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Tips to Prepare Tech Executives for the Coming Era of Generative AI By Techagents

Tech executives looking to get the most value for their organizations from generative AI need to understand the basics of the technology, according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester Research.

“The tech world has grown frustrated with several recent bubbles delivering no real value, but generative AI is already improving content creation, software development and knowledge management across enterprises,” the report said.

“However, publicity breeds bad information and misconceptions,” it continued. “Tech executives need to know some basics such as what generative AI is, how it can be used, what the future holds for generative AI, and what to do with it in the short term.”

To get a handle on what generative AI is, tech executives need to clear up some misconceptions about the technology.

“It sounds simple, but the biggest misconception I encounter over and over again is that generative AI and ChatGPT are not the same thing,” said Rowan Curran, Forrester analyst and one of the report’s authors.

“When executives look at these things, it’s important to look at them as a broader technology that happened to capture our imagination through the chatbot interface,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“ChatGPT is an application wrapped around the GPT-4 or GPT 3.5 Turbo model,” he said. “Tech executives need to look at the model in addition to the application.”

Smart ain’t as smart as it sounds

Generative AI is a big language model, which means it’s capable of pretty much anything related to language, explained Sagi Eliyahu, co-founder and CEO of Tonkian, a Palo Alto, California-based maker. Creator of a process experience platform that includes AI-enabled features.

“Since we as humans communicate and even think in words, LLMs now look like they are capable of anything,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“But even though they appear capable of ‘thinking’, language models are ultimately constrained by the data they have been trained on,” he said. “Like any technology, it’s only as useful as how you leverage it in the existing culture.”

“People think because it sounds smart, it is smart,” said Daniel Castro, director of the Center for Data Innovation, an international think tank studying the intersection of data, technology and public policy.


“People shouldn’t rely on it for facts or as a substitute for human expertise,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Instead, they should use it as a tool to generate ideas and enhance human skills. Generative AI has many important use cases, but it is still a long way from artificial general intelligence.”

Mistaking generative AI for artificial general intelligence — a type of AI that can perform any intellectual task that a human can do — is another misconception, said Anderl Group, president and CEO of an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore. said principal analyst Rob Enderle.

“AGI is still years away in our future,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“What generative AI is, is a big language model that can interact with you,” he said. “It is the beginning of a new user interface based on voice and presence that is by design more human-like in use.”

variety of use cases

The use of “chat” in generative AI like ChatGPT can confuse even executives who are the nimrods of AI. Mark N., president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif. “They confuse generative AI with the simple chatbots commonly used for customer service on websites,” Vena said.

“Those chatbots are not general AI-based, because they get their responses from a limited universe of general questions, which are typically specific to a single topic,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Zen AI curates its own content, in principle, for all content on the internet, so it is much more real-time from a contextual content perspective and can answer a vast array of questions.”

Acknowledging that generative AI is still relatively immature, Forrester said technical executions could capitalize on a variety of use cases, including:

  • increasing developer productivity through text-to-code generation tools;
  • enabling visual designers to iterate and quickly ideate with a text-to-image generator;
  • empowering marketers to create product descriptions that match their preferred brand language and tone; And
  • Enhancing the appearance of officers by allowing synthetic avatars of themselves to appear in video without being recorded themselves.

“One of the most under-appreciated aspects of generative AI is its potential to enable more people to create software than ever before,” said Bob O’Donnell, founder and principal analyst at technology market research and consulting firm Technalysis Research in Foster City. Is.” , California.

“No-code, low-code development tools have been available for years, but you still need to be very technical to get them to work,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“One of the more interesting applications of generative AI is the ability to build code from details,” he continued. “It means that someone with an idea without programming expertise can do a lot of interesting things. It’s going to be incredibly impactful for businesses.

from excitement to magic

Forrester said that while generative AI is exciting today, the applications of tomorrow will seem like magic.

For example, a future analytics platform with embedded generative AI capabilities may allow a user to submit a query such as: “Create an infographic of our last year’s sales revenue, operating expenses, and customer satisfaction and summarize our last three Include an explanation for the trends that do.” Quarterly Report.


“AI now allows end users to make the leap from research to something much more useful — resolution,” Eliyahu said.

“And not just any kind of resolution, but resolution that is differentiated, rapid, personal and context-aware,” he continued. “At the end of the day, this is what people really want and need out of technology – tools for their requests, questions and problems to be understood and resolved immediately.”

Forrester admits that problems have plagued generative AI. Text generators can produce coherent nonsense, as well as have harmful biases baked into their data, it noted. Questions about copyright and intellectual property also remain unanswered.

“Beyond the potential for hallucinations, which we have seen in a lot of these models, AI is not going to be the solution to everything,” said Will Duffield, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington, DC think tank. ,

“There’s always a risk of trying to overfit a new technology to solve problems it’s not yet designed to solve,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Seek General AI vendor input

Still, Forrester encourages tech executives to start experimenting with generative AI over the next six to nine months.

“It’s really important for organizations to start experimenting in this space and start engaging with their vendor partners to understand what they’re doing,” Curran advised. “Most vendors have something on their road map for how they are going to provide generative AI capability.”

He also recommended taking a broader look at the tech execution vendor landscape. “It’s a lot bigger than some of the players who have gotten all the attention over the last several months,” he said.

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Internet

Overzealousness, Not ‘Bossism’, Behind Wave of Tech Layoffs By Techagents

Tech layoffs have been making headlines lately for good reason.

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has laid off 12,000, about 12% of its workforce. Facebook’s parent Meta has cut 11,000 employees from the roll, and IBM has laid off 3,900 employees, which is 1.5% of its global workforce.

All told, 1,045 tech companies will lay off 160,097 employees in 2022, and this year, 344 tech firms have already issued pink slips to 103,767 workers, according to layoffs.fyi.

Worries over an impending recession – despite unemployment hitting a 50-year low of 3.4% – are contributing to the layoff frenzy. So there is a hangover from the pandemic. Yet another factor, according to some job market watchers, is the “Great Reboot.”

According to Business Insider, the Great Reboot is a response to management’s Great Resignation and “quiet leave”. It is taking strategic decisions, including layoffs and cuts in pay and allowances, to regain the strength lost to employees during the pandemic.

Pull-Back, Not Bossism

The Great Reboot has its doubters, though.

“What looks like ‘bossism’ or a perverse crackdown by tech management to help it in its place is likely a pull-back from over-hiring at the start of the pandemic,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow. Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program at The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

“Tech firms got way on their skis as the world piled on digital platforms and now need to pull back,” Muro told TechNewsWorld.


He explained that the tech sector is experiencing a real temporary slump and is being forced to correct past errors on the hiring front. Slow tech sales and high interest rates have put the whistle on unlimited hiring, at least for the time being.

“Companies are facing real market problems — not just trying to keep workers in their place,” Muro said, “though the time for unlimited perks and rising wages is definitely on hold.”

“It’s also important to recognize that Big Tech is a world of its own,” he said. “Much of the rest of the economy is still grappling with tight labor markets where workers are still heavily leveraged.”

conspicuous by its absence

However, as Gartner analyst Wade McDaniel pointed out in a recent blog, some companies have been better at managing the pandemic hangover than others.

“Many companies mentioned in the press say they went as far as spending or investing more in talent during the height of the pandemic,” he wrote. “Others say they are responding to changes in their business models.”

“But one company in particular is missing from the press coverage of the layoffs: Apple,” he continued. “They experienced higher growth during the pandemic but are not currently laying off employees despite lower revenue in Q4.”

McDaniel noted that Apple grew its workforce by about 20% over the past three years, while Microsoft, at 50%, and Alphabet, at 57%, took a more aggressive approach to staffing.

“To be sure, economic and market uncertainty are contributors to these reductions,” he wrote, “but in the end, many companies will retain a larger workforce following layoffs than only 12 months ago.”

case of over enthusiasm

Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a research and public policy organization in Washington, D.C., called the idea that companies would furlough workers to regain control lost during the pandemic “far from over.” ki kauri”.

“What happened with tech companies was they were a little overzealous in their response to the pandemic,” Atkinson told TechNewsWorld.


“A lot of the IT demand during the pandemic was somewhat temporary,” he explained. “When demand did come back, it was less than companies expected.” “He overshot,” he continued. “I don’t buy the idea that they’re taking away workers they could now be using productively to send a message to their workforce.”

