Picture this: You walk into a coffee shop, order a latte, and pay with your phone. To you, it feels like checking out with Venmo. And to the cashier, its business as usual. But behind the scenes, something different is happening: You just paid with crypto.
This isnt science fictionits already happening. From Starbucks to Walmart, retailers are rolling out crypto acceptance, and consumers are responding. Surveys show 39% of U.S. crypto holders have shopped with crypto (with 9% doing so daily), while 23% of non-holders say theyd use crypto if they could shop with it.
Thats millions of shoppers who want the choice to pay with digital assets, but dont realize that they already can.
A smarter way to pay retailers
For merchants, crypto isnt just another payment buttonits a way to improve the bottom line. Traditional payment rails come with added fees and delays that can get in the way. But now, crypto processors help convert crypto to fiat currencygovernment-issued currency that is not backed by a physical asset like the U.S. dollar, gold, or silverso merchants can accept crypto at checkout seamlessly.
Hows that possible? Its actually quite simple. These processors generate a wallet address for customers to pay (think of it as a crypto account number), then process the transaction, verify it on a blockchain, and automatically convert the crypto to the merchant’s preferred government-backed currency (like the dollar), depositing it directly into the retailers bank account. Conversion is handled immediately, and usually settled automatically at locked-in rates, avoiding any risk of the tokens price fluctuation.
And then there are stablecoinsa specific type of digital currency pegged to another asset like the dollar and designed to hold steady valuewhich retailers are also embracing as a way to accept crypto at checkout without having to navigate potential price swings.
To sum it up: Often with fewer fees than card networks and instant (or near-instant) settlement, crypto payments can improve cash flow and offer retailers global reach with fewer currency exchange headaches, and money in the bankwithout waiting days for funds to clear. That means less money paid to intermediaries and more money in the sellers pockets.
The hidden customer segment
Accepting crypto also allows retailers to appeal to a growing, eager customer base. Surveys show that more than 55 million Americans hold crypto today, and theyre looking for practical ways to use it. Offering crypto at checkout signals that your business is forward-thinking and inclusiveand can draw in innovative shoppers who actively seek out merchants who accept digital assets.
Big names are leading the charge. Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Chipotle accept crypto through payment processors like Flexa and Spedn. Sheetz enabled Bitcoin and Ethereum across its 750+ convenience stores, even layering payments into its loyalty program. Walmart piloted Bitcoin payments in 50 stores, using the same terminals as Apple Pay. Even PayPal now allows merchants to accept 100+ cryptocurrencies, converting them into dollars on the spot.
Everyday value for shoppers
For consumers, crypto payments bring tangible benefits that go beyond novelty. The added speed and savings that merchants gain can translate into special discounts and perks for customers, as crypto processors and retailers are experimenting with promotions and loyalty programs that turn everyday purchases into opportunities to earn extra value.
In August, Sheetz offered a 50% discount on in-person crypto purchases during peak hours; Starbucks and Shake Shack have piloted Bitcoin rewards and NFT-based loyalty programs; Nike and Sephora have integrated crypto rewards into purchases. With crypto, checkout becomes more than a transactionits a chance to unlock extra benefits.
And the checkout experience feels no different. Apps like BitPay, MoonPay, and PayPal work behind the scenes so the experience of paying with crypto feels the same as tapping your phone or swiping a card.
From experiment to expectation
The story of retail payments is one of constant evolution: checks gave way to plastic, plastic gave way to contactless, and now crypto is quietly stepping into the mix. What once felt novel is becoming normal.
For merchants, crypto is a chance to reduce costs, attract new customers, and build loyalty in ways that traditional payment methods cant. For consumers, its a way to shop faster, smarter, and with more rewards.
The question isnt if crypto will become part of mainstream retail, its when. And for forward-thinking merchants, the answer is now.
Stuart Alderoty is president of the National Cryptocurrency Association.
I keep seeing articles and conferences about humanizing AI in one way or another. And while I get the sentiment, I think theyre taking the wrong approach. Theres no point in making technologies more human. Being human is our job. If anything, AI is less an opportunity to humanize technology, than to rehumanize ourselves.
Lets start at the beginning. AI is just the latest, perhaps greatest advancement yet in what OG computer scientist Norbert Wiener dubbed cybernetic technologies. Unlike traditional technologies, cybernetic ones take feedback from the world in order to determine their functions. They work less like a machine you turn on than a home heaters thermostat, which turns itself off when the heat has reached a certain level. This, in turn, allows the room to cool. Then the thermostat snaps on again, using feedback from the environment to keep the room within a chosen temperature range.
Of course, the other kind of feedback we all know about is that loud screech you get when you point a microphone too close to its speaker. The microphone is hearing its own sound, then feeding it back to the speaker, then hearing that sound, and feeding it back to the speaker again. Each feedback loop adds more sound until it screeches out of control.
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People engaging with AI prompts are vulnerable to those very same positive feedback loops. You come up with an idea, pose it to your favorite chat, and the more supposedly human the AI, the more it tries to find a way to give you positive feedback. That sounds like a great idea for a new business, Douglas. Im intrigued! Shall I develop a proposal with possible action points?
