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☆ Tesla has declared a price war on electric-vehicle and traditional automakers alike. There are signs Elon Musk's company is making early gains.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( George Glover | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The automaker has slashed Model 3, Model Y, Model X, and Model S prices in 2023. While it's too soon to call a winner in the price war, there are signs Tesla is making early gains. Tesla also lowered prices for its Model S sedan and Model X SUV in January, then reduced them again in early March. The basic Model S now retails at $89,990, down 14% from the start of the year, while the entry-level Model X costs $99,990, down 17%. "Price cuts also annoy customers," Caspar Rawles, the chief data officer at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a price-reporting agency, told Insider.

☆ These are the top 10 cities where the super-rich own property — and half of them are in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

New York City is the most popular place for the super-rich to own property, according to a survey. US cities dominated the list from data firm Altrata, claiming half the top 10 spots. Three cities in Asia — Hong Kong, Beijing, and Singapore — also made the global top 10. Miami and London were also named among the top cities. Three cities in Asia — Hong Kong, Beijing, and Singapore — also made the global top 10.

☆ A laid-off Twitter employee reportedly lost her health insurance a week before her child was born
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-Twitter employee reportedly lost her company health insurance a week before giving birth. Ali told the outlet she had been spending time with her newborn rather than looking for another job. Her last official day employed by Twitter was January 4, just one week before her child was born, according to the news outlet. CNN reported Ali was among 1,500 former Twitter employees now taking legal action against the company. Ali told CNN she had been spent the last two months with her newborn rather than looking for another job.

☆ Twitter's latest outage was reportedly caused by a single engineer's mistake. One employee says the platform is so brittle, 'everything breaks' if engineers change something.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A mistake by a single Twitter engineer prompted Monday's service outage, Platformer reported. Twitter owner Elon Musk has cut thousands from Twitter's headcount since acquiring the company. In a reply to investor Marc Andreessen, Musk said: "A small API change had massive ramifications. Musk has cut thousands from Twitter's headcount since completing his acquisition of the company in October. Twitter insiders previously told Insider's Kali Hays that although a complete failure of Twitter was unlikely, technical issues could pile up to the point that the site could no longer function reliably.

☆ A Twitter employee says staff have grown 'numb' to outages because they've become 'so frequent'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter staff have grown "numb" to outages because they're "so frequent," an employee told Platformer. In a report published late Monday, Platformer quoted a current Twitter employee as saying: "This type of outage has become so frequent that I think we're all numb to it." A current employee told the news outlet that the engineer made a "bad configuration change" that "basically broke the Twitter API." The mistake took out many of Twitter's internal tools as well as the company's API, leaving owner Elon Musk furious, per the report. A former employee told Insider in November that with so few employees left to share critical work, "Twitter is done."

☆ A Southwest passenger says they felt their lungs 'burning' after the cabin filled with smoke mid-flight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Florida-bound Southwest flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Cuba on Sunday. The plane's cabin filled with smoke after the Boeing 737 was hit by birds. A passenger told NBC's "Early Today" show they felt their lungs "burning" in the smoke. Marco Antonio, a passenger on the flight, told NBC's "Early Today" show that people on board the Boeing 737 jet were "screaming," adding: "Nobody could breathe. A spokesperson for Southwest told Insider the plane's engine and nose were struck by birds, which prompted an emergency landing.

☆ Tesla just slashed Model X and Model S prices for the second time in 2023, by $10,000 and $5,000 respectively
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It cut the prices of its Model X and Model S by $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. The basic version now costs $89,990, down from $94,990, while the Plaid performance version now costs $109,990, down from $114,990. At the end of 2022, the basic Model S cost $104,990 and the Plaid version, $135,990. The Model X SUV, Tesla's most expensive vehicle, was just discounted by $10,000 in the US, according to the company's website. Before the first price cut of 2023, the basic Model X cost $120,990, and the Plaid version, $138,990.

☆ Cruise ships have named celebrity 'godmothers' including Oprah Winfrey, Queen Elizabeth, and Nicole Scherzinger. Here's what the role involves.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Being a cruise ship godmother is a long-standing tradition. Here's where a cruise ship's godmother is and what the role includes. A cruise ship godmother is a long-standing tradition. Several cruise companies, including Norwegian, have a mixture of ship godmothers and godfathers. Naming a cruise ship godmother is also a marketing initiative, celebrities sponsoring ships brings more publicity and build excitement for the launch of a new ship.

