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Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class.Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath as the city’s first Muslim mayor.After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani returned to City Hall in a taxi cab around midday Thursday for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, administered the oath for a second time.“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” Mamdani told a cheering crowd.“To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives,” he said.Throngs turned out in the frigid cold for an inauguration viewing party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades. Mamdani wasted little time getting to work after the event.He revoked multiple executive orders issued by the previous administration since Sept. 26, 2024, the date federal authorities announced former Mayor Eric Adams had been indicted on corruption charges, which were later dismissed following intervention by the Trump administration.Then he visited an apartment building in Brooklyn to announce he is revitalizing a city office dedicated to protecting tenants and creating two task forces focused on housing construction. ‘I will govern as a democratic socialist’ Throughout the daytime ceremony, Mamdani and other speakers hit on the theme that carried him to victory in the election: Using government power to lift up the millions of people who struggle with the city’s high cost of living.Mamdani peppered his remarks with references to those New Yorkers, citing workers in steel-toed boots, halal cart vendors “whose knees ache from working all day” and cooks “wielding a thousand spices.”“I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” Mamdani said. “I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed ‘radical.'”Before administering the oath, Sanders told the crowd that most of the things Mamdani wants to do including raising taxes on the rich aren’t radical at all.“In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It is the right and decent thing to do.”Mamdani was accompanied on stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. Adams was also in attendance, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio.Actor Mandy Patinkin, who recently hosted Mamdani to celebrate Hannukah, sang “Over the Rainbow” with children from an elementary school chorus. The invocation was given by Imam Khalid Latif, the director of the Islamic Center of New York City. Poet Cornelius Eady read an original poem called “Proof.”In addition to being the city’s first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations. Free child care and bus rides At the watch party on Broadway, onlookers stood shoulder to shoulder gazing up at several jumbotrons and singing and dancing to stave off the cold, with some passing out hot cocoa and hand warmers. Many described feeling as though they were witnessing history.Among them was Ariel Segura, a 16-year-old Bronx resident, who had arrived five hours earlier to secure a place near the front of the crowd.“I’m out here fan-girling a politician, it’s kind of crazy,” he said, wiping away tears as Mamdani concluded his speech. “Now it’s time to hold him accountable.”In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, Mamdani ran on a focused platform that included promises of free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.Mamdani insisted in his inaugural address that he will not squander his opportunity to implement those policies.“A moment like this comes rarely. Seldom do we hold such an opportunity to transform and reinvent. Rarer still is it the people themselves whose hands are on the levers of change. And yet we know that too often in our past, moments of great possibility have been promptly surrendered to small imagination and smaller ambition,” he said.But he will also have to face the everyday responsibilities of running America’s largest city: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.In his speech, Mamdani acknowledged the task ahead, saying he knows many will be watching to see whether he can succeed.“They want to know if the left can govern. They want to know if the struggles that afflict them can be solved. They want to know if it is right to hope again,” he said. “So, standing together with the wind of purpose at our backs, we will do something that New Yorkers do better than anyone else: We will set an example for the world.” Quick rise to power Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.Now that he has taken office, Mamdani and his wife will depart their one-bedroom, rent stabilized apartment in the outer-borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.The new mayor inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents.In opening remarks to the crowd, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez praised New Yorkers for choosing “courage over fear.”“We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few,” she said. Dealing with Trump During the mayoral race, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to theWhite House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.Several speakers at Thursday’s inauguration criticized the Trump administration’s move to deport more immigrants and expressed hope that Mamdani’s City Hall would be an ally to those the president has targeted.Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community over his criticisms of Israel’s government.Still, Mamdani supporters in Thursday’s crowd expressed optimism he’d be a unifying force.“There are moments where everyone in New York comes together, like when the Mets won the World Series in ’86,” said Mary Hammann, 64, a musician with the Metropolitan Opera. “This feels like that just colder.”Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this story. Anthony Izaguirre, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Every week, another executive asks me: Where do we even start with AI? As we enter 2026, this question drives explosive demand for AI upskilling platforms and AI-powered learning solutions. Yet most enterprise AI training programs fail because they lack a systematic framework that moves the organization from confused to fluent to truly differentiated. Think of it as Maslow’s hierarchy, but for AI capability development. And 2026 is the year to climb that hierarchy. An effective AI upskilling platform must address five levels of organizational capability: foundational literacy, company-specific application, durable skills development, breakthrough innovation, and co-intelligence integration. THE FOUNDATION: BUILD YOUR BASE CAMP Just as you can’t achieve self-actualization without food and shelter, you can’t build an AI advantage without foundational literacy. Yet most organizations skip this step, rushing to deploy tools before their people understand what they’re actually working with. The three non-negotiables at the base: 1. Understand what AI actually is. Not the marketing promises, but the reality. When your teams understand the underlying mechanics, they make better decisions about when and how to apply these tools. The goal isn’t turning everyone into data scientists. It’s eliminating the dangerous combination of over-confidence and ignorance. 2. Safety and ethics literacy. Fear of “doing it wrong” stops more AI adoption than any other factor. People need clear guardrails: What data can we use? When must we disclose AI assistance? Without this clarity, your talented people will simply avoid AI entirely. 3. Core application skills. Everyone in your organization should understand how to effectively communicate with AI systems. In 2026, this isn’t optional AI literacy anymoreit’s as fundamental as email proficiency was in 2005. THE CRITICAL MIDDLE: YOUR COMPANY’S POINT OF VIEW Here’s where good companies separate from mediocre ones. The best organizationsShopify, Zapier, Duolingodon’t just teach generic AI skills. They build a distinctive point of view on how AI should work in their specific context. This means answering hard questions: What should AI do here? What should it never do? How does AI use align with our values and competitive positioning? Your “company POVAI sandbox” becomes the space where teams safely experiment within defined boundaries. It’s structured freedomclear enough to prevent dangerous mistakes, open enough to enable innovation. Then comes personalization. Generic training fails because a software engineer’s relationship with AI looks nothing like a customer service representative’s. Breaking down use cases by team, role, and workflow transforms abstract concepts into concrete daily practice. This is where enterprise AI upskilling platforms differentiate themselves, by enabling personalized AI training that adapts to each team’s workflow context. Research shows that personalizing training by role achieves much higher adoption than generic training programs. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN AI UPSKILLING PLATFORM Organizations succeeding with AI transformation share common infrastructure: Cohort-based learning for peer accountability and shared discovery Workflow integration that brings training into daily work contexts Role-specific pathways rather than generic content Safe experimentation environments (AI sandboxes) Progress tracking that measures fluency, not just completion The right AI-powered learning platform doesn’t just deliver contentit builds organizational AI capability systematically across the hierarchy. THE TRANSFORMATION ZONE: DURABLE SKILLS Here’s the insight that escapes most organizations entering 2026: Crossing from competent to breakthrough doesn’t require more AI skills. It requires human skills that AI amplifies. Critical thinking. Curiosity. Entrepreneurial agency. These durable AI skills separate organizations that use AI to do the same things faster from those that reimagine what’s possible. Leading corporate AI training platforms focus on developing these capabilities through experiential learning and peer collaboration, not just content consumption. This tier splits into two paths: Scale and efficiency growth: AI’s ability to generate and personalize at near-zero marginal cost fundamentally changes business economics. Smart companies systematically examine every workflow, asking: Where does AI change our cost structure? Human-first breakthrough: The harder path, with far higher returns. This requires asking: How can AI make our company more human? How do we free people from tedious work to do more creative, caring, human work? How do we use AI to create experiences that are more personalized and genuinely helpful than humans alone could deliver? Most organizations stop at efficiency. The winners push through to augmentation and transformation. THE SUMMIT: CO-INTELLIGENCE At the peak sits a different relationship with AI entirelyone that forward-thinking organizations are achieving in 2026. Not tool and user, but genuine co-intelligencewhere AI seamlessly integrates into workflows, giving your people capabilities they never had before. This is where empowered, curious, AI-native talent emerges. These individuals don’t think about “using AI.” They think through problems with AI as a natural extension of their cognitive toolkit. Organizations at this level aren’t just AI-fluent. They’re AI-native in their decision making, customer experience, and innovation process. YOUR 2026 AI TRANSFORMATION ROADMAP Whether you’re evaluating AI upskilling platforms or building internal corporate AI training programs, this hierarchy provides your 2026 roadmap. The organizations winning with AI aren’t those with the most toolsthey’re those with the most systematic approach to workforce AI capability development. The beauty of this hierarchy is its clarity: If you’re at zero: Start with foundations. Build understanding, safety literacy, and basic skills across your organization. If you’re past foundations: Develop your company POV. Create your sandbox. Personalize by role and workflow. If you’re operationally fluent: Identify your catalysts. Build their durable skills. Set them loose on breakthrough opportunities. If you’re pushing toward co-intelligence: You’re writing the next chapter. The path isn’t easy. But it is clear. And in 2026, as AI capabilities accelerate and organizations remain paralyzed at the base, simply moving systematically up this hierarchy creates a genuine competitive advantage. The question isn’t whether your organization will become AI-fluent. It’s whether you’ll get there in 2026 before your competition doesand whether you’ll stop at efficiency or push through to transformation. Start climbing. Candice Faktor is co-CEO of Disco.
