Geoffrey Hinton has changed his view on AI's role in war.
Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty Images
Geoffrey Hinton says he has changed his stance on AI's role in warfare because of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Hinton told NBC News that the relationship between AI and the military is "more complicated" than he used to think.
Hinton has for years warned against military applications of the technology.
Geoffrey Hinton, the computer scientist often called the "godfather of AI," said Russia's war in Ukraine has changed how he thinks about the use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield.
"I think it's more complicated than I used to think," Hinton told NBC News in an interview published on Tuesday.
Hinton has for years warned against military applications of AI and previously pushed for an international ban on lethal autonomous weapons.
"I used to think that we should try very hard to prevent lethal autonomous weapons, but if you look at what's happening in Ukraine, it becomes much more complicated," Hinton said in the interview.
Hinton said that the pivotal role of drones, including AI-enabled ones,has played in Ukraine's defense against invading Russian forces made him more receptive to the military use of the technology.
"Ukraine is surviving because of drones," Hinton told the news outlet. "If that's what modern warfare is all about, it's very hard to argue that one country should refuse to do it."
While Ukraine has used AI-powered drones against Russian targets, its defense relies on the large and constant production of munitions, including drones that are largely piloted and directed by humans.
Despite acknowledging the value of AI-driven systems on the battlefield, Hinton said he's still uneasy about the technology's role in modern warfare, calling it "a mess."
Combat in Ukraine has fueled visions of future warfare, like machine gun turrets that select their own targets or flying drones that hunt down human beings. By removing human direction and decision-making, AI offers the possibility of killing more people much faster.
As AI capabilities continue to advance, Hinton said the public must stay engaged in the development of the technology.
"The only thing that's going to rein in those big AI companies is public pressure," Hinton said, adding, "I see my mission as educating the public, so they understand the dangers of AI, as well as understanding the good things."
Hinton was unavailable for further comment, his assistant told Business Insider in an email.
Over the past decade, employees at tech companies including Google and Microsoft have pushed back against defense-related projects, including some involving AI.
Last week, President Donald Trump signed a directive aimed at accelerating the development and use of AI for national security purposes.
AI, the National Security Presidential Memorandum reads, "will be among the most transformative technologies to national security in the history of the United States."
"When adopted appropriately, AI can help protect our warfighters during peacetime and on the battlefield, enable precise operations that minimize harm to civilians, and ensure the United States continues to maintain technical overmatch against our adversaries and strategic competitors," the memo says.
The Trump administration has pushed for unfettered AI use for national security. The Pentagon took the unprecedented move of labeling the US company Anthropic a supply chain risk after it requested that its Claude AI not be used on autonomous weapons, and it gutted an office meant to reduce harm to civilians during war.
The author's son (not pictured) enjoyed his summer job in another state so much that he's returning this year.
RossHelen/Getty Images
Our 15-year-old wanted a summer job, but they are hard to come by where we live in New York.
A family member in Minnesota offered to ask around and scored a Zoom interview for our son.
He worked at an ice cream shop for the summer while my wife worked remotely and visited with family.
As adolescents, my wife and I both had summer jobs. In Iowa, she pushed a cart around the library, reshelving books. In Oregon, I pushed a mail cart through the antiseptic-laced hallways of the hospital where my mother worked. I also collated and stapled thick packets of photocopies by hand and alphabetized hundreds of files.
Though technology has taken over those particular tasks, that first job taught me other, more lasting lessons. I gained independence by mastering new skills without a parent or teacher's guidance. There was also something special about seeing my labor transformed into a check and then cash in hand. This earned money had a different value to me.
Finally, I learned — almost immediately — that I did not want to spend the rest of my working years alphabetizing files. As I watched the clock's slow-moving minute hand tick toward my lunch break, it dawned on me that the surest path away from this sort of tedious, repetitive work was getting into college — and that my GPA was going to have long-lasting, real-world consequences. That's the sort of feeling I wanted my son to experience, too.
