Author: Editor

The moment many have waited for — where AI can actually do your bidding, not just tell you how to do it — may finally be here, but that doesn’t mean consumers are ready for it.Makers of personal AI agents like Meta’s Muse are touting their ability to handle shopping tasks from beginning to end: researching items, comparing prices, and checking out on your behalf. While many consumers are open to having the AI agent handle the first two steps in that process, trusting it with the final step could prove more difficult.A recent survey conducted by YouGov for ACI Worldwide, a…

Palmer Luckey has a warning for people who think AI will let them start a company and spend their days building its technology.The Oculus and Anduril founder said at the Moonshot Live event in Los Angeles that AI may change how a founder works, but it does little to relieve founders of responsibility for the company or the people in it.”You’re still on the hook legally. You’re still on the hook for all the interpersonal stuff. And you can delegate some of it, but at the end of the day, it’s your call. It’s your decision. It’s the same thing…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Byrne, the founder of Rise Centered, a company that makes sunrise alarm clocks from natural materials. It has been edited for length and clarity.I launched a sunrise alarm clock made from natural materials on Kickstarter in 2023, raising nearly $200,000 from roughly 1,500 backers in one month.The Kickstarter was useful beyond raising funds to manufacture our first batch of alarm clocks. It helped me learn the value of getting customer input early on and understand the financial realities of running a product business. It also provided proof of concept so…

Disney employees may have AI to thank for their next raise.The Mouse House encouraged employees to use AI ahead of their annual reviews, including by suggesting that they ask chatbots to generate their goals and ways they can improve in the year ahead.This is the latest instance of Disney’s internal AI push and is an example of how big corporations, including tech giants like Meta and Amazon, are using the AI tools they’ve invested in to shake up performance reviews or rethink how to evaluate employees.Companies are “trying desperately to find value from the AI that they’ve paid a lot…

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said a software problem will delay its certification of the Boeing 737 Max 10 as the agency assesses whether it poses a safety issue, a potential setback for the manufacturer as it seeks to complete government approval of its best-selling family of aircraft.Boeing had expected to receive a green light from its regulator on the years-delayed planes “very soon,” CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors earlier this month. But Boeing said Saturday that last month it flagged a software glitch on some 737 Max aircraft that could affect certain landing procedures.”We haven’t concluded whether…

This as-told-to essay is based on conversations for our Boot Camp video series with Hannah Mitchell, 18, a student from Denver studying marine engineering at the Merchant Marine Academy — the only federal service academy where graduates can pursue a civilian maritime career rather than immediately entering active-duty military service. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.When I was deciding where to go to college, I had several options I was excited about, including MIT and the Naval Academy. My mom, however, had been nudging me toward another school for a while.I was 17, trying to figure out…

The first batch of student-loan borrowers is required to switch to a new repayment plan this week — but some of them are running into issues.After President Donald Trump’s administration eliminated the Biden-era SAVE plan, which gave borrowers cheaper monthly payments, servicers began notifying borrowers on July 1 of their 90-day timeframe to switch to a new plan.The notices have come in waves, and September 29 is the first transition deadline. The Department of Education recommended that borrowers enroll in the new Repayment Assistance Plan, which is intended to be the more affordable option for borrowers and waives unpaid interest.However,…

People walk on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in 2024. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption toggle caption Seth Wenig/AP New York prosecutors say they are reopening an investigation into an alleged rape case from 2024 that involved Cornell University students. This comes after the alleged victim, referred to as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York this month. In it, she claims multiple men drugged and brutally raped her for more than four hours at a Cornell fraternity house in October 2024. In a nine-page statement, Tompkins County District Attorney…

Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Monday he voiced concerns about then-Executive Chairman Bob Iger to the company’s board “weekly” during his brief tenure as head of the House of Mouse.Chapek has remained tight-lipped about his firing from the media giant nearly four years ago, but opened up about his experience in a new tell-all memoir, “Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth,” and in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Once head of Disney’s theme park and experiences division, Chapek was tapped to take the helm of the company just weeks before the…

Good news, homebuyers: the best deals in the US housing market may be around the corner.October is prime dealmaking season for homebuyers hoping to get discount on a home, either through price cuts or sellers offering concessions, according to an analysis from Redfin.”Seasonality trends suggest buyers in these places looking to score a bargain may want to get serious about their home search now that fall is here,” Asad Khan, a senior economist at the real estate listings site, said in a report. “Sellers who put their home on the market over the summer might be open to dropping their…