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It’s Monday and Hawk Tuah Girl has at last broken her silence about the rise and fall of her $HAWK coin. In a statement, the podcaster said she’s committed to helping “uncover the truth” and “hold the responsible parties accountable.”

Today’s News

STARTUP SEASON

Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has a new AI startup. Here’s what we know so far:

The startup: Twitch’s former CEO is getting back into the AI biz. One year after his 55-hour stint as the head of OpenAI, Emmett Shear has emerged as the co-founder of Stem AI.

The Andreessen Horowitz (aka a16z) backed startup is currently in stealth with few public details available. However, TechCrunch reports Shear is launching his new venture alongside Adam Goldstein, an entrepreneur who founded the travel booking site Hipmunk. Additional data from Pitchbook reveals that Stem AI is a “developer of artificial intelligence software” that linked up with Andreessen a16z earlier this year as part of a $41 million seed round.

The context: Shear co-founded Twitch precursor Justin.tv in 2007 and took over as the streaming hub’s CEO in 2011. For the next twelve years, he guided Twitch through a series of ups, downs, and an Amazon acquisition before announcing his departure from the role of CEO in March 2023.

Eight months later, Shear briefly replaced Sam Altman as the CEO of OpenAI—but his tenure at the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT developer was short-lived. Altman (who co-founded OpenAI in 2015) was reinstated just a few days after his initial firing. As a result, the industry never got a chance to see how Shear would have implemented his ideas about generative AI development.

That’s bound to change as Stem AI matures. In the past, Shear has been outspoken about his distaste for proposed AI regulations and the personalities that AI chatbots display. Now, he and Goldstein have an opportunity to develop AI models that are more personable, affable, responsible, and ethical—if that’s how Stem AI chooses to use its resources.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Going to the 1 Billion Followers Summit? Don’t forget to add these workshops to your itinerary:

1 Billion Followers Summit is just a few weeks away! The Dubai-based creator event will be jam-packed with hundreds of expert-led panels, networking events, and more—including these three can’t-miss workshops:

✍️ El Daheeh Secrets: From Script to Screen 🎬
January 11 • Content Track
Designed by the makers of the hit show El Daheeh, this workshop takes you from concept development through production and post-production to reveal the creative techniques and production secrets behind engaging content.

🎥 The Creator’s Blueprint: Growing Your Skillset & Crafting Content with Purpose 📖
January 12 • Content Track 
Join Adrien Per for an immersive two-day workshop to sharpen your technical and storytelling skills with hands-on sessions and interactive discussions on pre-production, filming, and post-production. 

🔒 The Big Potential of Small Memberships 🔑
January 12 • Economy Track 
Almost any creator has the potential to build a membership community—but not everyone has the time to support thousands of members. In this session, Jay Clouse will teach you how to build a profitable membership that is small by design.

Book your Summit ticket and workshop reservations below: 

Reserve your spot →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• One month after Netflix’s dicey stream of Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s boxing match, FIFA has announced that the service will have exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for the next two Women’s World Cups. (Ars Technica)
  
  

• Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced a one-year, nationwide ban on TikTok following a confrontation between students that began on social media and ended in the death of a 14-year-old child. (BBC) 
  
  

• A group of more than 140 people have reportedly been diagnosed with PTSD after serving as content moderators for Facebook. (CNN)
  
  

• OpenAI capped off its “12 Days of Shipmas” by revealing a new AI reasoning model designed to operate with greater accuracy than chatbots. (Engadget)
  

EPIC QUESTIONS

Fortnite creators want more transparency around promotions. Can Epic Games deliver?

The issue: Earlier this year, Epic Games began promoting third-party Fortnite “islands”—specifically ones that fall outside the game’s typical battle royale fare. An RPG called Lumberjack Heroes, for instance, has been featured in PlayStation ads, while the official Fortnite YouTube channel has been used to shout-out the rougelike title Havoc Hotel.

Those kinds of promotions can bring in thousands of new players and associated dollars—so obviously, creators are eager to know how their islands can earn official Epic Games promotion. The problem is there are no clear rules governing those campaigns. Instead, an Epic Games spokesperson told Digiday that the company intentionally makes submission guidelines for its discovery tool open-ended with the goal of supporting “innovative” islands that “incorporate distinct game design.”

Not all creators agree with that logic. Instead, some have argued that the open-ended nature of Epic’s guidelines actually means they can’t innovate without taking on an inordinate amount of risk:

The context: In essence, Epic’s unclear guidelines mean that developers have to choose between attracting a predictable number of players with tried-and-true formats or possibly earning promotion through innovation. In a sense, that dilemma is reminiscent of the early days of YouTube, when creators searched for ways to land on the platform’s home page.

YouTube eventually moved away from those types of promotions—and if Epic Games doesn’t find a way to mitigate risk for creators, it might have to as well. After all, with hundreds of millions of dollars flowing through the Fortnite ecosystem and many brands showing interest, creator calls for a consistent system are more justified than ever.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

The annual wrap-up: Creator Upload is ending 2024 with a bang. In this year’s finale episode, hosts Josh Cohen and Lauren Schnipper peer into the future with predictions about everything from TikTok Shop’s next moves to the infrastructure of niche communities. Also on the agenda: tune in to hear Creator Upload’s three takeaways on the state of jobs in the industry and what to expect in 2025.

It’s all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.