The author's son wasn't able to find a summer job where he lives in New York, so he started looking for jobs near family in Minnesota instead.
Courtesy of Marie Holmes.
A summer job was hard to come by where we live
My wife and I agreed that a summer job was a formative teenage experience that we didn't want our kids to miss out on. When we asked our then 15-year-old what he wanted to do for the summer, he simply replied, "work."
This presented a challenge. Here in New York City, job opportunities for younger teens like mine are limited, and many kids apply for them. We did know a place, however, where seasonal positions were plentiful, and teens were welcome to apply.
My wife's family hails from the north shore of Lake Superior, in Minnesota, and her cousin now owns a small business in a town that swells with tourists in summer.
This generous cousin asked around, and my son soon had his first formal job interview, via Zoom, with the owner of a local ice cream shop. Soon, he had a job offer.
While our younger daughter and I stayed in the city to work and attend camp, my wife drove herself and Max 1,300 miles to the north shore. She worked remotely from an inexpensive sublet and visited family while Max clocked in at his first job.
The job provided a great learning experience
Our son said his first-day nerves quickly dissipated once he arrived at the shop and was assigned a task.
"I got into the flow of washing dishes and bussing tables, and I liked it because it was kind of meditative," he told me, demonstrating a much more positive attitude than I had toward my early filing duties.
He also said he enjoyed the human interaction with his coworkers and customers, and even though he wasn't scooping, he knew he was developing customer service skills that would come in handy down the line.
This plan worked out so well that he'll be returning to the same ice cream shop this summer. This year, he's been promoted to scooper, and I couldn't be prouder.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Al Bello/Getty Images
The NBA Finals returned to New York on Monday night as the Knicks hosted the Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
Game 3 marked the first Finals game at Madison Square Garden in more than two decades.
Here are the celebrities, sports personalities, and business executives we spotted at the NBA Finals.
The NBA Finals returned to New York for Game 3 on Monday night, drawing a star-studded crowd to Madison Square Garden as the Knicks hosted the Spurs.
San Antonio defeated New York 115-111, cutting the Knicks' series lead to 2-1. Game 4 is set for Wednesday.
Here are the politicians, business executives, celebrities, and sports personalities we spotted at the NBA Finals so far.
President Donald Trump and Kai Trump
President Donald Trump and his granddaughter, Kai Trump, at Game 3 of the NBA finals at Madison Square Garden.
SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden alongside his granddaughter, Kai Trump.
During a pregame interview on the "NBA Tip-off," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that Trump was a guest of Knicks' owner James Dolan.
"He's welcome to be here. I think that's what makes sports so special, especially when there's so much that divides people. It's something that we have in common," Silver said.
Silver also called Trump a "genuine Knicks fan" and said that the president's attendance at Game 3 had prompted heightened security at Madison Square Garden.
This marks the first NBA Finals game attended by a sitting US president, per ESPN. The president is no stranger to major sporting events, having attended the Super Bowl and the US Open during his time in office.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was also spotted arriving at Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3.
In a video shared on X by The Athletic, Mamdani was seen fist-bumping fans as he entered the arena.
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg was at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Geoff Burke/Reuters
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg attended Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
He briefly found himself in the middle of the action when the Knicks' point guard Jose Alvarado tumbled into his courtside seat while pursuing a loose ball.
A video posted on X by the New York Post showed Alvarado checking in on Bloomberg and giving him a pat on the chest before returning to the game.
Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and Timothée Chalamet
Ben Stiller was at Game 3 of the NBA Finals with his wife, Christine Taylor. They were seated next to Timothée Chalamet.
Al Bello/Getty Images
Longtime Knicks fan Ben Stiller attended Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio before returning to support the team for Game 3 in New York.
Stiller was seated courtside alongside his wife, Christine Taylor, and fellow Knicks supporter Timothée Chalamet, who had also attended the first two Finals games in San Antonio.
