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☆ AI tools from Microsoft and Google are just streamlining middle management, leading AI expert says: WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini have been advertised as AI-powered productivity tools. But Ethan Mollick, a leading AI expert, has a more cynical view of the products. Copilot automates middle management while Gemini makes surveillance easier, he told WSJ. AdvertisementMicrosoft and Google rolled out their own AI-powered productivity tools last year, touting them as products that could revolutionize how people work. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Ethan Mollick, —, JP Morgan Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Gemini, Service, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, White, Business

☆ CEOs make the message clear on AI's big payoff: Be patient
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

And the initial signs are quite positive here too," Zuckerberg told investors in an earnings call. AdvertisementElon Musk had even stronger words for investors on Tuesday after Tesla reported plunging profits. Even so, Musk insisted during an earnings call that Tesla is an AI company and had a specific message to any shareholder who thinks that Tesla won't develop self-driving someday. On Thursday, Microsoft and Alphabet reported profits, which they ascribed in part to their respective AI sectors. Google's parent company reported $23.7 billion in profits for the same period.

Persons: —, Apple, Demis Hassabis, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, we've, Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, Matthew Prince, Sundar Pichai, Pichai Organizations: Service, Meta, OpenAI's, EV, Economic, Reuters, Nvidia, Microsoft Locations: Davos

☆ Microsoft and Alphabet just proved AI boom has room to run
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft and Alphabet reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. On Thursday, just off the heels of Meta's mixed first-quarter results that caused a dip on Wall Street, Microsoft and Alphabet just proved that there's money to be made off of artificial intelligence. However, the executive also made sure to highlight the contributions of Google Cloud, which now comes with generative AI services through Google's AI model, Gemini. Investors appeared pleased with Microsoft's and Alphabet's quarterly performance, which gave the companies a stock surge, as Wall Street continues to nurse a hangover from Meta's first-quarter report. "They have a goldmine of AI engineers and data, and now they're starting to monetize it," Ives said of Alphabet and Microsoft.

Persons: Wedbush's Dan Ives, —, Meta's, Sundar Pichai, Mercedes, Pichai, Ruth Porat, Satya Nadella's, Nadella, Microsoft's, Dan Ives, Ives Organizations: Microsoft, CNBC, Service, Google, Bayer, Cintas, Mercedes Benz, Walmart

☆ Mark Zuckerberg warned investors that Meta's AI investment won't pay off immediately
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta's stock tumbled about 16% after trading hours despite posting better-than-expected Q1 results. The company reported a lackluster revenue forecast along with deep investments in AI. Making money off of AI will take time, Mark Zuckerberg told investors on Wednesday. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementDespite posting record revenue for the January-March quarter, Meta's stock is being bogged down on Wednesday by the company's increasing investments in AI.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, —, Meta Organizations: Service, Meta, Business

☆ Zuckerberg warned investors that Meta's AI investment will take 'several years' before it pays off. Meta's stock price tumbled.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta's stock tumbled about 16% after trading hours despite posting better-than-expected Q1 results. AdvertisementDespite posting record revenue for the January-March quarter, Meta's stock is being bogged down on Wednesday by the company's increasing investments in AI. Meta's investment in AI is no different, Zuckerberg said, but the CEO cautioned that the returns for artificial intelligence will take some time. AdvertisementIn the lead up to the first-quarter results, Meta launched its latest version of its chatbot, Llama 3, which will power the company's new AI assistant, Meta AI. Zuckerberg said that the AI assistant will be integrated into many of Meta's products, including Instagram and Facebook.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, —, Meta, that's, Zuckerberg, we've, Insider's Hasan Chowdhury Organizations: Service, Meta, Facebook

☆ Any hope for a cheaper Tesla model may be on hold for now. But how about a Tesla taxi for your troubles?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk teased details about a cheaper Tesla model just a few months ago. Bloomberg reported Tesla has shifted to robotaxis, which Musk said will be revealed in August. AdvertisementIf EV consumers were looking for a cheaper Tesla in the immediate future, that hope may have to be put on hold for now. One source told the outlet the timeline for a prototype rollout and production capacity for robotaxis is getting priority over a cheaper Tesla model. AdvertisementFor now, the cheaper Tesla appears to have been put on the back burner.

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, —, Tesla hasn't Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Reuters Locations: robotaxis, Tesla's

☆ Ferrari's CEO likes to run the luxury car company like a tech startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Benedetto Vigna has been Ferrari's CEO since 2021, overseeing the company's transition to EVs. His background is in tech, with previous experience as an executive at a semiconductor company. Vigna likes the nimbleness of tech startups and removed layers of bureaucracy at Ferrari, per WSJ. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .

Persons: Benedetto Vigna, Vigna, — Organizations: Ferrari, Service, Street, Business

☆ Zuckerberg says Meta's Llama 3 is really good but no chatbot is sophisticated enough to be an 'existential' threat — yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta launched the latest iteration of its chatbot, Llama 3, on Thursday. Mark Zuckerberg said the chatbot is "state-of-the-art" and has improved reasoning. AdvertisementMeta launched the latest iteration of its AI chatbot on Thursday with Llama 3, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it's supposed to be really good. The new model boasts "state-of-the-art" performance on various industry-standard benchmarks and comes with "improved reasoning," according to a company blog post. Meta said that it will integrate the model into its AI assistant, Meta AI, which will be available to use across other Meta products, including Instagram.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, —, it's Organizations: Service, Meta, Business

Explosions were heard in Iran, according to CNN, which cited Iranian state media outlet FARS. There's still a lack of clarity around the reported explosions, but there are multiple reports of an Israeli strike. AdvertisementExplosions were heard near an Iranian military base, and multiple reports, citing US officials, say that Israel struck Iran. CNN, citing the semi-official FARS news outlet, reported the explosions were heard in the city of Ghahjaworstan, which is located near Isfahan, Iran. The Iranian news outlet said that "the city of Ghahjaworstan is located near Isfahan Airport and the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force."

Persons: — Organizations: CNN, Service, Army Air Force, Business Locations: Iran, FARS, There's, Israel, Ghahjaworstan, Isfahan, Iranian, Isfahan Airport

☆ Amazon hired an ex-Trader Joe's employee to access company secrets and replicate products from the grocer: WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

According to the Journal, Amazon appeared to have a model it wanted to replicate for Wickedly Prime: Trader Joe's. AdvertisementAccording to the report, Amazon wanted to replicate the top 200 items sold at Trader Joe's. The Amazon manager also pressed the ex-Trader Joe's employee for data on the margins for each product. The former Trader Joe's employee's experience gives an inside look at Amazon's broader, aggressive efforts to compete with other grocers. Trader Joe's established a cult following with its customers partly by developing snacks and foods through its private label.

Persons: —, Joe's, Nakia Rohde Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Amazon, Business, Wickedly Prime, The, Foods

☆ Iran's strike on Israel shows how the Biden administration has lost control of the conflict, foreign policy expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that he expected Iran to attack Israel "sooner, rather than later." Advertisement"The fact that the Biden administration is both arming Israel and sending aid to Gaza shows the world that the Biden team has no strategic competence," McFate said. But the president's support for Israel runs counter to the reasons he said the US should support Ukraine. "I've just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America's ironclad commitment to the security of Israel," Biden said. However, in the same call, Biden told the prime minister that the US will oppose a counterattack against Iran, a senior White House official told CNN.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Sean McFate, McFate, Biden, Israel, They've, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Associated Press, Business, Israel, Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship, Public Affairs, Washington Post, Biden, Ukraine, Israeli, White House, CNN Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iran, Syria, Damascus, Hamas, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Elon Musk once said Tesla's FSD would only get more expensive. The automaker just slashed the price to $99 a month.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla slashed the price of its assisted driver software, FSD Supervised, from $199 to $99 a month. Elon Musk once said the cost of Tesla's FSD would only increase as it improves. AdvertisementTesla announced a price cut for its assisted driver software on Friday amid lower-than-expected vehicle sales for the first quarter of 2024. A subscription to Tesla's Full-Self Driving software — now called FSD (Supervised) to remind drivers that the system requires their attention at all times — is now being offered for $99 a month, down from $199 a month. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Tesla, FSD, Elon Musk, — Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Trump says MTG has 'a lot of respect' for Speaker Mike Johnson, but her comments on a podcast the same day suggest otherwise
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been threatening to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from his chair. AdvertisementDonald Trump appears to be trying to play the role of diplomat amid ongoing tensions between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. "I stand with the speaker," Trump told reporters as Johnson stood beside the former president. But hours before Trump held his press conference, the Georgia representative repeatedly criticized the Speaker on Steve Bannon's "War Room" show. AdvertisementSpokespeople for Greene, Johnson, and Trump did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson, Donald Trump, MTG, Steve Bannon's, Johnson, —, Trump, Greene, Marjorie, Greene excoriated Johnson, I'm, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: Service, Foreign Intelligence, FISA, Trump, Politico Locations: Georgia, Lago, Florida, California

☆ Regulators want to know more about how Morgan Stanley vets wealthy clients, like a sanctioned billionaire: WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

More federal regulators are probing Morgan Stanley to find out how it vets wealthy clients, per The Wall Street Journal. One client includes a Russian-linked billionaire who was sanctioned by the UK, the Journal reported. AdvertisementMore federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, are looking into how Morgan Stanley vets its wealthy clients and their sources of money, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. One such client includes a Russian-linked billionaire who has been sanctioned by the UK, the Journal reported. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, —, James Gorman, Morgan, Morgan Stanley's Organizations: Street, SEC, Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Caribbean ., Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Bloomberg, Regulators, Foreign, Journal, Deutsche Bank, Reuters Locations: Caribbean

