Category: Business

• Russian officials have started discussing a future 6th-generation fighter aircraft.
• But Russia has struggled to operate its 5th-gen fighter, the Su-57 that's been absent from Ukraine.
• "This is an illusion," an expert on Russia's defense industry told BI.

Even as Russia's air force struggles to make a difference in Ukraine, the service and the country's aviation industry are discussing a next-generation fighter that will be deployed by 2050.

Not coincidentally, the discussion comes as the US Air Force hints that it may drop its plan for a sixth-generation fighter, a piloted air superiority fighter that will operate with drones. But experts consider the idea of a next-generation Russian fighter to be sheer fantasy at a time when it's struggling to operate its fifth-generation stealth fighters.

"This is an illusion," Pavel Luzin, an expert on the Russian defense industry, told Business Insider. "People in the government may even believe that it is possible, but it is not. It is absolute emptiness. Of course, the Russian design bureaus are imitating some research and development activity in this field and getting money for this imitation, but there is nothing serious."

Nonetheless, the topic is being discussed in Russian media, regime-controlled outlets that often try to stir nationalism by boasting about the superiority of Russian weapons. "Currently, we are thinking about the concept of a sixth-generation aircraft, conducting search research, exchanging views with military specialists," Evgeny Fedosov, scientific director of the State Research Institute of Aviation Systems, wrote in a column for the state-owned TASS news agency. "Such an aircraft should appear sometime by 2050, but already now it is necessary to understand what the armed conflicts of the future will be like."

Discussing cutting-edge aircraft seems almost surreal for Russia, whose air force has enough problems using its current warplanes in Ukraine. Russian airpower has played a marginal role in the Ukraine war, despite superior numbers and technology versus Ukraine's dwindling number of old Soviet-era jets. Russian airpower has mostly relied on fourth-generation aircraft such as the Su-30, Su-35 and Su-27, which are upgraded designs dating back to the 1980s. Russia's fifth-generation fighter, the Su-57, has been conspicuous by its absence in Ukraine. With only a dozen or so built, the Su-57 only recently made news when one or two were damaged by Ukrainian drone strikes on their airbases.

Yet Russia is one of the world's top aviation powers, with a massive research and manufacturing base left over from Soviet days. With America pursuing — if tentatively — its Next Generation Air Dominance project, and China developing a future jet, it would be peculiar if Russia wasn't contemplating its next fighter.

Like other nations, Russia must grapple with fundamental design questions. Does it make sense to build a manned fighter, with all the bulk, complexity and survivability that a human in the cockpit requires? Or opt for an AI-controlled aircraft, or perhaps a team where a manned jet works with drones? What sort of stealth features will it have, and will it be armed with traditional cannon and missiles, or laser weapons?

In November 2023, a senior Russian aviation official said that no decision had been made as to whether a sixth-generation fighter would be manned or unmanned. "Two years ago, a round table was organized at the Army on the issues of creating sixth-generation aviation complexes," Sergei Korotkov, a top designer at the state-owned United Aircraft Corporation, told TASS. "Both the military and institutes involved in aircraft construction were invited to the round table; specialists from the Moscow Institute and the United Aircraft Corporation were present. The result was that we, in fact, didn't agree."

Korotkov seemed certain that a next-generation jet would operate as a team with drones. He also said that the "further direction of long-term development of aviation technology is to increase flight performance, the ability to adapt with other combat control and engagement systems, high maneuverability, versatility, optimal piloting, and multi-mode use of the power plant."

Interestingly, Fedosov, the science director at the State Research Institute of Aviation Systems, suggested that modern jets are becoming too complex and expensive. "To go further according to the logic of complication is a vicious practice," he wrote. "And the larger and heavier the plane, the more expensive it is."

These are tough questions for any nation. But Russia must also confront issues that other nations don't. It would have to develop a cutting-edge jet while fighting an intense war in Ukraine that sucks up resources, and while international sanctions restrict imports of vital electronic components a future fighter will need.

Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

• The free version of ChatGPT can now search for job listings.
• Job seekers can use the AI assistant to act as a personal recruiter.
• Sharing your CV and being exact can help the bot find relevant job opportunities.

ChatGPT just might be a job seeker's best friend.

Job seekers have already praised the bot for its convincing cover letters and ability to spruce up a CV — but a new update means the AI assistant can also do your job hunting for you.

Equipped with GPT-4o, the free version of the bot can now access the internet and trawl through job listings.

I decided to ask ChatGPT to look for jobs for me, and it came back with some pretty good results. The bot found six roles that matched my experience and location, even offering me tips on who to connect with at each company.

Here's how to get ChatGPT to act as your personal recruiter.

1. Be exact and give ChatGPT a persona

Telling ChatGPT what persona to take on has been shown to improve results.

Jason Gulya, an AI council chair at Berkeley College, previously told Business Insider that the bot works best when you assign it a persona, such as a specific job role.

Experts have suggested that beginning prompts with instructions such as "act as a professor" or "act as a marketing professional" followed by a description of the desired outcome improves its responses.

In this case, I told the bot to act as my "personal recruiter and go job hunting for me."

I also specifically asked it to search online for journalist jobs in London that I could apply for.

I also cautioned the bot to ensure the listings were still open and asked it to provide full links to its referenced roles to check the results.

2. Share your CV

It's important to share your qualifications with the bot so it can cross-reference your experience with the job requirements.

I included my CV in my first prompt, highlighting my most relevant experience. I also specified that ChatGPT should only send job roles I was qualified for.

3. Ask for clarification

Like any product that uses AI, ChatGPT can still hallucinate.

Hallucinations happen when AI-powered bots convincingly present factual errors as truth. Experts warn that this phenomenon could spread misinformation.

While most of the jobs ChatGPT provided were correct, it still made a few errors. In the case of one job, it misstated the salary, while in an earlier test, it invented a job entirely.

If you notice something amiss, it's worth asking the bot to check its own answers. I also asked it to share links to easily check my details.

4. Advice for next steps

After finding a job, ChatGPT can also help job seekers through the application process.

Not only can the bot help with cover letters and tailoring a CV, it can also identify relevant people to contact about the role and draft a message.

The chatbot can also help manage expectations by analyzing job seekers' qualifications for various roles.

ChatGPT provided me with a 600-word analysis of how strong a candidate I was for one role. It cross-referenced my experience with the job requirements, offering me a clear conclusion about the likelihood of landing an interview and sharing three tips to increase my chances.

And just in case you're wondering, I didn't actually apply for any of these jobs.

• Mark Zuckerberg sported a $1,150 Balmain t-shirt on vacation in Ibiza with his wife.
• The Meta CEO has been shifting from his classic gray t-shirts and hoodies to more stylish outfits.
• The internet is warming up to his more fashionable rebrand.

Mark Zuckerberg — CEO, chairman, up-and-coming fashion icon?

The Facebook cofounder was recently spotted sporting a $1,150 Balmain t-shirt while vacationing in Ibiza, Spain, with his wife, Pricilla Chan, People reported.

Available on the Balmain website and Saks Fifth Avenue, the cotton and wool short sleeve crewneck is embossed with the brand's name and logo prominently, giving Zuckerberg a true hypebeast appearance. It's loud — and a switch-up from the quiet luxury shirts he's traditionally worn, where you'd be hard-pressed to spot a logo.

The knit designer shirt was also paired with reflective sunglasses, dark blue shorts, and a hint of stubble.

The Meta CEO lately has been veering away from his classic tech bro uniform of the past decade, from jackets over sweatshirts to even a new gold chain that went viral.

"Zuck with the chain?? Unstoppable," one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

It's not just fans that have taken notice of his more casual and adventurous (well, for a tech boss) outfits. Even Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently said on a podcast that, "I'm totally into it. I think clothes are fun, so I'm very supportive."