Jeremy Lin and Spike Lee
Former New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin and filmmaker Spike Lee were spotted at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Dustin Satloff/Getty Images
Filmmaker Spike Lee has followed the Knicks throughout the Finals, making the trip to San Antonio for Games 1 and 2 before showing up for Game 3.
In an interview with ESPN before the match on Monday, Lee said he had read that his seat for Game 3 could have fetched a hefty sum on the secondary market.
"It went down, but it was half a million," Lee said.
In 2024, Lee was recognized as a SuperFan by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He has held New York Knicks season tickets since 1985, per ESPN.
The filmmaker was also photographed posing with former Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, who attended the game.
Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey
Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey were also spotted courtside at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Al Bello/Getty Images
Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was spotted courtside with Tina Fey, both wearing Knicks jerseys in support of the home team. The longtime friends and former "30 Rock" costars have also been seen together at previous Knicks games.
This time, they were seated next to Stiller, Taylor, and Chalamet.
Morgan has long been one of the Knicks' most outspoken celebrity supporters. In a May video with Complex Sneakers, Morgan said he bought the team two pairs of Nike Kobe 5 "Bruce Lee" sneakers each in 2024.
"Just to let them know I'm part of the fanbase and we appreciate what they do," Morgan said in the video.
Morgan recently lent his voice to special New York City subway announcements encouraging fans to take the train to Knicks watch parties and home games at Madison Square Garden.
Jay-Z
Jay-Z was at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Al Bello/Getty Images
New York native Jay-Z, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, was among the celebrities in attendance at Madison Square Garden.
Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter is courtside at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals! pic.twitter.com/xXtt2ObkVf
"Law and Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay and her former costar Christopher Meloni were also at the game on Monday night.
Knicks captain Jalen Brunson has previously spoken about being a fan of the longtime crime drama.
"I've always loved that show," Brunson said during a May 2025 episode of "The Roommates Show" podcast, which he hosts with his teammate Josh Hart.
Larry David, David Zaslav, and Robert Kraft
Larry David, David Zaslav, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft were at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
SAUL LOEB / AFP
Larry David was seated courtside next to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
In July 2024, The Athletic reported that the NBA had reached a new 11-year, $76 billion media rights agreement with Disney, NBC, and Amazon — a deal that ultimately brought Warner Bros. Discovery's 35-year partnership with the league to an end after the 2024-25 season.
At a Morgan Stanley conference in March 2025, Zaslav said Warner Bros. Discovery was better off investing in its own franchises rather than sports rights, which he described as a "rental business."
Celebrity sightings from Game 2
Ben Stiller also attended Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Game 2 of the NBA Finals took place on Friday, and there were several familiar faces back in the crowd, including Stiller, Lee, Morgan, and Chalamet — all of whom were also at Game 1.
Twelve-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul was among the attendees at Game 2. He played for the Spurs during the 2024-25 season and brought his son, Chris Paul II, to the game.
Celebrity sightings from Game 1
Disney's Bob Iger, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and other media executives were spotted at Game 1 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio, Texas.
Screengrab by Steven Tweedie.
The NBA Finals tipped off on June 3 at Frost Bank Center in Texas.
The Knicks, making their first Finals appearance in more than two decades, opened the series with a 105-95 victory over the Spurs.
Several notable Knicks supporters were in attendance, including Stiller, Lee, Morgan, and Chalamet.
They were joined by former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, one of the hosts of the NBA Finals pregame show "NBA Tip-Off" and the postgame show "Inside the NBA."
Disney board member Bob Iger, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro were also present at the game, together with Silver.
During the broadcast, the commentators for the night joked that the men made up a "murderers' row of executives." The NBA Finals air on ABC and are produced by ESPN, two Disney-owned networks.
