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And there are definitely areas where AI chatbots could be useful — especially when it comes to business. Artificial IntimacyThe shift toward AI relationships isn't just a theoretical possibility: Some entrepreneurs and companies are already working to create chatbot-driven connections. While it has garnered a lot of attention, CarynAI isn't the first attempt at providing people with companionship through an AI chatbot. Snap recently deployed its own AI chatbot, called My AI, aimed at supplementing social interactions on the app. In researching new AI chatbots, I was struck by the missed opportunity for disconnected people to forge new connections.
Persons: ChatGPT, Derek Thompson, , you've, Eric Klinenberg, Jenny Leigh, isn't, Caryn Marjorie, Marjorie, Caryn, CarynAI, Replika, Evan Spiegel, Joshua Bote, Zers, Brent Orrell, Daniel Cox Organizations: Pew Research Center, University of Pennsylvania, Software, New York, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Brown University, Hasbro, Science Foundation, Survey Center, American Enterprise Institute Locations: New York City
And there are definitely areas where AI chatbots could be useful — especially when it comes to business. Artificial IntimacyThe shift toward AI relationships isn't just a theoretical possibility: Some entrepreneurs and companies are already working to create chatbot-driven connections. While it has garnered a lot of attention, CarynAI isn't the first attempt at providing people with companionship through an AI chatbot. Snap recently deployed its own AI chatbot, called My AI, aimed at supplementing social interactions on the app. In researching new AI chatbots, I was struck by the missed opportunity for disconnected people to forge new connections.
Persons: ChatGPT, Derek Thompson, , you've, Eric Klinenberg, Jenny Leigh, isn't, Caryn Marjorie, Marjorie, Caryn, CarynAI, Replika, Evan Spiegel, Joshua Bote, Zers, Brent Orrell, Daniel Cox Organizations: Pew Research Center, University of Pennsylvania, Software, New York, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Brown University, Hasbro, Science Foundation, Survey Center, American Enterprise Institute Locations: New York City
In 2016, when Shawn Loht bought his house near New Orleans, he easily found homeowner insurance with a $2,000-a-year premium. Then his provider failed, leaving him facing a premium of nearly $13,000 a year from the state’s insurer of last resort. Mr. Loht’s experience has become increasingly common as insurance companies react to cascading natural disasters by raising rates, reducing coverage and exiting some markets entirely. And Allstate, the state’s fourth largest insurer, quietly stopped selling new home, condominium and commercial insurance policies last year, confirming the change to The San Francisco Chronicle last week. “These disasters are wiping out large swaths of homes and insurance companies are responding in kind by getting out of there.”
Persons: Shawn Loht, , Hurricane Ida, Loht, Pat Howard Organizations: Allstate, San Francisco Chronicle Locations: New Orleans, Louisiana, California, Northern Colorado, Nebraska, Mississippi
Allstate Is No Longer Offering New Policies in California
  + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Ryan Mac | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
California property owners hoping to open new insurance policies are no longer able to do so with one of the nation’s largest homeowner insurance companies. Allstate, the state’s fourth-largest property and casualty insurance provider, has stopped selling new home, condominium or commercial insurance policies in California, according to a company statement, first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle. California’s largest homeowner insurance provider, State Farm, made a similar decision last week, pointing to “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.” Allstate stopped accepting new policies in the state last year, according to the statement. “We paused new homeowners, condo and commercial insurance policies in California last year so we can continue to protect current customers,” Brittany Nash, an Allstate spokeswoman, said in the statement, which was shared with media outlets. “The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires, higher costs for repairing homes and higher reinsurance premiums.”
Persons: , Brittany Nash Organizations: Allstate, San Francisco Chronicle Locations: California
Ron DeSantis — including hosting the candidate's kickoff event on Twitter — demonstrate how Sacks is working to become a GOP kingmaker. A DeSantis campaign spokesman did not return a request for comment before publication. Sacks, according to Puck, serves as one of the group's directors. Kevin McGrann, a lobbyist at government relations juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, is also linked to Bay Strategies, according to Hall. And Sacks said during a recent episode that he plans to ask the DeSantis campaign for the Florida governor to agree to an interview.
