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A landmark federal court decision has opened the doors to COVID-era tax refunds for millions of U.S. taxpayers. In Kwong v. United States, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims determined that the COVID-19 pandemic effectively paused federal tax deadlines from January 2020 through July 2023, giving taxpayers more time to file and pay their taxes than the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had previously recognized. The court ruled that the disaster-relief provision in Internal Revenue Code Section 7508A requires the IRS to pause all penalties and interest throughout the entire disaster period, plus an additional 60 days. That means that while the COVID-19 federal disaster period ran from January 20, 2020, through May 11, 2023, returns and payments weren’t late until after July 10, 2023. Last week, Erin Collins, the national taxpayer advocate, wrote that tens of millions of taxpayers could be eligible for COVID-era refunds, given that they were hit with penalties or interest for late filings or payments during this period. “This issue is widespread and not limited to a small or specialized group of taxpayers,” she wrote. Collins leads the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, an independent organization within the IRS that helps taxpayers resolve IRS issues and advocates for taxpayers’ rights. In the blog post, Collins explains that the ruling affects individual taxpayers, small businesses, corporations, trusts, and estates. She expects the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appeal the court’s decision. However, taxpayers can file a claim for a pandemic-era refund. Fast Company wrote about the court’s decision in March when it first happened. Who qualifies for a refund? Taxpayers may be eligible for refunds or abatements of penalties and interest the IRS assessed during the COVID-19 federal disaster period. This includes taxpayers who were: Assessed penalties for failure to timely file returns, failure to pay taxes, or failure to make estimated tax payments; Interest that began occurring earlier than it should have, or not at all; Overpayment interest for the same time period. Here’s how to file a refund claim Tax relief is not automatic. Taxpayers must file a claim. Collins writes, “Unless the IRS or Congress acts to ensure all affected taxpayers will receive refunds if the Kwong decision is upheld, taxpayers seeking refunds for penalties and interest they paid relating to that period will, in most cases, need to file claims by July 10, 2026.” Here’s how to check whether you qualify for a refund and file a claim: Review your tax records and transcripts through your Individual Online Account on the IRS website. Analyze your account activity during the 2020 to 2023 timeframe to verify whether any penalties or interest fees were charged. If you’re eligible for a refund, file IRS Form 843. File this form by July 10, 2026. Collins encourages taxpayers to send their forms by certified mail so they can easily prove they submitted a claim on time in case their form gets lost or misplaced. Millions of Americans filing claims could result in an IRS backlog and lengthy delays. View the full article

US tech billionaire leads $140mn investment into Panthalassa as search for AI power pushes into exotic new frontiersView the full article

Even in the The President era, foreign tourists flock to the ‘Mother Road’ in search of the true AmericaView the full article

The Pentagon said Friday that it has reached deals with seven tech companies to use their artificial intelligence in its classified computer networks, allowing the military to tap into AI-powered capabilities to help it fight wars. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection and SpaceX will provide their resources to help “augment warfighter decision-making in complex operational environments,” the Defense Department said. Notably absent from the list is AI company Anthropic, after its public dispute and legal fight with the The President administration over the ethics and safety of AI usage in war. The Defense Department has been rapidly accelerating its use of AI in recent years. The technology can help the military reduce the time it takes to identify and strike targets on the battlefield, while aiding in the organization of weapons maintenance and supply lines, according to a report in March from the Brennan Center for Justice. But AI has already raised concerns that its use could invade Americans’ privacy or allow machines to choose targets on the battlefield. One of the companies contracting with the Pentagon said its agreement required human oversight in certain situations. Concerns about military use of AI arose during Israel’s war against militants in Gaza and Lebanon, with U.S. tech giants quietly empowering Israel to track targets. But the number of civilians killed also soared, fueling fears that these tools contributed to the deaths of innocent people. Questions about military use of AI still being worked out The Pentagon’s latest contracts come at a time of anxiety about the potential for over-reliance on the technology on the battlefield, said Helen Toner, interim executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. “A lot of modern warfare is based on people sitting in command centers behind monitors, making complicated decisions about confusing, fast-moving situations,” said Toner, a former board member of OpenAI. “AI systems can be helpful in terms of summarizing information or looking at surveillance feeds and trying to identify potential targets.” But questions about the appropriate levels of human involvement, risk and training are still being worked out, she said. “How do you roll out these tools rapidly for them to be effective and provide strategic advantage?” Toner asked, “While also recognizing that you need to train the operators and make sure they know how to use them and don’t over trust them?” Such concerns were raised by Anthropic. The tech company said it wanted assurances in its contract that the military would not use its technology in fully autonomous weapons and the surveillance of Americans. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the company must allow for any uses the Pentagon deemed lawful. Anthropic sued after President Donald The President, a Republican, tried to stop all federal agencies from using the company’s chatbot Claude and Hegseth sought to label the company a supply chain risk, a designation meant to protect against sabotage of national security systems by foreign adversaries. OpenAI had announced a deal with the Pentagon in March to effectively replace Anthropic with ChatGPT in classified environments. OpenAI confirmed in a statement Friday that it was the same agreement it announced in early March. “As we said when we first announced our agreement several months ago, we believe the people defending the United States should have the best tools in the world,” the company said. One company’s agreement with the Pentagon included language that said there should be human oversight over any missions in which the AI systems act autonomously or semiautonomously, according to a person familiar with the agreement who was not authorized to speak about it publicly. The language also said the AI tools must be used in ways that are consistent with constitutional rights and civil liberties. Those resemble sticking points for Anthropic, though OpenAI has previously said that it secured similar assurances when it made its own deal with the Pentagon. The Pentagon’s point of view Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, told CNBC on Friday that it would have been irresponsible to rely on only one company, an acknowledgment of the friction with Anthropic. “And when we learned that one partner didn’t really want to work with us in the way we wanted to work with them, we went out and made sure that we had multiple different providers,” Michael said. Some of the companies, including Amazon and Microsoft, have long worked with the military in classified environments, and it was not immediately clear if the new agreements significantly altered their government partnerships. Others, such as chipmaker Nvidia and the startup Reflection, are new to such work. Both companies make open-source AI models, which Michael has described as a priority to provide an “American alternative” to China’s rapid development of AI systems in which some key components are publicly accessible for others to build upon. The Pentagon said Friday that military personnel are already using its AI capabilities through its official platform, GenAI.mil. “Warfighters, civilians and contractors are putting these capabilities to practical use right now, cutting many tasks from months to days,” the Pentagon said, adding that the military’s growing AI capabilities will “give warfighters the tools they need to act with confidence and safeguard the nation against any threat.” In many cases, the military uses artificial intelligence the same way civilians do: to take on rote tasks that would take humans hours or days to complete, said Toner, of Georgetown University. AI can be used to better predict when a helicopter needs maintenance or figure out how to efficiently move large amounts of troops and gear, she said. It can also help determine whether vehicles on a drone’s surveillance feeds are civilian or military. But people shouldn’t become overly dependent on it. “There’s a phenomenon called automation bias, where people can be prone to assume that machines work better than they actually do,” Toner said. O’Brien reported from Providence, Rhode Island. Follow the AP’s coverage of artificial intelligence at https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence. —Ben Finley and Matt O’Brien, Associated Press View the full article

Your boss can make or break your job experience: a good boss, smooth sailing ahead. A bad boss? Misery. According to a new workplace study, most employees are dealing with the latter. The research comes from Harris Poll’s Thought Leadership Practice who just conducted its Toxic Boss survey, which included online responses from 1,334 employed U.S. adults. It defined a toxic boss as someone who “exhibits harmful workplace behaviors, including unfair preferential treatment, lack of recognition, blame-shifting, unnecessary micromanagement, unreasonable expectations, being unapproachable, taking credit for others’ ideas, acting unprofessionally, or discriminating against employees based on personal characteristics.” A staggering six out of 10 workers said they currently have a toxic boss. Meanwhile, 70% say they’ve had a toxic boss at some point in their career. This rises to 75% for LGBTQIA+ workers. The impact is significant. Nearly half (47%) say their boss’s bad behavior is stressing them out, burning them out, or causing their mental health to slide downhill. Meanwhile, one-third say bad bosses have caused them to lose money, either because their behavior caused them to miss out on financial rewards or stalled their chances at a promotion. Most workers cope by working harder. The majority of workers (66%) say they’ve responded to toxic bosses by trying to meet their demands — working on weekends and on days off. Two-thirds of workers also say they’ve changed jobs because of a toxic job. But either way, workers are seeking mental health care to cope with how they feel about the situation. More than half (53%) have gone to therapy over their toxic boss. And while some workers say they avoid reporting their bosses’ behavior at all costs to avoid deepening the conflict, many are pushing back. More than half (55%) say they’ve taken at least one action to push back against their boss’s harmful behavior. Interestingly, it’s Gen Z who is stepping up the most: 73% of workers have pushed back against a toxic boss. Largely, workers say bad bosses are a result of external pressures: 71% blamed current economic conditions for high stress around the office. The AI race is playing an important role in driving toxic boss energy, too: 44% of workers said that their company invests more in AI than things like providing one-on-one coaching for people managers, and training the next generation of leaders within the company. “We’re in the largest technology investment cycle in a generation, and the human side of work is being left behind,” says Libby Rodney, Chief Strategy Officer at The Harris Poll. “Toxic leadership isn’t a character flaw. It’s an investment failure. These are today’s managers who were never trained or held to a standard, and now we’re asking them to lead through a transformation they weren’t equipped for before AI even arrived.” For the majority of employees, the solution is clear. It’s not less of an emphasis on AI, or even better pay: it’s more support. Sixty-four percent of workers said better leadership training is the best way to reduce toxic behavior and build healthier workplaces. View the full article

