What we’re reading (11/15)
“Inside Microsoft’s Struggles With Copilot” (Business Insider). “In September 2023, Microsoft's famously soft-spoken CEO, Satya Nadella, unveiled the company's flagship AI product, Copilot, with sweeping fanfare. ‘Copilot will fundamentally transform our relationship with technology,’ he declared. The AI assistant, he predicted, would give birth to an ‘era that uplifts every person, industry, community, and country.’ Now, a year after Copilot's release, the reviews — both inside and outside Microsoft — indicate that the new product is struggling to live up to the hype.”
“T-Mobile Hacked In Massive Chinese Breach Of Telecom Networks” (Wall Street Journal). “Hackers linked to a Chinese intelligence agency were able to breach T-Mobile as part of monthslong campaign to spy on the cellphone communications of high-value intelligence targets. It is unclear what information, if any, was taken about T-Mobile customers’ calls and communications records.”
“The Explosive Growth Of Private Credit: Is There A Bubble?” (Alpha Architect). “The growth of the private credit market exploded after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 as private credit rushed to fill the gap that the banking industry was no longer able to fill because of the distress of its balance sheets. Tightened capital standards made loans to middle-market companies unattractive for banks, shutting out most small- and middle-size companies from the bank market. In addition, the 2010 enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act made it increasingly expensive for small banks to operate, cutting off their supply of loans to small and mid-size companies.”
“Prominent Conservative Lawyer Ted Olson, Who Argued Bush Recount And Same-Sex Marriage Cases, Dies” (Associated Press). “One of Olson’s most prominent cases put him at odds with many fellow conservatives. After California adopted a ban on same-sex marriage in 2008, Olson joined forces with former adversary David Boies, who had represented Democrat Al Gore in the presidential election case, to represent California couples seeking the right to marry. During closing arguments, Olson contended that tradition or fears of harm to heterosexual unions were legally insufficient grounds to discriminate against same-sex couples…Olson’s personal life also intersected tragically with the nation’s history when his third wife, well-known conservative legal analyst Barbara Olson, died on Sept. 11, 2001. She was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.”
“Berlin’s Beat Goes Quiet As Techno Clubs Close Their Doors” (The Times of London). “According to a new survey by the Club commission, an association of nightclubs, 46 per cent of Berlin’s 150-plus venues are considering closing down permanently in 2025. That is twice the number recorded in a previous survey in February.”
