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In the world of earnings reports and pitch decks, the ultimate goal of our current AI boom is usually called something like artificial general intelligence (AGI), superintelligence, orif you’re really nerdyrecursive self-improving AI. But in the real world, we’re all just looking for the Enterprise computer: a digital assistant you can talk to that doesn’t just fully understand you, but can do things for you instantly. The last couple of months have seen a lot of progress on this front. While I was at CES, I attended Lenovo’s keynote, which unveiled Qira, an always-on AI that will be built into its devices going forward. As I wrote about at The Media Copilot, the innovation with Qira is that the assistant is now an “orchestrator of agents,” seamlessly passing off the user to other services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or others, depending on the user’s request. The reason a device maker like Lenovo can do that is because it doesn’t compete with those servicesQira is a facilitator, not a do-everything AI service. It appears Apple has also finally woken up to that strategy now that it’s announced a multi-year deal to integrate Googles Gemini models into a revamped Siri later this year. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/media-copilot.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/fe289316-bc4f-44ef-96bf-148b3d8578c1_1440x1440.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to The Media Copilot\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for The Media Copilot. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/\u0022\u003Emediacopilot.substack.com\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91453847,"imageMobileId":91453848,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Apple has colossally overpromised and underdelivered on AI over the past two years, partly because of its reluctance to rely on partners for parts of its AI experience. Now that there’s more clarity on the orchestrator visionand on how AIs talk to each otherit looks like we’re past concerns over empowering competitors. Assistants evolve into agents Into all this come agentic tools like Claude Code and Claude Coworker. The buzz around these tools in the AI world has been insane, and a big part of the reason is they can do much more than code and build websites. They are effectively agents, able to take instructions, turn them into plans, and then execute on them, often with minimal guidance from the user. Whether it lives in the OS (Qira/Siri) or in a desktop app (Cowork), the effect is the same: decision-making moves closer to the interface people actually use. Several people on X say the experience using Coworker is closer to working with a colleague rather than prompting an AI. But there are new worries, too: Anthropic is warning users about safety riskslike unclear instructions leading to file deletionbecause thats what happens when the model can act, not just talk. All this is pointing in the same direction. Sometime soon, it seems likely that a significant and growing amount of device interactions will be essentially telling agents what to do. No apps, no browserjust the answer, output, or outcome you were looking for. It’s the Enterprise computer, just not on the bridge of a starship but in millions of pockets worldwide. There are huge implications for the media, brands, and other content providers. In my Qira piece, I talked about how the battle for context is going to play out in the information space in the coming year, but agent-based work will also have an effect on information-based work itself, especially journalism. Embedding an agentessentially a decision-making computerinto your workspace is potentially a huge accelerant, but it poses difficult questions around attribution, access, and how it treats sensitive data. Auditability in the agent era Sounds serious, and there’s a simple solution to those concerns: don’t use it. But that’s not a strategy. Like any tool, those who learn it, use it, and master it will have an advantage over those who don’t. As agentic work grows in popularity, the workplaces that figure out how to implement it safely and securely will have the best chance of success. The media is particularly challenged, though, since information is their business. We’ve already seen this play out with regard to hallucinations. The propensity of AI systems to make things up out of the blue continues to persist, and it keeps many newsrooms from adopting AI, at least in any way that touches content. The danger of a workplace agent is more insidious. The AI isn’t creating content per se, but it is making decisions such as what information sources to use, what services to help with a task, and what company knowledge to apply to any specific request. But if an agent is going to make decisions in a newsroom, it cant be a black box. Even without the AI making a mistake per se, the question of how the AI makes its decisions matters. Look at the corollary in search: When Google made a deal with Reddit, which led to Reddit appearing at the top of many more search results. That unquestionably had an influence on where people got their information, especially since Google is an effective monopoly on search. Well, a device or workplace agent will have a similar monopoly. How an agent goes down a tree of decisions can’t be a black box. Certainly, steering workers toward sanctioned services and company software is an obvious first step. Following style guides and company policy in the actions it takes is another. But it’s in the parts of workflows that aren’t