Persons: David Sacks, Paul Chinn, Caroline Wren, Wren, Donald Trump's, Jan, president's, Sacks, George Soros, Puck, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Ro Khanna, didn't, Joe Biden, Thiel, Elon Musk, , Joe Lonsdale's, Julie Samuels, Samuels, DeSantis, I've, Trump, Stewart Hall, Jill Kendrick, Hall, Sen, Richard Shelby, Kendrick, Kevin McGrann, juggernaut Forbes, McGrann, John Boehner, OpenSecrets, Musk, Bari Weiss, isn't, Peter, Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, Chamath, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Biden, Nikki Haley, Calacanis Organizations: TechCrunch, Calif, San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers, Getty Images Venture, Trump, U.S . Capitol, Republicans, Commission, Florida Gov, Twitter, GOP, PayPal, CNBC, Democratic, Microsoft, DeSantis, Purple Good Government PAC, FEC, Ron DeSantis PAC, PAC, Republican Party, Purple Good Government, Stewart, Public, Crossroads, Altria Group, Boeing, General Electric, Hearst Corp, Washington , D.C, Forbes Tate Partners, juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, Forbes Tate, Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, United Wholesale Mortgage, SpaceX, Republican, YouTube, Biden, CNN Locations: San Francisco, Florida, Silicon, Trump, DeSantis, Puck, Washington ,, Ohio
Former SEC chief Harvey Pitt passes away at 78
  + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
May 31 (Reuters) - Harvey Pitt, a former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, passed away on Tuesday, according to a statement from the director of the SEC Historical Society shared with Reuters. At the time, fellow SEC Commissioner Roel Campos said: "There has certainly never been anyone who loved this agency more than Chairman Pitt." Pitt was a graduate of St. John's University School of Law and the City University of New York, according to the SEC's website. He passed away on Tuesday, according to the statement from Jane Cobb, executive director of the SEC Historical Society. "Over the years, Harvey has been extremely generous with his time and sage advice," said Michael Piwowar, a former SEC commissioner.
Persons: Harvey Pitt, Pitt, George W, Bush, Roel Campos, Jane Cobb, Harvey, Michael Piwowar, Chris Prentice, Douglas Gillison, Niket, Shinjini Ganguli, Paul Simao Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC Historical Society, Reuters, SEC, FBI, Enron, San Francisco Chronicle, Oxley, St, John's University School of Law, City University of New, Georgetown University, University of Pennsylvania, Kalorama Partners, Thomson Locations: City University of New York, Washington, New York, Bengaluru
Nima Momeni, who has pleaded not guilty in the murder of Bob Lee, has parted ways with his lawyer. Attorneys Saam Zangeneh and Bradford Cohen confirmed to Insider that they're now representing Momeni. Momeni's now-former attorney, Paula Canny, pulled out of the case at a hearing on Tuesday in San Francisco, according to multiple news reports, including by the San Francisco Chronicle. Momeni also has new lawyers now representing him: Saam Zangeneh, a criminal defense attorney in Miami, confirmed to Insider that he is representing Momeni along with Bradford Cohen, a criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Representatives for the San Francisco District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to Insider's emailed inquiries on Tuesday.
Persons: Nima Momeni, Bob Lee, Paula Canny, who'd, Saam Zangeneh, Bradford Cohen, Momeni's, Canny, Momeni, Saam, Cohen, Brooke Jenkins Organizations: Morning, San Francisco Chronicle, San Locations: Momeni, San Francisco, Miami, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, San Francisco District
Sen. Feinstein was confused by VP Harris presiding over the Senate last year, per a New York Times report. Feinstein said, according to an unnamed individual who was present at the time. Feinstein, 89, asked of Harris, according to an unnamed individual who was present at the time. Upon her return, a New York Times report then disclosed that she also suffered from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a neurological disorder that in the senator's case was brought on by her bout with shingles. Rep. Ro Khanna, a fellow Bay Area lawmaker, in April called on Feinstein to resign from office, and reiterated his position this month.
