Empowering People
/Empower people by telling them their world is larger than they think.
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
11 Articles about AI & Work Productivity
/How to Use A.I. to Automate the Dreaded Office Meeting – New York Times
First study to look at AI in the workplace finds it boosts productivity – Axios
How ChatGPT in Microsoft Office could change the workplace – Venture Beat
Machines of mind: The case for an AI-powered productivity boom – Brookings
Companies want to use AI tracking to make you better at your job – Washington Post
Where AI's productivity revolution will strike first – Axios
To Work Fewer Hours, They Put AI on the Job: New tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney and Tome help professionals save time and boost their income – Wall Street Journal
Generative AI can change real estate, but the industry must change to reap the benefits - McKinsey
Is GenAI’s Impact on Productivity Overblown? - Harvard Business Review
Generative AI adoption at work hasn’t yet led to productivity gains, report says – HR Drive
The Impact of Technology on the Workplace: 2024 Report - Tech.co
Embracing Rituals
/Rituals help people transition through what would otherwise be a tumultuous period of their lives. And they let people savor the milestone they have just reached.
Creating stability at times of chaos: Though people associate events like graduations and weddings with joy, these moments also represent chaotic, potentially frightening life transitions. A wedding brings together two people to start a new, interdependent life. Graduation marks leaving the familiar world of school for the unknown world of work and grown-up responsibilities. Funerals and birthdays are two more examples.
In all four cases, there is a before and an after, as people leave their old world and enter into a new, uncertain one — and those transitions can breed anxiety.
It's easy to think that rituals like weddings are pointless and overdone. But that big cake, sparkling white dress or bouquet toss are helping us move through life in a positive and healthy way. There's no need to apologize for embracing it.
Emily Esfahani Smith writing in Mic
16 Recent Articles about AI & Politics
/Politicians, lobbyists are banned from using ChatGPT for official campaign business - NPR
China Is Stealing AI Secrets to Turbocharge Spying, U.S. Says – Wall Street Journal
FEC to weigh AI limits for political ads by ‘early summer,’ chair says - The Washington Post
AI-powered disinformation is spreading — is Canada ready for the political impact? - CBC
Google’s plan to quash AI-generated election misinformation – Semafor
Europe reaches a deal on the world's first comprehensive AI rules – Associated Press
Brazilian city enacts an ordinance that was secretly written by ChatGPT – Associated Press
An Iowa school district is using ChatGPT to decide which books to ban – The Verge
AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio tells Congress global AI rules are needed - The Washington Post
European Central Bank Is Experimenting With a New Tool: A.I. – New York Times
How generative AI will impact elections around the world - Axios
Microsoft Debates What to Do With A.I. Lab in China – New York Times
The Davos elite embraced AI in 2023. Now they fear it. - The Washington Post
Four things to know about China’s new AI rules in 2024 – MIT Tech Review
The AI Factor In Political Campaigns: Revolutionizing Modern Politics - Forbes
Silicon Valley insiders are trying to unseat Biden with help from AI - The Washington Post
Embracing the change
/Embracing the changing circumstances around you is not the same as personal growth. Real growth, real transition into adulthood, is an internal process.
Today's Sunshine
/Some people makes such thorough preparations for rainy days, that they aren’t enjoying today’s sunshine
Embracing the Life forced upon You
/From the beginning you are in the victim of circumstances. You're born, kicking and screaming, into an unknown family. As a child, you soak up influences that mold your mind in certain ways. When you finally get a driver’s license and move out of the house, you think, you’re free—but you marry someone who looks like your mother and drinks like your father. By the time you figure out who you are or what you want, a life has already been forced upon you. But it’s never too late to change. Although you can’t begin again from scratch, you can make a splendid ragout from the mishmash of damaged goods in your cupboard.
I choose how to live a life I didn’t choose.
