What's on Your Mind?

Any avid reader undoubtedly recognizes him: the sleek, inquisitive bird frozen inside an orange oval that’s become Penguin Random House’s distinctive logo. With its new brand refresh, Penguin Random House UK is setting that iconic penguin free. The brand just unveiled a delightful series of hand-drawn illustrations, named the “Playful Penguins,” which show the penguin jumping, strutting, dancing, and doing a whole lot of reading. The illustrations will show up everywhere across the Penguin Random House’s global markets, from seasonal campaigns to social initiatives and point-of-sale displays—and they’re designed to bring some added joy and movement to the brand as it appr…

One of the powers of the latest Claude AI model is that it can use any multiple external Python tools to perform complex tasks. And, as software engineer and AI expert Ashe Magalhaes has discovered, it turns out that the model can use these powers to build a Truetype font that you can install in your computer from any scanned page showing a full set of characters. It’s a great, easy way to turn your handwriting into a font, but you can use it to create any typeface you can imagine as long as long as you have the adequate drawing skills. I tried it myself and it was pretty simple! Before AI, you needed specialized tools like Calligraphr, HandFonted, or FontForge i…

You want more confidence at work, but chances are you’re struggling to feel it. In fact, many people say that even if they’re achieving success, they still feel behind or doubt themselves. Confidence is critical not only to accomplishing objectives, but also to your self-esteem. It’s even linked with greater salary, status, and job satisfaction. When you demonstrate confidence, people are more likely to collaborate with you, and you’re also more likely to have the kind of impact that contributes to your self-assurance. But confidence is at a premium today. In fact, while 77% of people say they’re successful, 81% still feel they are behind others, according to a su…

In late February, 32 of the world’s best snowboarders gathered at Buttermilk Ski Resort—a so-called “mountain playground” in Aspen, Colorado—to go head-to-head in a high-stakes halfpipe competition. While most spectators were focused on their physical skills, eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that three of the athletes were wearing identical stickers on their helmets. These stickers weren’t just ornamental: contained inside the small patches is a prospective technology that could have ripple effects across the broader sports world. The snowboarders (most of which arrived fresh off the Olympics) were competing in an event hosted by The Snow League, the first profe…

“At the light, take a sharp left onto Washington Street.” “So the second value prop—” “Turn right onto Third Avenue, then at the next stop sign…” Charles Armstrong, the product manager on Google Maps, is trying to explain how the platform’s turn-by-turn directions are getting their biggest update since the service launched in 2009. Maps is an almost unfathomably impactful platform that reaches around 2 billion people worldwide; it dominates navigation apps by commanding as much as 70% of the global market share. But as Armstrong attempts to walk me through the rich redesign, he keeps getting interrupted by his own demo. And I have to admit…anyone who has e…

A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried about the cascading impact of spiking energy prices. In response, the International Energy Agency agreed on Wednesday to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, with the Paris-based organization pledging to make 400 million barrels of oil available from its member nations’ stockpiles. The announcement marked a shift in momentum in government response to the war upending the flow of oil, with other global leaders previously indicating reluctance to tap into stockpiles. Here is a look at the energy supplies that countries hold and when they …

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. AI pioneer pulls in a cool billion to launch his “world model” AI company Yann LeCun, one of the pioneers of AI and Meta’s former chief AI scientist, has long argued that large language models alone will not produce AI systems that outperform humans at most tasks. LeCun says today’s transformer-based large language models are useful enough to be applied in valuable ways, but he also believes they are unlikely to achieve the general or human-level intelligence needed to perform many…

Electric freight has reached a critical inflection point. The long-standing question about whether electric trucks can reliably handle long-haul duty cycles has been answered. Several heavy-duty battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have proved that zero-emission trucks can meet real work freight demands by completing single-charge journeys making corridor freight transportation a reality. Long-term forecasts for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks and charging infrastructure also remain optimistic as original equipment manufacturers roll out new nameplates and next-generation platforms. But performance alone will not define the next chapter. Energy availability, in…

