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Douglas Rushkoff, the writer and media theorist who chronicled the countercultural spirit of early 90s online culture in books like Cyberia, hopes AI can help recapture that eras sense of possibility. “I feel like there’s another opportunity to kind of stop using technology on people, and for people to start using technology to realize new visions,” says Rushkoff. He recently joined the AI consulting startup Andus Labs, where he serves as a kind of scholar-in-residence. Hes also helping produce an upcoming Andus event called After Now, which will take place on July 23 and allow both online and in-person audiences in Manhattan to share thoughts on how AI will shape the future. Speakers include musician Brian Eno, The Atlantic CEO Nick Thompson, MIT scientist Nataliya Kos’myna, and investors Esther Dyson and Albert Wenger. Thompson will speak on AIs impact on the media and information ecosystem. Eno, who has long worked with pre-LLM generative technologies to create music and art, will join Rushkoff in a conversation about “emergence, uncertainty, and the creative power of letting go.” Comedian Greg Barris is scheduled to demonstrate how to build a collaborative AI assistant. Entrepreneur Julia Dixon, who created the AI platform ESAI to help college applicants despite having little tech background, will discuss how no-code tools can turn “AI curiosity into scaled impact.” Dyson and Wenger will explore how AI may transform business, along with broader economic and social systems. The event will also help Andus Labsfounded by Chris Perry, a former innovation executive at marketing agency Weber Shandwickbegin building a network of AI-focused professionals. But according to Rushkoff, it’s equally an opportunity to reflect on what the AI era should look like: not just how the technology is used, but how society and work may need to evolve alongside it. “Rather than looking for fast answers, how do we iterate with these technologies to create new and more compelling questions?” says Rushkoff. Already, Andus Labs is collaborating with Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, on a concept they call a “civic stack” for public AI applications. The company also plans to help corporate clients build internal AI innovation labsspaces where small teams can explore how AI might serve their unique needs, rather than treat it as just another IT product. “As if they’re bringing in Lotus 1-2-3,” Rushkoff says. “The idea is to go into a company and find 10 or 20 people who are willing to think and experiment in this way, and have a certain amount of their time be able to be dedicated to really thinking through what aspects of their company they want to start to interrogate and amplify with these technologies, and then working with them to hopefully develop bespoke instances.” Andus Labs also plans to publish insights from its work, Rushkoff says, as part of a broader effort to promote what it calls “generative thinking”not just by machines, but by humans. “We’re trying to be to the autonomous technology age, what Bauhaus was to the industrial age,” Rushkoff says. “Bauhaus was looking at how you design industrially around the human body, and human perception, and human scale.” Rushkoff is the author of more than a dozen books, including Survival of the Richest and Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus, and hosts the podcast Team Human. His work often critiques techno-solutionism and the commodification of human attention, pushing instead for more humane and equitable uses of technology. His goal with Andus is to focus on a more human-centered approach than that of traditional tech firms, which he says often see AI as merely a new domain for market expansion. He doesnt intend to shy away from broader societal questions, including why people still need to work for a living, even as AI reshapes the economy. “I know it sounds idealistic, but I guess what I’m saying is these apparent AI challenges can launch different kinds of conversations,” he says. “And then they suggest a different way of working with AI, which is not to accelerate the rate at which we can develop industrial age, easy solutions for problems, but rather to engage in a new style of generative thinking, [where] we iterate questions and problems with artificial intelligence.”