While Zuck dips his toe into more fashionable wear, the fresher style is also working as a gentle rebrand from his heavily meme-ed robotic mannerisms. A stylist previously told Business Insider that shift could be part of a strategy to "make him approachable and show that he's a fun guy."

And it seems to be working.

After branching out to pieces ranging from a dragonfly-embellished suit to a gold, tiger-printed shirt, another person took to X to write, "Zuck's personal stylist and PR team are doing the lord's work."

• OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever left his company in May after a failed attempt to oust Sam Altman.
• He announced on June 19 that he would start a new AI project called "Safe Superintellgence Inc."
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Sutskever's past work sparked the "big bang of deep learning."

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had high praise for Ilya Sutskever, the OpenAI cofounder who left his company after a chaotic attempt to oust its chief executive, Sam Altman.

During a commencement speech on June 14 at the California Institute of Technology, the Nvidia cofounder name-dropped Sutskever and two other renowned computer scientists for their pioneering work on a convolutional neural network (CNN) called AlexNet, which is a program that can conduct image recognition.

The CNN relied on Nvidia's graphics processing units or GPUs — the very chips that turned the tech company into a multi-trillion dollar company amid the AI boom — to successfully recognize more than a million high-resolution images in 2012, according to the research paper on AlexNet. The model was designed by Alex Krizhevksy, Geoffrey E. Hinton, and Sutskever.

"Geoff Hinton, Alex Krizhevsky, and Ilya Sutskever used Nvidia CUDA GPUs to train AlexNet and shocked the computer vision community by winning the 2012 ImageNet challenge," Jensen said, referring to the challenge, in which teams of researchers compete to see which one of their programs can most accurately recognize images. "This was the big moment, the big bang of deep learning. A pivotal moment that marked the beginning of AI revolution."

A 2017 article from Quartz attributed the 2012 competition as the "single event" that sparked the artificial intelligence boom as AlexNet swept its competitors.

"Well, I endorse his comment, that's all I can say :)" Krizhevsky said in a brief email to Business Insider.

Sutskever and Hinton did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.

Three years after AlexNet, Sutskever started OpenAI with Altman, Elon Musk, and a team of researchers.

His tenure as OpenAI's chief scientist ended in May, six months after he and the company's board members pushed to oust Altman in November.

Business Insider reported that his role in the chaotic attempt to remove Altman clouded his future at OpenAI. Sutskever later said he regretted his decision to support Altman's dismissal.

In June, a month after he announced that he would leave the company he cofounded, Sutskever said he was starting a new artificial intelligence venture: Super Safeintelligence Inc., a research lab.

The lab stated in a release that Super Safeintelligence Inc. has "one goal and one product: a safe superintelligence."

A spokesperson for Super Safeintelligence did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside business hours.

• Maye Musk, the mother of Elon Musk, is really popular in China.
• The model and dietician is also singing Tesla's praises while in China.
• Meanwhile Tesla car sales and its market share in China are lagging.

Maye Musk, Elon Musk's mom, is a celebrity in her own right.

The 76-year-old model, dietician, and parent of one of the richest men on Earth has 1.5 million Instagram followers and has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, among others.

But you know who really loves Maye Musk? China.

A new report in The Wall Street Journal details just how much.

"Chinese people like women whose image is elegant and sophisticated," Nadira Aisikaer, a Chinese makeup artist who said she was starstruck when she did Musk's makeup last year, told the outlet. "Western celebrities who are too sexy or bold can't get far in China."

Altman Peng, a professor at the University of Warwick in the UK, told the Journal Musk was the "perfect idol" for Chinese women who want to have it all — a career and kids — and stay hot while doing it.

Musk's 2019 memoir was a bestseller in China, and she's become something of an influencer for Chinese brands, according to the Journal, which reported that after she posted on Chinese social-media about a $200 massage waistband, over 140,000 of them sold.

Musk has also been talking up her billionaire son's work while visiting China. On May 12, Musk posted a photo on Instagram, which is blocked in China, with the location marked Shanghai, of flowers Elon Musk sent her for Mother's Day. She also shared photos of Teslas that she had presumably taken while visiting China.

