Director James Gunn got an ovation from thousands for “Superman” in the most fitting place of all Comic-Con.Among the highlights of day three of the San Diego pop culture spectacular was a sincere tribute to the director who’s now helming Warner Bros.’ DC Comics screen universe, even if John Cena played it for laughs.It came at a panel on the forthcoming Season 2 of DC’s HBO series “The Peacemaker,” and Cena appeared in the title character’s full comic costume and grand helmet, leading the legions in the kind of exaggerated drama he was perfect at provoking in his wrestling days.It was Gunn’s first time in front of a crowd in the weeks since “Superman” was released and has earned more than $200 million in North America.“Today has been the most fun day I’ve had in a year,” Gunn told the crowd at the end of the session.“Superman” was his first film as captain of the DC ship, but his first foray was in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” which spawned the “Peacemaker” TV series.The crowd saw scenes from Season 2, which arrives in August and sees Cena entering another dimension where he gets to be a cool version of the hero instead of the often pained and pathetic version that’s typical of the character. Some characters from “Superman” will make appearances.That panel followed another rousing showcase in Hall H, where star Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller showed scenes from their forthcoming science-comedy space adventure “Project Hail Mary.”The scenes from the film set for release in March included a look at Rocky, a faceless, stone-shaped alien who becomes Gosling’s unlikely partner in an attempt to save the universe from ecological disaster.
Saturday morning cartoons in Hall H
Wile E. Coyote is getting his day in court and theaters.The stars of “Coyote vs. Acme” delivered a rousing presentation Saturday morning of a movie that at one point wasn’t going to be released but is now bound for theaters in August 2026. The underdog story both of the movie and Coyote was a running theme of the panel. But rather than direct ire at Warner Bros., the real-world studio that shelved the project, the panel focused on the fictional Acme Corp.“This is purely an Acme decision and I am saying this for legal purposes,” moderator Paul Scheer said at the start of the panel.The movie is a hybrid of animation and live action and is based on a 1990 New Yorker article that satirized a legal complaint filed by Coyote against Acme, the maker of the TNT, detonators, rocket shoes, catapults and other products that consistently backfire during the Coyote’s fruitless attempts to catch the Roadrunner.Laughter filled Hall H as some 6,000 watched a montage of Coyote being blown up, flattened and falling into chasms in a scene set to Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt.” Coyote is replaying the moments in his lair when an ad for a personal injury lawyer appears on TV.They also played six minutes of the movie, including a scene of opening statements in the case in which Coyote’s lawyer, Will Forte, accidentally unleashes a rocket skate into the courtroom, setting Coyote and the judge’s robes on fire. Cena plays a slick Acme lawyer who wins over the jury, which includes a cartoon character, quickly.Forte said he didn’t think the movie would ever get to audiences.“I’m pretty speechless. You think back to the journey that this movie has taken. I had kind of given up hope at a certain point,” Forte said. At one point, his comments were interrupted by a man playing an Acme lawyer who stormed into Hall H with cease-and-desist letters.Director Dave Green said the movie conforms to famed animator Chuck Jones’ rules for the struggle between the Coyote and Roadrunner, which include the bird always staying on the road and the Coyote being ultimately more humiliated than hurt when he falls, is crushed or gets blown up by TNT.The movie, which features cameos from numerous Looney Tunes characters like Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety and Bugs Bunny, will be released on Aug. 28, 2026. Ketchup Entertainment teamed up with Warner Bros. on the film and in the release of “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.”Also on Saturday morning, the cast of “Bad Guys 2” teasing new footage from the movie and describing how they recorded their characters.Marc Maron, who plays Snake, joked he asked to be tied up as he performed his lines on the floor. “The depth of the character should read a little more this time,” he said.The film, based on the graphic novel series by Aaron Blabey, introduces a new crew of animal criminals, the Bad Girls played by Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne and Maria Bakalova.
‘Star Trek’ ventures to new places
Paramount showed off its first footage from a new series, “Starfleet Academy,” which stars Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti.The show follows cadets as they go through training, with Hunter serving as chancellor of the academy.It will arrive in 2026, the 60th anniversary year of the original “Star Trek” series.Paramount+’s other “Star Trek” series, “Strange New Worlds,” also shared updates.The crew of the USS Enterprise are being turned into puppets for an upcoming “Strange New Worlds” episode, Paramount announced Saturday. The puppets will be created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.Season 3, which follows the adventures of the Enterprise under the command of Capt. Christopher Pike, is being released on Paramount+.
What’s happened at Comic-Con 2025 so far
An estimated 135,000 people many in costumes are expected to attend Comic-Con 2025, which runs through Sunday in downtown San Diego.So far, fans have gotten previews of “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”the upcoming FX series “Alien: Earth,””Tron: Ares” and “Predator: Badlands,” which will be in theaters in November.
Associated Press
The U.S. central bank, to President Donald Trump’s chagrin, will likely leave interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting this week, but that’s not to say there won’t be a vigorous debate, with one if not two Federal Reserve governors possibly casting a rare dissent in support of lower borrowing costs.
The majority of Fed policymakers, though, remain concerned that Trump’s tariffs could undo progress on bringing inflation back to the central bank’s 2% goal, outweighing for now worries about the labor market.
