Majority of Employees Say Their CEOs Are ‘Digitally lliterate’

Employees in many companies have an issue with leadership, saying “digital illiteracy” is making CEOs slow to adopt game-changing technology.

AI is in the process of revolutionizing countless industries, with many companies using it to automate repetitive tasks and free up employees to focus on more important things. Unfortunately, according to a report by SThree, many professionals are losing hours of productivity because their companies have yet to make the jump.

STEM professionals are losing nearly six hours each week due to insufficient AI support. This productivity gap isn’t just a minor hiccup; it’s a significant barrier to growth and innovation.

Many employees place the blame squarely on CEOs, with 63% blaming their bosses “digital illiteracy,” saying it holds up adoption of AI technology that could improve their workflow.

63% of respondents who advocate for tech upgrades believe these aren’t adopted due to leadership’s digital illiteracy, and 48% say leadership fails to grasp the productivity benefits.

Unsurprisingly, employees fear their companies are falling behind, with only a very small minority seeing their ideas and recommendations for new technology being adopted.

A startling 49% of respondents feel their companies are trailing their peers in AI implementation. Even more concerning, only 11% of employees who proposed new technologies saw their ideas come to fruition.

“Amid rapid technological advancements, companies must embrace transformation to stay competitive,” said SThree CEO Timo Lehne. “Our latest How the STEM world works study reveals that embracing AI and fostering a trusting work environment are key to unlocking productivity and innovation. Let’s lead with understanding and support for our workforce in this ongoing journey. Read our How the STEM world works study for more insights.”

SThree’s report is worth a read, and sheds insight into the gap that exists between CEOs, as well as other executives, and the employees who stand to benefit from a forward-thinking approach.

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How to Become a Data Analyst in 2024: Embracing AI and Core Skills

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the role of a data analyst is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Luke Barousse, a seasoned data analyst, and YouTube content creator, offers a comprehensive guide on how to become a data analyst in 2024. Drawing from his diverse experiences in corporate America and working for top-tier influencers like Mr. Beast, Barousse shares invaluable insights into the tools and skills necessary for this dynamic field.

Core Skills for Aspiring Data Analysts

Before diving into the latest AI tools, Barousse emphasizes the importance of mastering core skills that remain essential in the data analytics landscape. “SQL, or SQL as many call it, tops the list,” he notes. This programming language is crucial for communicating with databases, a fundamental aspect of data analysis. According to Barousse, SQL is mentioned in almost half of all job postings for data analysts, underscoring its significance.

Excel, the ubiquitous spreadsheet software, follows closely. Despite its intended use for ad-hoc analysis, many companies rely heavily on Excel for complex data tasks. “Excel is in about a third of all job postings, which speaks to its continued relevance,” Barousse adds.

When it comes to programming languages, Python and R are prominent. Barousse highlights Python’s versatility, making it suitable for tasks ranging from advanced analytics to machine learning. “Python is nearly as popular as Excel, appearing in almost a third of job postings,” he points out. R, while more specialized, remains a valuable tool for statistical analysis, though it’s less commonly required than Python.

Visualization tools such as Tableau and Power BI are also critical. These tools enable data analysts to create interactive dashboards and visualizations, aiding non-technical stakeholders in understanding complex data insights. “I’ve spent weeks building dashboards that help my colleagues make data-driven decisions,” Barousse shares.

AI Revolution: Transforming Data Analysis

The landscape of data analysis is being reshaped by AI, lowering the barrier to entry and enhancing efficiency. Barousse reflects on his experience building a data analyst portfolio without writing a single line of code, thanks to advancements in AI tools. “The barrier to entry to become a data analyst and actually analyze data is getting lower and lower,” he asserts.

One significant development is the integration of AI into SQL workflows. Barousse uses GitHub Copilot, an AI coding assistant, to speed up query writing and improve efficiency. “Copilot can autocomplete queries and answer questions about SQL syntax, but I’m exploring other tools that might offer even more capabilities,” he says.

Microsoft Excel has also seen transformative updates. The introduction of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which leverages OpenAI’s technology, allows users to ask questions about their data and receive insights directly within Excel. Another major feature is the integration of Python, enabling advanced calculations and analysis within the familiar Excel environment. “These updates make Excel more powerful than ever, bridging the gap between traditional spreadsheets and modern data analysis tools,” Barousse explains.

The Importance of Learning Python

For those starting their journey as data analysts, Barousse recommends Python as the go-to programming language. “Python is a multipurpose language that can handle a wide range of tasks, from data scraping to building web applications,” he says. He also notes that AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot and Google’s Duet AI can help learners quickly grasp Python by providing real-time feedback and code suggestions.

Visualization Tools: Power BI vs. Tableau

When it comes to visualization tools, Barousse has a preference for Power BI due to its integration with Power Query and DAX functionality. “Power BI makes it easier to clean and analyze data, though Tableau excels in community support and sharing capabilities,” he explains. Both tools have received AI enhancements, with Power BI incorporating a basic version of Copilot and Tableau developing its own AI features under Salesforce’s Einstein Analytics.

AI Assistants and Job Security

A common concern among data analysts is whether AI will replace their jobs. Barousse addresses this by citing a KPMG survey, which found that over half of business leaders expect AI to expand their workforce rather than shrink it. “AI is designed to assist, not replace, data analysts. It enhances productivity and allows us to focus on more complex, value-added tasks,” he emphasizes.

Supporting this view, a Harvard study revealed that consultants using AI were significantly more productive and produced higher quality results compared to those who didn’t use AI. “The data is clear: AI is here to improve our jobs, not take them away,” Barousse concludes.

As Barousse navigates the transformative landscape of data analysis, he remains optimistic about the future. With AI tools streamlining workflows and enhancing capabilities, the role of a data analyst is more dynamic and exciting than ever. For those entering the field, embracing these advancements while mastering core skills is key to thriving in this evolving profession.

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Intel Kills Off One of Its Most Promising Chip Designs

Intel is backtracking on one of its most promising designs, with CEO Pat Gelsinger saying Lunar Lake was a “one-off” that the company has no intention of repeating.

Lunar Lake was a break from Intel’s traditional designs in the way it handled RAM. Rather than being a separate component, Lunar Lake integrated the memory directly on the processor, much like Apple’s M-series chips. In exchange for no ability to upgrade the RAM post-purchase, Lunar Lake offered significant performance and battery savings boosts.

Unfortunately, users hoping that Lunar Lake would become the default path for Intel moving forward are in for a disappointment. According to comments by Gelsinger at the Q3 2024 earnings call, via VideoCardz, Lunar Lake proved too expensive for the company to continue down that path.

That’s at a volume product and a volume industry like the PC industry, you don’t want to have volume memory going through that channel [memory on package]. It’s not a good way to run the business. So it really is, for us, a one-off with Lunar Lake. That will not be the case with Panther Lake, Nova Lake and its successors as well. We’ll build it in a more traditional way iwth memory off package in the CPU, GPU, NPU and I/O capabilities in the package. But volume memory will be off package in the roadmap going forward.

Unfortunately, it seems Lunar Lake’s advances aren’t the only thing Intel may be abandoning. Gelsinger went on to indicate that the company’s discrete graphics cards may also be on the chopping block.

Similarly, in the client product area, simplifying the roadmap, fewer SKUs to cover it. How are we handling graphics and how that is increasingly becoming a large integrated graphics capabilities. So less need for discrete graphics in the market going forward.

The news is sure to disappoint many users. Intel has struggled to compete with Apple M-series, as well as other Arm-based chips, in terms of energy efficiency. Lunar Lake was an important step forward, only for Intel to now be taking two steps back.

The issue is the latest in a long line of challenges Intel is facing as Gelsinger struggles to turn the company around. The situation has become dire enough that lawmakers are reportedly considering more bailout options for the troubled chipmaker.

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GitHub: Python the Most Popular Programming Language As Developer Numbers Surge

GitHub has released “Octoverse 2024,” revealing that Python is now the most popular programming language, and AI is boosting development, not ending careers.

JavaScript was the previous king of programming languages, used for everything from websites to applications to desktop environments. Despite its ubiquity, JavaScript’s reign has finally come to an end, with Python taking the top spot.

As GitHub points out, Python’s rise in popularity owes to its use in data science and machine learning.

In 2024, Python overtook JavaScript as the most popular language on GitHub, while Jupyter Notebooks skyrocketed—both of which underscore the surge in data science and machine learning on GitHub. We’re also seeing increased interest in AI agents and smaller models that require less computational power, reflecting a shift across the industry as more people focus on new use cases for AI.

Interestingly, Python’s rise coincides with a general rise in developers.