Joshua Blanchard/Getty; CBS Photo Archive/Getty; Noam Galai/Getty; Tyler Le/BI
On Sunday, the New York Times published an explosive interview with "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley, his first since he was fired from CBS News last week. In it, Pelley detailed a series of serious allegations — most notably, that editor in chief Bari Weiss "was putting a thumb on the scale on behalf" of the Trump administration — that dominated the news cycle that followed.
But as I listened to the hourlong conversation, what I found most striking were his objections to the way he felt Weiss and her new lieutenant Nick Bilton treated him and his colleagues. That's when Pelley was most emotional, at times tearing up and pausing to steady his voice.
"That's a family at '60 Minutes,'" he said. "It's a very loving and empathetic organization, and we were met with cold, callous indifference."
In the interview, Pelley described a variety of ways he saw this callous indifference manifest. He was floored that Bilton, in his first meeting with employees in the wake of recent firings, read a prepared statement from his phone. He choked up as he described how his executive producer Tanya Simon was summarily dismissed and told to clear out her desk by 5pm. He felt so betrayed by the dismissal of his colleagues that he compared it to "your spouse being murdered."
Cold and callous? Sure. But coldness and callousness are now pretty standard in corporate America, where lawyered statements, management shakeups, and abrupt firings have become the norm. Why was he so surprised? I wondered if his expectations were out of touch with the times — maybe even naive. Even the bright-eyed Gen Zers I talk to know not to expect much from our employers these days.
But listening to Pelley, who'd worked at the network since 1989, it's impossible not to be moved by the fierce loyalty he and his colleagues demonstrated to CBS News. And up until last week, it sounds like CBS News demonstrated the same loyalty back to him. By his account, the culture of mutual loyalty at the network somehow managed to stay intact all these years — even as it died across much of corporate America.
Pelley described his colleagues who've worked and traveled and dined together for "10, 20, 30 years." He spoke about how they risked their own lives in war zones in service of their viewers. That forges "very strong bonds, very emotional bonds," he said. "To have people running CBS News who don't know that, have never felt that, and don't understand it, is a tragedy I never expected to see."
It's the kind of camaraderie most young people will probably never experience.
For me, the most telling moment was midway through the interview, when Pelley recounted the day he was fired. After being summoned to a meeting with the top brass last Tuesday, he returned to his office to find a whole crowd of his colleagues awaiting news of his fate. They waited with him for hours, even though they had their own families to get home to. Pelley didn't think much of this until it occurred to him: "This is a vigil." Hearing this, I was touched and also jealous, that he had this then and he likely had it his whole career, surrounded by all these colleagues who cared so deeply about him that they refused to leave his side. It's the kind of camaraderie that develops only in the kind of loyal organizations that are becoming rarer by the day. It's the kind of camaraderie most young people will probably never experience.
Management scholars refer to these expectations of loyalty as a psychological contract. It consists of what you believe you owe your employer and what your employer owes you in return. This contract — however implicit — is foundational in every workplace, and when both parties uphold their end of the bargain, you get a functional organization. But when somebody breaks the contract? That's the debacle that's unfolding at CBS News right now — the same debacle that's wreaked havoc across so many other companies over the last few decades.
It's perfectly possible for organizations to retire old contracts and forge new ones but until you do, you get a race to the bottom where both parties end up doing less and less for each other. That can't be good news for "60 Minutes" — for its employees, for its executives, or for the millions of people who watch it every week.
For someone like Pelley, who is out of the job he devoted nearly four decades to, the normal thing to do is to become disloyal yourself. I've heard it from so many people over the years: I'll never go above and beyond for a company again. But Pelley remains loyal — to the show he no longer belongs to, as well as the people he no longer works with. That's why he's speaking out. "I don't care about me," he said. "I am not emotional about this because I have lost this job. I've done it for a long time. I've had the greatest experiences. But the people I leave behind, treated in this way? That breaks my heart."
Aki Ito is a chief correspondent at Business Insider.
Do you live near a data center? If not, you might live near one soon.
Business Insider's new map shows 1,416 data centers built or approved for construction in45 states and Washington, DC by the end of 2025.
