Social media has been abuzz in recent days about America’s new, upcoming automatic military draft registration system. And it’s no surprise why.

In operating reviews and boardrooms, I keep seeing the same pattern: leadership asks for rigor, teams deliver the numbers, and promising AI efforts get judged as underperforming before the organization has actually learned what it takes to make them real. Then someone pulls the plug, scales back the investment, or lets the initiative quietly expire.

Humanity is always aspiring to stretch itself to achieve new goals, including exploring new frontiers.

Steam cleaning should be a low-risk activity, but that hasn’t been the case for some owners of Bissell’s Steam Shot products.

There has been no shortage of retailers closing locations over the last few years as consumer behaviors shift online and foot traffic at brick-and-mortar stores continues to decline for many chains.

For the next two weekends (April 10-12 and April 17-19), Los Angeles is going to be quieter than normal.

Companies today are facing a paradox they can’t seem to solve: Roles are going unfilled while millions of capable workers remain overlooked.

Will artificial intelligence enable an even higher level of creativity, or turn us into cognitively deflated Sims spitting out chatbot responses?

After glorious lunar views, a moving dedication, a malfunctioning toilet, and a floating Nutella, Artemis II is poised for the riskiest part of its 10-day journey to the far side of the moon.

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In.

If you’re in the market for a car, you might be one of a growing number of people considering a used EV. In the past month alone, Cars.com says searches for used EVs jumped 25.5%, pointing to how quickly interest is shifting. Gas prices likely won’t drop much anytime soon, even if the Strait of Hormuz can stay open. And with hundreds of thousands of used EVs coming off lease this year, consumers have affordable options, even though the federal tax credit went away last year.

For those of us not born tall and strong, using a shared electric bike can sometimes be cumbersome—they’re often big, heavy, and hard to maneuver. Bike-share giant Lime has taken note, releasing a new generation of bikes tailored for riders who could benefit from more accessible design.

Ever find yourself behind the wheel watching all the other cars go by and think to yourself, “Man, I’m a much better driver than all these clowns on the road?”

For decades, the millions of American women who dye their hair had two options: They could spend three hours and upwards of $300 in a salon or grab a $10 box off the drugstore shelf, squint at the ingredient list, and hope for the best. There was no middle ground.

With most of New York City surrounded by water, climate change poses a grave threat to its infrastructure, as devastating storm surges and coastal flooding have shown. Inland blocks are in danger, too.

Twenty years ago, honeybees first started to disappear in mysteriously large numbers. Stories in the media were everywhere, as were solutions to try to save the bees. But today, you hear less about the crisis. Has it simply been drowned out by the constant hum of breaking world news, or is the bee crisis over?

Nobody wants to sound weak. We all have a desire to be heard and taken seriously when we speak in meetings and other situations. But so many people pack their prose with words that discourage people from taking them seriously. Avoid the following words if you want to come across as a strong, convincing speaker.

Issa Rae’s next project is coming to you vertically—and on TikTok.  

Economists and academics are still not clear on how, exactly, AI will change the jobs that are most vulnerable to its advances. Some jobs may disappear altogether, while others will simply evolve and be augmented by AI. 

Last week, the U.S. Forest Service announced that it will be closing three-quarters of its research facilities as part of a reorganization. Now, experts are worried not only about the number of scientists who might be leaving the agency, but also about how the disruption could affect the gathering and dissemination of crucial wildfire and climate change data.