Episode 179: Reverse Mentoring, Internships during cybersecurity shortages, and Amazon in healthcare
Release Date: 08/30/2022
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...
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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...
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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...
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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 /...
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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 -...
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Topic 1: Small companies are “labor hoarding” while large companies are laying off. Keeping employees at any cost! Topic 2: Understanding the Dynamics of the Tech Workforce in 2023 Data Point 1: Tech Layoffs are Happening … But Not Because Tech is Suddenly Less Valuable Data Point 2: Tech Jobs are Less Attractive to Young Professionals Data Point 3: Shifting Preference for Generalists vs. Specialists … Plus a Mainstream Rise of “Business IT” Contributors Amazon layoffs delivered by email. ← Low class or just modern times? Topic 3: Cal Newport on the Digital Workplace: We...
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Topic 1: Algorithms Need Management Training, Too! From Wired Magazine. Human beings excel at avoiding responsibility for difficult decisions. Management and personnel decisions are often difficult. Therefore, they are great candidates for turning decision-making over to the bots. What could possibly go wrong? Topic 2: Microsoft drops $1 Billion on ChatGPT I should have bought more Microsoft stock yesterday. :-) Looking to the true “next level” of product development. Microsoft was an early investor in ChatGPT Topic 3: Apple to drop Broadcom chip and make their own. Is this...
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Topic 1: Generative AI is Fun … Until the “Other” Guys Start Doing It Too China is aggressively building their own versions of generative AI platforms (with some obvious / inevitable filters) that do essentially the same thing as ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion. The question is whether they will be able to out-race us to the auto-content future … and whether that is a problem. Topic 2: LastPass - Lessons for the Channel Should we be worried? What do we expect from vendors? What’s reasonable and realistic? Is this worth discussing as a larger topic of always-on monitoring and...
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Topic 1: For Sale on eBay: A Military Database of Fingerprints and Iris Scans Great topic for ITSPs - especially as clients get rid of equipment at the end of year. Old machines of all kinds might have sensitive data. Not this juicy, perhaps, but stories like this are great for you client-facing newsletters. Topic 2: The age of the work-from-home whistleblower Why are so many remote workers deciding to squeal on their companies? Topic 3: Man Simulates Time Travel So, what is our weekly update with AI? On the up-less existential-side, we have some fun: Time traveling with the aid of...
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Topic 1: Meta scamming: Scammers Are Scamming Other Scammers Out of Millions of Dollars On cybercrime forums, user complaints about being duped may accidentally expose their real identities. Topic 2: Teens are Self-Liberating from Social Media ‘Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes Topic 3: The Drones Are Coming (to 22 Select Locations Around the Country … Within Driving Distance of a Wal-Mart) Wal-mart announces legitimate progress on rolling out drone delivery to customers in key metropolitan areas. The forecast is to expand to 34 stores in 23 cities by year end to reach a...
info_outlineTopic 1: Reverse mentoring in the technology industry increases understanding and opens opportunities for both sides of the mentor relationship
https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/reverse-mentoring
Everyone knows a person of “a certain age” who is not as connected to or fluent with a new technology … even in the IT channel. And ironically, those people are much more likely to be senior executives in the business of IT. How will those highly experienced update their tech knowledge and bring new strategies to leveraging tech for business and for diversity in the industry? Talk to a youth.
See also: https://relaxfocussucceed.com/2022/06/millennials-and-gen-x-are-not-a-problem-to-be-dealt-with/
Topic 2: Apprenticeships are going into industries beyond the trades … are reinforcements on the way? Or are companies still insisting on only hiring “the best of the best” in tech roles?
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/22/apprenticeships
It’s well known that there are massive shortages of cybersecurity workers … at the same time as cyber threats are are escalating. How can the industry catch up? Certainly not by insisting on advanced credentials for candidates who need to do jobs that focus on mass quantity cyber threats. BTW: there’s a big difference between an “internship” and an “apprenticeship.”
https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/protocol-workplace/pwc-pulse-survey?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5
Companies are shifting from rapid hiring to layoffs … while still indicating they intend to hire. It’s a natural impulse to continuously improve the mix of talent in your workforce, but will this strategy of “only the best” ever catch up with cybersecurity needs?
Topic 3: Amazon is leaning into the healthcare industry … with some fairly predictable performance so far
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/19/amazon-care-patient-safety-concerns/
The notion of a business model is fairly straightforward: what you do + who you do it for x how you do it = how you make money. Not too many variables, and every time someone says they’re going to use technology to revolutionize or disrupt an industry, what they really mean is that they will replace human labor with technology for one of the business model elements. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Amazon’s efforts to disrupt the healthcare industry are leading to less human involvement in healthcare delivery. Is that a good thing?
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