What's on Your Mind?

Apple is partnering with brain-computer interface company Synchron to develop technology that lets users control devices using neural signals. Still in the early stages, the technology could significantly expand accessibility for users who are unable to operate devices with their hands, Synchron said in a press release. The partnership was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. “This marks a defining moment for human-device interaction,” Synchron CEO Tom Oxley said in a statement. “Apple is helping to pioneer a new interface paradigm, where brain signals are formally recognized alongside touch, voice and typing.” Historically, users have interacted with te…

As you sift among the various options for your short-term investments, keep these key items on your dashboard: yield, guarantees, liquidity and your individual situation. The short-term investments that promise the highest yields often come with at least some risk and/or constraints on your daily access to funds. It may be that you’re just looking for the highest safe yield and don’t care that much about liquidity. Or maybe having ready access to your funds is the name of the game. Also think through whether you value an ironclad guarantee or are willing to go without in exchange for a potentially higher yield. Some cash instruments are fully FDIC-insured, while o…

Square, the popular business technology platform known for its Point of Sale (POS) systems, has launched a new device designed to allow sellers to ring up various kinds of purchases and perform other tasks without carrying around the extra weight of bulkier hardware. The Square Handheld, with a screen that is slightly bigger than a cellphone, is less than an inch thick, thin enough to fit in your back pocket. Handheld card readers currently on the market are bulkier, requiring sellers to use lanyards or handstraps to carry them around. The Square Handheld frees up hands for a more seamless integration into the user’s workflows. The device supports a full range of…

In recent years, Khan Academy founder Sal Khan has been most visible promoting the organization’s AI learning assistant, Khanmigo. But a second nonprofit he founded, called Schoolhouse, focuses on connecting students with their peers for human-centered educational interactions. Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schoolhouse has connected students with trained and certified volunteer tutors, often around their own age, who help them understand a variety of academic subjects. Now, through a pilot with the College Board, these tutors also help students prepare for the SATs. “It was a very utopian idea that frankly a lot of people were very skeptical of—that you c…

A new paid internship program, set to begin this summer, will allow select college students to work on the reconstruction of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed last year. The program, which was announced Monday, is the result of a partnership between The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) and the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC). Interns will be hired as temporary state employees and get hands-on experience in areas like project management, environmental and construction management, as well as community outreach activities for the historic project. Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible. “The goal of the internship …

Some important news for million of 23andMe customers, past and present: the genetic testing company notified customers on Sunday, they now have until July 14 to file potential claims as the company navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to according to TechCrunch. The DNA testing firm, which filed for bankruptcy in March, along with 11 of its subsidiaries, must pay customers as part of its bankruptcy restructuring process. FastCompany has reached out to 23andMe for comment. 23andme, which provided DNA analysis to offer insights into ancestry, health traits, and genetic risks filed for Chapter 11 after it rejected acquisition offers and its market value pl…

As the Class of 2025 graduates into an uncertain and fast-changing working world, they face a crucial question: What does it mean to be successful? Is it better to take a job that pays more, or one that’s more prestigious? Should you prioritize advancement, relationship building, community impact or even the opportunity to live somewhere new? Sorting through these questions can feel overwhelming. I am a business school professor who spends a lot of time mentoring students and alumni in Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012. As part of this effort, I’ve surveyed about 300 former undergraduate students and spoken at length with about 50 of them. Throug…

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation’s largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said. Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain chairman of the company’s board. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley. “Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said. Witty joined the company in 2018 after serving about nine years a…

Amazon leaned into the advertising funnel in a big way during its 2025 Upfront event at the Beacon Theater in New York City on Monday night. Perhaps the most notable product enhancement the company unveiled was the use of AI to generate contextual advertising on its Prime Video platform—meaning that ads can and will be created on the fly, using AI, depending on the specific scene of a TV show or movie that is on the screen at any given time. For instance, if a viewer is watching a scene involving a loving phone call between a mother and daughter, pausing the show could result in an ad for mobile phone service, with AI-generated text dynamically created, right the…

One of the world’s most well-known stock market indexes, the S&P 500, will soon look a little different. That’s because its roster of 500 companies is getting a shakeup, which will see the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global join the index. In the process, Coinbase will replace legacy financial services company Discover Financial. Here’s what you need to know about the changes coming to the S&P 500. What is the S&P 500? The S&P 500 is one of the world’s best-known stock market indexes. A stock market index is essentially a running list of publicly traded companies whose stock prices are tracked. These indices can help give investors an overv…

California’s governor called upon the state’s cities and counties to ban homeless encampments this week, even providing blueprint legislation for dismantling the tents lining streets, parks and waterways throughout much of the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, made homelessness a priority of his administration when he took office in 2019. It had previously been an issue primarily for mayors and other local officials, but Newsom pumped money into converting old motels into housing and launched other initiatives to tackle the issue. Still, he has repeatedly called out cities and counties to do their part, and on Monday, he unveiled draft language that can be adopte…

