Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekFebruary 12, 20256 Min ReadTithi Luadthong via Alamy StockWith companies racing to add generative AI (GenAI) capabilities to their business arsenal, ammo may be running low as AI chip demand is on pace to outpace supply -- a concern that may have IT leaders looking for creative solutions in the coming years.Nvidia has become the darling of AI, with its powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) multiplying in data centers around the world. The companys popular wares dont come cheap. Its latest Blackwell GPU fetches more than $40,000 per unit, while its last generation Hopper H100s commands a respectable $30,000. AMD, which produces the cheaper MI300X GPU between $10,000 and $15,000, expects data center demand for its AI chips segment to drive big revenue growth.A report from Bain & Company said businesses should expect a likely AI chip shortage, with AI driving demand for components by 30% or more by 2026. A demand increase of 20% or more would be enough to put a damper on the AI chip supply chain. And its not just data center GPUs facing a crunch -- demand for AI-enabled mobile devices and PCs will spur upgrades in the coming months and years.As the technology sector learned in the days of the pandemic, the chip supply chain is fragile. COVID-19 drove a huge increase in sales of PCs to handle remote work needs, but supply chain shortages created a bottleneck.Related:The semiconductor supply chain is incredibly complex, and a demand increase of about 20% or more has a high likelihood of upsetting the equilibrium and causing a chip shortage, the report stated. The AI explosion across the confluence of the large end markets could easily surpass that threshold, creating vulnerable chokepoints throughout the supply chain.If demand projections hold at the current trajectory, key components for semiconductors would need to almost triple production capacity by 2026, the report says.In a live interview with InformationWeek, Anne Hoecker, global head technology, media and telecom with Bain & Company and one of the reports authors, says while demand is currently high, supply is plentiful -- for now. As we look at it there are probably a few things that could drive a chip shortage, she says, noting rapid developments in the AI space over the last couple of years.What would really drive capacity tightness is if theres the killer AI app that everyone is still kind of waiting for -- something that really makes AI PCs take off, or an upgrade on your phone cycle. That would drive a lot of demand for a lot of different types of semiconductors across different notes that could really drive tightness across the board on supply chains, she says.Related:Joseph Hudicka, a supply chain expert and adjunct professor at Rider University, says such a chip shortage would drive AI project costs higher. Basic laws of economics reflect that high demand and low supply increases prices and continues to increase those prices until a market reaches the other side of the bullwhip when supply again outpaces demand, he tells InformationWeek in an email interview. This phenomenon naturally presses project costs to exceed budgets.Supply Chain ConstraintsAmerican companies like AMD and Nvidia count on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to manufacture their chips. So far, the company has helped the US maintain a competitive lead in AI chip production over China. Efforts to diversify the semiconductor supply chain are underway, with TSMC planning to ramp up production at a new production facility in Arizona. Intel and Samsung are also ramping up their manufacturing efforts in the US -- with the help of the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act.But those projects are still years from coming online.TSMC has been building in Arizona for several years now, and even when they are able to bring up their capacity, its still going to be a small portion of what they produce in Taiwan. This is something thats going to take decades, Bain & Companys Hoecker says.Related:And while we havent reached the point of a shortage, TSMC is racing to keep up with spiking demand."I tried to reach the supply and demand balance, but I cannot today, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei said in an earnings call in July. "The demand is so high, I had to work very hard to meet my customer's demand. We continue to increase."Wei said AI chip inventories "continue to be very tight all the way through probably 2025 and hopefully can be eased in 2026.""We're working very hard, as I said, wherever we can, whenever we can, he said. All my customers ... are looking for leading-edge as a capacity for the next few years, and we are working with them.And TSMC is particularly vulnerable because of the countrys contentious relationship with China, which continually threatens military intervention. A military conflict could have a disastrous impact on the semiconductor supply chain. If something big were to happen there, the impact would be massive, Hoecker says. Thats why a lot of companies are pushing TSMC to diversify.Hudicka agrees. Expect to see ever-increasing investments in chip production in other markets like IndiaWhat IT Leaders Can DoCIOs and other IT leaders face tremendous pressure to quickly develop GenAI strategies in the face of a potential supply shortage. With the cost of individual units, spending can easily reach into the multi-million-dollar range.But it wouldnt be the first time companies have dealt with semiconductor shortages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a spike in PC demand for remote work met with global shipping