#digital workplace automation

[makers-muse]

Robotics and Automation: Redefining Industries and Job Opportunities

Robotics and automation are revolutionizing Industries and job landscapes, transforming factories, warehouses, and operating rooms. These technologies enable precise machinery assembly, autonomous drone retrieval, and unparalleled precision in surgery. They are not science fiction but the pulse of innovation.

Industries are shedding their old skins, embracing the boundless capabilities of Automation. Manufacturing plants are adopting robotic arms that assemble complex products with surgical precision, slashing error rates and boosting production beyond human limitations. Agriculture, too, is undergoing a Digital Metamorphosis, with autonomous tractors navigating fields autonomously, ensuring optimal planting and harvesting. The evidence is resounding automation doesn’t replace industries; it elevates them.

But let’s talk numbers hard, impressive facts that showcase the prowess of Robotics and Automation. Did you know that industrial robots can boost j by a staggering 85%? That’s not just a number; it’s a testament to the extraordinary potential of these machines to elevate industries to heights previously unattainable. And when we look at job opportunities, the narrative isn’t one of loss but transformation. For every routine task that a robot takes over, a universe of opportunities blooms for individuals skilled in designing, Programming, and maintaining these robotic wonders.

The story of Robotics and automation is one of collaboration of humans and machines joining forces to achieve feats that neither could accomplish alone. Picture a warehouse where cobots glide alongside their human counterparts, tackling heavy lifting while the humans orchestrate the symphony of operations. It’s a dance of ingenuity, where Technology enhances human potential instead of overshadowing it.

Did you know that 65% of companies adopting automation have reported increased Employee Satisfaction? As machines handle mundane tasks, human workers are freed to explore creativity, innovation, and problem-solving, breathing new life into their roles.

While the road to this transformative Future is undeniably paved with challenges, think about the need for reskilling and adapting to the rapid pace of change the possibilities that unfold are breathtaking. And the beauty of it all? It’s not a distant fantasy; it’s happening right now, right here.

From Tesla’s advanced robotic manufacturing to Amazon’s intricate delivery network, the robots are not just coming they’re already here, shaping the world we live in and forging a path towards an exciting and dynamic tomorrow.

In the grand tapestry of progress, the threads of robotics and automation are weaving a story of boundless potential. Industries are letting go of previous limitations, and career opportunities are expanding into uncharted areas. It’s a story about how technology and people can work together to open up new possibilities. In light of this, keep in mind that robotics and automation are already here and hold great promise when you consider the environment around you.

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.” — Bill Gates

[satireinfo]

The World’s Call Center Capital Is Gripped by AI Fever

AI Fever Sweeps the World’s Call Center Capital: Can Bots Handle Your Customer Complaints Better Than You? When the Lines Between Human and Machine Get Blurry, Who’s Really on the Other End of the Call? Bonifacio Global City (Manila) — As the rest of the world debates what artificial intelligence might mean for jobs, the Philippines—long known as the call center capital of the world—has already…

[advaiya-solutions]

Apps for project management in Microsoft Teams

Project management teams need to collaborate and communicate across the company.

It is important that project managers have the right tools in order to effectively work together. Microsoft Teams is one of the most popular modern workplace solutions that is helping Project Managers become more agile.

Let’s look at how this real-time collaboration platform allows project managers to communicate in real time, manage documents, and many other features.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

"Don't spy on a privacy lab" (and other career advice for university provosts)

This is a wild and hopeful story: grad students at Northeastern successfully pushed back against invasive digital surveillance in their workplace, through solidarity, fearlessness, and the bright light of publicity. It’s a tale of hand-to-hand, victorious combat with the “shitty technology adoption curve.”

What’s the “shitty tech adoption curve?” It’s the process by which oppressive technologies are normalized and spread. If you want to do something awful with tech — say, spy on people with a camera 24/7 — you need to start with the people who have the least social capital, the people whose objections are easily silenced or overridden.

