Elon Musk’s Ambitions To Send ‘Thousands’ To Mars

More small businesses are looking to hire, but they’re having trouble finding qualified workers.

A recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business found that just over half of respondents found few or no qualified applicants for open roles they wanted to fill. Immigration restrictions are contributing to the problem, particularly in fields like construction, plus a growing mismatch between worker’s skill levels and what employers need.

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First Up

• OpenAI launched its new AI agent, ChatGPT Work, which can generate spreadsheets, presentations and more, as AI companies race to build autonomous workplace agents.
• AI data labeling firm Mercor is in talks to raise $500 million at a valuation of $20 billion, and if the round closes, its three 23-year-old cofounders would be worth an estimated $4.3 billion apiece.

Business + Finance

Billionaire Jack Dorsey’s Block will pay $45 million to 46 states over its handling of fraud on Cash App, as states ramp up their enforcement in the wake of the Trump administration gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Block has been in regulators’ crosshairs more than almost any other fintech over the last two years, and the court order could shed light on a major case pending against Zelle.

Elon Musk claimed that SpaceX would transport “thousands” of people to the moon and Mars, though the billionaire has a long history of failed predictions. Musk would receive 1 billion shares of the rocket maker in a lucrative pay package if the company reaches a market cap of $7.5 trillion and builds a colony on Mars with at least 1 million inhabitants.

Tech + Innovation

Microsoft’s data center buildout increased the tech giant’s carbon emissions last year, a setback for the company’s climate goals. Global carbon dioxide emissions from data center electricity use is expected to nearly double to 300 million metric tons by 2035, according to the International Energy Agency—roughly equivalent to the emissions from 69 million passenger vehicles over a year.

Money + Politics

The White House fired the three remaining members of a bipartisan federal committee that assists states and local officials administer elections, after the Supreme Court upended a 90-year-old precedent allowing the president to remove independent federal agency officials. The move is likely to raise alarm about the White House’s potential interference in the upcoming midterms.

Daily Cover Story

All Rise: Internet Court For AI Agents Is In Session

Well-known AI and crypto companies are racing to create a future where people use AI agents to do everything from replying to emails to tax-loss harvesting.

But while software may already be able to shop, bargain, hire and pay on behalf of humans and businesses, AI hallucinates and commerce has never been only about the exchange of money. Mishaps are inevitable.

“Agentic commerce is reaching a critical turning point, and we’re not prepared for the potential fallout,” says David Riudor, CEO and co-founder of the GenLayer Foundation, a Cayman Islands-based entity that helps run a new blockchain called GenLayer and its main application, Internet Court, which is designed to adjudicate agentic disputes. The court operates free of human interference and is overseen by 26 other crypto and AI companies, including heavyweights like crypto exchange OKX, wallet provider MetaMask and Binance’s BNB Chain.

As ambitious and futuristic as it sounds, Internet Court is not an attempt to fully replace judges with a stack of bots. It is better understood as a system that helps agents create contracts with clear terms, and if they can’t agree on the outcome, an AI jury evaluates the evidence and delivers a verdict in minutes.

The potential market could be enormous. AI-referred traffic to retail sites has grown more than 14 times since October 2024, according to Adobe Analytics, and McKinsey projects that AI agents could mediate between $3 trillion and $5 trillion in global consumer commerce by 2030.

WHY IT MATTERS “AI agents may soon overtake the internet,” says Forbes deputy editor Nina Bambysheva. “The risk is that they will also make mistakes and fight with each other. This is creating an opening for crypto firms, which are pitching blockchains and AI juries as the court of the future before regulators and real courts catch up.”

MORE Robinhood Launches Its Own Blockchain, New Stock Tokens And DeFi Products

Facts + Comments

Online sports bettors generally spend more and are more likely to fall behind on their bills than those who bet in-person, according to new Urban Institute research. Sports betting has expanded rapidly in recent years, and state and federal policymakers are now weighing tighter restrictions:

15 times: How much more likely online gamblers were to report having missed a bill payment than in-person bettors

$167 billion: The amount Americans spent on sports betting last year

28%: The share of online gamblers who reported betting weekly, and 23% said they bet monthly

Strategy + Success

Managers are directly responsible for keeping their teams motivated, but many are themselves becoming increasingly burned out. To better support managers in your organization, create structured plans for their development, and delegate administrative tasks that don’t require their specific expertise. It’s a good idea to conduct an audit of managers’ workloads—piling on more direct reports can add stress and create disengagement.

Video

Quiz

A new study found that inhaling the scent of a specific food before a workout could meaningfully improve performance at the gym. What kind of food is it?

A. Cinnamon

B. Bread

C. Chocolate

DGinger

Check your answer.

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.