The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing Walmart and payroll service provider Branch Messenger for alleged illegal payment practices for gig workers. The bureau says Walmart was opening direct deposit accounts using Spark delivery drivers social security numbers without their consent. The accounts also can come with intense fees that, according to the complaint, would add either 2 percent or $2.99 per transaction, whichever is higher. It also says Walmart repeatedly promised to provide drivers with same-day payments through the platform starting in July 2021 but never delivered on that.The Bureau alleges that for approximately two years starting around June 2021, defendants engaged in unfair, abusive, and deceptive practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, including by requiring Spark Drivers to receive their compensation in Branch Accounts, opening Branch Accounts for Spark Drivers without their informed consent or, in many instances, on an unauthorized basis, and making deceptive statements about Branch to Spark Drivers.Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers, said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement. Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees. The agency sued both companies in the US District Court for the District of Minnesota.Spark delivery workers have been complaining about Walmarts Branch Messenger account requirements for years, which forced workers to use these accounts with no option to direct deposit to a preferred credit union or local bank. Walmart allegedly told workers theyd be terminated if they didnt accept the Branch accounts.

Last month, AI founders and investors told TechCrunch that were now in the second era of scaling laws, noting how established methods of improving AI models were showing diminishing returns. One promising new method they suggested could keep gains was test-time scaling, which seems to be whats behind the performance of OpenAIs o3 model but it comes with drawbacks of its own.Much of the AI world took the announcement of OpenAIs o3 model as proof that AI scaling progress has not hit a wall. The o3 model does well on benchmarks, significantly outscoring all other models on a test of general ability called ARC-AGI, and scoring 25% on a difficult math test that no other AI model scored more than 2% on.Of course, we at TechCrunch are taking all this with a grain of salt until we can test o3 for ourselves (very few have tried it so far). But even before o3s release, the AI world is already convinced that something big has shifted.The co-creator of OpenAIs o-series of models, Noam Brown, noted on Friday that the startup is announcing o3s impressive gains just three months after the startup announced o1 a relatively short timeframe for such a jump in performance.We have every reason to believe this trajectory will continue, said Brown in a tweet.Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said in a blog post on Monday that o3 is evidence that AI progress will be faster in 2025 than in 2024. (Keep in mind that it benefits Anthropic especially its ability to raise capital to suggest that AI scaling laws are continuing, even if Clark is complementing a competitor.)Next year, Clark says the AI world will splice together test-time scaling and traditional pre-training scaling methods to eke even more returns out of AI models. Perhaps hes suggesting that Anthropic and other AI model providers will release reasoning models of their own in 2025, just like Google did last week.Test-time scaling means OpenAI is using more compute during ChatGPTs inference phase, the period of time after you press enter on a prompt. Its not clear exactly what is happening behind the scenes: OpenAI is either using more computer chips to answer a users question, running more powerful inference chips, or running those chips for longer periods of time 10 to 15 minutes in some cases before the AI produces an answer. We dont know all the details of how o3 was made, but these benchmarks are early signs that test-time scaling may work to improve the performance of AI models.While o3 may give some a renewed belief in the progress of AI scaling laws, OpenAIs newest model also uses a previously unseen level of compute, which means a higher price per answer.Perhaps the only important caveat here is understanding that one reason why O3 is so much better is that it costs more money to run at inference time the ability to utilize test-time compute means on some problems you can turn compute into a better answer, Clark writes in his blog. This is interesting because it has made the costs of running AI