 |
|
|
|||||
A growing number of Amazon employees have signed onto an open letter issuing some dire warnings about the companys sprint toward AI. The letter, signed by more than 1,000 workers and published this week, calls out Amazon for pushing its AI investments at the expense of the climate and its human workforce. The letters supporters come from a wide array of roles at the company, including many software engineers, and even employees focused on building AI systems. We believe that the all-costs-justified, warp-speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth, the letters authors wrote. Were the workers who develop, train, and use AI, so we have a responsibility to intervene. In the letter obtained by The Guardian, the Amazon employees argue that their employer is throwing out its climate promises in the scramble to win the AI race. Amazon has pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, pointing to efficiencies from electric delivery vehicles and reduced plastic packaging in its climate commitment. In spite of its stated promise to reduce its carbon footprint, Amazons carbon emissions rose last year, a trend tied to pollution from its ubiquitous fleet of delivery vehicles and its major push into data center construction.Resource intensive data centers like the ones Amazon is pouring billions into building out are a hot topic in 2025. The buildings, built to power tech giants AI ambitions, pump in loads of electricity to keep servers humming and suck up water to cool off all of that energy use. Data centers, usually placed well beyond urban hubs, promise rural communities a boom of steady local jobs for many of the worlds most valuable companies, but the reality is often less inspiring. In spite of their massive footprint and a short term burst of work during construction, very few people are actually necessary to keep things up and running. In light of the downsides, rural communities around the country are beginning to reject big techs big AI buildout. AI at all costs Climate isnt the only concern among the Amazon workers who signed onto the open letter. The group of anonymous employees accuses the company of forcing AI on its workforce while openly plotting to get rid of human workers as soon as technologically possible. In the meantime, the letters authors say that timelines are getting shorter and output demands are on the rise as the company tries to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of its employees. Last month, Amazon announced that it would lay off 14,000 employees, a massive round of cuts focused on its corporate workforce. In a memo to employees, Amazons Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology Beth Galetti said that the cuts were aimed at reducing bureaucracy, removing layers, and shifting resources to ensure were investing in our biggest bets namely the companys enormous spending on AI. The world is changing quickly, Galetti wrote. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology weve seen since the Internet, and its enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). Amazons AI spending this year has topped $125 billion and the company plans to invest that much and more into artificial intelligence in 2026. A call for guardrails The letter also points to Amazons major lobbying push against AI regulation and its role in spreading surveillance and military technology as major areas of concern. To address the worries it raises, the letter calls on Amazon to abandon dirty energy in order to recommit to its climate goals, loop non-manager employee voices into AI decision making and reject surveillance and deportation applications of its technology. The letter only represents a tiny sliver of Amazons more than 1.55 million employees, but that hasnt deterred a thousand people at the company from voicing their concerns, and potentially risking their jobs. Beyond Amazons own workforce, around 2,400 people including students and workers at other major tech companies issued their own letter of support. All of this is daunting, but none of it is inevitable, the Amazon letters authors wrote. A better future is still very much within reach, but it requires us to get real about the costs of AI and the guardrails we need.
