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The great power competition in the AI Age will probably be between OpenAI and Google, and one of the main battles may be over advertising dollars. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seemed to describe the world in those terms during an appearance on the Big Technology podcast Monday. OpenAI, which is not yet profitable, is reportedly getting set to sell ads within ChatGPT in an effort to monetize the many free users on its platform. ChatGPT now has an impressive 800 million weekly active users, but only 35 million of them buy subscriptions. The ads, which could help pay for OpenAIs plan to spend $115 billion on infrastructure by 2029, could show up as soon as early 2026. As Altman pointed out on the podcast, Google was slow to put generative AI at the center of its products, especially search, its cash cow. Google has probably the greatest business model in the whole industry, and I think they will be slow to give that up, Altman said. Google became a two trillion-dollar company selling ads around its traditional ten blue links search results; answering search queries with AI-generated results would have meant lost revenueespecially for product searches. (Google has since developed its own AI search experiences and is experimenting with ads to match.) Altman believes Googles hesitation to go hard on infusing its products with generative AI has bought his company time and staying power. If Google had really decided to take us seriously in 2023, lets say, we wouldve been in a really bad place, the CEO said. I think they wouldve just been able to smash us. OpenAI believes (as Perplexity does) that Google will struggle to monetize AI search ads after spending decades perfecting a massive apparatus for selling ads around traditional search results. [B]olting AI into web searchI may be wrong, I may be drinking the Kool-Aid hereI dont think thatll work as well as reimagining the whole [business]. Altman said. He seems to suggest that his company is better positioned to reinvent web search and advertising because its a pure AI play. Its true Google was slow to evolve search (and search ads) toward AI, but the company still has some massive advantages when competing for brand advertiser dollars. It has amassed databases full of custom information that it can serve for certain searcheslike local business searches, weather, or mapping. And it has more ad targeting data than anyone else. There are very legitimate reasons to be concerned that OpenAI is going to eventually succumb to the Google behemoth, just as Yahoo, Microsoft, Blackberry, and countless others have, writes Stratechery analyst Ben Thompson in a recent newsletter. I still want to believe that OpenAI can be an aggregator, but they dont have the business model to match, and that may be fatal. Altman has said he has reservations about putting ads within ChatGPT, worrying that it might erode trust in the chatbots outputs. But it may be that advertising will be the way consumer AI is paid for, just like its the reason that much of the web has been free for decades. Ad dollars may let OpenAI maintain its pace in pursuing human-level AI models, its major goal. But going head-to-head with Google in web ads is a daunting task, and it may be one of OpenAIs biggest tests yet.
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A news segment about the Trump administration’s immigration policy that was abruptly pulled from “60 Minutes” was mistakenly aired on a TV app after the last minute decision not to air it touched off a public debate about journalistic independence.The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to a notorious El Salvador prison called the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, under President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration.The story was pulled from Global Television Network, one of Canada’s largest networks, but still ran on the network’s app. Global Television Network swiftly corrected the error, but copies of it continued to float around the internet and pop up before being taken down.“Paramount’s content protection team is in the process of routine take down orders for the unaired and unauthorized segment,” a CBS spokesperson said Tuesday via email.A representative of Global Television Network did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In the story, two men who were deported reported torture, beatings and abuse. One Venezuelan said he was punished with sexual abuse and solitary confinement.Another was a college student who said guards beat him and knocked out his tooth upon arrival.“When you get there, you already know you’re in hell. You don’t need anyone to tell you,” he said.The segment featured numerous experts who called into question the legal basis for deporting migrants so hastily amid pending judicial decisions. Reporters for the show also corroborated findings by Human Rights Watch suggesting that only eight of the deported men had been sentenced for violent or potentially violent crimes, using available ICE data.The decision to pull a story critical of the Trump administration was met with widespread accusations that CBS leadership was shielding the president from unfavorable coverage.The journalist who reported the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, said in an email sent to fellow “60 Minutes” correspondents that the story was factually correct and had been cleared by CBS lawyers and its standards division.CBS News chief Bari Weiss said Monday that the story did not “advance the ball” and pointed out that the Trump administration had refused to comment for the story. Weiss said she wanted a greater effort made to get its point of view and said she looked forward to airing Alfonsi’s piece “when it’s ready.”The dispute put one of journalism’s most respected brands and a frequent target of Trump back in the spotlight and amplified questions about whether Weiss’ appointment is a signal that CBS News is headed in a more