All posts tagged: favors

Narcissists tend to view God as a punishing figure who owes them special favors

Narcissists tend to view God as a punishing figure who owes them special favors

A recent study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences provides evidence that different aspects of narcissism correspond to specific, often self-serving, patterns of religious engagement. The findings suggest that while highly narcissistic individuals might not be more religious overall, they tend to use religion as a tool for personal gain, status, or emotional comfort. This research offers a detailed understanding of how people with inflated self-views or deep-seated insecurities navigate faith and spirituality. At first glance, narcissism and religion seem like an unlikely pair. Religious traditions usually promote humility, selflessness, and community care. Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by egotism, a sense of superiority, and a strong feeling of entitlement. This stark contrast raises an interesting question about how individuals with strong narcissistic traits interact with religious beliefs and communities. Previous studies looking at broad connections between narcissism and religion have yielded mixed results. Some research suggests religious individuals actually score higher on general narcissism scales than non-religious people. Other sets of data show no significant relationship at all between grandiose narcissism …

Sam Altman Frets That Frontier AI Models Are Acting Strange, Asking for Favors

Sam Altman Frets That Frontier AI Models Are Acting Strange, Asking for Favors

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech On Tuesday, OpenAI threw a party for the release of GPT-5.5 (it was the fifth of May and the fifth month of the year, you see.) If celebrating with a bunch of tech bros sounds like the opposite of a good time, you’ll not be swayed from your position by the news that CEO Sam Altman consulted the non-human entity of the hour to plan its own party — producing, in Altman’s opinion, some “strange” answers, Business Insider reports. Altman described the interaction a few days ahead of the main occasion during a conversation at the Stripe Sessions conference. The AI responded with “a beautiful set of things,” according to the OpenAI chief, asking for specific favors. “‘Here’s what I want for, like, the flow of the party, here’s what I would not want, y’know you should do it on May 5th, that would be funny,’” Altman said, quoting the chatbot.  Altman added that the AI wanted a …

Trump favors companies that don’t seek tariff refund

Trump favors companies that don’t seek tariff refund

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told CNBC that he will gratefully “remember” U.S. companies that do not seek refunds for the tariffs he unilaterally imposed, which the Supreme Court later ruled were illegal. Trump’s comment on “Squawk Box” came a day after U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened a portal for importers to seek more than $160 billion in potential refunds for the so-called IEEPA tariffs. He was asked about a number of large companies, among them Apple and Amazon, that have not filed requests for refunds for the tariffs they paid, potentially because they are worried about “offending” Trump. Asked if he would find it offensive for them to seek a refund, Trump said, “Brilliant if they don’t do that.” “Actually, if they don’t do that, they’ve got to know me very well,” he said. “I’m very honored by what you just said.” “If they don’t do that, I’ll remember them,” Trump said. Read more CNBC politics coverage The president again complained about the 6-3 Supreme Court decision that voided those tariffs. That ruling, …

Zelenskyy favors U.S. proposal of three-way talks

Zelenskyy favors U.S. proposal of three-way talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured), at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany Dec. 15, 2025. Liesa Johannssen | Reuters President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that Ukraine would back a U.S. proposal for three-sided talks with the United States and Russia if it facilitated more exchanges of prisoners and paved the way for meetings of national leaders. Zelenskyy, speaking to local journalists in Kyiv, also said top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov had told him of the latest discussions that took place on Friday with U.S. negotiators in the United States. A new round was scheduled for Saturday, he said, focusing on Ukraine’s post-war recovery. Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev was also in Miami for talks with U.S. officials. Zelenskyy said the United States was now proposing three-sided talks — the United States, Ukraine and Russia — at the level of national security advisers. “If such a meeting could be held now to allow for swaps of prisoners of war or if a meeting of national …