Ahead of the holidays, Microsoft said it was upgrading the AI model behind Bing Image Creator, the AI-powered image editing tool built into the company’s Bing search engine. Microsoft promised that the new model — the latest version of OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 model, code-named PR16 — would allow users to create images “twice as fast […]

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What more can you say? This is just sad.

• After five years of marriage, my husband and I got stuck going on the same boring dates.
• We needed a change, so I proposed "adrenaline dates" to get our hearts racing and bond us together.
• Each adventurous date has been more exciting than the last, and they've brought us closer.

After five years of marriage, my husband and I were in danger of calcifying into the "dining dead" — couples who have nothing to say to each other over meals, dutifully chewing their food in dreary silence.

Like many long-term couples, we'd gotten stuck in a cycle of boring dates: always a movie and dinner, where we'd talk about our kid or finances.

We adore each other, but at some point, it became easier to go to hit up the same theater and local diner or taco truck than to look for an exciting new spot or activity.

However, familiar routines should be for the daily grind of work and parenting. For the one I vowed to spend my life with, I wanted more.

Determined to add more excitement to our date nights, I found myself reading up on adrenaline — and how high levels of it have been linked to increased attraction and arousal.

It seemed worth a shot to try to harness the rush and use it feel closer and more attracted to one another. So, I started planning "adrenaline dates" that might do just that.

We've had a blast prioritizing adrenaline rushes on our date nights

To start, we booked an escape room. Neither of us had ever done one, and my heart raced in fear of the unknown as we stepped into the dark, enclosed space.

Although my brain knew we weren't actually trapped in a crisis situation, my body was rushing with adrenaline as we escaped from chains and deciphered clues as the clock counted down.

For our next dates, we raced around in laser tag, punched side-by-side in virtual-reality boxing, and hit the climbing gym to out-boulder one another.

The dates were fun and brought us closer, which only inspired us to push the envelope further. Later, we tried axe-throwing and had a blast hurling the tools at a wood marker, splintering it as we went.

We visited a rage room, where we donned helmets and protective suits, grabbed baseball bats and crowbars, and started to shatter bottles and dismantle furniture.

I was timid at first, hitting just one item at a time. By the end, I was smashing a dozen bottles to smithereens at once with the swoop of a baseball bat.

After all the time we spend being careful, tiptoeing around coworkers, friends, neighbors and parents, I love that we got to connect by feeling animalistic and reckless together.

As I flung heavy axes and smashed bottles, I could feel stress flowing out of my body and dissipating into the air. After these intense dates, I've never felt so relieved to fall into my partner's arms.

Our dates continue to bring us closer together

Throughout these experiences, we felt joy and connection while creating special memories, which felt hard to do during basic dinner dates.

Plus, "adrenaline dates" can range in activity level and cost, from playing suspenseful video games to riding rollercoasters.

Many of our favorites have felt especially wild and destructive. Lately, we've been rock climbing challenging routes in Joshua Tree, bonding over the rush of fear and adrenaline while enjoying beautiful views.

We even try to schedule these dates every month on the full moon, so we can later kiss under the moonlight — it feels like magic and keeps us out even longer.

• An employee stabbed a Michigan company's president during a staff meeting, the police said.
• A suspect, whom fellow employees describe as quiet, left the scene but was subsequently arrested.
• Authorities are looking into whether the attack was inspired by the UnitedHealthcare CEO's killing.

Authorities say they're looking into whether a stabbing during a company meeting in Michigan might have had a "copycat" motive inspired by the recent killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York.

The Fruitport Township Police Department said in a news release that the president of the manufacturing company Anderson Express Inc. was stabbed at about 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday at the company's address in Muskegon, about 35 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.

The police said a preliminary investigation found that a 32-year-old male employee stabbed Erik Denslow, the company president, in the side with a knife.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Denslow was said to be out of surgery and in serious but stable condition.

Anderson Express did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The police said the suspect fled the scene in his vehicle before being stopped and taken into custody about 15 minutes later. They identified him as Nathan Joseph Mahoney.

Speaking with local media, the police said Mahoney had worked at the company for only about two weeks. The news release said fellow employees described him as having a "quiet demeanor."