Since it launched two years ago, Spotify’s AI DJ has been a one-way experience. It curates old favorites and helps listeners discover new tracks based on past listening experience and what similar users like. But now it’s getting interactive. Spotify unveiled the ability to request songs from the DJ based on mood, genre, and vibe. The feature, which launched across 60 markets, is exclusive to Spotify Premium users, who can access the DJ by searching for the tool in the app. It’s the latest AI feature to come from Spotify, which introduced an AI-generated playlist builder for Premium users in the United States last fall. But Molly Holder, Spotify’s senior directo…

Bids are due on Tuesday for companies hoping to acquire Rite Aid’s prescriptions business, which it calls “its most valuable economics assets.” While the pharmacy chain has indicated that there are multiple potential buyers, it has also warned of risks to itself and its customers if a buyer doesn’t step up quickly. The Philadelphia-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, and as part of its court filings, Rite Aid said a timely sale is necessary to minimize “significant” customer attrition that could erode the value of the company’s assets. If the sale of Rite Aid’s pharmacy assets is done in a “disorderly and ad hoc manner,” the company s…

AI integration remains a top priority across enterprises worldwide, yet success remains elusive despite widespread enthusiasm and significant investment. An October 2024 study by Boston Consulting Group found that only 26% of companies have derived measurable business value from their AI initiatives. As a result, CEOs face mounting pressure to deliver tangible ROI, shifting focus from experimentation to real-world outcomes. Modern AI development increasingly relies on open-source foundations, enabling rapid iteration and innovation. Many transformative breakthroughs have emerged from community-driven development—primarily in Python, the dominant language in data scien…

You can learn a lot about an app before you download it from Apple’s App Store, such as what other users think of it, the access it has to your personal data, and how much storage it occupies. Starting soon, listings will also include a section on something critically important to millions of people: the accessibility features an app supports. Designed to help users with disabilities make more informed decisions about which apps to try, these new “nutrition labels” are part of a bevy of announcements Apple is making to mark this Thursday’s Global Accessibility Awareness Day. The company says they’ll all be available later this year. The new accessibility-details featu…

Humans, for all our intellectual sophistication, are still tribal creatures at heart. We tend to gravitate toward people who are like us—individuals who look like us, think like us, share our values, and even mirror our quirks and tastes. On the surface, this makes intuitive sense. It explains the evolutionary origins of empathy: we feel the joys, sorrows, and struggles of others more deeply when we perceive them as part of our own “in-group.” But here’s the catch: What feels good for individuals can be disastrous for diversity. If left unchecked, our biological instinct to seek sameness undermines one of the core ingredients of high-performing organizations—diver…

It can be tempting for business leaders to overly rely on data to drive their decision-making. But so often that approach can sacrifice the human connection that’s needed between leaders and their employees and customers. At Fast Company’s annual Impact Council meeting last week, Elyse Cohen, chief impact officer of the Selena Gomez-founded beauty brand Rare Beauty; and David Ko, CEO of mental health and sleep assistance platform Calm, took to the stage to discuss why leading like a human is so important, particularly at a time of striking technological advancement. Data-driven human connection Although Calm leverages AI, the company predominantly uses those …

In large organizations, HR usually has a process for documenting concerns about employees’ effectiveness that can be used either to help fix those problems—or to provide a basis for later termination. One of the central records used for this purpose is the dreaded performance improvement plan, or PIP. If you get called in to see your supervisor and get hit with a PIP, you’re likely to experience a range of emotions. Understanding your emotional reaction and how to cope with it is an important part of moving forward successfully. Let’s consider a range of emotions you might be experiencing and what you should do: Feeling Grief One possibility is that the PIP com…

Amid the ongoing evolution of digital privacy laws, one California proposal is drawing heightened attention from legal scholars, technologists, and privacy advocates. Assembly Bill 1355, while narrower in scope than landmark legislation like 2018’s California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)—which established sweeping rights for consumers to know, delete, and opt out of the sale of their personal information—could become a pivotal effort to rein in the unchecked collection and use of personal geolocation data. The premise of the bill (which is currently undergoing analysis within the appropriations committee) is straightforward yet bold in the American legal landscape: Com…

Only one in four U.S. employees strongly agree that their organization cares about their overall well-being, with stark implications. Gallup reports that high employee well-being leads to improved performance, fewer sick days, and lower rates of burnout and turnover. “When your employees’ well-being suffers, so does your organization’s bottom line,” the group noted. At one time we may have thought that workplace well-being was separate from personal well-being. But now with digital overload, remote work, and a blurring of lines between work and home, it is a critical area for addressing how we feel about life in general. So how can organizations make mental healt…