Virginia is the historical epicenter of data center development in the US. Now developers are hungry for new sites. Hot spots have emerged in West Texas; outside Cheyenne, Wyoming; and in rural Wisconsin.
Our map shows every data center we found with an air permit issued through December 2025. The data table is searchable by county, state, zip code, or corporate parent, and sortable by estimated low-end, high-end, and average electricity use. Search by any address to identify the closest data centers. Select any data center on the map to see more details about the facility, and select any entry in the data table to see the data center on the map.
For any data center with an asterisk, Business Insider also identified a permit to build a dedicated power source, such as a natural gas plant, to provide electricity for that data center. Business Insider identified at least 20 permits issued to developers through the end of 2025 for power plants intended to serve data centers.
To investigate the rapid proliferation of US data centers, Business Insider filed requests with all 50 states and Washington, DC for the air permits that regulate backup generators installed at data centers. We used data in these permits to identify data center location and ownership, and estimate facility power use. This map is an updated version of the data center map we published last year. Read about our methodology in more detail here.
Business Insider's analysis of permits shows that Meta had 38 US data centers at the end of 2025, a figure that Meta says is too high. Meta says it currently has 28 data centers in the US, and that some of the permitted facilities in Business Insider's analysis are offices. Offices could have backup generators for small, on-site servers. Business Insider included these facilities because they received air permits issued with federal industry codes associated with data centers. These facilities represent 0.2% of Meta's total data center power use, according to Business Insider's estimate.
Business Insider's analysis is dependent on estimating data centers' electricity use based on the number and type of backup generators installed at each facility. Where developers are building entire power plants, some are forgoing installing backup generators altogether. As a result, Business Insider's electricity estimates are certainly an undercount, as facilities known to be huge and built with dedicated on-site or nearby power generation, such as xAI's data center complex in Memphis, Tennessee, or Meta's Hyperion Campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana, appear far smaller in Business Insider's analysis, due to a lack of permitted backup diesel generators.
Business Insider's methodology was developed in close consultation with industry and academic expertsand is the same methodology used for an award-winning series published by Business Insider last year. Amazon said Business Insider's methodology is misleading because it includes a range of electricity estimates. QTS said the company's current electricity use is lower than our estimates, which project future use. Equinix says it had 79 data centers either built or under construction at the end of 2025. Business Insider identified permits for 56 Equinix data centers.
Have a tip or a question about our reporting? Reach out to Business Insider's enterprise team at investigations@insider.com.
Legora's CTO said demos or hack days are better ways to encourage AI use.
Illustration by Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Legora's tech head said there are better ways to gauge AI usage than tokenmaxxing.
He said that demo days and hack days are more efficient ways of showing people how AI can be used.
Tech firms are now questioning tokenmaxxing costs and reassessing giving employees free rein.
There are far better ways to encourage AI use than tokenmaxxing, says Legora's chief technology officer.
"A lot of people, say, get a leaderboard and bring up token usage at performance reviews," said Jacob Lauritzen on an episode of the "20VC" podcast released on Saturday. "That leads to tokenmaxing, which is people just burn tokens just to look good."
"That's a really stupid way to do anything," he added.
Tokenmaxxing refers to using tons of AI tools like Claude, Codex, and Cursor to boost productivity and get ahead on internal AI use dashboards and reviews.
Lauritzen, who joined the legal AI startup in 2024, said that more intelligent ways to use AI include hack days or demos where employees can show others what they're building and the efficiency gains they have achieved.
"Reward them for being effective and efficient and having more output, not for necessarily using AI," he said.
That said, Lauritzen added that fast-growing companies like Legora have a lot to lose when they don't use AI.
"Is it worth us spending a ton of tokens to learn if it maybe gives us 20% efficiency for us? Yes, we have a really high opportunity cost," he said.