The AI chatbots are coming for your smart home. Both Alexa+ and Gemini for Home are now rolling out to users who've opted in to the upgrades, replacing standard Alexa and Google Assistant, respectively. Once you get access, they'll do everything we've become familiar with from these next-gen AI assistants—natural language conversations, complex queries and responses, various hallucinations—while retaining all the previous smart-home functionality, whether that's turning off lights or checking in on video doorbells. I got access to these two upgrades within the space of a week, giving me the opportunity to test them against each other. With an Amazon Echo Show, a Google Nest Hub, and a selection of Philips Hue smart lights, I got to work. Upgrading to Alexa+ and Gemini for HomeUpgrades to both Alexa+ and Gemini for Home appear in the relevant apps on your phone. You'll be prompted to set up the new AI assistant, then taken through a few basic configuration steps (like choosing a voice for the AI). With that done, it's a case of simply saying "hey Alexa" or "hey Google" to the app on your phone or one of the smart devices you've got, and talking. Alexa+ does have one advantage in terms of its web app: If you use it via a browser, you get a smart home controls section you can switch to. Gemini on the web won't understand or implement any smart-home-related commands you give it, though rather confusingly it does sync chats you've had on your phone app, which will include these commands if you look back at them. The Alexa app updated with Alexa+ Credit: Lifehacker Both these AI apps only offer the basics for free when it comes to smart home controls (switching things on and off). With Alexa+, if you want the full conversational AI experience, it's going to cost you $19.99 per month—though it's also available as part of Amazon Prime, which is $14.99 a month. Note that this is separate from any Ring subscriptions you need to archive your video recordings. With Gemini for Home, the conversational AI is paywalled, as is the video recording history. You can opt to pay $10 or $20 a month, depending on how much video history you want (these plans replace the old Nest Aware ones). The higher tier also gets you AI-powered event descriptions and summaries for what's happening in any recorded video clips ("a delivery driver arrived at 1pm" and so on), and if you already pay Google $19.99 or more a month for one of the other Gemini AI plans, you get Gemini for Home included. How Alexa+ and Gemini for Home stack up against each other With the AIs up and running, I asked about which days I'd need an umbrella. While both assistants accurately understood the question and told me the weather forecast for the week, I preferred Gemini's answer: It was more comprehensive, and actually answered the question about the umbrella for each day (Alexa+ just gave me the chance of rain each day, and left me to make my own mind up about an umbrella, though the graphics were nicer). The Google Home app updated with Gemini. Credit: Lifehacker I requested some tips on bathroom cleaning, and both Alexa+ and Gemini for Home gave me answers that were informed and free from errors (as far as I could tell). They both accurately summarized several movies for me without a hitch, too, though Alexa+ was more cautious when it came to spoilers. These are the type of questions and prompts you can put through Alexa+ and Gemini—but it's the smart home integration I was most interested in looking at. When you update to Alexa+ or Gemini for Home, all of your existing devices with smart assistant access get the upgrade too. How Alexa+ and Google for Home integrate with smart home devicesIt's in controlling your smart home devices where things get trickier for Alexa+ and Gemini for Home, because they first have to recognize that you're providing a simple command—and then they must carry it out, rather than launching into a long answer about the features of smart lights or the best affordable smart cameras for families. I was expecting a few mistakes and bugs here, but was pleasantly surprised by both AIs: I was able to easily change my smart-light settings with my voice, including their color and their brightness, as well as whether or not they were switched on. Setting a smart light routine with Alexa+ Credit: Lifehacker Scheduled actions worked well, too: I got Gemini for Home to turn on my smart lights at a certain time, and told Alexa+ to turn them back off at a later time, and my instructions were followed exactly. You can set up these routines to repeat across certain time periods too, and they get saved in the app if you need to make edits. If you've got an Amazon or Google smart display, you can set up widgets for your smart home devices, and control them with a few taps. Both my Echo Show and my Nest Hub let me control light status, color, and brightness from the screen, and both worked flawlessly with barely any lag at all. I also tested reminders and timers—two other features you're likely to want to access through your smart speakers or smart displays. Again, both Alexa+ and Gemini for Home did what they were told, correctly recognizing a direct command rather than a more complex AI prompt, and carrying out the instructions. Setting a smart light routine with Gemini for Home. Credit: Lifehacker With no smart home cameras or doorbells installed, I couldn't test out the video features offered by these AIs. Anecdotal evidence suggests they can be a bit hit-or-miss when identifying what's going on in a clip and summarizing it for you—so you shouldn't always expect them to be perfectly accurate. In general, I found Alexa+ and Gemini for Home to be reliable, smart, and useful. View the full article

Why do good companies stumble? I’m talking about the organizations that were once on top. The ones that seemed to lead their category. Today, we’d call them legacy brands or some euphemism that acknowledges the significance they once had and their staying power to stick around. However, somehow or another, they lost the plot along the way, and if only they had fixed this, changed that, or done this one thing, they would have continued winning. It’s a “If/then” proposition straight out of an MBA case study. A clear villain with an easy fix. As satisfying as that framing might be, it’s almost always never that simple. Instead, it’s typically a litany of factors at play that undermine an organization’s intentions and, ultimately, their outcomes and subsequent standing. And these factors are mainstay characters of change. So, the real question isn’t, “Why do good companies stumble,” but why do companies stumble navigating change? So, we invited Nick Tran on this week’s episode of the FROM THE CULTURE podcast to talk about change—how organizations endure it, maneuver around it, and occasionally turn it into something useful. Tran is the kind of marketer CMOs name when asked what CMOs they admire. That’s not surprising considering the brands he’s led (i.e., Taco Bell, Samsung, Hulu, and TikTok) and the changes he’s helped them navigate. Every one of those companies, he’ll cheerfully admit, was either a dumpster fire when he arrived or about to become one. Now, as President and CMO of First Round Collective, he no longer thinks the pattern is a coincidence; he thinks it’s a calling, which makes him the perfect person to talk to if we are to interrogate navigating change. What Tran said early in our conversation, almost as a throwaway, is the line I haven’t been able to forget. Most companies have good instincts. The leaders have experience that enables them to make good choices. Their understanding of who they are and who they serve was, at one point, at least, hard-won and clear. The reason they end up in trouble is rarely because their instincts disappeared but typically because the noise grew too loud and drowned out their instincts. The noise is familiar. Board demands. Shareholder pressure that prioritizes the next twelve weeks instead of the next twelve years. Executives incentivized to prioritize their career over the sustainability of their stakeholders. The cacophony of these inputs’ cumulative effect doesn’t destroy a leader’s good instincts; it just makes them increasingly less audible and harder to flow. This is where our conversation with Tran throws its hardest punch, and it’s the move I’d recommend any leader navigating change steal immediately. You have to remove self. Death to ego. You aren’t running the company; you’re a steward of it. It’s the spine of what Robert Greenleaf called servant leadership, and it remains countercultural for the same reason it always has: the C-suite is shaped by incentives that reward the opposite posture. For instance, by any measure, Tran has won the awards game. However, the stat that matters most on his scorecard is how many people who once worked for him have gone on to become CMOs themselves—at the time of our conversation, the number was seven. Ego counts what a leader led. Stewards count who they grew. One focuses on self and others focuses on others, which inherently quiets the noise and makes a leader’s instinct more pronounced. In a sound recording, like a song, for example, its steward is thinking about the listener, the performances of the musicians and vocalists who contributed to it, as well as the broader industry murmurs that will evaluate the song’s performance in the market. The steward (i.e., the music producers, the Quincy Jones’ of the world) is balancing all the sounds of all the stakeholders to create the best song possible. Their focus is the song, not themselves. The same goes with organizational stewards; they are custodians of the music, bringing out the most important parts and softening the sounds that are a part of the composition but need only be atmospheric and less pronounced. It’s not about them; it’s about the organization. Boards, shareholders, and quarter-watchers aren’t going anywhere. That’s just the nature of the beast. It’s the room noise that will always be present in a sound recording, but not its focus. And the song’s steward knows this, just as much as they know to add more volume to the vocals and less to the cowbell. The same thing goes with organizational stewards; they must balance all the sounds to ensure that their instincts are pronounced. Death to ego, it turns out, is mostly about clearing space. For the instinct to come back. For the people you lead to outgrow you. For the company to be handed off to whoever’s next in better shape than you found it. Most companies already know what to do. The leader’s job is to get out of the way long enough to let them remember. Check out our full conversation with Nick Tran on the latest episode of FROM THE CULTURE here. View the full article