systems somewhat less predictable previously, you could work out how much it cost to serve a generative model by just looking at the model and the cost to generate a given output.Clark, and others, pointed to o3s performance on the ARC-AGI benchmark a difficult test used to assess breakthroughs on AGI as an indicator of its progress. Its worth noting that passing this test, according to its creators, does not mean an AI model has achieved AGI, but rather its one way to measure progress towards the nebulous goal. That said, the o3 model blew past the scores of all previous AI models which had done the test, scoring 88% in one of its attempts. OpenAIs next best AI model, o1, scored just 32%.Chart showing the performance of OpenAIs o-series on the ARC-AGI test.(Image credit: ARC Prize)But the logarithmic x-axis on this chart may be alarming to some. The high-scoring version of o3 used more than $1000 worth of compute for every task. The o1 models used around $5 of compute per task, and o1-mini used just a few cents.The creator of the ARC-AGI benchmark, Franois Chollet, writes in a blog that OpenAI used roughly 170x more compute to generate that 88% score, compared to high-efficiency version of o3 that scored just 12% lower. The high-scoring version of o3 used more than $10,000 of resources to complete the test, which makes it too expensive to compete for the ARC Prize an unbeaten competition for AI models to beat the ARC test.However, Chollet says o3 was still a breakthrough for AI models, nonetheless.o3 is a system capable of adapting to tasks it has never encountered before, arguably approaching human-level performance in the ARC-AGI domain, said Chollet in the blog. Of course, such generality comes at a steep cost, and wouldnt quite be economical yet: you could pay a human to solve ARC-AGI tasks for roughly $5 per task (we know, we did that), while consuming mere cents in energy.Its premature to harp on the exact pricing of all this weve seen prices for AI models plummet in the last year, and OpenAI has yet to announce how much o3 will actually cost. However, these prices indicate just how much compute is required to break, even slightly, the performance barriers set by leading AI models today.This raises some questions. What is o3 actually for? And how much more compute is necessary to make more gains around inference with o4, o5, or whatever else OpenAI names its next reasoning models?It doesnt seem like o3, or its successors, would be anyones daily driver like GPT-4o or Google Search might be. These models just use too much compute to answer small questions throughout your day such as, How can the Cleveland Browns still make the 2024 playoffs?Instead, it seems like AI models with scaled test-time compute may only be good for big picture prompts such as, How can the Cleveland Browns become a Super Bowl franchise in 2027? Even then, maybe its only worth the high compute costs if youre the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, and youre using these tools to make some big decisions.Institutions with deep pockets may be the only ones who can afford o3, at least to start, as Wharton professor Ethan Mollick notes in a tweet.Weve already seen OpenAI release a $200 tier to use a high-compute version of o1, but the startup has reportedly weighed creating subscription plans costing up to $2,000. When you see how much compute o3 uses, you can understand why OpenAI would consider it.But there are drawbacks to using o3 for high-impact work. As Chollet notes, o3 is not AGI, and it still fails on some very easy tasks that a human would do quite easily. This isnt necessarily surprising, as large language models still have a huge hallucination problem, which o3 and test-time compute dont seem to have solved. Thats why ChatGPT and Gemini include disclaimers below every answer they produce, asking users not to trust answers at face value. Presumably AGI, should it ever be reached, would not need such a disclaimer.One way to unlock more gains in test-time scaling could be better AI inference chips. Theres no shortage of startups tackling just this thing, such as Groq or Cerebras, while other startups are designing more cost-efficient AI chips, such as MatX. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Anjney Midha previously told TechCrunch he expects these startups to play a bigger role in test-time scaling moving forward.While o3 is a notable improvement to the performance of AI models, it raises several new questions around usage and costs. That said, the performance of o3 does add credence to the claim that test-time compute is the tech industrys next best way to scale AI models.

