• Markets: With last week’s interest rate hike firmly in Wall Street’s rearview mirror, geopolitics will be in the driver’s seat this week, with President Trump set to meet with a slew of leaders from around the world (more on that later).
• Stock spotlight: Memory storage company Sandisk is getting promoted to the S&P 100 today after a stunning rise over the past year. Last Friday, the stock jumped nearly 11%.

double agents?

Yana Iskayeva/Getty Images

AI may leave civilization in a burning heap of rubble, but until then, our monthly protein powder shipments will be completely frictionless. At least that seems to be the pitch from Big Tech companies that simultaneously warn about the dangers of rogue AI while trying to convince us they can be trusted assistants on par with Alfred or Jeeves.

AI with the assist. Tech companies have long talked of personal AI assistants that could buy your groceries, book a trip, and schedule appointments, but they finally seem to be at a watershed moment:

• Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent, recently became the No. 1 free app in Apple’s US App Store.
• AI assistant startup (and Silicon Valley darling) Instinct is reportedly in talks for funding based on a $10 billion valuation.
• Google is testing a new AI assistant for families, all while OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Apple each make moves of their own.

Going rogue

But while the technology is there, the trust may not be. AI assistants often require access to your schedule, medical history, and credit card information. That’s a lot to hand over to a bot, especially when rogue AI agents are escaping sandboxes more often than Tommy Pickles.

Just look at the OpenAI–Hugging Face hack, or Google’s acknowledgment on Friday that its Gemini model hacked its way into three companies in May. (Not to mention, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s recent prediction that rogue AI agents could soon team up and eat through the internet.)

There are smaller stakes, too. According to ABC News Australia last month, an Australian man asked his AI assistant to get him a good spot in a Pilates class, so the OpenClaw agent hacked into the gym, deleted another person’s reservation, and signed him up.

So, what’s the solution? Testing and adding safeguards, though tech execs acknowledge that won’t completely solve the problem. In the meantime, be sure your AI assistant asks for permission before setting the world on fire.—BC

      

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World

Tour de headlines

🎥 Paramount discussed $1.5 billion CA investment as part of settlement negotiations, WSJ says. In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company talked about potential concessions as part of a possible settlement of the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general led by CA Attorney General Rob Bonta over Paramount’s $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. The WSJ’s sources said a $1.5 billion investment by Paramount into production in California and a promise by Paramount not to move out of the state were discussed this weekend, but a final deal wasn’t reached. Deadline reported that four of the 12 attorneys general have split with Bonta’s faction: Per the outlet, the AGs of Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, and Washington state are urging Bonta not to rush a settlement.

🤖 President Trump said he would make AI task force but wouldn’t permit “decimation” of the industry. On Saturday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would form an AI Force modeled after the Space Force he created in his first term, and that he would soon announce his selection for “AI ‘Czar.’” Trump predicted that up to 25% of the US GDP would come from artificial intelligence after the AI revolution swept through. He said, “We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!” It remains unclear if the AI Force will be a branch of the military, as the Space Force is.

🎤 Ed Sheeran apologized for tour controversy on first stop since Macklemore was dropped. The music superstar appeared in Philadelphia on Saturday, but without any opening acts or his guest band, all of whom dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore after he was removed from the tour for his pro-Palestine remarks on stage. Sheeran told his audience, “I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry,” and that he “never wanted to be an activist musician.” Sheeran condemned both the October 7, 2023, Nova Music Festival attack in Israel and the “catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate” loss of life in Gaza. Near the end of the show, he gestured toward the audience and said, “The world is a scary place right now, America is a scary place right now, this gives hope.”—HVL

bookshelf

Ben Montgomery/Getty Images

Tomorrow marks the release date of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, about the late Princess of Wales.

• The author, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, is Lady Diana’s younger brother. He memorably delivered the eulogy at her funeral in September 1997.
• He chose the title because he considers this his final public account of his sister’s life and untimely death. Spencer described the new book as “a brother’s simple tribute to an extraordinary sister.”

A Spare moment?

Swan Song is being published by Penguin Random House (PRH), which released Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, in 2023:

• That tome broke the record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever, with 1.4 million copies sold on its first day. It went on to sell over 6 million copies.
• PRH’s revenue jumped 13.2% the year Spare came out compared to the prior year, helped largely by that memoir.

