Author: Frank Salvato
Amazon’s share price has tumbled for nine straight trading sessions, marking its worst losing streak since July 2006 and dragging the stock down roughly 18 percent as of mid-February 2026, amid mounting investor concern over the company’s aggressive capital spending plans on artificial intelligence infrastructure that could total about $200 billion this year, raising questions about cash flow, profitability and whether the long-term payoff of these investments will justify the steep near-term costs. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/amazon-shares-suffer-worst-losing-streak-since-july-2006-amid-concern-over-ai-spending-5985562https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazons-stock-just-clinched-its-worst-losing-streak-in-nearly-two-decades-its-giving-investors-aws-deja-vu-2f239fe3https://news.futunn.com/en/post/68927034/ai-cash-burn-sparks-concerns-amazon-enters-bear-market-longest Key Takeaways In-Depth The recent slide in Amazon’s share price represents a significant shift in market sentiment for one of the world’s largest technology and…
Tech workers across the artificial intelligence industry are sounding the alarm on grueling work conditions, burnout and job instability as hidden labor in AI development — such as data labeling, output evaluation, and content filtering — becomes a revolving door of high-pressure gigs with little support, contributing to both elevated turnover and declining quality in the products they help build; independent research also finds that the way AI is deployed in workplaces can intensify workloads, extend work hours, and blur work-life boundaries, spurring employee exhaustion and increasing the risk of turnover across sectors beyond just AI development. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/behind-the-burnout-and-high-turnover-rates-in-the-ai-industry-5979343https://dig.watch/updates/research-warns-of-ai-driven-burnout-riskshttps://www.thehrdigest.com/productivity-gains-aside-ai-increases-workloads-and-the-risk-of-burnout Key…
Legacy U.S. automakers and their global peers are scaling back electric vehicle (EV) investments and production plans in response to the expiration of key federal tax credits and weakening consumer demand, prompting financial writedowns, cautious production decisions, and strategic pivots that favor hybrids or traditional vehicles over all-electric models. Despite earlier commitments by companies like General Motors and Ford to electrify their lineups, the abrupt end of federal incentives—including the $7,500 EV tax credit phased out in September 2025—has dampened U.S. EV sales growth, contributed to inventory surpluses, and spurred automakers to reduce battery plant investments and trim EV output.…
Roku is gearing up to launch new streaming service bundles in 2026 as part of a broader strategy to improve profitability and growth after reporting a strong fourth-quarter performance in 2025, with net income of $80.5 million on $1.4 billion in revenue; the company is expanding its low-cost Howdy subscription to more platforms and adding premium partners like HBO Max to its offerings while forecasting total net revenue of $5.5 billion and continued double-digit platform growth alongside its efforts to attract budget-conscious viewers amid rising subscription costs and a shift toward ad-supported streaming. Source reporting indicates Roku is close to…
Figure Technology, a blockchain-based lending fintech firm listed on the Nasdaq, confirmed that it suffered a significant data breach after attackers successfully used a social engineering tactic to compromise an employee’s account, allowing unauthorized access to internal files. The breach, for which the cybercriminal group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, resulted in roughly 2.5 gigabytes of data being exfiltrated and published on the dark web following a refused ransom demand. Stolen information reportedly includes sensitive customer details such as full names, home addresses, dates of birth, and phone numbers, prompting the company to notify affected individuals and offer free credit monitoring services.…
Meta is reportedly preparing to add real-time facial recognition technology to its AI-powered smart glasses this year with a feature dubbed “Name Tag,” allowing wearers to identify people and receive information about them via Meta’s AI assistant, sparking a fresh wave of debate over privacy, surveillance, and civil liberties as the company weighs how and when to roll out the controversial upgrade. According to reporting based on an internal memo and unnamed sources, Meta considered timing the launch to coincide with a period of political distraction to minimize backlash and has acknowledged safety and privacy risks associated with the capability;…
Airbnb has announced that its proprietary artificial intelligence system now handles roughly one-third of all customer support interactions in the United States and Canada through both chat and voice interfaces, a major expansion of automation in its operations that the company plans to scale globally over the next year as part of a broader AI strategy including enhanced search and planning features. Sources https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/13/airbnb-says-a-third-of-its-customer-support-is-now-handled-by-ai-in-the-u-s-and-canada/https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-q4-2025-financial-results/https://www.findarticles.com/airbnb-shifts-33-of-support-to-ai-in-us-and-canada/ Key Takeaways • Airbnb says its in-house AI now resolves about 33 percent of customer support requests in the U.S. and Canada, and this capability will expand internationally.• The company reports AI automation is part of…
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has significantly increased its use of administrative subpoenas to compel major technology platforms — including Google, Meta, Reddit, and Discord — to turn over identifying information tied to anonymous social media accounts that post content critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or share real-time tracking of ICE activities, a tactic that bypasses judicial oversight and has sparked free speech and privacy concerns; some companies have complied with these demands at least in part, while others have notified users of the requests and allowed legal challenges, and civil liberties advocates warn that this represents a…
Spotify’s co-CEO Gustav Söderström revealed during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call that the company’s top engineers have not written a single line of code since December, underscoring a dramatic shift toward artificial intelligence-driven software development where internal systems like “Honk” and generative models such as Claude Code produce and deploy features with minimal human typing required. Instead of traditional coding, engineers at Spotify are using AI commands—sometimes issued via Slack on a mobile device—to generate, fix, and merge app code in real time, a model the company credits with helping it ship more than 50 new features in 2025,…
The Australian government has formally put the hugely popular online gaming platform Roblox on notice, demanding urgent action and accountability after reports emerged that children on the service have been approached by predators and exposed to sexually explicit and self-harm content, prompting calls for meetings with platform executives, possible reclassification of its PG rating, and scrutiny of safety measures under Australia’s Online Safety Act. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/australia-puts-roblox-on-notice-amid-child-grooming-claims-5983238https://www.abc.net.au/news/commonwealth-roblox-reports-of-child-grooming/106323242https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-asks-meeting-with-roblox-after-grooming-content-complaints-2026-02-10/ Key Takeaways • Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells has sought an urgent meeting with Roblox after receiving reports that children using the platform are being groomed by predators and exposed to explicit and harmful…