Below, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic shares five key insights from his new book, Dont Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead).
Chamorro-Premuzic is the chief innovation officer at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, cofounder of Deeper Signals, and an associate at Harvards Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.
Whats the big idea?
Authenticity is overrated and can backfire, especially at work. Success comes from strategic self-presentation, empathy, and balancing personal freedom with responsibility to others.
Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Chamorro-Premuzic himselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Authenticity isnt the life hack its cracked up to be
Authenticity has become one of the most celebrated traits in every single area of life, especially in the workplace. But this trenddespite its well-intentioned beginningshas not gone according to plan. What was initially supposed to free people from the pressures of conformity in the workplace is backfiring in surprising ways.
Excessive praise of being ‘true to yourself’ can fuel narcissism, extreme individualism, and a disregard for obligations to others.
While research in positive psychology shows that feeling aligned with ones true self can boost mood and well-being, societys obsession with authenticity has a darker side. Excessive praise of being true to yourself can fuel narcissism, extreme individualism, and a disregard for obligations to others. This cultural phenomenon often harms more than it helps, especially in professional settings.
2. The four traps of authenticity
For leaders who want to be competent, effective, and create an inclusive and diverse working culture, it is important to avoid the four authenticity traps. The following mantras seem to propel beneficial behaviors, but can actually hurt objective career success:
Always be honest with yourself and others. Most people think of themselves very positively, but decades of research show this self-perception is largely biased and often misaligned with how others see them. Even when we are self-aware, honesty isnt always what others want. They often prefer encouragement, positive feedback, or polite social interaction over unfiltered truth.
Always stay true to your values. Following your values blindly can be dangerous if those values are harmful, destructive, or antisocial. History is full of leaders who acted consistently with their values but caused great harm. Even for ordinary people, rigid adherence to ones values can prevent self-reflection, fuel polarization, and make always follow your heart misleading advice.
Dont worry about what others think. The idea that we shouldnt worry about how others see us is unrealistic because humans naturally perceive the world through others perspectives and rely on social feedback to grow. Ignoring others input may preserve a self-image of heroism, but it prevents real development as leaders, colleagues, and human beings.
Bring your whole self to work. Our whole selfincluding the grumpy, impulsive, or self-centered partsis rarely fully welcomed at work, so telling people it is safe to express themselves is a bit of a trap. Organizations should focus on creating inclusive environments that balance self-expression with being a responsible, collaborative team member, recognizing where personal freedom ends and obligations to others begin.
3. Authenticity can hurt career and leadership outcomes
Career and leadership success require strategic self-presentation. Rather than imposing an unedited self on others, people benefit from deliberately managing how they are perceived. This involves understanding the social context, adapting to the needs of others, and making intentional choices about what to share and how to share it. Effective impression management isnt manipulative; its a practical way to achieve real-world goals without compromising integrity.
4. Effective leadership is about managing perception
Leadership is less about indulging in self-expression and more about creating value for others. Leaders must distinguish when trustworthiness becomes oversharing, understanding how to manage emotions and communicate effectively rather than engage in inappropriate self-disclosure.
Authenticity without strategic awareness can lead to missteps.
It is crucial that employees receive information in a way that helps them grow. Authenticity without strategic awareness can lead to missteps, whereas thoughtful communication fosters influence, loyalty, and effective collaboration.
5. Authenticity is a rare privilege
Complete self-expression is often a luxury of the powerfula privilege for the elite. Only those with status can impose their unfiltered selves with fewer consequences. But for most people, this approach risks professional and social setbacks. Success comes from balancing authenticity with empathy, collaboration, and awareness of social and organizational norms. Dont just be yourself. Be strategically, responsibly, and thoughtfully yourself.
Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App.
This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
Annoying peers are hard enough to deal with. Things get even more complicated when the annoying person is your boss. As with peers, there are several ways that a boss can be annoying. Unfortunately, you have to tread lightly with many (though not all) bosses.
To be clear, the focus here is on annoying bosses, not toxic ones. A boss who is a narcissist, a harasser, or who sows mistrust isnt just annoying, theyre bad for you and the organization. Im going discuss four things that may seem petty, but if you start dreading your engagements with your boss (or resenting them for their foibles), it can come back to hurt your working relationship.