disruptions to create a chip drought that impacted everything from refrigerators to automobiles and PCs.One thing we learned was the importance of supply chain resiliency, not being overly dependent on any one supplier and understanding what your alternatives are, Hoecker says. When we work with clients to make sure they have a more resilient supply chain, we consider a few things One is making sure they rethink how much inventory do they want to keep for their most critical components so they can survive any potential shocks.She adds, Another is geographic resiliency, or understanding where your components come from and do you feel like youre overly exposed to any one supplier or any one geography.Nvidias GPUs, she notes, are harder to find alternatives for -- but other chips do have alternatives. There are other places where you can dual-source or find more resiliency in your marketplace.Lastly, Hoecker says leaders must focus on forecasting. Forecasting is very critical for companies, but also quite a challenge in some of these markets that can be a bit cyclical. But the more you can forecast your own demand and work closely with your suppliers to make sure they understand what your forecast is, the more likely that the whole supply chain will have enough capacity.Real-time communication with suppliers is also a key, says Hudicka. IT leaders should digitize communication signals of supply and demand with a mix of suppliers. This delivers a first-mover advantage as global macro and micro signals of supply and demand rise in intensity from ebbs and flows -- to tsunami-sized shifts.Read more about:Supply ChainChip ShortageAbout the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Ilya Khrustalev, Fractional CTO & Tech AdvisorFebruary 12, 20254 Min ReadAldar Darmaev via Alamy StockAn appropriately chosen technology stack enhances productivity, harmonizes work processes, and encourages employees to deliver high-quality results. Conversely, an incorrect choice can lead to a situation where the tools and technologies fail to meet the specific demands of the job or do not align with the skills and expertise of the team members.A misaligned data ecosystem leads to an extended learning time. At the beginning of a project, software specialists invest time in mastering new tools, which may slow down the process of development itself. Even after acquiring proficiency in the requisite technologies, engineers may struggle with their application leading to an increased number of bugs, higher maintenance costs and decreased efficiency of the entire development process.Using misaligned solutions negatively impacts team performance and innovation in the long term. When I joined a co-living marketplace, I observed that the team were using multiple frontend technologies, which led to a fractured codebase. Implementing standardization tools improved productivity and code quality, and sparked effective ideas like SEO improvements, server-side rendering, and A/B testing.Misaligned Tech Stacks Limit Professional DevelopmentRelated:A misaligned tech stack limits a team's ability to acquire new skills and grow professionally. Outdated technologies dampen engineers motivation and foster a sense of apathy. Developers dedicate more time to maintaining outdated systems and have fewer chances to explore innovative technologies.I saw such a situation at Mail.ru Games where engineers were tasked with maintaining outdated games. The ongoing process of bug fixing depleted their motivation and limited their capacity to implement creative solutions. Sunsetting these old projects allowed engineers to focus on new technologies and foster professional growth.Misalignment is especially harmful to remote workers. A study revealed that 60% of remote professionals feel their tech stacks are inadequate, which leads to wasted time in meetings and searching for information across disconnected applications. Enhancing the remote stack is more difficult but essential for productivity in hybrid work environments.Team leads frequently manage cross-functional teams, with distinct technologies. Consequently, it becomes crucial to harmonize these tools so that none of the components become a bottleneck. A well-structured stack supports collaboration, maximizing productivity and achieving business objectives. Research indicates that organizations with strong cross-functional collaboration see nearly double the revenue growth.Related:A streamlined technology stack significantly impacts scalability, especially for startups that need quick iteration cycles. Well-documented, widely used technologies allow teams to grow quickly and ensure flexibility in response to rapidly changing requirements.Signs Your Tech Stack Is Stifling Team GrowthAnother sign that the technology is hindering the team's ability to do its job well is when developers often need assistance from a team lead or senior engineers. This happens when a company does not have a centralized knowledge base where all information is organized according to processes, such as in Confluence.Less obvious signs include difficulty in onboarding new team members. At the co-living marketplace where I worked, the rapid adoption of multiple frontend technologies led to complexity, and the team was unable to innovate or launch new features. In contrast, at a dating app Badoo, we had a well-structured tech stack that enabled onboarding within a day.Increasing technical debt and low bus factor -- where only a few engineers are experts in certain technologies -- also stifle growth.Related:In general, the CTO can take practical steps to determine if the technology stack is limiting the potential of their