TDSB passes new budget that will cut $34M in spending
Toronto school board cuts spending amid major financial pressure. Spokesperson says it will keep several pools open, but more money will be needed to maintain special education learning.
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The Verge
41 minutes ago
- The Verge
Trump's FTC will approve an ad merger — with a gift to Elon Musk's X
The all-Republican Federal Trade Commission agreed to approve a $13.5 billion ad merger if it includes a ban on steering ad dollars away from platforms or publishers based on 'political or ideological viewpoints.' The order, which was reported by The New York Times earlier this month, would prevent ad giant Omnicom from wholesale avoiding platforms like X based on their political viewpoints without explicit direction from its advertiser customers. X lost advertisers in 2023 after placing ads next to pro-Nazi content. On Monday, the agency published a proposed consent order that it says would 'resolve antitrust concerns' over Omnicom's acquisition of Interpublic Group, which it says are the 'third- and fourth-largest media buying advertising agencies in the U.S.' Under the proposed terms, the newly-merged company could not direct or deny advertisers' spending on any given platform based on that website's political or ideological views, or those of the content the ads might run alongside. Advertisers who work with Omnicom can still directly request that the media buying agency avoid certain publishers based on political viewpoints. The FTC commonly places conditions on companies seeking to merge through consent orders to prevent anticompetitive effects, but this unusual provision addresses a particular complaint of congressional Republicans and former 'First Buddy' Elon Musk, whose company X (formerly Twitter) claimed advertisers engaged in an 'illegal boycott' by pulling ads off the platform in the wake of reports on far-right content and Musk's own promotion of antisemitic conspiracies. The FTC is investigating news outlet Media Matters for encouraging advertisers to drop X; Media Matters sued in response today. One of Musk's primary targets was the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a voluntary initiative organized by the World Federation of Advertisers that helped companies avoid advertising against illegal or otherwise harmful non-'brand safe' content. GARM disbanded due to limited resources in the wake of the antitrust suit from X. The FTC mentions GARM in its complaint against the Omnicom merger, saying allowing two major companies to merge could have a similar impact.. 'With one fewer major competitor in the Media Buying Services industry as a result of the Acquisition, the remaining competitors have fewer impediments to coordinating the placement of advertisements, monitoring one another, and punishing one another for taking actions that harm them collectively,' the complaint says. The Supreme Court has previously protected the right to boycott. But in a statement, Republican Chair Andrew Ferguson claimed the provision would not infringe on advertisers' First Amendment rights. 'The decree goes to great lengths to avoid interfering with the free, regular course of business between marketing firms and their customers,' Ferguson says. 'Omnicom-IPG may choose with whom it does business and follow any lawful instruction from its customers as to where and how to advertise. No one will be forced to have their brand or their ads appear in venues and among content they do not wish.' The order, however, says Omnicom can't maintain any policy that 'declines to deal with Advertisers based on political or ideological viewpoints' or 'directs Advertisers' advertising spend based on the Media Publisher's political or ideological viewpoints.' The proposed order was approved by Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, with Commissioner Mark Meador recused from the matter. President Donald Trump previously attempted to fire the agency's two Democratic commissioners and has not yet nominated new ones, leaving the typically bipartisan and five-member agency in the hands of three Republicans.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Chewy Backer BC Partners Seeks to Raise $1 Billion in Share Sale
Funds advised by BC Partners are seeking to sell $1 billion worth of Chewy Inc. shares. The Plantation, Florida-based pet product retailer won't receive any proceeds from the sale, according to a statement Monday.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
What Company Leaders Need To Know About Integrating AI Agents Into Their Workflows
Brando Murphy, Founder of Bigger Than Race We're standing at the edge of a transformative shift in business, one that will deeply affect how companies operate and how people work. I'm talking about AI agents: digital entities that can perform tasks and make decisions on their own. But to fully benefit from AI agents, company leaders need to do more than throw money at trendy tools. They need a clear strategy. Most importantly, they need to ask: What are we really trying to achieve with this technology? Why AI Agents Matter AI agents can take on the types of repetitive, time-consuming tasks that clog up workflows: scheduling meetings, sorting data, managing email threads and more. The result? People are freed up to focus on work that actually requires human creativity and judgment. The real potential lies in empowering people, not replacing them. Implemented correctly, AI agents can increase productivity, improve decision-making and accelerate how teams learn and adapt. As an example, in our cloud gaming protocol, we use AI agents that observe and learn from a user's gameplay style. They can act as a soundboard, provide recommendations and even mimic a player's style in real time. If you're a streamer, these agents can support monetization by helping automate gameplay or even create content while you're offline. Don't Believe The Hype As with all new technology, we need to be honest about how the industry really stands to benefit. We've seen waves of AI excitement and trends—from chatbots to generative text and video—but not all of them live up to expectations. We're still in the early days of AI agents becoming truly autonomous. Companies like OpenAI are pushing the envelope, but we're not yet at the point where these agents can be fully trusted to manage high-stakes work like day trading or strategic planning. Trusting them too soon can be risky. Cost is another barrier. Building a high-functioning AI agent isn't cheap: from $5,000 at the low end to upwards of $20,000 just to get something decent off the ground. That kind of investment needs to be justified with a clear purpose, not just a desire to seem cutting-edge. And there's the real challenge. Too many companies are rushing to integrate AI into their workflows just to be seen as 'tech-forward,' without having defined what the agent will do. It's like buying a race car without knowing how to drive; it might look good in the garage, but how will you justify the expense? Practical Advice For Leaders If you're serious about integrating AI agents into your business, the first question to ask isn't 'Which platform should we use?' It's 'What problem are we solving?' Are you trying to replace tasks that monopolize your team's time and energy? Or are you looking for a tool that can help you scale content, analyze customer behavior or streamline internal operations? Once you have the 'why,' then—and only then—should you start thinking about the 'how.' Whether you're in finance, crypto or tech, you need a clear framework first. In our own development process, we created a video learning model (VLM) where the agent watches how users play games and then assists or even replicates their gameplay. But none of that would have been possible if we hadn't first asked what role this agent would play in our product. There's a lot of understandable uncertainty around AI agents and, yes, even some fear. But I believe the future is bright for those who embrace these tools thoughtfully. AI agents won't just change how we work—they'll change how we think about work. If we bring them on board carefully, they can help us work faster and better. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