Muskegon County Sheriff's Office records show Mahoney is being held on a more than $500,000 bond. He was arraigned Wednesday and charged with assault with intent to commit murder. Amy P. Campanelli, who is listed as Mahoney's attorney in charging documents, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Denslow has been president of Anderson Express for a little under two years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Authorities are searching for a motive, including whether the attack was inspired by the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, who was fatally shot earlier this month, leading to a widely publicized manhunt and the subsequent arrest of a suspect.

"We haven't ruled out copycat motive in regards to this," Fruitport Township's deputy police chief, Greg Poulson, told the local outlet News 8 on Wednesday.

He added: "We're going through all his social accounts, all his electronic media, and trying to determine a motive for this act."

Poulson also told News 8 that threatening CEOs and high-profile businesspeople "seems to be a popular thing in this day and age."

Correction: December 20, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the location of Muskegon, Michigan. It's northwest, not northeast, of Grand Rapids.

YouTube announced on Tuesday that its auto-dubbing feature, which allows creators to generate translated audio tracks for their videos, is now rolling out to hundreds of thousands more channels.  YouTube first introduced its AI-powered auto-dubbing tool at Vidcon last year, which was only being tested with a limited group of creators. This tool could help […]

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• In 2000, Tommy Caldwell and three other climbers were kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan.
• They escaped after Caldwell pushed a guard off a cliff.
• Caldwell said that his long climbing career prepared him for high-stress situations.

In "The Devil's Climb," a National Geographic documentary, famed rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold ("Free Solo") break a world record by climbing a treacherous Alaskan mountain in under 12 hours. At one point in the film, Caldwell talked about how dealing with past adversity helped him persevere through an Achilles injury.

One incident in particular came to mind: the time he and three other climbers were kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan and held hostage for six days.

At age 21, it was his first big international trip as a climber — one cut short when a small war broke out between armed rebels and the Kyrgyz government.

Caldwell said his group went without food or water for the entire time. They also witnessed murder.

Then, he saw an opportunity for escape: the kidnappers split up, with one assigned to guide the four climbers to a new location. Caldwell pushed him off a cliff.

"He fell 20 or 30 feet, bounced off a ledge, and then we just saw him disappear into the blackness," Caldwell said in the film. "I figured in that moment that I just killed someone." (In 2003, Outside reported that the man survived the fall).

The group ran to a nearby military base, where they were rescued and sent home. Caldwell told Business Insider that he "just didn't experience trauma the way that a lot of people would expect" from the kidnapping.

He told BI that he's learned two major things about trauma and high-stress situations since that day 24 years ago.

Climbing prepared him for high-stress situations

Looking back, Caldwell believes his childhood eventually set him up to handle difficult situations like the kidnapping more calmly — specifically by managing his emotions and making quick decisions in high-stress situations.

Caldwell's father, Mike Caldwell, was a bodybuilder, mountain guide, and rock climber. Caldwell said his father took him climbing from a young age, which introduced him to hazardous situations early in life. The experience instilled in Caldwell that "adversity brings out the best in us."

He likened training resilience to building muscles: it requires consistent practice. "You just expose yourself to minorly traumatizing things at a slightly increased dosage over time," he told BI. "That gets you used to it."

Making a hard decision gave him control

Caldwell still wonders why his kidnapping experience hasn't negatively impacted him more. After reading "Waking the Tiger," a 1997 book by psychotherapist Peter Levine, he found one possible explanation.

One of Caldwell's big takeaways was that people who cope with trauma the best are the ones who find ways to regain control in a dangerous situation.

"In Kyrgyzstan, I was the one who made the hard decision," he said. "I was the one that decided to get us out of there by pushing this guy off a cliff."

Even though he believed he killed a person at the time, Caldwell said that making the choice also "psychologically added power."

The experience boosted Caldwell's belief in himself. "Now I know if I'm in a hard situation, I can do the right things to get out of it," he said.

‘Do not stop here if you're an American hero. They will sell you out.'

• Google's search share slipped from June to November, new survey finds.
• ChatGPT gained market share over the period, potentially challenging Google's dominance.
• Still, generative AI features are benefiting Google, increasing user engagement.

ChatGPT is gaining on Google in the lucrative online search market, according to new data released this week.

