The Greatest
/The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. -William James (born: Jan. 11, 1842)
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
A Dozen Articles about Employees Using AI at Work
/Employees want ChatGPT at work. Bosses worry they’ll spill secrets. – Washington Post
Panic and possibility: What workers learned about AI in 2023 – BBC
AI In The Workplace: Helpful Or Harmful? – JD Supra
How to use ChatGPT to make charts and tables – ZDnet
5 ChatGPT Prompts To Feel Invincible At Work – Forbes
Despite Office Bans, Some Workers Still Want to Use ChatGPT – Wall Street Journal
New Gen Z graduates are fluent in AI and ready to join the workforce – Washington Post
A Guide to Collaborating With ChatGPT for Work - Wall Street Journal
AI bots lack one critical skill for customer service jobs – Tech Target
10 most in-demand generative AI skills – CIO
The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Generative AI in the Workplace - Wall Street Journal
Becoming Real
/"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
“Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
I’m still wounded
/I’m still wounded. I’ve learned there is no finish line for healing. But my wounds have meaning now — and for that, and for the people who have made it possible, I will be forever grateful. -Banning Lyon
13 Free Media Webinars in the next 8 days: Podcasting, Generative AI, Disinformation, Social Media, & more
/Mon, Jan 8 - So You Want To Run A Podcast
What: Sarah Ventre will discuss her career in audio investigative journalism, the perils and promise of embedded reporting, and how she has survived and thrived in a changing media landscape.
Who: Sarah Ventre whose podcast was named one of 2020’s top podcasts by both The New Yorker and The Atlantic. Her reporting there won an Edward R. Murrow award for journalistic excellence.
When: 6 pm, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists
Tues, Jan 9 - A Discussion with Brooke Kroeger on her book Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism
What: This book explores how women have fared in American journalism’s most competitive and highly valued bastions, the ones men have dominated in the 180 years since mass media began.
Who: Brooke Kroeger, a journalist, professor emerita at NYU, and the author of six books, the latest of which is Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism, published by A.A. Knopf in May 2023.
When: 7 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The New England Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
Tue, Jan 9 - The Trainer’s Guide to Podcasting
What: You’ll discover how to find your podcasting style and voice, why it’s a good idea for trainers, and exactly how to get started. Takeaway a game plan for quickly creating messages that matter, building your audience, and translating it all into training results.
Who: Becky Pike Pluth who more than 24 years of experience in training delivery and design and business operations, she has been the owner of The Bob Pike Group for the past eight years. She also is the author of Creative Training: A Train-the-Trainer Field Guide, 101 Movie Clips that Teach and Train and nine other influential books and resources.
When: 9 am, Pacific
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Wed, Jan 10 – Disruptive AI and Blabbing Chatbots: Are You Ready to Fight or Adapt?
What: Find out how AI could disrupt your writing and editing career — and what you can do about it (or how you can adapt to coming changes). Our panel of experts will discuss what AI is, how it works and whether writers and researchers can use the tools effectively to brainstorm, research and outline new ideas.
Who: Harry Guinness, freelance writer; Jeanne Dietsch, former New Hampshire state senator and founder of Mobilerobots and Activmedia research; Jon Christian executive editor of Futurism; Linda Whitaker computer scientist, Ph.D in operations research and novelist; Arielle Emmett, moderator
When: 1:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The American Society of Journalists & Authors
Wed, Jan 10 – Confronting Disinformation: How Communicators can Navigate Trust & Truth in Society
What: Deciphering fact from fiction has become an ever-growing challenge. Join us for a webinar on the IPR-Leger 4th annual Disinformation in Society Report, where we’ll unravel the layers of disinformation’s impact on society, explore its repercussions, and equip communicators with actionable insights to rebuild trust.
Who: Tina McCorkindale, President & CEO of the Insttiute for Public Relations, Dave Scholz, Chief Strategy Officer at Leger
When: 4 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Institute for Public Relations
Wed, Jan 10 - Beyond ChatGPT - Navigating the LLM and Generative AI Landscape
What: Generative AI has taken the business world by storm, but vey few have explored the marketplace beyond ChatGPT or Bing AI. What other options are out there, how do they work and what advantages do they offer?