The cipher
Some people are blessed with the ability to communicate clearly. They open their mouths, and full paragraphs of well-formed sentences spill out that illuminate whatever they are talking about. But, as Steve Martin once said, Some people have a way with words, and others . . . uh . . . not . . . have a way.
If your boss is in that latter category, they may ask you to do things, give you feedback, or generally talk about things going on at work that you dont fully understand. It might be tempting to nod along with them and then try to figure it out later. That avoids an awkward discussion, but it probably causes more problems than it solves.
Instead, develop a routine with your manager to summarize the outcome of meetings/discussions at the end. Tell your boss that this is to help you remember. Then, repeat back the important bits. Your boss will correct anything you get wrong. As an added bonus, this exercise might give your boss additional words and phrases they can use to talk to you about similar things in the future.
The micromanager
A boss who gets into the details of your work is frustrating, because youd like to be able to complete what youre doing without constant oversight. There are two common reasons why bosses micromanage.
When someone gets their first supervisory role, they are usually in a transition from front-line work to management. Because their job (up to that point) involved doing something just like what you are doing now, it may be hard for them to let go of the details of the work to focus on what they need to do with their new position. For these bosses, it is often okay to have a gentle conversation in which you ask questions about their new responsibilities and provide a subtle reminder that the front-line work is not part of their day-to-day any longer.
The second typical source of micromanagement is anxiety. When your boss is not confident in their leadership or when they feel threatened by other factors at work, they may clamp down on the people working for them to ensure that nothing goes wrong. While this tactic may make them feel better, it makes everyone else miserable.
There are two things you can do here. First, create a schedule of checking in with your boss every so often. Youd like to get that to once a week if you can, but you may have to start by doing it at the end of a work shift, or every two days, and gradually work your way to once a week. Second, provide a shared document of the status of projects. This record is helpful anyhow, because it can be used when something goes wrong with a project. If your boss has access to the status of key projects, they may be less likely to pester you for those details and add suggestions about how they would approach things.
The forgetter
One of the Big Five personality characteristics is conscientiousness, which reflects the degree to which you focus on details and follow rules. Some bosses are highly conscientious, and they are up on the details of every project. Others are not.
When your boss is not conscientious, they may be great at giving strategic and tactical advice, but they may forget things later. They may miss meetings that dont make it to their calendar, or forget something they told you they would do later.
A forgetful boss needs more constant reminders than a conscientious one. Follow up meetings with a written summary of key points and any specific information you need from your boss later. Send that summary by email. Even bosses who arent that conscientious are likely to check their email and to respond to direct requests on those emails.
If there are particular things you need to get from your boss by a specific date, coordinate with their admin if they have one. Try to ensure that key dates and requests get on their calendar. Often, a forgetful boss is aware that things slip through the cracks, and so they have a system to help them keep from dropping too many balls.
The (long-winded) storyteller
One thing about being the boss is that people feel like they need to listen to you. Some bosses (particularly those who have been in a leadership role for a while) get used to having an audience, and they may use meetings and even hallway conversations as an opportunity to regale you with stories.
A good storyteller keeps it brief and relevant. If your boss is not a great storyteller, then seeing them wind up to tell a long tale can send shivers of dread up your spine. You may have to bear a certain number of these storiesparticularly if youre sitting in the break room. But, you should try to have something scheduled up against meetings you have with your boss so that you have something you need to get to. That way, if your boss does launch into an epic narrative, you have a good reason to excuse yourself and move on.
During college, a friend convinced me to take an improv comedy class. An introvert by nature, I was way out of my depth. On the first day, I was so nervous I thought I might faint. But I ended up loving itand learning a lot. In addition to silly warm-ups to get rid of inhibitions (zip, zap, zop, anyone?), I discovered the magic of Yes, and . . .
In improv, Yes, and is more than just a phrase; its a mentalityto accept whatever idea or proposition is thrown at you, no matter how outlandish, rather than shutting it down. This mantra helped the flow of our improv performances, but it turned out to be a great life lesson as well. From that point on, I tried practicing it outside of the theater as well.
In the workplace, Yes, and means being an optimisttrying to see the value in someones idea, instead of knee-jerk shooting it down. As Ive discovered, pessimism can be an insidious force that quietly takes root in teams and drags down performance, morale, and creativity. On an individual level, research shows that pessimists are five times as likely to burn out as optimists, less likely to be highly engaged at work, and less likely to have strong relationships with their colleagues.