"People love their Teslas everywhere I go. How do you like these Tesla colors? They are having fun with them in China," she wrote in the caption.

Musk also said she got the flowers after doing a TV interview that included admiration for Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory.

The EV maker is dealing with lagging sales in China, the world's largest car market, despite earlier years of growth, amid increased competition from Chinese makers.

Tesla car sales in China were down 18% in April from a year prior, BI previously reported. Also in April Bloomberg reported that Tesla's share of the Chinese auto market fell from 10% to 7.5% over a year.

But Elon Musk isn't giving up China without a fight. He made a visit to the country in April, and BI's Nora Naughton previously reported that Elon Musk appeared to be sending in reinforcement to shore up its business in China.

Maybe his mom can help.

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

• A Southwest Airlines flight dropped to just 525 feet above the ground on Wednesday.
• The incident prompted an altitude warning and an FAA investigation.
• A Southwest flight dropped dangerously low off the coast of Hawaii in April. 

A Southwest Airlines flight dropped dangerously low over an Oklahoma town while preparing to land on Wednesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Southwest Flight 4069 after the aircraft descended to just 525 feet above the ground, the agency said this week.

"After an automated warning sounded, an air traffic controller alerted the crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 4069 that the aircraft had descended to a low altitude nine miles away from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City," the FAA said in a statement.

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

The plane was just above Yukon, Oklahoma, when its altitude prompted an alert, according to flight radar data, which shows the incident occurred right after midnight on Wednesday.

An air controller at the airport issued an altitude alert to the plane's crew, asking if the pilot was "good," according to CNN.

The Boeing 737-800 jet quickly adjusted and momentarily re-ascended before landing safely at the airport.

A spokesperson for Southwest told Business Insider said the airline is following its "robust" safety management system and has been in contact with the FAA in an effort to "understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft's approach to the airport."

"Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees," the spokesperson said.

In April, a Southwest flight nearly crashed into the ocean after a pilot accidentally sent the plane into a dive off the coast of Hawaii. A less experienced pilot caused the plane to plummet from an altitude of 1,000 feet to just 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean in a matter of seconds amid bad weather, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

• A jury will return to Manhattan court on Monday to decide the fate of Tyrese Haspil.
• Haspil said his extreme emotional disturbance led to the brutal slaying of tech CEO Fahim Saleh.
• But Haspil's activity on a dating app undermined that argument, the prosecution said.

A Manhattan jury is about to decide the fate of Tyrese Haspil, the 25-year-old former personal assistant on trial for the brutal murder of his boss, tech CEO Fahim Saleh.

An attorney for Haspil, who has been standing trial in New York Supreme Criminal Court, argued that he was so in love with his girlfriend and terrified that she would leave him, he became extremely emotionally disturbed, leading him to kill Saleh.

But prosecutors said Haspil was active on Bumble, a popular dating app, while he was dating his girlfriend — attempting to undermine claims that he was mad with his love for her at the time of the killing.

During closing arguments at the start of the day, public defender Sam Roberts argued Haspil deserved the jury's "deliberate, comprehensive consideration of why" he slayed his former boss, whose family sat stoically in the pews of the courtroom gallery.

"Why did Tyrese do this terrible, irrevocable thing? Why? That's the only major question," Roberts told the jury, arguing that his client was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance, or EED.

If the jury buys it, Haspil would be guilty of manslaughter instead of murder, significantly reducing his prison sentence.

Saleh was the CEO of Gokada, a ride-hailing and delivery service Gokada based in Nigeria.

Saleh's cousin found him beheaded and dismembered in his $2.4 million Lower Manhattan condo on July 14, 2020.

Haspil, his former personal assistant, admitted after his arrest to stabbing Saleh to death to hide a $400,000 embezzlement, and then sawing him into six pieces to hide his corpse.