GameStop Corporation has proposed to buy the online auction giant eBay Inc. for $125 per share, or a total of roughly $56 billion. “The offer represents a 46% premium to eBay’s unaffected closing price on February 4, 2026, the day GameStop started accumulating its position in eBay,” reads a press release from the video game retailer. “GameStop has built a 5% economic stake in eBay through derivatives and beneficial ownership of common stock.” Here’s what you need to know about the unusual move: What did GameStop propose? The deal, as proposed, would comprise 50% cash and 50% GameStop stock. Ryan Cohen, who took over as GameStop’s CEO in 2021, would remain as CEO of the combined company, should the bid be accepted. How has eBay responded? On Monday morning, eBay confirmed receipt of the offer, saying “it had no discussions with or outreach from GameStop prior to receiving the proposal.” It further said that its board of directors, “in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, will carefully review and consider the unsolicited proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the company and all eBay shareholders.” This is not a common thing, right? What makes the news so surprising is that it was unsolicited, for one. And second, eBay is a much larger company than GameStop. As of the end of last week, GameStop’s market capitalization was $11.9 billion, while eBay’s was more than $46 billion. However, that isn’t slowing down Cohen, who even sent a letter to the chair of eBay on Sunday, explaining that he wanted to cut costs, combine GameStop’s physical stores with eBay’s large online presence, and create a company that could go toe-to-toe with Amazon—something that Cohen told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. For those who could read the tea leaves, Cohen did hint at GameStop taking a big swing back in January. In an interview with CNBC, he mentioned that GameStop wanted to try to acquire a much bigger public company that could drastically increase GameStop’s value. That has now come to fruition with his bid for eBay. Cohen, too, is putting the new proposed company’s success on his shoulders. “Following close, I will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company,” he wrote in his letter to eBay Chair Paul Pressler. “I will receive no salary, no cash bonuses, and no golden parachute – I will be compensated solely based on the performance of the combined company.” How have the companies’ stock reacted? As markets opened on Monday, shares of eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) were up about 6.58% to $110.92. Notably, that’s not quite as high as the $125 that GameStop says it’s offering. Shares of GameStop (NYSE: GME), which famously led the meme stock craze of 2021, were down 4.26% on Monday. However, the stock is up about 23% year to date. View the full article

We are highly confident that this could end up a car crashView the full article

If you’re looking to maximize your shopping benefits, consider joining free loyalty programs that cater to your spending habits. Programs like My Best Buy Rewards and Starbucks Rewards offer points and stars for purchases, whereas Target Circle and Sephora Beauty Insider provide personalized discounts and exclusive rewards. Furthermore, Mywalgreens improves your health-related shopping with cash back. Each program is designed to boost your savings and improve your experience, making it worthwhile to explore these options. Key Takeaways My Best Buy Rewards offers free shipping, points on purchases, and exclusive discounts for electronics shoppers. Starbucks Rewards allows members to earn stars on purchases, redeemable for free items, with personalized offers and mobile ordering. Target Circle provides 1% back on purchases, exclusive discounts, and birthday rewards, enhancing the shopping experience at Target. Sephora Beauty Insider offers tiered benefits, exclusive rewards, and personalized offers, making it ideal for beauty enthusiasts. Mywalgreens allows members to earn cash back on purchases, access personalized deals, and support health causes with their rewards. Best Buy My Best Buy Rewards If you frequently shop for electronics, the My Best Buy Rewards program could be an excellent fit for you. It’s a free loyalty program that offers several benefits for members. You’ll enjoy free standard shipping with no minimum purchase, making it convenient for shopping. Plus, you earn points on every purchase, which can be redeemed for discounts on future buys, enhancing your long-term savings. For those looking for more, My Best Buy Plus, at $49.99/year, provides perks like free 2-day shipping and exclusive member prices. If you’re tech-savvy, consider My Best Buy Total for $179.99/year, which includes protection plans like AppleCare+, 24/7 tech support, and a 20% discount on repairs. This program is available to residents in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, making it one of the top free rewards programs for electronics enthusiasts. Starbucks Rewards Starbucks Rewards is a popular loyalty program that allows you to earn valuable rewards while enjoying your favorite coffee. For every dollar you spend, you earn 2 stars, and once you accumulate 150 stars, you can redeem them for a free drink or food item. The program also provides personalized offers, in addition to opportunities to participate in exclusive games and challenges, allowing you to earn even more rewards. With a mobile-first approach, you can save your favorite coffee orders and use mobile ordering for added convenience. Moreover, members enjoy free refills on brewed coffee and tea, which improves the overall value of the program. Currently, nearly 30 million members contribute to 53% of store spending through Starbucks Rewards, highlighting its significant impact on customer engagement and sales. Joining this program can maximize your coffee experience and rewards at Starbucks. Target Circle Target Circle is a free membership program aimed to improve your shopping experience at Target. As a member, you earn 1% back on every purchase, which you can redeem for discounts later. You’ll gain access to exclusive discounts and personalized offers customized to your shopping habits, making it easier to save on items you love. Moreover, Target Circle celebrates your birthday with special rewards, elevating your overall experience. You can likewise participate in community giving initiatives by voting on projects that matter to you, cultivating a sense of connection. To help you visualize the benefits, here’s a quick overview: Feature Description Benefits Cash Back Earn 1% back on purchases Redeem for discounts Personalized Offers Exclusive discounts based on habits Save on preferred items Birthday Rewards Special treats on your birthday Improved shopping experience Community Voting Influence local giving initiatives Connect with your community With the Target app, tracking your rewards and offers is simple and convenient. Sephora Beauty Insider As you explore the domain of beauty products, the Sephora Beauty Insider program offers a straightforward way to improve your shopping experience. By joining, you’ll earn one point for every dollar spent, and once you reach 500 points, you can redeem them for exclusive products and rewards. The program features three tiers: Insider, VIB, and Rouge, which require spending $0, $350, and $1,000, respectively. Each tier reveals increasing benefits, including special discounts during events. Members also enjoy personalized offers, birthday gifts, and access to exclusive events, enhancing their overall experience. Furthermore, Sephora frequently provides opportunities for bonus points and double points days, encouraging you to shop more often. With over 25 million active members, the program plays a significant role in nurturing customer loyalty and repeat purchases, making it a valuable option for beauty enthusiasts looking to maximize their shopping rewards. Mywalgreens When you join myWalgreens, you can take advantage of a free loyalty program intended to improve your shopping experience at Walgreens. As a member, you’ll earn 1% cash back on every purchase and 5% on Walgreens-branded products, making it easy to save during your shopping. The program tailors personalized deals and promotions based on your shopping habits, enhancing your overall experience. Additionally, myWalgreens celebrates your birthday with special rewards, encouraging more engagement throughout the year. You can track your points conveniently through the myWalgreens app or website, allowing you to redeem them for discounts on future purchases. Moreover, the program emphasizes community involvement by enabling members to donate their rewards to support health-related causes, promoting a sense of connection and purpose. Frequently Asked Questions What Company Has the Best Loyalty Program? Determining which company has the best loyalty program depends on your preferences and spending habits. Starbucks Rewards offers significant benefits, allowing you to earn stars for free drinks and food. Amazon Prime provides value with shipping and streaming perks. Sephora’s tiered system rewards beauty purchases, whereas Dunkin’ Rewards gives you points for coffee. Target Circle offers cash back and discounts. Evaluate these options based on what aligns best with your lifestyle and purchasing choices. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program often varies by individual preferences. Starbucks Rewards is popular, offering 2 stars per dollar spent, with 150 stars redeemable for a free drink. Amazon Prime improves loyalty through free shipping and exclusive deals. Delta SkyMiles provides miles that never expire, whereas Hilton Honors allows points for free nights. Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program features tiered rewards, offering points for purchases and exclusive access, boosting customer retention. What Are the Best Loyalty Programmes? When considering the best loyalty programs, you should evaluate options like Starbucks Rewards, where you earn stars for purchases, and Sephora Beauty Insider, which offers tiered rewards. Target Circle gives you 1% back with personalized deals, whereas Kohl’s Rewards provides 5% back and Kohl’s Cash for extra savings. Finally, myWalgreens offers cash back and customized promotions, enhancing your shopping experience through its app. Each program has unique benefits worth exploring. What Are the 3 R’s of Loyalty? The 3 R’s of loyalty are Reward, Recognition, and Retention. Reward involves offering tangible benefits, like points or discounts, to encourage repeat purchases. Recognition focuses on acknowledging loyal customers through personalized offers or tiered memberships, making them feel valued. Retention aims to keep customers engaged by providing a seamless experience and customized promotions. Effectively implementing these elements can lead to increased customer satisfaction and higher sales, as loyal customers tend to buy more. Conclusion Joining free loyalty programs like My Best Buy Rewards, Starbucks Rewards, Target Circle, Sephora Beauty Insider, and Mywalgreens can improve your shopping experience as you save money. Each program offers unique benefits customized to your preferences, whether you’re looking for discounts, points, or exclusive rewards. By signing up for these programs, you can maximize your shopping value and enjoy personalized offers. Consider enrolling in one or more of these programs to make the most of your purchases. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "5 Best Free Loyalty Programs You Should Join" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re looking to maximize your shopping benefits, consider joining free loyalty programs that cater to your spending habits. Programs like My Best Buy Rewards and Starbucks Rewards offer points and stars for purchases, whereas Target Circle and Sephora Beauty Insider provide personalized discounts and exclusive rewards. Furthermore, Mywalgreens improves your health-related shopping with cash back. Each program is designed to boost your savings and improve your experience, making it worthwhile to explore these options. Key Takeaways My Best Buy Rewards offers free shipping, points on purchases, and exclusive discounts for electronics shoppers. Starbucks Rewards allows members to earn stars on purchases, redeemable for free items, with personalized offers and mobile ordering. Target Circle provides 1% back on purchases, exclusive discounts, and birthday rewards, enhancing the shopping experience at Target. Sephora Beauty Insider offers tiered benefits, exclusive rewards, and personalized offers, making it ideal for beauty enthusiasts. Mywalgreens allows members to earn cash back on purchases, access personalized deals, and support health causes with their rewards. Best Buy My Best Buy Rewards If you frequently shop for electronics, the My Best Buy Rewards program could be an excellent fit for you. It’s a free loyalty program that offers several benefits for members. You’ll enjoy free standard shipping with no minimum purchase, making it convenient for shopping. Plus, you earn points on every purchase, which can be redeemed for discounts on future buys, enhancing your long-term savings. For those looking for more, My Best Buy Plus, at $49.99/year, provides perks like free 2-day shipping and exclusive member prices. If you’re tech-savvy, consider My Best Buy Total for $179.99/year, which includes protection plans like AppleCare+, 24/7 tech support, and a 20% discount on repairs. This program is available to residents in all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, making it one of the top free rewards programs for electronics enthusiasts. Starbucks Rewards Starbucks Rewards is a popular loyalty program that allows you to earn valuable rewards while enjoying your favorite coffee. For every dollar you spend, you earn 2 stars, and once you accumulate 150 stars, you can redeem them for a free drink or food item. The program also provides personalized offers, in addition to opportunities to participate in exclusive games and challenges, allowing you to earn even more rewards. With a mobile-first approach, you can save your favorite coffee orders and use mobile ordering for added convenience. Moreover, members enjoy free refills on brewed coffee and tea, which improves the overall value of the program. Currently, nearly 30 million members contribute to 53% of store spending through Starbucks Rewards, highlighting its significant impact on customer engagement and sales. Joining this program can maximize your coffee experience and rewards at Starbucks. Target Circle Target Circle is a free membership program aimed to improve your shopping experience at Target. As a member, you earn 1% back on every purchase, which you can redeem for discounts later. You’ll gain access to exclusive discounts and personalized offers customized to your shopping habits, making it easier to save on items you love. Moreover, Target Circle celebrates your birthday with special rewards, elevating your overall experience. You can likewise participate in community giving initiatives by voting on projects that matter to you, cultivating a sense of connection. To help you visualize the benefits, here’s a quick overview: Feature Description Benefits Cash Back Earn 1% back on purchases Redeem for discounts Personalized Offers Exclusive discounts based on habits Save on preferred items Birthday Rewards Special treats on your birthday Improved shopping experience Community Voting Influence local giving initiatives Connect with your community With the Target app, tracking your rewards and offers is simple and convenient. Sephora Beauty Insider As you explore the domain of beauty products, the Sephora Beauty Insider program offers a straightforward way to improve your shopping experience. By joining, you’ll earn one point for every dollar spent, and once you reach 500 points, you can redeem them for exclusive products and rewards. The program features three tiers: Insider, VIB, and Rouge, which require spending $0, $350, and $1,000, respectively. Each tier reveals increasing benefits, including special discounts during events. Members also enjoy personalized offers, birthday gifts, and access to exclusive events, enhancing their overall experience. Furthermore, Sephora frequently provides opportunities for bonus points and double points days, encouraging you to shop more often. With over 25 million active members, the program plays a significant role in nurturing customer loyalty and repeat purchases, making it a valuable option for beauty enthusiasts looking to maximize their shopping rewards. Mywalgreens When you join myWalgreens, you can take advantage of a free loyalty program intended to improve your shopping experience at Walgreens. As a member, you’ll earn 1% cash back on every purchase and 5% on Walgreens-branded products, making it easy to save during your shopping. The program tailors personalized deals and promotions based on your shopping habits, enhancing your overall experience. Additionally, myWalgreens celebrates your birthday with special rewards, encouraging more engagement throughout the year. You can track your points conveniently through the myWalgreens app or website, allowing you to redeem them for discounts on future purchases. Moreover, the program emphasizes community involvement by enabling members to donate their rewards to support health-related causes, promoting a sense of connection and purpose. Frequently Asked Questions What Company Has the Best Loyalty Program? Determining which company has the best loyalty program depends on your preferences and spending habits. Starbucks Rewards offers significant benefits, allowing you to earn stars for free drinks and food. Amazon Prime provides value with shipping and streaming perks. Sephora’s tiered system rewards beauty purchases, whereas Dunkin’ Rewards gives you points for coffee. Target Circle offers cash back and discounts. Evaluate these options based on what aligns best with your lifestyle and purchasing choices. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program often varies by individual preferences. Starbucks Rewards is popular, offering 2 stars per dollar spent, with 150 stars redeemable for a free drink. Amazon Prime improves loyalty through free shipping and exclusive deals. Delta SkyMiles provides miles that never expire, whereas Hilton Honors allows points for free nights. Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program features tiered rewards, offering points for purchases and exclusive access, boosting customer retention. What Are the Best Loyalty Programmes? When considering the best loyalty programs, you should evaluate options like Starbucks Rewards, where you earn stars for purchases, and Sephora Beauty Insider, which offers tiered rewards. Target Circle gives you 1% back with personalized deals, whereas Kohl’s Rewards provides 5% back and Kohl’s Cash for extra savings. Finally, myWalgreens offers cash back and customized promotions, enhancing your shopping experience through its app. Each program has unique benefits worth exploring. What Are the 3 R’s of Loyalty? The 3 R’s of loyalty are Reward, Recognition, and Retention. Reward involves offering tangible benefits, like points or discounts, to encourage repeat purchases. Recognition focuses on acknowledging loyal customers through personalized offers or tiered memberships, making them feel valued. Retention aims to keep customers engaged by providing a seamless experience and customized promotions. Effectively implementing these elements can lead to increased customer satisfaction and higher sales, as loyal customers tend to buy more. Conclusion Joining free loyalty programs like My Best Buy Rewards, Starbucks Rewards, Target Circle, Sephora Beauty Insider, and Mywalgreens can improve your shopping experience as you save money. Each program offers unique benefits customized to your preferences, whether you’re looking for discounts, points, or exclusive rewards. By signing up for these programs, you can maximize your shopping value and enjoy personalized offers. Consider enrolling in one or more of these programs to make the most of your purchases. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "5 Best Free Loyalty Programs You Should Join" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

