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The Rise of DIY Healthcare

William Attardi on October 10, 2025

Healthcare is fast becoming a do-it-yourself project for patients. The trend comes amid a shortage of doctors, long wait times for appointments and an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases earlier in adulthood. In today’s fast-evolving healthcare landscape, AI and other new technologies and services are emerging to help patients find and act on medical information. “The evidence shows that the more a patient gets involved in their own care, the better the outcomes. In the future, primary-care doctors could act more as expert consultants rather than paternalistic bosses to patients.” —  Tom Delbanco The Rise of DIY Healthcare – WSJ

The Radical Changes That Are Making Your Smart Home Less Dumb

William Attardi on October 10, 2025

Most homes are “smart”. Now that they’re getting a generative-AI overhaul, the question is: Can we get more out of devices that until now have been great at setting kitchen timers, reading the weather and playing music?  Amazon’s Alexa+ and Google’s Gemini aim to fix that, by making smart homes less dumb. The tech giants introduced new speakers, home displays and cameras this week to capitalize on their evolved assistants, but most existing devices are also compatible. Gemini for Home arrives at the end of the month, and Amazon says 10 million households already have early access to Alexa+. As we wait for Apple’s Siri to catch up—and we’re hoping for news sometime next year—here are the three big changes coming to our homes right now.

    1. Cameras that tell you what’s happening
    2. Speakers that have real conversations
    3. Automation without the app headache

Your Smart Home’s AI Upgrade: Alexa+, Ring ‘Search Party,’ Google’s Gemini for Home and More – WSJ

US Power Use to Reach Record Highs in 2025 and 2026, EIA Says by Scott Disavino

William Attardi on October 8, 2025

US power consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration, driven by data centers for AI and cryptocurrency and increased electrification in homes and businesses. The EIA projects a decrease in natural gas’s share of power generation from 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026, while renewables are expected to rise from 23% to 26% over the same period. US power use to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, EIA says | Reuters

Manufacturing Day: Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers by Kip Hanson

William Attardi on October 7, 2025

We’re talking about Manufacturing Day, described on the organizer’s website as a “national grassroots movement that demonstrates the reality and future of modern manufacturing careers.” And while manufacturing may no longer lead the nation in total employment as it did in Henry Ford’s time, it remains one of the most productive and strategically vital sectors of the U.S. economy—contributing nearly $3 trillion to GDP, employing more than 13 million Americans, and keeping the country secure, supplied and strong. That’s why hundreds of high schools, vocational-technical colleges, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers, and—perhaps most importantly—machine shops, sheet metal fabricators, plastic injection molders and other members of this proud industry open their doors on the first Friday of October each year to students, parents and educators for MFG Day, a celebration of modern manufacturing and the people who make it possible. Manufacturing Day: Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers | Manufacturing Week | advancedmanufacturing.org

Nvidia and Fujitsu Agree to Work Together on AI Robots and Other Technology

William Attardi on October 3, 2025

U.S. technology company Nvidia and Fujitsu, a Japanese telecommunications and computer maker, agreed to work together on artificial intelligence to deliver smart robots and a variety of other innovations using Nvidia’s computer chips. The companies will work together on building what they called “an AI infrastructure,” or the system on which the various futuristic AI uses will be based, including health care, manufacturing, the environment, next-generation computing and customer services.  Nvidia and Japan’s Fujitsu to collaborate on AI robots and other technology | AP News

Lighting the Way for Electric Vehicles by Using Streetlamps as Chargers by Sarah Small

William Attardi on October 3, 2025

A team of researchers at Penn State created a scalable framework to develop, analyze and evaluate using streetlights as a low-cost, equitable EV charging option. They then installed 23 streetlight charging units in Kansas City, Missouri, and tested their framework. The researchers found that streetlight charging stations, compared to traditional EV charging stations, were more cost- and time-effective, had fewer negative environmental impacts, and were more convenient and accessible. Their results were published in the Journal of Urban Planning and Development, which is overseen by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lighting the way for electric vehicles by using streetlamps as chargers

PG&E Unveils $73 Billion Spending Plan to Meet Surging Data-Center Energy Demand

William Attardi on September 30, 2025

PG&E plans to invest $73 billion by 2030 to upgrade transmission infrastructure to accommodate a surge in electricity demand from data centers. The utility is working to serve 10 gigawatts of new demand over the next decade, driven by AI and other technologies. The plan also includes nearly 700 miles of underground power lines and 500 miles of wildfire safety upgrades. PG&E unveils $73 billion spending plan to meet surging data-center energy demand | Reuters

Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call on AI

William Attardi on September 30, 2025

Walmart executives aren’t sugar coating the message: Artificial intelligence will wipe out some jobs and reshape the company’s workforce.  For now, Walmart executives say the transformation means the size of its global workforce will stay roughly flat even as its revenue climbs. It plans to maintain its headcount of around 2.1million global workers over the next three years, but the mix of those jobs will change significantly, said Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer. What the composition will look like remains murky.  Though there is plenty of anxiety among workers and leaders, many executives say the U.S. labor market remains healthy and they don’t anticipate widespread unemployment because of AI.  89qCx6UzCDStQHAyWTf5-WSJNewsPaper-9-29-2025.pdf

UL Solutions Expands Marketing Claim Verification Into AI

William Attardi on September 29, 2025

UL Solutions Inc. announced that it is expanding its evaluation and verification services into the high-growth industrial software sector, advancing what is known as the industrial metaverse—virtual manufacturing environments that use data, AI, digital twins, augmented reality, and other tools to optimize physical machines and factories. UL Solutions’ related Marketing Claim Verification provides a third-party evaluation, indicating that the industrial software and advanced automation tools performed as claimed and are backed by credible evidence. Verification helps confirm that the systems powering these immersive manufacturing environments meet the performance, security, and interoperability benchmarks necessary to drive the next wave of digitalization. UL Solutions Expands Marketing Claim Verification Into AI – electrifiED

National Football League – American football began as a hybrid of soccer and rugby on post-Civil War college campuses. Football was wildly popular but disorganized in the early 1900s. In an effort to standardize and organize, the National Football League was formed in 1920 in Canton, Ohio.  The NFL is the premier professional organization for American football, with 32 teams in two conferences and almost 1,700 active players. In 2023, the NFL generated nearly $20B in revenue. With its teams valued at $190B combined, it is the most valuable sports league in the world. The popularity of the NFL has made it a global sport. In 2002 the NFL began featuring fantasy games on its site.  The NFL is the most valuable sports league in the world.  NFL teams are worth a total of $163B. Each team holds an average value of over $5.1B, almost as much as the NBA and MLB combined. The Dallas Cowboys, valued at $9B, are the most valuable sports franchise on Earth. (NY Yankees are at 8.2B….just saying).