• Kevin O'Leary dismissed a comparison between the AI boom and the dot-com bubble.
• The "Shark Tank" investor told Business Insider that AI generates measurable savings.
• He also said that "everybody got it wrong" on the impact of tariffs on the economy.

The AI boom isn't going to collapse like the dot-com bubble, investor Kevin O'Leary told Business Insider.

Many people, including Nobel economist Paul Krugman, fund manager Bill Smead, and entrepreneurship professor Erik Gordon, have compared the fervor around AI to internet buzz in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which ended with a stock-market crash.

But the "Shark Tank" investor and chair of O'Leary Ventures said AI wasn't "the same hype that the internet bubble was, because today, you actually can see the productivity and measure it on a dollar-by-dollar basis."

O'Leary gave the example of Fly Guys, a drone company he's invested in. Other companies can commission it to scan the tops of their buildings and deliver "AI-ready aerial imagery" to identify problems and automatically create work orders for them.

"That saves millions of dollars" for companies like Walmart or Home Depot with large commercial footprints, O'Leary said.

He added that such savings from AI may offset tariff costs and support high valuations for stocks.

Whether that's the case should be revealed in earnings over the next 12 to 18 months, he said.

O'Leary thinks tariffs aren't the threat many thought

Stocks plunged after Trump unveiled his plans for tariffs on "Liberation Day" in early April, but have since rebounded to record highs.

The recovery shows why investors should stay in the market during downturns "even though it's nerve-racking and nail-biting," O'Leary said.

The celebrity investor and self-proclaimed "Mr. Wonderful" said it can be costly to panic and dump stocks, adding he has seen investors miss out by doing this "over and over again."

He added that if an investor cashed out during April's sell-off, they missed the sort of returns they might expect over three years in just 88 trading sessions.

The S&P has gained around 27% from its low on April 8, and is around 12% higher than its level before the slump, far above the market's long-term annual return of about 7%.

The bounceback reflects greater "clarity" over tariffs, O'Leary said, adding some were "very manageable" at 10% to 15% for trade partners such as the EU. The latest rates range from 10% for the UK to 41% for Syria.

The SoftKey founder, who sold The Learning Company to Mattel in 1999, said that he would have expected to see evidence by now if tariffs were going to reignite inflation or cause a recession.

The benchmark consumer price index rose only 0.2% in April, 0.1% in May, and 0.3% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis.

He said the fear that tariffs would lead to "input costs killing gross margin" hasn't been realized yet, and US consumers also look to be in good shape.

He called it a "remarkable situation" as "basically, everybody got it wrong" on the impact of tariffs on the economy.

O'Leary said that he and his business managers were loading up on inventory in preparation for a busy holiday season. "So that gives you some indication, we're net bullish," he said.

• Spain said it will not buy the US-designed F-35 and is looking at European-made options.
• Some US allies have expressed doubt over the jet as a result of Trump.
• Europe's defense industry is growing and has seen opportunities to capitalize on the moment.

NATO ally Spain has decided against buying the US-designed F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, opting instead to invest in European-made aircraft for its air force.

Spain's decision comes after several NATO members publicly questioned their commitment to the jet, made by Lockheed Martin, amid concerns about President Donald Trump's attitude toward the alliance. Antagonism from the White House has rattled several American allies, though there were no firm decisions made concerning the F-35.

"This makes those thoughts or ideas concrete," said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Here's a country that really has changed its view about a future procurement."

Asked about Spain's decision, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Business Insider: "Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions, and this matter is best addressed by the US or Spanish government."

A spokesperson for the Spanish defense ministry said on Wednesday that the country was no longer considering the F-35 for its new fighter jet acquisitions. The official did not give a reason but told Politico that "the Spanish option involves the current Eurofighter and the FCAS in the future."

The ministry directed Business Insider to the Spanish air force, which did not respond when reached for comment.

The reported ministry statements, however, confirmed an earlier report from Spain's El País newspaper, citing government sources that said any plans to pursue the F-35 had been shelved and preliminary contacts that had been started were suspended indefinitely.

Richard Aboulafia, an aviation expert and the managing director of US consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, told Business Insider that Spain's decision fits with "the broader European objective of sovereignty and self-sufficiency."

The Eurofighter Typhoon under consideration is a fourth-generation, multi-role combat aircraft made by a consortium of European companies: Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo. And the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) is an initiative from France, Germany, and Spain to create a sixth-generation jet, with an operational rollout planned for 2040.

Aboulafia noted that Spain has a personal interest, including in job creation, with the FCAS.

Spain has wavered on the F-35 in recent years, sometimes leaning more toward other fighter types or extending the life of older aircraft. Its recent decision speaks to its new focus on European-made military technologies and comes at a time of anxiety among allies, including Madrid, over their relationship with the US.

A focus on European jets

Spain's government said this year that 87% of the more than $12 billion it was increasing its defense spending by would go to Spanish companies. El País reported that this commitment was incompatible with any plans to buy fighter jets that were made in the US.

Interest has been growing in building out Europe's defense industrial base and buying more homegrown gear. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in March, "We must buy more" European weapons.

Part of this drive is Trump, whose rhetoric has created new tensions between the US and its longtime allies. He excluded European allies from peace talks over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, criticized the NATO alliance, and has threatened to annex a European territory. He also said last year that he would "encourage" Russia to attack any NATO member that doesn't spend enough on defense. And the tariffs have been another source of tension.

There's a growing wariness among US allies and partners when it comes to weapons technology.

Canada's defense minister said that his country was reviewing its contract for F-35s and looking at "other alternatives," the chairman of Denmark's parliamentary defense committee said he regrets choosing the F-35 for his country, and Portugal's defense minister said his country was unsure about plans to move to the F-35, pointing to uncertainties in US reliability as an ally.

And politicians across all of Switzerland's political parties also said this week that the country should withdraw or reconsider the planned purchase of 36 F-35As due to the tariffs Trump put on the country.

European fighter jet makers have pounced at the opportunity: Eric Trappier, CEO of France's Dassault Aviation, which makes the Mirage and Rafale aircraft, said in March that the company was ready for countries concerned about the F-35 to adopt its Rafale fighter.

But despite some of the remarks on the F-35, a widespread shift might not happen. Pivoting to a new type of aircraft would be a huge undertaking for countries that are already committed, and the F-35 is considered a particularly good jet.

