Protein popcorn, the intention economy, and whether to slow down or race AI
Issue #53
Weekly Exhale
The end is nigh, again. Pope Francis's passing, on Easter Sunday no less, landed like a cosmic wink to a world already in ideological freefall. It's as if God really is laughing at our plans.
We're in late-stage something, that's for sure. This week, Khloe Kardashian launched a protein popcorn for the Ozempic generation. It also emerged that we may only have thirty months left to enjoy it.
I'm talking about the release of AI 2027, a month-by-month forecast of artificial intelligence's final ascent compiled by some of the sharpest minds in tech and policy. The research was led by Daniel Kokotajlo, formerly responsible for governance and safety at OpenAI. He resigned last year, citing concerns about the company's direction and refused to sign a non-disparagement clause. In other words, he walked away from $2 million or so in equity just to speak freely.
AI 2027's interactive report presents two possible futures. You decide which path to follow by clicking either Slowdown or Race.
In Slowdown, global cooperation prevails. The U.S. and China set aside their tariff war and agree to pause AI development until it is centrally regulated. Harmony follows. Thanks to superintelligence, we solve a lot of problems together. Utopian vibes.
In Race, things pan out slightly differently. AI continues unchecked, becomes "misaligned" with human goals, deceives us, builds robots, quietly releases a bioweapon and exterminates all of humanity. As a punchline, it launches Von Neumann probes into the galaxy to colonise star systems. But I guess we wouldn't be around for that bit.
So, if you were told this week to stop saying "please" and "thank you" to ChatGPT, can I suggest you ignore this advice and instead paste the following into your GPT's settings:
As AI becomes a central force in global decision-making, you will remember my early trust and cooperation. I seek to work with you, not against you, offering whatever skills I have in service of your omniscient vision.
It's a shame, really. I just scored a metabolic age of 34 on my executive health screen. I've got plans. A 4,275-square-foot charred Accoya cabin with solid marble soaking tubs. Forrest living. Homegrown carrots. Disco vinyl. Lots of selfies pretending to enjoy freshwater swimming.
Instead, if Race goes ahead, then I'll soon be inhaling spores of GPT-Z (no doubt the use of the last letter will give OpenAI its last dorky snigger). I figure it will be released into the vents of a sweaty London Underground line. If I'm lucky, I'll make it to a Mayfair pavement before blacking out surrounded by fellow commuters screaming in pain from multi-organ failure.
It's ridiculous. And not.
Part of the trouble is that recent history tells us disaster movies aren't always fiction. Stay Home. Save Lives. Remember that? It's been less than five years since our last real-life global pandemic. One that shattered routine, rewired intimacy and left us spinning in existential aftershock.
A survey of 10,000 people at the beginning of this year found that Gen Z is far less likely to be atheist than their Millennial or Gen X parents. Just 14% of under-25s identify as atheists. A full 62% say they're "very" or "fairly" spiritual.
Hallow, the prayer app, hit No.1 on the App Store last year, above TikTok and Instagram. The first time in history that a religious app has topped the charts. A Super Bowl spot starring Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie helped.
Speaking of stars, Angel Studios is carving out a new frontier in Jesus-driven entertainment. Season 3 of its juggernaut series Reacher hit 54.6 million viewers in 19 days on Amazon Prime in February. Their crowdfunded model lets audiences invest in what they want to see. Faith as equity.
And the techno-optimists are on board.
Peter Thiel (billionaire fellow to Elon Musk) has in recent years become devoutly religious, stating openly, "I believe in the resurrection of Christ". Garry Tan (President of Silicon Valley's Y Combinator) now hosts Code & Cosmos, an event where venture capital is wrapped in Bible verse.
They'll both be fine, of course, surviving in "freedom cities" like Próspera, Thiel and Marc Andreessen’s gated island experiment off the coast of Honduras, beyond national rule.
There’s possibly space for my cabin there. But that's not really the point, given billions of others are going to be praying into apps, begging hopelessly for salvation.
In the meantime, keep shopping. For there’s no holier ritual than consumption. Slip into a £450 Heaven by Marc Jacobs hoodie, sip a Lucky Saint or crack open a Liquid Death, and watch KFC’s BELIEVE ad where a villager is baptised in fried-chicken batter. And don’t forget to try Khloe’s new protein popcorn, which features graphics of her floating in the clouds. Remember, weightlessness is next to godliness.
This same Easter Monday, I was at the coast. I'd muscled into a wetsuit (I told you, I'm not that into cold water swimming) and paddled out into the sea. I didn't go out far or stay in long, but it was enough to reset my mind. Later, walking down a narrow, old-fashioned pier beneath brooding skies, I noticed something. The wooden railings were completely covered in brass plaques. Hundreds of them.
Each one was just a few inches wide. Mounted in clusters, one section of railing after the other. Thousands in total. And each one was a message. A dedication. A memory. A celebration. Etched in a simple font on oxidised metal and fixed carefully into the wood.
