Tag: News

• Jony Ive said the device he's working on with OpenAI will be available in less than two years.
• Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remain mostly mum on what the mysterious device will be.
• Altman said he wants the device to feel vastly different than what's currently available.

Sam Altman and Jony Ive say they want OpenAI's mysterious device to be so irresistible that you might be tempted to eat it. But the pair recently revealed that at least one attempt wasn't that appetizing.

"There was an earlier prototype that we were quite excited about, but I did not have any feeling of, I want to pick up that thing and take a bite out of it," Altman said during an onstage conversation last week with Ive moderated by Laurene Powell Jobs at the Emmerson Collective's DemoDay. "And then, finally, we got there all of a sudden."

Altman said it was Ive who came up with the unusual-sounding test.

"I remember he said once early on, we'll know we have the design right?" Altman said. "I don't remember whether he said, when you want to lick it or take a bite out of it, or something like that."

A later prototype, Altman said, "finally got there."

Altman and Ive have continued to stay mostly mum about the details of OpenAI's long-awaited consumer device, which led the frontier model maker to team up with Ive, the legendary iPhone designer. After persistent prodding, Ive told Jobs that the OpenAI device will be available in "even less than" two years.

In May, OpenAI announced that it was buying Ive's AI hardware startup, IO, for roughly $6.5 billion. The pair also revealed that they were collaborating on a "family of AI products." Consumer devices are just one of the many industries OpenAI is trying to disrupt.

When people see their device, Altman said he hopes their reaction is, "That's it."

"Like it is so simple, but then it just does, as we were talking about, AI can do just so much for you that so much can fall away," Altman said. "And the degree to which Jony has chipped away at every little thing that this doesn't need to do or doesn't need to be in there is remarkable."

Altman said that he and Ive want their device to spark joy, a feeling he contrasted with how using current devices feels like "walking through Times Square" as users are bombarded by notifications.

"I understand how we got here, but I don't think it's making any of our lives peaceful and calm and just letting us focus on other stuff," he said.

Ive said that the best-designed products come with a "sense of inevitability" that belies the amount of thought and care that went into their creation.

"I can't bear products that are like a dog wagging their tail in your face, or products that are so proud that they solved a complicated problem, they want to remind you of how hard it was," he said. "I love solutions that teeter on appearing almost naive in their simplicity."

• My mom and I went to Italy to celebrate her retirement and tried to avoid the most touristy spots.
• We skipped popular cities like Florence and Rome and visited smaller ones, like Ravenna and Padua.
• They were relaxing and had few crowds. Next time we're in Italy, we'll visit other smaller cities.

When my mom retired, I wanted to celebrate with her in a big way. She wasn't interested in a traditional retirement party, so we planned a vacation instead.

Traveling with my mom has been one of my favorite ways to spend quality time together. Since we live on opposite sides of the country, it's a great way for us to see each other and explore the beautiful places around the world.

Since we had such a great trip to Italy last year, we decided to visit the country again for her retirement vacation. This time, however, we opted to skip the big cities in favor of less-popular destinations.

Rather than visiting places like Rome, Venice, and Florence, we traveled to smaller cities, like Padua and Ravenna.

By going off the beaten path, we hoped to find a more authentic Italian experience away from the crowds — and that's exactly what happened.

Cities like Rome and Venice can get overwhelmingly busy, but Italy has so much more to offer

When I brought my mom on her first trip to Italy last year, we prioritized visiting many of the country's main attractions, from the ancient ruins of Pompeii to St. Mark's Square in Venice.

Yet my mom's favorite moments from that trip were far away from the busy tourist areas. She enjoyed visiting crowded places like the Colosseum, but preferred our four-night stay in Sicily, where we had a peaceful getaway in Cefalù.

She loved sipping espresso in peaceful piazzas, strolling the waterfront promenade at sunset, and shopping at local markets.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of Rome, Cefalù's small size and lack of crowds was a breath of fresh air.

So, when I planned her retirement trip, I looked beyond the best-known destinations. I searched travel blogs for the "best day trips" from cities like Milan, Bologna, Venice, and Rome.

I wanted to find small cities with convenient access to the country's biggest airports and train stations, as this would make it easier to travel from place to place.

After some research, I booked stays in the small cities of Ravenna (about 50 miles from Bologna) and Padua (just over 20 miles away from Venice).

Not only do the cities have convenient access to Italy's major transportation hubs, but they also offer plenty of historical and cultural sights to discover.

We loved the quaint, local feel of Italy's smaller cities

Throughout our trip, I felt confident that we made the right choice by skipping Italy's big cities.