Leaders play a crucial role in shifting mindsets from pessimism to optimism. But it takes more than motivational quotes or town halls. Here are three practical ways to foster optimism at the workplace.
1. Model solution-oriented thinking
Let me start by clarifying that pessimism isnt inherently negative. Some experts say that pessimists bring unique leadership strengths to the table, like protecting resources and correcting course. Pessimists’ work tends to be more thorough, accurate, and carefully considered.
Problems arise, however, when a negative take doesnt offer an alternative solution. For example, when you reject a proposed new product concept because you assume the market is already saturated.
By responding to challenges with curiosity instead of cynicism, leaders set a tone that their teams learn to follow. In the example above, rather than flat-out rejecting the idea, you could explore what might differentiate your version or uncover a niche the competition has overlooked.
Solution-oriented thinking doesnt mean accepting every idea. It means pinpointing the root of your opposition and remaining open to possibilities that move the discussion forward.
2. Acknowledge challenges without harping on them
Like anything else, there is such a thing as too much optimism. At that point, its called toxic positivitywhen people are forced to act upbeat even if thats not what theyre feeling, or when they are asked to ignore reality.
At best, toxic positivity is unhelpful; at worst, it hurts morale. Employees can start to feel like theyre being gaslit. For example, imagine a team project that has been derailed for reasons beyond the members control, but a leader insists on meeting a clearly impossible deadline. This kind of blind optimism might motivate the team, but its more likely to cause mistakes, burnout, and erode trust.
Real optimism isnt toxic positivity. Leaders should aim for a balance between honesty and forward-thinking plans: acknowledge challenges without being paralyzed by them. Set realistic goals, and adjust deadlines when needed, without letting momentum and drive fall slack.
Celebrate progress
After two decades as CEO, Im a firm believer that complete failure is extremely rare. Even events that feel like total setbacks often contain small victories worth celebrating.
As leaders, its crucial to always search for wins, no matter how small, and acknowledge them. For example, lets say your marketing team launches a bold campaign that doesnt quite hit the desired moment of virality. Its still worth celebrating the teams innovation while reflecting on what could have been done differently. This will help to ensure that the team is willing to experiment with bold ideas in the future, seeing each effort as part of a larger vision of improvement.
Celebrating progress builds momentum even in the face of losses and reminds teams that their efforts are valued. You can Yes, and their creativity, even if the idea didnt become the massive success you hoped for. In the long run, this will help cultivate a realistically optimistic outlook.
It was once common practice for medtech companies to fill shelves with devices, each designed to solve a single problem. That approach made sense when innovation was measured by the number of products launched each year.
But healthcare has evolved. Hospitals and clinical buyers arent looking for more hardware, theyre looking for integrated solutions that connect data, service, and outcomes.
A hardware-only mindset simply doesnt meet the need anymore.
Todays most successful medtech companies deliver a comprehensive experience that integrates five core pillars of innovation:
Hardware that forms the clinical foundation
Software that connects the experience
Data that drives continuous improvement
Services that ensure proper use and support, and
Logistics that bring everything together at the point of care
Together, these pillars create a medtech ecosystem that transforms one-off transactions into end-to-end solutions embedded in care.
FIVE PILLARS OF MEDTECH
Medicine is changing quickly with the advances of high-tech products and diagnostic tools. For medtech companies to keep up, they need to transition from a clinic-based environment to using digital tools that capture data, improve workflows, and complement real-world, in-person support. The companies that win are those that make the five pillarshardware, software, data, services, and logisticsoperate as one system inside the customers workflow.
In new markets in particular, its not enough to just offer a physical product. For instance, at Paragonix, that means supporting the entire organ transplant process from organ screening to organ recovery to organ transport and eventual delivery for transplant, so teams have everything they need. So rather than selling a single product, were supporting the entire workflow.
This is where real value in medtech comes to play, and thats how companies are going to win the market. Winning requires all five pillars to be in place at once. Medtech companies cant launch hardware and then two years later decide to launch software or logistics.
