The Algorithm Age

Dr. Phil McGraw’s conservative-leaning cable network Merit Street Media is filing for bankruptcy barely a year after its launch, and is also suing its distribution partner Trinity Broadcasting for breach of contract. In its lawsuit against the Christian broadcaster, Merit Street alleged that Trinity “reneged on its obligations and abused its position as the controlling shareholder of Merit Street,” leaving the upstart channel with over $100 million in debt. “These failures by TBN were neither unintended nor inadvertent,” the lawsuit read. “They were a conscious, intentional pattern of choices made with full awareness that the consequence of which was to sabotage and seal the fate of a new but already nationally acclaimed network.” Following a two-decade run as a syndicated daytime talk show host, McGraw announced in late 2023 that he was starting up his own multi-platform media company, which would include a cable television channel featuring a Dr. Phil primetime program...

Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith took a year off with her family in Argentina—not to escape, but to reset. The break helped her rethink the juggle between career and home, shift household roles, and set the stage for her next big executive moves. Whether it’s driven by burnout or the need to take a meaningful break with an increasingly longer career on the horizon, sabbaticals are experiencing a resurgence. And it’s not just Gen Z grads exploring the world before getting serious about their careers— leaders are joining in too. Take Ania Smith, the CEO of Taskrabbit, for example. She was seemingly at a career high, working as an executive at Airbnb , when she quit it all; she packed up her life and moved to Buenos Aires for a year in 2018 with her husband and three young children, to hit pause. Despite the stigma that often surrounds résumé gaps, Smith scored a promotion on her return–and has since seen her career go from strength to strength. And the 50-year-...

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, global leaders are re-evaluating the future of human work . The potential of AI to transform entire industries is no longer theoretical—it is unfolding rapidly across education , medicine , and manufacturing. During recent interviews and public appearances, Bill Gates , co-founder of Microsoft , shared his perspective on how this technological shift could impact employment worldwide. Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon , Gates addressed the scope and speed of AI’s development . In his words, “Over the next decade… humans won’t be needed for most things.” He called the emergence of AI-powered tools a “profound and even a little bit scary” change, pointing to a future defined by free intelligence — expert-level knowledge provided instantly and at scale through machine systems. AI Transforming Medicine and Education ...

The board of the ASX-listed childcare provider that employed an accused sexual abuser has been criticised for lacking “sufficient expertise” to oversee child safety, with shareholder advisers questioning the CEO’s multi-million dollar pay packet amid rising reputational and financial challenges. Roughly $120 million has been wiped off the market capitalisation of G8 Education in the two days since confidence in the childcare sector was rocked by allegations that Joshua Dale Brown committed multiple child sexual abuse offences while working at a range of early education facilities across Victoria, including at G8’s Creative Garden Point Cook, from 2017 until this May. The revelations have so far led to a wave of snap reforms in Victoria to apply greater pressure on childcare providers to oversee staff, including a mandatory ban on mobile phones, and triggered calls for a national register of staff to more clearly communicate issues with specific worke...

A young Aussie worker has shared how he went from not making a cent for six months to earning close to $300,000 a year . The real estate industry can be an extremely lucrative one, but it involves a huge amount of sacrifice and hustle before you can see the big bucks. Ethan Forbes has been working as a real estate agent on the Sunshine Coast for the past two years. The 24-year-old told Yahoo Finance he earned $300,000 last financial year, including superannuation and taxes, but it was a tough ride to get to where he is now. “I wasn’t making any money for six months and I was basically broke, had no money to my name,” he said. RELATED Aussie earning $300,000 a year in job after completing three day course Woolworths payment change hits dozens of supermarkets today Superannuation 'red alert' for millions as $1 billion in retirement savings feared lost Forbes completed a three-da...

Let me be clear about something: the idea that you need to work 12-hour days to get ahead in your career is absolute bullsh*t. And I should know, because I spent the first few years of my career doing exactly that. I used to constantly talk about how "busy" I was, answering emails at 9pm, and genuinely believing that my worth as an employee was directly tied to how many hours my laptop was open. Then I realised being busy doesn't mean being productive. And being productive doesn't require sacrificing your entire life just to do your job. Years later, I'd still very much describe myself as an ambitious, career-driven person, but I also religiously clock off at 4pm on Fridays (don't tell my manager). I take my lunch breaks. I don't check emails after hours unless something is literally on fire (it never is). And in doing so, my career has never been in better shape. The secret isn't working more hours — it's working smarter. And that...