That’s why all our worst technologies are first imposed on refugees -> prisoners -> kids -> mental patients -> poor people, etc. Then, these technologies climb the privilege gradient: blue collar workers -> white collar workers -> everyone. Following this pathway lets shitty tech peddlers knock the rough edges off their wares, inuring us all to their shock and offense.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/21/great-taylors-ghost/#solidarity-or-bust

20 years ago, if you ate dinner under the unblinking eye of a CCTV, it was because you were housed in a supermax prison. Today, it’s because you were unwise enough to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for “home automation” from Google, Apple, Amazon or another “luxury surveillance” vendor.

Northeastern’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) is home to the “Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute,” where grad students study the harms of surveillance and the means by which they may be reversed. If there’s one group of people who are prepared to stand athwart the shitty tech adoption curve, it is the CPI grad students.

Which makes it genuinely baffling that Northeastern’s Senior Vice Provost for Research decided to install under-desk heat sensors throughout ISEC, overnight, without notice or consultation. The provost signed the paperwork that brought the privacy institute into being.

Students throughout ISEC were alarmed by this move, but especially students on the sixth floor, home to the Privacy Institute. When they demanded an explanation, they were told that the university was conducting a study on “desk usage.” This rang hollow: students at the Privacy Institute have assigned desks, and they badge into each room when they enter it.

As Privacy Institute PhD candidate Max von Hippel wrote, “Reader, we have assigned desks, and we use a key-card to get into the room, so, they already know how and when we use our desks.”

https://twitter.com/maxvonhippel/status/1578048837746204672

So why was the university suddenly so interested in gathering fine-grained data on desk usage? I asked von Hippel and he told me: “They are proposing that grad students share desks, taking turns with a scheduling web-app, so administrators can take over some of the space currently used by grad students. Because as you know, research always works best when you have to schedule your thinking time.”

That’s von Hippel’s theory, and I’m going to go with it, because the provost didn’t offer a better one in the flurry of memos and “listening sessions” that took place after the ISEC students arrived at work one morning to discover sensors under their desks.

This is documented in often hilarious detail in von Hippel’s thread on the scandal, in which the university administrators commit a series of unforced errors and the grad students run circles around them, in a comedy of errors straight out of “Animal House.”

https://twitter.com/maxvonhippel/status/1578048652215431168

After the sensors were discovered, the students wrote to the administrators demanding their removal, on the grounds that there was no scientific purpose for them, that they intimidated students, that they were unnecessary, and that the university had failed to follow its own rules and ask the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to review the move as a human-subjects experiment.

The letter was delivered to the provost, who offered “an impromptu listening session” in which he alienated students by saying that if they trusted the university to “give” them a degree, they should trust it to surveil them. The students bristled at this characterization, noting that students deliver research (and grant money) to “make it tick.”

[Image ID: Sensors arrayed around a kitchen table at ISEC]

The students, believing the provost was not taking them seriously, unilaterally removed all the sensors, and stuck them to their kitchen table, annotating and decorating them with Sharpie. This prompted a second, scheduled “listening session” with the provost, but this session, while open to all students, was only announced to their professors (“Beware of the leopard”).

The students got wind of this, printed up fliers and made sure everyone knew about it. The meeting was packed. The provost explained to students that he didn’t need IRB approval for his sensors because they weren’t “monitoring people.” A student countered, what was being monitored, “if not people?” The provost replied that he was monitoring “heat sources.”

https://github.com/maxvonhippel/isec-sensors-scandal/blob/main/Oct_6_2022_Luzzi_town_hall.pdf

Remember, these are grad students. They asked the obvious question: which heat sources are under desks, if not humans (von Hippel: “rats or kangaroos?”). The provost fumbled for a while (“a service animal or something”) before admitting, “I guess, yeah, it’s a human.”

Having yielded the point, the provost pivoted, insisting that there was no privacy interest in the data, because “no individual data goes back to the server.” But these aren’t just grad students — they’re grad students who specialize in digital privacy. Few people on earth are better equipped to understand re-identification and de-aggregation attacks.

[Image ID: A window with a phrase written in marker, ‘We are not doing science here’ -Luzzi.]

A student told the provost, “This doesn’t matter. You are monitoring us, and collecting data for science.” The provost shot back, “we are not doing science here.” This ill-considered remark turned into an on-campus meme. I’m sure it was just blurted in the heat of the moment, but wow, was that the wrong thing to tell a bunch of angry scientists.

