Latest news with #AndrewRossSorkin
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Business Insider Did Something So Stupid With AI That We're Reeling
Amid Business Insider's latest pivot to AI, the site's past brushes with the technology are coming back to haunt it. As Semafor reports, a manager recommended fake, seemingly-AI-generated books to underlings last year on a reading list meant to help them better understand business journalism. In the staff email, which was leaked to Semafor, the senior BI manager suggested well-known titles like Andrew Ross Sorkin's classic "Too Big To Fail," about the Wall Street crash of 2008, and "DisneyWar" by James Stewart, which exposed the tumultuous behind-the-scenes drama at the famed studio some 20 years ago. Those were recommended alongside books that nobody had heard of, with names like "Simply Target: A CEO's Lessons in a Turbulent Time and Transforming an Iconic Brand" by Gregg Steinhafel, the former chief executive of the big-box chain, and "The House of Morgan: An Intimate Portrait of the Most Powerful Banking Family in the World," by purported author Fredric Morgan. But Semafor was unable to find any evidence that those titles had ever been published. Some were similar to real books — like the legitimate book "The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance" by Ron Chernow — while others seem to have been completely made up. One of the books on the most ludicrous falsehoods on the list was "Mark Zuckerberg Autobiography: The Man Behind the Code," a purported autobiography of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that also claims to have been written by a "Jasper Robin." (An autobiography, obviously, is written by its subject.) Though Zuckerberg has been the subject of at least a few biographies written by other people, none of them have been named "Jasper Robin," and in fact, we were not able to find anything about said author except for their author page on Goodreads, which also links to the title in Italian and German — but not to any booksellers. Though BI didn't admit the source for those phony titles either in leaked documents or in requests for comment from Semafor, it doesn't take a deep investigation to figure out where they almost certainly came from — especially given that the company is now investing in AI, and is planning to lay off 21 percent of its workforce amid its pivot to using the hallucination-happy technology. In a memo to staff announcing the layoffs that later published on its website, BI CEO Barbara Peng said that the company is "going all-in on AI" and experiencing growing pains as it does. "Change like this isn't easy," Peng wrote. "But Business Insider was born in a time of disruption — when the smartphone was reshaping how people consumed news. We thrived by taking risks and building something new." To say that BI has "thrived" may be an overstatement. The site has long been winnowing its workforce; along with the latest cuts, the company laid off eight percent of its workforce last year and axed 10 percent of its roles in 2023 — and in that instance, AI experiments were also announced around the same time. And when senior managers are recommending books they haven't even read, nevermind verified they're real, it's easy to see why. More on hallucinatory citations: RFK Jr's "Make America Healthy Again" Report Cites Studies That Don't Exist, in Clear Sign of AI Generated Slop
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Business Insider recommended nonexistent books to staff as it leans into AI
Business Insider announced this week that it wants staff to better incorporate AI into its journalism. But less than a year ago, the company had to quietly apologize to some staff for accidentally recommending that they read books that did not appear to exist but instead may have been generated by AI. In an email to staff last May, a senior editor at Business Insider sent around a list of what she called 'Beacon Books,' a list of memoirs and other acclaimed business nonfiction books, with the idea of ensuring staff understood some of the fundamental figures and writing powering good business journalism. Many of the recommendations were well-known recent business, media, and tech nonfiction titles such as by Andrew Ross Sorkin, by James Stewart, and by Mike Isaac. But a few were unfamiliar to staff. by former Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel was nowhere to be found. Neither was , which was supposedly published by the company Charles River Editors in 2019. Semafor could not find any evidence that either book exists. The list also recommended a book called , supposedly written by an author named Jasper Robin. While a Goodreads page exists for the book, which claims it is only 61 pages long, the page has no reviews or other information. It is not available for purchase on Amazon or from any other retailers. Another recommendation was by Fredric Morgan, though no such book exists. The company likely meant to recommend by Ron Chernow. by Andrew MacCarthy was on the list of suggested reads, though no such book exists. (BI could have been meaning to recommend by Scott Perry, a how-to guide for how to use the photo messaging platform.) The company also recommended by someone named Celeste Olivier, published in 2008. The real version was written by Larry Gerston in 2003. A Business Insider spokesperson declined to embarrassing incident was shared with Semafor last week after the company said it was doubling down on AI amid steep staff reductions. In a note on Thursday, CEO Barbara Peng said that the company had launched multiple AI-driven products including gen-AI onsite search and an AI-powered paywall, and would soon be rolling out additional products. She also noted that 70% of staff were already using enterprise ChatGPT, and the company was building 'prompt libraries and sharing everyday use cases that help us work faster, smarter, and better.' 'The media industry is at a crossroads,' Peng wrote. 'Business models are under pressure, distribution is unstable, and competition for attention is fiercer than ever. At the same time, there's a huge opportunity for companies who harness AI first. Our strategy is strong, but we don't have the luxury of time. The pace of change combined with the opportunity ahead demands bold, focused action — and it's our chance to lead the pack.' Some employees have been wary of the incorporation of AI into everyday work tasks, believing that the company will eventually replace journalists with AI. In a statement after the move, Business Insider's union expressed frustration with the cuts and the simultaneous embrace of AI. 'Tone deaf doesn't even begin to describe this,' the union wrote.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
What Warren Buffett Understood About Capitalism
A few days ago, Warren Buffett, the most successful investor in history, said he would retire as C.E.O. of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate that he built into a trillion-dollar colossus. Andrew Ross Sorkin, who has covered Mr. Buffett for many years, discusses the career of the man who both personified and critiqued American capitalism. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
New York Times
08-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How Trump Wiped Out $10 Trillion in Wealth in 3 Days
On Monday, global stocks whipsawed over President Trump's tariffs, a bear market briefly became official in the United States and tit-for-tat retaliation with China intensified. As trillions of dollars in corporate value evaporates and Mr. Trump's support in the business world is cracking, even Republican members of Congress are debating whether to take away the president's power to wage a trade war. Andrew Ross Sorkin, who covers business and policy, and Jonathan Swan, who covers the White House, talk through the tumultuous past few days on the stock market.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Prices will definitely go up': Experts warn tariffs won't spare U.S. automakers
With 'Liberation Day' looming, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Christine Romans warn on Morning Joe that the tariff rollout means 'a lot of pain' and 'inflationary' fallout — pointing out that the plan will hit 'working class people' hardest and could take 'years' to reverse.