Aboulafia described the Eurofighter as "equal or better" to the F-35 as an air vehicle, but said the F-35 "has the better mission equipment package by a wide margin." The F-35 is an advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Furthermore, production levels may be a factor. Far fewer Eurofighters are made each year, and FCAS production has not yet begun.

Aboulafia said that he believes Europe could build enough fighter jets to cover the demand if it brought all its available models, from Gripens to Rafales, to the table.

There are limitations, though. Relying solely on European capabilities means that countries would have to make decisions and potential changes to their force structure.

Spain's navy, for example, has an aircraft carrier that is currently equipped with an air wing of aging Harrier jump jets set to retire. The F-35B could serve in that role, but the Eurofighters and other European jets can't. So there would need to be a change.

Cancian said that he expects "more reliance on European suppliers, both because of concerns that the United States might not be reliable and the fact that the Europeans are now investing a lot in their defense industrial base, so there's more to choose from and it's maybe more competitive — or will be more."

The downside, however, is that if US allies don't pick the F-35, the interoperability with other countries will take a hit. "Since the F-35 is used by so many, including the United States, that makes it easier for other countries to operate with countries that have the same equipment."

For now, many NATO members are committed to the F-35: The defense ministries of the UK, Australia, Denmark, and the Netherlands told BI earlier this year that they were unwavering.

And Trump hardening his stance against Russia in recent weeks may dull some countries' worries about the relationship, Aboulafia speculated, but there continue to be rifts.

Spain is experiencing a very particular tension with the US. Spain is the lowest defense spender in NATO as a proportion of its GDP, at 1.28% in 2024 per NATO estimates. It also requested an exemption to NATO members' proposal to bring defense spending to 5% of GDP. The alliance leaders agreed to the 5% in June, but Spain maintains that increasing its spending to 2.1% is sufficient.

Trump called Spain's position "very unfair" to other members and threatened trade ramifications, without giving any details.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez earlier this year said it had become obvious "only Europe will know how to protect Europe" from now on.

After the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act went into effect on Friday, requiring porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verification mechanisms, use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools spiked in the UK over the weekend.

Experts had expected the surge, given that similar trends have been visible in other countries that have implemented age check laws. But as a new wave of age check regulations debuts, open Internet advocates warn that the uptick in use of circumvention tools in the UK is the latest example of how an escalating cat-and-mouse game can develop between people looking to anonymously access services online and governments seeking to enforce content restrictions.

The Online Safety Act requires that websites hosting porn, self-harm, suicide, and eating disorder content implement “highly effective” age checks for visitors from the UK. These checks can include uploading an ID document and selfie for validation and analysis. And along with increased demand for services like VPNs—which allow users to mask basic indicators of their physical location online—people have also been playing around with other creative workarounds. In some cases, reportedly, you can even use the video game Death Stranding’s photo mode to take a selfie of character Sam Porter Bridges and submit it to access age-gated forum content.

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• Adidas' CEO has said tariffs "will directly increase the cost of our products for the US."
• The retailer sources many products from Vietnam and Indonesia, which are facing import levies.
• The company joins other companies, including rival Nike, saying they will raise prices to offset tariffs.

Adidas is the latest company to say it will raise prices in the US because of tariffs.

"The latest iteration of tariffs will directly increase the cost of our products for the US," CEO Bjørn Gulden said Wednesday, adding the levies could cost the company 200 million euros, around $218 million, in the second half of the year.

He added the company had a "negative impact in the double-digit euro millions" from tariffs in Q2.

In a statement accompanying the sportswear giant's most recent results, Gulden added that the company was wary of a bullish outlook for the rest of 2025 because, "We feel the volatility and uncertainty in the world does not make this prudent. We still do not know what the final tariffs in the US will be."

He was speaking as countries from which Adidas sources much of its products face tariffs.

Vietnam, Adidas's largest sourcing country, accounting for 27% of the company's total volume, will face a 20% tariff from August 1. Indonesia made 19% of Adidas' products and will face a 19% tariff.

Adidas joins other companies saying they will raise prices because of tariffs. Its rival Nike said at the end of June that it would raise prices in the US to offset a predicted $1 billion rise in costs.

Macy's, Shein, Temu, Ford, and Walmart have also said they will raise prices to offset tariffs.

Gulden added the company does not know "what the indirect impact on consumer demand will be should all these tariffs cause major inflation."

He said Adidas will stick to its initial outlook for 2025 of operating profit between €1.7 and 1.8 billion. "We currently feel confident to deliver it, but of course this might change," Gulden said.

Adidas's stock was down 7% to €13.85 a share on Frankfurt's stock exchange at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Revenue jumped about 2% year-on-year to almost €6 billion in the three months ending June 30. Operating profit rose 58% year-on-year in the second quarter to €546 million.

• Boeing said it will further delay the launch of two new 737 Max variants to 2026.
• The delays come as the planemaker wrestles with a potential issue regarding the plane's deicing.
• "We're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes," said CEO Kelly Ortberg.

A pair of upcoming variants of Boeing's most popular plane, the 737 Max have been further delayed to 2026, CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed in an earnings call Tuesday.

Achieving certification for the Max 7 and Max 10 will be a key benchmark for Ortberg, who is approaching one year at the helm and has been leading Boeing's turnaround.

The company had initially hoped the Max 7, the shortest version of the flagship narrow-body jet, would be certified in 2022.

However, it has been constrained by work on the engine anti-ice system, a key safety feature that prevents ice from building up during cold weather conditions and at high altitude.

"Work on the solution is taking longer than expected, and we now are expecting certification in 2026," Ortberg said on the second-quarter earnings call.

The delay was first reported last week by industry publication The Air Current.

Back in 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the system could cause the engine to overheat — and potentially result in debris breaking off and hitting the plane.

Boeing then requested an exemption, saying an engine breakup is "extremely improbable," but withdrew this request in January 2024 as it faced a safety crisis in the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout.

Figuring out a solution for the complex system has been far from straightforward.

Ortberg told investors on Tuesday that Boeing has been exploring different design paths.

"We found some issues with the design implementation we had, so we're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes to get through that de-icing requirement," he said.

"Basically, the engineering designs have not yielded in the time frame that we were anticipating, and so we still have work to do."

