What's on Your Mind?

It is a sad fact of online life that users search for information about suicide. In the earliest days of the internet, bulletin boards featured suicide discussion groups. To this day, Google hosts archives of these groups, as do other services. Google and others can host and display this content under the protective cloak of U.S. immunity from liability for the dangerous advice third parties might give about suicide. That’s because the speech is the third party’s, not Google’s. But what if ChatGPT, informed by the very same online suicide materials, gives you suicide advice in a chatbot conversation? I’m a technology law scholar and a former lawyer and engineering…

When I was a leader in corporate America at a large regional bank, I held the assumption that once I was promoted, and received my new title and salary, then I would finally feel confident and successful. I was wrong. The allure of a new title and office wore off quickly, and my persistent worries about whether I was cut out for leadership, or even a good leader at all, continued to persist. A decade later, even after I submitted the first draft of my book, Closing the Confidence Gap, I was overwhelmed with self-doubt. I felt completely stuck: Unable to move forward with marketing, I was paralyzed by many of the same old fears of “What if people think I’m no good and this…

In a rural corner of Louisiana, Meta is building one of the world’s largest data centers, a $10 billion behemoth as big as 70 football fields that will consume more power in a day than the entire city of New Orleans at the peak of summer. While the colossal project is impossible to miss in Richland Parish, a farming community of 20,000 residents, not everything is visible, including how much the social media giant will pay toward the more than $3 billion in new electricity infrastructure needed to power the facility. Watchdogs have warned that in the rush to capitalize on the AI-driven data center boom, some states are allowing massive tech companies to direct exp…

Most people do not put New York City and golf together, nor do they consider the game to be a team sport. The 2025 Ryder Cup is challenging these views. The competition will be held just outside of the Big Apple at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in Farmingdale, New York. From Friday, September 26, through Sunday, September 28, 12 Americans and 12 European men will go head-to-head. Let’s take a look at the history and format before covering how to tune in for every stroke and birdie. The history of the Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is named after its patron, Sam Ryder, a British businessman and golf enthusiast. He fell in love with the sport after taking it …

The latest wave of tech layoffs doesn’t have to be a step backward—it can be a launchpad. If you’ve spent years shipping products, debugging systems, and partnering with go-to-market teams, you already have what many founders don’t: domain insight and a network. Pair that with AI “employees,” (role-specific software agents trained on your company’s data that can perform defined tasks like drafting on-brand content, qualifying leads, and updating CRMs) and your severance becomes seed capital for a lean, scalable company. What’s different now is that the traditional barriers to starting a business have collapsed. The math is transformative: What once required $500,000 …

NBCUniversal may soon be pulling its programming from Google’s YouTube TV. The news comes as a dispute between the companies over carriage fees and terms is ramping up. NBC began warning customers on Thursday evening that its programming would leave the streaming platform if the companies don’t reach an agreement by Sept. 30, the date its contract is set to renew. If a blackout were to occur, popular programs such as Sunday Night Football, The Voice, NBA games, and the Oct. 4 premiere of Saturday Night Live, wouldn’t be viewable on the platform. However, a separate spat between YouTube TV and TelevisaUnivision comes at the same time, as both companies’ contracts…

The official U.S. Department of Homeland Security X account has been testing out a new social media strategy that no one asked for, as a meme lord. On Monday, a video posted to the DHS’s X account used the Pokémon catchphrase “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” to compare ICE arrests to hunting the titular creatures. The video ends with mugshots of those arrested by ICE super imposed onto fake Pokémon trading cards, alongside their alleged crimes, including murder, pedophilia, burglary, murder, and child endangerment. On Tuesday, Theo Von, the podcast host of “This Past Weekend,” which had The President on as a guest during his presidential campaign, also found himself the st…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blocked imports of spices this week from an Indonesian company amid widespread worries of radioactive contamination. The agency said it found cesium 137 in spices—specifically cloves—from Indonesian company PT Natural Java Spice that were shipped to California. The discovery marks the second food product imported from Indonesia found to have radioactive contamination, as recalls of potentially tainted imported shrimp expanded. “Products from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati and from PT Natural Java Spice will not be permitted to enter the U.S. market until these firms provide the FDA with information to adequately demonstrate that th…