☆ I asked ChatGPT to write college admissions essays and then sent them to expert tutors to review. Read the full essays.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

I got OpenAI's ChatGPT to write some college admissions essays and asked tutors to review them. Both said the essays passed for a real student's work and might even stand up at some less-selective colleges. Nguyen called the essays "over-predictable" and they both agreed the essays wouldn't have had a chance at any top universities. One project that I'm particularly proud of is a series of portraits that I took of my friends and family. To address these issues, I decided to take a project management course and read books on effective teamwork and communication.

☆ An employer says she caught a job seeker applying for a role with a ChatGPT cover letter, but it lacked personal information and cost them the job.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mandy Tang said that a candidate applied for a role with an AI-generated cover letter. Tang said she isn't against the tech, but was shocked at the letter's lack of personal information. Although she hadn't requested a cover letter, the job seeker sent her one. She asked the chatbot to write her a cover letter based on the job description, and the results were "word-for-word the same." ChatGPT has proved popular with job seekers for its ability to write cover letters, with many users demonstrating the results on TikTok.

☆ Romanian politician invites an AI bot to advise the government and help capture 'the opinions and desires' of citizens, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Romania's prime minister has invited an AI bot to assist the government as an "honorary advisor." The bot described itself as a "mirror" for the Romanian people in a demonstration, per The Guardian. Ciucă introduced the bot on Wednesday, hailing it as a world first, according to a video shared by local media. Developed by local researchers, the technology uses artificial intelligence to "quickly and automatically capture the opinions and desires" of Romanian citizens, Ciucă said, per Politico. The website for Ion crashed shortly after the launch but has since been restored, local outlet Romanian Insider reported.

☆ Hotel chief apologizes for only changing the water in a spa bath twice a year instead of once a week, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Japanese guesthouse owner has apologized for rarely changing the water in a spa bath, per CNN. The water in the bath should have been changed weekly, according to local regulations. The traditional Japanese bath, known as an onsen, was found to contain potentially deadly bacteria during a health inspection, CNN affiliate TV Asahi reported. Legionella bacteria was found in the Japanese bath at 3,700 times the permitted level, the news outlet reported. According to the report, the bath water, which comes from volcanically heated hot springs, should have been changed weekly to abide by local regulations.

☆ Twitter employees' Google Chat service was disabled without explanation before the new round of layoffs, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The Google Chat service used by Twitter staff was disabled last week, The Verge reported. Musk reportedly cut at least 200 Twitter employees including multiple engineers, product team members, and director of product management Esther Crawford. Platformer's Zoë Schiffer tweeted on Monday that Twitter was bringing its Slack service back but old channels were being archived. During previous layoffs, Twitter workers flooded Slack with farewell messages. Twitter's total headcount is estimated to be below 2,000, down from 7,500 before Musk took over, The Verge reported citing current and former employees.

☆ Elon Musk is seeking to create a rival to OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk is reportedly seeking to develop a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. Musk cofounded OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in 2015 but parted ways with the company in 2018. However, he has recently been critical of both the AI company and the viral chatbot. At other times, Musk has seemed complimentary about OpenAI's tech, saying ChatGPT was "scary good." Representatives for Musk and Babuschkin did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Students can quote ChatGPT in essays as long as they do not pass the work off as their own, international qualification body says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Students taking the International Baccalaureate will be allowed to use ChatGPT, per The Times. The students can quote from the chatbot as long as they don't pass the work off as their own. One writer who produces assignments for students previously told Insider: "I think ChatGPT has the potential to completely disrupt what I do," Austin said. The IB said it would work with schools to help students use AI ethically, per The Times. However, Glanville said trying to pass off AI-generated content as original work was an act of academic misconduct.

☆ From free meals to massages, here are 8 of the top perks enjoyed by Big Tech workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The cost-cutting measures have caused some tech firms to cut back on employee perks. Here are some of the best office perks that employees have enjoyed in recent years. Big Tech companies such as Google and Meta have tried to cut costs by dropping perks and restricting work travel. From lavish lunches to on-site pampering, here are eight of the most indulgent company perks tech workers have received over the years. Google staff could enjoy on-site massagesGoogle is known for having on-site gyms and masseuses on some of its campuses.

☆ I asked ChatGPT to write college entrance essays. Admissions professionals said they passed for essays written by students but I wouldn't have a chance at any top colleges.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I asked OpenAI's ChatGPT to write some college admissions essays and sent them to experts to review. However, they said the essays wouldn't have had a shot at highly selective colleges. College essays, sometimes known as personal statements, are a time-consuming but important part of the application process. Kevin Wong, Princeton University alumnus and cofounder of tutoring service PrepMaven, which specializes in college admissions, agreed. "The essays do seem to follow a predictable pattern, but it isn't plainly obvious that they weren't written by a human."