Staff at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) are experiencing high levels of psychological distress as they brace for 400 redundancies as part of a broader cull of Australian university workers, according to a leaked survey. The survey of 380 workers by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), obtained by ABC News, found 35 per cent were experiencing very high levels of psychological distress. "There's a lot of helplessness and uncertainty and the thing that I want to draw out of here is people have this notion that's natural with change management," said Dr Hossai Gul, a UTS expert in change in complex systems. "There are kind and compassionate ways to do this… people shouldn't become unwell." Dr Gul is risking her employment to speak out due to rules governing public comment by university staff. She said the redundancies would result in the downgrading of important areas of scholarship and teaching ...

By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON () -U.S. private payrolls fell for the first time in more than two years in June as economic uncertainty hampered hiring, but low layoffs continued to anchor the labor market. Private payrolls dropped by 33,000 jobs last month, the first decline since March 2023, after a downwardly revised increase of 29,000 in May, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday. Economists polled by had forecast the report would show private employment increasing by 95,000 following a previously reported gain of 37,000 in May. There were job losses in the professional and business services, education and health services, and financial activities sectors. But the leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and construction industries added jobs. The ADP report, jointly developed with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, was published ahead of the more comprehensive employment report for June due to be released on Thursday by the Labor Department's Bureau...

Sandy Yawn has worked in yachting for more than three decades. She says that as a woman, she had to work harder to prove herself in the industry. The Below Deck Mediterranean star shared advice with BI for other women in male-dominated fields. This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Sandy Yawn, a superyacht captain and star of 'Below Deck Mediterranean.' The following has been edited for length and clarity. When I started my yachting career more than 30 years ago, I'd never seen a woman captain. Women worked on ships, but they were few and far between in the world of yachts, and I'd never seen one at the helm. I fell into yachting, or maybe the job found me. When I started working maintenance on boats, I had no idea yachting could be a career. Decades later, I'm a superyacht captain. I want to create opportunities for other women to get into this industry. For a long time, I didn't have any fema...

Christy Rutherford left a successful Coast Guard career due to toxic leadership and burnout. She faced deeper burnout, financial loss, and depression after resigning from her position. Rutherford rebuilt her life and now helps other leaders recover from burnout and achieve success. I started my career in the US Coast Guard as a college sophomore in 1996. After graduating, I was stationed on a ship in Charleston, South Carolina, chasing drug runners in the Caribbean. I transitioned into crisis management and moved four times over the next 12 years. I responded to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and worked on Capitol Hill as a congressional fellow for the late Congressman Elijah Cummings in 2007. I loved my career and learned from some exceptional leaders. I also had the misfortune of surviving a few toxic ones. I was one of 50 Black women officers out of nearly 50,000, and I felt my competence was questioned regularly. I worked 80 hours weekly to prove myself....

Each week, Dr Kirstin Ferguson tackles questions on workplace, career and leadership in her advice column, Got a Minute? This week: handling difficult feedback, threats for failing security tests and redundancies for part-time contractors. I’m a senior manager in a job I really enjoy. However, it is very difficult to keep my boss happy. I get called out on many things that seem really minor, and my confidence has taken a beating. Recently, she gave me feedback that my team has felt disempowered and belittled by my management style, and that they don’t find me sincere. I found this devastating and humiliating. She said it was salvageable and that we could work together to rectify things. This is the first time I have been made aware of the issue and I wonder if there has been a bit of mud scraping in the background. I want to succeed in this role, but feel completely reduced by it. What should I do? How do I stop feeling so upset and taking it all so personally...

Solicitor Kelly Waring isn't shy about how beneficial artificial intelligence (AI) is to her litigation work spanning clients across New South Wales and south-east Queensland. "Evolve or die," she said. The 36-year-old principal director of Lismore-based firm Parker Kissane introduced an AI program to the team's workplace 12 months ago, which allowed complex case summaries to be fast-tracked, as well as managing accountancy and clerical tasks. "It hasn't totally changed the game just yet, but it is on its way," she said. Tasks that young lawyers traditionally cut their teeth on are predicted to be significantly disrupted by digital automation, and female graduates will suffer the most as a result, new research has found. "Women make up the majority of legal graduates today, but they're concentrated in areas that are most vulnerable to automation, AI," said lead author Meraiah Foley from the Univers...