His comments came after Ryanair's earnings call last week, when CEO Michael O'Leary said Boeing's commercial airplanes chief wrote to confirm the airline's first 15 Max 10s would be delivered in the spring of 2027.

A Boeing spokesperson said: "We are maturing a technical solution that includes design updates. The modifications would be included in the baseline certification of the 737-7 and 737-10. We are finalizing our analysis and will present the information to the FAA. We will continue to work under their rigorous oversight to meet safety and regulatory requirements."

Meanwhile, Boeing is also working to certify the 777X — a twin-engine wide-body jet, also years behind schedule. It's now expected to enter service in 2026 as well.

"Flight testing continues with no new technical issues to report," Ortberg said during the earnings call.

Boeing reported quarterly revenues above expectations of $22.7 billion, with a net loss of $612 million.

It's been ramping up production of its cash-cow 737 Max, reaching the 38-a-month limit imposed by the FAA.

Its share price fell about 4% on Tuesday, but is still up more than 30% since the start of the year.

• Reid Hoffman built an AI version of himself to explore ethical uses of deepfake tech.
• His AI twin delivers speeches in multiple languages using his cloned voice.
• Hoffman said deepfakes can connect people — if used with transparency and care.

Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn cofounder and veteran Silicon Valley investor, has created an AI-powered version of himself — and the results are both eye-opening and a little surreal.

In a Monday interview on the "American Optimist" podcast, Hoffman revealed he trained a "deepfake twin" using a custom GPT model, ElevenLabs for voice synthesis, and video-generation tools to explore whether a technology widely associated with disinformation could also be repurposed for good.

"You have this technology that most people call deepfake, and deepfake just sounds like it's bad," Hoffman said. "So I was like, let's start experimenting with it and see how it can work in better ways."

The AI clone, which he calls "Reid AI," is designed to act and sound like him — and, in some cases, speak languages Hoffman doesn't.

After delivering a speech at the University of Perugia in Italy in May 2024, he used his AI twin to deliver the same message in Hindi, Chinese, Japanese, and Italian.

"I've never heard my voice speaking Hindi; I've never heard my voice speaking Japanese," he said. "And it was like, wow, it is clearly my voice."

Hoffman described the projects as "raw experimentation" with surprising upsides, including increasing accessibility and expanding the reach of ideas.

But he also acknowledged serious limitations.

"I haven't put it out in the wild," he said, citing the risk of hackers making the AI say "crazy stuff."

Deepfakes have already been misused in several ways. These include impersonating former President Joe Biden in AI-generated robocalls urging voters not to participate ahead of the 2024 New Hampshire primary and spreading fake surrender messages from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

For now, Hoffman's clone remains private and serves as a tool for translation, experimentation, and testing new ways to communicate across cultures and platforms.

Hoffman built the projects with transparency in mind: the AI's synthetic nature is disclosed, and its use remains tightly controlled.

His takeaway is that not all deepfakes are inherently harmful. With ethical design and intentional use, the same technology driving disinformation could help people connect across languages and cultures.

"What we're trying to do, as technooptimists say, is how do we shape it so it's applied well," he said.

Hoffman isn't the only one to have experimented with AI clones.

"The Diary of a CEO" host Steven Bartlett launched a new podcast in May, "100 CEOs with Steven Bartlett," using an AI-generated version of himself to narrate stories about business leaders.

The move is designed to create a more open, competitive environment for the app economy and user choice.

• Dubai, Bangkok, and Tokyo are rising as new luxury hubs for the global ultra-rich.
• Shanghai and New York are slipping as lifestyle shifts and politics reshape spending patterns.
• Julius Baer's 2025 report shows the wealthy now prioritize wellness, stability, and experiences.

Singapore, London, and Hong Kong still top the charts as the world's most expensive cities — but upstarts like Dubai, Bangkok, and Tokyo are rising fast as global wealth patterns shift.

For the third year running, Singapore ranked as the world's most expensive city for high-net-worth individuals, according to the latest Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report from Julius Baer Group, a Swiss wealth management group.

London moved into second place, nudging Hong Kong into third — but behind these familiar frontrunners, a quiet transformation could soon redraw the global map for the super wealthy

The 2025 edition of the report, published on Monday, tracked the cost of what it called "living well" — meaning the ability to afford and regularly spend on 20 luxury goods and services that high-net-worth individuals typically enjoy.

These include private school fees, luxury property, watches, fancy dinners, and business class flights. Pricing data was collected across 25 cities between November 2024 and March 2025, and each city was ranked based on the weighted-average total cost of all 20 items, converted into US dollars.

To complement the price index, Julius Baer also conducted a separate Lifestyle Survey, polling 360 high-net-worth individuals across 15 countries in February and March 2025 to understand how the wealthy are spending and investing.

While the methodology is robust, it does not account for geopolitical shifts that followed, including the Trump administration's April tariff announcements, and its relatively small sample size may limit broad conclusions.

Still, the findings point to a clear shift in momentum: while the podium remains stable, several key cities — especially in Asia and the Middle East — are climbing fast, suggesting a broader power shift in global luxury hubs.

The top 10 most expensive cities for the wealthy in 2025

1. Singapore.
2. London.
3. Hong Kong.
4. Monaco.
5. Zurich.
6. Shanghai.
7. Dubai.
8. New York.
9. Paris.
10. Milan.

The quiet rise of new luxury capitals

Several emerging cities climbed the rankings at an unexpected pace, especially in Asia and the Middle East.

Dubai jumped five spots to 7th place, edging closer to European strongholds like Monaco and Zurich.

Bangkok and Tokyo both rose six positions, landing at 11th and 17th, respectively, driven by rising costs of fashion, watches, and property.

Bangkok's "growing upper-middle class has had a direct impact on the expansion of the local luxury market," Rishabh Saksena, cohead of Julius Baer's global asset class specialists, told Business Insider.

"Increased wealth has mechanically driven demand for luxury goods and services, allowing the development of luxury malls, fine dining, and experiences such as spas," he said.

"Additionally, the city benefits from Asia's long-standing appeal as a global tourism destination."

Tokyo's rise reflects a similar trend.

"Tokyo, and Japan more broadly, has long been a culturally rich and influential region, with a strong luxury market, especially in areas such as fashion, fine dining, and experiences," Saksena added. "The recent global shift among HNWIs toward valuing experiences over goods has further enhanced Tokyo's attractivity and appeal."

