Inflation might have dropped below 3% last month for 1st time in 3 years, a milestone for Biden
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may have fallen below a 3% annual rate last month, which would be the lowest level in nearly three years and a potentially significant milestone as the Biden administration seeks to bolster Americans’ views of the economy before the November elections. Economists have estimated that when the government issues the latest consumer price index Tuesday, it will show that prices rose just 0.2% from December to January for a third month in a row. Falling gas prices are expected to have slowed overall inflation. And compared with a year earlier, inflation is thought to have cooled to 2.9%, down sharply from 3.4% in December. That would be the lowest year-over-year inflation since March 2021.
OpenAI CEO warns that ‘societal misalignments’ could make artificial intelligence dangerous
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI says that the dangers that keep him awake at night regarding artificial intelligence are the “very subtle societal misalignments” that could make the systems wreck havoc. Sam Altman, speaking Tuesday at the World Governments Summit in Dubai via a video call, reiterated his call for a body like the International Atomic Energy Agency to be created to oversee AI that’s likely advancing faster than the world expects. However, Altman stressed that the AI industry, like OpenAI, shouldn’t be in the driver’s seat when it comes to making regulations governing the industry.
Super Bowl bets placed online surged this year, verification company says
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The level of online betting on the Super Bowl surged this year, according to a company that tracks the physical location of online gamblers. Data from GeoComply shows the number of verification checks it carried out over the weekend increased by more than 22% from last year. It processed just over 122 million checks this year in 28 of the 29 states that offer online sports betting. The company verifies where gamblers are before permitting their online bets to go through, a process known as geolocation that is a foundation of online betting in the U.S. and a good indication of the approximate level of online betting taking place.
Potential $50 billion Southwestern energy giant emerges as Diamondback seeks to buy rival Endeavor
Diamondback Energy will attempt to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources to create an energy giant in the Southwestern United States worth more than $50 billion. Growing confidence in an economic recovery, particularly in the U.S., has driven massive deals in the energy sector in recent months, including Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess in October, and a $59.5 billion deal two weeks before that by Exxon Mobil. Diamondback will buy Endeavor in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $26 billion. The combined company would oversee 838,000 acres and be able to produce 816,000 oil-equivalent barrels each day.
Less is more? Consumers have fewer choices as brands prune their offerings to focus on best sellers
NEW YORK (AP) — Plenty of retailers and suppliers are reducing the variety of their offerings to focus instead on what they think will sell best. Stew Leonard’s, a supermarket chain, now has 24 cereal flavors or types, down from 49 in 2019. Coca-Cola has discontinued half its drink brands to 200. Many businesses have decided less is better, justifying their limited selection by asserting shoppers don’t want so much choice. It’s also more profitable for companies because they’re not carrying over as many leftovers that need to be discounted.
On Super Bowl broadcast, ‘He Gets Us’ ads featuring Jesus stand out for change-of-pace message
For the second year in a row, a religious Super Bowl ad campaign promised viewers that Jesus “gets us.” Two commercials from Sunday night centered Jesus’ message to love your neighbors — even across ideological divides. In one, people of different races, classes and gender expressions have their feet washed, including a woman outside a family planning clinic. Critics have noted the campaign’s welcoming and progressive messages seem at odds with some of the campaign’s Christian funders, who have also supported anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion causes. The “He Gets Us” campaign is now under a new charitable organization, Come Near. It plans to advertise during the Paris Olympics, the NFL draft, and the Republican and Democratic conventions.
Thailand looks set to crack down on legal pot market with ban on ‘recreational’ use
BANGKOK (AP) — Two years after Thailand made pot legal, the country appears set to crack down on its freewheeling drug market with a ban on “recreational” use. Legal cannabis has fueled Thailand’s tourism and farming trades and spawned thousands of neon green shops, but it’s facing public backlash over perceptions that under-regulation has made the drug available to kids and caused crime. The Health Minister Chonlanan Srikaew said last week that he had recommended a draft bill to the Cabinet that would ban recreational cannabis use while allowing medical. In the 2023 election campaign, all major parties, including the one that originally pushed decriminalization through, promised to limit cannabis to medical use.
Recession risks are fading, business economists say, but political tensions pose threat to economy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a quarter of business economists and analysts expect the United States to fall into recession this year. And any downturn would likely result from an external shock — such as a conflict involving China — rather than from domestic economic factors such as higher interest rates. But respondents to a National Association of Business Economics survey released Monday still expect year-over-year inflation to exceed 2.5% — above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target — through 2024.
Mobileye CEO Shashua expects more autonomous vehicles on the road in 2 years as tech moves ahead
DETROIT (AP) — Six years ago, automakers and tech companies thought they were on the cusp of putting thousands of self-driving robotaxis on the street to carry passengers without a human driver. Then an Uber autonomous test vehicle hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona and General Motors’ Cruise robotaxis ran into trouble in San Francisco. Yet Amnon Shashua, co-founder and CEO of Mobileye, which makes automated driving systems, says the technology is moving ahead. Shashua says he expects his company to sell a system that allows drivers to take their eyes off the road, and a fully driverless system, each in about two years.
Super Bowl ads keep it heavy on the celebrities, light on the politics
NEW YORK (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs were crowned victorious over the San Francisco 49ers in this year’s Super Bowl — and, off the field, big-name advertisers competed for viewers’ attention with celebrity-filled, glitzy messages. Airing a Super Bowl commercial is no easy feat. On top of the reported $7 million price tag for a 30-second spot during the game, brands enlist the biggest actors, invest in dazzling special effects and try to put together an ad that more than 100 million expected viewers will like — or at least remember. On Sunday, scores of advertisers tapped into light humor and nostalgia to give game breaks a mostly “feel good” energy. Still, there were also a few serious and somber moments.