The West Australian government has defended its hardline liquor restrictions after an independent review found the scheme had "mixed" results in reducing alcohol-related harm. The report's release comes as state parliament debates a new bill looking to lock in the Banned Drinkers Register (BDR) and other measures across a large swathe of regional WA. In Broome on Tuesday Racing and Gaming Minister Paul Papalia said the restrictions had slashed crime in the Kimberley town. "We've had an overall drop in overall crime of 33 per cent over the two years since they were introduced," he said. "In Derby the drop was over 19 per cent for family and domestic violence-related crime. "It's a positive impact and we want to see it continue into the future." The BDR, which prohibits individuals from purchasing takeaway alcohol, has been trialled in the Kimberley, Pilbara, and Goldfields regions since 2...

TOKYO — Shota Shimizu slid on his headset and dialed the human resources department at his client’s employer, a nursing care company. The client wanted to quit her job, and Shimizu was doing it for her. “There was a mismatch between her expectations and the reality of the job,” Shimizu told the HR representative. “She still has her uniform and locker key, and will return them by mail. Can we confirm your mailing address?” Shimizu works for Momuri, a Tokyo-based “resignation company” whose agents quit jobs on behalf of clients who want to avoid the uncomfortable conversation. Momuri — which means “I can’t take it anymore” in Japanese — is among a niche but increasingly popular industry offering “proxy quitters” in Japan, stepping in for workers who struggle to cut ties with their boss, for up to about $350 (50,000 yen). This service has grown since the pandemic, which disrupted Japan’s rigid work culture and challenged the traditional notion of a “salaryman,” an arche...

For two-and-a-half years I, as many teenage boys do, worked as a pot washer (later graduating to a bartender) and whilst it wasn’t the most glamorous job, it worked well for me. This was whilst I was at college, allowing me to earn a decent chunk of cash alongside my studies, before I started my role as an apprentice journalist. I was lucky to have such a lenient boss, who organised shifts via a WhatsApp group and was pretty laid-back when it came to swapping and cancelling working hours. There are obviously issues with these zero-hours contracts – they can lead to exploitation and offer little job security, especially for those with more responsibilities than a 17-year-old student. On top of this, employers offering such contracts are not required to give sick pay or any notice before termination. But as I see it, this is more of an issue with the company rather than the contract. I enjoyed a good relationship with my employer and never had an issue with my shif...

For two-and-a-half years I, as many teenage boys do, worked as a pot washer (later graduating to a bartender) and whilst it wasn’t the most glamorous job, it worked well for me. This was whilst I was at college, allowing me to earn a decent chunk of cash alongside my studies, before I started my role as an apprentice journalist. I was lucky to have such a lenient boss, who organised shifts via a WhatsApp group and was pretty laid-back when it came to swapping and cancelling working hours. There are obviously issues with these zero-hours contracts – they can lead to exploitation and offer little job security, especially for those with more responsibilities than a 17-year-old student. On top of this, employers offering such contracts are not required to give sick pay or any notice before termination. But as I see it, this is more of an issue with the company rather than the contract. I enjoyed a good relationship with my employer and never had an issue with my shif...

It's a bitterly cold winter's day on a dairy farm in Victoria's north east, and the ground has turned to mush as the rain falls from the grey sky. Jesse Wallace is guiding 500 dairy cows up the muddy path to the dairy shed for their afternoon milking. The 18-year-old does it with ease, noting which cows are usual suspects for lingering at the back. However, six months ago this was a daunting task. "It was in the middle of summer, and they all get in the river and you have to get knee deep to get them out," he said. "And you're worried about all the gates being shut." Mr Wallace finished high school last year in Brisbane, and is now working on a dairy farm for his gap year. He is a participant in the AgCAREERSTART program, run by the National Farmers' Federation. "There's not a lot of dairy opportunities in Queensland, because the weather is so hot, and I thought this would be a good a...