Axios

Companies plan to hire more as a result of generative AI, recent research from freelance platform Upwork reveals.

Why it matters: Many workers are worried about automation and AI taking their jobs. But what they might actually want, is for AI to help them do their jobs more efficiently.

This earnings season reminded us that AI deployment will require a lot of powerful chips — but it will also need workers with specialized skills.

Zoom in: In order for companies to realize the benefits of AI in the real world, they'll need people with data science and natural-language processing skills, demand for which is currently outpacing supply, a McKinsey study of the first half of 2023 has found.

U.S. regulators continue to hammer crypto firms with enforcement actions, the latest of which drags NFTs into the mix.

Driving the news: The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued Los Angeles-based podcasting firm Impact Theory for allegedly offering securities in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), raising more than $30 million through sales in late 2021.

At central bankers' annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, there was a recurring theme across formal papers, high-profile speeches and off-the-record conversations: Underlying assumptions about how the economy works that have guided policy for decades can no longer be trusted.

Why it matters: Central bankers seek a new understanding of how the post-pandemic economy works. But in the meantime, we face an era of less policy predictability and more rapid adjustments to incoming information.

With central bankers' annual gathering behind us, attention now turns to a slew of data out this week giving more clues about whether the economy is evolving the way central bankers would like.

What's happening: We'll get July's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday. Any further easing in the number of job openings may offer relief that the labor market is easing into better balance.

Hostess Brands is exploring a sale, after it received takeover interest from rival snack-makers like General Mills, PepsiCo and Mondelez, according to Reuters.

Why it matters: Hostess, like its iconic Twinkies, has an uncommonly long shelf life.

Labor shortages are plaguing high-stakes sectors like law enforcement, health care and aviation.

Why it matters: Understaffing in some industries can have dire consequences for public health and safety — for example, a shortage of air traffic controllers has led to increase in near-miss airplane collisions, the New York Times recently reported.

Fully remote workers are especially disconnected from their workplaces' "mission and purpose," according to a new Gallup survey released Thursday.

Why it matters: The results adds to a slew of signs in the post-pandemic era — including viral trends like "quiet quitting" to "bare minimum Mondays" — that highlight the growing distance between workers and their employers.

For one day, Barbenheimer stragglers will get a chance to watch the blockbuster movies in theaters at a discount.

The big picture: National Cinema Day returns Sunday, Aug. 27 with $4 movie tickets at 3,000-plus participating theaters nationwide including Regal, AMC and Cinemark.