team and realign the stack for growth:Conduct a thorough inventory of company technologies. This software asset management is especially important for large organizations where the use of stacks may lack standardization.Identify outdated frameworks and libraries that are no longer under long-term support. These can reduce productivity and pose security risks.Gather feedback from teams to identify concerns about the current stack, including technical limits and engineers' feelings about using it. Employees can provide insight into tools that boost or hinder productivity.Develop a prioritized plan to upgrade or phase out outdated technologies based on measurable benefits such as developer productivity and software costs, as well as subjective factors such as team satisfaction.Discuss the proposed changes with the team leads and key stakeholders. Start with smaller groups to get their feedback and then expand the conversation to the entire development team to gain approval.An appropriately chosen tech stack is a strategic asset that can greatly enhance team productivity and employee morale. By optimizing workflows and meeting the needs of employees, organizations can create a more efficient and rewarding work environment, ultimately leading to greater success of a product in a competitive landscape.About the AuthorIlya KhrustalevFractional CTO & Tech AdvisorIlya Khrustalev is a tech advisor and fractional CTO with over 20 years of experience, specializing in helping startups and tech companies achieve ambitious goals through strategic technology transformations. Advising different startups, he helps to develop innovative technological solutions for the companies products. Ilya focuses on scaling operations while fostering meaningful social impact. His expertise, honed at corporations like Badoo, Yandex, and Lamoda, along with his entrepreneurial background, enables him to seamlessly bridge the gap between technology and business. He delivers tailored solutions that streamline processes, reduce costs, and align teams, empowering organizations to scale efficiently and navigate change with confidence.See more from Ilya KhrustalevNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

A network of airports like Hong Kong International Airport could effectively detect disease outbreaksYuen Man Cheung / AlamyA global early-warning system for disease outbreaks and even future pandemics is possible with minimal monitoring: testing the waste water from a fraction of international flight arrivals at just 20 airports around the world.When passengers fly while infected with bacteria or viruses, they can leave traces of these pathogens in their waste, which airports collect from a plane after the flight lands. If youre going to the bathroom on an aircraft, and if you blow your nose and put that in the toilet or if you do whatever you have to do theres some chance that some of the genetic material from the pathogen is going into the waste water, says Guillaume St-Onge at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. AdvertisementSt-Onge and his colleagues used a simulator called the Global Epidemic and Mobility model to analyse how airport waste-water surveillance networks could detect emerging variants of a virus like the one that causes covid-19. By testing the model using different numbers and locations of airports, they showed that 20 strategically placed sentinel airports worldwide could detect outbreaks nearly as quickly and efficiently as a network involving thousands of airports. The larger network was just 20 per cent faster but cost much more.To detect emerging threats from anywhere in the world, the network should include major international airports in cities such as London, Paris, Dubai and Singapore. But the team also showed how networks involving a different set of airports could provide more targeted detection of disease outbreaks that were likely to originate in certain continents.This modelling study is the first to provide the actual number of sentinel airports required to support effective global surveillance while optimising resource use, says Jiaying Li at the University of Sydney in Australia. Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox.Sign up to newsletterAirport-based networks could also provide useful information about disease outbreaks early on during an epidemic, including estimates of how quickly the disease can spread from person to person and how many people are likely to be infected from exposure to a single case, says St-Onge.Such waste-water surveillance could provide early warning for known diseases and possibly track new emerging threats too if the bacteriums or viruss genomic data is available. I dont think wed be able to look in the waste water and say: There is a new pathogen thats out there, says Temi Ibitoye at Brown University in Rhode Island. But when a new pathogen is announced, you can very quickly look at that previous waste-water data and say: Is this present in our sample?A map of sentinel airports, with colours indicating how long this network would take to detect a disease outbreak at various sites around the worldNortheastern UniversityThere are still some nuances to work out, such as how often to take waste-water samples to track different pathogens. Other challenges include figuring out the most efficient ways to sample waste water from aircraft and evaluating the systems real-world effectiveness, says Li.A long-term monitoring programme would also require cooperation from airlines and airports, along with a consistent source of funding, she says.Individual airports could hesitate to participate because of perceived risk to their operations if infectious disease statistics are made widely available unless data-handling agreements could assuage such concerns, says Trevor Charles at the University of Waterloo in Canada. He emphasised the importance of coordinated international funding to offset local political considerations.But even coordination through an international body like the World Health Organization carries its own political complications, given that President Donald Trump has initiated the USs withdrawal from the organisation, says Ibitoye. Still, research such as this contributes towards making [the monitoring network] a reality sooner rather than later, she says.Journal referenceNature Medicine DOI: 10.1038/s41591-025-03501-4Topics:

