Author: openjargon

• Apple is integrating ChatGPT into its operating systems as part of its big AI push.
• It gets to do it without paying ChatGPT's creator, according to a new report.
• That's because Apple's power lies in its vast reach. 

When Apple officially announced its partnership with OpenAI at WWDC on Monday, a big question remained unanswered: on what terms?

When Apple has previously partnered with an outside company on a core product, the value it brings to the table has been pretty clear, with its long-standing partnership with Google on search a case in point.

Google operates the world's most popular search engine but has made it a point to pay Apple each year to keep it the default on Apple devices. It's no small amount, either. In 2022, Google paid Apple $20 billion for that privilege.

So what would the terms be that bring Apple and OpenAI together?

In recent months, Apple has made no noise about an AI model of its own that can rival the performance of OpenAI's GPT-4o, the new premium model to power ChatGPT. It's a sign that it simply lacks one that can measure up favorably.

So, a fair question has been whether Apple would pay to integrate OpenAI's technology into its operating systems to give users as powerful a chatbot experience as possible.

Though its ambitions are different, Microsoft —which has partnered with OpenAI since 2019 — decided to invest an additional $10 billion into the ChatGPT maker last year to not only "accelerate AI breakthroughs" but to weave the AI into its products like Office and Bing too.

However, new details suggest Apple will not be handing cash to OpenAI anytime soon.

That's according to a new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman that said Apple was not paying OpenAI for the integration of its much-hyped chatbot into Siri.

Apple still holds the power

In part, Apple might be getting away without paying OpenAI because it has its own AI models set to hum beneath the surface of its devices. Apple Intelligence — the company's take on generative AI — will involve plenty of in-house technology.

But Apple can also avoid paying OpenAI for ChatGPT integration because its distribution power remains king.

OpenAI stands to benefit from its powerful chatbot gaining further reach thanks to the huge install base Apple oversees, which includes more than two billion active devices.

As influential tech analyst and Stratechery founder Ben Thompson noted, OpenAI can accept not being paid as its distribution through Apple devices could serve as a "play to acquire users and mindshare, with the potential of upselling those users" to a premium ChatGPT subscription.

Apple Intelligence, Thompson added, is designed "to maximize the advantages that Apple has in terms of being the operating system provider on your phone" while allowing OpenAI to come in with a "general-purpose chatbot" only.

Investors seem to have recognized Apple's power here, briefly pushing its stock above Microsoft on Wednesday. Only $11 billion separated the two companies after the closing bell.

What happens in the longer term remains to be seen.

Upgrade cycle

Apple has been battling declining iPhone sales in recent months in key markets like China, which means it will be banking on its new suite of AI features to trigger a big upgrade cycle later this year among consumers enticed by the idea of Apple Intelligence.

Apple is doing its bit to spur this upgrade cycle by making Apple Intelligence available on only its most advanced devices, such as the iPhone 15 Pro models, M1 iPads, and M1 Macbooks.

However, there's no guarantee that consumers will bite, as Apple CEO Tim Cook has already conceded that Apple's new AI features are "not 100%" and may be prone to hallucination problems that have proven a headache for competitors like Google.

That could all come back to haunt Apple down the track, especially if generative AI struggles to match the hype surrounding it.

For now, though, generative AI is everything in Silicon Valley. Companies trying to put the technology in everyone's hands know they could do worse than turn to Apple for help.

"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across Los Angeles to find the best doughnuts in the city. They'll be visiting five locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."

• Elon Musk appears to be emulating Donald Trump's playbook.
• The Tesla CEO also seems to be immune to scandals in a similar way to the former president.
• Supporters of both Musk and Trump appear willing to overlook their sometimes questionable behavior.

Elon Musk seems to be taking a page out of Donald Trump's playbook.

The Tesla CEO once took a jab at the former president for being too old to run again for the White House, essentially suggesting he sail off into the sunset.