Who: Chad Udell, co-founder and co-CEO of Sparklearn and author of Shock of the New: The Challenge and Promise of Emerging Technologies.
When: 9 am, Pacific
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Thu, Jan 11 - From Birth to Death: A conversation on health disparities
What: We’ve known for a while that Black Americans fare far worse in health measures compared to their white counterparts. But reporters with the Associated Press wanted to know how wide these disparities are and why they persist and so they launched a year-long investigation. This webinar is about health equity and how you can cover it in your communities.
Who: Journalist Kat Stafford, one of the main reporters of the five-part AP series "From Birth to Death” that examined health disparities over a lifetime.
When: 12 noon, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
Thu, Jan 11 - The 2024 Social Media Trends to Get You More Followers & Sell More Products
What: The latest strategies that will not only boost your online presence but also drive sales. From emerging trends in content creation to leveraging influencer marketing for maximum impact, we'll guide you through the key elements that can propel your brand to new heights.
Who: Sana Ali is the VP of Social Media Marketing at Entrepreneur Magazine.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Entrepreneur
Thu, Jan 11 - Speculating about Our AI Future with Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, and Martha Wells
What: Three science fiction authors will discuss the promise, perils and possible impacts of artificial intelligence.
Who: Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation. Ken Liu is an American author of speculative fiction. He is a winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards. Martha Wells is the author of many books and has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, and Locus Awards.
When: 7 pm, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Illinois Libraries Present
Thu, Jan 11 - Public Relations Trends for the New Year
What: This webinar will discuss 2024 trends in public relations including the impact AI may have on the field, how to get ahead of the game related to key social media trends, and a look at the emerging importance of inclusive content creation.
Who: Members of NC’s public relations team and its PR agency, DCI.
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Visit NC
Fri, Jan 12 - Burnout & Stress: How journalists can manage both in 2024
What: A conversation focused on practical tips and effective methods for journalists and newsroom leaders to address stress and burnout. Journalists are likely to face stressors from many directions in 2024: the demands of constant deadlines, industry-wide financial turmoil, and an uncertain election season ahead are among them.
Who: Tara Francis Chan Managing editor & operations director for The Appeal; Naseem Miller Senior editor for health at The Journalist’s Resource; AX Mina Senior civic media fellow at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism; Samantha Ragland Vice president journalism programs at the American Press Institute; Bara Vaida Director of training for the National Press Club Journalism Institute.
When: 10:30 am, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: National Press Club
Tue, Jan 16 - Social media in college sports
What: Learn from industry leaders about the latest trends and strategies in sports social media for 2024. Elevate your social media skills by discovering innovative techniques & tools to better engage your audience and amplify your program's brand on social.
Who: Matthew Glick, Gipper Media, CEO & Founder; Kristen Keller, UC Santa Barbara Associate AD for Communications and Digital Strategy; Robert Rosa, Gipper Media, Creative Director; Lydia Thompson, Gipper Media, Inc. Partner Marketing
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: College Sports Communicators
Thu, Jan 18 - Advertising Predictions for 2024
What: Topics include: Which market segments are likely to thrive in 2024; How political advertising will impact the future ad landscape; What we can expect in the future for streaming platforms.
Who: Todd Krizelman, CEO MediaRadar
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Media Radar
Plagiarism & False Data in Academic Papers
/There are countless credible accusations of (academic) misconduct that go uncorrected; I myself have published articles challenging the integrity of hundreds of papers. The majority of them have not been retracted, corrected or even remarked upon. I would wager that most reasonably large universities (my own included) have faculty members who are known to have plagiarized, fabricated, falsified, claimed undue credit, hidden financial conflicts of interest or misbehaved in numerous other ways and who have seemingly gone unpunished."
New York University professor Charles Seife writing in the New York Times
Curiosity
/Curiosity is a muscle. The more you use it, the more it can do.
