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Wendys is moving ahead with its plans to close hundreds of restaurants, amounting to between 5 and 6% of its total stores in the U.S., according to its fourth quarter earnings report. The report, published on February 13, showed that Wendys business in the U.S. is currently lagging behind its international efforts. Total same-store sales fell 10.1% over the quarter, driven by performance in the U.S., where same-stores sales were down 11.3% compared to 2% at international locations. Overall, global systemwide sales were $3.4 billion, a decrease of 8.3% from the previous quarter. According to Wendys interim CEO Ken Cook, one way the company is addressing this trend is through ongoing system optimization, which includes the closure of consistently underperforming restaurants to allow franchisee partners to focus on more profitable locations. Shares in Wendys Co. (Nasdaq: WEN) jumped about 5% in early Friday trading, but the companys stock prices overall are nearing lows that havent been seen since 2013. Wendy’s closure updates Wendys first announced plans to shutter several hundred U.S. stores in November 2025. At the time, Cook told investors that some current restaurants do not elevate the brand and are a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective. Based on todays update, some of those closures have already taken place: Cook shared that 28 restaurants closed during the fourth quarter of 2025. In total, he added, the company expects to close 5% to 6% of its total U.S. restaurants, with all remaining closures slated for the first half of 2026. Given that Wendys operated about 6,000 U.S. before any of the closures, that means that it plans to shutter between 300 and 360 locations. Cook said that the closures were decided in partnership with franchisees, who were allowed to flag the restaurants they were interested in to the company. We established a disciplined process with our franchisees to approach this restaurant-by-restaurant, working with them to make the best decisions that strengthen the system in the long term, Cook said, adding, Obviously, it takes time to work with landlords and achieve what will be a win-win for both the franchisees and the Wendy’s company for those sites that we’re in, so that’ll take a little bit longer to see the rental income impact versus the closures. Wendys did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for more information on the specific numbers and locations of the closures.
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E-Commerce
A quarter of those under 30 say theyve used AI for companionship, according to Associated Press-NORC polling. The one thing missing? Somewhere to take your AI Valentine on a date. Ahead of Valentines Day, EVA AI decided to solve that problem. The appwhere users can text or, more recently, video chat with AI datesorganized a pop-up social experiment at Same Same Wine Bar in Manhattan this week. Over February 11 and 12, the dimly lit space was filled with patrons seated at tables for one, their AI companions propped up on phone stands. Attendees could bring their own existing AI partners or speed date from a selection of 100 characters. This is another step in the companys long-term strategy to push the boundaries of interaction with AI and make AI relationships a new normal, EVA AI said in a press invite to the event, Wired reports. The platform connects users with a virtual partner who listens, supports all your desires and is always in touch with you, its website reads. It promises that you can build relationships and intimacy privately on your terms. [Photo: EVA AI] While this may sound like the future the sci-fi movie Her was warning about back in 2013, organizers say the goal is not to replace human relationships. Instead, they aim to normalize AI companionship for those already interested in it, or curious about trying it. Surveys suggest younger adults are increasingly open to the idea. A nationally representative survey of 1,060 teens ages 13 to 17 found that 72% have used AI companions at least once, and more than half qualify as regular users in 2025. Of those surveyed, 13% say they use them daily. More broadly, people are turning to AI platforms for romantic connection. Indiana Universitys Kinsey Institute, a leading sex research center, found that 16 percent of participants were using AI as a romantic partner in its Singles in America survey published last year. That shift comes as singles grow increasingly disillusioned with dating other humans. Amid an era of swipe fatigue and dating app burnout, AI is playing a growing role in peoples dating lives. Just over a quarter of singles already use AI wingmen to enhance their dating prospectsup 333% from 2024, according to a recent study. Not everyone would feel comfortable sitting across from an AI companion in a crowded bar, surrounded by human couples. But the experiment underscores how quickly AI is seeping into everyday life. If youre single this Valentines Day, theres always Chad the AI chatbot waiting for the chance to sweep you off your feet.
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E-Commerce
Could a film industry entirely crafted from AI ever exist? Social media is abuzz with movie scenes made with Seedance 2.0, the latest tech in AI video generation, including everything from a fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise to an alternate ending for The Lord of the Rings. The tech’s proponents predict AI is the future of moviesbut an actual brain behind Hollywood hits, Ben Affleck, is trending for his counterargument: AI may be a powerful tool, but its nothing without human creativity. Affleck recently shared his take on AI-generated writing in an appearance on a podcast. As an Oscar-winning screenwriter himself for Good Will Hunting (not to mention an acclaimed actor, director, and producer), Affleck knows a thing or two about the movie business, and he summed up AI-generated creative writing in one word: shitty.” By its nature, it goes to the mean, to the average,” he said on a January episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “And its not reliable. I mean, I cant even stand to see what it writes.” I actually dont think its very likely that its going to be able to write anything meaningful or, and in particular, that its going to be making movies from whole cloth, Affleck said. He predicted instead that for filmmaking, AI is gonna be a tool, just like visual effects. As a guy who works in tech, is building with AI, and writes a weekly newsletter on the topic, I can't explain as well as Ben Affleck.How is that possible? pic.twitter.com/Gj6dNwaDgj— Katyayani Shukla (@aibytekat) February 12, 2026 But if Affleck is right, then why are artists of all kinds being fed the narrative that AI will be stealing their jobs? Fearmongering from the AI industry is to blame, he claims. Theres a lot more fear, because we have this sense, this existential dread: Its gonna wipe everything out! Affleck explained on the podcast. “But that actually runs counter, in my view, to what history seems to show, which is, A, adoption is slow. Its incremental.” I think a lot of that rhetoric comes from people who are trying to justify valuations around companies, where they go, Were gonna change everything! In two years, theres gonna be no more work!” he continued. “Well, the reason theyre saying that is because they need to ascribe a valuation for investment that can warrant the cap expend theyre gonna make on these data centers. (Affleck’s comments come as Big Tech spending on AI data centers has swelled in the last year.) Afflecks take went viral again this week, thanks to a post on X, from a self-described “guy who works in tech” who is “building with AI and writes a weekly newsletter on the topic”which joked that Affleck could explain AIs applications better than industry experts. Affleck concluded that in filmmaking, LLMs will likely “be good at filling in all the places that are expensive and burdensome,” but that “its always gonna rely fundamentally on the human artistic aspects of it.” Now, some on social media are pointing out that in a sense, Afflecks point proves itself: The human touch of a creative writer led to clear, digestible communication. Funny how that works.
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E-Commerce
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