#43 The Weekend Download – Catching Up on What Matters
Essential insights you need to stay ahead
📩 Issue #43 – 13/12/2025
⚡ Quick Hits – What You Need to Know
🧠 AI’s architects are officially the people of the year
TIME naming the Architects of AI as 2025’s Person of the Year marks a turning point: AI is no longer a sector, but a structural force shaping power, work, and culture.
Read More (TIME)
🎬 Disney opens its characters to generative AI
Disney’s deal with OpenAI allows Sora to generate videos featuring its characters: a major signal that even the most protective IP owners are adapting to AI.
Read More (TechCrunch)
⚖️ The AI copyright wars escalate
The New York Times is suing Perplexity, pushing the media vs. AI battle into a new legal phase that could reshape how AI systems use journalism.
Read More (The Verge)
🚫 Australia bans social media for under-16s
Australia’s under-16 social media ban is now in effect, becoming a global test case for platform regulation.
Read More (The Guardian)
🔥 Top Insights
👩💼 The ambition gap is widening – and it’s not about confidence
A new Lean In workplace survey, highlighted by Sheryl Sandberg, shows fewer women are seeking promotions. The reason isn’t a lack of ambition, but a response to stalled DEI efforts, burnout, and workplaces that feel less worth the fight.
Read More (Fortune)
🧠 Are we getting stupider?
The New Yorker explores whether constant digital stimulation is affecting our ability to focus, think deeply, and retain information.
Read More (The New Yorker)
🧠 Why our brains get tired – and why it matters
Researchers are investigating the biochemical roots of cognitive fatigue, the mental exhaustion that reduces focus, motivation, and judgement after prolonged effort.
Read More (Nature)
✈️ Seven travel trends shaping 2026
From quiet escapes to algorithm-shaped itineraries, the way we travel is changing.
Read More (BBC Travel)
📊 Movements to Watch
♻️ Secondhand shopping goes mainstream
More than 80% of Americans say they’re more likely to buy secondhand gifts this year — driven by price, values, or both.
Read More (Retail Brew)
📱 Teens are living online and AI is already part of the mix
A new Pew Research Center report shows most US teenagers use YouTube and TikTok daily, many almost constantly. It also reveals that a majority have already tried AI chatbots, with ChatGPT leading the way.
Read More (The New York Times)
👶 Pregnancy data under scrutiny
Reports reveal how systems are being used to track pregnant women, raising urgent privacy and consent concerns.
Read More (The Guardian)
🤝 Big AI partnerships keep consolidating power
Anthropic and Accenture’s deal highlights how enterprise AI is rapidly concentrating among a few players.
Read More (TechCrunch)
💡 Something to Think About
🧒 Allowances are becoming a crash course in modern finance
Originally introduced in the 1920s to teach children how to save, allowances are now being used by some parents to explain bank fees, interest rates, and even investing — turning pocket money into an early lesson in how the financial system actually works.
Read More (The Atlantic)
🧴 When self-care turns into optimisation
Bio-optimisation culture reframes wellness as discipline and control, blurring the line between care and self-erasure.
Read More (Dazed)
🗳️ AI chatbots can persuade voters better than ads
New research suggests AI chatbots outperform traditional political advertising in influencing opinions, raising serious concerns for future elections.
Read More (MIT Technology Review)
🌀 Offbeat & Unexpected
🌑 The longest solar eclipse in 100 years is coming
A rare celestial event worth marking on the calendar.
Read More (WIRED)
🌍 The best places to visit in 2026
Time Out highlights best new things to do in the world next year.
Read More (Time Out)
🍟 McDonald’s AI ad backlash explained
An AI-generated ad shows how automation can clash with brand trust.
Read More (Forbes)
🎮 Kim Kardashian enters Fortnite
Another reminder that pop culture and gaming now fully overlap.
Read More (Mashable)