Deloitte US has made a series of changes to its DEI practices, according to internal memos seen by BI.The changes follow a review of "pertinent government directives," Deloitte said.But a boss told UK staff in a memo on Tuesday that the company's UK division would not follow suit.The world's largest professional services firm, Deloitte, is pulling back its diversity programs in the US, joining the growing number of companies altering their policies in the first weeks of the Trump administration."We will sunset our workforce and business aspirational diversity goals, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Transparency report, and our DEI programming," Doug Beaudoin, Deloitte's chief people officer, told employees in an email sent on Monday, which Business Insider has seen.Beaudoin wrote that the changes were taking place after the firm had undertaken "a detailed review of all pertinent government directives to ensure we comply with their requirements, both as a private enterprise and as a government contractor." That review was in line with "others in the marketplace," he said."Everyone is welcome at Deloitte," Beaudoin emphasized in bold text in the email.The memo comes a week after Deloitte asked workers in its Government & Public Services (GPS) division, which serves the public sector, to remove pronouns from their email signatures.In a memo sent on February 5, which BI has also seen, GPS workers were told to update their email signature template in order "to align with emerging government client practices and requirements.""Please note that the template is limited to name, role information, and business contact information. Any other personal information, including quotes, taglines or pronouns, should not be included," the directive said.GPS workers have a "longstanding commitment to compliance with US government requirements," the memo noted.While the changes to DEI programs apply to Deloitte's 173,000 US employees, the firm's UK branch has signaled a split with its US counterpart.In a memo sent on Tuesday to UK workers and seen by BI, Deloitte UK said it remained "committed" to diversity goals and would continue to report annually on its progress on inclusion."Events in the external landscape do not change our commitment to building an inclusive culture and helping all our people to reach their full potential," Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, wrote in the internal memo.Addressing Deloitte US's changes on DEI, Houston told the UK workforce that leaders had "been clear that this reflects the need to remain fully compliant with federal laws."On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end diversity programs across the federal government and ordered all federal DEI staffers to be placed on leave while their departments are disbanded.Last week, Trump's newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the Department of Justice to "investigate, eliminate, and penalize" any "illegal" DEI programs at private sector companies and universities that receive federal funds.Deloitte receives $3.2 billion annually through its contracts with federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services.Two Deloitte GPS employees who spoke to BI said they were not surprised by the firm's decision to alter DEI practices in line with the administration's policies.Both asked to remain anonymous as they are not permitted to speak to the media.One staffer told BI they believed the move had been made to "minimize potential risk exposure" and "maintain goodwill" with the administration. "Deloitte is taking the 'better to be safe, than sorry' approach here," the person added. Deloitte drew criticism from Trump supporters after an employee was accused of leaking JD Vance's old messages in which he was critical of the president. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Deloitte has already clashed with the MAGA movement after one of its employees was revealed to have leaked messages sent by now-Vice President JD Vance in 2020 that were highly critical of Trump to The Washington Post.In September 2024, Donald Trump Jr. posted the name of the Deloitte executive accused of leaking messages on X."Deloitte also gets $2B in govt contracts. Maybe it's time for the GOP to end Deloitte's taxpayer funded gravy train?" the president's son said.The Big Four firm joins a growing list of companies, including Meta, Walmart, and Target, that have rolled back their DEI policies in recent months.Last week, fellow consulting giant Accenture told staff it was revising its DEI policies. The consultancy chose similar phrasing to Deloitte, telling staff in an internal memo that it was "sunsetting" existing goals and programs.Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Do you work at Deloitte? Contact this reporter in confidence atpthompson@businessinsider.com or on Signal at Polly_Thompson.89 to share your thoughts on these changes. You can remain anonymous.

