E157: Epic legal win, OpenAI licensing deals, FCC targets Elon, Alex Jones reinstated & more

Google will appeal the Epic v. Google Play Store antitrust verdict and is likely to win on appeal, resulting in no massive change to Google Play Store business practices or economics (including its overall Play Store revenue) as a consequence of this case.

“Google's going to appeal. They feel very strongly they'll win an appeal. And the markets obviously did a, you know, voted with the fact that Google's stock didn't really move anywhere. And the market said, hey, this isn't this is a nothing burger. Google's 40 billion in annual Play Store revenue. Worst case scenario like you said, if it gets impacted by $2 billion, that's 2 billion out of 300 overall doesn't really matter. And likely they're going to win on appeal anyway. So you know, I think the saga will continue, but I think Google's got a pretty strong case on appeal. And it seems like, you know, it's going to be very hard to kind of see a massive change in App Store behavior as a result of this case, even though it's been hyped up to be that.” View on YouTube

The Walt Disney Company will launch its own commercial generative image product, similar to DALL·E or Stable Diffusion, that allows users to generate customized images using Disney-owned IP (e.g., Star Wars characters) such as "put yourself as a Star Wars character."

“Disney is going to launch their own dolly type stable diffusion product where you can do this. Put yourself on a star, make a Star Wars character.” View on YouTube

Rural customers whose government-subsidized Starlink service was canceled will, within a reasonable period after cancellation (e.g., 1–2 years), independently subscribe to Starlink using their own money at standard retail prices, leading to continued or growing Starlink adoption in those areas despite loss of subsidies.

“The the fact is, all of those people who just had their Starlink canceled through the government, I guarantee you they will buy Starlink because it's the best product.” View on YouTube

In the Russia–Ukraine war, Russia will maintain enough military and economic staying power that the conflict will eventually end in some form of negotiated settlement rather than a decisive Ukrainian victory or regime collapse in Moscow.

“Russia is not as weak as it seemed. It has staying power. This means a settlement is likely outcome anyway.” View on YouTube

Harvard president Claudine Gay will not remain in her role longer than a few years: she will either be removed or resign within about 1 year of this Dec 16, 2023 episode, or else will step down within 2–3 years (by late 2026) under the framing of retiring to "spend more time with her family."

“So I suspect that that's what happens. She probably won't be in that job in a year from now. Or, you know, she kind of muddles along. And in 2 or 3 years, she retires to spend more time with her family.” View on YouTube

Uber’s stock price, at roughly $70 at the time of this Dec 16, 2023 recording, will rise to at least $76 in the foreseeable future (implicitly within the next market cycle, i.e., within 1–2 years).

“So Uber's at 70. ... We're going to 76 puts me in I don't care mode That's for sure.” View on YouTube