In a recent survey of 1,000 people, OpenAI's chatbot was the top search provider for 5% of respondents, up from 1% in June, according to brokerage firm Evercore ISI.

Millennials drove the most adoption, the firm added in a research note sent to investors.

Google still dominates the search market, but its share slipped. According to the survey results, 78% of respondents said their first choice was Google, down from 80% in June.

It's a good business to be a gatekeeper

A few percentage points may not seem like much, but controlling how people access the world's online information is a big deal. It's what fuels Google's ads business, which produces the bulk of its revenue and huge profits. Microsoft Bing only has 4% of the search market, per the Evercore report, yet it generates billions of dollars in revenue each year.

ChatGPT's gains, however slight, are another sign that Google's status as the internet's gatekeeper may be under threat from generative AI. This new technology is changing how millions of people access digital information, sparking a rare debate about the sustainability of Google's search dominance.

OpenAI launched a full search feature for ChatGPT at the end of October. It's also got a deal with Apple this year that puts ChatGPT in a prominent position on many iPhones. Both moves are a direct challenge to Google. (Axel Springer, the owner of Business Insider, has a commercial relationship with OpenAI).

ChatGPT user satisfaction vs Google

When the Evercore analysts drilled down on the "usefulness" of Google's AI tools, ChatGPT, and Copilot, Microsoft's consumer AI helper, across 10 different scenarios, they found intriguing results.

There were a few situations where ChatGPT beat Google on satisfaction by a pretty wide margin: people learning specific skills or tasks, wanting help with writing and coding, and looking to be more productive at work.

It even had a 4% lead in a category that suggests Google shouldn't sleep too easy: people researching products and pricing online.

Google is benefiting from generative AI

Still, Google remains far ahead, and there were positive findings for the internet giant from Evercore's latest survey.

Earlier this year, Google released Gemini, a ChatGPT-like helper, and rolled out AI Overviews, a feature that uses generative AI to summarize many search results. In the Evercore survey, 71% of Google users said these tools were more effective than the previous search experience.

In another survey finding, among people using tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, 53% said they're searching more. That helps Google as well as OpenAI.

What's more, the tech giant's dominance hasn't dipped when it comes to commercial searches: people looking to buy stuff like iPhones and insurance. This suggests Google's market share slippage is probably more about queries for general information, meaning Google's revenue growth from search is probably safe for now.

So in terms of gobbling up more search revenue, ChatGPT has its work cut out.

Evercore analyst Mark Mahaney told BI that even a 1% share of the search market is worth roughly $2 billion a year in revenue. But that only works if you can make money from search queries as well as Google does.

"That's 1% share of commercial searches and assuming you can monetize as well as Google — and the latter is highly unlikely in the near or medium term," he said.

• Tommy Caldwell, a world-famous climber, injured his Achilles tendon in 2022.
• It took him two years to fully recover, which involved taking a break from climbing.
• He eventually bounced back and broke another climbing record with climber Alex Honnold.

In 2022, world-famous climber Tommy Caldwell was feeling great on a climb in Yosemite National Park. When he fell and popped his Achilles tendon, he wasn't too worried.

"At first, I didn't understand the severity of the injury," Caldwell, 46, told Business Insider. "I've always been a fast healer."

This wasn't the first setback of Caldwell's career. In his 20s, in 2001, he accidentally sawed off part of his left index finger when building a platform. Still, he rose to fame breaking multiple free climbing records. He told BI the comeback was one of "the more uplifting experiences" of his life.

But this time was different.

It was a longer recovery process, one that took two years to fully heal and involved taking breaks from his usual 12-hours-a-day climbing routine, which impacted his muscle mass.

"I was a little bit worried that I was losing my fitness," Caldwell said.

Within a year, he healed enough to climb again — and break another record. In the National Geographic documentary "The Devil's Climb," Caldwell and "Free Solo" star Alex Honnold were the first climbers to ascend all five peaks of The Devil's Thumb, a hazardous mountain range in Alaska, in one day.

He shared some tips for bouncing back, from doing more cross-training to eating more protein.

He cross-trains with biking and light weights

Due to his age, Caldwell believes "strength training is a little bit more important" to build muscle mass.

