Welcome to the June issue of The Highlight
We live in an age where seemingly everything can be quantified, including the minutiae of our own biological processes. In this month's cover story, we take a look at health tracking, which has evolved from step-counting to something much more complex. It's a thorny question: Is all this data helping us be healthier, or is it actually hurting us?
On the political front, we explore if the death of reading has poisoned our politics. Two stories about AI help round out the issue: One interrogates how much we should worry about the suffering of AI systems. The other provides some guidance around how to deal with cheating students. Plus, what should in-law relationships really be like? And is the new grad job market as bleak as it's made out to be?
By Sigal Samuel
By Adam Clark Estes
By Eric Levitz
What do you actually owe your in-laws?
By Allie Volpe
Coming June 4
Am I torturing ChatGPT?
By Sigal Samuel
Coming June 5
What today's new college graduates are up against
By Rachel Cohen
Coming June 6
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What is a GPT?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The introduction of generative pre-trained transformers (GPTs) marked a significant milestone in the adoption and utility of artificial intelligence in the real world. The technology was created by the then fledgling research lab OpenAI, based on previous research done on transformers in 2017 by Google Labs. It was Google's white paper "Attention is all you need", which laid the foundation for OpenAI's work on the GPT concept. As seen in > Model matchup surprise > ChatGPT announcements > Goodbye ChatGPT-4 > Why ChatGPT 4.1 is a big deal Transformers provided AI scientists with an innovative method of taking user input, and converting it to something that could be used by the neural network using an attention mechanism to identify important parts of the data. This architecture also allows for the information to be processed in parallel rather than sequentially as with traditional neural networks. This provides a huge and critical improvement in speed and efficiency of AI processing. OpenAI's GPT architecture was released in 2018 with GPT-1. By significantly refining Google's transformer ideas, the GPT model demonstrated that large-scale unsupervised learning could produce an extremely capable text generation model which operated at vastly improved speeds. GPT's also uprated the neural networks' understanding of context which improved accuracy and provided human-like coherence. Before GPT, AI language models relied on rule-based systems or simpler neural networks like recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which struggled with long-range dependencies and contextual understanding. The story of the GPT architecture is one of constant incremental improvements ever year since launch. GPT-2 in 2019 introduced a model with 1.5 billion parameters, which started to provide the kind of fluent text responses where AI users are now familiar with. However it was the introduction of GPT-3 (and subsequently 3.5) in 2020 which was the real game-changer. It featured 175 billion parameters, and suddenly a single AI model could cope with a vast array of applications from creative writing to code generation. GPT technology went viral in November of 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT. Based on GPT 3.5 and later GPT-4, this astonishing technology instantly propelled AI into public consciousness in a massive way. Unlike previous GPT models, ChatGPT was fine-tuned for conversational interaction. Suddenly business users and ordinary citizens could use an AI for things like customer service, online tutoring or technical support. So powerful was this idea, that the product attracted a 100 million users in a mere 60 days. Today GPT is one of the top two AI system architectures in the world (along with Google's Gemini). Recent improvements have included multimodal capabilities, i.e. the ability to process not just text but also images, video and audio. OpenAI has also updated the platform to improve pattern recognition and enhance unsupervised learning, as well as adding agentic functionality via semi-autonomous tasks. On the commercial front, GPT powered applications are now deeply embedded in many different business and industry enterprises. Salesforce has Einstein GPT to deliver CRM functionality, Microsoft's Copilot is an AI assisted coding tool which incorporates Office suite automation, and there are multiple healthcare AI models which are fine-tuned to provide GPT powered diagnosis, patient interaction and medical research. At the time of writing the only two significant rivals to the GPT architecture are Google's Gemini system and the work being done by DeepSeek, Anthropic's Claude and Meta with its Llama models. The latter products also use transformers, but in a subtly different way to GPT. Google however is a dark horse in the race, as it's becoming clear that the Gemini platform has the potential to dominate the global AI arena within a few short years. Despite the competition, OpenAI remains firmly at the top of many leaderboards in terms of AI performance and benchmarks. Its growing range of reasoning models such as o1 and o3, and its superlative image generation product, GPT Image-1 which uses the technology, continue to demonstrate that there is significant life left in the architecture, waiting to be exploited.
