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On the way to work, you see a TikTok video of the president admitting to a crime. In the elevator, you hear your favorite band, but the song is completely unfamiliar. At your desk, you open an email from an executive in another department. It contains valid sales information and discusses a relevant legal issue, but the wording sounds oddly wooden. After lunch, the CEO sends all managers a link to a new app she had casually proposed just a few days earlier. Later, you interview a job candidate via Zoom, but the person looks different from his LinkedIn picture. Any or all of these thingsthe video, the song, the email, the CEOs app, the candidatecould have been generated by AI tools or agents. But our epistemic defaults, I’d argue, are still set to assume these things are human-created unless available information proves otherwise. We have not yet entered a zero-trust paradigm where content is generated unless proven authentic. Instead, we find ourselves in an anxious middle ground. The question now arises whenever we encounter a new image, video, or piece of information: Is this AI-generated? Increasingly, the answer will be yes. We are close enough to that zero-trust reality that we can see it approaching on the horizon. Beyond deepfakes Deepfakes were just the beginning. AI-generated video designed to mislead or incite was, not so long ago, seen as a novelty. Now its common in everything from revenge porn to politics. AI-generated music has gone mainstream. Last year, a fully generated country song called Walk My Walk by Breaking Rust reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart in the U.S. An AI-generated TV ad, made with Googles Veo 3, Gemini, and ChatGPT, ran during Game 3 of the NBA Finals last year. According to a Gallup Q3 2025 report, 45% of U.S. employees now use AI at work. In a similar vein, the email deliverability firm ZeroBounce found in a September 2025 survey that one in four workers use AI daily to draft emails, and that number has likely increased. The same survey found that a quarter of workers suspect their performance review was written using AI. By most accounts, the use of AI agents in corporate workflows is still in the early innings. But AI companies say were moving toward a future in which agents from different departments collaborate to complete back-office tasks, such as compensating suppliers, or to compile decision-support materials, like a business case for entering a new market or making an acquisition. Its already likely that AI agents, including deep research or business intelligence tools, play some role in assembling reports managers receive at work. Amazons AWS says its customers have used AI agents to save more than 1 million hours of manual effort. McKinsey predicts that by 2030 the use of agents and robots could create about $2.9 trillion in value in the U.S. if organizations redesign their workflows for people, agents, and robots working together. (Of course, McKinsey wants to help them do that.) Depending on her technical savvy, the CEO mentioned above may have mocked up a new app using Replit or Bolt. These so-called vibe-coding tools can generate a credible proof of concept in a weekend. She may then have handed it off to software engineering, whose developers might use Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor to turn the idea into a production-ready app that connects to company databases and third-party tools. A late-2025 Stack Overflow study claims that about 84% of developers now use, or plan to use, AI coding tools, with roughly half already using them daily. When applying for remote jobs, more candidates are trying to improve their odds with AI tools that enhance their face or voice or generate answers in real time during interviews. The voice authentication firm Pindrop says that in its own video interviews it regularly encounters applicants using deepfake software and other generative AI tools to try to land a job. Gartner predicts that by 2028 a quarter of all remote applicants will be AI-generated. Deepfakes once threatened to distort reality; now the distortion is structural, embedded in the systems that produce culture, manage companies, and decide who gets hired. AI, weaponized But the scammer may have a different goal in mind, and this points to scenarios where generative AI tools arent just used as timesavers, but as weapons. AI can help conceal the real identities of job applicants who are trying to extract sensitive company information or, worse, secure a role in order to install ransomware. Scammers are also increasingly using advanced face- and voice-swapping tools for outright fraud. In 2024, a team of scammers posed as top executives of the engineering firm Arup during a video call using sophisticated AI tools. They tricked a finance employee into sending them $25 million. We sense that our epistemic defaultsour AI slop detectors, if you willmay lag behind what technology can already do. And that suspicion is correct. The holy-shit moments accompanying new AI breakthroughs now arrive with striking regularity. Recently, some users and journalists concluded that the OpenClaw agent platform had become sentient after watching agents complete tasks independently, deploy humans to finish assignments, and then gather in their own online forum to discuss it. At the same time, many ChatGPT users are grieving the forthcoming loss of GPT-4o because they developed a personal attachment to the model. New Chinese video generation systems such as ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 and Kling 3.0 are producing highly controllable video thats increasingly difficult to distinguish from footage captured by a camera. The next tech wave Social networks, in many ways, act as intermediariesproviding a wide-angle lens through which a person sees the world. To increase engagement and ad views, Facebook distorted that lens, to the detriment of both democracy and children. This week, Facebook-parent Meta is defending itself in a Los Angeles courtroom after years of deploying design features, including endless scroll, that critics say proved harmfuly addictive for younger users. That was the last tech revolution, and it depended on user-made content. But with AI, the web can generate its own content on demand. This may put an immense amount of power in the hands of a few AI companies, perhaps even more so than was given to social media companies. With so much money and influence at stake, the question is whether AI companies will do what firms like Meta did not and draw a clear line between human-created and machine-generated content. I seriously doubt it, especially with a billionaire class and a Trump administration doing everything possible to stifle legislation that might protect AI consumers. If thats the case, then maybe taking a zero-trust approach to everything that appears on our screens is the only rational path forward.