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Identity theft concept with thumb print and red scanner lights over black backgroundgettyIf safeguarding your identity from theft is a top priority, freezing your credit is one of the smartest actions you can take. This straightforward but highly effective measure stops creditors from viewing your credit report without your direct authorization. By cutting off access to your credit file, you create a strong barrier that makes it far more difficult for criminals to misuse your personal details to open accounts or secure loans under your name.Secure Your Credit with a Freeze TodayThink of a credit freeze as a virtual lock on your financial profile. Once in place, it restricts access to your credit report entirely, preventing unauthorized parties from exploiting your Social Security number or credit information.When your credit is frozen, lenders cannot check your credit score, which renders your Social Security number and credit details useless to would-be fraudsters. In essence, a credit freeze acts as a barrier, preventing criminals from opening new lines of credit or accounts in your name.If your personal information has already been compromised, freezing your credit can be a vital step to stop thieves from exploiting your identity further. The good news is that lifting the freeze is quick and straightforward. You can easily lift the freeze whenever needed, using the personal PIN issued by the credit bureau, allowing access to your credit report for loan or credit card applications. While it might seem like an extra step, the process is free and takes just a few minutesan incredibly small effort for such a substantial benefit.Please remember freezing your credit is entirely free. There are no hidden fees or costs involved, so there is no reason to delay taking this critical step to secure your financial future.Another important thing is that freezing your credit does not affect your credit score. The freeze simply restricts access to your credit report without changing your existing accounts or their status. Your existing creditors and authorized entities can still conduct "soft" credit inquiries, which have no effect on your credit score. These checks are often used for account reviews or pre-approved offers, ensuring that freezing your credit will not interfere with your existing financial activities.MORE FOR YOUWhy Choose a Credit Freeze Over a Fraud Alert?While fraud alerts can provide some level of security, they are far less effective than a credit freeze. A fraud alert is temporary, lasting only one year, and does not block identity thieves from accessing your credit report. It merely notifies creditors that your information could be compromised. A credit freeze, by contrast, offers stronger, more comprehensive protection, blocking unauthorized access altogether.Your Credit with the Main Credit BureausFollow these steps to place a credit freeze with the three primary credit bureaus:Equifax: Freeze your credit with Equifax hereExperian: Freeze your credit with Experian hereTransUnion: Freeze your credit with TransUnion hereDo not forget about Innovis, the fourth credit bureau that is often overlooked. Freezing your credit with Innovis follows a process similar to the three major bureaus and is completely free. Click here to freeze your credit with Innovis.Do Not Forget About the National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities ExchangeProtecting your identity goes beyond the major credit bureaus. The National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) is an important organization you should also keep in mind. Many mobile phone providers and utility companies rely on NCTUE for credit checks. This means that even if your credit is frozen with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, identity thieves could still use your information to open accounts through these providers.You can safeguard yourself by placing a freeze on your NCTUE account. The process involves verifying your Social Security number and other details, but it is typically automated and straightforward. Once your account is frozen, your NCTUE credit report will be secured, adding another layer of protection against fraud. To freeze your NCTUE report, you can call their toll-free number at 1-866-349-5355 or attempt to do it online here: NCTUE Freeze (though some users report that the link may not always function smoothly).Secure Your Bank Accounts With A ChexSystems FreezeAnother key step in protecting your identity is freezing your report with ChexSystems, a consumer reporting agency that banks use to evaluate applicants for checking and savings accounts. Freezing your ChexSystems report blocks unauthorized access to your financial data, helping to minimize the risk of fraud.Keep in mind that freezing your ChexSystems report only protects your banking information. For complete protection, it is essential to also freeze your credit with the major bureaus. You can freeze your ChexSystems report here.Stop Pre-Approved Credit Offers With Opt-Out PrescreenYou can take additional precautions by opting out of pre-approved credit offers. These offers, while convenient, can be a goldmine for scammers if they gain access to your mail. To opt out, you can call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT or visit OptOutPrescreen.com.Prevent Employment Fraud with myE-Verify's Self LockThe Department of Homeland Security's Self Lock service is another valuable resource for protecting your identity. This service allows you to lock your Social Security number, preventing it from being used fraudulently for employment purposes. If someone attempts to use your locked Social Security number, it triggers a mismatch in the system, flagging the activity as suspicious. The lock remains in effect for one year and can be conveniently renewed each year. To learn more or set up a lock, visit Self-Lock Freeze.Protect Your Social Security Benefits From FraudCreating an online account with the Social Security Administration (SSA) is a proactive step to protect your benefits and personal information. Through your SSA account, you can track your earnings history, review future benefits, and stay informed with key updates.Be wary of fraudulent calls or emails claiming to be from the SSA. They will never issue threats of arrest or request immediate payment. If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a communication, log in to your SSA account or call their official number to verify.Take Control of Your Identity TodayFreezing your credit is a straightforward yet powerful way to safeguard yourself against identity theft. By limiting access to your credit report, you greatly reduce the chances of criminals opening accounts in your name. Combine this with other measuressuch as freezing ChexSystems, locking your Social Security number, and securing your SSA accountto build a comprehensive shield against identity theft.Do not wait for fraud to happentake these steps today and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your identity is secure.

