Hello, Quartz members, and welcome to Sunday Reads!
We’re not even a week in, and already we’re living in a reality altered by Donald Trump’s second presidency. One hundred executive orders, a multi-billion-dollar memecoin scandal, and Mexico is setting up tents for deported immigrants. Then there’s the Great AI Feud, as Elon Musk and Sam Altman battle for Trump’s favor. But it’s Sunday, and it’s time to shift your gaze to some hand-selected reads. Here are some of our favorite Quartz stories from the week, plus a sneak peek at one story coming next week to get your day started.
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5 things we especially liked on Quartz
💘 Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and the Trump loyalty test: The feud between Musk and Altman has been years in the making, litigious, and above all else, personal. Or at least it used to be. But as William Gavin reports, now Musk is holding Altman’s feet to the fire for his wavering loyalties to President Donald Trump.
🧠 Stumping AI: AI models may have met their match — at least for now. A new AI benchmark called “Humanity’s Last Exam” has stumped top models, but AI might finally outsmart humans in a year or less. Britney Nguyen has the details.
📺 Netflix and bill: Netflix has mastered the art of striking while the iron is hot. But with its latest price hikes, it faces the challenge of pushing limits without losing viewers. On the same day that Netflix said it had added a record 19 million subscribers in the previous quarter, it also announced it was hiking prices for its free and premium tiers. Francisco Velasquez explores just how far the streaming giant can push its customers.
📖 Quantum’s moment: Quantum computing promises computers that can solve computations beyond the ability of classical computers. In recent years, researchers have made progress toward actually building quantum computers, and are currently experimenting with them for things like discovering new materials and drug research. Britney Nguyen has a glossary to get you acquainted with the world of quantum computing.
🍾 No joy in Champagneville: Sales of French champagne are falling in the U.S., and it’s not just because of Dry January. Jean-Jacques Guiony, CFO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, thinks he knows why: “Maybe the current global situation, be it geopolitical or macroeconomic, does not lead people to cheer up and to open bottles of champagne.” Madeline Fitzgerald pops the cork on the tribulations of fizzy French libations.
1 sneak peek
Reid Hoffman wants you to stop worrying and learn to love AI — just not too much. In an interview with Quartz, the LinkedIn co-founder positioned himself as a “bloomer” on AI — somewhere between the “doomers” prophesying robot apocalypse, the “gloomers” stocking their bunkers just in case, and the “zoomers” who’ve never met an AI model they didn’t want to accelerate. Visit qz.com on Monday morning for more on the future of everything.
What we’re watching this week
- Monday: AT&T reports earnings.
- Tuesday: The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Markets Committee meeting begins. GM, Boeing, and Starbucks report earnings.
- Wednesday: Tesla, Microsoft, and Meta report earnings. The FOMC meeting concludes with a public statement at 2 p.m. ET.
- Thursday: Apple, Intel, and Visa report earnings.
- Friday: Exxon and Chevron report earnings.
Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, feedback, joy, or a bottle of champagne. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter S. Green.