Category:
E-Commerce
In the latest sign that the Trump administration isnt so concerned about asbestos, the Food and Drug Administration this week withdrew a proposed rule that would have required testing for the toxic asbestos in talc-based cosmetics. The rule, which was proposed by the Biden administration less than a year ago, would have required manufacturers to test cosmetics for asbestos and keep records demonstrating compliance. Exposure to asbestos has been linked to lung cancer, mesothelioma, ovarian cancer, and laryngeal cancer, which is why various health agencies have determined theres no safe level of exposure to this natural mineral. Johnson & Johnson has been the subject of numerous lawsuits related to reports that the company knew about the risk of asbestos in the talc found in its baby powder. Talc is found in many cosmetics because it can be used to absorb moisture, prevent caking, and create a silky feel for these products, according to information on the FDA website. But the current administration seems to have yielded partly to the highly scientific and technical issues addressed in the 49 comments received during the mandatory public comment period, according to a legal notice posted to the federal registry and signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Good cause exists to withdraw the proposed rule at this time, the order stated. We are withdrawing the proposed rule to reconsider best means of addressing the issues covered by the proposed rule and broader principles to reduce exposure to asbestos, and to ensure that any standardized testing method requirements for detecting asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products help protect users of talc-containing cosmetic products from harmful exposure to asbestos. The FDA didnt immediately respond to a request for comment from Fast Company. WITHDRAWING FROM BIDENS BANS Withdrawing from this proposed rule doesnt necessarily mean that manufacturers will suddenly start adding asbestos to cosmetics, but rather a guardrail for ensuring the deadly toxin isnt present in these products is now being reconsidered. The FDA plans to issue a proposed rule related to the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed as much to The New York Times, saying that the FDA will submit a new proposed rule that offers a more comprehensive approach to reducing exposure to asbestos and reducing asbestos related illness, including identifying safer additives as alternatives, especially when they are less costly. But both Trump administrations have demonstrated some willingness to walk back protections from this deadly carcinogen, allowing asbestos to make a comeback. By contrast, the Biden administration finalized a ban on ongoing uses of chrysotile asbestos in 2024 and also proposed the aforementioned rule for detecting and identifying asbestos in cosmetics. The current Trump administration has now taken a swipe at both of these efforts to ban asbestos. In June, the Environmental Protection Agency in June planned to withdraw a proposed ban on chrysotile asbestos, before reversing course less than one month later. OUTRAGE AT ROLLBACK The U.S. continues to be out-of-step with much of the rest of the world, where asbestos is completely outlawed in more than 50 countries. Notably, asbestos is not outlawed in China, where many cosmetics are manufactured. This latest move by the FDA is both baffling and troubling to some consumer advocates. Nothing could make America less healthy than having a cancer causing product in cosmetics, Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs with the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit thats lobbied for stricter regulations around talc, told The Guardian. Its hard to understand why we would revoke a rule that simply requires companies to test for asbestos. And it marks another horrific rollback that should outrage consumers, Linda Reinstein, president and chief executive of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, told The New York Times. It puts the onus on Americans to have to try to identify consumer products that might be contaminated, and the average person cant do that because you cant know without testing, she said.
Category:
E-Commerce
No one can deny that the internet, especially social media, can pose significant dangers. Now, a new survey has found that about one in five parents and carers knowand have supporteda child who has experienced online blackmail. The survey, from the U.K.s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), also showed that one in ten of these individuals own children have experienced blackmail online. According to the NSPCC, bad actors often start communicating with young people on public platforms before actively moving the conversation to end-to-end encrypted messaging servicesmaking it more challenging for them to be tracked. Only 43% of parents and carers found tech companies or platforms effective in preventing online blackmail, and just 37% thought the same of the government. These findings show the scale of online blackmail that is taking place across the country, yet tech companies continue to fall short in their duty to protect children, NSPCC policy manager Randi Govender said in response to the report. Some participants blamed online platforms for failing to care about childrens welfare. As one said, They have no interest whatsoever. As long as they get their money from marketing, thats good enough for them. Another individual pointed to AIs role: I personally dont feel like they do enough to remove the damaging content fast enough and rely too heavily on AI rather than humans. The NSPCC also pointed to the role of AI in online blackmail, with bad actors sometimes using generative AI to create compromising deepfakes of children using regular photos of them on social media. Online blackmailing of young people is a global problem While the survey was of 2,558 U.K. parents and carers, online blackmailing of children is also running rampant in the U.S. In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported 29.2 million separate child sexual exploitation incidents sent to its CyberTipline. The FBI also reports an increase in financial sextortion cases, in which a blackmaileroften posting as a young personconvinces a child to send sexually explicit images and then demands the child send compensation or they will release the images. Oftentimes, they publish it whether theyve received a payment or not. Instances of online blackmail can lead to young people attempting suicide. The role of parents in preventing online blackmailing The NSPCC survey highlights a shortfall in discussions between parents and children about online blackmail. About two in five parents and carers said theyve rarely or never talked about the subject with their children. They want and need more resources about online blackmailing, but also point to schools as another place children should learn about its dangers.
