#Artificial Intelligence

#Artificial Intelligence

"You might need to have 100 conversations to take on five or six cases," says AlphaLit founder and CEO Anand Upadhye.

Even more exceptional are when the people in those literal marriages extend their individual tendril-like professional paths toward each other, braiding them into endeavors that become something greater than either could have created alone. The "mine and yours" are rendered indistinguishable from one another. Such is the case with multidisciplinary artist Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg, a UC Berkeley professor of engineering and art practice. The Berkeley-based life and work partners' newest collaboration is "Ancient Wisdom for a Future Ecology: Trees, Time and Technology."

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, , I sat down with prolific inventor Gil Hyatt, exploring his innovative journey and aspirations to leave a lasting legacy. Gil, known for his significant contributions to the field of electrical engineering and microcomputers, shared insightful anecdotes about his early days, his pioneering work in artificial intelligence, and his ambitions to benefit future generations. The Journey of an Inventor The path of Gil Hyatt was seemingly pre-destined.

Reid Hoffman doesn't do much in half measures. He cofounded LinkedIn, of course, and helped bankroll companies including Meta and Airbnb in their startup days. He has also fashioned himself, via books, podcasts, and other public appearances, as something of a public intellectual-a pro-capitalist philosopher who still insists that tech can be a force for good. Most recently, Hoffman has emerged as one of Silicon Valley's most prominent defenders of artificial intelligence.

Nick Fleisher learned that the hard way at McKinsey, where he helped elite law firms roll out tech tools, often with little enthusiasm from the lawyers expected to use them. "It was like pulling teeth," Fleisher said. That work led Fleisher to leave McKinsey and start a company in August. His startup, Sandstone, is aimed squarely at in-house legal teams instead of law firms, and Sequoia Capital is backing the idea.

Charlie Brooker's dystopian anthology series Black Mirror has been making us face the dark side of technology for 15 years now. In 2011, that meant live TV ransoms and capitalist reality shows. But last year, in Season 7, we saw memories brought to life, emotions run on subscription models, and the Hollywood remake machine going very literal. In the age of AI popping up everywhere, Black Mirror isn't going to stop reflecting real life any time soon - but what could possibly be next?

"There's interest across the board," Michael Kemper, MTA chief security officer, told THE CITY. "It's not only coming from the MTA, but from the business world, the AI business world, in working with us."

2026 is just getting started, and layoffs are already underway. Companies, including Angi, the company formerly known as Angie's List, and the popular web tool Tailwind, have cut staff, citing the impact of artificial intelligence among the reasons for the layoffs. More than 100 other companies, from Amazon to Nike to Verizon, have filed legally mandated WARN notices about job cuts to come in 2026, according to WARN Tracker.

"We need to be able to bring a new task to bear in a day or two," Playter said. "And that's because, I think in a factory, there's literally hundreds of tasks and the tasks evolve."

2025 was a rough year for investors in The Trade Desk . The technology platform for advertisers looking to escape the walled gardens fell 67.7%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Slowing revenue growth amid a changing landscape in digital advertising on television, along with the adoption of artificial intelligence ( AI), has led investors to bail on the stock.

Chinese officials are looking into whether Meta Platforms Inc.'s acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus violated regulations, an initial review that could hinder the deal down the road if officials determine wrongdoing. Regulators have begun a review of the transaction unveiled in December, including possible national security implications, people familiar with the matter said. Worth more than $2 billion, the deal will be assessed for its consistency with relevant laws and regulations, Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said at a regular briefing.

The markets are posting a dizzying performance after clinching record highs earlier this week. Technology deals and AI advancements are bullish catalysts, but that sentiment is failing to show up in the three of the major stock market indices today, which are mixed out of the gate. Most of the sectors of the economy are trading in the green today with the exception of tech stocks, which are down 1%, weighed down by the likes of Nvidia ( Nasdaq: NVDA), Apple ( Nasdaq: AAPL)

Microsoft stock has been a millionaire maker for decades, with a stock split-adjusted IPO price of $0.14, which means that at today's stock price around $480, the stock is up about 506,200%. That would have turned a $1,000 investment at Microsoft's initial public offering into about $5.4 million today, including dividends and stock splits. In the past month, Microsoft acquired AI firm Osmos, committed $17.5 billion to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in India,

JPMorgan's asset and wealth management division is ditching its long-held practice of using external proxy advisors for advice on shareholder voting decisions. The bank said it was "the first major investment firm to fully eliminate any reliance on external proxy advisors for our U.S. voting process," according to an excerpt from an internal memo seen by Business Insider.

Modern cars, including EVs, have tons of safety features baked in, but sometimes the driver still has to take over when the going gets tough. That's why most new cars out there still have a button somewhere that disengages the traction control system, which can come in handy when tackling slippery roads or deep snow because it allows the wheels to spin without the electronics cutting power.

Stocks rose on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon and approached more all-time highs. The S&P 500 added 0.6% and is hovering around the record it set in late December. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 482 points, or 1%, after setting a record on Monday. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6% as of 3:01 p.m. Eastern. Big tech companies were making some of the most notable moves. Amazon, which has reached into both retail and technology, surged 3.7%.

But the boom raises questions: Will it continue to be accompanied by a decline in tech and other jobs? Is it a bubble? RELATED: AI regulation battle looms in California despite Trump threats Tax revenue from stock-option withholding paid by some of the state's biggest tech companies made up about 10% of all income tax withholding in 2025, estimated Chas Alamo, the principal fiscal and policy analyst with the LAO.

CES 2026 is full of weird, fun tech that you didn't know you needed. Not everything is practical, but a lot of it is surprisingly clever. AI is popping up in places you'd never expect. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is known for featuring some of the weirdest and wildest new tech products and concepts of the year.