Brands Adopt ‘No AI’ Disclaimers to Stand Out Amid the Slop; Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2026

 Patrick Coffee, Wall Street Journal; Brands Adopt ‘No AI’ Disclaimers to Stand Out Amid the Slop

Marketers move to get ahead of growing consumer skepticism by labeling content that doesn’t use AI

"As the AI-generated imagery and video colloquially called slop spreads across social media and video feeds, marketers are going out of their way to tell consumers they’re not to blame.

For some, it’s part of a message about authenticity that they want to send to their customers.

“We commit: No AI generated bodies or people,” promised a campaign last month from Aerie, the intimate apparel brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters."

The Starbucks Turnaround That Has Baristas and Customers Steamed; The New York Times, September 9, 2025

Julie Creswell, The New York Times; The Starbucks Turnaround That Has Baristas and Customers Steamed

"For Brian Niccol, who became Starbucks’s chief executive one year ago, the Strawberry Matcha Strato Frappuccino is a test of his turnaround strategy. Since lured to Starbucks from Chipotle Mexican Grill with a $100 million pay package (a large part to make up for compensation he walked away from at Chipotle), he has worked at a highly caffeinated tempo to get Starbucks’s mojo back.

Mr. Niccol got rid of charges for nondairy milk and brought back the coffee condiment station. He moved new people into the executive suite. The company is investing more than $500 million to add employees and develop order-sequencing technology that aims to deliver food and drinks faster. Stores are quickly being remodeled to add comfortable seating.

The goal is to provide customers in the United States — across more than 17,000 stores — with premium-priced, unique beverages in a welcoming, coffeehouse environment, but at a fast-food pace.

Some of the moves have been welcomed. Others, like the elimination of some drinks and foods, have resulted in confusion and frustration among customers and employees, according to interviews with baristas from Boston to California."

Opinion: Here’s the difference between Jeff Bezos and me; The Washington Post, March 6, 2022

 Bradley Graham, The Washington Post; Opinion: Here’s the difference between Jeff Bezos and me

"Even through the pandemic of the past two years, most independent bookstores have managed to survive. Doing so has meant doing what indies do best, which is adapting, innovating and staying focused on community. At P&P, we started offering curbside pickup and local delivery services, moved our author talks and literary classes online, and expanded our Web order capabilities, all while keeping staff employed and protected from covid-19.

But Amazon remains a major threat to us and to independent bookstores everywhere. Though it’s now shuttering its physical book outlets, the company persists as a dominant presence online, choking competition and engaging in unfair practices."

Why Business Leaders Need to Understand Their Algorithms; Harvard Business Review, November 19, 2019

Mike Walsh, Harvard Business Review; Why Business Leaders Need to Understand Their Algorithms

"Leaders will be challenged by shareholders, customers, and regulators on what they optimize for. There will be lawsuits that require you to reveal the human decisions behind the design of your AI systems, what ethical and social concerns you took into account, the origins and methods by which you procured your training data, and how well you monitored the results of those systems for traces of bias or discrimination. Document your decisions carefully and make sure you understand, or at the very least trust, the algorithmic processes at the heart of your business.

Simply arguing that your AI platform was a black box that no one understood is unlikely to be a successful legal defense in the 21st century. It will be about as convincing as “the algorithm made me do it.”"

Steve Jobs licensed Amazon’s one-click patent for $1 million in one phone call; Quartz, September 17, 2018

Kabir Chibber, Quartz; Steve Jobs licensed Amazon’s one-click patent for $1 million in one phone call

"“Licensing Amazon.com’s 1-Click patent and trademark will allow us to offer our customers an even easier and faster online buying experience,” Steve Jobs said at the time.

A Wired magazine oral history of Infinite Loop, Apple’s corporate offices in Cupertino, California for most of its existence, tells the behind-the-scenes story of that decision."

Oscar Munoz's tough ride as United CEO; CNN, March 19, 2018

Julia Horowitz, CNN; Oscar Munoz's tough ride as United CEO

""There's something about the United culture that has employees making decisions that are not the right things to do," [John Strong, a professor of business administration at the College of William and Mary and an airline industry expert] said.

