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Artificial intelligence is infiltrating every corner of professional sports, from scouting and injury prevention to scheduling. Now, it looks like golf has its most sophisticated AI adoption yet, and it’s happening in the bag of Bryson DeChambeau, the sport’s most notorious tinkerer. “We’re building an AI golf coach,” DeChambeau says. “Essentially, it will be a golf coach that, based on data, will be able to tell you exactly what you’re doing, how to practice, and how to improve your game. We can take a golf swing, compile the information, upload it, and within a minute, it will give me what’s different from my gold standard set of swings.” The setup is deceptively simple: a smartphone on a tripod gathering data via video, paired with Google’s Gemini AI to interpret said data. Combined, they create a swing coach so intuitive that DeChambeau uses it even moments before teeing off in a tournament. The mental game is something I’ve always struggled with, he says. But whenever I become a little more confident and comfortable with my feel, my mental game goes extremely positive. And this assistant has helped me become a lot more confident with my golf swing. AI + AI = Coach DeChambeau’s coaching system starts with SportsBox, an AI-powered 3D biomechanical analysis app that analyzes over 30 key points on the body, club, and ball per golf swing. It measures everything from rotational range of motion to kinematic sequencingthe precise order in which different body parts accelerate and decelerate through the swing. This data is then processed by Gemini AI to turn those measurements into actionable coaching insights. Think of SportsBox as the measuring tool, Gemini as the AI coach agent, and Google Cloud as the platform hosting it all. The system starts by building and maintaining a database of DeChambeaus optimal swings from recent years to create his gold standard set. So, when he hits a poor shot, the AI immediately measures that shot against his gold standard set and ranks the factors most likely contributing to the miss. “We can take a golf swing, then upload it, and within a minute, it will give me what’s different from my gold standard set of swings,” he says. It will give me a rundown list of the top [deviations] that are correlating to whatevers causing me to miss. According to Granville Valentine, managing director of AI go-to-market at Google Cloud, its Gemini’s multimodal capabilities that bring the SportsBox data to life, creating the interactive coaching agent. “Gemini is very differentiated on multimodalitythe ability to ingest the combination of video, audio, text, and voice, and even livestreaming some of those capabilities into the model, he says. The combination of really deep video understanding plus core reasoning comes out in differentiated coaching guidance.” The devil’s in the details The granular nature of DeChambeau’s AI coaching reveals just how sophisticated modern sports analytics has become. The system uses Z-scoresstatistical measurements showing how many standard deviations a movement is from the mean of a data setto identify exactly where problems occur. Previously, DeChambeau would capture swing data but wait hours or days for analysis. With this technology, he gets feedback within a minute, allowing for real-time adjustments before a round. We were going through [the data] by hand in an Excel spreadsheet, he says. It was a manual process, very difficult. So youre talking about months and months of trying to study the golf swing, now done in minutes. The data is also surprisingly precise. Let’s say it’s a radial deviation at P6, DeChambeau says. That’s too much, meaning I’ve got too much wrist hinge, which makes the club come more outside in. So it’s very specific. For us non-DeChambeaus who got lost at radial deviation and checked out at P6, thats where Gemini comes to the rescue. The AI’s ability to adapt its communication style allows users to train it to explain complex biomechanical concepts in terms appropriate for any skill level. Like other large language models, you can ask it questions, such as what specific terms mean, and as your understanding grows, it will adapt to give you more granular, technical data, meeting each golfer where he or she is at. Old dog, new tricks When he began using this technology earlier this year, DeChambeau found one of his fundamental beliefs about his swing challenged. For years, he says, he thought he needed to stay more centered over the ballmore on top of itwhen hitting his driver. The AI consistently told him otherwise, saying he was too on top of the ball. It told me to keep swaying my chest just a bit back on the backstroke to get my center mass more behind the golf ball so I can allow the club to release through the impact more, he says. So that just blew my mind at how precise this assistant is. It was kind of a kick-in-the-butt moment of, wait, you gotta start trusting this thing. Eventually, he realized the AI’s objectivity as its strength. Its unbiased, he says. It doesnt tell you what it thinks you should do. Its literally based on what you do when youre doing your best, and keeps you in check with that. Democratizing elite-level instruction The rapid evolution of AI coaching technology suggests we’re witnessing the early stages of a broader transformation in sports training. Valentine points to each new release of Gemini, which shows consistent step-function improvements in spatial awareness and reasoning capabilities. “With each subsequent release, breakthroughs are happening,” he says, comparing Geminis current moment to the early days of Waymo self-driving cars, which needed time to become trustworthy enough for widespread adoption. That level of trustthat level of breakthrough in the model itselfis now kicking over to a place where humans have the confidence to rely on this as a coach relative to a human coach. Still, Valentine says, the ultimate goal is not to replace human coaches, but to democratize access to elite-level instruction. I don’t think the objective is to get rid of coaches, he says. I think its to deliver access to those folks who don’t have access to coaches. There are lots of folks in the world who would probably be very well served to have access to coaching, it just hasnt been available to them.” At the PGA Tour level, DeChambeau believes there are further use cases for the tool, and that widespread adoption is inevitable once other players experience the results hes seen. When these [other golfers] see what the capabilities are, they’ll immediately latch onto it, hesays. Because it’s not about some theoretical idea. It’s about what works best for them as an individual. I cant wait for a day when its a full-on coach, club fitter, you name it. Were just at the beginning.