From the transcript, it’s clear that this is where the provost lost the crowd. He accused the students of “feeling emotion” and explaining that the data would be used for “different kinds of research. We want to see how students move around the lab.”

Now, as it happens, ISEC has an IoT lab where they take these kinds of measurements. When they do those experiments, students are required to go through IRB, get informed consent, all the stuff that the provost had bypassed. When this is pointed out, the provost says that they had been given an IRB waiver by the university’s Human Research Protection Program (HRPP).

Now a prof gets in on the action, asking, pointedly: “Is the only reason it doesn’t fall under IRB is that the data will not be published?” A student followed up by asking how the university could justify blowing $50,000 on surveillance gear when that money would have paid for a whole grad student stipend with money left over.

The provost’s answers veer into the surreal here. He points out that if he had to hire someone to monitor the students’ use of their desks, it would cost more than $50k, implying that the bill for the sensors represents a cost-savings. A student replies with the obvious rejoinder — just don’t monitor desk usage, then.

Finally, the provost started to hint at the underlying rationale for the sensors, discussing the cost of the facility to the university and dangling the possibility of improving utilization of “research assets.” A student replies, “If you want to understand how research is done, don’t piss off everyone in this building.”

Now that they have at least a vague explanation for what research question the provost is trying to answer, the students tear into his study design, explaining why he won’t learn what he’s hoping to learn. It’s really quite a good experimental design critique — these are good students! Within a few volleys, they’re pointing out how these sensors could be used to stalk researchers and put them in physical danger.

The provost turns the session over to an outside expert via a buggy Zoom connection that didn’t work. Finally, a student asks whether it’s possible that this meeting could lead to them having a desk without a sensor under it. The provost points out that their desk currently doesn’t have a sensor (remember, the students ripped them out). The student says, “I assume you’ll put one back.”

[Image ID: A ‘public art piece’ in the ISEC lobby — a table covered in sensors spelling out ‘NO!,’ surrounded by Sharpie annotations decrying the program.]

They run out of time and the meeting breaks up. Following this, the students arrange the sensors into a “public art piece” in the lobby — a table covered in sensors spelling out “NO!,” surrounded by Sharpie annotations decrying the program.

Meanwhile, students are still furious. It’s not just that the sensors are invasive, nor that they are scientifically incoherent, nor that they cost more than a year’s salary — they also emit lots of RF noise that interferes with the students’ own research. The discussion spills onto Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NEU/comments/xx7d7p/northeastern_graduate_students_privacy_is_being/

Yesterday, the provost capitulated, circulating a memo saying they would pull “all the desk occupancy sensors from the building,” due to “concerns voiced by a population of graduate students.”

https://twitter.com/maxvonhippel/status/1578101964960776192

The shitty technology adoption curve is relentless, but you can’t skip a step! Jumping straight to grad students (in a privacy lab) without first normalizing them by sticking them on the desks of poor kids in underfunded schools (perhaps after first laying off a computer science teacher to free up the budget!) was a huge tactical error.

A more tactically sound version of this is currently unfolding at CMU Computer Science, where grad students have found their offices bugged with sensors that detect movement and collect sound:

https://twitter.com/davidthewid/status/1387909329710366721

The CMU administration has wisely blamed the presence of these devices on the need to discipline low-waged cleaning staff by checking whether they’re really vacuuming the offices.

https://twitter.com/davidthewid/status/1387426812972646403

While it’s easier to put cleaners under digital surveillance than computer scientists, trying to do both at once is definitely a boss-level challenge. You might run into a scholar like David Gray Widder, who, observing that “this seems like algorithmic management of lowly paid employees to me,” unplugged the sensor in his office.

https://twitter.com/davidthewid/status/1387909329710366721

This is the kind of full-stack Luddism this present moment needs. These researchers aren’t opposed to sensors — they’re challenging the social relations of sensors, who gets sensed and who does the sensing.

https://locusmag.com/2022/01/cory-doctorow-science-fiction-is-a-luddite-literature/

[Image ID: A flier inviting ISEC grad students to attend an unadvertised 'listening session' with the vice-provost. It is surmounted with a sensor that has been removed from beneath a desk and annotated in Sharpie to read: 'If found by David Luzzi suck it.']

