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- You Can’t Escape AI Anymore
AI has ascended to the role of main character. When Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for an historic summit last week, AI was one of the central topics of his discussions with Xi Jinping. As the two nations remain locked in a technological arms race, the president brought along some of the United States’ most powerful AI executives, including Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. A continent away, the European Union has been unsuccessfully petitioning Anthropic to grant access to its advanced cybersecurity model, Mythos. Back in the United States, millions of students and teachers are dealing with the fallout of a devastating ransomware attack on the software platform Canvas—a hack that was likely aided by AI tools. And on Thursday, Cisco became the latest major company to justify layoffs by pointing to AI.The past six months have marked a sea change in the reach and influence of AI. For most of 2024 and 2025, there was talk of AI progress slowing down or even stopping altogether. Even as the technology began to infiltrate schools and reshape financial markets, AI was relatively easy to compartmentalize from other major, more pressing issues in American life.No longer. Now the technology has become regarded as a matter of the greatest economic, political, and global consequence. The most important issues in U.S.-China relations? Tariffs, Taiwan, and AI, apparently. Political leaders and pundits including Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon have put AI center stage, and the backlash against data centers is loud and inescapable. The specter of AI-driven layoffs hangs heavy—as does the threat of advanced hacking bots capable of taking down electrical grids and breaking into banks. All manner of once-speculative concerns about AI have become pressing matters. There is no longer a distant AI future so much as the mess we are all forced to confront today.The newly chaotic and inescapable state of AI is the result of two inflection points. The first came at the start of the year, when AI agents exploded in popularity. Products such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex don’t just talk to you; they can do things on your behalf—code, trade stocks, analyze spreadsheets, generate slide decks, and even create Amazon listings. The technology’s once-questionable economic value became very clear, very quickly, to a large number of businesses, which have clamored to incorporate agents alongside, or in lieu of, their human employees. As agents have swarmed… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago - Supreme Court Affirms Broker Liability Nationwide in Negligent Hiring Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that freight brokers can be held liable for negligent hiring in trucking accident lawsuits. The decision could reshape how brokers choose carriers and manage risk across the trucking industry. The case, Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, also known as Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson, focused on whether federal law protects brokers from state-level negligence claims. The Court unanimously ruled that brokers are not shielded from these lawsuits under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAA). The broker liability ruling creates a nationwide standard. Before this decision, courts across the country interpreted the law differently. Some courts allowed negligent hiring claims against brokers, while others dismissed them under federal preemption protections. What the Broker Liability Ruling Means The ruling means freight brokers can now face lawsuits if they hire carriers with poor safety records that later become involved in serious crashes. Plaintiffs in the case argued that brokers should share responsibility for selecting unsafe carriers. The Supreme Court agreed that these claims can move forward in state courts. Industry experts believe brokers will now increase their focus on safety reviews and carrier compliance. Many brokers already monitor safety scores, inspection histories, and insurance coverage. However, the ruling may push companies to tighten those standards even further. Some legal analysts expect brokers to work more often with larger carriers that have stronger safety histories and more established compliance programs. Smaller carriers and newer trucking companies could face more challenges securing brokered freight opportunities. Industry Reaction to the Decision C.H. Robinson responded quickly after the ruling. The company said it was disappointed with the decision but noted that brokers will not automatically become liable in every trucking accident case. The company also stated that it will continue supporting stronger safety enforcement and better compliance standards across the industry. Transportation attorney Matt Reh previously warned that the ruling could shift freight toward larger fleets. Brokers may attempt to reduce legal exposure by becoming more selective about the carriers they hire. Still, some experts believe the practical impact could be smaller than expected. Brokers operating nationwide already faced negligent hiring risks in several states before the ruling. Because freight brokers conduct business across multiple states, lawsuits could already be filed in many jurisdictions. Compliance and Risk Management Could Increase The broker liability ruling will likely increase investment in compliance systems and carrier vetting technology. Many brokers are expected… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago - Paul Simon at the Palladium