“You have workers for a reason,” he said. “If you have more employees than your workload requires, you really only have one option, and that’s to downsize.”

post-pandemic changes

Atkinson, however, sees a post-pandemic shift in the tech sector.

“Are those going to be awful situations going forward with big signing bonuses and big salaries? I doubt it,” he said. “I think we are at the end of that era for the technical labor market.”

However, he acknowledged that there are always some skill sets that are going to be in high demand or in short supply. “You’re always going to pay for that superstar,” he said. “That’s not going to go away. It’s not going to bite the premium it did in the past.”

The most important change in tech will be how it handles cost, he continued.

“Earlier, cost was not a major constraint. Talent was their major constraint,” he said. “Now they are moving into a world where they cannot remain indifferent to cost.”

“They were in a world where they had so much money that they wanted to hire and keep the best recruits,” he continued. “Now they’re going to focus a lot more than before on cost control.”

“It might help them get more new hires right out of college because you’re going to make less for someone with that level of experience than you would be competing for someone at another company with 15 years of experience,” he said. Pay.”

A Safe Haven for Cyber ​​Security Jobs

When an industry starts tightening its belt, there are always marks that seem to buck the trend. With technology, one such niche is cyber security.

“In cyber security, we are seeing relative isolation from the effects of the recession,” said Clearwater, Fla. said Clare Rosso, CEO of (ISC)², an organization in the U.S. that certifies cybersecurity professionals.

“In the area of ​​cyber security, we’re seeing a strong hiring spree,” Rosso told TechNewsWorld.

One example of tech companies reasserting their control over employees is eliminating opportunities for workers to work from home. Not so among cybersecurity professionals, she stressed.


Rosso cited numbers from a study that will be released on Thursday that found 55% of cybersecurity professionals are either working remotely or have the flexibility to choose where they work, compared to 23% before the pandemic. Where do you work?

“What we’ve seen in the field of cyber security is that when employers force people to come back to the office, many people will move to a new job where they don’t have to go to work every day. ,” He said.

Rosso said organizations now have a greater understanding than before the pandemic of the value of cybersecurity professionals.

“Because they’re in such high demand, they’re not people you’re going to get rid of easily,” she said.

Rosso had this message for IT workers laid off from tech companies: “Get on cyber security, especially if you have deep technical skills. We have over three million open jobs for you to choose from.

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Internet

Tech jobs are evaporating. Why is this happening? By Techagents

Almost every big tech company is facing layoffs, even though most are making decent profits. Many people have never seen large layoffs like this, so the honest question is why is this happening? Is it the fault of fashion, fatigue, or something more secular? You can’t dismiss fashion in a monkey-c, monkey-dow way.

Since there’s a fair amount of overlap between many tech companies, especially those that harvest user data and sell it to advertisers, each will want to cut costs to remain competitive in the eyes of its shareholders. So you see companies cutting about 10% of their workforce – about 200,000 techs so far – possibly the least productive people.

But how did they become so relatively unproductive? Two ways: gradually and all at once.

Many tech companies hired extensively during the pandemic, believing that we are moving towards a new way of working. For the most part, those hires received insufficient onboarding and leadership from remote owners, and many didn’t get up to speed. That’s the sequential part.

When we decided the pandemic was over, it happened all at once. OK, not really over, but we were out of patience for being patient – and we needed to get back to the offices. We learned that working from anywhere isn’t all it was supposed to be.

So, although remote work is still a possibility, management would like to see cubicles in the buildings they’re paying big bucks not to occupy. If you haven’t been in office long enough, you’re wasted.

Spreading

However, I see a more secular explanation, and it goes like this. Every great invention has some important parts. The first is the obvious invention piece, and the second is everything else, which scholars call diffusion.

Spreading a new idea in the society is very costly as it requires a lot of people to work. In the nineteenth century, new networks of transport and communication required many people to lay rails, lay wires, build bridges, erect buildings and make ports accessible to large ships Can go It’s a long list and it’s just one example.


The technological revolution of the 20th century also required the creation of a large infrastructure. True, businesses were the ones stringing cables into their buildings, and other businesses were building the computers, routers, server farms, and eventually cloud infrastructure. But that buildout was real, and it took decades.

The most recent change during the pandemic marks another spread, this time, of people back in their home offices. Industry pitched in big time to support the buildout. But then, midway through, everyone said wait a minute. The current great layoffs (to pair with the great resignations) are partly a symptom of never-ending attention from management.

We’re not working with an inventory system, so what’s in last doesn’t necessarily include all the layoffs. Sellers likely look to the people best suited for the job in their layoff discussions, and the result is what we see.

recession

It’s an inexact science that you can see from those nice round numbers that vendors are declaring. Part of the thinking, of course, will be related to what a company sees in the coming months, and many are thinking bearish.

However, there are recessions, and there are recessions.

A classic recession occurs when inventory builds up, and businesses need to clear warehouses at discount prices. At that point, businesses need fewer people to make things than there are to fill warehouses.


But the tech world isn’t looking at a classic recession scenario. Many people make things that are not usually stored; They are not tangible; they’re services, so worry less demand where more productive capacity means turning up the dial

The reason it is secular is that companies need to reduce productive capacity. One way or another, many have concluded that they have built as much infrastructure as is needed, at least for the time being.

looking for rent

Instead of growing rapidly, many people are exploring what it means to grow organically – or at the same rate as the population. For example look at Facebook or its parent Meta.

Facebook is starting to falter; Its strong growth in users is making the most of it while it makes more money. In the US, it may be losing users who are over the age of 25. Its new augmented reality products haven’t caught the imagination of someone named Zuckerberg.

As I noted a few weeks ago, Apple hasn’t introduced much that’s really new in several years. Now it’s going to advertise a move that some economists call rent-seeking in which a business tries to make more money on existing investments (its data) than on new products.

market saturation

Long story short, the secular recession is a huge concern for tech and the economy. No, the technology is not going away; It is now woven into the fabric of our lives. But it has reached a saturation point where it faces severe commoditization and price pressure, and real growth is challenging.

Steel manufacturing was once in the same state as technology is today. In the 19th century, many products were made of steel, including railroads and steamships, but also modern high-rise buildings and the then-new automobiles.


We still use steel, and to a much greater extent than before. But now everyone makes steel. It has been commoditized, and the market is flooded with product, some of it selling for less than the cost of production.

In addition, other products such as aluminum, plastic, and carbon fiber weigh less and are just as strong or better suited for the purpose, so why not use them?

my two bits

I am sure technology is moving in that direction. It will take time, but the latest innovations in AI that write passable prose and draw strange but interesting pictures could speed up the process.

Just as there was life after steel and there will be life after the railroads and all the stuff of the 19th century, there will be life after technology. The important thing is that there are still many jobs in tech, so there is no need to panic. Still, the latest round of layoffs is a cautionary note.

What else can we do with what we know about technology? This is a question that should be on the minds of all of us.

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High-end tech innovation leaves its mark for first responders By Techagents

New technology is improving situational awareness for police officers and other first responders by reducing response times and streamlining data sharing between agencies.

Advances in high technology may be necessary for first responders to keep up with the hiring of police, firefighters and EMTs. Nearly half (44%) of first respondents to the survey said they considered leaving their jobs because of work-related stressors.

noted Matt Polega, co-founder and head of external affairs at Mark43, which has developed a public safety software platform that allows agencies to more efficiently manage, share, collect and analyze information, first responders Becoming is not an easy task.

Solving such problems related to job stress and safety concerns is a common element that has prompted some high-tech companies to focus on the needs of workers patrolling the streets on the home front. Public safety technology is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Often it overlaps. Sometimes, it brings extreme innovation.

Technological Innovation for First Responders

TechNewsWorld recently went behind the scenes presenting an exclusive interview with the founder of Critical Response Group (CRG). That company adapted military concepts to map internal plans to law enforcement’s emergency response strategies.

In this article, we continue to discuss the role of technology in the efforts of software developers and hardware manufacturers to protect and assist agencies that provide public safety. One such company is Mark43, which has produced a range of software solutions that run on desktop and laptop computers as well as squad car-based computer terminals.