22 recent articles about where AI will go in 2024
/An OpenAI employee says prompt engineering is not the skill of the future — but knowing how to talk to humans will be – Business Insider
Generative AI will move from hype to actually being helpful – Semafor
How ‘A.I. Agents’ That Roam the Internet Could One Day Replace Workers – New York Times
Why AI struggles to predict the future – NPR
How AI will upend the customer service industry - Semafor
OpenAI’s chief scientist, on his hopes and fears for the future of AI - MIT Technology Review
Forrester’s 2024 Predictions Report warns of AI ‘shadow pandemic’ as employees adopt unauthorized tools – VentureBeat
2024: The year AI gets real - Axios
The biggest winners — and losers — in the coming AI job apocalypse – Business Insider
Now That Generative AI Is Here, Where Will All The Data Come From? – Forbes
Researchers think there’s a 5% chance AI could wipe out humanity – Semafor
Generative AI a la ChatGPT is pushing investors to new extremes of hype – Axios
The Generative AI Bubble Will Burst Soon – KD Nuggets
Wall Street Watchdog Says AI Will Cause 'Unavoidable' Economic Collapse – Gizmodo
Experts Predict the Future of Technology, AI & Humanity – Wired
An English professor long interested in the statistical analysis of literature & he thinks AI is a game-changer in our understanding of texts – Business Insider
How AI Is Impacting Society And Shaping The Future – Forbes
In its own words: The future of AI in sports – Sports Business Journal
iPhone 16 is poised to be an AI superphone — 5 rumors you need to know – Tom’s Guide
Everyone gets an AI agent – The Nieman Lab
Klarna CEO on how AI will make online shopping more 'emotional' – Semafor
Where is AI Heading in 2024? Looking Ahead To AI In 2024 – Forbes
AI & Soft Skills
/When it comes to using ChatGPT at work, some business leaders believe that soft skills will be crucial in the age of AI. Earlier this month, Aneesh Raman, a vice president at LinkedIn, said that communication, creativity, and flexibility are skills that will set employees apart in the workforce as opposed to technical skills like coding. Perhaps doubling down on what makes you human may be what saves you from being replaced by AI. -Aaron Mok
Accountability
/People who can't communicate think everything is an argument. And People who lack accountability think everything is an attack.
Something AI is good at—and something it's not
/“Studies this year of ChatGPT in legal analysis and white-collar writing chores have found that the bot helps lower-performing people more than it does the most skilled. On a task that required reasoning based on evidence, however, ChatGPT was not helpful at all. Here, ChatGPT lulled employees into trusting it too much. Unaided humans had the correct answer 85 percent of the time. People who used ChatGPT without training scored just over 70 percent. Those who had been trained did even worse, getting the answer only 60 percent of the time. In interviews conducted after the experiment, “people told us they neglected to check because it’s so polished, it looks so right.’”
Read more in The New York Times
Turning happiness into a management tool
/A large American health-care provider, Ochsner Health System, introduced a rule that workers must make eye contact and smile whenever they walk within ten feet of another person in the hospital. Pret A Manger sends in mystery shoppers to visit every outlet regularly to see if they are greeted with the requisite degree of joy. Pass the test and the entire staff gets a bonus—a powerful incentive for workers to turn themselves into happiness police. Companies have a right to ask their employees to be polite when they deal with members of the public. They do not have a right to try to regulate their workers’ psychological states and turn happiness into an instrument of corporate control.
Companies would be much better off forgetting wishy-washy goals like encouraging contentment. They should concentrate on eliminating specific annoyances, such as time-wasting meetings and pointless memos. Instead, they are likely to develop ever more sophisticated ways of measuring the emotional state of their employees. Academics are already busy creating smartphone apps that help people keep track of their moods, such as Track Your Happiness and Moodscope. It may not be long before human-resource departments start measuring workplace euphoria via apps, cameras and voice recorders.
Schumpeter in The Economist
Career Choices
/Find what you are good at. Find what you have a passion for doing. People will pay you good money to do the things that fit within both circles. No one will be willing to pay for your "C minus" work (or not very much). So forget about bringing your "fours" up to "sixes" (on a scale of one to ten). Focus on getting your "eights "up to "nines" and your "nines" up to "tens." (A bit of an oversimplification but you get the idea).
