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Virtual Employees Could Join Workforce as Soon as This Year: OpenAI Boss (Maria)
The author writes, “Virtual employees could join workforces this year and transform how companies work, according to the chief executive of OpenAI. The first artificial intelligence agents may start working for organizations this year, wrote Sam Altman, as AI firms push for uses that generate returns on substantial investment in the technology. … ‘We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies,’ wrote Altman in a blogpost published on Monday.”
Trump’s Sentencing Is Set for Jan. 10. Here’s What Could Happen Next (Reader Steve)
The authors write, “Faced with the never-before-seen dilemma of how, when or even whether to sentence a former and future U.S. president, the judge in President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money case made a dramatic decision that could nevertheless bring the case to a muted end. In a ruling Friday, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan scheduled the sentencing for 10 days before Trump’s inauguration — but the judge indicated that he’s leaning toward a sentence that would amount to just closing the case without any real punishment.”
For Many of Us, Jan. 6 Never Ended (Al)
The author writes, “For those who didn’t experience the violence, Jan. 6, 2021, might feel like it’s in the past — but it’s not for me. I keep reliving the five horrific hours of that cold Wednesday afternoon, as I tried to protect elected officials, regardless of their political ideology, and their staffs inside the Capitol building — all without firing my gun.”
Indiana’s Midnight Executions Are a Relic of Another Age (Laura)
From The Intercept: “In most death penalty states, executions are scheduled to take place in the evening, with at least a few members of the press serving as witnesses. But Indiana planned to kill [Joseph] Corcoran in the dead of night, without a single journalist present. The rule is a relic of the late 1800s, when numerous states carried out executions hidden from public view. Aside from Indiana, only Wyoming, which has not killed anyone since 1992, still has a law barring media witnesses on the books.”
Newborns Are Being Left in Dumpsters in Texas, but Republicans Don’t Seem to Care (Dana)
The author writes, “Abortion bans don’t just kill women. They kill babies. This is evident in the data, which shows a dramatic rise in the state’s infant mortality after Texas banned abortion. … It’s also happening in a viscerally disturbing way, as the number of newborns found abandoned to die has spiked, as well. Babies, mostly dead, are being found in ditches and dumpsters throughout Texas, traumatizing the people who find them and the emergency workers who are called to help.”
Don’t Blame Insurers for What Doctor and Hospital Cartels Did to US Health Care (Reader Jim)
From The Hill: “There are many reasons why health insurance goes a shorter distance in the U.S. than anywhere else. But we often overlook two key factors: anti-competitive practices by hospitals and a doctor shortage deliberately engineered decades ago.”
It’s the Most Indispensable Machine in the World — and It Depends on This Woman (Gerry)
From the Wall Street Journal: “I got a rare look at the one tool responsible for all the tech in your life. It’s made by a company you’ve never heard of. And it’s maintained by hidden figures like her.”
