What's on Your Mind?

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. I like pushing AI to be less predictable. When AI assistants are less bland and more bold, they challenge my blind spots and nudge me to rethink. So I asked one of the boldest AI experimenters I know, Alexandra Samuel, to share unconventional tips and tactics when she visited New York recently from Vancouver. Alex, who writes about AI for The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review, surprised me with the scale of her AI efforts. She described creating 200-plus automation scripts and building a personal idea database that h…

My working days often unfold in either Zoom minimalist workplaces or glass-walled conference rooms with sleek windows, filled with entrepreneurs pitching ideas. As a marketing executive and startup mentor, I lead strategies for companies of various sizes, guide founders at startup accelerators TechStars and Founder Institute, and serve as an awards jury member. My calendar overflows with executive consultations, brand campaign planning, and deadline sprints. But between Christmas and New Year’s, I trade those sterile spaces for museum halls alive with color and history. It wasn’t easy getting out the door the first time I did this in 2021. I was filled with fears.…

In 2025, AI became officially unavoidable: It had been lurking in the background before, as early adapters experimented with it. But this year, companies invested more than $202 billion in AI, a 75% increase from $114 billion invested in 2024. Major tech companies fought bitterly over AI talent, offering astronomical pay packages. There was a groundswell of demand for talent, and unsurprisingly this spread to the demand for AI, data science, and engineering jobs, which increased 28% compared to 2024, according to data provided to Fast Company by IT staffing company Mondo. The firm also provided data on the top five jobs that took off in 2025, which we’ve listed by vol…

The biggest brands pour creativity into being instantly recognizable. A logo you can spot at 20 paces. A color palette that becomes cultural shorthand (think Oreo blue or Coca-Cola red). That visual obsession runs through every corner of marketing. TV, social, out-of-home, retail, and packaging. Millions go into crafting imagery, with every frame revised until it perfectly reinforces the brand. So, of course visuals matter—they always will matter. But the best performing brands aren’t blinded by them. They understand that a cohesive sonic identity that spans campaigns and touchpoints ensures your brand is remembered long after someone closes their phone or wal…

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping countless industries; education is no exception. As AI tools rapidly enter classrooms, there are concerns about fair access, effective implementation, and the risk of widening the still persistent digital divide. Who are the players best positioned to guide this transition in a way that truly benefits every student? I recently spoke with Alix Guerrier, CEO of DonorsChoose, an education nonprofit where teachers submit funding requests based on classroom needs. Ninety percent of public schools in America have teachers using DonorsChoose, which tackles funding gaps by focusing on the most granular level: individual teach…

The U.S. auto safety regulator said on Wednesday it has opened a defect investigation into Tesla Model 3 compact sedans over concerns that emergency door release controls may not be easily accessible or clearly identifiable in an emergency. The Office of Defects Investigation said the probe covers an estimated 179,071 model year 2022 vehicles. The investigation was opened on December 23 after the agency received a defect petition alleging that the vehicles’ mechanical door release is hidden, unlabeled, and not intuitive to locate during emergencies. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s vehicles rely primarily on electro…

It may be a very Merry Christmas for one lucky Powerball winner. The Christmas Eve Powerball jackpot is accumulating like a snowball tumbling down an epic sledding hill. The total is now so large, it’s a number rarely attainable even for high-stakes gamblers. The prize has continued to grow after five drawings worth at least $1 billion went unclaimed with no ticket matching all six numbers. According to the Powerball website, that makes the current prize of around $1.7 billion the fourth-largest in Powerball history. It’s also the longest the prize has ever gone without a winner. “Much like the holidays, Powerball is a game that brings people together to dream b…

Bruce Springsteen said it best: “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.” While the rest of us are wrapping up work, Santa Claus is in the midst of his busiest day of the year, flying across the globe, distributing wrapped-up Christmas gifts to hundreds of million of kids. Want to know where Santa is, and when he’s coming to your town? For “real-time” tracking of Santa and his reindeer, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is providing a live feed all day on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, which started with Santa’s departure from the North Pole this morning at 6 a.m. ET. Eager kids—and let’s face it, just-as-excited adults—can “see” where Sa…

In many states, you can get kicked out of your home if the local government thinks someone else will generate more tax revenue. The Takings Clause is a part of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and it says that if the government wants to take away someone’s private property, they have to do it in a way that’s fair. Most of us grew up hearing adults say that life isn’t fair. And they’re right—it isn’t. Neither is an authority forcing you to give up your property for whatever they think is fair. Courts have said the government can take your property if it’s for something that benefits the public, like building a road or a park. As if that could…

A pro-Russian hacking group claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack that halted package deliveries by France’s national postal service just days before Christmas, prosecutors said Wednesday. After the claim by the cybercrime group known as Noname057, French intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation into the hacking attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press. The group has been accused of other cyberattacks in Europe, including around a NATO summit in the Netherlands and French government sites. It was the target of a big European police operation earlier this year. Central computer systems at French national post…