Category:
E-Commerce
As we near the final weeks of the year, platforms of all stripes will soon begin rolling out their annual recap features, which let users see the content they have interacted with most. While numerous tech giants release these recaps, music streamer Spotify is usually the most anticipated. Known as Spotify Wrapped, this look-back lets you see which songs you interacted with most over the past 12 months. So when will Spotify Wrapped 2025 be available? Heres what you need to know. What is Spotify Wrapped 2025? Spotify Wrapped is the music streamers annual year-in-review compilation that allows Spotify users to see which songs, albums, and artists they interacted with most throughout the year. The company also reveals the most-streamed songs, artists, and albums worldwide among all its users. While the feature is ostensibly a year-end gift to users, Wrapped doubles as a massive free marketing campaign for the company. Millions of Spotify users frequently share their Wrapped results publicly on social media and privately in group chats and DMs. This kind of online virality benefits Spotify since, by sharing their Wrapped results, users are essentially advertising the companys streaming service to their friends and followers. Spotify Wrapped: Release Date History Spotify has historically released its annual Wrapped compilation at the end of each year, but the exact date varies. Spotify Wrapped has existed since 2016 (or 2015 if you count its first Year in Music recap), and Fast Company has covered the annual launch nearly every year since. In years past, these are the dates Spotify Wrapped launched: 2024: December 4 2023: November 29 2022: November 30 2021: December 1 2020: December 1 2019: December 5 2018: December 6 2017: December 13 2016: December 14 2015: December 6 (called Spotifys 2015 Year in Music) Spotify Wrapped 2025 Release Date As you can see from the dates above, the annual Spotify Wrapped compilation has been released as early as late November and as late as mid-December. Fast Company has reached out to Spotify seeking more information about this year’s Wrapped launch date. The streamer has not publicly hinted at a date yet, but it does currently have a placeholder page on its website teasing Spotify Wrapped 2025. Based on historical dates, its unlikely that Spotify will announce Wrapped 2025 over the weekend. That means the most likely dates for the launch of Spotify Wrapped 2025 would be sometime next week. Either way, Spotify likely wants to achieve maximum press and social media attention for the feature. How do I access Spotify Wrapped 2025? When Wrapped 2025 is released, youll be able to access it as you have in years past: through the Spotify app on iOS and Android. On Spotifys Wrapped 2025 placeholder page, the company provides a QR code that users can scan to download the Spotify app. The page also includes a message telling users to Get the updated app to experience 2025 Wrapped at its best.
Category:
E-Commerce
Hello once again, and welcome back to Fast Companys Plugged In. I didnt buy a new phone this year. Or a new laptop, tablet, or smartwatch. That hasnt been a hardship. Ive just been perfectly content with the gear I already ownboth a satisfying feeling and a boon to my pocketbook. Instead of being splashy budget busters, the new products that made me happiest in 2025 have been relatively inexpensive items that bring clever twists to seemingly mundane categories. This week, Im going to tell you about three Ive found especially rewarding. (Im citing their list prices, butthis being Black Friday weekall are widely available at steep discounts as I write this.) The mother of all power banks. Most of the innumerable external batteries Ive owned have been thoroughly unmemorable. Not Ankers $119 Laptop Power Bank, a recent gift from my wife, who bought it off TikTok. As its name indicates, the Laptop Power Banks massive 25,000mAh capacity is enough to charge a computer. It can also handle a tablet, such as my iPad Pro. Or a smartphone. Or other gadgets such as a digital camera. Or how about all of them at the same time? Even if you do charge four devices at once, you wont need to lug four USB cables. Along with two portsone USB-C, one full-size USB-Athe Anker has a built-in cable that retracts into its case, and another that doubles as a wrist strap. Most power banks use LEDs to give you, at best, a vague sense of how much juice is left; this one has a fancy color display with a gauge that indicates precisely how much power remains, a battery health indicator, and other useful stats. Now the Laptop Power Bank is decidedly chonkymore of a briefcase or backpack accessory than something youd slip in a pocket. If all youre looking to do is occasionally top off your phone, its way more battery than you need. But by providing enough