Author: wildgreenquest@gmail.com

On the one hand, the fact that Walmart passed $1 trillion in market cap is notable, but not especially surprising. The company has long been the largest company in the world, measured by revenue. Almost everyone is familiar with the small five-and-dime store that started in one of the most rural towns in America and grew up to become the biggest retailer in the world. On paper, this looks like just another milestone in a 64-year-old success story. But a closer look at how Walmart just hit a market cap reserved almost exclusively for tech giants reveals how the company has changed, even in just the…

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Key Takeaways Understanding the fundamental differences between licenses and certifications can set the stage for career success. Licensing is the entry-level requirement ensuring public safety and a minimum standard of practice, while certification showcases specialized expertise. Committing to the process of earning a credential, whether through licensing or certification, can distinguish a professional in a competitive job market. You’re ready to get ahead in your industry, land a big promotion or lock in a role. But how can you prove that you deserve more money and responsibility?Many professionals are stuck, trying to…

Fans of the Bachelor franchise are accustomed to hearing that the upcoming season will be the most “shocking” one ever. But this time, it’s the events leading up to the season that have been hard to believe. In fact, the life of season 22’s Bachelorette became so controversial, the latest season won’t even make it on air. On Thursday, just days before the newest season of The Bachelorette, starring Taylor Frankie Paul, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, was scheduled to premiere, ABC pulled the plug. The shocking news came shortly after TMZ published a video from 2023…

Three teenagers in Tennessee sued Elon Musk’s xAI this week, claiming the company’s image-generation tools were used to morph real photos of them into explicitly sexual images.The high school students, who are seeking to proceed under pseudonyms, filed the lawsuit in California, where xAI — Musk’s artificial intelligence company — has its headquarters. They are seeking class-action status in order to represent what the lawsuit says are thousands of victims like themselves who either are minors or were minors when sexually explicit images of them were created.According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 was alerted anonymously in December that someone…

When Huckberry launched its newsletter 15 years ago, the retailer included a section that defied the advice of ecommerce experts by including links to stories and content that its employees thought might be of interest to its outdoors-minded community. “That is like rule No. 1: You do not link off of your site,” Ben O’Meara, Huckberry’s chief brand officer, said during a panel discussion at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. The Austin-based company’s philosophy then, as it remains today, he said, is that there’s value in putting customers first and recognizing they’re not always in the mood to buy…

The tech industry has spent the past few years focused on AI as a productivity engine, rewriting code, optimizing search, and automating customer service at scale. Now a more delicate transformation is underway., with agentic AI is moving into human resources. A new wave of startups and enterprise platforms claims algorithms can screen candidates, predict attrition, and recommend career paths faster than managers. The pitch is simple. AI promises less administrative work and more consistent decision-making. As these systems take on more responsibility, they are beginning to redefine what the “human” in human resources means. “Concerns are valid, because unlike…

Twenty years ago, Jack Dorsey changed the world. He opened his phone and sent a message to a new platform he had created: “just setting up my twttr”. That post carries the ID 20. (A post he shared last week has the ID 2032161152470565367—a small detail that captures how dramatically the platform has scaled in the intervening decades.) just setting up my twttr— jack (@jack) March 21, 2006 Following that first message, Dorsey’s short-form social network quickly cemented its role in our digital lives. In 2009, as a plane landed on the Hudson River in New York, users followed events…

Box CEO and tech thought leader Aaron Levie says he recently met with 20 enterprise AI and IT leaders and came away with insights into what everyone, especially the stock market, wants to know: how—and how fast—large U.S. companies are adopting AI for core business functions. In a post on X, he outlined the main themes he heard. Had meetings and a dinner with 20+ enterprise AI and IT leaders today. Lots of interesting conversations around the state of AI in large enterprises, especially regulated businesses. Here are some of general trends:* Agents are clearly the big thing. Enterprises moving…

Once upon a time, there were two guarantees when getting a new job: a 401(k) and a work wife/hubby or bestie. No one assigns you. There’s no official moment. One day, they are just there. The person who can help you translate your boss’s cryptic email, exchange eyerolls after annoying comments at the staff meeting, or share your emergency stash of M&M’s at 3 p.m. But then 2026 happened and many of us work with colleagues we’ve only seen from the shoulders up on Zoom. So, I must ask, are work besties even a thing anymore? Or are they an…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. The cost of AI will surely rise, along with our dependence on it Developing AI models and serving AI apps is a notoriously expensive undertaking. AI labs use massive amounts of computing power, training data, and high-priced talent to create and serve AI models, and the costs are not nearly covered by the chatbot subscription and API fees they bring in. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic, for example, are profitable, and won’t be for some…