But now it appears Musk is looking to Trump more and more as an example of how to play the public relations game — from the way he prematurely declares victory, to the feuds he starts and the scandals he navigates.

The approach might be serving him well.

Take, for instance, the almost Trumplike way in which Musk, with no attribution, prematurely declared victory in securing his mammoth pay package many hours ahead of an official announcement from Tesla.

Musk decided to celebrate early on X, declaring that the vote was passing by "wide margins." If that is the case, it definitely is a win for the Tesla CEO.

Headaches ahead

Trump is of course now a convicted felon who still faces a brimming docket of pending court cases. Yet Musk also faces some headaches of his own.

Eight former SpaceX employees have filed a lawsuit against him, alleging they were wrongfully fired for speaking out against a hostile work environment in 2022.

Then there are new claims by The Wall Street Journal that Musk blurs lines with the women who work for him. That story also included a claim that Musk asked a SpaceX employee to have his babies, before denying her a promotion when she refused.

Immune to scandal

Musk also seems to be immune to scandals in a similar way to Trump.

Both have the backing of some prominent Silicon Valley figures. Reuters reported that tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya hosted a fundraiser in San Francisco earlier this month for the Republican presidential candidate.

And where Musk is concerned, no matter how salacious the scandals he can always rely on the support of his many fans on X.

Following Trump's playbook doesn't appear to have hurt his payday ambitions at all. If Musk has won shareholder approval, they've apparently overlooked some Trumpy tendencies — like feuding with plenty of his tech peers.

Zuck feud

One of Musk's long-running battles has been a near eight-year feud with Mark Zuckerberg that saw him challenge the Meta CEO to a cage fight.

Most recently, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing the ChatGPT maker of violating its nonprofit mission by partnering with Microsoft — although that lawsuit was dropped on Tuesday for unknown reasons.

There's also the drug use. Musk admitted in his March interview with Don Lemon that he takes a "small amount" of ketamine every other week. When Lemon questioned him further, Musk seemed to imply that Wall Street didn't have a problem with it.

Supporters of both Musk and Trump appear very willing to overlook behavior that lesser public figures might not be allowed to get away with.

Representatives for Musk didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

• McDonald's didn't care about Grimace's birthday this year.
• Grimace didn't get a happy birthday post on the chain's Instagram or TikTok and his special purple shake hasn't returned to US menus.
• Fans are sad. They want to slurp his shake and pretend to die again.

After spoiling him rotten last year, McDonald's has completely ignored Grimace's birthday in 2024.

The McDonald's mascot made a comeback in 2023 when the burger giant released a limited-edition Grimace Shake to celebrate his birthday on June 12.

The fuzzy purple blob, believed by some to be a taste bud or a milkshake, became an internet sensation as TikTokers posted videos of themselves pretending to be injured or even dying after drinking the shake.

The trend generated huge buzz for McDonald's, which sold the shake as part of the Grimace Birthday Meal. The mascot's 52nd birthday celebrations appeared in a number of social media posts by the chain in June and July, before McDonald's said that it was "time to say goodbye" on July 5.

Since then, Grimace has barely appeared on McDonald's social media. It was his birthday again on Wednesday, and the chain was completely silent.

The Grimace Shake is back on menus in Canada, but Americans have been left empty-handed.

Fans are confused and upset. They've been commenting on McDonald's latest Instagram post, which promotes its Grandma McFlurry, to ask whether the Grimace Shake is returning. On TikTok, dozens commented on McDonald's most recent video on Thursday to wish the mascot a happy birthday.

McDonald's reaped the success of Grimace's birthday promotion last year, with Gen Zs scrambling to get their hands on his birthday shake so they could join in the viral trend.

"It quickly became one of our most socially engaging campaigns of all time with millions of reactions on our social media posts, a true demonstration of how the power of our brand emerges in organic and creative ways in our fans," McDonald's CFO Ian Borden told investors last year. "It contributed to the strong double-digit comparable sales growth for the quarter in the US."

