Business Highlights

A chief data officer explains why AI still has a long way to go before it can compete with human creativity or judgment. We live in an age of hyper specialization. This is a trend that’s been evolving for centuries. In his seminal work, The Wealth of Nations (written within months of the signing of the Declaration of Independence), Adam Smith observed that economic growth was primarily driven by specialization and division of labor.

With its renewal of James Patterson-based ‘Cross’ before the first season even has a release date, Amazon just bet big on this genre. Here’s why that’s a smart move. During the long, strange press tour for Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tarts movie, the comedian has grumbled extensively about how things just aren’t how they used to be.

Optimists are wealthier, live longer, and are more successful in life, work, and relationships. Here’s how to change your mindset if you are naturally pessimistic. Welcome to Work Smarter, Fast Company‘s newsletter on career, leadership, and productivity advice. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here.

Any workplace can fall prey to chaos. It’s up to leaders to put reasonable rules of conduct in place. You’ve just settled into your office chair one morning when you get called away for a not-so-quick conversation.  By the time you get back to your desk, your coffee is cold. 

If you’ve been avoiding a hard conversation with a direct report, you could be hurting them—and the rest of your team. We’ve seen it happen before—to ourselves or to others. Your boss begins taking away projects you’ve typically owned, or stops commenting on your work on a consistent basis. Maybe they even hire someone to do a similar job as you without outlining how your role will evolve.

UNICEF said more resilient energy supplies for Pakistan’s schools would reduce dropout rates and improve children’s learning so they can earn more in the future. A new study by the United Nations children’s agency says developing resilient energy systems to power health facilities in Pakistan could avert over 175,000 deaths by 2030.