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E-Commerce
Its Sunday night. Before kids, this was the time to nurse a mimosa hangover and zone out to The Sopranos. Now? Its a very different playbook. Sunday evenings feel less like a gentle exhale from the weekend and more like staging a Broadway play with a cast that hasnt rehearsed and refuses to put on pants. You are simultaneously the chef, chauffeur, hairdresser, homework coach, and emotional support animal. For parents, the Sunday Scaries dont whisper your inbox is waiting. They shout: Did you wash the soccer uniform? Are there enough snacks for afterschool? Is the social studies project due tomorrow or Wednesday? Ugh! Did I RSVP for that birthday party? The stress creeps up way before the Monday morning alarm. Workweek Ericka already has 15 Google Meets scheduled, but Mom Ericka must also make sure small humans leave the house with a full water bottle, completed homework, and hair appears combed. And unlike our carefree twenties, we cant just order Pad Thai at 10 p.m. and call it dinner for two days. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} The case for Sunday systems Heres the encouraging news: you dont have to live in perpetual scramble mode. Research consistently shows that people who plan and structure their weeks report lower stress and greater well-being. Weekly planning reduces rumination. In a field experiment, people who sketched out their week in advance reported fewer 2 a.m. spirals about forgotten tasks and felt more engaged during the day. Routines stabilize mental health. Psychologists link chaotic home routines to worse parental well-being, especially during school transitions. Planning boosts control. Other studies show that planning is correlated with a greater sense of progress and competencethe feeling that youre steering the ship instead of clinging to the side in rough seas. Of course, lets be clear: folding laundry does not spark joy. Its possible that people who are naturally calmer are also more inclined to plan. But the evidence leans in a direction every parent instinctively knows: structure is sanity. How to survive (without spiraling) The trick isnt to banish the Sunday Scariesyou wont, unless you invent a time machine or outsource your children. The goal is to outmaneuver them with rituals that make Monday feel less like an ambush. Hold a Family Staff MeetingYes, it sounds corporate but it works. Ten minutes where everyone lays out the week: who needs poster board, who has soccer practice, whos on snack duty. Cookies as bribes are encouraged. Do Laundry Like Its GospelUniforms, tights, hoodies, and beloved blankies must be washed and folded by 7 p.m. Otherwise, youll discover the only clean option is a Halloween cape on Wednesday morning. Play Fridge TetrisStock the fridge like a level of Tetris: cheese sticks where you can grab them, sandwich fixings prepped, carrots visible so you can feel virtuous (even if no one eats them). With a system in place, you can turn Sunday night from a slow-motion panic spiral into something approaching serenity. Because Monday morning will still bring tears over the wrong-colored water bottle, but if the bags are packed, the laundry is folded, and the fridge is stocked, you will survive with a little more calm, and maybe even brushed hair. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
Almost as soon as the first iPad was announced, a range of competitors sprung up in an attempt to become the iPad killer. Devices like the Motorola Xoom, BlackBerry PlayBook, and HP TouchPad all put another spin on the formula but couldnt come close to the iPads blend of performance and App Store dominance. Android tablets are still around today, of course, but most manufacturers dont push them too hard. Theyre all fine at doing tablet things like watching videos, and theyre all worse than the iPad when it comes to the app ecosystem. In recent years Ive used some great hardware from Xiaomi in particular that I still wouldnt outright recommend over an iPad. Xiaomis latest, though, is straight-up better than its Apple equivalent. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} The Xiaomi Pad Mini feels like an exercise in picking low-hanging fruit: in this case, the iPad mini. Apples smallest tablet is often neglected and rarely updated, leaving several open goals for competitors. In this case, Xiaomi has turned in a better design with better performance, and critically in a form factor where Apples software advantages are less relevant. Added ports This tablet isnt going to stun anyone with its originalityit pretty much looks like an iPad mini. It does have one neat trick, though, by placing USB-C ports along both the bottom edge and one of the sides you can easily charge it in a dock or while using it for video. (Apple apparently considered the same idea for the original iPad before deciding against it.) [Photo: Xiaomi] The Xiaomi Pad Mini runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 9400 processor, the chipmakers current top-end mobile system on a chip (SoC) and one thats at least in the same ballpark as the two-year-old