Author name: Charlotte Burke

When was the last time you clicked a “Like” button on a website outside of Facebook itself—and then noticed that action appear in your Facebook news feed for friends to see? Or better yet, when did you last leave a comment on a non-Facebook website using a Facebook comment box? If you’re struggling to remember, you’re not alone. Despite how ubiquitous these features once were, Meta has announced that these remnants of Facebook’s earlier ambitions will officially disappear next year, on February 10. Somewhere out there, these buttons are apparently still active—and just active enough to justify a formal shutdown. In hindsight, Meta’s decision to quietly retire these tools seems overdue. They are artifacts of a more optimistic, and arguably more naive, era of the internet—one in which social connectivity was framed as an unquestioned good. Back in 2010, riding the explosive popularity of the Like button introduced the year before, Facebook unveiled the Open Graph. This was a suite of tools designed to extend Facebook’s social layer across the entire web. Any website willing to integrate these plugins could suddenly host Facebook-powered likes, comments, and social activity. The promise was a mutually beneficial arrangement: websites would gain traffic and engagement, users would enjoy a seamless social experience, and Facebook would collect unprecedented amounts of data about people’s interests, behaviors, and emotions. Reading early coverage of the Open Graph now feels unsettling. In a 2010 article for Time, Dan Fletcher described Facebook’s goal plainly: to make the web more social and, in doing so, increase the amount of information users were willing to share. With the benefit of hindsight—and after the Cambridge Analytica scandal—it’s difficult not to see this vision as deeply problematic. What once sounded like innovation now reads as a warning: a system that normalized the constant extraction and monetization of personal preferences and emotional responses. Meta’s own explanation for sunsetting these features is notably understated. In a recent blog post, the company said the discontinued plugins “reflect an earlier era of web development” and noted that their usage has steadily declined as the digital ecosystem has evolved. In other words, the web moved on—even if Facebook’s legacy code lingered. For developers, Meta says the transition will be painless. There’s no cleanup required, no breaking changes to worry about. When the cutoff date arrives, the buttons will simply vanish, rendered as invisible 0×0 pixel elements rather than throwing errors or disrupting site functionality. Still, not every trace of Facebook’s social plugin era is being erased. Scroll to the bottom of this article, for example, and you’ll likely see a familiar “Share this story” option marked with Facebook’s unmistakable “F.” That feature, at least for now, appears to be sticking around. We’ve asked Meta for confirmation and will update if we hear back. Until then, you’re welcome to click it—purely for research purposes, of course—just to confirm that it still works.

OpenAI’s recent wave of high-profile hires is raising questions about whether an aggressive acquisition strategy could be next. On Monday, reports revealed that OpenAI recruited Albert Lee, Google’s longtime senior director of corporate development. Lee spent more than 14 years leading corporate development efforts across Google Cloud and DeepMind, overseeing dozens of acquisitions totaling over $50 billion, according to his LinkedIn profile. At OpenAI, he will head corporate development, with the company describing him as a senior leader granted broad visibility and the authority to move quickly, a spokesperson told Reuters. This move follows two other major business-side appointments announced earlier this month. OpenAI named Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its new chief revenue officer, and a week earlier, Torben Severson—formerly chief of staff to the CEO of Amazon’s global retail division—joined as vice president and head of global business development. Bringing in a top corporate development executive from a direct competitor like Google has fueled speculation that OpenAI may pursue an acquisition-heavy strategy in 2026. While it remains to be seen, recent activity suggests the company’s dealmaking is already accelerating. In fact, 2025 has been an unusually active year for OpenAI. The company has completed at least five major acquisitions, excluding acqui-hires. Earlier this month, OpenAI agreed to acquire Neptune, a startup focused on tools for training AI models. In October, it acquired Software Applications Incorporated and personal investing startup Roi. In September, OpenAI bought experimentation software firm Statsig in a $1.1 billion deal, and in May it acquired Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup io for $6.4 billion. Beyond acquisitions, OpenAI has also entered into several major strategic partnerships this year, including a headline-grabbing $100 billion investment commitment from Nvidia—though the deal has not yet been fully finalized. The sheer scale and interconnectedness of these transactions have sparked concerns about circular dealmaking and the risks of a potential AI bubble bursting. Looking ahead, OpenAI may also be preparing for a high-profile initial public offering. After completing its recapitalization and formally transitioning into a for-profit company in late October, a Reuters report indicated that OpenAI could pursue an IPO as early as the second half of 2026, potentially valuing the company at up to $1 trillion. If realized, such an offering would not only rank among the largest in tech history but could also further incentivize OpenAI to consolidate talent, technology, and market share through acquisitions ahead of going public. Taken together, OpenAI’s recent hires, its expanding portfolio of acquisitions, and its growing network of strategic partnerships paint a picture of a company entering a new phase—one defined not just by research leadership, but by aggressive business expansion. Whether this momentum culminates in a full-scale acquisition spree remains to be seen, but the foundations for one are clearly being put in place.