If McDonald's was hoping it could replicate the success of the Grimace Shake with this summer's Grandma McFlurry — which also plays on feelings of nostalgia — then it's got another thing coming.

• Foot traffic to fast-food chains in California fell in April and May, new data shows.
• McDonald's and Burger King were among the chains to see visits fall. 
• These chains are among those to ahev raised prices to offset the new minimum wage in the state. 

Foot traffic to McDonald's, Burger King, and In-N-Out Burger restaurants in California appeared to fall in the weeks after they raised prices to offset the state's new $20 minimum wage for workers at limited-service restaurants, new data shows.

Since April, year-over-year visit trends to fast-food chains in the Golden State have lagged behind national trends, suggesting that diners could be put off by the higher menu prices, per data from Placer.ai, which tracks foot traffic analytics.

"It's clear that the menu price increase is having an impact," R.J. Hottovy, Placer.ai's head of analytical research, wrote in a report.

According to the data, the year-over-year change in the number of visits to fast-food chains in California across February and March was slightly higher than the national average.

"However, this abruptly shifted when the minimum wage increase went into effect," Hottovy wrote in the report, noting that traffic to fast-food chains in California had been weaker than the national average in seven of the eight weeks in April and May.

Restaurants raised prices to offset the new wage

California raised its minimum wage for workers at limited-service restaurants to $20 an hour on April 1.

The legislation applies to chains with at least 60 locations nationwide and has faced fierce opposition from the fast-food industry.

To offset their higher labor costs, restaurants have raised prices, turned to technology and automation like order kiosks, and considered reducing their opening hours. Some pizza restaurants have even laid off delivery workers.

Year-over-year visits to McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's restaurants in California trended well behind the chains' national averages in April and May, according to Placer.ai's data. Jack in the Box and In-N-Out also underperformed on foot traffic in California compared to their national averages, per the data.

A Jack in the Box spokesperson previously told Business Insider that at its company-owned locations in California, it had raised menu prices by between 6% and 8% in response to the minimum wage change. In-N-Out told KTVU that it had raised prices "incrementally" on April 1.

The data has to be taken with a pinch of salt, however.

After all, it only measures footfall, not delivery orders or the size of in-person orders. And there could be other factors, other than menu price increases, deterring diners.

But Placer.ai's research indicates that the legislation does appear to be having at least some impact on the number of customers visiting fast-food spots in the state, especially when restaurant chains are cagey about sharing their own data showing the effects of their price hikes.

The legislation was introduced to help workers cope with the state's rising living costs, though many fast-food franchisees have questioned why the wage only applies to their industry. Some fast-food executives, however, say it could make jobs in the industry more desirable and mean they have better-quality candidates.

Californian residents are divided: Some acknowledge that fast food is a tough gig and support the new minimum wage, while others say it will push prices up too much.

Are you a fast-food worker, franchisee, or restaurant manager in California? Email this reporter at gdean@insider.com.

• The flagship of Donald Trump's private jet fleet is a Boeing 757-200.
• Trump's Boeing 757 is a 30-year-old airliner converted for use as a private jet.
• It's not the most efficient private jet, but it's the perfect flying billboard for the former president.

Whether you love or hate him, there is no arguing Donald Trump's taste in private jets is fantastic. That's because his current flagship is a Boeing 757-200 airliner converted for VIP use.

The 757 is an aircraft without equal. Since its launch in 1982, it's been one of the most capable, versatile, and respected aircraft in the skies.

However, Trump's retrofit of the airliner as a business jet has recently been questioned in an article that turned its nose up at the plane, calling it "crappy" and "dilapidated."

While the article did make some good points — purpose-built business jets have more comfortable cabin pressure and can operate out of smaller airports — the author's disdain for its owner, whom I'm ambivalent toward, bled over into an unnecessarily harsh characterization of the plane.

There's a common saying in the business aviation industry. The private jet isn't a luxury; it's a time machine. The point of a private jet is to save its occupant time and increase their productivity. Time is money, and the time saved by flying private instead of commercial is worth more than the extra cost.

