> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://spyglass.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Chaos Ladder 📧 - URL: https://spyglass.org/the-chaos-ladder/ - Published: 2024-09-26T16:57:08.000Z - Updated: 2024-09-26T16:57:35.000Z - Description: Meta's Keynote, Microsoft's Consumer AI Attempt, OpenAI's Chaos, LG TV Ads, AI Voice Hypocrisy, and AI Hardware Remains Hard - Author: M.G. Siegler - Tags: newsletter Hopefully this evening isn't quite as chaotic as last night when just after [the Meta Connect keynote](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/) – with their big "Orion" AR Glasses reveal – ended, OpenAI was seemingly [thrown back into chaos,](https://spyglass.org/openai-chaos/) with CTO Mira Murati announcing her departure. You know that wasn't planned for the simple reason that if they wanted to bury it – or to at least attempt to bury it (*narrator: they would not have been able to bury it*) – they could have [timed any announcement *during* said keynote](https://www.threads.net/@mgsiegler/post/DAWjA%5FjoAmL?ref=spyglass.org). Ideally right as Mark Zuckerberg is putting on [those giant shades](https://www.threads.net/@mgsiegler/post/DAW4J0DIJAc?ref=spyglass.org) while tossing shade at the competition. Or, you know, wait til Friday afternoon like everyone else. We used to be a society. 🎵 Listening to ["Geraldine" by Glasvegas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGOCEOsBE3w&ab%5Fchannel=glasvegasVEVO&ref=spyglass.org) --- ### Some Analysis... [Meta’s Frenetic Connect KeynoteWeird pacing, awkward timing, cool products, and eternal optimism…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/icon/UMspy-26.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/thumbnail/RAKLMGV7HBPFXMOD4WF646Q6PM.jpg)](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/) [The Microsoft AI NewscasterThe company is clearly trying to create a daily consumer habit…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/icon/UMspy-41.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/thumbnail/DALL-E-2024-09-26-17.21.46---A-retro-styled-robot-designed-as-a-1950s-newscaster--sitting-behind-a-desk.-The-robot-is-made-of-shiny--polished-metal-with-large--round-eyes-and-a-te-1.webp)](https://spyglass.org/microsoft-copilot-ai-newscaster/) [OpenAI’s Wild RideChaos is a series of coincidences?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/icon/UMspy-35.png)SpyglassM.G. Siegler![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/af/ca/afcaa655-46e2-45b8-889a-2881de5cce69/content/images/thumbnail/DALL-E-2024-09-26-12.19.48---A-playful-and-dynamic-scene-of-a-group-of-robots-having-fun-in-a-convertible-car-without-a-roof--speeding-over-giant-hills.-The-robots-are-excited-and-1.webp)](https://spyglass.org/openai-chaos/) --- ### Some Thoughts... **📺** [**LG Smart TVs Now Show Screensaver Ads**](https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1727255253&ref=spyglass.org) – Last year, I bought a nice, new top-of-the line OLED LG TV. It's great. I've long gone with LG mainly because I liked the webOS ([old school!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebOS?ref=spyglass.org)) interface more than the Android ones most other TVs seem to have these days. But the reality now is that I basically never use the actual UI of the TV beyond a few menus as the device is always set to the input with my Apple TV box. But the other day I clicked over to the main menu and was surprised by how cluttered it was with tiles that were effectively ads – [the same bullshit Roku is pulling](https://spyglass.org/roku-adds-ads/). Now LG is going a step further, *adding such ads to the screen saver capabilities*. This may be a bridge too far for me. I know you can turn them off, but unless LG plans to give me a massive rebate on my original purchase, my next TV will be some screen that doesn't shove ads into my family's faces after spending a lot of money on the device. ([Save us, Apple](https://spyglass.org/apple-television-pro/), he says for the 20th year in a row.) [At least these guys are honest about the trade](https://500ish.com/the-advertising-first-television-a8d1929d99ea?ref=spyglass.org)! \[*FlatPanelsHD*\] **☃️** [**Kristen Bell Was Against Meta AI Before She Was A Voice In It**](https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/26/24253834/kristen-bell-meta-ai-voice-connect?ref=spyglass.org) – I'm shocked – *shocked!* – to learn that the actress was adamantly opposed to such technology, telling Meta to "get rid of the Ai program" in some sort of chain letter-like Instagram Stories post – until they offered to pay her millions of dollars [to use her voice in said AI program](https://spyglass.org/marzipan/#:~:text=%F0%9F%A4%96%20Meta%27s%20AI,...