Sotheby's will auction NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's signed Tom Ford black leather jacket starting July 7, with bidding closing July 17, according to Business Insider. The auction house estimates the jacket will sell for $40,000 to $60,000, comparable to the price of NVIDIA's popular Blackwell AI chip. The auction is hosted for charitable purposes by early-stage venture fund Long Journey, with proceeds benefiting nonprofit Edge Institute to support scholarships, grants, and housing for next-generation architects. Huang has made the black leather jacket his signature item, wearing it at product launches, developer conferences, and overseas trips to South Korea and Taiwan, mirroring how Steve Jobs became known for his black turtleneck. Authentication firm Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) confirmed the auctioned jacket matches the one Huang wore at Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei on October 18, 2023, with Huang's signature verified by James Spence Authentication.
Sotheby's Auctions Jensen Huang's Signed Tom Ford Leather Jacket for Charity
Sotheby's will display the jacket at its New York location until July 16, with the auction concluding on July 17, according to a Sotheby's spokesperson. The expected sale price of $40,000 to $60,000 matches the cost of NVIDIA's Blackwell AI chip. Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) authenticated the jacket as the same one Huang wore at Hon Hai Tech Day in Taipei on October 18, 2023. James Spence Authentication verified Huang's signature on the garment. All proceeds will go to nonprofit Edge Institute to fund scholarships, grants, and housing support for next-generation architects.
Chinese Startup Z.ai Launches ZCode AI Coding Tool Below US Competitor Pricing
Chinese startup Z.ai launched AI coding tool ZCode this week, positioning it as significantly cheaper than US competitors, Business Insider reported. The company designated ZCode as the official development environment for its latest open-source model GLM 5.2, which previously shook Silicon Valley with strong performance on specific tasks. ZCode's Light plan costs $16.20 per month, while the Max plan with 20x functionality is priced at $144 monthly. By comparison, US AI coding app Cursor charges $20 monthly for its cheapest individual plan and $200 monthly for its Ultra plan with 20x capabilities. Z.ai attributed the tool's development to support from an impressive open developer community.
Kent Beck Emphasizes Soft Skills Over Coding Ability in AI Era
Software engineering pioneer and Extreme Programming (XP) creator Kent Beck identified understanding and communicating with people as the most critical skill for developers in the AI era, Business Insider reported. In a recent podcast appearance, Beck responded to questions about why software engineers face greater crisis than before by stating, "We developers are sometimes pretty insufferable people." He pointed out that developers often possess strong technical skills but lack soft skills such as emotional regulation, empathy, and collaboration abilities. Beck noted, "We don't regulate emotions well, we lack empathy, and we're often so direct that it's hard for others to accept." He explained that as AI directly writes code, these weaknesses can no longer be overlooked. Beck stated that companies now require engineers to review AI-generated output, provide direction, and manage quality rather than write all code directly. He described the reality that developers must learn to deal with people as "a cosmic-scale mean joke," emphasizing that "the ability to impact the world ultimately depends not on how well you code, but on how well you communicate and empathize with others."
US Apparel Brands Target Women's Market as Growth Strategy
Traditional US apparel brands with historically high male consumer ratios are pursuing women's market expansion as a new growth strategy, CNBC reported. VF Corporation, Levi's, and Columbia Sportswear are focusing on broadening their revenue base by expanding investment in women's product development and marketing. Needham analyst Tom Nikic analyzed that the US women's apparel market is approximately 70% larger than the men's market, with women spending significantly more on clothing, indicating substantial growth potential. VF Corporation CEO Bracken Darrell emphasized that female consumers represent a new growth engine for major brands including Vans, The North Face, and Timberland. VF is expanding Vans' women's apparel and accessories, while Timberland introduced new product lines such as women's platform boots. The North Face strengthened collaborations with fashion brands like SKIMS and enhanced its women's outdoor product range. Levi's is also accelerating women's business expansion. CEO Michelle Gass, who took office in 2024, presented the "Win With Her" strategy with female customer acquisition as a core objective. Women's products currently account for 38% of Levi's total revenue, with the company targeting a long-term 50-50 gender revenue split. Levi's expanded beyond denim into dresses, skirts, and tops, while strengthening marketing collaboration with Beyoncé and women's product-focused store display strategies. Columbia Sportswear also entered women's market targeting, designating women's outerwear as a core growth area with plans to expand various collections into diverse seasonal products.