FROM FOOD TRUCK TO FULL SERVICE
To disrupt the medtech field, leaders need to be more than visionaries. Leaders who want to win must be willing to contribute rapid, disruptive, and multilayered innovation. They must constantly be thinking about how to take the company to the next level.
Food trucks have become a fixture in nearly every city: fast, convenient, and always ready to serve. That spirit inspired us at Paragonix to ask, what if healthcare delivery worked the same way? What if, instead of waiting for products to ship or support to arrive, every essential tool and expert could come directly to the team that needs them?
That question led to the creation of the Paragonix Distribution Fleet, a mobile extension of our ecosystem that brings technology, logistics, and clinical expertise together exactly when and where theyre needed. The fleet ensures consistent access to organ preservation technologies, coordinates donor organ transport, and connects teams with on-demand clinical support. It brings the five pillars closer to the point of care.
This model represents what the next generation of medtech looks like: ecosystem delivery. Hardware arrives alongside the tools and expertise that make it truly work. Logistics and services move in sync. And when timing matters most, like in organ transplantation, every pillar of innovation travels together to protect outcomes and save time.
LEAD THE WAY TO THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION
Success is no longer about the number of units sold; its about how seamlessly your company integrates into care.
Medtech leaders must involve more stakeholders in development and consider every part of the product journey, from how equipment travels to how it connects across systems. Healthcare delivery is changing, and so is customer behavior. Institutional buyers look for partners who understand the full continuum of care: operations, logistics, data systems, and patient outcomes.
When you connect expertise with delivery, and devices with data, you dont serve the marketyou expand it. The future of medtech belongs to the companies that stay close to the customer, connect every detail of care, and never stop improving how its delivered.
Lisa Anderson is president and founder of Paragonix Technologies, a Getinge company.
Tis the season of holiday celebrations with friends, family and, yescoworkers.
Work holiday party attendees can typically be divided into two camps: those who look forward to donning an ugly sweater and doing shots with Lloyd in accounting, and those who have their I cant make it excuses locked in long before December 1st.
Good news for the latter camp: the number of companies hosting any kind of holiday party is on the decline.
In 2007, 90% of firms said they were hosting one, according to data from (the coincidentally named) Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In 2024, that number dropped to just 64%.
After spending 40-plus hours a week already with coworkers, do you really need to give up an evening in the busiest time of the year to small talk over bought-in-bulk canapés?
Short answer: if you can, you probably should.
Despite having the word party in the name, it is still a work event. Even if your company claims the party is optional, the subtext here is skipping the party may be frowned upon, or, at the very least, who does and doesnt attend will be noted by management.
And if you are in a leadership position, you pretty much have no choice in the matter.
Opting out without good reason could make workers seem disengaged from the job or the team. (A fair assessment considering employee engagement is at a ten-year low). This may come back to bite when being considered for promotions down the line: being visible and building relationships are key to getting promoted.
For many employees, though, that mindset feels old-fashioned: People are increasingly focused on maintaining a firm line between their job and their personal life. Their schedules are packed, they may be juggling childcare or health conditions, or they might simply not want to go without needing to justify the decision.
It all comes at a time in which tolerance for forced fun in the workplace feels at an all-time low, from retirement parties to after-work happy hours, which Gen Z has become particularly averse to.
A 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. workers by people analytics platform Visier found nearly two-thirds said they had cut back or stopped attending work events outside normal hours, including holiday parties. If your boss doesnt plan to go, and a large chunk of your coworkers usually skip it anyway, then youre probably fine doing the same.
Still, young professionals in particular are largely pro-office party, with 95% of workers between 18 and 34 believing holiday soirees boost engagement, according to an Indeed study. Holiday parties can be fun if you make them so. (Even if they can be HRs worst nightmare.)
If youre keen to skip, there are ways to say no to work events while still being considered a team player. But if forced festive fun is your own personal hell, remember, you dont have to stay for the full length of the party if you dont want to.
Make sure your boss sees you, swipe a couple of hors d’oeuvres, and stealthfully dip after an hour. (And you dont even need to wish anyone seasons greetings on the way out.)
In the high-stakes premium travel race of 2025, every major credit card issuer is trying to claim the loyalty of affluent travelersand airport lounges have become the most visible battleground.