Climbing naturally strengthens muscles, such as using hang boards during training. Additionally, Caldwell lifts "relatively light weights" to prevent injury and works with a physical therapist to address issues like lower back pain.

He also loves biking: in "The Devil's Thumb," he and Honnold biked from Colorado to Canada to take a boat to Alaska before the big climb. Caldwell said this was an important part of his recovery process leading up to the endeavor, because "I knew that to make my tendons truly healthy, pumping a lot of blood through my body."

He usually does an hour of cardio (like biking) before his daily climb. He said that frequent movement helps him feel his best, especially when he's outdoors for most of the day.

"That's the main lifestyle habit that seems to keep me feeling youthful and energetic and strong," he said. "Just getting up and doing it."

He eats more protein than he used to

Caldwell used to be a vegetarian but said it "didn't work great" for him in terms of getting enough protein.

"Now I'm in a phase where I'm relatively protein-heavy," he said. He starts mornings off with oatmeal and flax seeds, as well as eggs. Because his kids love meat, he has it for dinner about 3 to 4 times a week. He also eats mostly minimally processed foods, including a lot of vegetables.

He said eating more protein and whole foods has helped with even small climbing issues, like the skin on his fingertips healing faster.

"Nutrition can affect that a lot," he said. "Eating fish oils and leafy greens and just drinking enough water is a pretty big deal."

He said he takes supplements like creatine, which helps build muscle. "I've never been hugely scientific about that stuff, I'm always sort of dabbling," he said. Caldwell also has a partnership with Elo, a personalized nutrition brand. Using blood work and data tracking, he said Elo makes him custom vitamins and protein supplements.

He prioritizes life outside of climbing

Caldwell said that the most important thing he could do for this injury was "to just chill out."

Normally, he would deal with climbing injuries by going to a lot of physical therapy. But in this case, it was counterproductive. An Achilles tendon injury required rest, and "I tried to actively heal it, which led to more ruptures," he said.

To climb well again, he had to put it on hold. "Overall, I was surprised my morale didn't suffer more," he said.

A huge part of his emotional recovery was finding joy outside of climbing, such as spending more time with his family. "It was the first time in my life that I realized that I love climbing, but I don't need it for my happiness," he said.

• Microsoft's Bing search engine has Copilot AI features built into it.
• Copilot, integrated into Bing, can perform tasks like writing poems and making reservations.
• Here's how to use the AI service in Bing.

Microsoft first unveiled a revamped, AI-powered version of its search engine, Bing, last year.

The new Bing, which promised to be "more powerful than ChatGPT," runs on Microsoft's own next-generation language model called "Prometheus." The proprietary technology was developed using elements of OpenAI's most advanced GPT models as part of Microsoft's partnership with the company.

Built into the revamped search engine is Microsoft's AI chatbot, Copilot, which can perform a number of tasks the old Bing never dreamed of, like suggesting recipes, writing poems, conducting image-based search queries, and making restaurant reservations. Copilot was formerly called Bing Chat.

Microsoft's Bing was launched in 2009, more than a decade after Google's launch — and though it's come a long way since then, Bing still holds a fraction of the market share compared to Google.

And though Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once raved that Copilot would "fundamentally transform our relationship with technology," the AI assistant has struggled to live up to the hype, both inside and outside the company.

Here's a step-by-step walkthrough of how to access and use the new Bing with Copilot.

How to use the new Bing

1. Go to Bing.com/new in your internet browser.

   Note: You don't need to download Microsoft's web browser, Edge, but if you do, Copilot is integrated directly into the browser, with an icon in the top-right corner that lets you chat with the AI companion.

   

2. There are a few ways to use AI in your search experience from the Bing homepage.

3. One option is to click "Try now" underneath the heading "Bing generative search," located directly below the general search bar on the Bing homepage.

   

   • The "Try now" button takes you to a search results page that auto-populates for the query "How can I get started with learning to play the guitar."
   • The page displays several helpful resources related to that query, including a Table of Contents with sections that guide you through the process of learning to play guitar, alongside videos and step-by-step instructions.

   

   • You can also type in your own query, like "How to paint a bathroom," and, depending on the query you search, the results will offer helpful sections including relevant videos, instructions, and, in this case, a section on the side for the best paint to use on bathroom cabinets.