The Zeigarnik Effect traps you in a loop of unresolved feelings. Understanding why they linger helps ... [+] you break free and take action.gettyHave you ever found yourself thinking about a past relationship, long after youve moved on? Perhaps a breakup felt unresolved, or there was a conversation you never got to finish. If this sounds familiar, you might be experiencing the Zeigarnik Effecta psychological phenomenon that explains why unfinished emotional business tends to linger, particularly when it comes to matters of the heart.This term originates from psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, who discovered that people are more likely to remember unfinished tasks than completed ones. Relationships mirror this phenomenon when unresolved emotions or unanswered questions remain in your mind far longer than those from relationships that ended with a sense of closure.But why does this happen? And more importantly, how can you move forward? Here are three reasons unresolved feelings persist, and actionable steps to help you find closure.1. Incomplete Emotional ProcessingWhen a relationship ends abruptly or without closure, it often leaves unresolved emotional threads that can feel like an open loop in your mind. This lack of resolution taps into the brains natural drive for cognitive closure, which according to 2014 study, is the innate desire to resolve ambiguity and make sense of unfinished experiences.When relationships end without clarity, the unresolved elements can lead to mental loopingreplaying conversations, analyzing arguments or imagining alternative outcomes. These repetitive thought patterns often feel compulsive and emotionally draining, as the brain attempts to complete an incomplete narrative.MORE FOR YOUHowever, finding closure isnt always contingent on external factors, such as receiving an apology or a final conversation with the other person. The human brain is remarkably adaptable and capable of creating resolution internally. With intentional effort, you can address these emotional loose ends on your own.Processing emotions fullyby acknowledging them, exploring their roots and reframing the narrativehelps to close the mental loop. This doesnt erase the memories or negate their significance, but it reduces their emotional intensity. By actively engaging in this process, you free yourself from the grip of unfinished business, creating space for emotional growth and healing.2. The Need For ResolutionWhen a relationship ends, it often leaves behind unanswered questions like, What went wrong? or Could we have tried harder? These lingering thoughts reflect our innate need for resolution, which is frequently complicated by ambiguity or the inaccessibility of answers.Unresolved endings can leave individuals yearning for clarity, even when its unattainable. A former partner may be unwilling to provide explanations, or the reasons for the breakup might be too complex to untangle. Yet, the mind clings to the belief that further reflection will eventually bring closure, creating a mental loop that is both emotionally draining and counterproductive.This cycle keeps individuals tethered to the past, hindering personal growth and limiting their ability to embrace new opportunities or relationships. While the pursuit of clarity is instinctual, it often acts as a barrier to moving forward.Breaking free requires reframing your understanding of closure. Accept that you may never have all the answers and focus on finding peace in your own narrative. True closure comes not from external validation but from within.3. Emotional InvestmentDeep emotional connections in relationships often involve significant investments that dont just disappear after a breakup. A 2020 study published in Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, suggests that small positive moments, like shared activities or laughter, build emotional capital, which helps buffer against relationship difficulties by reducing reactivity to partner transgressions and strengthening bonds.These shared experiences, trust and vulnerability create lasting emotional ties, making it challenging to let goespecially when unresolved issues persist. These