3 Shifts Edition (Jun 13 2025): Shrinkages in the US labor market, Scale AI and Meta's $15B investment, Deep-sea desalination

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version].First, the US labor market is shrinking in ways that feel more structural than cyclical, with a declining employment-population ratio and businesses seeking “headcount-less growth.” So far it’s mostly “small cracks” but between immigration policy and automation, we’re looking at a labor market in transition – and the landing may not be soft.Next, Meta just bet $14.3B on data-labeling startup Scale AI and its CEO Alexandr Wang, securing a 49% stake. With 240K+ taskers and 100K+ domain experts churning out training data, Scale AI has become the go-to vendor for many leading AI players – and now, potentially, Meta’s competitive advantage.Finally, deep-sea desalination is getting real – and may be the most energy-efficient way to turn the ocean into drinking water. By using natural deep-sea pressure to drive reverse osmosis, startups are aiming for automated “water farms” that use less energy, require less shoreline, and disperse brine with less environmental damage.Enjoy.TamSign up for free briefs written by real people on 6Pages.com