McKinsey launched a free AI practice tool in April that gives candidates unlimited attempts at the quantitative case study they will face in their interview. The tool is available globally to applicants for entry-level business analyst and associate roles. The firm says it is designed to level the playing field for candidates who cannot afford expensive consulting coaches.

The consulting interview coaching industry charges anywhere from $200 to $500 per hour. McKinsey’s free tool lets candidates practise the same quantitative scenarios they will encounter in the real interview, as many times as they want. Marie Christine Padberg, McKinsey’s global talent attraction co-leader, told Business Insider the tool also addresses nerves: “Doing quantitative things is one thing, but doing it while somebody’s watching you is something else.”

The practice tool is one half of a broader AI integration into McKinsey’s hiring process. The other half is more consequential. Since January, the firm has been piloting the use of its internal AI assistant Lilli during final-round interviews for business school graduates.

Candidates in the pilot are asked to use Lilli to analyse a case study and refine their conclusions. Interviewers evaluate how applicants prompt the system, assess its outputs, and apply them to a specific client scenario. The test measures curiosity and judgment, not prompt engineering.

McKinsey is not testing whether candidates can avoid AI. It is testing whether they can work with it effectively. The distinction reflects how consulting work itself has changed. Consultants are now expected to move beyond analysis that clients can do internally and toward problem framing, judgment, and implementation.

The scale of AI inside McKinsey makes the hiring shift logical. CEO Bob Sternfels said at CES in January that the firm now has approximately 25,000 AI agents supporting its 60,000 human employees. Eighteen months ago, that number was 3,000. More than 75% of McKinsey employees use Lilli monthly.

McKinsey has also cut approximately 200 technology roles as AI automates non-client-facing operations. The firm shrank its overall workforce by more than 10% between 2023 and 2025. Entry-level roles have been most affected, precisely the positions the AI practice tool is designed to help candidates secure.

The tension between AI creating and eliminating jobs is playing out across the hiring market. Forward deployed engineer postings are up 19x year on year. Claude Evangelists earn $240,000. Chief AI Officers command nearly $500,000. The jobs AI creates pay more and require different skills than the jobs it replaces.

McKinsey’s approach codifies that shift into the interview itself. The firm is not asking candidates whether they can use AI. It is making AI fluency a condition of entry. CaseBasix, a consulting interview preparation firm, said BCG and Bain are likely to follow with similar AI interview components.

The broader pattern is consistent. Detroit’s automakers are cutting white-collar staff while posting AI roles. Salesforce eliminated 4,000 support jobs after deploying AI agents. McKinsey is simultaneously reducing its workforce and redesigning its hiring process to select for people who can work alongside the technology that is making others redundant.

The quantitative component is especially important, Padberg said, because “even in an AI-enabled workplace, consultants still need to understand how numbers connect and what they mean.” AI can generate analysis. It cannot yet determine whether the analysis is relevant to a specific client’s problem. That judgment gap is what McKinsey’s interview is now designed to test.

The class of 2025 and 2026 graduates are entering a job market where AI fluency is no longer a bonus skill. At McKinsey, it is now part of the entrance exam. The free practice tool makes preparation accessible. The Lilli interview makes the standard clear: if you cannot collaborate with AI under pressure, you will not get the job.

Red light therapy face masks are all the rage thanks to beauty and wellness influencers on social media. Also known as LED masks, they use red, near-infrared or blue light at different wavelengths with claims that they can improve your skin’s appearance, boost collagen production and, if they have blue light, target acne. 

The best part is that you can use these masks at home without setting foot in an aesthetician’s office. However, these LED masks aren’t cheap and only some are FDA-cleared, while others aren’t. 

If you’re going to invest in an LED mask, it’s important to know how to use it correctly and what to look for when choosing the best one for your needs. I spoke with a dermatologist and plastic surgeon to learn the best way to use your LED light therapy mask, as well as any risks and benefits to consider.

Where to include an LED mask in your skin care routine

A skin care routine usually includes serums, creams, ointments and other topical products targeting your skin’s needs. If you’re using an LED mask, it’s important to know the best placement in your routine to get the most out of it. 

Dr. Eleonora Fedonenko, the medical director and a dermatologist at Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles, told CNET that she recommends starting any LED mask treatment on a clean face, free of creams and serums. “If there is residue from makeup or sunscreen, it can block the light from getting to the skin and reduce the effectiveness of the session,” Fedonenko said. 