attachments can feel even more profound when the emotional investment was initially meant to protect the relationship from disruption.Beyond the emotional capital, the routines, memories and habits intertwined with the relationship become deeply embedded in daily life. This often leads individuals to revisit past interactions, replay conversations or wonder about alternate outcomes. The difficulty of moving on is further heightened by the grief of losing a part of ones identity that was deeply connected to the relationship such as shared dreams, specific roles or envisioned futures.Detaching from these bonds begins with acknowledging their significance. Letting go isnt about erasing the past but about honoring the emotional depth while accepting its conclusion.Allow yourself to grieve and understand that the lingering feelings are natural. Gradually, you can redirect that emotional energy toward yourself and future opportunities. Releasing the attachment means choosing to reinvest in your own growth while carrying forward the lessons of the relationship with compassion and strength.Closure isnt always straightforward, especially when ambiguity surrounds the end of a relationship. However, there are certain mindset shifts that you can work on to regain emotional balance and move forward.Here are some actionable strategies to help you process unresolved feelings and cultivate your own sense of closure.1. Acknowledge the unfinished business. Before you can move on, you need to acknowledge whats still weighing on you. Are there specific feelings or situations that you havent fully processed? Make time to reflect on these, whether through journaling, talking to a trusted friend, or even therapy. Acknowledging whats left unresolved helps you begin to untangle the emotional knots.2. Get comfortable with the unknown. Sometimes closure doesnt come with all the answers we expect. In relationships, we often want clear reasons or explanations for why things ended the way they did. But reality isnt always so neat. Getting comfortable with ambiguity can be liberating. Accepting that not everything has to make sense or have a tidy conclusion allows you to let go of the need for perfection and move on.3. Write your own closure. One effective way to address unresolved emotions is to write a letternot necessarily to the other person, but to yourself. Write down everything you wish you had said, everything youre feeling now, and everything youve learned. The act of writing can be therapeutic, helping you process emotions and feel heard, even if its only in your own words.4. Practice Forgiveness. Whether its forgiving yourself or the other person, forgiveness is crucial in finding closure. Holding onto anger or regret can keep you mentally stuck. Even if you cant forget what happened, choosing to release negative emotions allows you to free yourself from unresolved feelings. A 2023 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that positive forgivenessreleasing negative emotions like anger or resentmentimproves mental health by reducing rumination. Conversely, reduced unforgiveness, or holding onto grudges less, was linked to improved physical health, likely because it reduces stress and its harmful physical effects.5. Create a ritual of letting go. If youre struggling to move on, it might help to create a physical or symbolic act of closure. This could be as simple as burning a letter or keeping a small personal memento of the relationship and then deciding to release it. The key is that the ritual allows you to mark the end of that chapter, both emotionally and symbolically, helping you move forward.6. Practice self-compassion. Its easy to blame yourself for not getting closure or for not being able to get over someone quickly. But its important to be kind to yourself. Relationships are complicated, and emotional wounds take time to heal. Treat yourself with the same compassion you would offer a friend going through a similar situation. Be patient with your process.Wondering if you have the resources to combat the Zeigarnik Effect? Take the Coping Strategies Scale test to understand your coping style and take appropriate action.