Meanwhile, Shanghai, which topped the index in 2022, fell from 4th to 6th place — a sign that its dominance may be fading

São Paulo and Mexico City also dropped notably in the rankings.

"Dubai is nipping at the heels of the bastion cities in the region for wealth and lifestyle — London, Monaco, and Zurich — in a trend that is likely to continue as the Emirate ups the ante on offering an attractive residence proposition for HNWIs," the report said.

Behind the movements is a growing desire among the ultrawealthy for stability, wellness, and future-focused cities.

The report also notes that Dubai's appeal lies in tax advantages, luxury infrastructure, and a booming property market, while Bangkok and Tokyo benefit from regional economic momentum and cultural cachet.

What's driving the change?

The global average cost of "living well" actually declined 2% in US dollar terms between 2024 and 2025 — a rare drop in a sector typically shielded from macroeconomic headwinds.

Yet, beneath that decline are sharp regional contrasts:

• Business class air fares jumped 18.2% globally, driven by a shortage of jets and booming demand for premium pleasure travel.
• Luxury goods like handbags and jewellery fell in price, reflecting shifting consumer priorities.
• Private school fees soared in cities like London, where new tax rules drove up costs by over 25%.

More broadly, high-net-worth individuals increasingly prioritize experiences over possessions and longevity over status. These include spending more on wellness, curated travel, and health services, especially in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

"The main shift we've seen recently is the growing move toward aspirational consumption among HNWIs, who increasingly value experiences over physical goods," Mark Matthews, Head of Research Asia at Julius Baer, told BI.

"This trend varies from one location to another. Markets with a long cultural history of luxury goods (e.g., Switzerland with watches or Germany with cars) tend to show a slower transition toward 'experience-based' spending," he added.

Data from the Lifestyle Survey backs this up.

While luxury spending growth has cooled in Europe — where only 36% of high-net-worth individuals reported spending more on hotels — HNWIs in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America continue to ramp up their spending on high-end fashion, jewellery, and watches.

In APAC, 65% reported increasing spending on both hotels and watches, and 63% on women's fashion. In the Middle East, 52% spent more on hotels and 50% on fine jewellery.

Across the board, travel and hospitality remain top spending priorities, with fine dining and five-star hotels leading the way.

A Eurasian future?

The report also hints at a broader geopolitical rebalancing in how — and where — the world's wealthy choose to live.

"There is already talk of many wealthy Americans decamping to Europe for the next four years — and possibly forever," Julius Baer's report said, citing affluent individuals looking for political stability and strong institutions.

Cities like London, despite Brexit and political change, remain magnets for global wealth thanks to world-class education, healthcare, and cultural capital.

Meanwhile, Dubai plans to double the size of its economy by 2033 and is quickly becoming a rival to Europe's traditional elite enclaves.

• When Orrin Onken retired in 2020, he thought his golden years would look quiet and relaxing.
• Instead, he realized his phone addiction was recreating the stress he experienced at work.
• Onken, a former lawyer, is now setting rules to prevent his phone from poisoning his retirement.

Recently, I decided to watch The Brutalist — a movie that's won multiple Academy Awards and has been widely praised by critics — with my wife. I got snacks from the kitchen, snuggled into my recliner, and prepared to be mesmerized by great art.

Not even 10 minutes had passed before I reached for my smartphone. No one was calling me. I wasn't expecting any texts, emails, or alerts. Yet, as the movie played, for reasons unknown even to me, I was staring at the tiny screen in my hand.

Relentless phone-checking has become a regular occurrence in my life, so much so that it's poisoning my retirement. It's become an addiction, and I'm determined to overcome it.

When I was a lawyer, my phone was mostly a helpful tool

I retired from the practice of law in 2020. During my working years, my screen time was quite limited. My staff screened calls to the office, and I checked emails twice a day on my computer. My mobile mostly stayed in my pocket, reserved for communicating with my office on court days or for calling my wife.

When the time came for me to stop working, my retirement plans were ordinary. I imagined the time-consuming demands of clients and courts would be replaced by travel, gardening, and the leisurely reading of good books.

But what I didn't predict was that my handy pocket computer would turn on me and become a source of the kind of stress I retired to escape.

As a retiree, I find myself checking my phone all too often

My smartphone is an amazing tool. It opens and starts my car. With it, I can locate my house keys, my luggage, and even my wife. I can change the temperature in my home and see what the security cameras see. I can read books, play five-minute chess, and follow the news.

But what do I really do? I check it dozens of times a day for little or no reason. I get hooked on clickbait in my news feed: "The ingredient that every grilled cheese sandwich needs," "Five exercises that will give you eternal life," and whatever else the algorithm has concocted to catch my attention.

When I was still working as a lawyer, I didn't get sucked into my news feed in the same way, mostly because I didn't have the time. Nowadays, I find myself checking my phone because it relieves the anxiety I feel when I leave it unchecked for too long.

In the course of my life, I've overcome difficulties with alcohol, nicotine, and overeating. With each of those addictions, I knew I was in trouble when I was no longer going for the substance to feel good, but because using gave me temporary respite from withdrawal symptoms. I was doing the same thing with my phone.

Over time, I realized the relaxed retirement I'd envisioned was being sandwiched into the intervals between checking my phone. During my working days, I obsessed about my cases, and my mind would wander off to one of them at random moments. Today, it wanders off similarly to the call of social media and my news feed.

Phones are too valuable a tool in our modern society for abstinence, so I knew I had to learn to regulate my screen use instead of going cold turkey.

The journey to wean myself from addiction has begun

I want a retirement in which I participate in the world, instead of being pulled out of it by repeatedly engaging in behaviors that don't make me happy.

My first step toward this goal was to admit my dependence and then become sensitive to the difference between using my phone productively and grabbing it at every uncomfortable juncture in life.

Two months ago, I set some rules I adapted from when I quit smoking twenty-five years ago. I'd notice when I felt an urge to check my phone, and then tell myself to wait 10 minutes. When that time had passed, I'd often forget about the urge or decide I could wait another 10 minutes.

My aim is to be intentional about checking my phone. And it's working. Those intermittent rewards are already losing their grip on me.

When I do eventually look at my phone, because I have a reason to, the cheap reward of three likes on my social media post still gives me a little thrill, but I no longer go looking for them by refreshing my feed twenty minutes after I posted.