Andrew Boyd, Daily Afflications
13 Media Webinars this Week: AI, PR, marketing, content creation, journalism & more
/Monday, Jan 22 - Public Relations Saves the World: Three Steps to Maximizing Media Opportunities
What: In this dynamic session, participants will gain valuable insights into the power a little prep work brings to an earned media strategy. Discover how to craft a strategic messaging plan that directly aligns with organizational goals, ensuring your organization can shine in any story it is a part of. Learn practical tips for proactively pitching media and responding to inbound requests. We will also discuss how to select the right spokesperson for any given moment and how to media and message train them for the highest impact.
Who: Alexson Calahan, Small Adventures Communications
When: 11 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Tue, Jan 23 - An AI and Data Playbook for Media and Entertainment
What: You’ll find out: How media and entertainment companies can reduce data silos and unify data to create a clear view of their customers; Ways to use AI algorithms and data analytics to better segment audiences; Tips for blending AI tools with the right data strategy to deliver personalized experiences
Who: Ismael Brown Product Marketing Manager Salesforce, Gaby Hosokawa Sr. Product Marketing Manager Salesforce
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: AdWeek
Tue, Jan 23 - Putting a Local Tinge to Global Stories: How One Small Paper Makes It Work
What: Learn how and why local news organizations can make the connection between local and global events. And stay within budget.
Who: Denise Dunbar Publisher and Executive Editor of the Alexandria Times; Carol Guensburg Deputy Editor for Standards and Practices, Voice of America
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Washington DC Pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
Tue, Jan 23 - Marketing on a Shoestring
What: Attendees will be able to: – Recognize no cost tools to help them grow their marketing – Take a deeper dive into Canva and create their own marketing content – Learn how to apply these tools to their own marketing techniques – Diversity their offerings and create a strong online presence.
Who: Rachel Hazzard, Temple SBDC Marketing & Communication Specialist.
When: 1 pm
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Dept. of Community & Economic Dev.
Tue, Jan 23 - Tools for Quick and Smart Content Creation
What: A handpicked selection of tools, from the most underrated to the most efficient: from intuitive design platforms and resourceful image libraries to AI-driven writing aids and interactive content generators. This session is not just about tool recommendations but about understanding how, when, and where to use them effectively.
Who: Garima Gupta, Founder & CEO, Artha Learning
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Wed, Jan 24 - Centering Humans in AI
What: In this session, attendees will learn how this technology is designed to make life easier for admins, helping them move faster and work smarter. Join two nonprofit experts as they explore how board management software not only benefits administrators, but also injects simplicity and efficiency into a nonprofit’s entire governance environment.
Who: Leah Grobey & Chelsey Reichart of OnBoard
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Nonprofit Learning Lab
Wed, Jan 24 - Ask the Experts: Focus on Ethics, Principles, and Governance of Generative AI
What: In this session, our experts will discuss recent increased innovation of AI applications such as Microsoft Copilot. This session offers practical advice for using AI responsibly.
Who: Joshua Peskay, RoundTable Technology 3CPO; Kim Snyder RoundTable Technology VP of Data Strategy
When: 1 pm
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: TechSoup
Wed, Jan 24 – Misinformation in the College Classroom: How are Faculty and Librarians Teaching News Literacy Skills?
What: Original research on faculty and librarians' perceptions of mis- and disinformation. Explore the ways in which they are addressing mis- and disinformation in their instruction, and ideas for how academic librarians can work with faculty to more fully integrate information literacy related to mis- and disinformation into college curricula across disciplines.
Who: Laura Saunders, a Professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Niche Academy
Thu, Jan 25 - Ask Me Anything About Science Writing and Journalism
What: First, a short talk on communication training, the art of writing, and why they are important for scientists. You will then have the chance to ask about science writing or journalism.
Who: Dr. Nathan Ni, Associate Science Editor and leader of the scientific services initiative of the magazine “The Scientist.”
When: 12 pm, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Applied Spectroscopy Technical Group
Thu, Jan 25 - Future Watch 2024: Key Trends and Events Public Relations Practitioners Should Have on Their Radar in the Coming Year
What: Learn about trends and events that will inform the work of public relations professionals, how to think like a futurist and how to scan for potential changes, and how to prepare for these changes and remain nimble in the coming months and years.