From that perspective, the 757 is probably not the most cost-effective or efficient corporate jet for a globetrotting business mogul. The jet burned through $2.6 million in fuel from 2023 to 2024.

A purpose-built Gulfstream or Bombardier Global are certainly better options. Both are newer, more efficient, and have the range to reach pretty much any destination in the world.

But neither can match the sheer presence and drama of arriving at a destination in a VIP airliner. And they don't look nearly as good behind a campaign stage.

And for a consummate self-promoter like the Donald, there's no better private jet than a three-story tall, 155-foot long, flying billboard covered in the Trump logo.

The marketing and brand value created by the flying billboard trumps the added cost of operating a decades-old airliner, equipped with two bedrooms and a dining room, all lined in 24k gold.

In fact, Trump once said in a documentary that "the plane is very much an extension of the Trump brand," The New York Times reported in 2016.

The jet, dubbed Trump Force One, has been a fixture at campaign stops ahead of the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections.

Trump acquired the 757, registration N757AF, from the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen in 2010 to replace his older Boeing 727.

N757AF was originally delivered to the defunct Danish low-cost carrier Sterling Airlines in May 1991. It also briefly flew for the defunct Mexican airline TAESA before the tech billionaire picked it up in 1995.

Even though the aircraft is now well into its 30s, older, well-maintained planes can operate safely and effectively at that age. In fact, according to Airfleets.net, plenty of 757s older than Taylor Swift, born in 1989, are in regular service with airlines and cargo operators like DHL, FedEx, and Delta.

Trump's 757 spent nearly a year in the hangar, receiving a full refurbishment and a new paint job before returning to service in late 2022.

Trump isn't alone in his preference for the VIP airliner, and his 757 is far from the biggest or most over-the-top.

Rapper Drake flies around in an even larger VIP airliner, a 1996 Boeing 767-200 widebody.

The Qatari and Saudi Royal Families both operate private Boeing 747 jumbo jets.

As an airliner, the 757 was a true tweener in Boeing's lineup, a twin-engine, narrow-body airliner that's bigger than your run-of-the-mill 737 but smaller than a widebody like the 787 Dreamliner.

In airline service, the 757-200 has the range and performance to easily brave the headwinds across the Atlantic on long-haul flights from Paris to New York. As a narrow body, it'll happily shuttle passengers on 45-minute flights to smaller airports that don't have the infrastructure to support a widebody.

But what stands out the most about the Boeing 757 is that it's the muscle car of the airline world.

With power from a pair of massively powerful Rolls-Royce RB211 (or Pratt & Whitney PW2000) turbofan engines, each producing upwards of 40,000 lbs of thrust, the Boeing 757 has developed a reputation among pilots for being an aircraft with the grunt to take off from airports in hot weather or at high elevation that would sideline many of its more modern rivals.

But the 757's power and versatility that helped it stand out from the crowd also doomed it. Even during its heyday in the 1980s and '90s, it was ahead of its time and was arguably much more airplane than most airlines needed.

By the early 2000s, a smaller and less capable Boeing 737 or Airbus A321 could handle most of the 757's duties at a lower price.

The availability of cheaper, more efficient alternatives, coupled with sky-high oil prices during the years following 9/11 and an airline industry on financial life support, meant the 757 was a non-starter for carriers.

After years without landing a new order for the plane, Boeing discontinued the 757 in 2004. In total, 1,050 Boeing 757s were produced over 22 years.

The final 757 rolled out of Boeing's Renton, WA factory in October 2004. The aircraft was delivered to Shanghai Airlines in April 2005 and now flies for Delta Air Lines as N823DX.

• Hunter Biden and Donald Trump's convictions may have damaged the US' global brand. 
• Andrew Payne, a foreign policy expert, said they undermined the US' status as a democratic system. 
• Biden's non-pardon of Hunter may benefit his campaign, but US credibility is hurt, said Payne. 

