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It should be shocking to nobody that were dealing with an absolute surplus of AI consumables. Breakthroughs. Policy changes. New tools that promise to “10x your productivity.” Most of it is either too technical, too abstract, or just plain filler. You don’t need another wall of text, you need the signal. Luckily, there are a handful of AI newsletters that consistently deliver real value without taking up half your morning. (My editor wanted to make sure you knew about Fast Companys own such newsletter, by senior reporter Mark Sullivan: AI Decoded. You can sign up for it here.) The Rundown AI: The Daily Scan If you have exactly five minutes between pouring your coffee and jumping on your first call, The Rundown AI is for you. All business, no fluff, it gives you the full, daily landscape in a highly digestible format. If something major drops from OpenAI, Google, or Meta, you’ll know about it. This is best for the busy professional or anyone who just wants the highlights without having to chase links all day. Superhuman AI: The Productivity Power-Up The Superhuman AI newsletter runs the gamut from grand philosophical debates of AI to the tools that make your job easier. At its best, its practical, actionable, and focused on handing you the tools, tips, and tutorials to integrate AI into your daily tasks. Think prompt engineering tips and how to use the latest AI to automate something you hate doing. This one is ideal for individuals looking to boost their personal productivity and executives focused on operational efficiency. The Neuron: Connecting the Dots If The Rundown is the summary, The Neuron is the analysisthe one that tells you what the news means. Expect a thoughtful analysis with a touch of dry humor. The Neuron is excellent at connecting the technical developments to the real-world impact. This is excellent for strategy leaders and those who need to understand the implications of AI for their industry. Ben’s Bites: For the Builders Bens Bites is less about the press releases and more about what the AI community is actually building right now. Curated by Ben Tossell, its a daily digest packed with new tools, product launches, and startup funding news. If youre a founder, developer, or just love being the first to try a new app, this is your resource. The Batch: The Educational Authority When you need to go beyond the chatter and understand the foundational elements of AI, The Batch is authoritative, educational, and reliable. This weekly digest strikes a nice balance, covering the major research breakthroughs alongside the applied use cases. It keeps you current without oversimplifying the complex subject matter. This is best for anyone transitioning into a technical AI role or the leader who needs to speak confidently about AI.
Category:
E-Commerce
Last week, Congress released more than 23,000 pages of documents from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins estate to the public. Since then, the bombshell release has garnered commentary from the Trump administration, thousands of internet users, Saturday Night Live, and, now, merch sellers on Etsy. In recent years, a certain contingent of ultra-niche online merch sellers (and, most likely, dropshippers) have decided that any notable event is fodder for potential T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers. In recent months alone, sellers have profited off of merch designed to covertly signal anti-Trump messaging; merch promoting “Alligator Alcatraz,” the Trump administrations migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades; and merch based on a series of New Jersey drone sightings that spawned conspiracy theories across the internet. Just days after the new Epstein documents were released, merch sellers on sites including Etsy and Amazon have already turned the disclosures into NSFW statements. Etsy and Amazon flooded with merch inspired by the Epstein emails Of all the information included in the documents revealed by Congress (including one message in which Epstein claimed that Trump knew about the girls), most merch sellers are focusing on a specific email exchange in March 2018 thats become a major subject of internet scrutiny. In the exchange, Epsteins brother, Mark Epstein, asks Epstein how hes doing. When Epstein responds that hes with Steve BannonTrumps former White House chief of staffMark Epstein follows up, Ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba? Given that Bubba is a well-known nickname for former president Bill Clinton, netizens have begun speculating that the comment might refer to a sex act between Trump and Clinton. The comment even got some national airtime on Saturday as part of SNLs cold open on November 15. (Both Trump and Clinton have denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse or sex-trafficking operations and neither appears to have been explicitly implicated of wrongdoing in the emails.) Mark Epstein has since gone on record to multiple publications claiming that he was just jokingbut thats not stopping merch sellers from capitalizing on the theory. A look into the NSFW merch designs Out of the dozens of new Etsy and Amazon listings that have popped up since the files were released, one of the most common themes is a riff on the phrase Big beautiful bill, which Trump used to describe a major tax and spending law that he signed in July. In these merch items, however, the bill in question is Clinton. The items, many of which are not safe for work and potentially offensive, feature President Trump and former president Clinton along with a variety of suggestive phrases. (See here, here, here, and here for examples, but click at your own risk.) While most of the merch is fairly predictable, a few sellers have opted for more creative designsincluding one image of Trump and Clinton inspired by the iconic film Brokeback Mountain. Etsy and Amazon did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment on whether its aware of an uptick of merch in this vein, and whether the merch fits within their terms for seller designs.
Category:
E-Commerce
It’s not just executives or knowledge workers in offices who are using artificial intelligence. It’s being adopted in fields like healthcare, retail, hospitality, and food services, too. But frontline workers often aren’t prepared for AI adoption. In fact, many are completely unaware that it’s being implemented in their workplaces at all. Workplace management platform Deputy surveyed 1,500 frontline workers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia for its “2025 Better Together Survey: How AI and Human Connection Will Transform Frontline Work.” The survey found that nearly half of workplaces (48%) use AI. However, only 1 in 4 workers say they regularly interact with it. But, surprisingly, 10% don’t know if their workplace is even using the technology to begin with. That could be due to the fact that employers aren’t being totally transparent about whether their companies have adopted AI. Just 17% of shift workers say their employer was open about the company’s AI use. Likewise, only 15% say they were consulted about new AI tools in the workplaceeven though they want to bewith 63% of frontline workers saying that communication about AI is essential. “Employees are sending a clear message: They want to be part of the conversation about how AI is used and introduced in their organizations,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at research and advisory firm Workplace Intelligence, said in a press release. “When workers feel informed and included, trust growsand thats what unlocks the full potential of AI. Empathy, transparency, and inclusion arent just soft skills; theyre the foundation of successful AI adoption,” he said. While AI’s role in the workplace isn’t always clear, what is clear is that the workers using it are having positive experiences with the technology. In fact, 96% of shift workers say they are happy with the technology’s role, which shows up in tasks like scheduling, in AI-powered kiosks for ordering, as well as streamlining administrative tasks, and more, in their workplace. Likewise, 94% say it makes their job easier. That’s likely why nearly 1 in 4 employees who were surveyed said they’d rather have more AI support than an extra week of PTO (23%) or even a promotion (24%). And that’s likely why workers want to be in the know when it comes to how their organization is using the technology: 27% say they desire more transparency and communication about the technology and how it’s being used. “New tech arrives. We’re supposed to just figure it out,” one food worker who took part in the survey said. In retail, the statistic is even higher, with 31% saying more communication is needed, likely because the technology is so visible to customers. “They put in self-checkout without even telling us why,” one retail worker explained. “Customers ask us questions we can’t answer.” Interestingly, while workers report positive experiences with AI, only 37% feel optimistic about the technology’s future at their workplace, which could point to how the technology is implementedoften with little communication. As another worker put it: Employees can’t integrate AI properly if it’s never been introduced to them, which leaves employees feeling the need to push back rather than use the tools to their advantage. “If you explain it, we’ll accept it,” that same worker said. “If you don’t, we’ll resist.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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