Our first stop, Ravenna, is known for its fifth- and sixth-century Byzantine mosaics.

My mom and I were awestruck by sites like the Basilica di San Vitale, which features floor-to-ceiling mosaics with spectacularly intricate designs.

Ravenna welcomes a lot of tourists, but most seemed to be visiting on day trips from nearby cities, such as Bologna.

Many of these tourists left Ravenna as the afternoon hit, leaving a local feel on the city's streets by evening. There were few crowds, and we never had to make dinner reservations — not even in the middle of the historic center.

In Padua, we encountered a similar scenario. Sites like the Basilica of St. Anthony and Scrovegni Chapel were busy in the morning, but most tourists seemed to be gone before it got dark.

Since Padua is only a 30-minute train ride from Venice, I also assume most visitors were on day trips.

As crowds dwindled in both Ravenna and Padua, my mom and I spent our evenings trying local cuisine and sipping cocktails at outdoor bars.

We loved tasting Ravenna's famed cappelletti pasta, and never missed an opportunity for an Aperol Spritz, which originated in the city of Padua.

Visiting smaller cities gave us the best of both worlds, and I'd do it again

Italy is among the most visited countries in Europe.

For context, Venice alone typically receives well over 10 million visitors a year. (Though growing in popularity as a tourist destination, Padua sees a fraction of that.)

There's merit in visiting super-popular places like Rome and Florence on your first trip to Italy. After all, sights like the Sistine Chapel and Duomo are world-famous for a reason, and you could spend weeks in each city without running out of things to do.

Yet for my mom and me, the downsides of these big cities outweigh the benefits.

Though the attractions are noteworthy, they're often overshadowed by overwhelming crowds, especially during the peak summer season, which coincided with our trip in late May.

Visiting Ravenna and Padua, on the other hand, gave us the best of both worlds. We made wonderful memories together while exploring each city's historical attractions, and loved spending quiet evenings wandering around picturesque city centers.

Next time we visit Italy, we'll be sure to skip the big cities again to discover even more of the country's lesser-known destinations.

• I compared apple pie recipes by Martha Stewart and Ina Garten.
• Garten's crust called for shortening and used more citrus.
• I preferred Stewart's pie for its taste and the simplicity of its preparation process.

Apple pie is a fall staple, but if you're anything like me, you've stuck to buying it from a grocery store or a bakery.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, I decided to try baking an apple pie from scratch, but as a novice baker, I didn't know which recipe to use.

So I decided to try two from cooking icons who know what they're talking about: Martha Stewart's Old-Fashioned Apple Pie and Ina Garten's Deep-Dish Apple Pie.

My official review? Making apple pie is not for the faint of heart. But if you're feeling ambitious, read this, learn from my mistakes, and make sure you have all the kitchen gadgets required.

Here's how Ina Garten's and Martha Stewart's apple pies compared.

The first step of any good pie is the crust. These are the ingredients I needed for Stewart's recipe.

Her recipe called for flour, butter, sugar, ice water, and salt.

The next step was to mix the flour, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor.

This is where I hit my first roadblock. My food processor wasn't big enough to fit all of the mixture, so I had to split it up and do multiple rounds of the mixture.

The recipe said to mix until it looked like "coarse meal" — I think it looks pretty accurate.

I then slowly mixed in ice water. Using cold ingredients like ice water and chilled butter helps keep the dough flaky for baking.

Since it would've been too difficult to portion out the water in the smaller food processor, I combined it all in my standing mixer.

After mixing in the water, I split the dough into two halves and put it in the fridge to chill.

That's for the top and bottom crusts. The recipe instructed that I should flatten both halves into discs.

This crust was pretty firm even before I put it away to chill. It didn't stick to the cutting board at all.

Next, I made Garten's crust.

Garten's recipe is similar bar one ingredient: It calls for flour, ice water, sugar, salt, butter, and shortening. I used Crisco.

The process was essentially the same, but this dough was much stickier.

Maybe it was the addition of the shortening; maybe I added too much ice water; maybe I made some other rookie mistake — but this dough was sticky.

I had to coat my hands in flour to get it out of the bowl and off the mixing tool.

I covered the cutting board in flour to counteract the stickiness of this dough.

It took a few minutes for me to successfully roll Garten's dough into a ball without leaving too much behind on the cutting board.

The Barefoot Contessa's recipe didn't say I should split the dough in half before chilling it, so I kept it in one ball.

I let them chill in the fridge overnight.

I decided I didn't have the mental fortitude to attempt making the pies on the same day, so I gave myself a full night to prepare.

The next day, I began making the filling for Garten's pie.

Both recipes recommended using Granny Smith apples, since they're firmer and don't get mealy when heated up.