Important considerations

When choosing an LED therapy mask, it’s important to opt for one that has FDA clearance, as this indicates the product has been tested for safety and efficacy. Fedonenko also recommends researching the company and verifying that it has done clinical studies regarding the wavelengths used. 

“Red light should be between 630 and 660 nanometers, and near-infrared light should be between 830 and 850 nanometers since they’re the two wavelengths most commonly shown to promote collagen growth while reducing inflammation,” Fedonenko explains. 

You’ll also want to make sure that the mask fits your face properly and evenly distributes the light across your skin for the best results. Some models CNET recommends: Shark CryoGlow LED Face Mask, RENPHO Artemis LED face mask and Omnilux Contour Face.

How often to use your LED mask

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Knowing how often to use an LED therapy mask is important since you don’t want to overdo it. Fedonenko recommends aiming for 10- to 20-minute treatments, three to five times per week. 

“There is a timing that is correct depending on the power output of the device. For example, 10 minutes may suffice with a high-output irradiance mask and more with a low-output mask,” Fedonenko says. Irradiance refers to the amount of light reaching the skin.

Dr. Amy Bandy, a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, recommends an at-home red light therapy mask with an irradiance of approximately 20 to 50 milliwatts per square centimeter, stating, “This level of irradiance has been shown to be sufficient to deliver measurable results from home use while providing comfort and safety.”

Fedonenko notes that FDA-cleared devices usually have an irradiance of at least 30 mW/cm2. Try to avoid masks with light levels between 10-30 mW/cm2, because even though the light penetrates the skin, Fedonenko says it’s not strong enough to yield results, as it elicits little measurable cellular response.

Use caution with masks with irradiance levels above 100 mW/cm2, as these tend to be too strong, especially if you switch from a lower-intensity version. Fodenenko says,” Many of my patients have come to me with redness that continues due to their change from a lower-powered device to a higher-powered one, with the output being the cause and not due to frequency used.”

Fodenenko warns against using your LED mask daily because some people think doing more will speed up the process, when it can have the opposite effect. “Patients have come in with skin that was so tight and raw, they were using the mask every day in order to speed up their results,” Fedonenko says. Instead, it’s important to give your skin time to recover between red light therapy treatments because the light stimulates cellular repair. 

Bandy agrees and says that frequent use and strong products can also cause damage. “If someone is treating themselves too frequently and/or simultaneously utilizing very harsh skin care products such as retinoids or exfoliating acids, the skin barrier may become damaged, which leads to further inflammation and irritation,” Bandy says. 

However, it’s common for the skin to have some redness, dryness, itchiness or tightness when using an LED mask. If these symptoms don’t subside or get worse after a treatment, it’s best to seek medical guidance. 

Precautions to take with LED masks

One thing people may not consider with LED therapy masks is that the eyes need protection. 

“The masks are worn near the face, and wearing them without goggles for long periods of time can cause eye fatigue,” Bandy says. 

This is because the mask can cause light-induced headaches in those sensitive to light or those with certain eye conditions. It’s something to keep in mind if you have sensitive eyes or ocular conditions.

Fortunately, many LED masks have built-in goggles, so you should think twice before purchasing one that doesn’t. You should also ensure this part of the mask fits correctly before turning it on. If you still end up with a headache or sensitivity, stop using the mask.

Other non-eye-related signs you should take a break include peeling or acne on areas of the skin where you don’t normally experience breakouts or flaking. “Slow down the number of sessions and allow your skin time to heal,” Bandy says.

Signs the LED mask is working

If you’re new to using an LED mask, there are some ways to tell if it’s working on your skin. In general, you may start to see improvements within a few weeks. “These improvements include reduced inflammation, improved brightness and clarity of their skin and a better overall complexion,” Bandy says. 

Smoother skin and reduced fine lines are common weeks after using an LED therapy mask because light therapy stimulates collagen production. Acne sufferers may notice fewer breakouts and improvement in hyperpigmentation. Those with rosacea or who deal with redness will notice their skin start to calm down. ”That’s surprising to them as they came in with the idea that they were there for skin aging concerns,” Fodonenko says. 

However, if it’s been eight weeks and you notice no difference in your skin, Fodonenko says the device’s irradiance output may be the issue, so you may want to replace your current model with one that has a higher irradiance. 

The verdict on LED masks

As with any product, you find yourself influenced to buy on social media, it’s still important to approach these trends with precaution. If you’re interested in adding an LED mask to your skin care regimen, make sure you do your research and choose an FDA-cleared product. This reassures you that it’s safe overall and tested for efficacy, so you know you’re getting your money’s worth. 

