Each week, the Tomorrowist team publishes a video podcast and a deep-dive article on a single important trend facing businesses. But business leaders need a holistic view of the changing business landscape. Here are a few stories from around the web focused on other Tomorrowist-worthy trends that readers shouldn’t miss.
Heat Can Age You as Much as Smoking, a New Study Finds (NPR)
What to Know: A new study published in Science Advances reveals that prolonged exposure to extreme heat can accelerate biological aging, similar to the effects of smoking and heavy drinking. As climate change intensifies heat waves, the long-term health consequences of rising temperatures could become a significant public health challenge.
Why It Matters: With implications of more frequent extreme heat events ranging from rising health care costs to workforce disruptions, now is the time for investments in climate adaptation, such as improved urban cooling infrastructure. Businesses, policymakers, and health care leaders who do not act risk facing escalating operational costs.
AI Search Is Starting to Kill Google’s ‘Ten Blue Links’ (The Verge)
What to Know: Artificial intelligence search is rapidly reshaping how consumers find websites. According to Adobe’s latest research, AI search referrals to U.S. retail sites surged 1,300% in the 2024 holiday season compared to the previous year. Rather than just boosting initial clicks, AI-driven search appears to be improving the quality of user engagement. Data shows that AI searches direct consumers to more relevant content, with users referred to sites by AI search spending 8% more time on sites and being 23% less likely to immediately leave.
Why It Matters: Traditional search engines have long been criticized for ad saturation and SEO manipulation, and AI search is emerging as an alternative that could challenge Google’s search monopoly. While companies like Perplexity integrate some ads, AI search remains far less ad-heavy than traditional engines. OpenAI, meanwhile, has resisted ads altogether, potentially giving it an even greater edge with consumers seeking an ad-free experience. As AI search tools improve, businesses must rethink SEO, digital marketing, and content strategies to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving online landscape.
‘Space Junk’ Is Clogging the Atmosphere — and It’s Going to Make Weather Forecasts and Internet Access Much Worse (Fast Company)
What to Know: Climate change is slowing down Earth’s natural ability to clear space debris, according to a new MIT study. This means old satellites remain in orbit longer, increasing the risk of collisions. SpaceX’s Starlink, which operates 60% of active satellites, performed 100,000 collision avoidance maneuvers last year alone. If emissions continue unchecked, low Earth orbit’s satellite capacity could shrink by up to 66% by 2100, making space overcrowding a growing concern.
Why It Matters: Satellites are critical for global communication, weather tracking, banking, and national security, but an increase in space debris could degrade or even halt these services, raising operational costs. Businesses, governments, and space agencies must tackle both climate change and space traffic management through stricter international regulations, improved satellite disposal strategies, and incentives for sustainable space operations to protect satellite-dependent industries.
Google Attacks Microsoft Cyber Failures in Effort to Steal Customers (Bloomberg)
What to Know: Following a scathing report from the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board, Google has targeted Microsoft’s recent cybersecurity failures in a new white paper. Google is also doubling down on its efforts to lure corporate and government customers away from Microsoft Office and toward Google Workspace Enterprise Plus by offering steep discounts — including up to 18 months free for corporate customers and one year free for government agencies.
Why It Matters: Google leveraging consumers’ security concerns marks one of its most public attempts to challenge Microsoft’s dominance in workplace productivity software. Google could disrupt the status quo in corporate IT decision-making, but cultural resistance and chief information officers’ reluctance to overhaul systems could slow adoption. For businesses, this rivalry intensifies competition in enterprise software, potentially leading to better pricing, stronger security commitments, and expanded AI features from both tech giants.
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