As 2026 begins, the workplace is rapidly changing due to technological advances, shifting labor dynamics, and evolving employee expectations. Organizations that anticipate and adjust to these changes are more likely to attract top talent, boost productivity, and stay competitive. From embracing artificial intelligence in the workplace to a continued focus on skill-based hiring, the future of work is being shaped by trends that could redefine how we collaborate, learn, and thrive. Here are three top workforce trends to watch in 2026. 1. THE AI-AUGMENTED WORKFORCE The adoption of AI is quickly becoming a critical factor in modernizing the workplace. Companies and emp…

I didn’t set out to found a tech company, much less a brand that would redefine the standard for outdoor cellular cameras. Tactacam started with a simple passion for capturing and sharing outdoor moments, and that same passion drives us today. Throughout the years, I’ve found that success, growth, and customer loyalty come down to staying true to who you are. The brands that thrive lead with purpose and values, using them as guiding principles to earn trust, influence decisions, and create lasting loyalty, even during change. When brands drift from their core, they risk disrupting the very foundation of trust they’ve built. We’ve seen the consequences of brand dri…

About 1 in 3 Americans make at least one New Year’s resolution, according to Pew Research. While most of these vows focus on weight loss, fitness, and other health-related goals, many fall into a distinct category: work. Work-related New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on someone’s current job and career, whether to find a new job or, if the timing and conditions are right, whether to embark on a new career path. We’re an organizational psychologist and a philosopher who have teamed up to study why people work—and what they give up for it. We believe that there is good reason to consider concerns that apply to many if not most professionals: how much work to do a…

I’ve read a lot of business memoirs. One I keep coming back to is Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc—the man who built McDonald’s into the global giant it is today. Kroc was 52 before he even heard of the McDonald brothers who originally started the company. That fact alone says a lot about how he thought: Success comes eventually, but only to those who keep showing up. Which brings me to McDonald’s third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. McDonald’s reported solid results: global comparable sales up 3.6 percent, U.S. sales up 2.4 percent, revenue of $7.08 billion. The company is outperforming most competitors, but in a brutal environment: Fast-food traffic is…

Wall Street was largely unchanged early Wednesday as markets hovered near record levels on a holiday-shortened trading day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern. The S&P 500 index was up less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%. Markets will close at 1 p.m. ET for Christmas Eve and are closed for Christmas. Markets will reopen for a full day of trading on Friday, however volumes are expected to be light this week with the holiday and most investors having closed out their positions for the year. Much of the focus remains on the state of the U.S. economy and where the Federal Reserve will move interest rates. Investors ar…

During the week of Christmas, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced food recalls for several holiday treats. Before you begin enjoying your holiday snacks, it’s a good idea to check whether any of the goodies you have at home were recently recalled. Here’s what you need to know. The following food products are part of recent food recalls: ​Atwater’s cookie tins Choceur cookie butter holiday bark Choceur pecan, cranberry and cinnamon holiday park Troemner Family Farm Pfeffernusse Cookies You can find more details about each product recall below. Atwater’s cookie tins On December 22, 2025, Baltimore-based Atwater’s recalled…

California officials and weather forecasters urged holiday travelers to avoid the roads and reconsider Christmas travel as a series of powerful winter storms brought relentless rains, heavy winds and mountain snow. Storms began to move in late Tuesday evening and were expected to intensify into Christmas Eve. Authorities said the millions of people expected to travel across the state will likely meet hazardous, if not impossible, conditions as several atmospheric rivers were forecast to make their way through the state, the National Weather Service warned. “If you’re planning to be on the roads for the Christmas holidays, please reconsider your plans,” said Ariel Cohen,…

The great power competition in the AI Age will probably be between OpenAI and Google, and one of the main battles may be over advertising dollars. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman seemed to describe the world in those terms during an appearance on the Big Technology podcast Monday. OpenAI, which is not yet profitable, is reportedly getting set to sell ads within ChatGPT in an effort to monetize the many free users on its platform. ChatGPT now has an impressive 800 million weekly active users, but only 35 million of them buy subscriptions. The ads, which could help pay for OpenAI’s plan to spend $115 billion on infrastructure by 2029, could show up as soon as early 2026. As …

Michael Graves once said regarding a men’s suit, “You can buy a lot of cheap ones, or you can buy one great Armani suit.” He was not just talking about tailoring. He was talking about time, and about the value of design that endures functionally, emotionally, and aesthetically long after the first moment of use. At Michael Graves Design, we have always believed that the best designs are not those that just capture attention for a moment, but those that quietly support you over years, as your life evolves. As we look toward the future of accessibility, this idea becomes more urgent. The truth is simple: Every body is either disabled, or not currently disabled. …

You came, you ate, you sat through Uncle Bob’s crass jokes. You’ve earned yourself some alone time. If the holidays prompt you to research “solitary retreats near me,” or if you find yourself utterly bored with dinner table conversation—how are we still talking about Wicked?!—here are four games you can play on your phone or computer. Heads-up: The last one requires a minimum of two people, so save it for when you’ve recharged your social batteries. The New York Times 1. For those who are sick of Wordle Domino fan? Sudoku fan? If you like either or both of those games, you’ll love Pips, a new logic puzzle game from The New York Times. The rules are simpl…