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Is technology a hero or a villain? That question keeps coming back to me. Especially now, as the world watches the ripple effects of the USAID funding freeze and the relentless wave of climate disasters. Tech companies sit right at the heart of these crisesnot as bystanders, but as some of the most powerful players in how they unfold. And yet, techs public image has never been more conflicted. On one hand, technology has enabled incredible breakthroughs in humanitarian response. AI can predict floods before they hit. Blockchain helps track aid deliveries in fragile contexts. Real-time data platforms put lifesaving information directly into the hands of frontline responders. Thats the tech I believe in. But lets be honestBig Techs reputation is hanging by a thread. From privacy scandals to polarization to performative corporate social responsibility (CSR), the gap between what tech could be and how people perceive it feels wider than ever. This moment is a wake-up call. Not just for CSR, but for the entire way tech companies define their role in solving global problems. What weve seen at Tech To The Rescue over the past five years is simple: Social impact work isnt charity. Its how companies sharpen their edge. When tech teams partner with nonprofits tackling crises, theyre not just donating skillstheyre learning in ways that no corporate client can teach them. Theyre designing for chaos, building for the underserved, and stretching their creativity to the limit. What internal sprints will never teach you For small and mid-sized companies, this work is a goldmine of tactical insight. Designing systems for low-bandwidth environments, creating tools for users with limited digital literacy, or adapting platforms for multilingual emergency contextsthese are not side projects. They are previews of the challenges companies will face as they scale into new markets. And for larger companies? Its just as valuableespecially when these partnerships happen inside innovation teams, not just CSR departments. Unlike traditional philanthropy, with its slow approvals and risk aversion, these collaborations are fast, hands-on, and embedded with frontline teams. The result? Products that dont just live in PowerPoints but in the hands of people who need them most. Real-world proof that this works This isn’t a theory. Its happening now. Through AI for Changemakersa global accelerator we launched with sponsorship from AWS and Google.orgtech companies are building tools like SOPHIA, which processes multilingual crisis data in real time, and AIMM, which helps field teams at Mercy Corps that use AI for program design without needing a data science degree. I saw this dynamic firsthand at AWS re:Invent, standing alongside leaders from Mercy Corps and ACAPS to showcase these projectsnot as feel-good stories, but as proof that serious tech-for-good collaborations deliver serious impact. But the moment that stuck with me most came earlier, at VivaTech in Paris. Thats where Werner Vogelsone of the worlds most influential CTOsannounced the Now Go Build CTO Fellowship, created in partnership with our AI for Changemakers program. And this wasnt some hands-off endorsement. Vogels, Amazons CTO, stepped in to mentor nonprofit CTOs directly, giving them access to the same leadership and technical playbook that powers AWS. When a tech leader of his stature decides to personally invest in social impact organizations tech leadership, it sends a message: If we want stronger humanity, we need stronger and out-of-the-box collaborations. Why this matters for every tech company This is no longer about reputational polish. Social impact partnerships are becoming a core source of innovation, talent development, and resilience. According to Deloittes 2024 Global Gen Z & Millennial Survey, 86% Gen Zs 89% of millennials shared that a sense of purpose is important to overall job satisfaction and well-being for them. Also, 75% of both groups responded that an organizations community engagement and societal impact are considered and important factors when looking into potential employers. On the flip side, less than half believe that businesses do have a positive societal impact, highlighting a growing gap between expectations and reality. The same is true for consumers, especially since the pandemic. Ipsos Global Trends 2021 found that 70% of consumers across 25 markets prefer to buy from brands that reflect their personal values. This trend has been particularly strong in key markets like the U.K., France, and the U.S., where the emphasis on brand values has grown by over 16% since 2013. Lets also rethink what pro bono in the tech industry even means. Its become shorthand for quick volunteer gigs, but in reality, the projects that matter most are professionally scoped, technically complex, and demand the same creativity, rigor, and accountability as any top-tier client engagement. Its time to see these collaborations for what they are: R&D with purpose. So back to that question: Hero or villain? The answer wont come from PR. It will come from what we build, who we build it for, and whether were willing to apply our best thinking to humanitys hardest problems. The companies that embed social impact into their innovation playbook will come out stronger, sharper, and far better prepared for a future where impact isnt an accessoryits a core business strategy. Jacek Siadkowski is the CEO and cofounder of Tech To The Rescue. The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
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Lately it seems like collective uncertainty about the economy is mainly focused on one thing: eggs. This isn’t surprising. When the price of a kitchen staple like eggs nearly doubles in a year, it’s easy to make it a go-to symbol for the broader basket of financial anxieties many consumers are feeling. I get it, but I also worry all the egg-centric media coverage is overshadowing what is, for most households, a much bigger and more important line item: healthcare. So far this year, egg prices have generated roughly three times more headlines than healthcare costs have (per a quick Google News search)which is pretty much the reverse of the relative impact those issues have had on households over the past 40 years. Food inflation is a serious concern, but for the average consumer, the cost of out-of-pocket healthcare spending has far outpaced that of food (yes, even eggs). Cumulative Change in Prices Paid by Consumers (%) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted) Why are eggs stealing the limelight? One big reason is that everyday commodities like eggs (or milk, coffee, and gas) are easy for consumers to comprehend. These products have a black-and-white price tag, you generally get what you pay for, and it’s hard not to notice when your paycheck suddenly doesn’t stretch as far. Healthcare is different Healthcare doesn’t work like that. For consumers, out-of-pocket healthcare spending is a mishmash of insurance premiums, deductibles, appointment copays, and prescription costs. For heavier-duty care like surgery and hospital stays, there often isn’t a clear-cut price tag. Not surprisingly, more than half of insured workers are confused by healthcare costs and billing, and as a result, many don’t fully grasp the total healthcare hit to their walletor the value they’re getting (or not) for their healthcare dollar. This consumer blind spot is becoming a financial black hole for employers. For most companies, healthcare is now the second-largest operating expense after payroll. Employers are forecasting that healthcare costs will accelerate even more in 2025, increasing by about 9%three times the current inflation rate. After years of absorbing rising costs, many employers are now facing tough decisions about raising employees share of the premium, eliminating benefits, or passing costs onto customers. Unlike egg prices, though, the healthcare cost trend isn’t primarily a supply-and-demand issue. A big chunk of runaway healthcare spending (as much as 25%, by some estimates) is due to inefficiency and waste, including overtreatment, undertreatment, low-quality providers, and uncoordinated care. The healthcare system is basically dropping three eggs from every carton on the floor, and employers are left to clean up the mess. Reining in this avoidable and unsustainable spending isn’t as simple as cutting benefits or increasing premiums. In fact, limiting healthcare access can backfire if individuals forgo essential care, leading to a sicker workforce in the short term and snowballing costs in the long run. Unscramble the mess The reality is, if we’re going to unscramble the mess of healthcare, we need a collective shift in our expectations and mindset. Employers and consumers alikeall healthcare purchasers, in factneed to demand a new focus on value. We need to move away la carte “egg” purchases whereas though we’re in a supermarket aislefees are associated with volume, and total costs can only be managed with portion control (or as we say in healthcare, utilization management). This model has blinded people to what they’re spending and getting in return, undermining trust in the healthcare system as a whole. Instead, we need a healthcare model where a person’s holistic needs are front and center. A model that incentivizes ongoing engagement, building trust over time, and consistently guiding people toward high-quality careincluding more care, when that’s best for them. The future of higher-value, lower-cost healthcare is one in which people and purchasers have access to a broader range of services and settings (both virtual and in person). It offers personalized advocacy and support (including with clinical guidance, bills, and claims). And it offers an all-in-one experiencea departure from the fragmented maze we’ve all become accustomed to. Innovators and leaders on the front lines of healthcare management and purchasing are starting to recognize this, and are reorienting their solutions, partnerships, and models to ensure that people get the care they deserve, where, and when they need it. While egg prices may have our attention now, we can’t lose sight of creating a healthcare system and experience that’s actually worth the high price we all pay. And in healthcare, unlike with groceries, the key to affordability isn’t buying less or cutting corners on quality. It’s investing in the services and outcomes that deliver real value for our hard-earned money. Owen Tripp is cofounder and CEO of Included Health. The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
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Anthropic announced Thursday that it has added web search capability to its Claude chatbot. Its not a new feature to the AI worldbut the companys approach stands as one of the most thoughtful to date. Much like Perplexity, Anthropics Claude works relevant information from the web into a conversational answer, and includes clickable source citations. Web search is available as a feature preview for U.S. users of the Claude 3.7 Sonnet model, with plans to expand to the free tier and to more countries. What sets Anthropics web search feature apart is that it is automatic. Rather than requiring users to manually select a web search on a given query (as with OpenAIs ChatGPT), Claude decides on its own whether fetching web data would improve an answer. After it receives a time-sensitive question, Claude now generates an initial answer from its training data and then states: . . . but let me search for more precise information since this could have changed. That matters since, without web search enabled, the results are subject to a cutoff date in the large language models training data. Claudes training data only goes up to October 2024, while ChatGPTs (using GPT-4o) goes up to June 2024. Thats why ChatGPT (without web search turned on) returns outdated information when asked, for example, to identify which major AI chatbots have web search: It mentions Google Bard, for exampleeven though that product has since been renamed Gemini. With the web search button clicked on, all these errors disappear. (An OpenAI spokesperson points out that ChatGPT will automatically do a web search for questions that imply a need for up-to-date information, such as, What are the best travel destinations for 2025? But as per the example above, the web search doesnt always kick in when the results would benefit. Users can also regenerate an answer with web search turned on.) A web search is almost always helpful for a reality check on whatever information the chatbot surfaces. Thats why Anthropics move was a smart one: It removes the burden from users to determine whether a query would benefit from a specialized search. Adding web search will certainly make Claude a more useful and reliable chatbot, but the move could have more commercial implications, too. People are increasingly using Claude to research products, and referrals from Claude to brand sites could become a key revenue source for Anthropic. Anthropic is creating new entry points that complement how people are already using LLMs, and its working, says Jim Yu, CEO of BrightEdge, an SEO and digital performance platform. BrightEdge data shows that Claudes referrals to websites jumped 82% month-over-month in February, outpacing ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others. Claude has historically lagged in this space, but this is a move that could finally put them in the game, Yu says. Within the chatbot context, web search is used to take a quick snapshot of relevant information from the web to inform a response to a specific question. This is different from AI research agents like Googles Deep Research tool within the Gemini assistant and OpenAIs tool, also called Deep Research, both of which consult a broad group of sources using a defined and customizable research strategy. Anthropic doesnt yet offer a deep research tool but thats likely coming. Augmenting chatbot answers with web search information is a logical first step toward that.
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