Trump-friendly direction. Safiyah Riddle, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Michael Graves once said regarding a mens suit, You can buy a lot of cheap ones, or you can buy one great Armani suit. He was not just talking about tailoring. He was talking about time, and about the value of design that endures functionally, emotionally, and aesthetically long after the first moment of use. At Michael Graves Design, we have always believed that the best designs are not those that just capture attention for a moment, but those that quietly support you over years, as your life evolves. As we look toward the future of accessibility, this idea becomes more urgent. The truth is simple: Every body is either disabled, or not currently disabled. DESIGN THAT LASTS MUST ALSO ADAPT Accessible design is not a niche strategy. It is a philosophy of foresight. Just as quality design anticipates wear and tear, accessible design anticipates change. Our abilities shift over time: a disease diagnosis, a broken wrist, aging eyesight, a dimly lit room, or the fatigue that comes from multitasking. These are permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities that remind us that accessibility is not for some people, it is for every body, all the time. When you buy something thoughtfully designed, you are not only purchasing an object for today. You are investing in your future self. A well-placed grab bar or an ergonomically-contoured handle may seem unnecessary now, but design that is inclusive from the start ensures your environment keeps working for you as life evolves. That is not a limitation; that is liberation. THE BLUE SKY FALLACY Every designer learns that constraints fuel creativity. The most overlooked constraint is time itself. Great design considers not only how an object is today, but how it ages, how it feels after a decade, and how it fits into new phases of life. The products that endurethe teakettle you reach for every morning, the cane that becomes an extension of confidence, the accessible bed that becomes invaluable when you are pregnant, recovering from a sports injury or dealing with arthritisearn their place through empathy and endurance. Like copper developing a natural patina, they do not lose their shine with age; they gain depth, character, and meaning. Time reveals what is truly human in design: the capacity to keep serving, delighting, and belonging. When we prioritize quality over quantity, we move from consumption to connection. The inexpensive object may fill a need, but the well-designed one creates a relationship. It gathers meaning through use, through memory, and through time. THE 10-3-1 RULE: DESIGN FOR DISCOVERY From 10 feet away, a product should make a striking visual impression that draws you in. From three feet away, you begin to notice the finer details that make it beautiful and unique. From one foot away, you experience the tactile qualitiesthe feel in your hand, the sound of a lid closing, the subtle comfort of balancethat turn interaction into attachment. This layering of experience also connects design across time. The first impression creates desire. The first touch confirms trust. Over years of use, the subtle discoveries and enhancements continue to reveal themselves, deepening the relationship between product and user. When we design with this rule, we are not creating for novelty. We are designing for longevity, ensuring that the product continues to surprise and delight in small ways long after it is first used. The more you live with it, the more reasons you find to keep it. That is how great design resists obsolescence and becomes part of your life story. DESIGN WITH: CREATING FOR THE LONG JOURNEY Product designers often start with ethnographic research. It means we observe, listen, and collaborate with users to uncover product opportunity gaps that real life exposes. During this process, we create journey maps for all stages of use to ensure that, over time, the product continues to delight and exceed expectations. This approach turns empathy into strategy. When we design with people, rather than for them, we learn what they reach for first, what they avoid, and what frustrates them as time goes on. Designing with time in mind ensures that function and emotion evolve together. Products should not simply age well; they should grow more meaningful as users do. FROM TIMELESS STYLE TO SUSTAINABLE EMPATHY Design that lasts is also sustainable. Durability is the quiet partner of accessibility. When an object is built to last, both physically and emotionally, it reduces waste in materials and in meaning. A timeless product avoids obsolescence not because it resists change, but because it anticipates it. Michael Graves understood that beauty and practicality are not opposites. They are collaborators. His philosophy, that good design belongs to every body, was not just about cost or availability. It was about longevity. The most democratic design is the one that remains useful and dignified across the entire arc of a persons life. When we think beyond immediate needs to what those needs might become, we create environments that nurture resilience rather than replacement. DESIGN AS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR FUTURE SELF When you buy an accessibly-designed product, whether a piece of furniture, a bathroom fixture, or a cooking tool, you are not only investing in quality. You are investing in your future independence, comfort, and dignity. As Michael reminded us, you can buy a lot of cheap ones, or one great Armani suit. The suit, like great accessible design, carries you forward. It becomes part of your story. It fits you today, and it will still fit, both metaphorically and emotionally, when your needs evolve. The fifth dimension of design is not about style that never changes. It is about care that never expires. Ben Wintner is CEO of Michael Graves Design.
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E-Commerce
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