mtf.tv's mtf NOW: 'Godfather of AI' backs Elon Musk over OpenAI... Millennials won't get married... Robot rom com dazzles Sundance...
Happy New Year from the future!
‘GODFATHER OF AI’ SIDES WITH MUSK AGAINST OPENAI. Elon Musk’s effort to stop OpenAI’s move from non-profit to become a for-profit entity just got a major ally: Nobel Prize-winning “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton.
HINTON CRITICIZES OPENAI'S NONPROFIT EXIT: Hinton slammed OpenAI for abandoning its nonprofit roots, saying it "received numerous tax and other benefits" tied to its safety-first charter.
OPENAI'S SHIFT TO FOR-PROFIT STATUS SPARKS CONTROVERSY: Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization, OpenAI’s shift has drawn criticism from Musk and others. Musk filed an injunction last month to halt the transition, calling it a betrayal of its original mission.
WHY IT MATTERS: Hinton’s support gives Musk’s legal challenge serious credibility and heightens the debate over how AI companies balance innovation, ethics, and profit motives in an era of explosive technological growth.
WHY YOU CARE: This battle could shape the future of AI tools you rely on daily—from smarter apps to more secure tech. The outcome will influence how AI evolves, whether it’s focused on improving your life or simply chasing the next big investment.
Source material: Musk v. Altman, document #72.
hello, future. it’s me, kev.
…and this is a dispatch from the digital frontier. Your one-stop shop for markets, tech, and the future. The day is 1. The year is 2025. The planet is Earth. My name is Kevin Cirilli —> LinkedIn.
If you’re new here, welcome to the future. We reject outdated systems and broken institutions. Our mission: Embrace freedom to meet the future’s challenges and opportunities.
This is our flagship newsletter — mtf NOW — your daily guide to what’s next in tech, business, markets, and more, published Sunday through Thursday (holidays excluded).
Back to the future...
MEET THE FUTURE: THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM. Americans under 45 are redefining success, family, and adulthood:
1 IN 3 WON’T MARRY: A third of young adults are choosing to stay single, compared to fewer than 1 in 5 in past decades.
NEARLY HALF WON’T HAVE KIDS: Among childless adults under 50, 47% say they’re unlikely to have children, up from 37% in 2018.
BUT THEY’RE RICHER: Wealth for 30-somethings has skyrocketed 66% since 1989.
OLD THINKING, via Wall Street Journal’s headline: What Happens When a Whole Generation Never Grows Up?
NEW THINKING, via meet the future: Millennials and Gen Z are rebooting the American Dream—will policymakers and technologists listen?
FUTURES
U.S. STOCKS SCORE BEST TWO-YEAR RUN SINCE 1998. Markets may be quiet this week, but 2024 was another great year for investors. Meanwhile, Bitcoin stumbles in December as investors lock in gains from its record-breaking rally. Sources: Bloomy; Barron’s.
NASDAQ BIG TECH POWER RANKINGS —> The Nasdaq’s Magnificent Seven are reshuffling as we head into 2025. Who’s up, who’s down, and why it matters:
APPLE STILL KING: Apple dominates with a 10.1% weighting, holding its crown as the Nasdaq’s biggest player.
NVIDIA TAKES SECOND, MICROSOFT SLIPS: Nvidia edges out Microsoft in Nasdaq weighting, claiming 8.9% versus 8.3%. A big AI spending spree in 2024 helped Nvidia surge to the top tier.
AMAZON VS. GOOGLE: Alphabet narrowly beats Amazon for the #4 ranking in Nasdaq weighting, with 6.2% to Amazon’s 6.1%.
Source: Investor’s Business Daily; Financial Times.
THE FUTURE ON YOUR FACE —> Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses aren’t just the hottest gift of the holidays—they’re a declaration of war on Apple’s Vision Pro. The future is wearable, and your eyes are the prize.
META TEAMS UP WITH RAY-BAN: Ray-Ban deal extended through 2030, leveraging the brand’s iconic cool as artificial intelligence continues to accelerate.
AI + AR UPGRADE: Next-gen Ray-Bans add display screens to blend augmented reality with AI.
APPLE GOES SOLO: No partnerships here—Apple’s Vision Pro is going it alone (just like the Apple Watch didn’t link up with Rolex).
YOUR MONEY: Meta’s collab reduces risk, Apple’s solo bet maximizes control. Where do you put your money?
ONE MORE THING: Even Oprah loves ‘em… showing the broad market appeal.
Apple might want to try on the glasses... or go into a Warby Parker…
QUOTABLE: “It is the most extraordinary thing that a normal dishwasher-busboy could grow up to be this. There's no magic — it's just 61 years of hard work every single day.” — Jensen Huang, CEO Nvidia to CBS 60 Minutes. Source: CBS News.
QUANTUM
QUANTUM LEAP: 2025 IS THE YEAR OF QUANTUM. Move over, artificial intelligence—2025 belongs to quantum computing.
WHY NOW: The U.N. declared 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
BIG PLAYERS: Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Amazon are racing to build useful supercomputers by decade’s end.
STARTUPS TO WATCH —> Universal Quantum and PsiQuantum.
CHINA’S $10B BET: A national lab for quantum dominance.
—> ENTER THE ERA OF QUANTUM ERROR CORRECTION (QEC). QEC is the "guardrails" for quantum computing, ensuring systems remain accurate and reliable. Without it, quantum systems are too error-prone for real-world applications like drug discovery and financial modeling.
GLOBAL GUARDRAILS: Governments, investors, and researchers worldwide are prioritizing real-time error correction (QEC) to achieve scalable, transformative quantum applications.
THE BIG QUESTION: How will geopolitics—and Americans’ emphasis on freedom— shape the framework moving forward?
Sources: Quantum Insider; Bloomberg; New Scientist; Quantum Computing Report; Chief Information Officer.
BYTES
JAN. 10 —> TIKTOK. The Supreme Court hears TikTok’s appeal to stop a federal law forcing ByteDance to sell or shut down in the U.S. Deadline: Jan. 19. Meanwhile… Trump’s Former FCC Head Ajit Pai Asks Supreme Court to Uphold ByteDance’s TikTok Ban.
CHINA’S ECONOMY: BLOATED, SLOW, AND OUT OF TIME. Overbuilt, over-leveraged, and over it. China’s economic engine is buckling under years of bad decisions, via WSJ.
TEEN TOOK CRYPTO—AND LANDED IN FEDERAL PRISON. High school baseball star turned crypto thief? Ricky Handschumacher’s journey from videogame revenge to federal court is a must-read. Source: WSJ.
Crazy…
SIGN OF THE TIMES: ROBOT ROM-COM DAZZLES SUNDANCE. Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun star in Love Me, a millennia-spanning romance between a buoy and a satellite, exploring humanity’s legacy long after our extinction—hitting theaters this January. Source: People magazine.
With gratitude,
Kev
ABOUT mtf.tv’s meet the future: mtf.tv’s meet the future is a cutting-edge platform focused on addressing key challenges at the intersection of national security, technology, and business. With a mission to embrace freedom to meet the future’s challenges and opportunities, mtf.tv offers forward-thinking media offerings and forums.