Fast Company

Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, leadership, world changing ideas, and design. Written for, by, and about the most progressive business leaders, Fast Company inspires readers to think beyond traditional boundaries, lead conversations, and create the future of business.

FAST, FASTER, FASTEST

STORY AT WORK

THE EXPERT MACHINE • AI TRAINING ONCE RELIED ON LOW-PAID DATA LABELERS. NOW PHYSICIANS, ACADEMICS, LAWYERS, AND OTHER SPECIALISTS ARE SELLING THEIR HARD-WON EXPERTISE TO TEACH AI MODELS – AND, IN SOME CASES, THEIR FUTURE REPLACEMENTS.

RISKY BUSINESS • White-collar occupations with the highest estimated percentage of job loss due to AI in the next two to five years

Jinro’s Shot at Glory • IT’S THE WORLD’S TOP-SELLING SPIRIT BRAND, DRIVEN BY UBIQUITY IN SOUTH KOREA. NOW IT’S WOOING WESTERN DRINKERS—ONE FLAVOR AT A TIME.

SOJU 101 • Tips for a soju-fueled night out from Irene Yoo, co-owner of Korean bar Orion and James Beard Media Award–winning author of the cookbook Soju Party

MARTHA · AI STEWART • THE ORIGINAL INFLUENCER IS DIVING INTO AI WITH HER NEW COMPANY, HINT. MARTHA STEWART REFLECTS ON HER EMPIRE, KRIS JENNER, PRISON, AND SNOOP.

30 | SECOND | BIO | Martha Stewart

Check Yourself • Companies are luring people into spending hundreds of dollars on at-home testing, pledging to diagnose ailments that only they can cure. One brave reporter explores the sticky, seductive new business of DIY health.

TESTING, TESTING, 1-2-3 • From mercury thermometers to the Teal Wand, home diagnostics have been influencing our relationship with our health across time.

New Groove • WITH RECORD SALES SOARING, BLOOD RECORDS IS PUTTING A TRENDY SPIN ON AN OLD FORMAT TO DELIVER FOR YOUNGER COLLECTROS.

How Far Can Vuori Stretch? • THE ATHLEISURE BRAND KNOWN FOR UNDERSTATEMENT IS ATTEMPTING A HIGH-PROFILE EXPANSION AS IT CONSIDERS A PUBLIC OFFERING.

BEST WORKPLACES FOR INNOVATORS • FROM MULTINATIONAL BEHEMOTHS TO BURGEONING STARTUPS, THE 190 DIVERSE COMPANIES HONORED IN THIS EIGHTH ANNUAL EDITION OF BEST WORKPLACES FOR INNOVATORS SHARE A DEMONSTRATED COMMITMENT TO CULTIVATING GREAT IDEAS, REGARDLESS OF HOW OR WHERE THEY EMERGE WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.

CATEGORY WINNERS

WHAT I_M WARP ART SPEED • UNDER NEW CEO JOHN FURNER, WALMART IS UNDERGOING AN AMBITIOUS TRANSFORMA-TION, USING AI AND AUTO-MATION TO BECOME THE FASTEST RETAILER ON THE PLANET. INSIDE ITS HIGH-TECH SPRINT TO THE FUTURE.

AI EVERYWHERE • HOW WALMART IS TRANSFORMING THE WAY WE SHOP

innovation by design 2026 • IF “THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL INDUSTRIAL WASTE INCINERATOR” SOUNDS LIKE AN OXYMORON, JUST PERUSE THIS YEAR’S CROP OF INNOVATION BY DESIGN WINNERS. THIS COLLECTION OF HONOREES ILLUSTRATES HOW THE HUMAN TION CAN TRANSFORM THE MOST MUNDANE CONCEPTS (A TOILET, A SOFA) INTO INSPIRED NEW CREATIONS.

META’S FUZZY FUTURE • MARK ZUCKERBERG HAS REPEATEDLY TRIED (AND MOSTLY FAILED) TO TURN META’S AD-POWERED CASH MACHINE INTO SOMETHING WHOLLY NEW. NOW HE’S SPENDING BILLIONS TO BUY HIS WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE AI RACE. WILL THIS BE THE PLAY THAT FINALLY WORKS?

A MAN AND HIS MANIFESTOS • MARK ZUCKERBERG LOVES TO PUBLISH OPEN LETTERS ABOUT WHERE HIS COMPANY AND TECH IN GENERAL ARE GOING. BUT HIS RECORD FOR PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS SPOTTY.

THE UNITED STATES OF INNOVATION • AS THE U.S. CELEBRATES 250 YEARS SINCE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS SIGNED, FAST COMPANY’S IMPACT COUNCIL IS THINKING ABOUT HOW AMERICAN INNOVATION CAN LAST ANOTHER QUARTER MILLENNIUM.

The Smart Money Goes to Washington • HOW PREDICTION MARKETS ARE ALREADY CHANGING THE COURSE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY

How Hockey Got Hot • A LOOK BACK AT...