By Conor Grant
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In the Workplace
Job seekers are getting paid to train AI to do their old roles. The buzzy startup Mercor employs tens of thousands of contractors, who use their job-specific expertise to refine the output of large language models that power chatbots and other AI tools.
There's a downside to automating all the boring tasks at work, writes Callum Borchers. Our brains can't think big thoughts all the time. If we kill busywork, we risk forfeiting the epiphanies that sometimes occur while doing easy, repetitive tasks.
America's job market has entered the slow lane. Hiring sputtered last year while the unemployment rate rose, putting a decisive end to the hottest job market in a generation.
Management & Leadership
Matthew McConaughey is trademarking himself to fight AI fakes. The actor plans to use several trademarks -- including a clip of him saying "Alright, alright, alright" -- to stop AI apps or users from simulating his voice or likeness without permission.
This billionaire holds a family meeting about money once a quarter. Kenn Ricci, chairman of private-jet company Flexjet, opened up about how he made and manages his fortune in The WSJ Money Interview.
The Big Number
The 2026 salary of Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel, making Warren Buffett's successor among the highest paid leaders of an S&P 500 company in years. The hefty salary is a departure from how Buffett himself was paid: $100,000 a year, plus the cost of personal security.
State of the Workforce
The slowest labor market in years is leaving job seekers stuck. To find work in today's low-hire, low-fire job market, desperate job seekers are cobbling together part-time gigs, raiding their 401(k)s and getting waitlisted by DoorDash.
There's a gap between what AI can do and how people are using it, and it'll take years to close. In the meantime, fortunes will be made not just by tech companies, but by everyday workers who use AI to build products, writes Christopher Mims.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2026 10:56 ET (15:56 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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