Garten's recipe said to use 4 pounds of sliced apples. Thankfully, I had a food scale, otherwise I would've been eyeballing it. I ended up using nine large Granny Smith apples.

Next, I added spices and other flavorings.

I needed:

• A zested lemon
• A zested orange
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of fresh orange juice
• ½ cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ¾ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice

Thankfully, I have a manual juicer, otherwise I would've been in trouble.

Here's what it looked like when it was mixed.

I was concerned the orange zest and orange juice would make this taste a bit too citrusy, but I trusted the process — I was sure the Contessa would not lead me astray.

This is where things started to go wrong. The crust was simply too sticky to roll out.

It may look good here, but let me tell you, I thought this was going to be the death of me.

I had to use what felt like a gallon of flour to make sure this wasn't getting stuck to my hands, the rolling pin, or the board. I couldn't believe that after nearly a full day in the fridge, it was still this soft.

Once I finally got it to a good size and texture, I couldn't get it into the pie dish. It was sticking to the board.

My only solution was to put the dish on top and then flip it over.

Flour was everywhere. But at this point I was so frustrated that covering my kitchen with flour was a price I was willing to pay.

But wouldn't you know — even after flipping it upside down, the crust was still partially stuck to the cutting board.

It took a couple of tries, but I eventually got the dough inside the dish. I piled the apples on top.

Although I was concerned there were too many apples, I had come this far following Garten's recipe and it was too late to turn back now.

Anyone who can perfectly crimp a pie's edges is a personal hero of mine.

I will never understand how people make this look easy. My crust was simultaneously too thin and not big enough.

If I stretched the top any more, the apples would start poking holes. But there wasn't enough to pinch the top and bottom together.

At some point, I gave up and brushed it with the egg wash (one egg and 1 tablespoon of water beaten together) all over, and sprinkled it with sugar.

This was not my finest work.

The pie baked for an hour and 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

To put it simply: It's not great looking. But I was excited to see how it tasted. Who cares if it wasn't at bakery quality?

Unfortunately, it didn't taste good either.

After letting it sit for a couple of hours, I excitedly dug in.

Besides the extreme sogginess of the bottom crust, which I know even the most experienced bakers have trouble with, I thought the orange taste was overpowering.

And unfortunately for me, I don't like orange-flavored things. So when I bit into this apple pie and it tasted like an orange pie, I almost gagged.

Once I got over the initial orange-forward flavor, I thought the crust and the apples tasted good. I especially liked a slice paired with vanilla ice cream.

But overall, I was not pleased with how this turned out.

I waited another day before attempting Stewart's recipe, which called for 12 apples.

After making Garten's recipe, I felt like I had been standing for two hours. My back couldn't take baking another full pie.

So the next day, I spent 10 minutes peeling, coring, and slicing 12 apples — three more than I had used for Garten's recipe.

I have to admit, for both Stewart and Garten's recipes, I probably should've cut the apples into smaller pieces, but I was already so tired from using the slicer that I just couldn't face any further work. Lesson learned!

The ingredients for the filling in Stewart's recipe were a little different.

This recipe called for:

• 2 tablespoons of flour
• ¾ cup of sugar
• The zest and juice of one lemon
• 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cloves

In other words: Compared to Garten's recipe, it contained less flour, more sugar, no oranges, more cinnamon, and cloves instead of allspice.

Neither bowl was big enough for me to toss the apples effectively, so I split them.

This is something writers like to call foreshadowing.

If Garten's dough was too sticky, Stewart's was a bit too firm.

Still, this experience was better. I'd take getting a workout while rolling dough over making a mess of my entire kitchen with flour and sticky dough any day.

In order to have a reasonably sized pie, I ended up having to ditch around two or three apples.

I should've known that I wasn't going to be able to fit all the apples in my pie dish, but I was still annoyed at the waste.

This recipe called for 2 tablespoons of butter to be cut and spread out on top of the apples before putting the top crust on.

When it was assembled, I thought it was way more recognizable as a pie, at least to me.

After I brushed this with the egg wash, crimped the edges, dusted it with sugar, and cut vents in the top, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

My first pie attempt wasn't even solid enough to cut vents into.

I breathed a sigh of relief when this came out of the oven.

It baked in the oven for an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is this the perfect-looking apple pie? No. But it's definitely better than my first try.

This was a lot less soggy, but also more hollow somehow.

After letting it sit for an hour, I cut into my pie. I was surprised to see how hollow the top was. It's possible I should've created bigger vents for steam to escape the pastry.

However, thankfully, it wasn't as soggy as my first pie.

