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February 2023 - Things of Interest

 


1.          Daniel Susskind’s report on work and meaning in the age of AI

2.         Intel execs make small cut to their overall compensation after a disastrous quarter

3.         Netflix lists rules and exemptions to prevent account sharing outside household. Also, The era of Netflix password sharing is coming to an end. Netflix reveals first details of password sharing crackdown

4.         How to use ChatGPT: What you need to know, how you can get started on it, and what you can use it for. And seven goals when asking it to re-write something

5.         ChatGPT might be taking over the internet, but a computer scientist explains why some problems are still too hard to solve—even for AI

6.         And ChatGPT sparks surge of AI detection tools

7.         And here comes Bard, Google’s version of ChatGPT. The new AI chat bot is available to “trusted testers” for now and will be released to the public in the “coming weeks.”

8.         Bing users have already broken its new ChatGPT brain

9.         Using simple examples, Stephen Wolfram, a computer scientist, explains the concepts behind ChatGPT and how other neural networks work

10.        The FT’s CEO on why ChatGPT can’t replace good journalism. John Ridding believes his journey from the newsroom to the boardroom helps him better understand the business and guide its future

11.        AI revolution: Tech finds its next platform and this new AI wave will find uses and abuses in cybersecurity

12.        Perplexity.ai provides more than just a list of results. It searches a wide range of sources, including academic papers, and writes up a quick summary with cited sources. It more like a conversation than just search results

13.        Diane Coyle on pre-empting a generative AI monopoly

14.        FBI takes down criminal ransomware group. A cybersecurity expert explains how the FBI’s operation against the ransomware group Hive will impact the rest of this criminal industry

15.        Facebook secretly killed users batteries, worker claims in lawsuit and Meta stock soars following positive outlook and after Mark Zuckerberg announces plans to trim layers of middle management and flatten org structure. Meta asks many managers to get back to making things or leave. ‘flattening’ is taking place as Mark Zuckerberg aims for greater efficiency

16.        McKinsey on the Metaverse. While the end-state remains many years away, there is real and significant value for consumers and companies (?) to benefit from today.

17.        The FAA could require some airlines to upgrade to 5G-friendly altimeters. The proposed rule is the latest in the ongoing 5G-airline saga. Related à 5G vs 4G: what is the difference?

18.        The Biden administration issued a long-awaited report [PDF] accusing tech giants Apple and Google of stifling competition in the mobile apps market and calling for sweeping new rules to restrict how they treat developers. The study, conducted by an advisory agency housed in the Commerce Department, found that both “have created unnecessary barriers and costs for app developers,” leading to “suboptimal” conditions for competitors [More]

19.        Who Has Power Over AI? This compilation of facts and figures explores global power disparities in AI and highlights research and perspectives on how to shift that power for a healthier internet and more trustworthy AI

20.       Opera’s building ChatGPT into its sidebar à it’s testing a new AI-powered ‘shorten’ feature that provides bulleted summaries of the article or webpage you’re reading

21.        Podcast: How do we ensure humanity stays ahead of technology?

22.       Five things to know about the Supreme Court case that could change the internet. These 26 words (“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.”) ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them. The case challenges Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that grants internet platforms immunity for most third-party content posted on their websites.

23.       Why Google’s Supreme Court case could rattle the Internet. Gonzalez v. Google seeks to hold tech giants accountable for recommendation algorithms in a complicated case that could see the Supreme Court meddle in more than 25 years of Internet policy. The plaintiffs say Google’s algorithmic content recommendations boosted extremist messaging in the lead-up to a terrorist attack, and that Google is legally liable for the extremist videos. A ruling is expected in June 2023

24.       MIT has an open course on the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC)

25.       A long-term timeline of technology. We can remind ourselves that our own future might look very different from the world today by looking back at how rapidly technology has changed our world in the past

26.       The tech sector is gloomy and The Drift writes on RIP Good Times | On the Future of Big Tech

27.       2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees induction odds from least to most likely

28.       Linda Ronstadt's Long, Long Time is the latest song getting renewed love on the charts due to an appearance on a TV show

29.       50 genuinely horrible albums by brilliant artists

30.       The top online music services in the U.S. by monthly users

31.        Mariana Mazzucato’s new book is The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies [see also item 89]

32.       Big Data and Public Policy is a book by Rebecca Moody and Victor Bekkers that provides a comprehensive overview of how the course, content and outcome of policy making is affected by big data. It examines how policy makers deal with big data, the problems and limitations they face, and how big data shapes policymaking on the ground

33.       Memorable advice on starting a new role in government through the medium of song

34.       Classic Conversations [podcast] is a deep dive into pop nostalgia! Pop culture influencers, TV stars, film actors, comedians, and musicians share inspirational stories about the road to success