Fake Dubai Prince Deepfake Scam Causes $442 Billion in Global Losses
A Filipino woman named "Maria" (pseudonym) lost approximately 100,000 Philippine pesos (about $1,625) to an AI deepfake criminal organization impersonating Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, AFP reported. The perpetrator approached her through a dating app, moved to messenger, and built trust through continuous expressions of affection and psychological inducement. During video calls, deepfake video resembling the actual crown prince's face was rendered in real time. She subsequently received demands for additional money under the pretense of issuing a "marriage certificate" and "royal membership card," losing a total of one year's savings. This case represents a typical example of so-called "fake Dubai prince" scams, which have been occurring repeatedly online for several years. Scam organizations exploit actual Dubai royalty's social media to steal images and poetry, operating through SNS, Facebook groups, and messenger channels to lure victims. Some groups generate image content similar to reality, proceeding with marriage proposals and financial support requests accompanied by "please love me" messages, inducing psychological immersion in victims. Online communities already share damage warnings, but repeated victimization continues due to the emotional approach-based scam structure. Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) estimated global consumer damage at approximately $442 billion last year, with a significant portion analyzed as related to romance scams and AI-based new scams. Industry experts interpret this case not as a simple individual fraud incident but as an "expansion of AI-generated content-based financial crime infrastructure." Particularly as real-time video deepfake technology enters commercialization stages, assessments emerge that existing "video verification-based trust structures" are effectively neutralized. Cornell University Professor David Rand pointed out, "Considering the pace of technological advancement, distinguishing real from fake in real-time video calls will become increasingly impossible in the future," adding that "the trust structure of non-face-to-face communication itself may fundamentally shake."
15 Million Americans Lost $68 Billion to AI-Based Scams in 2025
Approximately 15 million Americans, representing 6% of US adults, suffered financial losses from scams last year, with 12% of fraud cases involving AI or deepfake technology, according to a Gallup and StopScams Alliance report cited by Benzinga. The report titled "The State of Scams in America: Economic and Emotional Aftermath" surveyed 5,173 US adults from January 8 to February 18, 2026. Americans lost approximately $68 billion to scams throughout 2025, equivalent to an average of about $186 million per day. One in four Americans (24%) reported experiencing fraud at least once since becoming adults. Researchers explained that the scale of AI-based scams may be underreported, as many victims likely did not recognize that AI tools were used in the fraud process. StopScams Alliance CEO Ken Westbrook pointed out that the scale of fraud crime reached a concerning level. In an interview with NBC News, he stated, "There's a reason they're called organized crime—they're actually organized, and now they're launching massive attacks based on that organization, causing $68 billion in damage." Gallup reported that scams left significant emotional aftereffects beyond financial losses. 21% of fraud victims reported experiencing severe economic hardship, while 25% cited moderate economic difficulties. 73% stated that fraud victimization negatively impacted their mental health or overall life well-being. By scam method, fake websites were involved in 40% of all incidents. Phone calls, text messages, and emails were utilized in nearly half of cases. 49% of all scams tricked victims into directly transferring money, with Zelle and PayPal being the most frequently used payment methods.
FAQ
What did Sotheby's announce about Jensen Huang's jacket?
Sotheby's announced it will auction NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's signed Tom Ford black leather jacket starting July 7, with bidding closing July 17. The auction house estimates the jacket will sell for $40,000 to $60,000, with proceeds benefiting nonprofit Edge Institute.
How much did Americans lose to AI-based scams in 2025?
According to a Gallup and StopScams Alliance report, approximately 15 million Americans lost about $68 billion to scams in 2025, with 12% of fraud cases involving AI or deepfake technology. This equals an average daily loss of approximately $186 million.
