Business

Insurers launch cover for losses caused by AI chatbot errors. I am interested to see where this is going. The concept sounds ok, but the devil will be in the details. Take Banking industry as an example. Banks use chatbots to answer very basic questions that are unlikely to cause any harm. Complex questions will be directed to an agent who is trained to give correct information or direct customers to a specialized function. Hence, there is virtually no room for AI chatbots to err. In the article, it says that the insurer can make payouts in case an AI tool underperforms compared to expectations. Again, I wonder how that is measured and implemented.

Apollo Global Management put together a deck on how consumers and firms have responded to the wild and chaotic tariffs by the Trump Administration

Nevada bill would charter new payment banks. The concept is interesting, but I wonder if there will be a lot of interest. Becoming a bank requires a lot of compliance and overheads expenses. Will small businesses and merchants be willing to pay in order to save some in interchange fees?

How do you compete with Chinese e-commerce giants? A Vietnamese company is deploying housewives. Not sure how they are growing this model. A household fridge is not big enough to scale. If the variety of stuff to order is not big enough, there will be no demand. No demand, little supply. Not sure how long this will work.

The Booming Business of Returned Products. Convenience of shipping and returns is table stakes in e-Commerce. Amazon already spoilt shoppers with Prime services. Other retailers will have no other choice, but to buy in and compete. This business will continue to grow in the future.

Small vertical farms pick up where Big Tech faltered. “Vertical farms have emerged as a potential solution for problems as diverse as food insecurity, changing climates and urban renewal. Their economic viability, however, is in question. During the past five years, almost $4 billion of venture capital funding has poured into large energy-intensive and tech-dependent indoor vertical farms, yet many of these companies such as the Jeff Bezos-backed Plenty, have declared bankruptcy. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Only a handful of vertical farming companies remain operating in the United States.”

Other Stuff I Find Interesting

Two nights in Vegas with the fan-bros of UFC. A long piece that describes a typical UFC experience for fans. The sport is increasingly popular and linked with Trump and MAGA because, I guess, it symbolizes the alpha, the drive to take matters into one’s own hands inside the Octogon and the competitiveness. I don’t personally like the sport. Not because of its association with any political. It’s just too violent. But it’s interesting to see its rise in popularity and in politics.

Scars from the world’s first deep sea mining test 50 years on. I’d love for us as a species to leave the seabed alone and stop any deep-sea mining. So little is known about it. And since we know little about it and what we do know is not positive, we should be really careful before we do any long-lasting damage. The Earth is like our body. There is only one. We need to preserve it for future generations. Billions of dollars, yes billions with a B, are wasted on useless startups. We could have used those funds on more research.

The World Is Wooing U.S. Researchers Shunned by Trump. It can take generations for the US to recover. Remember that highly educated parents tend to have highly educated children. And next generations of immigrants will want to go to somewhere they can find fellow countrymen. Skilled immigrants love the US; which is a great privilege for the country. It’s not beneficial to risk losing that edge.

At Supreme Court, a Once-Fringe Birthright Citizenship Theory Takes the Spotlight. I think it’s reasonable to not grant citizenship to children of people who are here in the US illegally. But refugees admitted to the country and those on temporary status like H1B should still have the privilege. It’s not easy to come to the US. I know it first-hand. It’s not easy to get to stay here. These folks are more motivated to contribute to the country than some natural citizens. Plus, the idea of having children born as Americans helps the country attract foreign talent. I think we should keep the big picture in mind when we discuss issues like this. And I believe we should keep what has made America unique and the beacon of hope for immigrants.

A ‘green backlash’ helped conservatives win in Germany. What happens now? “In practice, the savings often don’t reach consumers. Ratepayers must cover the cost of integrating renewables into the grid, and paying for new transmission lines and the backup systems needed to balance nature’s flutters. Conservatively, Germany needs to invest 500 billion euros (about $565 billion) over the next two decades just to upgrade the power grid, estimates Deutsche Bank.”

Stats

Women now make up around 15 percent of UFC’s roster

“1 billion RCS messages are sent daily in the US following iPhone adoption”

“In Phoenix, 72 percent of freshwater is used for agriculture”

80,391 people died from drug-related causes in 2024

3 out of 4 restaurant orders are to-go