%20%5BReuters%5D). Now she wants to help [build that snowman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQ%5FTTyLGMs&ab%5Fchannel=DisneyMusicVEVO&ref=spyglass.org). Funny that. Anyway, she's probably wise to take the money since [it will be shut down in a few months](https://spyglass.org/meta-ai-chatbots-slaughtered/) and no one will ever speak of it – or hear her speak through it, again. \[*The Verge*\] **☎️** [**AI Hardware is in its Flip-Phone Phase**](https://www.fastcompany.com/91196736/ai-hardware-is-in-its-flip-phone-phase?ref=spyglass.org) – It's more like it's in its [Gordon Gekko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFTfzaWQQNM&ab%5Fchannel=bruceberger&ref=spyglass.org)/[Zach Morris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wabiSwW6CQ&ab%5Fchannel=GeneZink&ref=spyglass.org) giant brick-sized cellphone phase – flip-phones were great and popular, and [they're making a comeback](https://spyglass.org/flip-iphone/)! But I digress... The point is that [it's early in AI](https://spyglass.org/ai-hype/) and [shipping hardware is extremely hard](https://spyglass.org/ai-consumer-hardware/) – we just saw more proof of that these past two weeks [from billion](https://spyglass.org/snap-ar-glasses/) and [trillion dollar](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/) public companies who [showed off](https://spyglass.org/snap-spectacles/) AR glasses that should be ready to ship in [anywhere from 3 to 30 years](https://spyglass.org/meta-snap-ar-glasses/). I root for Rabbit because it's a startup, but the reality is that [they're not doing themselves any favors](https://spyglass.org/rabbit-r1-mkbhd-rant/) by [over-promising](https://spyglass.org/rabbit-r1-thoughts/) and [under-delivering](https://spyglass.org/rabbit-r1-cant-run/). They need to [start so much smaller](https://spyglass.org/chat-gpt-pin/), doing things the big players would never do. Unless you're that new startup [from Jony Ive and Sam Altman](https://spyglass.org/lovefrom-openai-device/), I suppose... \[*Fast Company*\] --- ### Some Links... - The CEO of **Masimo** has **quit the company** after being replaced by activists on the board. Seemingly this is about a massive acquisition he made, but if you’ve heard of the company, it’s likely because of a dispute they’re in the midst of with *a certain most valuable company in the world* over blood oxygen sensing patents. Oddly, it’s not mentioned here, but well, the new leadership [would like to exit the consumer health space](https://www.ft.com/content/7e0ab8aa-8699-403e-8857-34ef955ff798?ref=spyglass.org). Who you gonna call? \[[*Reuters*](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/masimos-joe-kiani-resigns-ceo-after-board-ouster-2024-09-25/?ref=spyglass.org)\] - **Meta** takes control of the **dot com domain** for **Threads**. The startup that had owned it was[ acquired by Shopify](https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/07/shopify-acquires-threads-no-not-that-one/?ref=spyglass.org) earlier this year - and [guess who is on Meta’s official advisory council](https://investor.fb.com/leadership-and-governance/person-details/default.aspx?ItemId=18f8aae0-8018-4cae-b1b4-95ba99322816&ref=spyglass.org)... No word on if they’ll switch over or keep the dot net for cool cred. \[[*TechCrunch*](https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/25/meta-acquires-the-threads-com-domain-name/?ref=spyglass.org)\] - Is ***Megalopolis*** going to **flop**? [Standing ovations](https://spyglass.org/ovation-inflation-at-cannes/) – lol – [and AI reviews](https://spyglass.org/megalopolis-ai-reviews/) – lol – aside, [it sure seems like](https://spyglass.org/megaflopolis/) it. Some analysts are predicting as little as a $5M opening weekend. I hope not, but what a strange trip to theaters this has been for Francis Ford Coppola this go around. \[[*NYT*](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/business/media/megalopolis-cost.html?ref=spyglass.org)\] - Sadly, **iMore** is **no more**, as one of the second-wave of Apple blogs, it rose under the watch of [Rene Ritchie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene%5FRitchie?ref=spyglass.org) and yielded an interesting diaspora notably with Ritchie going to YouTube (after initially finding success as a creator on the platform) and [Serenity Caldwell](https://serenitycaldwell.com/?ref=spyglass.org) now at Apple itself. \[[*iMore*](https://www.imore.com/apple/one-more-thing-goodbye-from-imore?ref=spyglass.org)\] - A bit lost in [the jam-packed Meta Connect keynote](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/) yesterday: **Facebook** and **Instagram** are likely about to get inundated with **AI-generated images** thanks to prompting from Meta within those services. We're a long way from sharing real and/or filtered photos with your friends... \[[*The Verge*](https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/25/24253329/meta-ai-generated-images-facebook-instagram-feeds?ref=spyglass.org)\] - The [**new trailer**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOsAJ7oe2QE&ab%5Fchannel=Max&ref=spyglass.org) for ***The Last of Us* season 2** looks great. And I promise I'd say that even if it wasn't set to a Pearl Jam song (from the game!). \[[*THR*](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-last-of-us-season-2-trailer-1236013278/?ref=spyglass.org)\] --- ### And I Quote... > "For now, I think the way to look at these glasses is as a time machine. They are a glimpse of a future that I think is going to be pretty exciting." \-- **Mark Zuckerberg** during [his keynote address](https://spyglass.org/metas-frenetic-connect-keynote/) at Meta's Connect conference. This was [his attempt to frame](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/25/technology/meta-products-artificial-intelligence.html?ref=spyglass.org) the "Orion" AR glasses he showed off, which are still *years* away from being in consumers' hands – largely because they would cost something like $10,000 to sell right now. Instead, selected developers will get to play around with this technology for now. Apple had a similar framing when launching the Vision Pro, but pushed ahead on a consumer launch of their $3,500 device. [I believe history will prove this to be a mistake](https://spyglass.org/vision-pro-launch-disaster/) and they should have taken Meta's ([and Snap's](https://spyglass.org/snap-ar-glasses/)) approach...