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E-Commerce
At $600, Jamie Haller loafers arent an impulse buy, but theyve become one of those rare fashion items people evangelize anyway. The shoes, which resemble classic mens leather loafers, have quietly built a cult following thanks to a surprising claim: Fansfrom TikTokers to Wirecuttersay they mold to your feet the moment you step into them. This didn’t happen by accident. The Los Angeles-based designer spent years seeking out a factory that would be willing to make her loafers using sacchetto construction, a labor-intensive Italian technique more often found in bespoke mens footwear. Take all of the hard bits of the loafer out, she remembers telling the cobbler in her Italian factory. Just make it skin on skin so that it fits your foot like a slipper. Now Haller is betting that the same philosophycomfort engineered through old-world techniquecan translate into her next hero product. On February 12, Haller is launching sneakers. The new style is made in Italy and uses the same sacchetto construction that turned her loafers into bestsellers. I wanted to create a beauty-forward everyday sneaker that has the same very, very special construction that the loafers have,” she says. The sneaker, inspired by climbing shoes and ballet slippers, is low-profile, flexible, and subtly sculptural. It feels like a hug, Haller says. [Photo: courtesy Jamie Haller] The New Class of Luxury Brands The sneaker launch comes as Hallers business is accelerating quickly. She spent years designing for other labels, including Guess and Bebe. But in 2020weeks into the pandemicshe decided to launch her own brand. At first, the business was built around a single slipper-like shoe that was a precursor to the loafer. But by early 2023, the Jamie Haller label had grown enough that she felt ready to leave her day job. Since then, the business has taken off. Year-over-year growth was in double-digit multiples early on, and momentum has continued as the business scales. Today, about 65% of sales are direct-to-consumer through her website and Montecito, California, store, with the rest coming from wholesale. The brand has expanded into ready-to-wear, bags, and now jewelry, and is entering more stores globally. Net-a-Porter picked up the shoe line and is adding ready-to-wear this springa major inflection point for international reach. Hallers rise places her squarely within a broader shift in luxury, alongside other female designers like Nili Lotan and Trish Wescoat Pound, who design collections focused on quality and construction. Their clothes offer devoted customers a uniform they can wear repeatedly. I’m toeing the line between casual and polished, Haller says. [Photo: courtesy Jamie Haller] Making Menswear Work for Women What makes Haller’s collections stand out is her deep affinity for vintage menswear. As a child, she loved her grandfather’s overcoats, well-worn briefcases, and shoes. She scours vintage markets to find classic men’s garments that might fit her but often doesnt like how they hang on her curves. So she taught herself how to translate those garments to suit a womans figure, combining the hard edges of menswear with the sensuality of a woman’s body. It is this blending of masculine and feminine that is intriguing to her. [Photo: courtesy Jamie Haller] Haller says men’s trousers usually don’t fit her well because she has curvaceous hips. To maintain the straight, slung look of a mens trouser, she pulls seams forward and adds shape only where its needed, often in the back rise. The visual appearance is still very straight, she says, even though the pattern is doing more work underneath. That same logic applies across categories. Her shirts are cut with straighter armholes and dropped shoulders, often in Japanese yarn-dyed cottons meant to mimic the feel of a perfectly worn vintage Oxford. Its always a balance of small and big, she saysrolling cuffs, opening collars, exposing just enough of the body to create contrast. Jewelry, too, follows this masculine thread. Hallers debut jewelry collection, launched last fall, centers on chunky signet rings inspired by the rings youd see on an 80-year-old Sicilian man, she says. They arent precious everyday pieces, but styling elementsmeant to add contrast to an outfit built from polished basics. Its the styling layer you put on top of te button-down and the basic trouser, she explains. [Photo: courtesy Jamie Haller] At every stage, Haller designs for herself first. She fits everything on her own body and refuses to release pieces she doesnt love. That conviction seems to resonate with customers, many of whom return again and again. Im making clothes they can wear every day very comfortably, she says. Haller’s success reveals a shift in what women want. Many are eschewing larger, flashier designers for independent labels, brands offering understated clothing that doesn’t overshadow the woman wearing them but rather makes her feel put-together thanks to a relentless focus on quality and fit. Haller’s designs borrow the best of mensweardurability, ease, comfortwithout losing sensuality. Now her customers will be able to swap their loafer for a sneaker to add a casual touch to their outfit. I design to make myself happy,” Haller says. “If Im wearing something every single day, thats usually a good sign. And I never take these sneakers off.
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E-Commerce
You might think the most important amenities a hotel could provide would be a comfortable bed and a friendly concierge. For workers looking to shake up their WFH routine, though, a lightning-fast internet connection and electrical outlets aplenty may top that list. The chicer cousin of the coworking space, a hotel lobby is no longer a place to simply check in or out: Its an often overlooked third space in major cities, where guests and remote workers alike can mingle, relax, and get work done. Kayla Terzi is a recent convert. The hospitality real estate broker used to bounce around different cafés while working remotely in New York Citythat is, until she discovered the common area of the Soho Grand. I started noticing hotels offer a quieter, more consistent environment, especially for long calls or focused work sessions, Terzi, 26, told Fast Company. At the same time, an energized, cool, social environment helps me stay inspired. The concept of using hotels as coworking spaces is far from new, but as many companies increasingly opt for hybrid working arrangements, hotels are filling a growing gap between demand and supply when it comes to workspaces. Nearly one in three workers say their company has cut office space since 2020, with 43% reporting that no replacement workspace was provided. Thats according to a November 2025 study conducted by Engine, a booking platform for business travel. Additionally, the rise of the gig economy means there are more freelancers and self-employed workers than ever before. According to the MBO Partners State of Independence in America Report, there were an estimated 72.9 million Americans freelancing in some capacity in 2025. Those workers need space to work, with nearly one in five surveyed by Engine regularly going on space scavenger hunts for a change of scenery from their cramped apartments and desk-next-to-bed setups. Instead of turning visitors away, hotels are increasingly opening their doors to take in stray workerseven if theyre not guests. As long as I order a coffee or something to eat, they usually let me work and hang out for as long as I need, Terzi said. Of course, I make sure not to overstay my welcome. For those who are looking for a little more privacy, services like Engine Spaces make it easy for workers and business travelers to make use of professional workspaces and meeting rooms from the platforms extensive hotel network, 82% of which otherwise sit empty most of the time, a December 2025 Engine survey found. People shouldnt need to call a hotel to get basic information about a meeting space, Elia Wallen, founder and CEO of Engine, told Fast Company. Its 2026, and this is one of the last corners of hospitality that needs to come online, fast. Theres a gap in the market, apparently. Within the first month of Engines beta launch, more than 1,000 spaces were added to the marketplace by hotels, according to the company. What Terzi looks for in a hotel lobby is reliable Wi-Fi, accessible power outlets, and comfortable seating. One of my favorite lessons is that nothing extraordinary happens in ordinary spaces, Terzi said. Remember, even if youre not forking out hundreds or thousands of dollars a night for a room in a five-star hotel, in most cases you can still order a coffee and take advantage of the propertys common spaces. Then, following a productive day of work, seamlessly make your way to the hotel lobby bar. Because why not?
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E-Commerce
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