Water bottles from Bink are trending in 2025, potentially replacing Stanley and Owala.The brand's most popular option is made from glass, holds 27 ounces, and is covered with silicone.Bink's popularity is being fueled by TikTok, and its products largely appeal to women.It's the start of a new year and the latest water bottle craze.You might remember when Stanley cups became popular in 2023, causing chaos in middle schools, Target stores, and online communities.Then, Owala water bottles took over last year, attracting cool-girl customers everywhere.Now, glass bottles with pastel-colored cases might just replace both.Say hello to the Bink bottle.What are Bink water bottles?Bink is a family-owned drinkware company that focuses on making reliable, high-quality bottles, according to the brand's website. It was founded in 2017 then selling baby-proofing products and later transitioned to drinkware.Bink products are designed in Seattle, and its founders couple Ben Parfitt and Leslie Parfitt are "directly involved in every step of the process," its website says.It sells an assortment of tumblers, glass water bottles, and drinking accessories between $10 and $42 each, with its most popular product being the $38 Day Bottle.The latter item is made from glass, holds 27 ounces, has hydration trackers down its side, and, most distinctly, is covered with a silicone case that comes in 17 colors. Bink water bottles feature hydration trackers on their silicone cases. Amanda Krause/Business Insider Bink's Day Bottle is slightly more expensive than similar products from Stanley and Owala. For example, Stanley's 30-ounce stainless steel tumblers are available in more than 45 colors for $35 each, while Owala's 32-ounce FreeSip bottle costs $34.99 and comes in 20 colors.However, Bink's bottles are more customizable. The brand sells individual caps, straws, and silicone sleeves on its website, meaning you can adjust the color scheme of your bottle to your liking.Cute, convenient, and coolBink is seeing success this year in two places: TikTok and Target.The brand launched bottles in new, exclusive colorways at the brick-and-mortar retailer and on Target's website in December 2024.Around that time, TikTok videos about the bottles began popping up regularly and they haven't stopped.Fans on the social-media platform say they love the Day Bottle's convenient size, aesthetically pleasing design, and wide shape, which allows for ice. @gabbybeauvais Listen to me rant for 2 minutes about my favorite water bottle if youre interested! @Bink Made #bink #waterbottle #water #hydration original sound - Gabby According to some TikTok users, the bottles are especially popular with women and people in exercise communities."I don't make this up. Bink really is the status water bottle of the moment in the reformer Pilates sect," writer Erika Veurink wrote in the caption of a TikTok she posted about the brand. @erikaveurink #greenscreen I dont make this up #bink really is the status water bottle of the moment in the reformer Pilates sect. #coolgirl #pilates #fashionspy #waterbottle original sound - Erika Veurink Of course, Bink bottles are meant to be reusable, as are most cups from trendy brands on the market.So, some have called out fans of Bink and other companies who have posted about their newest water bottles online."The cool girls are drinking out of the same bottle they've had for like 10 years, not the latest one ," one TikToker said in response to a fan's Bink video.But 2025 is already proving to be different in so many ways. Maybe this will be the year one water bottle finally sticks, and maybe it'll be from Bink.

Marko Elez, a staffer at Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Oversight, operated an anonymous X account that spewed out-and-out race hatred. He called on Americans to normalize Indian hate, said you could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity, and proudly declared that I was racist before it was cool.After the Wall Street Journal outed Elez on Thursday, he resigned. By Friday afternoon, Musk reinstated him at the behest of Vice President JD Vance. To err is human, to forgive is divine, Musk posted on his platform.Yet forgiveness requires contrition, and theres no evidence Elez has any. He has not publicly apologized or even repudiated his ugly comments. In Trumps America, you can engage in this kind of publicly performed cruelty without any real consequence.This, for some, is actually the point of voting for Trump. New Yorks Brock Colyar attended a swanky Trump party where one attendee said he voted for Trump because, in Colyars paraphrase, he wanted the freedom to say f**got and r****ded. An anonymous top banker recently told the Financial Times that they felt liberated after Trumps win because we can say r***rd and p***y without the fear of getting canceled. The new ethos of cruelty reminded me of a passage in the philosopher Richard Rortys 1998 book Achieving Our Country. Warning of the rise of a right-wing American strongman in the not-too-distant future, Rorty predicted that such a political shift would also herald an alarming new cultural era:One thing that is very likely to happen is that the gains made in the past forty years by black and brown Americans, and by homosexuals, will be wiped out. Jocular contempt for women will come back into fashion. The words n****r and k*ke will once again be heard in the workplace. All the sadism which the academic Left has tried to make unacceptable to its students will come flooding back. All the resentment which badly educated Americans feel about having their manners dictated to them by college graduates will find an outlet.Somehow, Rorty anticipated our cultural moment nearly three decades