Mark43 communication platform enables real-time view on squad car screens

New technology such as the Mark43 communications platform enables real-time visuals on squad car screens, so responding units can be better informed about incident scenes before they arrive, improving their safety and efficiency it happens. (Image credit: Mark43)

The company’s Mark43 lineup of options is entirely cloud-based, which minimizes employee training because the applications run in a variety of web browsers. The result is a much less expensive, and technically easier upgrade path for a successfully high-tech, stress-free transition. The only new cost is the cloud-delivery subscription, which varies.

“Cloud Native is something Mark43 hangs its hat on. This means that our application is built to live in the cloud. Things that power the Cloud Power Mark43,” Polega told TechNewsworld.

storybook trappings

In Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” movie, the hero takes on his new battle suit called Mark 42. This was the forty-second version of the crime-fighting exoskeleton he had built. Polega and his two other co-founders — Scott Crouch (also CEO) and Florian Meyer (also vice president) — named their new company Mark43 in honor of their next-generation crimefighting gear.

The three met and began working together a decade ago, as juniors at Harvard University pursuing either mechanical or electrical engineering degrees. His assignment in a particular class was to work with a client on an engineering project.

Harvard was very interested in developing engineers who were focused not only on why heat exchangers work and how bridges bend. The focus was also on helping them understand that someday they would have to work together with people to solve their problems. They’ve been doing it ever since, Polega quipped.


That third-year class project involved much more than just kinetic operations and the detection of physically breakable structures. The job involved working with the Massachusetts State Police special operations team, which had spent time serving in a military capacity in the Middle East. This prompted the state police team to have a sigh moment. Domestically violent gang members behave like rebels in the Middle East.

Their dilemma was how to bring all-out counter-insurgency tactics from the battlefield to combating domestic gangs and gang violence. Polega & Co. tried to do the same. Actions include easing people into calling the police, cleaning up graffiti, or reducing open-air drug dealing.

“The state police was implementing this new policing model, and our job in this crazy engineering class was to assess whether or not this policing model was effective. Fast forward 10 years later, you find out that the engineering Three juniors with degrees who had no idea about policing or the complex socioeconomics,” Polega recalled.

He learned to do all those non-academic things and used engineering principles to overcome those obstacles. It was a much bigger project than the three aspiring engineers expected.

more than teachable moments

The project set out for three students to see that whatever software they were using was not the kind of witchcraft found on the TV shows NCIS, CSI, and any other that use “stage” technology. Were the choice of cool Hollywood TV shows. His professor gave him a goal – try to create something to help the state police in some way.

All three worked on it for the rest of their junior and senior years. After graduating in 2014, he went to the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department, where he faced a similar challenge. The police officers said: We really don’t know what you guys do, but we have some problems; And they said: We don’t really know what your problems are, but we can show you some of our solutions.

“We’re just starting to really understand all these analytical stuff and all these business intelligence tools. They were cool, and everybody wanted to make them, sell them, and get them into police agencies. But the real problem was the data. It was to collect and capture the information in a way that it could be used online for all the important things that police officers needed to do if that information went to court,” Polega explained.

The Mark43 platform provides first responders with a 3D aerial view on a patrol car video screen display.

The Mark43 platform provides first responders with a 3D aerial view of the patrol car video screen display that shows the target incident location and the status of responding patrol cars in a red diamond outline. (Image credit: Mark43)

His encounters with police departments and other first responder agencies further taught him the scope of performance for the arrest software he created. For example, when dispatched, police officers are required to write reports about anything they find in the field and the type of incident they respond to.

Those reports were to be completed and submitted back to headquarters from computer terminals. Doing this on a daily basis removed officers from the streets where they were no longer protecting and serving.

The burden of constantly generating reports for incidents, accidents, collisions and court records significantly reduced the manpower available to respond to calls for their many assigned shifts.

engineering a new solution

A dynamic trio of engineers solved that problem. Polega, Crouch and Mayer launched the company’s first product, a records management system, in August 2015 after completing their work for the Washington DC Police Department.

This was the precursor to the Mark 43 which he later developed. This older model of records management system handled the collection of on-duty arrest and traffic collision reports. Polega stated that this was a de facto operational system before the Mark 43 was fully designed.

Mark43 In-Vehicle Software

The result of three young engineers’ work with the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department was the development of in-vehicle software that integrates with computers at headquarters. (Image credit: Mark43)

“I hate to call it TurboTax for police reports. But it’s actually a very apt description,” Polega said. “When we left Washington, D.C., that agency’s arrest reporting time improved by 80% and crime reporting time by about 50%.”

Another highly anticipated result was that the department ultimately added 110 police officers back to the force, which equates to 240,000 person-hours back-to-back annually to the agency.

Current Technology, Turbocharged

If you’ve ever seen a modern emergency call center or watched TV police reality shows, you’re familiar with the command center with multiple dispatchers. Each one sits in front of several large screen monitors.

This high-tech concept is somewhat similar to what many large first responder organizations have in their regional dispatch centers. Smaller agencies operate scaled-down versions of that scenario.

Kevin Fry, director of solutions architecture at Mark43, demonstrated an online demonstration, showing patrol officers the power and ease of operation of the Mark43 system brought to their vehicles and into their call centers. Writing reports from dispatchers and accessing updated video data instantly is a significant game changer for first responders.

Mark43 Computer Aided Dispatch

Police dispatchers in a central communications center use a variety of large screen displays to monitor police and emergency response units in real time from miles away. (Image credit: Mark43)

During our Zoom call screen-share, Frye displayed reports, maps of the area, aerial views and more on multiple call center monitors, showing what dispatchers would see at their workstations and the officer’s view in the patrol car. Similar to using an automobile navigational app and multitasking, Fry showed how the Mark43 navigation worked with the Alt-Tab keys and the touch screen to change the screen display.

“I am [using] Modern browsers — Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari. So think about it from an end-user perspective, and not just a technical perspective, as long as you have your typical standard desktop, or even laptop, and you have access, you don’t have to go out and get a computer or No need to buy anything. for the Internet,” Frye told TechNewsWorld.

Other Mark43 Benefits

One of the key assets of this innovative communications platform, noted Frye, is its ability to put the mapping power in the hands of dispatchers. The system is capable of displaying multiple types of data layers. Responders to an emergency can see live views of traffic, accidents, active shooter locations, and even crime scene scenes along the way.

Mark43 Dispatcher Screen

Another display enables dispatchers to be in constant contact with first responders in real time and shepherds updated information quickly wherever it is needed. (Image credit: Mark43)

“This is cutting edge. No one else in the industry is doing this. A lot of public sector agencies rely on Esri for their mapping technology. We built Esri directly into our mapping technology,” Frey said.

Another advantage of Mark43 is its flexibility for information sharing. The system features a reliable workflow that lets officers automate report-writing tasks and enter information while on patrol. Many older products require additional data stitching when officers return to headquarters and attempt to integrate content written on patrol car mobile computers.

Often, data collection needs to change, added Frye, but in-car and in-station entry fields are not always compatible. Those two products won’t work very well together, especially if different vendors maintain them.

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Computing

Standout Tech Products of 2022 By Techagents

Every year I look back at my Product of the Week choices and choose what I feel has made the most significant impact on my life as Product of the Year. There were too many contenders this year that I’ll cover, but I want to lead with why I’m calling out BlackBerry.

If you’ve been reading me for a while, you know that I’m a big fan of companies doing things right. For example:

  • Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program at the start of the pandemic proved incredibly useful for getting governments and schools to function while we were all locked down in our homes;
  • IBM’s focus on AI ethics may save us from building hostile AI;
  • Nvidia’s work to create world-class simulations to address global warming;
  • HP’s leadership in capturing and reusing ocean plastics; And
  • Dell’s aggressive examples of dismantling misogyny have caught my interest in the past.

But I was really struck by what was happening in Ukraine this year and I felt that we were not doing enough to deal with the terrible conditions in that country. BlackBerry showed massive resources for the Ukraine war effort and was able to effectively battle-train its security (Silence) and employee security applications (ethoc) which are now far more capable of keeping us safe.

Since much of 2022 has been about fear and vulnerability, choosing the product or company that does the most to reduce that fear across the country is a great way to persuade others to step up and help. Seems to be the best course of action.

While I usually point to Cisco as the gold standard for helping with that state security level, for 2022, BlackBerry’s extreme effort to help Ukraine stood out to me, so this is my pick for the product. like.

More on Blackberry later. Let’s look at the other contenders first.

laptop

Three laptops have stood out to me this year:

Alienware M17 R5 Gaming Laptop

If I were more of a gamer than I am, the Alienware M17 R5 would be the easy choice to lead the range, especially once I’ve got the proper drivers loaded and battery life down to something reasonable. When I first fired it up, I got two hours, but after a driver fix, that increased to six. The notebook is good looking, and if I were into first-person shooters where performance really shines, it would rank higher.

Alienware M17 R5 Gaming Laptop Angled Left View

Alienware M17 R5 Gaming Laptop | Image credit: Dell

ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 Laptop

The second was the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3. Again, battery life wasn’t great, but using dual screens and just the wow factor of this notebook make it more than ideal for those of us working primarily at home but don’t want to be locked out. Huh. With a desktop computer in the same room all day.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen3 17-inch Laptop

ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 17 Inch Laptop | Image credit: Lenovo

The dual screens on this ThinkBook also allow users to do two different things at the same time, such as participating in a Zoom meeting while being power-leveled or watching a video – it’s not always Do it yourself

HP Elite Folio 2-in-1 Notebook PC

The HP EliteBook Folio came out in 2021, but it’s still my favorite laptop. HP came out with a Dragonfly version this year that was Intel- and not Qualcomm-based, but that cut battery life by almost half. HP removed the leather bottom, making the product less comfortable to carry. So, while I would still rank the Folio first for 2022, the fact is that I think the 2021 version is still better suited to the way I work because, sometimes, companies make changes that affect the quality of the product. Not ideal for

hp elitebook folio

HP EliteBook Folio | Image credits: HP

The Snapdragon version of the product doesn’t perform as well as the Intel version, but for how I work — mostly writing, browsing the web, and watching videos while traveling — battery life, weight, and comfort are king. I’ve gone three days on a trip without needing a power supply for this notebook, which is unusual in a good way. Hence, last year’s HP EliteBook Folio was the best used laptop in 2022.

home tech

I have used ChilliSlip products ever since they first came out with ChilliPad. If there’s one solution that ensures I get a good night’s sleep, it’s the ChilliSleep Dock Pro by SleepMe. This product uses water to heat and cool your bed, just like race car drivers and astronauts use it to cool their suits. Whether it’s a hot or cold night, I’m like Goldilocks in the last bed: Perfect.

Chillisleep Dock Pro Large Bed Cooling System

ChilliSleep Dock Pro Control Unit | Image credits: Sleepme

This year SleepMe released a sleep tracker that I haven’t checked out yet that comes with a subscription so that the heat of the bed adjusts appropriately to optimize things like REM sleep. The only recurring problem is that I can’t take this thing with me when I travel. Hotels seriously need something like this because I am always too hot or cold when I sleep in a hotel. Put this product in the “can’t live without” category.

electric vehicles

I haven’t driven these in competition before, but I do drive a 2019 electric Jaguar I-Pace myself. Just before writing this column, I learned about the most terrifying electric car drag race ever. It was between a Lucid Air Sapphire, Tesla Plaid, and a Bugatti Chiron, which cost around $4 million. Oh, they also raced the Lucid against hot-rodded Ducatis (usually because of their high power-to-weight ratio, motorcycles usually dusting cars in these kinds of races).

So far, when it comes to straight-line drag races, Tesla is a winner against almost anything other than Bugatti. Here’s a plaid beating out a track-only dragster:

The Bugatti isn’t that fast, at least not until the quarter mile (top speed is a very different story, but none of us are driving at 250 mph until we’re driving our $4 million car). Do not want to forfeit for life). Long story short, in the race, the Lucid overtook the Bugatti, which beat the Tesla, gaping it, I mean by car lengths – even though the Bugatti has a lot more power.

The reason that electrics can generate a ton more traction is because traction control works better with electrics than with gas cars – and if you can’t put down the power, it doesn’t matter if you have it. how much is Thus, the Lucid Air Sapphire would be my pick for the best electric car in 2022. Plus, the thought of bashing a Bugatti into the lights with a family car brings a huge grin to my face.

processor

The most powerful CPU remains the AMD Threadripper, and the most powerful GPU is Nvidia’s 4090 RTX card. Put those two in the same system and you’ll make your friends drool and your power meter spin like a top.

AMD took the lead in top-end workstations thanks to Threadripper, and I’ve seen people get boosted by their friends for using Intel processors for the first time this year, which is a huge win for AMD.

On graphics, Nvidia’s 4090 RTX is simply a beast which begs the question: why doesn’t AMD make a GPU like Threadripper to match it? Maybe next year, but while Intel is still there as the standard CPU for business, AMD has surpassed Intel in performance.

I’ll be doing a head-to-head on AMD, Nvidia, and Intel GPUs over the holidays, but when it comes to ultimate performance, AMD on CPUs and Nvidia on GPUs lead the pack in 2022.

smartphones

So far, no one has come up with a phone that I like better than the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. a purple iPhone), more people walk in and ask about my phone by a factor of about eight to one.

The thing is, I’m a reader, and I use my phone to read books when I’m waiting in line, when I’m stuck in traffic, and when I’m waiting at a light. am (not when the car is running).

This phone has become something I never take off because I get bored easily. But if I can crack open a book, the wait time goes by in a flash, and I enjoy the extra attention the phone brings me.

So, for how I use the phone, the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 phone ranks highest. It feels and acts just like a book, compared to other foldable phones I’ve tried — and I must admit that having something more distinctive than your typical smartphone is more important to me.

BlackBerry is the 2022 Tech Company of the Year

blackberry logo

The reason I’m spotlighting BlackBerry, rather than individual products like Cylance and AtHoc, is because it was the company that partnered with several companies to protect the people of Ukraine by deploying thousands of experts to defend Ukraine against the Russian invasion. had stepped in to help in the fight. Its main mission.

The result is that Ukraine is safe, but also that BlackBerry’s products are the only ones in their category that are truly battle-tested. Battle testing is important, as Germany found out recently. Its tanks that were supposed to be invulnerable were anything but – something that would have been problematic if they needed them in battle.

A photo from the BlackBerry Network Operations Center in Waterloo, Canada.

BlackBerry Network Operations Center in Waterloo, Canada | Image credit: Blackberry

There are many hostile states and powerful organizations in the world that seek to harm us, and it is my view that only battle-tested security equipment will be up to the task because only those equipment will be truly tested against the highest threat levels.

We all want to feel secure, but I don’t want a false sense of security, and I want to know how my security works. By helping Ukraine, BlackBerry has ensured that its safety and security products will work in the most hostile of conditions. By doing something incredibly cool, BlackBerry has helped itself and its customers by assuring that its devices are up to the job.

I’d like other tech companies to learn from BlackBerry’s efforts because if ever we needed battle-tested capabilities, it’s now. Thus, BlackBerry is my Product/Company of the Year for 2022. Special credit goes to BlackBerry CEO John Chen, who recognized this critical need for battle-tested security tools and stepped in to provide them with his team.

I hope you all are staying safe and have a happy new year. We’ll be back next week with our predictions for 2023.

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Army Women Use Veteran Tech to Help Build a Better Future By Techagents

Women comprise 56% of the US workforce, but hold only 26% of technology jobs. The percentage of female STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math graduates, is about 19%. According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), this number is continuously decreasing.

Research shows that gender-diverse teams bring in more business and improve creative outcomes when working in diversity-rich environments. With organizations digitizing their operations since the pandemic, there is a greater need for technical qualifications for all employees, regardless of gender.

A significant challenge facing women in the tech industry is the lack of role models. Because of the low representation of women in leadership positions, it is often difficult for them to advance their careers and achieve their goals.

In fact, unfair treatment is a primary reason why women leave their technical jobs at a 45% higher rate than men. Plus, according to the Kapoor Center’s Tech Leavers study, women of color face unfair treatment at even higher rates.

US Army veteran Tiffany Pilgrim, a Barbadian American who founded tech public relations firm Coralini PR, wants to change that imbalanced equation. Pilgrim is also a user experience designer and researcher who is adamant about the importance of women becoming a more disruptive force in the tech sector to help fuel design and innovation.

“We are seeing trends about women in entrepreneurship and technology right now. Entrepreneurship has been booming since the pandemic, and the trend towards women in tech has been very slow,” Pilgrim told TechNewsWorld.

She predicts that women will become a more noticeable disruptor in the tech sector over the next few years.