Passive spectators
Round and around we go, the initial tiny utterance of a prompt getting cycled again and again, our human nervous system stimulated and reinforced by the positive feedback. Sure, we may contribute a bit to the process, but for the most part we are passive spectators of the phenomenon, marveling at how much history, logic, and speculation the AI can bring to bear. It can even create a slide presentation or video or simulated prototype of the idea suitable for presentation to others!
Go to any business conference these days, and youll run into more than one entrepreneur who is high on their own supply, sharing videos of their AIs crazy visions. Lord help the folks they convince to invest.
As I see it, the reason they fall prey to such positive feedback loops is that they are too ready and willing to pull themselves from the equation. The AI seems so authoritative, and so human, that surely its aware of what it is doing. It wouldnt be so on board with your ideas if it didnt have some sense that it would work, right?
Your agents are not your friends
Wrong. Dont accept the positive reinforcement. The AI isnt on board with the idea so much as committed to pleasing you, in the moment, like a person if its been trained that way. But its not a human, not even close, and doesnt hold a conception of the thing you are working on. No, you, the human partner in this feedback loop, are the only one who stands a chance of conceiving or contextualizing whatever it is youre working on.
Your agents, like your children, are not your friends. That doesnt mean you shouldnt care for them. Quite the contrary, it means you have to be the one to intervene on everyones behalf. You are the conscious actor in the system.
The way to prevent such positive feedback loops in our interactions with technology is to assume the role of the human. Dont get out of the AIs way in the name of efficiency or output. Its cool to see all that stuff coming out, but if youre not intervening in the processactively getting in the wayyoure not going to get anywhere at all.
Follow your instincts
Counterintuitively, perhaps, the way to do that is to become less mechanical, less results-oriented, less utilitarian, and more feeling, more process-oriented, and even less obviously useful. Yeah, slow things down. Nurture your intuition. Lean into your own experience, expertise, and sensibilities. Reconnect with your instincts. Pause and breathe. How does that make me feel?
For while cybernetic machines can iterate, only living beings can respirate. Instead of cycling through data, human beings can metabolize through our bodies. We can test ideas with our gut. Something doesnt pass the smell test. A proposal feels off. This strange moment in the digital age may just be an opportunity to reclaim the uniqueness of being living, breathing, metabolizing creatures in an otherwise digital, unconscious, contextless landscape.
Making AIs seem more human is not doing us any favors, especially when it tempts us to relinquish our roles as the living, breathing adults in the room.
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The health care industry, like many others, has traditionally relied on tried-and-true conventional, one-way marketing tactics. However, that strategy is no longer enough to break through to consumers.
More than 81% of consumers tune out generic ads and crave more engaged and personalized content, signaling that marketers need to adapt and stop ineffective communication that tries to pull consumers to them. Instead, we must go to our customers, meeting them precisely where their attention already lives.
We know a great story has the power to transcend demographics, evoke emotion, and build lasting connections. Ultimately, brands are collections of human beings, and people connect with people. By humanizing our brands and telling compelling stories about the individuals who compose them, we unlock a profound ability to resonate and connect with our audience on an emotional level.
However, where we share stories have changed: Weve seen the audience shift aggressively to at-home streaming and social media.
Understand your customers media habits
More consumers get their news from non-traditional news sources and streaming viewership has eclipsed traditional broadcast media. We are living through the atomization of content consumption.
Knowing how people watch is only half the battle. Each platformTikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix and othersis a distinct ecosystem. Savvy marketers understand customers unique consumption habits and user behaviors, then tailor their content and approach accordingly.
Too often brands hesitate, thinking they may be too small, not unique, or they question their own perspective. But everyone has a story, and every brand has an opportunity to fuel a human emotion.
Look at health care. We fuel your lives, your loves, your passions, and your careers.
Consider entertainment marketing
Last year we launched Northwell Studios to create impactful content that’s both entertaining and purpose driven. Our work, featured on platforms like Hulu and Netflix, has garnered billions of views. But more importantly, its humanizing complex issues, pulling back the curtain on health care, and sparking crucial dialogues around often taboo topics like gun violence and mental health. For example, our 2024 HBO Max docuseries, One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit, drove community support, awareness, and donations that enabled us to open a second mental health unit. That’s the ROI every marketer dreams of.
Entertainment marketing, when rooted in purpose, can be a powerful force for good, fostering positive cultural change while building brand affinity. Its not just about reaching viewers; it’s about making a difference.
Five factors to weigh before trying entertainment marketing
For brands ready to embrace the power of entertainment marketing, here are five factors to consider.
1. Authenticity: Before venturing into entertainment, identify the core values and stories that define your brand. If you have a product that is authentic, resonates with people, and provides value, then you have a platform to build a brand around that. Your entertainment content should be a natural extension of your brand’s identity, not forced.
2. Partnerships: Collaborating with experienced filmmakers, producers, or content creators is essential. They bring creative expertise and industry knowledge that can elevate your content and expand its reach. Seek partners who share your vision and commitment to quality storytelling.
3. Context: Entertainment marketing is not about just putting your product in a movie. It’s about crafting narratives that resonate with your target audience and subtly integrate your brand’s message.
4. Engage to change: Allow your audience to be part of the storytelling and the brand story. That means not just pushing content out, but allowing them to create content, engage with your brand, and share their passions, and their love for your brand.
5. Measure and adapt: Like any smart marketing campaign, be sure to track viewership, engagement, social media activity, and any other relevant impact on brand awareness and business outcomes that are important to you. Data-driven insights will help refine your strategy and optimize your return on investment.
