News/Economy
Seattle mayor takes jab at cross-the-way Bellevue while unveiling new AI policy
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell took a playful jab at neighboring Bellevue during the unveiling of his city's new artificial intelligence policy, declaring "They don't have an AI House in Bellevue" while highlighting Seattle's innovation edge. The remarks underscore growing competition between the two Washington cities as tech companies increasingly establish offices across the region, with Bellevue attracting major players like Amazon, OpenAI, and Zoom in recent years. What you should know: Harrell made his comments while unveiling Seattle's AI policy at the AI House, a startup hub financially supported by the city on Seattle's waterfront. The mayor emphasized Seattle's "unique...
read Sep 11, 2025How Apple’s translation AirPods create new economic value in consumption (not production)
Apple's new AirPods feature live translation capabilities, marking one of the first tangible examples of AI creating entirely new possibilities rather than simply reducing costs. The technology addresses language barriers that act as "invisible tariffs" on the global economy, potentially opening new markets and unleashing economic opportunities previously constrained by communication gaps. The big picture: Unlike most AI applications that focus on replacing human labor or cutting costs, Apple's translation-enabled AirPods represent AI's potential to expand consumption and create new economic value rather than just making existing processes cheaper. Why this matters: According to PWC, a global consulting firm, two-thirds...
read Sep 10, 2025517K AI workers drive rent spikes in Seattle, San Francisco and more
The artificial intelligence job boom is driving up rents in major tech hubs across the US and Canada, as more than 517,000 AI-skilled workers compete for housing in already expensive markets. This surge in high-paid tech talent is creating a double squeeze on housing costs, with AI professionals able to afford premium rents while pricing out other residents in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle. The big picture: AI worker populations have exploded by more than 50% in the past year, with growth concentrated in cities that were already struggling with housing affordability before the AI revolution began....
read Sep 8, 2025Job seekers face long searches as AI dominates hiring process, creates swipe-like disposability
The American job market has become increasingly dysfunctional as both job seekers and employers rely heavily on AI tools, creating a cycle where millions of applications go unanswered despite low unemployment rates. Recent college graduate Harris applied to 200 jobs and received 200 rejections, illustrating how AI-powered hiring systems have transformed job searching into what experts describe as "Tinderized job-search hell." What you should know: The hiring process has stalled despite seemingly healthy economic indicators, with payrolls frozen for four months and hiring rates at their lowest since the Great Recession. The hiring rate has dropped from four or five...
read Sep 8, 2025US Census data reveals 2% drop in enterprise AI adoption
US Census Bureau data reveals AI usage among large companies dropped from nearly 14 percent in mid-June to under 12 percent in August—the largest decline since tracking began in November 2023. This represents a concerning trend for tech investors who have poured billions into AI development, expecting enterprise adoption to drive sustainable returns on their massive investments. What you should know: The decline affects companies across different sizes, with the steepest drop occurring among enterprises with over 250 employees. Data from over 1.2 million US firms shows AI usage fell most dramatically in large corporations, while very small businesses with...
read Sep 8, 2025Nobel winner Geoffrey Hinton warns AI will create massive unemployment
Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning "godfather of AI," warned that artificial intelligence will create massive unemployment while boosting corporate profits as companies replace workers with AI systems. The renowned computer scientist attributes this outcome not to the technology itself but to the capitalist system, echoing his earlier concerns about AI companies prioritizing short-term profits over long-term consequences. What he's saying: Hinton predicts a stark economic divide as AI adoption accelerates across industries. "What's actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers," he told the Financial Times. "It's going to create massive unemployment and...
read Sep 5, 2025AI creating or augmenting jobs, not replacing workers, according to Fed report
A new Federal Reserve report reveals that artificial intelligence isn't replacing human workers as quickly as predicted, with manufacturing and service industries in the New York region remaining largely secure from job displacement in the near term. Instead of mass layoffs, managers are increasingly choosing to retrain employees to work alongside AI systems, suggesting a collaborative rather than replacement model for the technology's integration into the workforce. What you should know: The human-AI partnership model is emerging as the dominant approach across industries, contradicting earlier predictions of widespread job elimination. Manufacturing and service sectors in the New York Federal Reserve...
read Sep 5, 2025AI data centers drive up electricity costs, making it a central issue in 2025 elections
Rising electricity costs are emerging as a major political issue in the 2025 elections, with candidates across New Jersey, Virginia, and other states making utility bills a central campaign theme. The surge is driven largely by America's aging power grid struggling to meet explosive demand from AI-powered data centers, which consumed nearly a quarter of Virginia's electricity in 2023 and are projected to double or triple energy use by 2028. What you should know: Political campaigns are responding aggressively to voter concerns about skyrocketing utility bills, with both parties proposing dramatically different solutions. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill, a U.S....
read Sep 4, 2025AI skills boost salaries 28-43% across industries, including marketing, PR and science
Jobs requiring AI skills command salaries 28% to 43% higher than comparable positions without AI requirements, according to a new study from labor market research firm Lightcast. The premium extends beyond tech roles into marketing, research, and other industries, signaling that AI competency has become a valuable differentiator across the modern job market. What you should know: The salary boost varies based on the number of AI skills listed in job postings. Positions requiring just one AI skill offer average salaries 28% higher than those without AI requirements, translating to roughly $18,000 more per year. Jobs listing two or more...