American Express is refreshing its Platinum Card and launching a new fast-format Sidecar lounge. Capital Ones Venture X card has become a darling among travelers, thanks to its hyperlocal boutique-style lounges. And Citi has returned to the ultra-premium arena with the $595 Strata Elite card.
As for Chase? Fresh off raising its Sapphire Reserve annual fee to $795 and launching its Sapphire Reserve for Business card, the finance giant is now signaling that its lounges arent meant to be carbon copies of existing models.
Theyre meant to be destinations.
That direction becomes unmistakable with the opening of the newest Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas.
The two-story space arrives on Wednesday, December 3, with a marquee feature: Chases first-ever champagne parlor offering bar cart service, sparkling wine, mimosas, seasonal spritzes, and tray-passed bites.
[Photo: Chase]
Its theatrical, indulgent, and distinctly Vegasan early clue to how Chase sees the next phase of luxury travel benefits.
Were super excited about this lounge, Dana Pouwels, head of airport lounge benefits at Chase, tells Fast Company. A key focus for us with the Sapphire Lounge strategy is really bringing the best of the city into the lounge and really creating a destination that customers want to go to and visit different locations so they can learn something new.
In a year when premium cards are escalating their lounge and concierge offeringsand, in many cases, their feesChases champagne lounge doesnt just offer bubbles. It offers brand differentiation.
Why Las Vegasand why now
Las Vegas was Chases sixth-most booked domestic travel destination in 2025, and it plays an outsize role in Sapphire Reserve customer behavior.
Other issuers have staked new ground in Vegas, too:
American Express is preparing to open its Sidecar by the Centurion Lounge location there sometime in 2026.
Capital One is adding another of its boutique-style lounges at LAS as part of its 2025 expansion.
[Photo: Chase]
Chase’s stepping in with its own conceptrooted in sense of placeunderscores the citys growing importance as a travel loyalty battleground.
This lounge is really about capturing the vibrant energy of Las Vegas, Pouwels says. We went for bold, shimmering finishes . . . but then we paired that with desert-themed touches that celebrate the unique landscape of the region.
Chase uses each lounge to test new ideas, an approach that contrasts sharply with the uniformity seen in many airline-branded lounges. A highlight, specifically for me, of this lounge is we are doing our first-ever champagne parlor . . . another fun way for us to do something unique and different on this lounge, Pouwels says.
This experimentation is part of Chases signature. Its Phoenix lounge introduced a pre-bookable Airstream kitchen. San Diego features hyperlocal seafood dishes. And Boston brought wellness treatments into the fold.
We test different concepts in each market . . . due to customer feedback, Pouwels says. That is a differentiating factor for us as we think about the lounge landscape overall.
[Photo: Chase]
Culinary partnerships as a national strategy
In Vegas, that means chef David Chang’s Momofuku brand.
Momofuku has been part of the Las Vegas community for nearly a decade, and so they’re really the perfect partner for us here, Pouwels says. Theyll be bringing some favorites . . . like spicy cucumber salad, crispy nori potatoes, and then their famous pork bun.
Other markets showcase similarly intentional partnerships:
Philadelphia: Middle Child Clubhouse dishes, Elixr Coffee, and a local craft beer garden celebrating the citys brewing heritage.
LaGuardia: Fairfax dishes and coffee from NYCs famed Joe Coffee.
San Diego: Oscar’s Mexican Seafood and Groundwork Coffee anchor a West Coastinspired menu.
This consistent commitment to locality differentiates Chase from other airline lounges and gives Sapphire Reserve a culinary identity distinct from the Platinm Cards chef collective or Venture Xs local brewery collaborations.
The fee hikeand what lounges have to do with it
Chases decision to raise the Sapphire Reserve annual fee to $795 earlier this year puts it squarely in competition with the Amex Platinum ($895) and Citi Strata Elite ($595). Meanwhile, Capital Ones Venture X remains significantly lower, at $395, drawing attention from cost-conscious premium travelers.
To justify a nearly $800 price tag, Chases lounges must deliver real, experiential value.
[Photo: Chase]
The lounge strategy is really based on creating experiences for our card members on the end-to-end travel journey, Pouwels says. The reason that we open lounges in the first place is really to make travel better for card members.
And even as some competitors are tightening guest access, Sapphire Reserve and Sapphire Reserve for Business card members can bring two guests for freea meaningful differentiator as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Amex adjust their policies to curb crowding.