Lauritzen's comments come at a pivotal moment for the tech industry, as it moves from tokenmaxxing to token capping. Some tech companies are wondering if the dashboards they implemented as motivation to play around with AI are backfiring — and finance departments are increasingly concerned about how much it all costs.
Last week, Uber said it has limited all employees to $1,500 in monthly token spend per AI tool, after the ride-hailing company blew through its AI spend budget earlier this year.
Last month, the Financial Times reported that Amazon shuttered an internal dashboard that tracked AI use after some staff performed tasks to climb the leaderboard.
An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that the unofficial dashboard "was never intended to promote the use of AI for usage's sake."
At a Bloomberg conference last week, Andrew Feldman, the CEO of Cerebras Systems, said that the idea of giving employees unlimited tokens was "boneheaded from the get-go."
"You don't need a Ferrari to go to the grocery store, right? Use a lower-cost open source model," he said about being more efficient with tokens. "What we're learning is how to shop at Costco."
I flew in a unique "Apex Suite" business class cabin that usually costs less than Qatar or Emirates but is still very comfortable.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
I find Gulf Air's "Apex Suite" offers competitive business class comfort at a lower price point.
The Boeing 787 provides aisle access and coziness despite the 2-2-2 layout.
My Gulf Air fare from Bahrain to Bangkok was $2,044, much cheaper than Emirates or Qatar.
Middle Eastern giants Emirates and Qatar Airways used to be my go-to airlines for business class. But after flying Bahrain-based Gulf Air, I can't justify their higher fares anymore.
I first flew Gulf Air's "Apex Suite" business class in 2023 and was surprised by how competitive it felt. Despite a 2-2-2 layout that would usually signal limited privacy and mobility, the Boeing 787 offered coziness while still allowing every passenger to freely access the aisle.
The unique cabin may not be as posh as Emirates and Qatar's modern premium seats with sliding doors or mini bars, but it offers the privacy, space, and comfort I want at a significantly lower price.
My most recent trip from Dubai to Bangkok reinforced this: Emirates was selling business-class tickets for $3,460, Qatar for $2,940, and Gulf Air for $2,044. Gulf Air was an easy choice.
While there are a few easy ways it could improve its premium experience, Gulf Air delivers everything I need for a long-haul flight — and I haven't booked Emirates or Qatar on comparable routes since.
I flew Gulf Air from Dubai to Bangkok via Bahrain in May.I flew to Bangkok via Bahrain from my home in Dubai. I could fly nonstop on Emirates, but I don't mind the layover to save money.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
I enjoyed a drink at Gulf Air's luxe "Falcon Gold Lounge" in Bahrain before my 7-hour trek to Bangkok.
It was well-stocked with Champagne and spirits. The buffet had a salad bar, Arabic dishes, live cooking, and desserts. There's also a business center, a pool table, and even PlayStation 5 consoles.
Falcon Gold strikes a happy middle ground between its bigger competitors: less flashy than Qatar's flagship lounge, but quieter and more relaxed than Emirates' often-crowded Dubai offering.
I boarded my red-eye flight to Bangkok around 10 p.m. via a dedicated jetbridge for premium flyers.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
There were two jet bridges, one mainly for priority groups, which meant I was among the first on the plane.
Boarding was well organized, with dedicated lanes for business-class and higher-status passengers.
The Boeing 787-9 featured Gulf Air's unique Apex Suite.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The unique suite has 26 seats in a 2-2-2 layout, with two seats by each window and two in the middle. Window seats sit slightly further back than aisle seats, creating a private walkway into your space that doesn't force anyone to climb over their neighbor.
Once settled, I raised the privacy shield and cocooned myself away from the other passengers.
My favorite seats are by the window, but not all are equal.There was a large gap between the windows at my seat.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
One neat design element of the Apex Suite is that most window seats have three or four windows.
My seat, 3K, however, only had two due to the fuselage design. I normally book 2A or 2K to avoid this, but they were both taken.