The US' reputation is in tatters, regardless of who takes the Oval Office in January, according to an expert.

With criminal convictions on both sides of the election campaign, it's a lose-lose situation, said Andrew Payne, a foreign policy expert and author of "War on the Ballot: How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War."

On Tuesday, Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty of three federal charges related to the purchase of a gun while he was using illegal drugs.

His conviction came less than two weeks after Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 counts related to falsifying business records before the general election in 2016.

Hunter Biden was the first child of a sitting president to be criminally convicted, while Trump was the first US president to be criminally convicted.

Speaking to Business Insider, Payne said the historic convictions have "significantly damaged" the US' reputation on the world stage.

The election won't help save the US' reputation

The presidential candidates had contrasting reactions to their respective convictions. While Trump told reporters that his trial was "rigged," Joe Biden said he would accept the outcome of his son's legal woes.

Trump used the publicity from his trial to capitalize on fundraising opportunities. Shortly after his guilty verdict was announced, his donor website crashed, a spokesperson wrote on X.

Members of the Trump campaign who spoke to The New York Times said they hoped Hunter Biden would be acquitted during his trial, as it would prove the narrative that Trump was a victim of political persecution — and would likely raise millions of dollars from supporters.

John Zogby, a veteran pollster, told The Guardian that Hunter Biden's guilty verdict could be a "marginal political gain" for the president and that his decision not to pardon his son will be seen positively.

"It pulls the rug out from under that Republican argument that the justice system is rigged against Republicans to get Trump … a Biden did not get a pass," Zogby said.

Hunter Biden's conviction may be slightly beneficial to his father's campaign, though it will not "move mountains," Zogby said.

In contrast, it's likely to further damage the US' reputation, which took a significant hit when Trump was convicted, Payne said.

"It is hardly a ringing endorsement of the health of democracy in the United States that allegations of the politicization of the judicial system or questions about candidates' commitment to the rule of law feature so prominently in the campaign," Payne told BI.

If Biden is elected, he may attempt to rebuild the US as "an example of a country where no one is above the law," Payne said. But as the president's approval rating reached a record low this week, his future in The White House is unknown.

On Monday, FiveThirtyEight's weighted tracker recorded a 37.4% approval rating for Biden, compared to 41.6% for Trump. Neither candidate is considered hugely popular, with an April Pew Research Centre survey showing that 49% of voters would replace both candidates if they could.

This will make the upcoming election particularly difficult to call.

"Even if Trump isn't elected, when you have one of the two major presidential candidates and someone who is a former president who carries a criminal conviction, it kind of undermines your case that the democratic system is superior," Payne said.

"So there's a big undermining of the US brand, irrespective of whoever is elected in November," he added.

Representatives for The White House and the respective Biden and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

• Kate and Anthony were the center of season two, but absent for half of "Bridgerton" season three.
• Simone Ashley, who plays Kate, told reporters recently that she will return in season four.
• Here are the other reasons we think Kanthony will return in future seasons.

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for "Bridgerton" season three and the novel "The Viscount Who Loved Me."

"Bridgerton" fan-favorites Kate and Anthony may return after their sudden exit in season three, and certain clues suggest the characters could be around for a while yet.

After a turbulent love journey in season two, Kate (Simone Ashley) and Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) experience a blissful romance in season three, including a few steamy sex scenes.

However, the doting couple is still in their honeymoon era and keeps leaving London on sudden trips.

In season three, episode one, they go back on their honeymoon and do not appear in the remaining episodes of part one, upsetting many Kanthony fans.

In part two, they return to London because Kate is pregnant. They stay for three episodes before deciding to leave again to go to Kate's home country, India, so she can give birth to their child. Kate wants to revisit her home, and Anthony wants their child to experience India.

After a discussion about leaving, they are not seen in the season three finale, and Francesca, one of Anthony's siblings, reveals they have already left for India.

For a moment, this seemed like an attempt to write off the characters so that Ashley and Bailey could leave the show.