Our data also shows a lot more people are joining the global developer community. In the past year, more developers joined GitHub and engaged with open source and public projects (in some cases, empowered by AI). And since tools like GitHub Copilot started going mainstream in early 2023, the number of developers on GitHub has rapidly grown with significant gains in the global south. While we see signals that AI is driving interest in software development, we can’t fully explain the surge in global growth our data reflects (but we’ll keep studying it).

GitHub Octoverse 2024 Metrics – Credit GitHub

GitHub goes on to highlight three major trends in the industry.

• A surge in global generative AI activity. AI is growing and evolving fast, and developers globally are going far beyond code generation with today’s tools and models. While the United States leads in contributions to generative AI projects on GitHub, we see more absolute activity outside the United States. In 2024, there was a 59% surge in the number of contributions to generative AI projects on GitHub and a 98% increase in the number of projects overall—and many of those contributions came from places like India, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.
• A rapidly growing number of developers worldwide—especially in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Notable growth is occurring in India, which is expected to have the world’s largest developer population on GitHub by 2028, as well as across Africa and Latin America. We also see Brazil’s developer community growing fast. Some of this is attributable to students. The GitHub Education program, for instance, has had more than 7 million verified participants. We’ve also seen 100% year-over-year growth among students, teachers, and open source maintainers adopting GitHub Copilot as part of our complimentary access program. This suggests AI isn’t just helping more people learn to write code or build software faster—it’s also attracting and helping more people become developers. First-time open source contributors continue to show wide-scale interest in AI projects. But we aren’t seeing signs that AI has hurt open source with low-quality contributions.
• Python is now the most used language on GitHub as global open source activity continues to extend beyond traditional software development. We saw Python emerge for the first time as the most used language on GitHub (more on that later). Python is used heavily across machine learning, data science, scientific computing, hobbyist, and home automation fields among others. The rise in Python usage correlates with large communities of people joining the open source community from across the STEM world rather than the traditional community of software developers. This year, we also saw a 92% spike in usage across Jupyter Notebooks. This could indicate people in data science, AI, machine learning, and academia increasingly use GitHub. Systems programming languages, like Rust, are also on the rise, even as Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Java remain the most widely used languages on GitHub.

GitHub’s findings are a significant data point in an industry that is in the process of evolving, thanks to AI’s impact. Many developers and industry veterans have been worried that AI would replace programmers, leading to mass firings. Already, companies are relying heavily on AI to help write code.

GitHub’s Findings Echo Statements From Industry Leaders

For example, in a recent quarterly report, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said more than 25% of all Google code has been written by AI. Similarly, Google co-founder Sergey Brin highlighted just how much AI has impacted his development habits.

“I think that AI touches so many different elements of day-to-day life, and sure, search is one of them,” Brin said in an interview with All-In Podcast’s David Friedberg. “But it kind of covers everything. For example, programming itself, the way that I think about it is very different now.

“Writing code from scratch feels really hard, compared to just asking the AI to do it,” Brin added, to laughter from the audience. “I’ve written a little bit of code myself, just for kicks, just for fun. And then sometimes I’ve had the AI write the code for me, which was fun.”

Brin’s experience seems to support GitHub’s findings, that AI is enhancing development and likely leading to a surge in developer engagement.

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Indonesia Bans the Google Pixel

Just days after banning the iPhone 16, Indonesia has struck again, this time banning Google’s Pixel fines for similar reasons as its ban on the iPhone.

According to TechCrunch, the Indonesian Ministry of Industry banned Google’s phones after the company failed to meet the country’s 40% local content. Indonesia requires tech companies to source at least 40% of their products from within the country. While some companies have set up a manufacturing presence within the country, others have opted to meet the 40% rule through other means, such as investments.

Unfortunately for Google, the company has failed to meet the 40% requirement via any of the available options.

“The local content rule and related policies are made for fairness for all investors that invest in Indonesia, and for creating added value and deepening the industry structure here,” said Industry Minister spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief.

Apple’s iPhone was similarly banned after the company failed to meet its promised $109 million investment in the country. Apple fell $14 million short, only investing $90 million.

Industry Minister Gumiwang Kartasasmita made clear it was illegal to own an iPhone 16 within the country.

If there is an iPhone 16 that can operate in Indonesia, that means that I can say, the device is illegal. Do report it to us.

We, the Ministry of Industry, are yet to be able to issue permits for the iPhone 16 because there are still commitments that Apple must realise.

Only time will tell if Apple and Google meet Indonesia’s requirements.

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SEC Fines JPMorgan $151 Million for Multiple Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that JPMorgan has been fined $151 million to resolve multiple issues in which the company violated the law.

The SEC took action against two JPMorgan affiliates, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS) and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (JPMIM). The two affiliates were fined over “five separate enforcement actions for failures including misleading disclosures to investors, breach of fiduciary duty, prohibited joint transactions and principal trades, and failures to make recommendations in the best interest of customers.”

The two affiliates did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings, but they agreed to the $151 million. The sum is divided between penalties and voluntary payments to investors for four of the cases, while there were no penalties imposed in the fifth.

“JP Morgan’s conduct across multiple business lines violated various laws designed to protect investors from the risks of self-dealing and conflicts of interest,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “With today’s settlements, which include multiple self-reports and large voluntary payments to harmed investors, JP Morgan is being held accountable for its regulatory failures.”

The SEC found the two affiliates guilty of the following violations:

Conduit Private Funds Action (JPMS)

The SEC’s order finds that JPMS made misleading disclosures to brokerage customers who invested in its “Conduit” private funds products, which pooled customer money and invested it in private equity or hedge funds that would later distribute to the Conduit private funds shares of companies that went public. The order finds that, contrary to the disclosures, a JP Morgan affiliate exercised complete discretion over when to sell and the number of shares to be sold. As a result, investors were subject to market risk, and the value of certain shares declined significantly as JP Morgan took months to sell the shares. As part of the resolution of this enforcement action, JPMS agreed to make a voluntary payment of $90 million to more than 1,500 Conduit investor accounts and to pay a civil penalty of $10 million, which will also be distributed to Conduit investors.

Portfolio Management Program Action (JPMS)

The SEC’s order finds that, between July 2017 and October 2024, JPMS failed to fully and fairly disclose the financial incentive it and some of its financial advisors had when they recommended JPMS’s own Portfolio Management Program over third-party managed advisory programs offered by JPMS. During the relevant period, assets under management in the program’s strategies grew from approximately $10.5 billion to more than $30 billion.

Clone Mutual Funds Action (JPMS)

The SEC’s order finds that, between June 2020 and July 2022, JPMS recommended certain mutual fund products, called Clone Mutual Funds, to its retail brokerage customers when materially less expensive ETF products that offered the same investment portfolios were available. According to the order, when recommending the Clone Mutual Funds, JPMS and its registered representatives failed to consider these cost differences and failed to have a reasonable basis to believe that their recommendations were in the best interest of the customers. The order finds that approximately 10,500 customers made approximately 17,500 purchases of the Clone Mutual Funds during this period based on JPMS’s recommendations.

Joint Transactions Action (JPMIM)

The SEC’s order finds that, in March 2020, JPMIM caused $4.3 billion in prohibited joint transactions, which advantaged an affiliated foreign money market fund for which it served as the delegated portfolio manager over three U.S. money market mutual funds it advised.

Principal Trades Action (JPMIM)

The SEC’s order finds that, between July 2019 and March 2021, JPMIM engaged in or caused 65 prohibited principal trades with a combined notional value of approximately $8.2 billion. Principal trades are generally prohibited to avoid undisclosed conflicts of interest unless certain conditions are met or the SEC provides exemptive relief. The SEC’s order finds that, to conduct these trades, a JPMIM portfolio manager directed an unaffiliated broker-dealer to buy commercial paper or short-term fixed income securities from JPMS, which JPMIM then purchased on behalf of one of its clients.

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Microsoft Recruits Jay Parikh, Former Lacework CEO and Facebook Head of Engineering

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the company has recruited Jay Parikh to its senior leadership team after stints as Facebook head of engineering and Lacework CEO.

Lacework specializes in “data-driven cloud security at scale,” and boasts and impressive portfolio of clients. Parikh’s background as CEO of Lacework makes him a perfect fit for Microsoft’s ambition, especially as it works to improve security as it continues to scale.

Nadella highlighted Parikh’s value in his blog post.

When I look to the next phase of Microsoft, both in terms of our scale and our massive opportunity ahead, it’s clear that we need to continue adding exceptional talent at every level of the organization to increase our depth and capability across our business priorities – spanning security, quality, and AI innovation.