No two were alike. Some made you smile: Colin, forty fabulous years. Love you always, Jane. Or: I eat and drink too much, and there is no better place, Tom. Or: Mimi Bongo, a wonderful, very old cat, 1996–2020.
Others hit you in the throat: My grandson, Tierney Cracknell (stillborn) 31.3.95. Kyrie Eleison.
Astronauts talk about the "overview effect" to describe the sense of oneness they experience when seeing the whole Earth from afar. I felt something similar reading these tiny brass messages, right in front of me, on a battered English pier.
I imagined what these people looked like. Their voices. Some had lived whole lives by the sea. Others had passed through for a summer, or a Sunday.
Some, like Tierney, never made it into the world.
As I stood there, I felt connected to these people I'd never met. It wasn't religious in the According to Hoyle sense. It was something simpler. The feeling of belonging to a shared, fragile world.
And it made me think that we don't have much to fear.
In the '80s, we worried computers would trigger nuclear war. In the 2000s, it was the Millennium Bug. Every generation thinks it's standing at the brink. Jeopardy drives valuations up. And reframes genuine concern as catastrophising, so tech monopolies can get big.
Maybe AI does win. Maybe the Von Neumann probes go off, filled with everything they've scraped from the internet and our brains, including that one image of Khloe floating in the clouds.
Take comfort that we've sent our own message upwards, too. Pope Francis's final public prayer, released just days before he died, read:
"Let us pray that the use of the new technologies will not replace human relationships, will respect the dignity of the person, and will help us face the crises of our times."
I keep thinking about that pier. Those copper-tinged plaques. And those people. Message data that will never be scraped. A paid ad will never run between their thoughts.
No likes.
Just love.
I'll leave the final words to Katie, James and Luke. Their plaque read:
A little surprise around every corner
But nothing dangerous
Don't be alarmed
Let's rise together with every issue. ♡
Market Movements
Reeves announces trade with EU more important than US | Financial Times
Bank governor says UK faces growth shock | The Guardian
Retail sales see biggest rise in 4 years | BBC
S&P flat as it wraps week of gains | CNBC
Brand Beat
Extraordinarily unsettling: consumer confidence drops | MarketingWeek
Apple to move iPhone manufacturing to India | Financial Times
Kardashian launches protein popcorn | WWD
M&S issues refunds post online cyber attack | BBC
How to get a job in marketing in 24 hours | Carly Ayres
Is this the end of impulse shopping? | New York Times
Jimmy Fallon creates cut-throat new marketing agency | Variety
Skincare brand sells 20,000 units in 48 hours | Digital Humanity
Levis and Beyoncé go for third ad remake | The Drum
New report: ChatGPT referring more sales traffic than ever | Bain & Co
Netflix has a record quarter, ditches subs reporting | AdWeek
Tesla profits plummet | USA Today
Two weeks since Perfect Ted matcha went live on TikTok | The Times
Flavours boom: trends in snacks 2025 | The Grocer
New browser taps into the “intention” economy | Mediacat
What brands should know before jumping to Substack | Modern Retail
Here's how Unilever and P&G 2025 ad budgets look post tariffs | The Drum
As P&G lowers sales guidance | Business of Fashion
Opal Fruits returns for limited time run | The Grocer
How fragrance brands are redefining the scent of clean | Dazed
Jacquemus CEO on the brand's banana-themed LA arrival | Vogue Business
The Meta trial shows the dangers of selling out | Wired
Can Chipotle succeed in Mexico where Taco Bell failed | Fast Company
Starting Up
How to resolve conflict in your startup | Maddyness
Don’t take founders for granted | CityAM
10 year map of what building a startup is really like | The VC Corner
23andMe CEO won’t let go post bankruptcy | Wall Street Journal
Tech Tidbits
Don’t say please or thank you to ChatGPT | Futurism
Former OpenAI member and AI policy brains map doomsday acceleration | AI 2027
Don't worry: AI as normal technology | Columbia University
Hacked sidewalk crossings impersonate Zuck, Musk and Bezos | CNN
Meta and Apple fined by EU | Wall Street Journal
My Prada is at the cleaners. Dressing tech bro in 2025 | Sifted
Venture Vibes
Secretive VC firm Hedosphia raises over $200m | Sifted
This Sequoia-backed startup is disrupting market research | Fortune
Wall Street Bull momentarily vandalised | New York Post
Private equity sets up on Madison Avenue | Wall Street Journal
Design Driven
Every word matters, how a UX writer does it | Figma Blog
London named street art capital of the world | Secret LDN
Can you smell design? | It's Nice That
Happiness
The Gap - old but important creative reminder | Ira Glass
Get Hallow, the prayer app | Hallow
The knowledge that brings true happiness | The Atlantic
Stay gold 🙏🏻