prior. To understand why, you need to study with his broader argument in Achieving Our Country. It is a theory of the politics of right-wing backlash thats mistaken on some key points yet so prescient in others that we ignore it at our peril.What Rorty got right and wrongIn the book, Rortys primary concern is the long arc of the American left. In his view, the central focus of the left has shifted from economic to social inequalities, from class to race/gender/sexual orientation.This change has carried with it an attendant shift in culture. The reformist left, which focused on reducing economic inequality through public policy, gave way to a cultural left focused primarily on change in the way we treat one another.The shift from reformist to cultural left, he argues, was in part necessary. The old left had little interest in the concerns of women or Black people, let alone LGBTQ Americans. So long as the left kept those groups out of the aperture, it would never bring true equality.But in his view, the rise of the cultural left came at a severe cost. In a post-Reagan moment when economic inequality was skyrocketing and globalization was eating American jobs, the left abandoned its commitment to addressing the concerns of the working class.Its as if the American Left could not handle more than one initiative at a time as if it either had to ignore stigma in order to concentrate on money, or vice versa, he writes.Rortys ultimate fear was that this inattention to rising inequality would allow a right-wing demagogue to rise to power. In a passage that was widely cited after Trumps political victory in 2017, Rorty describes a series of events that sound eerily familiar:Members of labor unions, and unorganized unskilled workers, will sooner or later realize that their government is not even trying to prevent wages from sinking or to prevent jobs from being exported. Around the same time, they will realize that suburban white-collar workers themselves desperately afraid of being downsized are not going to let themselves be taxed to provide social benefits for anyone else.At that point, something will crack. The nonsuburban electorate will decide that the system has failed and start looking for a strongman to vote for someone willing to assure them that, once he is elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen, and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots.The rise of this strongman, he predicts, is what will cause sadism to start flooding back. His election on a platform of vicious cultural warfare encouraging those people who were never comfortable with a more diverse America to start once again openly performing cruelty.Rorty saw, more clearly than many of his peers, that the post-civil rights normative consensus in favor of social equality was far thinner than many expected. Not only did he foresee such a future, but he saw the precise vehicle through which it could be cracked a right-wing demagogue who claimed to stand for the people against the liberal elites. Being able to predict such events at a moment where American politics seemed contained within (relatively) centrist bounds is nothing short of astonishing.And yet, his forecast was also off in notable ways most notably in its class analysis.Rorty predicted that the base of the authoritarian movement will be those left behind by globalization. But that thesis has been repeatedly tested since Trumps rise and found wanting. Trumps base is primarily people who are less well educated but financially comfortable. The GOPs inroads with non-college voters in recent elections are explained not by a backlash to free trade and offshoring, but rather a combination of short-term inflation, global anti-incumbent sentiment, and a sense that Democrats had moved too far to the cultural left (this last point Rorty did indeed anticipate).You can see this, notably, in the kinds of people who are publicly performing cruelty right now. The examples weve looked at are not laid-off factory workers yelling slurs at the evening news. Rather, its computer programmers, bankers, and glitzy DC ball attendees members of the elite class who use words like r***rd, p***y, and f**got to assert their cultural dominance in elite workplaces and on social media.Their cruelty is not born of displaced pain, as Rorty predicted it would, but rather of power repressed: of people who felt like they couldnt act on sadistically finally feeling liberated to do so, as the FTs anonymous banker put it.Understanding Trumpisms true roots requires not only grappling with arguments like Rortys, but also with the increasingly clear evidence that the politics of status have a potency independent of class antagonism. That people want to be able to demean others not out of displaced rage at their own standing, but because they genuinely believe it is their right as social superiors to do so. Its a phenomenon that the cultural left, for all its faults, can help us make sense of.This story was adapted from the On the Right newsletter. 