One of the biggest mysteries in Hollywood has been solved. Christopher Nolans next movie will be The Odyssey,an adaptation of the Greek epic poem by Homer.In a post on X, Universal Pictures, the studio that will distribute Nolans next movie, wrote, Christopher Nolans next film, The Odyssey, is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homers foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhere on July 17, 2026.Recommended VideosThe Odysseydates back to the 8th century BC and follows the saga of the Greek hero Odysseus and his venture home after the Trojan War. The tumultuous journey deals with themes of loyalty, vengeance, and hospitality. The Odysseyis commonly associated with Homers other epic poem, The Iliad.Please enable Javascript to view this contentSome of the notable adaptations include 1954s Ulysses,with Kirk Douglas in the titular role; 1997s The Odyssey, a television series starring Armand Assante as Odysseus; and The Coen Brothers comical crime musical O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which isloosely inspired by Homers epic. In 2024, Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche starred in The Return, a dramatization of the last sections of The Odyssey.RelatedChristopher Nolans next film The Odyssey is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX film technology. The film brings Homers foundational saga to IMAX film screens for the first time and opens in theaters everywhereon July 17, 2026. Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) December 23, 2024The Odysseysconfirmed cast includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyongo, and Charlize Theron. Nolan will write and direct The Odyssey. Nolan and his wife, Emma Thomas, will also produce under their Syncopy production banner. Production is expected to begin in the first half of 2025.The Odysseymarks Nolans first movie since 2023s Oppenheimer, the biopic about the life of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). Oppenheimer won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and grossed over $976 million.Editors Recommendations

The gaming laptop deals of the holiday season arent over yet, as there are still some excellent offers, such as Dells discount for the Alienware m16 R2 with the Nvidia RTX 4070. From its original price of $2,600, the machine is down to $2,100. Its still pretty expensive, but its actually a steal at that price, and the $500 in savings is huge. Youre going to have to be quick in completing your purchase though, as theres no information on how much time is remaining before this bargain expires.We highlighted the Alienware m16 R2s great gaming performance in our review of the gaming laptop, and this configuration thats on sale comes with the mighty Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. Combined with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and 64GB of RAM, which doubles the recommended specification from our guide on how much RAM do you need, the Alienware m16 R2 wont have trouble running the best PC games at their highest settings. Its going to be ready for the upcoming PC games of the next few years as well it will be a while before you need to start thinking about making any upgrades.The 16-inch screen of the Alienware m16 R2 will give justice to all of the power under the gaming laptops hood, as QHD+ resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate will offer an amazing look at the graphics of modern titles. The gaming laptop ships with a 2TB SSD for enough storage space for several AAA games, and with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded, you can start downloading and installing them right after unboxing the Alienware m16 R2.RelatedIf you want a powerful gaming laptop, you cant go wrong with the Alienware m16 R2, which is a tempting option right now with Dells $500 discount. Its on sale for $2,100 from its sticker price of $2,600, but like with most Alienware deals, were not sure when the stocks that are up for sale will run out. With most gamers still in a shopping mood for the holiday season, that can happen very soon, so if you want to get the Alienware m16 R2 gaming laptop for a lower price than usual, youll need to push forward with your transaction for it right now.Editors Recommendations

Stellantis wants you to know that, even in a premium electric version, a Jeep is still a Jeep. In other words, as the title of the marketing campaign for Jeeps first all-electric model says: beautiful things can still get dirty.The Jeep Wagoneer S EV is slated to arrive at dealerships in January 2025 but parent-company Stellantis aims to launch its marketing campaign on TV during Netflixs Christmas Day NFL games.Recommended VideosA 30-second version of the spot will also run elsewhere on television and on the Jeep brands social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAfter showing off the luxurious faux-leather-seat interior, and a glimpse of its front three screens (for instrument, infotainment, and entertainment displays), the Wagoneer is seen breaking out of its cocoon and riding through some muddy roads.RelatedJeep vehicles, even one as stunning as the Wagoneer S, look even better when theyre muddy, says Bob Broderdorf, senior VP of Jeep North