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E-Commerce
Six years ago, the commercial production process for Fortune 500 companies, tech innovators, and global giants meant six-figure budgets, and months of research, scripting, and voice actor castings. Every campaign was a marathon of design thinking and strategic storytelling. Today, however, with the help of AI tools, those very steps can unfold in a fraction of the time, and a quarter of the cost. For marketing and communications leaders, the landscape has drastically shifted overnight. The most innovative brand leaders have always thrived on speed. What allowed them to exist beyond the curve was their ability to stay ahead of the story, and see around corners before anyone else could. This has always been important, but the velocity at which were witnessing ideas go from ideation to execution is differentand alarming. Every week seems to introduce a new AI tool that promises to do things smarter, faster, and better for half the price. The constant pressure to adopt or be left behind is palpable. In fact, according to Marketing Weeks 2025 Language of Effectiveness survey, 57.5% of marketers currently use AI to generate campaign content and creative ideas. Yet, 85% of those surveyed by Adweek say they feel pressure to keep up with the latest tools. The question that keeps arising for many leaders isnt whats next, but instead, at what cost? ETHICAL INTELLIGENCE: A BRAND DIFFERENTIATOR Debates about AI are often argued in extremes, either as magic wands or existential threats. Whats missing from that conversation is the middle ground. A place where brand leaders can lean into true stewardship, and where human values and intuition can meet machine precision. Its the space where empathy meets foresight. The future of influence wont be determined by who adopts the next big tool first, but by who uses it responsibly. Ethical intelligence is the muscle every leader needs to strengthen to discern which AI tools to trust, and how best to use them. Because, when you rely on a chatbot or content platform, youre not just trusting its outputs, you are trusting its creators ethics, awareness, and intentions. Leadership in this new world of storytelling understands the cost, and therefore asks the harder questions: Who does this tool serve? And who could it harm? To build ethical intelligence in storytelling and content creation, brand leaders should anchor their choices by asking three questions: 1. Empathy: Have we considered how technology impacts the communities it touches? Large language models still struggle to detect the cultural nuances that build audience trust. This often shows up in subtle ways, like failing to capitalize Black and Brown when referring to ethnic communities, a detail that carries deep significance. At my agency, for example, we refrain from using chief for executive roles or pipeline to describe processes, out of respect for Indigenous communities. Language evolves daily, and the nuance of storytelling cant be replaced by technology. The more we automate narratives, the greater the risk of eroding the human nuance that builds trust for audiences and consumers. Instead, we should look to culturally-attuned tools that are created or informed by the audiences you speak to, such as Aisha, an AI-powered guide informed by the Black experience. 2. Transparency: Are we being clear about how and why AI is shaping our stories? Consider recent headlines about Sora, OpenAIs AI app and video generator that puts deepfake capabilities into users hands. A product like this tells us that authenticity and source are no longer a barrier or concern. Ive witnessed these risks firsthand when my son created an AI-produced video of me getting my driver’s license (a milestone that never actually happened). Curious, I posted on my Instagram close friends list to see if anyone could spot the inauthenticity. No one did. Instead, my DMs were filled with congratulatory messages. While this example can be considered harmless, the broader consequences can be far more serious. In the wrong or ill-informed hands, AI-generated content can perpetuate inequity and racial stereotypes if left unchecked. Take the case of Liv, an AI-powered digital influencer. Marketed as a breakthrough in representation, Liv was created by an all-white male development team to personify a Black, queer woman. Lacking authentic oversight, the bot inevitably fell into harmful caricatures reminiscent of the Mammy stereotype from early American media. As scholar and author, Ruha Benjamin, observed in her book Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, Technology is not creating the problems. It is reflecting, amplifying, and often hiding preexisting forms of inequality and hierarchy. Liv became a case study in the urgent need for accountability and diverse perspectives in the development and deployment of AI-driven narratives. 3. Equity: Are we creating in ways that protect human dignity over data dominance? Its worth asking what this constant reliance on technology is doing to our minds. People are doing so much cognitive offloading of their thinking that its reducing their critical thinking skills in ways that dont bounce back, notes X. Eyeé, AI expert and CEO of the consultancy Malo Santo. As AI-generated content becomes more advanced, many leaders are using it to expedite proposals, campaigns, and creative productions. When it comes to data, the direction has been about volume. Yet some organizations are taking an opposing stance by embedding clauses into their contracts to restrict AI use. Not because they reject efficiency, but because they are signaling a pillar of their values that speed should never come at the expense of authenticity. In the future, transparency will be at the forefront of the most innovative companies. Where AI already plays a role in your workflows, be upfront about it with your team, clients, stakeholders, and audience. The next generation of brand leadership will be shaped by those who prioritize ethics and integrity in every decision about the way AI is used, and set a new standard for responsible innovation. Rakia Reynolds is a partner at Actum and founder/executive officer at Ski Blue Media,
Category:
E-Commerce
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