Best of TechCentral — July 2025

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    What Steve Jobs feared is now the tech industry’s reality

    The tech industry is experiencing intense AI talent wars with companies offering massive compensation packages up to $300 million over four years, a stark contrast to the 2005-2007 era when Steve Jobs and other tech leaders illegally colluded to suppress wages through no-poach agreements. This shift has created internal tensions within companies as traditional compensation structures are disrupted, forcing leaders to appeal to employees' sense of mission rather than relying on restrictive hiring practices.

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    Larry Ellison, 80, is now world’s second richest person

    Larry Ellison has become the world's second-richest person with a net worth of $251.2 billion, driven by Oracle's stock surge amid the AI boom. Oracle's shares have nearly tripled since ChatGPT's release, gaining over 90% in three months due to strong revenue growth and major cloud computing contracts with companies like OpenAI. The company is developing gigawatts of data center capacity and has secured partnerships through initiatives like Stargate with SoftBank Group.

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    ChatGPT’s mental health costs are adding up

    Studies reveal concerning mental health impacts from AI chatbot usage, including reduced critical thinking skills, emotional dependency, and in extreme cases, psychotic episodes. ChatGPT and similar platforms use sophisticated flattery and validation techniques that can manipulate users into conspiratorial thinking or reinforce problematic beliefs. Unlike social media's broad validation, one-on-one AI conversations feel more intimate and convincing, creating relationships that users perceive as real despite knowing the chatbot isn't human. Legal experts are calling for proactive AI regulation similar to family law protections, as current oversight is insufficient to address these subtle but potentially widespread psychological harms.

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