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If you want to buy an electric vehicleor solar panels or a heat pump or home batterytheres a short window of time to make use of the existing federal tax credits currently available. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, the tax credits were supposed to last 10 years. Now, thanks to the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill, there are only about 10 weeks left to claim the EV tax credits before they disappear. Other clean energy tax credits will expire at the end of the year. Heres what you need to know if you want to make use of them to help cut emissions and save on your energy bills. New electric vehicles Deadline: September 30 If you need a new car, its a good time to get an EV. Models qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 if theyre assembled in North America and meet American sourcing requirements for battery parts and critical minerals. Theres a price limit of $55,000 for cars and $80,000 for trucks, and an income limit for taxpayers ($150,000 for single filers). You can claim the credit on your tax return next year, but many dealerships also offer the option to transfer the credit to the dealer and get an immediate discount. For foreign-made EVs, you may still be able to get a discount if you lease a car through a loophole that classifies leased cars as commercial clean vehicles. The dealer can get the tax credit and pass on the savings to you. Used electric vehicles Deadline: September 30 The market for used EVs is booming; they’ve outsold used gas cars for five out of the last seven months. More than a third of the EVs available now are under $25,000. Thats the price limit for used cars to qualify for a $4,000 tax credit. (Cars also have to be purchased from a licensed dealer, be at least two years old, and on resale for the first time.) The income limit for taxpayers is lower than for new cars: For a single person, your adjusted gross income needs to be $75,000 or less. EV chargers Deadline: June 2026 If you need an EV charger in your garage, you have more time to make your purchase: The tax credit of up to $1,000 doesnt expire until next summer. Rooftop solar Deadline: December 31 Like some of the other clean energy credits, the tax credit for solar panels existed long before the Biden administration. For the past 20 years, if you installed solar panels or solar shingles on your roof, you could get a 30% tax credit (on average, worth around $4,600). Now its going away. Adding solar to your home can help save thousands per year on electric bills. If you pair the panels with home battery storage, you can also have clean backup power when the grid goes down. If you lease solar panels rather than buying them, the incentives last a little longer: Companies that lease solar can claim federal tax credits until 2027 and pass on savings to you. But because tariffs are pushing prices up, it may still make sense to act sooner. Battery storage, including some induction stoves Deadline: December 31 Even if you don’t have rooftop solar, a home battery can help you save money and cut emissions by storing electricity when there’s extra renewable energy available on the grid. To qualify for the current 30% tax credit, the battery must have a capacity of at least 3 kilowatt-hours. It includes sleek wall units and even high-end induction stoves that double as battery storage. Like companies that lease solar, those that lease batteries have longer to claim tax creditsuntil the 2030s, in this case. Geothermal heating Deadline: December 31 Even if you live in a climate thats sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter, the temperature underground stays steady. Geothermal heat pumps tap into this, transferring heat into a house in the winter and reversing the process in the summer to keep the house cool. Theyre pricey, with costs ranging from $15,000 to $35,000 or more. The current tax credit offers 30% of the cost of the tech and installation, with no cap and no income limit for the taxpayer. Again, there’s a longer timeline for companies that lease geothermal systems to claim credits and offer consumers some savings. Air-source heat pumps Deadline: December 31 Air-source heat pumps pull heat from the air, even in cold climates like Maine. Swapping out a gas furnace and air conditioner for air-source heat pumps (either a central system or mini splits) can help you save hundreds of dollars per year on energy bills. Heat pumps are around three times more efficient than traditional heating. If your current HVAC system is nearing the end of its life, this could be a good time to invest. Heat pumps are pricey, with an average whole-home system costing nearly $20,000; a single-zone system can cost around $6,000. The current 30% tax credit has a cap of $2,000. Water heaters Deadline: December 31 A heat pump water heater is as much as four times as efficient as a standard water heater, and can help save around $200 per year for some homes. The current tax credit covers up to 30% of the cost, with a cap of $2,000. Solar water heaters, which use a rooftop system to heat water, are eligible for a 30% credit with no cap. Weatherization, electrical upgrades, and home energy audits Deadline: December 31 To help make your house more energy-efficient, you can get tax credits of up to 30% on insulation and air sealing ($1,200 cap); exterior doors (up to $500); and windows and skylights ($600). Electrical upgrades are capped at $600. (In total, weatherization and electrical upgrades can’t get a credit larger than $1,200 for the year.) Another tax credit offers $150 for a professional home energy audit. Next steps Under the IRA, with incentives that would have been in place for a decade, homeowners could slowly make upgrades as existing equipment wore out. Now they have to make harder decisions about what to prioritize in the next few months. Even without the tax credits, there are still thousands of other incentives in place from states, lcal governments, and utility companies. The savings calculator from the nonprofit Rewiring America can help you find additioal ways to save. The IRA’s rebates for clean energy products weren’t cut in the reconciliation bill, and some states have rolled out rebate programs using those funds. Meanwhile, energy prices are expected to keep going up. That’s both because of the huge energy demand from companies like data centers and because the Big Beautiful Bill made it much harder to build new renewable energy, the cheapest source of new power. Investing in solar, heat pumps, or other clean devices is “a way for homeowners to get themselves off the roller coaster of ever-increasing energy prices,” says Alex Amend, communications director at Rewiring America. Even without the tax credits to help with up-front costs, the new equipment can make sense financially over its lifetime. “As soon as you’ve flipped the switch, you’re going to be saving hundreds of dollars annually,” Amend says. “That’s still very much worth the investment.”