With that context, I’m excited to share that Jay Parikh is joining Microsoft as a member of the senior leadership team (SLT), reporting to me. Jay was the global head of engineering at Facebook (now Meta) and most recently was CEO of Lacework. He has an impressive track record, with a unique combination of experiences building and scaling technical teams that serve both commercial customers and consumers. His deep connections across the start-up and VC ecosystems, coupled with his leadership roles at Akamai and Ning, will bring valuable perspective to Microsoft.

Nadella goes on to say that Parikh’s expertise goes beyond technology and includes strong leadership qualities.

Over the years I’ve known Jay, I’ve admired him as a technology leader and respected engineer with a deep commitment to driving innovation and striving for operational excellence. His focus extends beyond technology, with his passion for and dedication to developing people, fostering a strong culture, and building world-class talent, all in service of delivering faster value to customers and driving business growth. In fact, there are very few leaders in our industry with Jay’s experience in leading teams through the rapid growth and scale required to support today’s largest internet businesses.

As he onboards, Jay will immerse himself in learning about our company priorities and our culture and will spend time connecting with our senior leaders and meeting with customers, partners, and employees around the world. We will share more on his role and focus in the next few months.

It will be interesting to see the specific role Parikh takes on within the company.

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Revealing Insights from the 2024 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report

In an era where inboxes are as crowded as city sidewalks, the science behind getting your emails noticed has never been more critical. The 2024 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report from GetResponse, dissected by Michał Leszczyński, Head of Content & Partnerships at GetResponse, provides a wealth of insights.

Analyzing a massive dataset of over 4.4 billion emails sent by GetResponse customers in 2023, this report sheds light on emerging trends, surprising findings, and actionable best practices to optimize email engagement.

Tune in to discover the latest email marketing strategies that supercharge lead generation!

 

Rising Engagement Rates Despite Email Fatigue

Perhaps the most surprising takeaway from the report is that average engagement rates—including open rates and click rates—actually increased year over year. This comes at a time when marketers were bracing for the potential fallout of overcommunication, particularly during the typically hectic fourth quarter. Leszczyński explains, “We actually saw the opposite. Despite a higher frequency of emails, recipients were more willing to engage, especially during Q4, because they were in shopping mode.” In other words, as inboxes filled up, recipients didn’t shy away; instead, they leaned in.

The fourth quarter, traditionally marked by aggressive holiday marketing, saw a notable rise in average open rates and click rates. This, according to Leszczyński, contradicts the expectation that fatigue would set in due to sheer volume. “Normally, you’d assume that people might get tired of emails during Q4, but it turns out they are ready and willing to engage. They’re in the mood to shop, and they’re expecting those emails,” he adds.

Regional Trends: Europe Leads in Engagement

Globally, the report notes significant variation in email engagement, largely influenced by regional regulations and user behaviors. Engagement rates are highest in Europe, driven by stringent data regulations like GDPR, which ensure that subscribers are highly targeted and well-informed about their consent. Leszczyński points out, “In Europe, marketers care more about how they collect information and permissions, leading to more engaged audiences.”

In contrast, North America showed slightly lower engagement rates, which Leszczyński attributes to the less rigid permission requirements in the U.S. and Canada. “You don’t need to have the same level of permission in every area, which can lead to more indiscriminate targeting and, therefore, lower engagement,” he says. Similar trends were observed in regions like Asia and Africa, where regulations vary widely.

Optimal Frequency and Timing for Email Success

The study also dives into one of the most frequently asked questions in email marketing: How often should you send newsletters? The answer is—it depends. “We saw customers getting away with multiple emails per day in some cases, while others struggled even with a weekly newsletter,” Leszczyński notes. Generally, the sweet spot seems to be at least two newsletters per week, especially if the content is valuable and relevant. For B2B marketers, however, fewer emails tend to be more effective, as these audiences are busier and less receptive to high-frequency messaging.

Timing also plays a crucial role. The report identifies two optimal windows for sending emails: early in the morning (between 4 AM and 6 AM) and late in the afternoon (from 5 PM to 7 PM). Leszczyński elaborates, “People are more likely to open emails in the morning as they start their workday, but they’re more inclined to click through offers later in the day, when they’re catching up on communications.” This suggests that timing your emails strategically can make a substantial difference in engagement metrics.

Subject Lines: Keeping It Short and Sweet

When it comes to subject lines, brevity remains king. The report indicates that shorter subject lines—ideally under 70 characters—perform best. However, there’s an interesting twist: a small subset of campaigns with much longer subject lines (over 100 characters) also saw high open rates. This implies that while short subject lines are generally a safe bet, brand reputation and timing can occasionally override length limitations. “It’s not just the length of the subject line; it’s about who’s sending it and when,” Leszczyński adds.

Emojis in subject lines, on the other hand, did not fare well. Despite their popularity, the report found that emails with emojis actually had lower open rates. Leszczyński advises caution: “While emojis might make your email stand out, they don’t necessarily correlate with higher engagement. It depends heavily on the context and the audience.”

Content Best Practices: Video and Personalization Are Key

For the email body itself, two main tactics stood out for driving engagement: embedding videos and personalization. The report finds that emails containing video content saw higher open and click-through rates, reflecting the broader trend of video as a preferred medium for content consumption. “Embedding videos makes emails more dynamic and engaging, leading to better results,” Leszczyński explains.

Personalization also plays a significant role. While including a first name in the subject line has become less effective due to its overuse, personalized content within the email itself continues to yield positive results. This could be as simple as referring to the recipient’s past interactions or providing personalized product recommendations. According to Leszczyński, “When you personalize the content, whether by mentioning their activities or offering tailored recommendations, people are more likely to engage.”

Images and Accessibility: Striking a Balance

The use of images also contributes positively to engagement. Contrary to the minimalist trend of plain text emails, campaigns that included images saw higher click-through rates. “We don’t know exactly what types of images work best, but it’s clear that visuals help grab attention and drive action,” says Leszczyński. He also stresses the importance of accessibility, recommending a minimum font size of 14-16 for body text to ensure readability across devices and for users with visual impairments.

Automation and Simplification: Let AI Do the Work

One of the biggest takeaways from the report is the value of automation in optimizing email campaigns. By using tools like AI-driven product recommendations, time optimization features like “perfect timing,” and automated workflows, marketers can significantly boost engagement without overcomplicating their strategies. “Simplify your email marketing,” urges Leszczyński. “Use automation tools to do the heavy lifting—it’s not just about saving time, it’s about driving better results.”

Email is Far From Dead!

The 2024 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report makes one thing clear: email is far from dead. In fact, when done right, it remains one of the most effective marketing channels available. The key lies in balancing frequency, crafting compelling content, and leveraging tools that optimize timing and personalization. As Leszczyński puts it, “Don’t overthink it—focus on sending good, valuable emails, and let automation handle the rest.”

The insights from this report serve as a reminder that while technology and trends continue to evolve, the fundamentals of delivering value, understanding your audience, and maintaining a human touch in communication are as relevant as ever.

 

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Lawmakers Weigh Bailout Options for Intel

Washington lawmakers are growing increasingly worried about Intel’s future, even weighing additional bailout options.

Once the undisputed king of the semiconductor industry, Intel’s fortunes have faced a significant reversal. The company has lost its crown as the largest chipmaker to TSMC, and has lost its technical edge to any number of rivals.

Despite a high-profile turnaround attempt by CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company’s fortunes have continued to decline. Intel has faced multiple problems, including production issues, software errors, critical failures, and lagging performance.

While the company has already received billions from the CHIPS Act, Semafor is reporting that lawmakers are privately discussing the possibility of additional bailouts, should Intel need more help. Nothing concrete has been discussed, and the outlet reports the talks are largely precautionary.

Nonetheless, the fact the discussions are happening is an indication of just how important lawmakers view Intel’s success. As semiconductors have become more important for everything from computers and mobile devices to autonomous vehicles and AI, semiconductors have increasingly become national security concerns. Given that Intel is the only US chipmaker, it’s not surprising that lawmakers are considering contingency plans.

One possible solution could be a merger with another US chip firm, with lawmakers likely to be less concerned with regulatory issues if it means saving Intel.

For its part, Intel emphasized its importance in a statement to Semafor.

“We have outlined a clear strategy that we are executing with rigor, and the strong operational performance we delivered in Q3 demonstrates important progress against our plan,” an Intel spokesperson said in a statement. “Intel is the only American company that designs and manufactures leading-edge chips and is playing a critical role to enable a globally competitive semiconductor ecosystem in the US.”

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Transforming Raw Data into Strategic Decisions: The Role of Expert Data Science Consulting

Businesses are dealing with “big data” – but what they really want is actionable insight from that data. These are the accompanying services of data science consulting that help organizations bridge their vast endless datasets to piece together valuable actionable messages. Businesses require expert consulting services to convert raw data into strategic decisions that will enable growth and efficiency.

