What's on Your Mind?

OpenAI unleashed Sora 2 last month, the final boss of slop machines (at least for now). The social app draws entirely from artificial intelligence: Instead of sharing photos and videos of themselves, users can opt in for “cameos” and create fake clips that depict themselves or their friends in any scenario imaginable. It’s mostly being used to make viral meme content and the type of short-form videos you’d scroll past on TikTok, albeit with deepfakes. Sora doesn’t allow you to make videos of other living people (dead celebrities and SpongeBob SquarePants characters are fair game) unless given express permission. As one user put it: “Digital Taxidermy is the…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. A recent Zillow analysis suggests it would take a drop of more than one percentage point—to 4.43%—for the median-income U.S. homebuyer to comfortably afford the median-priced U.S. home. And that assumes a 20% down payment, which many first-time buyers are unable to make. Even more striking, in several high-cost coastal metros, not even a 0% mortgage rate would make the median-priced local home affordable for a household earning the local median income. This includes New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, San Diego, and San Jose, where taxes, in…

Elon Musk‘s lawyers will urge the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to restore his $56 billion pay package from Tesla, as one of the biggest corporate legal battles enters its final stage nearly two years after a lower court judge rescinded the Tesla CEO’s record compensation. The outcome could have substantial consequences for the state of Delaware, its widely used corporate law, and its Court of Chancery, a once-favored venue for business disputes that has recently been accused of hostility towards powerful entrepreneurs. The January 2024 Court of Chancery ruling striking down Musk’s pay has become a rallying cry for Delaware critics. Chancellor Kathaleen McCo…

A startling message came over the radio from an air traffic control tower near Los Angeles less than a week into the federal government shutdown: “The tower is closed due to staffing.” Without enough air traffic controllers to guide planes into and out of Hollywood Burbank Airport, the tower went dark for almost six hours on Oct. 6, leaving pilots to coordinate their movements among themselves. Flight delays averaged two-and-a-half hours in one of the first visible signs that the shutdown was already taking a toll on the nation’s aviation system. Since the shutdown began Oct. 1, the Federal Aviation Administration has reported controller shortages in cities across the U…

Robotaxi pioneer Waymo plans to expand to London next year, marking the company’s latest step in rolling out its driverless ride service internationally. Waymo said Wednesday that it will start testing its self-driving cars on London streets in the coming weeks—with a human “safety driver” behind the wheel—as it seeks to win government approval for its services. In a blog post, Waymo said it will “lay the groundwork” for its London service in the coming months. The company said it will “continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service.” Waymo’s self-driving taxis have been operating …

U.S. quantum computing firm D-Wave Quantum has struck a deal with a company called Swiss Quantum Technology (SQT) to bring D-Wave’s Advantage2 quantum computer to Europe. The deal, which amounts to €10 million ($11.63 million), will see D-Wave’s quantum computer deployed in Italy, where it will play a role in supporting the Italians’ efforts toward large-scale digital transformation, D-Wave announced on Wednesday. It will be part of a joint effort—collectively called the “Q-Alliance”—between D-Wave and IonQ, another American quantum computing company. In its announcement Wednesday, D-Wave said little about what SQT does, and scant information about the compan…

Owning a home sounds like a dream, sure, but a majority of Gen Z Americans feel discouraged about whether they can make this sort of lifetime goal a reality. To blame? Housing just isn’t affordable. While two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 18 and 27 say that homeownership is a lifetime goal, 82% of people in this generation believe that actually buying a home is more difficult for them than older generations, according to a new survey of 1,000 Gen Z adults released today by Realtor.com. Things are so bad, in fact, that 16% of Gen Zers rate housing affordability as one of their top life concerns. And it’s not just a feeling: Younger generations have been l…

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2026-27 school year has officially opened. Despite the U.S. government shutdown, the Education Department will continue to process the FAFSA. If you plan to attend college next year, Jill Desjean, director of policy analysis at The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, recommends that you fill it out as soon as you can. If it’s your first time applying, here’s what you need to know: How does the FAFSA work? The FAFSA is a free government application that uses students’ and their families’ financial information to determine whether they can get financial aid from the federal gov…

Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed. “Every day that goes by, the…

To announce its entrance into 5G home internet service, Mint Mobile found the real-life version of a new AI-generated actress, even if only in (nick)name. Tilly Norwood is the name of a so-called AI actress launched by AI talent studio Xicoia. It also happens to be the name of a woman who stars alongside Ryan Reynolds in Mint Mobile’s new ad for its home internet service, which it’s branding “Minternet.” “It’s hard to believe that Mint is launching 5G home internet. It’s also hard to believe that a real version of an AI actress is out there,” a Maximum Effort representative tells Fast Company. “And thanks to the incredible and somewhat disturbing stalking detectiv…

