Sports & Entertainment Spotlight

Welcome back to the Spotlight! After an exciting Game 3 of the American League Division Series in which Aaron Judge hit a memorable, almost impossible game-tying home run to help propel the New York Yankees to a comeback victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, the Yankees showed a glimmer of hope that they could mount a comeback and win two more games to advance to the next round of the MLB postseason. Sure enough, aided by the Toronto Blue Jays’ unorthodox decision to swap out their baseball bats for pool noodles and to wear cinderblock cleats, the Yankees had a resounding Game 4 victory on Wednesday night to set up a decisive Game 5 tonight in Toronto.

OK, so that part didn’t actually happen in real life (the Yankees were eliminated in Game 4 after the Yankees’ bats might as well have been pool noodles), but it did appear to happen with the aid of OpenAI’s new hyper-realistic Sora 2 video generation AI model. The absurdity of my account of Game 4 undoubtedly provided a big hint that it was contrived. But, what happens when the model gets so advanced, and the absurdity gets removed?  People will have an exceedingly difficult time separating fact from fiction and the individuals depicted in these videos may find themselves losing control of their personas.  That is exactly why Hollywood’s talent agencies have voiced concern over the technology—with WME going so far as to opt-out from having their talent’s likenesses licensed for use by Sora 2. It will be interesting to see whether OpenAI puts safeguards in place to protect brands’ and individuals’ intellectual property from unauthorized exploitation by Sora 2. But for now, I think I’ll try to create a video of me at the New York Yankees’ ticker tape parade that never was.

• • LeBron James teased a “Second Decision” making light of his infamous 2010 television special surrounding his NBA free agency in which he announced he would be signing with the Miami Heat. This time around, the “Decision” turned out to be an endorsement for Hennessy Cognac. Incidentally, for New York Knicks fans like myself, the initial Decision was also taken as an endorsement of liquor.
  • Innovative Artists Entertainment signs 6’10” NBA Hall of Famer Dwight Howard for representing him in broadcasting opportunities. In a related story, Innovative Artists Entertainment signs a purchase order for larger door frames.
  • This year’s selection of Puerto Rican recording artist Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show has roiled many to the point that Conservative organization Turning Point USA will be counterprogramming the halftime show. In other words, halftime will be as much about the divide between the first and second halves of a football game as it will be about the divide between Americans.

For inquiries and/or unabashed compliments, please feel free to contact me at josh.bloomgarden@foster.com or add me on LinkedIn.