covered by that where things get strange. This isn’t just about getting informationit’s about the context it relies on when taing action. The need for AI governance While actions need to be seamless to the user, there needs to be an auditable paper trail for them. How the agent gets context from the web, and from which services, should be clear and traceable. When asked, in plain language, why it took a specific action, there should be a rabbit hole the user can go down if they wish, along with a method to correct any problems in its thinking (including bias). Disclaimers won’t cut it on agentstraining how to both use them and audit your own use, should be standard. In other words, governance matters. Agents like Qira and Claude Coworker might deliver on the dream of true AI assistants. But the potential they promise to unlock requires an equal amount of deference. If AI has shown anything over the past few years, it’s that it can do incredible things, but it can’t be trusted to always get it right. For organizations to truly advance into the agent era, they’ll need to adopt an old adage: trust, but verify. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/media-copilot.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/fe289316-bc4f-44ef-96bf-148b3d8578c1_1440x1440.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to The Media Copilot\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for The Media Copilot. 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Category:
E-Commerce
The Trump administration just redesigned the official White House website. Its new aesthetic might best be described as a personal action hero reel for the president. [Screen Capture: whitehouse.gov] The updated website design rolled out on January 22 in the wake of a broader relaunch of government sites by the new National Design Studio. It replaces the old homepagewhich featured a banner image of Trump, the bolded phrase America is Back, and headshots of the first lady and vice presidentwith a decidedly more cinematic design. Now, when people visit whitehouse.gov, theyre immediately greeted with a wall of videos, including shots of Trump sporting his own Make America Great Again merch, saluting military personnel, and taking off in a helicopter. Every shot is bathed in a warm, fuzzy filter, making the whole page feel like a retro-inspired movie trailer. [Screenshot: whitehouse.gov] This design direction is part of a familiar playbook thats come to define how the second Trump administration shows up online. On the surface, it touts a glossy, airbrushed version of the U.S., pulling from Americana aesthetics popularized in film and art. Underneath, though, is the ever-present subtext of Trumps ideal vision for America. One big movie trailer With the new whitehouse.gov design, the Trump administration has sidelined a previously held ethos of communicating specific administrative goals in favor of evoking an emotional response from the viewer. [Screenshot: whitehouse.gov] Historically, the official White House web page has maintained a consistent structure between presidencies. From Bush in 2008 to Obama in 2015, Biden in 2022, and even Trump himself in 2018, opening the web page would lead to a photo of the president, paired with a rundown of his current key objectives and a selection of top news stories. [Screenshot: whitehouse.gov] Today, the entire home screen fills with a looping, 30-second highlight reel of Trump. Beneath this reel is a short statement lauding the second Trump administrations successes, followed by five sections (each dedicated to an objective like Secure the Border and Make America Healthy Again). To read more about the administrations current aims, users have to click on one of these subsections or navigate to a separate header bar at the top of the page, which links out to additional resources, like a news, gallery, and livestream page. [Screenshot: whitehouse.gov] The cumulative effect of these choices is that opening the whitehouse.gov page now feels less like getting a snapshot of the current administrations goals, and more like watching five different advertisements at once. And, like any advertisement, these video clips are clearly designed to make the viewer feel something. From close-up shots of a man in a cowboy hat to wide views of a billowing American flag and a grainy clip of farmers at a Trump rally, each compilation leans on recognizable Americana aesthetics to generate a sense of patriotism. Interspersed between feel-good shots of the president signing bills and shaking hands with children, the site includes clips of border patrol agents handling lengths of barbed wire, military helicopters taking off, and ICE agents gearing up and climbing into armored vehicles. The redesign comes just weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Minnesota resident Renee Nicole Good, leading to ongoing tension and protests across the state. In terms of connecting with its intendd audience, this website design is undoubtedly effective. It plays into the ways that people are already consuming content onlinethrough short, enticing bursts of videoto tell a glamorized story about the current administration. The same can be said for most of the recently revamped government websites: they trade an emphasis on clearly communicating information for scaffolding Trump’s vision for America’s future. Ultimately, the aesthetic strength of this design is also its biggest shortcoming. At a time when the president should be building solidarity with his citizens, he’s instead designing a website that serves as a reminder that his government isn’t meant for everyone.
