Why Walmart, Meta, Anthropic, Adidas, and other companies are moving faster than ever

In my previous Editor’s Note, which kicked off our special Summer issue on the autonomous future, I focused on the vertigo-inducing pace of change in the AI era, an unprecedented acceleration that was overwhelming even the most adaptable executives in tech. There was a real sense—illuminated by the CEO survey we published—that leaders were off balance and on the ropes, struggling to keep their footing. Three months is a long time these days. While that theme of acceleration continues this fall, the mood in the C-suite seems to be shifting. Reading the stories in this issue, I was struck by the sense of emerging confidence, even swagger, among the leaders and companies we feature. The prime example is our cover story on Walmart and its guitar-playing CEO, John Furner, who stepped into the top job in February after spending more than 30 years at the company. Senior writer Elizabeth Segran, who has been covering Walmart and its competitors for years, reveals how Furner is rapidly deploying AI at scale—iterating on its Sparky shopping agent, encouraging employees to automate parts of their own jobs with AI tools—to transform customers’ shopping experiences and seriously challenge Amaz…