I preferred the taste of this pie much more than Garten's recipe — this tasted like apples and cinnamon and sugar, not orange.

As my dad noted after taking a bite, it might not look great, but it tasted how it was supposed to.

If I had to recommend following one recipe, it'd be Martha Stewart's. But if you're a novice baker like me, honestly, I'd stick to store-bought.

I can confidently say I never want to bake apple pie again, and I definitely never want to make my own crust again.

If you prefer a tangier apple pie, then I'd say Ina Garten's is the one for you — just make sure you have buckets of flour on deck.

But if you're looking for a more classic sweet apple pie, go with Martha Stewart, although both pair deliciously with vanilla ice cream.

This was a challenge for me, someone who considers themselves an OK baker at best. This Thanksgiving, I'll be sticking with my Stop and Shop pies, thank you very much.

How tall could we really build? After a century of competition, skyscrapers are reaching new extremes: Saudi Arabia's upcoming 1-kilometer-tall Kingdom Tower in Jeddah is set to triple the Empire State Building's height. In this episode of "The Limit," we climbed inside the hidden parts of the world's tallest towers and talked to the people who built them to ask: What would it take to build a mile-high tower? Who would pay for it? And why do we keep reaching higher?

• I lived in New York City for three years, but decided to return to my hometown Upstate.
• I don't miss the small living arrangements, cost of living, and hustle culture in NYC.
• However, I do miss things like the city's walkability and world-class experiences.

I always knew I'd live in New York City, and when the time came, I made the most of it. During my three years in the city, I experienced world-class entertainment, explored hidden gems in every borough, and built my dream career as a writer.

But last year, when I decided I was ready to start a family and (finally) save money, there was only one place I considered moving to: Rochester, my hometown in Upstate New York.

Do I ever catch myself wishing I could walk through Central Park on my way to a Broadway show? Of course. But do I also remember why I left when I load groceries into my car instead of schlepping them 10 blocks in the freezing rain? Absolutely.

Here's what I miss the most — and the least — about life in the Big Apple.

I miss New York City's walkability and convenient public transit.

On my first day of work in Manhattan, I decided to walk an hour from my apartment on the Upper East Side to my office in the Flatiron neighborhood, simply because I could.

On weekends, I'd amble aimlessly from street to street and avenue to avenue. I'd window shop in Midtown, photograph the brownstones in the West Village, and stroll through community gardens on the Upper West Side.

And when I wanted to explore boroughs farther away, there was the subway. For $2.90, I could try a new Greek restaurant in Astoria, take a trip to Coney Island, or enjoy an award-winning mochi doughnut in Williamsburg.

Today, I drive wherever I need to go. But in NYC, a swipe of my Metrocard was like a portal to another world.

I miss NYC's world-class experiences.

There's nothing quite like knowing the best food, culture, and entertainment are right outside your apartment door.

The city could satisfy whatever I was craving, whether it was hand-pulled noodles or delectable chocolate chip cookies.

When I needed to fill my night with unbridled laughter, I'd buy a last-minute ticket to the Comedy Cellar. For a quiet moment to read and write, I'd visit my favorite third place, the New York Public Library.

If I felt like being transported back in time, I'd snag a seat and a cocktail at one of many iconic jazz clubs, like Village Vanguard.

And all the world-renowned art museums, musicals, and talks at bookstores and cultural centers, like the 92nd Street Y, made my ridiculously high rent worth it.

I miss the abundance of career opportunities.

In my opinion, New York City is the mecca of creative careers, and as a writer chasing a variety of opportunities, I knew living there would set me up for success.

The steady stream of job listings proved that my dreams weren't so far-fetched — in fact, they were in demand. As an advertising and media hub, I thought it was the perfect place to pursue copywriting and journalism roles. And I knew that if I ever wanted to transfer my skills to another industry, I could do that, too.

Although Rochester boasts a growing startup scene, along with several marketing agencies, I plan to continue working remotely for global brands based in NYC for now.

On the other hand, I don't miss the pricey mixed drinks (and all other expenses).

As someone who believes they deserve a little treat every day, I know how quickly these "luxuries" can add up, especially in the city, which ranked as the 10th most expensive place to live in the US in 2025-2026 by US News & World Report.

For example, a cold brew from my favorite neighborhood café in the city costs $7.50 before tip — now it costs me just $4. Plus, a cocktail with a view of Lower Manhattan could easily come with a $32 price tag.

I also found that everything from a grocery run to a standard haircut costs more in New York City.

I'm happy to have left the small living spaces behind.

When I moved to Manhattan, I was lucky to score a beautiful apartment in a pre-war building — but what I didn't take into consideration was the massive rent increases each year.