Diversification opportunities started early

After moving with her parents to New York when she was 16 years old from the Caribbean island where she was born, Pilgrim served as a motor transport operator in the US Army at the age of 18.

When his army service ended, he focused on diversifying his knowledge and skill set. First, as a classically trained actress, she then trained in fine arts and design. Then she perfected her communication talent at a global social media agency based in London.

Pilgrim manages top tier billion-dollar brands such as T-Mobile and DAZN, an international sports streaming platform. Prior to founding Coralini PR, she went into the TV and entertainment business as a producer and communications specialist, working with celebrities and Fortune 500 companies, such as Showtime (CBS) and Paramount (formerly ViacomCBS).

Tiffany Pilgrim Coralini Pr. is the founder and CEO of

US Army veteran Tiffany Pilgrim is the founder and CEO of Coralini PR.

“I began to realize that I wanted to start my own technical PR firm. After all, technology and public relations were my backgrounds,” he said of his long stint working for a marketing agency.

Having accumulated more than 10 years of communication experience, Pilgrim puts together its skill set to help startup companies get to know their products better. She helped them with their marketing and brand image.

As a technology evangelist running her own public relations firm, she works with top leaders and startups to build their brands and social media outreach.

This was one of the main pain points for new companies. She explained that when they launched their products, they did not know how to convey the features and benefits of the product to the consumers.

“My firm merges technology and PR to solve entrepreneurs’ pain points,” she offered.

tying the elephant in the room

Pilgrims dedicates herself to helping other women start their technical careers. They are often approached by women entering the tech sector as a startup or doing a technical job for another company. Pilgrims are generous with their time, promoting their interests and answering their questions.

“I always attend Zoom sessions with another woman who needs to pick my brains about technology,” she said.

Some of that advice is needed to keep women in their tech jobs rather than avoid the partisan treatment they often face. Pilgrims do not hesitate to discuss the gender barriers they faced while starting.

The Pilgrims admit to dealing with a lot of pushback in the military and beyond. For example, her first duty assignment after basic training was at a military base in Colorado, where she was the only female soldier in the motor pool.

“It was a shock to me and the men as well. I had to prove my worth as a woman in a men’s motor pool. It was something I dealt with a lot. It was a challenge when I was there,” He gave advice.

“Yeah, of course, that’s what happens in the tech industry,” she said. “Of course, I’ve faced obstacles. You can’t avoid it when you’re a multicultural woman.”

Addressing the lack of role models

Pilgrim helps tech entrepreneurs make a name for new and emerging technologies. But his career has an additional goal that involves a broader outlook for those new to the technical line of business.

She continues to mentor and encourage women to succeed in their tech careers. To that end, Pilgrim helps fellow veterans enter the tech industry, just as it did.

To do this, she uses organizational skills learned in the military as well as strategies derived from her communication and design mastery. When she returned to New York about 10 years ago, Pilgrim began her career in communication with social media clients.

“I had no formal training in communication. I just fell into it because my first job was previously with an agency in London. I taught myself User Experience Design. I worked for a while in Hollywood with clients and their media image,” she said.

According to Pilgrim, women are creating a good stir right now when it comes to corporate leadership and technology.

“Many of these women are paving the way for those who follow them. These situations are real for many women, I must say, “she observed. “I believe that women are designing a new world right now.”:

Advice for Female Veterinarians Interested in Tech

Over the years, Pilgrim has been actively involved with a non-profit organization, Veterans in Media and Entertainment. Membership totals approximately 5,000 veterans across the US focused on advancing media and entertainment. According to Pilgrim, he wants to pursue a career in media or be on a film set.

“I actually had a lot of mentors, and I still give advice to veterans who want to get into the media,” she said. I feel now that I am being heard, this is a great platform to attract women who need mentorship.”

Pilgrim recommends that any female veteran interested in starting a tech career needs to do some research about what types of jobs would be a good fit. Also, they need to assess their skill set. What are they able to do or learn? If that person can’t learn from self-study, go to an immersive tech boot camp.

Other options include taking out a loan, obtaining a payment plan or education grant, or investigating technical training programs that offer veteran discounts.

The career training path that Pilgrim followed was to obtain technical certifications for self-study programs. For example, he is certified by Adobe in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. This qualified him to become a visual design specialist after completing all three programs and learning to use software tools.

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Compelling tech products to put on your holiday shopping radar By Techagents

One of the pleasures of my job is to be exposed to many new and disruptive products. The Thanksgiving and December holidays are quickly approaching, so it’s that time of year when I’m fortunate enough to evaluate new tech products that deserve attention. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Keep in mind that my comments are not intended as an in-depth review, but as preliminary impressions to prompt you to investigate and research further.

let’s get started.

HP Envy 34 All-in-One Desktop (2022)

Even though the all-in-one (AIO) PC market has simulated the overall contraction in the desktop PC market over the past few years, the pandemic-induced work-from-home phenomenon has proven to be a repeat for these convenient, mostly cable-free PC. Note, however, that AIOs typically offer minimal internal upgrade capability, which can be a problem for some power users who don’t want those restrictions.

HP is one of the few PC makers that continuously launches new AIO designs every year. The latest update to the HP Envy 34, currently with a starting price of $1,700, is one of the most beautifully designed models by the Palo Alto-based manufacturer.

HP Envy 34 All-in-One Desktop

HP Envy 34 All-in-One Desktop | image credit: HP

Squarely positioned to appeal to creative professionals, it also has broad utility for consumers and mainstream SMB users. The HP Envy 34 has an excellent non-glare 5K 34″ display, a mobile HD webcam with an integrated shutter for privacy protection, and great performance.

Of course, comparably priced legacy desktops can deliver more power, especially in the discrete GPU area. But given its extensive feature set, the HP Envy 34 offers excellent value for my money.

It’s the perfect PC for executive offices, home offices, and dorm rooms because of its cable-free nature – it only requires a power cord as the keyboard and mouse connect via Bluetooth.

On the back of the unit are the typical classifications of Unified Interfaces:

  • 4 USB-A Ports
  • 2 thunderbolt 4 port
  • Audio – Headphone/Microphone Combo
  • hdmi out
  • Gigabit Ethernet

Cable management is enhanced with a magnetic clip that helps keep cords organized and within reach, a great touch.

Creative professionals will be drawn to the massive 34″ display that’s paired with 5K resolution in a 21:9 aspect ratio, which puts the Envy 34 Display on par with Apple’s vaunted 27″ iMac. I found the 500 nits to be exceptionally bright on this display.

5K resolution (5120 x 2160) is common to all models of the HP Envy 34, though more expensive configurations include higher-end, game-friendly Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 discrete graphics.

Another important feature that users should love is that the stand easily accommodates two more USB-A ports, a media memory card reader, and a third USB-C port.

HP ENVY All-in-One 34-c0340t Ports Rear View

External I/O Ports on the HP Envy 34-c0340t All-in-One Desktop | image credit: HP

When configured with a high-end Intel i9-1100 processor, Nvidia RTX 3080 discrete graphics, 32GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD, the price can quickly climb to $3,430. But properly configured models are available for less than $2,000, and it’s the ideal PC for users working from home, design-sensitive corporate execs, and professional content creators.

If you’re considering an AIO PC, you can’t go wrong with the HP Envy 34.

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Notebook

Thin and light laptops have dominated the PC landscape ever since Steve Jobs dramatically pulled the original MacBook Air out of an envelope at an Apple launch event in January 2008. With its release, Apple effectively declared to the rest of the industry, “This is how a laptop should be designed.”

However, more than 14 years have passed, and the PC industry has not stood still. There are several excellent alternatives to the MacBook Air, most notably the recently announced Dell XPS 13 Plus, which allows the entire palm rest to be used as a touchpad.

While no product in this category has achieved perfection status, the new HP Elite Dragonfly G3 comes close. It’s an absolute pleasure to use with its lightweight, surprisingly thin, and elegant form factor design, featuring great performance, excellent battery life, and a superior 3:2 display that boosts productivity.

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Notebook

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Notebook | image credit: HP

Perhaps most importantly, the Elite Dragonfly G3 offers the best typing experience of any thin and light laptop I’ve come across.

Like previous Dragonfly models, this new one is made of magnesium and has been refreshed with a mix of magnesium and aluminum, which contributes to the curved “pillow corners” design on the display lid and outer base images.