Final thoughts
You must be fearless and bold. And you must be willing to fail and learn from those failures. The marketing landscape is transforming. Consumers are demanding authentic connections and engaging experiences. By embracing the power of entertainment, brands can break through the noise, build meaningful relationships, and achieve lasting impact. It’s time to move beyond traditional methods and embrace the power of the story.
Ramon Soto is senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at Northwell Health.
Greetings and thank you once again for reading Fast Companys Plugged Inand a happy Halloween to you.
Recently, I used Apple Photos to revisit the photos I took during the 2015 Thanksgiving holiday. There were some gems in therememories Id like to preserve forever. But there were even more images I regretted saving in the first place.
You already know the ones Im talking about. The near-duplicates of other, better photos. The blurry misfires. The shots of people with their eyelids drooping or mouths agape. The ones I accidentally took of the floor when my thumb slipped.
Did I mention that the treasured pictures of loved ones remain intermingled with detritus such as the shot I snapped of the fine print on the back of my mothers wireless network extender when I was troubleshooting it?
Of course, all of this is an artifact of the age of digital photography. For me, that began in the spring of 1999, when I bought my first digital camera. Freed from film and developing costs, I could take as many photos as I wanted (or at least as many as my memory card would hold). They quickly piled up on my hard drive in a way that had no precedent with printed snapshots.
The arrival of smartphones in the following decade may have been the more momentous sea change. Suddenly, I had a decent camera with me at all times. And it synced all the photos I took to the cloud, so they were nearly impossible to misplace.
As nice as it is not to lose images by accidentwhich I did all the time pre-smartphonethe 111,582 photos I currently have stored in Apple Photos, most of which I took with various iPhones, include vast quantities of dross. Im spending $10 a month on 2 terabytes of iCloud storage to store them, but the cost isnt the issue. Its the mental tax I pay every time I have to dig through bad photos to find the good ones.
Speaking of good ones: Starting in 2023, an app called GoodOnes tried to use AI to distinguish between your best photos and the ones you could safely delete. It later rebranded as Ollie and has since vanished from the App Store. (Its website suggests a new version is coming, but includes a link to a busted waitlist, so who knows?)
One of the many, many boring photos Ive deleted thanks to Shutter Declutter.
I gave GoodOnes a try when it was new. Mostly, it proved to me that determining whether a photo is worth keeping often has nothing to do with the aspects AI might be able to judge, such as composition, crispness, or the expressions on faces. In many instances, its a deeply personal decision, and impossible to outsource.
Even once youve decided to trash your unwanted photos, its surprisingly tough to do. Apple Photos is focused on safely storing images, and doesnt seem to have given a whole lot of thought to not storing them. Every time you delete a photo, it makes you confirm your intention, explaining that you can recover it for 30 days. Doing that thousands of times wouldnt just be a slogit would be unbearable. (Its possible to bulk-select photos for deletion, but theyre displayed as tiny, cropped squares, making it hard to tell if any given picture is a keeper or a dud.)
This conundrum is obvious enough that Apples App Store has several third-party utilities designed to let you keep or delete photos by swiping, as if you were going through potential dates on Tinder. The one I like bestand am happily paying $3 a month foris called Shutter Declutter. Its got a likable, minimalist interface and uses notifications to gently nudge you into spending a few minutes with it. It also makes the deletion process less intimidating by presenting you with just the photos you took on todays date in past years, though you can also jump to others if youre feeling ambitious.
Sorting through 100,000-plus old photos is so overwhelming a project that the most expedient response is to avoid ever doing it. But I can certainly find the time to review ones I took on February 3, June 12, or October 30. Already Ive used Shutter Declutter to weed out thousands of stinkers. Its been . . . kind of fun, especially since I also get to see some great photos Id forgotten Id taken.
Along with using this app regularly, I am trying to follow a few personal best practices for managing my photo collection:
First, I am doing my best to take fewer pictures, but better ones. Instead of firing off a dozen haphazard shots of a moment just because I can, Id rather thoughtfully compose two or three, as if I were paying for film and processing.
Secondly, when I shoot a bunch of photossay, at a picnic or during an e-bike jauntIm trying to review them soon thereafter. I usually end up deleting about 80% of what I captured, leaving me with the 20% that Id be happy to rediscover years from now.
Lastly, my Apple Photos is rife with images that are inherently disposable: close-ups of restaurant meals, most screenshots, mildly amusing shots I texted to friends or family. Rather than letting them fester, I keep reminding myself that its best to remove them quickly, as if I were taking out the trash.
Im never going to turn myself into a digital neat freak. But even if all I do is slow my accumulation of additional images, I will have accomplished something. After all, it would be pretty sad if I checked Apple Photos one day and discovered that instead of having 111,582 to wrangle, I somehow had 223,164.
Youve been reading Plugged In, Fast Companys weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to youor if you’re reading it on FastCompany.comyou can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, and you can follow Plugged In on Flipboard.
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The Trump administrations widespread cancellation and freezing of clean energy funding is also hitting essential work to improve the nations power grid. That includes investments in grid modernization, energy storage, and efforts to protect communities from outages during extreme weather and cyberattacks. Ending these projects leaves Americans vulnerable to more frequent and longer-lasting power outages.