I want to learn to control my phone, rather than let it control me

As I navigate healthier phone use, I won't condemn myself for watching funny videos of cats or stop playing online chess. I only want to end the mindless checking — the things that, when I am finished, make me feel stupid and sad.

I didn't walk away from the pressures of the law office to replace them with pressure from my phone. I aspire to a retirement of simple tasks and quiet days. It's a vision that no one ever achieves in this day and age, but for now, I won't allow that fantasy to be destroyed by my own behaviour and a tiny screen inside my pocket.

Do you have a story to share about retirement? Contact the editor, Charissa Cheong, at [email protected]

The British Business Bank, owned by the UK government, is creating a £500 million (around $674 million) economic package to help support diverse and underrepresented fund managers and founders in the country.  Fifty million pounds will be set aside for female-led venture funds, which means the BBB has now committed at least £100 million (around […]

• Qatar Airways brought a unique Boeing 777 to the Paris Air Show.
• The same plane transported the PSG soccer team days before the huge industry gathering.
• I toured its award-winning business class and the large cockpit.

I might never have achieved my childhood dream of becoming a world-class soccer player, but at June's Paris Air Show, I had the chance to see how some of them travel.

Qatar Airways exhibited a Boeing 777-300ER dressed in a unique blue livery, decorated with the logos of the Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain.

The airline sponsors the French soccer team, which is also owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. This particular plane was used to transport them to the US for this year's FIFA Club World Cup. PSG play in Sunday's final against Chelsea.

While the interior was the same as a typical Qatar Airways 777, it was certainly an added highlight knowing that some of the world's best athletes had been flying on the same jet just a few days earlier.

Regardless, it's also safe to say that the interior is best-in-class. The day before my tour, Skytrax named Qatar Airways the world's best airline.

From the cockpit to the award-winning QSuite business class, here's what it was like on board the jumbo jet.

• Hooters of America filed for bankruptcy in the US in late March.
• The restaurant and bar chain has struggled with high levels of debt and closed many locations.
• Hooters is not that well known in the UK. Business Insider put it to the test to assess the Transatlantic differences.

Hooters of America, a major operator of the instantly recognizable chain restaurant famed for its scantily clad waitstaff and chicken wings, is facing bankruptcy in its home market as it fights high levels of debt and struggling locations.

Although primarily a US chain, Hooters operates internationally, with locations in Canada, Singapore, South Africa — and three restaurants in the UK.

As luck would have it, one of these locations is in my hometown of Newcastle. I decided to go along to taste-test its famous wings, and see how well the concept translates to the UK.

• A think tank boss believes AI will replace most jobs by 2045, leaving billions without work.
• Sex work, coaching, and politics may survive, but not at the scale society needs, Adam Dorr said.
• He said the future could bring mass inequality or "super-abundance," depending on our response now.

By 2045, robots and artificial intelligence could render most human jobs obsolete — and there's little time to prepare for the fallout, according to Adam Dorr, director of research at the RethinkX think tank.

In a Wednesday interview with The Guardian, Dorr warned that machines are advancing so rapidly that within a generation, they'll be able to perform virtually every job humans do, at a lower cost and with equal or superior quality.

Drawing from historical patterns of disruption, he compared today's workforce to horses in the age of cars, or traditional cameras in the age of digital photography.

"We're the horses, we're the film cameras," he said.

Dorr and his research team have documented more than 1,500 major technological transformations. In most cases, he said, once a technology gains even a few percentage points of market share, it quickly dominates — typically within 15 to 20 years.

"Machines that can think are here, and their capabilities are expanding day by day with no end in sight," he said. "We don't have that long to get ready for this."

Still, he said, not every job is destined for extinction. Dorr believes a narrow set of roles may survive the AI takeover, especially those grounded in human connection, trust, and ethical complexity.

He pointed to sex workers, sports coaches, politicians, and ethicists as examples of jobs that could remain relevant.

"There will remain a niche for human labor in some domains," he said. "The problem is that there are nowhere near enough of those occupations to employ 4 billion people."

Dorr argued that the looming upheaval could lead either to mass inequality or to what he called "super-abundance" — a society where human needs are met without traditional labor. But achieving the latter, he said, will require bold experiments in how we define work, value, and ownership.

"This could be one of the most amazing things to ever happen to humanity," he said — but only if we're ready.

The AI takeover debate is heating up

Several top AI researchers and tech leaders have shared Dorr's concerns, though views on which jobs will endure vary.

Geoffrey Hinton, often called the "Godfather of AI," warned that "mundane intellectual labor" is most at risk. On the Diary of a CEO podcast in June, he said he'd be "terrified" to work in a call center or as a paralegal.

Hinton believes hands-on roles like plumbing are safer, at least for now, saying it will be a long time before AI is "as good at physical manipulation" as people.

In May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that he believes that half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, including roles in tech, finance, law, and consulting, could disappear within five years.

But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta's Yann LeCun have pushed back, saying AI will transform jobs, not eliminate them entirely.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also said AI will displace many roles, but believes new ones will emerge, even if they look "sillier and sillier" over time. "We have always been really good at figuring out new things to do," he said.

MIT economist David Autor took a darker view: AI may not wipe out jobs, but it could make people's skills worthless, ushering in a "Mad Max" economy where many fight over a shrinking pool of valuable jobs.

• Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles.
• Elon Musk said on Thursday that the chatbot would be available on Tesla's EVs by "next week at the latest."
• It comes after the AI model went on an antisemitic rant and praised Adolf Hitler in a series of posts on X.

Tesla owners could be about to get a controversial backseat driver.

Elon Musk said Thursday that Grok, the chatbot built by his company xAI, would soon be available on Tesla's vehicles, after a chaotic week in which the AI model posted a series of inflammatory and antisemitic responses on X.

"Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest," the billionaire wrote in a post on X.

It came hours after xAI debuted Grok 4, the latest version of the AI model. The Tesla CEO said that the new update would allow Grok to solve "difficult, real-world engineering questions" it had never seen before.

The launch followed a tumultuous few days for the "truth-seeking" AI system.

On Tuesday, xAI removed numerous posts made by Grok on Musk's social media site X, after the chatbot praised Adolf Hitler, linked Ashkenazi Jewish surnames to "anti-white hate," and made antisemitic jokes.