A17 Pro in the iPad mini, if not faster. Performance is excellent, and Xiaomi also offers up to 12GB of RAM while the iPad mini is stuck on 8GB. Superior screen The screen is where Xiaomi really pulls away from Apple. This is an 8.8-inch 3008-by-1880-pixel LCD with a 16:10 aspect ratio; the difference in size to the 8.3-inch iPad mini is mostly that the Xiaomi has thinner bezels and is slightly wider in landscape. Critically, it refreshes at up to 165Hz while the iPad mini is still stuck on 60Hz, which is very jarring for anyone whos gotten used to the much smoother frame rates on the iPhone and almost every Android phone in recent years. That was the main reason I sold my own iPad mini a while back. [Photo: Xiaomi] HyperOS, which is Xiaomis custom version of Android, looks and works similarly to iOS, but Apple actually moved in the direction of its system of multitasking and resizing windows with this years iPadOS 26. While Android apps still cant compete with the iPad in terms of quantity or quality, how much productivity are you planning to get out of an 8-inch tablet in the first place? Like a really big phone The Xiaomi Pad Mini handles simple multitasking with ease, and its aspect ratio is well-suited for most Android apps. Since you can hold it in one hand and the screen is relatively tall, apps like Instagram work fine in portrait orientationits basically like using a really big phone. The aspect ratio is also better suited to most video content than the 3:2 iPad mini, meaning youll get a bigger picture with smaller black borders. Overall, this is a great tablet for watching videos, reading ebooks, scrolling social media, and browsing the web. You know, tablet things. It handles all of these tasks at least as well as the iPad mini unless you have a need for a very specific iPad app. A caveat There is one slightly bizarre caveat, which is the lack of any true biometric authentication. You can use your face to unlock the tablet through the selfie camera, which works better than it used to and didnt get fooled when I tried to use a picture of my face, but thats still not as secure as a fingerprint reader and doesnt work in the dark. That could be a deal-breaker for many. Touch ID isnt exactly a great experience on the iPad mini, but surely a fingerprint scanner would have been a low-cost, worthwhile inclusion here for convenience and peace of mind. [Photo: Xiaomi] Still, I can put up with sometimes needing to enter a PIN in exchange for all the ways that this is simply a better product. I would rather use this than the iPad its competing with, which is the first time Ive ever been able to say that about an Android tablet. And thats before I even mention the pricing, which starts at $429 for a mdel with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The iPad mini, on the other hand, costs $499 for 8GB of RAM and half the amount of storage; the 256GB model is $599. Its not like Apple isnt capable of making the iPad mini better value for the moneyit just doesnt particularly care to. This is what can happen when companies keep outdated devices on shelves at high prices. Mini tablets clearly arent the most critical product category in the world, but for the first time in a long while, Apple doesnt make the best one. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
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E-Commerce
I was one of the millions of people who lost someone to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the nonstop news about the new normal, my grief felt invisible. I took shallow solace in my phone and turned to social media to numb me from the reality that I now lived in: a world without my dad. One day, while mindlessly scrolling, I came across the r/Squishmallow subreddit, where a girl had posted her collection of more than 100 round plush toys. They were called Squishmallowsround stuffed animals invented in 2017 that have become one of the most popular toy lines in the world, with more than 100 million sold each year. I was hypnotized. I expected that my dive into the Squishmallow phenomenon would be the usual two-hour rabbit hole, but spending time in that community was the first joy Id felt in months. After scrolling through endless photos of Squishmallow hauls, I worked up the courage to post. I asked if there was a cardinal Squishmallow, since that bird was my dads symbol for his own father. I was bombarded with compassion; even though cardinal Squishmallows were rare at the time, someone sent me theirs for free. That single act of generosity started my collection. Stumbling into the Squishmallow world But alongside kindness and joy, I encountered a darker side of the community: resellers. Finding the most coveted Squishmallows could turn into a fierce competition. This wasnt just my personal frustration. As a doctoral candidate in marketing, I wanted to understand how communities like this function when outsiders exploit their passion for profit. That became the focus of my dissertationthe first study to examine resellers psychological and emotional impact on brand communities. That researchwhich my colleagues and I