What sets a Sapphire Lounge apart from competitors?
Pouwels frames it in terms of personalization and flexibilitytwo things travelers increasingly demand across card ecosystems.
We really think our lounges are differentiated, unique, personalized, and really focused on elevating that customer’s travel journey, she says.
Chase aims to meet travelers where they are:
Guests with hours to spare can enjoy sit-down dining, wellness spaces, and private suites.
Guests with mere minutes can benefit from grab-and-go options, specialty coffee, and quiet seating zones.
It doesn’t really matter whether you have 15 minutes or whether you have an houryou still want a great lounge experience, Pouwels says.
A lounge as a loyalty engine
In a year when premium cards are redefining what luxury meanswhether its Amexs chef-driven menus, Venture Xs locally brewed perfect airport beers, or Citis sweep of high-value lifestyle creditsthe Las Vegas Sapphire Lounge shows how Chase plans to compete: through curated destination immersion.
The champagne parlor is more than a novelty. Its a glimpse of Chases long-term bet that the future of loyalty isnt just about pointsits about places.
And if Chases evolving lounge strategy stays on this course, the airport might soon become travelers first taste of their destinationnot just the place they pass through to reach it.
Michael Dell, along with his wife, Susan, announced on Tuesday that they are donating $6.25 billion to so-called “Trump accounts”a program that gives $1,000 of “free money” from the federal government to children in the U.S. born on, or after, January 1, 2025, through the end of 2028, while President Donald Trump is in office.
The Dells’ contribution will allocate about $250 per child to 25 million children. The accounts are basically long-term savings vehicles. Michael Dell is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, known for its computer equipment and services.
Parents will be able to contribute to the accounts starting in July 2026, according to USA Today. That money will be invested in stock market mutual or index funds.
Here’s what to know.
Who is eligible for a “Trump account”?
Accounts are available to all children in the U.S. younger than 18 with a Social Security number, and will be managed and activated through the U.S. Treasury, according to the fact sheet for Invest America.
The contributions come as part of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which was signed into law this past summer.
The $250 Dell Foundation contribution is separate and will go to children born from 2016 through 2024 in zip codes where the median household incomes are below $150,000 per year, according to The New York Times.
What are the contribution rules?
Parents “and community” (such as employers) can collectively contribute up to $5,000 per year to an Invest America account. There is no cap or limit for philanthropists, charitable organizations, or state or local government contributions.
At what age can the money be withdrawn? Can it go toward college?
Starting at age 18, a child with one of these accounts can use a portion of the savings for education or job training, starting a business, or buying a first home.
Note: The accounts automatically convert into traditional IRAs, or individual retirement accounts, at age 18, allowing any unused funds to continue to grow. (A traditional IRA is a tax-advantaged personal savings plan in which contributions may be tax-deductible.)
How can parents open an account?
Learn more about the “Trump accounts” at the website for investment firm Charles Schwab, which notes: “At this time, it isn’t clear who will open the account or where it will be held.”
Apples AI boss, John Giannandrea, is stepping down after seven years on the job. Apples stock price got a slight boost on the news, as some investors saw Apple signaling a new urgency to bring AI to its devices.
Following a transition period, Giannandrea will retire next spring, Apple said in a press release Monday. Most of Giannandreas AI group will now be tucked into Craig Fedherigis software development group, which owns development of the various operating systems in Apple devices.
While the reasons for Giannandreas departure are no doubt complicated, its a wonder he lasted so long. For years, hes been linked to Apples failure to seize on generative AI to improve its Siri voice assistant and make the iPhone and other iDevices smarter and more personalized.He may have made errors in judgement. Reports said he waffled several times on the preferred architecture for Siri — on how much of the assistants AI processing should run on the device versus a server in the cloud. But its also possible that his plans for integrating AI into Apple products encountered friction from other Apple leaders, or were hampered by fears among the leadership team that generative AI would compromise user privacy or create new legal exposure. At any rate, by 2024 Apples leadership — including Tim Cook — had lost confidence that Giannandreas group could turn AI research into useful (and safe) AI features and products.