[probablyasocialecologist]

Surveillance developments of the 21st century have replaced the traditional gaze of the supervisor on the industrial factory floor with an automated, digital one that continuously collects real-time data on living, breathing people. Even unionized workers do not have an explicit legal right to bargain over surveillance technologies; when it comes to the right to privacy, unions have an uphill battle to fight. We now live in a world where employees are stuck in a web of participatory surveillance because they consent to be monitored as a condition of employment. Today’s workplace surveillance practices, as in the case of Amazon, have become invasive and almost limitless. Technology has allowed employers an unprecedented ability to surveil workers. Management can minutely track and persistently push workers toward greater productivity at the risk of exacerbating harms to workers’ physical health, as the high rates of injury in Amazon warehouses show. And the growing business of selling workplace surveillance software has allowed for massive amounts of data to be collected on working people: when and who they talk to, how quickly they complete tasks, what they search for on their computers, how often they use the toilet, and even the state of their current health and moods.

[madamepestilence]

Welcome to my blog!

About me:

My name is Holly, or if you'd like the long form, Heosphoros. You can call me Holly, Heos, or Heo if you'd like. I have a preference for Holly, but I don't mind if you use names interchangeably.

I use She/Her (capitalized) or she/her (lowercase) pronouns - again, can be used interchangeably. I'm a queer trans woman, and I'm monogamish but open to polyamory.

I'm autistic, and I've got some unknown medical problems I need to see a doctor about. I like creating things, but I have trouble finishing projects.

Other places you can find me:

Twitch (Currently inactive due to my PS4 having Red Light of Death'd and my laptop having low RAM)

YouTube (I upload literally anything I want here - gaming videos, shitposting, video essays - whatever I want, whenever I want. I upload very slowly)

Bluesky (I rarely upload here and mainly just lurk)

Ko-Fi (I don't upload anything here, you can just donate to help financially if you'd like)

Considering making a Cohost.

Current projects:

The New Communist Manifesto

(I feel that The Communist Manifesto, while a good document, needs to be updated for the modern age, having been outdated by 200 years, which makes it harder for people to truly understand Communism in an age of reborn Red Scares and US Cold Wars overlapping each other. I would appreciate some input on African and West Asian contributions to leftism.)

Hypixel Skyblock but it's played by an idiot

(A Minecraft YouTube series tracking my slow progress in Hypixel Skyblock)

Video Essays (continual)

(Video essays ranging from video games to serious topics. These take weeks to months to create, and days to weeks to edit. I also take the time to subtitle every video I release, sometimes before release, and sometimes after - this may take me weeks or months, depending on video length and IRL issues.)

Special tags I'll be using in the future:

#mdmp art, #mdmp art (year): Self-explanatory, I'll be using this for my art

#fav: This'll help me find things I really like

#it me, #mdmp irl: If I ever take selfies I'll slap them in these

#gaia union: Topics related to the Gaia Union project

#ncm: Topics related to the New Communist Manifesto project

#video essay, #video essays: Self explanatory; I'll put video essays under here

#mdmp rambles: Random text posts from me

Stances: (More can be found beneath the cut on account of length)

2024 US Election:

Vote for Dr. Jill Stein. I was previously advocating for Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D., but it seems unlikely that he'll gain enough ballot access. Dr. Jill Stein already does:

Claudia de la Cruz is a bad option, as the Party for Socialism and Liberation has a Conservative 5th Column, and has frequent problems with discrimination, so Dr. Cornel West, Ph.D. continues to be the ideal option.

Political and socioeconomic:

I'm a Communist - this means that I believe in a stateless, classless, moneyless society. As a shorthand: I believe that workers should own their workplaces, with CEOs being democratically elected by their employees,

and the government functioning mainly as representatives for their people, processing the public's votes and distributing resources without denying human rights as a threat for employees not working at, "peak efficiency."

AI:

The name, "AI," is a misnomer used to describe a variety of improved versions of technology we've had for decades, and the modern use of it is generally used for crypto pumping, art theft, and money laundering.

Programs such as Midjourney and ChatGPT use large amounts of electricity and water, as well as contributing negatively to climate change via rare earth metal mines.

