More work in less time with fewer workers — productivity gains are supposed to be one of the big benefits of artificial intelligence. But those promises have not yet come to fruition, according to a new survey of corporate executives around the world.

More than 80% of the 6,000 executives surveyed by the National Bureau of Economic Research “detect no discernible impact from AI on either employment or productivity,” said The Register. It’s not for lack of trying: 69% of businesses say they use AI in the workplace, three-quarters “expect to use it over the next three years,” and more than 90% say it has “no impact on employment” at their businesses. The survey is the latest addition to a “growing body of evidence” that AI’s advocates are “just not living up to their promises, at least not yet.”

What did the commentators say?
The link between AI and productivity is “murky at best,” said Marketplace. That’s because any productivity improvements are “going to be really hard to measure,” said Erika McEntarfer, of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, to the outlet. There are other factors increasing business productivity, including new investments in research and the “loosening labor market,” said Marketplace. 

The NBER survey is “damning,” said Frank Landymore at Futurism. While most firms are using AI in some fashion, the “vast majority” say the technology “hasn’t budged the needle for them yet.” 

Other surveys have found that AI can “slow down rather than speed up human programmers” and ends up “accelerating burnout” among human workers, said Landymore. And there’s precedent for this. The adoption of computers was “obviously transformative,” but they “didn’t immediately translate to economic gains.” This is why executives will keep “clinging to the hope that the tech’s promises will be borne out in the long run.”

What next?
AI’s economic impact is “just beginning,” said the Columbia Business School. But the gap between the promises and the measurable outputs is creating a “growing tension in public discourse.” Artificial intelligence already “feels transformative” in many users’ daily lives, but the “effects are not fully visible in traditional macroeconomic statistics.” 

What seems certain is that work will evolve as the technology changes. Workers have adapted to new technologies throughout history, said Aaron Chatterji, OpenAI’s chief economist. “I’m bullish on humans.”

While 2026 is less than three months old, this year has already seen its fair share of avalanches. This includes one that slammed into a train in the Swiss Alps, injuring five people, and a recent occurrence near Lake Tahoe that killed nine skiers — the deadliest in California’s history. And a major factor is contributing to how hazardous these avalanches are, according to scientists: climate change.

Why are avalanches getting worse?
A decrease in snow caused by a warmer planet may be making avalanches worse. People “might assume that increasing global temperatures would lead to fewer avalanches,” said The Independent. But rising temperatures can “increase the risk of avalanches,” especially at altitudes of 6,500 feet or higher.

Scientists investigating the Lake Tahoe disaster are “pointing to a combination of heavy snow on top of an unstable snow pack as conditions that led to the avalanche,” said The New York Times. The snow pack’s unstable crystals function like “standing up a deck of cards on their end,” Craig Sheppard, the program manager for the Mountain Safety Collective, said to The Sydney Morning Herald. When the next snowfall arrives, it creates a “recipe for avalanches because you have snow sitting on a really weak grain.”

What can be done?
Many experts say the best solution is proper avalanche safety. About “90% of slides that cause an injury or death are triggered by the victim or a companion,” said The Associated Press. Avalanches travel fast and can’t be outrun, so the best plan is to “make sure you are not in a place where one is at risk of occurring.” 

Despite avalanches happening less often these days, when they do, they are increasingly likely to be deadly. Over the “last 10 winters, an average of 27 people died in avalanches each winter” in the U.S., said the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Still, there’s no way to determine the exact number of people in such avalanches, as “most nonfatal avalanche incidents are not reported.”

Pedestrians walk through Central Park during New York City’s first blizzard since 2016. So far, more than 500,000 homes and businesses across the Northeast are without power, and more than 10,000 flights have been canceled.
Chris J. Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / Getty Images

On Aug. 2, 2027, the skies above parts of southern Spain, Northern Africa, the Middle East and the Horn of Africa will plunge into complete darkness as a total solar eclipse blocks all direct sunlight. The temperature drops, wild animals transition to their nocturnal routines, and stillness fills the air. Experience it for yourself at one of these destinations in the path of totality.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (totality time: 5 min., 54 sec.)
The city is going through an “exciting wave of regeneration,” with a fresh crop of “museums, cafes, galleries and cultural festivals” giving it an “unmistakably modern edge,” said Condé Nast Traveler Middle East. And not everything is shiny and new. The “beguiling” old town, Al Balad, still draws crowds for its souks, ancient buildings and lively street scene. 

Tangier, Morocco (totality time: 4 min., 51 sec.)
This “laid-back coastal city” has a “distinctly Mediterranean feel” with “whitewashed walls and candy-colored wooden shutters,” said Lonely Planet. The city is also home to thriving botanical gardens and the Rmilat Forest, where eucalyptus trees brought to Morocco from Australia “now stand alongside palms, pines, poplars, willows and oaks.”

Tarifa, Spain (totality time: 4 min., 39 sec.)
This city earns its nickname, the City of Wind, honestly. Tarifa is continental Europe’s southernmost point, and the strong gusts off the Atlantic make it a “mecca” for activities like kitesurfing and windsurfing, said Travel and Leisure. If you prefer your toes in the sand, lounge on the beach for the afternoon, then take a stroll around the breezy beach town.