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A Vox reader asks: Why are young men struggling or failing to date/engage in romantic relationships more so than their female peers?In a recent conversation, a new acquaintance of mine recounted an exchange hed recently overheard. A man turned to his female friend and exclaimed, Im not going to go to a bar and just start a conversation with a woman. Who wants to be picked up? Me, the woman replied.One quip doesnt account for the entirety of mens experiences, of course, but it does speak to the challenges men seem to be facing recently in dating.If dating is a numbers game, the numbers dont appear to be on the mens side. According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 63 percent of men under 30 said they were single, compared to only 34 percent of women in the same age cohort. These single men are more likely to be looking for love, too: Half of single men in Pews survey reported looking for a committed relationship and/or casual dates, while only 35 percent of single women said the same. RelatedThe surprising truth about loneliness in AmericaThis discrepancy could be for any number of reasons, says Richard Reeves, the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men and the author of Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It. Perhaps young men and women differ in their definition of a relationship or perhaps women are dating older men and other women at higher rates than previous generations. But Reeves posits that theres another reason that men, and in particular straight men, are struggling with dating, and it has to do with the way that the rules of romance have changed. What are men afraid of? A recent YouGov poll found that 57 percent of women said theyve been on a terrible date only 44 percent of men can say the same. With many women no longer willing to accept ghosting, noncommitment, and harassment, men may be forced to change their ways or face being shut out of the dating pool. By and large, Reeves says the men he has spoken to understand this; they know what not to do dont mansplain, dont mansplain, dont be toxic, dont be a predator dont be a creep but theyre at a loss for what is acceptable when trying to date. Sign up for the Explain It to Me newsletterThe newsletter is part of Voxs Explain It to Me. Each week, we tackle a question from our audience and deliver a digestible explainer from one of our journalists. Have a question you want us to answer? Ask us here.You can see a little bit of risk aversion among young men, Reeves says. Partly because they are largely, and I think incorrectly, worried about the risks that are going to come from putting yourself out there.All social interaction carries some form of risk, a potential for rejection, but the alternatives to dating available in the modern dating landscape make putting yourself out there even less appealing. One factor to consider is the easy accessibility of porn. A 2020 study found that 91 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 73 consumed porn within the last month, compared to 60 percent of women. When a sexual experience mediated through a screen, no less is a click away, why risk any potential discomfort? RelatedIs the Gen Z bro media diet to blame?Ideological and political differences may also be driving singles apart: According to a recent American Perspectives Survey from the Survey Center on American Life, 52 percent of single women say they would be less likely to date a Trump supporter, compared to 36 percent of single men who say they wouldnt date a Trump supporter. Sixty percent of single women feared that women would be worse off under another Trump administration whereas only 47 percent of single men felt the same. Given that young men appeared to favor Trump in the 2024 presidential election, this may impact their overall prospects. When politics looms too large in singles lives, and every choice, including who to date, carries significance, relationships can suffer, Reeves says. How do you build trust in modern dating? The problem, then, is how to encourage men to get out of their comfort zones, to feel comfortable with risk, without feeling entitled to a womans time. Women carry some responsibility, Reeves says, to offer kind rejections and to not assume the worst of men. Men, of course, must also act in good faith and graciously accept a rejection. Dating has always required, and will always require, people to place some amount of trust in each other. A total lack of trust and good faith has consequences. If your prevailing notion is that all men are dangerous misogynists or all women are boring and cruel, how can anyone reasonably date? Theres a bit of a trend right now to start to think the worst of each other, Reeves says. Its really hard to have a good dating market if both the men and women are tending to think the worst of each other in advance. And I see a lot of that on both sides. Of course, there will always be bad actors, Reeves says, but, by and large, most people fall somewhere in the middle. The only real way forward, according to Reeves, is to assume that the vast majority of potential prospects arent trying to be creeps and arent trying to harm one another.This whole enterprise needs a lot of grace, he says, and a lot of forgiveness and a lot of accepting people in good faith.This story was featured in the Explain It to Me newsletter. Sign up here. For more from Explain It to Me, check out the podcast.See More:

When Harrison Ford spoke to the Wall Street Journal last week, praising the performance of voice actor Troy Baker in the recent video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, he was doing much more than recognising a great impression of himself. You dont need artificial intelligence to steal my soul, he told the paper. You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent. [Baker] did a brilliant job, and it didnt take AI to do it.Video game performers in the SAG-AFTRA union have been on strike since July, the major issue being the use of generative AI in the games industry. The union wants members to be compensated when AI performances are generated from their work, and demands consent and transparency around Gen AI technology. Major video game publishers such as Activision Blizzard, Disney, Warner Bros and Electronic Arts are involved in the dispute, and several recent titles including Destiny 2: Heresy and Genshin