☆ Shohei Ohtani's ex-interpreter was really bad at sports betting, according to court documents
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Mizuhara, Ohtani's ex-interpreter, used the money to pay off a gambling debt, federal prosecutors alleged. The former interpreter had a net loss of $40.7 million, according to a federal complaint. Related storiesThe typical returns in sports betting would depend on the type of bets Mizuhara placed, Williams told Business Insider. AdvertisementProsecutors don't say what kind of bets Mizuhara was placing. Other forms of sports betting, including betting with offshore books or with unlicensed bookmakers, remain illegal, according to the association.

Persons: Ippei Mizuhara, Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani's, —, Ippei, Shoehei Ohtani's, ballplayer, Mizuhara, That's, Tim Williams, Williams, BetUS, Mathew Bowyer, Bowyer, Diane Bass, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Dodgers, Service, Business, Los Angeles Times, ESPN, American Gaming Association Locations: California

☆ This company wants to slash corporate bureaucracy and let employees manage themselves. Could it work?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The idea involves slashing the corporate bureaucracy, giving employees more control, and, hopefully, as a result, allowing the company to innovate efficiently. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. "We hire highly educated, trained people, and then we put them in these environments with rules and procedures and eight layers of hierarchy," Anderson said in an interview with Business Insider earlier this year. In a traditional corporate setting, the organizational chart flows upward: Lower-level employees have managers, those managers have managers, and so on until the top of the chain. In comes a key part of Anderson's proposal: Cut a big chunk of the middle managers and let employees choose the projects they want to pursue.

Persons: —, Alka, Seltzer, Claritin, Bill Anderson, Anderson, It's, That's, Bayer, Nicholas Bloom, Bloom, — Bloom Organizations: Service, Bayer, Business, Street Journal, Monsanto, Stanford University, American Economic Locations: New Jersey

☆ Bezos resuming Blue Origin spaceflights with the man selected to be the nation's first Black astronaut — in 1961
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Blue Origin is prepping to embark on its 25th mission to space. Among the 6 crew members will be 90-year-old Ed Dwight. AdvertisementSix decades ago, John F. Kennedy's White House chose Ed Dwight to train and become the nation's first Black astronaut. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin announced on Thursday its six-member crew that will embark on the company's 25th mission to space aboard the New Shepard rocket. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Ed Dwight, JFK, Dwight, —, John F, Jeff Bezos's Organizations: Black, Service, Kansas City, Shepard, Business

☆ New York City hit with an aftershock after experiencing a rare 4.8-magnitude earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The East Coast was rocked by a rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning. The US Geological Survey warned that the region will be hit with aftershocks. By Friday evening, New York City was hit with an aftershock, the USGS confirmed. AdvertisementNew York City experienced an aftershock just hours after it was hit with a rare 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning. The US Geological Survey confirmed the aftershock, according to the city agency.

Persons: — Organizations: Geological Survey, Service, Emergency Management Agency Locations: Coast, New York City, York City

☆ Tesla is trying to get an Apple engineer to testify in its defense at its fatal Autopilot crash trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla is being sued by the family of an Apple engineer who died in 2018 after his Model X crashed. Tesla plans to argue that the Apple engineer was distracted on his phone as the case goes to trial. AdvertisementNow, less than a week before the case is set to go to trial on April 8, Tesla introduced the sworn statement from an Apple employee. They are also seeking to call the Apple employee as a witness in the trial, but attorneys for Huang's family are pushing back. Following Harding's more recent sworn statement, attorneys for the Huang family subpoenaed Apple to acquire more information about Harding's testimony.

Persons: Tesla, —, Wei, Walter, Huang, Huang's, James Harding, Apple, Harding Organizations: Apple, Service, Business, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB

☆ Nelson Peltz might have scored $300 million after losing the Disney proxy war. But it was still a waste of time, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe proxy war between Disney and billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz is over. According to The Wall Street Journal, Peltz's hedge fund Trian Partners may have profited about $300 million by waging a 16-month proxy battle against Disney, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. AdvertisementLast February, Bloomberg reported that Peltz made about $154 million in paper profit after buying 9.4 million shares of Disney. After all, Peltz waged two separate proxy battles against Disney in less than two years. AdvertisementWhen asked about the outcome of Peltz's proxy war, IAC chairman and billionaire Barry Diller told CNBC's Squawk Box on Thursday that the battle was a "grand waste of time" and questioned the value of Petlz's activist campaign.

