Keep an eye on your bots: This New York Times opinion piece about chatbots raises some disturbing questions. They’re not (yet) capable of complex, nuanced conversations, but they can steer those conversations, particularly on social media, in particular directions – say, pro-government, in the case of Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman in the days after the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, or in a pro-Leave direction on Twitter in the days leading up to Britain’s Brexit vote. It’s about impact, says the author, lawyer Jamie Susskind. It sort of reminds me of another talking bot that had a big impact, HAL of “2001: A Space Odyssey” – or maybe it’s just because I’m an alumna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, HAL’s birthplace. —Barbara Bohn
Floating on Airtable: In a world where we increasingly think we need to move faster in order to even remotely keep up with the ever-shifting trends in tech and otherwise, this man is proving exactly the opposite. Along with two partners, Howie Liu, 30, launched Airtable, a cloud-based software system, in 2013. The trio of partners spent three years pouring over the details of their prototype and now, Airtable has taken hold in 80,000 organizations and revenue is on track to jump 400% to US$20 million in 2018, mostly on word of mouth. A lesson that the tortoise really can beat the hare in real life. —Chloe Riley
Word of the day—Tentalow: Expedia this week released its 2018 Year in Review, highlighting travel trends across areas such as destinations, lodging and activities. Findings show that international cities saw an increase in U.S. visitors of 40% and that travelers are increasingly interested in staying somewhere novel or unique during their vacations. The fastest growing accommodations: Tentalows, Chalets, Villas, Agritourism properties and Houseboats, though traditional resorts and hotels continue to be a favorite for U.S. travelers. —Jeff Weinstein
Miami Vice revisited: For all your designers out there, Pantone, a global authority on color, has deemed coral the color of the year for 2019. And in the name of all things experiential with hotels and brands, Hilton’s Tribute Portfolio and Pantone have partnered to create a pop-up pantry installation at the soft brand’s Royal Palm South Beach Miami Resort to help kick off Art Basel Miami this week. The installation is outfitted in the new Pantone 2019 color of the year and allows people to experience an immersive tribute to color during the fair. The concept will travel to new Tribute Portfolio hotels next year. We just want you to be the first to suggest you jump on the coral bandwagon! —J.W.
Devaluing or increased accessibility? According to Bloomberg, Apple has embarked on a series of aggressive trade-in offers that have temporarily reduced the cost of some of its latest iPhones, a rare step for a company that’s been raising device prices in recent years to lift revenue and profit. It may be prompted by the fact that the company has lost about a fifth of its market value since the start of October. But is lowering prices the way to go? The move walks the thin line between getting iPhones in more hands and lessening the impact of a once arguably untouchable brand. —C.R.