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Seize control as tech sector layoffs reshape talent management roadmaps

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Seize control as tech sector layoffs reshape talent management roadmaps

A POST-PANDEMIC RIGHTSIZING As we shared last year, none of this comes as a surprise. Much of the current layoff trend is less dire than it might seem. Rather than clouds gathering on the horizon, it is more akin to a structural realignment as the economy slowly emerges from the pandemic. As COVID first took hold in March 2020, many tech companies found themselves slammed by spiking demand for services from suddenly homebound customers. Amazon, for example, had to hire hundreds of thousands of new people to handle deliveries, and to staff their warehouses to manage the crush...

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Meta to end news in Canada after Online News Act becomes law

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Meta to end news in Canada after Online News Act becomes law

AN HISTORIC SHIFT – AND ITS CONSEQUENCES It’s no secret that traditional media outlets have struggled in recent years as tech firms – largely web and social media giants like Google and Meta – have taken over the advertising market. Consumer habits have moved online, and revenues that once flowed exclusively to traditional newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations have shifted to digital platforms. Along the way, tech platforms have been indexing, linking to, and cross-posting news content, then selling ads against the resulting traffic. Media platforms pay to create the...

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Artificial Intelligence glossary: the top 15 definitions you need to know

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Artificial Intelligence glossary: the top 15 definitions you need to know

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DEFINITION Algorithm “An algorithm is a procedure used for solving a problem or performing a computation. Algorithms act as an exact list of instructions that conduct specified actions step by step in either hardware- or software-based routines.” Source: TechTarget Artificial Intelligence (AI) “At its simplest form, artificial intelligence is a field, which combines computer science and robust datasets, to enable problem-solving. It also encompasses sub-fields of machine learning and deep learning, which are frequently mentioned in conjunction...

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Apple Vision Pro won’t break sales records – but it will still change computing

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Apple Vision Pro won’t break sales records – but it will still change computing

THINKING – AND ACTING – BEYOND IPHONE Let’s be clear: Apple needs to wean itself off of its iPhone habit. Last year, 52% of Apple’s revenue of $394.3 billion USD came from iPhone sales. While this is down from previous years – as the company has successfully launched the Apple Watch, AirPods, and its growing ecosystem of services, among others – it still leaves the company vulnerable to slowing growth in smartphone-related revenues. And make no mistake: that growth is already headed south. IDC recently revised its global handset sales projections for...

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Developers are already using ChatGPT to write code and save time. Should you?

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Developers are already using ChatGPT to write code and save time. Should you?

JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF… In the months since ChatGPT was released to the public, millions of users worldwide have rolled up their sleeves to see what it can do. In addition to writing articles and term papers, it can compose music and poetry, play trivia games, update your resume, generate recipes, tweak your fitness plan, solve math problems, and even plan a birthday party. It can also generate code. Or tweak existing code. Or debug it. Which understandably makes software developers nervous. After all, if anyone can ask a bot to write code, what happens to the...

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DeSantis campaign launch livestream meltdown reaffirms Twitter’s tech decline

Written by Carmi Levy on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on DeSantis campaign launch livestream meltdown reaffirms Twitter’s tech decline

BIG HOPES, DASHED What should have been a 21st century digital political coming out party quickly turned into an unmitigated technological meltdown as Twitter’s servers failed under the load of an estimated 600,000 visitors. The plan was for Elon Musk to introduce the Florida governor in a Twitter Space virtual livestream, then have DeSantis take the stage and announce his bid. But it quickly devolved into a string of glitchy audio as Musk and his team wrestled with technology that refused to cooperate. After about 20 minutes, Twitter pulled the plug on the livestream. When...

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Montana’s TikTok ban is an appalling line in the sand for freedom of speech

Written by STEP Software on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Montana’s TikTok ban is an appalling line in the sand for freedom of speech

DATA PROTECTIONS SPAWN FREEDOM CONCERNS Montana’s law, which takes effect January 1, 2024, is the first outright ban, within a U.S. state, of the popular video sharing app. A violation is defined as, “Each time that a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok,” and is punishable by fines of up to $10,000 per violation per day. It’s a tough solution to a significant problem. No one denies that TikTok represents clear and present danger to individuals, businesses, and governments around the world, particularly in the...

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Collaboration tools hit their stride in the post-COVID age

Written by STEP Software on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Collaboration tools hit their stride in the post-COVID age

A CHAOTIC START The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic were disruptive in ways we’re only just beginning to understand. After the initial wave of lockdowns sent millions of knowledge workers home in March 2020, IT leaders were challenged to keep everyone working no matter where they were, or how they were connected. Collaboration platforms were quickly forced into service as organizations of all sizes and in all sectors struggled to maintain productivity for their suddenly remote workforces. They may have succeeded in keeping the lights on, but the processes used to do so weren’t...

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Geoffrey Hinton’s resignation from Google is AI’s canary in a coal mine

Written by STEP Software on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Geoffrey Hinton’s resignation from Google is AI’s canary in a coal mine

GROWING CONSENSUS Hinton resigned from Google last week, saying AI could pose a more urgent threat to humanity than climate change. He said he wanted to speak out on these risks without worrying about damaging his now-former employer’s reputation. The timing of Hinton’s resignation – so soon after the release of an open letter from the Future of Life Institute, signed by over 1,000 top industry researchers, which called for a 6-month moratorium on testing next-generation large language models – is no coincidence. It signals a growing momentum among scientists and...

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Follow these 4 steps to build a successful post-pandemic roadmap for hybrid work

Written by STEP Software on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Follow these 4 steps to build a successful post-pandemic roadmap for hybrid work

THE CONSEQUENCES OF RTO The pandemic has resulted in a number of permanent changes to work culture, particularly where remote work is concerned. Whereas before the first lockdowns many employers resisted requests to work from home, their attitude quickly changed as the need to keep the lights on remained after workers left the office. But not everyone got the message, and that was particularly apparent as COVID infection rates began to fall and organizations started refining their post-pandemic workforce plans. Many organizations attempted to enforce strict RTO rules, often...

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