Impact have been affected, with English-language voice performances missing. AI voice synthesis is being touted as a means of cutting costs in an industry where game budgets are spiralling, but such technologies imperil actors livelihoods while relying on their work to seed virtual performances. Plus, the budgetary benefits of the tech are still in question.Experienced voice actor Sarah Elmaleh, who has appeared in games such as Fortnite, Halo Infinite and Gears 5, is chairing the SAG-AFTRA committee negotiating with the game industry. She sees in Fords statement a key underlying message: What I hear is Mr Ford rightly pointing out that it is both more creatively valuable and more financially viable and efficient, especially for the whole of a major performance like this, to direct a talented human than to wrestle with an AI replica and its interface. The human-to-human interface of creating games performance can already be shockingly fast, when game actor and director are talented and experienced.Many video game developers are willing to meet the unions demands. According to Elmaleh more than 160 video game productions have signed interim or independent agreements with AI protections in place, ensuring that voice and motion capture work cannot be used to seed synthesised AI actors without permission. But major publishers are still holding out: a representative for the companies recently told Polygon that they had put forward a proposal that includes industry-leading terms of use for AI digital replicas in-game and additional compensation for the use of an actors performance in other games.However, in a document sent to members, SAG-AFTRA claims that the companies are seeking a variety of loopholes, including the classification of motion capture work as data rather than performance, and limiting protections only to performance work carried out after a new deal has been ratified. It turns out the employers would like to be able to use all past game performances, and any external material, without consent or compensation, says Elmaleh. That means anything else youve performed in, TV or film-wise, anything youve put on social media, any interviews, anything they can ingest thats already out there on the internet all of that could be fair game. This fight certainly affects all actors, no matter the category If we dont right now reject the assertion that performance as a concept can be flattened and dissolved into data, then the environment will be all the richer for abuse and exploitation across the board. Can you imagine telling Charlie Chaplin he wasnt giving a performance that he was just [creating] film, the material he was captured on? It sounds absurd in that context, but because digital tools and language are novel and abstract and often mysterious to people, bosses will say such things with an absolutely straight face.Fords intervention has at least put the spotlight on the actors who arent household names, but whose onscreen video game characters definitely are. No company in their right mind would tangle with Mr Fords team, or the bad optics of replicating him without any consent or compensation, says Elmaleh. But thats what the bargaining group is trying to get away with for workaday actors.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds might be going up against a new Mario Kart (Sega)Leaked screenshots have emerged for the next Sonic Racing game, as a developer teases an announcement at Sonys upcoming presentation.All eyes might be on the next Mario Kart following the Switch 2 reveal, but that isnt the only kart racing game in the pipeline from a major studio.Originally announced at The Game Awards last year, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is an upcoming sequel to 2019s Team Sonic Racing. Little is known about the title but, based on the trailer, it will feature some kind of dimension-hopping antics with Shadow The Hedgehog. We could be about to learn more about the kart racer though, after a Sonic Team producer teased some kind of announcement for Sonys recently confirmed State Of Play broadcast.After Sony announced the presentation for later today, Sonic Team producer Joel Youkhanna acknowledged the broadcast on social media with a not-so-cryptic response.The post, which has since been deleted, reads: Oh look, a new State Of Play. #knowingsmile.While this post could have been teasing various other rumoured Sonic games, screenshots have since leaked online which are seemingly from Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. These shots appear to show the menu splash screen and gameplay, including the possible return of boards from Sonic Riders suggesting youll be swapping between multiple vehicles like in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.More TrendingThe original post with the screenshots has since been deleted, which suggests they are real, but well have to wait until Sonys State Of Play at 10pm GMT today to see if it does show up.As for what else could be shown, rumours point to Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and a PlayStation version of Level 5s Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach also seems like a safe bet, along with one of Sonys live service projects between Fairgame$ or Bungies Marathon reboot.We could also see release dates for various confirmed PlayStation 5 ports of Xbox titles, between Forza Horizon 5 and Indiana Jones And The Great Circle. Beyond Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, Sega is rumoured to be working on a remake of Sonic Heroes, along with a sequel to Sonic Frontiers. Its been six years since Team Sonic Racing (Sega)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

A $6m LLM isnt cool. A $6 one is