Author: openjargon

• Big Tech is finally acknowledging the risks its consumers have been complaining about for months.
• SEC filings reveal that Meta, Microsoft, and more are concerned about the issues AI might present.
• Misinformation and harmful content are some of the "risk factors" associated with generative AI.

It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere these days, but some of the biggest players in tech are finally acknowledging the risks it poses.

AI has been the biggest topic of discussion in the tech industry since OpenAI launched ChatGPT to the public in November 2022. In the years since then, companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and others have invested heavily in their AI efforts.

Major tech companies have been loud about their plans to enlist in the AI arms race, but more recently, they've been quietly addressing the ways it could actually be bad for business.

In its 2023 annual report, Google parent company Alphabet said that its AI products and services "raise ethical, technological, legal, regulatory, and other challenges, which may negatively affect our brands and demand."

Similarly, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle have also included their concerns about AI pages in SEC filings, usually under the "risk factors" section, Bloomberg reported.

Microsoft said its generative AI features "may be susceptible to unanticipated security threats from sophisticated adversaries."

"There are significant risks involved in developing and deploying AI and there can be no assurance that the usage of AI will enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability," Meta's 2023 annual report read.

The company went on to list factors including misinformation (specifically during elections), harmful content, intellectual property infringement, and data privacy as ways generative AI could be bad news for users and leave the company vulnerable to litigation.

Meanwhile, the public has been vocal about concerns with AI making some jobs obsolete, large language models training on personal data, and the spread of misinformation.

And on June 4, a group of current and former OpenAI employees signed a letter to tech companies demanding they do more to mitigate the risks of AI and protect employees who raise questions about its safety.

These range from "the further entrenchment of existing inequalities, to manipulation and misinformation, to the loss of control of autonomous AI systems potentially resulting in human extinction," the letter read.

Meta, Google, and Microsoft didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• With Biden's 2024 viability in doubt, some left-leaning X users are getting behind Kamala Harris.
• There's been a resurgence in Harris-centric memes, and for many, it's clearly a bit ironic.
• But it also shows that while some Democrats don't love the VP, they're desperate to dump Biden.

If you happen to be a politically engaged X user — which, to be clear, most Americans are not — you probably noticed something of a vibe shift on Tuesday.

Perhaps it was the coconut and palm tree emojis appearing in usernames. Maybe you saw someone reference their readiness to "exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." Or it could have the declaration from some progressives, and even leftists, that they're ready to join the "KHive," the movement of online supporters wave of progressive users who ferociously defend Vice President Kamala Harris.

Joe Biden's political standing remains unclear in the wake of his disastrous debate performance, and some Democratic politicians are calling on the president to step aside. Polling has also shown that large portions of the Democratic base want someone to replace Biden.

Harris isn't necessarily a favorite for the party's more online and progressive users. Theoretically, there are lots of compelling options for Democrats if Biden were to step aside, and Harris has long been dogged by perceptions that would perform poorly herself if she were to lead the ticket.

But she may be the safest Biden alternative.

Under campaign finance law, only Harris can seamlessly inherit the hundreds of millions of dollars and nationwide campaign apparatus that Biden's team has spent months building.

Going with Harris also has the added benefit of avoiding a brokered Democratic convention, which could bring infighting and chaos to the party just months before the November election.

A CNN poll released on Tuesday also found that Harris performed better than Biden in a hypothetical match-up with Trump. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the South Carolina Democrat who helped deliver Biden the nomination in 2020, said that he would back Harris if Biden were to step aside.

Hence, an outpouring of memes not unlike the pro-Biden "Dark Brandon" memes that began surfacing in the summer of 2022, when the president was enjoying major legislative successes.

For some newly minted Harris supporters, the feeling is genuine. They've decided Biden can't win, and they're ready to enthusiastically support the vice president.

Among them is Chi Ossé, a New York City Councilor who's called on Biden to drop out and posted a sizzle reel of Harris with the caption "coconut tree summer" on Wednesday.

Others are clearly engaging in some level of irony, deciding that the best way to deal with what increasingly appears to be a desperate situation is to post through it.

In fact, many of the X users who are tweeting their support for Harris aren't exactly the vice president's biggest fans. They're certainly not actual KHive die-hards, many of whom remain committed to Biden even in the wake of the debate.

Many of the memes floating around X include the phrase "coconut tree" a reference to an often-mocked speech that Harris delivered at a White House event in May 2023.

"My mother used to — she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, 'I don't know what's wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?'" said Harris. "You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you."

Some have even declared themselves to be "coconut-pilled."

• McKinsey & Company published its annual book recommendations list this week.
• It spans more than 90 titles across genres like personal development, workplace culture, and tech.
• Here's a look at the 9 business and economics books on the management consulting firm's list.

If you're fleshing out your summer reading list now, save some room for a few more titles.

Management consulting firm McKinsey & Company this week published its annual list of book recommendations.

The list includes more than 90 books across 10 genres: biography and memoir; business and economics; fiction; health; history; personal development; politics; sustainability; technology; and workplace culture.

The recommendations came from global business figures, including CEOs, founders, editors-in-chief, and some McKinsey leaders.

Here are the 9 books McKinsey recommended in the business and economics genre:

• "Design Social Change: Take Action, Work Toward Equity, and Challenge the Status Quo" by Lesley-Ann Noel
• "The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport" by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg
• "How Legendary Leaders Speak: 451 Proven Communication Strategies of the World's Top Leaders" by Peter D. Andrei
• "Inner Drive: From Underdog to Global Company" by Arsen Tomsky
• "The Journey of Leadership: How CEOs Learn to Lead from the Inside Out" by Dana Maor, Hans-Werner Kaas, Kurt Strovink, and Ramesh Srinivasan
• "Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict" by William Ury
• "Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell" by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle
• "What I Learned About Investing from Darwin" by Pulak Prasad
• "What Went Wrong with Capitalism" by Ruchir Sharma

You can find the full list of recommendations, including books in every other genre, here.

• Biden told a key ally that he might not be able to save his reelection bid, the NYT and CNN report.
• The White House flatly denies the claims, with a spokesperson calling them "absolutely false."
• Democrats' support for Biden is waning, with some looking to Kamala Harris as a potential nominee.

President Joe Biden's cognitive abilities may be up for debate right now, but the president knows one thing: He may not be able to save his reelection bid if he does not change public perception soon. According to one of the president's crucial allies, he told them as much in a recent conversation, per the New York Times and CNN.

The ally emphasized that Biden is still fully committed to his reelection bid, but is keenly aware of how important his upcoming public appearances will be. He is sitting for his first post-debate interview on Friday with ABC News and visiting key swing states over the weekend.

"He knows if he has two more events like that, we're in a different place," the ally, referring to the debate, told The Times.

The White House flatly denies the reports.

"This claim is absolutely false and if we had been given more than 7 minutes we could have communicated this before it was publicized," Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said on X.

Biden has faced mounting pressure to step aside in recent days, namely when the first Democratic member of congress, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, publicly asked him to do so on Tuesday.

While no other Democrat has gone as far, the dam around the President appears to be cracking, with new attention directed toward Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential nominee. And it's not just public political names looking at Harris, as gamblers in the betting markets are putting their money behind her as the likely nominee. As of late Wednesday morning, placing a bet on Harris' name cost 49 cents compared to Biden's 31 cents on Polymarket.

Biden plans to meet with key Democratic governors on Wednesday to try and instill confidence among elected officials.

In an attempt to tamp down donor anxieties after Thursday's debate, the Biden camp is touting record campaign fundraising numbers. The president has acknowledged his own poor performance, blaming it in part on a hectic travel schedule and residual jet lag.

For all of the explanations, though, new polls indicate even rockier seas ahead for the president: Post-debate numbers show Trump inching ahead, with a 49% to 43% lead over the president.

• Potato salad is a popular Fourth of July cookout food, and there are simple ways to make it better.
• Adding things like avocado, pickles, and even blue cheese will take potato salad to the next level.
• You can also switch up the potatoes themselves by roasting them or using sweet potatoes.

There's nothing quite like a heaping spoonful of homemade potato salad on the Fourth of July.

With grocery costs eating up more of our budgets than they have in decades, many families might be curious about how to elevate popular cookout foods with ingredients they already have in their kitchens.

And, while there are many recipes you can follow to make a crowd-pleasing potato salad, there are also a number of unique ingredients you can add to any standard potato salad to take it over the top — no trip to the grocery store required. 

Here are 16 easy ways to make your potato salad even better using things you already have in your kitchen.

Roast or grill your potatoes instead of boiling them.

One easy way to elevate your potato salad is to roast the potatoes instead of boiling them. This will make your potatoes crispy and add an interesting texture to the dish.

Plus, roasting your potatoes with seasonings like garlic salt, cayenne pepper, or onion powder locks in extra flavor.

Or, follow the advice of some celebrity chefs and grill your potatoes first: Guy Fieri and Aarón Sánchez swear by this method.

You can also use sweet potatoes for a different taste.

You can use sweet potatoes instead of red or golden potatoes, making your potato salad taste slightly sweeter. You can also go a spicier or more savory route, depending on your seasonings.

Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian grills sweet potatoes and then adds tangy elements such as capers for his recipe.

A splash of vinegar adds much-needed tang to potato salad.

Vinegar is a common addition to potato salads and you can use any kind, depending on the flavor profile of the dish: apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even some balsamic vinegar.

For example, Martha Stewart uses white wine vinegar in her six-ingredient recipe, while Alton Brown and Bobby Flay prefer apple cider vinegar.

Avocado adds extra creaminess to potato salad.

Avocado will add extra creaminess and flavor to your potato salad. Plus, if you're not a fan of mayonnaise, it can even serve as a substitute, like in this recipe from Damn Delicious.

Sour cream can also elevate a traditional mayonnaise-based salad.

When making potato salad, a base of two-parts mayonnaise, one-part sour cream ensures the dish will have the right balance of sour tang and creaminess.

Thousand Island dressing adds a creamy, tangy flavor.

Instead of sour cream, you can also add a dollop or two of Thousand Island dressing to add zesty flavor to your potato salad, like in this recipe from America's Test Kitchen.

Blue cheese is another great addition.

Blue cheese crumbles can also elevate the flavor profile of your potato salad while adding extra creaminess, like in this recipe for bacon and blue cheese potato salad.

Bacon goes well in everything, especially potato salad.

To add a salty, slightly fatty taste to potato salad, fry up some bacon and chop it up along with any other vegetables you want to add.

Chef Robert Irvine adds bacon — and eggs — to his recipe.

Pickles make a crunchy, sour addition.

Finely chopped-up pickles, like in this recipe from Taste of Home, add a sour, crunchy taste to classic potato salads, and mix well with dill and other vegetables.

Green and red onion are classic additions, but they are important to making potato salad the best it can be.

Red and green onion add much-needed flavor and crunch to potato salad — they're typical ingredients for a reason.

Some celebrity chefs add garlic to their potato salads.

"Iron Chef" host Alton Brown adds garlic to his potato salad recipe, among other interesting ingredients like sliced cornichons.

Dill is another more classic addition that's a must-have in many potato salad recipes.

Dill adds a herbaceous, fragrant, and fresh flavor to potato salad, and mixes well with other ingredients.

Potato chips add a crunchy texture.

If you're looking to up your potato-salad game, consider sprinkling potato chips or potato chip crumbs onto your potatoes. This will add some delicious crunch and, depending on the flavor of the chip you choose, extra flavor — for example, this Bon Appétit recipe calls for sour cream-and-onion chips.

Alternatively, barbecue or salt-and-vinegar chips can enhance the dish and add a surprising texture.

Sriracha adds extra spice to potato salad.

Another Sriracha shortage could be coming this summer, as The Washington Post reported, but if you can get your hands on a bottle, a drizzle adds a kick to potato salad and mixes well with mayonnaise.

Chipotle in adobo also brings up the heat.

Chipotle in adobo sauce is a great addition for a spicy potato salad: Blend one or two peppers and a spoonful of sauce, to taste, with your mayonnaise, sour cream, and vinegar in a food processor.

Whole-grain mustard is another great addition.

Mustard is a common addition to potato salad, but cooks often use Dijon or even honey mustard. However, the grainy texture of whole-grain mustard greatly enhances the overall taste, and each seed is bursting with flavor.

Ina Garten's recipe for an old-fashioned potato salad uses both Dijon and whole-grain mustard.

• A consulting firm that recruits engineers provides detailed feedback to job applicants it rejects.
• Applicants receive information on how many people applied and what made résumés stand out.
• Forward founder Peter Berg said the aim is to improve the applicant experience in a challenging job market.

The job-hunting process can be brutal — applicants are told to tailor each résumé and often end up with radio silence from the dozens of companies they spend hours applying to.

Peter Berg, founder of Forward, a consulting firm that hires globally remote engineers for startups, wants to change that. About a month ago, Berg announced that Forward would provide data and context to every applicant once a role is closed.

The company now shares details like how many people applied and interviewed, what made résumés stand out, and any numerical data it collected from the application.

Berg told Business Insider that Forward does its best not to waste people's time during the application or interview process through lengthy exams or assignments. As a company that frequently recruits candidates for short-term roles, he said it's important for the experience to be positive and to keep in touch with applicants.

"What's good for candidates is ultimately good for you," Berg wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "Here's to a better tomorrow."

The cofounder said he decided to implement this new protocol because the company started posting roles on LinkedIn and saw a major uptick in volume of applications received. Each role now receives between 200 and 2,000 applications and the company usually sends two vetted candidates to the employers within a week of the original post.

While sending 2,000 rejection letters with detailed feedback sounds time-consuming, Berg said it's not. The company already keeps track of applicant data while scoring résumés and the email takes 10 or 15 minutes to write and is sent in bulk to applicants.

Berg told BI it's an easy addition for employers and he thinks it could make a "huge" difference for applicants — and for some, it already has.

Since implementing this new method, Berg said the company has received about 200 responses from applicants, with many writing back paragraphs about how positive the experience was and how it made them feel human.

One woman posted on LinkedIn about the experience and said Forward offered her the "BEST" rejection letter. The applicant, Melissa Bashur, said the rejection email included the number of applicants, the number of applicants with specific industry experience, top locations of applications, and median hourly rate.

She also said it provided context about what the company was looking for, how their criteria shifted, and how many people they spoke with. Bashur said they even summarized the experience of the person they hired.

Melissa Bashur told BI that the insight she received allowed her to better understand the current job market. It also helped inform her about which jobs she should apply to moving forward.

"I heard it was getting 'better,' but in the tech space, it still seems to be pretty flooded with available talent," Bashur said. "It helped me shift to more positive and productive efforts and be more selective with the jobs I apply to."

Berg said the new protocol helps give people a sense of what's going on in a job market that's tough right now. He said the tech industry is still reeling from pandemic-era overhiring and decreased venture capital funding.

"We know a lot of senior leaders looking for roles and they're having a really hard time finding one. They're looking for nine months, 10 months," the founder said.

He also said individual contributors who don't have experience with hiring tend to be more in the dark about the process.

"We want to provide feedback for that reason," Berg said. "Just to help people figure out why didn't I get picked for this."

• I get my nails done every three or four weeks with extensions, gel, or intricate designs.
• This time, I paid $160 for a Japanese gel manicure at Tokyo Nails in Chicago.
• The manicures are supposed to last longer and be better for your overall nail health.

When I worked in retail after graduating from university, I found that having well-manicured nails caught customers' eyes and made all the difference in making a sale.

What started as something to do for a special occasion, like birthdays and music festivals, became a part of my monthly self-care routine. But as someone who gets my nails done every few weeks, I'm always looking for ways to improve my nail health and manicure longevity.

Although I'd love to find a budget-friendly way to do my nails at home, there's a higher risk of developing or triggering skin allergies when you try to use gel polishes and UV lights yourself. In other words, you get what you pay for — and some things should be left to the experts.

I tend to spend a base price of $100 to $150 with my usual nail technician. After hearing about the potential benefits of Japanese manicures, I paid a little more ($160) for my most recent appointment to see if it was worth the hype and extra investment.

Here's how it went.

I found Tokyo Nails in Chicago.

While trying out multiple salons and independent nail technicians throughout Chicago, I came across Tokyo Nails on Instagram. The West Loop salon saw a boom in online attention after Drake got his nails done during his tour in 2023.

Owners and sisters Nomin and Nomundari Uuganbayar opened their salon in 2018 and have over 10 years of experience in the nail industry.

It's appointment-only and specializes in Japanese gel and Gel-X services.

The owners source their gel directly from Japan.

The sisters prefer using Japanese polish and even worked to formulate their own brand of polish directly manufactured in Japan.

Standard gel polishes have a thinner consistency, as other ingredients tend to be added to make the product stretch further. But Tokyo Nails' Japanese polish is made of 100% gel, according to Nomin, meaning it's a bit thicker than many people in the US may be used to.

It also comes in a pot rather than a bottle, so technicians can scoop it out with any desired brush.

I had to say goodbye to my old set, which featured my typical manicure.

My appointment was at 8 a.m. and lasted until around 10:20 a.m.

The technician started by removing my current nail set, which included gel extensions, gel texture, and many charms.

As much as I enjoy my monthly manicures with the works, the occasional broken or lifted nail with extensions can be painful and unsightly.

I decided to start over with my natural nails and have them cut a bit shorter.

I enjoyed the manicure process.

I opted for the Japanese gel overlay on short natural nails with a simple design add-on.

I specifically asked for this manicure because the description recommended it for damaged, fragile, and brittle nails.

Once my nails were prepped, the technician applied a base coat, the color polish, and a topcoat. If nails are particularly damaged, she told me they'll add an extra overlay coat between the base and color for additional support.

Japanese gel is supposed to have major benefits.

One of the biggest benefits of Japanese gel is that it's supposed to last longer than traditional American versions — three to four weeks as opposed to two the three. It's also supposed to hold up quite well and resist chipping.

"When my clients come back after four or five weeks, their nails were still on perfectly, no chip, just growth," Nomin told Business Insider.

Unlike acrylic nails, Japanese gel is softer and bends more easily, giving a similar feel to natural nails. It's also supposed to work with your nails to strengthen rather than strip them — which is why it can be particularly beneficial for those who put their nails through the wringer like me.

But ultimately, the owner stressed that nail health heavily relies on how clients remove their manicures. Ripping or pulling off polish can damage nails, even if it's a nice formula like Japanese gel.

The manicure was worth it, but I can't afford to do it every month.

Off the bat, the manicure was more expensive than I typically pay, and it didn't even include the extensions, hand-drawn intricate designs, or charms I usually get.

But since I was only getting polish and a simple design on my natural nails, the appointment was much shorter than I'm used to, saving me some time.

Considering how often I like to get my nails done, Japanese gel isn't a sustainable option for my current budget. But I thoroughly enjoyed it as a once-in-a-while splurge.

After four weeks, my manicure held strong.

My manicure ended up lasting the entire month of June without any natural chipping or breakage (I'm sometimes guilty of picking at polish out of habit).

This was especially impressive, as I frequently clean, build furniture, and create art, all of which usually negatively impact my nails at some point.

Overall, my nails also seem stronger — it felt like a healthier alternative to what I usually do. I saw it as a good compromise because my nails got to heal and strengthen a bit, but I still got to have a manicure.

With the rise in popularity of Russian manicures and other online platforms, I think it's time Japanese gel had a bigger space in the spotlight.

• Netflix's "The Man with 1000 Kids" is about a prolific Danish sperm donor, Jonathan Jacob Meijer.
• In April 2023, Meijer was banned by a Dutch court from being a sperm donor.
• Subjects in the docuseries claim that he has donated to fertility clinics worldwide.

Netflix's latest docuseries, "The Man with 1000 Kids," raises questions about the ethics of sperm donation by telling the story of a man who claims to have fathered 550 children. Some mothers who have used Jonathan Jacob Meijer's sperm claim the number is much higher.

Released on July 3, it features five couples who used Meijer as a sperm donor to start families after finding him on a website called "Longing for a Child." They each claim in the documentary that he told them they were the third or fourth couple that he had helped.

But in 2017, Meijer was banned from donating sperm by the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology after it was found that he had donated to 11 different fertility clinics in the country, per The Telegraph. This included the global sperm bank, Cryos International, which sent samples across the world.

It's not the first time Netflix has covered the ethics of sperm donation. The 2022 documentary, "Our Father," examined an American fertility doctor who misled couples by using his own sperm to help them conceive.

It was watched for 42.60 million hours within the first three weeks of release, according to What's On Netflix. The streamer, which has found great success with docuseries and true crime shows, will want to top that figure.

A woman identified only as Natalie, who is one half of a Dutch couple who used Meijer's sperm in 2012, described the situation to The Independent as a "public health hazard." She highlighted the possible ramifications for future generations because of the number of children Meijer has fathered.

Her partner Suzanne said: "They can never just date somebody or have intercourse with somebody, they will always need to take care and even then they might not be aware that they're a donor child. It's a very dangerous and unhealthy situation for these children and for their children and grandchildren."

In April 2023, Meijer was ordered by The Hague District Court to stop donating sperm, and he will face fines of €100,000 for every future violation, Dutch News reported.

But Meijer has a YouTube channel where he documents his travels around the world, and the docuseries claims that he has donated to clinics globally.

"That's why we're still raising awareness, and hoping that there is a government that wants to put up legislation because that needs to happen," Natalie said. "Not just in individual countries, but globally. He is not stopping at borders, and he's not the only one. There are more out there."

When asked about the claims that he has donated globally, Meijer told Business Insider: "As a bank donor doing regular visits, I only was active in the Netherlands for Cryos. Outside of them, I have been to a few clinics to donate one time and privately for a couple."

Responding to Meijer's decision not to appear in the documentary, Natalie said: "He was given a right to respond. His comments are always: 'This is untrue and the women are just angry mothers.' We're not angry. We just want him to stop."

On Wednesday, Meijer appeared on BBC's "Woman's Hour" to discuss the Netflix series and confirmed that, according to his records, he has had 550 children. Meijer also criticized the streamer for depicting him negatively.

"I think Netflix did a great job of selecting the five families out of the 225 families that I've helped, and they will definitely tell you something else. If someone calls this journalism or an official documentary I don't really see where's the value," he said.

Meijer told BI he stopped donating sperm in 2019 and also threatened to take legal action against Netflix over the allegation made in the docuseries that he mixed his sperm sample with another donor's to see who the child would look like.

"I will take legal action for slander, this is really insane!" he said.

Netflix did not immediately respond to BI's request for comment regarding his threats.

• As a chef, I've picked up a few tips for making a perfectly cooked, juicy burger with great flavor.
• Look for ground beef with an 80% meat to 20% fat ratio for optimal taste and texture.
• Only salt your patties right before grilling, and pay attention to their temperature as they cook.

As a chef, I strongly believe the best way to feed a crowd is to have all of your party foods prepped and ready to go — and that includes your burger patties.

When I worked as a line cook a few years ago, I learned the subtle art of working with ground meat and making the perfect, juicy burger. 

As you prepare to make those burger dreams a reality, remember these eight tips to help get you out the door and grilling.

Thaw your meat completely

Whether you ordered good-quality ground meat from your local farmer or stocked up at the grocery store during a sale, the most important thing to do is fully defrost it before cooking.

There are three main ways to defrost ground beef: in the refrigerator, in the microwave, or in cool water.

I recommend the refrigerator method, which is great if you're planning a day or two in advance. Simply place your frozen meat into a bowl or container, leave it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, and your meat should be fully thawed the next day.

If you're using a microwave, use the defrost setting and thaw the meat in three- to four-minute increments, remembering to turn it over. Microwave for as long as 12 minutes or until the meat is thawed.

For the cool-water method, place the sealed package of meat in a large bowl and weigh it down. Fill the bowl with cold, running water, turning it on and off. Refill the bowl with fresh water every 20 to 30 minutes until the meat completely softens.

Pay attention to the grind

If possible, ask your grocery-store butcher if they'll grind some fresh beef chuck to medium-coarse to coarse, about ¼ inch, for you on the spot.

This grind allows the fat to appropriately integrate with the meat and retain a beefy texture and moisture, even when it's dripping juice on a hot grill.

You can also ask your butcher if they suggest any other meat combination or if they can throw in some fancy scraps at a lower cost. 

If you can, try grinding the meat at home

You can try at-home grinding with a stand-alone, hand-crank meat grinder or use an attachment like the kinds KitchenAid offers.

Simply dice cold meat into 1-inch chunks, freeze on a sheet pan for about 10 minutes, and then grind. I suggest experimenting with the flavor differences of a ⅜-inch and ¼-inch grind. 

You can also make ground meat in the food processor. Pulse 1-inch thick cold meat and fat for about 10 seconds at a time until everything looks nice and uniform, working in small batches so the beef doesn't get warm.

Pay attention to the fat percentage

Good beef just tastes better, and the best butchers know how to balance tender or sinewy meat with fat to enhance its potential.

If you can, try to find a local farm that sells whole cuts or its own frozen ground meat. The most common burger cut is chuck steak, which has 80% meat and 20% fat.

In a pinch, 85% ground meat will do just fine, but be very cautious about overcooking, and don't go higher than a medium-level temperature to retain moisture and flavor.

Remember that the shape of the patties matters

The center of burgers that are 6 ounces or more can bulge before they're done cooking, but there's a quick fix to keep your patties from looking like meatballs.

Don't overwork the meat when forming your patty since this can lead to a dense, tough burger.

Gently shape your burgers into evenly round, 1-inch thick, flat discs. Once those patties are formed, press your thumb in the center to make a dimple to help it cook evenly.

Only use salt right before cooking

Once you've got your formed burger disks, it's time to add some salt.

Adding salt to ground meat changes the consistency. For example, a breakfast sausage is a far cry from a fresh burger — all thanks to salt and its molecule-changing capabilities.

Right before placing on the grill, take a large pinch of kosher salt and gently cover the outside of the patty with a thin layer. Add the burger salt-side down to the grill and sprinkle some on the other side.

This shouldn't make the burger taste overly salty but will create a perfect ratio of seasoned meat to each bite. 

Cook everything to the right temperature, or just below

Keep in mind that a big burger, just like a steak, will go up a few degrees after cooking.

Medium-rare burgers are cooked to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and have a cool, pink center with a charred exterior and a beefy taste with tons of juices.

A medium-well burger is cooked to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and has a hot pink center. However, this can quickly lean toward tasting dry, especially if the fat content is low.

Finally, feel free to enjoy that well-done burger, but don't expect it to be the juiciest of the bunch. You can also experiment with different quality meat and see the difference for yourself.

There's no need to add lots of extra ingredients

Of course, the truth remains that good meat, treated well, should be more than enough for a perfect, juicy burger. Additional ingredients like onions, bread crumbs, and eggs can be just fine in other dishes but can make a burger taste like meatloaf.

Keep the extra flavorings like spicy mayo, crisp lettuce, and sliced tomatoes as add-ons. Go fancy with aged cheddar or Gruyere, top with some caramelized onions (a personal favorite), or mix chile crunch into aioli for a little kick.

However it works out, the best burgers are the ones you end up craving again.

This story was originally published on July 1, 2022, and most recently updated on July 3, 2024.

• Hailey Welch, who went viral for saying "hawk tuah," says she wants to pursue her viral fame.
• But it's unclear exactly what that means.
• Because the path for a Viral Human in 2024 is very different than it was in the 2010s.

The "Hawk Tuah Girl," Hailey Welch, has quit her day job in a Tennessee spring factory and announced plans to ride out her viral fame.

But what does cashing in on viral fame look like in 2024, and how is that different from the other kinds of Viral Humans who have come before?

Welch, 21, hasn't said exactly what her plans are for the future, but she has signed with a management and publicity team. Her new management team told me their first priority is to stop any unlicensed merchandise, fake social media accounts, or other content being made without her permission.

"We are here to protect 'the Hawk' from the vultures," Jonnie Forster of The Penthouse management told Business Insider.

She also plans to launch her own website and merchandise line later this week, Forster said.

You've become a meme. Now, monetize it.

"Hawk Tuah Girl" may discover that viral fame alone is not an instant windfall — capitalizing on social media popularity requires hard work.

Accidental memedom is very different from social media stars who can make their (sometimes lucrative) living by grinding out content for years and studying platform mechanics. Someone like Jake Paul doesn't stumble into it; he hustles. As he famously rapped, "It's every day, bro."

Luckily (or not), there are nearly two decades of internet history of Viral Humans, and it's worth examining some of those past examples to see what we might glean for Welch's future.

Let's focus on other versions of people who, like Welch, accidentally go viral by appearing on the news or by being filmed by someone else.

Antoine Dodson of the 2010 "Bedroom Intruder" song. Sweet Brown of the 2012 "Ain't nobody got time for that" line. "I like turtles" boy. These people all appeared as man-on-the-street interviews on local news, not unlike the way Welch ended up going viral.

Being thrust into the spotlight isn't always a happy story in the long run. It wasn't always clear how to profit from early viral fame, and sometimes the people who went viral watched as unrelated companies and people made money off them without giving them a cut. (That's what Welch's new management says they're trying to stamp out.)

Dodson recently posted on TikTok about his frustration with how his image had been exploited for gain by others, like an unlicensed Halloween costume.

The "Damn, Daniel" teens got a lifetime supply of Vans but have mostly retreated from public life. Alex from Target, another unsuspecting meme, told People Magazine this spring that he had attempted being a social media personality for a little while after turning 18, but didn't enjoy it and now works for UPS.

And in early 2021, as NFTs were taking off, a handful of people who had been early internet memes took the opportunity to finally cash in — sometimes for quite a lucrative sum. ("Disaster Girl" sold her image as an NFT for around $500,000 at the time; "Bad Luck Brian" netted only $36,000.) Sadly, I don't imagine NFTs are going to be a viable strategy today.

'Hawk Tuah' more than a meme?

Welch's viral fame exists largely inside a space on the internet that didn't really exist 10 years ago — best described by Max Read as "the Zynternet":

Over the last ten years or so, a broad community of fratty, horndog, boorishly provocative 20- and sometimes (embarrassingly) 30-somethings — mostly but by no means entirely male — has emerged to form a newly prominent online subculture. This network is adjacent to the "sports internet" of 40something dads and the "hustle internet" of Miami crypto bullshit and the "reactionary internet" of trad influencers, but is its own distinct community with its own distinct cultural referents —college sports, gambling, light domestic beers, Zyn nicotine pouches …

Perhaps the Zynternet allows for a new path for someone like Welch — a path that is quite different from the previous iterations of viral fame where an appearance on the family-friendly "Ellen DeGeneres Show" was the end goal.

The Zynternet, which helped propel Welch to fame, may already have a good spot waiting for her.

An attractive young woman with a big personality who talks candidly? That's already a winning formula for podcast hosts like Alex Cooper of Call Her Daddy, Tana Mongeau, Bobbi Althoff, or even Brianna LaPaglia.

In fact, Welch's first public interview (she didn't have any public social media accounts before — a fact that led to lots of false speculation about her) was on one of these podcasts: "Plan Bri Uncut" with LaPaglia, who also has a podcast called "BFFs" with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

LaPaglia also dates country star Zach Bryan, and Welch appeared onstage at Bryan's recent concert. Welch's management said this was a happy coincidence: She'd had tickets to Bryan's concert, and LaPaglia was able to interview her for her podcast after the show.

So what's Welch want to do now? She gives us a hint on LaPaglia's podcast. She wants it all: "I think we're doing to do, like, a show, and then being on a bunch of podcasts and everything in between."

LaPaglia is happy to cheer her on.

"You're so much more than just the 'Hawk Tuah Girl.' I'm excited for your future," LaPaglia says. "I have no fucking idea where you're going to pivot or how you're going to pivot from this, but I'm excited to see what you do."

I don't think we've seen a Viral Human quite like Hailey Welch before — I'm also very curious to see what she does next.