Latest news with #Wachs
Business Insider
04-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Need to send a handwritten note? You can hire a robot to write it instead
Writing thank you notes might be one job plenty of people would be willing to let AI and robots take over. Turns out, they already are. The company Handwrytten deploys artificial intelligence to help customers whip up notes and then uses an army of robot scribes, gripping ballpoint pens, to write them. "The vast, vast, vast majority of the time, you'd never have an idea that it's written by a machine," David Wachs, founder and CEO of the Tempe, Arizona, company, told Business Insider. After all, we're in a moment in which tech boosters say our digital counterparts will soon free us from work, scrub clean our to-do lists, and wade deeper into our personal lives. Using technology to recreate the intimacy of a handwritten note also raises questions about authenticity, etiquette, and breaking through the everyday onslaught of emails, DMs, and text messages. "Everybody's getting so much electronic communication. What really stands out as old-fashioned communication," Wachs said. He founded Handwrytten in 2014 after leaving a text-messaging startup he'd launched a decade earlier. As he was departing that company, he wanted an easier way to send the handwritten goodbye notes he was drafting for employees and key clients because they would carry more weight than a digital message. Avoiding the 'uncanny valley' In order to make sure the letters don't look too perfect, Wachs said the robots vary letter shapes, line spacing, the left margin, and the strokes that join letters together. "We do all this stuff to try to create the most accurate human writing, without falling into that uncanny valley," Wachs said. Using robots that can write in nearly three dozen styles of penmanship — some of which carry alliterative names like Enthusiastic Erin and Slanty Steve — the company sends about 20,000 cards a day to customers or, more often, directly to the recipient. Most of Handwrytten's customers are businesses, though about 20% to 30% are individual consumers, Wachs said. Clients include companies hoping to engage with customers, recruiters looking to soften up executive prospects, and nonprofits that want to stay close to donors. Sales grew about 30% in 2024, Wachs said. In recent years, the company gave users the option of having AI write all or part of the messages. "Our slogan has always been 'Your words in pen and ink,' but half the time now it's not your words, it's ChatGPT," he said. What matters, Wachs said, is that the resulting note looks real to the recipient. He said that many people assume custom digital messages like emails and texts have been written with AI, which, Wachs said, then discounts their effectiveness. Does it count? As a tactile throwback, a letter written by a robot is real enough for many Handwrytten customers, Wachs said. While the intent of a letter meant to look handwritten might be genuine, Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of protocol maven Emily Post and coauthor of the book "Emily Post's Business Etiquette," told BI she believes something is lost by using a robot. Post said a note that someone actually writes by hand is special, not because it shows effort on the part of the sender, but because a person's penmanship — even if it's imperfect — is unique to them and to a moment. "It makes that handwritten version that much more precious and amazing and special," Post said. Wachs said that critics have a point when they say part of writing a letter is to demonstrate that someone took the time to do it. Yet, he said, many people are simply too busy. "Often, the choice is not Handwrytten note or actual handwritten note. The choice is Handwrytten note or nothing," he said. Wachs, whose business relies on 55 workers and 185 robots, said that the results are convincing enough to help job seekers, business owners, marketers, and others distinguish themselves. "My wife will receive notes from her friends that use our service," Wachs said. "And she'll be like, 'Wow, they have beautiful handwriting."
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'No Kings' rally planned for Saturday
EAU CLAIRE — Nationwide rallies are being planned this weekend to protest against President Donald Trump's policies, including a rally slated for Eau Claire on Saturday. The 'No Kings — Nationwide Day of Defiance' is slated to begin at noon at Owen Park. The plan is for protesters to march over the Lake Street Bridge, down Farwell or Barstow to the Haymarket Square. Then, cross the bridge at Phoenix Park. The Eau Claire Democratic Party lists details of the plans on its website. A similar event is planned for 4-5:30 p.m. in Chippewa Falls at Chippewa Riverfront Park, at the roundabout at the corner of River Street and Highway 124. Dana Wachs, an Eau Claire attorney and former Democratic State Assembly member, is hopeful for a good turnout. Wachs said the rallies nationwide have picked up steam after President Trump opted to send the National Guard and the U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, although Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom did not request the troops be activated and sent there. 'This is a reaction to the martial law-like activities this president has decided to invoke,' Wachs said. 'We've worked so hard to have a democracy, and he's trying to undermine it. This is very unusual. We don't need a king, and we don't want one. This has got to stop. He's [flirting] around the edge of a dictatorship, and it's got to stop. It isn't funny.' The last time a president has sent the National Guard to a state without the request of a governor was in 1965. Newsom has since filed a lawsuit against Trump, arguing that it was unlawful for Trump to send troops to Los Angeles. Wachs contends that the Los Angeles police could have handled any protests in that city, and the national troops aren't necessary. 'It seems like an unnecessary escalation out there,' Wachs said. Cynthia Greening of Chippewa Valley Indivisible said the rallies are in response not only to the military in Los Angeles, but also the U.S. Army parade in Washington D.C., at the same time Congress is looking at the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that would cut funding for SNAP food share benefits, Social Security, Medicaid and public schools. 'Across all 50 states, millions will gather to declare: The president is not a king,' Greening wrote in a press release Thursday. 'No Kings is a nationwide day of celebration of 'we the people.' From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we're taking action to reject authoritarianism — and show the world what democracy really looks like.' All No Kings events adhere to a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety. Organizers are trained in de-escalation and are working closely with local partners to ensure peaceful and powerful actions nationwide. For more information on Saturday's rally in Eau Claire, visit
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Concert held to raise money for LA wildfire survivors
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - Hundreds gathered at The Canyon in Agoura Hills for a benefit concert aimed at helping fire survivors, bringing together music, dancing, and community support. "We've really seen a big outpouring from the community, as you can see—the place is packed! It's been wonderful, and we're just doing everything we can to give back," said Stephanie Wachs, director of outreach for the Get Together Foundation. She added that similar events take about three months to plan, while this was organized in just two weeks. The LA-based nonprofit organized the Show of Helping Hands, uniting musicians to raise funds for those affected by the recent wildfires. "We realized after talking to countless individuals that what people really need right now is money—they are starting over," Wachs said. "We specifically went through and hand-selected families who have young children at home, disabled children at home, families who have lost their schools, first homes—everything in their community, and often in places where fire insurance has been restrictive. We just wanted to make sure that was going directly into them." The nonprofit also selected small business employees who not only lost their homes but their incomes as well. Proceeds from ticket sales, donations, and a private auction will also support the Guitar Center Music Foundation and the Widows, Orphans, and Disabled Firefighters Fund. For many Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters in attendance, it was their first night off in 21 days. "This is just an incredible outpouring of support from the local communities," said LAFD Captain Erik Scott. Scott noted that the devastation was unprecedented. "It's the largest natural disaster to hit LA, so the fact that so many people have come together tonight and have opened up their checkbooks and they're giving money not to the fire department—but to the people that need it the most—is just a beautiful example of human helping human," he said. Attendees traveled from across the region to support the cause and enjoy the music. "Happy to be here, happy to help the folks who need the help," said Barbara Eisley of Santa Barbara. Gayle Wunsch of Studio City, a fire survivor herself, emphasized how much events like these mean to those who have lost everything. "This is such an important cause to come out and really help all these fire victims, and I'm happy to be here—we survived a fire—we know it's tough for all of us," she said. For more information on how to donate, click here. Those looking to learn more about the Get Together Foundation and how to help can also click here.