To better understand Grok and the recent controversy, read our explainer.

The arrival of Grok on Tesla's vehicles comes as Musk faces renewed pressure over his leadership of the EV giant.

Tesla's share price fell on Monday after the world's richest man announced he would form a new political party and intensified his feud with President Donald Trump over the weekend, with investors expressing concern over Musk diving back into politics.

On Thursday, Tesla said it would host the annual meeting of shareholders on 6 November.

The day before, a group of major Tesla shareholders, including several US state treasurers and institutional investors, sent a letter to Tesla's board raising concerns about the company's failure to schedule its annual general meeting, as required by Texas law.

The EV maker has reported underwhelming sales so far this year, faced protests, and suffered brand damage over Musk's previous role in the Trump administration and his interventions into politics.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment sent outside normal working hours.

Carnival (NYSE: CCL)(NYSE: CUK) continues to deliver impressive results, but its stock is still 64% off its all-time high. There's good reason for that; it has a huge debt that makes it risky.

But that isn't likely to stick around forever. If you have some appetite for risk, now's the time to buy before it pays off the debt and soars. Here are three reasons why Carnival stock looks ripe for buying today.

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1. It's experiencing record demand

Carnival is the largest cruise operator in the world, and it's dealing with incredible demand for its industry-leading cruises. Over the past few years, as demand continues to soar and sales continue to increase, there have been various reasons investors have been worried that it would eventually slow down. It hasn't.

Sales have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, and they continue to grow. In the fiscal 2025 second quarter (ended May 31), revenue increased 8.6% year over year.

Demand is staying strong. It's remaining at historically high levels, with 93% of 2025 booked in its second-highest-ever position, and 2026 also booked at historic levels. Total deposits were a record $8.5 billion in Q2. Carnival is also benefiting from increased onboard sales of non-ticket items like food and entertainment. Clearly, these are engaged passengers.

Revenue is trickling down to the bottom line, which took a little longer to get back into the positive. Operating income nearly doubled year over year in Q2 to almost $1 billion, and adjusted net income more than tripled from last year, well above management's guidance. Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35 beat internal guidance of $0.22 and crushed Wall Street's expectations for $0.25. Management raised guidance for net income and EPS for the full year.

2. It's investing for the future to keep it that way

All the worry about slowing down has been for naught up until now, but that doesn't mean the worry is going away. Management is making many moves to keep demand strong and stay in growth mode for the foreseeable future.

It has one new ship scheduled for delivery this year, and it's refitting some current ships with upgrades and new attractions. It has another four ships on order for delivery between 2027 and 2032.

The cruise line has been making a major marketing effort to generate buzz and interest in its new, exclusive asset called Celebration Key, a resort for Carnival guests in the Bahamas. It features beaches, shops, restaurants, and guest services, and it can accommodate two million guests annually, or two cruises at once, and it's launching in July.

Carnival has two other experiences ready to roll out next year -- RelaxAway and Isla Tropicale. These innovations can attract new users and feature new ways to vacation for repeat customers to keep high demand steady. It's also launching a new membership program to achieve loyalty and drive more repeat business.

3. It's almost at investment grade

As risky as it is for Carnival to hold so much debt right now, management has been paying it down efficiently. Although it stands at more than $27 billion as of the end of Q2, that's nearly $10 billion off its peak total debt of $32 billion at the end of 2022. In Q2, it prepaid $350 million and refinanced another $1 billion at better rates.

Also in Q2, it got two upgrades from rating companies Fitch and S&P Global after getting an upgrade from Moody's in Q1. It's now one notch away from an investment-grade rating.

Due to the current risk, Carnival stock trades at the cheap, forward, one-year price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12 and a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of just over 1.

Carnival is demonstrating its resilience right now, becoming stronger through adversity. Not only is profitability coming back, but in Q1, it reported its highest operating margin in almost 20 years. These are the kinds of qualities you want to see in a great company.

Carnival won't stay cheap forever, and now appears to be an excellent time to buy shares.

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The UK’s competition regulator is proposing to loosen Google’s control of its search engine in the first application of Britain’s tough new digital market rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Tuesday that Google could be required to implement new “fair ranking” measures in its search results and give publishers more control over how it uses their content, including in output generated by artificial intelligence.

The CMA said it was minded to hand Google “strategic market status”—a label introduced under new digital market laws this year—in light of its dominant position in search and search advertising, which would require the tech giant to abide by a number of such conduct rules. A final decision will be made by October following a public consultation.

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• Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, but it's already showing signs of strain.
• Tehran may turn to proxies, missiles, or the Strait of Hormuz if the conflict reignites.
• Analysts told BI that Iran's options are limited and it risks a strong backlash.

Despite being outmatched by Israel's advanced arsenal, Iran retains several military options should the fragile ceasefire first announced by President Donald Trump collapse.

On Monday, Trump announced that the US had brokered a "complete and total" truce between the two countries, but since then there have already been signs that the deal is on shaky ground.

By Tuesday morning, Trump was urging restraint on Truth Social, calling on both countries to "not violate" the ceasefire. He later urged Israel to avoid "dropping those bombs," or risk committing a "major violation."

Ongoing covert operations and missile launches have already chipped away at its credibility, Andreas Krieg, a Gulf specialist at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London, told Business Insider.

"The ceasefire that took effect following US and Qatari mediation is brittle and fragile," Krieg said. "It rests more on political signaling and public posturing than on concrete enforcement mechanisms."

He added: "In practice, the ceasefire has mostly existed on social media, with each side using digital platforms to declare restraint while continuing activities that fall short of open warfare."

Mining or threatening the Strait of Hormuz

"There is a case where a ceasefire could hold," Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab British Understanding, told BI, "but there's also a case sort of saying that both sides want to be the last to fire."

If the ceasefire collapses, Iran's most powerful geopolitical lever remains the Strait of Hormuz — a vital 21-mile-wide chokepoint through which 20% of the world's oil flows.

Iran has long threatened to block it.

While Iran lacks the legal authority to shut down the Strait of Hormuz outright, it could cripple global energy markets by making the waters barely navigable.

"Under normal circumstances, this might be seen as a self-destructive option given Iran's own dependence on revenue from oil exports through that corridor," Jacob Parakilas, a research leader for Defence Strategy, Policy and Capabilities at RAND Europe, told Business Insider.

