Also: New Lazard CEO, China's new jet, musical deepfakes.
There’s nothing earth shattering in the debt limit deal reached by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, except for the fact that they reached a deal at all. Still, that’s worthy of note. I’ve more than once referred to America’s broken politics in this column. President Biden and Speaker McCarthy are trying to find a better path forward…and avoid a self-inflicted economic wound in the process. Members from the extreme wings of both parties will oppose the measure. But a coalition of the center is more likely to reach an outcome most Americans favor. Not surprisingly, business groups—who these days increasingly represent the center of American politics—support the deal.
Separately, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company is on the cusp of joining the Trillion Dollar Club (which now includes Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Saudi Aramco) told graduates at National Taiwan University this weekend to “run, don’t walk” to embrace the A.I. era. “In every way, this is the rebirth of the computer industry,” he said. Graduates should “take advantage of A.I. and do amazing things with an A.I. copilot by your side.” (But check your work, as this extraordinary story in the New York Times cautions.)
Meanwhile, Wharton super-professor Jeremy Siegel says A.I. mania, as demonstrated by Nvidia’s surge last week, is “not a bubble yet.” The age of A.I. is just getting started.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
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Lazard’s new CEO
Peter Orszag will take over as Lazard’s CEO on Oct. 1, the investment bank announced on Friday. Orszag is a novel choice for the firm, due to his background in academia and policy-making, including a stint as President Barack Obama’s budget chief, before his transition to Wall Street. Lazard said it would cut 10% of its workforce earlier this year, following a slump in dealmaking activity. Financial Times
Maiden flight
China's C919 passenger jet made its inaugural commercial flight on Sunday in an important milestone for Beijing's strategy of self-sufficiency. The new plane could erode Boeing and Airbus’s dominance in aviation, at least in the Chinese market. Yet analysts note that the C919, made by state-owned COMAC, relies on foreign parts and know-how. Fortune
Musical deepfakes
The rapid rise of A.I.-powered voice mimicry is testing how the music industry understands copyright and fair use, writes Fortune’s Jeremy Kahn. Artists are worried about losing control of their sound to A.I. models trained on their work. But few know how going after deepfakes will play out in court: “Anyone who tells you that the legal implications are clear…is making stuff up,” one former RIAA executive says.
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Engaging consumers through TV, gaming and UGC The blended realities of younger generations are changing the media and entertainment landscape, according to Deloitte’s 2023 Digital media trends report. In fact, half of all Gen Zs and Millennials in the US consider online experiences to be meaningful replacements for in-person experiences. So, how might leaders evolve their business strategies to engage people across media and deliver more value? Read more.
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