There’s a new item on SF-based productivity startup Notion’s to-do list: Get tens of millions of users to try its brand-new AI tool.

On February 22, the company debuted Notion AI, a generative AI feature aimed at helping users do things like summarize notes, identify action items from a meeting, and create and edit text. It’s an optional add-on to the platform’s existing pricing plans, costing an extra $10 per user per month, and Ivan Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Notion, told us he sees the addition of generative AI as “a new type of Lego brick we’re introducing to our user tool set.”

A week into its debut, the tool had seen 14 million interactions, according to the company.

Keep reading here.—HF

Everything’s connected to tech these days—even federal regulations. But with changes to environmental, social, governance (ESG) standards on the way, that may mean extra hours on the job for the IT department, and more tech spending from companies looking to comply with the new regulations.

Thus far, ESG reporting has been voluntary. But the SEC rules will change that, and there may be significant consequences, said Mike Zamis, CPO at Sphera Solutions.

“If the SEC regulations pass, as they’re currently written, that will become a big regulatory obligation,” Zamis said. “Up to and including the CFO going to jail.”

Keep reading here.—EH

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

As someone who both spends time thinking critically about tech and is a practitioner, I help leaders understand the impact the tech revolution will have on their companies and on society at large.

I work with them to tackle questions such as: What happens when you adopt technologies at scale? How does that shape the professional identity of your employees, and how does it change the competitive advantage of your company and the countries in which you operate?

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

My work on synthetic biology enables us, for instance, to rethink the entire process of how factories are built—making them smaller and cheaper and dependent on fewer resources. As a result, companies can build more plants in emerging markets. And basic consumer products that are often seen as luxury goods—because they have to be produced elsewhere and then transported, adding logistics to the cost—can be made closer to the customer and thus more accessible. The impact will be profound.

What’s the best piece of tech-related media you’ve read/watched/listened to?

I really enjoy Azeem Azhar’s newsletter, Exponential View. It’s entertaining, but it also looks around the corner. He’s skilled at identifying weak signals and expanding them to make you think about what’s possible at scale.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

I consider myself an amateur specialist when it comes to Persian rugs, which is a passion that comes from my grandfather. I enjoy looking for designs, such as the cardboard of a tree of life, the color of an Isfahan rose, and the border of a Farahan.

Stat: Three days. That’s the number of “additional” bereavement days a former Amazon employee said he requested following the deaths of both parents in the same week before being fired, according to a lawsuit filed by the worker alleging wrongful termination and violations of the California Family Rights Act. Amazon disputed the claim that the employee “was terminated for requesting bereavement leave.”

Quote: “This innovative research by Rolls-Royce could lay the groundwork for powering continuous human presence on the Moon.”—Paul Bate, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, on its second round of funding for Rolls-Royce’s moon-based nuclear reactor research

Read: An explainer on “duration risk” and how it played into Silicon Valley Bank’s troubles by Marketplace.

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Catch up on the top Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• As steel giants face climate goals, investors focus on decarbonization and emissions
• Why the smartwatch market grew in 2022 despite ’tough’ odds
• VC funding dropped to $18 billion last month