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The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Customer experience is at a tipping point. Companies are struggling to see results from AI, digital transformation, and personalization. But let’s be real: Most companies aren’t connecting the dots. Consumers want seamless, human-like engagement, but too often they’re met with fragmented systems and half-baked AI solutions. The good news? The gap between what customers expec…

A painting by street artist Banksy with an environmental message and an estimate of up to 5 million pounds ($6.3 million) is going up for auction, with some of the proceeds helping victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. Sotheby’s auction house said Tuesday that “Crude Oil (Vettriano)” is being sold in London next month from the collection of Mark Hoppus, bassist with California skate-punk band Blink-182, who sees Banksy as a kindred spirit. Hoppus said he was drawn to the subversion, humor and intelligence of Banksy’s work and the similarities between “skateboarding, punk rock and art.” “I feel like street art and punk rock have the same core,” Hoppus said. “Th…

A new artificial intelligence company from one of the cofounders of OpenAI is quickly becoming one of the most highly valued AI firms in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence (SSI) is in the process of raising in excess of $1 billion with a valuation topping $30 billion. Bloomberg reports San Francisco-based Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the deal and plans to invest $500 million itself. Greenoaks did not reply to a request for comment about the investment. $30 billion might be well short of the $340 billion valuation OpenAI boasts, but it’s still well above many others in the space, including Perplexity, which has a $9 bi…

Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, has tapped about 30 leading researchers and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI, Meta and Mistral, it said in a blog post on Tuesday. The team — roughly two-thirds of which comprises former OpenAI employees — includes Barret Zoph, a prominent researcher who left the ChatGPT maker on the same day as Murati in late September. Zoph will serve as the startup’s technology chief. OpenAI co-founder John Schulman is the startup’s chief scientist. Schulman left OpenAI for rival Anthropic in August, citing wanting to “focus on AI alignment”. AI alignment refers to a…

Parents across the U.S. should soon be able to determine how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are in the food they feed their babies, thanks to a California law, the first of its kind, that took effect this year. As of January 1, 2025, every company that sells baby food products in California is required to test for these four heavy metals every month. That comes five years after a congressional report warned about the presence of dangerously high levels of lead and other heavy metals in baby food. Every baby food product packaged in jars, pouches, tubs, and boxes sold in California must carry a QR code on its label that consumers can scan to check the mos…

When a hurricane or tornado starts to form, your local weather forecasters can quickly pull up maps tracking its movement and showing where it’s headed. But have you ever wondered where they get all that information? The forecasts can seem effortless, but behind the scenes, a vast network of satellites, airplanes, radar, computer models and weather analysts are providing access to the latest data—and warnings when necessary. This data comes from analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA, and its National Weather Service. Atmospheric scientists Christine Wiedinmyer and Kari Bowen, who is a former National Weather Service forecas…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Pandemic era adoption of work-from-home and hybrid work models has left many office spaces unused, triggering a surge in expired leases and vacant office buildings. Simultaneously, the residential housing market remains resilient, with the number of active homes for sale in January 2025 sitting 25% below the levels recorded in January 2019. It’d only make sense that many of these offices over time get converted into condos and apartments, right? To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current office-to-apartment conversions landscape, ResiCl…

A passenger jet flipped onto its roof while landing in Toronto, Canada, the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. While at least 18 people were injured, all 80 people on board the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis survived the crash Monday. Here are some things to know about the crash: What caused the airplane to flip? Communications between the tower at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and the pilot were normal on approach and right now it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down. Were strong winds a factor in the crash? Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken has said the runway was dry …

Currently, America is experiencing its worst flu season since 2009, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a matter of fact, the CDC says there are so many cases that this season is now classified as being “high severity” for all age groups. That’s the first time a flu season has acquired that designation since the 2017–18 season. Still, some states are faring better than others. Here’s what you need to know about the current 2024–25 flu season and where outbreaks are the worst. 16,000 dead from flu so far The 2024–25 influenza season is having a significant impact on the health and well-being of Americans. According to …