In such a case, come in play data science consultants who build the link between complex data and insightful business decisions.

What Does a Data Science Consultant do?

Data science consultant draws on an understanding of data science (tools, techniques and processes), business strategy and industry practices in order to help businesses make optimal data-driven decisions. They potentially convert data insights to action plans aligning with the strategic goals of the organization.

This role combines both data science abilities and consultancy feel, the two capabilities used to benefit businesses with a data solution.

In the data-driven world of today, data science consultants are an essential factor. The vast amounts of data that are generated exponentially, businesses often find it challenging to make much out of the information. Enter the data science consultants who bring in that analytical capability along with their grasp on statistical modeling.

Big Data Super Powers Unleashed

While data is coming in at a faster pace than ever before, most of it still sits untapped. A data science consulting firm assists organizations in mining the real secret behind all the available data. Consultants perhaps go over better than analysts by means of considerable amounts of detail through strategies for example machine learning, predictive modeling and data mining consequently vector sequences; trends, patterns, opportunities that lie.

As an example, a retailer might be capturing transactional data but failing to use that data to predict what customers are likely to purchase. Professional analysts can then analyze the data with respect to these parameters, creating a predictive model that streamlines inventory management which results in higher profit and customer satisfaction.

Building Custom Data Solutions

One of the primary roles that a data science consulting team has in an organization is to tailor the solution according to what is required. Not all data or challenges are the same in every organization. There is no one size fits all in the data engineers strategies. Our consultants get hands on with companies, take time to talk about their goals and pain points and understand what kind of data they’re dealing with.

A healthcare company might need real-time insights to improve patient care, while a financial institution is looking for risk analytics to monitor investment portfolios. Why should businesses use a data science consultant; because they can tailor the solution that best correlates to their business goals and deliver true results.

Improving Decision with Practical Analytics

One of the biggest benefits that data science consulting offers an enterprise is predictive analytics which can help an organization improve their decision-making. Predictive models give companies the ability to anticipate trends and mitigate risk, enabling organizations to make smarter decisions that help avoid expensive missteps.

Consider a logistics company that is predicting delivery time using predictive analytics. Consultants examine performance up to that point and weigh other factors like traffic or weather, providing the company with ways to optimize routes and cut back on delays. With predictive insights, decision-makers can focus on the future and be more competitive.

Driving with Automation Efficiency

Data science consulting does not only uncover insights, and also helps in automating tasks for increased efficiency. Consultants can work with businesses to develop AI and machine learning algorithms that automate repetitive duties, liberating human resources for more value-added performances.

Such as can consultants use machine learning algorithms to predict when machines are going to break down, which would save a factory millions in repairs? By using this automation can reduce operational costs but also improve the efficiency of the entire process.

Data science consulting drives automation to make businesses more resourceful, streamlined, cost-effective.

Navigating the Complexities of Data Integration

Integrating data from different sources (N.B., such as CRM systems, financial software and social media platforms), remains a bane of the existence of many enterprises. In many cases, proper data science consulting can help organizations deal with these complexities by transforming messy data into clean, structured and analysis-ready datasets.

Consultants integrate data from different sources so that it can be analyzed seamlessly and offer a single viewpoint. In the case of an e-commerce platform, the customer profile might be composed of data gathered from marketing, sales and even customer service. They turn the data into complete insights with the help of consultants.

They specialize in all aspects of data integration, simplifying very complex processes that enable organizations to have a consolidated view.

Final Thoughts

The state of data science consulting influence on companies decision-making The companies that are able to transform raw data into strategic insights, develop bespoke solutions, and optimize processes through automation will thrive in the ever changing environment. Businesses also need expert guidance to understand their data, but more importantly how it can be used for the long haul.

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China Sanctions US Drone Maker Skydio for Selling to Taiwan

Skydio, one of the leading US drone makers, announced that China has imposed sanctions on it in response to its business with Taiwan.

Skydio is known for selling drones to militaries, first responders, and critical infrastructure operators. CEO Adam Bry penned a blog post saying that China is retaliating for the company selling to the Taiwanese National Fire Agency.

A few weeks ago, China announced sanctions on Skydio for selling drones to Taiwan, where our only customer today is the National Fire Agency. This is an attack on Skydio but it’s also an attack on you, our customers. We’re proud to support critical infrastructure operators, first responders, and allied militaries around the world. We’re proud to support Taiwan, and we are undeterred.

While Skydio has moved most of its supply chain outside of China, the company still relies on Chinese sources for its batteries, although it is working to secure new sources.

As a result of the sanctions, our battery supply will be reduced for the next few months which will impact our customers. We have always manufactured our drones in the U.S., and over the last few years we invested massively in bringing up supply for drone components outside of China. Batteries are one of the few components we have not yet moved out of China. We have a substantial stock of batteries on hand, and our team was already developing alternative suppliers. But right now we don’t expect new sources to come online until the spring of next year.

Bry says China’s sanctions are an effort to undermine one of the leading US drone manufactures and force dependence on Chinese companies at a time when those companies are losing ground in the market.

In order to continue delivering X10s and supporting our customers, we have to take the drastic step of rationing batteries to one per drone. I know how critical drones are to your work, and how important having additional batteries is for many of your missions. It pains me to do this. We are extending the software license, warranty, and support term for all drones fulfilled with less than a full complement of batteries by the length of time it takes us to deliver all batteries in the kit.

This is a clarifying moment for the drone industry. If there was ever any doubt, this action makes clear that the Chinese government will use supply chains as a weapon to advance their interests over ours. The drone market has historically been dominated by Chinese companies who are now rapidly losing market share to Skydio and our Western peers. This is an attempt to eliminate the leading American drone company and deepen the world’s dependence on Chinese drone suppliers.

It won’t work.

Skydio’s dilemma illustrates the growing complexity of US-China relations, and the companies caught in-between. The US House recently passed a bill to ban Chinese drones over surveillance and national security concerns. While Skydio may be the first major drone maker to be sanctioned by China, it likely won’t be the last.

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Apple Is Purchasing Pixelmator, the Popular Mac Image Editing App

Pixelmator has long been a staple for many Mac designers, and the company is now joining Apple in an effort to widen its reach and appeal.

Pixelmator is the go-to app for many Mac designers reluctant to pay Adobe’s prices for Photoshop. While not as powerful as Photoshop, Pixelmator has the most commonly used tools in an interface that is far more intuitive, especially for new users.

In a blog post, the Pixelmator team said they have reached an agreement to be bought out by Apple.

Today we have some important news to share: the Pixelmator Team plans to join Apple.

We’ve been inspired by Apple since day one, crafting our products with the same razor-sharp focus on design, ease of use, and performance. And looking back, it’s crazy what a small group of dedicated people have been able to achieve over the years from all the way in Vilnius, Lithuania. Now, we’ll have the ability to reach an even wider audience and make an even bigger impact on the lives of creative people around the world.

Apple develops the bulk of its software in-house, but there are notable instances when the company has purchased a third-party app to use as the basis for one of its own. One of the most notable examples was when the company purchased SoundJam, a popular Mac MP3 app, to serve as the basis for iTunes.

Purchasing Pixelmator makes sense for Apple, giving the company a more comprehensive image editing tool beyond the basic functionality included in Photos.

In the meantime, the Pixelmator team says the app will continue to be available for iOS, as well as macOS.

Pixelmator has signed an agreement to be acquired by Apple, subject to regulatory approval. There will be no material changes to the Pixelmator Pro, Pixelmator for iOS, and Photomator apps at this time. Stay tuned for exciting updates to come.

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AWS Employees Write Letter to CEO Decrying RTO Mandate

AWS employees are stepping up their efforts to reverse Amazon’s return-to-office (RTO) mandate, writing a letter saying they are “appalled” by the decision.

Amazon sparked controversy when CEO Andy Jassy announced a full RTO mandate, requiring employees in the office five days a week. The company further exacerbated the issue with poor communication, with some employees finding out about the decision via news articles instead of management.

In what has become a common theme with Amazon’s RTO mandates, employees are accusing executives of once again making decisions without any data supporting the benefits.

“We were appalled to hear the non-data-driven explanation you gave for Amazon imposing a five-day in-office mandate,” the letter begins, as seen and reported by Reuters.

Employees were especially perturbed by AWS CEO Matt Garman’s assertion that nine of 10 employees he spoke with supported a full RTO mandate. Employees said the statements are “inconsistent with the experiences of many employees” and are “misrepresenting the realities of working at Amazon.”