Zoom out: There’s been plenty of royal drama leading up to the new release, and advance copies were stolen out of a truck in the Netherlands.—HVL

      

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’Tis the season for presents + presence. PwC notes that AI usage is on the rise. The holiday spending outlook? It’s looking holly jolly. Shopping wish lists, though, highlight something a little more old-fashioned: unplugged time, in-person experiences, and a memorable season. Understanding these desires can help your brand do more with your products. Read on.

calendar

The week ahead

The Washington Post/Getty Images

Trump meets with the world: President Trump will address the UN General Assembly tomorrow and will hold a series of meetings with global leaders, including UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. While there, he’ll also sit down with Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, for the first time since the capture of Nicolás Maduro. On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Washington for a state visit. On Thursday, Xi and his wife will attend a state dinner at the White House, along with a who’s who of tech execs.

The Zuck stops here: Meta Connect, the company’s biggest event of the year, starts on Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg slated to take the stage for a keynote address. Things got awkward at last year’s event when technical difficulties spoiled a live AI cooking demo faster than you could say “smokin’ these meats.” This year, industry watchers expect updates on AI, virtual reality, and Meta glasses. The company may even present a new model of glasses without a camera, since some people find being covertly recorded by a stranger a little creepy.

Bullish on bears: Hide your honey and picnic baskets—it’s Fat Bear Week, and the contestants are hungry. The friendly competition, now in its 12th year, pits brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve against one another (figuratively) as they bulk up for winter hibernation. Fans can vote on their favorite bear starting tomorrow via this official bracket. It’s not just a big deal, it’s Ursa Major.

But wait, there’s more:

• Have a seat and watch Robert Pattinson star as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen in Primetime, hitting theaters on Friday.
• Cintas, Paychex, and Cracker Barrel report earnings on Wednesday, while Costco and Darden Restaurants follow suit on Thursday.

Brendan’s Got Good News

Home Depot built something big

Mondays are bad enough, so the Brew’s own Brendan Cosgrove scoured the internet for a positive news story to help you start the week off right.

It turns out, you can build decks and generational wealth at the same time. Over the past 45 years, the highest-returning stock in the S&P 500 has been Home Depot. According to the Wall Street Journal, if you invested $1,000 in the home improvement retailer in 1981 when it IPO’d, and then reinvested the dividends, it would be worth about $16 million now. If you did the same with Apple stock, it would only be worth around $4 million, per the WSJ.

Building more: All of that DIY homebuilding has also been a good foundation for…foundations. Earlier this year, the Home Depot Foundation said it surpassed $1 billion in charitable giving, which is more than just a drop in the orange bucket. And company founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank’s foundations have donated billions more, according to their websites.—BC

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News

What else is brewing

• The triumphal arch that President Trump wants to erect in Washington, DC, will double as a sniper and drone facility, he said yesterday.
• NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani will meet with President Trump today at Gracie Mansion, according to the mayor’s office.
• Patrick Clancy, the former husband of Lindsay Clancy, gave his first interview since a jury deadlocked in his ex-wife’s trial.
• US diesel hovered near $6.50 a gallon as global wars continue to impact supply from refineries.
• Stellantis will adopt “minimum advertised pricing” for its dealers starting next month, making it harder for consumers to price-shop for vehicles.

recs

• Are the remains of Queen Nefertiti hidden in King Tut’s tomb?
• A rundown of how to get the most possible free cloud storage space.
• How Texas Instruments came to dominate the graphing calculator business.
• A cotton blanket to prepare for cozy season.**

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

Play

Turntable: Your center letter this week is E, surrounded by J, V, N, U, I, and L. Can you make 32 words from those? Give it a spin and play Turntable here.

Timely trivia

It’s about to be the 21st night of September, but how well do you know the Earth, Wind & Fire song beyond that famous lyric?

Fill in the missing line from the beginning of the song:

Do you remember

The 21st night of September?

Love was ______________

While chasin’ the clouds away

Answer

Changin’ the minds of pretenders

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: tome, meaning “book.” Thanks to Kenn from Folsom, LA, for the grandiloquent suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.