The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Los Angeles is our home and living laboratory. For four decades at RIOS, we’ve […]
Tech can transform the world—but only if it works for children
Global leaders recently gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, under the theme of “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” What exactly is the “Intelligent Age” and, more importantly, how can we ensure that everyone can participate in this new age? WEF defines the Intelligent Age as a transition away from the Industrial Age to […]
Want to be a full-time influencer? Consider freelancing
More people than ever aspire to become influencers on social media, given YouTube’s proliferation as an entertainment source and the popularity of Instagram and TikTok. Some 57% of Gen Z aspire to be influencers, according to a 2023 survey of 1,000 U.S. respondents. It makes sense after seeing influencers earn big payouts while having more […]
Meta rebranded performance-based layoffs as ‘non-regrettable attrition’
When Meta broke the news of layoffs to employees this week—on the heels of major changes to its content moderation and DEI policies—the tech giant used the term “non-regrettable attrition” to describe its approach, putting a fresh spin on layoff euphemisms. In an internal memo, Meta disclosed that the widespread job cuts would impact 5% […]
Thousands flee as L.A. wildfires rage and destroy homes
Multiple massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures and killing at least two people as desperate residents escaped through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke. Three major blazes were burning in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, home of the famed […]
It wasn’t all bad: 7 hopeful news moments from 2024
“Positive” and “amazing” are not the first adjectives one would use to describe 2024. Over the past 12 months, struggles and controversy unfolded across almost all industries: Companies such as Red Lobster, RedBox, Express, and The Body Shop all filed for bankruptcy. In the business world, “survive until 2025” became a rallying cry. When times […]
Some of the best financial advice I ever got came from the Grinch
One of the benefits of rewatching your favorite holiday films year after year is getting the opportunity to take a deeper look into the stories. We’re all familiar with overt themes about how Christmas is a time for giving, togetherness, and Red Ryder carbine-action, 200-shot range model air rifles—but the hidden messages in these movies […]
How child labor and illegal mines are fueling Nigeria’s lithium boom
Dressed in a faded pink dress, 6-year-old Juliet Samaniya squats under scorching skies to chip at a jagged white rock with a stone tool. Dust coats her tiny hands and her hair as she works hour after hour for less than a dollar a day. The landscape around her is dotted with active and abandoned […]
Trump vows to block Japan’s Nippon Steel from buying U.S. Steel. Here’s how
President-elect Donald Trump is underscoring his intention to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp., and he’s pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker. Trump had vowed early in the presidential campaign that he would “instantaneously” block the deal, and he reiterated that sentiment […]
AI bots could be a new tool to get people to be open about their feelings
As the legislative election in France approached this summer, a research team decided to reach out to hundreds of citizens to interview them about their views on key issues. But the interviewer asking the questions wasn’t a human researcher — it was an AI chatbot. To prepare ChatGPT to take on this role, the researchers […]