An “unprecedented,” potentially record-breaking heat wave is expected to hit much of the American southwest, from California to Colorado, this week—and experts are concerned about how temperatures will affect the region’s already-low snowpacks. Temperatures in the Los Angeles area will be 15 to 25 degrees above seasonal norms on Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), reaching into the 90s along the coast and potentially above 100 degrees in some areas. “Given the unprecedented length and magnitude of this extreme heat wave, heat stress will be increasing each day, especially in areas that aren’t used to the heat…

The biggest new restaurant trend is small. Special menus with petite, less expensive portions are popping up all over, from large chains like Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory to trendy urban eateries and farm-to-fork dining rooms. Restaurants hope that offering smaller servings beyond the children’s menu will meet many different diners’ needs. Some people want to spend less when they go out. Others are looking for healthier options or trying to lose weight. Younger consumers tend to snack more throughout the day and eat smaller meals, said Maeve Webster, the president of culinary consulting firm Menu Matters. “These are really driven by, I think, change…

James Beard Award-winning chef René Redzepi, who co-founded the iconic, Michelin Starred Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, announced his resignation on Wednesday. The announcement comes following years of allegations of abuse, assault, and the creation of a toxic work environment at the restaurant which is one of the world’s most famous, influential and acclaimed dining spots. Back in 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement, entire industries were upended with a long-overdue, global reckoning that held countless high-profile men accountable for past behavior of abuse, leading to widespread cultural and workplace change. The chauvinistic toxicity of the restaurant indu…

The modern workplace is designed for early risers. But only about 30% of people are true morning types. The rest fall somewhere in between—or toward the later end of the spectrum (those who think, create, and perform best later in the day). Through my work implementing circadian health and performance in organizations in 17 countries, I’ve discovered three strategies to help night owls create workdays that protect their energy, creativity, and well-being so they can perform better and share their true talents. 1. Give yourself a slow start As a night owl, your day simply starts later—and that’s by design. Give your body time to wake naturally and ease into the …

Cambodia said Friday it has drafted its first law targeting online scam centers, after vowing to shut them down by the end of April. Cambodia is a major hub for scam operations, which extort money from victims online through bogus investment schemes and feigned romances. Victims around the world are estimated to have been cheated out of tens of billions of dollars annually. At the same time, thousands of people, especially from other Asian nations, have been recruited with false job offers and then forced to work in scam centers in conditions of near-slavery. “This law is the most important legal instrument for Cambodia in combating scams online, fighting money launder…

Every day in America, over 100 people are involved in a life-altering crash that severely injures them or kills them. And that 100-per-day doesn’t even include all the people whose lives are impacted indirectly by severe crashes. Vision Zero is a road safety philosophy that originated in Sweden in the 1990s and has since been adopted by cities across the United States and Europe. Its premise is straightforward: traffic deaths and serious injuries are preventable and can therefore be eliminated. With the right street design, traffic enforcement, and public awareness, everyone can get around safely. The problem is that severe crashes are a catastrophe so routine tha…

Grammarly, the tool meant to assist with spelling, grammar, and in identifying plagiarism, is being sued for a new AI tool called “Expert Review.” The tool offers editing suggestions from established authors and writers—ostensibly not a bad idea—except that none of those people consented to being involved in the first place. The tool offers real-time writing tips from celebrities like Stephen King and Neil deGrasse Tyson, as well as journalists, like The Markup founder Julia Angwin, who filed the class action lawsuit against Grammarly’s parent company Superhuman, after she alleged the tool used her likeness without her permission: “have worked for decades honing my s…

AI-generated content is making it harder to trust what we see and hear. But at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, a new installation is using the same tech to place people inside history’s most defining moments. “The Great Dictator,” which premiered this week in Austin, flips the script on what deepfakes have come to represent. Instead of using generative AI to create misinformation, it uses AI video and voice tools to blend participants into archival footage to experience history through their own voice and likeness. It’s the latest project from filmmaker and artist Gabo Arora, who wanted to show how emerging tech can be used for something other than profit…