From beyond the museum walls Monday, works of art will move and take shape as the glitterati of guests from Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman to Venus Williams will fashionably ascend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s steps and exhibit their creative interpretations of this year’s dress code, “Fashion is art.” The question of whether fashion is art has long been topic of conversation for fashion insiders, and this first Monday in May the dress code is leaving nothing up for debate. The dress code for the starry fundraising event calls for guests to “express their relationship to fashion as an embodied art form.” Fashion has long drawn inspiration from works of art, leaving guests with no shortage of artistic references to show off. Embodying art But will guests pull from the fashion archives on Monday or wear custom artistic creations from fashion houses? Archival fashion looks have become a red carpet phenomenon with fashion savvy stars wanting to get their hands on some of the rarer pieces of fashion history. Designer Elsa Schiaparelli famously collaborated in 1937 with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí to design a white silk dress with a lobster printed on the front. Years later, Yves Saint Laurent would design shift dresses filled with Piet Mondrian’s blocks of color in 1965, and more recently, Marc Jacobs collaborated with artist Takashi Murakami in 2002 to add his designs to Louis Vuitton. Monday’s carpet is also chance for celebrities to deliver their own performance art. The late designer Alexander McQueen was heavily regarded by fashion insiders as an artist. He closed his Spring 1999 show with a piece of performance art when machines sprayed Shalom Harlow’s white dress with black and yellow spray paint as she posed on a rotating turntable. Past Gala dress codes have honored designers and pulled from literature. Last year, the art of tailoring was center stage with the dress code “Tailored for you.” The high-profile event raises money for the museum’s Costume Institute, and each year the dress code for the gala takes cues from the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition. On display this Spring, the “Costume Art” exhibit will “examine the centrality of the dressed body.” The relationship between fashion and art has not always been embraced. Art historian and author Nancy Hall-Duncan writes in her book, “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art” that in the 19th century, art was perceived as classical and fashion was frivolous. When Yves Saint Laurent held the Met’s first fashion exhibit in 1983, the exhibit was met with heavy criticism. Since then, the museum has held countless fashion exhibits throughout the years with museums around the world following suit. The Louvre put on its first fashion exhibition “Louvre couture” last year. The dress code set by Wintour and the Met’s Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, is the final seal of approval that fashion is art, Hall-Duncan told The Associated Press. “Isn’t that a giant step?” she said. “It will indeed change perceptions.” How to watch the Met Gala carpet and celebrity looks Didn’t snag one of the pricey tickets or a spot on the ultra-exclusive guestlist? The red carpet spectacle is available for all to watch online with the Vogue livestream. Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will be hosting the livestream starting at 6 p.m. with Emma Chamberlain interviewing guests throughout the night. The Associated Press will have a livestream of celebrities leaving a pair of New York hotels on their way to the gala beginning at 4:30 p.m. on APNews.com and YouTube. It’s the first chance to see what attendees will be wearing before they hit the gala’s carpet. —Beatrice Dupuy, Associated Press View the full article