A Bay Area Subway franchisee paid staff more than $265,000 in bounced checks, the DOL said. The stores also violated child-labor laws, kept tips, and got staff to falsify records, a DOL investigation said. Between July 26 and December 26, 2022, alone, 297 checks bounced from just one bank account belonging to one of Meza's businesses, a DOL investigator said in a declaration. The investigation by the DOL's Wage and Hour Division covered 14 franchise stores in total, but the department did not say how many had given bad checks to staff. Meza's business associate also threatened to file a false police report against two 15-year-old employees who asked for their unpaid wages, the DOL wrote in the lawsuit.
San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection said it was investigating the lawsuit's claims. San Francisco has opened a new investigation into Elon Musk's plans to alter Twitter headquarters following claims made in a lawsuit by six former employees. The former staff also described the billionaire's plans to create a "Twitter hotel" amid Musk's "hardcore" vision. After Musk took over the company in October, he converted some office space into bedrooms, prompting an investigation by San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection. Killian was asked by the "transition team" not to reveal the details of the future plans during that inspection.
The city near San Francisco is one of the richest areas of the country, on average. It's also part of a trend which has wealthy Americans creating trusts or LLCs to buy homes. It's also a prime example of a new trend among the country's wealthiest homebuyers, according to the Chronicle. On one block highlighted by the Chronicle's report, just two of the 12 homes are actually owned by individual people, with the rest owned by trusts, LLCs, or other kinds of corporations. "If someone sets up a trust, it's almost like a corporation that continues to live beyond the person," Michael Repka, CEO and managing broker for DeLeon Realty, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
I would have liked to watch a few more episodes," the grandfather bot replied. Yu told Tang his grandmother needed the chatbot to process her emotions and mourn. As for himself, he declined to share his intimate conversations with his grandfather bot. Like Yu's grandfather bot, Wu's bot produced limited responses. "These emotions might have overwhelmed me too much to work and live my life," he told Tang.
In an aerial view, a modified company sign is posted on the exterior of the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, April 10, 2023. Elon Musk and X Corp. — the Musk-backed parent company of social media platform Twitter — face an investigation over building code violations at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters on Market Street, according to online public records with the county's Department of Building Inspection. In the drive to cut costs, the Musk transition team told employees to simply refuse to pay landlords who were owed rent by the company. When informed of the risks of termination fees for certain leases, Davis told Twitter senior employees, "Well, we just won't pay those. A representative for the Department of Building Inspection in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for further information.
Opinion | The Flaws of Perfection
  + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Warren Zanes | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +3 min
Mr. Springsteen’s prior release, “The River,” was his first No. “Nebraska” was dirty, kind of mumbled in sections, its hushed tones punctuated by a few screams; it told scary stories. Warren Zanes is the author of “Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’” and “Petty: The Biography.” A former member of the Del Fuegos, he teaches at N.Y.U. and continues to write and record music, sometimes with the poet Paul Muldoon’s Rogue Oliphant band, sometimes on his own. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
The doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff told officials he was checking his tire pressure. But his wife said the crash was intentional, per The San Francisco Chronicle citing court documents. All four family members in the car, including the couple's 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son miraculously survived the steep fall. But Patel's wife, Neha Patel, told first responders "multiple times" that her husband intentionally drove the car off the cliff, the outlet reported, citing court records. In February, an attorney for Patel said in court that the man's wife did not want him to be prosecuted.
Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty to charges that he murdered Cash App founder Bob Lee, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. San Francisco prosecutors had charged Momeni after his arrest last month in Emeryville, California. Tech consultant Nima Momeni pleaded not guilty on Thursday to San Francisco prosecutors' charge of murder in the killing of Cash App founder Bob Lee last month in downtown San Francisco. Momeni entered the plea at an arraignment in San Francisco state court, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. They alleged at the time that Momeni grilled Lee about Momeni's sister socializing with Lee.
Amazon is a sponsor of San Francisco's small business week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The e-commerce giant is a top sponsor of the promotion and a "small business champion," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday, citing the website of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. San Francisco's small business week events included a panel titled "How to Start Selling in Amazon's Store," according to the Chronicle. Sponsorships with local business groups are "just one of the ways we help create new opportunities for the small business community." Do you shop or work in retail in San Francisco and have a story idea?