The J.M. Smucker Co. says it doesn’t have a problem with other companies selling their own prepackaged, crustless sandwiches like its own popular Smucker’s Uncrustables. They just have to get their own design. Uncrustables is on its way to becoming a $1 billion brand, so of course there will be knockoffs, but according to Smucker, a recent Trader Joe’s version of Crustless Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwiches is a bit too blatant. The company is using the design of the Trader Joe’s product and packaging to prove its point in a new lawsuit. Smucker accused the grocery store chain of “an obvious attempt to trade off of the fame and recognition” of Uncrustab…

If you hear your organization talking about the Great ShakeOut, it has nothing to do with Taylor Swift or Florence and the Machine. Instead, this international event promotes earthquake preparedness. Having a plan greatly improves outcomes and saves lives. On October 16 at 10:16 a.m. local time, millions will be practicing how to properly drop, cover, and hold on. Let’s take a look at the science behind earthquakes, the regions they impact, and how to participate in the Great ShakeOut. What actually causes an earthquake? The Earth’s outer layer is made up of seven major tectonic plates. Think of these as patches of a quilt that isn’t stitched together per…

The whole idea of advertising—using pictures and words to get people to buy stuff, or to do something—is old indeed, with the first known example dating back almost 5,000 years to the heady days of Ancient Egypt. The ads business changed a lot since we were writing notices on papyrus, but one thing that—until recently—remained the same was that it was a deeply intentional business. The advertiser had to think about the language they used, the imagery they employed, the types of people they sought to reach, and how they would go about doing that. Whether the advertiser was touting a weaving shop on the banks of the Nile during the days of the Pharaohs, or selling…

Every day another industry leader proclaims that everything will change with AI. While there is no question AI is the most transformative tech shift since the industrial revolution, all the hype means leaders lack real answers about how those changes will roll out or improve critical decisions that will impact the future of their business. As the CEO of a technology company that has invested over $2 billion in evolving our cloud and managed services platform over the past 14 years, I have seen firsthand how foundational innovation sets the stage for transformational leaps. Two years ago, we recognized that AI had matured from future potential to strategic imperative—p…

There’s no shortage of challenges facing employers and the U.S. workforce. From economic concerns to the impact of AI, both workers and organizational leaders are navigating big changes. One trend deserves particular attention: working mothers are reevaluating their place in the workforce. As reported by the Washington Post, the share of mothers aged 25 to 44 with young children who are in the workforce is on the decline, reaching its lowest level in more than three years. This shift has direct implications for recruiting, retention, and overall market competitiveness. But it also opens the door for leaders to make a meaningful difference for their employees. Unde…

Protein powders are notoriously hit-or-miss when it comes to taste. But according to a new study from Consumer Reports (CR), gym bros and casual proteinmaxxers should be less concerned with how their protein powders taste, and more concerned about whether they might contain lead. The study, published on October 14, tested 23 of the most popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes for heavy metal contamination. CR purchased multiple samples of each product, including two to four distinct lots, over a three-month period beginning in November of 2024. The samples were then tested for protein, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and other elements. The results were st…

If you have a stressful job, meditation can help—but it’s not easy to meditate at work. A new workplace pod is designed to help by giving you a private place to take a break, run through a guided meditation or breath work, and begin to experience benefits like improved focus and reduced burnout. OpenSeed, the startup behind the Iris Pod, launched in 2018 after founder Jonathan Marcoschamer attended a 10-day silent meditation course. He wanted to keep meditating during the day, but was working in an open plan office. “I couldn’t find anywhere to meditate,” he says. He also wanted to help make meditation more accessible for other people. So he started work on a prototyp…

People remember many things about Windows 95, which turned 30 a couple of months ago. There were its signature new features, such as the Start Button, taskbar, and long file names. The launch event—hosted by Jay Leno—at Microsoft’s campus. The TV commercials with the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up.” The crowds of PC users so eager to get their hands on the upgrade that they descended on computer stores at midnight. Here’s a fact about Windows 95 that isn’t exactly iconic: It was the first voice-enabled version of Microsoft’s operating system. A collection of technologies known as the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) provided support for speech recognition and synthesis, lett…

Who doesn’t love a little cinnamon sprinkled on their toast or oatmeal? Unfortunately, lovers of the spice now have more things to worry about. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its list of ground cinnamon products to avoid over fears that they could contain elevated levels of lead. Here’s what you need to know about the latest cinnamon products the FDA is warning consumers to avoid. What’s happened? On October 10, the FDA updated its ongoing list of ground cinnamon products that consumers should avoid due to fears that the products may contain elevated levels of lead, which could be harmful. The most recent updates to the list of products…