🤖 Robots Pick Up More Work at Busy Factories

Plus: Elon Musk's Twitter Plans Would Mean Less Free Speech for Many, F.B.I. Investigates Basquiat Paintings Shown at Orlando Museum of Art, and more…

Today’s pick

Robots Pick Up More Work at Busy Factories. Robots are turning up on more factory floors and assembly lines as companies struggle to hire enough workers to fill rising orders. Orders for workplace robots in the U.S. increased by a record 40% during the first quarter compared with the same… (Bob Tita / Wall Street Journal)

James Pethokoukis @JimPethokoukis

"Or­ders for work­place robots in the U.S. in­creased by a record 40% dur­ing the first quar­ter versus the same pe­riod in 2021 ... Ro­bot or­ders, worth $1.6 bil­lion, climbed 22% in 2021, fol­low­ing years of stag­nant or de­clin­ing or­der vol­umes" wsj.com/articles/robot…

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Elon Musk's Twitter Plans Would Mean Less Free Speech for Many. In March 2021, a Turkish court ordered the news site Diken to remove a critical story about an ally of the country's president, Recep Tayip Erdogan. Yaman Akdeniz, a Turkish lawyer and digital rights activist, posted a tweet urging his followers to… (Vittoria Elliott / WIRED)

Tori Elliott @telliotter

Elon’s bid for Twitter has hit many snags, but it’s likely the deal may still go through. Despite his push for more free speech and less moderation, his preference for following local laws—esp in places like India and Turkey—would leave users w/ less

wired.comElon Musk’s Twitter Plans Would Mean Less Free Speech for ManyThe platform has a history of standing up to governments. Its billionaire suitor wants to follow their rules to the letter.

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F.B.I. Investigates Basquiat Paintings Shown at Orlando Museum of Art. The ongoing cultural fascination with the life and work of Jean-Michel Basquiat shows little signs of dimming, whether it's in the form of brisk sales for $29.99 Basquiat-themed T-shirts at The Gap, large crowds for Basquiat's latest art… (Brett Sokol / The New York Times)

The New York Times @nytimes

To the ranks of those focused intently on all things Jean-Michel Basquiat, you can now add the FBI. Its Art Crime Team is investigating the authenticity of 25 paintings that the Orlando Museum of Art says were created by Basquiat and are on exhibit there. nyti.ms/3lUuwf3

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Researcher says her avatar was raped on Meta's metaverse platform. A nonprofit advocacy group says a researcher's avatar was raped in the metaverse. Other Meta users have also said they were sexually harassed or abused on the metaverse. Meta investors wanted a report on the harm metaverse users faced, but… (Weilun Soon / Business Insider)

Weilun @soonweilun

There were four other recent similar claims of sexual abuse that took place on Meta's platforms.

businessinsider.comA researcher’s avatar was sexually assaulted on a metaverse platform owned by Meta, making her the latest victim of sexual abuse on Meta’s …Within an hour of logging on to Meta’s Horizon Worlds, a researcher said her avatar was raped, according to a report.

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The first act of the streaming wars saga is over - Netflix's fall from grace has ushered in the pivotal second act. The media and entertainment industry prides itself on its mastery of classical storytelling's three acts: the setup, the conflict and the resolution. It's safe to declare the first act of the streaming video wars over. Barring a surprise late… (Alex Sherman / CNBC)

Alex Sherman @sherman4949

Long weekend read: The state of the media and entertainment is in flux. In storytelling terms, Act 1: setup is over. It’s time for Act 2: conflict.

cnbc.comThe first act of the streaming wars saga is over — Netflix’s fall from grace has ushered in the pivotal second actNetflix’s fall from grace has ended the first act of the streaming wars. Act two will determine whether the industry can right itself.

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