Hi Everyone. This is Take Off. We're like a hidden Easter egg in your favorite video game - surprising, delightful, and adding an extra layer of fun to your tech news consumption.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• CEO Axes 90% Staff in Favor of AI 🪓

• AI App Creates Baby Fever 👶

• Asteroids ☄️

CEO Axes 90% Staff in Favor of AI 🪓

Oh boy, pull up a chair and grab the popcorn, folks. We've got a grade A, bonafide internet roast on our hands.

The Victim: Suumit Shah, the CEO of Indian E-Commerce Platform - Dukaan.

The Crime: Posting a Twitter thread that could be aptly titled "How NOT to Do PR 101."

In a plot that has Twitterverse and Redditors alike grabbing their pitchforks, Shah announced that he laid off 90% of his support team in favor of an AI chatbot.

• The company reportedly fired 23 of its 26 customer support staff.

• This led them to trim the costs by 85% where they’re now spending just $100/month on customer support.

One Redditor highlighted fears of a future where we'll be trapped in an endless loop of bot-passing, a veritable customer service version of Pass-the-Parcel, if you will.

Caught amidst the cyber storm, Shah confessed his Twitter strategy may have been, uh, a teensy bit flawed.

But, he held firm on his stance: "AI is taking our jobs and everyone else will start doing this".

And to be fair to him, Dukaan isn’t the first and also the only company to lay-off employees in favor of AI.

• IBM laid off roughly 3900 employees in April 2023 citing AI as one of the reasons for the cut.

• CNET reported that it will cut writing jobs as it wants to sought the cost-effective alternate of AI.

A report by Goldman-Sachs stated that Gen-AI can significantly disrupt the global labor market by automating close to 300 million jobs.

Do you think AI can replace your job?

AI App Creates Baby Fever 👶

Ever looked at your better half and wondered how your mini-YOU might turn out?

Welcome Remini, the new sheriff in App-town that's stirring up baby fever among the commitment-phobic!

It’s no joke seriously. Remini has toppled Threads to become the most popular free-to-download app in the App Store.

Straight from the fertile imagination of our AI overlords, Remini is all about giving you a snapshot of potential future life events.

• Want to see yourself resplendent in a wedding gown? Check ✅

• Daydreaming about pregnancy glow? Double check ✅✅

• Eager for a sneak peek at your mini-me? Triple check! ✅✅✅

All you need to do is upload a dozen selfies, solo or coupled, and let the app's AI magic wand do its thing.

They have a free 3 day trial before they start charging $10/week for the baby rendering services.

However, it’s not all good and glam. Some people have been diving into the T&C of the app (who are these people, God Bless) and have found the fine-print to be somewhat privacy-intrusive, to put it mildly.

@unclestefmadethebeat

Beware these AI apps. The Remini app will use your face for whatever they want #reminiapp #aiapps #aibaby #termsandconditions #blackmirror

Their T&C states that the app can store your data for perpetuity, use it royalty-free and even mentions that it can exploit it in some cases.

Now, we don’t know about you, but we ain’t comfortable sharing our AI generated future babies with anyone.

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

Tesla announces first Cybertruck build ahead of Q2 earnings. The Cybertruck has finally rolled off the production line in Texas, with deliveries expected later this year. 💪🚘

Threads, a Slack rival, enjoyed an unexpected spike in traffic and downloads due to its shared name with Instagram's new Twitter-like app, Threads! 📈😲 

Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft. The franchise will stay on PlayStation after the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition 🕹🎮

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