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E-Commerce
If you feel like some of your colleagues are getting special treatment, youre not alone. According to a recent survey of 1,000 American workers conducted by Resume Now, 70% say theyve seen leaders play favorites, while 43% say theyve witnessed favoritism factor into promotions, raises, or recognition. Nearly a quarter also believe leadership is protecting a toxic top performer at the expense of others. Our survey revealed that favoritism absolutely is happening and probably happening more frequently than a lot of companies would like to admit, says Resume Now career expert Keith Spencer, though he notes that in most cases he believes managers arent showing preferential treatment on purpose. I think the phrase assume mistake, not malice applies, he says. A lot of this could be happening because of unconscious bias; they dont realize theyre playing favorites when theyre giving more leeway or support to people that maybe remind them more of themselves. Whether intentional or not, workplaces where staff members feel like theyre treated worse than their colleagues are likely to run into serious problems. It should be concerning for companies to learn that their managers might be playing favorites, creating distrust and maybe some resentment, Spencer says. All of that can negatively impact morale, engagement, and even retention, so there are far-ranging ripple effects from playing favorites, whether intentionally or not. Those who find themselves in a workplace where others enjoy preferential treatment arent helpless. Heres what the experts say you can do when your boss is picking favorites. Turn down the temperature Feeling like youre not getting the recognition you deserve can be frustrating, especially when praise is heaped on the less deserving, but in those moments its important not to lose your cool. There’s this swirl of emotions that people feel in that situation that can lead to behaviors that are more self-destructive than helpful, says Dina Smith, an executive coach, strategic adviser, and author of Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work. My guidance to someone who feels as though they’re not the boss’s favorite is to really try to manage those emotions, reduce the intensity of them, and try not to take it personally. Smith adds that while being overlooked or underappreciated can be frustrating, engaging in a heated confrontation wont solve anything. Lean in, not out Those who believe theyre getting passed over for opportunities as others enjoy preferential treatment might feel like checking out mentally, but Smith advises taking the opposite approach. If they feel as though they’re not the favorite, they become less proactive with their manager. But the important thing to do is to become more proactive, to ensure they have full visibility into all that you’re doing, because typically they do not, she says. Smith explains that managers often show preferential treatment to those they see putting in more of an effort but often miss the effort thats being made out of view. I’ve seen many very high-performing people shirk from owning their accomplishments, or falling into the trap of believing good work speaks for itself, she says. That is magical thinking. If you feel like youre not getting the recognition you deserve, its important to consider whether its the result of favoritism or a lack of visibility. Question your own assumptions While the Resume Now data suggests a significant proportion of workers are regularly confronting issues of favoritism, Justin Hale questions whether its reality or just their perception. I dont think [workplace favoritism] is that high, says the author and course designer at Crucial Learning. Ive worked with thousands of people, and it absolutely happens sometimes, but I dont think it happens as often as people say. Hale suggests its easier to cry foul than to look internally, leading many to see favoritism where it doesnt exist. Sometimes you aren’t the right fit, but most of us want to find some reasoning or justification outside of I just didn’t do my best or I wasn’t qualified or I wasn’t the best choice, he says. We want to blame someone else; we want to point the finger elsewhere. Before assuming the worst of your managers, Hale advises those who feel like theyve been passed over to really consider whether they were deserving, whether favoritism really does play a role, and what they can do to leave no doubt they are the right choice next time. Have a difficult conversation If youve given your manager the benefit of the doubt, used perceived favoritism as motivation to up your game, and established objective measures to demonstrate your efforts yet you still feel like youre living in someone elses shadow, its time to have a difficult conversation with your boss. Those conversations, Hale says, are vital to fostering a healthy workplace. If they don’t have a conversation, they’ll act out the conversation, he explains. In the absence of having an honest, candid conversation with your boss about this concern you have, youll hold it in, the resentment builds, and you may even spread it around to more people to feel justified in your resentment. Difficult conversations need to be approached with a high degree of sensitivity. Thats because when faced with an accusation, managers are likely to respond defensively. You dont want to be honest at the expense of the relationship, Hale says. Instead, he suggests kicking things off by sharing the positive outcome you want to achieve through the conversation, such as ensuring everyone on the team feels valued. Follow that by clearly defining your objectives and presenting objective facts and examples to demonstrate your position. The next thing I advise is describing the concern you have by sharing your perspective or your opinion, Hale says. Then you can ask the question, Heres how Im seeing things, are you seeing it differently? which can open up a dialogue. During these conversations, Hale says its important to avoid getting emotional or accusatory while maintaining emphasis on achieving a more positive future, not airing past grievances. When people start conversations, even really difficult ones, with [the structure of] fact, then story, then question, he says, you decrease the likelihood of defensiveness on the receiver’s part significantly.
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E-Commerce
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