Germany’s SPRIND, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, and Sweden’s Vinnova, the country’s innovation agency, are two bodies that traditionally haven’t worked hand in hand. But the challenges the world currently faces have brought the two public innovation agencies together to back teams from across Europe building systems that can defend airports, nuclear plants, and civilian sites from hostile drones. One team, led by Martin Saska, a robotics professor at Czech Technical University in Prague, is among those being backed by the agencies to develop anti-drone technology. Beyond supporting a single company, the partnership offers Europe a way to stand firm amid shifting alliances elsewhere. Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness made clear that the continent was falling behind in the speed and scale at which radical ideas reach the market. The SPRIND-Vinnova partnership, formalized last year, is a deliberate effort to change that. “We need to have a fundamentally different way of funding innovation if we want to see different results,” says Jano Costard, head of challenges at SPRIND. “If we as SPRIND would have just copied what everybody else did, then what would be our added value?” Both agencies are modeled on DARPA, the U.S. defense agency credited with creating and later popularizing the internet and GPS, but with the military framing stripped away. SPRIND, founded in 2019 and operational from 2020, was given unusual legal latitude in how it spends money, including a 2023 act of parliament in Germany that allowed it to take equity stakes in startups, something most German public bodies cannot do. Vinnova, more than 20 years older, has operated with a similar playbook for years. Sweden, with a population of just 10 million, produced more than 500 IPOs in the past decade, more than Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands combined. “Europe as a whole needs to invest more in radical breakthrough innovation, and we also need to figure out ways of really supporting the journey to scale,” says Darja Isaksson, director general of Vinnova. The aim, she adds, is to “make it easy for private sector VC to spot that and to crowd in.” The choice of drones for the agencies’ first joint initiative is no accident. Beyond the integral role drones are playing in Middle Eastern conflicts, repeated drone sightings over European airports in late 2025 have rattled governments. There is also growing anxiety about the role of Russian- and Chinese-made hardware in critical infrastructure, making anti-drone technology a key focus for European police forces and militaries. The challenge is that Europe’s drone sector remains highly fragmented. Costard argues that without coordinated demand across member states, no startup can build a viable business in the space. “If every police force that would like to buy drone interceptors posts different requirements, that’s a nightmare for any small startup,” he says. For founders like Saska, whose company EAGLE.ONE builds drones that hunt other drones, the agencies’ support has made a tangible difference. Winning a SPRIND challenge round in 2024, he says, “got a lot of leads, and this helped us really get into the German market.” Saska argues that Europe needs sovereign drone capability for deeper security reasons: police forces and some armies across the continent still rely on consumer drones from Chinese manufacturer DJI. Bringing together two countries’ innovation agencies helps pool expertise and accelerate the pace at which solutions can emerge. “Iteration speed is a superpower,” says Costard, borrowing a line from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman. “If these young teams rely on the funding that we provide, the slower we are, the slower they are.” Success tends to breed success, and the model is beginning to spread. The Netherlands has announced a SPRIND-style agency of its own, and the European Innovation Council has been tasked with piloting challenge-driven funding. Sweden is also exploring an expanded version of what Vinnova already does, while the European Commission renegotiates its next research framework with Draghi’s recommendations on the table. “Our mission is to solve the grand challenges of our time,” says Costard. “They’re typically not unsolved because nobody has thought about them—it’s typically because they’re very hard to solve.” View the full article

This week, a meme-based generational civil war is breaking out on TikTok, and only one side knows it's even happening; a throwaway tweet from rapper Young Thug has me looking into why so many rappers put "ASAP" in front of their names, and we're going back in time to 2012, when prank videos ruled the internet. TikTok’s Le Snack Demon and why it signals a generational riftTikTok has been around since 2016; Instagram, since 2010. Both have lived long enough to see long-time users butting heads with newcomers, and generational battle lines are being drawn around a little AI cartoon character called Snack Demon. It started on (older-coded) Instagram, where this video from an AI slop account went viral: You don't have to be 17 years old to see that this meme is dumb and bad. It speaks to something most younger people don't care about: wanting to avoid eating snacks because you're on a diet. It is exactly the kind of meme someone's mom would post. This fact was not lost on TikTok, as illustrated by @nataliethebrownie in this video: So the stage was set for Snack Demon to operate on both a sincere level and an ironic one. TikTok moms and the mom-adjacent are taking the meme at face value and posting videos like these. The younger generation are responding with similar videos meant to mock how lame the original posts are. The ironic versions of Snack Demon videos tend to feature a different AI-generated main character—a gray Snack Demon—and often mention current meme-target Arby's, but the dance, annoying song, and cutesy-slop vibe remain the same. I especially love that they refer to it as "Le Snack Demon," an ironic dig at the way older generations of online people used to dunk on lame internet "rage comics" headed "le me." That's a double dose of irony! Ultimately, younger generations don't understand that they can't actually win this war. First, because the number of people who appreciate irony has never been huge and it seems to shrinking rapidly in 2026, and secondly, because it doesn't matter how cool you are when you're young. Everyone who lives long enough will be eventually be mocked online for posting their own version of Snack Demon. Why rappers are using “ASAP” in their namesRapper Young Thug recently tweeted that he was changing his name. His real first name is "Jeffery" and he doesn't want a connection to Epstein. I'm only writing about this because the tweet says "I'm changing my f**king name asap bro," and at first I thought he said he was changing his name to "ASAP Bro," joining A$AP Rocky, ASAP Lou, A$AP Ferg, ASAP Twelvyy, A$AP NAST, and about a hundred other rappers and producers who have chosen "ASAP" or "A$AP" as part of their stage name. Classically, “ASAP” means “as soon as possible,” and that's how Young Thug meant it in his tweet. As much as I’d like it to be, A$AP Rocky’s stage name is not “As Soon As Possible, Rocky.” "A$AP" or "ASAP" indicates an affiliation with the ASAP Mob, a New York hip-hop collective started by ASAP Yams, ASAP Bari, and ASAP Illz way back in 2006. As for what the letters actually stand for in terms of rap names, it depends on who you ask. Some say ASAP is short for “Always Strive And Prosper.” Some say it means, “Assassinating Snitches and Police.” If you work at NASA, ASAP means "Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel," and it's “Always Say a Prayer” if you’re religious, but I like A$AP Rocky’s preferred definition best: “Acronym Symbolizing Any Purpose.” Viral video of the week: yelling food ordersOver 50 million people have watched the video below, in which TikToker @pablopyee pretends to be hearing-impaired so they can yell their orders at the beleaguered worker behind the counter at a fast food place. There's more where that came from. This TikToker has a little cottage industry of prank-style videos in which he bellows at fast food workers, pronounces words incorrectly, aggressively compliments strangers, and otherwise causes mild mayhem. Yeah, it sucks to make people uncomfortable in public, especially if they're working, but most of his subjects seem like they're at least amused, and no one is getting hurt—unlike past generations of prank videos that were sometimes as simple as "walk up to a stranger and slap them across the face" or "drive a car while blindfolded." And I like that this TikToker is bucking the trend of his peers, whose generation-defining trait is being afraid to do anything (socialize, have a drink, take risks, have sex, make friends) for fear of appearing "cringe" on social media. And at least it isn't AI. He's out there being loud and embarrassing in the flesh. Educational brainrot videos take over TikTokIf the young person in your life is watching AI-generated slop videos on TikTok all day, don't assume that they're watching mindless content. Sure, most AI-made videos online richly deserve the "brainrot" name, but there's a growing, oxymoronic trend online of educational brainrot videos. The format seems to have begun with the Skeleton and Socrates videos I discussed a few weeks ago, and has since expanded beyond Greek history. Here are a few channels that are making (semi) worthwhile brainrot. MoggyBoi: This channel features videos explaining hygiene and grooming, with skeletons. Law by Skele: This channel uses skeletons to explain basic legal concepts. jessicaer45: There are no skeletons here. This channel is a weird combination of sea shanties and grotesque scientific and medical situations that answers questions like, "what would happen if you were trapped inside a giant oyseter?" These videos all seem wholly AI-generated, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the facts contained within them, but they seem to be at least aiming at truth, which beats most brainrot. View the full article

After years of struggling to match the global popularity of the US, Japan and South Korea, Beijing’s image is improvingView the full article

New consulting company to advise Wall Street groups on how to deploy its AI across their investment portfoliosView the full article

