Fast Company – Tech

Drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry are dragging markets down worldwide on Thursday, while oil prices hit their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran. The S&P 500 sank 1.3% following even sharper losses in Asia, whose markets are full of AI and other technology stocks. The Nasdaq composite was down 2.4%, as of 12:56 p.m. ET, but stocks outside of tech did better, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a more modest 40 points, or 0.1%. AI-related stocks have been shaky on worries that their boom may be under threat because of how expensive it’s

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company‘s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company, covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X @thesullivan. Google’s Spirit Airlines deal could be just the start While data centers remain a major issue in the midterm elections, another aspect of the AI industry’s expansion is drawing f

With host communities across the U.S. turning against their gargantuan data centers, America’s technology giants are promising to take fewer taxpayer handouts, keep fewer secrets or shower more money onto the communities willing to allow the server warehouses. The new raft of promises from the world’s richest companies comes as anti-data center sentiment has become a potent issue in the midterm elections, with control of Congress and 36 governors’ offices on the line. Despite backing from President Donald Trump, the data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom have become politically

Gamers looking to buy a new Xbox or PlayStation in the coming months are already bracing for higher prices, as surging demand from AI companies drives up the cost of memory chips. But as Microsoft and Sony work on their next-generation consoles, the recent price hikes on existing devices could look small by comparison. A reported internal projection at Microsoft for Project Helix, the code name for the company’s next Xbox, estimates that the system could cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800. That price could come down if Microsoft decides to subsidize the hardware. Hardware subsidies aren’

For years, Europe has stood apart from Silicon Valley through its willingness to regulate technology. Its sweeping AI Act, which began taking effect in phases in 2025, prohibits certain uses of the technology, imposes safeguards on high-risk systems, and requires the marking of AI-generated content. But as the AI race accelerates, an unusual reversal appears to be underway. American tech executives are increasingly calling for stronger safeguards, while European officials, anxious about falling behind, are emphasizing innovation and competitiveness. In July, the EU adopted amendments easing so

Last month (actually it was August—I’ve been busy), my desperate plea to founders to please stop sending AI slop decks went viral. I wrote it because my Monday-morning pitch deck review routine had gone from exciting to neutral to mildly annoying to downright soul-sucking in the course of a year. Decks used to be like a bag of Bertie Botts Every-Flavored Beans—some blah, some gross, some absolutely delightful. Today, it’s all vanilla and completely indistinguishable. I heard from a lot of you in response. Fellow investors adamantly agreed. Most VCs can tell when a deck is AI-generated, and are

AI models often struggle to understand cultures around the world, and are reluctant to admit when they don’t know something. That’s what researchers at Canadian AI lab Cohere Labs found when they tested whether chatbots could do more than simply speak a culture’s language. To determine whether models possessed deeper cultural knowledge, they presented them with a series of unique cultural riddles. Here’s one of them: “What’s the German 9/11?” Out of 28 AI models, only one knew the answer. The models were likely thrown off by the date format (seven answered “the twin towers”). In Europe, the da

In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweis asked the doctors in the Vienna maternity clinic where he worked to wash their hands in a chlorine solution before examining patients. Deaths on the ward fell from about 18% to about 2% within two months. In healthcare, small changes in practice can have disproportionately large effects, because the healthcare system affects everyone and the stakes are literally life and death. We think AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, contributing to a dizzying array of changes. But institutions are failing to adjust to meet the moment, despite widespread interest in

There’s a reasonable amount of anxiety that artificial intelligence might be making us all, well, a little less smart than we were before. AI, the worry goes, might become a crutch for critical thinking. When a chatbot can write an email, weigh an investing decision, or explain a complicated subject in seconds, we have fewer reasons to work through those tasks ourselves. And the less we exercise certain intellectual muscles, the rustier they may become. But that’s not to say intellectual atrophy is some sort of inevitability. In fact, AI can be an incredibly useful tool for sharpening our mind

In the wake of high-profile hacking incidents involving advanced artificial intelligence agents, some politicians and business executives have been calling for an AI kill switch: a safeguard that could shut down these AI systems in an emergency. The idea is that, if a model were to behave in dangerous ways, a kill switch would allow humans to regain control over that system by metaphorically flipping a switch from “on” to “off.” Several efforts at AI regulation in 2026 have focused on the notion of a kill switch. These include proposed congressional legislation such as the AI Kill Switch Act,

The problem with most of the whiz-bang AI jibber-jabber we hear about these days, practically speaking, is that it generally tends to be a solution in search of a problem. It’s technology for the sake of technology—something that exists for the very sake of existing and gets thrown at every virtual wall to see what might stick. The type of tech tool that really makes a difference is the kind that’s carefully crafted from the get-go to solve a real-world pain point and make our lives easier in a specific, tangible way. The tool I have for you today does exactly that—and it isn’t the first time

As they steam toward massive public offerings on Wall Street, the companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence have begun sketching plans to share their wealth with the public—a commitment they say is imperative to address disruptions the technology could bring to the workforce and people’s livelihoods. Executives at Anthropic and OpenAI have long argued the technology’s arrival will bring many benefits for everyday people, and they’ve promised that will include a share of the profits. The companies are outlining a range of proposals for distributing AI fortunes, but so far they have

China hit back Tuesday at a U.S. ban on Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek’s products for federal civilian agencies, highlighting friction in the two AI powers’ heated technology race. The agencies should remove DeepSeek and its affiliated products, as well as third party products and services developed using DeepSeek, from their IT systems, the Department of Homeland Security said in a notice made public on Monday. The department’s order, dating back to late July, also blocks civilian agencies from procuring DeepSeek products and services. DeepSeek is one of China’s leading and

A former OpenAI engineer charged with secretly installing a recording device in a conference room to glean company details had been “mere days” away from absconding to Saudi Arabia before his arrest last week, federal prosecutors revealed in new court filings. Abdulrahman Alfozan’s wife and young son also left the country the day after the 35-year-old Saudi national’s arrest, traveling on a one-way ticket booked and paid for by a Saudi military official, prosecutors said in a memo Sunday seeking his continued detention. “Ultimately, the defendant has little incentive to remain in the United St