Weighing in at just 2.2 pounds, this laptop has a highly polished executive look with a display that can be opened with one hand. It is available in 2 non-controversial colors: Slate Blue and Natural Silver.

Of course, HP offers the Elite Dragonfly G3 with a range of panel options, ranging from a multi-touch Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) WLED panel to a single 32K (3000 x 2000) OLED panel that delivers better crispness .

Internally, HP chose to use Intel’s more efficient 15-watt Core i5 1245U, Core i7 1255U, or Core i7 1256U, instead of Intel’s new 12th Gen Intel Core P Series, which uses more watts. It’s a wise choice as it extends the Elite Dragonfly’s battery life, which is impressively north of 14 hours.

hp elite dragonfly g3 port

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Right-Side Ports | image credit: HP

In terms of security, the Elite Dragonfly also supports Windows Hello facial and fingerprint recognition. I find the latter more convenient.

The icing on the cake is the Elite Dragonfly G3’s story of sustainability: The laptop’s outer carcass uses at least 90% recycled magnesium, which will warm the hearts of individuals with environmental concerns.

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Notebook Front View

HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Front View | image credit: HP

The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 is one of the most impressive laptops ever to cross my radar screen. Its “elite” design, strong battery life, rich feature set, and excellent connectivity features (Wi-Fi 6E and optional 4G LTE or 5G cellular support) will cost you dearly. A fully configured model will run over $3,000. Price aside, you’ll undoubtedly fall in love with the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 – if you can afford it.

Motorola Q14 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System (AXE5400)

Many readers of my technology column know that I’m a big fan of the overall Wi-Fi router trend, which has embraced mesh technology over the past several years.

These routers alone can solve one of home users’ biggest connectivity problems: reliably getting strong Wi-Fi coverage throughout the living space.

Mesh routers are game-changing in a typical home with many active uses, e.g., gaming, streaming, videoconferencing, productivity, etc.

While most consumers still use older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) routers, several companies are offering faster mesh routing iterations based on Wi-Fi 6 or (more recently) Wi-Fi 6e.

Motorola has joined the mesh router party with its offering Q14 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi System.

Motorola is catching up with more established players like Linksys, Netgear, and Asus. Despite its late arrival to market, there’s a lot to like about the new Q14.

Motorola Q14 front and rear

Motorola Q14-Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Router | image credit: motorola

The Q14 enables 6 GHz wireless bands for dramatically increased speeds and up to 160 wireless channels that can be used simultaneously. This feature translates to a recognizable increase in the number of Wi-Fi devices used simultaneously in your home without compromising on overall performance.

Mesh routers usually consist of the router itself and one or two “satellite” nodes that can extend coverage to 5,000 square feet, which is especially helpful for those with larger properties and Wi-Fi for devices outside the home. – Requires Fi connectivity, such as security cameras and sensor based alarms.

Priced at $649 (though you can currently buy it on Amazon for $500), the Q14 offering sent to me included a router and two nodes, so it provided maximum Wi-Fi connectivity in my home.

Wrapped in a premium mesh fabric, routers and satellites feature a cutting-edge modern design to complement any room. You won’t be embarrassed to have them sit on a bookshelf, desk or cabinet.

Motorola Q14-Wi-Fi 6E Mesh Router

The Motorola Q14 Wi-Fi 6E Mesh System can be proudly displayed as a design element. , image credit: motorola

What sets the Q14 apart from other mesh routers I’ve used isn’t just its overall excellent performance. Router setup is enabled by one of the most intuitive smartphone apps I’ve used, and it offers the convenience of parental controls and cybersecurity at no extra cost. The app designed by Minim allowed me to set up the Q14 in less than 20 minutes without any hiccups.

Unlike many other companies that have taken a similar app-based approach to product setup, the Moto Sync app is highly visual and intuitive. It should be noted that Minim holds an exclusive global license to design and manufacture consumer networking products under the Motorola brand. Plus, the Q14 is an independent Wi-Fi network and can only mesh with other Q14 routers. It is not a universal expander.

Moto Sync App for Motorola Q14 Mesh Wi-Fi 6E Router

The Moto Sync app that powers the Motorola Q14 Mesh Wi-Fi 6E router. image credit: motorola

There are many appreciable mesh routers on the market, but the Q14 stands apart from a price standpoint. At less than $500 for the Q14-02, which covers 3,500 square feet, it’s a bargain compared to Netgear’s $1,499 Orbi quad-band Wi-Fi 6E mesh system, though the Q14’s technical feature set is more modest. Is.

Regardless, the performance differences will vary for most mainstream home users, and I’d recommend saving $1,000.

Dell Pro Webcam – WB5023

Last year, Dell impressed many in the tech industry with its stylish 4K Dell Ultrasharp Webcam. Initially priced at $200, it was positioned to appeal to users working from home who needed better videoconferencing capability and had other options than Logitech’s 4K Brio webcam.

Acknowledging the market demand for low-resolution webcams at a more value-oriented price, Dell recently unveiled its $110 Dell Pro Webcam – the WB5023 that delivers “good enough” 2K QHD video resolution (1440p/s). 30 fps or 1080p/60 fps). Which is more than enough for standard videoconferencing.

Dell Pro Webcam (WB5023)

Dell Pro Webcam WB5023 | image credit: Dell

With a built-in monitor clip with 78-degree field of view (FOV), 4X digital zoom, and tripod attachment capability, this webcam, like its 4K predecessor, looks and feels high-quality (Logitech 4K Brio) even more) ) in terms of hardware.

It’s probably not the right webcam if you’re creating high-quality video content or need 4K resolution for professionally produced podcasts, but its overall image quality is excellent.

What’s more, unlike 4K UltraSharp webcams, it includes more sophisticated features like a built-in microphone and AI auto-framing that tracks your face and keeps it focused on-screen.

Another important point: Dell’s webcams, including these models, are optimized for use with Windows PCs. They’ll work with Macs, but Dell doesn’t provide macOS drivers for tweaking webcam settings.

The bottom line is that it’s the ideal budget-friendly webcam that works well, underscoring Dell’s brand reputation for solid value.

closing thoughts

Remember that the tech product prices above are always a moving target as we are in the holiday season when online retailers have promotions that will offer substantial discounts off MSRP.

This point is especially true for Amazon, and the price of an item can vary greatly from day to day, so keep that in mind when you’re about to pull the trigger and order these or any other high-tech products. Do it.

Happy Holiday Shopping, everyone!

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Tech whistleblowers prefer to shout out loud to be silent By Techagents

According to a blog penned by four Forrester analysts, the trend for tech whistleblowers to quit their jobs while many of their colleagues engage in “quietly quitting” should be a wake-up call to industry leaders.

A scorching job market for security, risk and privacy professionals combined with hiring a value-based workforce is creating a singular opportunity for tech majors, according to Forrester Quartet, Sarah M. Watson, Jeff Pollard, Eli Mellon and Alla Valente.

“This unique combination of circumstances presents an opportunity for technology leaders to make digital ethics, security improvements, risk programs and trust initiatives key topics of conversation,” he wrote.

He explained that many tech firms, including Twitter, have put responsible and ethical technology principles into practice in the form of AI ethics boards, responsible innovation guidelines, and offices for the ethical and humane use of technology. But these self-regulatory half-hearted measures are being called a wash of morality.

“Many tech companies are values- and ethics-first,” senior analyst Mellon told TechNewsWorld. “However, when they don’t deliver on those promises – especially with customer data – customers take notice and lose trust in them.

Customers are not the only notice takers. “It detracts from the talent who wants to work at a particular firm if a person knows they may be fired or silenced for allegedly speaking about interpersonal ethics and values, Mellon said.

The dangers of integrity hiring

When firms say they are developing technology responsibly, it attracts talent who believe in those values, the blog authors noted. “Employees are making proactive decisions based on a common set of goals and need to feel more connected to the potential employer’s vision and purpose,” Liz Miller, Constellation Research’s vice president and principal analyst, told TechNewsWorld. ,

When you choose people with ideals and integrity, you get people with ideals and integrity, the blog authors argued — and when you treat those people in ways that are unfaithful, they just don’t conform. – They rebel.

“Today’s employees value their employer’s mission, vision and promise,” Miller observed. “If you break that value chain, you do it at your own risk.”