power to last through the busiest of workdays, its liberated me from hunting for wall outlets at conferences and running my fingers along the undersides of airplane seats in hopes of finding a power jack there. I get a little thrill every time I use it. The best smartphone wallet Ive owned. I used to carry a wallet so hopelessly overstuffed that George Costanza himself might have pointed and laughed. That was until I managed to downsize to one of those magnetic wallets that stick to the back of a phone. I carry my drivers license, one credit card, an ATM card, the badge that gets me into my office building, and maybe a $20 bill or two, and thats about it. Its the one place in my life where I feel like a preternaturally organized person. But I havent been wild about most of the phone wallets Ive used. Some were too tight: Only two to three cards fit in, and they were almost impossible to extract. Others were too loose, so cards went flying whenever I dropped my phone. And they were all made of leather that tended to end up looking battered and disreputable. Peak Designs $50 Mobile Wallet is unlike any other phone wallet Ive triedand much, much better. Made of sturdy cloth, it handles as many cards as I ever carry, and protects them from accidental exits with a magnetic flap. Most ingeniously, tugging on the flap causes the cards to travel slightly out of the wallet, where its easy to pluck the one I want. Its like having it delivered by a butler. The Mobile Wallet pairs with Peaks Everyday Case, which also sells for about $50 and is equally worth it. Wrapped in a similar fabric-y material, its easy to get on and off my iPhone and remains in mint condition after months of use. The case features Peaks SlimLink, a mounting technology that secures the case to a variety of accessoriesincluding a mount I installed on my e-bike to let my iPhone double as a GoPro-style action camera. A book light I actually use. Early this year, I pledged to read more dead-tree booksespecially the ones piled in a Jenga-like stack on my nightstand. Im still behind, in part because I like to read in bed after my wife has dozed off. Ink and paper do not mix well with utter darkness. This problem was theoretically solved decades ago by tiny clip-on book lights. But theyve always struck me as plasticky, fragile, and inelegant. The fact that they use AAA batteries doesnt make them any more appealing. Not long ago, however, a new generation of snakelike, USB-C-rechargable book lights came to my attention. Instead of clipping one onto a tome, you drape it around your neck, then bend it to direct beams of light from both ends at the pages youre reading. The one I bought, Kikkerlands Hands-Free Book Light, lists for $35. Other options exist, including ones from a company called Glocusent. If theres a downside to wearing a book light twisted around your neck, its that it looks pretty goofy, as my wife has helpfully pointed out several times. But shes the only person whos seen me using mine. Did I mention that shes usually asleep when I have it on? Youve been reading Plugged In, Fast Companys weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to youor if you’re reading it on fastcompany.comyou can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, and you can follow Plugged In on Flipboard. [A note on last weeks newsletter, which discussed my experiences with Googles Gemini 3 Pro LLM: A couple of the issues I cited involved the earlie Gemini 2.5 Flash model, which still powers the Gemini chatbots Fast mode. Ive updated the version of the newsletter on FastCompany.com to clarify this.] More top tech stories from Fast Company Inside the Trump administrations dicey play to block states from regulating AIThe controversial state-level preemption could be Trumps payment to the tech industry for helping bring him back to power in 2024. Read More Its not your job. Your social media feed is ruining your workdayNew research suggests your feed may be shaping your mood, productivity, and interactions at work far more than you realize. Read More Jeffrey Epsteins emails, now in a searchable, Gmail-style interfaceYou are logged in as Jeffrey Epstein, jeevacation@gmail.com. Read More This project is using AI and satellite data to create the first definitive map of the entire continent of AfricaMost African countries lack accurate local base maps, stalling all sorts of government and business decisions. A new project aims to create this vital resource. Read More With new Opus 4.5 model, Anthropics Claude could remain the best AI coding toolClaude Code is already widely used by developersand with a new brain, it may fend off Googles new Antigravity tool. Read More How to introduce AI to a skeptical workplaceFor AI to provide the benefits that it can bring, you need your whole teams buy-in. Read More
Category:
E-Commerce