Candy Prices Are Way Up — But That’s Not Scaring Americans Away From Buying Tons of Halloween Candy This Year
Chocolate prices are up 15.5% this season. But that hasn’t stopped people from filling their trick-or-treat bowls.
The Download: failed social media bans, and extending pets’ lives
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Kids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve. —Michal Luria, Aliya Bhatia, and Danah Boyd Social media bans are stacking up. In July, France joined…
Bots Used to Be a Threat. Now They’re Your Customers.
For the last thirty years, we have been focused on keeping bots out. Now, we have started to focus on keeping them in.
Replit’s CEO says the future of work is the ‘self-driving company’
Replit CEO Amjad Masad envisions a future of “self-driving companies,” where AI agents handle day-to-day tasks and people focus on higher-level decisions.
This implant can restore sight for patients with macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects more than 5 million people around the world. And until now, no treatment could restore their vision. The Prima system, which was approved in Europe in July and is awaiting FDA clearance in the US, changes that. It combines a retinal implant with camera-equipped eyeglasses to improve sight in patients…
Love is infrastructure
I. Meet cute Barnabas and Mainspring grew up near at hand, about an hour apart with good traffic, but for a long time they weren’t close. They traded glimpses and occasional hellos and then went about their business. Both of them carried on livelier conversations with farther-flung neighbors, who were richer and had more to…
Can’t bear to say goodbye to your pet? Biotech’s got you covered.
I don’t remember much about Peppy, my first and only pet cat. I can conjure the sensation of stroking her while she purred, recall how she used to get stuck in trees (just like in cartoons!), and chuckle about the time she pooed in my baby sister’s cot. That’s about it. What I do vividly…
Kids are outsmarting social media bans. That’s not a problem we need to solve.
Social media bans are stacking up. In July, France joined Australia in restricting minors from accessing social media—barring children under 15 from major platforms, before the ban was blocked by the country’s top court on human rights grounds. The UK aims to forbid kids under 16 from accessing Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms in early…
Even Benchmark thinks AI is eroding the venture pact against backing rivals
Benchmark says the Valley’s rule against backing rivals is getting harder to keep.
Retiring at 36 Didn’t Make Me Happy. Here’s What Did.
An eight-figure exit gave me more time, but motherhood and a new business taught me that real success is choosing how to spend it.
The ‘Say It Sooner’ Rule That Prevents Small Team Problems From Becoming Big Ones
The strongest workplace cultures are built by leaders who normalize honest conversations before misunderstandings turn into resentment.