Remember that it can also take time to see improvements, so if you don’t see results right away, give it several weeks to see any changes. If you notice your skin worsening, stop treatment and seek medical attention for further assistance.

Sony refines its wearable cooler for stronger everyday comfort. Summer heatwaves push people to seek relief that travels with them, and Sony answers with the latest version of its REON POCKET series. Wearers place the REON POCKET PRO Plus around their neck so a stainless steel plate rests gently against the skin between the shoulders. Electricity passes through special materials inside to cool or heat that plate directly. Blood flow then carries the temperature shift across the body, delivering noticeable comfort without touching core body heat.

Users turn it on for congested commutes, stuffy offices, or chilly evenings when they just want to get through the day without bother. Sony focused on improving the fit so that it stays in contact on a consistent basis. They strengthened the tubing in the neckband to keep the device stable even when you’re walking or just pottering around, preventing those minor motions that can degrade performance. An adjustable vent now extends and points upwards, allowing heated air to escape and clear your collar or shirt.

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The technology has also advanced significantly, with the cooling plate now two degrees Celsius colder, allowing it to get the job done in a deeper way and increasing overall production by around 20%. The item has a sensor that monitors your skin’s temperature in real time. To top it off, a little independent unit clamps onto your bag or belt loop and reads the air and humidity in the room, sending the results back to the system.

Of course, the companion app now provides you with numerous additional possibilities to play with on your phone. In smart mode, you can specify a preferred temperature range, and the device will take care of the rest, keeping you at the proper temperature without your intervention. If you want to make a quick modification, you may utilize the physical buttons on the unit itself, eliminating the need to dig out your phone. There is no fan inside, so it remains silent enough to be used in offices, on trains, or in meetings.

The battery life is more than enough for a full day, as the lowest cooling setting can operate for up to 34 hours, while higher intensities will last slightly less, 27, 18, 10, or 5.5 hours at maximum, with smart cooling mode lasting 15 hours on average. A full charge will take a little more than three hours from zero. The total set weighs little over 9 ounces and is small enough to wear under everyday clothing, however it does show up a little under thin shirts, so keep that in mind.

Sony was the first to introduce wearable thermal devices to the Japanese market years ago, and they’ve been constantly enhancing the range with each subsequent release. This PRO Plus version improves stability and power while keeping the fundamental principle at its core. You’ll probably be able to acquire one in the United States this summer, as it will be available through Sony’s online store. Prices hover about $270, and the sensing tag is included in the kit.
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If you don’t know where to start—and use—your HP coupon code, there’s a wide variety of options available at HP.com in terms of budget and use case, but my eye goes first to the high-end HP Omen gaming monitors, like the fantastic HP Omen Transcend 32. This 4K 240Hz monitor is a favorite among PC gamers, even among the huge amounts of OLED options out there. It can hit a peak brightness of over 1,000 nits in HDR, bringing scenes in games to life in vivid detail.

Or if you’re on the other side of the budget spectrum and just need something basic, we recommend checking out one of HP’s 27-inch 1080p monitors, such as the HP V27i G5, which typically retails for $209. It even comes with a 75Hz refresh rate, a small but appreciated bump over the standard 60Hz. We have HP coupon codes to help you save on all this tech and even more below.

$20 Off Your First Order With Our HP Promo Code

HP offers a $20 discount right off the top of your order if it’s your first time buying from HP.com. While you can’t use it in addition to the other coupons, it might be a better discount if you’re purchasing something less expensive. To get this HP promo code, your order has to be $65 or more though (before taxes and shipping), and it requires signing up for the HP newsletter.

This HP promo code is valid for a month after subscribing to the newsletter and is restricted to one per customer. If you aren’t planning to spend too much and it’s your first time buying from HP.com, this could be the way to go.

Top HP Coupons: Laptops for Work, School, and Everyday Use

One of the best laptops for work is the HP ProBook 4 G1, which is now only $501, a whopping 78% discount. We love the HP ZBook Fury 16 G11 Mobile Workstation PC for school, now $1,509 at 63% off, and a great laptop for everyday use is the HP Laptop 17t-cn300, now only $300 (66% off).

HP Instant Ink: Get 50% Off With This HP Deal

Printers are super handy, but one of the most annoying and expensive investments you make for it is the upkeep of ink and toner. Well, the good news is that you can save up to 50% on ink right now! With HP Instant Ink, you can save time and money with this subscription service that automatically delivers ink only when you’re running low, with plans starting at less than $2 a month.

