Fortune

What's on the minds of CEOs at #BrainstormTech? Artificial intelligence, for one. Though the threats of AI have been long discussed, there was less pessimistic FUD—fear, uncertainty, doubt—and more optimistic food for thought about the ways AI’s capabilities could be put to use. Could it save us time from drudgery at work? Yes. Could it generate trillions of dollars in value? Certainly. Could it create unimaginable new products? Definitely. Could it displace knowledge workers? It’s complicated. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e52GibSF

NEW: A risky trade-off made CrowdStrike ’s outage so devastating — cybersecurity leaders say there’s no easy fix https://lnkd.in/eeRYUZUp

If there’s one thing both the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties can agree on, it’s being tough on China. The Biden administration has maintained, and even strengthened, tariffs on Chinese imports first imposed by the Trump administration. A bill demanding the Chinese tech firm ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban of the social media app passed by wide bipartisan majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate earlier this year. Both political parties are increasingly aligned on the need to get tougher on China and Chinese companies. “Democrats and Republicans don’t even agree on what color the sky is, and they both voted for this bill,” Jacob Helberg, a commissioner on the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission and a senior advisor to Palantir CEO Alex Karp, said at #BrainstormTech. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ewM5aZjK

What. a. week. Even though I've been moderating onstage discussions at tech and retail conferences for more than a decade, I always experience a tad bit of nerves before the big day. And this past week, I definitely felt them more than usual because I was co-hosting the legendary Fortune #BrainstormTech for the first time and I really wanted to do it justice. On top of that, I was also encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and interview entrepreneurs and C-suite leaders from exciting, innovative companies that I hadn't previously covered: Agility Robotics, Lucid Motors, Astrolab, and Stoke Space. In the end, I played a small role in what became one of my absolute favorite live journalism events of my life. The energy among attendees was electric, the onstage and roundtable conversations were both thought-provoking and dynamic, and everyone I met during group activities and meals at this gorgeous Park City venue only added to the experience. A big heartfelt thanks to the entire Fortune crew that produced and covered this inspiring event, as well as all of those who trusted our team by taking time out of your busy schedules to spend three days sharing your time and expertise with all of us. I hope to see many more of you at our Brainstorm AI event in December in San Francisco, as well as Brainstorm Tech 2025. You have my word that you will walk away happy that you did.

Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble are neglecting their male users, Grindr CEO George Arison charged at #BrainstormTech. “One of the things that strikes me about how Bumble and Tinder approach the world is that frankly, they don’t treat 70% of their users very well,” Arison said in an interview with Polina Marinova Pompliano. Men outnumber women roughly 3-to-1 on both Bumble and Tinder, yet those apps don’t try to improve or smooth men’s often-awkward experience, Arison said. Even though men are the ones who more often pay for premium services, he said, their experience remains frustrating, leading many to quit online dating. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAYBY26F

Passengers are willing to shell out a bit to kick their feet up and avoid the pre-flight scramble, says JetBlue founder. David Neeleman, who founded four other commercial airlines (including Breeze Airways, which he runs as CEO), asserts that customers are currently hankering for a luxury flight experience. In this era, Southwest stands to be left behind. “What’s different today about the industry is about 25% of the people want an upgraded experience,” Neeleman said at Fortune’s #BrainstormTech. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eg-RaVvZ

The bigwigs of the tech and venture are rallying around Donald Trump. But Silicon Valley’s longtime chronicler Kara Swisher is having none of it. “I think it’s really problematic when a very small group of incredibly wealthy people control the access to the person in power,” Swisher said on stage at #BrainstormTech in Park City, Utah. She added: “I’m not naive, and don’t think that rich people don’t control levers of power over the many, many decades or centuries our country has been in power. But this sort of explicit grab for power has worked really nicely for them.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eyQrk3Kb

A select group of workers across America are currently partaking in a niche but powerful lifestyle benefit: summer Fridays. They’re a longstanding corporate tradition in which employees leave the office around midday to get a jump start on the weekend. Whether it involves a trip to the beach or running errands, workers get some extra time to relax, decompress, and enjoy the weather. But that relaxed summer benefit, which can range from a few hours off to an entire day, is quickly becoming a relic of the past. I Read more: https://lnkd.in/gy_Gr6Cr

Thank you Fortune for allowing me to wax poetic about the journey that led me to Affirm. Over the years there have been lots of twists and turns, but I’m grateful everyday that I get to work on our mission to build honest financial products that improve lives.

Jason leveled us up big time this year as a pro journalist, moderator, and programmer on Brainstorm Tech, in its 20+th year. Thanks to all like Jason who put in lots of time, effort and ideas into making this week really special and stellar.