What's on Your Mind?

If you’re looking for a job or hiring, the question is no longer whether AI is involved—but how aggressively you’re using it. Generative AI has wormed into every stage of recruitment, from drafting applications and filtering candidates to AI-led interviews. It’s the wild west out there. (And it’s getting wilder.) Both employers and prospective employees are exasperated. Examples abound. Last year, Anthropic urged prospective applicants to not use AI systems when applying to jobs at the AI company, even asking them to sign a contract to confirm they read and understood the ask. Goldman Sachs has implemented blocks and employs AI detection software, while McKinsey act…

Gap stock is plummeting this morning in early trading after the company reported its fourth-quarter results after the bell yesterday. As of this writing, shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GAP) are down more than 12%, and its recent temporary store closures are partly to blame for that. Here’s what you need to know. Gap’s Q4 2025 results The iconic retail chain turns 56 this year, and during its long life, it has seen its fair share of ups and downs. The company’s name-brand Gap stores were an iconic mall staple in the 80s and 90s, but in the early 21st century, the brand faced growing competition from online rivals and shifting brand loyalties among Gen Z—something the com…

Groceries are a little harder to come by in dozens of neighborhoods this year in the wake of an ongoing retreat from The Kroger Co. The Cincinnati-based supermarket company has been shuttering locations since June of last year, when it announced a footprint optimization plan that would result in the closure of about 60 stores. According to a Fast Company review of local media reports and online review platforms like Yelp, Kroger could be more than halfway through that process. Some 33 stores have already closed, with at least three more confirmed so far this year. Closures in the months since the announcement largely impact stores under the flagship Kroger ba…

By now, anyone who follows major brands has seen it or heard of it: The small bite that went ‘round the world. McDonald’s CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski recently posted a video of himself on Instagram trying the brand’s newly launched Big Arch burger. It was basically the golden arches version of a dorky corporate unboxing. When he got the Big Arch into his grips, he took a reasonable, if small, bite and said, “I love this product. It is so good.” Cue the online mockfest. Kempczinski didn’t deliver the news like an amphetamine-laced nano-influencer. No, here he was eating like some quarter-zip normie on a first date. On a scale of 1-10 in exec…

As companies ramp up pressure on their workers to embrace AI, a new source of workplace conflict has emerged. A report released this week by background check company Checkr suggests that managers and employees are increasingly at odds over AI use in the workplace. Most employees seem to view AI with skepticism, adopting it largely in response to directives from managers and leadership. For many leaders, however, it has become a business imperative as they scramble to keep up with competitors and assuage shareholder concerns—and managers seem to be absorbing that message. The Checkr report, which surveyed 3,000 workers (half of whom were managers and half of whom were …

Get ready to pay more to fly. The war in Iran has sent fuel prices surging. On Friday, spot prices for jet fuel were nearly $4 per gallon, up roughly 80% from a month ago, when they were hovering around $2.25. The price increases are a result of the just-begun war in Iran, which has caused shipping and production stoppages and delays. At the same time, airlines are seeing higher demand than they were a year ago. Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that during January, the number of airline passengers was up almost 4% year-over-year, while demand for air cargo was up 5.6%. On top of that, the war itself is causing some airlines to ca…