The Department of Energy has defended the cancellations, saying that the projects did not adequately advance the nations energy needs, were not economically viable and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars. Yet before any funds are actually released through these programs, each grant must pass evaluations based on the departments standards. Those include rigorous assessments of technical merits, potential risks, and cost-benefit analysesall designed to ensure alignment with national energy priorities and responsible stewardship of public funds.
I am an associate professor studying sustainability, with over 15 years of experience in energy systems reliability and resilience. In the past, I also served as a Department of Energy program manager focused on grid resilience. I know that many of these canceled grants were foundational investments in the science and infrastructure necessary to keep the lights on, especially when the grid is under stress.
The dollar-value estimates vary, and some of the money has already been spent. A list of canceled projects maintained by energy analysis company Yardsale totals about US$5 billion. An Oct. 2, 2025, announcement from the department touts $7.5 billion in cuts to 321 awards across 223 projects. Additional documents leaked to Politico reportedly identified additional awards under review. Some media reports suggest the full value of at-risk commitments may reach $24 billiona figure that has not been publicly confirmed or refuted by the Trump administration.
These were not speculative ventures. And some of them were competitively awarded projects that the department funded specifically to enhance grid efficiency, reliability and resilience.
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Grid improvement funding
For years, the federal government has been criticized for investing too little in the nations electricity grid. The long-term planningand spendingrequired to ensure the grid reliably serves the public often falls victim to short-term political cycles and shifting priorities across both parties.
But these recent cuts come amid increasingly frequent extreme weather, increased cybersecurity threats to the systems that keep the lights on, and aging grid equipment that is nearing the end of its life.
These projects sought to make the grid more reliable so it can withstand storms, hackers, accidents, and other problems.
National laboratories
In addition to those project cancellations, President Donald Trumps proposed budget for 2026 contains deep cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a primary funding source for several national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which may face widespread layoffs.
Among other work, these labs conduct fundamental grid-related research like developing and testing ways to send more electricity over existing power lines, creating computational models to simulate how the U.S. grid responds to extreme weather or cyberattacks, and analyzing real-time operational data to identify vulnerabilities and enhance reliability.
These efforts are necessary to design, operate, and manage the grid, and to figure out how best to integrate new technologies.
Grid resilience and modernization
Some of the projects that have lost funding sought to upgrade grid management including improved sensing of real-time voltage and frequency changes in the electricity sent to homes and businesses.
That program, the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, also funded efforts to automate grid operations, allowing faster response to outages or changes in output from power plants. It also supported developing microgridslocalized systems that can operate independently during outages. The canceled projects in that program, estimated to total $7246 million, were in 24 states.
For example, a $19.5 million project in the Upper Midwest would have installed smart sensors and software to detect overloaded power lines or equipment failures, helping people respond faster to outages and prevent blackouts.
A $50 million project in California would have boosted the capacity of existing subtransmission lines, improving power stability and grid flexibility by installing a smart substation, without needing new transmission corridors.
Microgrid projects in New York, New Mexico, and Hawaii would have kept essential services running during disasters, cyberattacks and planned power outages.
Another canceled project included $11 million to help utilities in 12 states use electric school buses as backup batteries, delivering power during emergencies and peak demand, like on hot summer days.
Several transmission projects were also canceled, including a $464 million effort in the Midwest to coordinate multiple grid connections from new generation sites.
Long-duration energy storage
The grid must meet demand at all times, even when wind and solar generation is low or when extreme weather downs power lines. A key element of that stability involves storing massive amounts of electricity for when its needed.
One canceled project would have spent $70 million turning retired coal plants in Minnesota and Colorado into buildings holding iron-air batteries capable of powering several thousand homes for as many as four days.
Rural and remote energy systems
Another terminated program sought to help people who live in rural or remote places, who are often served by just one or two power lines rather than a grid that can reroute power around an interruption.
A $30 million small-scale bioenergy project would have helped three rural California communities convert forest and agricultural waste into electricity.
Not all of the terminated initiatives were explicitly designed for resilience. Some would have strengthened grid stability as a byproduct of their main goals. The rollback of $1.2 billion in hydrogen hub investments, for example, undermines projects that would have paired industrial decarbonization with large-scale energy storage to balance renewable power. Similarly, several canceled industrial modernization projects, such as hybrid electric furnaces and low-carbon cement plants, were structured to manage power demand and integrate clean energy, to improve grid stability and flexibility.
The reliability paradox
The administration has said that these cuts will save money. In practice, however, they shift spending from prevention of extended outages to recovery from them.
Without advances in technology and equipment, grid operators face more frequent outages, longer restoration times, and rising maintenance costs. Without investment in systems that can withstand storms or hackers, taxpayers and ratepayers will ultimately bear the costs of repairing the damage.
Some of the projects now on hold were intended to allow hospitals, schools and emergency centers to reduce blackout risks and speed power restoration. These are essential reliability and public safety functions, not partisan initiatives.
Canceling programs to improve the grid leaves utilities and their customers dependent on emergency stopgapsdiesel generators, rolling blackouts, and reactive maintenanceinstead of forward-looking solutions.
Roshanak (Roshi) Nateghi is an associate professor of sustainability at Georgetown University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A momentous week in the technology sector made it clear there is no sign the boom in building artificial intelligence infrastructure is slowing despite the bubble talk.
