Slow your roll, AI! 🤖

"I say something, and then it usually happens. Maybe not on schedule, but it usually happens."

— Elon Musk

👋 GM, Rallie here. The newsletter that always lets you know what Elon is up to, whether you like it or not.

On the menu:

• 🚨 Elon calls for AI intermission

• 🗞️ Headlines that hit

• 🤑 Refresh: Federal budget update

• 💯 Top tweets

The Rallie Recap

🤖 If Elon's scared, we're scared. Yesterday, in an urgent open letter, Elon Musk and other prominent AI experts demanded a timeout on the development of artificial intelligence systems.

• More than 1,000 artificial intelligence experts, researchers and backers have joined a call for an immediate pause on the creation of AI systems for at least six months, so the capabilities and dangers of the technology can be properly studied and mitigated.

• The demand was made in an open letter signed by some major players including: Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and GPT-4, Emad Mostaque, who founded London-based Stability AI, and Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple. Other signers included engineers from Amazon, DeepMind, Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

• The letter set off alarm bells about the speed of AI development, saying, “Recent months have seen AI labs locked in an out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one – not even their creators – can understand, predict, or reliably control." Gulp.

• Clearly, things are moving fast. Since the release of GPT-4 earlier this month, OpenAI has been adding capabilities to the AI system, but the company is dealing with what's called 'capability overhang' which means the systems built are more powerful than is known by the company at release. Basically, AI algorithms develop powerful and complicated capabilities which researchers neither understand, nor have the resources to test. Nightmare fuel, folks.

• The letter, published by the Future of Life Institute, a non-profit focused on 'steering transformative technology towards benefiting life and away from extreme large-scale risks', stated that, "If such a delay cannot be enacted quickly, governments should step in and institute a moratorium." ...this time, we think Elon means business.

Headlines That Hit

• 🤔 NFT gatekeeping begins. This week, Ticketmaster launched a feature that allows artists to grant NFT owners special access to events dubbed as “token-gated ticket sales."

• 📱 Move over smart phones, dumb phones are in. Gen Z is cutting back on screen time as many opt for Nokia-style devices reminiscent of the early 00's. 

• 💵 Is the US dollar losing its status as a reserve currency? Maybe, but not quite yet. Read this Twitter thread for all the juicy deets.

• 🤑 The numbers don't lie, stretchy pants are still in. Lululemon’s quarterly results beat Wall Street’s expectations, sending shares soaring.

• 📈 No complaints here! Stocks rally as Q1 comes to a close... but most notably, Bitcoin is up over 70% YTD.

Rallie Refresh: Federal Budget Update

On Tuesday, the Canadian Federal Minister of Finance, Hon. Chrystia Freeland (a boss women in finance), tabled Budget 2023: A Made-in-Canada Plan. And thanks to our friends over at Pocket Lobbyist, we have all the highlights. The budget had three key themes: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future. Let's dive in!

💪 Strong Middle Class: The budget introduced various targeted measures to help low income families and support the middle class, including:

• A new one-time grocery rebate

• New rules for payday lenders

• Automatic tax filing for low-income Canadians

• A new Tax-Free First Home Savings Account

📈 Affordable Economy: Multiple targeted inflation relief supports are scattered throughout the budget. The supports are aimed at assisting everyday Canadians and small businesses, while being designed to avoid exacerbating inflation. These include:

• Increases to the Alternative Minimum Tax

• Caps on excise duties for alcoholic products

• Reductions to credit card interchange fees

🏥 Healthy Future: This years budget focuses on the health of Canadians, the economy, and environment. New measures to address these issues include:

• New funding for the provinces and territories through the Canada Health Transfer

• Expansion of the Canadian Dental Care Plan

• Investments in clean technologies

Want a more detailed summary of Budget 2023? Follow our friends at Pocket Lobbyist as they break it down best! Bonus: you'll also be supporting a local women-owned gov-tech startup — a no-brainer if you ask us.

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That's all for today. Stay hungry & we'll catch you next time. ✌️

DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.