With a large dog and plans to start a family, I knew it was time to trade our one-bedroom unit for a four-bedroom house.

Now, I have a backyard, a nursery for my baby, a dedicated office, and a spacious kitchen to cook and entertain — all while spending approximately $1,500 less each month.

I don't miss the hustle culture.

In my experience, a thriving career in NYC came with a cost: a lack of work-life balance.

Success required sacrifice — I found that long, often stressful hours were expected in order to climb the corporate ladder. As passionate as I am about my career, I want to work to live, not live to work — and my current role allows me to do so.

Although my employer is based in Manhattan, I work from the comfort of my own home, enjoying all the flexibility this brings.

Overall, the unforgettable years I spent in NYC brought me where I am today. There's no city like New York City, but there's no home like a hometown.

• The day after Thanksgiving, my mom always prepares a leftover stuffing "brunch bake."
• The recipe calls for five simple ingredients, including 2 cups of leftover stuffing.
• I think it's the perfect warm, hearty meal to start the holiday season.

If your family traditions are anything like mine, Thanksgiving weekend serves as the official kickoff to the holiday season.

Every year, 18 of us gather to enjoy a classic feast, including everything from Italian staples like cavatelli with homemade tomato sauce and meatballs, to turkey, sweet potato casserole, and my personal favorite: sausage-cranberry stuffing.

The best part about our stuffing is that it has a second life as the star ingredient in my mom's leftover stuffing "brunch bake."

Whether you're a novice in the kitchen or want something quick and easy to whip up, this recipe always comes in clutch. In fact, it takes roughly seven minutes to put together before popping it into the oven to bake.

When it's done, I think it delivers an ideal blend of stuffing, egg, and melted cheese. Here's how to make it.

This recipe calls for five simple ingredients, including leftover stuffing.

What I love most about this recipe (other than it being a family heirloom of sorts) is the simplicity. The main ingredient — leftover stuffing — is already made and ready to be placed in the casserole dish.

For Thanksgiving, my mom prepares a more elaborate stuffing, but for any cozy night of the week, you can whip up a simple stovetop option — with or without sausage and cranberries added to the mix.

As for the remaining ingredients, you only need eggs, butter, milk, and your cheese(s) of choice.

To start, I preheat the oven, grease a casserole dish, and add a layer of stuffing.

The first step is to preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit, and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish using butter or cooking spray.

Then, I spread 2 cups of leftover stuffing across the dish, making sure it's perfectly distributed in one even layer.

Next, I whisk together eggs, milk, and cheese.

Next, I add 4 eggs, ½ cup of milk, and ½ cup of Monterey Jack cheese to a large bowl and whisk thoroughly.

In addition to the stuffing itself, you can also customize the cheese(s) you decide to use. I think cheddar, muenster, or Swiss cheese also work nicely, but you can choose whatever your taste buds prefer.

Then, I pour the mixture over the stuffing and top with more sliced cheese and butter before baking.

Once the mixture is combined, I pour it over the stuffing, then top the dish with more sliced cheese and a few dabs of butter — 2 tablespoons to be exact.

To finish, I pop the dish in the oven uncovered and bake it for about 30 minutes, or until the eggs are completely cooked. However, keep in mind that the cook time may vary slightly based on your oven.

After giving the bake a few minutes to cool, it's ready to enjoy.

Once the timer dings, I allow the bake to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Starting our day with this warm, hearty "brunch bake" truly makes the morning after Thanksgiving seamless. Plus, it's something I look forward to as we celebrate the season with traditions like getting a new Christmas tree, decorating, and tailgating.

I love that recipes like this put leftovers to good use, help cut down on food waste, and take minimal time away from our weekend activities.

• A United Airlines plane made a U-turn over the mid-Atlantic and returned to New York on Monday.
• The flight from Newark to Cape Town turned back after a medical issue, United told Business Insider.
• 236 passengers and 14 crew were in the air for over eight hours before landing back in Newark.

Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Newark to South Africa faced an unexpected ordeal when the plane turned back over the Atlantic Ocean.

United Flight 1122 departed Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday evening at 8:32 p.m. local time, bound for Cape Town, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 and FlightAware.

However, instead of completing its nearly 8,000-mile journey, the Boeing 787-9 got four hours into the flight and roughly a quarter of the way to Cape Town when it made a U-turn mid-Atlantic and flew back another four hours to the US.

The Dreamliner, tail number N24988, landed safely at Newark around 5:03 a.m. Monday, roughly eight and a half hours after takeoff.

A United Airlines spokesperson told Business Insider the plane returned "to address a medical issue with a customer."

