'Are we building tools to replace ourselves?': Survivor's guilt hits AI-first tech company

As big tech companies sack staff and say AI will pick up the slack, workers are left to grapple with what's really going on.  

The Hidden Costs of “Buy Now, Pay Later”

Over the past few years, “buy now, pay later” services have rapidly transformed the way many consumers pay for everyday purchases. Companies such as Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay offer shoppers the…

Before you continue to YouTube

Block shares sink after earnings miss and lower profit forecast

Shares in Block (ASX:XYZ), the parent company of Afterpay, plunged nearly 30% on the ASX after posting weaker-than-expected first-quarter results and cutting its full-year profit outlook.  Adjusted earnings for the March quarter rose to 56 US cents per share from 47 US cents a year earlier but missed the 98 US cents expected by analysts. Revenue fell 3% year-on-year to US$5.66 billion ($8.83 billion), below the US$6.21 billion ($9.69 billion) forecast. Gross profit rose 9% to $2.09 billion ($3.26 billion). Block now projects full-year gross profit of US$9.96 billion ($15.56 billion), down from at least US$10.22 billion ($15.96 billion) previously forecast. Second-quarter gross profit is expected to reach US$2.45 billion ($3.82 billion). Square, Block's merchant platform, reported US$54.1 billion ($84.47 billion) in gross payment volume, up 7.2% year-on-year but down from the previous quarter. Cash App maintained 57 million active users, with gross profit per user rising 9% to US$81 ($126).  The BNPL unit saw gross merchandise value grow 19% to $10.3 billion, with profit up 23% to $298 million ($465.2 million). Crypto revenue reached US$2.43 billion ($3.80 billion). At the time of reporting, Block's share price was $69.83.

Forbidden Foods share price

Forbidden Foods (ASX:FFF) is an asset listed on the ASX, and part of the Consumer Staples sector. Grafa’s asset page shows Forbidden Foods’s share price, chart,

Afterpay wants my account details (even though I don’t have an account) to investigate its own activity

Usual story: go into the Facebook advertising preferences, spot organizations that I’ve never dealt with somehow possessing private information about me that they’ve uploaded to Facebook.    One noticeable one was Afterpay, both its Australian office (no reply on Twitter) and the ‘Afterpay USA Business Manager’ (the US office did reply). @AfterpayUSA I don’t even

Young people flock to buy now, pay later for daily essentials

What began as way to buy luxury shoes and concert tickets is becoming an ordinary tool that Gen Z and millennial shoppers use for contact lenses and trash bags.