Business news

Business

AI beats human forecasters in tournament predicting 30 tech ventures

For decades, the idea that artificial intelligence can beat humans at number-crunching tasks like high-frequency trading has been widely accepted. But strategic foresight—the ability to predict the success of high-stakes, ...

Business

Quantifying forks in Bitcoin mining—and their energy cost

Creating new cryptocurrency requires large amounts of computing power, which is used to solve cryptographic puzzles in what is known as proof-of-work mining. When two computers attempt to solve the same puzzle, the first ...

Business

Workers' information shared with third-party companies, new research reveals

Companies are sharing workers' identifiable information and online activity with third-party companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, using employee monitoring software known as "bossware," new Northeastern University ...

Business

Technology usually creates jobs for young, skilled workers. Will AI do the same?

At any given time, technology does two things to employment: It replaces traditional jobs, and it creates new lines of work. Machines replace farmers, but enable, say, aeronautical engineers to exist. So, if tech creates ...

Business

Airbnb expands into hotels, cars, groceries

Airbnb, facing tighter local regulations on short-term home rentals, announced Wednesday it is adding boutique hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its app in a bid to transform itself into a one-stop travel shop.

Business

Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late

A federal jury ruled Monday that billionaire Elon Musk waited too long to sue OpenAI and its co-founders, delivering a decisive victory to the ChatGPT startup and ending one of Silicon Valley's most closely watched courtroom ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Why are communities pushing back against data centers?

Data centers, which house computer systems that help train AI models, are blanketing the country, a boom fueled by surging interest in AI and state tax breaks. More than 4,000 are already in operation, mostly in Virginia, ...

Business

Online viewers prefer livestreams to recordings

In an era when most TikTok videos are prerecorded, can a band with a new single create a tighter bond with fans by debuting via livestream instead? Can a business do the same when promoting a new product?

Business

Your brain for sale? The new frontier of neural data

Your browsing history, your location, your political preferences. For years, tech companies have found ways to turn personal data into profit. Now, a new and far more intimate frontier is opening: the electrical signals produced ...

Business

Researchers expose fossil fuel companies' communications facade

Fossil fuel companies say that they want to be on the front lines of renewable energy, with advertisements, social media, and even their own shareholder corporate reports espousing their commitment to green energy and combating ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Do TV ads work? Ask smart TVs

Despite the hype about streaming services, traditional broadcast television still dominates advertising dollars. This year, advertisers will spend $139 billion on "linear" TV—where viewers watch programs at scheduled times—compared ...

Business

Microsoft business software faces UK competition probe

Britain's competition watchdog announced plans on Tuesday to launch an investigation into Microsoft's business software systems, under new measures targeting the dominance of technology giants.

Consumer & Gadgets

Apple at 50: Eight technology leaps that changed our world

In the early 1970s, the idea of an ordinary person owning a computer sounded absurd. Computers back then were more like aircraft carriers or nuclear power plants than household appliances—vast machines housed in data centers ...