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E-Commerce
A reader asks: Two years ago, I began managing Craig, who had been doing the same tasks day in and day out for a decade. He hadnt adapted to new technology, best practices, or industry trends. My first order of business was to coach him and challenge him to grow and learn. For more than a year, we built up a great trajectory. People saw how much his work improved and commented on it frequently, and said he seemed revitalized in many ways. His progress gave me a lot of hope that he could become good at the modern demands of his role. Then about six months ago, Craig suddenly reverted to his old patterns. It was as if the prior year of progress got completely wiped out. Only this time around, he hasnt been able to step up the way he did last year even though we both know hes fully capable, having done this all before. Recently, he has started calling in sick the day after receiving even the mildest negative feedback. If a project goes off the rails or has to be delayed, we work on the problem until its solved and later debrief about what went wrong. During the debriefs, I let Craig take the lead and I ask open-ended questions. Im careful to keep it factual and focused on learning for next time. He assesses his work honestly and takes appropriate responsibility for missteps. Then the very next morning, he calls in sick. When he does return to work, hes quiet and withdrawn for a couple of days. This has happened three times in the past two months. I should be clear that the missteps are not disasters. Theres no drama. Nobody is angry and nobody points fingers. Ive let a lot of these things go that I would have otherwise corrected. The problems I do raise are things with an impact on other teams: missed deadlines, not completing something he had committed to, etc. He says all the right things about wanting to improve, but unlike last year, it just hasnt happened. And now Im at a loss as to how to help him if he is going to be incapable of coming to work after mistakes. Its getting to the point where Im afraid to say anything to him at all. How do I help Craig out of the tailspin or time vortex that has consumed him? Green responds: This is one of the biggest problems with people who dont handle feedback well: People stop giving it to them. And thats bad for their team (which isnt getting the performance it needs) and bad for the manager (who isnt doing their job) and bad for the person themself, because theyre not hearing what they need to do to improve and if the problems are serious enough that they could eventually lose their job, theyre not getting clear messages that things could reach that point. So youve got to talk to him about whats going on. In doing that, your measure of success shouldnt be Craig gets out of his tailspin, starts taking feedback well, and resumes his previous level of performance. If that happens, good! But it might not happen, and that wont mean you failed; you dont have that amount of control over another person. Instead, your measure of success should be I clearly articulate to Craig what Im seeing, explain what needs to change, and offer the support thats within my ability to offer. From there, its up to him. When you talk to him, just name what youre seeing. For example: Last year, you worked hard to raise your level of performance and really impressed me and others. About six months ago, that seemed to change. Im not seeing those improvements anymore, and youve been missing deadlines and letting projects fall through the cracks. I know you can do this work well because Ive seen you do it, and were at the point where my concerns are serious ones. What do you think is going on? And then see what he says. Maybe youll find out hes dealing with something in his personal life thats consuming his focus, or maybe the level of focus required for those improvements wasnt sustainable, or who knows what. But give him the chance to hear your concerns and share his perspective. As part of that conversation, theres room to say, Please tell me if Im misinterpreting, but I get the sense that critical feedback on your work has been difficult for you. Youve often called in sick the next day and seemed withdrawn for a few days after that. I realize that pattern could be a coincidence, but am I right in thinking youre having a tough time with it? and also, I do need to be able to talk with you about your work without it meaning you cant come in the next day. Is there something I can do differently on my side that will make those conversations go more easily? But ultimately, youre going to have to figure out what performance standards you need Craig to meet in order to stay in his job. And the kindest thing you can do for him is to spell those out for him very clearly. Jeff Haden This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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E-Commerce
