🐤 Eyes on the prize

Markets: Oil prices retreated on Tuesday, which helped push all three major stock indexes higher. The S&P 500 added roughly 1% to close near an all-time high while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly one-third of a percent. But the day’s biggest winner was the Nasdaq Composite, which tacked on an additional 1.5% thanks to big gains in the tech sector.

TikTok troubles: More than a dozen state attorneys general from across the U.S. submitted separate lawsuits against TikTok this week, but this time the backlash isn’t about how the Chinese-owned social media platform uses the data it collects. This lawsuit alleges that TikTok’s algorithms pose an inherent danger to young people. New York Attorney General Letitia James was one of the 14 who filed suit on Tuesday and released a statement asserting: “TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true.”

See ya, Saleh: It’s not exactly breaking news that the New York Jets have been in a slump for a few seasons. This year, the beleaguered NFL franchise is 2 for 3 and hasn’t had a winning season since head coach Robert Saleh took over. This week, team owner Woody Johnson announced that Saleh had been fired and would be replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Acquiring injury-plagued QB Aaron Rodgers didn’t turn the team around, but insiders say Saleh was optimistic about the future prior to being abruptly fired.

Water wars: The nation’s largest regulated water and wastewater utility company has become the latest high-profile target of a cyberattack. According to American Water, which is based in Camden, New Jersey, there’s no evidence that the water supply has been contaminated in any way. Nevertheless, it acknowledged that it is “currently unable to predict the full impact of this incident.” American Water, which provides service to about 14 million people in two dozen states, asserted: “Our customers and the data we maintain remain our highest priorities.”

Severe storm: Some of the same areas of Florida that were hit hard recently by Hurricane Helene’s landfall are now being cautioned about a rapidly growing storm that could hit the Tampa Bay area as early as tonight. Hurricane Milton’s winds have been gaining speed and forecasts suggest that it could continue to grow more intense as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast. The governor has placed many counties under a state of emergency and the National Hurricane Center’s Michael Brennan warned that storm surge could be “extremely life-threatning.”

There’s clearly no ongoing tech-related news story bigger than artificial intelligence. Companies far and wide are introducing AI features, sparking both optimism and concern regarding how this powerful technology will impact our society.

“The Godfather of AI”

A pair of individuals who were instrumental in the development of what we know as AI are now officially Nobel Prize winners. Gregory Hinton, often referred to as the “godfather of AI,” and Princeton University professor John Hopfield received the award at a ceremony this week.

Both recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics have been laying the groundwork for so-called “neural networks” since the 1980s. This revolutionary spin on computer engineering allowed programs to react more like a human brain than a typical processor and, over time, “learn” new things on its own.

It’s worth noting that Hinton has at least partially denounced his contribution to technology, recently admitting that “a part of him … now regrets his life’s work” and quitting his job at Google to speak out against the potential dangers of AI.

Nevertheless, he was appreciative of the recognition, explaining that he had “no expectations” of receiving a Nobel Prize and was “extremely surprised” and “honored to be included.”

The Hopfield network

While Hinton might be the most familiar name, his work built on the achievements of his fellow Nobel recipient. Hopfield’s eponymous “Hopfield network,” essentially identifies and recreates patterns based on an array of almost imperceptible movements at the atomic level.

For better or worse, Hinton and Hopfield made it possible for today’s AI to flourish. For his part, Hinton predicted that “it’s going to be wonderful in many respects” but added that “we also have to worry about a number of possible bad consequences, particularly the threat of these things getting out of control.”

After years of stubborn inflation, consumers are looking for bargains wherever they can find them. And while new fast food value menu items can shave a little money from the budget, if you want to really save some cash you’ll want to be browsing Amazon this week.

Prime Day is back

Value-conscious shoppers have long known to check out what has become a twice-annual event for Amazon … and the October Prime Day promotion is currently underway.

As usual, tech products are featured heavily among the biggest discounts on the site, and there are several big deals on items that are available (at least temporarily) for less than $100.

One preview of the two-day event highlighted a few of the hottest deals:

• Smart speakers: You’ll find serious price cuts on all sorts of smart home devices, but speakers are among the most intriguing. Of course, those from an Amazon-owned brand are likely to have the deepest discounts — like the Echo Spot and Echo Dot, both of which are currently marked down by more than 50%.
• Headphones: Whether you’re in the market for sleek earbuds or hefty, noise-cancelling headphones, you’ll find a wide selection. From Amazon brands like the Echo Buds to advanced products by companies like Sony, there are once again plenty of attractive Prime Day options across the category.
• Doorbells: Here’s another popular smart home segment with lots of products included in the sale. While you’ll find an array of products from industry leader Ring, there are several other rival doorbells that might also be worth a closer look.

Long story short, you’ll probably be able to find something for yourself or someone on your holiday shopping list for a lower price than you expected. But act fast, Prime Day bargains end today!

Even if you don’t spend hours a day scrolling social media, you’ve likely encountered some reference to one (or more) of three animals that have attracted attention around the world in recent weeks.

Before we get into why they’re so popular, perhaps a bit of introduction is in order:

• Moo Deng: We’ll start with the pygmy hippo born about two months ago at a zoo in Thailand. All it took was a few social media posts to send her into online superstardom, racking up 33 million views and even inspiring a bit on “Saturday Night Live.”
• Pesto: A 9-month-old king penguin at an aquarium in Melbourne, Australia, gained popularity when the public got a glimpse of just how big he is. Despite his young age, this flightless chick has grown to be at least twice as large as either of his parents.
• Nibi: There’s more behind this 2-year-old beaver’s story than just a memorable expression or an extra-large stature. She was rescued as a baby but a court battle ensued that could have forced her to be released into the wild. Thousands supported an effort to keep Nibi at the rescue out of concern for her safety.

Each of these animals became popular for different reasons, but experts say there’s a common thread running through all three cases.

University of Washington psychology professor emeritus David Barash chalked it up to “baby schema,” which describes the innate human desire to treat things with a similar appearance to a baby “favorably” and “to see them as especially cute.”

“Mammals are favorably inclined toward individuals that have infant-like traits: large heads, big eyes relative to those heads, rounded features, and typically an awkward gait,” he said.

Communications professor Matthew Grizzard noted that each animal’s unique story only increased the public’s curiosity and concern.