read Sep 4, 2025US job cuts surge 66% as DOGE and AI reshape workforce, northeast corridor most affected
U.S. job cuts surged 66% year-over-year through August, reaching 892,000 announced layoffs—already exceeding 2024's total and marking the highest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative has driven massive federal workforce reductions, while economic uncertainty and AI adoption continue reshaping employment across tech, finance, and retail sectors. The big picture: Government cost-cutting through DOGE has become the primary driver of job losses, with Washington D.C. seeing cuts triple to 294,696 positions this year. California leads states in private sector cuts with 135,241 layoffs, representing a 24% increase from last year. "After the impact...
read Sep 4, 2025Sam Altman blows more air into notion that AI stocks are in a dangerous bubble
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is once again cautioning investors about excessive artificial intelligence hype, warning that sky-high expectations for AI stocks could lead to significant disappointment. Despite being bullish on AI's transformative potential, Altman believes the market is currently overexcited about the technology's near-term impact, echoing concerns he first raised during GPT-4's development when he said "people are begging to be disappointed." The big picture: Altman acknowledges the market appears to be in an AI bubble, with many stocks trading at unsustainable valuations that don't align with current business fundamentals. "Are we in a phase where investors as a whole...
read Sep 3, 2025Oneshotted: 70% of customers consider switching brands after one bad AI experience
Companies are facing a "Trust Recession" where customers increasingly lose confidence in AI-powered customer service, despite technological advances promising better experiences. This erosion of trust is becoming a significant business risk, as frustrated customers abandon purchases and switch brands after poor AI interactions, with 70% considering brand switching after just one negative AI service experience. The big picture: Traditional customer service automation has prioritized efficiency over relationship-building, creating digital barriers that make customers feel companies are actively avoiding them rather than helping. Amazon's satisfaction scores have plunged despite its reputation for service excellence, largely due to over-reliance on automation and...
read Sep 3, 2025Fed study links AI adoption to rising unemployment in tech jobs, most notably computing and math
A new Federal Reserve study suggests the U.S. may be witnessing the early stages of AI-driven job displacement, with industries that adopted artificial intelligence most heavily now showing the highest unemployment increases. The research found a 0.57 correlation coefficient between AI adoption rates and rising joblessness, particularly affecting computing and mathematics professionals where AI usage reached nearly 80% while unemployment climbed 1.2% over three years. What you should know: The St. Louis Fed research examined unemployment changes between 2022 and 2025 across different sectors, correlating them with AI exposure rates to identify potential displacement patterns. Computing and math professionals experienced...
read Sep 3, 2025Americans are choosing AI-resistant – though not AI-proof – careers over automation-prone jobs
Americans are quietly reshaping their career aspirations in response to artificial intelligence, and the results reveal a fascinating pivot toward deeply human-centered work. New research into job search patterns shows people increasingly gravitating toward roles that require personal interaction, physical presence, and the kind of nuanced judgment that remains firmly in human territory. The findings suggest workers are becoming remarkably strategic about AI's employment impact, actively seeking careers that offer protection from automation while providing meaningful work. Rather than competing with machines, Americans appear to be doubling down on what makes them irreplaceably human. The methodology behind the findings MRPeasy,...
read Sep 2, 2025AI shopping traffic surged 4,700% in July 2025, Adobe reports
Adobe's latest data reveals that AI-powered shopping traffic to U.S. retail sites surged 4,700% year-over-year in July 2025, based on analysis of over one trillion visits to retail websites. This dramatic growth signals that generative AI discovery tools—systems that help consumers research products using conversational interfaces—are rapidly becoming central to how consumers find deals and make purchasing decisions, fundamentally reshaping the retail landscape. What you should know: AI-referred shoppers demonstrate significantly more engaged behavior than traditional traffic sources. These consumers spend 32% longer on retail sites, view 10% more pages, and bounce 27% less than visitors from other channels. The...
read Sep 1, 2025This small Caribbean island earned $39M from .ai domain sales in 2024 boom
Anguilla's .ai domain extension has become a financial windfall for the small Caribbean island, generating $39 million in 2024—nearly a quarter of the territory's total government revenue. The unexpected boom, driven by surging demand for AI-related websites, is helping the 16,000-person British Overseas Territory diversify its tourism-dependent economy and build resilience against hurricane damage. The big picture: What started as a routine internet address assignment in the 1980s has transformed into Anguilla's second-largest revenue source, with .ai domain registrations growing more than 10-fold in five years. The government earned 105.5 million East Caribbean dollars ($39 million) from domain sales in...