After months of uncertainty, the long-struggling Spirit Airlines has permanently ceased operations. Now the low-cost U.S. carrier will begin liquidating its assets to repay its creditors as much as possible—a process that is expected to take months. However, its customers have more immediate issues: figuring out what to do now if they had upcoming Spirit flights booked or had other ongoing dealings with the airline. Here’s what they need to know. What’s happened? On Saturday, May 2, Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc., the company that owns Spirit Airlines, announced what it called “an orderly wind-down of operations,” which went into effect immediately. In other words, the airline is going out of business. While devastating to the airline’s employees and customers, the news was not wholly unexpected. For years, the low-cost airline struggled financially, especially after a failed merger with competitor JetBlue in 2024. That merger was blocked by a federal judge. After the merger was denied, Spirit filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and was forced into bankruptcy again less than a year later due to rising debt levels. For years, the company had struggled to compete against America’s air-travel giants like Southwest Airlines, which often offered similar low-cost fares and had wider route coverage. But the final nail in Spirit’s coffin was sparked not by business but geopolitics. Announcing its cessation of operations, Spirit blamed the recent surge in airline fuel prices resulting from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran as the primary driver behind its decision. In the airline’s announcement, Spirit CEO Dave Davis said that the company had reached a restructuring agreement in March. Unfortunately, that agreement was reached around the same time that the Middle East conflict erupted, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important fuel shipping lanes. As a result of its wind-down, Spirit abruptly canceled all of its remaining flights, leaving customers with bookings wondering what would happen next. Will Spirit ticket holders get their canceled flights refunded? If there’s any good news surrounding Spirit’s demise, it’s that most people who have had their Spirit bookings canceled by the airline will receive a full, automatic refund. If you purchased your canceled Spirit flights with a debit or credit card directly through the airline, Spirit says it will refund the full price you paid to your original payment method. However, those who booked their canceled Spirit flights through third-party travel providers should request a refund through the travel provider. Refunds become a bit less certain for those who booked flights using methods such as Free Spirit points, vouchers, or credits. Spirit says refunds of bookings using those methods “will be determined at a later date through the bankruptcy court process.” Will additional fees be refunded? If you paid for checked baggage, Wi-Fi, or other add-ons with your flight, Spirit says those fees will also be refunded. When will I get my Spirit refund? Spirit Airlines says it has already issued refunds for those who purchased directly through the airline. However, refunds may take some time to show up on your original payment method. If you purchased your tickets through a third party, you should contact that provider to see how long your refund will take. What happens to my Free Spirit points? Unfortunately, anyone with remaining Free Spirit points will find them unusable. This is because Spirit will no longer operate any flights, so the points cannot be redeemed for anything. Free Spirit points are also not transferable to another airline’s points program. Will Spirit rebook me on a flight with another airline? Unfortunately, Spirit is not offering to rebook customers whose flights have been canceled. That means if you still need to reach your canceled destination, you will need to book a new flight directly with another airline. However, some airlines are offering concessions to Spirit passengers who have had their flights canceled. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), “America [sic] Airlines, United, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Allegiant, Frontier, Avelo, and Breeze have all agreed to support impacted Spirit passengers in different ways.” Specifically, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United are capping ticket prices for Spirit passengers who need to rebook on similar routes. Eligible Spirit customers will need to provide proof of payment and a Spirit confirmation number to receive capped fares, and capped fares will only be available for a short time: 72 hours for JetBlue and Southwest 5 days for Delta Air Lines 14 days for United Airlines What if I have outstanding lost baggage with Spirit? If you have any outstanding lost luggage or other items with Spirit Airlines, the defunct operator says you can check their status here. I have more questions. Who can I contact? All affected Spirit customers are encouraged to check out the company’s support page for guests. Affected individuals should also check out the U.S. Department of Transportation’s notice about the airline’s collapse. Spirit says those with questions can contact the airline’s claims agent, Epiq, by phone at (855) 952-6606 or by email at SpiritAirlinesInfo@epiqglobal.com. View the full article

To rebrand the Allen Institute, designers thought horizontally instead of vertically. The nonprofit bioscience research institute, founded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen to map the human brain, had a perfectly sufficient logo that designer Neville Brody says was “at the heart of everything.” But Brody, a legend in the industry who has designed for Coca-Cola, Nike, and Channel 4, reimagined the Allen Institute’s new identity so “the brand is a platform” for a company’s activities. Of the elements that comprise a brand, the logo traditionally comes first then the other components spin off of it. But for this project, Brody collapsed the hierarchy. He and his team developed a visual language that could be flexible yet consistent, and then let the logo develop naturally from there. His strategy? Articulate the right visual grammar and from there find out how to scale it so it “doesn’t break,” he says. What is the Allen Institute?The Allen Institute was founded in 2003 by the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and his sister Jody Allen. Since then, it’s grown from a single lab studying the brain to a multi-lab operation with a much broader focus. Its research spans topics like addiction, cancer, long COVID, and disease. Last year, it released a first-of-its-kind database with data from more than 34 million brain cells. The institute’s research and tools are open source so it can share its findings widely. “They’re at the beginning of a chain, in a way, for new knowledge,” Brody says. That insight informed how Brody and his team conceived of the new identity. They spoke to lab leaders and employees at the institute and took note of shared values like boldness and taking risks that others would shy away from. The resulting brand identity is vivid and fluid. For the logo, Brody designed an icon that references the Allen Institute’s philosophy of openness and discovery. It is a circular lens featuring a cut out of a lowercase “a” (it’s friendlier and less corporate than a capital letter) followed by a slash meant to represent the institute’s interconnected teams. He also designed a wordmark, which reads “Allen Institute” in lowercase letters, to accompany the icon. On the color front, Brody went for a palette that symbolizes the company’s vitality and energy. There isn’t a single brand color; rather, there’s variety. It’s the opposite of the conservative blues and greens you typically see in bioscience. The brand’s base colors are black, white, and gray. Layered on top of that is a primary palette that included hues you might see in science or healthcare brands, but with more saturation and brightness: magenta, violet, and a teal that looks like scrubs. The accent colors—including a cheery yellow, electric green, and neon pink—serve as exclamation points. Brody, who served as the art director of the influential British punk magazine The Face, says print principles help with the brand’s flexibility. This includes using white space; commissioning editorial photography that puts the viewer in the scene instead (no stock photos here); distinctive typography; and creative applications of color. “The brand we’ve created with the Allen Institute is something that’s actually quite graphic and quite dynamic,” he says. “It’s not about being decorative. Everything has a function visually.” View the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. On any given workday, you might find Whatnot employees hawking trading cards, apparel, or other items on the digital live-shopping app. They’re not slacking on the job or trying to make rent—they’re actually evaluated on whether they’ve spent time selling and buying on the app. “We only exist to the extent that we provide our customers a lot of value,” says cofounder and CEO Grant LaFontaine. “If you want to build a customer-centered culture, you have to actually follow through on building one and inject it everywhere you possibly can in the organization.” At Whatnot, which launched in 2019, focus on the customer starts with the hiring process. “If you interview at Whatnot, somewhere along your interview pathway, someone’s going to ask you, ‘Have you used the app? What do you think about it? What could be improved?’” LaFontaine says. “We want to see that you actually use it, you understand it, and you can think through the lens of a customer.” Try before they buy Once hired, every one of the company’s more than 1,000 full-time employees is required to answer customer support tickets each quarter, plus sell and buy on the app. The company provides $150 in credits to make purchases and lets employees do their required buying and selling on company time. Many companies say they engage in “dogfooding,” a term derived from the phrase “eating our own dog food,” or testing one’s own products. Enterprise tech giants such as Microsoft and Cisco have frequently touted the way they used their own tools to drive productivity. But few companies mandate dogfooding the way Whatnot does. LaFontaine says no employee can “meet expectations” on their performance reviews if they fail to purchase and sell on the app and answer customer queries. LaFontaine has gone live and sold Pokémon cards and toys. Last quarter, he sold some Whatnot swag and donated the proceeds to charity. LaFontaine says that his own stints as a seller have helped him understand the pain points some customers may experience, such as the challenge of trying to remain composed on camera while also queuing up additional listings—a challenge he has encouraged his product teams to address. He notes that when product teams add new features for sellers, they can get immediate feedback to coworkers who are power sellers—some employees sell thousands of items a month. The customer service teams who talk to buyers and sellers are more fluent in solving problems because they have hands-on experience in the app. Culture-keeping in action Whatnot’s approach appears to be paying off. The company says 20 million new accounts were created last year; the app hosted more than 500,000 hours of live shows in December 2025, up 186% from a year earlier. LaFontaine says he has no plans to abandon the dogfooding requirement as the company scales. In fact, he says, “As you get bigger, you have to be more stringent. It becomes easier for people to hide, and it’s harder for the culture to cascade through so many layers.” Indeed, some employees have started to question the policy, saying that they’re too busy or that they should be rewarded for doing excellent work without engaging on the app. “We haven’t wavered,” he says. “And I hold myself to the same standard. In fact, I have to go live in the next couple of weeks or I’m going to miss my deadline.” I asked LaFontaine how he’d advise CEOs who might be trying to introduce or reintroduce a customer focus into their companies. He acknowledges that the task might be difficult for some organizations, but customer obsession is table stakes for any business that aspires to excellence. “If you’re going to build a great business, you have to [focus on customers],” he says. “I would advise people to do it sooner rather than later, build it everywhere, and take it seriously. And it starts with the CEO and the leadership team.” Programming note Please check out our first live-streamed event exclusively for Modern CEO subscribers: On Monday, May 18, at 1 p.m. ET, I’m hosting The CEO’s Guide to AI. Matt Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies, will help leaders understand where AI can have an impact—and what’s hype. You can RSVP here, and if you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here. And if you have questions for Matt, you can submit them to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Read more: the new way we shop The most innovative retail companies of 2026 This AI product is changing the way we buy clothes Tecovas has built a loyal fan base on customer service View the full article