“They will leave, which is an operating loss and cost,” she continued, “but there is also a great possibility that their frustrations, their experiences and their frustrations will carry over to social and digital channels.”

“Not listening to employees is as dangerous as not listening to customers,” she said.

The authors of the blog have mentioned that the damage caused to an organization by a whistleblower is like a wound inflicted by oneself. The bloggers wrote, “These people, led well before those concerns made headlines, tried desperately to change things inside their companies, but were pressured to conform, completely ignored.” and was later sidelined.

Bottom Line Trump Ethics

Anyone who has been paying attention to corporate America or technology companies shouldn’t be surprised by the wash of ethics, declared John Bumbaneck, a leading threat hunter at Netenrich, a San Jose, California-based IT and digital security operations company.

“At its core, business ethics requires executives to maximize shareholder value by making money,” he told TechNewsWorld. “They will adopt as few ethics as possible to avoid impact on the bottom line.”

“Unless one improves the business ethics of leaders – either by regulation or by changes in legislation – business leaders will continue on their current path,” he said.

If they continue on that path, they are likely to continue to find whistleblowers on it – even in the face of industry-wide layoffs and recessionary pressures. The blog authors state that the SEC has awarded $1.3 million to 278 whistleblowers since 2012. These incentives bring resources and greater legal protection, so it is unlikely that accountability seekers for the harms of technology will hold back, the authors said.

He also noted that technical staff is funding the organization works and providing advice and advice to whistleblowers. The same resource that put Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen before Congress with a bipartisan moral-terror message also supported Twitter whistleblower Peter “Muj” Zatko, he wrote.

In some industries, layoffs can have an impact on employees who are willing to trade their jobs for their ethical beliefs, Mellon acknowledged, but not in cybersecurity. “Security talent is still in high demand – especially ethical and experienced talent,” she said. “Unless the talent gap in security is narrowed, there will still be a high demand for talent.”

go silent or not go quietly

Because few job markets compare security, risk, and privacy in terms of supply versus demand, the blog authors noted, that puts them in a unique position to lead change.

Furthermore, they point out that when internal advocacy fails, a clear and effective external playbook now exists. Admitting defeat, resigning with a vague “time to move on” and telling close friends how bad things were, is the old way of quitting, he maintained.

Lots of articles want to convince everyone that keeping quiet is the new normal, he continued. Whistleblowing is the opposite of leaving calm. Hiring value-based, empowered employees in areas with scorching demand and then not listening to them almost guarantees they won’t quit quietly.

However, Bumbleneck argues that most employees would rather leave quietly than face the consequences of whistleblowing. “Whistleblower protections are not really effective,” he insisted. “Employers may not retaliate directly but they may do so quietly over time.”

“Whistleblowers making press will often see job prospects drying up,” he said. Quietly quitting is a safe way for employees to exit the corporate environment that gives them ethics concerns without the professional implications of speaking up.

“The reality is,” he continued, “until you reach a certain point in your career, the risk of losing income and not being able to replace it will keep most people silent.”

“There are exceptions to those who leave and make statements in public, and this is reserved for professionals who are at the top of their careers who still have earnings potential,” he said. “Even most mid-career professionals can be silently blacklisted for this kind of behavior, which means most of them will keep going quietly.”

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Accent altering voice tech aims to replace frustration with communication By Techagents

Having trouble understanding the person at the end of the support line you’ve called to get some customer service? A Silicon Valley company wants to make problems like this a thing of the past.

The company, Sunus, makes software that uses artificial intelligence to remove accents in the speech of non-native, or even native, English speakers and output a more standard version of the language. “The program performs phonetic-based speech synthesis in real time,” Sharath Keshav Narayan, one of the firm’s founders, told TechNewsWorld.

Furthermore, the voice characteristics remain the same even after the accent is removed. The sound output by the software sounds the same as the voice input, only the pronunciation has been removed, for example, the gender of the speaker is preserved.

“What we’re doing is allowing agents to keep their identity, keep their tone, it doesn’t need to change,” said Sunus CEO Maxim Serebryakov.

“The call center market is huge. It’s 4% of India’s GDP, 14% of the Philippine GDP,” he told TechNewsWorld. “We’re not talking about a few thousand people whose Along with their cultural identity they are being discriminated against on a daily basis. We are talking about hundreds of millions of people who behave differently because of their voices.”

“The concept is sound. If they can make it work, that’s a great deal,” said Jack E. Gould, founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, an IT consulting firm in Northborough, Mass.

“It can make companies more efficient and more effective and more responsive to consumers,” he told TechNewsWorld.

talking local

Gould explained that local people understand the local dialects better and engage better with them. “Even talking to someone with a heavy Southern accent gives me pause sometimes,” said the Massachusetts resident. “If you can be too much like me it affects the effectiveness of the call center.”

“Many call center employees are located overseas and customers may have trouble understanding what they are saying in terms of strong accents,” said John Harmon, a senior analyst at CoreSight Research, specializing in retail and technology. told TechNewsWorld, a global advisory and research firm.

“But the same could be true for the regional American accent,” he said.

However, Taylor Goucher, COO of Connext Global Solutions, an outsourcing company in Honolulu, cited discounts as a source of customer frustration.

“It is well known that companies outsource call center support to different countries and rural parts of the United States,” he told TechNewsWorld. “The bigger issue is the positioning of employees and the right selection for the training and processes to make them successful.”

customer perception

Harmon notes that consumers may have a negative reaction when they encounter a support person with a foreign accent at the other end of a support line. “A caller may feel that a company is not taking customer support seriously because it is looking for a cheaper solution by outsourcing service to a foreign call center,” he said.

“In addition,” he said, “some customers may feel that someone overseas may be less able to help them.”

Goucher cited a study conducted by Zendesk in 2011 that showed customer satisfaction dropped from 79% to 58% when a call center was relocated outside the United States. “Everyone I know is likely to have a bad customer experience at some point in their life with an agent they didn’t understand,” he observed.

He said the biggest problem with poor customer experience is the lack of support systems, training and management oversight in the call center.

“Too often we see companies take call centers offshore just to answer the phone.” They said. “In customer service, answering the phone isn’t the most important part, it’s what comes next.”

“Agents, Accent or No Accent, will be able to deliver a winning customer experience if they are the right person for the role, have the right training, and have the right tools to solve customer problems,” he said. “It’s easy to say the pronunciation is the problem.”

prejudice against accents

When a customer support person doesn’t have the tools to solve a problem, it can be a huge disappointment for the customer, Gold said. “If I call someone, I want my problem solved, and I don’t want to go through 88 steps to get there,” he said. “It’s frustrating for me because I spent a lot of money with your company.”

“Anything that can be done to get over that hump faster has many benefits,” he continued. “From a consumer standpoint, I have the advantage of not annoying. Plus, if I can move faster, it means the service person can spend less time with me and handle more calls. And If I can understand the problem better, I won’t have to call about it again.”

Even if a customer support person has the equipment they need to provide the highest level of service, accents can affect the caller’s response to the person on the other end of the phone line.

“A customer may be bothered by decoding a foreign accent,” Harmon said. “There’s also a stereotype that some American accents seem illiterate, and a customer may feel like the service provider is getting cheap support.”

“In some cases, I think the biggest pre-existing bias is that if the agent has an accent, they won’t be able to solve my problem,” Goucher said.

options for voice

Serebryakov noted that one of the goals of Sunus is to provide people with options for their voice. “When we post photos on Instagram, we can use filters to represent ourselves however we want,” he explained. “But you don’t have a uniform medium for voice. Our mission at Sunus is to provide that kind of choice.”

Although Sunus initially targeted call centers for its technology, there are other areas that have potential for it.

“One of the biggest uses we see for the technology is in enterprise communications,” Narayan said. “We got a call from Samsung that they have 70,000 engineers in Korea who interact with engineers in the US, and they don’t talk in team meetings because they’re afraid of how they’ll be interpreted. That’s the next use case That’s what we want to solve.”

He said the technology also has potential in gaming, healthcare, telemedicine and education.

Sunus announced a $32 million Series A on June 22, marking the largest Series A round in history for the speech technology company.

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Science, art inspire women in tech entrepreneurship By Techagents

An unusual STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concept combined with some fashion knowledge creating a unique brand of tech-based fashion entrepreneurship.