A couple of years ago I went to a huge show of Paul Cézanne’s paintings at Tate Modern, full of anticipation. I left feeling disappointed. Too many bowls of apples, too many Montagnes Sainte-Victoire. It was indigestible. One of each would have had more impact. The disappointment was nothing to do with Cézanne or his obsessions. For the consumer, sometimes less is more. That was my consolation last night, leaving Paul Simon’s concert at the London Palladium at the interval, which occurred after the presentation of the complete Seven Psalms song cycle, 33 minutes long, which I wrote about when the album was released in 2023. The early departure — missing an hour and a half of what he promised would be “a bunch of hits” — was caused by the intense discomfort of sitting in the front row of the Grand Circle, the Palladium’s uppermost level. The view was wonderful; the effect of being jammed into the seat excruciating. In a sold-out house, no alternative accommodation was available. It was, however, possible to ignore the pain for the duration of Seven Psalms, which began with the sound of cloud chamber bowls ushering in “The Lord”, whose acoustic guitar strum might, 60 years ago, have turned into a “Mrs Robinson” or a “Cecilia”. I won’t repeat what I had to say three years ago, but I will note that the pleasure was redoubled by seeing it performed live, with a wonderful band recruited for his Quiet Celebration tour: Mark Stewart and Gyan Riley on guitars, Bakithi Kumalo on bass guitar, Andy Snitzer on reeds and keyboard, Mark Rossi on piano and percussion (including cloud chamber bowls), Jamey Haddad on percussion, Matt Chamberlin on drums, Nancy Stagnita on flute, Caleb Burhans on viola and Eugene Friesen on cello. Of course Simon’s voice is limited now in range and power, but Seven Psalms was written by a man on the verge of his ninth decade and is suffused with an awareness of mortality. Like his grey suit and black T-shirt and shoes, it was entirely age-appropriate. So that was absolutely fine — and his duets with his wife, Edie Brickell, on “The Sacred Harp” and the closing “Wait” were extraordinarily tender and touching. I’d bought the tickets after reading an excellent review of the Glasgow show by Mark Beaumont in The Times (other fine pieces followed… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago - The Newest Oldest PresidentWhen Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, he was the oldest president to begin a term, clocking in at 78 years and 220 days. He replaced the man who formerly held that title, Joe Biden, who had dropped out of the race after it became quite obvious to the entire country that he had aged too much, too quickly. But as Trump himself grows older—traveling less, switching to more comfortable shoes, and seeming to nod off during meetings—his age isn’t getting the same kind of scrutiny.I have long thought that a reason for that is the president’s sheer size. Trump stands 6 foot 3 and, according to his most recent physical, weighs 224 pounds (yes, questioning that number is a legitimate thing to do). He is a big presence in any room, as opposed to Biden, who grew visibly thinner as he got older, adding to the appearance of frailty. Trump is also LOUD; Biden’s voice was frequently reduced to a gentle whisper. And Trump has the gift of omnipresence. His genius is in capturing attention. Biden’s public schedule grew sparse, and he actively avoided generating news; Trump holds multiple events in front of the press nearly every day. He fills Americans’ TV screens and social-media feeds seemingly nonstop, with an almost unspoken message: How could he be fading if he’s everywhere?But as Trump turns 80 next month, his recent behavior should prompt even more questions than usual about his stability, judgment, and mental sharpness. Among the points of concern: a late-night social-media storm a few days ago featuring more than 50 messages, many strewn with dangerous or nonsensical misinformation, which followed a similar Truth Social broadside weeks earlier; an apocalyptic threat to wipe out a civilization; more and more insults (“nasty,” “stupid,” “ugly,” “treasonous”) hurled at reporters; appearing to fall asleep in public, sometimes twice in one week; deep bruises on his hands, which are covered in makeup and accompanied by confusing explanations; and long, odd tangents in speeches that seem longer and odder than his usual tangents. Never known for his ability to self-censor, Trump seems to have completely abandoned any sort of filter, tossing out messages from one extreme (He’s glad that Robert Mueller is dead!) to the other (actually, Trump is Jesus and shall heal the sick).Biden’s team relentlessly pushed back against worried murmurings about his age and ability to handle the responsibilities… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago
- My Son’s Math Homework Is Essentially Just PokémonOne afternoon earlier this year, my 11-year-old son was sitting at his laptop and working quietly on his math homework. At least, that’s what he was supposed to be doing. When I glanced at his screen, equations were nowhere to be seen. He was controlling a monster in the midst of battle, casting magic spells to outduel an opposing player.“That’s not your math homework!” I told him. But it was. His fifth-grade-math teacher had told her students to spend time on Prodigy, a site that looks and feels like a video game. As my son indignantly showed me, Prodigy surfaces multiple-choice questions in between cartoon-monster attacks. Correctly identify an isosceles triangle or the square root of 49, and your “Aquadile” or “Bonasaur”—barely veiled rip-offs of Pokémon characters—gets a health boost that will help it fend off your opponent’s next salvo.Prodigy is among a bevy of gamified tools that have gained a foothold in classrooms across the country by promising to make learning fun. (As Prodigy’s website puts it: “Kids no longer have to choose between homework and playtime.”) These platforms—which also include Blooket, Gimkit, and Kahoot—can seem like a win-win. Students’ eyes light up at math-and-vocabulary-review sessions that once induced groans. Teachers, meanwhile, can use the games to track which questions kids get right and wrong, helping them triage trouble spots.But as I watched my son play Prodigy, it became clear there wasn’t much learning happening. In about 10 minutes of gameplay, he spent less than 30 seconds answering math questions. When he got one wrong, the game didn’t pause to diagnose where he went wrong or guide him to the correct answer. The only time he slowed down, grudgingly, was when Prodigy forced him to watch videos advertising its paid-membership plans. (Prodigy did not respond to a request for comment.)Other popular ed-tech games also lean into gaming more than learning. Gimkit lobs occasional multiple-choice questions in the middle of live, multiplayer games that closely resemble popular commercial titles such as Among Us and Only Up. Blooket offers a single-player game similar to Plants vs. Zombies that can be used as a homework assignment and others, such as Gold Quest, that are designed to be played live by a whole classroom. While parents and teachers fret over students’ watching MrBeast videos during social-studies class, schools have embraced education software that has become hard to distinguish from Candy Crush.Educational games have… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 weeks ago
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AI has ascended to the role of main character. When Donald Trump traveled to Beijing for an historic summit last week, AI was one of the central topics of his discussions with Xi Jinping. As the two nations remain locked in a technological arms race, the president brought along some of the United States’ most powerful AI executives, including Elon Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. A continent away, the European Union has been unsuccessfully petitioning Anthropic to grant access to its advanced cybersecurity model, Mythos. Back in the United States, millions of students and teachers are dealing with the fallout of a devastating ransomware attack on the software platform Canvas—a hack that was likely aided by AI tools. And on Thursday, Cisco became the latest major company to justify layoffs by pointing to AI.The past six months have marked a sea change in the reach and influence of AI. For most of 2024 and 2025, there was talk of AI progress slowing down or even stopping altogether. Even as the technology began to infiltrate schools and reshape financial markets, AI was relatively easy to compartmentalize from other major, more pressing issues in American life.No longer. Now the technology has become regarded as a matter of the greatest economic, political, and global consequence. The most important issues in U.S.-China relations? Tariffs, Taiwan, and AI, apparently. Political leaders and pundits including Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon have put AI center stage, and the backlash against data centers is loud and inescapable. The specter of AI-driven layoffs hangs heavy—as does the threat of advanced hacking bots capable of taking down electrical grids and breaking into banks. All manner of once-speculative concerns about AI have become pressing matters. There is no longer a distant AI future so much as the mess we are all forced to confront today.The newly chaotic and inescapable state of AI is the result of two inflection points. The first came at the start of the year, when AI agents exploded in popularity. Products such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex don’t just talk to you; they can do things on your behalf—code, trade stocks, analyze spreadsheets, generate slide decks, and even create Amazon listings. The technology’s once-questionable economic value became very clear, very quickly, to a large number of businesses, which