Before coming to Apple, Giannandrea had been prolific as the head of search and AI at Google. Under his leadership, the search giant began relying on AI to refine its understanding of certain user-preferred search terms, in hopes of returning more relevant and useful results. He was at the helm of Googles AI efforts when its researchers invented the transformer language model architecture that sparked the generative AI boom and new apps like ChatGPT.
Apple poached Giannandrea in 2018 to inject new life into its floundering AI efforts. This gave Apple the time and leadership it needed to develop its own models and inject its devices and services with new intelligence. Apple combined the Siri and AI/machine learning groups and put them under Giannandreas control, creating a single point of accountability for infusing the companys operating systems, services, and developer tools with AI.
Giannandreas work during his first years at Apple was kept largely under wraps by the company. Fast Company, which had been granted meetings with the companys AI group, was repeatedly denied access to Giannandrea. As the starting gun of the generative AI revolution sounded with the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, Apple stayed largely silent and remained so even as its peers raced to develop their own large AI models and apps. Then in June 2024, Apple announced at its developer conference that it would bring Apple Intelligence” features to its devices, enabling them to offer intuitive and proactive help based on the users personal data. It also announced plans to use generative AI to create a smarter next-gen Siri. For a time, hope was restored that Apple would catch up with the AI revolution.
But neither Apple Intelligence nor next-gen Siri have shown up. (Apple now says theyll arrive in 2026.) In lieu of its own AI, Apple tried to integrate OpenAIs ChatGPT into Siri, but the user experience is clunky. In March, Apple announced it would be taking Siri out of Giannandreas control and placing it inside Fedherighis software group. Just six weeks later, Apple removed its robotics research group (which it hoped would lay the groundwork for future Apple home devices) from Giannandreas AI group.
Apple believes Amar Subramanya, the Microsoft executive theyve tapped to replace Giannandrea, can and will get things back on track. A 16-year veteran of Google, Subramanya led engineering for the companys Gemini Assistant. He has an impressive resume, and very likely a price tag to match. His hire, along with Giannandreas departure, should be read as Apples acknowledgment of falling behind its peers in AI — and a signal that it intends to catch up. Interestingly, it was Giannandreas departure that got top billing in the press release Apple put out Monday, not the arrival of a new AI chief in Subramanya.
Apple stock got a slight bump on the announcement, closing up $4.25 (1.52%) at $283.10.
Giannandreas departure is very much about what kind of tech company Apple wants to be in the long term. Does it want to develop and control its own AI models, or pay to rely on big AI models like Googles Gemini? Apple has distinct advantages with its sticky and trusting relationship with users, and control over both its software and hardware, including the chips inside the devices. Its in a unique position to leverage smaller, more specialized AI models running on those chips to deeply understand and effectively assist users.
Whatever the move, you can expect to see a lot more focus and pressure within Apple to realize new AI features and a smarter Siri in iDevices.
The U.S. stock market is holding relatively steady on Tuesday as both bond yields and Bitcoin stabilize.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, coming off its first loss in six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 115 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:02 p.m. ET, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.
MongoDB helped lead the market and jumped 23.4% after the database company delivered stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. United Natural Foods also climbed after reporting a stronger profit than expected, and it rose 7.3%.
They helped offset a 4% drop for Signet Jewelers, which gave a forecast for revenue in the holiday shopping season that fell short of analysts expectations. The jeweler said its expecting a measured consumer environment.
Another potential warning about U.S. shoppers’ strength came from the chief financial officer of Procter & Gamble, the giant behind Tide detergent, Ivory soap, and Oral-B toothbrushes. Andre Schulten said the landscape for U.S. consumers is volatile” at the moment, though still within the company’s expectations. Procter & Gamble fell 2.3%.
The U.S. economy has been holding up overall, but thats masking sharp divisions beneath the surface. Lower-income households are struggling with inflation thats still higher than anyone would like. Richer households, meanwhile, are benefiting from a stock market thats within 1% of its all-time high set in late October.
In the bond market, Treasury yields were calming following their jumps the day before. The 10-year yield was holding at 4.09%, where it was late Monday, while the two-year yield eased to 3.52%, from 3.54%.
Higher yields can drag prices lower for all kinds of investments, and those seen as the most expensive can take the biggest hit.
Bitcoin, which tumbled below $85,000 on Monday as bond yields worldwide marched higher, pulled back above $91,000. That helped stocks of several crypto-related companies bounce back from sharp slides on Monday.
