Business
Google – For Seeing Into Our AI-Assisted Future. A few months ago, I was skeptical of Google and Pichai’s outlook. I was wrong. The company has taken the right steps to not only fend off the threat of OpenAI and other LLMs, but also strengthened its position and leverage AI in all major aspects of its business (Cloud, YouTube, Search).
Behind Meta’s Huge Layoffs Is A Relentless Shift Toward AI. It is no longer novel to see companies lay off employees and use AI as an excuse. In fact, it is trendy. Sadly so. Meta is one of the loudest companies out there on the potential of AI. I get that there will be some work that will be done more efficiently and faster with AI. I also think it makes sense that AI may benefit Meta’s ads business such as making it easier and more automated for brands to spurn off campaigns. But do I believe such possibilities would be enough to justify layoffs? No. Companies have the upper hand now over workers. They can squeeze as much as possible out of whomever they don’t fire yet and let others go to save costs. That’s the truth. AI is just a convenient excuse. Unless a company were thoroughly audited or you were an insider with access to sensitive information, how would you debunk a company’s claim that layoffs were because of AI?
United’s CEO Is Here to Buy Your Struggling Airline. It’s a good profile of Scott Kirby, who has transformed United into, in my opinion, the best running airline in the US. If Delta is not careful, the day that United leapfrogs it for the undisputed #1 spot is not far away.
How Elon Musk Used SpaceX to Benefit Himself and His Businesses. You gotta give it to Elon. What he did may be illegal, at worst, and ethically questionable by default, but you need to be able to build a company like SpaceX and others like Musk did to take advantage. Nobody gets to the billionaire status squeaky clean, let alone Elon’s wealth. As long as there is no formal charge and conviction, I just have to tip my hat off to the man, as unpalatable as some of the things he did.
Other Stuff I Find Interesting
A brief history of fish sauce. I have consumed fish sauce all my life, but I never knew of its origin. It’s super interesting to know that the Roman and the ancient Chinese might have come up with the fermentation process individually and separately.
From Nebraska to Alaska: Redfin and Glassdoor Rank the Top U.S. Cities For New Grads. I have mixed feelings about Omaha being ranked at #2 for big cities. On one hand, I am happy to live in a good and affordable city which is getting the recognition that it deserves. On the other hand, I don’t want it overcrowded and expensive because more people come.
They Went Abroad to Save Money. Moving Back Seems Unaffordable. Living in the US has pros and cons, especially if your family is there. But so does living abroad as nomads. Nothing is perfect.
America’s online gambling addiction is driving young people to bankruptcy court. It is not a surprise to anyone that online gambling is ruining young people’s finances. The lack of education on financial discipline and personal finance needs addressing immediately at schools, even at early ages. In addition, local and federal authorities must not stop the scrutiny on betting sites. I was pleased to see that political pressure forced major websites to stop accepting credit card transactions. But more needs to be done. We have to make sure that companies don’t take advantage of gamblers to maximize profits.
Time to Serve Some Delicious Claim Chowder Regarding the Cook-Ternus CEO Transition. I am never a fan of Mark Gurman. The man is supposed to be a journalist that reports facts with as little bias as possible. But he has a lot of false bias and never admits when he is wrong. He was wrong here to call Tim Bradshaw’s report back in November false. However, what Tim said turned out to be accurate. There is no apology from Gurman. He is very quick to take credit when his reporting is right, but does nothing when it’s wrong. Journalism is a respectable profession. It’s about integrity. I don’t think Mark showed it in this case.
Stats
44% of consumers spend more or much more than the value of their gift cards
30 percent of material across all of Apple’s products shipped in 2025 came from recycled content
Minh Quang Duong 
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