Greetings N2K reader!

Joan Benson won last week’s World Famous News Haiku Competition™ with this beauty, about what she’s grateful for on Thanksgiving:

Nice! Here’s your celebratory gif, Joan!

This week’s competition is about new limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say lets landlords drive up prices. Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET on Thursday for consideration by your Cheddar peers! And now for something completely different.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Would you invest in the Olympics on steroids?

• There are new limits on the algorithm that prosecu …

• Judge’s footnote on immigration agents using AI ra …

• X’s new feature exposes foreign U.S. political tro …

• Campbell’s IT chief on leave after lawsuit claims …

• Poll of the day: Is the rent too damn high?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.47% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.04% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.9% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

Enhanced Games, Real Page, X, $CPB ( ▲ 0.35% )  

Would you invest in the Olympics on steroids?

The Enhanced Games marks a significant departure from, let’s say, “traditional sports ethics.” The company, which basically runs a juiced-up Olympics without any drug testing, revealed plans to go public on the NASDAQ last week, simultaneously planning to launch “consumer-focused performance products.” The move aims to "democratize access to performance enhancement tools and protocols," setting the stage for a new era in athletics.

Olympic sprinter Fred “Whirly” Kerley and swimmer Ben “Ain’t Too” Proud (pictured above) are among the athletes competing in the upcoming Las Vegas Enhanced Games event, where $250,000 prizes are up for grabs. Participants will bypass typical Olympic-style drug testing but “must adhere to medical profiling to ensure their health,” the company insists. Honestly. It insists on this.

The IPO seeks to raise $200 million, following a $40 million equity deal already closed.

Enhanced CEO Maximilian “At a Minimum” Martin said: “By merging scientific progress with elite athletic performance, we can not only build an exciting new sports property that changes athletes’ lives, but also showcase that performance enhancements — under the right clinical and medical supervision — can deliver long-term health and longevity benefits.”

The New York Times recently ran a story on testosterone supplements for women that was eye-opening, to say the least. I must say the idea of being able to use drugs to enhance my performance is exciting — except that I’m absolutely perfect the way I am. And you are, too.

Song of the Day: Sam Fender, ‘I’m Always on Stage’

Here’s a mellow, reflective, and poignant ballad that contrasts the highs of fame with inner struggles, taken from Mr. “Stratocaster” Fender’s forthcoming deluxe album “People Watching,” out on December 5. Fame is indeed horrifically lonely. I can barely walk down the street these days without being Cheddar-mugged. It’s a nightmare.

There are new limits on the algorithm that prosecutors say drives up your rent

RealPage Inc., the creators of popular (depending on whom you’re asking) “rent-pricing” software, agreed to new restrictions after federal prosecutors alleged the company facilitated “algorithmic collusion” between landlords, driving up rents for tenants nationwide. The deal, announced by the Department of Justice, aims to curb anti-competitive practices and bring transparency to housing markets.

RealPage’s software uses vast troves of confidential data to provide landlords daily price recommendations for available apartments. Critics claim this tool replaced competition with coordinated price-setting. “RealPage was replacing competition with coordination, and renters paid the price,” said Gail Slater, the DOJ's antitrust chief. Under the settlement terms, RealPage is barred from using real-time data in its price-setting algorithms, only allowing the use of nonpublic information that is at least one year old. Slater emphasized, “It means rents set by the market, not by a secret algorithm.”

RealPage denies any wrongdoing and welcomed the settlement. "There has been a great deal of misinformation about how RealPage’s software works," said RealPage attorney Stephen Weissman, adding that the software led to “lower rents, less vacancies, and more procompetitive effects.”

This resolution comes amid growing scrutiny of rent-setting algorithms, with states like California and New York passing legislation to rein in the practice, not that it prevented my landlord from trying to jack our West Village rent to $4,900 a month in September. Tell ‘em what you think of that, would you, Dikembe Mutombo?

Quote of the Day

Judge’s footnote on immigration agents using AI raises accuracy and privacy concerns

U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis has shed light on a controversial use of AI in law enforcement: ICE using ChatGPT to attempt to justify a use of force.

Judge Ellis expressed concern that relying on AI narratives instead of officers' firsthand perspectives could undermine credibility. “The practice of using ChatGPT to write use-of-force reports undermines agents’ credibility and may explain the inaccuracy of these reports,” she noted. Experts agree, with Ian Adams, criminology professor at the University of South Carolina, calling the incident a “nightmare scenario.” He told the AP: “We need the specific articulated events of that event and the specific thoughts of that specific officer to let us know if this was a justified use of force.”

Privacy concerns compound the issue. Katie Kinsey from NYU’s Policing Project explained that uploading images into public AI systems like ChatGPT risks losing control over sensitive data. Better use some force on that data, guys, to keep it under control, no?

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes indeed, you should. I feel 85% confident it’s going to look lovely this morning.

X’s new feature exposes foreign U.S. political trolls

In a move designed to "secure the integrity of the global town square," Elon Musk's X platform has introduced a feature allowing users to view the approximate location of accounts, raising significant questions about transparency, foreign influence, and privacy.

Online investigations following the update revealed that some popular U.S. political accounts, such as "@BarronTNews_" and "@MAGANationX," purportedly run by Americans, were actually based in slightly less American areas like South Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa. These accounts, sporting American flags and pro-Trump imagery, have, amazingly, been leading sources of polarizing misinformation.

Campbell’s IT chief on leave after lawsuit claims he said company’s food is for ‘poor people’

Andy Warhol’s favorite soup company $CPB ( ▲ 0.35% ) suspended one of its executives after he made offensive remarks about the company’s products and customers. Martin “Hoo” Bally, Campbell’s VP of IT, was named in a lawsuit filed last week by former employee Robert “Gotcha” Garza. The lawsuit accuses Bally of mocking Campbell's as creating “highly processed food” for “poor people” and making racially insensitive remarks about Indian workers, whom he allegedly called “idiots.” Garza claimed Bally also admitted coming to work high after consuming marijuana edibles. The very idea! AND AT A SOUP COMPANY.

Campbell’s responded swiftly, placing Bally on leave while conducting an investigation into the matter. “Such language does not reflect our values and the culture of our company,” the company said. “We do not tolerate that kind of language under any circumstances.”

The lawsuit alleges Garza’s termination in late January was a result of his attempts to report Bally’s comments to HR. Campbell’s told the AP: “We are proud of the food we make, the people who make it, and the high-quality ingredients we use to provide consumers with good food at a good value.”

The stock — Wall Street, not chicken — is down 37% over five years.

Poll of the day: Is the rent too damn high?

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