35.       Book briefing: ‘Why Managers Matter’ by Nicolai J Foss and Peter G Klein: Do we need hierarchy?

36.       ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Season 3 finds its magic by reuniting the ‘Next Generation’ crew. Third and final season of the Paramount+ sci-fi series brings back a bunch of familiar faces to remind us why Patrick Stewart is the greatest Trek actor ever

37.       OpenCulture is a clearing house directory for thousands of free movies to watch, thousands of free audio books, free ebooks, free textbooks, free online courses, and all media free and open

38.       Tetris is also a movie and it looks pretty intense

39.       I was a Live fan and bought their first five discs. This was a fascinating story of their collapse. But that’s what happens to bands when success hits

40.       The science of How Music Hits Have Changed in the Last 60 Years and related: why do we love the music we love?

41.        Meta wins ruling against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to move forward with purchase of VR startup Within. Judge said to reject FTC effort to block Meta’s VR acquisition. “Though the judge did not find that this particular deal was anticompetitive, the order did affirm some of the arguments that the FTC made in its case, including that acquisitions of nascent companies can hurt competition and that companies not currently in a marketplace can still have influence over the marketplace”

42.       And a $3.7 billion UK mass action against Facebook over market dominance rejected for now (a six-month reprieve was given the complainant to try again)

43.       Big Tech's future is up to a Supreme Court that doesn't understand it

44.       In a “first-of-its-kind” action with broad implications for the telehealth industry, the Federal Trade Commission has sought a court order [PDF] to prevent GoodRx, a popular website that provides discounts on prescription drugs, from sharing users’ sensitive health data for advertising purposes

45.       What’s a less biased way to determine trademark infringement? Asking the brain directly!

46.       Scammers are creating fake receipts — and a digital shoplifting boom. As fraudsters exploit payment apps to swipe free stuff, the apps blame victims’ poor “financial education”

47.       Computational antitrust promises not only to help antitrust agencies preside over increasingly complex and dynamic markets but also to provide companies with the tools to assess and enforce their compliance with antitrust laws, says Thibault Schrepel

48.       Does enhanced access to data foster or hinder competition among firms?

Big Data, Cybersecurity, Digital Economy, Privacy

49.       HBR on 8 strategies for Chief Data Officers to create – and demonstrate – value. Companies are still struggling to maximise business value from their data and analytics investments

50.       The Engineering Personal Data Sharing report attempts to look closer at specific use cases relating to personal data sharing, primarily in the health sector, and discusses how specific technologies and considerations of implementation can support the meeting of specific data protection

51.        Rethinking the impact of open data: A first step towards a European impact assessment for open data. The report is the first in a series of four that aims to establish a standard methodology for open data impact assessments that can be used across Europe. This exercise is key because a consistent definition of the impact of open data does not exist

52.       Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) could help businesses meet their obligations while also gaining the benefits of customer data

53.       Facebook and Instagram could have to stop sending European users' data to the United States by mid-April 2023 in the next two months over privacy concerns

54.       Paper on how Privacy Decisions are not Private: How the Notice and Choice Regime Induces us to Ignore Collective Privacy Risks and what Regulation should do about it. The authors say that privacy law must be redesigned to intervene in the cognitive mechanisms that keep individuals from making better privacy decisions

55.       ESG in 2023: Looking at the Year Ahead. [PDF] “Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2023 may be how the anti-ESG movement’s efforts to unwind the consideration of ESG factors by companies and investors ultimately end up providing much needed clarity”

56.       Organisations’ corporate social responsibility efforts are facing closer scrutiny today than ever before. Companies that confessed their inadequacy were rated as more socially responsible than organisations that did not.

57.       Tesla gets a Department of Justice subpoena over its self-driving cars

58.       And the EV price war is on. Ford’s slashing Mustang Mach-E prices

59.       The final Boeing 747 that will ever be delivered took a two-and-a-half hour detour over eastern Washington to craft one final goodbye message. The crown is an homage to the 747’s nickname, “the queen of the skies”

60.       How Asia's ex-richest man lost nearly $50 billion in just over a week. As Bloomberg notes, Gautam Adani’s downfall “defies just about every historical comparison.” The shock to the system comes, says Reuters, because of Adani's heft and influence, rather than exposure. His conglomerate spans ports, coal mines, food businesses, airports and lately media, and before the rout its seven companies had accounted for more than 6% of the National Stock Exchange market value

61.        What Is the purpose of a corporation today? Has anything changed in the three years since the Business Roundtable declared firms should prioritise more than shareholders?