Nvidia, whose processors are the AI revolution’s backbone, became the first company to surpass $5 trillion in market value. Microsoft and OpenAI inked a deal enhancing the ChatGPT maker’s fundraising ability and OpenAI promptly started laying groundwork for an initial public offering that could value the company at $1 trillion.
Amazon said it would cut 14,000 corporate jobs, just days before its cloud unit posted its strongest growth in nearly three years.
These developments, along with numerous earnings calls and interviews with executives, make clear that AI has cemented itself as the single biggest catalyst for global corporate investment and the engine of the market rally, even as some question the sustainability of both.
Spending without ending
Soaring revenue at Microsoft, Alphabet, and other technology giants was expected. But more than 100 non-tech global companies noted data centers on quarterly calls this week, including Honeywell, turbine maker GE Vernova, and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar.
Sales in Caterpillar’s division that supplies data centers jumped 31% in its most recent quarter. “We’re definitely really excited about the prime power opportunity with data centers,” CEO Joseph Creed said this week.
The AI supply chain now spans power, industrials and cooling technology, and investors are looking at the entire ecosystem rather than just core tech,” said Ayako Yoshioka, portfolio manager at Wealth Enhancement Group.
Goldman Sachs estimates global AI-related infrastructure spending could reach $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030. Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet are expected to spend roughly $350 billion combined this year.
AI investment is propping up global trade, with about 60% of U.S. data-center capex spent on imported IT equipment, according to Oxford Economics, much of it semiconductors from Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam.
At least two dozen companies representing more than $21 trillion in combined market value reported quarterly earnings or spoke with Reuters about AI in recent days. Many, including Procter & Gamble and Boliden, noted that the hoped-for productivity gains, though uneven, are beginning to show.
“We strongly believe the future contribution of artificial intelligence within R&D, within developing innovation, will steadily increase,” Schindler CEO Paolo Compagna told Reuters, though he said AI’s impact is yet to be seen. The Swiss lift and escalator maker raised its annual margin forecast last week.
Year-over-year revenue growth in the U.S. tech sector is up more than 15%, outpacing all other sectors, according to LSEG data.
Apple said it was significantly increasing AI investment and Amazon projected capital spending of $125 billion in 2025.
Worries about overvaluation
Since ChatGPTs debut in 2022, global equity values have climbed 46%, or $46 trillion. One-third of that gain has come from AI-linked companies, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Analysts warn of a quickening replacement cycle for servers, accelerators and chips as each new generation delivers exponential performance gains. The useful life of AI chips is shrinking to five years or less, forcing companies to write down assets faster and replace them sooner,” said UBS semiconductor analyst Tim Arcuri.
The surge in AI-related spending has widened the gap between investment and returns, with a Reuters analysis showing that sales-to-capex ratios at major tech firms have fallen sharply as outlays on chips and data centers grow faster than revenue. Capital expenditures represent a larger chunk of cash generated by operating activities for some companies, causing some investor concern.
If progress hasnt been made toward monetization within three years, the market will start asking hard questions,” said Sumali Sanyal, senior portfolio manager at investment firm Xponance.
Microsoft reported a record $35 billion in capex in its most recent quarter and projected higher spending, prompting Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler to ask whether the company was spending into a bubble. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood responded that AI-related demand still outpaces Microsoft’s spending. “I thought we were going to catch up. We are not,” she said.
Some companies are financing AI projects with debt. Oracles $18 billion bond sale last month was one of the largest ever for a tech company, and it looks set to be surpassed by an up to $30 billion bond sale from Meta Platforms. News of its largest ever bond sale knocked Meta’s shares down 11% on Thursday.
Still, many economists say the AI cycle is far from exhausted. Goldman estimates AI investment is currently less than 1% of U.S. GDP, far below peaks of 2% to 5% seen during the electricity and dot-com booms.
We are in the early innings and the pace of AI innovation is the fastest we have seen in decades, said Nick Evans, portfolio manager at Polar Capital Technology Trust.
Akash Sriram, Sriparna Roy, Sneha SK, Puyaan Singh, Jessica DiNapoli, and Bernadette Hogg
The day after the jewelry heist at the Louvre in Paris, officials from across Washington’s world-famous museums were already talking, assessing and planning how to bolster their own security.“We went over a review of the incident,” said Doug Beaver, security specialist at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, who said he participated in Zoom talks with nearby institutions including the Smithsonian and the National Gallery of Art. “Then we developed a game plan on that second day out, and started putting things in place on Days 3, 4 and 5.”Similar conversations are happening at museums across the globe, as those tasked with securing art ask: “Could that happen here?” One California museum knows the answer is yespolice are investigating the theft of more than 1,000 items just before the Louvre heist.At the same time, many were acknowledging the inherent, even painful tension in their task: Museums are meant to help people engage with artnot to distance them from it.“The biggest thing in museums is the visitor experience,” Beaver said. “We want visitors to come back. We don’t want them to feel as though they’re in a fortress or a restrictive environment.”It’s an issue many are grappling withmost of all, of course, the Louvre, whose director, Laurence des Cars, has acknowledged “a terrible failure” of security measures.It was crystallized in a letter of support for the Louvre and its beleaguered leader, from 57 museums across the globe. “Museums are places of transmission and wonder,” said the letter, which appeared in Le Monde. “Museums are not strongholds nor are they secret vaults.” It said the very essence of museums “lies in their openness and accessibility.”