In his comments, Garman made clear that employees who were unhappy with Amazon’s decision should quit.

“If there are people who just don’t work well in that environment and don’t want to, that’s okay, there are other companies around,” said Garman.

“By the way, I don’t mean that in a bad way,” he added. “We want to be in an environment where we’re working together.”

Amazon Refuses to Acknowledge the Data

It’s easy to understand why employees believe Garman’s statements are misleading. The data has consistently shown hybrid work leads to happier employees, and those employees work harder than employees who are required to be in the office five days a week.

In fact, according to a study by Microsoft, employees working remotely worked an average of 10%. Similarly, a Chinese study before the pandemic showed that remote workers are approximately 13% more productive than in-office employees.

“I think it’s because people are motivated to keep the arrangement, and so that motivation drives the productivity. They want it to work,” said Tammy Allen, a distinguished professor of psychology at the University of South Florida.

“I think 80 [percent], 90 percent of employees are very responsible and work well whether they’re at the home or the office,” said Matthew Bidwell, an associate professor of management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Despite the evidence showing the benefits of remote and hybrid work, Amazon executives have continued to push for a return to the old ways, all the while admitting they have no data to support their decisions.

“I think it’s just time, it’s time to disagree and commit. We’re here, we’re back — it’s working,” said Mike Hopkins, SVP of Amazon Video and Studios, about a return to the office. “I don’t have data to back it up, but I know it’s better.”

Jassy doubled down even more during a previous RTO mandate, attempting to liken the company’s lack of data to support such mandates with the innovative decision to launch AWS.

“There was no data when we were deciding to pursue AWS, which was quite different from the rest of our businesses at that time, that we were going to be successful. In fact, most people thought it was nuts internally and externally,” Jassy said during an internal meeting.

“Those were judgment decisions by our leadership team,” Jassy continued. “And that is what’s happened here. As a leadership team, we’ve decided that we will be better for customers and for our business being in the office.”

Amazon Has Destroyed Employee Trust

Beyond the lack of data to support the benefits of RTO mandates—not to mention the data supporting the exact opposite—Amazon’s approach to the entire issue has destroyed its employees’ trust in the company. Early on in the pandemic, Amazon embraced remote work and reaped the benefits.

The letter sent to Garmin linked to a company blog post from 2020 in which Garman touted how effectively AWS was running with its employees working remotely. The letter went on to accuse Garman of breaking “the trust of your employees who have not only personal experience that shows the benefits of remote work, but have seen the extensive data which supports that experience.”

The issue is further amplified by the fact that Amazon made promises to employees when hiring them, assuring them they would be able to remain remote. In many cases, employees who joined the company under those conditions live too far away to make commuting feasible, while others have family or health factors that similarly impact their ability to be in the office.

Unfortunately for the company, its pattern of reneging on previous promises is directly undermining some employees’ willingness to make any kind of sacrifices to meet RTO mandates.

“I was not complying,” an employee named Ben said about the previous three-day-a-week mandate, citing a three-hour commute as the reason.

“I decided not to make life choices as Amazon can fire me at will anyway, and I do not want to make long-term life changes because some manager decided I should start going to the office when I was hired virtual and promised I could work from wherever I want,” he added.

“My months of struggling to make three days a week are over, and I know that my time at Amazon has to end,” an employee named Laura said after the five-day mandate.

“Honestly, I’ve lost so much trust in Amazon leadership at this point,” she adds. “I’ve been updating my resume and portfolio, and rage applying to new jobs on LinkedIn.”

Other Big Tech Companies Are Not Following Amazon’s Example

As further proof of Amazon’s misguided attempt to roll back the clock and return to pre-pandemic norms, the company’s two biggest rivals have reaffirmed their commitment to hybrid work in the wake of Amazon’s decision.

Scott Guthrie, executive VP of Microsoft Cloud and AI Group, reassured staff that Microsoft had no intention of implementing a full RTO mandate as long as employees remained productive.

Similarly, a Google VP responded to a question from employees during a recent “TGIF” (Thank God It’s Friday) monthly meeting. The VP said the company’s existing system was working, and no changes were planned. CEO Sundar Pichai added that the existing system would continue as long as remote and hybrid employees remained productive, echoing Microsoft’s approach.

With a Blind survey showing that some 73% of polled employees are considering a job change in the wake of its RTO mandate, Amazon may soon find itself unable to retain or attract the talent it needs to remain competitive at a time when Microsoft and Google are making major inroads against its cloud business.

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Microsoft Delays Recall Rollout to Year’s End

Microsoft has once again delayed the rollout of its controversial Recall feature, saying it needs more time to get it right.

Recall is a feature that takes constant screenshots of what a user is doing and makes them searchable via natural language interaction.

• While a promising idea, it immediately raised concerns over privacy and security. While Microsoft says all data is stored and processed locally, and never uploaded, that is merely a policy decision not a technical limitation. Many critics have expressed concern that, over time, the company could push users to allow Recall to upload and process the plethora of information it has access to in the cloud.
• From a security perspective, early iterations of Recall were a nightmare, with inadequate protections against data exfiltration. To make matters worse, the wealth of sensitive data Recall gathers will instantly make it a high-priority target for bad actors. It’s little wonder that cybersecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont said: “Microsoft are going to deliberately set cybersecurity back a decade & endanger customers by empowering low level criminals.”

In an effort to listen to feedback and beef up security, Microsoft delayed Recall’s rollout in mid-July, saying it would be available to Windows Insiders in October. October has now come and gone with no Recall in sight.

In a statement to The Verge, Brandon LeBlanc, senior product manager of Windows, said the rollout is now delayed until December.

“We are committed to delivering a secure and trusted experience with Recall. To ensure we deliver on these important updates, we’re taking additional time to refine the experience before previewing it with Windows Insiders,” said LeBlanc.” Originally planned for October, Recall will now be available for preview with Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs by December.”

Given how controversial Recall has been, it’s a safe bet many users are hoping the rollout gets delayed indefinitely.

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Google Expands AI Overviews to More Than 100 Countries

Google is expanding AI Overviews in Search, rolling out the feature to more than 100 countries, providing access to more than one billion users.

Google has been working to integrate AI with its search, eager to tap stave off competition from AI firms like OpenAI and Perplexity. AI Overviews are an important part of that strategy.

With AI Overviews in Search, it’s easier than ever for people to find the information they need and discover relevant sites across the web, which opens up more opportunities to connect with publishers, businesses and creators.

The company has launched its biggest expansion yet, bringing the feature to more than 100 countries.

Since launching in May and expanding beyond the U.S. in August, the feedback we’ve received for AI Overviews has been highly positive. People prefer using Search with AI Overviews, and they find their search results more helpful.

So now, in our largest expansion yet, we’re launching AI Overviews in more than 100 countries and making them accessible in more languages — helping you search in a whole new way, no matter what questions are on your mind.

Google says it has made improvements to AI Overviews, making it easier to find relevant websites and better connecting people with helpful products.

Helping people discover content from publishers, businesses and creators remains central to our approach with AI Overviews in Search. Since May, we’ve introduced more prominent ways to show links to relevant websites within AI Overviews, with a right-hand link display on desktop and a similar experience on mobile, accessible by tapping the site icons in the upper right. And earlier this month, we launched in-line links that appear directly within the text of AI Overviews. In our testing, these updates drove an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous designs.

As always, ads will continue to appear in dedicated slots throughout the page, with clear labeling to distinguish between organic and sponsored results. And as we shared earlier this month, ads in AI Overviews are now available on relevant queries for mobile users in the U.S., so we can better connect people with the products and brands that are helpful to their searches.

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Google Will Release Android 16 Months Early

Google has announced major changes to Android development schedule, saying it will release a major update in Q2 instead of Q3, followed by a minor release in Q4.

Traditionally, Google has always released major versions in Q3 or Q4, with this year’s Android 15 released in October. According to a company blog post, Android 16 will be released months early in Q2. Google says the schedule change is to better accommodate device launches.

Next year, we’ll have a major release in Q2 and a minor release in Q4, both of which will include new developer APIs. The Q2 major release will be the only release in 2025 to include behavior changes that can affect apps. We’re planning the major release for Q2 rather than Q3 to better align with the schedule of device launches across our ecosystem, so more devices can get the major release of Android sooner.

The Q4 minor release will pick up feature updates, optimizations, and bug fixes since the major release. It will also include new developer APIs, but will not include any app-impacting behavior changes.

Outside of the major and minor Android releases, our Q1 and Q3 releases will provide incremental updates to help ensure continuous quality. We’re actively working with our device partners to bring the Q2 release to as many devices as possible.

Google says developers will need to test their apps for compatibility with the Q2 release, but that the Q4 release is not slated to have any major behavioral changes.

