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Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Companys weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. Im Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company,covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, Im focusing on a new class of AI video generation tools that could let scammers speak with a completely different face and voice on video calls. I also look at how Apple employees see Tim Cooks appeasement of President Donald Trump, and why OpenAI models got worse at writing. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X @thesullivan. A scammers dream Video generation models have been improving over the past several years. Weve always known that things could get weird when generative video becomes nearly indistinguishable from real video, and were entering that phase now. Weve already seen convincing political and sexual imagery deepfakes. Another devious application of AI generative video will be phishing scams. Over the past six months or so, people have been posting on X about new AI tools that are capable of face swapping in real-time video. For example, the AI might make it look like its Leonardo DiCaprio or Scarlett Johansson saying my words and performing my facial expressions during a Zoom call. The AI analyzes the users facial movements and vocalizations in real time and sends them out via the faces of another person entirely. Some of these AI tools can generate a new face overlay using a single still image. So it may be possible for a scammer located anywhere in the world to find an image of a person on social media, use the AI to develop a reasonably convincing AI face from it, and then call one of the persons relatives asking for money. The scammer might use a sample of the persons voice to simulate the sound of the AI overlay character. Of course, the first people to be targets of such deepfake calls would likely be the elderly. They might be happy to hear from a grandchild, for instance, and perhaps less likely to question the authenticity of the video. They may not even know that such a simulation is possible. Theres a special place in hell for the perpetrator of such a scam, but it appears to be technically feasible. How Apple employees see Tim Cooks relationship with Trump Like other tech leaders, Apple CEO Tim Cook has chosen to engage with, rather than ignore, Donald Trump. Cook has never publicly endorsed Trump or donated to his presidential campaigns. But he did personally donate to Trumps inauguration fund, has visited the White House numerous times, and is in at least semi-regular contact with the president. During Trumps first term, Cook spoke out against the Muslim travel ban, the transgender military ban, and the presidents good people on both sides response to a deadly white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In contrast, Cook has been quiet about the more extreme policies and actions Trump has brought to his second term. Until now. This week, Cook was forced to speak out, at least to Apple employees. Cook came under fire from employees and customers for attending a private VIP screening of Amazons new Melania Trump documentary at the White House on January 24, the same day that federal Customs and Border Patrol agents shot and killed VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. This followed a January 7 incident in which an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good. Cook was silent about the Pretti shooting until the evening of January 27, when he reportedly sent a memo to Apple employees saying he is heartbroken about the Good and Pretti deaths and calling for de-escalation. He also said hed had a conversation on the matter with Trump. It may have had an effect. On Wednesday Trump tried to calm the backlash against ICE. Were going to de-escalate a little bit, he said, using the same term Cook did. (No actual de-escalation has taken place.) I suspect Cooks relationship with the president is purely transactional and strictly business. As people, Cook and Trump couldnt be more different. Based on conversations Ive had with people who work at Apple, the internal narrative is that Cook is dealing with Trump in the way thats most likely to ward off tariffs on iPhones, new regulations, and government probes of Apples various businesses. And, the narrative goes, Cook is speaking to Trump in language Trump understands. That explains the flattery and lavish gifts hes brought to the White House, the most recent of which hits some of Trumps favorite notes. The commemorative glass piece (resembling a silicon wafer) is mounted on a 24-karat gold base and engraved with Trumps name. The president loves gifts, he loves gold things, and he loves his own name. As I wrote for Fast Company earlier this week, the shootings of U.S. citizens Good and Pretti in Minneapolis may put Big Tech leaders political alliance with Trump to the test like never before. Even transactional friendships should be subject to some standards of trust and decency. If more violence happens, Cooks calls with Trump could become far less amicable. OpenAI sacrificed writing skill for coding skill in GPT-5 There was some backlash among users against OpenAIs latest model, GPT-5.2. People felt that the new model had less personality, less of a voice of its own. And these shortcomings are reflected in its writing, which many users say is harder to read and less natural-sounding than that of earlier models. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged this week that GPT-5.2 isnt as good a writer as its predecessor GPT-4.5 was. I think we just screwed that up, Altman said during an internal developer town hall on January 26. With so much money on the line, I doubt it was a simple screwup. OpenAI was entertaining a different set of priorities when developing GPT-5.2. We put most of our effort in 5.2 into making it super-good at intelligence, reasoning, coding, engineering, that kind of thing, Altman said. And we have limited bandwidth here and sometimes we focus on one thing and neglect another. OpenAI may also have been responding to an industry-wide shift toward chatbots that are brainier but somewhat dullerthat sound less like unconditionally supportive friends and more like responsible adults. There are safety and liability reasons for this. OpenAI is now facing multiple legal claims that its chatbot failed to push back when vulnerable users (including minors) began talking about plans to end their own lives. OpenAI may also have felt pressure from Anthropics increasingly popular Claude Code tool, used by many developers to generate production-ready software code. GPT-5.2, which now underpins OpenAIs Codex coding tool, is better than earlier models at reasoning and coding skill. Whats unclear is why OpenAI cant have a model thats both a strong writer and a good coder. Anthropic seems to have achieved that with Claude. More AI coverage from Fast Company: Chip firm ASML to slash 1,700 jobs and posts record profit for 2025 thanks to AI boom Got an AI skill? Now you can prove it on LinkedIn Why Yann LeCun left Meta, and what it means for AIs next frontier How K-12 schools are left on their own to develop AI policies Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. How much Trump violence will tech industry stomach before backing away
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After years of studying leaders across industries and cultures, Ive noticed something fascinating. The truly great ones, the ones who lead with clarity, curiosity, and imagination, all share the same rhythm. Its not a checklist or an app that beeps with notifications. It is something quieter and something more human. Great leadership is less about managing time and more about mastering rhythm. And every day, without fail, these leaders do five things that keep that rhythm alive. 1. They honor their body as the first classroom Before they answer an email or step into a meeting, great leaders move. They understand that motion fuels meaning and ideas: a walk, a stretch, a moment to breathe deeply before the day begins. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBsOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} They treat the body not as an accessory to thinking, but as its foundation. Neuroscience backs this up: physical movement increases blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, enhancing executive function and creative problem-solving. When you move your body, you move your mind- and therefore ideas flow. The most effective leaders Ive observed dont schedule exercise around their work; they recognize that movement is the work of staying sharp. 2. They guard white space like treasure In a world that rewards busyness, these leaders protect stillness. They leave gaps in their calendars for moments that arent filled with doing. That white space becomes the oxygen for new ideas. While others rush to fill the silence, great leaders pause long enough to listen to what silence is saying. This isnt laziness disguised as strategy. Its the recognition that innovation rarely emerges from a packed schedule. The best insights arrive in the margins- during a walk between meetings, in the quiet of an unscheduled afternoon, in the space between stimulus and response. Leaders who guard their white space arent avoiding work; they are creating the conditions for their best work to emerge. 3. They rest to remember Great leaders understand that rest is not the opposite of work. It is the continuation of it. They know that when the conscious mind quiets down, the subconscious begins to connect the dots. They take small moments of recovery throughout the day: a pause between calls, a walk without a phone, a minute of looking out the window. They rest not to escape, but to return clearer, sharper and more creative. This is the science of incubation at work. Research on creative problem-solving shows that stepping away from a challenge allows the brain to continue processing in the background. These leaders dont power through exhaustion;they design recovery into their rhythm, understanding that strategic rest is what transforms effort into insight. 4. They listen between the lines Ive watched extraordinary leaders in conversation, and they have a rare ability to hear what is not being said. They pay attention to tone, tension, hesitation, and hope. Listening, for them, isnt about waiting to respond, but rather about creating space for truth to emerge. And in that space, trust takes root and creativity flourishes. This kind of deep listening is increasingly rare in our distracted age and increasingly valuable. When people feel genuinely heard, they offer their most honest assessments, their boldest ideas, their real concerns. Leaders who master this practice dont just gather better information; they build the psychological safety that makes innovation possible. 5. They lead with wonder, not certainty My favorite teachers have been the ones who dont hesitate to acknowledge what they dont know, and then invite me to join them in discovering answers. Similarly, the most creative leaders are not the ones who claim to know it all. They are the ones who stay curious. They ask questions that begin with What if?; I wonder? And Why not?. They treat ambiguity as an invitation, not a threat. Wonder keeps them flexible, alive, and open to surprise. And that openness is where innovation begins. In a business environment that often rewards the appearance of certainty, these leaders have the courage to say I dont know; and mean it as an invitation rather than an admission. They understand that the questions we ask shape the possibilities we can see. Wonder fuels discovery. The rhythm that matters So what do great leaders do every day? They move. They think. They rest. They listen. They wonder. But more than that, they do all of it with rhythm. Great leadership isnt about what you know. Its about how you move through the world. When you master that rhythm, creativity stops being something you reach for, and becomes part of your capacity for working better, smarter and with innovative outcomes. The best leaders do not manage energy, they design energy. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/i-16x9-figure-thinking_0b545c.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cem\u003EWonderRigor Newsletter\u003C\/em\u003E","dek":"Want more insights, tools, and invitations from Dr. Natalie Nixon about applying creativity for meaningful business results and the future of work? Subscribe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/urldefense.proofpoint.com\/v2\/url?u=https-3A__figure-2D8-2Dthinking-2Dllc.kit.com_sign-2Dup\u0026amp;d=DwMFaQ\u0026amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM\u0026amp;r=xHenyQfyc6YcuCNMBOvfYGQILM1d1ruredVZikn4HE\u0026amp;m=F383gnrChFhYKPhcpNHI1hY3o58IHIn_LkB5QJDrs3G5Wfft-DcucUO4UEmGO7GZ\u0026amp;s=JlJm7GyKCJvPW0jyrsfTFtinteKDitN13vfPZiuJnP8\u0026amp;e=\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for the free WonderRigor newsletter at Figure8Thinking.com","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/Figure8Thinking.com","theme":{"bg":"#3b3f46","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#6e8ba6","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91470060,"imageMobileId":91470061,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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In 2010, clinical psychiatrist Dale Archer published the New York Times best seller Better Than Normal, a book that highlighted the often-underappreciated benefits of various psychiatric diagnoses. The book looked at strengths associated with conditions like bipolar disorder, OCD and schizophrenia. But there was one chapter that hit a little too close to home. After publishing it, Archer asked a colleague to conduct a psychiatric diagnostic on him. She said, youre off the charts for ADHD, and I go, Yeah, I know, I just wanted validation, he says. In 2015, Archer published a follow-up book, The ADHD Advantage, focusing on some of the more positive attributes of his condition. In it, he profiled high achievers with ADHD, including the most successful athlete in Olympics history, Michael Phelps, comedian, actor and television host Howie Mandel, and Jet Blue founder David Neeleman. Archers research ultimately led him to a hypothesis that has yet to be proven in a clinical study: That ADHDand all psychiatric diagnoses, for that matterexists on a continuum, which he plots on a 10-point scale. Those who score four and below might not even know they have the condition, those who score nine or higher are likely to struggle in everyday life and may require medication. Those who were featured in his book fell between five and eight. Those in that range often report struggling in certain domains, while enjoying advantages in others. According to Archer, though, that range is a sweet spot: one associated with above-average resilience and creativity. These folks also enjoy multitasking, remain calm in crisis, are more outgoing and can hyperfocus on things theyre passionate about. ADHD Remains a Mystery and a Paradox Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD, is a developmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It is also legally classified as a disability under The Americans with Disabilities Act. While our understanding of the disorder has come a long way in recent years, there is still a lot we dont yet know. To make matters more confusing, much of what we do know seems paradoxical. On the one hand, many with ADHD feel almost paralyzed by mundane tasks, struggle in traditional academic and workplace settings and suffer other mental health challengesincluding anxiety, depression, substance abuse and eating disordersat higher rates. They are also more likely to have unplanned pregnancies, get into car accidents and even have shorter average lifespans. On the other, many are also more creative, entrepreneurial and intuitive. In fact, some of the worlds highest achieversincluding Simone Biles, Paris Hilton, Michael Jordan, Greta Gerwig, Richard Branson and Jamie Olivercredit ADHD for their success. One person might experience it as a disability, and that’s really critical, because ADHD does cause functional impairment, explains Sarah Greenberg, a licensed psychotherapist for neurodivergence nonprofit Understood.org. ADHD also comes with a certain set of strengths, particularly when the environment is a right fit for that brain. A Mixed Bag of Strengths and Struggles Rather than viewing the condition on a continuum, Greenberg sees neurodiversity as creating jagged profiles, meaning many with neurological differences overperform in some areas and underperform in others. I’ll be interviewing someone who is an incredible leader, incredible manager, very good at relationships, but cant really keep friendships, because theyre very bad at texting back or remembering birthdays, she explains. Thats why Greenberg encourages those who work with, live with, love or have other close ties to someone with ADHD not take certain characteristics of the condition personally. For example, many with ADHD struggle to sense how much time has passedoften referred to as time blindnessmaking lateness a chronic challenge. If Im in a relationship with someone and theyre always 10 minutes late, Im naturally going to take that personally, like they dont respect my time, Greenberg says. That assumed intention is really going to impact the relationship, and we see it all the time in the workplace. Cognitive Wheelchairs and Ramps There are a lot of everyday activities that present obstacles for those with ADHD, and access to support can make a real difference. Take someone who is unable to walk: If they have access to a wheelchair and a ramp, they can access the building, so they’re less disabled in that experience, explains Megan Anna Neff, an author, clinical psychologist and founder of Neurodivergent Insights, an online neurodiversity education and resource platform. How disabled we are happens at the intersection between our impairment and our environment. Most schools and most workplaces are not built for ADHD brains, so that is why it’s a disability. Neff explains that the medical model of disability tends to be binaryyou either have a disability, or you dontwhile the social model takes into account environmental factors. A lot of older strategies are about trying to make the ADHD brain less ADHD, she says. [The social model] is more about: How do we understand the ADHD brain so we can actually work with it? Neff believes ADHD should be classified as a disability so that those who need the support, resources and legal prtections can continue to access them. However, its also important to acknowledge that many with ADHD do not consider themselves disabled, and shouldnt be labelled as such. When we have structures and environments where they can support that divergent thinkingwhen we can channel our interest into our career or creativity or out of the box thinkingthere absolutely are powerful things that can come of that, she says. Having control over her work environment has allowed Neff to thrive as a medical professional with ADHD and autism. Greenberg of Understood.org says she joined the organization as a psychotherapist with ADHD to study learning differences and apply those strategies to organizations of all shapes and sizes. Dale Archer jokes he was only able to make it through medical school by accepting that he did his best work by procrastinating until a creeping deadline triggered his hyperfocus as a crisis response. Like them, I too struggled in traditional academic and workplace settings, but have gone on to have a successful career as a freelance journalist and author not despite my ADHDbut because of it. As our collective understanding of neurodiversity expands, those with ADHD are finding ways to better leverage many natural strengths and overcome our natural challenges.
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