Aging security systems
A number of museums declined to comment on the Louvre heist when contacted by The Associated Press, to avoid not only discussing security but also criticizing the Louvre at a sensitive time.French police have acknowledged major security gaps: Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure told Senate lawmakers Wednesday that aging systems had left the museum weakened.François Chatillon, France’s chief architect of historical monuments, noted nonetheless that many museums, especially in Europe, are in historic buildings that were not constructed with the goal of securing art. The Louvre, after all, was a royal palacea medieval one at that.“Faced with the intrusion of criminals, we must find solutions, but not in a hasty manner,” Chatillon told Le Monde. “We’re not going to put armored doors and windows everywhere because there was this burglary.”The architect added that demands on museums come from many places. “Security, conservation, adaptation to climate changethey are all legitimate.”
Prioritizing protection
Even within security, there are competing priorities, noted attorney Nicholas O’Donnell, an expert in global art law and editor of the Art Law Report, a blog on legal issues in the museum and arts communities.“You’re always fighting the last war in security,” said O’Donnell. For example, he noted museums have lately been focusing security measures on “the very frequent and regrettable trend of people attacking the art itself to draw attention to themselves.”O’Donnell also noted that the initial response of Louvre security guards was to protect visitors from possible violence. “That’s an appropriate first priority, because you don’t know who these people are.”But perhaps the greatest battle, O’Donnell said, is to find a balance between security and enjoyment.“You want people interacting with the art,” he said. “Look at the ‘Mona Lisa’ right around the corner (from the jewels). It’s not a terribly satisfying experience anymore. You can’t get very close to it, the glass . . . reflects back at you, and you can barely see it.”O’Donnell says he’s certain that museums everywhere are reevaluating security, fearing copycat crimes. Indeed, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees Berlin’s state museums and was hit hard by a brazen robbery in 2017, said it was using the Louvre heist “as an opportunity to review the security architecture of our institutions.” It called for international cooperation, and investments in technology and personnel.
Creating a balance
Beaver, in Washington, predicts the Paris heist will spur museums to implement new measures. One area that he’s focused on, and has discussed with other museums, is managing the access of construction teams, which he says has often been loose. The Louvre thieves dressed as workers, in bright yellow vests.It’s all about creating a “necessary balance” between security and accessibility, Beaver says. “Our goal isn’t to eliminate risk, it’s to really manage it intelligently.”Soon after he took the security post in 2014, Beaver said that he refashioned the museum’s security and notably added a weapons detection system. He also limited what visitors could carry in, banning bottles of liquid.He said, though, that the reaction from visitors had been mixedsome wanting more security, and others feeling it was too restrictive.Robert Carotenuto, who worked in security for about 15 years at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art running the command center, says museums have become increasingly diligent at screening visitors, as they try to thwart protesters. But that approach alone doesn’t resolve risks on the perimeterthe Paris thieves were able to park their truck right outside the museum.“If you’re just going to focus on one risk, like protesters . . . your security system is going to have a lapse somewhere,” he said. “You can stop the protesters . . . but then you’re not going to pay attention to people who are phony workers breaking into the side of your building.”
The magic of museums
Patrick Bringley also worked at the Met, as a security guard from 2008 to 2019 an experience that led to a book and an off-Broadway show, “All the Beauty in the World.”“Museums are wonderful because they are accessible,” he said. “They’re these places that will put things that are thousands of years old and incomprehensibly beautiful in front of visitorssometimes even without a pane of glass. That’s really special.”The tragedy of the Louvre heist, Bringley said, is that such events make it harder for museums to display all their beauty in a welcoming way.“Art should be inviting,” Bringley said. “But when people break that public trust, the Louvre is going to have to step up their procedures, and it will just become a little less magical in the museum.”
R.J. Rico and Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press
The behavioral health sector is at a crossroads. The landscape is shifting rapidly, and for many, it feels harder than ever to plan. The One Big Beautiful Bill is a sweeping piece of legislation that redefines Medicaid eligibility and coincides with a broader restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump administration.
Combined, these changes have introduced new questions about sustainability, staffing, and service delivery. While some details are still in flux, the direction is crystal clear: Providers will need to adapt.
To help make sense of whats changing, I recently joined a discussion with Chuck Ingoglia, CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and Monica Oss, CEO of OPEN MINDS. We looked at where the policy is headed and how agencies can prepare.
Here are three key takeaways for leaders preparing for the road ahead.
1. Medicaid work requirements will create operational challenges
Some states have previously tested work requirementsmost notably in 2018-2019, Arkansas implemented work requirements, which led to widespread disenrollments. However, recent changes mark the first time such mandates are being implemented program-wide in Medicaid expansion states for able-bodied adults without dependents. Individuals with serious mental illness or substance use disorders are expected to be exempt, but the definitions and enforcement mechanisms are still being developed.
That ambiguity is already affecting planning. Behavioral health agencies are asking: How will we know which clients are exempt? What documentation will be required? Whos responsible for tracking compliance, and what happens if a claim is denied?
From a technology standpoint, these changes raise important infrastructure questions. Intake processes may need to capture new data points. Eligibility logic may need to be updated more frequently. Payer rules could vary by state or change mid-year.