     

4. Another option is to click "Copilot" in the bar at the very top of the Bing homepage.

   

   • This takes you to the Copilot homepage where you can message the chatbot.

   • In the "Message Copilot" text field at the bottom of the page, you can type something you need help with, like, for example, "Write me a poem," or "plants that survive with minimal light." The chatbot will quickly give you a detailed response — for example, it offered 10 options for plants that don't need much light.

     

• Job seekers may face 'love-bombing' from hiring managers during interviews.
• Love-bombing involves excessive praise to keep candidates interested without real intent.
• Experts advise setting expectations and keeping options open to avoid being manipulated.

If a hiring manager is excessively complimenting you and telling you you're the top candidate during an interview, you may be being "love-bombed."

The term originated as a way to describe the manipulative tactics some toxic people employ in romantic relationships to hook in their victims, showering them with affection, gifts, and promises for the future, only to later flip the script and show their real selves.

But the same pattern may apply to the workplace, too. Many job seekers complain of inconsistent behavior from hiring managers, CNBC reported, being flattered and praised one minute and ghosted the next.

"Love-bombing during job interviews happens all too often when recruiters or hiring managers want to keep you interested in them while they figure things out behind the scenes," Renee Barber, the global director of recruiting for TYR Talent Solutions who has over 20 years of experience in the recruitment industry, told Business Insider.

"They may overhype your chances to keep you interested," Barber said. "Especially if they're not ready to make a decision or they need to buy time without being direct about the actual situation."

Janine Chidlow, the managing director of EMEA at the global talent firm Wilson, told BI that love-bombing not only disrupts a candidate's career expectations "but also raises questions about organizational integrity and employer branding."

"This phenomenon isn't new," she said. "But its frequency and impact have surged."

How to recognize love-bombing

It's looking like the job market may see a boost next year. But white-collar hiring is still in a slump, with tech jobs being hit the hardest.

Love-bombing may serve as a "morale-booster" for both candidates and interviewers, Chidlow said.

Amanda Fischer, an executive leadership and career coach who is the founder of AMF Coaching & Consulting, said that some recruiters and hiring managers want everyone they are interviewing to feel optimistic about the role so they don't lose out on the best candidates.

They may also want to create a strong connection so the candidate to make them less likely to negotiate further.

"In this particular instance, that is a highly manipulative move," Fischer said.

It may not always be a scheme, though, and some recruiters and hiring managers may be love-bombing without realizing it.

"They could genuinely be excited about a candidate and might not see how the excessive compliments could backfire," Barber said.

There are plenty of ways to recognize love-bombing during the interview stages.

According to Barber, some signs are excessive compliments, like being told you're exactly what the company is looking for, or that you're the best candidate being interviewed, or being given unrealistic promises, such as if they talk about you "being a great fit for the team" or "starting soon" before they've actually made a decision.

Fischer told BI that pressure for a quick decision is also "a huge red flag."

"From my perspective, there are very few circumstances where you should accept a role the moment it's offered," Fischer said.

Barber agreed, adding that if there is a long delay or no communication after the interview, "it's a sign that the praise might have just been a way to keep you interested before they made their decision."

What to do about it

Love-bombing during the interview process is symptomatic of deeper issues in recruitment, Chidlow said.

"While it may yield short-term gains in market perception, the long-term costs — disillusioned candidates, damaged reputations, and high turnover — far outweigh the benefits," she said.

"By prioritizing transparency and respect, organizations can foster genuine connections with candidates, ensuring a healthier, more productive recruitment process."

If you think the person on the other end of the interview desk is love-bombing you, it's good to set expectations early, Barber said.

"Before you wrap up the interview, feel free to ask when you can expect to hear back and what the next steps are," she said. "This can help you keep track of the process and avoid getting strung along."

Barber also recommended following up after the interview, sending a thank-you email, and asking for feedback.

"This allows you to gauge whether the praise was sincere and whether the company is genuinely interested," she said.

"If something feels off, trust your instincts," Barber added. "If it all felt too polished or disconnected from your experience, be cautious."

Keeping your options open is also a good move because being in a stronger position yourself makes you less likely to fall for manipulative tricks.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket," Barber said. "Otherwise, you could be waiting around for a response that might never come."