"The flight was met by medical personnel on arrival," the spokesperson said. "Customers were rebooked and will be on their way today."

236 passengers and 14 crew members were on board at the time of the incident.

The Newark-Cape Town route is one of United's longest, typically taking nearly 14 hours nonstop.

For travelers expecting a sunrise over South Africa, the turnaround meant they instead saw the New York skyline again before breakfast.

United has since rescheduled the service for Monday evening, giving passengers another shot at making the 7,800-mile trek — hopefully this time, all the way to Cape Town.

• An AI researcher advised Gen Z to focus on tasks and AI skills rather than job titles.
• Human judgment, oversight, and social skills remain essential.
• Workers who can use AI effectively will be best positioned before deeper automation begins.

Gen Z is graduating into a labor market reshaped by AI pilots, hiring freezes, and jittery managers.

That doesn't mean a jobs cliff is imminent, said James Ransom, a research fellow at University College London, who studies the impact of AI on work.

But it does mean the rules of entry into the job market are changing fast — and the smartest move isn't to chase prestigious titles, he said, but to understand the tasks inside those jobs, then show how you can supervise and scale AI to do them more effectively.

"I do think in the short term there's a potential productivity dividend, or a windfall that people need to be trying to grab," Ransom told Business Insider.

"That doesn't mean that you just wholeheartedly embrace AI for the sake of it. It does mean critically looking at what it might do — particularly things where a human is still needed in the loop, but they might be able to be supercharged in what they do," he said.

Audit the work, not the role

Ransom's thinking builds on research from global institutions, including the IMF, OECD, and the World Bank, which have mapped automation risk by breaking jobs into their component tasks.

Ramson specifically pointed to an International Labour Organization report released in May.

It found that few jobs are fully automatable, since most include tasks that require human input — a nuance Ramson said is often lost when people label entire jobs as either secure or doomed.

"You look at these indices and, you might say, 'Okay there's a job here, senior accountant, where eight out of nine tasks are potentially exposed,'" he said.

"However, when you start to look closely, you see that the ninth one that's not exposed is managing a team and quality checking. That's pretty indispensable, so that doesn't mean this one is necessarily at risk," he said, clarifying that this is a hypothetical example.

Ransom said the key for Gen Z is to demonstrate AI fluency.

"Your typical organization does not have people who understand what an LLM is, what its strengths or limitations are," he said.

He said that for younger workers, this era favors those who can show their skills through measurable impact.

"Particularly where you can point to actual gains or time savings," he said.

"Whether it's X number of outputs that you achieved or time saved, accuracy, and how then that can be replicated — where you've got a playbook," he added.

The human advantage

Ransom sees the present AI rollout as a brief window of opportunity before the real disruption begins.

Companies are still in an "augmentation" phase, he said, where people can use AI to boost productivity — but that could eventually give way to "a crunch" as automation matures and headcounts shrink.

He compared it to the ATM era, when banks initially hired more staff before reducing their workforce once the technology took hold.

The same cycle, he said, may now be unfolding across white-collar industries: firms hire to experiment, expand, then trim the excess.

The pace of that shift, he added, will be uneven, hitting local labor markets and industries at different speeds.

Even as he studies automation risk, Ransom rejects both utopian and dystopian narratives.

"I certainly don't think we're heading towards a tech utopia where everyone lives happily ever after," he said. "I also don't think we're heading towards imminent superintelligence."

He expects the "human-in-the-loop" era — where a human checks and guides AI — to probably last three to five years, with oversight, judgment, and persuasion remaining indispensable.

"To safeguard yourself, do the things that AI can't," he said. "Particularly things that involve interaction, social skills, leadership, oversight of things, and being able to use AI to solve problems."

• I made sweet potato pies using recipes from chefs Trisha Yearwood, Carla Hall, and Alton Brown.
• Yearwood's pie was simple but a bit watery, and Brown's fell apart as I ate it.
• I thought Hall had the best recipe, which called for a homemade pie crust.

Nothing screams fall quite like sweet potato pie. So, I decided to try recipes from three celebrity chefs — Carla Hall, Trisha Yearwood, and Alton Brown — to see how they would compare.

Each varied in difficulty, as some used premade pie crusts and one required making each component by hand.

Here's how each sweet potato pie stacked up.

Before making Hall's pie, I needed to prepare the dough.

Though the other recipes I tested called for premade pie dough or canned sweet potatoes, Hall's version of the pie didn't come with shortcuts.

Per the recipe's instructions, I roasted 2 pounds of sweet potatoes for nearly two hours, and then scooped out the filling of each to make the custardy pie.