To paraphrase Monica Oss: Weve seen versions of this before. And what history tells us is that these requirements often reduce coverage without improving outcomes. So, nows the time to figure out how youll track compliance, support clients who might be affected, and safeguard your revenue cycle from gaps in eligibility.
2. Federal funding streams are changing but not vanishing
The legislation coincides with administrative proposals to restructure the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and consolidate federal public health agencies. There are changes HHS introduced in the proposed budget that still require Congressional approval. At the same time, the bill eliminates several behavioral health-specific grants that many safety net providers have long relied on to fund crisis response, peer support, housing navigation, and early intervention programs. As Chuck Ingoglia noted during our discussion, Behavioral health wasnt targeted in this legislation. But we werent protected either. We got caught in the middle.
While new funding channels like the Rural Health Fund will become available, they will largely flow through the states, introducing more variation in program design, oversight, and eligibility. Behavioral health providers will need to align their operations and reporting practices with new criteria faster than ever before.
To avoid being squeezed, agencies must be both grant-ready and advocacy-ready. That means tracking state-level implementation plans, understanding how policy changes affect your population, and demonstrating the value and outcomes of your services, often on short timelines.
3. Compliance and outcomes reporting are under the microscope
In todays funding environment, outcomes reporting has become a compliance imperative. As grant criteria evolve and value-based payment models accelerate, behavioral health providers are being asked to deliver not just care, but proof of impact.
Funding decisions, whether from public sources, private payers, or foundations, are increasingly tied to demonstrable outcomes. But outcomes can mean different things to different stakeholders. To stay competitive, behavioral health organizations need to clearly report clinical progress, service utilization, payer mix, and program effectivenessoften in real time. Health plans want data tied to value-based payment models. Grantmakers want evidence of community impact. State agencies want metrics aligned with the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set)and/or Medicaid Section 1115 waiver goals.
The ability to pull this data quickly and reliably often depends on whether core systems, like your electronic health records, are structured to support it. That includes things such as: built-in outcomes tracking at the point of care, integration with financial and billing systems, and custom reporting dashboards that reflect funder-specific metrics. Organizations that rely on manual reporting or siloed systems will likely struggle to meet new requirements. In a tight funding environment, that can be the difference between receiving a grant or being ineligible.
WHATS NEXT
The days of treating technology as an optional line item are over. Leaders are recognizing that their ability to stay flexiblefinancially, clinically, and operationally often hinges on the strength of their systems.
At a minimum, organizations need tools that can adapt to policy changes, support mobile and hybrid teams, and simplify administrative work for already stretched staff. That includes:
Automating documentation to reduce clinician burnout, streamlining workflows as billing rules shift.
Equipping leadership with real-time dashboards for decision-making.,
Improving client communication through reminders, forms, and follow-ups.
When work requirements roll out, systems will need to flag at-risk clients, adjust claims logic, and document exemption statuses.
When state rules change, workflows may need to flex without requiring a system overhaul. When staffing is tight, onboarding and training must be faster and more intuitive. What were seeing from agencies that are weathering this moment well is that theyve invested in infrastructure designed for change, not just compliance.
Theres no question that the next few years will bring significant changes. But behavioral health remains a bipartisan priority, and there is still room to plan, adjust, and advocate. That means having the right systems, the right partnerships, and the right information to make decisions in real time.
Josh Schoeller is the CEO of Qualifacts.
Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia plans to supply hundreds of thousands of its graphics processing units for projects with South Korean businesses and the government to advance the country’s artificial intelligence infrastructure and technologies.The plan was announced Friday by the government, Nvidia, and some of South Korea’s biggest companies, including chipmakers Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and auto giant Hyundai Motor, after President Lee Jae Myung met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.At a news conference, Huang said he hopes to export Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on loosening U.S. chip restrictions as the two leaders pledged to reduce trade tensions.However, he acknowledged that it was up to Trump to decide, and said there were no current plans to sell the next generation Blackwell chips to China.Huang has gotten rockstar treatment reminiscent of Apple’s Steve Jobs since arriving in South Korea on Thursday to attend meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju. As APEC host, South Korea is using the gathering of world leaders to showcase its ambitions in AI.According to Lee’s office and the companies, Nvidia will supply around 260,000 GPUs to support South Korea’s AI computing and manufacturing capabilities.About 50,000 of the GPUs will be used to support a government project to build a national cloud computing center for AI and Nvidia will provide the same number of GPUs each to Samsung and SK to help them enhance their manufacturing processes through AI and accelerate the development of advanced semiconductors.Hyundai and Nvidia said they plan to collaborate on developing technologies related to self-driving cars, smart factories and robotics, a process that will be powered by 50,000 of Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell GPUs.Speaking to business leaders, Huang highlighted how AI and advanced computing are driving a profound transformation across industries, adding to the need for more infrastructure and capacity. South Korea’s strengths in software, technical expertise and manufacturing give it an edge, he said.“When you combine software, AI technology, and manufacturing, you have the opportunity to really take advantage of robotics,” which is the future of AI, Huang said.
