For a couple years, my techie son and I have been talking about how the whole AI ecosystem seems like a bubble, and is not unlike the great ‘dot com’ bubble of the early 2000’s. Now, the Bank of England has warned that there is a growing risk of a “sudden correction” in global markets as it raised concerns about soaring valuations of leading AI tech companies. Theguardian.com reports that “On a number of measures, equity market valuations appear stretched, particularly for technology companies focused on artificial intelligence. This … leaves equity markets particularly exposed should expectations around the impact of AI become less optimistic.” Faith in the AI boom has recently been rattled by research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which showed that 95% of organizations are getting zero return from their investments in generative AI. 

Pew Research has released a report on kids’ screen time use. According to Pew, 90% of kids 12 and under watch some TV, 68% use tablets, 61% are on smartphones, 50% use a gaming device, 39% use a desktop or laptop. Interestingly, only 8% of the kids use AI chatbots. A quarter of parents say their under 12 child has a smartphone. When it comes to 11 and 12 year olds, 57% of those kids have a smartphone of their own. 51% of kids watch videos on YouTube every day!  

It is always a stressful hassle and time suck to have to go to the pharmacy and pick up a prescription after visiting your doctor. Now, geekwire.com says Amazon Pharmacy is moving to eliminate the wait and hassle by putting kiosks in at doctor’s offices that can quickly dispense medications to patients after their doctor visit. At first, they will be in offices of One Medical, Amazon’s primary healthcare company in the greater Los Angeles area. Expansion to other cities is expected soon after. The kiosks will be stocked with a wide range of commonly prescribed medications…including antibiotics, blood pressure meds, and inhalers. No controlled substances or meds that require refrigeration will be available. Patients use the Amazon app and a QR code to scan at the kiosk…the meds are then delivered in minutes with a custom label like at the pharmacy. Cameras inside let an Amazon pharmacist see the meds live and review before they are dispensed. They are also available for a phone or video consultation for new meds. 

Elon Musk has finally agreed to settle with 4 former top Twitter execs he canned after buying the company in 2022. Theverge.com notes that they had sued for over $128 million in unpaid severance. The settlement amount has not been disclosed, and is dependent on ‘certain conditions’ that must be met in the near term. The execs are the former CEO, CFO, chief legal officer, and general counsel. The lawsuit will resume on October 31st if the settlement terms are not met. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.