America, in a statement.Jeeps electric SUV, he says, breaks free from the confines of luxury stereotypes into the great outdoors, while pushing the boundaries of electric capability.The Wagoneer S can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, and features Jeeps Selec-Terrain options, allowing drivers to switch from auto to sport, eco, snow, and sand modes.With a 100kWh battery pack, the SUV offers 300 miles of driving range, and fast-charging from 20% to 80% in 23 minutes.In some ways, Stellantis media campaign for the Wagoneer S echoes similar themes used earlier this month in ads for Dodges first-ever EV, the Daytona Charger.That ad, while prominently featuring pro-nature themes associated with EVs, presented the Charger as an all-American muscle car, reminiscent of the vehicles 1960s version as seen in the classic movie Bullittand theDukes of HazzardTV series.Editors Recommendations

THE CULT OF THE FOUNDER. THE CULT OF THE TECH GENIUS. Beware: Silicon Valleys cultists want to turn you into a disruptive deviant. Techs cult of the founder bounces back. Silicon Valleys Strange, Apocalyptic Cults. How the cult of personality and tech-bro culture is killing technology. Company or cult? Is your corporate culture cultish? The Cult of Company Culture Is Back. But Do Tech Workers Even Want Perks Anymore? 10 tech gadgets with a cult following on Amazonand why theyre worth it. 13 steps to developing a cult-like company culture. The headlines seem to write themselves (if that clich is allowed anymore in the age of ChatGPT and generative AI). Tech is culty. But that is a metaphor, right? Right?! When I first saw Michael Saylors Twitter account, I wasnt sure. Saylor is an entrepreneur, tech executive, and former billionaire. Once reportedly the richest man in the Washington, DC, area, he lost most of his $7 billion net worth in 2000 when, in his mid-30s, he reached a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission after it brought charges against him and two of his colleagues at a company called MicroStrategy for inaccurate reporting of their financial results. But I had no idea who he was back then. In 2021 Saylor started showing up in my Twitter feed. His profile picture showed a man with chiseled features, silver hair, and stubble sitting in a power pose and looking directly into the camera, a black dress shirt unbuttoned to display a generous amount of his neck. It was a typical tech entrepreneurs publicity shot except for the lightning bolts blasting from his eyes, and the golden halo crown. Then there were his tweets: #Bitcoin is Truth. #Bitcoin is For All Mankind. #Bitcoin is Different. Trust the Timechain. Fiat [government-backed currency] is immoral. #Bitcoin is immortal. #Bitcoin is a shining city in cyberspace, waiting for you. #Bitcoin is the heartbeat of Planet Earth. As MITs humanist chaplain, I follow a lot of ministers, rabbis, imams, and monks online. Very few religious leaders would dare to be this religious on social media. They know that few of their readers want to see such hubris. Why, then, does there seem to be an audience for this seemingly cultish behavior from a cryptocurrency salesman? Are tech leaders like Saylor leading actual cults? According to Bretton Putter, an expert on startups and CEO of the consulting firm CultureGene, this neednt be a major concern: Its pretty much impossible, Putter writes, for a business to become a full-blown cult. And if a tech company or other business happens to resemble a cult, that might just be a good thing, he argues: If you succeed in building a cultlike culture similar to the way that Apple, Tesla, Zappos, Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom, and Harley-Davidson have, you will experience loyalty, dedication, and commitment from your employees (and customers) that is way beyond the norm. Are the cultlike aspects of tech companies really that benign? Or should we be worried? To find the answer, I interviewed Steve Hassan, a top expert on exit counseling, or helping people escape destructive cults. At age 19, while he was studying poetry at Queens College in New York City in the early 1970s, Hassan was recruited into the Unification Churchthe famously manipulative cult also known as the Moonies. Over his next 27 months as a member of the church, Hassan helped with its fundraising, recruiting, and political efforts, which involved personally meeting with the cult leader Sun Myung Moon multiple times. He lived in communal housing, slept only a few hours a night, and sold carnations on street corners seven days a week for no pay. He was told to drop out of college and turn his bank account over to the church. In 1976, he fell asleep at the wheel while driving a Moonie fundraising van and drove into the back of a tractor-trailer at high speed. He called his sister from the hospital, and his parents hired former members to help deprogram him and extract him from the cult. After the Jonestown mass suicide and murders of 1978 brought attention to the lethal dangers of cult mind control, Hassan founded a nonprofit organization, Ex-Moon Inc. Since then, hes earned a handful of graduate degrees (including a doctorate in the study of cults), started numerous related projects, and written a popular book on