With the major release coming in Q2, you’ll need to do your annual compatibility testing a few months earlier than in previous years to make sure your apps are ready. Major releases are just like the SDK releases we have today, and can include behavior changes along with new developer APIs – and to help you get started, we’ll soon begin the developer preview and beta program for the Q2 major release.

The minor release in Q4 will include new APIs, but, like the incremental quarterly releases we have today, will have no planned behavior changes, minimizing the need for compatibility testing. To differentiate major releases (which may contain planned behavior changes) from minor releases, minor releases will not increment the API level. Instead, they’ll increment a new minor API level value, which will be accessed through a constant that captures both major and minor API levels. A new manifest attribute will allow you to specify a minor API level as the minimum required SDK release for your app. We’ll have an initial version of support for minor API levels in the upcoming Q2 developer preview, so please try building against the SDK and let us know how this works for you.

Google says one of its goals is to accelerate Android development.

Our aim with these changes is to enable faster innovation and a higher level of quality and polish across releases, without introducing more overhead or costs for developers. At the same time, we’re welcoming an even closer collaboration with you throughout the year. Stay tuned for more information on the first developer preview of Android 16.

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ChatGPT Search Is Now Live

OpenAI’s ChatGPT search engine is now live for Plus and Team users, with the company promising it blends the best of natural language with web search.

News broke in late July that OpenAI was working on its own search engine, called SearchGPT, using AI to challenge Google’s core business. The company says it took the feedback it received from beta testers and has rolled the SearchGPT experience into ChatGPT.

Plus and Team users will see a search icon in their ChatGPT dialog boxes, whether on using it via the web, desktop, or mobile app. While users can manually click the search button, ChatGPT will choose to respond via the method it deems best by default.

Getting useful answers on the web can take a lot of effort. It often requires multiple searches and digging through links to find quality sources and the right information for you.

Now, chat can get you to a better answer: Ask a question in a more natural, conversational way, and ChatGPT can choose to respond with information from the web. Go deeper with follow-up questions, and ChatGPT will consider the full context of your chat to get a better answer for you.

As part of ChatGPT’s search results, OpenAI has partnered with various data and news providers to provide more visually appealing results for some categories, such as maps, news, sports, stocks, and weather.

Continuing its efforts to improve the reliability and credibility of AI results, ChatGPT will now provide sources for where it is getting its information from, making it much easier to verify for accuracy.

Chats now include links to sources, such as news articles and blog posts, giving you a way to learn more. Click the Sources button below the response to open a sidebar with the references.

ChatGPT search connects people with original, high-quality content from the web and makes it part of their conversation. By integrating search with a chat interface, users can engage with information in a new way, while content owners gain new opportunities to reach a broader audience. We hope to help users discover publishers and websites, while bringing more choice to search.

ChatGPT Search Sources – Credit OpenAI

“We are convinced that AI search will be, in a near future and for the next generations, a primary way to access information, and partnering with OpenAI positions Le Monde at the forefront of this shift,” Louis Dreyfus, CEO & Publisher of Le Monde. “It allows us to test innovations at an early stage while safeguarding journalism’s core values and integrity.”

“As AI reshapes the media landscape, Axel Springer’s partnership with OpenAI opens up tremendous opportunities for innovative advancements,” said Mathias Sanchez, SVP Global Strategic Partnerships Axel Springer SE. “Together, we’re driving new business models that ensure journalism remains both trustworthy and profitable.”

The company says it will continue to improve ChatGPT search, including bringing the experience to Advanced Voice and canvas.

The search model is a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o, post-trained using novel synthetic data generation techniques, including distilling outputs from OpenAI o1-preview. ChatGPT search leverages third-party search providers, as well as content provided directly by our partners, to provide the information users are looking for. Learn more here⁠(opens in a new window).

Thanks to feedback from the SearchGPT prototype, we brought the best of the SearchGPT experience into ChatGPT. We plan to keep improving search, particularly in areas like shopping and travel, and leverage the reasoning capabilities of the OpenAI o1 series to do deeper research. We also plan to bring our new search experience to Advanced Voice and canvas, as well as to Free and logged out users in the future.

Upending the Search Market

Industry experts believe ChatGPT search represents the greatest threat Google has ever faced, and will fundamentally change how users interact with online information.

“This is huge news in the search world. ChatGPT is probably best positioned amongst all competitors to upset Google’s dominance in search, and aspects of the new interface, such as ‘visual answers,’ appear to be innovative and potentially disruptive,” Damian Rollison, SOCi’s director of market insights, said in a statement to WPN. “However, of all areas for ChatGPT to compete with Google, search is the one where Google’s power as an incumbent with a 26-year head start is strongest.

“The early results of Bing search integrated into ChatGPT have been shaky, and the incredibly complex requirements of maintaining a world-class search platform tap into areas of expertise where OpenAI has yet to demonstrate its capabilities,” Rollison continued. “Probably, the success of SearchGPT will hinge on its bringing a different approach to the search experience that users find truly refreshing and new.”

“OpenAI’s integration of real-time search into ChatGPT marks yet another significant shift in how we interact with online information in the age of AI,” Alon Yamin, co-founder and CEO of Copyleaks, explained in a statement to WPN. “In July, OpenAI shared that they were prototyping a search feature that could compete with Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity, so it was only a matter of time before it arrived on the market. Undoubtedly, the new search capabilities will impact traditional search engines. Yet, it remains to be seen how it will affect the SEO landscape, which Google has been king of for so long, and how organizations and marketing teams will have to pivot in response to those changes.

“It also underscores a crucial point long emphasized at Copyleaks- the growing importance of content authenticity and verification in an AI-powered world,” Yamin added. “As AI tools become more sophisticated and part of our day-to-day lives, distinguishing between AI-generated and human-created content, properly attributing original sources or authors, and empowering overall originality becomes even more critical. This is precisely where the focus needs to remain – providing robust content integrity solutions that are evolving alongside the demands of the AI landscape.”

Thanks to its recent court loss in its antitrust trial, Google’s position is weaker than it ever has been. OpenAI may have taken the first step toward ending the search giant’s dominance.

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Thunderbird for Android Goes Live

After less than a month in beta, the Thunderbird team has released the official version of Thunderbird for Android.

The Thunderbird team acquired the popular K-9 Mail Android client roughly two years ago, with the goal of using it as the basis for a true Thunderbird email app for the mobile platform. Although the effort took longer than anticipated, the team released a beta in early October, and have now followed that up with the full release.

Just over two years ago, we announced our plans to bring Thunderbird to Android by taking K-9 Mail under our wing. The journey took a little longer than we had originally anticipated and there was a lot to learn along the way, but the wait is finally over! For all of you who have ever asked “when is Thunderbird for Android coming out?”, the answer is – today! We are excited to announce that the first stable release of Thunderbird for Android is out now, and we couldn’t be prouder of the newest, most mobile member of the Thunderbird family.

The company outlined the new feature available in the final release.

New

• Thunderbird for Android now looks like a Thunderbird!
• New Material 3 folder drawer gives Thunderbird a fresh new look.
• Migrate your settings from K-9 Mail to Thunderbird using an in-app settings import.
• Migrate your settings from Thunderbird Desktop to Thunderbird for Android using QR codes.
• You can make financial contributions via Google Play in-app purchases (play store variant), or opening our fundraising page (foss variant). Support Thunderbird today!
• Updated OAuth support for Fastmail and various other providers.
• Enhanced folder management, removed folder display and push classes.
• Updated translations for multiple languages, including Norsk Nynorsk and Irish.

Changed From the Beta

• Updated text color of read messages in the message list for better visibility.
• A number of accessibility improvements when using Talkback.
• Addressed crashes in account management, crypto provider dialogs, and QR code import.

Unresolved

• We are aware of user feedback from the beta list on the new folder drawer and seek to make improvements in upcoming releases.

The new version seamlessly imports settings and email accounts from K-9, although users will need to export their settings from the K-9 app, as Thunderbird doesn’t yet support direct app-to-app import. Nonetheless, at least in this writer’s experience, the import went perfectly.

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Siemens Acquiring Altair Engineering

Siemens announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Altair Engineering in a bid to strengthen its industrial software and AI offerings.

Siemens is a well-known name in the tech, infrastructure, healthcare, and transport industries, but the company has been increasing its software business, buying up other companies to bolster its capabilities. The company purchased Brightly Software for $1.5 billion in 2022, and the company is now adding Altair Engineering to its list of acquisitions.