Roberts tried to convince the jury that, for Haspil, the thought of potentially being abandoned by his girlfriend was "worse than the thought of killing this innocent person." Haspil was so compelled by "his first real relationship" with Marine Chauveau, who was about to return to France upon her visa's expiration, that he had to embezzle his boss's money to shower her with gifts for her birthday.

"However warped it may seem to us," Roberts said, "for Tyrese, Marine was his whole world."

Haspil had spent years embezzling from Saleh, who was giving him a chance to pay the money back without getting the police involved. Those thefts spiked when he got into the relationship, Roberts told the jury, referencing a graph of the embezzlements over time.

In his extremely emotionally disturbed state, Haspil believed homicide was his only path forward because "it would provide a little more time" with his girlfriend before he would inevitably go to prison for embezzlement, Roberts said.

When it was the government's turn to make closing arguments, prosecutor Linda Ford popped the love bubble.

Not only did Haspil plan the murder months in advance, Ford argued, but he was also on Bumble while he was supposedly obsessively in love with his girlfriend.

"This is about his lifestyle," Ford said, underscoring how Haspil lived in a penthouse and traveled by helicopter before he even met Chauveau. "This is not about a birthday party. This is about murdering Fahim Saleh."

After closing arguments, Judge April Newbauer told the jury they would begin deliberations Monday morning.

• Kate Middleton celebrated Prince William's birthday by sharing a photo of him and their children.
• The picture was more relaxed and candid than photos they'd previously shared of their family.
• Experts told Business Insider that the photo's tone may help shift the narrative on Will and Kate.

After months of turmoil, the tides finally appear to be turning in Prince William and Kate Middleton's favor.

Following a planned abdominal surgery in January, months of chemotherapy that began in February, and speculation about her well-being amid her extended absence from the public eye, Kate made a triumphant return to royal duty when she attended Trooping the Colour on Saturday.

Her appearance marked a shift in the Prince and Princess of Wales' public image, as Kate and William were photographed as a united front for the first time since 2023.

The couple seemed to build on that momentum on Friday when Kate celebrated William's birthday with a surprisingly candid photo of him and their three children on their social media channels.

The lighthearted photo was a welcome change from the more formal approach they've taken to their public relations strategy in the past.

Kate and William shared a photo of the prince with his children for his birthday

In the photo, Princess Charlotte, Prince William, Prince Louis, and Prince George jump in the air on a beach, each sporting a big smile.

According to the picture's caption, which the Princess of Wales signed herself, Kate took the photo sometime in 2024.

"Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx," the caption read.

The picture's background looked similar to a shot the Prince and Princess of Wales shared for Father's Day on Sunday, in which William stood with his arms around his children as they looked to the sea.

William and Kate have not acknowledged the Prince of Wales' birthday on their social media channels since 2021, and the last time they celebrated his birthday with candid family photos was 2020.

The photo they posted on Friday showed a silly and carefree side of the royals — particularly William — offering a stark contrast from photos like their posed 2023 Christmas card or even some of Kate and William's wedding photos.

The photo exudes positivity at a time when the royals need it

William and Kate often took a more traditional approach to their public image since they became a public couple, following decades-old royal practices such as avoiding public displays of affection.

Since 2021, they have tried to exude a more relatable image, but few photos have nailed it as well as their most recent post.

Eric Schiffer, the chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told Business Insider that the photo was a great move for the Prince and Princess of Wales' PR strategy.

"It projects strength, positivity, and resilience," he said of the photo. "It's a photo of a family united and strong irrespective of challenges and a nice strategic change that is inspiring and uplifting."

Kristen Meinzer, a royal watcher, told BI that the photo humanized William, in particular, in a new way.

"I think it's a really fun photo that shows a lot more personality than we normally see from William," she said. "I love the joyful energy and the fact that everyone feels alive and in motion."

However, Meinzer also said it "would have been nice to see a photo that also included Kate."

Kensington Palace has not released a new photo of William and Kate together in 2024, though they were photographed at Trooping the Colour.

"After all, birthdays are about celebrating life, and his life isn't just about fatherhood; it's also about being a husband," Meinzer said.