Stephen Goforth
A Human/AI Blend isn't Always The Best Option
/A new study “recruited management consultants from Boston Consulting Group.” One of the tasks was to brainstorm about a new type of shoe, sketch a persuasive business plan for making it and write about it persuasively. Some researchers had believed only humans could perform such creative tasks. They were wrong. The consultants who used ChatGPT produced work that independent evaluators rated about 40 percent better on average. In fact, people who simply cut and pasted ChatGPT’s output were rated more highly than colleagues who blended its work with their own thoughts. And the A.I.-assisted consultants were more than 20 percent faster.
Read more in The New York Times
16 Articles about AI & Health Care
/AI’s big test: Making sense of $4 trillion in medical expenses - Politico
How to Use ChatGPT for Health: Doctors, Professionals Give Tips - Bloomberg
Medical AI Tools Can Make Dangerous Mistakes. Can the Government Help Prevent Them? - WSJ
UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges – Ars Technica
AI that reads brain scans shows promise for finding Alzheimer’s genes – Nature
New A.I. Tool Diagnoses Brain Tumors on the Operating Table – New York Times
Health data in the UK is about to flow more freely, like it or not (podcast) – The Guardian
Doctors Wrestle With A.I. in Patient Care, Citing Lax Oversight – New York Times
Researchers at Northwestern Medicine have created a generative AI system that can create text reports interpreting chest radiographs as accurately as radiologists. – Health IT Analytics
Where healthcare needs to focus for AI – Fast Company
How to Use ChatGPT for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - MakeUseOf
Balancing The Pros And Cons Of AI In Healthcare – Forbes
Google reveals new generative AI models for healthcare – Health Care Dive
Eliminating Racial Bias in Health Care AI – Yale School of Medicine
The passion that lies within
/The passion that lies within you must be discovered. -Laurie Calzada
19 Articles about Data Science & AI from Nov 2023
/Big Data Industry Predictions for 2024
“Bayesians moving from defense to offense?”
NGA leans in on AI, machine learning to improve data analysis
AI can be used to spot and mitigate attacks
10 Open-Source tools that every data scientist should learn
A Harvard professor explains in this video what algorithms are in 5 levels of difficulty
A look at what could be coming down to the pipeline for geospatial professionals in the coming year
Using memristor-based Bayesian neural networks
Build better KPIs with artificial intelligence
What Can the Sports Betting Industry Teach About Building Predictive Models?
Earth-sensing data: what a series of images through time in one location can tell you
The most interesting machine learning trends industry experts foresee in 2024
10 Tech Trends That Will Impact the Satellite Industry in 2024
What is Predictive Analytics? Benefits, Models and Use Cases
Pentagon's AI initiatives accelerate hard decisions on lethal autonomous weapons
Getting Advice
/It is certainly worthwhile getting another perspective from qualified friends about the decisions you face. Accepting advice is critical to raising the bar — as long as you continue to own your work and not allow others to take over.
Stephen Goforth
14 Articles about AI & the US Military
/Some tech leaders fear AI. ScaleAI is selling it to the military. - Washington Post
Israel is using an AI system to find targets in Gaza. Experts say it's just the start - NPR
Pentagon's AI initiatives accelerate hard decisions on lethal autonomous weapons – Niagara Gazette
A.I. Killer Drones Are Becoming Reality. Nations Disagree on Limits - New York Times
Scale AI wants to be America’s AI arms dealer to compete with China - Washington Post
NGA is looking closer at how large language models and data labeling can further the progress of artificial intelligence across the military – Breaking Defense
Military AI’s Next Frontier: Your Work Computer - Wired
A.I. Brings the Robot Wingman to Aerial Combat - New York Times
CIA Builds Its Own Artificial Intelligence Tool in Rivalry With China - Bloomberg
Let’s Talk About AI on the Battlefield - Washington Post
Air Force Secretary: Military needs AI to augment human capabilities - Space News
U.S. not ready for era of robotic, AI world wars - Axios
The militarized AI risk that’s bigger than “killer robots” - Vox
Autonomous drones are rapidly changing combat—a new one aims to gain an edge with jet power and AI - Wired