Minnesota continues to be the beating heart of nationwide anti-ICE movements with The Day of Truth and Freedom. Today, January 23, hundreds of businesses across the state are closing their doors in protest after community groups, faith-based organizations, and unions came together to call for an economic blackout. Minnesotans are coming together in moral reflection and action to stand together against the actions of the federal government against the state of Minnesota, a declaration reads on the organizing website, ICE Out of MN. The day-long protest follows a series of tragedies that stem from the Department of Homeland Securitys January 6 deployment of 2,000 officers to Minneapolis. One day later, an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, and just this past Tuesday, ICE detained five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father in their driveway. The family has an active asylum case and had no order of deportation, yet the father and son are now in a Texas detention center. What is the Day of Truth and Freedom? According to ICE Out of MNs statement: The ICE surge that cost the life of Renee Nicole Good is violating the Constitutional and human rights of Americans and our neighbors. It is time to suspend the normal order of business to demand immediate cessation of ICE actions in MN, accountability for federal agents who have caused loss of life and abuse to Minnesota residents and call for Congress to immediately intervene. The Day of Truth and Freedom’s demands are as follows: ICE must leave Minnesota now. The officer who killed Renee Good must be held legally accountable. No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget and ICE should be investigated for human and Constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors. Minnesota and national companies should cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds. Minnesota-based publication Bring Me The News has an ever-evolving list of all the businessesfrom bookstores to cafesthat are closed on Friday. The list also includes businesses that will remain open, but are taking action, such as donating some or all of their profits to organizations like the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and the recently launched Immigrant Rapid Response Fund. How individuals are participating in the Minnesota economic blackout Organizers are further calling for individuals living in Minnesota to not work (unless involved in emergency services), go to school, or do any shopping for the day, instead focusing on community, conscience, and collective action. The Day of Truth and Freedom also includes a march at 2 p.m. CT from the Commons downtown, and a 3 p.m. CT rally at the Target Center. Interested participants can reserve a free rally ticket on the ICE Out of MN website. Anyone who lives outside of Minnesota can take part in solidarity through a scheduled event or by organizing one. The ICE Out for Good website hosts a growing database of events taking place, provides a space to create an event, and has an event-planning toolkit. ICE Out for Good also encourages individuals to push businesses to speak out against ICE, such as Minneapolis-based Target, Delta, Home Depot, and more. It offers links to contact these businesses, alongside ones to reach members of Congress. Organizations that support anti-ICE activism The Day of Truth and Freedom movement isnt specifically asking for donations, but anyone who is inclined to support the cause can donate to organizations including: Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota Immigrant Rapid Response Fund National Immigrant Justice Center American Civil Liberties Union Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee Organized Communities Against Deportations Amica Center for Immigrant Rights
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E-Commerce
In a hypothetical nuclear war involving Russia, China and the United States, the island of Greenland would be in the middle of Armageddon.The strategic importance of the Arctic territory under the flight paths that nuclear-armed missiles from China and Russia could take on their way to incinerating targets in the United States, and vice versa is one of the reasons U.S. President Donald Trump has cited in his disruptive campaign to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark, alarming Greenlanders and longtime allies in Europe alike.Trump has argued that U.S. ownership of Greenland is vital for his “Golden Dome” a multibillion dollar missile defense system that he says will be operational before his term ends in 2029.