The trade deal struck between the U.S. and Japan last week, with tariffs set at 15%, and reported progress for a similar rate in talks with the European Union make it more likely that import duties overall will end up well below the punishing levels Trump announced on his April 2 “Liberation Day.”
Even so, U.S. tariffs are at their highest level in 90 years, and the effects are starting to show up in household purchases. A surge in prices of goods like furnishings and apparel helped drive overall consumer inflation to an annualized 3.5% pace in June.
So soon after a bout of 40-year-high inflation, policymakers fear fast-rising prices could “freak out” households, as Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee sometimes phrases it, triggering a wider inflationary spiral.
While Fed Chair Jerome Powell says that is only one of many possible scenarios, he has argued the central bank can wait to learn more before adjusting rates, especially with a 4.1% unemployment rate near or below estimates of full employment.
Other data and the outlook amid Trump’s broader economic program, including tax cuts and deregulation, invite differing views on the central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.
“Considering the clear divergence in the near-term policy outlook between (Fed Governor Christopher) Waller and (Fed Vice Chair of Supervision Michelle) Bowman and the other FOMC participants, we expect both Waller and Bowman to dissent in favor of a 25-bp (basis-point) cut,” wrote analysts at Nomura Securities, one of several Wall Street firms predicting the first double dissent from Fed governors since 1993.
Both Waller and Bowman were appointed to the Board of Governors by Trump, who has excoriated Powell for resisting the White House’s demand for an immediate rate cut and broached the idea of firing the Fed chief before his term expires next May.
Last week, during a rare but tense visit to the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, Trump once again pressed the case for lower rates, though he also said he didn’t think it was necessary to fire Powell.
Waller, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Powell, sees private-sector job growth nearing stall speed and fears companies could turn to layoffs in the absence of easier credit conditions.
Private-sector hiring accounted for just half of the gain of 147,000 U.S. jobs in June, and Waller says other data suggests even that reading overestimates the true increase. Bowman has also expressed worries about labor market deterioration and feels a rate cut may be needed to prevent it.
Both are skeptical tariffs will lead to persistent inflation.
Several others, including Boston Fed President Susan Collins, also see recent muted price increases as suggesting tariffs may not push up inflation as much as earlier thought.
RECORD-BREAKING ECONOMY
Ahead of the scheduled release on Wednesday of the Fed’s policy statement, the Commerce Department is widely expected to report that economic activity reaccelerated in the second quarter, pushing total output above $30 trillion in non-inflation-adjusted terms for the first time.
That may shore up Trump’s bragging rights to what he says is a U.S. economy that would take off like a rocket if only the Fed cut rates.
But central bankers will see it as more ambiguous. The expected increase follows a first-quarter drop in GDP from a historic rush to front-run Trump’s tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners.
“While a sharp reversal in imports will mechanically boost Q2 GDP, tariff-induced cost pressures, persistent policy uncertainty, severely curtailed immigration, and elevated interest rates are collectively dampening employment, business investment and household consumption,” wrote Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. “The U.S. economy continues to navigate a complex set of cross-currents, obscuring a clear reading of its underlying momentum.”
Consumer spending, accounting for two-thirds of economic output, has been reasonably strong, with retail sales rising more than expected last month.
Though household bank account balances are lower on a year-over-year basis, data from the JPMorganChase Institute last week suggests overall cash reserves are in better shape.
Bank credit extended to consumers and businesses is up from the prior year for the first time in more than two years, Fed data shows.
Similarly, loan volume and demand rose beginning in late May after sluggish or no growth since the year began, a Dallas Fed survey shows, and bankers expect increased economic activity and rising credit demand through the end of this year.
In another sign the economy isn’t rolling over, Fed data shows manufacturing output grew last quarter, albeit by a slower 2.1% annualized pace than the first quarter’s 3.7% pace. A measure of how fully firms are using their resources edged up to 77.6% in June from 77.5% in May.
Still, business investment may be faltering. Data on Friday showed non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft unexpectedly dropped 0.7% in June as firms grew more cautious about spending.
Other data points to a weakening economy, bolstering the minority argument for rate cuts soon.
Employment growth has slowed and hiring breadth is narrowing, led by just a few service-providing sectors.
Finding a job after losing one is getting harder. Half of those collecting unemployment benefits remain on the jobless rolls for at least two-and-a-half months.
And the housing and construction sectors are clearly on the back foot, feeling the drag of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hovering near 7%.
Overall construction spending has fallen for nine straight months a streak unseen since the 2007-2009 financial crisis and new single-family home starts were the lowest in nearly a year in June. Sales of new and existing homes remain anemic.
“Weak housing demand is convincng evidence that rates are still restrictive, with factors like a softening labor market and high uncertainty possibly also weighing on demand,” Citi economists wrote.
