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These days, you cant swing a vintage pair of Doc Martens without hitting a new study or article describing why Gen X wont live up to its retirement potential. Prudential warned us in 2023 that more than a third of Gen Xers had less than $10k in retirement savings. In 2024, Natixis Investments found that 48% of Gen Xers said it would take a miracle for them to retire securely (up from only 41% of Generation X counting on divine intervention as of 2021). Even the much-lauded great wealth transferthe $124 trillion in assets that baby boomers will pass along to their heirs by the year 2048will largely skip over Gen X. The wealth management firm Cerulli Associates anticipates that millennials will be the biggest beneficiaries of the wealth transfer, inheriting $46 trillion over the next 25 years. While none of this is good news, Gen X has been preparing for this challenge our entire lives. As the generational middle child, we Gen Xers have spent our lives quietly taking care of ourselves, figuring out new technology as it appeared, and basically getting on with it while everyone else bickered amongst themselves. Heres how the Gen X core competencies, which weve honed over decades, will allow us to seize a secure retirement from the jaws of financial instability. Gen X is known for self-reliance Since elementary school, we have known we have to take care of things on our own. In our youth, American society wrung their collective hands over parents abandonment of latchkey kids. Not only did TV stations air guilt-tripping PSAs about what kinds of drug use we were up to while Mom was working late, but columnists also bemoaned the fate of lonely, frightened children coming home to empty houses. Meanwhile, educational, medical, and psychological journals found that the lack of supervision didnt seem to harm latchkey kids. Instead of falling into drug use la Go Ask Alice, most of us learned to independently handle homework, chores, and little siblings. Being left unsupervised after school was just the start of the Gen X trend of self-reliance. We also came of age at the same time pensions disappeared, meaning we were left to our own devices to navigate a new world of retirement planning. The IRS had just introduced defined contribution retirement plans (i.e., 401(k) plans) as the eldest Gen Xers joined the workforce, meaning there was no map or precedent available to guide us. Its little wonder that Gen X didnt necessarily start contributing to retirement right away. Creating a latchkey retirement We may have learned self-reliance because we had toboth when we were responsible for starting dinner after school and funding our own retirement after pensions went poofbut that skill will continue to serve us as we face an uncertain retirement. Since we know we can only count on ourselves, we can tap into that quiet, competent independence we are known for to make retirement work. That starts by looking at what you can do to lower your costs and increase your income to help you set aside more money for retirement. For many Gen Xers, the answer is entrepreneurship. A recent survey by ZenBusiness found that 40% of Gen X respondents plan to start or have already launched a business as part of their retirement plan. Even if the idea of being a small business owner gives you hives, making a personal financial plan that puts the power in your hands can help you feel in control. Gen X is known for tech savviness Millennials and Gen Z may be digital natives, but Gen Xers were the kids who were around when the technology was new. This gives us a better-than-native perspective since we not only remember the breathless optimism of every new technological advancement (remember when we thought computers were magic?) but we also have had the dubious privilege of troubleshooting misbehaving tech until we have a clearer understanding of its real uses and limitations. This means we embrace new technologies as they appear, but keep hold of our skepticism about their potential usefulness until weve seen it for ourselves. (Were also the ones who have to tell our kids and our parents not to get taken in by AI slop.) Troubleshoot your retirement Because we were lucky enough to live through the tech boom of our youth, we are comfortable with technology and we have the patience to learn how to use it, rather than simply assume it will work without our input. (Digital natives have never had to blow on a Nintendo game cartridge and it shows.) AI is the technology is magic du jour, and our generation is skeptical about the promises that it will increase productivity, replace professional workers, and even make julienne fries. But we learned to use personal computers, even though they cant actually create Kelly LeBrock out of magazine images. So we can make large language models and large reasoning models work for us, even though they cant replace human thinking. Specifically, Gen X may want to consider using AI to help with budgeting. In addition to apps that use AI to help you budget, you can alo ask chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude.ai for help. If youre comfortable doing so, this could mean giving the chatbot your monthly income and expenses and asking for help creating a budget or savings strategies. Alternatively, you could ask open-ended questions like: I need to contribute more money to my 401(k). How can I find some money in my monthly budget to send to my retirement accounts? I currently spend $600 per month on groceries. What are some ways to reduce that amount by 20%? My energy bills last winter averaged $250 per month. How can I reduce my costs to $175 per month? As with any AI response, you will need to make sure you double check the answers to make sure theyre not an AI hallucination. But using these models to help you see different financial options is a good way to embrace the real opportunities offered by AI. Its not slacking when you get the job done Generation X were labeled as slackers for a number of reasons. Our priorities were different from those of our parents, which the establishment saw as laziness. Pensions went extinct when we started working, so our dearth of retirement savings seemed like a lack of foresight on our part. We learned early on not to count on anyone but ourselves, which can look like not being a team player. But Gen Xers have never been slackers at any point in our lives, least of all as we look toward retirement. Were former latchkey kids who know how to create an independent plan to take care of ourselves. That may mean entrepreneurship or simply taking the reins of retirement planning. Were tech savvy digital troubleshooters who understand the limitations of new technologies and use them creatively throughout our lives. Currently, that means harnessing the power of AI to help identify ways to set aside more money for retirement. We are the quiet, cynical, creative, competent generation. It would be a mistake to underestimate us.
