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Here’s what you need to know
The US Senate is set to approve a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The vote is expected at 11am US eastern time today.
There are more than 10 million job vacancies in the US. The record labor shortage is blamed on childcare costs, unemployment benefits, retirements, and career changes.
SoftBank profits fell in the latest quarter. The Japanese tech investor made $6.9 billion in April-June, far less than its $46 billion profit for Jan-March.
Wildfires are destroying parts of Europe and Asia. Areas of Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Russia are ablaze, with the EU mounting its largest-ever firefighting operation.
US Democrats plan to spend $3.5 trillion fighting poverty. Under the early proposals unveiled by senators, wealthy individuals and corporations can expect tax hikes.
NBC suffered its lowest-ever Olympic ratings. The US TV network’s audience was down 42% on the 2016 Games in Rio, but the company still sold more ads this time.
TikTok is now the world’s most downloaded social media app. Facebook is no longer king—not even in the US.
What to watch for
Coinbase will report its second-ever earnings today. The crypto trading platform’s stock has fallen since its initial public offering in April, down to $278 from its opening price of $381, but has enjoyed a recent rally in concert with bitcoin’s bounce-back and additional investment from Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest.
At the same time, the crypto market is under intense scrutiny in major markets, including the US, with the Security and Exchange Commission and Congress poised to add regulatory hoops. This pressure could complicate Coinbase’s core business and stock performance beyond how the public numbers play out.
Mapping AI summer camps
At least 447 AI summer camps opened across 48 states in the US this year, according to an August report from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
The camps, however, are distributed unevenly across the country. Two states, North Dakota and Mississippi, don’t have a single AI summer camp, while Alaska, Vermont, Colorado, Utah, South Dakota, and Massachusetts offer the most camps per capita.
Depending on their ages, campers may study programming languages, practice coding through video games like Minecraft and Roblox, or learn basic computer science concepts using Legos. The camps could give kids a leg up in applying to a growing number of university computer science programs or AI jobs later in life.
Welcome to the metaverse
What is the metaverse?
- A network of virtual worlds
- The internet, but skeuomorphic
- A completely nonsense rebrand of “the internet”
- The Beyond section of Bed, Bath & Beyond
Yeah, we’re not sure either. But some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, from Mark Zuckerberg to Satya Nadella, are betting it’s the future of computing.
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Surprising discoveries
South Africa granted a mundane-sounding patent. But it granted it to an AI inventor, not a human.
A 1,000-year-old grave showed a highly revered, probably non-binary person. DNA analysis of the Iron Age remains indicated Klinefelter syndrome.
Japanese parents can send a baby-faced bag of rice to relatives. Can’t hug someone’s newborn due to Covid restrictions? Please accept this rice bag of identical weight.
There’s too much weed in Canada. Legalizing cannabis hasn’t made it as sellable as growers had hoped.
IKEA made a candle that smells like meatballs. It comes with a jar, wax, and a wick for you to assemble yourself—just kidding (we think?).
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, rice babies, and excess weed to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Nicolas Rivero, Tripti Lahiri, Scott Nover, Hasit Shah, Marc Bain, Susan Howson, and Liz Webber.