April 16, 2024

Majority of people feel confident in their ability to adapt to era of AI

by Mark Eltringham • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

Following yesterday’s news about the fears CEOs harbour with the advent of AI in the workplace, a new poll from Indeed suggests that nearly 9 in 10 UK workers (89 percent) feel confident in their ability to adapt to change over the next five years. According to the survey, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) feel the skills needed for their role will change in the next five years, with 15 percent expecting significant changes. More →

April 15, 2024

Siemens and Microsoft agree deal to unify digital twin languages

by Freddie Steele • Company news, Technology

In a collaborative move with the W3C Consortium, Siemens and Microsoft have announced their commitment to converge the Digital Twin Definition Language (DTDL) with the Thing Description standard from international standards organization, W3C. By unifying both languages, the firms say customers are offered consistent modeling experiences, mitigating fragmentation in an evolving IoT landscape. With customers typically deploying a mix of vendors in their infrastructure leading to lock-in and high integration efforts, this convergence will allow for simpler system integration and interoperability. More →

April 15, 2024

Half of bosses now live in fear that AI could steal their jobs

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

Hundreds of UK chief executives believe that artificial intelligence (AI) could steal their job, underlining widespread fears over the technology’s potential to shake up traditional working models. Nearly half (43 percent) of CEOs said they felt that their job could be at risk due to the technology, according to a new poll from AND Digital. The survey has been published in The CEO Digital Divide: are you accelerating enterprise value or slowing it down [registration], which surveyed 600 global CEOs and was conducted by independent research company Censuswide. More →

April 9, 2024

Microsoft announces new London AI research hub

by Jayne Smith • AI, News, Property, Technology

Microsoft AI is opening a new AI hub in Central London. The firm claims that the new Paddington based centre, dubbed Microsoft AI London will ‘drive pioneering work to advance state-of-the-art language models and their supporting infrastructure, and to create world-class tooling for foundation models’, collaborating closely with AI teams across Microsoft and with its partners, including OpenAI. More →

April 8, 2024

Prioritising your phone over your partner affects women’s creativity at work

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology, Wellbeing

Focusing attention on your mobile phone instead of your partner doesn’t just strain your relationship – it also affects creativity at work, according to researchers from the Universities of Bath, Aston, and IESE Business School. The study claims to shed light on the negative effects of ‘phubbing’, the idea of snubbing someone in favour of your phone, which is known for its detrimental impact on relationships and mental wellbeing. Now the study of working couples in the US points to repercussions in the workplace as well, but only for female partners. More →

April 3, 2024

AI turns out to be an effective administrator for academics

by Neil Franklin • AI, News, Technology

Researchers Maximilian Koehler, PhD candidate at ESMT, and Henry Sauermann, professor of strategy at ESMT, explore the role of AI, not as a “worker” performing specific research tasks such as data collection and analysis, but as a “manager” of human workers performing such tasks. Algorithmic management (AM) suggests a significant shift in the way research projects are conducted and can enable projects to operate at larger scale and efficiency. The study Algorithmic Management in Scientific Research is published in the journal Research Policy. More →

April 2, 2024

Virtual meetings can boost wellbeing and performance

by Jayne Smith • News, Technology, Wellbeing

Virtual meetings – often derided as impersonal and prone to technical glitches – can improve employee wellbeing and performance, a new study led by a Trinity Business School researcher has found. The research, conducted alongside Karin S. Moser (UniDistance Suisse, University of Queensland), Stefan Diestel (University of Wuppertal) and Isaac Alshaikh (South East Technological University Waterford), conducted during the ongoing shift to hybrid work environments and just published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, concludes that virtual meetings, a staple of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not just a necessity but can also be beneficial. More →

April 2, 2024

Policy response will determine if opportunities of AI in the workplace outweigh the risks

by Marvin Gort • AI, News, Technology, Workplace

A new OECD report Using AI in the Workplace sets out to sheds light on the multifaceted impact of AI adoption, emphasising both its benefits and potential risks. According to the report, AI can bring significant benefits to the workplace. In the OECD AI surveys of employers and workers, four in five workers say that AI improved their performance at work and three in five say that it increased their enjoyment of work. But the benefits of AI depend on addressing the associated risks. Taking the effect of AI into account, occupations at highest risk of automation account for about 27 percent of employment in OECD countries. More →

April 2, 2024

US and UK sign agreement on AI safety

by Marvin Gort • AI, News, Technology

In a landmark agreement, the United States and the United Kingdom have pledged to collaborate on testing advanced artificial intelligence (AI). This is the first-ever bilateral deal of its kind focused on AI safety. This agreement builds on commitments made at the AI Safety Summit last year, where both countries established AI Safety Institutes. These institutes will work together to develop robust methods for evaluating the safety of AI tools and systems. More →

March 29, 2024

FAANGs for the memories: how tech palaces lost their lustre

by Helen Parton • Features, Flexible working, IN Magazine, Premium Content, Technology, Workplace design

I was alerted by the great Jack Pringle during a presentation course he was giving to an unforgettable YouTube clip of Steve Jobs speaking to the local council as part of a planning application for his Apple Park in California, one of the great tech palaces that sprang up in the wake of the digital revolution. Jobs, in familiar black polo neck jumper and wire-rimmed spectacles, took the officials of Cupertino City Council on a journey of opportunity, awe and inspiration. More →

March 27, 2024

Up to 8 million UK jobs already at risk from AI without intervention

by Jayne Smith • AI, News, Technology

An analysis of the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the UK labour market uncovers a ‘distinct sliding doors moment’, with possibilities for huge job disruption in future or significant GDP gains, depending on government policy. The report from think tank the IPPR claims to identify two key stages of generative AI adoption: the first wave, which is here and now, and a second wave in which companies will integrate existing AI technologies further and more deeply into their processes. More →

March 25, 2024

Republic of Korea to join Horizon Europe programme

by Neil Franklin • Environment, News, Technology

Korea will join the growing group of countries associated with Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme. Horizon Europe is the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever with a budget of €95.5 billion for the period 2021-27, complemented by the financial contributions from associated countries. It is open to the world, which means that participants from all over the world can participate in nearly all calls. Entities from associated countries have additional opportunities in collaborative projects and are treated on par with the entities of EU Member States regarding the access to funds. More →