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3 hours ago
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Alphabet stock could tumble 25% in a 'black swan' scenario that forces it to divest Google Chrome, Barclays says
There's a big risk hanging over Alphabet stock, Barclays says. The bank said Alphabet being forced to sell Chrome is a black swan scenario that could spark a 25% stock plunge. Tech firms like OpenAI have signaled interest in buying the platform. The worst-case scenario in Google's antitrust trial could slash Alphabet's stock price by as much as a quarter, according to Barclays. Analysts at the bank hashed out the various possibilities that could follow the decision in Google's antitrust case. Last year, a federal judge ruled that Alphabet operated a monopoly in online search and search advertising. The court is expected to decide on a remedy on the matter in the next several months. While it's unlikely, it is possible that a court decision forces Alphabet to divest Google Chrome to another owner, like Microsoft, Barclays floated in a client note on Monday. That would represent a black swan event for the stock, an unlikely but plausible tail risk that could lead to a major decline. If Alphabet were to divest Chrome, that could potentially hit earnings-per-share by more than 30%, the bank estimated, given that Chrome provides 35% of Google's search revenue and has around 4 billion users. The scenario could send its stock falling around 15%-25%, the bank estimated, partly because "no investors" the bank has spoken to are pricing in that scenario. "The probability of a Chrome divestiture, while low, has increased in our view," analysts wrote. "To our surprise, and this may have just been the style of the judge's approach to put the Google attorneys on the spot, he indicated that this might be the 'cleanest' remedy of the lot." Other tech firms, like ChatGPT creator OpenAI, have already said they might be interested in purchasing Chrome if it were up for sale. Barclays sees other remedies related to the trial that could be more likely. Google, for one, could provide its index to licensees in order to help its competitors. That could hit earnings per share around 10%-15%, and potentially spark a 5%-10% hit to the stock, the analysts estimated. The tech giant could also be forced to start a "phased roll off" of its traffic acquisition contracts, which means Google won't be able to pay third parties to direct users to its platform. That scenario could hit earnings per share by 10%-20%, potentially taking the stock down 5%-10%, they estimated. The Department of Justice, which initiated its suit against Google in 2020, said in a statement shortly after the federal ruling that it believed Google had "subverted competition" for more than 15 years. The Google parent has said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal the decision after remedies are decided. The Department of Justice's proposal to divest Chrome and Android, in particular, would hurt businesses and increase cybersecurity and national security risks, Alphabet said in a statement. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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3 hours ago
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Heavily shorted AI stock is rapidly climbing the Fortune 500
Heavily shorted AI stock is rapidly climbing the Fortune 500 originally appeared on TheStreet. Economic uncertainty in the U.S. may be high right now, and it may be rising even further, but some things aren't changing. One constant is Walmart's dominance on the Fortune 500 list, a ranking of companies based on their full-year revenue for the previous year. The retail giant continued to maintain its place at the top of the list for the 13th consecutive year, demonstrating an ability to rise through both good times and bad. 💵💰💰💵 However, the past year has brought new challenges for other companies, specifically those in the tech sector. Even the artificial intelligence (AI) field, which saw demand boom after the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, faced mass layoffs and trade complications from markets such as China. While even Nvidia, () the market's undisputed leader, struggled against high volatility, a surprising AI stock, mostly popular among short sellers, surged on the Fortune 500 in 2024. Most investors likely don't pay much attention to the lower parts of the Fortune 500. The list is long, and the same industry-leading companies tend to hover around the top 10, though even Amazon remains unable to unseat current top 10 rankings only include three tech companies, illustrating just how difficult a time the sector has had. But while big tech companies struggled in 2024, IT hardware producer Super Micro Computer () advanced 206 spots on the list, a feat that many experts likely weren't expecting. Known for its work designing and producing IT hardware such as storage systems, servers, and networking equipment, Super Micro Computer isn't an unknown company by any means. But last year, it made plenty of headlines for negative reasons, including accusations of accounting manipulation from short-seller Hindenburg Research. Since then, SMCI stock has been extremely volatile, but short interest in the company has surged. Data from Fintel shows that it currency accounts for almost 21% of the stock's float, considered an extremely high number. Earlier this year, it ranked among the most-shorted tech stocks, according to market research firm Hazeltree. Despite rising short interest, Super Micro Computer reported strong growth throughout the year, likely fueling its rise on the Fortune 500. Its revenue came in at just under $15 billion, a year-over-year (YOY) increase of 100%, and one-year profit growth reached $1.15 billion. As Fortune reports, 'The company's rise is largely due to its strategic position at the intersection of AI, cloud computing, and data center infrastructure, three of the fastest-growing areas in technology today.' More Tech Stock News: Salesforce makes a big bet on booming tech market Nvidia, Dell announce major project to reshape AI Analyst sets eye-popping Tesla stock price target Companies typically attract interest from short sellers, since they are perceived to be struggling but still have further to fall. Yet SMCI stock has performed well since this year began, with year-to-date (YTD) gains of almost 45%, indicating that short sellers may be in trouble. Given Super Micro Computer's clear progress but persisting short interest, some investors may have questions regarding how to approach the stock. After all, short sellers don't typically target companies with strong revenue and profit growth unless they believe such progress isn't expert believes that SMCI isn't a stock that investors should disregard. Managing Member/Advisor of The ABC Squared Marcus Sturdivant, Sr. spoke to TheStreet about the opportunity he believes it represents. 'The ecosystem that should have been Intel's seems to be occupied by SMCI for now,' he states. 'They scaled on their close working and collaboration with Nvidia, which as of late has regained steam. Also working with the aforementioned Intel. Nvidia's strong report last week bodes well for SMCI, which boasts of being 1A for Nvidia demand.' Sturdivant, Sr. adds that from his perspective, Super Micro Computer seems 'poised to continue its climb in market cap.' He notes that the company is not lacking in demand, citing its recent growth in producing and shipping servers while gaining market share as a resource for fast-growing areas such as AI and cloud shorted AI stock is rapidly climbing the Fortune 500 first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
