What Scares Elon Musk; Russia’s Dark Master; Serena Williams’s Love Match

A special delivery from the Vanity Fair Archive. View in your browser | Update your preferences     A daily digest of things to discuss over drinks February 05, 2022 From a tech titan to an iconic wisecracker, read on for five tales of larger-than-life personalities.   Elon Musk's Future Shock Elon Musk is famous for his futuristic gambles (from Tesla cars and cost-efficient rockets to his dream of settling on Mars), but Silicon Valley's latest gold rush—artificial intelligence—scares him. The tech titan's billion-dollar mission to put controls on A.I. pits him against much of the industry. How realistic are Musk's fears? In 2017, Maureen Dowd dove deep into a raging debate. R E A D  M O R E »     A Question of Provenance The "David Herbert collection" was said to be one of the great troves of unknown Abstract Expressionist masterpieces—Pollocks, de Koonings, Rothkos, etc. But was it? In 2012, the reputations of New York's once venerable Knoedler gallery and of art-world doyenne Ann Freedman hung on the answer. R E A D  M O R E »     Serena's Love Match In January 2017, on the eve of the Australian Open, Serena Williams handed her then fiancé, Alexis Ohanian, a paper bag containing six positive pregnancy tests. It was just the latest surprise in an unlikely pairing: the world's greatest tennis player and the geek cofounder of Reddit. From their first date—a magic six hours in Paris—to their plans for baby Alexis's arrival, Buzz Bissinger had the full love story. R E A D  M O R E »     If I Were a Movie Manager "I have the utmost faith in myself—a firm, a deep-rooted conviction that, as a film dictator, I would unquestionably be There," penned the legendary Dorothy Parker in 1918. R E A D  M O R E »     Russia's Dark Master Vladimir Putin won the admiration of his people for his iron grasp on power. Then came the Kursk submarine crisis. In 2000, Maureen Orth asked whether the Kremlin's mystery man would be able to rein in a massively corrupt oligarchy—or would he instead wake the ghost of Stalin. R E A D  M O R E » Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. Sign Up Now     This e-mail was sent to you by VANITY FAIR. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.