional songwriting. Similarly, 1995's "Toy Story" and 1999's "Toy Story 2" were so successful that they changed how animated movies were made and how they were appraised by critics. Monoculture is inextricably tied to consumerism, because it matters where people spend their money. Neither Swift nor the minds behind "Toy Story" relied on creative output alone; they built wildly popular brands over decades through commercial savvy. In short, both are very good at getting fans to buy stuff. Swift's volume of physical sales is unparalleled in the music industry. She uses every Billboard-approved tactic in the book to push vinyls and CDs, turning fans — of all ages, as long as they have money to burn or parents to persuade — into ravenous archivists and collectors. As one Swiftie in her 50s told me, "There's something about Taylor, being her fan, that just makes me uncharacteristically acquisitive." Meanwhile, "Toy Story" is a series that literally revolves around physical products. The beloved characters, from Woody and Buzz to Jessie and Bullseye, are all the more appealing to kids because they exist in the real world, trapped in plastic boxes, begging to be freed and handled and played with and loved. Together, Swift and "Toy Story" are the perfect storm of mass consumer appeal. It's a wonder we haven't already gotten "You've Got a Friend in Me (Taylor's Version)" — but if there's anything both brands have taught us, it's that there's always a chance it will end up on the soundtrack's deluxe edition. Read the original article on Business Insider

Four people suing Elon Musk's AI firm under pseudonyms due to the risks of being identified may face a difficult choice: Reveal your real names, or drop the lawsuit.

"60 Minutes" has lost correspondents Cecilia Vega, Scott Pelley, and Sharyn Alfonsi in recent weeks. Taylor Hill/WireImage; Frazer Harrison/WireImage; Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Texas Conference for Women "60 Minutes" lost another correspondent on Tuesday night. CBS News fired longtime reporter Scott Pelley after comments he made about the network's leadership. Here's which correspondents are still with "60 Minutes," and who's left recently. Top CBS News editor Bari Weiss is making her mark on "60 Minutes." CBS News has dropped three correspondents in the last week. Those departing correspondents have each described clashes or deep disagreements with CBS News leadership about the network's direction. "The collapse of values at the top has become untenable," fired correspondent Scott Pelley said in a statement Tuesday. "The leadership of 60 Minutes is no longer recognizable. The principles I hold dear are gone, and so I must leave as well." Longtime contributor Anderson Cooper recently stepped down as well. CBS also let go of "60 Minutes" executive producer Tanya Simon and executive editor Draggan Mihailovich last week. Weiss was brought in by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison with a mandate to transform the legacy media institution for the digital age. "Our strategy until now has been to cling to the audience that remains on broadcast television. I'm here to tell you that if we stick to that strategy, we're toast," Weiss told employees earlier this year. Weiss has shaken up many corners of CBS News and laid off dozens of employees. "It's no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it," Weiss and network president Tom Cibrowski said in a memo about the layoffs in March. Weiss' critics say some of her changes are designed to make CBS News, and "60 Minutes" in particular, more palatable to President Donald Trump. Weiss has denied that her actions have been politically motivated. Weiss didn't have a TV news background before taking the helm at CBS News. She worked as an opinion editor at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and founded The Free Press, a news and opinion site with an anti-establishment spirit. Here are the full-time correspondents for "60 Minutes" who are still at CBS News, sorted by length of tenure, and those who've recently departed. This list doesn't include part-time contributors, like Norah O'Donnell, or include Major Garrett, who recently interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lesley Stahl (since 1991) James Devaney/GC Images Stahl, 84, has racked up accolades in her five decades at CBS News, including 13 Emmys and the Edward R. Murrow Award. She's interviewed world leaders like Donald Trump, former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, plus business leaders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Stahl has historically focused on politics, investigations, and foreign reporting. Bill Whitaker (since 2014) Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images Whitaker joined CBS News in 1984 and has been with "60 Minutes" for over a decade. In that span, he's won Emmys and a Peabody Award. He's covered major domestic and foreign stories, from the war in Ukraine to the US opioid crisis. Jon Wertheim (since 2017) John Lamparski/Getty Images Wertheim has covered a range of topics in his nearly 10 years at "60 Minutes," with a focus on sports, culture, and the Middle East. He's done reporting on how countries like Saudi Arabia are investing in entertainment, a practice that critics call "sportswashing." Anderson Cooper (left in mid-May) Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery Cooper decided to leave his role at "60 Minutes" in February after 20 years, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. The veteran newscaster will continue to host "Anderson Cooper 360°" on CNN, which he's done for the last 25 years. "Being a correspondent at 60 Minutes has been one of the great honors of my career," Cooper said in a statement at the time. A CBS spokesperson told Business Insider in February that the network was "grateful to him for dedicating so much of his life to this broadcast, and understand the importance of spending more time with family," adding that "60 Minutes will be here if he ever wants to return." Cooper focused his reporting on major news events, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharyn Alfonsi (contract not renewed in late May) Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Texas Conference for Women Alfonsi left "60 Minutes" last week after more than a decade, in what she said was "not a routine corporate transition." "It was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting, and it sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom," Alfonsi said in an exit memo, which was obtained by Business Insider. In her memo, Alfonsi cited "an intense editorial dispute" with Weiss about a segment spotlighting the Trump administration's migrant deportation tactics, specifically with the CECOT prison in El Salvador. Weiss held Alfonsi's story, seeking additional commentary from the Trump administration, though it later aired with minimal changes. "Repeated attempts by my representation to establish a path forward were met with absolute silence from network executives," Alfonsi wrote in the memo. Alfonsi covered war in the Middle East, including Gaza, and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden. Cecilia Vega (fired in late May) Taylor Hill/WireImage Vega said in an exit memo that her departure from "60 Minutes" last week was due to "censorship, both imposed and self-driven." "I have the utmost respect and admiration for my colleagues at 60 Minutes and the stories that air every Sunday. But I very much fear what comes next for and the future of the legendary broadcast," Vega wrote. Vega said that she and her colleagues had "experienced efforts to insert political bias into our stories" from leaders at CBS News, a characterization that the network denies. CBS News brought on Vega in 2023, where she often covered US politics and immigration. Scott Pelley (fired in early June) Frazer Harrison/WireImage Pelley made headlines for vocally challenging Nick Bilton, the new executive producer at "60 Minutes," and calling out Weiss. The veteran "60 Minutes" correspondent, who'd been with CBS for over three decades, reportedly said that Weiss was "murdering" "60 Minutes." Bilton fired Pelley on Tuesday night, saying that the correspondent's "antipathy to the future of the show has come through loud and clear." "Despite yesterday's misconduct, I had hoped that in sitting down with you today we could find a path forward together," Bilton wrote to Pelley. "You made clear that you are not interested in such a path." Pelley said in a statement after his dismissal that CBS leaders had directed him to "inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story." Weiss told staffers in a Wednesday morning meeting that CBS News "had to part ways" with Pelley after his comments earlier in the week. "Despite our attempts to engage with Scott Pelley and to find a way back, unfortunately, we weren't able to do so, and so we had to part ways. We did not want that to happen, but that's the path that he chose," Weiss said on the call. Pelley disputed that characterization in a statement to The New York Times, saying, "Bari Weiss knows what she said is not true." "In the meeting on Tuesday, in which I was effectively fired, there was no effort of any kind to 'find a way back,' as Weiss said in the editorial meeting," Pelley said in his statement. "At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there could be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution." Read the original article on Business Insider

