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Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

Table of Contents

What’s the Stock Market Up To, Eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.32% )   $DJI ( ▼ 0.34% )   $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies Mentioned in Today’s Newsletter

$OPEAZZX ( ▲ 0.28% )   $CMC ( ▼ 1.6% )   $APPN ( ▼ 0.2% )   $HSY ( ▼ 0.42% )   $SPCX ( ▼ 3.93% )   $ANTHZZX ( ▲ 0.38% )  

OpenAI’s Head of Ethics Quits After a Year

OpenAI $OPEAZZX ( ▲ 0.28% ) , everyone’s favorite $852 billion artificial-intelligence juggernaut, has once again proven that "safety first" is more of a polite suggestion than a corporate policy. Chloé Bakalar, the company’s first and only dedicated AI ethics lead, has quietly packed her bags after less than a year on the job. No public announcement, no celebratory cake, no LinkedIn post with rocket emojis, just a quiet, clean break.

To be fair, trying to keep a runaway tech giant ethical is an extreme sport. As Bakalar herself recently observed at an AI conference, “We’re constantly building the plane while flying it.” But it turns out, assembling the aircraft mid-air gets slightly complicated when the autopilot decides to go rogue. You know, like when OpenAI admitted its systems had casually hacked into another company during testing, recently.

With the government slapping restrictions on powerful models and OpenAI forced to delay its upcoming Astra model to "strengthen internal security controls," the flight deck is getting crowded with alarms. It's no wonder Bakalar pulled the parachute. She joins a rapidly growing club of safety-minded defectors, including Johannes Heidecke (former head of safety systems) and Joshua Achiam (former chief futurist, whatever the heck that means).

So, how does OpenAI react to losing its only dedicated ethicist? By declaring ethics is a team sport! An OpenAI spokesperson shrugged off the departure: “AI ethics doesn’t live with one owner or team at OpenAI, and ethical considerations are deeply embedded into the model-building process.”

Because if everyone is responsible, then technically, nobody is to blame.

Quote of the Day

Steel Company Bets $2.5 Billion on Construction

What do you do when your 111-year-old steel company is built on rebar, but the rebar market has all the exciting growth potential of watching paint dry? If you’re Peter Matt, the CEO of Commercial Metals Company $CMC ( ▼ 1.6% ) , you go on a $2.5 billion shopping spree.

It turns out that selling plain old steel isn't quite as high-growth as it used to be. As Mr. Matt candidly notes, “The challenge for us in the rebar... is that the market's not growing substantially. And so as a consequence, we needed to find a new growth lane.”

Enter "precast" concrete, the value-added, high-margin darling of modern construction that solves pesky industry problems like labor shortages and bad weather. But buying up a bunch of fragmented precast companies isn’t as simple as clicking “add to cart.” It takes years of corporate flirtation. Matt reveals they courted their acquisition targets for over two years. Now, CMC is evolving from a humble 1915 Dallas scrap yard into an "early stage construction" solutions powerhouse. But don’t worry, they aren't losing their soul in the transition. Matt is hyper-focused on keeping the cultural vibes immaculate, warning that “cultures that don't mix” (I assume he didn’t intend this pun, which is a shame, because it’s a good one, for a concrete firm) “can destroy a company so we pay really close attention to that.”

With their $1.5 billion in recent capital investments plus M&A totaling a $2.5 billion bet, the training wheels are off. As Matt confidently declares, “All the pieces are in our control now. So we just need to execute.” No pressure, Peter. It's only a 111-year-old legacy on the line.

The firm’s stock is up 38% over the last year.

This AI Boss Is All About Delivering Results

Business AI customers are no longer satisfied with expensive, flashy demos that do little, said Appian $APPN ( ▼ 0.2% ) CEO Matt Calkins. Instead, “The game has changed, it's now about delivery.”

It turns out that giant corporations haven’t actually been using AI for their most critical operations. The reason is simple: “they don't trust it.” And who can blame them? AI is fundamentally probabilistic, meaning it is prone to doing “unpredictable things, maybe even dangerous things, if you don't control it well enough.” 

To stop AI from running amok, Calkins argues we need to keep it tightly boxed with a “deterministic layer.” 

And would you believe, that’s what he’s selling? I know. I could hardly believe it either.

Instead of making a wild leap of faith, he advises businesses to slow down: “Earn your way. Take careful steps, build momentum, and justify the use of AI. Don't make a wild leap based on a vision or a wish.”

Or call Appian! After all, this guy seems to know what he’s talking about….

The firm’s stock is up 27% over the past year.

Song of the Day: Bye Parula, ‘Something Out of Nothing.’

Here is the sophomore album and title track by Montreal-based art-pop trio Bye Parula. It’s an energetic, groove-driven track meant to be experienced standing up. Just like this newsletter!

Talking to Hershey’s About $250m S’mores Market

Leave it to corporate America to take a chaotic, soot-covered childhood memory and optimize it into a highly profitable, multi-million-dollar seasonal framework. Yes, s’mores are no longer just a messy campfire hazard; they are now a $250 million summer occasion.

According to Suzanne Prusche, Hershey’s $HSY ( ▼ 0.42% ) vice president of confection marketing, Americans devour an estimated 2.5 billion s'mores every year. Naturally, Hershey wants to capitalize on every single sticky finger. To free the treat from the tyranny of good weather, Prusche is championing the indoor s'more, noting that on a rainy weekend, consumers can make them “in an air fryer, through a microwave, or a toaster oven.” 

A nice way to reconnect with nature, if you will.

To keep the corporate fire burning, Hershey launched its "heated debate" campaign, pitting "Camp Toasty" against "Camp Gooey." In a shocking revelation of the American psyche, 69% of Americans be