62.       Air India orders a record 470 Boeing and Airbus aircrafts. Related à How secret London talks led to Air India's gigantic plane order

63.       The global decline in consumer confidence

64.       Freakonomics podcast: The economist Kate Raworth says the aggressive pursuit of G.D.P. is trashing the planet and short-changing too many people. She has proposed an alternative — and the city of Amsterdam is giving it a try

65.       Capital Isn’t. Is capitalism the engine of destruction or the engine of prosperity? This podcast, hosted by Vanity Fair contributing editor, Bethany McLean and world renowned economics professor Luigi Zingales, explains how capitalism can go wrong, and what we can do to fix it

66.       Geopolitics are changing. venture capital must, too [Fareed Zakaria on HBR]

67.       Nestle, world’s largest food company warns prices will continue to rise

68.       EPICENTER has released a new and timely report, titled 'Tackling Europe's Cost of Living Crisis'. The publication explores the causes and potential solutions to Europe's inflationary crisis – and includes contributions from representatives from free market think tanks in France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Romania

69.       The International Monetary Fund expects the UK to be the only large economy to shrink in 2023 – performing even worse than Russia. It’s time to examine the key contributing factors

70.       The world is facing two industrial revolutions, one powered by artificial intelligence, the other by clean energy. Their shape and terms will be set by the world’s three power blocs, the US, China and the EU. Former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore publishes his Net Zero Review, saying UK could do more to reap economic benefits of green growth

71.        US-China trade and technology competition. What can we expect in the coming years as the US and China continue to tighten restrictions on trade in advanced technologies? What form will China’s response take? Which global institutions support trade reform?

72.       McKinsey Global Institute reports that the fastest-growing flows are now data, services, intellectual property, and international students, rather than goods

73.       2023 GDP growth forecasts by country

74.       How China became Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner

75.       And Saudi Arabia unveils giant cube-shaped supertall skyscraper for downtown Riyadh

76.       Why do so many people worldwide continue to experience hunger? The Global Food Security Index has recorded a downward trend for the third year in a row.

77.       Are there inequalities in global trade? Companies may show a bias for service providers in their home markets. Could this cause major challenges for developing countries looking to join global supply chains?

78.       Americans still glum about State of the Union in most areas, whether reflecting the remnants of the pandemic or the difficulty of inflation

79.       Half a million Britons are on strike, seeking higher wages amid a cost-of-living crisis. Organisers say it’s the country’s biggest strike in over a decade

80.       Water finally became a climate change priority. A collaboration helped convince policy makers at COP27 to finally prioritise water as a critical resource affected by climate change. It was a win long in the making

81.        Taxing cow burps is how New Zealand plans to tackle climate change

82.       Visualising the scale of global fossil fuel production

83.       Climate goals are difficult to meet without drastic action

84.       Exxon posts record $56bn profit for 2022 in historic high for western oil industry. Company took home about $6.3m an hour last year as oil majors expected to break their own annual records

85.       In 2022, China's Covid-related lockdowns paralysed the global supply of key pharmaceutical products. Spurring a rethink on the shape of global supply chains, in the pharma industry, India could emerge as a destination in the US' new "friend-shoring" strategy

86.       The price of Starbucks Coffee, by Country

Life Hacks

87.       9 uncomfortable signs of healing. This animated psychology video outlines the process of healing — which can be very uncomfortable

88.       Stuck in a loop of worrying thoughts? Here’s how to stop it

89.       Study shows that just one quality conversation with a friend boosts daily well-being

90.       Adam Ragusea explains what science currently knows about lactose tolerance and lactose intolerance. It’s way more complicated than it appears à why some people can eat dairy, and others REALLY can't

91.        Commuting has an upside and remote workers may be missing out

92.       For a longer life, try eating like a centenarian. You can’t change your genes, but improving your diet will make you healthier and could make a difference in life expectancy

93.       Can we learn to make smarter choices? Choiceology explores the lessons of behavioural economics and shares stories of high-stakes decisions and what research reveals they can teach us to help improve our judgement

94.       The Daily Rally is a weekday podcast featuring short stories of resilience in the face of big challenges and unexpected adventures

95.       Kellogg Insight on how fear influences our decisions. Our anxieties about the future can have surprising implications for our health, our family lives, and our careers.

96.       Does this all feel a little familiar? Called déjà vu, that sensation may be your brain correcting its own errors

97.       Think yourself better: 10 rules of philosophy to live by

98.       Your personality is not set in stone. Think you’re an introvert? The latest research suggests otherwise

99.       Why the military (still) can’t quit PowerPoint - at least the memes are good

100.      Scientific American launches its podcasts, Science Quickly and meet the woman who makes the James Webb Space Telescope work

101.      A retired Boeing 737 has been transformed into a private villa

102.      The Kid Should See This: Learn how things are made, from chess pieces to baked ziti

103.      Rebecca Ackermann says design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? An approach that promised to democratise design may have done the opposite.