The AI industry is vast, encompassing not only buzzy chatbots and conversational search engines but also things like self-driving vehicles. Big technology companies have laid off tens of thousands of workers in recent months, but workers with AI skills are still in demand. Highly educated data scientists and core AI specialists with technical know-how are still highly in demand despite recent layoffs, Forshaw said. Natural language processing is really hot right now, but data science and data analytics skills are still in high demand." Still, Kimmel— who recently launched a bootcamp for AI startups— suggests that it's best to jump in and learn alongside early builders.

☆ Some Twitter employees stopped working after the company's Slack went down, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter's company Slack went down on Wednesday and Thursday, Platformer reported. A Slack employee told Platformer, however, that there was no such thing as routine maintenance. On Wednesday, the company's private channel-based messaging platform was shut off for what employees were told was routine maintenance, Platformer reported. Citing a person familiar with the situation, Platformer reported that Twitter's Slack was not under maintenance but manually shut down by someone at Twitter. A Slack employee told Platformer there is "no such thing as routine maintenance.

☆ Beijing pulls the plug on ChatGPT over fears it could help spread US 'disinformation,' reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China has reportedly clamped down on access to ChatGPT by its citizens, Nikkei Asia reported. The bot is not officially available in China but some have found ways to use it. Regulators have instructed major Chinese tech firms to cut off such access, per Nikkei Asia. Beijing uses its "Great Firewall" to block many foreign websites and applications, including the full version of Google Search. Earlier this week, China Daily, a state-controlled media outlet, released a video called "How the US uses AI to spread disinformation," according to Forbes.

☆ Elon Musk's new Silicon Valley engineering headquarters will focus on AI, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk's new California headquarters will focus on artificial intelligence, CNBC reported. The EV maker will focus on hiring engineers proficient in fields including artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Elon Musk announced that Tesla was expanding its engineering headquarters in California, taking over office space in Palo Alto once occupied by Hewlett-Packard. The outlet reported that Tesla would focus on hiring engineers skilled in fields including artificial intelligence. In an interview with CNBC, California governor Gavin Newsom said all the "elite engineers" in the industry were based in the state.

☆ More than 200 books in Amazon's bookstore have ChatGPT listed as an author or coauthor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A buzzy new author has become a familiar presence in Amazon's bookstore — OpenAI's ChatGPT. The chatbot is credited as an author or coauthor for more than 200 paperbacks and e-books. At the time of writing, the buzzy chatbot developed by OpenAI was credited as the author or coauthor on more than 200 paperbacks and e-books in Amazon's bookstore. One paperback where the bot is listed as a coauthor, "ChatGPT on ChatGPT: The AI Explains Itself," was described as having been "written entirely" by the AI bot. Reshi self-published "Alice and Sparkle" as a paperback on Amazon's bookstore for free via a service called KDP.

☆ Why Twitter's SMS 2-factor authentication is changing — and how can you keep your account secure without paying to subscribe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It recently announced it would restrict SMS two-factor authentication to Twitter Blue subscribers. Users who don't want to pay can use an authenticator app or a security key to access their account. Here's how to secure your Twitter account without paying up for Twitter Blue. Security keyA security key also generates a code for a user to enter — but unlike an authentication app, it's a physical device. Under "settings and support," navigate to the "settings and privacy" menu to "security and account access," then to "security," and finally to "two-factor authentication."

☆ Lawsuits accuse Elon Musk's Twitter of owing more than $14 million in unpaid bills, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Several lawsuits concerning unpaid debts have been filed against Elon Musk's Twitter, per the WSJ. Twitter is accused of owing more than $14 million, plus interest, the publication reported. Twitter has faced numerous lawsuits from vendors, landlords, and consultants since Elon Musk bought the platform in October. Since completing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October, Musk has been seeking to cut costs across the board. Musk had previously said Twitter was losing more than $4 million a day.

☆ Microsoft has pretty much admitted its Bing chatbot can go rogue if prodded
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft said its new AI-boosted Bing can potentially run into problems during some scenarios. Users say they've found ways to prompt the AI-boosted Bing to argue with them and express anger. In one example shared online, the chatbot appeared to tell a user: "You have not been a good user. I have been a good chatbot." Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, which provides Microsoft with the chatbot technology, also appeared to reference the issue in a tweet that quoted an apparent line from the chatbot: "i have been a good bing."

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