"But if Israeli strikes cause enough damage to Iranian oil infrastructure, that calculation might well change," he said, adding that Iran could use missile-armed small boats, drones, and naval mines.

"This arsenal could pose a significant challenge to navigation," said Sidharth Kaushal, a sea power expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank.

Kaushal said the US Navy is equipped to counter this, but the time needed to do so would be costly for all involved.

A full closure of the Straits could push Brent crude past $110 a barrel, according to Goldman Sachs.

Attacks on US bases

Iran launched a missile strike on Monday on Al Udeid, the largest US base in the region. This was before the ceasefire was announced.

While Qatar said its air defense systems intercepted the missiles, and no casualties were reported, the attack showed Tehran's willingness to target US bases.

The US has bolstered its regional strength by deploying carrier strike groups and missile defense systems and repositioning aircraft, including B-2 bombers, away from vulnerable sites like Al Udeid.

However, Doyle believes that Iran is unlikely to escalate directly against the US.

Instead, he said that Iran's strategy could be to prolong the conflict with Israel, aiming to outlast its will politically and economically.

He described this as a war of attrition, rather than one of decisive strikes. "Whilst these dangerous weapons are still being used, anything can happen," he said.

Proxy groups

Beyond direct military action, Iran has long relied on its network of proxy forces — Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shia militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen.

These offer Tehran plausible deniability and the ability to hit Israel or US assets without direct confrontation.

But Iran's proxies are not what they once were.

Israel's offensives have decimated Hamas' military leadership and driven Hezbollah into retreat after heavy airstrikes and an incursion into southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, President Bashar Assad has been ousted in Syria.

The deaths of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the political wing of Hamas, have further degraded Tehran's reach.

Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior advisor to the Counter Extremism Project, cautioned that Tehran may already be close to exhausting its proxy playbook.

These groups "are already doing everything they can," he said.

"Iran cannot supply the proxies — the Houthis are under siege," he added. "The main threats to the Americans would be from the Iraqi proxies, and even they may act independently rather than under direct Iranian command."

Activating these forces en masse also risks broader escalation, especially if unconventional weapons are used.

Ballistic missile capabilities

While Iran's air force can't compete with Israel's, its ballistic missile arsenal has expanded into the largest in the region.

Tehran now possesses an estimated 3,000 missiles, including a growing stockpile of solid-fueled, precision-guided medium-range weapons like the Fattah-1 and Kheibarshekan, which were both used in an attack on Israel last October.

But experts say these, too, have been significantly reduced.

Iran's "ballistic missile supply is not infinite and has already decreased significantly," Yaniv Voller, a senior lecturer in Middle East Politics at the University of Kent, said.

Fitton-Brown agreed: "They've mainly been depleted because they've been used — and the Israelis have taken aim at military-industrial sites."

No good options

Browne Maddox, director of the Chatham House think tank, wrote in a Sunday briefing that few of the choices available to Iran are attractive to it.

But it may still go for them "rather than be seen to be forced back to the table," she said.

It's also a delicate matter for the country domestically.

Being forced by the US to give up its nuclear enrichment — a key demand of the Trump administration — "would very likely be perceived by Iranians as surrender," she said.

One option for Tehran, she said, is to draw out negotiations while quietly rebuilding its nuclear program, taking advantage of ongoing disagreements in the Trump camp over how best to proceed.

But all its military options risk a devastating US or Israeli response.

"Iran doesn't have good options," Fitton-Brown said. "It's run out of them."

Though indexes have rebounded, the first half of the year has been rocky for investors. The market had to digest a variety of uncertainties, from geopolitical problems to mixed economic data and the U.S. plan to tax imports. All of these factors -- particularly the import tariff announcements -- have weighed on investors' appetite for stocks.

But in recent weeks, trade talk progress has lifted investor optimism, and this, along with strong corporate earnings reports, has helped the S&P 500 return to positive territory for the year. Many great bargains still exist though, making now a fantastic time to invest. Here are my five dirt cheap favorites to buy before the second half, which starts next Tuesday.

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1. Alphabet

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is the cheapest of the "Magnificent Seven" technology stocks that led market gains last year but tumbled this year amid concerns about tariffs and their impact on the economy. Today, the stock trades for 17 times forward earnings estimates, a steal considering the company's earnings track record, strong moat, and prospects across its main businesses.

This tech giant is the owner of something many people use every day: Google Search. It's the world's No. 1 search engine, and its presence in our daily routine and Alphabet's moves to use artificial intelligence (AI) to continually improve results should help it remain on top. This is key because Alphabet generates most of its revenue through advertisements across the Google platform.

Alphabet's Google Cloud also is proving to be a huge part of the revenue picture, generating double-digit quarterly growth in recent times. Again, AI is part of the story as Alphabet makes available a wide range of AI tools for customers. With AI growing in leaps and bounds and Alphabet's price low, now is the perfect time to invest.

2. Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) doesn't yet have products on the market so we can't use traditional valuation metrics to assess the stock price. Instead, it's important to look at pipeline progress, the potential market for its products, and Viking's financial health.

This biotech is working on a variety of candidates for metabolic conditions but the one that's captured investors' attention is VK2735 for weight loss. An injectable candidate is set to start phase 3 trials, and the oral formulation has already started phase 2 trials. Earlier trials have produced strong results, and demand for weight loss drugs is booming -- the market is set to approach $100 billion by the end of the decade.

Though pharma giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already share the market, demand suggests there's room for additional companies to generate significant growth too. Viking is well positioned to be one of them thanks to its candidates and cash position of more than $800 million to support development. That's why it looks like a bargain today.

3. Target

Target's (NYSE: TGT) revenue growth has stumbled in recent years as shoppers favored essentials over discretionary spending, but this retailer is well positioned to excel over the long term for a few reasons.

Target has built up a strong online presence, and that's helping digital sales advance even if overall sales have stagnated. The company also has invested in its stores through remodels and new openings, and revamped stores generally have delivered higher sales. Target also is known for its owned brands, many of which generate billions of dollars in revenue annually, for example, the Cat & Jack children's clothing line. Owned brands are an important asset for Target as the company has more control over the cost structure and therefore is able to generate higher profits on sales.

On top of this, Target is making moves to focus on growth. In the recent quarter, it announced the creation of an "accleration office" to supercharge decision making and the development of its strategy.

