What's on Your Mind?

AI inspired many employers to take a wait-and-see approach to hiring in 2025, but new data suggest they’ll be returning to the market in search of certain skills in 2026. According to Upwork’s In-Demand Skills 2026 report, demand for AI-specific proficiencies have more than doubled on the freelancer platform over the last year. But at the same time, nearly half of employers also say they’re also putting a premium on human skills, like creativity, emotional intelligence, resilience and innovation. “When we look at the fastest growing skills in terms of demand, AI is all over it. That’s not surprising,” says Dr. Gabby Burlacu, licensed organizational psychologist an…

Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed. “Every day that goes by, the…

As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people. The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children. The Danish government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their…

For many women in the U.S. and around the world, motherhood comes with career costs. Raising children tends to lead to lower wages and fewer work hours for mothers—but not fathers—in the United States and around the world. As a sociologist, I study how family relationships can shape your economic circumstances. In the past, I’ve studied how motherhood tends to depress women’s wages, something social scientists call the “motherhood penalty.” I wondered: Can government programs that provide financial support to parents offset the motherhood penalty in earnings? A ‘motherhood penalty’ I set out with Therese Christensen, a Danish sociologist, to answer this…

Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) told investors it is closing another 30 restaurants, for a total of 180 closures combined in 2024 and 2025, while reporting fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. (It had previously said it would close a total of 150 locations.) The move is part of the restaurant chain’s plan to jumpstart its waning growth. Denny’s, like many fast-food and casual-dining chains, has been struggling in recent years due to inflation, changing customer habits, and skyrocketing food prices. It’s just one of many major chains to announce store closures recently, a list that includes TGI Fridays, Shake Shack, and Wendy’s as well. But Denny’s told Fast Compa…

Denny’s is the latest restaurant chain to add a temporary egg surcharge due to the rising cost of eggs caused by a nationwide shortage and the current bird flu outbreak. Last month, Waffle House added an upcharge of 50 cents per egg. Meanwhile, many supermarket chains, including Trader Joe’s, Market Basket, and big-box retailers including Walmart, Costco, and Sam’s Club, have raised prices and limited the number of cartons shoppers can buy. “This pricing decision is market-by-market, and restaurant-by-restaurant due to the regional impacts of the egg shortage,” Denny’s told Fast Company in a statement. “We will continue to look for ways to provide options on our m…

Denny’s said Monday that it’s being acquired by a group of investors in a deal that will take the breakfast chain private. Denny’s board unanimously approved the deal, which values Denny’s at $620 million including debt. Denny’s will be purchased by private equity investment company TriArtisan Capital Advisors, investment firm Treville Capital and Yadav Enterprises, which is one of Denny’s largest franchisees. Under the agreement, Denny’s shareholders will receive $6.25 per share in cash for each share of Denny’s common stock they own, or a total of $322 million. That represents a 52% premium to Denny’s closing stock price Monday. Denny’s shares jumped 47% in after-hour…

Over the years, I’ve written and spoken extensively about my belief that design has the power to change the world. I find daily inspiration in the many individuals and organizations leaning away from design as pure aesthetics and embracing design as a powerful tool for promoting the wellbeing of both people and the planet. I refer to wellbeing as holistic health. It includes holistic health of the people: end users—those using the products, and makers—suppliers, producers, and manufacturers. Also, of the planet, because no design is isolated; it is always dependent on and embedded in systems. Our choices have far-reaching impact. Upstream decisions about a design’s ma…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. A beautiful object, expertly designed, can bring you joy throughout your busy day, unless you are unable to use it because of a permanent, temporary, or situational disability. How does design fail or succeed in creating an inclusive experience for all? As CEO of Michael Graves Design, I am deeply committed to advancing the functionality and accessibility of everyday products, with a special…

As society becomes increasingly aware of people’s diverse needs, accessible design has become the hot topic. Years ago at Michael Graves Design, our president Donald Strum, our chief design officer Rob Van Varick, and I were reviewing student portfolios. All the designs were about sustainability. Today, we see a lot of focus on accessibility. We love it. This makes sense, because gaining empathy for your products’ future users is at the core of product design. The design community is ready for accessibility. Our challenge today is proving that it makes great business sense. At Michael Graves Design, we have long embraced accessible design; our North Star is activities…

Underneath the slopes of the San Jacinto Mountains of Palm Desert, California, stands a house that looks right out of the pages of a magazine. With its distinctive rolling roof and mid-century modern design, the historic Miles C. Bates “Wave House” holds a coveted spot on the National Register of Historic Places. And now, thanks to a collaboration between modern furniture-and-design company Design Within Reach (DWR) and vacation rental company, Boutique, the Wave House is beautifully furnished and open to the public for rentals. DWR chose to outfit the house with pieces from its Paul Smith Collection, a collaboration with the British luxury fashion designe…

Most of the software that truly moves the world doesn’t demand our attention: It quietly removes friction and gets out of the way. You only notice it when it’s broken. That’s not a bug in the business model; it’s a feature. In fact, “unnoticed but indispensable” is the highest customer-satisfaction score you can get. Consider these categories that already figured this out. The log-in that isn’t a task anymore Password managers, once you build the habit, fade into the background. They fill the box before you even remember there was a box. Single sign-on (SSO) systems go a step further and make logging in to everything feel like one action instead of 17 small, an…

Artificial intelligence. It’s pretty cool, I guess? Look at those neat videos. And the thousands of product design iterations just to get those creative balls rolling. Sure. Awesome. Or is it? Maybe. Who knows. All that seems to be the summary of Figma’s 2025 AI Report, based on a survey of 2,500 designers and developers. While tools like ChatGPT and Figma’s AI features are embedded in daily workflows, the report reveals a stark disconnect. Enthusiasm for AI’s potential is high, but its practical impact remains uneven, the numbers show, constrained by vague goals, quality concerns, and cooling expectations. The report underscores a paradox: professionals see AI as es…

When Chinese automaker BYD announced plans to build a massive factory in the hardscrabble city of Camacari, in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state, locals saw a new beginning. After years of economic stagnation following Ford’s exit from the region in 2021, there was hope that the global leader in electric vehicles would bring back well-paying jobs and a brighter future. The timing seemed right. Brazil, the world’s sixth-largest auto market, is seeing a surge in EV sales—and BYD is leading the charge. For Camacari, the deal promised to fill the economic vacuum left by the American company, which had once been the city’s largest employer. Then plans went off track. A D…

People and institutions are grappling with the consequences of AI-written text. Teachers want to know whether students’ work reflects their own understanding; consumers want to know whether an advertisement was written by a human or a machine. Writing rules to govern the use of AI-generated content is relatively easy. Enforcing them depends on something much harder: reliably detecting whether a piece of text was generated by artificial intelligence. Some studies have investigated whether humans can detect AI-generated text. For example, people who themselves use AI writing tools heavily have been shown to accurately detect AI-written text. A panel of human evaluat…

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…