“Because of The Golden Dome, and Modern Day Weapons Systems, both Offensive and Defensive, the need to ACQUIRE is especially important,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday.That ushered in another roller-coaster week involving the semiautonomous Danish territory, where Trump again pushed for U.S. ownership before seemingly backing off, announcing Wednesday the “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security that’s unlikely to be the final word.Here’s a closer look at Greenland’s position at a crossroads for nuclear defense. ICBM flight paths Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, or ICBMs, that nuclear adversaries would fire at each other if it ever came to that tend to take the shortest direct route, on a ballistic trajectory into space and down again, from their silos or launchers to targets. The shortest flight paths from China or Russia to the United States and the other way would take many of them over the Arctic region.Russian Topol-M missiles fired, for example, from the Tatishchevo silo complex southeast of Moscow would fly high over Greenland, if targeted at the U.S. ICBM force of 400 Minuteman III missiles, housed at the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and the Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.Chinese Dong Feng-31 missiles, if fired from new silo fields that the U.S. Defense Department says have been built in China, also could overfly Greenland should they be targeted at the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.“If there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice. Think of it: those missiles would be flying right over the center,” Trump said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Pituffik Space Base An array of farseeing early warning radars act as the Pentagon’s eyes against any missile attack. The northernmost of them is in Greenland, at the Pituffik Space Base. Pronounced “bee-doo-FEEK,” it used to be called Thule Air Base, but was renamed in 2023 using the remote location’s Greenlandic name, recognizing the Indigenous community that was forcibly displaced by the U.S. outpost’s construction in 1951.Its location above the Arctic Circle, and roughly halfway between Washington and Moscow, enables it to peer with its radar over the Arctic region, into Russia and at potential flight paths of U.S.-targeted Chinese missiles.“That gives the United States more time to think about what to do,” said Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based analyst who specializes in Russia’s nuclear arsenal. “Greenland is a good location for that.”The two-sided, solid-state AN/FPS-132 radar is designed to quickly detect and track ballistic missile launches, including from submarines, to help inform the U.S. commander in chief’s response and provide data for interceptors to try and destroy warheads.The radar beams out for nearly 5,550 kilometers (3,450 miles) in a 240-degree arc and, even at its furthest range, can detect objects no larger than a small car, the U.S. Air Force says. Expert sees holes in Trump’s arguments Pitching the “Golden Dome” in Davos, Trump said that the U.S. needs ownership of Greenland to defend it.“You can’t defend it on a lease,” he said.But defense specialists struggle to comprehend that logic given that the U.S. has operated at Pituffik for decades without owning Greenland.French nuclear defense specialist Etienne Marcuz points out that Trump has never spoken of also needing to take control of the United Kingdom even though it, like Greenland, also plays an important role in U.S. missile defense.An early warning radar operated by the U.K.’s Royal Air Force at Fylingdales, in northern England, serves both the U.K. and U.S governments, scanning for missiles from Russia and elsewhere and northward to the polar region. The unit’s motto is “Vigilamus” Latin for “We are watching.”Trump’s envisioned multilayered “Golden Dome” could include space-based sensors to detect missiles. They could reduce the U.S. need for its Greenland-based radar station, said Marcuz, a former nuclear defense worker for France’s Defense Ministry, now with the Foundation for Strategic Research think tank in Paris.“Trump’s argument that Greenland is vital for the Golden Dome and therefore that it has to be invaded, well, acquired is false for several reasons,” Marcuz said.“One of them is that there is, for example, a radar in the United Kingdom, and to my knowledge there is no question of invading the U.K. And, above all, there are new sensors that are already being tested, in the process of being deployed, which will in fact reduce Greenland’s importance.” ‘Golden Dome’ interceptors Because of its location, Greenland could be a useful place to station “Golden Dome” interceptors to try to destroy warheads before they reach the continental U.S.The “highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency if this Land is included in it,” Trump wrote in his post last weekend.But the U.S. already has access to Greenland under a 1951 defense agreement. Before Trump ratcheted up the heat on the territory and Denmark, its owner, their governments likely would have readily accepted any American military request for an expanded footprint there, experts say. It used to have multiple bases and installations, but later abandoned them, leaving just Pituffik.“Denmark was the most compliant ally of the United States,” Marcuz said. “Now, it’s very different. I don’t know whether authorization would be granted, but in any case, before, the answer was ‘Yes.'” John Leicester, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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