The recipe also called for making pie dough from scratch using sugar, salt, all-purpose flour, and unsalted butter. I dissolved the sugar and salt in hot water, let the mixture cool, and then combined it with cold, cubed butter and flour.

Once I formed the dough, I chilled it until it was firm. Making the dough was a little time-consuming, but overall, it was one of the easiest homemade pie crusts I've made.

Once the dough was done, I gathered the rest of the ingredients.

Hall's recipe called for eggs, evaporated milk, light-brown sugar, butter, salt, and an assortment of spices.

Most of the ingredients were simple except for the hand-mashed sweet potatoes and homemade pie dough. 

Hall's pie filling was very smooth.

To make the filling, I mixed the mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, salt, butter, brown sugar, and evaporated milk until the mixture was smooth.

Then, I whisked in the eggs and the filling was complete.

Next, I shaped my dough.

I rolled out the dough and placed it in my baking dish, pinching the edges to form a uniform crust.

I was concerned when the bottom of the crust became cracked.

Though the pie crust rolled out easily and looked flawless, things changed once I put the pie tin in the freezer.

I noticed the pie had cracks along the bottom. I tried to close them by gently pushing the dough around those areas but they were still there even after a blind bake. I had to hope the filling would be thick enough to not seep through the bottom of the crust.

I added the filling and baked the pie at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Per the recipe, I then reduced the temperature to 350 degrees and baked the pie for about 40 more minutes.

In the end, Hall's dessert was delicious and reminded me of pumpkin pie.

After about five hours of prepping, baking, and cooling, my pie was ready to eat.

It had a great structure, and the crust was durable even with the cracks. The filling held together well, and nothing fell apart as I ate. 

I thought the crust was a little bland on its own, so I probably won't nibble on this part of the pie by itself. But when eating the crust and filling together, this pie was excellent.

The filling was sweet but not overly so, and the spices subtly came through.

Yearwood had the simplest sweet potato pie recipe.

I don't mind having some easy recipes in my back pocket so I was excited to find that Yearwood's sweet potato pie was made with simple ingredients but didn't skimp on special touches, like a sugary crust.

The recipe called for either canned or roasted and peeled sweet potatoes, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and homemade or store-bought pie crust.

Because the other two recipes I tested called for roasted and steamed potatoes, I decided to use a canned version here. I also opted for a store-bought crust.

Yearwood's filling came together quickly.

Using canned sweet potatoes and store-bought crust made this recipe incredibly quick to make.

I just had to combine the ingredients in an electric mixer, pour the filling into the frozen pie crust, and add sugar on top. Then, I let the pie stand for 15 minutes so the sugar could fully melt before baking.

The sugary topping seemed to be Yearwood's secret weapon.

The only problem I ran into was the low oven temperature, 300 degrees. The recipe said the pie only needed to bake for about one hour, but when I checked on it, the filling was still too wet and the crust was nowhere near browned. 

After about one hour and 40 minutes in the oven, the pie was ready. The sugar on top formed a delicate, delicious-looking crust over the filling.

Yearwood's pie tasted good, but the texture wasn't perfect.

Yearwood's pie was sweeter than the others, but I could still taste the sweet potato and the spices. 

The only issue was that the filling was a little bit watery for me. The pie still held together well but I wished the filling was slightly firmer.

In the future, I'd try baking this pie at 325 or even 350 degrees and extend the baking time to see if it helps improve the texture.

I looked forward to the maple-pecan topping on Brown's sweet potato pie.

Brown's sweet potato pie combined a from-scratch sweet potato mash and a premade, frozen pie crust. The filling itself called for plain yogurt, dark-brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, egg yolks, and salt.

I was excited to try the topping, which consisted of chopped, toasted pecans and a drizzle of maple syrup. I figured the maple syrup and pecans would perfectly complement the sweet potato pie.

I used a makeshift steamer and prepared my sweet potatoes.

I started by peeling and cubing a very specific 1 pound and 3 ounces of sweet potatoes, which needed to be steamed for the filling.

I don't have a steamer basket, so I made do with a soup pot that had an inner straining basket. I propped it up above the water in the pot with some crumpled aluminum foil.

I let the potatoes steam until they were really soft, which took about 30 minutes, and then put them in the fridge to cool.

The filling looked similar to the others, despite having yogurt in it.

Next, I combined the sweet potatoes with the other ingredients, which included plain yogurt and five large egg yolks.

I tried to make Brown's pie and topping look as perfect as possible before baking.

Then, I poured the filling into the pie crust and added the highly anticipated topping.

I baked the pie at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Brown's pie tasted too much like yogurt for me, and it didn't maintain its shape.