104.      Mapping Civic Measurement is a report by The Institute for Citizens & Scholars with a collection of measurement tools, rubrics, and more than 200 resources in use by practitioners across education, business, philanthropy, community institutions, media, government, and civil society

105.      America the single. Marriage is on the decline or being delayed

106.      Mariana Mazzucato interview à she explains why Britain's economy is set up to fail

107.      The words that hadn’t been said in a State of the Union until President Biden said them

108.      Newspapers drop office cartoon 'Dilbert' over creator's racial remarks

109.      How to ensure industrial policy promotes public over private gain - ProMarket

110.      Research from the CCIA Research Centre and Engine shows that startups leverage dozens of technology services and tools like AWS, GitHub, Google Suite, Zoom, and Slack to build and run their companies—often for free or little cost. Aggressive cost-inducing regulations on the firms that provide these essential services could separate startups from the tools they need to compete

111.      Joe Biden says tech needs Washington’s parental oversight in State of the Union. The president slammed Big Tech on data harvesting and anticompetitive business practices while expressing optimism around semiconductor supply chains

112.      EU lawmakers approve effective 2035 ban on new fossil fuel cars

113.      Carl Shapiro on “Regulating Big Tech: Factual Foundations and Policy Goals”

114.      Instagram quietly limits ‘daily time limit’ option

115.      User hesitancy increases online platforms’ incumbency advantage [Promarket]

116.      On TikTok and on Instagram, more and more people are using their platforms to tell fans what not to buy to push back against the growing pressure to spend more and more cash to hop on viral trends. Related à TikTok ‘de-influencers’ want Gen Z to buy less - and more

117.      Meta’s Oversight Board to begin reviewing cases more quickly

118.      If your favourite app disappeared, how would you spend that time? Knowing whether users migrate to other apps or simply reduced screen time is critical for understanding competition in the “attention economy”

119.      A better quality of life on the internet is getting pricier. Facebook and Instagram are testing selling you blue checks for $12 a month, emulating Elon Musk’s plan for Twitter. Would you pay for it?

120.      Senator Edward Markey writes to Elon Musk on twitter accessibility

The Workplace

121.      10 important conversations to have when building a high-performing team

122.      How do leaders build trust? Building an organisation where staff have belief in the leaders and the direction of travel are key to success – but that requires trust

123.      What can leaders learn from the challenges of 2022?

124.     Good decision-making is especially hard in firms whose departments work in information-hoarding isolation. But proven techniques exist for breaking down the barriers to effective communication and co-operation à How to smash a silo

125.      How to overcome ‘decision paralysis’, according to one CEO. Digital consultancy Jellyfish has overhauled how it makes decisions so that the most knowledgeable person, rather than the most senior, is accountable for the outcomes.

126.      Become a better problem solver by telling better stories. Invoking the power of narrative and a simple story structure can help ensure that teams are solving the right problem

127.      McKinsey’s lessons from top CEOs à during times of change, successful bosses adapt and exhibit service-minded leadership. Leaders at all levels should take note

128.      A crisis of trust in leadership. only 46% of leaders report that they definitely trust their direct manager to do what is right. More troubling, only 32% say they trust senior leaders at their organisation

129.      Long-serving CEOs: how to know when it’s time to go

130.      The best business leaders know to surround themselves with great people, not get stuck in the past – and, more importantly, when it's time to leave

131.      Podcast on how letting teams fail can help them succeed

132.      Perspective taking can effectively engage sceptics who may be turned off by what they consider “soft” concepts like psychological safety

133.      How a nonlinear workday might help you get more done. It’s about working according to your natural energy levels, and not forcing yourself to be productive

134.      Four-day-week trial proves a success [pdf]. Most of the companies taking part in the UK's four-day-week trial plan to continue with the new working arrangement, citing improvements to productivity, work/life balance and recruitment

135.      The CEO of training provider Happy has let his employees decide his pay rises the past two years, He claims it has helped him better understands his true worth

136.      When direct reports talk about their strengths, listen. When coaching direct reports, listen closely when they talk about their strengths because they're telling you "who they want to be and how they want to be in the future," and that's an opening to reflect that back to them, says Gallup leader coach Jacque Merritt

137.      Time magazine’s eye-opening read into the quickly disappearing kinder and gentler boss – a “pandemic blip”

138.      4 shifts in business leadership for a disruptive era. Authenticity is often touted as a key leadership attribute but with change accelerating and expanding, it is becoming more crucial than ever

 

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