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Investors are celebrating a major shake up in how FICO scores will be shared with mortgage lenders, as shares of parent company Fair Isaac have rallied more than 20% on Thursday. That stock rally follows FICO’s announcement on Wednesday of a new pricing model that will allow mortgage lenders to calculate and distribute credit scores directly to borrowers, thereby eliminating the need to rely on the three nationwide credit bureaus for this information. In addition to its legacy pricing model, lenders can now opt for a direct license option that will save them up to 50% on per-score FICO fees. The FICO score is one of a few different credit scoring models that help …

If you handle hiring, generic AI-generated cover letters are probably a familiar foe by now. Nearly two-thirds of job seekers are using AI to help craft their applications. It’s understandable. In a world where some job seekers are having to send up to 50 applications to land a role, tools like ChatGPT enable them to cast their net wide and increase their chances. But this spray-and-pray approach to job hunting is a headache for hiring managers. It’s driving the volume of applications up and the quality down, making it harder to spot great candidates. The natural knee-jerk reaction from HR is to start playing a game of “I spy AI.” If we can just root out the …

They made things exciting. You thought you were in love. And now a week has gone by with no reply. Odds are they’re not getting back to you. But don’t take it personally: We’re all ensnared in a ghosting epidemic. According to the Thriving Center for Psychology, one in four Gen Zers and millennials have been ghosted after just a few dates. And to twist the knife even deeper, one in ten report being ghosted after a couple of months of dating. Tragically familiar, isn’t it? Brands like Sweethearts have been quick to capitalize on the reality of today’s dating landscape. In 2024, the heart-shaped candy brand launched “Situationship Boxes,” featuring candies …

If you ride along a bike path in the U.K. city of Leeds and approach a street, the traffic light can automatically turn green for you—or stay green if you’re already midway across. The city is one of a growing number testing technology that uses sensors, anonymous data, and AI to make it easier to cross streets. Made by a company called VivaCity (known as Viva in the U.S.), the sensors can detect cyclists and pedestrians from more than 200 feet away. In some cases, someone on a bike might not need to stop at the corner. Pedestrians can keep walking without breaking their stride. (Cities can choose to program traffic signals to give cyclists either a shorter wait or f…

Headwinds across the business world challenge any leader striving to make an impact beyond shareholder value. Few organizations know this struggle better than the B Team, born out of Richard Branson’s drive to elevate the role and responsibility of business in society. CEO Leah Seligmann shares why some leaders are pulling back, where others are pressing forward, and which actions can have the greatest impact—from climate change to diversity. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations …

Anyone who’s visited a contemporary art museum in the past 75 years has almost certainly encountered the artwork of Alexander Calder. His delicately balanced mobiles and swooping steel sculptures are mainstays of American abstract art. But in most of those museums, from the Whitney to Pompidou Centre to the Reina Sofia, Calder’s pieces haven’t had their intended presentation. For artworks that are meant to move or be moved through, Calder’s kinetic works and supersized sculptures are often given the default museum treatment of being static, separate from visitors, or both. A new art space in Calder’s birth city of Philadelphia aims to correct that. Calder Gardens…

Our second annual Ignition Schools awards recognizing the colleges and universities shaping future entrepreneurs and innovators arrives at a crucial crossroads for higher education. On one hand, artificial intelligence has caused us to rethink assumptions about how far and how quickly technology can improve our society and our lives. On the other hand, a storm of skepticism brewing in a sea of disinformation has dimmed the view of many toward college educations, which some have also accused of being politically indoctrinating. That has led to unprecedented attacks on university research funding at a time when core research is needed to develop advanced solutions in such f…

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Dainty fashion darling Sandy Liang is bringing her playful, delicate designs to the masses. The New York City-based designer, who until now has had a small retail footprint and big fashion clout, is releasing a limited collection with Gap (big footprint, big clout). The collection is anchored by core Gap and Sandy Liang categories, like denim and outerwear, including a precious pair of carpenter jeans with bow stitching on the pocket, a faux fur half zip in a Bambi-inspired print, and two heavy-weight fleece hoodies glamified with the Sandy Liang logo or her signature bow. Baby and toddler styles are also available for the first time. Prices range between $15 and $26…

LeBron James had another “decision” to announce. Turns out, it was an ad. The Los Angeles Lakers star teased that he would have something to say Tuesday. The “decision” reference is a nod to how he announced in July 2010 that he was joining the Miami Heat. It was supposed to come out at noon Eastern, but Hennessy — the cognac brand that James has been partners with for some time — made the announcement public about 90 minutes ahead of schedule. James’ training schedule for the day changed, the brand said, necessitating the change in release plans. “This fall, I’m going to be taking my talents to Hennessy V.S.O.P,” James said in the clip. Even the wording he us…

Dell on Tuesday nearly doubled its annual profit growth target for the next four years, betting on robust demand for its servers that power artificial intelligence workloads. The company, whose customers include Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI and CoreWeave, lifted its expectations for annual growth in adjusted earnings per share to at least 15% from around 8%. Dell also said it expects compounded annual revenue growth between 7% and 9% for the next four years, up from its prior view of 3% to 4%. Insatiable demand for servers that provide the computing power needed to run services such as ChatGPT has turned Dell into one of the biggest winners of the generative AI …