Though I let the pie cool in the fridge before serving, I found the crust didn't hold up. The instability wasn't a huge deal to me — obviously, I like it when the pie looks neat, but I think flavor is the most important part. 

Unfortunately, Brown's pie missed the mark for me. Despite using a small amount of plain yogurt, it was the strongest flavor in the filling. I thought the pie was too tangy and earthy, and I didn't get any sweetness or spice.

I like many of Brown's dessert recipes but don't think I'd try this one again.

Though it took the longest to make, Hall's pie was well worth my time.

Though I enjoyed Yearwood's sweet potato pie and the crispy pecan topping on Brown's version, Hall's dessert was my favorite. Even my partner, who has pretty discerning tastes (my polite way to say he can be a bit picky), said he loved Hall's pie.

The only thing I might add to Hall's pie is the sugar-topping trick I picked up from Yearwood. I think a slightly crisp, sugary topping on Hall's pie would make it even more delicious.

This story was originally published on October 24, 2023, and most recently updated on November 24, 2025.

• Jay Neo landed a dream job with MrBeast at the age of 18.
• Now 21, he is the cofounder of a new creator economy AI startup called Palo.
• Palo is launching out of stealth with $3.8 million in funding.

What actually makes a video go viral?

Jay Neo, the 21-year-old self-described "content nerd" who formerly worked for YouTube's most-followed creator, MrBeast, has been obsessed with finding the answer to that question since he was a teenager.

Neo spent his teen years running Discord servers for games like Minecraft and making short-form video content.

The key metric Neo had his eyes on was retention: Are people sticking around for the whole video? Or are they scrolling away?

Neo said he meticulously studied each video's retention graph to see where people were dropping off. Understanding how and why someone might scroll past a video can help creators course-correct for the next video.

This focus on retention helped land him his job with MrBeast at 18, Neo said, where he worked on short-form content strategy.

The goal post at MrBeast?

"You want to make a video that a billion people would want to watch," Neo told Business Insider.

One video Neo worked on — "Would You Fly To Paris For A Baguette?" — racked up over 1 billion views. In the short video, MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, asks someone if they'd fly to Paris to bring back a baguette for $100. After the first person said no, he upped the ante to $300.

The hook of escalating offers in that video is an example of "stair stepping," Neo explained, a format that he and the MrBeast team tweaked from similar videos popular on TikTok to "Beastify" it — meaning it had to be at least a little "absurd." Neo said this led to a new formula for the Beast team, where someone would travel far and bring something back.

"At Beast, and everything I've ever done, we found formulas," Neo said. Often, there were droves of data behind those winning video formulas.

After his stint at MrBeast and running other content accounts, Neo is launching a new AI startup for content creators called Palo.

Using AI to crack algorithms

For the past year and a half, Neo and his cofounders — Shivam Pankaj Kumar (who's held engineering roles at Microsoft and Palantir) and content creator Harry Jones — have been building Palo AI, a personalized toolkit for creators. Creators feed Palo's AI their entire content catalog, and the startup's AI then dissects that material.

Large-language AI models "are a perfect thing not for replacing the creator, but for analyzing every little thing," Neo said.

The platform analyzes elements like a video's "hook" — the first few seconds that need to convince the viewer to keep watching — and presents creators with patterns "in a simple way so that you can make better decisions, make tiny tweaks, get way more views," Neo said.

The creator economy startup is coming out of stealth with $3.8 million in funding from PeakXV, NFX, EdgeCase Capital, and several angel investors, including ex-MrBeast head of vertical platforms Rohan Kumar.

"The challenge today is that to keep up with the latest viral hooks and strategies to beat the algorithm, you have to spend hours per day getting brain-rotted consuming content," said Josh Constine, who invested in Palo via his fund Unexpected Investments. "Palo goes and does that research grunt work for you so creators can stay in flow and stick to their craft."

The funding is going toward overhead AI computing costs and hiring engineering talent, Neo said. Palo's team of eight works out of a house in Palo Alto, California.

The platform's technology is powered by a "cocktail" of AI models, including OpenAI and Google Gemini. The product has been available to creators with over 1 million followers, and Palo is expanding to include creators with 100,000 followers or more. The startup plans to introduce a subscription model that will cost $250 a month, Neo said.

Palo's AI assists creators in writing scripts for short-form videos and outlining content with storyboards.

The platform also has its own network, where creators can follow one another. Neo said the company plans to expand features there, such as connecting creators within similar niches, as well as adding tools to introduce creators to potential advertising partners.

While there are dozens of generative AI startups people can use to help make content, Neo wants established creators to use Palo to analyze their existing content so that their videos can break through.