A young couple is casually hanging out in an apartment. The girl takes a fork full of food off a plate, as the young man asks, “Good?” She nods, furrowing her brow in a way that signals slight surprise that she’s impressed. “Really good.” As “Fool” by Perfume Genius fades in, the white text of a ChatGPT prompt overlays on the frame: “I need a recipe that says, ‘I like you, but want to play it cool.'” ChatGPT’s answer? Lemon Garlic Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes. This is one of a series of new ads in OpenAI’s first major brand campaign for ChatGPT. The spots depict everyday uses of ChatGPT, from finding recipes, to sourcing exercise tips, to road-trip plannin…

Wall Street pushed higher early Monday despite growing anxiety over a possible U.S. government shutdown later this week. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.5% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.6%. Prospects for a last-minute compromise between Republicans and Democrats appear rather bleak, with government funding set to run out Wednesday. Such political impasses have had limited impact on the market before, though a shutdown could delay the release of government data that traders, economists and the Federal Reserve rely on for clues about how the U.S. economy is faring. The government is scheduled to…

On September 25, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol informed his employees in a public memo that the company would be cutting 900 corporate roles and closing down stores. However, the memo didn’t share exactly how many stores would close and where they’re located—leaving employees scrambling to compile that information on their own. Starbucks is framing the restructuring as a part of Niccol’s broader “Back to Starbucks” plan, a sweeping initiative designed to return Starbucks to its heyday in the mid-2010s. That includes redesigning store interiors, rethinking menus, and making the ordering experience feel less “transactional.” As of right now, Starbucks is still on …

OpenAI just released Instant Checkout for ChatGPT—a new feature that lets users directly make purchases within the ChatGPT interface. ChatGPT can now spend your money for you. It’s a huge deal—both for users, brands, and the future of agentic AI. Here’s why. Stickers at the ready Consumers are already enthusiastically turning to chatbots like ChatGPT to research products before deciding what to buy. As TechCrunch shared earlier this year, referrals from chatbots to top merchant websites are up almost 400% year over year. I personally used ChatGPT to research an $800+ laptop purchase this summer. Before, users could do their research in ChatGPT, …

Adventure travel used to mean strapping on a backpack and vigorously sweating your way up a steep mountain with a can of bear spray swinging from your belt—a niche pursuit for the hardcore. But the page has turned: The once extreme is now mainstream. Marriott Bonvoy, the rewards program from hotel giant Marriott International, is riding this momentum with the launch of Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors, a hub showcasing more than 450 outdoor-focused hotels and 50,000 homes and villas, along with curated tours and activities. The launch, announced Tuesday, includes a real-world treasure hunt across 20 outdoor destinations in North America led by Dylan Efron, actor Zac…

Last week, in subway stations and train cars across all five boroughs of New York City, stark black-and-white print ads appeared featuring a variety of servile messages. “I’ll never leave dirty dishes in the sink,” one read. “I’ll never bail on our dinner plans,” another said. “I’ll binge the entire series with you,” a third promised. The ads—which rolled out on September 25 in the form of more than 11,000 car cards, 1,000 platform posters, and 130 urban panels—are part of a massive outdoor campaign for Friend, a wearable AI company billed as a portable “companion.” Since the campaign rolled out, it has received overwhelming criticism from local New Yorkers, with…

Japan’s chief trade negotiator has defended a tariffs deal with the U.S., expressing respect for President Donald The President and calling him a “tough negotiator.” Trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa noted that the pact setting on most Japanese exports to the U.S. at 15% was comparable to a deal between Washington and the European Union. Unlike the EU, Japan did not have to lower its tariffs on U.S. goods, he noted. Japan has also committed to investing $550 billion in U.S. projects. The President initially set Japan’s tariff rate to increase by 25%. Critics in Japan had ridiculed Akazawa’s repeated trips to the U.S. to work toward a deal as a waste of taxpayer money, saying…

