Hollywood thinks AI has the answers to better film management, Twitter users will soon have more control over who can reply to their tweets, and farmers are buying 40-year-old tractors because they’re actually repairable.
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Warner Bros says it’s going to use artificial intelligence to create its next blockbuster. The technology will help predict the likelihood of a film’s success based on such factors as actors, budget and brand. According to Forbes, Warner Bros will be using SaaS platform Cinelytic’s software as part of the research process it undergoes when deciding which movies to commission. It can determine the ‘value’ aka profitability of an actor and also calculate how much money a film is likely to earn in cinemas and through supplementary merchandising, like BlueRay sales. I’m curious – could this AI have predicted that Robert Downey Jr., an enormous risk for studios a decade ago, would help kickstart a cinematic universe that would make billions? Hmm….
Twitter, at CES 2020, announced that it will put options to stop and restrict people replying to tweets later this year. This means that Twitter users will soon have more control over who can reply to their tweets. The social media giant says it’s in the process of adding a “conversation participants” setting on the platform’s compose screen. This new setting will have a total of four options, namely Statement, Panel, Group and Global. The Statement option will allow users to publish a tweet and receive no replies on it, the Panel option will allow only those people to reply if that a user was mentioned in the tweet, and the Group option will be for people the poster follows and mentions. As the same suggests, the Global option will allow any user to reply to a tweet.
Lastly, farmers are getting tired of being unable to repair flashy new John Deere tractors, so they’re buying new models instead. Nowadays, when a John Deere tractor breaks down, you need a computer and special software to fix it. This new trend, first reported on by the Minnesota StarTribune, had more than 30,000 upvotes and 1,500 comments on Reddit as of this recording. Many comments pointed to the fact that big manufacturers also force you to buy special hose ends and hydraulic seals for certain repairs, while cheaper brands may not be as reliable in all aspects, but can be fixed with generic parts.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing.