Category: Business Insider

• The job market will see "massive" disruption as AI becomes more prominent, a professor warned. 
• Even more utopian forecasters have said AI could affect millions of jobs.
• There's no safety net that can contain the fallout from AI's impact, Eric Posner argues. 

Artificial intelligence will upend the job market even in the best-case scenario — and there's no social safety net for workers who are at risk of being put permanently out of work,  according to University of Chicago professor Eric Posner.

In an op-ed for Project Syndicate, Posner pointed to growing concerns that the labor market will become increasingly dependent on AI, with some researchers warning a significant number of workers could be replaced by artificial intelligence technology in the coming decades. 90% of workers could have their jobs impacted by AI, and 9% of workers could be completely displaced by AI over the next 10 years, a 2024 study found.

Some tech commentators have said that those job losses could be supplemented by government aid, such as some form of universal basic income.

However, that kind of aid doesn't address a key problem stemming from an AI-fueled workforce: the possibility that many formerly employed people will suffer emotionally from the perception that they're not contributing to society, Posner warned.

"Loss of self-esteem and a sense of meaning and usefulness is inevitable in a society that valorizes work and scorns the unemployed and unemployable," Posner wrote. "Even if taxes or subsidies can keep alive jobs that produce less value than AI substitutes, they will merely be putting off the day of reckoning."

The "antiwork" movement has gained traction in recent years as Americans, especially Gen Zers, shun exploitation by their employers and the grind that's characterized other generations' working experience. But most employed Americans seem to like their jobs: 51% of US employees said they were satisfied with their jobs overall, according to a 2023 Pew Research study.

Higher rates of unemployment have also been linked to rising depression, alcoholism, anxiety, and other mental health ailments, even in studies that control for income, Posner noted.

He pointed to the "China shock" that hit the US in the early 2000s, when a flood of cheap imports from China led to job losses for around 2 million Americans, according to a study from the Cato Institute. That shock attributed to a rising number of "poor mental health" days in the US, another study found. 

"Even if humans are able to adjust to a life of leisure in the long term, the most optimistic projections of AI productivity portend massive short-run disruptions to labor markets, akin to the impact of the China shock," Posner said.

"That means substantial — and for many people, permanent — unemployment. There is no social safety net generous enough to protect people from the mental-health effects, and society from the political turmoil, that would follow from such widespread disappointment and alienation," he added.

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• Sheldon and Camry are a couple earning $250,000, making their household among the top 10% earners.
• Their monthly spending includes a $200 gym membership, date nights, and paying for a wedding.
• But the Gen Z pair doesn't feel like major earners thanks to New York rent and saving for a wedding.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with investment banker Sheldon, 26, and 25-year-old registered nurse Camry. They requested to use their first names only to maintain their privacy and protect their careers. Together, the New York City-based couple earns about $250,000 annually, with both making six-figure salaries. They have no children. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest 10% of earners in the US brought in at least $199,135 as a household in 2022. This article has been edited for length and clarity.

We're both less than five years into our careers, and while we're considered in the top 10% of earners, it doesn't feel like that at all.

Two major reasons for that: We live in New York City and are planning a wedding, so our $4,000 in rent and $3,000 in wedding expenses tend to eat up the majority of the monthly budget.

This wedding is a sacrifice we knew we wanted to make, but we'll be glad when it's over. The wedding will end up costing between $55,000 and $60,000 total.

We've basically been paying another rent payment on top of our other expenses. As soon as it's over, we can finally splurge the way we'd like. It's definitely going to feel like a pay rise.

Despite earning more than a lot of people, we both still have this kind of grinder mentality because our life isn't cheap, and times are tough. Our jobs in investment banking and nursing are pretty stressful, but they provide a certain lifestyle that we definitely want to attain.

Our finances won't be fully combined until after we're married, but we pay for things cooperatively. For now, we spend from separate accounts.

On budgeting

Sheldon: I've gone through the trouble of actually creating a budget using a template on Excel and all that. It looks nice and pretty, but adhering to it is a completely different ballgame.

Camry: I always have a number in my head of what I don't want my checking account to go below or my credit card limit to go above. Having something we're working toward is kind of like budgeting. We're on a wedding budget right now.

What they splurge on

Sheldon: Our special date nights do incur a lot of expenses because we're going to nice restaurants spending between $250 and $275 for the two of us. It definitely adds up.

I'm kind of big into fashion — brands like Kith or Aimé Leon Dore —so I'll buy a couple of pieces here and there when it makes sense. Wall Street is very "work hard, play hard," so sometimes you need to treat yourself with retail therapy.

Camry: I pay for my student loans, rent, and my phone bill. Whatever I have left after wedding expenses, I consider my discretionary spending money.

We're privileged enough to eat out multiple times a week if we want, and if I want to go to Sephora and buy some things or have a monthly gym membership, I can do those things.

My $200 monthly unlimited membership at CorePower Yoga is a non-negotiable for me.

What they save on

Sheldon: I don't really spend extravagantly to begin with because of my schedule. I'm able to avoid a lot of expenses because I work so much.

My food and travel expenses are typically paid for when I'm working late into the evening, so it saves me a lot of charges.

But apart from eating out, we're not doing a lot of recreational stuff. Right now, our favorite activity is taking walks in Central Park, which is nice because it's free.

Camry: I do get a discount as a nurse on my gym membership. I try to look for those sorts of discounts to save money where I can.

I used to buy designer bags and shoes without a second thought, but now we have something to pay for as a couple.

Their financial advice to others

Sheldon: I advise my friends to sacrifice a little now so that you can live better later, to invest in the market and be patient, and to have an idea of the life you want and what it will cost and plan accordingly.

Camry: If I could do anything differently, I would've opened up a high-yield savings account when I first started my nursing job post-graduation.

Their future plans

Sheldon: Once the wedding is over, we'll be able to resume normal operations. I'll finally be able to start saving regularly again since this process has made me stop almost completely.

We definitely have very ambitious travel goals. There are no limitations of places we can think of. South Africa, Singapore, Paris, and Japan are on our dream travel list, for sure.

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• Taylor Swift is back on TikTok despite a feud between the app and her label Universal Music Group.
• The artist's song catalog returned a week before her new album rolls out.
• Swift's reemergence shows that even the world's biggest stars need TikTok to promote their work.

Taylor Swift is back on TikTok.

The pop star's music, along with tracks from hundreds of other artists like Drake and Olivia Rodrigo, was pulled off the app at the end of January amid a contract dispute between her record label Universal Music Group and the ByteDance-owned company. The purging of songs later expanded to Universal Music's publishing arm, hitting a wide swath of performers around the world.

The move has been particularly troubling for artists who are releasing new music this year. TikTok is an essential promotional tool for performers and record labels. Music fans use the app to find new songs, and user-generated trends can help old and new tracks break into the Billboard 100. UMG artists can still post videos on TikTok, but they can't use their own tracks, making it harder to push a new album. In the meantime, marketers have been using other short-video products like Instagram reels to promote songs.

The TikTok-UMG feud isn't over. The two parties are waiting each other out, to win favorable licensing terms and prove once and for all who needs each other more. And yet, Taylor Swift's music made it back onto the app this week, a few days before she's set to release her new album "The Tortured Poets Department."

As Variety reported, Swift owns her own masters while still being repped by UMG, creating a window for her to negotiate her own terms with TikTok. The label, which declined to comment on the record to Business Insider, seems to have acquiesced to allow Swift's music to reappear. TikTok did not respond to BI's comment request.

Swift's return to TikTok shows that even the industry's biggest stars still need to use the app to help a new album take off.

The megastar has 283 million Instagram followers, nearly 100 million monthly Spotify listeners, and around 57 million YouTube subscribers. A single social-media post from the 34-year-old performer can send her "Swifties" fan base into a frenzy.

And yet, Swift's team made the move to port her content back over to TikTok, seemingly undermining the bargaining position of UMG during its TikTok fight.

Swift has a track record of doing things on her own terms. She bypassed Hollywood studios to work directly with AMC for the film release of her Eras tour, for example, which earned over $250 million at the box office globally. Her 2023 Eras tour was an economic force on its own, adding $4.3 billion to the US's gross domestic product, with similar economic spikes projected in countries like Singapore and Australia as she continues her tour internationally this year, per Bloomberg.

The TikTok-UMG fight is inspiring more artists to take control of their music

For artists and producers, having the ability to assert independence in an industry controlled by a few major labels is critical, music producer Chauncey Hollis, known professionally as Hit-Boy, told BI.

Like many artists, Hit-Boy, who works with UMG's publishing arm, saw some of his music pulled from TikTok earlier this year. It strengthened his resolve to take more control over his music going forward.

"It is just kind of frustrating in that sense where I'm literally spending my money to create and have these platforms to promote and push what I'm doing, and it's like I have no control over it," he told BI. "What else can they strip away from the artist's ability to be seen and heard? We don't know. What's important is to just know that regardless of what happened, you have to just create your own platforms and the people that rock with you, they're going to come."

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• Boeing execs used an additional $545,520 for personal travel expenses in 2021 and 2022.
• The Wall Street Journal first reported Boeing had improperly classified personal trips on private jets as business travel.
• The IRS said in February it was beginning to audit corporate jet usage.

Boeing's execs have been using the company's private jets for personal travel — and it's more than we thought.

Top Boeing executives used an additional $545,520 for personal jet travel in 2021 and 2022 than was initially reported, according to an amended SEC filing.

The Wall Street Journal reports Boeing made the revisions after an investigation last year into the use of private jets by its top executives.

The Journal found that, in some cases, personal trips had been improperly classified as business travel.

"Following a review commenced by the company in 2023, we found certain items, primarily aircraft, and ground transportation costs … were not previously classified as perquisites by the Company but should have been classified as such in accordance with SEC rules and guidance," the company said in its proxy statement.

The revised stats for Boeing's outgoing CEO, Dave Calhoun, amounted to an additional $142,315 in personal travel in 2021 and 2022.

That said, Boeing wrote in the filing that its CEO "is required to use company aircraft for all business and personal travel for security reasons."

The other execs whose travel was revised in the filing include CFO Brian West, former president and CEO of commercial airplanes Stanley Deal, and president and CEO of Boeing defense, space, and security Theodore Colbert.

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

Calhoun recently said he would step down at the end of 2024 after he faced significant scrutiny following the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 door blowout in January.

The Journal notes there are tax implications when company jets are taken for personal travel and that the IRS said it will begin auditing corporate jet usage this year.

The Journal's 2023 investigation found that Boeing's fleet of private jets had made around 400 trips to or from airports near Calhoun's two homes in New Hampshire and South Carolina since roughly 2020 after Boeing moved its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, VA., in 2022, and attempted to get staff to return to the office.

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• Reservations site OpenTable will reportedly add users' first names to formerly anonymous reviews.
• The move comes a month after news of a similar change from careers site Glassdoor.
• In both cases, the companies say identification improves the authenticity of their services.

Anonymity has long been simultaneously one of the best and worst things about the internet.

Now restaurant reservations service OpenTable has reportedly decided that the benefits of anonymous posting don't outweigh the costs.

In an email to users seen by tech news site Bleeping Computer, the company said it will begin showing a first name and profile photo on all diner reviews, including on past comments that were shared anonymously.

"We've heard from you, our diners, that trust and transparency are important when looking at reviews," the email said, adding that the move is meant to strengthen the "credibility" of OpenTable reviews, according to the news outlet.

Neither OpenTable nor parent company Bookings Holdings immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment on this story ahead of publication. Bookings' other services include Kayak and Priceline, among others.

The reported policy change comes a month after after Wired found that careers site Glassdoor had begun requiring users to provide their real names for account verification, though they still have the option of posting anonymous content to the company's services.

"We use your real name and email address for verification purposes only, to make sure everyone is who they say they are. After that, your privacy takes priority," Glassdoor says in an FAQ page.

One Reddit user was quick to dismiss concerns about OpenTable's change, saying, "This is how you get King Tuttle's, Emperor Nero's, and Kim Jongummm on the reservation list. Customers will outsmart this in no time."

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• Yale isn't a huge party school, but we still know how to have fun on a night out.
• Most weekends, we go to frat parties and a local bar. 
• Being a smaller campus, we tend to bounce around from place to place since everything is so close.

Like most Yale students, I'm swamped. Classes, political union debates, moot court competitions, improv shows, meetings with advisors, dinners, and brunches all occupy my calendar.

However, I still find time to go out and have fun. Despite the Ivy League's reputation as one big ivory tower, Yale students still love to throw a good party.

As far as I'm aware, there might not be constant project X-level ragers, but weekends at Yale can be much more fun than you might think.

Yale isn't a huge party school, but we still have parties

When choosing a school, the party scene wasn't very high on my priority list. I also didn't want to attend a school where my social life would be on life support. But I didn't put much stock in attending a school known for having a vibrant nightlife or party scene.

Yale seemed like a perfect fit. While touring, I found that the students were social, and there was the requisite infrastructure for me to enjoy myself while still being devoted to my studies. This wasn't a medieval cloister; it was just what you'd expect from any college despite the Ivy League status.

When I finally enrolled as a freshman Yalie, I found that to be true.

There are several different types of parties at Yale

On any given weekend, if my friends and I are going out, odds are I will end up at a frat party at some point. Sigma Chi, AEPi, and Chi Psi are usually safe bets because they are close to campus and host parties frequently. These frat houses are small, and parties are typically in backyards but usually well-attended. They can be fun for a solid hour or two.

Even closer to campus is Toad's Place, a club that hosts Yale-only Wednesday night parties and is free on Saturdays with a Yale ID. Students over 21 can buy drinks at suspiciously low prices.

These frats and Soads (Saturday at Toads) form the backbone when trying to have a good Saturday night out. They might not be the most memorable moments of your night, but they are good places to hop between or stop in.

But some of the best parties on campus have a little more planning. While frats and Soads are reliable, the most memorable parties I've been to are those with a little more anticipation and build-up.

A tradition in the directed studies program is to throw toga parties on our less busy weeks. While usually still in a frat backyard, seeing my classmates in Roman garb makes these parties much more fun.

There are also 12 Pack parties, thrown by a special 12-person suite in Saybrook College, funded by the college. These are rarer, typically have some theme, and aren't actually full of only Saybrook students.

The key is not staying anywhere too long

With all these potential options on any given Saturday, we Yalies should be paralyzed by choice. But in reality, we usually hit up all these options on most nights out.

The key to enjoying any given Saturday is to avoid sticking. Frat parties are fun; the 12-pack is excellent, but with everything on campus only a short walk apart, why stay somewhere the entire night when you can bounce around?

Being willing to explore new venues or hang out with new groups can turn a good night into a great one. I've been introduced to places I didn't even know existed by tagging along with friends I ran into in one spot, and those discoveries make for great stories.

Admittedly, these are freshman tendencies, but that's not a bad thing

As students get older, friend groups get more solid, and students turn 21, so suite parties with drinks and going to bars become more common.

But for all students, the joy of these parties is that they represent the liberation we associate with college more than being enjoyable rituals in and of themselves.

I don't enjoy going out because I like hearing OK music at incredible volumes, standing in a frat house backyard, seeing someone and thinking, "Wow, she is attractive," just to look down at my phone and refuse to make eye contact.

It's enjoyable because it feels like something I — as an 18-year-old college student — should be doing, and I do it with friends. As we go through this ritual together, we can enjoy the fun parts and laugh about its oddities.

Is this a pretentious, intellectualizing way to look at parties? Yes. But what else would you expect from a Yalie?

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• Israel and the US expect a potential Iranian attack following a strike on Iran's embassy in Syria.
• The incident has escalated the long-standing proxy war between Israel and Iran.
• Despite threats of a direct attack on Israel, Iran won't want a war involving the US. 

Both Israel and the US are on edge about a potential Iranian attack on Israel, but it's unlikely that threats from Iran's leader will live up to the rhetoric.

Earlier this month, a strike on Iran's embassy in Damascus resulted in the death of a senior figure in the al-Quds force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, alongside six other Iranian military officers.

Israel has not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the strike, but Iran is clearly holding it accountable.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week that Israel "must be punished and it shall be."

Khamenei's declaration that Israel should be punished, along with his saying that an "evil regime made a mistake," hinted at a raising of tensions between the countries.

A long-standing proxy war

The airstrike on April 1 marked an escalation in the long-standing proxy war between Israel and Iran.

Iran has supported anti-Israel militant groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, while Israel has conducted strikes against Iranian allies in Syria.

Israel views Iran as an existential threat, having long sought to prevent the country from building a nuclear arsenal. Iran has previously vowed to wipe Israel off the map.

The Iran embassy incident intensified those historic tensions to a fever pitch.

Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that US intelligence reports suggested an attack was coming soon.

Yet such a move would risk causing a full-out war.

The Journal said that it was unclear if Iran intended to launch missiles onto Israeli soil or use regional proxies like Hezbollah or the Houthis in Yemen.

On Thursday, it reported that Israel was preparing for a direct attack by Iran within 48 hours.

If ballistic missiles or drones do target Israel, Israel would respond, and the US has made it clear it would support it. President Joe Biden vowed "ironclad" support for Israel, emphasizing the US commitment to Israel's security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that his country was ready to respond directly to any attack.

"Whoever harms us, we will harm them," he said. "We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively."

By late Thursday, it appeared that Iranian officials were toning down some of their rhetoric.

According to Axios, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Germany's foreign minister that Iran would respond in an "appropriate," albeit limited, way.

Reuters also reported that Iran had signaled to Washington that it wanted to act in a way that would avoid a major escalation.

Iran is facing a dilemma: It needs to maintain credibility while also exercising restraint to avoid drawing it into a conflict with the US that it would likely lose.

In the past, Tehran-backed militants have targeted US forces in response to Israel's actions, as Business Insider's Jake Epstein noted.

But experts on the region don't believe that it is prepared to go a step further, by sending rockets and drones to attack Israeli soil.

Iran has other worries, too. There's hyperinflation in the country, civil unrest, and a military that the Atlantic Council noted is not truly competitive with Israel, especially with its US backing.

"It doesn't possess the necessary power, willingness, and ability to engage in a conflict with the potential to escalate into a full-scale regional war with Israel,'" wrote Middle East analyst Saeid Jafari in an article for the Atlantic Council.

Ali Sadrzadeh, an analyst on the region, echoed these points in an interview with BBC News. He said that "Iran is not capable of a big confrontation with Israel given its military capabilities and economic and political situation."

Sadrzadeh added: "But it will have to come up with a response for domestic consumption and to protect its reputation among its regional allies."

After the US killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani in January 2020, Khameini vowed "severe revenge." Iran's President Hassan Rouhani made a similar pledge.

But the actual response was missile attacks on two airfields in Iraq that were housing US troops, causing injuries but no fatalities.

Skirmishes like these, outside Israel and possibly in Lebanon, are plausible in relation to this latest incident. As history has shown, Iran may be prepared to flex its muscles, but it's unlikely to get into a fight it would probably lose.

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• Adderall supply issues, which began in October 2022, are making the medication more expensive. 
• The Biden Administration said it's focused on strengthening manufacturing supply chains for Adderall.
• Drug prices are a key economic concern for voters and could impact the 2024 election. 

It's been 18 months since the US Food and Drug Administration announced an Adderall shortage. Since then, many Americans have struggled to access their necessary medications due to supply and cost issues.

Forty-one million Americans were prescribed Adderall in 2021 to manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, and other conditions. The shortage and increased costs could impact who many Americans vote for in the upcoming presidential election.

Fifty-five percent of US adults said they worry about being able to afford prescription drug costs, according to a survey of 1,309 people performed between January and February by KFF (formerly known as Kaiser Family Foundation).

In light of the shortage, the Biden administration told Business Insider it is focused on strengthening manufacturing supply chains for Adderall and similar drugs, but did not give specifics as to how to accomplish these goals.

White House is working to strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains

The FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration called on manufacturers to increase the production of ADHD medications in order to meet the quota in a letter published in August 2023.

Because of Adderall's high potential for abuse, the DEA enacts quotas on how much can be produced in the US at one time — but many manufacturers have been producing under quota, contributing to the shortage and higher prices.

"This work to strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains is a continuation of the work that began on day 1 of President Biden's Administration to ensure Americans can access the medicine they need when they need it," The White House said in a statement to BI.

The Biden administration is also working with the Department of Health and Human Services on medical manufacturing policy to prevent future shortages, and has enhanced some pharmaceutical production under the Defense Production Act.

This comes as healthcare access is a leading part of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. The administration has taken steps to negotiate lower prices with major pharmaceutical companies, make insulin more affordable, and expand healthcare for veterans and Medicare and Medicaid recipients. However, Adderall is not currently on Biden's list of drug price negotiations.

FDA says current Adderall supply does not meet demand

In October 2022, the FDA posted that amphetamine mixed salts — which are commonly referred to as the brand-name Adderall — did not have "sufficient supply to continue to meet US market demand."

Demand for ADHD medications has also spiked since the beginning of the pandemic, per CNN, with women and people in their 20s and 30s receiving the highest increase in prescriptions.

Meanwhile, with limited amounts of Adderall available, pharmacy prices are increasing.

USA Today reported in December 2023 that retail community pharmacies are struggling to stock the medication. The cost of Adderall to pharmacies has doubled, and in some cases tripled, since the shortage began — outpacing inflation.

USA Today reported that pharmacies are then charging consumers higher prices for the prescription. Some people must switch to alternative stimulants, which may or may not be covered by insurance, or choose to forgo their prescription altogether.

The DEA recently announced a quota increase for the ADHD medication methylphenidate, and the FDA approved the use of several generic forms of Adderall in hopes of increasing the overall availability of medication.

Some Americans with ADHD aren't getting the medication they need

A study released on April 2 by Truveta, a health data platform, shows that 1 in 10 Americans who take Adderall have been impacted by the shortage.

The study calculated the monthly rate of prescription fills for 336,355 people taking prescription stimulants between 2018 and 2023. The groups were split into categories of people over 18 and under 18.

The prescription fill rate for ADHD medications fell from 44.5% in December 2022 to 40.7% in February 2023, the study found. Refill rates were also 11.4% lower in the first five months of 2023 compared to the first five months of 2022.

Individuals with ADHD told USA Today that the continued scarcity and high costs of Adderall and related medications have caused them to skip prescription refills or ration doses.

"If the insurance dictates where you get your pills, and that pharmacy doesn't have the pills or that pharmacy chain in your area doesn't have those pills, you're out of luck," Dr. David Goodman, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences also at Johns Hopkins University, told Medscape Medical News.

Like opioids, Adderall use can also lead to addiction, and the federal government is taking steps to make it more difficult to obtain the drug without an in-person doctor's visit. The proposed legislation isn't contributing to the shortage, but it could limit access for people who rely on telehealth for prescriptions if enacted.

Government agencies do not manufacture medications, nor can they require that manufacturers produce or distribute more Adderall. Still, the FDA and DEA said they continue to work with manufacturers to resolve current supply issues and prevent shortages going forward. It's not yet clear when the shortage will be resolved.

Have you been impacted by the Adderall shortage or high prescription drug costs? Are you open to sharing your story? Reach out to this reporter at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.

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• Companies are using AI to help real people write product reviews.
• The beauty industry especially relies on product reviews to reach customers.
• But AI-powered reviews aren't necessarily good for customers trying to tell if a lipstick is any good.

I purchased the Haus Labs foundation after watching a glowing review of the product by a makeup influencer on TikTok.

Shopping online, it's sometimes hard to know how a foundation or lipstick shade will look on your skin — or how to know if that $60 serum really is going to exfoliate better than a $20 one.

And beauty products are highly subjective — what feels or looks good on one person might not on another.

That's where online reviews come in: For beauty, especially, reviews from influencers and regular people are crucial. And we're talking big business here. The beauty business is expected to become a $580 billion industry by 2027. Although several large conglomerates rule, it's still an industry where new brands can break out and become huge — Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty line is valued at $2 billion, for instance.

Good reviews — and lots of them — are also important for a product to stand out on a beauty site like Sephora, Ulta, or even Amazon. The reviews are so key that companies specialize in helping brands get good ones. Influenster is one platform where regular people can sign up to receive free products in exchange for writing and posting reviews.

Now, AI is in the mix.

Business of Fashion reports that AI-generated reviews for beauty products are making it harder for some shoppers to determine whether a review comes from a real person. For example, a company called Bazaarvoice has a new AI tool called "Content Coach" that says it helps consumers write beauty product reviews:

Bazaarvoice, a platform for user-generated content which owns Influenster and works with beauty brands including L'Oréal, Pacifica, Clarins and Sephora, has recently launched three new AI-powered features, including a tool called "Content Coach." The company developed the tool based on research showing that 68 percent of its community had trouble getting started when writing a review, according to Marissa Jones, Bazaarvoice senior vice president of product.

Content Coach gives users prompts of key topics to include in their review, based on common themes in other reviews. The prompts for a review of a Chanel eyeliner might include "pigmentation," "precision" and "ease of removal," for instance. As users type their review, the topic prompts light up as they are addressed, gamifying the process.

In this case, AI is helping someone who might not have the terminology to describe what makes a concealer feel so smooth on the skin. It could help a mediocre writer create a more coherent and knowledgeable-sounding review.

That's one of the things that generative AI is great for: taking a few bullet points of text and putting them into a few paragraphs with proper grammar and acceptable style. Amazon is reportedly testing out a similar tool to help people write reviews.

Bazaarvoice seems to be aware of some of the potential issues with AI-written content. "In terms of generative AI, if people can't trust whether a product review is genuine and written by a real user, they might choose to shop elsewhere," said Marissa Jones, the company's senior vice president of product. "So we as an industry need to think carefully about how we approach this technology in a thoughtful and ethical way."

Already, without AI in the picture, there have been some unfortunate and predictable problems with online reviews. Amazon has long struggled with fake reviews for its third-party sellers. Some beauty brands, like the skincare line Sunday Reilly, have gotten in trouble with the FTC for having their own employees write glowing reviews on the Sephora site. Fakespot, a company that detects fake reviews, estimated that 31% of reviews on the big retailers' sites — Walmart, eBay, Best Buy, Amazon — were suspicious in 2021.

When we typically look at reviews, we use our judgment to guess how trustworthy a reviewer is. If someone writes, "THIS FOUDNASHUN IS AWSUM U SHOUDL BUY IT IM 9 BTW" about the Haus Labs foundation I bought, you probably wouldn't take it as seriously as a longer, more eloquently written review that mentions the packaging, long-lastingness, texture, etc.

And some reviewers might be knowledgeable and good at assessing a lipstick, but bad at putting those skills into writing. For those cases, AI is great. But the fact that AI is suggesting which attributes to focus on in describing a product suggests that it's doing more than just helping clear writing.

There's a reason that not all reviewers are equal. We make quick judgments all the time on how trustworthy a recommendation is based on clues about how it's written. Writing good reviews is hard! That's why there are professionals who do it!

AI-powered reviews will certainly be great for beauty brands that want more high-quality reviews. But they could also be bad news for the beauty buyer who relies on authentic recommendations when choosing which foundation to plunk $40 down on.

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• Foreign-born workers are leading the increase in the US labor force, Fitch Ratings said.
• But a labor demand cooldown may cause an oversupply in the market, it cautioned.
• Jobs growth in the government sector is also fueling the labor market.

US labor momentum seems stuck in high gear, after March added yet another blowout jobs report.

But a simple explanation could lie in US immigration trends, as a surge of foreign-born workers is propelling labor expansion, Fitch Ratings reported on Thursday.

"Increases in the U.S. labor force post-pandemic have been led by foreign-born workers, which represented 19% of the U.S. labor force at YE 2023, higher than 17% as of YE19," the ratings agency wrote. "The foreign-born labor participation rate is 66%, more than the native-born participation rate of 62%."

These figures come as net immigration averaged 0.9% of the US population for the past two years, surpassing estimates of 0.3%. 

But while higher immigration flows should keep labor momentum going through this year, Fitch also cautioned that it risks an oversupply. 

That's as weakness is starting to show in labor demand. According to Wall Street analysts, that includes rising layoff announcements, lack of full-time job opportunities, and a plunge in business hirings.

Still, migrants' contribution to labor has significantly boosted economic growth, Fitch said, a point shared by previous research.

For instance, Goldman Sachs lifted its 2024 GDP outlook due to this labor surge, while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley highlighted immigration's positive impacts on US output.

In a separate report published Thursday, Fitch also named a secondary source fueling the impressive labor market: government hiring.

Job growth in this sector averaged 2.7% on an annual basis in 2023, the highest year-over-year rate since 1990, the ratings firm reported. It's unlikely to slow for now, as government employment is still lagging behind the private sector.

"The post-pandemic recovery for government payroll did not begin until much later in 2021 because most government educational institutions maintained a remote only system with minimal staff throughout 2020," Olu Sonola said in the report, head of U.S. economic research.

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