By adding Altair’s highly complementary simulation portfolio, with strength in mechanical and electromagnetic capabilities, we are enhancing our comprehensive Digital Twin to deliver a full-suite, physics-based, simulation portfolio as part of Siemens Xcelerator. Altair’s data science and AI-powered simulation capabilities allow anyone, from engineers to generalists, to access simulation expertise to decrease time-to-market and accelerate design iterations. Additionally, Altair’s data science capabilities will unlock Siemens’ industrial domain expertise in product lifecycle and manufacturing processes.

Siemens estimates the acquisition will increase the company’s digital business revenue by more than 8%, translating to an addition of EUR ~600 million to the EUR 7.3 billion the company earned in 2023.

“Acquiring Altair marks a significant milestone for Siemens. This strategic investment aligns with our commitment to accelerate the digital and sustainability transformations of our customers by combining the real and digital worlds. The addition of Altair’s capabilities in simulation, high performance computing, data science, and artificial intelligence together with Siemens Xcelerator will create the world’s most complete AI-powered design and simulation portfolio,” said Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG. “It is a logical next step: we have been building our leadership in industrial software for the last 15 years, most recently, democratizing the benefits of data and AI for entire industries.”

“The acquisition of Altair is highly synergistic, underpinning Siemens’ stringent capital allocation, balancing investments and shareholder returns on the basis of a strong balance sheet. The transaction is expected to be EPS accretive two years post-closing,” said Ralf P. Thomas, CFO of Siemens AG.

“This acquisition represents the culmination of nearly 40 years in which Altair has grown from a startup in Detroit to a world-class software and technology company. We have added thousands of customers globally in manufacturing, life sciences, energy and financial services, and built an amazing workforce, and innovative culture,” said James Scapa, Altair’s founder and CEO. “We believe this combination of two strongly complementary leaders in the engineering software space brings together Altair’s broad portfolio in simulation, data science, and HPC with Siemens’ strong position in mechanical and EDA design. Siemens’ outstanding technology, strategic customer relationships, and honest, technical culture is an excellent fit for Altair to continue its journey driving innovation with computational intelligence.”

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Google Using AI to Write More Than a Quarter of Its Code

Alphabet CEO Sunda Pichai made a surprising revelation, saying Google is now using AI to write more than a quarter of all new code.

Pichai made the statement in the company’s Q3 2024 earnings call.

We’re also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency. Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster.

Pichai’s statement echoes a recent interview of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in which he touted the benefits of using AI to generate code, even saying he didn’t feel the company’s engineers were using it enough.

“I think that AI touches so many different elements of day-to-day life, and sure, search is one of them,” [Brin said](“I think that AI touches so many different elements of day-to-day life, and sure, search is one of them,” Brin said. “But it kind of covers everything. For example, programming itself, the way that I think about it is very different now.). “But it kind of covers everything. For example, programming itself, the way that I think about it is very different now.

“Writing code from scratch feels really hard, compared to just asking the AI to do it,” Brin continued, to laughter from the audience. “I’ve written a little bit of code myself, just for kicks, just for fun. And then sometimes I’ve had the AI write the code for me, which was fun.”

“They were kind of impressed because they don’t honestly use the AI tools for their own coding as much as I think they ought to,” he added.

Gemini Insights

Pichai said Gemini use was growing dramatically, both in users and across the company’s platforms.

Our research teams also drive our industry-leading Gemini model capabilities, including long context understanding, multimodality, and agentive capabilities. By any measure — token volume, API calls, consumer usage, business adoption — usage of the Gemini models is in a period of dramatic growth. And our teams are actively working on performance improvements and new capabilities for our range of models. Stay tuned!

And they’re building out experiences where AI can see and reason about the world around you. Project Astra is a glimpse of that future. We’re working to ship experiences like this as early as 2025.

We then work to bring those advances to consumers and businesses: Today, all seven of our products and platforms with more than 2 billion monthly users use Gemini models. That includes the latest product to surpass the 2 billion user milestone, Google Maps. Beyond Google’s own platforms, following strong demand, we’re making Gemini even more broadly available to developers. Today we shared that Gemini is now available on GitHub Copilot, with more to come.

Google has made a change to the Gemini team’s organization, in an effort to speed up further development.

We recently moved the Gemini app team to Google DeepMind to speed up deployment of new models, and streamline post-training work. This follows other structural changes that have unified teams in research, machine learning infrastructure and our developer teams, as well as our security efforts and our Platforms and Devices team. This is all helping us move faster. For instance, it was a small, dedicated team that built Notebook LM, an incredibly popular product that has so much promise.

Conclusion

Overall, Pichai’s comments are a fascinating look into how AI is revolutionizing Big Tech, giving companies the ability to develop and innovate at a faster pace.

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Dropbox Lays Off 20% Of Its Workforce

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston sent a letter to employees, informing them that roughly 20%, or 528 employees, are being laid off.

Houston said the company is in “transitional period,” as Dropbox works to grow out additional projects, while maintaining its existing services and infrastructure.

As we’ve shared over the last year, we’re in a transitional period as a company. Our FSS business has matured, and we’ve been working to build our next phase of growth with products like Dash. However, navigating this transition while maintaining our current structure and investment levels is no longer sustainable.

Houston also acknowledged that Dropbox’s organizational structure has become too complex, with excess management layers slowing down innovation.

We continue to see softening demand and macro headwinds in our core business. But external factors are only part of the story. We’ve heard from many of you that our organizational structure has become overly complex, with excess layers of management slowing us down.

And while I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in the last couple years, in some parts of the business, we’re still not delivering at the level our customers deserve or performing in line with industry peers. So we’re making more significant cuts in areas where we’re over-invested or underperforming while designing a flatter, more efficient team structure overall.

The CEO goes on to express his confidence in the company’s direction, saying the industry is rapidly moving into the very space that Dropbox has been investing heavily in.

The changes we’re making today, while difficult, come at a pivotal moment when the market is accelerating precisely where we’ve placed our biggest bets. It’s been tremendously rewarding over the last few weeks to see customers and prospects light up when using Dash for Business for the first time, much like people did when we first launched Dropbox.

And this time we’re starting from a position of strength. Millions of customers trust us as the home for their most important files, making the leap to organizing all their cloud content a natural evolution.

But we’re not operating on our own schedule. This market is moving fast and investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into this space. This both validates the opportunity we’ve been pursuing and underscores the need for even more urgency, even more aggressive investment, and decisive action.

Employees being laid off will be eligible for sixteen weeks of pay, in addition to an additional week for each full year with the company. The impacted employees will also receive their Q4 equity vest, as well remaining paid leaves that are current or approved, including medical and family leaves. Those on the Corporate Bonus plan will receive a pro-rated payment equal to their expected 2024 bonus.

Employees will also be able to keep company devices for their personal use, and be able to use COBRA for health insurance in the US for up to six months, or receive a one-month healthcare extension in Canada.

The company will also provide job placement and career coaching assistance at no cost.

Ultimately, Houston took responsibility for the decision, apologizing to those impacted.

As CEO, I take full responsibility for this decision and the circumstances that led to it, and I’m truly sorry to those impacted by this change.

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How to Identify Your Target Audience Effectively In Marketing Strategies

In these tech-savvy times, formulating the right strategy in digital marketing becomes the ultimate endeavor for any business intending to reach its target audience, create awareness for its brand, and consequently generate sales. The vastness of online platforms and umpteen advertising opportunities make strategizing a bit tad overwhelming. You can, nonetheless, devise a plan if you pay heed to a set of key elements. In this article, you will learn in detail about the elements you should consider in creating a holistic digital marketing strategy.

Define Your Goals and Objectives

Third-party tools need to be used to measure conversion rates and report on them. Before filling in all the details of your digital marketing plan, you need to state some clear, measurable objectives. For what do you want to use your digital marketing? Your goals may range from merely increasing website traffic, generating leads, or increasing sales to growing social media presence or visibility of your brand. Remember, all these objectives should align with your overall business objectives and be SMART-specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

A specific and measurable goal is “increase website traffic by 25% over the next six months.” When all of your objectives are very clear, it’s easier to choose the right marketing channel and activities to reach those objectives.

Know Your Target Audience

The major essentials of any digital marketing strategy start with truly understanding who your audience is. Research to create detailed buyer personas that describe your ideal customers. Consider demographics, behaviors, interests, pain points, and online activities.

It helps you to fit the messaging, the content, and ad placements. For example, if your audience consists of young professionals, you would center on social media platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn. If your targets are older, perhaps email marketing and Facebook will serve as better channels. Knowing your audience means that your marketing efforts can resonate with the right people.

SEO Optimization of Your Website

SEO forms part of every online marketing strategy. It can be used here to optimize the rankings of your websites among popular search engines such as Google. Higher rankings mean increased visibility, more traffic flow, and finally, more conversions.