A new app makes hiring security as simple as ordering an Uber. A viral TikTok with 11.2 million views reads, “POV we just ordered bodyguards to pick us up from the airport.” In the video, two influencers summon a pair of Protectors—private security in black SUVs—to Newark Airport after flying in from Los Angeles for New York Fashion Week. Another clip follows: “Everything we did with our bodyguards today.” They get picked up from their hotel, stop for matcha, attend a runway show, and shop—all accompanied by four bodyguards. The videos are savvy marketing for Protector, a soon-to-launch app promising on-demand personal security for the general public. “Th…

A lone anglerfish has captured the internet’s heart. Usually found 6,500 feet under the sea, this black seadevil was filmed by marine researchers in Tenerife swimming towards the water’s surface on January 26. The shark conservation NGO Condrik Tenerife called the black, razor-toothed creature “a legendary fish that few will ever have the privilege of observing alive,” when sharing their footage on Instagram. Tragically, the fish died just hours after being spotted, making its final swim all the more poetic. This scientific discovery has since spread across social media and sparked an emotional outpouring for this six-inch fish. “I just found out abou…

The restructuring firm that took control of Big Lots in the wake of its bankruptcy last year appears to be making progress in its effort to transfer some of the discount chain’s ill-fated locations to other retailers. Several retail companies, including some with ties to nationally recognized brands, have stepped in to take over leases on Big Lots stores in at least 12 different states, according to recent court filings. If the transfers are approved by the court, the spaces are likely to be turned into something other than Big Lots, although some of the retailers have not yet publicly confirmed their plans. Ocean State Job Lot, a discount retail chain with locati…

Jefferson Early Learning Center bears little resemblance to elementary schools many adults recall attending in their earliest years. The classrooms have child-size boats and construction vehicles children can play on, and ceilings painted to resemble outer space. There are no desks—all space is devoted to learning through play. Windows are low to the ground so children can easily look outside. The gym floor is made of “pre-K friendly” layered vinyl, rather than hardwood, to cushion inevitable trips and falls. Hallways are lined with a corrugated plastic for wiggly fingers to touch as children transition to other locations. Children love coming to the building, said teac…

Southwest Airlines has announced that it will lay off 15% of its employees in an effort to reduce costs and maximize its efficiencies. Here’s what you need to know about Southwest’s layoffs and how employees and fliers will be impacted. Southwest will cut 1,750 jobs On Monday, Southwest president and CEO Bob Jordan published a memo announcing that the popular low-cost airline will reduce its workforce by 1,750 positions, which the company says equates to about 15% of its total employees. Jordan said the move was part of its previously announced “transformational plan.” That plan aims to accomplish three main things, according to Jordan: boost revenues …

Have you ever noticed that the qualities we sometimes see as weaknesses can actually be our secret strengths? Think about the quiet, shy colleagues who excel at listening or those who seem a bit lazy but always find the most efficient way to get things done. Even self-doubt—which studies show 70% of professionals experience at some point in their careers—can lead us to make more thoughtful decisions and spark creative breakthroughs. These qualities, sometimes perceived as weaknesses, can be the traits that shape effective leaders. As the leader of a bootstrapped company for nearly two decades, I’ve faced my fair share of uncertainty. Between economic turbulence a…

Loneliness is no longer just an emotion—it’s a growing public health crisis in the U.S. A 2024 Harvard study found that 21% of U.S. adults regularly experience loneliness, while the American Psychological Association reports that nearly half of young workers feel isolated at work. Capitalizing on the recent tech boom, AI-powered digital companions and digital twin avatars are rapidly emerging as alternatives to human relationships. These AI bots offer a constant sense of connection without judgment and can be hyper-personalized to match user preferences. Platforms including Oh, Replika (whose tagline is “the AI companion who cares”), and Eden AI chat by EVA AI lead the …

In December, Y Combinator’s first-ever Fall batch got their own Demo Day. The Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator—which has produced big hits like Airbnb, Doordash, and Stripe—had doubled the number of startup classes that could enter its program. The showing was mixed: 87% were AI companies, and few have yet to publicly disclose their seeds. Undoubtedly the most prestigious hub of Silicon Valley’s startup culture, YC’s outside critics have grown in their ranks. They have many sore spots to point to: increased batches, diminished seed rounds, more duplicate companies, less specialized training, and the list goes on. But, from the inside, it’s rare to hear a YC foun…