how practices with which he is all too familiar have crept into the mainstream of US politics in recent years. (That 2019 book, The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control, seemed even more relevant in early 2024, when a video called God Made Trump went viral across the campaign trail.) Hassan even found himself advising Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin, leader of the second impeachment trial against Donald Trump, in 2021, on how to think and communicate about the cultish aspects of the violent mob of Trump followers who stormed the Capitol on January 6 of that year. I wanted to ask Hassan what he makes of the discourse around tech cults, but first its important to understand how he thinks about cults in the first place. Hassans dissertation was titled The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control: Undue Influence, Thought Reform, Brainwashing, Mind Control, Trafficking, and the Law. The idea was to create a model that could measure cult exploitation and manipulation, or what Hassan and other experts in related fields call undue influence. His BITE model looks to evaluate the ways social groups and institutions attempt to control followers behavior, information access, thoughts, and emotions. Because there is no one quintessential, Platonic definition of a cult, what matters is where a given instance of potential cultishness falls on an influence continuum. In this continuum model, Hassan evaluates the ways in which institutional cultures attempt to influence people. To what extent are individuals allowed to be their authentic selves or required to adopt a false cult identity? Are leaders accountable to others, or do they claim absolute authority? Do organizations encourage growth in the people who participate in them, or do they seek to preserve their own power over all else? While any kind of person or group can struggle with some of the dimensions on Hassans continuum chart (which lists constructive behaviors at one end and destructive behaviors at the other), healthier organizations will tend toward constructive responses more of the time, whereas unhealthier institutionsthose more truly worthy of the cult label in the most negative sensewill tend toward destructive responses such as grandiosity, hate, demands for obedience, elitism, authoritarianism, deceptiveness, or hunger for power. It turns out that there are some real, meaningful similarities between cults and tech, according to Hassan. This is the perfect mind-control device, he told me, holding up his iPhone. He explained that when he joined the Moonies in 1974, cult recruiters had to get information from the victim. Now, he said, users of everyday technologies are sitting ducks: There are 5,000 data points on every voting American in the dark web, and there are companies that will collect and sell that data. The first time Hassan was told about cryptocurrency, he added, it smacked of multilevel marketing to him. The proposition that you can make a fortune in a very short amount of time, with almost no labor, was something he had seen many times in his work. As was the idea that if you become an early investor in such a scheme, youll make more money if you recruit more people to join you. The people who started it are always going to make 99% of the money, Hassan said. And as in the cults that recruited him and continue to recruit the kinds of people who ultimately become his clients, everyone else is going to get burned. All of this would certainly seem to explain why I so frequently hear from people, eager for me to know they are fellow atheists, who tell me to buy some bitcoin because it will rewire my neurons and cure me of the woke mind virus. Of course, it should be noted that some scholars have complained about Hassans work, arguing that brainwashing and mind control are concepts for which there is not sufficient evidence. But Im not claiming that tech uses literal brainwashing, nor is it like when a character in a Scooby-Doo episode hears You are getting very sleepy and then their eyes become squiggles. Hassan probably wouldnt say so either. Companies dont need to go to such extremes to exert undue influence on us, though. And as is clear from the headlines I cited above, a lot of companies have been accused of, or associated with, a bit of cultishness. I wont attempt to evaluate anyones cultish tendencies on a scale of 1 to 10. But I see crypto sales techniques as a particularly good example of cultlike behavior, because if theres one thing cults need to be good at to sustain their existence, its separating people from their wallets. Cryptocurrency has specialized in that to extraordinary effect. Its all a continuum, and it would be hard to find a person whose life is completely devoid of anything cultish, technological or otherwise. But as a culture, we are careening dangerously toward the wrong end of Hassans chart. Or to quote a Michael Saylor tweet, We all stumble in the dark until we see the cyber light. #Bitcoin. Adapted from Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the Worlds Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation. Copyright 2024 by Greg Epstein, the humanist chaplain at MIT. Used with permission of the publisher, MIT Press.