Lifeboat Foundation

In other words, the mix of positives and negatives puts this potent new suite of technologies on a knife-edge. Do we have confidence that a handful of companies that have already lost public trust can take AI in the right direction? We should have ample reason for worry considering the business models driving their motivations. To advertising-driven companies like Google and Facebook, it’s clearly beneficial to elevate content that travels faster and draws more attention—and misinformation usually does —while micro-targeting that content by harvesting user data. Consumer product companies, such as Apple, will be motivated to prioritize AI applications that help differentiate and sell their most profitable products—hardly a way to maximize the beneficial impact of AI.

Yet another challenge is the prioritization of innovation resources. The shift online during the pandemic has led to outsized profits for these companies, and concentrated even more power in their hands. They can be expected to try to maintain that momentum by prioritizing those AI investments that are most aligned with their narrow commercial objectives while ignoring the myriad other possibilities. In addition, Big Tech operates in markets with economies of scale, so there is a tendency towards big bets that can waste tremendous resources. Who remembers IBM’s Watson initiative? It aspired to become the universal, go-to digital decision tool, especially in healthcare—and failed to live up to the hype, as did the trendy driverless car initiatives of Amazon and Google parent Alphabet. While failures, false starts, and pivots are a natural part of innovation, expensive big failures driven by a few enormously wealthy companies divert resources away from more diversified investments across a range of socially productive applications.

Continue reading “Big Tech’s Stranglehold on Artificial Intelligence Must Be Regulated” »

Quartz is a guide to the new global economy for people in business who are excited by change. We cover business, economics, markets, finance, technology, science, design, and fashion.

AI is not a magic wand that will right all the world’s wrongs. But it can help businesses plan for problems in advance and respond to them appropriately if they happen.

torre faro by ACPV will connect milan’s historic center and periphery by reviving a north-south axis that runs from the city center through via crema and piazza trento all the way to ACPV’s symbiosis business district, located just across the disused railway yard. ‘the a2a headquarters project creates a new vertical village for the firm’s operations. it is designed for people to enjoy working in the company of their colleagues and to encourage spontaneous professional and personal interactions,’ says antonio citterio, architect and co-founder of ACPV.

the new tower can accommodate 1,500 people in spaces that are flexible, open, and are complemented by a green courtyard shared with the museum of energy – located inside the existing buildings that will be revitalized with the project. vertically, the tower is centrally divided into two sets of office floors framed by the spacious entrance hall on the first floor, the sky garden in the middle, and the belvedere on top. the architecture of the building addresses future professional needs by integrating flexible spaces – including co-working lounges and informal meeting rooms – that can be reconfigured for multiple uses.

We speak to AR experts about the future of the Oculus Quest.

Oculus is getting into AR, and it has big repercussions for the future direction of the company and its popular line of VR headsets – especially the eventual Oculus Quest 3.

The Facebook-owned company recently announced its intention to open up its Oculus platform to augmented reality developers, allowing them to use the Oculus Quest 2 headset to host AR games and apps rather than simply VR titles – setting the scene for an explosion of both consumer and business applications on the popular standalone headset.

Continue reading “Oculus Quest 2 is getting AR – but could the Quest 3 take it further?” »

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Why are innovation cycles and business growth linked so closely? We explore waves of creative destruction across history.

The habits and flaws tycoons share with dynastic rulers | Business.

Discussions about how and where we produce food are set to continue for a long time to come as businesses, governments and citizens try to find ways to create a sustainable system that meets the needs of everyone.

It’s perhaps no surprise then that some of the topics covered above are starting to generate interest among the investment community.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” in June, Morgan Stanley’s global head of sustainability research, Jessica Alsford, highlighted this shift.

Accelerating norway towards a low-carbon economy — bjørn kjærand haugland, co-founder and CEO, skift.

Bjørn Haugland is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SKIFT Business Climate Leaders (https://www.skiftnorge.no/english), a Norwegian business-led climate initiative with a mission to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and support the government in delivering on its national climate commitments by 2030. The coalition hopes to demonstrate, to businesses and the government, the business potential that exists in the low-carbon economy and help drive the transition.

Continue reading “Bjørn Haugland — Co-Founder and CEO — SKIFT Business Climate Leaders” »