During last year’s NCAA Tournament, basketball fans complained about the lack of a team-focused Cinderella storyline to define the event. The only double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16 was Arkansas, out of the SEC, coached by Hall of Famer John Calipari. That’s hardly the kind of underdog we’re used to seeing. In 2023, Princeton made it to the Sweet 16, Florida Atlantic lasted until the Final Four, and Fairleigh Dickinson University beat No. 1 seed Purdue. And we’re unlikely to ever see a repeat of 2022, when Saint Peter’s made the Elite 8. The 2025 tournament was one of the “chalkiest” of all time, meaning the teams that made the final rounds were pretty …

Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have hit the headlines—not least because of their role in making some people filthy rich off the back of the Middle Eastern war. But they’ve also drawn the attention of legislators concerned about their growing prominence. Many officials have privately raised concerns about platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. Arizona’s attorney general has gone further, charging Kalshi with offering what the state alleges are illegal bets on election outcomes. “Kalshi may brand itself as a ‘prediction market,’ but what it’s actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate…

When electricity demand is set to surge—say, from a new power-hungry data center—the default response from a utility is often to build a new (and expensive) power plant and other infrastructure. A new report released by a cross-industry coalition called Utilize argues that we can make better use of existing power on the grid instead. Roughly half of the total capacity goes unused most of the time because the grid was built to meet spikes in demand. But as technology has shifted, it’s become easier to unlock that extra power. Smart thermostats, for example, can pre-cool your house when demand is lower. EVs can charge at optimal hours (and, in some cases, send power…

I’m obsessive about my to-do lists. Everything I need to get done goes on my list so I don’t lose sight of it. But as a solo business owner, I ran into a problem: when do I have the time to actually work through my list? Anything urgent, I’d work on. Anything non-urgent, well… Stuff that keeps a business running gets perpetually pushed to “later.” However, “later” can eventually cause problems – like your website is out of date, your files are a mess, or your inbox is chaos. You can’t ignore the small, boring, non-billable tasks, or they’ll compound. Why you need a dedicated admin hour The default solopreneur mode is often reactive. You deal with admin t…

Some frustrated passengers are waiting hours in line at airports around the country, due to a stalemate over Department of Homeland Security funding, which has resulted in many TSA officers working without pay to walk off the job. At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, lines were out the door earlier this week, according to the airport’s X account that posted this video of passengers waiting in the dark at 4:30 a.m. And it gets worse. According to the Transportation Security Administration, many airports could “literally shut down . . . particularly smaller ones,” if TSA officers continue to call out instead of coming to work, CNN reported. While TSA…

If you’ve ever cracked open an ice-cold Sprite on a hot summer day, or taken a sip of the soda fresh from a McDonald’s machine, you’ve probably experienced that eye-widening first moment that the extra-fizzy, citrusy beverage hits your tongue. That exact second is what Sprite is trying to capture with its new brand refresh, which includes the return of a beloved brand symbol, an updated logo, new visuals, and the brand’s first-ever signature sound. These updates are part of a broader campaign called “It’s That Fresh,” which Sprite says is designed to appeal to younger consumers by strengthening the brand’s presence in music, food, and sports spheres (Sprite also …

Federal regulators on Thursday approved a new higher-dose version of the blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy that may help users lose more weight and keep it off. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a 7.2-milligram dose of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide. Previously, the highest approved dose of the drug, taken as a weekly shot, was 2.4 milligrams. The new dose received accelerated review through the FDA’s ultra-fast drug review program. The approval was granted 54 days after the request for review was approved, the agency said in a statement. The new dosage will be available in April at pharmacies in the U.S., with a price to be announced t…

Shares in Super Micro Computer (Nasdaq: SMCI) are falling off a cliff this morning after news that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged the company’s cofounder and two other associates with conspiring to deliver restricted AI technology to China. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that it was charging three men with ties to Super Micro Computer (aka Supermicro) for export-control violations related to AI technology. The three individuals, the DOJ alleges, conspired “to divert high-performance computer servers assembled in the United States and […