have clamored to incorporate agents alongside, or in lieu of, their human employees. As agents have swarmed… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that freight brokers can be held liable for negligent hiring in trucking accident lawsuits. The decision could reshape how brokers choose carriers and manage risk across the trucking industry. The case, Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, also known as Montgomery v. C.H. Robinson, focused on whether federal law protects brokers from state-level negligence claims. The Court unanimously ruled that brokers are not shielded from these lawsuits under the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAA). The broker liability ruling creates a nationwide standard. Before this decision, courts across the country interpreted the law differently. Some courts allowed negligent hiring claims against brokers, while others dismissed them under federal preemption protections. What the Broker Liability Ruling Means The ruling means freight brokers can now face lawsuits if they hire carriers with poor safety records that later become involved in serious crashes. Plaintiffs in the case argued that brokers should share responsibility for selecting unsafe carriers. The Supreme Court agreed that these claims can move forward in state courts. Industry experts believe brokers will now increase their focus on safety reviews and carrier compliance. Many brokers already monitor safety scores, inspection histories, and insurance coverage. However, the ruling may push companies to tighten those standards even further. Some legal analysts expect brokers to work more often with larger carriers that have stronger safety histories and more established compliance programs. Smaller carriers and newer trucking companies could face more challenges securing brokered freight opportunities. Industry Reaction to the Decision C.H. Robinson responded quickly after the ruling. The company said it was disappointed with the decision but noted that brokers will not automatically become liable in every trucking accident case. The company also stated that it will continue supporting stronger safety enforcement and better compliance standards across the industry. Transportation attorney Matt Reh previously warned that the ruling could shift freight toward larger fleets. Brokers may attempt to reduce legal exposure by becoming more selective about the carriers they hire. Still, some experts believe the practical impact could be smaller than expected. Brokers operating nationwide already faced negligent hiring risks in several states before the ruling. Because freight brokers conduct business across multiple states, lawsuits could already be filed in many jurisdictions. Compliance and Risk Management Could Increase The broker liability ruling will likely increase investment in compliance systems and carrier vetting technology. Many brokers are expected… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
A couple of years ago I went to a huge show of Paul Cézanne’s paintings at Tate Modern, full of anticipation. I left feeling disappointed. Too many bowls of apples, too many Montagnes Sainte-Victoire. It was indigestible. One of each would have had more impact. The disappointment was nothing to do with Cézanne or his obsessions. For the consumer, sometimes less is more. That was my consolation last night, leaving Paul Simon’s concert at the London Palladium at the interval, which occurred after the presentation of the complete Seven Psalms song cycle, 33 minutes long, which I wrote about when the album was released in 2023. The early departure — missing an hour and a half of what he promised would be “a bunch of hits” — was caused by the intense discomfort of sitting in the front row of the Grand Circle, the Palladium’s uppermost level. The view was wonderful; the effect of being jammed into the seat excruciating. In a sold-out house, no alternative accommodation was available. It was, however, possible to ignore the pain for the duration of Seven Psalms, which began with the sound of cloud chamber bowls ushering in “The Lord”, whose acoustic guitar strum might, 60 years ago, have turned into a “Mrs Robinson” or a “Cecilia”. I won’t repeat what I had to say three years ago, but I will note that the pleasure was redoubled by seeing it performed live, with a wonderful band recruited for his Quiet Celebration tour: Mark Stewart and Gyan Riley on guitars, Bakithi Kumalo on bass guitar, Andy Snitzer on reeds and keyboard, Mark Rossi on piano and percussion (including cloud chamber bowls), Jamey Haddad on percussion, Matt Chamberlin on drums, Nancy Stagnita on flute, Caleb Burhans on viola and Eugene Friesen on cello. Of course Simon’s voice is limited now in range and power, but Seven Psalms was written by a man on the verge of his ninth decade and is suffused with an awareness of mortality. Like his grey suit and black T-shirt and shoes, it was entirely age-appropriate. So that was absolutely fine — and his duets with his wife, Edie Brickell, on “The Sacred Harp” and the closing “Wait” were extraordinarily tender and touching. I’d bought the tickets after reading an excellent review of the Glasgow show by Mark Beaumont in The Times (other fine pieces followed… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
When Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, he was the oldest president to begin a term, clocking in at 78 years and 220 days. He replaced the man who formerly held that title, Joe Biden, who had dropped out of the race after it became quite obvious to the entire country that he had aged too much, too quickly. But as Trump himself grows older—traveling less, switching to more comfortable shoes, and seeming to nod off during meetings—his age isn’t getting the same kind of scrutiny.I have long thought that a reason for that is the president’s sheer size. Trump stands 6 foot 3 and, according to his most recent physical, weighs 224 pounds (yes, questioning that number is a legitimate thing to do). He is a big presence in any room, as opposed to Biden, who grew visibly thinner as he got older, adding to the appearance of frailty. Trump is also LOUD; Biden’s voice was frequently reduced to a gentle whisper. And Trump has the gift of omnipresence. His genius is in capturing attention. Biden’s public schedule grew sparse, and he actively avoided generating news; Trump holds multiple events in front of the press nearly every day. He fills Americans’ TV screens and social-media feeds seemingly nonstop, with an almost unspoken message: How could he be fading if he’s everywhere?But as Trump turns 80 next month, his recent behavior should prompt even more questions than usual about his stability, judgment, and mental sharpness. Among the points of concern: a late-night social-media storm a few days ago featuring more than 50 messages, many strewn with dangerous or nonsensical misinformation, which followed a similar Truth Social broadside weeks earlier; an apocalyptic threat to wipe out a civilization; more and more insults (“nasty,” “stupid,” “ugly,” “treasonous”) hurled at reporters; appearing to fall asleep in public, sometimes twice in one week; deep bruises on his hands, which are covered in makeup and accompanied by confusing explanations; and long, odd tangents in speeches that seem longer and odder than his usual tangents. Never known for his ability to self-censor, Trump seems to have completely abandoned any sort of filter, tossing out messages from one extreme (He’s glad that Robert Mueller is dead!) to the other (actually, Trump is Jesus and shall heal the sick).Biden’s team relentlessly pushed back against worried murmurings about his age and ability to handle the responsibilities… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
One afternoon earlier this year, my 11-year-old son was sitting at his laptop and working quietly on his math homework. At least, that’s what he was supposed to be doing. When I glanced at his screen, equations were nowhere to be seen. He was controlling a monster in the midst of battle, casting magic spells to outduel an opposing player.“That’s not your math homework!” I told him. But it was. His fifth-grade-math teacher had told her students to spend time on Prodigy, a site that looks and feels like a video game. As my son indignantly showed me, Prodigy surfaces multiple-choice questions in between cartoon-monster attacks. Correctly identify an isosceles triangle or the square root of 49, and your “Aquadile” or “Bonasaur”—barely veiled rip-offs of Pokémon characters—gets a health boost that will help it fend off your opponent’s next salvo.Prodigy is among a bevy of gamified tools that have gained a foothold in classrooms across the country by promising to make learning fun. (As Prodigy’s website puts it: “Kids no longer have to choose between homework and playtime.”) These platforms—which also include Blooket, Gimkit, and Kahoot—can seem like a win-win. Students’ eyes light up at math-and-vocabulary-review sessions that once induced groans. Teachers, meanwhile, can use the games to track which questions kids get right and wrong, helping them triage trouble spots.But as I watched my son play Prodigy, it became clear there wasn’t much learning happening. In about 10 minutes of gameplay, he spent less than 30 seconds answering math questions. When he got one wrong, the game didn’t pause to diagnose where he went wrong or guide him to the correct answer. The only time he slowed down, grudgingly, was when Prodigy forced him to watch videos advertising its paid-membership plans. (Prodigy did not respond to a request for comment.)Other popular ed-tech games also lean into gaming more than learning. Gimkit lobs occasional multiple-choice questions in the middle of live, multiplayer games that closely resemble popular commercial titles such as Among Us and Only Up. Blooket offers a single-player game similar to Plants vs. Zombies that can be used as a homework assignment and others, such as Gold Quest, that are designed to be played live by a whole classroom. While parents and teachers fret over students’ watching MrBeast videos during social-studies class, schools have embraced education software that has become hard to distinguish from Candy Crush.Educational games have… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
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