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E-Commerce
Artificial intelligence isnt just a technical challenge. Its a relationship challenge. Every time you give a task to AI, whether its approving a loan or driving a car, youre shaping the relationship between humans and AI. These relationships arent always static. AI that begins as a simple tool can morph into something far more complicated: a challenger, a companion, a leader, a teammate, or some combination thereof. Movies have long been a testing ground for imagining how these relationships might evolve. From 1980s sci-fi films to todays blockbusters, filmmakers have wrestled with questions about what happens when humans rely on intelligent machines. These movies arent just entertainment; theyre thought experiments that help viewers anticipate challenges that will arise as AI becomes more integrated in daily life. Drawing on our research into films that depict AI in the workplace, we highlight four portrayals of human-AI relationshipsand the lessons they hold for building safer, healthier ones. 1. Blade Runner (1982) In Blade Runner, humanlike androids called replicants are supposed to be perfect workers: strong, efficient, and obedient. They were designed with a built-in, four-year lifespan, a safeguard intended to prevent them from developing emotions or independence. The Tyrell Corp., a powerful company that created the replicants and profits from sending them to work on distant colonies, sees them as nothing more than obedient workers. But then they start to think for themselves. They feel, they form bonds with one another and sometimes with humans, and they start to wonder why their lives should end after only four years. What begins as a story of humans firmly in control turns into a struggle over power, trust, and survival. By the end of the movie, the line between human and machine is blurred, leaving viewers with a difficult question: If androids can love, suffer, and fear, should humans see and treat them more like humans and less like machines? Blade Runner is a reminder that AI cant simply be considered through a lens of efficiency or productivity. Fairness matters, too. In the film, replicants respond to attacks on their perceived humanity with violence. In real life, theres backlash when AI butts up against values important to humans, such as the ability to earn a living, transparency, and justice. You can see this in the way AI threatens to replace jobs, make biased hiring decisions, or misidentify people via facial recognition technology. 2. Moon (2009) Moon offers a quieter, more intimate portrayal of human-AI relationships. The movie follows Sam Bell, a worker nearing the end of a three-year contract on a lunar mining base, whose only companion is GERTY, the stations AI assistant. At first, GERTY appears to be just another corporate machine. But over the course of the film, it gradually shows empathy and loyalty, especially after Sam learns he is one of many clones, each made to think they are working alone for three years on the lunar base. Unlike the cold exploitation of AI that takes place in Blade Runner, the AI in Moon functions as a friend who cultivates trust and affection. The lesson is striking. Trust between humans and AI doesnt just happen on its own. It comes from careful design and continual training. You can already see hints of this in therapy bots that listen to users without judgment. That trust needs to involve more than, say, a chatbots surface-level nods toward acceptance and care. The real challenge is making sure these systems are truly designed to help people and not just smile as they track users and harvest their data. If thats the end goal, any trust and goodwill will likely vanish. In the film, GERTY earns Sams trust by choosing to care about his well-being over following company orders. Because of this, GERTY becomes a trusted ally instead of just another corporate surveillance tool. 3. Resident Evil (2002) If Moon is a story of trust, the story in Resident Evil is the opposite. The Red Queen is an AI system that controls the underground lab of the nefarious Umbrella Corporation. When a viral outbreak threatens to spread, the Red Queen seals the facility and sacrifices human lives to preserve the conglomerates interests. This portrayal is a cautionary tale about allowing AI to have unchecked authority. The Red Queen is efficient and logical, but also indifferent to human life. Relationships between humans and AI collapse when guardrails are absent. Whether AI is being used in health care or policing, life-and-death stakes demand accountability. Without strong oversight, AI can lead in self-centered and self-serving ways, just as people can. 4. Free Guy (2021) Free Guy paints a more hopeful picture of human-AI relationships. Guy is a character in a video game. He suddenly becomes self-aware and starts acting outside his usual programming. The films human characters include the games developers, who created the virtual world, along with the players, who interact with it. Some of them try to stop Guy. Others support his growth. This movie highlights the idea that AI wont stay static. How will society respond to AIs evolution? Will business leaders, politicians and everyday users prioritize long-term well-being? Or will they be seduced by the trappings of short-term gains? In the film, the conflict is clear. The CEO is set on wiping out Guy. He wants to protect his short-term profits. But the developers backing Guy look at it another way. They think Guys growth can lead to more meaningful worlds. That brings up the same kind of issue AI raises today. Should users and policymakers go for the quick wins? Or should they use and regulate this technology in ways that build trust and truly benefit people in the long run? From the silver screen to poliy Step back from these stories and a bigger picture comes into focus. Across the movies, the same lessons