Episode 64: Facial Recognition, the New Normal, and the 4-Day Work Week
Release Date: 06/16/2020
The Killing IT Podcast
The Q4 2024 Killing IT Podcast features what may be our last discussion of robots for a long time! Topic One - Where Are My Robots??? We’ve been talking about this for five years - So where are the robots? We have a massive personnel shortage on many fronts. AI is creating jobs faster and faster. So why haven’t robots evolved to serve us? We’re on the verge. What’s the holdup? If nothing else, we're tired of talking about it. Topic Two - The Changing Economy of Our Industry In just the last five years, a layer of billion-dollar and near-billion-dollar companies are major players...
info_outline KIT Episode 209 - AI Risk Repository, Google Monopoly, and Quantum Cryptography. Or Not.The Killing IT Podcast
We're back for Q3 2024. Quick question of the day ... then onto the topics of the day. Topic 1: MIT Releases the AI Risk Repository Thanks to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a major resource. It's definitely more for you than your clients. But we see great opportunity here. The public database contains 700+ risks as documented by published papers. It includes many categories, based on severity and other variables. Check it out here: https://airisk.mit.edu/ You can poke around online and gets some good information. Or download the entire database in Excel format. You...
info_outline Episode 208 - Botnet Battles, the State of AI, and M&A Activity in SMBThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: Massive Botnet Network Taken Down Police coordinated by the European Union's justice and police agencies have taken down computer networks responsible for spreading ransomware via infected emails, in what they called the biggest-ever international operation against the lucrative form of cybercrime. The European Union's judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, said that police arrested four “high value” suspects, took down more than 100 servers and seized control of over 2,000 internet domains. Related Link:...
info_outline Episode 207 - Bigger and Bigger MSPs, AI, and How to Consume AdviceThe Killing IT Podcast
Check out the bonus Killing IT content on MSP Radio's Business of Tech podcast! Today's a great day to subscribe to that: https://www.businessof.tech/subscribe/ -- -- -- Topic 1: The Current State of Mergers, Acquisition, and MSP Consolidation Mergers and Acquisitions are alive and well in the MSP channel. Jay McBain from Canalys predicts a growth of M&A of 50% in 2024. In addition to MSPs themselves, he says that we’ll see some major vendors acquired as well. The promise of these larger organizations is always that they’ll bring efficiency and profit. So far, that hasn’t...
info_outline Episode 206: ChatGPT Year 1, Robots Multiplying by Thousands, and Destructive Private EquityThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: Chat GPT 1 year later. AI Article Summary: Elon Musk creates his own AI company called X.AI, while Satya Nadella of Microsoft invests in OpenAI and accelerates plans to incorporate AI into Microsoft's products. OpenAI releases ChatGPT as a "low key research preview," which becomes a hit. Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, faces challenges with its own chatbot and struggles with the decision to go open-source. Microsoft introduces its own chatbot in Bing, surpassing Google's efforts. Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent AI scientist at Google, decides to quit and reflects on the rapid advancements...
info_outline Episode 205 - Overworking, AI, AR, and More!The Killing IT Podcast
We're Baaaaaack! The Killing IT team returns . . . with a fun and educational Q4 show. Topic 1: Overworking Have you heard the term Over Employment or Overworking? These are folks who manage to hold down two or three full time jobs using apps and BS. Are these just eager, hardworking "gig" folks, or are they thieves who are simply more interested in making money than earning an honest living? A few links: They even have their own web site. Topic 2: Catch up on Artificial Intelligence Wow! What a year. Are we in the middle of a singularity? ow much is this like the early...
info_outline Episode 204: KIT LIVE at the SMB Online ConferenceThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: How much will AI change our business in the next twelve months? ChatGPT now has over 100 million users. Government wants to regulate it. We’re past the hockey stick moment. --- Topic 2: Oh Dear God - Minority Report crack for Ryan: Movie clip reconstructed by an AI reading mice's brains as they watch Researchers have put together a 30-second movie clip based on a group of mice's brain activity data that was recorded while they watched the footage --- Topic 3: How dead is the metaverse? KP: Not every “cool” technology has a big future. It will find its...
info_outline Epsiode 203: AI is Moving Fast, Killing IT Revisits the Cabana, & This Isn't Goodbye but See You LaterThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: The Arms Race is Here...AI is Definitely Moving Fast, but Will It Break Things? ChatGPT is now integrated in Bing as “Prometheus.” That sounds ominous. But Bard is also coming. And now Ernie. And Claude. Soon there will be AI bots generating “conversations” and disrupting the search industry on all sides of the globe. Is that a good thing? Sample alternative tools - ...And also, apparently writing software is about to become a less-lucrative career path. --- Topic 2: Revisiting the Cabana... Four years ago, we set out to change the way our industry discussed...
info_outline Episode 202: The Good Guys win the Cyber Wars, Scientist Using Wifi to See Through Walls, & AI and EthicsThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: Score 1 for the Good Guys in the Cyber Wars In a significant development in the fight against ransomware, the FBI announces that they have shut down a notorious cyber gang after infiltrating their system months ago and secretly giving decryption keys to ransomware victims. Topic 2: Ummmm … This is Some Seriously Scary Big Brother Stuff Scientists have announced that they are able to see people through walls using WiFi technology. And not just the “heat blob” from Hollywood movies … but detailed movements and positions. On a scientific note, this is cool. On a security /...
info_outline Episode 201: Jobs Again, FBI Crime Data is NOT Good, & First Personal Drone to be Produced by IndiaThe Killing IT Podcast
Topic 1: Sorry: Let’s talk jobs. December: Total new jobs UP 235,000. That is despite the fact the enterprise companies (500 employees+) reduced jobs by 151,000 ← Great summary stats Spotify 600 (6% of workforce) Twitter 3,700 (50% of those who lasted this long) Salesforce 7,000 (10% of workforce) Microsoft 10,000 (5% of workforce) Tesla 10,000 (10% of workforce) Google 12,000 (6% of workforce) Amazon 18,000 (1% of workforce) Oh, and . . . Apple 0 (0% of workforce) - Minor adjustments at retail locations See also the big Layoff-Tracker Service at TrueUp -...
info_outlineSpecial Note: This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Third Tier. For more information, visit www.ThirdTier.net.
Topic 1: IBM and Amazon get out of facial recognition
Major companies are backing away from developing and working with facial recognition technology. Issues include both the racial bias and the fact that they are working with police agencies.
And then there was another shoe that dropped on the facial recognition topic.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/10/21287101/amazon-rekognition-facial-recognition-police-ban-one-year-ai-racial-bias
Other, older, related links:
https://www.wired.com/story/algorithms-recognize-masked-face/
Topic 2: Let's Ban the term “New Normal”
Everything changes all the time. We discuss whether the term "new normal" is actually useful at all. Hint: In a tech-centric world, this term just isn't very useful.
We welcome your comments and feedback.
Topic 3: Life after the pandemic -- The 4-Day Work Week
This is a thread we’ve touched on in terms of the way people will work after the pandemic . . . but with more specific details and recommendations.
Here's a recent article from a Canadian writer.
https://theconversation.com/the-day-is-dawning-on-a-four-day-work-week-139587
:-)