Who: Stephen Dupont, vice president of public relations at Pocket Hercules
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free for members
Sponsor: The Public Relations Society of America
Thu, Jan 25 - Introduction to AI Tools
What: In this session, we’ll work with MidJourney and Adobe Firefly to create photo illustrations; design graphics and charts using ChatGPT’s Daigr.am plug-in; use ScholarAI to do deep research and turn it into a Twitter thread. We’ll also demo text-to-audio tools and explore some pitfalls of AI tools and the issues surrounding them.
Who: Mike Reilley, senior lecturer at the Univ. of Illinois-Chicago, founder of JournalistsToolBox.ai
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Non-members $50, students $10
Sponsor: The Virginia Press Association
Fri, Jan 26 - Election 2024: How to use poll data to accurately inform the public
What: Participants will learn: How to spot a well-designed poll (and those that are not). To understand how the types of questions asked, people included in the polls, and the poll’s timing will impact a poll’s results. How to incorporate polling data in ethical, responsible ways. Tips from political reporters who have used polls in their work for decades
Who: Erin Covey U.S. House analyst, The Cook Political Report; Louis Jacobson Senior correspondent, PolitiFact; Jane Junn Professor of political science, University of Southern California; Courtney Kennedy Vice president of methods and innovation, Pew Research Center.
When: 11:30 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute
14 Articles about the Limitations of AI
/Over half of all tech industry workers view AI as overrated – TechSpot
AI May ‘Hallucinate’ More Often Than Many Realize - The New York Times
Why ChatGPT Is Getting Dumber at Basic Math – Wall Street Journal
What are LLMs bad at? Reference lists - Edifix
M.B.A. Students vs. ChatGPT: Who Comes Up With More Innovative Ideas? - Wall Street Journal
Why AI Isn’t Funny – The Messenger
AI Is a Waste of Time – The Atlantic
ChatGPT AI makes mistakes and stifles diversity of thought, according to workplace study – Axios
How Smart is ChatGPT? – Visual Capitalist
Has ChatGPT really gotten ‘lazy’? – Semafor
Honestly, I love when AI hallucinates – Washington Post
In Leaked Audio, Microsoft Cherry-Picked Examples to Make Its AI Seem Functional - Futurism
Generative AI Models Are Built to Hallucinate: The Question is How to Control Them - insideBIGDATA
No Transfers
/Ultimately each of use is on a unique journey with a ticket marked “Good for this trip only – no transfers.” -William Bridges
The Individual Journey
/As an adolescent I used to thrill to the words of love the early American poet Ann Bradstreet spoke to her husband: 'If ever two were one, then we.'
As I have grown, however, I have come to realize that it is the separateness of the partners that enriches the union. Great marriages cannot be constructed by individuals who are terrified by their basic aloneness, as so commonly is the case, and seek a merging in marriage. Genuine love not only respects the individuality of the other but actually seeks to cultivate it, even at the risk of separation or loss. The ultimate goal of life remains the spiritual growth of the individual, the solitary journey to peaks that can be climbed only alone.
Significant journeys cannot be accomplished without the nurture provided by a successful marriage or a successful society. Marriage and society exist for the basic purpose of nurturing such individual journeys.
But, as is the case with all genuine love, “sacrifices” on behalf of the growth of the other result in equal or greater growth of the self. It is the return of the individual to the nurturing marriage or society from the peaks he or she has traveled alone which serves to elevate that marriage or that society to new heights.
M Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled
Generative AI Models are "trained to hallucinate"
/It’s important to remember that generative models shouldn’t be treated as a source of truth or factual knowledge. They surely can answer some questions correctly, but this is not what they are designed and trained for. It would be like using a racehorse to haul cargo: it’s possible, but not its intended purpose … Generative AI models are designed and trained to hallucinate, so hallucinations are a common product of any generative model … The job of a generative model is to generate data that is realistic or distributionally equivalent to the training data, yet different from actual data used for training.