Join the HP All-In Plan Printing Subscription to Save

We all know printing is somehow one of the hardest at-home tasks we still have to do, with printers oftentimes not keeping up with the leaps and bounds contemporary technology has made. HP is hoping to change all of that. The HP All-In Plan is a convenient, stress-free printing subscription that fulfills your printing needs with just a monthly payment. The subscription includes a brand-new printer, automatic ink delivery, an option to add automatic paper delivery, and with live support. Plus, if your printer breaks or has an issue that support can’t fix, HP will send you a replacement the next business day for free. You can try the service for 30 days for free.

Save More: HP Smart Ink

At-home printers are such a huge headache. When all other home office tech seems to be living in 2087, clunky, difficult printers seem to be stuck in 1987, with constant jams, errors, and finicky ink. The HP Smart Tank printers are refillable, cartridge-free ink tank printers that deliver reliable, low-cost, high-volume printing that lasts for years. With these HP Smart Ink printers, you’ll no longer have to worry about refilling cartridges or constant low ink notifications. Welcome to the future.

Save 40% on Tech With the HP Student Discount

If you’re a student—or a parent to a student, teacher, school faculty, or university staff member—you’re in luck. HP is offering a serious 40% off discount on all kinds of tech, including laptops, desktop PCs, printers, and accessories. All stuff you’ll need for school, of course.

HP rebranded its laptops in 2024, introducing the OmniBooks into the world, including the premium HP OmniBook Ultra Flip. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips and a killer OLED display, the OmniBook Ultra Flip would be a great laptop for college thanks to its long-lasting battery life, especially with a 40% discount for students or teachers.

It’s not just laptops though. The HP Education Program discount applies to desktop PCs, printers, and tons more qualifying products.

HP Military Discount: Get 40% Off the Latest Tech

HP offers more than just a standard military discount. The company’s exclusive military discount is extended to support active service members, veterans, and their families, but also healthcare workers and First Responders.

If you belong to any of those groups, the HP military discount will drop the retail prices significantly, whether you’re searching for a new laptop, PC, mouse, and many more select products at HP.com.

More HP Discounts on Gaming PCs and Free Games

HP’s high-performance gaming laptops and PCs are also included in this coupon code. HP has two brands of gaming laptops to choose from: the more affordable Victus and the higher-end Omen (both of which have been reviewed by me here). Finding a gaming laptop under $1,000 can be tricky, especially since you’ll want something that doesn’t use a 5-year old GPU and only 8 GB of memory. That’s why I’d avoid the cheapest Victus laptop here, and bump up to at least the Victus 16t-r100. That gets you an RTX 4050 and 16 GB of RAM, despite costing only $150 more.

Meanwhile, the higher-end Omen models get you access to the new RTX 50-series graphics cards, and the new multi-frame generation feature that’s got everyone talking. They also come with a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 screen with a 240Hz refresh rate, such as the Omen Max gaming laptop.

The WWDC updates for watchOS 27 are expected to be minimal thanks to Apple’s stability focus. However, Apple is rumored to be improving the heart-rate tracking with the new fall update.

The WWDC 2026 keynote is a few weeks away, and the excitement is all about AI and iOS 27’s changes. While you can expect some tweaks to watchOS 27, it seems like there won’t be that many visible changes on the way.

In Sunday’s “Power On” newsletter for Bloomberg, the watchOS update will focus on stability, performance, and refinements. There will be changes, but most will be to improve the existing features rather than add new ones to the software.

This apparently includes more improvements to the way the Apple Watch tracks the wearer’s heart rate. However, Gurman doesn’t say what this will entail.

Previously, Gurman wrote that Apple was porting the Modular face from the Apple Watch Ultra to the other models. This entails Apple removing a row of three small complications that appear above the time, as well as the information that surrounds the bezel.

Managerial updates

watchOS 27 isn’t the only thing that’s seeing some changes hidden or barely observable by users. There have been some more managerial changes within Apple as well.

Gurman mentions the departure of Stan Ng, who retired from his role as VP of Apple Watch and Health Product Marketing in April. His replacement covering health, home, and Apple Watch, is Kaiann Drance, a manager of iPhone product marketing who insiders believe could become the overall marketing chief.

There has also been a change in oversight for the long-running non-invasive glucose monitoring project. Apple handed control of the project from platform architecture chief Tim Millet over to Zongjian Chen.