The pre-boarding service is five-star, but the amenity kit was inconsistent.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
A welcome drink and cold towel were offered during boarding, followed by gahwa — a traditional Arabic coffee — and dates.
Slippers and pajamas were also handed out before departure, a nice touch for an overnight flight. Qatar and Emirates also offer sleepwear on select long-haul flights.
At the seat were menus in English and Arabic, water, and an amenity kit. The kit was noticeably stripped back from previous flights, with only an eye mask, socks, and earplugs.
Earlier kits included lip balm, hand cream, body mist, and a toothbrush. It may have been a one-off, as the kit on my return flight had the missing items.
The 22-inch screen matched newer cabins, but don't expect 8,000 movies.The inflight screen is standard size but far away from the seat.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The seat had a 22-inch screen, standard for business class, and a touchscreen remote that doubled as a controller. Gulf Air's smaller entertainment library is inferior to Emirates' or Qatar's, but it's ample for a long-haul flight.
Emirates' refurbished 777s — which ditched the 2-3-2 layout for one without middle seats — offer 23-inch displays. Qatar's Qsuite comes in at around 21.5. Their older aircraft typically have smaller screens.
There was more storage than expected, and the massage function actually worked.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The storage was better than most business-class seats I've used, with dedicated space for water bottles, a phone, headphones, and even a backpack and shoes under the screen.
The tray table easily fit my 14-inch MacBook Pro and headphones, while the built-in massage function was a relaxing touch at 35,000 feet.
The bathroom had a bidet.Japanese carriers like All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines also have bidets.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The two business-class-only lavatories up front were kept clean throughout the flight and featured Japanese-style bidet toilets.
Though the amenities were basic, a light upgrade would go a long way to match the premium cabin experience.
Dinner was tasty and well-paced.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
I had mushroom soup to start, which was hot enough to be comforting. Warm bread, including multigrain, white, and garlic, came on the side.
Prawn salad followed, with green papaya, cucumber, carrots, and chili salsa. For mains, the options were Bahraini chicken biryani, Thai beef curry, Cajun salmon, and Pad Thai.
I was tempted by the Thai options but held off for Bangkok. I went with the salmon, which tasted fresh. Champagne flowed throughout, with other solid wine options also available.
I was served dessert from a dedicated trolley.The dessert trolley is a fan favorite.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The dessert trolley had several options.
I went with the cheesecake, fruit, and the cheese platter, which they plated on the spot.
The turndown service has changed.The 22-inch seat converts into a 78-inch fully flat bed.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
In the past, the crew would usually mention turndown service, especially on red-eye flights. Now, you have to ask. Still, I slept very well.
A mattress topper and fitted bedding made a real difference to what, underneath it all, is a converted seat.
The cabin ran slightly warm at night.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The cabin was well dimmed and quiet.
The only downside was the temperature. The 787-9 doesn't have individual air vents, so you're at the mercy of the cabin setting, which ran slightly warm. I prefer it colder.
Breakfast was simple but well-timed.Breakfast was well-timed for a 9:45 a.m. arrival in Bangkok.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The lights gradually brightened, signaling it was time for breakfast.
There were no hot options, but I could choose from fruit, yogurt, pastries, and drinks.
Gulf Air is overall a better value for me than Emirates and Qatar.There are a few areas Gulf Air could improve, but it's a better bang for my buck than Qatar and Emirates.
Courtesy of Angelo De Guzman
The Apex Suite gets the basics right: the privacy works, the bed is comfortable, and the service is good.
But there are a few gaps. I had to request turndown service and the inflight library trails both Emirates and Qatar. Those are easy wins left on the table.
Despite all that, I won't stop booking the Apex Suite. Gulf Air runs roughly $1,400 less than Emirates and $900 less than Qatar on this route — that's equal to a few nights at a five-star hotel in Bangkok and a Michelin-level dinner.
If it's your first time in business class, this is a smart place to start. If you already fly often and are open to a unique way to fly business class, you're getting the same experience without the brand premium.