The New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) said on Tuesday it will invest up to $2 billion into the crypto-based betting platform Polymarket. The move marries the more traditional, regulated NYSE with the riskier prediction markets, and is generally seen as a move by the iconic, 233-year-old exchange to keep up with its competitors by capitalizing on the growing popularity of betting on all kinds of things. “Our partnership with ICE marks a major step in bringing prediction markets into the financial mainstream,” Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, told Fast Company. “Together, we’re expanding how individuals and institutio…

When most people hear the word luxury, they think of exclusivity: high-end materials, bespoke finishes, and designs tailored for the few. But a quiet revolution is underway. The true measure of luxury today is accessibility: designing environments that are beautiful, functional, safe, and empowering for every body. Nowhere is this more urgent, or more overlooked, than in the bathroom. According to the CDC, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house. There are 234,000 annual bathroom-related injuries in the U.S, with 81% caused by falls. For older adults, those falls can trigger a cascade of consequences: loss of independence, costly healthcare expenses, and …

Last week, I walked into a meeting where AI notetakers outnumbered humans three to one. The irony wasn’t lost on me—I built one of them. As CEO of Fireflies, I’ve helped put AI in millions of meetings. And I believe AI should be in every meeting—because knowledge shouldn’t vanish the moment we hang up. But having the right privacy controls to protect sensitive moments is key to using an AI notetaker. THE PRIVACY-FIRST DECISION FRAMEWORK Before your next meeting, ask yourself three questions: Who controls the data? Every meeting should be captured, but not every recording needs to be shared. Use private meeting settings, control access permissions, and set …

In early 2023, a couple of months after ChatGPT launched and became the fastest-growing consumer application in history, I remember feeling both excited but also a bit overwhelmed by the rapid pace of AI. The barrage of news, product launches, and innovative use cases was relentless. We held an executive meeting at that time and decided to immediately reassign additional teams from other long-planned initiatives to double down on AI. We saw an opportunity to deliver even more value to our customers. My experience is not unique. Across the board, leaders have been aggressively implementing AI to improve productivity, lower costs, and improve communication—but the r…

The return-to-office debate sees no end in sight. Workers still want flexible work—and drag their feet complying with RTO, it was reported this week. Some workers have suspected such policies have been a way of companies saying: “Don’t like it? Quit.” Turns out, maybe they are. A recent Fortune article, citing a 2024 survey of more than 1,500 U.S. managers, found that a quarter of C-suite executives hoped for some voluntary turnover after introducing an RTO policy. One in five HR leaders went further, admitting their stricter office requirements were designed to push staff out. So when the article started making the rounds on Reddit last week, the general la…

Camping. Why anyone would put themselves through an odyssey of gross insects and pooping in holes is beyond me, but you do you, Steve. I’ll do me. However, if I were forced to go sleep in the woods, I would like to use this new camping mattress by Chinese sleep startup Mazzu created in collaboration with London-based design studio Layer. It looks like the closest thing to a Four Seasons bed this side of the Rio Grande. Or any río (just don’t get me close to a river). The Mazzu Camping Mattress isn’t your typical inflatable pad that promises comfort on-the-go but delivers back pain for a week. It’s built around 72 precision-engineered elastic spring units—pre-c…

As the end of 2025 approaches, a viral TikTok trend is helping people achieve their wellness goals: “The Great Lock In” encourages participants to finish the year strong by fully focusing on their life goals from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. Many people focus on exercise or eating healthier. But the trend can also help you achieve your financial goals. There are no set rules for “The Great Lock In.” The phrase “lock in” is popular on social media and it means to focus intensely on a task. “Something I like about this particular trend is that it’s like New Year’s resolutions’ little sister,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, financial therapist and founder of Mind Money Balance, a…

There’s a common story in the marketing and advertising industry, with many variations. Whenever a member of that industry is at a party or on a plane, inevitably someone will ask what they do for a living. And as soon as they say advertising, that person immediately begins to tell them how good they’d be at working in advertising, how they should make this or that ad campaign better, or why that ad they saw during an NFL game is terrible. This probably doesn’t happen to engineers and doctors. The discipline of advertising, and the process behind it has always been up for debate and question. Well, starting on September 30th, NBC’s new show On Brand with Jimmy Fallon …

For the first time in nearly half a century, the city of Detroit has a major new addition to its skyline. Hudson’s is a $1.4 billion ground-up downtown development of two buildings covering more than 1.5 million square feet, including residential, office, hotel, retail and event space. It’s a large-scale argument that for all of the city’s troubles—from its precipitous population decline to its high poverty levels to its rock bottom 2013 municipal bankruptcy—the city has brighter days ahead. This assertion comes from Bedrock, the real estate arm of billionaire Dan Gilbert, who has almost single handedly breathed life into the city’s downtown core through a decade…

If every afternoon, like clockwork, you find yourself at the vending machine punching in the code for your daily Diet Coke, you may want to rethink your selection. According to a newly released study, the popular drink may be doing damage to one of your body’s most important organs. The study, which was recently presented at the 2025 United European Gastroenterology Week conference in Berlin, involved tracking the beverage consumption habits of 123,788 participants. It found that just nine ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), such as soda, can increase the risk of liver disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) by about …