Not long ago, I was speaking at an event when a recent college graduate approached me. He’d studied neuroscience and, like a lot of STEM generalists, had set his sights on consulting—firms, like Deloitte or Accenture, that have long hired armies of junior associates for data gathering and analysis. He’d earned top grades at a great school. But all of his outreach—his informational interviews, his applications and follow-ups—had come to nothing. His story is not unusual. If entry-level consulting or finance jobs have always been difficult to land, they’re even harder to get now. This generation grew up believing that developing key skills such as coding and data analysis, research and writing would get them a foot in the door for a fulfilling white-collar career. And now so many of those assumptions are wrong. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said AI could wipe out roughly 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years—absorbing the data entry, basic analysis, and research synthesis that used to be a new graduate’s first rung on the ladder. A global study by the British Standards Institution seemed to confirm his prediction: Polling 850 business leaders in Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US, it found that business leaders have been prioritizing AI automation over training junior employees, with 39% saying they’d already reduced or cut entry-level roles due to AI and 43% saying they expect to do so in 2026. The dominant narrative is doomsday: “AI is taking all the jobs!” And the data behind that narrative is real enough to generate legitimate concern. But the story is both more hopeful, and more complicated, than the data suggest. What we’re actually witnessing is a compression of the traditional career timeline that, navigated intentionally, can accelerate professional growth in ways no previous generation has experienced. For first-job seekers willing to adapt their approach, and rethink how they envision their early-career arc, success remains within reach. Here are some new strategies to keep in mind. Look For Companies That Are Bucking The Trend Over the recent weeks, there have been signals that some employers are recognizing the danger of choking off their talent pipelines entirely. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said that the company will “go heavy” on hiring new college graduates, because they are “AI native.” IBM likewise announced plans to substantially increase entry-level hiring. And Dropbox, Cloudflare, and LinkedIn have all signaled significant expansion of internships, new graduate, and entry-level programs. PWC, which partially rolled back entry-level hiring last year, recommitted itself to it in about 20% of its office locations. The firm now advises clients and others to continue hiring early-career workers or risk setting “starving [their] organization of its future.” What’s happening in my view is this: companies that experimented aggressively with AI are realizing that young, adaptable people are critical to investing in growth and accelerating transformation. A generational age-out is coming. Succession and progression can’t happen if you’re only hiring into mid-career roles. And the mid-career people you might bring in don’t have the neuroplasticity or the openness—the unwritten chapters—that make early-career workers so valuable. Organizations are flattening, yes, but they still need humans who can both grow with the business and serve as more agile catalysts for organizational change. Work At The Skills That AI Cannot Replicate What should new-workforce hopefuls focus on? At the risk of stating the obvious, they should focus on the capabilities AI cannot replicate. This includes relationship-building and its many subsidiary skills: The ability to listen deeply and synthesize what you’ve heard in multiple different offline conversations into something actionable. The ability to negotiate, facilitate a difficult conversation, or tell a compelling story. The ability to exercise judgment when the data is ambiguous. The ability to read a room or tell an (appropriate) joke. For human jobs, human skills. Such capabilities have always mattered in leadership, but they typically didn’t develop until mid-career, because early-career professionals were too focused on the kind of work AI now handles. So this career-timeline compression is actually an opportunity. If the rote, lower-level work is being done by AI, new entrants can accelerate their development of these distinctly human skills, learning them much earlier than previous generations did. It’s about getting in the door and then, once you’re there, knowing that the first trimester of your career will not be consumed by the tactical as you’d always assumed it would. You must build the skills that create real leverage—storytelling, communication, intellectual and emotional agility, critical thinking, relationship building—from day one. Make a point of describing your search strategy and objectives in these terms to job recruiters. It will demonstrate the self-awareness that is often lacking in even much more experienced job seekers. Remember: This is Your Superhero Origin Story I spend a lot of time talking to people in their early twenties, many of whom range from neutral to deeply unhappy in their first jobs. They are lucky to have landed a role over the past year, before many doors began to close. Some are on Wall Street making good money. Some are in solid companies with real training programs. And the most common answer I’ve gotten from this important cohort of people about how they feel about their jobs is “meh.” When I reflect on my own early career, happiness was never part of the early equation. The goal was to satisfy basic needs: become financially independent, find an environment where I could learn and add value, meet some cool people. The idea of being happy at work would have struck me as secondary. I don’t say this to dismiss the concerns of today’s early-career workers. I say it because I believe the framing is wrong. Instead of asking “am I happy?” try a more useful question, like “am I growing?” Look for satisfaction in your increasing competence, in mastering something difficult, in developing abilities in dealing with a wide variety of people. Importantly, there will be great satisfaction in knowing that a year from now you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come, and where you want to go will become clearer. That’s not the same as happiness but can lead there. My best career moments have been more about learning, advancement, and fulfillment in uncomfortable struggle than about my initial personal feelings which did actually flourish once I accomplished what I set out to do. Keep An Ikigai Career Journal Scott Galloway, the entrepreneur turned NYU business-school professor, podcaster, and author, often says that “follow your passion” is the worst advice you can give a young person. I agree. Most people in their twenties don’t know what their passion is. But they can pay attention. They can notice what piques their curiosity. They can track which parts of a meeting make them lean forward and which make them zone out. They can become attuned to what types of people they find more engaging, and importantly, what type of leadership attributes are admirable, perhaps even aspirational. As you wade deeper into a new role, write down where you excel, where you struggle; what energizes you, what drains you. This goes for the content and type of work as well as the people with whom you spend your business days. That kind of deliberate self-observation, accumulated over time, is how you find the intersection of what you’re good at, what the business needs, and what you actually enjoy. The Japanese concept of ikigai describes this convergence, and you can’t find it without experimenting. Become a Great Mentee One of the most underrated career skills is learning how to be mentored well. Experienced professionals want to help. But the person being mentored has to bring something to the relationship: respect, curiosity, vulnerability, a genuine willingness to build a connection that goes beyond transactional advice-seeking. Bonus: always bring an observation about the business, even suggestions for improvement, whether in processes, policies, or even team culture. If someone takes the time to share their experience with you and you show up with gratitude, follow-through, and a willingness to be honest about what you’re experiencing, that person will go to bat for you. They’ll make introductions, advocate for your progression, and think of you when opportunities arise. Note also: Mentoring is one of the most human dynamics in a professional environment. And it’s one that AI will never replace. Chart The Multi-Lane, Mad Scientist Career The side gig was already a fixture of working life long before ChatGPT arrived. And technology, including AI, has continued to lower the barriers to entrepreneurship. You can build a website armed only with a two-paragraph description and an AI tool. Be a mad scientist. You can run a side business while holding a full-time job. You can operate in multiple lanes simultaneously. For early-career workers who can’t find the entry-level job they want, this is worth exploring. Start something. Experiment. You’re building your own entry-level position. If a hiring manager sees someone who launched a business—even a small one—they’re looking at a person who understands initiative, risk, and execution, not to mention the subject-matter knowledge you will have developed. Career paths are no longer a single-lane highways. You can pursue several directions at once, in ways that, paradoxically, AI and other technologies have made possible. Maintain AI Literacy As Table Stakes If you’re entering the workforce in 2026, you must be able to use AI effectively to the same degree you once needed to be fluent in the Microsoft and Google office suites. There will be a transition period in which you’ll need competency across both AI and the various legacy toolsets. But AI is not optional. It is a baseline skill, like knowing how to use a spreadsheet twenty years ago. The candidates who understand how to use these tools to solve business problems large and small will have an advantage over those who don’t. The good news for those just starting out is that they likely already use AI flexibly, in contrast to seasoned professionals who have approached it with a bit more bias and resistance, given our poor experiences with prior tech transformations. New capabilities have come online, like Claude Code and Cowork, OpenClaw and OpenAI’s Codex. Those who can integrate disparate systems in creative ways, those confident enough in their ideas to improvise and experiment, will be in demand. Dropbox’s chief people officer Melanie Rosenwasser told Bloomberg that, when it comes to early career workers using AI, “It’s like they’re biking in the Tour de France, and the rest of us still have training wheels.” But AI proficiency alone isn’t enough. The experienced professional who combines deep business acumen, strong relationships, and AI fluency is nearly uncatchable. What that means for new entrants and aspirants is that basic AI skills will be expected and your differentiator will be the human capabilities you develop alongside it. The Case for Optimism I’m optimistic about this generation. Gen Z is more socially aware, more globally connected, and more principled than perhaps any generation before them. They won’t sacrifice themselves for a broken system. There’s something powerful in that. The world they’re entering is turbulent. The rules are changing. But they have a chance to build careers that are more varied, more self-directed, and more human than anything my generation has experienced. What such a career asks of us, however, is a willingness to be curious, to invest in the skills that matter most, and to ride this wave rather than let it wash us away. The entry-level job you imagined may not exist anymore. But the opportunity has never been bigger. And this requires bigger thinking, bigger doing, and bigger leadership. View the full article