For decades, the tech world has been fixated on the idea of the “Singularity” — the moment when technological progress accelerates beyond human control and becomes irreversible. Recently, however, Elon Musk has shifted the discussion toward a different and arguably more unsettling destination: Absolute Abundance. Rather than focusing on smarter devices or interplanetary travel, Musk envisions a future where human survival is no longer tied to work at all. In this future, society doesn’t merely become automated — the very idea of cost disappears. Money, as we understand it today, becomes nothing more than an outdated ledger from a bygone era. Let’s break down Musk’s vision of what lies ahead, and then we’ll wrap up with my Product of the Week: a new EV charger designed to solve a major challenge faced by households with multiple electric vehicles. From Scarcity to Universal High Income At the core of Musk’s prediction is the fusion of artificial general intelligence (AGI) with advanced robotics — most notably Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. Musk argues that once machines can perform any job a human can, the price of goods and services drops dramatically, limited only by raw materials and energy costs. This shift, he says, moves society beyond Universal Basic Income (UBI) toward Universal High Income (UHI). Unlike UBI, which acts as a safety net to prevent hardship, UHI imagines a world with no upper limit on prosperity, where abundance is available to everyone because production is no longer constrained by human labor. The Big Question: Should People Stop Saving? During a recent appearance on the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Musk made a controversial claim: people may no longer need to save for retirement. If AI can generate nearly everything we need, traditional savings could lose their relevance. His reasoning is that automation will drive productivity so high that prices collapse, creating strong deflation. But for most people, acting on this advice right now would be extremely dangerous: The Transition Risk: Musk himself acknowledges the road ahead will be unstable. If your retirement lands during that turbulent period and you have no savings, the consequences could be severe. The Ownership Issue: Today, robots and AI systems are controlled by corporations. Without significant political reform, abundance could remain inaccessible to the public. The Billionaire Blind Spot: It’s easy for one of the wealthiest people on Earth to downplay money. For everyone else, money still determines access to healthcare, housing, and basic survival. How Soon Could This Happen? Musk is famous for ambitious timelines. He now suggests that AI could surpass combined human intelligence by 2030, with Tesla’s Optimus robots becoming widely deployed between 2027 and 2029. If those predictions prove accurate, a true “age of abundance” could emerge around 2040–2045. This isn’t a distant future problem — it’s something today’s workforce may face mid-career. The Paradox of Wealth There’s a striking contradiction in Musk’s advocacy for a moneyless future. Recently, he fought hard for an enormous Tesla compensation package — yet he also argues that money is simply a tool for organizing labor. In Musk’s framework, once labor is fully automated, money loses its purpose. The real currency of the future becomes energy. When AI systems can extract resources, manufacture components, and sustain themselves autonomously, the economic loop closes, making traditional currency unnecessary. A New Political and Economic Order If money fades away, what replaces it? This future doesn’t fit neatly into existing ideologies: Post-Scarcity Capitalism: At first, those who own the robots see unprecedented wealth growth. A New System: Over time, as goods become effectively free, governments may shift toward Universal Basic Services — housing, food, and even robots provided as rights rather than wages. The Fate of the Rich: When scarcity disappears, wealth loses its power. Influence shifts toward creativity, reputation, and ideas rather than money. The Real Risk: Loss of Purpose The most troubling aspect of Musk’s future may not be economic — it may be psychological. Without struggle or necessity, many people could face a crisis of meaning. A Day in 2045 You wake naturally, fully rested. Your robot-built home, powered by limitless clean energy, maintains perfect comfort. There is no job to attend. Instead, you spend your day collaborating with AI on creative projects, mentoring others, or contributing to your community — not out of necessity, but choice. For people driven by curiosity and creativity, this is paradise.For those whose identity is tied to competition and financial success, it may feel like a beautifully furnished cage. Ironically, Musk himself might struggle to live in the world he predicts. Grounding the Vision in Reality Reaching this future depends on overcoming three major challenges: energy production, global governance, and AI alignment — ensuring advanced AI systems reflect human values. The takeaway isn’t to abandon saving altogether. Instead, prepare by becoming adaptable. Learn how to work alongside AI, and reflect on what truly gives your life meaning if money were no longer a concern. Final Thoughts Elon Musk’s idea of Absolute Abundance offers a radically optimistic alternative to the usual AI dystopias. He believes technology can eliminate poverty by making both money and labor obsolete. But his advice to stop saving for retirement remains a dangerous bet, especially during the uncertain decades ahead. A world of Universal High Income may one day arrive — but until then, the path forward still runs on old-fashioned currency, and crossing that bridge too early could be costly.