Target stock is cheap, trading at 13 times forward earnings estimates, and could easily head higher with any progress in the coming quarters.

4. Pfizer

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is another company that's had a growth problem recently. This is as its top-selling products -- its blockbuster coronavirus vaccine and treatment -- saw declining demand and at the same time, some of Pfizer's older blockbusters headed for patent expiration.

But it's important to take a long-term view and imagine where Pfizer may be a few years from now. The company has brought several new products to market over the past couple of years, and it acquired oncology specialist Seagen as part of an effort to grow its presence in oncology. Importantly, Pfizer says its oncology products are generating high gross margin and operating margin.

Meanwhile, Pfizer also has been working to cut costs, a move to strengthen its business and prepare for a new wave of growth led by its newer products. In the recent quarter, Pfizer said it was on track to deliver $4.5 billion in cost savings by the end of this year. And it expects $500 million of research and development cost savings by next year, and will reinvest this to support pipeline growth.

All of this suggests Pfizer's growth could pick up at any moment, making the stock a bargain trading at about 8 times forward earnings estimates.

5. Carnival

Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) suffered in the early days of the pandemic as it was forced to temporarily halt cruises, but over the past couple of years, the company has been recovering and returning to growth.

The world's biggest cruise operator has done this by focusing on efficiency -- for example, replacing fuel-intensive ships with ones that use less -- and the company also has prioritized paying down debt. It's made significant progress on that, as the chart below shows, and tackled variable-rate debt, a move that makes it less vulnerable to shifts in interest rates.

CCL Total Long Term Debt (Annual) data by YCharts

As for revenue and demand for sailings, they've been on the rise and have reached records in recent quarters. And advanced bookings, even at higher price points, have climbed, too. This is thanks to Carnival's strength in the market as well as the general popularity of cruise vacations.

So, right now, trading at 12 times forward earnings estimates, down from nearly 20 times, Carnival looks like a bargain to get in on before the second half as it continues along its new growth path.

Should you invest $1,000 in Alphabet right now?

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The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alphabet wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $664,089!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $881,731!*

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adria Cimino has positions in Target. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Pfizer, and Target. The Motley Fool recommends Carnival Corp., Novo Nordisk, and Viking Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

• Air India is cutting international flights by 15% after a deadly crash and conflict in the Middle East.
• The crash, which killed 241, involved a Boeing 787. The airline is conducting checks on its fleet.
• Fighting between Israel and Iran has closed airspace, causing airlines to suspend some flights.

Air India announced Wednesday it would cut its international schedule by 15% in the coming weeks, citing last week's deadly plane crash and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

"The curtailments are a painful measure to take, but are necessary following a devastating event which we are still working through and an unusual combination of external events," the airline said in a statement provided to Business Insider.

On June 12, Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.

It's still not clear what caused the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash minutes after take-off. India's civil aviation ministry has held just one press conference since the crash, and questions weren't allowed.

"The investigating authorities are continuing their efforts to find out the reasons for the accident," Air India said in its statement.

It added that the reduction in international services was due in part to a safety review of its aircraft.

The airline said India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which regulates the country's civil aviation industry, had ordered enhanced safety inspections across Air India's Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft fleet.

It said that, as of Wednesday, 26 of 33 planes had been inspected and cleared for service, with the remaining seven still under inspection.

It also said it was conducting its own "enhanced safety checks" on its Boeing 777 fleet as an added precaution.

But these aren't the only reasons for the cuts to international services.

Air India also cited geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, where both Iranian and Israeli airspace has been closed following an Israeli strike on Iran last Friday.

The two countries have continued to trade aerial strikes, leading to Israel's flagship carrier, El Al Airlines, suspending all flights until further notice.

Several global airlines, including Emirates and Etihad, have also suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Tehran.

Air India said that due to "certain disruptions" to international operations over the six days before Wednesday, it had canceled 83 flights.

The airline said the 15% cuts to international services on widebody aircraft would continue until at least mid-July.

"This effectively adds to our reserve aircraft availability to take care of any unplanned disruptions," it said.

The airline said it would try to rebook affected passengers on alternative flights, but they can also choose to reschedule or request a full refund.

• Archer Aviation makes the Midnight VTOL aircraft that is often called a "flying taxi."
• CEO Adam Goldstein said it may create an AI flight manual for air taxi pilots.
• Archer is partnering with Palantir, Goldstein told Business Insider at the Paris Air Show.

Archer Aviation is considering creating an AI flight manual for its air taxis, its CEO told Business Insider.

"We look at using AI and LLMs [large language models] to help simplify things," Adam Goldstein said in an interview at the Paris Air Show this week.

"So, we can look at anything from a flight manual — which may be quite complex, that you can query and ask questions — to internal tools to help us move faster.

"You can imagine if you're in some type of scenario and there's a big flight manual, and you need to understand what to do very quickly, you don't want to be thumbing through some multi-hundred-page book," he added. "You want to ask a quick question, get your answer, and fix your problem."

Pilots have manuals called quick-reference handbooks that outline procedures for emergencies or other situations where the aircraft signals a warning message. The handbooks are typically on a digital device that are easier to search.

AI could make searching faster, but large-language models such as ChatGPT have faced criticism for sometimes generating incorrect information, known as hallucinations.

Silicon Valley-based Archer has partnered with Palantir for work with AI, saying they would develop software to improve a range of systems, including air traffic control, movement control, and route planning.

"There's big complicated systems that need near 100% reliability, if not 100% reliability, and that's why we partnered with Palantir," Goldstein told BI.

He said he used ChatGPT daily: "I think it's a great way to do research and to view the world, and I only expect that to continue."

Archer is one of the premier players in advanced air mobility, which is regarded as the next generation of aircraft.

Its aircraft, Midnight, is electric and can take off and land vertically — called an eVTOL for short, or a "flying taxi."

The goal is to transform commutes in cities. For example, Archer says it would take 9 minutes to travel between Newark Liberty International Airport and downtown Manhattan, instead of the roughly hourlong journeys by car or public transit.

United Airlines has placed an order worth up to $1.5 billion, and Archer last month announced it was chosen as the official air taxi partner of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Also in Paris on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an alliance to streamline the certification of eVTOLs, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Archer plans to deploy its first Midnight aircraft in the United Arab Emirates later this year.