Start by doing some keyword research to understand which terms and phrases your target audience is using to search. Weave these keywords into the content on your website, such as blog posts, product descriptions, and meta tags. Also, ensure your website is mobile-friendly, loads in an instant, and the user experience is good since these factors too contribute to ranking high in search.

While SEO takes time to develop, it is a long-term process that gradually enhances your website’s organic traffic without the usage of any paid advertisements.

Leverage Content Marketing

Amongst all effective tools, content marketing helps you connect with your audiences and win their trust by portraying your business as a thought leader within your industry. Valuable and relevant content attracts potential customers and keeps your brand top of their minds.

Think of a content strategy-development plan and create a plan for a blog, article, video, infographic, and other forms of content that best suit the needs of your audience. For instance, in the case of a fitness industry, one could blog about workout tips, nutrition advice, or the benefits you can gain from certain exercises.

Keep in mind that consistency is key. Ongoing publication of new content makes your audience return for more; it also greatly enhances the SEO performance of your website.

Utilize Social Media Marketing

Social media is such a strong tool for extensive reach, creating brand awareness, and customer engagement. Through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, one may connect on a personal level with their audience, be able to show the personality of your brand, and be in a position to promote one’s products or services.

Amplify your social media marketing efforts by identifying which platforms your ideal audience spends most of their time. Create a content calendar and post regularly, publishing a mix of organic and paid social media to reach even more users. Engagement with followers through comments, sharing, and direct messages builds relationships and creates a loyal community around your brand.

Add Email Marketing

Email marketing, despite the rise of social media, remains among the most effective methods of digital marketing strategies for all businesses, from large to small. This lets you get a hold of an audience, be it for marketing products or simply offering value-added content.

Entice them to join your email list by giving them reasons such as discounts, free guides, or newsletters. Nurture the leads through personalized emails for them to move down the sales funnel. You can also consider having segregated email campaigns since it allows you to segment your audience based on behaviors or interests and target each group specifically.

Engage a Agency

If a business does not have the time, the expertise, or the resources to run its digital marketing in-house, then outsourcing with a digital marketing agency is quite vital. With a specialized agency, there is full knowledge and experience on the table to help create and execute a comprehensive strategy that identifies with business objectives.

Most marketing agencies are made up of teams specializing in most aspects of digital marketing: from SEO to content creation and even social media management and PPC advertising. Working with an agency simply empowers you with professionals; innovative skills are passed on to you in the process, allowing you to focus fully on the full range of your core operations.

Whenever hiring a marketing agency, make sure to find out if they have previous work experience in your industry and if they genuinely understand your goals. In any case, a good agency will involve you in the process, shaping your digital marketing according to your needs.

Track and Measure Your Performance

The final key ingredient of a successful digital marketing strategy is to know how to track and analyze your performance. Using tools such as Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing software will help you measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. Metrics to track will include website traffic, click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement level to determine what is working and what is not.

By conducting regular performance reviews, you make informed decisions and readjust your strategy in the pursuit of potentially better results. Long-term success is built upon continuous improvements in digital marketing.

Conclusion

A complete integrated digital marketing strategy requires multiple components to work together to meet business objectives. The clear objectives, knowing who your audience is, optimizing for SEO, leveraging content and social media marketing, email marketing, finding a marketing agency, and tracking performance-are the keys to a strategy which will serve your business with traffic, conversions, and growth. With thorough planning and continuous execution, digital marketing can become a great tool to catch your target audience and bring in long-lasting success.

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Top 10 Benefits of Automating Your Marketing Strategy with AI

In today’s fast-paced digital world, marketing professionals are constantly looking for ways to streamline their processes and enhance customer engagement. While automation has been a game-changer, it’s no longer enough to stay ahead of the competition. The evolution from basic automation to using artificial intelligence (AI) represents a significant leap in marketing efficiency and effectiveness. This shift allows marketers to create smarter, more personalized campaigns that can respond to the ever-changing needs of their audience. Let’s explore the benefits of automating marketing strategy with AI and how it can elevate your marketing efforts.

Defining Artificial Intelligence and Automation  

Before diving into the benefits, it’s important to distinguish between automation and AI. Automation refers to the process of using technology to complete repetitive tasks with minimal human input. It’s ideal for sending scheduled emails, managing social media posts, and organizing workflows. Artificial intelligence, however, goes beyond automation by learning from data, making decisions, and even predicting future trends. AI in marketing can analyze vast amounts of information, identify patterns, and execute complex tasks that require a deeper level of intelligence, such as crafting content tailored to a buyer persona or segmenting your audience more effectively.

10 Reasons Why Marketers Should Use AI in Marketing Automation  

1. Improved Customer Segmentation. One of the top AI automation benefits for marketing is improved customer segmentation. AI can analyze customer data to create precise segments based on behavior, preferences, and past interactions. This allows marketers to deliver hyper-personalized messages that resonate with each unique audience segment.
2. Enhanced Personalization. AI-driven marketing assistants can create personalized customer experiences by predicting what individual users are looking for. This boosts engagement, increases conversions, and strengthens brand loyalty. AI-powered solutions like Elsa from M1-project help businesses tailor their communication to suit their customers’ specific needs.
3. Data-Driven Decision Making. AI doesn’t just execute tasks; it learns from data. By automating your marketing strategy with AI, you can make decisions based on real-time insights and data analysis. This helps marketers optimize campaigns in real-time, improving ROI and reducing wasted budget.
4. Predictive Analytics. One of the key benefits of automating marketing strategy with AI is its ability to predict customer behavior. AI algorithms can analyze past purchase behavior and browsing habits to predict future actions, helping marketers target the right customers at the right time with the right message.
5. AI for Buyer Persona Development. AI tools excel at analyzing massive datasets, which is crucial for developing detailed buyer personas. Instead of relying on assumptions or manual data collection, AI can automatically generate and refine buyer personas, giving marketers more accurate and actionable insights into their target audience.
6. Optimized Ad Campaigns. AI can automatically adjust your ad campaigns based on performance data, ensuring your budget is spent efficiently. Whether it’s A/B testing or adjusting bids in real-time, AI-driven tools can take the guesswork out of optimizing your marketing spend.
7. Increased Efficiency. By using AI in marketing automation, teams can significantly reduce time spent on mundane tasks such as scheduling posts, managing emails, or collecting data. This frees up valuable time for marketers to focus on creative and strategic initiatives.
8. Enhanced Customer Support. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle customer inquiries 24/7, ensuring customers receive immediate support. By automating this aspect of customer service, brands can enhance user experience while reducing the workload on human agents.
9. Scalability. The beauty of AI is that it scales effortlessly. Whether you’re managing 1,000 customers or 1,000,000, AI-driven solutions can manage, analyze, and optimize your marketing efforts at any scale, ensuring your growth is supported by efficient processes.
10. Competitive Edge. By adopting AI to automate your marketing strategy, businesses gain a significant competitive edge. AI-driven marketing assistants, such as Elsa from M1-project, allow companies to be more responsive, more personalized, and more efficient than competitors still relying on traditional automation.

10 Top Tips for Successfully Implementing AI Marketing Automation  

1. Start small: Focus on one area to automate first, such as email marketing or customer segmentation.
2. Choose the right tools: Look for AI-powered platforms that align with your business goals, such as AI marketing assistants or predictive analytics tools.
3. Invest in training: Ensure your team understands how to work with AI tools and interpret the data they produce.
4. Integrate with existing systems: Your AI tools should work seamlessly with your current CRM and marketing platforms.
5. Use AI for content creation: Automate content generation with AI tools that can write blogs, social media posts, and personalized emails.
6. Measure performance: Set KPIs and regularly analyze AI-driven campaigns to understand their impact.
7. Prioritize data quality: The success of AI depends on accurate data, so ensure your customer information is up-to-date and complete.
8. Continuously optimize: AI is constantly learning, so regularly update your tools and strategies based on new insights.
9. Balance automation with human creativity: Use AI for efficiency, but maintain human oversight for creativity and strategic decision-making.
10. Stay updated: AI is rapidly evolving, so stay informed on the latest trends and advancements.

Wrapping Up  

The benefits of automating your marketing strategy with AI are vast. From improved customer segmentation to predictive analytics, AI is transforming how marketers engage with their audiences. Whether you’re using AI for buyer persona development or optimizing ad campaigns, incorporating AI can lead to better results, higher efficiency, and a stronger competitive position in the marketplace. Tools like Elsa from M1-project exemplify how AI marketing assistants can drive personalization and strategic success. By leveraging these top AI automation benefits for marketing, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and continually enhance their marketing efforts.

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