published in one of the fields top journalsechoed what I had lived through as a collector: Resellers are one of the most consistent sources of pain for members of brand communities. A Squishmallow reseller discusses his technique. For example, when I heard that my local Hot Topic would be selling two Reshmas, the coveted strawberry cow Squishmallow, I, like any rational adult, found myself outside of a mall at 6:30 in the morning. When the doors finally opened at 11 a.m., I sprinted to the storefrontonly to find that I had been beaten by some people who had dressed as mall employees to sneak in early. I left devastated and cowless. Later that day, I saw the same people gloating in local Squishmallow Facebook groups, trying to resell the cow for more than 10 times the retail price. I was heartbroken and angry; I swore Id never collect again. And I wasnt the only one to feel that way: Across social media, youll find countless collectors venting about resellers. What is a brand community? I didnt know it then, but I had joined my first brand community: a group of consumers who form strong, meaningful connections through their shared admiration of a product. Brand communities range from giant online hubs with more than 100,000 members to tiny local groups that host trading parties in empty lots. You might be in a brand community without realizing it. These communities can be created by a companylike Harley-Davidson, Lego, and Hot Wheelsor emerge organically from fans, like the Facebook group Walt Disney World Tips and Tricks. And they arent just about buying and selling. Theyre creative ecosystems, full of posts showing collections, inventive displays, and even goodbye messages when someone rehomes an item to another loving collector. Community members help each other solve problems, share leads on hard-to-find items, and sometimes even mail strangers a plush toy because they know it will make them smile. But while collectors use these communities to exchange information, so do resellers. The reseller paradox: A shared enemy can unite a community Resellers are outsiders who buy the most sought-after items and flip them online for a profit. They scout inventory tips, track hot products, and plan their shelf-clearing strategies accordingly. And they infuriate collectors like me. Nothing sours the thrill of the hunt faster than seeing a shelf cleared by someone who only wants to use your sacred collectibles for profit. After feeling emotional pain myself, I wanted to understand why resellers bothered me so much, and what they meant for the communities that had become my lifeline. That frustration became the spark for my research. What I found surprised me. As a collector, nothing frustrates me more than to say: According to my research, resellers paradoxically strengthen brand communities. Yes, you read that right. Resellers help communities, but not because they try to help members acquire their desired items. In fact, my findings indicate that resellers inflict heartbreak on community memberswhich was in line with what I saw and experienced. Resellers help brand communities because they create a common enemy that the community can rally against. When resellers grab all the stock from a store shelf, collectors turn to each other. They vent. They strategize. They share tips on where to find certain items, offer to pick up extras for strangers, and organize trades to help each other avoid inflated resale prices. Ironically, the people causing the most frustration also increase community engagement. Brand communities are real communities These communities reminded me that you are never truly alone in our darkest moments. Joining a niche community, whether for sneakers, trading cards, cars or even Squishmallows, can enrich your life far beyond the products themselves. It wasnt the Squishmallows that helped me heal from loss; it was the connection that lived in threads, comments, and group chats. I even came to appreciate the villains of the communityresellersfor their role in bringing people together. Although I still think I deserve that strawberry cow more than they did. Danielle Hass is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Marketing at West Virginia University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
The latest wave of tech layoffs doesnt have to be a step backwardit can be a launchpad. If youve spent years shipping products, debugging systems, and partnering with go-to-market teams, you already have what many founders dont: domain insight and a network. Pair that with AI employees, (role-specific software agents trained on your companys data that can perform defined tasks like drafting on-brand content, qualifying leads, and updating CRMs) and your severance becomes seed capital for a lean, scalable company. Whats different now is that the traditional barriers to starting a business have collapsed. The math is transformative: What once required $500,000 in annual salaries can now be achieved for less than $500 a month. Beyond cost, theres leveragethose complex migrations you managed, the customer insights you unearthed, the systems you