Nvidia featured in Trump-Xi talks
Santa Clara-based Nvidia, whose GPU chips power much of the global AI industry, featured in talks Thursday between Trump and Xi in the South Korean city of Busan, where the leaders agreed to take steps to ease their escalating trade war.Following the meeting, Trump said he discussed sales of computer chips to China. Trump and former President Joe Biden have imposed restrictions on China’s access to the most advanced chips, including those used for AI. Trump said China will speak with Nvidia about purchasing their chips, but not the company’s latest Blackwell AI chips.Nvidia has argued that U.S. export controls hinder American competitiveness in one of the world’s largest technology markets and warned that such limits could push other countries toward China’s AI technology. Talking to reporters in South Korea, Huang said he hopes to eventually sell Blackwell chips to China, “but that’s a decision for the president to make.”“We’re always hoping to return to China,” Huang said. “It’s in the best interest of the United States, it’s in the best interests of China. And so I’m hopeful that both governments will arrive at a conclusion someday where Nvidia’s technology could be exported to China.”Huang acknowledged U.S. security concerns about Nvidia technology being used by China’s military but argued that China already has ample AI capabilities, making the use of Nvidia chips for military purposes largely unnecessary.In August, Trump announced a deal with Nvidia and AMD, another chipmaker, to lift export controls on sales of advanced chips to China in exchange for a 15% cut of the revenue, despite concerns among national security experts that such chips will end up in the hands of Chinese military and intelligence services.Nvidia earlier this week confirmed that it has become the first $5 trillion company, just three months after the company broke through the $4 trillion mark. The milestone underscores the upheaval driven by the AI craze, widely seen as the biggest technological shift since Apple co-founder Jobs unveiled the first iPhone 18 years ago.But there are also concerns over a potential AI bubble. Officials at the Bank of England warned earlier this month that tech stock prices fueled by the AI boom could collapse, and the head of the International Monetary Fund has issued a similar warning.
Huang joins Samsung, Hyundai chiefs for fried chicken and beer
Hundreds of people, including reporters, gathered at a restaurant in southern Seoul on Thursday as Huang, dressed casually in a black T-shirt just hours after arriving in South Korea, shared fried chicken and beer with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Euisun Chung. The tech executives clinked glasses, took bomb shots, and at one point, Huang stepped outside to hand baskets of chicken and fried cheese to the crowd waiting outside.The three later took the stage before hundreds of cheering fans at a nearby gaming festival, where Huang said Korea’s gaming scene aided Nvidia’s early success back when it mainly made graphics cards for gamers.
Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press
Apple delivered financial results during its summertime quarter that exceeded analyst projections, despite being caught in the crosshairs of a global trade war at the same time the trendsetting company is scrambling to catch up to its Big Tech peers in the artificial intelligence race.The performance announced Thursday was driven largely by strong initial demand for its iPhone 17 lineup that went on sale last month.Although the iPhone 17 lacks the AI wizardry featured in rival devices recently introduced by Samsung and Google, Apple spruced up its latest models with a redesign highlighted by a sleek “liquid glass” appearance on the display screens.Apple also largely maintained its pricing on its latest iPhones, despite being squeezed by the tariffs that President Donald Trump has imposed on the U.S. devices that the company mostly makes in India and China. The tariffs cost Apple $1.1 billion during the past quarter and are expected to cost another $1.4 billion during the final three months of the year.The formula apparently was enough to win over consumers, particularly in the United States and Europe, helping to produce iPhone sales totaling $49 billion during the July-September period, a 6% increase from the same time last year. That was slightly below the 8% jump in iPhone sales that had been anticipated by analysts, and less than the 13% bump in sales during the April-June period.IDC estimates that 58.6 million iPhones were sold worldwide in the July-September quarter, putting Apple second behind Samsung at 61.4 million of their Android-powered phones sold worldwide in the quarter.Buoyed by the iPhone results, Apple earned $27.5 billion, or $1.85 per share, nearly doubling its profit from a year ago. Revenue climbed 8% from a year ago to $102.5 billion. Both the earnings and revenue eclipsed the analyst forecasts that steer the stock market.Apple shares surged 3% in extended trading after the numbers came out.In a conference call with analysts, Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated his belief that the iPhone 17 lineup will continue to do well, predicting even more of the devices will be sold during the final three months of the year. “As we head into the holiday season with our most powerful lineup ever, I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come,” Cook said. He cited the iPhone 17’s popularity in most parts of the world except China, where sales of the device dipped by 4% from a year ago.The Cupertino, California, company expects its iPhone sales to increase at least 10% from last year’s holiday season, according to projections provided by Apple’s chief financial officer, Kevan Parekh. Total revenue is expected to rise at a similar rate.Apple’s stock has been on a tear since a report earlier this month from the research firm International Data Corp. telegraphed the quarterly results with a preliminary analysis that concluded the company had set a new July-September record for iPhone sales. The rally catapulted Apple’s market value above $4 trillion for the first time earlier this week and now the stage is set for the shares to hit another new high during Friday’s regular trading session.But Apple has been widely seen as a laggard in the AI craze, one of the reasons that Nvidia a chipmaker whose processors power the technology became the first company to be valued at $5 trillion earlier this week.Apple had promised a wide array of AI features would be rolling out on last year’s iPhone models, but was only able to deliver a few of them. The missing upgrades included a smarter and more versatile version of its frequently flummoxed Siri virtual assistant a makeover that Apple now doesn’t expect to complete until next year.But Apple has a long history of late starts when technology starts to head in another direction before it finally catches up and emerges as a front-runner.If Apple can pull it off again by eventually implanting more AI features on the iPhone, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives believes those breakthroughs could boost the company’s market share by another $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion, translating into $75 to $100 per share.
Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer
