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Analysts and industry forecasts cited suggest that for current AI investment levels to be justified, American consumer and business spending on AI technology would need to rise to roughly 9% of GDP—comparable to what households spend on food. The comparison highlights the scale of spending growth implicitly assumed by bullish AI investment projections.
Restaurant staff, including a New York server identified only as Madison, say diners increasingly cite ChatGPT to contradict staff on food allergens, wine selections and menu details. Some customers have insisted dishes don't contain allergens the kitchen confirms are present, or requested wine bottles that don't exist, trusting AI output over sommeliers and servers.
Ford's chief executive said Chinese automakers have effectively captured the European electric vehicle market and urged US policymakers to proceed carefully before allowing Chinese cars into the American market. He called for Washington to take time to weigh the decision rather than act quickly.
An industry analysis argues that entertainment companies are now designing content strategies around two distinct forms of audience attention: 'appointment' viewing, where consumers deliberately set aside time for a release, and 'ambient' viewing, the unplanned minutes spent scrolling feeds or half-listening to podcasts. The piece contends that this ambient, seemingly unintentional consumption is increasingly treated as valuable, premium engagement by the industry.
Disney has cut hundreds more jobs in its latest layoff round, marking the third such reduction since a new chief executive succeeded Bob Iger in March. Employees had reportedly been expecting the cuts before they were announced.
In an opinion piece, Oxylabs' founder describes how the company grew into a $3.6 billion web data business after receiving a $130 million investment from Warburg Pincus — its first outside funding in over a decade. The founder outlines lessons learned building the firm since its 2015 launch, including balancing experimentation with reliable core products, patenting early, prioritizing compliance and know-your-customer checks, and maintaining fiscal discipline before raising capital.
Film, television, publishing and other creative sectors are experiencing some of their steepest job declines in decades, according to reporting on the trend. The downturn coincides with the broader rollout of AI tools across media and entertainment companies.
Federal housing regulators announced changes allowing mortgage lenders to use credit scores from VantageScore Solutions, a rival to Fair Isaac Corporation, rather than relying solely on FICO scores. The news sent FICO's stock price sharply lower as investors reacted to the prospect of increased competition in credit scoring for home loans.
Rehan Ahmed of Southall, west London, has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for running an unlicensed vinyl-pressing operation since 2017 that generated nearly £2.7 million. City of London Police raided his 'Phoenix of Vinyl' business in 2024 after the British Phonographic Industry made a test purchase, seizing 2,791 fake records spanning 108 artists, four vintage presses, 3,000 metal stampers, and thousands of sleeves and labels.
Employees at Guai Guai's Zhongli, Taiwan snack factory, operating since 1968, voted 94% in favor of a strike after the company announced it would relocate to Hsinchu. Workers can keep jobs by relocating or commuting and were offered a 5% raise, but the union says this merely matches Taiwan's mandated minimum wage increase, and they want a share of the NT$5.6 billion (US$176.1 million) the company received selling the Zhongli site to ASE for redevelopment.
The Clarity Act, a bill offering light-touch federal regulation for cryptocurrency assets, failed to advance after scrutiny of profits President Trump and his family made from crypto ventures. Lawmakers cited concerns over these financial ties as a factor undermining support for the legislation.
In its Plugged In newsletter, Fast Company argues that the tech industry's habit of anthropomorphizing artificial intelligence—giving it humanlike personas, voices, and emotional cues—misrepresents what these systems actually are. The piece suggests companies should instead present AI tools as explicitly mechanical rather than humanlike.