For a Superfund site, the Gowanus Canal is looking surprisingly nice these days. Long an industrial dumping site, the Brooklyn waterway has undergone decades of interventions to undo that damage. Now, after years of planning and community outreach, redevelopments along the polluted Gowanus Canal waterfront are giving the area a welcoming residential gloss. Two recently opened projects exemplify the transformation underway along the Gowanus Canal. Both designed by the landscape architecture firm Scape and in line with a master plan it helped release in 2019, the projects are a preview of what it will look like when the Gowanus completes one of the most dramatic urban turnarounds in recent times. The two projects are new public spaces that begin to reconnect people to the Gowanus Canal’s waterfront as it nears completion of its environmental cleanup. One is a waterfront plaza and esplanade wrapping a two-tower residential and office development. The other is a linear waterfront park with a playground, picnic area, and gardens. Both are rebuilding the ecology along the canal while significantly increasing access to a waterway that had spent decades off limits. “The Gowanus as an ecosystem and as a neighborhood is so interesting because it is being remade at a systemic level in so many different ways over a relatively short period of time for an urban area,” says Gena Wirth, design principal and partner at Scape. Much of the change along the canal has been spurred by a rezoning process launched in 2014 that enabled the former industrial land to be redeveloped into a mixed-use neighborhood. It was an official change for an area that had been slowly evolving through the grassroots efforts of community groups focused on environmental justice, ecological restoration, and public space. One group, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, was founded in 2006 and has been working since then to clean up and restore the canal and its neighborhood, and has been a key part of the transformation now underway. “We have years of experience doing a lot of hands-on stewardship on street trees, rain gardens, and guerrilla gardens throughout the neighborhood and through that we have really developed a very fine-tuned understanding of what biodiversity has existed in the neighborhood, specifically before the cleanup, and what types of landscapes can really thrive here,” says Andrea Parker, executive director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. In 2017, the conservancy hired Scape to create a master plan for the area, which was published in 2019. “This Lowlands master plan was really about advocating for positive change and putting forward a vision for the future,” says Wirth. “It’s been a real estate speculative market for like 40 years. So it’s not under-considered, but it’s been kind of abandoned from a functional perspective for a while.” The plan set standards for how future development along the canal could contribute to its cleanup and restoration. It creates legal frameworks and requirements for how public and private development could occur there, while navigating the complexities of a federal cleanup, state and local oversight, and a large mix of landowners. Now, it is being used to help shape more than a dozen active development projects along the canal. Scape’s two recently opened park spaces, and a previously completed esplanade, are setting the standard for how the area will develop. The recently completed plaza and esplanade around 420 Carroll Street is what Wirth calls an “eco basin,” or a recessed garden running between two buildings and surrounded by walkways. The ground is designed to drain rainwater into the basin, where it is filtered by the garden before draining into the canal, much like rainwater would have drained through the area back when it was a tidal wetland. Multiple levels of walkway along the water allow different views while also serving as floodable spaces during king tides. “This lower landscape terrace is designed to flood, and it does flood,” Wirth says. “If you’re a user of landscape, it’s fine, you can just walk around the higher zone. But on a regular sunny day, you’re still able to get close and get down to the water.” The other new project, a linear park outside Sackett Place, creates even more connection to the water, which is still considered unsafe to touch. It features a stepped get-down that will function as an access point for kayakers once the canal’s water is cleared for recreational use. The picnic areas and playground on either side of this terracing also look directly over the water. The canal is still in the middle of remediation, with the goal of it being completed by mid-2030s. It’s also dealing with continued issues around combined sewer overflow, which dumps hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the canal during rainstorms. Scape has about 10 other projects in various stages of development along the Gowanus Canal waterfront, each filling a bit of a former wasteland with active and ecologically healthy landscapes. “The vision is coming together,” Parker says. “And I do think that as we actually start seeing these landscapes meet, that’s when we’re really going to start feeling it.” It’s been a long time coming for Parker, and for Wirth, who first got involved in Gowanus in 2010 after moving to New York, doing volunteer landscape work planting plugs of saltmarsh cordgrass at the water’s edge­—a species that now features heavily in Scape’s plantings on the canal. Back then it was largely unofficial work, involving some fence-hopping. Now, those same stretches of the canal are being reopened in ways few people could have foreseen 10 or 20 years ago. “I never thought I’d be picnicking along the Gowanus when I first moved to New York City,” says Wirth, “but now it’s quite a lovely space to be.” View the full article

David Epstein, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ​The Sports Gene​ and ​Range​, has a new book out called ​Inside the Box​. As with all of Epstein’s books, I really enjoyed it. He’s one of the best storytellers currently working in idea writing. There was one chapter in particular, however, that captured my attention as being uniquely well-suited to the themes we discuss here. It focused on the ideas of a somewhat eccentric physicist-turned-management guru named Eliyahu Goldratt, who in the 1980s popularized a framework for understanding industrial productivity that he dubbed the “theory of constraints.” Here’s how a non-profit established to promote Goldratt’s work summarizes it: “Every system has a limiting factor or constraint. Focusing improvement efforts to better utilize this constraint is normally the fastest and most effective way to improve profitability.” To borrow one of Goldratt’s examples, imagine you run a small assembly line that manufactures chicken coops following a step-by-step process – building the frame, attaching the roof, adding wire mesh, etc. Goldratt notes that the speed of this production is limited by whatever step is slowest; what he calls the “bottleneck.” Speeding up other steps of the process won’t increase the rate at which you produce chicken coops, as the bottleneck still determines the overall efficiency. If, for example, putting on the roof is the slowest step, then adding more workers or better tools to earlier steps will lead to more partially-constructed coops piling up at the roofing station. To speed up the line, you need to move more resources to the weakest link. Goldratt was primarily concerned with industrial production, but I think his theory of constraints provides insight into personal productivity, too. Something I’ve long written about is the reality that many digital productivity tools paradoxically make us busier, rather than better at our jobs. Goldratt’s theory helps explain why. When we deploy a digital tool like email to speed up communication, or generative AI to create (sloppy) slide presentations quickly, we don’t automatically become better at our jobs. If these steps don’t improve the bottleneck in our process – the key link where the real value is produced – then, as in the chicken coop example, they’re just as likely to create pile-ups and distraction, without actually boosting our true productivity. This helps explain why ​email ended up an accidental disaster​, and the early returns on ​AI office tools have been mixed​ at best. The theory of constraints implies a different way of thinking about getting better at our jobs. Don’t seek speed, or efficiency, or the avoidance of hard things. What ultimately matters more than anything else is how well we perform the deep steps that actually move the needle. The post On Bottlenecks and Productivity appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

The combination adds to a wave of broader merger and acquisition activity that includes an ongoing bidding war over RoundPoint Mortgage owner Two Harbors View the full article

More mortgage firms are suing their counterparties over buyback demands. View the full article

In a recent episode of the Big Technology Podcast, Mark Cuban shared what he would do if he was a soon-to-be college grad on the job hunt in the current turbulent market. Cuban said young professionals shouldn’t look to big companies—which have already put a pause on hiring entry-level roles, especially for software engineers and programmers. Instead, he said, they should shift their focus to outsourcing their AI skills to smaller-scale companies. “If I was graduating today, or if I was a 16-year-old looking for a job, I would learn everything there is to know about AI. And I would go to small and medium-size businesses and say, ‘Let me walk in the door,’” Cuban said. As these systems constantly develop, they require modifications and updates. Cuban said that managing a company’s AI systems—or being the “buffer” that understands how agents work—is “crucial,” and a sound way to generate recurring income. Cuban said he has preached the advice of becoming an AI expert to his daughter, who will graduate from college soon and work at a consulting company. “If you’re not the person who knows how to do vibe coding or do all these different things with agents and Claude—whoever does is going to take your place,” he said. Instead of buying into the AI hype, Cuban has been quite measured with his comments around artificial intelligence, as well as vocal about the technology’s potential pitfalls. In the past, he called AI agents the equivalent of a “hungover intern.” But the billionaire entrepreneur said AI has had a “major impact” and acts as a “great democratizer of knowledge, like we’ve never seen before.” Still, he casts a distinction between people who use AI to expand their skill set versus those who use AI tools to speedrun through tasks. “You will always have an edge over everybody around you if you’re using AI to learn,” Cuban said. “If you’re just using it just so you don’t have to do the work and it’s your drunk intern, I mean, you’re going to struggle.” As someone who has been around for the advent of major technologies, Cuban believes that those who are not using a large language model (LLM) or don’t have knowledge about AI agents will fall behind. Considering that many workers feel resentful and fearful of company AI policies, this is a real risk. “There was always a group of people that were first and always a group of people that were naysayers,” he said. “And the people that were first typically ended up getting further ahead, and I think it’s the same with AI today.” In the next three years, Cuban said that there will be two types of companies: those that are great with AI, and those that went out of business. In the process, he said, there is “no question” that job displacement will impact many people. But, Cuban said, “If you’re a critical thinker, there’s always going to be a need for you.” In Cuban’s eyes, whoever learns how to use automation tools the best will win in the AI era. Everyone else might get left behind. View the full article