But Schiffer said presenting William as a parent first and foremost may be better long-term.

It's a strong move to paint William as a dutiful father

By intentionally posting a photo of William with just his children, Kate and William are sending a message that he is a father first — a father who is capable of stepping up for his children while their mother focuses on her health.

"I think it also highlights the fact that Kate doesn't have to do it all," Schiffer said.

"William can step up and be a dad and allow her to also have time for managing her health challenges, which is a mature message and will create even more connection with audiences," he said.

"This highlights the fact that Kate has a partner who is a strong father and can keep the family uplifted and united," he added.

Likewise, many members of the public may find William relatable as a father and leader in his family, which makes him seem like a future king "with a heart who cares, who is going to have his partner's back and will do the same for the country," Schiffer said.

Kate shared an update on her health on June 14, saying that she will be undergoing chemotherapy for a few more months but that she hopes to attend a handful of royal engagements over the summer.

Although William will continue to represent his family in person alone for a few more months, Kate's latest photo helps establish him as a normal, doting father who is more than prepared to protect the Wales brand until his wife returns to share the burden with him.

• Some Tesla and Starlink customers have said service at Elon Musk's companies needs to be improved.
• Despite Tesla's success, customers' complaints could tarnish the reputation of the business.  
• Here's a look at how to contact a human at Tesla customer support. 

As the carmaker ferociously grew sales, its footprint of Tesla service centers hasn't kept pace, resulting in long wait times and other customer service issues for some Tesla owners.

It's often difficult to reach an actual person when contacting the customer support services at big companies. But chat and other hacks can help a Tesla customer get help and report a problem.

Does Tesla have 24/7 customer service? 

Yes, Tesla has roadside assistance that is available 24/7. 

According to Tesla's website, you can request immediate roadside assistance from the bottom of the Tesla app home screen. In your request, include any information that may help our team locate you and best understand the condition of your vehicle.

To request roadside assistance from your Tesla app:

1. Open the app and select 'Roadside.'
2. Select the issue(s) your vehicle is experiencing.
3. Confirm any additional details related to your request.
4. Select 'Request help.'

Services covered include breakdowns, flat tires, lockouts, and depleted batteries. 

How do you report a problem at Tesla?

To chat with Tesla support directly, you can use the chat function on their site. You can also call their support line at 1 888-518-3752. Reaching a human on the support phone line can be difficult, but if you call from a number not associated with a Tesla account, the prompts will offer you options to reach a person, including charging questions, vehicle and software issues, or password and account issues.

Does Tesla have good customer service?

Although Tesla stock is valued at more than $600 billion and as of January 2023, SpaceX was valued at $137 billion, experts said customers' complaints could tarnish the SpaceX and Tesla's reputation.

Tesla complaints have rolled in from customers about fixing repairs, lack of contact, and long wait times.

A class-action lawsuit is currently underway in California regarding arduous and expensive Tesla repairs. A group of Tesla owners allege that Tesla is monopolizing the market for repairs and parts for its vehicles, forcing customers to endure extensive repair times and costly parts — all under threat of losing their warranty coverage if they sought repairs or service from companies other than Tesla.

In court documents, Tesla denied the antitrust allegations and said its warranties and practices were "perfectly lawful."

Twelve electric vehicle owners previously spoke to Business Insider about problems with Tesla vehicles. Some commented on how slow and unresponsive Tesla's customer service was, while others said it was quick and easy.

Customer Steven Banks told Business Insider that simple repairs have left his car stranded at the Tesla shop for weeks. He doesn't feel like Tesla treats its customers as well as other luxury dealerships do and is frustrated that he can't get a customer service rep on the phone. Banks is a longtime Tesla fan in Massachusetts who sold his Model S and has a new Model Y on the way. 

"The customer service is lousy," Banks said. "They get away with it because the products are fantastic."

Tim Levin contributed to this story.

A year after the Titan submersible imploded, killing five people, an Ohio real estate investor aims to prove that exploring Titanic-level depths is safe.