UCLA Computer Science Professor Stefano Soatto writing for InsideBigData
Dedication
/Mental health is an on-going process of dedication to reality at all costs. -M Scott Peck
13 Recent Articles about How Companies are Using AI
/25 percent of CEOs plan to replace human workers with AI this year – Futurism
Duolingo cuts workers as it relies more on AI – Washington Post
Tropicana is one company that’s ditching AI - CNN
The Best-Managed Companies Have the Most AI Jobs Postings. What Explains That? – WSJ
Companies using AI want human workers to ‘disappear’ – Semafor
How Walmart Is Leveraging Automation and AI to Deliver Faster – Wall Street Journal
A Consortium of Big Companies has Developed a Way to Identify A.I. – New York Times
Multinationals turn to generative AI to manage supply chains - Financial Times
ChatGPT Helps, and Worries, Business Consultants, Study Finds – New York Times
How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers – CBS News
AI Has a Trust Problem. Can Blockchain Help? – Wall Street Journal
AI ads are sweeping across Africa – Semafor
An Anticipated Wave of AI Specialist Jobs Has Yet to Arrive – Wall Street Journal
Amazon’s AI-written product reviews aren’t as bad as you think - Washington Post
each success
/Each success you encounter only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult challenge.
9 Articles about the AI Economic Impact
/How AI is Tipping the Scale of Job Vulnerability - Medium
Generative AI And The Future Of Jobs - Forbes
These are the jobs most likely to be taken over by AI - ZDNET
GenAI Will Change How We Design Jobs. Here’s How. – Harvard Business Review
Generative A.I. Can Add $4.4 Trillion in Value to Global Economy, Study Says – New York Times
The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier - McKinsey
The Impact of AI-enabled Data Analytics Services Across Major Industries – Data Science Central
What AI means for travel—now and in the future - McKinsey
The world is splitting between those who use ChatGPT to get better, smarter, richer — and everyone else – Business Insider
Life is in the Digging
/Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch.
"What are you doing?"
"We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth," one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.
The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.
After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms, and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.
"Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!"
Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for — to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us to digging!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized. But when you fall short of your aim, you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things that have come into my life because I tried to do something!"
It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.
8 Articles about AI Products
/Converse with an AI chatbot through wearable glasses - Axios
Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores – Washington Post
I tested an AI 'digital afterlife' service so my clone can live on after death – Daily Mail
Companies race to make AI you can wear – Axios
A projector so user interface appears on a hand or other nearby surface – Tech Crunch
A neck-worn pendant designed to record conversations & transfer them securely to a smartphone – Rewind
Tech firms race to put AI in small, wearable gadgets - Axios
Best Free & Paid AI Resume Builders: Build a Resume in Minutes – Tech.co
A Dream
/A dream is not what you see in sleep. A dream is what does not let you sleep.
A Dozen Things People are Trying to Get AI to Do
/A new tool to counter California’s housing crisis: AI - Semafor
Can AI Replace Your Financial Adviser? Not Yet. But Wait. - Wall Street Journal
AI models can analyze thousands of words at a time. A Google researcher has found a way to increase that by millions. – Business Insider
New deep learning AI tool helps ecologists monitor rare birds through their songs – Phys.org
When AI Denies Your Loan Application, Should You Be Able to Appeal to a Human? – Wall Street Journal
Edith Piaf AI-Generated Biopic in the Works at Warner Music – Variety
ChatGPT and Midjourney bring back the dead with generative AI – Axios
How advances in AI can make content moderation harder — and easier - Semafor
Can AI Rescue Recycling? - Wall Street Journal
The US has a new plan for wielding AI to fight climate change - Semafor
AI Doom Calculator is predicting people's death - USA Today
Jeff Bezos Bets on a Google Challenger Using AI to Try to Upend Internet Search - Wall Street Journal