Persons: —, Nelson Peltz, Bob Iger, Iger, Peltz …, Peltz, Trian, James Park, Barry Diller, CNBC's Organizations: Service, Disney, Wall Street, Business, Bloomberg, The, University of California, IAC, Trian Partners Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Trump Media cofounders were limited to coach flights and lodging under $150 a night while establishing the former president's media empire
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

According to their contract, Trump Media & Technology Group's cofounders, Andrew Litinsky and Wes Moss, were limited to cheap flights and hotels as they were entrusted to take Trump's media empire public. The expenses outlined in the contract are a far cry from the typical lavishness executives, let alone social media cofounders, are afforded. As Business Insider's senior correspondent Emily Stewart noted, Trump Media makes close to nothing. The company's financial statements reveal that Trump Media made $4.1 million last year and lost $58 million. A spokesperson for Trump Media declined to comment.

Persons: —, Donald Trump's, cofounders, Andrew Litinsky, Wes Moss, Moss, Litinsky, Moss weren't, Emily Stewart Organizations: Service, Trump Media & Technology, Business, United Atlantic Ventures, Trump, Trump Media, Litinsky Locations: Moss, Litinsky

☆ Early on in the war, IDF gave clearance to allow 20 civilian deaths for every low-ranking Hamas suspect, intelligence sources said: report
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewDuring the early weeks of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces established a ratio for the number of civilian deaths in Gaza that would be permissible for every Hamas militant killed, according to a new report. At one point during the early weeks of the war, the system identified up to 37,000 Palestinians, according to four of the intelligence sources, The Guardian reported. Two of the sources told the outlets that in the first few weeks of the war, the IDF allowed up to 15 or 20 civilian deaths for every low-ranking Hamas militant assassinated. Related storiesThat number could increase to up to more than 100 civilians if the IDF were targeting a single senior Hamas official, the sources said. Advertisement"Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the strike, according to CBS News.

Persons: —, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Guardian, Business, IDF, Hamas, UN, New York Times, CBS News Locations: Israel, Gaza, Tel Aviv

☆ Shein made $2 billion in profits last year. That's a lot of fast fashion.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That beats the fiscal year of rival fast fashion company H&M. AdvertisementIt appears we consumed quite a bit of fast fashion last year. AdvertisementFor a generation of shoppers who say they like to be environmentally conscious, that's a lot of fast fashion — an industry that relies on cheap labor but comes with a heavy environmental cost. Still, it was a recognition from the fast fashion giant that it knows who its audience is and what they care about. But for now, it's onward and upward for fast fashion.

Persons: Zers, millennials, —, Barron's, It's, Shein, Janus, Jadrian Wooten Organizations: Service, Financial Times, United Nations Environment, New, Virginia Tech, Sheffield Hallam University, & $ Locations: Zara, England, Guangzhou, China

☆ Steven Mnuchin wants to buy TikTok without the one thing that makes it so valuable: the algorithm
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he wanted to buy TikTok. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementEarlier in March, during an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box,'" Steven Mnuchin, the former US Treasury Secretary, said he was building a team of investors that could buy TikTok within six months. That timeline is due to a bipartisan House bill, passed on March 13, that would ban TikTok unless the app is sold to a US buyer within 180 days. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Steven Mnuchin, — Organizations: Service, US, Business

☆ Enhanced Games Are Olympics With Steroids, Pay; Meet the Founder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Several countries pay bonuses to medal winners, and high-profile athletes may get brand deals and sponsorships, but many Olympic athletes live quiet lives. AdvertisementD'Souza suggested he received funding for the Enhanced Games in the "single-digit millions" but declined to specify the amount. So far, it's unclear what kind of talent Enhanced Games will attract. He said that at the Enhanced Games, athletes would get comprehensive health checkups to monitor the effects of "whatever enhancement protocols" they're on and ensure they're fit to compete. D'Souza said he planned to announce more details about the Enhanced Games this summer — right around the Paris Olympics.

Persons: Aron D'Souza, gymgoers, D'Souza, Thomas Bach, Bach, Uber, Christian, Christian Angermayer, Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase's, Peter Thiel, Angermayer, Srinivasan, Thiel, Hulk, Charles Harder, Harder, didn't, Sargon, Peter, VCs, Thiel hasn't, he's, James Magnussen, James, he'd, Marta Nawrocka, BI's Gabby Landsverk, Jim Walden, Grigory Rodchenkov, it's, who'd Organizations: International, Olympic, IOC, West Germany's Olympic, The New York Times, Business, Apeiron Investment, University of Melbourne, Gawker Media, BuzzFeed, Gawker, Abrams, Australian Financial, US, Doping Agency, UFC, Drug Free, NFL, NBA, MLB, Testing Agency, ITA, CNN, FBI, Sports, Gaming Initiative, Paris Locations: Miami, Lausanne, Switzerland, Oxford, Australian, Russia

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