David Droga was the face of Accenture Song even before it was called Accenture Song. The ad legend sold his agency Droga5 to Accenture’s creative advertising and marketing division then-called Accenture Interactive in 2019. He became CEO of that division in 2021, and rebranded Interactive as Accenture Song in 2022. So when he stepped down in May, the $20 billion company was not only losing its CEO, it was also losing the voice of the agency. Named to lead the new era was Ndidi Oteh, who comes from leading Song’s operations in the Americas, and has been at Accenture for about 14 years, where in her previous role she was the global account lead for Nike, and retail in…

With the help of generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude, creating content is easier and faster than ever. Here are a few quick and easy methods you can use to create content, summarize information, and even brainstorm new ideas. View the full article

Berkshire Hathaway is buying Occidental Petroleum’s chemical division for $9.7 billion in what may be the last big acquisition involving the consummate dealmaker, Warren Buffett. Buffett wasn’t mentioned anywhere in materials released by Berkshire Hathaway discussing the deal Thursday, potentially signaling a passing of the torch to Vice Chair Greg Abel, to whom Buffet will hand the CEO title in January. Buffett will remain chairman at Berkshire and will still be involved in deciding how to spend the conglomerate’s colossal pile of more than $344 billion in cash. Berkshire’s cash reserves have been growing for years because Buffett has been unable to find any …

A major Japanese beverage producer says it has been hit by a cyberattack that left its operations disrupted for the fifth day on Friday, and Japanese media are reporting that stocks of the company’s popular beer and other beverages are running low in some stores. Asahi Group Holdings said its computer systems were hit by a cyberattack on Monday, creating glitches that have affected orders, shipments, and a customer call center in Japan. Overseas systems were not affected. A company spokeswoman told the Associated Press on Friday that the problem had still not been fixed, though some emergency shipments were made on Wednesday, with employees entering information into com…

Wall Street nudged past yesterday’s record highs in early trading Friday as investors continue to shrug off the U.S. government shutdown, now in its third day. Futures for S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all added 0.2% before the bell. All three closed at record levels on Thursday, boosted by gains of chipmakers and artificial intelligence companies. Markets have largely ignored the shutdown of the U.S. government after Democrat and Republican lawmakers failed to reach agreement on funding. U.S. President Donald The President and congressional leaders were not expected to meet again soon and the Democrats have held fast to their demands to pres…

They made things exciting. You thought you were in love. And now a week has gone by with no reply. Odds are they’re not getting back to you. But don’t take it personally: We’re all ensnared in a ghosting epidemic. According to the Thriving Center for Psychology, one in four Gen Zers and millennials have been ghosted after just a few dates. And to twist the knife even deeper, one in ten report being ghosted after a couple of months of dating. Tragically familiar, isn’t it? Brands like Sweethearts have been quick to capitalize on the reality of today’s dating landscape. In 2024, the heart-shaped candy brand launched “Situationship Boxes,” featuring candies …

OpenAI’s new video generation app Sora is barely a week old, but CEO Sam Altman is already dropping updates to address some major potential issues with the app. In the days since Sora launched, the app has soared to the top of the U.S. Apple App Store as users flocked to try it—even though it is still invite-only. And just as its popularity has skyrocketed, experts increasingly sounded the alarm over the likelihood that OpenAI may face legal action over Sora’s ability to generate copyrighted characters, logos, and other intellectual property. That’s what the new updates appear geared to address. In a Friday blog post, Altman said Sora will undergo two major chang…

American scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for work shedding light on how the immune system spares healthy cells, creating openings for possible new autoimmune disease and cancer treatments. This year’s prize relates to peripheral immune tolerance, or “how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight all imaginable microbes and still avoid autoimmune disease”, said Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a rheumatology professor at the Karolinska Institute. Sakaguchi told reporters outside his university laboratory that “I feel it is a tremendous honour,” Kyodo news age…

For actors, it’s the Golden Globes. Musicians, it’s the Grammys. Now, content creators have their own award to aspire to. Introducing Instagram Rings. As social media’s place in the entertainment ecosystem grows, the new award program from Instagram is meant to honor those creatives “who don’t just participate in culture – but shift it, break through whatever barrier holds them back to realize their ambitions,” according to a blog post about the launch. Judged by a panel of creatives spanning fashion and makeup to sports and entertainment, each nominated their own longlist of favorite creators and voted on which 25 of Instagram’s three billion users will be…