But, on Wednesday, Ashley told reporter Josh Rom at the UK "Bridgerton" season three screening that she plans to return for season four.

"Kate Sharma is here to stay," she said.

Bailey has not commented yet if he will also return.

Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond to a comment request from Business Insider.

Despite "Bridgerton" being one of the most-watched Netflix series and a launchpad for many aspiring British actors, the series has struggled to keep former leads.

Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor, who played the leading couple of the first season, both left the series. Francesca Bridgerton also had to be recast ahead of season three after Ruby Stokes left to star in another Netflix series.

Though "Bridgerton" changes its lead characters each season, it is still an ensemble show, and fans are often curious about what happens to their favorite characters after they've married.

However, we think Kate and Anthony may be the few leads to stick around for future seasons. Here's why.

Anthony and Kate Bridgerton have four children in the book series.

In the book series that "Bridgerton" is based on, written by Julia Quinn, Kate and Anthony have four children after their marriage: Edmund, Miles, Charlotte, and Mary. According to a family tree on Quinn's website, Edmund, the first child, is born a year after their wedding.

In "Bridgerton" season three, part two, Kate is pregnant with her first child, but we never see her give birth or the baby.

But there's still hope — both actors want to see a Kanthony baby, too.

Bailey told the Wrap in 2022: "And I just can't wait for him to have a baby. Baby Edmund is the first that's to come, if it's according to the books. But maybe they'll have octuplets or something. Maybe they'll flip it on its head."

Meanwhile, Ashley told IMDB in 2022: "I'd love to see them have a baby, to put it simply. And maybe that'll happen. Maybe it won't, but hopefully it will."

Come on, Netflix. Give the people what they want.

Unlike Daphne and Simon, Kate and Anthony have a good reason to stick around.

Kate and Anthony are now the Viscount and Viscountess of the Bridgerton family and will have to lead the family once they return from India.

This means Kate and Anthony have a bigger reason to stick around than the other characters who left. We can't leave out the couple that runs the Bridgertons in a show about the family.

Bailey told the Wrap that he'd also want to appear in the wedding scenes for the other Bridgerton actors.

"I'm going to be there for when I'm needed, but also, you know, there's no way I'm not going to be at the weddings of — from everyone from Claudia Jessie, and Luke Thompson, Luke Newts, down to Will Tilson and Florence Hunt," he said.

In season three, part two, Kate and Anthony did return for Colin Bridgerton's (Luke Newton) wedding but leave before Florence Bridgerton's (Hannah Dodd) wedding.

Kate and Anthony's departure seemed sudden, and it might have been because Bailey and Ashley were not able to be on set on the day the wedding was filmed.

Ashley also told IMDB: "I'm excited to see Kate become the viscountess and the head of the household. I think she has much to learn from Anthony, and there'll be two little partners doing it together."

Jonathan Bailey is very keen to continue playing Anthony Bridgerton despite getting other major roles.

Since season two, Ashley and Bailey have been cast in new movies and TV series, which may complicate any return to "Bridgerton."

Bailey, especially, has had a busy year. He starred in the miniseries "Fellow Travelers," has a leading role in the upcoming two-part blockbuster musical "Wicked," made a cameo in "Heartstopper" season three, and was just cast as the lead in the next "Jurassic World" movie.

However, despite all this, Bailey found time to shoot scenes in "Bridgerton" season three. In November 2023, Bailey spoke on the SiriusXM show "Radio Andy" about how he filmed "Bridgerton" and "Fellow Travelers" simultaneously.

"I didn't have a day off, and it was that for 32 days," Bailey said, referring to flying between both sets to film the two series.

This may be more difficult as Bailey becomes a movie star, but the actor seems invested enough in "Bridgerton" to make an effort when he can.

We will likely have a better idea about Kate and Anthony's future when "Bridgerton" season four premieres. The season does not have a release date yet.

• Countries are exploring innovative strategies to combat declining birth rates.
• Cash incentives, medals, and even car subsidies are among the measures being adopted.
• But experts say that, at present, no country seems to have found a workable solution.

As fertility rates decline across much of the world, countries are exploring innovative strategies to encourage women to have more babies.

Several demography experts told BI that these can involve lump sums of money, gold medals, and even tax breaks.

But none will be enough to solve the problem alone, they said.

Baby bonuses

Several countries have introduced so-called baby bonuses to combat declining fertility rates.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore offered one-time payments, and the "Baby Bonus Scheme" continues to provide cash incentives for Singaporean couples having children.

South Korea, which has the world's lowest fertility rate, runs an allowance system that gives parents with a newborn $750 a month until their baby turns one year old.

According to Bloomberg, the country is even considering a proposal to pay families about $70,000 to have children.

Local Chinese governments, meanwhile, offer one-time subsidies, often worth thousands of dollars, to encourage parents to have two or more children.

However, experts caution that financial incentives alone are not a long-term solution.

Sarah Harper, a professor of gerontology and the director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, told BI that cash incentives encourage a "mini-baby boom, followed by a baby crash."

She added: "Those women who would have spread their childbearing across several years all go at the same time to get the cash bonus, and then there is a lull in childbearing."

Gold medals, tax breaks, and car subsidies

Other financial incentives include Kazakhstan's prize system for mothers with many children, inspired by the "Mother Heroine" honorary title from the Soviet era.

BBC WorkLife reported that mothers in the country receive silver medals for six children, gold metals for seven or more, and a financial allowance for the rest of their lives.

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a similar program, offering a title and a lump sum of about $17,000 to Russian citizens with 10 or more children.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has also focused on boosting the fertility rate with financial perks.

Women in Hungary who become mothers under 30 or have four or more children receive a lifelong exemption from paying personal income tax.

Meanwhile, Hungarian families with three or more children receive subsidies for purchasing seven-seater cars, according to AP, and parents get loan deductions on their homes based on the number of children they have.

Trent MacNamara, a Texas A&M professor whose work has focused on fertility rates, told BI that the impact of financial incentives on fertility rates is uncertain, and might only lead to "modest" gains.

"For example, if a government transferred new parents about 5% of the costs of raising a child, we could expect a roughly 5% bump in fertility," he said.

Generous leave and flexible working conditions

Financial incentives often have an underlying assumption that the cost of parenting is the main reason behind declining fertility rates.

However, Poh Lin Tan, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, told BI that "an amalgam of factors" pushes people to have fewer children.

In Singapore, these factors include people spending longer in education, changes to traditional family dynamics, and the conflict between building a family and a career, she said.

In 2023, Singapore attempted to address some underlying factors by doubling paid paternity leave to four weeks and increasing unpaid infant care leave from six to 12 days annually for a child's first two years.

Scandinavian countries have gone even further.

Norway provides 49 weeks of parental leave with full pay, Finland offers seven months to each parent, and Sweden provides 240 days per parent of leave.

However, Philip N. Cohen, a family demographer at the University of Maryland, told BI that these policies often have unintended effects.

He said that, in some circumstances, parents don't end up having more kids; instead, they use generous leave provisions like paid time off and universal childcare to space out having fewer children, to benefit more.

Subsidized fertility treatments and vasectomy reversals

Cohen noted that other strategies to increase fertility rates include countries like Israel offering free or heavily subsidized IVF.

According to the American Economic Association, this may have also had an unintended consequence — leading Jewish-Israeli women to delay getting married and having kids.

Hungary also offers free IVF as part of its pronatalist policies, and Singapore and Japan offer significant subsidies.

However, according to a 2020 essay by Tan, the Japanese example shows that reproductive technologies are not a "panacea" for low fertility rates.

Japan has the world's highest percentage of babies born through IVF, yet it still has one of the lowest fertility rates, she noted.

South Korea also covers the costs of a variety of reproductive technology treatments, such as egg freezing.

However, more recently, Seoul's government made headlines with a proposal offering up to $730 each to 100 people to reverse their vasectomies or untie their tubes.

No magic bullet

Experts agree that there is no easy solution to the fertility crisis.

"No government has discovered a policy that produces sustained bumps in fertility," MacNamara told BI, adding: "Plenty of bright people in wealthy countries have spent decades trying to figure this out without evident success."

He said that young people increasingly see small families as the norm, which is a "really tough cycle to break."

Even if a "magic formula" were to be discovered, he added, it would need to be implemented carefully to avoid then promoting unsustainable population growth.

"Rapid growth would make it harder to scale back our present overconsumption of resources, including fossil fuels," he said.

• Armenia's prime minister said he's taking his country out of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
• The CSTO, a military alliance of post-Soviet states, is considered Putin's answer to NATO.
• But tensions have been growing, and this is only the latest clash among Russia's supposed allies.

A key Russian ally said it is quitting the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a group widely considered to be President Vladimir Putin's answer to NATO.

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has repeatedly snubbed Russia, said in parliament on Wednesday that he will take his country out of the Moscow-led CSTO alliance, the Associated Press reported.

Pashinyan said his government would decide later when to make the move, according to the AP.

Experts previously told Business Insider that Putin founded the alliance — made up of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — as a rival to NATO, and that he wanted to project power by leading a multinational body, despite most of the members not having notable militaries or large economies.

However, the plan seems to have backfired as tensions among the alliance have grown, especially since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Pashinyan's latest announcement is likely a huge blow to Putin.

Pashinyan told lawmakers: "We will leave. We will decide when to leave. We won't come back, there is no other way."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Russia "will continue to work with our Armenian friends" to clarify their position, state-controlled Russian news agency TASS reported.

Peter Frankopan, an expert on Russian and Balkans history at Oxford University, told BI that while other CSTO countries will likely give a "shrug of the shoulders," Moscow will ultimately have a stronger response.

Moscow will likely see Armenia as trying "to be too big for small boots — so no doubt there will be repercussions in order to show the downsides of daring to stand up to Russia," he said. "What those are, and when they play out, is a matter of guesswork."

In the immediate aftermath, Armenia's foreign minister denied Pashinyan said the country was withdrawing, in an apparent attempt to soften the diplomatic impact, the AP reported.

Tensions have heightened between Russia and Armenia since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Pashinyan has refused to endorse on multiple occasions.

Pashinyan said in June 2023 that his country was "not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine" and that it felt trapped between Russia and the West.

Relations between Russia and other CSTO members have also become more strained since the invasion, with countries seeing how caught up Russia is in Ukraine — leaving some worried about how protected they are if attacked, experts previously told BI.

Pashinyan was also irked when Russian peacekeeping troops did not come to Armenia's aid last year when Azerbaijan attacked a separatist region that had been largely under the control of ethnic Armenians.

He had previously called the CSTO response to the ongoing conflict "depressing" and "hugely damaging to the CSTO's image both in our country and abroad."

Pashinyan raised that issue again on Wednesday, accusing unspecified CSTO countries of conspiring against Armenia in the conflict.

"It turned out that its members failed to fulfill their obligations under the treaty and planned the war against us alongside Azerbaijan," Pashinyan said, per the AP.

Frankopan said the latest development may not end with Armenia leaving the CSTO, if negotiations take place.

"Talking about withdrawal can give a chance to course-correct for all sides, so it might be that we are seeing a round of shadow-boxing rather than something more definitive," he said.

But he added that Armenia's potential withdrawal was "a long time coming," given the country's escalating complaints about Russia's leadership of the alliance.

Other recent Armenian snubs to Russia include the country joining the International Criminal Court in February, even though it has issued an arrest warrant for Putin.

Armenia froze its CSTO membership in February, but until Wednesday had not further clarified its position.

In June, at a meeting of CSTO member states' foreign ministers, Armenia was asked to clarify its membership status, with its foreign minister later saying only that he has "excellent personal relations" with the bloc's secretary general.