Swaha USA is a Steam-themed clothing and accessories brand whose online store is changing the face of women’s and children’s wear. Swaha celebrates women in all fields of endeavor and tackles gender stereotypes with bright, fun clothing to lift the imaginations of children.

In 2015 founder Jaya Iyer’s two-year-old daughter desperately craved some planet-themed clothing to fulfill her dreams of flying into space as an astronaut. But nothing related to space existed in the textile departments.

Iyer used her knowledge of fashion merchandising to create an exclusive clothing brand designed for her Steam-themed assortment that defies gender stereotypes. As a result of those efforts she became one of the most successful STEAM fashion brands for children and adults in the world.

“I wanted to encourage my daughter’s passion and other girls with similar interests in the best way possible — with clothing! I realized there was a missed market for kids who like things that aren’t gender traditional, Iyer told TechNewsWorld.

difference makes an ‘a’

Jaya Iyer and daughter Swaha, founder of Swaha USA
Jaya Iyer, Founder and Daughter of Swaha USA Swaha, Company Name. Jaya moved from India to America with the addition of a bag and ambition. She earned her doctoral degree in fashion merchandising from Iowa State University, taught fashion buying, and wrote a textbook on fashion in emerging markets that is now used at universities.

In doing so, Iyer forges a relationship that fosters academic STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) studies and the role the arts and humanities have previously overlooked.

“I believe there is no STEM without A” [art], Art is a part of science, technology, engineering and even mathematics.”

One of her biggest hurdles was being able to make clothing designs technically accurate. But working with women working in the field has helped her overcome this hurdle.

“We are now working on bringing our products to more women so that they too can wear these clothes and show their love for tech-themed clothing,” Iyer said.

from dreams to reality

According to data from the US Census Bureau, today only 25% of computer scientists and 15% of engineers are women. Iyer hopes to change that with her fashion lineup. Very sensitive to customers’ suggestions, she developed about 95% of designs from customers’ inputs.

“Our customers absolutely love our products! Teachers love wearing our clothes when they are teaching the concept represented in our clothing design. Professionals love wearing them to work and to various conventions. We have There is a very loyal customer base who regularly come back to buy our products,” offered Iyer.

Steam influencer Dr. Arlene Simon is a biomedical engineer who invented a blood test that detects whether cancer patients decline bone marrow transplants. She is also the founder of AB InventsA multicultural children’s products company that helps inspire young innovators.

Dr. Arlene Simon, Medical Marvels Heady Dress
Dr. Arlene Simon is a biomedical engineer, patent inventor and author. Simon created the Medical Marvels headdress design incorporating African print inspiration and biomedical engineering symbols.

All too familiar with being the “only woman” or “only black” engineer in a room, Simon Swaha sees USA as a game-changer. Its creative approach to helping bridge the gender gap in STEM makes science fun and fashionable, and empowers girls and women to pursue STEM careers.

“If she wears it, she can be. Give a girl a space outfit, and she portrays herself as an astronaut. Give her a biomedical engineering dress, and she’ll find herself with life-saving health tech.” Imagine creating,” Simon told TechNewsWorld.

This level of detection risk is life changing. Ask a girl to draw a scientist, and most likely, she will draw an old man in a lab coat, she observed.

“When girls are not exposed to women scientists, they are unable to imagine themselves in these roles. But maybe for a girl to fall in love with space only for a teacher to talk about the solar system while walking around in Swaha’s Rings of Saturn skirt,” she said.

This kind of grassroots support is essential to advance women in the field of technology. Science T-shirts and dresses are the start and spark dialogue between the girls and their mothers/teachers.

“Tell me about your dress” could lead to a conversation about how mathematical models in epidemiology predict the spread of COVID-19. Since each Swaha costume is named after a renowned female scientist, the girls are introduced to notable women like Heidi Lamar and Marie Curie,” said Simon.

women in space exploration

Svaha today launched the collections in association with women who are making a difference in the STEAM fields. These contributors include former NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg.

Astronaut Karen Nyberg
Astronaut Karen Nyberg aboard the International Space Station holds a hand-drawn dinosaur for her son that inspired the “Space Fashion” collection.

In his spare time aboard the International Space Station, Nyberg made hand-crafts from cast-off supplies and videographed them floating without gravity inside the station as a gift to his son, Jack.

His first doodad was a cloth dinosaur crafted from Russian food containers with a layer of cloth. He stuffed it on the board with strips of cloth cut from one of his used T-shirts stitched with ivory thread.

Together Iyer and Nyberg developed a line of dinosaur-themed clothing. For that, Nyberg tapped into Jack’s strong knowledge of dinosaurs.

Her grade-school-aged son, still a dinosaur lover with aspirations to become a paleontologist, offered his mother “dino advice” on her designs for Swaha USA. He chose four of his favorite dinosaurs to include in the design and provided them with an accurate illustration for each of his Dinos in Space collections.

give birth to concept

Jaya Iyer’s younger daughter was already focused on becoming an astronaut when Jaya started her clothing company seven years ago. Named after Iyer’s daughter, the company developed its first line of products partly by launching a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $30,000.

Iyer later expanded the business line to women’s apparel called Smart Dresses for Smart Women following suggestions from customers. She then funded that clothing style with another Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $57,000.

Some of Iyer’s product inspiration came from a passion for making memorabilia for Nyberg’s son as he orbited the Earth.

Rachel Ignotofsky
New York Times best-selling author and illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky is another contributor to Swaha USA, who has extended her technical expertise to her own science-based artwork and a new computer science clothing model based on her book “The History of the Computer”. added to the collection.

“We’ve been able to perfect the designs by working with women working in STEM fields. But, reaching more people is still a work in progress. We’ve grown a lot… but we still have a long way to go.” There is a way to go,” she said.

The relationship between STEM and Steem is a major driving factor for Iyer and his followers. Her clothing line including the arts and humanities provided something for all professionals who are not part of STEM.

“We create literature, music and library-themed products that appeal to a different set of customers,” Iyer said.

According to Iyer, the fact that art is an integral part of STEM is now being accepted by more and more people. If people can be educated about the importance of different areas of the arts in STEM education and professions, it will be much easier to adopt.

“We try to do this through our clothes and social media. But, more people need to understand the importance of art in our lives,” she said.

mundane wear

Callie Moore in Velociraptor Skirt
Callie Moore, manager of the paleontology collection at the University of Montana, collaborated with Swaha USA to design the Velociraptor A-Line Skirt.

Iyer’s clothing collection allows scientists to harness their inner Ms. Frizzle. They also feel as “widespread impacts,” noted fossil librarian, science communicator and manager of the paleontology collection at the University of Montana, Cali Moore. The company recently launched its Velociraptor Design Collection.

“By wearing your science, you invite questions and comments. I have all kinds of interactions wearing the Swaha USA piece. It’s another outlet for me to spread my love of paleontology,” she told TechNewsWorld.

Hero kids are great. But sometimes it becomes difficult to connect with them. Moore offered, having someone in your community, higher on your level, is more tangible to be successful in supporting women in STEM.

“Jaya collaborates with real scientists, and it’s fun to see what they’ll create for themselves. I hope this inspires others to create STEM-focused clothing for people who identify as female.” are,” she said.

From paleontology, where art is so closely linked to science, art is a great advantage. In paleontology, art helps us visualize what ancient organisms and ecosystems might have been like, Moore continued. This allows us to get closer to our past. “Obviously looking really, really good, while also looking totally out of place is a plus,” she said.

steam wear at a glance

According to Iyer, Swaha USA’s high-quality 100% organic, super-soft dress is a sign of geek and features pockets in all.

Each style of dress is named after famous female scientists such as Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Ruby Payne-Scott and Dorothy Hodgkin.

Some of Swaha’s unique designs for dresses, skirts, blouses, T-shirts, cardigans, hoodies, sleepwear and accessories are visually interesting.

The collection includes everything from science heroes on raglan tops to stylish, high-quality dresses that feature Steam-themed concepts.

Other thoughtful selections include Amazing Women Pioneers Canvas Bags, the Pi Day Collection, a Moon Phase glow-in-the-dark ombre Aida dress, and a colorful Chemistry Lab Rosalind dress.

Fashionable creative clothing featuring augmented reality, DNA the iconic double helix, trigonometry, and even literary treasures such as Jane Austen is also offered.

Visit Svaha USA to browse all of the geeky, STEAM-themed, apparel and accessories collections.

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