Ann Saphir, Reuters
The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to a trade framework setting a 15% tariff on most goods, staving off at least for now far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe.The sweeping announcement came after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-down culminated months of bargaining, with the White House deadline Friday nearing for imposing punishing tariffs on the EU’s 27 member countries.“It was a very interesting negotiation. I think it’s going to be great for both parties,” Trump said. The agreement, he said, was “a good deal for everybody” and “a giant deal with lots of countries.”Von der Leyen said the deal “will bring stability, it will bring predictability, that’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Many facets will require more work
As with other, recent tariff agreements that Trump announced with countries including Japan and the United Kingdom, some major details remain pending in this one.Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion more than it already is in America as well as make a major military equipment purchase. He said tariffs “for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%” and meant that U.S. exporters “have the opening up of all of the European countries.”Von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were “across the board, all inclusive” and that “indeed, basically the European market is open.”At a later news conference away from Turnberry, she said the $750 billion in additional U.S. energy purchases was actually over the next three years and would help ease the dependence on natural gas from Russia among the bloc’s countries.“When the European Union and the United States work together as partners, the benefits are tangible,” Von der Leyen said, noting that the agreement “stabilized on a single, 15% tariff rate for the vast majority of EU exports” including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.“15% is a clear ceiling,” she said.But von der Leyen also clarified that such a rate wouldn’t apply to everything, saying that both sides agreed on “zero for zero tariffs on a number of strategic products,” like all aircraft and component parts, certain chemicals, certain generic drugs, semiconductor equipment, some agricultural products, natural resources and critical raw materials.It is unclear if alcohol will be included in that list.“And we will keep working to add more products to this list,” she said, while also stressing that the “framework means the figures we have just explained to the public, but, of course, details have to be sorted out. And that will happen over the next weeks.”
Further EU approval needed
In the meantime, there will be work to do on other fronts. Von der Leyen had a mandate to negotiate because the European Commission handles trade for member countries. But the Commission must now present the deal to member states and EU lawmakers, who will ultimately decide whether or not to approve it.Before their meeting began, Trump pledged to change what he characterized as “a very one-sided transaction, very unfair to the United States.”“I think both sides want to see fairness,” the Republican president told reporters.Von der Leyen said the U.S. and EU combined have the world’s largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars and added that Trump was “known as a tough negotiator and dealmaker.”“But fair,” Trump said.Trump has spent months threatening most of the world with large tariffs in hopes of shrinking major U.S. trade deficits with many key trading partners. More recently, he had hinted that any deal with the EU would have to “buy down” a tariff rate of 30% that had been set to take effect.But during his comments before the agreement was announced, the president was asked if he’d be willing to accept tariff rates lower than 15%, and he said “no.”
First golf, then trade talk
Their meeting came after Trump played golf for the second straight day at Turnberry, this time with a group that included sons Eric and Donald Jr. In addition to negotiating deals, Trump’s five-day visit to Scotland is built around golf and promoting properties bearing his name.A small group of demonstrators at the course waved American flags and raised a sign criticizing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who plans his own Turnberry meeting with Trump on Monday.Other voices could be heard cheering and chanting “Trump! Trump!” as he played nearby.On Tuesday, Trump will be in Aberdeen, in northeastern Scotland, where his family has another golf course and is opening a third next month. The president and his sons plan to help cut the ribbon on the new course.The U.S. and EU seemed close to a deal earlier this month, but Trump instead threatened the 30% tariff rate. The deadline for the Trump administration to begin imposing tariffs has shifted in recent weeks but is now firm and coming Friday, the administration insists.“No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set, they’ll go into place, Customs will start collecting the money and off we go,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told “Fox News Sunday” before the EU deal was announced. He added, however, that even after that “people can still talk to President Trump. I mean, he’s always willing to listen.”Without an agreement, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes.If Trump eventually followed through on his threat of tariffs against Europe, meanwhile, it could have made everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals more expensive in the United States.“I think it’s great that we made a deal today, instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all,” Trump said. “I think it’s the biggest deal ever made.”
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Cincinnati and Samuel Petrequin in London contributed to this report.
Will Weissert, Associated Press
Union members who assemble Boeing’s fighter jets in the St. Louis area have “overwhelmingly voted” to reject the company’s contract offer on Sunday, with the company now preparing for an imminent strike.
Boeing’s proposal, which was sent on Tuesday to more than 3,200 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 837, included a 20% general wage increase over four years and a $5,000 ratification bonus, as well as more vacation time and sick leave.
“The proposal from Boeing Defense fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices of the skilled IAM Union workforce,” the IAM union said.
Dan Gillian, Boeing’s Air Dominance vice president, general manager and senior St. Louis Site executive said in an emailed statement that it is disappointed Boeing employees voted down “the richest contract offer we’ve ever presented to IAM 837 which addressed all their stated priorities.”
“We’ve activated our contingency plan and are focused on preparing for a strike. No talks are scheduled with the union,” Gillian added.
The current contract expires on Sunday following which there is a seven-day cooling off period before a strike would begin, the union added.
Boeing’s defense division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new U.S. Air Force fighter, the F-47, after it won the contract earlier this year.
The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet program, initially conceived as a “family of systems” centered around a sixth-generation fighter jet, is meant to replace the F-22 Raptor.
Rishabh Jaiswal and Angela Christy, Reuters
If youve relied on your local Rite Aid pharmacy to fill your prescriptions, you should be aware that nearly all Rite Aid pharmacy locations will be closed by next month.
So what happens to your prescriptions? Rite Aid will be transferring them to local third-party pharmacies in your area. Heres where you can find out where Rite Aid pharmacy prescriptions will be transferred to and when most of Rite Aids remaining pharmacies will be closed.
Why are Rite Aids pharmacies closing?
Back in May, the struggling Rite Aid pharmacy chain announced that it had filed for bankruptcy and would cease operations. The chain immediately began winding down its business. As Fast Company previously reported, Rite Aid has announced multiple waves of store closures via court documents dating back to early May.
As of June 30, Rite Aid had announced the closures of more than 1,000 locations, nearing the 1,277 number of locations the company said it operated when it originally filed for bankruptcy.
While some Rite Aid locations have been acquired by competitors, such as 64 by CVS, most Rite Aid locations will be shuttering for good by the time the companys bankruptcy proceedings wind down later this year.
Which Rite Aid pharmacies are still open?
Rite Aid has already closed a majority of its stores and pharmacies. According to the companys pharmacy closure list, hundreds of pharmacies have already closed for good. The first pharmacies on the list began shutting their doors on June 2.
But as of today’s date (July 28), the list still shows that more than 150 locations are still open (though over a dozen are expected to permanently shut today).
The last store on the list, the Rite Aid Pharmacy at 5627-99 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is listed to be closed on Friday, August 8.
However, it should be noted that this list is apparently just referencing the actual pharmacies that are operating in the closing store locations. The non-pharmacy parts of the Rite Aid locations may remain open for longer.
Fast Company reached out to Rite Aid for more information on when final store closures are expected. We will update this post if we hear back.
Where do I pick up my Rite Aid pharmacy prescriptions now?
If you have regular, recurring prescriptions at a soon-to-close Rite Aid pharmacy, Rite Aid says that it has taken steps to have your prescriptions automatically transferred to a third-party pharmacy in your area.
To find out where your prescriptions have been or will be transferred to, you can use Rite Aids Pharmacy Closure and Transfer List.
To use the tool, enter the zip code of the Rite Aid pharmacy that previously held your prescriptions. The list will then filter to reveal Rite Aid locations in that zip code. Look for the location that matches your Rite Aid pharmacys address.
After its address, youll see a column that says Last Day of Pharmacy Business. The date in that column tells you when that Rite Aid pharmacy is closing. The columns after that date will show you the New Pharmacy Name of where your prescriptions are being transferred to (a local Walgreens, for example) and the new pharmacys address and phone number.
It may be a good idea to call ahead to the new pharmacy to confirm that they have received your prescription transfer before visiting. You may also be able to work with your new pharmacy and/or doctors office to have your prescriptions sent to a different pharmacy of your choosing.
Astronomerthe company whose CEO resigned after being caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay rock concert embracing a woman who was not his wifeis trying to move on from the drama with someone who knows the band pretty well.Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who was married to Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin for 13 years, announced Friday on X that she has been hired by Astronomer as a spokesperson.Astronomer, a tech company based in New York, found itself in an uncomfortable spotlight when two of its executives were caught on camera in an intimate embrace at a Coldplay concerta moment that was then flashed on a giant screen in the stadium.CEO Andy Byron and human resource executive Kristin Cabot were caught by surprise when Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd during a concert earlier this month.“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked when the couple appeared on screen and quickly tried to hide their faces.In a short video, the Shakespeare in Love and Ironman star said she had been hired as a “very temporary” spokesperson for Astronomer.“Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days and they wanted me to answer the most common ones,” Paltrow said, smiling and deftly avoiding mention of the kiss cam fuss.“We’ve been thrilled that so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation,” she said. “We will now be returning to what we do bestdelivering game-changing results for our customers.”When footage from the kiss cam first spread online, it wasn’t immediately clear who the couple were. Soon after the company identified the pair, and Byron resigned followed by Cabot. The video clip resulted in a steady stream of memes, parody videos, and screenshots of the pair’s shocked faces filling social media feeds.Online streams of Coldplay’s songs jumped 20% in the days after the video went viral, according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.
The next time you order a sack of White Castle sliders, a robot might come rolling up to you.
The restaurant chain, a Midwestern fast-food staple, is partnering with Coco Robotics and Uber Eats to bring robotic delivery to the Chicago area.
The partnership, announced today, will allow customers ordering from White Castles first participating location to order directly from the Uber Eats app and receive a robotic delivery with no additional steps or fees. And in a dense urban area like Chicago, having more robots and fewer cars on the road could help ease traffic and emissions issues related to delivery.
We’re always open to whats new and what’s next, Jamie Richardson, White Castles vice president of marketing, tells Fast Company. If there’s a way to do something a little bit better, we want to find out what that is and try it.
A fast food innovator looks ahead
For White Castle, which innovated the concept of a fast-food restaurant in 1921, this is the next step in a shift toward an autonomous experience.
The chain first deployed Flippy, the robotic fry cook, to a Chicago restaurant in 2020 before expanding its use to over 100 locations. The restaurant chain considers these shifts toward new technology a reflection of its core value of continuous crave, or continuous innovation, Richardson says.
[Photo: White Castle X Coco]
The robots used in the new partnership were developed by Coco Robotics, a last-mile delivery startup that was named one of Fast Companys most innovative robotics companies in 2022. More recently, it announced significant venture capital funding and partnerships with large companies like OpenAI, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.
Part of the force propelling Cocos little red robots is their capacity for moving large amounts of goods while keeping costs low and carbon emissions at zero. They accomplish it with a 100-pound vehicle that uses artificial intelligenceand remote human operatorsto drive safely over unpredictable city terrain.
We built these purpose-built autonomous vehicles that are designed to be the best way to move goods around a city, Zach Rash, Coco Robotics cofounder and CEO, tells Fast Company. They’re lightweight, they’re compact, they’re super energy efficient, and they’re big enough to fit six extra large pizzas and two liter bottle sodas and four grocery bagsmost of the types of things you would get delivered on demand.
Bots and the city
First launched in Santa Monica, California, the robots are now in several cities around the world, as far afield as Helsinki. The robots work best where there is a vibrant local economy of delivery, Rash says, but where congestion or other barriers add cost and hassle to traditional delivery.
Chicago, in particular, fits the bill because it is a dense city where difficult winters can drive disparity between demand for delivery and supply of available drivers, Rash says, adding that theyve been successful in the Chicago market so far and are looking forward to launching the robots in new cities with similar characteristics later this year.
For Uber Eats, also looking to expand its autonomous services and its reach in the Midwest market, the new partnership with White Castle offers an important opportunity.
First launching in Chicago, this partnership with Coco Robotics and White Castle marks an important step in bringing zero-emission, sidewalk delivery to one of our most dynamic and operationally complex markets, Megan Jensen, Uber Eats global head of autonomous delivery operations, said in a statement to Fast Company.
The robots, which started picking up burgers in Chicago a couple weeks ahead of the partnerships official launch, are already finding success in what Richardson considers White Castles second home town.
When you log into Amazon, its AI-powered recommendation engine guides you towards a purchase. After you select your items and order, computer vision guides robots in fulfillment centers to pick up the inventory, and machine learning optimizes delivery routes.
The Amazon order fulfillment system is paradigmatically hybridhundreds of thousands of human employees work closely with AI systems to deliver over 9 billion packages on the same or the next day to customers all around the world.
This isnt the future. This is how your groceries get delivered. Its the hybrid world, where transactions blend multiple intelligences, and where leadership requires convergence.
The Great Convergence
We thought digital transformation was a destination: install software, train teams, done. We were wrong.
Whats actually happening is a profound reshaping of business realitythe creation of a world where previously hard distinctions like humandigital, physicalvirtual, and emotionalalgorithmic are softening and blurring, a world where humans and AI systems are becoming inseparably entangled.
Consider three seismic shifts:
Markets Have Become Hybrid OrganismsCustomers dont distinguish digital from physical. They shop on Instagram, in-store, and via apps, expecting virtual assistants to remember everything. Customers exist everywhere, in all realities, fluidly moving between interacting with human and AI sales agents.
Workforces Are HumanDigital PartnershipsRather than employees simply using digital tools, they are moving towards developing symbiotic relationships with them. For example, medical professionals can use AI to detect patterns invisible to humans, and simultaneously, human feedback trains and improves the AI system. The result is better than either humans or AI could achieve alone.
Leadership Is Multi-Dimensional ChessRunning a company was complicated; now its complex. Complicated problems have solutions. Complex systems have endless, interconnected variables changing unpredictably. Leading in the hybrid world means deciding across dimensions you can never fully see.
‘Digital-First’ No Longer Holds
Leaders often respond to technological transformation by demanding that everything must be reoriented around the new technologythe digital-first approach. But in a hybrid world this approach is mistaken.
In a hybrid world, the challenge isnt that we must choose between physical versus digital or human versus machine. The challenge is that we need to orchestrate their convergence.
This requires a new approach in three areas:
1. Hybrid Markets: Where Algorithms Meet Emotions
Hybrid markets are fluid ecosystems where customers interact through multiple touchpoints hourlyhuman, AI, or blended.
Starbuckss mobile app creates a hybrid experience, with AI-driven personalization generating hundreds of thousands of email variations. Predictive ordering and human barista craftsmanship drive 31% of U.S. orders via mobile, growing active rewards members to 34.3 million in 2023.
But hybrid markets arent just about technologytheyre about emotional coherence. Targets predictive analytics identified pregnant customers but violated privacy expectations, showing algorithmic intelligence needs human judgment.
The Convergence Solution: Blend data science, behavioral psychology, and ethics. Before deploying customer-facing AI, ask:
What does the data say? (Analytics)
How will customers feel? (Psychology)
Should we do this? (Ethics)
2. Hybrid Workforces: Partners, Not Tools
Goldman Sachs estimates AI could impact 300 million jobs, with two-thirds of occupations facing automation. But real value comes from augmentationAI handles routine tasks, humans focus on complex decisions, relationships, and innovation.
For example, AI is revolutionizing the legal industry by speeding up and even fully automating routine operations like reviewing contracts, preparing client summaries, and tracking billable hours. This allows firms to redeploy lawyers to strategic roles like negotiating deals and advising on regulations, boosting both efficiency and job satisfaction.
At Moderna, AI helped design its COVID-19 vaccine. AI created mRNA for scientists to test, scientists experimented with them in the lab, and AI then examined the resulting data to identify which of the mRNA sequences were suitable to advance to animal trials. In just 42 days, Moderna had a COVID-19 vaccine it could test on humansan unprecedented result, and one that would have been impossible without the close collaboration between human beings and AI systems.
The Convergence Solution: Reimagine the workforce as a hybrid organism. Stop separating human resources and digital transformation. Create roles like:
Human-AI Collaboration Designer: Engineers workflows leveraging each intelligences strengths.
Cognitive Load Balancer: Ensures humans arent overwhelmed by digital complexity.
Partnership Ethicist: Navigates moral implications of human-AI collaboration.
3. Hybrid Leadership: Navigating Paradox
The test of a first-rate intelligence, said the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
Hybrid leaders will have to be first-rate leaders, because hybrid-age leaders must be paradox navigators. Every decision involves opposing extremes, and rather than choosing one or the other, hybrid leaders must hold them both in creative tension.
Some fundamental contrasts are:
Personalization versus Privacy
Efficiency versus Employment
Automation versus Authenticity
Speed versus Reflection
Global versus Local
Virtual versus Physical
Hybrid leaders dont respond to these contrasts with “either-or”they respond with both-and.
The Convergence Solution: Build leadership teams blending:
Technical Fluency: Knowing whats possible
Psychological Insight: Understanding human responses
Systems Thinking: Seeing connections
Philosophical Depth: Navigating ethics
Creative Courage: Embracing paradox as opportunity
The 3 Pillars of Hybrid Success
From studying thriving hybrid companies, three capabilities emerge:
Fluid ArchitectureBuild systems that shift between human-led, AI-led, or blended modessystems that amplify human strengths like creativity when needed and automate tasks like background removal when appropriate.
Convergent TeamsEnd departmental silos. Build teams blending: engineers who understand psychology, marketers who grasp data science, HR leaders who think like systems architects, and finance professionals who consider ethics.
Adaptive GovernanceTraditional governance assumes stability. Hybrid governance assumes flux. Create frameworks handling paradox, ethical councils with technologists and philosophers, and metrics balancing efficiency and meaning.
The Convergence Imperative: Your Next 90 Days
The hybrid world rewards fast action and deep thinking. Heres your plan:
Days 1 to 30: Map Your Hybrid Reality
Identify humandigital interactions in your business.
Document where they create value or friction.
Spot paradoxes youre eliminating instead of leveraging.
Days 31 to 60: Build Convergence Capabilities
Form a convergent team mixing disciplines.
Run a paradox workshop for leaders to practice holding contradictions.
Redesign one process as a humanAI partnership.
Days 61 to 90: Launch Your Hybrid Transformation
Pilot a hybrid market initiative blending digital precision and human intuition.
Redesign one role as a humanAI partnership.
Establish hybrid governance to handle paradox.
Hybrid Reality is Here to Stay
Every interaction, employee experience, and leadership decision now exists in multiple dimensions. And in this multi-dimensional world, success belongs to those who think, lead, and create across all dimensions simultaneously. Thriving companies see hybrid as opportunity, creating convergence where human creativity and digital capability amplify each other, turning paradoxes into possibilities.
And this world isnt temporaryits now the permanent condition of business. Either you decide what that means for your organization, or it will be decided for you.
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.
We hear all the time about how generative artificial intelligenceor gen AIis eliminating entry-level jobs and changing the way knowledge workers complete daily tasks. But how are CEOs integrating these tools into the day-to-day work of leading a business? To find out, I reached out to executives across industries to understand which AI tools theyre using and how these technologies are changing the way they lead. Heres what seven chief executivesand one chief commercial officershared, in their own words.
Brad Bogolea, cofounder and CEO, Simbe Robotics, a robotics and engineering company
I use ChatGPT almost every dayits developed a rich contextual memory of how I think, which makes it an incredibly effective partner for writing, decision-making, and pressure-testing strategy. For certain file types and formats, Ill turn to Gemini. The key is knowing which model gives you the best acceleration for the task.
I use generative AI as a thought partner to move faster and think more clearly. Most often, its a [sounding board] for distilling ideas, pressure-testing conversation strategy, and sharpening my messaging. Whether Im prepping for a board call, investor meeting, or industry event, Ill use AI to draft talking points, uncover blind spots, and stress-test the framingoften from an Uber or in flight. At its best, AI helps me clarify what Im trying to say and why it matters. Its become an essential tool for thinking through complexity and communicating with precision.
Elizabeth Buchanan, chief commercial officer, Rokt, an e-commerce technology company
I use AI to accelerate how I consume information and frame decisions, whether thats transforming raw data into strategic narratives, refining product positioning, or stress-testing messaging. Its most powerful when used as a thought partnerhelping me evaluate decisions from multiple angles or refine how we communicate a complex idea with precision. At this stage of scale, decisiveness and speed are nonnegotiable. AI enables both. Its also fantastic to use it to get an update on everything a client has been talking about across touchpoints (their press and official updates to more casual LinkedIn posts from employees) to get an understanding of their current pain points or success stories. Its an absolute lifesaver. I automate these updates for myselfextraordinary time-saver!
Dave Dama, founder and CEO, AquaSonic, and cofounder, Onyx Global Group, a consumer brand incubator
I use AI to sharpen decision-making, speed up communication, and get to clarity faster. It helps me draft positioning frameworks, prep for key meetings, and collaborate with our CMO Jonathan Cohen on external messaging. I dont use it to replace judgmentbut it helps me move through the thinking and refinement process with more speed and less friction. Its become a trusted part of how I work through early-stage ideas.
Spencer Hewett, founder and CEO, RADAR, a software company
Recently, Ive been using tools like Fyxer, which is an AI executive assistant, and Cursor, which is a code editor. I also use ChatGPT and Claude as search engines for quick responses from my phone or desktop.
I use gen AI tools to streamline email management and responses and sometimes use ChatGPT to brainstorm or flesh out ideas before I make a final decision. Ive also been impressed with ChatGPTs ability to surface talented candidates via their public LinkedIn profiles.
Sami Inkinen, CEO, Virta Health, a health technology company
On the strategic front, AI acts like an on-demand thought partnerI use it to synthesize market signals, explore strategic scenarios, and identify emerging risks or opportunities. What used to take a day of analyst work or hours of personal research now takes minutes.
On the execution side, AI helps me move faster. I use it to draft communications, structure memos, and summarize long-form content, which frees me up to focus on high-leverage thinking and decision-making. Its a force multiplier for clarity and output.
Looking ahead, I think AI will reshape how companies are structured. Well move from traditional pyramids to more of a diamond shapefewer layers, more empowered individuals, and highly productive, AI-augmented teams. That has implications not just for org design, but also for budgeting and growth. More companies will grow revenue and impact without growing headcount or spend at the same rate. Thats already happening at Virta.
Steven Kramer, CEO, WorkJam, a software company
Leveraging AI has been a game changer for WorkJam. We use a number of AI tools, such as Googles Gemini coding assistant and Google Agentspace to more effectively search for files across the organization. I have made AI adoption a mandate for all WorkJam team members in 2025, and we have given every employee access to multiple tools and established a steering group that is driving AI innovation everywhere. Our teams are constantly building new agents to improve our production processes, leveraging a whole suite of tools, such as JetBrains, Windsurf, and others. For simple tasks, we have several trained ChatGPT models that are also helpful.
AI easily gives me back five to 10 hours a week, and sometimes more during planning cycles. I use that time to connect with our teams, have more unstructured conversations, and spend time with customers. Thats often where the best ideas surface. AI doesnt just help me do more, it creates the space to think better.
Evan Reiser, cofounder and CEO, Abnormal Security, a cybersecurity company
Generative AI and personalized AI agents are embedded into nearly every aspect of how I operate as CEO. These tools arent just assistantstheyre collaborators that expand my strategic and operational capacity. Here are some of the ways that I use them:
Meeting management: A custom AI agent transcribes and processes most internal meetings, generating concise summaries, action items, and automated follow-up emails. This ensures execution and clarity without manua overhead.
Personal executive coaching: Every week, a personalized Evan AI Coach reviews my meetings and delivers email feedback on where I was effective or where I could improve. It analyzes consistency in how I reinforce our mission, values, and strategy, and helps me reflect on areas like listening more deeply or recognizing team contributions.
Customer intelligence: Prior to customer meetings, a research agent reviews external sources, (e.g., LinkedIn, X, news) and internal data, (e.g., Salesforce, product usage, subscription health) to generate briefing reports. These are delivered, automatically, 24 hours in advance, ensuring I walk into every conversation fully prepared and contextually aware.
Virtual CXO advisers: Ive built custom GPTs trained on hundreds of pages of personal notes and audio transcripts from trusted domain experts. These role-specific agents, (e.g., for AI product strategy, corporate development, etc.) provide critical feedback and help me pressure-test ideasoffering continuity in strategic thinking even when I cant consult advisers in real time.
These agents are highly personalized and fine-tuned to reflect how I think, lead, and operate. They allow me to scale myself across more conversations, decisions, and strategic inputs without sacrificing quality or consistency.
Philip Smolin, cofounder and CEO, Daash Intelligence, a commerce intelligence platform
As such, generative AI functions as both a research and a consulting assistant. My primary use cases are business research and strategic ideation, which are lower-frequency but high-value tasks that help shape critical business decisions and help identify competitive advantages. I also use AI for reviews of legal documents and researching HR and regulatory topics, which would otherwise require outside counsel.
The evolution of executive work
Im struck by how quickly many of these executives have come to rely on generative AI as collaborators (the term thought partner comes up a lot), coaches, and even as strategic partners. How are you using AI to help you manage your time or lead your company? Whats working? What isnt? Feel free to share your experiences by sending an email to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. Id like to regularly share great insights and tips on how to use AI with this community.
Read more: CEOs and AI
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Salesforce CEO just said AI does half of all company tasks
CEOs start saying the quiet part out loud: AI will wipe out jobs
25 AI hacks high-growth founders swear by
When the Trump administration canceled the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, it pulled the plug on grant funds from hundreds of communities working to prevent catastrophes.
BRIC wasnt flashy or perfect, but it was essential. Its competitive, complex process favored large, well-resourced cities. Smaller, more vulnerable places often couldnt keep up with the paperwork or wait out the delays. The program was bureaucratic, underfunded, and sometimes slow. But it did something that few else were designed to do: it gave localities from across the country access to federal dollars to proactively reinforce electrical grids, guard water lines, and prepare for floods, fires, and rising seas. In other words, it gave them a fighting chance to withstand increasingly destructive disasters.
With more than 95% of Americans living in counties that have experienced extreme weather since 2011, the benefits were bound to be widespread. And fiscally prudent, too. Every $1 spent on disaster prevention saves $13 in recovery costs, according to a 2024 study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Thats not wastethats smart policy to shore up schools, homes, and neighborhoods and safeguard lives.
So, what now?
We build anyway.
A New Era of Public-Private Partnership
Urban academic institutions like ours are uniquely positioned to provide applied research, technical expertise, and programmatic support that can help municipalities continue making progress. Universities can serve as innovation labs, testing emerging technologies before jurisdictions invest in full-scale deployment.
Indeed, we need a new era of public-private partnershipnot just with academic institutions, but collaborations where localities, businesses, and philanthropy also come together to do what government cant and shouldnt do alone: build vital facilities to withstand natures increasingly powerful storms and floods. At Cornell Tech, weve spent the last two and a half years doing exactly that. Through the Local Infrastructure Huba national nerve center galvanized by Bloomberg Philanthropies with support from other funders (Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and Waverley Street Foundation), specialists, and policy leaderswe are helping city halls strengthen systems and integrate technology-based tools that bolster infrastructure plans, pro bono.
Low-cost solutions
Perhaps most promising, from where I sit, is the role of artificial intelligence in revolutionizing local resilience. Even amid funding uncertainty, municipalities can deploy low-cost solutions to streamline processes, identify problems, and look ahead. Consider New York Universitys Urban Systems Lab and its development of ClimateIQ. Its a free, open-source tool that uses artificial intelligence to map neighborhood-level risks from floods and heat, helping local officials make faster, smarter decisions to prepare for severe weather events.
Likewise, digital twinsvirtual replicas of physical infrastructureallow planners to model impacts and interventions before committing precious capital to projects. Consider the benefits for municipal leaders in coastal towns susceptible to hurricanes and tropical storms. Instead of sketching evacuation routes and emergency responses on a paper map, they can use a digital twin to simulate what would happen if a bridge collapsed or a road flooded during a crisis. They can see how traffic might respond and adjust their plans proactively or in real time.
Thats exactly the kind of thinking behind a partnership between the city of Austin and the University of Texas. They deployed digital twin technology to respond to fast-moving grass fires, especially on the citys east side where dry land and high asthma rates overlap. The system uses drones and weather data to map smoke in real time, then warns schools and senior centersdownwind. It started with 2D maps, but when the data moved into a 3D model, it changed everythingpeople could actually see the risk and take action. It’s not just about shiny software; it’s about leveraging the strengths of each collaborator, building trust among key players, and using real data to protect people.
In Jacksonville, the University of Florida is piloting a digital twin project with the intent of scaling it statewide to model everything from wastewater treatment flows to outdoor areas especially prone to flooding. It will give officials an evidence-backed view of the future. In Chattanooga, a coalition that includes the University of Tennessee, Audi, Qualcomm, and others are using digital twins and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology to make roads safer. These are the kinds of cross-sector efforts that city halls everywhere should be replicating.
Powerful tools
To be sure, digital twins and artificial intelligence arent silver bullets. But they are powerful tools. AI-driven systems can help cities analyze traffic flows, monitor water quality, and identify structural weaknesses in buildingsbefore disasters strike. With input from academics, assistance from entrepreneurs, and consortiums like the Local Infrastructure Hubwhich has already helped 2,400-plus municipalities unlock national investment to design safer roadways, protect groundwater, mitigate floods, and morelocal governments can implement these strategies today. Thats the model: targeted resources, expert guidance, and innovative ideas delivered by an ecosystem that spans sectors and connects officials to fellow peers.
Insurmountable losses
But we need more. We need nonprofits to expand their support. We need businesses to invest not only in smart cities, but resilient ones. We need researchers to step off campus and onto Americas main streets. And we need mayors to continue to lean into their frontline role as defenders against wildfires, windstorms, and other natural disastersand reimagine the capabilities they need to lead on preparedness and mitigation.
This isnt abstract. Its about whether a community is just one crisis away from insurmountable losses to the local economy, public and private property, and peoples hopes for a dependably safe and sustainable way of life. A North Carolina state report on Hurricane Helenes impact in 2024 said: In addition to the devastating loss of life, the storm destroyed thousands of homes and damaged tens of thousands more. Millions of North Carolinians lost access to critical services like water and sewer, electricity, telecommunications, and healthcare facilities. Thousands of miles of roads and bridges were damaged. . . . The regions economy has suffered a severe blow, threatening livelihoods and the long-term viability of communities.
Lets stop waiting for Washington to fix what localities are ready to solve. Lets partner across sectors to keep our communities safe, secure, and prepared. Strong nations need strong cities. And strong cities dont waitthey build.