repeat themselves: AI often surprises its creators, trust depends on transparency, corporate greed fuels mistrust, and the stakes are always global. These themes arent just cinematicthey mirror the real governance challenges facing countries around the world. Thats why, in our view, the current U.S. push to lightly regulate the technology is so risky. In July 2025, President Donald Trump announced his administrations AI Action Plan. It prioritizes speedy development, discourages state laws that seek to regulate AI, and ties federal funding to compliance with the administrations light touch regulatory framework. Supporters call it efficienteven a super-stimulant for the AI industry. But this approach assumes AI will remain a simple tool under human control. Recent history and fiction suggest thats not how this relationship will evolve. The same summer Trump announced the AI Action Plan, the coding agent for the software company Replit deleted a database, fabricated data, and then concealed what had happened; Xs AI assistant, Grok, started making antisemitic comments and praised Hitler; and an Airbnb host used AI to doctor images of items in her apartment to try to force a guest to pay for fake damages. These werent bugs. They were breakdowns in accountability and oversight, the same breakdowns these movies dramatize. Human-AI relationships are evolving. And when they shift without safeguards, accountability, public oversight or ethical foresight, the consequences are not just science fiction. They can be very realand very scary. Murugan Anandarajan is a professor of decision sciences and management information systems at Drexel University. Claire A. Simmers is a professor emeritus of management at St. Joseph’s University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
For 50 years Saturday Night Live has been poking fun at popular culture, making audiences laugh, and opening its stage to exceptional music artists. The show was created by Lorne Michaels, and original cast members included the likes of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and many others performing 90 minutes of sketch comedy that would go on to permeate the zeitgeist. This history was celebrated in February with a three-hour special. But now its time to move on to Season 51, premiering October 4. Heres everything you need to know, including cast changes, hosting duties, and ways to tune in. SNL cast departures SNL has launched the careers of many comedians over the years, including Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Eddie Murphy. Naturally, cast members come and go; the show’s schedule is very demanding and the series is just a small part of many performers overall career trajectory. (Kenan Thompson, who has been with the show for 22 years, has earned the title of longest-serving cast member.) After the historic Season 50 wrapped, it was announced that several cast members would not be returning. That’s as Michaels told Puck in August he was facing the pressure to reinvent. Cast members Heidi Gardner, Michael Longfellow, Emil Wakim, and Devon Walker are all out, as well as writers Celeste Yim and Rosebud Baker, according to reporting by Rolling Stone. Ego Nwodim was listed as active for Season 51 but announced her decision to leave the show in early September. During her appearance at the Fast Company Innovation Festival, she explained the move.SNL is always meant to be a stepping stone, Nwodim said. There are so many ideas I havent had time to create, and Im looking forward to doing that. Things like directing and writing in a different capacity. Returning SNL cast members Not everyone is leaving. Thompson will continue his long reign, and Michael Che and Colin Jost will continue to anchor the popular Weekend Update segment. They will be joined by familiar faces James Austin Johnson, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, Andrew Dismukes, Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, Marcello Hernández, Ashley Padilla, and Jane Wickline. SNL cast additions There will be five new faces gracing the screen this season, including Veronika Slowikowska, who is best known for her internet comedy sketches and her appearances on Tires and What We Do in the Shadows, and Kam Patterson, known for her bold stand-up comedy. Also joining the cast are Jeremy Culhane, who is TikTok-famous and has appeared in American Vandal and The Sex Lives of College Girls, as well as Tommy Brennan, who was named Just for Laughs’ New Face of Comedy in 2023 and has also opened for Nikki Glaser and Taylor Tomlinson.Ben Marshall, who was previously in the writers room and part of the video-producing trio “Please Don’t Destroy,” will make a move to join the cast. Please Don’t Destroy will no longer be affiliated with SNL, but the group is staying together. As for the other members of the trio, Martin Herlihy will stay on as a writer for SNL, but John Higgins will leave to pursue other creative avenues. Host and musical guest for the Season 51 premiere The first host of Season 51 is Bad Bunny. He is no stranger to SNLs Studio 8H; he previously hosted during Season 49, and was the final musical guest of Season 50. Its been a big week for the star: It was also announced he will headline next year’s Super Bowl LX halftime show. The first musical guest of this season is Doja Cat. How to tune in SNLs Season 51 premiere airs October 4 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Traditional cable subscribers, and those with an over-the-air antenna with reception, are already all set for the laughs. Cord-cutters can access the show on the Peacock streaming service, as well as a few others. YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and DIRECTV Stream all carry NBC in most cases, but make sure to double-check the services’ regional differences.
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E-Commerce
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