speculations

Should we be working at 85% capacity? The pros and cons of ‘sustainable’ effort

https://thenextweb.com/news/working-85-capacity-pros-and-cons I’ve just got my programme for the year. No, not that programme, I’ve obviously had that partner since I joined. No my work programme. It’s all scientifically planned apparently. My coach has assured me it’s designed to get me to the next level. Today’s intervals day. Short bursts of… Read the rest

WPP employee arrested, offices raided by Chinese police

https://adage.com/article/agency-news/wpp-employee-arrested-offices-raided-chinese-police/2523751 So excited: first day. Dream job. When I arrived at the new campus and walked up to the reception desk… I almost forgot all my student debt. I must say the on-boarding programme was not as dull as I feared. The guide’s programming was remarkable. The jokes were clearly… Read the rest

Netflix Didn’t Change Black Mirror, Its Creators Did

https://gizmodo.com/charlie-brooker-black-mirror-netflix-tone-changes-1850944711 We had a particular style when we started. Some thought it was a bit dark but it came from us, our backgrounds and yes our feelings about the world we were writing about. I don’t think we were dystopian. We followed where the the objects and the stories took… Read the rest

Sky’s not the limit: is the drone delivery age finally taking off?

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/oct/21/amazon-jeff-bezos-delivery-drones-expansion She’d drawn the curtains and sat down to read, the light from the screen keeping her awake. She’d finished the order. It wasn’t urgent but there was no choice. Fifteen minutes. She wished she could just go to bed. She listened and read… Once upon a midnight dreary, while… Read the rest

How Meta and AI companies recruited striking actors to train AI

https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/19/1081974/meta-realeyes-artificial-intelligence-hollywood-actors-strike/ “Scab!” I can hear it. I feel it. I’m old enough to remember The Strike. I remember my dad and uncles on the picket line. I remember my mum and the other women discovering a new power. I remember the sense of pride across the community. I remember those… Read the rest

Rapper Pras’ lawyer used AI to defend him in criminal case—it did not go well

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/10/fugees-rapper-blames-conviction-on-his-lawyers-ai-fueled-closing-argument/ I’m just grateful really. Obviously there is the language thing and, well I don’t have any money so the fact I get it free. Amazing. When you’re faced with the whole weight of the state, its bureaucracy and power: it’s scary. The letters, the forms, the legal language: it’s… Read the rest

BBC’s rigidity over ‘the T word’ is damaging its reputation

https://the-media-leader.com/bbcs-rigidity-over-the-t-word-is-damaging-its-reputation/ I’ve seen it all. I started as a journalist just as the Web was decimating classified advertising. Lived and wrote through the dotcom bubble when we built destinations and the social bubble when we built “communities”. I’ve been lucky to work in an age if synthetic media for a… Read the rest

SpeakerBeam hearing aid tech only amplifies specific people’s voices

https://newatlas.com/wearables/speakerbeam-hearing-aid-specific-voices/ The great thing about this company is how open they are to ideas. I’ve got friends at other places where they are never invited to meetings and when they are, they’re never invited to contribute. Not here. I’m regularly in meetings with senior staff where we all get our… Read the rest

Advertising Week Briefing: How AI is expected to dominate this year’s conference

https://digiday.com/marketing/advertising-week-briefing-how-ai-is-expected-to-dominate-this-years-conference/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss It’s good to get ‘out of the office’. Well of course I’m not really OOO, we never are. Always a message to respond to, a vital piece of information that only I seem to know that someone needs! But the chance to get some new knowledge and of course… Read the rest