Strategy Inc. climbed 6.9% and more than made up for Monday’s loss. Coinbase Global gained 3.3%, and Robinhood Markets rose 3.6% to recover much of their drops from the day before.
Mondays climb in yields came after the Bank of Japan hinted that it may raise interest rates there soon. But hopes are still high that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate when it meets in Washington next week.
What comes after that for the Fed, though, is uncertain. The Fed has already cut its overnight interest rate twice this year in hopes of shoring up a slowing job market. But lower rates can fan inflation higher, and inflation has stubbornly remained above the Feds 2% target.
Complicating things is the U.S. governments earlier shutdown, which delayed reports on the job market and other areas of the economy.
Investment giant Vanguard said its data suggests the U.S. labor market remains stable but is still soft compared with last year.
Overall, hiring numbers are slower on a month-to-month basis. But fewer workers are going after job openings because of weaker immigration and an uptick in retirements, according to Adam Schickling, a senior U.S. economist at Vanguard. That, in turn, means hiring doesn’t need to be as strong in the past to keep the unemployment rate steady.
In stock markets abroad, indexes moved modestly across much of Europe and Asia.
South Koreas Kospi was an outlier and jumped 1.9% for one of the worlds bigger moves. Tech stocks helped lead the way, including rises of 2.6% for Samsung Electronics and 3.7% for chip company SK Hynix.
By Stan Choe, AP business writer
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
A Pennsylvania police officer responding to a tip from the manager of a McDonald’s testified Tuesday about confronting Luigi Mangione during the intense manhunt last year for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer.
As soon as Mangione doffed his medical mask at the restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Officer Joseph Detwiler said, I knew” he was the suspect whose face had been all over the news since the shooting five days earlier on a Manhattan sidewalk.
It’s him I’m not kidding. Hes real nervous, and he didnt talk too much, Detwiler told a supervisor by phone from the restaurant parking lot moments after meeting Mangione, according to the officer’s body-camera video. It was played in court Tuesday, the second day of a hearing about evidence in the case.
Mangione indeed said little initially to Detwiler and another officer, giving only what turned out to be a false name, home state and driver’s license. But Detwiler testified that hed noticed the man’s fingers shaking as they interacted and officers patted him down.
Over the ensuing minutes, Mangione placidly ate a hash brown as the officers waited for colleagues and claimed they were simply responding to loitering concerns at the eatery.
I was trying to keep him calm, Detwiler told the court, adding that he at one point started whistling over the restaurant’s holiday-season music to make him think that nothing was different about this call than any other call.
Lawyers for Mangione, 27, want to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors at his eventual Manhattan trial about statements he allegedly made and items authorities said they seized from his backpack during his arrest. The objects include a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to wack a health insurance executive.
The defense contends the items should be excluded because police didn’t get a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack. They also want to suppress some statements Mangione made to law enforcement personnel, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers started asking questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
The laws concerning how police interact with potential suspects before reading their rights or obtaining search warrants are complex and often disputed in criminal cases.
In Mangione’s case, crucial questions will include whether he believed he was free to leave at the point when he spoke to the arresting officers, and whether there were exigent circumstances that merited searching his backpack before getting a warrant.
Detwiler testified that he never told Mangione he couldn’t leave, nor mentioned the New York shooting. Defense lawyers, however, have argued in court filings that officers strategically stood in a way that prevented him from leaving.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Neither trial has been scheduled.
Mangiones lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases, but this weeks hearing pertains only to the state case.
Manhattan prosecutors haven’t yet laid out their arguments for allowing the disputed evidence. Their federal counterparts have said in court filings that police were justified in searching the backpack to ensure there were no dangerous items and that Mangione’s statements to officers were voluntary and made before he was under arrest.
Five witnesses testified on Monday, including a Pennsylvania prison officer who said Mangione told him that, when arrested, he had a backpack with foreign currency and a 3D-printed pistol.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as the executive walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for his companys annual investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. Prosecutors say delay, deny and depose were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase insurance industry critics use to describe how companies avoid paying claims.
Thompson, 50, worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group for 20 years and became CEO of its insurance arm in 2021. He was married and had children who were in high school.
Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press