read Sep 1, 2025Grindr CEO and “gAI” inventor warns AI funding bubble targets wrong areas
Grindr CEO George Arison warns that a "VC bubble" is forming around AI applications, predicting that many promising companies will "get destroyed" by excessive venture capital funding. While positioning Grindr as an "AI-first company" that has embraced artificial intelligence with products like gAI (pronounced "gay-I"), Arison argues that venture capitalists are flooding money into the wrong areas of the AI ecosystem. The big picture: Arison believes venture capital follows predictable patterns where "a few people will set the trends, then everyone will jump in that direction and too much money will go into that space." He compared the current AI...
read Sep 1, 2025Death, Taxes and AI: IRS adopts new tech for fraud detection as 95% of US companies embrace automation
The IRS is increasingly integrating artificial intelligence into its operations, from call centers to fraud detection systems, as part of a broader technology transformation following pandemic-related challenges. This shift reflects a wider trend where 95% of U.S. companies now use generative AI, marking a significant evolution in how both public and private sectors leverage automation for core functions. The big picture: Danny Werfel, former IRS Commissioner and current strategic advisory board member at alliant, describes AI as presenting both "an opportunity and a risk" for tax administration, with the agency expanding from initial call center applications to chatbots and scam...
read Sep 1, 2025AI-to-pipelayer-pipeline? Trade school enrollment surges 6.6% as students seek AI-proof careers
Generation Z is abandoning traditional college paths and flocking to trade schools, with enrollment in programs like HVAC and welding expected to grow 6.6% annually. This shift reflects growing concerns about AI displacing white-collar jobs and the financial burden of college debt, while skilled trades offer comparable wages without requiring four-year degrees. The big picture: Young workers are increasingly viewing trades as "AI-proof" careers that can't be automated, with one industry expert noting "AI can't install an HVAC system." Key enrollment trends: Trade-focused education is experiencing unprecedented growth across multiple pathways. Fall enrollment at trade schools is projected to grow...
read Aug 29, 2025AI orchestration could double workforce capacity by 2025, according to PwC report
Artificial intelligence is no longer just another workplace tool—it's becoming the conductor of an entirely new orchestra. According to PwC's midyear AI update, companies aren't simply plugging AI into existing workflows anymore. Instead, they're orchestrating multiple AI agents to work together, fundamentally reimagining how business gets done. This shift represents something far more significant than the typical "AI will make us more productive" narrative. Dan Priest, PwC's US Chief AI Officer, describes a workplace transformation where specialized AI agents collaborate like human teams—one focusing on human resources, another on compliance, and a third on finance, all coordinated by an orchestrator...
read Aug 29, 2025AI analyzed 630K paintings to decode 600 years of economic history through emotion extraction
A team of economists has used artificial intelligence to analyze over 630,000 European paintings spanning 600 years, discovering that collective shifts in artistic mood often aligned with historical moments of prosperity, hardship, or upheaval. The research demonstrates how AI can extract emotional signals from art to enhance traditional economic data, particularly for periods where standard historical records are scarce. How it works: The researchers trained AI to detect nine emotions—including sadness, fear, anger, awe, contentment, and amusement—across paintings from 1400 to 2000. The dataset was sourced from Google Arts and Culture, WikiData, and WikiArt, featuring predominantly traditional, figurative European painting...
read Aug 29, 2025New AI ETF QBIG holds just 8 stocks—here’s why that matters
The Invesco Top QQQ ETF (QBIG) offers investors a streamlined approach to artificial intelligence investing by holding just eight stocks—the Magnificent Seven plus Broadcom. This actively managed fund, which launched last December, eliminates the complexity of stock-picking while providing exposure to mega-cap AI companies across multiple segments of the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape. What you should know: QBIG's concentrated portfolio strategy focuses on the biggest players in AI, positioning investors to benefit from the technology's continued expansion. The ETF holds eight stocks total: the seven "Magnificent Seven" companies plus Broadcom (AVGO), creating what's described as an efficient proxy for...
read Aug 28, 2025Art history’s revenge? Tech job market crashes 71% while AI writes 30% of Microsoft’s code
Recent computer science graduates are facing an increasingly difficult job market, with employment in computer science and math roles declining 8% since 2022 and software development job postings plummeting 71% between February 2022 and August 2025. The downturn reflects a perfect storm of factors: tech companies right-sizing after pandemic-era hiring sprees, AI automation reducing demand for entry-level coding roles, and intense competition among new graduates for fewer available positions. What you should know: Multiple recent graduates shared stories of extensive job searches yielding few results, with some applying to hundreds of positions. Abraham Rubio, a May 2025 graduate from Bloomfield...
read Aug 27, 2025Cracker Barrel logo controversy implicates AI in reshaping American biz (and 8 other observations)
The Cracker Barrel logo controversy that erupted in late 2024 might seem like another fleeting social media storm, but it reveals deeper currents reshaping American business and society. When the restaurant chain temporarily replaced "Uncle Herschel"—the elderly gentleman who had graced their logo for decades—with a sleeker design, the backlash was swift and politically charged. Donald Trump Jr. denounced the change, Senator Mike Lee compared it to other corporate rebrands, and the company's stock price tumbled before management hastily reversed course. Yet beyond the partisan posturing lies a more significant story about automation, demographic shifts, and the economic forces transforming...
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