Amazon is a sponsor of San Francisco's small business week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Small businesses in the city say they view Amazon as a competitor, not a supporter. The e-commerce giant is a top sponsor of the promotion and a "small business champion," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday, citing the website of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. San Francisco's small business week events included a panel titled "How to Start Selling in Amazon's Store," according to the Chronicle. Do you shop or work in retail in San Francisco and have a story idea?
Heather Armstrong, pictured in 2008, wrote about her struggles with alcohol and postpartum depression. Photo: Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty ImagesHeather Armstrong, one of the most successful bloggers on motherhood in the early 2000s, has died at the age of 47. The Associated Press quoted her boyfriend, Pete Ashdown, as saying she died by suicide and that he found her Tuesday night at their home in Salt Lake City.
Chris Strachwitz preserved songs that otherwise would have died along with their artists. Photo: Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty ImagesMost record company executives search for hits. Chris Strachwitz , a German immigrant who founded Arhoolie Records in 1960, recorded whatever he liked. What he liked included Cajun accordion players, Bohemian-Moravian polka bands in Texas, and steel guitarists playing sacred music.
Airbnb's CEO recently shared his thoughts on different work models in a wide-ranging interview with The Verge. Brian Chesky said many CEOs mandating a return to the office will spend their summers in the Hamptons. Airbnb lets employees live and work from anywhere without a loss of pay. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who lets employees work from anywhere, says many executives mandating a return to the office are likely spending their summers traveling. "I still think that's happening.
How to Make Housing Less Affordable
  + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Journal Editorial Report: The week's best and worst from Kim Strassel, Kyle Peterson, Collin Levy and Dan Henninger Images: Zuma Press/San Francisco Chronicle/AP/ Composite: Mark KellyThe Biden Administration’s regulatory onslaught continues, with almost no media coverage about the costs or consequences. A case in point is a new Department of Energy rule due to hit on May 31 that will make manufactured homes less affordable. Some 22 million Americans live in manufactured homes, often called mobile homes, and their median household income is $35,000 a year. The average cost of a manufactured home ranges from $72,000 to $132,000, compared to $365,000 for a traditional house. Manufactured homes were about 9% of new single-family home starts in 2021, providing more than 100,000 affordable homes.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is traveling back to Washington, DC. Feinstein had been away from the Capitol for several months after she contracted shingles. Feinstein, who's 89 years old, hasn't cast a vote in the Senate since her diagnosis in mid-February. Feinstein ultimately asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to find a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary Committee, but Schumer's attempts were rebuffed by Senate Republicans. In February, Feinstein announced that she will not be running for office again in 2024, and will retire at the end of her term.
Pulitzer Prizes: 2023 Winners List
  + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com   time to read: +1 min
PUBLIC SERVICEAssociated PressThe Pulitzer committee honored the A.P. for the work of Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant, citing their “courageous reporting from the besieged city of Mariupol that bore witness to the slaughter of civilians in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”Finalists Austin American-Statesman, in collaboration with the USA Today Network; The Washington PostBREAKING NEWSStaff of The Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times won for “revealing a secretly recorded conversation among city officials that included racist comments,” followed by additional coverage exploring racial issues in local politics. Finalists Staff of The New York Times; Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter S. Canellos, Hailey Fuchs and Heidi Przybyla of PoliticoINVESTIGATIVE REPORTINGStaff of The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal was honored for “sharp accountability reporting on financial conflicts of interest among officials at 50 federal agencies.”Finalists Joaquin Palomino and Trisha Thadani of the San Francisco Chronicle; staff of the Star Tribune of MinneapolisEXPLANATORY REPORTINGCaitlin Dickerson of The AtlanticMs. Dickerson’s work was a “deeply reported and compelling accounting of the Trump administration policy that forcefully separated migrant children from their parents,” the committee said. Finalists Duaa Eldeib of ProPublica; Terrence McCoy of The Washington Post
Over 18 million square feet of San Francisco's office space is vacant, the SF Chronicle reported. Thirty-one percent of San Francisco's downtown offices is reportedly open for lease or sublease. The Chronicle's interactive map of the vacancies in downtown San Francisco's office buildings is worth checking out. The rising amount of vacant office real estate partly reflects remote work's impact on office attendance. A telling sign for San Francisco's office building market could come from a 22-story office tower on 350 California Street that is reportedly expected to go for $60 million, after it was valued at $300 million in 2019.
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