Chen is the senior engineering leader managing modems and the Advanced Technologies Group. It is proposed that Chen’s involvement is an indication that Apple is getting somewhere with the technology, and may actually bring it to consumers at some point.

There have been projections of it landing in 2027, but it could easily arrive at a much later time.

A new experiment from cybersecurity company Surfshark suggests that even people who consider themselves savvy online users are struggling to tell AI bots apart from real humans on social media.

Of the 710 participants who took part in the study carried out with master’s students from Malmö University, only 53% correctly identified more bots than they misidentified humans. This means that nearly half (47%) failed the task altogether.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

The NYT puzzle editors don’t always acknowledge the calendar or holidays, but today’s NYT Strands puzzle does just that. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Thank you.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: We remember.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• MERE, RIOT, PROM, TROT, RACE, RICE, LOAD, TOAD, VICE, TOTE, MEME

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• HONOR, VIRTUE, SERVICE, SACRIFICE, PROTECTION

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is MEMORIALDAY. To find it, start with the M that’s the first letter on the top row, and wind across and then down.

If your first-generation Chromecast was acting a little wonky this week, don’t worry. Contrary to fears online, the 2014 device hasn’t been excommunicated by Google. In a statement to Ars Technica, a rep for the search giant explained that the issue, which was keeping the devices from being able to stream video from services like Netflix, was temporary and should now be resolved. That said, the OG Chromecast hasn’t officially been supported since 2023, so it’s not clear how much longer they will remain operational. Google be Google, after all.

After resisting for years, this week, Mozilla finally relented and brought Web Serial to Firefox. While there’s been some debate about the wisdom of letting the Internet directly talk to hardware gadgets, anyone who’s flashed Meshtastic or configured their Betaflight-powered drone from the browser can attest to how convenient it is. In the announcement, Mozilla acknowledges that “most folks won’t use this API”, but points out that the “community of builders and tinkerers” (that’s us!) is sure to be excited about the news. They’ve even teamed up with Adafruit to ensure their web-based microcontroller workflows are compatible in Firefox 151 and beyond. If you give it a shot, let us know how it goes.

Speaking of hardware support, the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS) recently picked up a couple of big-name sponsors. As reported by It’s FOSS, this week, Lenovo, Dell, and HP have signed on as Premier-level sponsors to the tune of $100,000 per year. For those unfamiliar, LVFS offers a central repository where hardware vendors can upload firmware updates. On the client side, fwupd can be used to pull these updates down automatically without having to hunt around on each vendor’s website. The experienced players don’t need a service like LVFS, but it’s certainly one of those quality-of-life improvements that make the desktop experience a bit more accessible.

While on the subject of getting hardware working, we hear that more PlayStation 5 consoles can now run Linux. Last month, a software solution for booting the operating system on PS5 consoles running the relatively ancient 3.x and 4.x firmware was released, but now developer Andy Nguyen has gotten it working on firmware 5.x and at least some versions of 6.x. That’s still considerably behind Sony’s latest release, but it does open things up for more consoles to get in on the action.

In space news, the successful first flight of Starship V3 has understandably dominated the headlines for the last few days, but SpaceX wasn’t the only commercial launch provider with good news this week. On Friday, Blue Origin announced they had completed the investigation into the failure of its New Glenn rocket back on April 19th and that the Federal Aviation Administration has approved its return to flight.

According to a statement from the FAA, Blue Origin “identified the direct cause of the mishap as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second stage engine burn.” This resulted in the payload, a next-generation communications satellite featuring a massive 2,400 sq ft deployable antenna array developed by AST SpaceMobile, being placed in an unsustainable orbit.

If you’ve always dreamed of piloting your own walking battle tank, you might finally be in luck. China’s Unitree Robotics has unveiled a mech standing 2.7 meters tall, complete with a promotional video showing it smashing cinder blocks. Because what else would you do with a robot you just paid more than half a million dollars for? Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about the bot’s speed or endurance, and a company spokesperson says the design still needs some refinement before it is ready for production. But still, we’re getting there. Might as well start saving up now.

Finally, we were thrilled to hear that the iconic soundtrack for DOOM has been inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress. There’s perhaps no piece of software more emblematic of the hardware hacking world than the 1993 shooter, and while we don’t think that had anything to do with the decision to formally recognize the game’s heavy metal-inspired digital riffs, it will be all that much sweeter the next time we see some oddball gadget running through E1M1.

See something interesting that you think would be a good fit for our weekly Links column? Drop us a line, we’d love to hear about it.