China AI Leaders Warn of Widening Gap With US After $1B IPO Week

Some of China’s most prominent figures in generative artificial intelligence warned that the Asian nation is unlikely to eclipse the US in the global AI race anytime soon.

Justin Lin, head of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Qwen series of open-source models, put at less than 20% the chances of any Chinese company leapfrogging the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic with fundamental breakthroughs over the next three to five years. His caution was shared by peers at Tencent Holdings Ltd., and at Zhipu AI, which this week helped lead Chinese large-language model makers in tapping the public market. READ MORE

CEOs on Guard as Trump Rattles Companies With Series of Edicts

For American CEOs, reaping the rewards of a Donald Trump presidency is a little more complicated the second time around, in an administration that increasingly pairs conventional conservative deregulation with populist state intervention in big business.

In the last week, the president has fired off a series of demands and edicts aimed at C-suites, all in service of shoring up his political fortunes as midterm elections approach. READ MORE

Welcome to the Office. Now Take Off Your Shoes.

People entering a house party might expect to see a rack overflowing with shoes by the door. Lately, people entering some start-up offices might, too.

The “no shoes” trend is spreading in tech offices, with buzzy start-ups telling employees to leave their Vans and Uggs at the door. Some cover their offices with soft rugs, or offer free slippers. The website noshoes.fun, created by Ben Lang, an employee at the shoes-off start-up Cursor, lists a dozen-plus start-ups with such an approach, including several artificial intelligence firms like Replo and Composite. READ MORE

The AI layoff trap: Why half will be quietly rehired

Two parallel workforce crises are unfolding: Experienced workers are being laid off for AI capabilities that don’t exist yet, while new graduates find that the entry-level roles they need to launch their careers have vanished.

Together, these trends suggest a breakdown in how organizations are managing the AI transition. And some experts say that HR leaders are uniquely positioned to stop it. READ MORE

Billionaire Larry Ellison comes to his son’s rescue, agreeing to personally guarantee over $40 billion

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison is raising the stakes in the battle for Hollywood’s future, personally intervening to salvage his son David Ellison’s hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. On Monday, David’s company, Paramount Skydance, announced the elder Ellison had provided an “irrevocable personal guarantee” of $40.4 billion to finance the deal, directly countering claims that the company’s funding was unreliable.​

It’s the latest turn in the high-profile tug-of-war for Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the entertainment industry’s crown jewels. David Ellison, who became CEO of the newly merged Paramount Skydance in August, has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. with a $108 billion all-cash offer, which comes out to about $30 per share. However, WBD’s board rejected that proposal in favor of a rival agreement to sell its studio and streaming assets to Netflix for roughly $83 billion.​ READ MORE

The AI layoff trap: Why half will be quietly rehired

Two parallel workforce crises are unfolding: Experienced workers are being laid off for AI capabilities that don’t exist yet, while new graduates find that the entry-level roles they need to launch their careers have vanished.

Together, these trends suggest a breakdown in how organizations are managing the AI transition. And some experts say that HR leaders are uniquely positioned to stop it. READ MORE

Why Gen Z hides their AI use: The anxiety behind adoption

Nearly half of employees are concealing their AI use at work, but the reasons why reveal a disconnect between how employers understand AI adoption and what’s actually happening on the ground, particularly among the youngest workers.

According to analytics platform Slingshot’s 2025 Digital Work Trends Report, which surveyed 500 full-time U.S. employees and managers, 45% of workers keep their AI use private to some extent. Yet 60% of employers believe their teams are being fully transparent about AI usage. This perception gap illuminates a misunderstanding of workplace AI dynamics, one that’s especially pronounced across generational lines. READ MORE

What Is a Digital Nomad?

Digital nomads are remote workers, including self-employed individuals, freelancers, and employees.

They may travel domestically or overseas, and the internet keeps them connected to jobs, co-workers, and clients. Indeed, the nomadic lifestyle is a unique opportunity millions of Americans choose. READ MORE

The Electric Car Transition Unravels Slowly, Then All at Once

The global transition to electric vehicles is beginning to unravel the way major changeovers often do: slowly at first, then all at once.

This week brought a cascade of signals that the EV era is entering a more uncertain, more contested phase. The European Commission backed away from what had been the world’s most aggressive timeline for phasing out internal-combustion engines, granting manufacturers and consumers more time to move off gasoline. A day earlier, Ford (F) Motor Co. announced $19.5 billion in charges tied to the retreat from an electric strategy it vowed to go all in on eight years ago. READ MORE

Your employees are ‘polyworking.’ Why that’s bad for your business

A new survey has found that 47% of U.S. workers now hold more than one job, suggesting the “polyworking” trend is growing as workers continue to face mounting financial pressures and broader economic uncertainty.

According to Monster’s 2025 Polyworking Survey, which tapped into the views of about 800 U.S. workers, polyworking is far from a “side hustle” for many. Just under half hold a full-time job alongside part-time roles; 12% even have more than one full-time job. READ MORE

Lack of Coaching Is Killing the Performance of Performance Management

Effective performance management — true to its name — requires intentional, well-executed management. The driving force? Impactful guidance and development — fueled by managers.

But here’s the problem: Most managers aren’t delivering. Only 1 in 5Open in a new tab provide effective coaching and feedback to the employees working under them, according to recent research from consulting firm WTW — with significant challenges in individual goal-setting and helping keep goals on track and relevant year-round. READ MORE

Pebble’s founder introduces a $75 AI smart ring for recording brief notes with a press of a button

After rebooting the Pebble smartwatch brand, founder Eric Migicovsky is expanding his company’s device lineup with a new smart wearable: an AI-powered smart ring known as Index 01. Named for the finger where the ring is meant to be worn, the new $75 ring is not meant to be a competitor to always-on, always-listening AI devices, like the AI pendant Friend, but instead offers a way to record quick notes and reminders with a press of a button on the ring’s side.

AI only comes into play via the open source, speech-to-text, and AI models that run locally on your smartphone through the Pebble mobile app. That is, if the ring’s button is not being pressed, it’s not recording. (And this is a press-and-hold gesture, too, which means you can’t start the ring’s recording and then let go to surreptitiously record a conversation.) READ MORE

AI Saves Workers Less Than an Hour Each Day

OpenAI's 2025 'The State of Enterprise AI' report provides an in-depth look at how businesses are using AI tools within real companies. Drawing on anonymized usage data from more than 1 million business customers, along with a survey of 9,000 workers at nearly 100 organizations, the report presents a picture of increased AI adoption and integration in the workplace. 

"Across surveyed enterprises, 75% of workers report that using AI at work has improved either the speed or quality of their output," the report states. Also, the report says that "75% of users report being able to complete new tasks they previously could not perform."  READ MORE