LSN : Daily Signals : Stat: Nearly a third of children starting school are struggling with basic analogue skills

Will.i.am launches Trinity EV as AI-first solution for urban mobility

Trinity

US – Musician and entrepreneur Will.i.am has launched Trinity, a single-passenger, three-wheeled electric vehicle (EV) that is designed around an AI agent.

Unveiled as a prototype at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, the self-balancing EV is non-autonomous, but its conversational, agentic AI is built to reduce the mental load of moving through cities. It can send messages, set reminders, find parking, log mileage and dynamically adjust music based on speed. Multiple cameras and sensors give the system situational awareness, enabling context-aware alerts, routing and actions from door to door.

Developed with Nvidia, West Coast Customs and DEKA Research & Development, Trinity is engineered for a 150-mile range, a top speed of 120mph and sub-two-second 0–60mph acceleration. A limited run of 500 units is planned, with first deliveries targeted for August 2027, manufactured in Los Angeles.

Will.i.am is positioning Trinity as the future of mobility – small, smart and sustainable. ‘Ten years from now, I see fewer two‑ton SUVs carrying one person a few miles, and more compact, electric, hyper‑connected vehicles like Trinity: smaller footprint, easier to park, faster to charge and networked with each other and the city,’ he told Dezeen.

For more of the best innovations launched at CES 2026, head to our global events coverage.

Strategic opportunity

As cities densify, there is an opportunity to position micro-mobility as an AI-first service, transforming urban transport into an intelligent, context-aware system that plans and adapts in real time, easing congestion and reducing emissions

Gap creates chief entertainment officer role to drive fashiontainment

Global – Gap Inc has appointed Pam Kaufman as its first-ever chief entertainment officer, a newly created role designed to develop a ‘fashiontainment’ platform spanning music, television, film, sports, gaming, consumer products and cultural collaborations.

The role, a rare example in fashion of an executive focused solely on entertainment and content integration, champions innovative storytelling across Gap’s portfolio and unlocks new ways to engage consumers at the intersection of fashion and entertainment.

‘Fashion is entertainment, and today’s customers aren’t just buying apparel, they’re buying into brands that tell compelling stories and drive cultural conversations,’ says Richard Dickson, president and CEO of Gap Inc. ‘As we reinvigorate Gap Inc’s house of iconic American brands to drive relevance and revenue, we recognise entertainment is a critical link to the consumer – one we can lean on to create fandoms, inspire movements and fuel sustained growth.’

The appointment reflects a broader industry trend of blurring the lines between content and commerce, where streaming, social media and gaming intersect with fashion and retail to create seamless brand experiences across realms. For more, read The Future Laboratory’s Content Commerce report.

Gap Inc, Chief Entertainment Officer, Pam Kaufman, Global

Strategic opportunity

Organisations should proactively redefine C‑suite capabilities to ensure leadership roles are aligned with evolving consumer, media and technology ecosystems. See our strategic playbook in the Five Future Job Roles for the C-Suite report.

Stat: Nearly a third of children starting school are struggling with basic analogue skills

Photography by Anastasia Shuraeva, Global

UK – Nearly a third of children starting reception in England and Wales are struggling with basic analogue skills, revealing a widening gap between home environments and classroom readiness. An annual survey of 1,000 primary school staff by early years charity Kindred Squared found that 28% of children could not use books correctly, with some attempting to swipe or tap pages like a smartphone.

Teachers estimate that 37% of children are starting reception without being school-ready, up from 33% in 2024. More than half of staff cited excessive screen time among children and parents as a key contributing factor.

The impact on schools is material. Teachers report losing 2.4 hours of teaching time per day supporting basic life skills, including 1.4 hours spent on toileting alone. While 68.3% of children met development benchmarks in 2024/2025, 94% of parents say they want clearer national guidance on school readiness.

These tensions echo insights from our Gen Z Parents report, which explores how families are navigating parenting amid rapid technological acceleration.

Strategic opportunity

Equip parents with tools, content and products that support school readiness, from tactile play to analogue learning, helping families counter screen-first habits and rebuild everyday life skills at home