Uber's layoffs affected less than 1% of the company's global workforce, a company spokesperson said. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Concordia Annual Summit Uber is laying off 23% of its People and Places staff, the company said Wednesday. The layoffs affected employees in HR and recruitment roles. The cuts weren't connected to Uber's AI use, a spokesperson said. Uber is laying off nearly a quarter of its People and Places staff — but not because of AI, the company said. The department oversees teams from human resources to recruitment. The job cuts amount to less than 1% of Uber's global workforce of 34,000 employees, a spokesperson said. The layoffs come less than a month after Uber named Jill Hazelbaker to the newly created role of chief corporate affairs officer and president. Hazelbaker, who has worked at Uber since 2015, said in a memo to staff on Wednesday that the layoffs reorganize teams that "have become too complex and fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities, unclear ownership, and teams operating too far from the businesses and partners they support." While other major companies have cited AI as the reason for layoffs this year, the cuts to Uber's people division weren't due to the technology, the spokesperson said. "These changes are necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the People team and the enormous potential ahead of us," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in her own memo to staff explaining the layoffs. Like many tech companies, Uber is using AI — and wrestling with its implications. Uber is hiring fewer employees as its employees use AI to become more productive, Khosrowshahi said last month. COO Andrew Macdonald, meanwhile, said that those productivity gains aren't proportional to what the company is spending on AI tokens. Do you have a story to share about Uber? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider

Critics say Trump plan to test AI models is short-sighted, performative.

Activists say it’s the first time Big Tech employees have publicly called for regulations governing data center projects.

"There is consumer pressure to back away from technology that is unnecessary to perform everyday tasks."

Spencer Huang, Nvidia’s robotics lead, tells WIRED that the new bot combines the best of both worlds.

Why this mattersAI-assisted development falls apart the moment the assistant has to guess at column names, table layouts...

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Plex is increaingly focusing on content discovery and streaming rentals.

The breach at wearable ring maker Ultrahuman stemmed from credentials stolen from a malware-infected employee laptop.

The EO could strengthen relations between model providers and Washington, D.C., but comes with some gaps.

Would you take a payment to ramp down your electricity use? Would it change anything if you were doing so to help power a local data center? Google just signed a new deal to help pay for a virtual power plant (VPP) in the largest power grid in the US. The agreement is with Voltus,…

Cory Weinberg / The Information: Nearly 40% of Alphabet's planned ~$85B in equity offerings for AI will go toward covering tax obligations tied to employee equity awards, amid the AI talent war  —  Alphabet's plan to sell $80 billion worth of shares, billed as a way to pay for AI infrastructure and compute, is surprising enough …

The key to survival is not only adapting to AI but also actively building context and integrating these technologies into their offerings.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch: Meta is alerting Instagram users whose accounts were taken over using Meta AI chatbot; some hackers claim to still be able to exploit Meta AI chatbot  —  The widespread hacking campaign that relied on simply asking Meta AI's chatbot to take over a victim's Instagram account appears …

Amy Feldman / Forbes: Collate, whose AI tools automate paperwork for life sciences companies, raised $95M led by Redpoint at a ~$1B valuation, bringing its total funding to $125M  —  In this week's edition of InnovationRx, we look at cancer breakthroughs from the ASCO conference, Clear's move into healthcare, Harrison.ai's U.S. expansion, and more.

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Testing fourteen engines on ninety-three human documents The post I Spent May Evaluating Different Engines for OCR appeared first on Towards Data Science.