Despite broad, bipartisan public opposition to AI due to fears of job loss and misinformation, corporations and investors are rushing to adopt it. This push is not fueled by consumer demand but by a 'FOMO-driven gold rush' for profits, creating a dangerous disconnect between the technology's backers and the society it impacts.
The absence of numbered aisles at Whole Foods is a deliberate customer experience strategy, not an oversight. It forces shoppers to ask employees for help, who are then trained to personally walk them to the item. This design choice engineers personal conversations and embeds a high-touch service model directly into the store's physical layout.
Amazon's attempt to 'Amazonify' Whole Foods by adding processed foods like Doritos and Pepsi highlights the brand clash that causes two-thirds of corporate acquisitions to fail. The strategy, which includes hiding junk food in back rooms, is a sign of impatience and a fundamental misunderstanding of the acquired brand's value.
Palantir is challenging elite academia with its Fall Fellowship, which pays 18-year-olds instead of charging tuition. The program recruits top students who would otherwise attend Harvard or Yale, offering performance reviews instead of grades and real-world national security projects instead of classes, representing a direct corporate alternative to university education.
A celebrity CEO's casual comments can create irrational market behavior far outside their industry. After NVIDIA's Jensen Huang was seen eating at a bar in South Korea and praised fried chicken, the stock of a local chicken processor, Cherry Bro, jumped 30%. This highlights how media amplification of a leader's personal preferences can become a powerful, albeit illogical, investment signal.