architectedthats IP AI can now operationalize at scale. The most successful builders arent just venture-backed startupstheyre experienced operators who realized AI employees can handle everything from customer research to financial analysis, all trained on their specific expertise and methods. Former Google engineers, Meta product managers, and Amazon developers are spinning up businesses with the capacity of a 10-person startup, run solo. Take Todd Krise, who launched Mercenary Marketing after two decades in agencies and now teaches others to run lean, AI-powered businesses without traditional overhead. Or Jenna Ahern of Guardian Owl Digital, who is transforming a decade-old agency into an AI-first marketing firm. Tech professionals have a unique edge here: You understand system architecture, data flows, and automation logic, and you know what good looks like from UX to code qualityknowledge that becomes exponentially more valuable when deployed through AI agents working 24/7. While I didnt lose my job, I did choose to leave my job at TikTok when changing inoffice requirements and a fading worklife balance told me it was time to rethink my path. I realized companies were being asked to deliver more with leaner teams, and AI was finally capable of helping. I started Parallel AI soon after with a simple goal to turn anxiety about headcount into AI tools that could help teams automate content, sales workflows, and operations without burning out. Building is messy and setbacks happen, even now. The steps below aim to reduce risk and improve your odds. Start with a real problem Write one sentence that states the outcome a buyer wants. Test it with 10 buyer conversations before you build. Ask: What have you tried? What did it cost? What would make this a yes in 30 days? A former marketing agency leader, Todd Krise, mapped out how artificial intelligence could replace the bloated, outdated agency model he worked in before launching Mercenary Marketing. He pressure-tested the plan with real clients and deadlines at the start of 2025 to prove that the systems, prices, and deliverables worked before he scaled. If you cannot find 10 people who would pay, change the outcome and try again. What to prioritize in the first 30 to 90 days Aim to land two or three paid pilots and validate one repeatable way to get customers. Divide your runway into two or three time blocks (for example, 30, 60, and 90 days) with clear milestones. Sell clear outcomes you can deliver in two to six weeks. Use them to confirm the right customers, the right price, and the value you create. Create a simple brand: Think a clear oneline promise, a basic landing page, and two or three proof pieces (short case example, short demonstration, testimonial). Building trust matters more than polish. Measurement: Pick one main goal (revenue or active pilots) to focus on, and three early signs (qualified talks each week, proposals sent, share of proposals that become sales). Careful spending: Cap monthly spending, and pay yourself a modest paycheck. Platform choice: Prefer a measurable, custom AI agent platform over many singlepurpose tools. Fewer vendors means lower cost, less setup, and a clearer view of what works. How to land and execute your first paid pilot Define a tight offer Who: one target customer with a clear problem (for example, software companies that sell to businesses but have a weak sales outreach, or agencies that need brandsafe content in larger amounts). What: a named pilot (for example, 30Day Artificial Intelligence Sales Outreach Boost or Content in Context Sprint) with three to five deliverables and success measures. Why now: a clear trigger (new product launch, missed sales target, hiring freeze, a backlog of content). Use your own relationships to find your first pilot clients Use a short, specific outreach Subject or opener: Quick pilot to achieve [outcome] in 30 daysBody (three lines): We help [customer type] achieve [outcome] without [main headache].Proposed fourweek pilot: [deliverables] success = [measure]. Price: [$X], 50% upfront, applied to ongoing work if it delivers.Worth a 20minute fit call next week? If not you, who is best? Include one proof point, a short case example, a short demonstration clip, or a measured personal example. Reduce friction Apply the pilot fee to a monthly agreement or offer a partial refund if success measures are not met. Keep paperwork simple with a onepage work plan with clear data rules and weekly cadence. Make onboarding quick with a startup checklist, access you will need, and a dayone plan. Execute to convert Measure everything! Record starting levels, send weekly updates with a simple measures checklist, and deliver early quick wins. At your midpoint review show progress, confirm success measures, and discuss the followon now. During the final week, present a short results deck and a onepage decision plan with a yes or no choice and a start date for the monthly agreement. This is the moment to turn your experience into a scalable business with artificial intelligence on your terms.
Category:
E-Commerce
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