Another high-profile event could be the final straw, according to Reber. Even if Munoz isn't directly implicated, he could wind up taking the fall.

"History is littered with CEOs who have had to take a hit for a crisis that happened and was caused someplace else in the organization," Reber said."

Ethics And Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High; Forbes, June 13, 2017

Blake Morgan, Forbes; Ethics And Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High

"Artificial intelligence seems to be popping up everywhere, and it has the potential to change nearly everything we know about data and the customer experience. However, it also brings up new issues regarding ethics and privacy.

One of the keys to keeping AI ethical is for it to be transparent, says Rob High, vice president and chief technology officer of IBM Watson...

The future of technology is rooted in artificial intelligence. In order to stay ethical, transparency, proof, and trustworthiness need to be at the root of everything AI does for companies and customers. By staying honest and remembering the goals of AI, the technology can play a huge role in how we live and work."

Wells Fargo Case Prompts Questions Of Corporate Ethics Reform; NPR, 9/24/16

[Podcast] NPR; Wells Fargo Case Prompts Questions Of Corporate Ethics Reform:

"The bank's CEO appeared before a Senate banking committee this week to answer questions about fake accounts created by more than 5,000 of his employees. Scott Simon talks with consultant Dov Seidman."

Corporate Ethics In The Era Of Millennials; NPR, 8/24/16

Paul A. Argenti, NPR; Corporate Ethics In The Era Of Millennials:

"Corporate social responsibility has been added to the growing list of demands that investors, customers and employees present to companies.

In 2015, 81 percent of Fortune 500 companies published sustainability reports, up from 20 percent in 2011, according to a report released by the Governance & Accountability Institute in June. Companies are publicizing their ethical standards and responsibility efforts, and consumers are punishing companies that appear to fall short. Even as headlines proclaim "greed is back," companies are investing time and resources into instituting more ethical practices."

EMBRACING CHANGE for Continuous Improvement; American Libraries, January 2010

Peter Hernon and Ellen Altman, American Libraries; EMBRACING CHANGE for Continuous Improvement:

In a period of transition, libraries must redevelop their services to create loyal customers

"Progress implies change. Not all change is progress, but all progress requires change. Change can be planned or unplanned. Libraries have experienced some serious unplanned changes in the recent past; they have been buffeted by changes in technology and scholarly communication and the downturn in the economy. Even so, most libraries have adapted wonderfully to the changes and challenges created by the new technologies. Now is the time to plan for improvements in customer service and to create a cadre of loyal customers.

The box below, developed from conversations with some state librarians and leaders in public libraries, suggests areas in which public librarians need expertise as new challenges arise. Those areas help to define the library’s role in community building, which encompasses economic development, redevelopment and neighborhoods, workforce development, and civic engagement. In an April 2009 presentation at Simmons College reviewing these issues, San Francisco City Librarian Luis Herrera stressed the importance of service development, or reinventing service models. This includes defining reference services and roles, functions and processes, the library as a place, and virtual versus physical space. Accountability and assessment should not exclude program evaluation and determining the value of library services. Technology and the internet pose new challenges and opportunities as libraries engage in content creation and keep pace with new applications.

Coping with these issues and challenges requires a workforce that is not confined to a particular area of the library and enjoys reaching out to the library’s communities. As part of coping, senior managers must manage stress and guard against staff suffering dangers cited by Thomas W. Shaughnessy in the July 1996 Journal of Academic Librarianship: “mental and physical exhaustion, burnout, frustration, low morale, and other symptoms of stress. In some instances the library’s structure adds to the distress by slowing response time, preventing cross-functional solutions to problems, and frustrating efforts to intervene.”

Due to the current economic recession, a number of libraries are experiencing severe reductions in operating budgets, resulting in an inability to keep pace with inflation and having to take funds for equipment purchases from the acquisitions budget. Budget cuts also produce downsizing and staff reassignment; the result is an increased workload for the staff. Some libraries are consolidating services at the same time as they reconfigure the physical plant. Complicating matters even more, a number of libraries are moving toward evidence-based decision-making and a workforce committed to demonstrating accountability and improved services. All in all, these changes suggest an extremely challenging, but rewarding, time for libraries and their staffs."

http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/01132010/embracing-change-continuous-improvement