I would recommend this excellent video essay by Philosophy Tube on this subject. I tend to refer to it by a variety of terms, such as (but not limited to) Digital Hapsburg Generators, Long-Form Autocorrect, and Automated Theft Engines.

J.K. Rowling:

Rowling is an anti-feminist misogynistic transphobic prick who doesn't just actively make things worse for trans women, but women in general. You can't participate in death-of-the-author if the author is still alive. Do not buy her products, including Hogwarts Legacy.

As an aside, I also recommend this video essay about the problems with her Harry Potter series, critiquing her work as an author, even outside of her Twitter politics and donations to far- and alt-right organizations.

Russian invasion of Ukraine:

Russia doesn't have the right to invade Ukraine, even if the USSR previously had Ukraine as a state within it.

This is a gross misrepresentation of how the states of the USSR worked (though the USSR had many flaws; I recommend these video essays by Socialist YouTuber Hakim discussing the fall of the USSR and flaws with former socialism attempts), and is an excuse to be an expansionist fascist, and is just rooted in Russian nationalism.

Even the Russian people have been losing their shit over their president's actions and don't agree with him.

Atomic Heart:

Atomic Heart is a Russian nationalist game, which calls Ukrainians swine/livestock, demonizes Ukrainian technology, uses a floral symbol of Ukraine on a hostile drone, and bases the sex robots off of a prior Ukrainian official.

This game also explicitly uses a military photograph of Russian soldiers participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

The Last of Us:

The Last of Us is a game made by a Zionist, based on the Israeli occupation and later holocaust of Palestine, and the second game was explicitly made as, "revenge against Palestinians." As I had the first game gifted to me years before I knew about this, I may make a video essay about this in the future, but I'm not purchasing the second game.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

Palworld:

Palworld itself is a questionable game, but despite it being pretty much confirmed that they didn't use ATE technology, they do have a lot of blatant theft from other games, independent creators who make Fakemon, and even have a model directly stolen and slightly modified from Game Freak.

The company that made Palworld also has a history of blatant theft, as well as having a game that uses ChatGPT as an actual game mechanic.

Do not purchase or play this developer's games.

Israeli holocaust of Palestine:

This is very blatantly a genocide, and calling it a holocaust is in fact justified. Benjamin Netanyahu is actively being antisemitic by attributing this as a Jewish necessity, and is souring Judaism for people who've already been indoctrinated to be antisemitic.

The Israeli holocaust of Palestine has not only been, well, a fucking genocide, but has also increased both Islamophobia and antisemitic violence globally.

[linisiane]

Been thinking about a Modern!Babel AU centered around colleges aimed around Silicon Valley

Immigrant kids being funneled into CS because it’s the field where the money is (linguistics? Where’s the money in that? You want to starve?).

International students coming to America because all the Big Programming Languages and their documentation are in English, because translations of documentation is to err and to betray, because English is the programming lingua franca, because if you don’t know English then you’ll be “trailing edge.” Source

“As an American and native English-speaker myself, I have previously been reluctant to suggest this, lest it be taken as a sort of cultural imperialism. But several native speakers of other languages have urged me to point out that English is the working language of the hacker culture and the Internet, and that you will need to know it to function in the hacker community.” Source

So they come to America to improve their English because you have to be fluent to be taken seriously. Or maybe they’re born in America and can feel the rot of their native tongue as they grow up, even as they learn more and more programming languages.

Java, C++, Ruby, XML, Python, Swift, PHP, etc.

It’s funny, but programmers, even as they’ve decided on English as the one true language, they create more and more programming languages to suit their needs/problem solving efficiency:

Source

[ID: XKCD comic that is titled "How Standards Proliferate (See: A/C chargers, character encodings, instant messaging, etc.)" It reads,

Situation: There are 14 competing standards. Cueball (stick figure): 14?! Ridiculous! We need to develop one universal standard that covers everyone's use cases. Ponytail (other stick figure): Yeah! Soon: Situation: There are 15 competing standards.

End ID]

(transcript taken from the ExplainXKCD wiki)

And of course, the students from countries on the Indian subcontinent are acutely aware of the unbalanced nature of the work they do, the way they’re expected to do export IT work, despite the digital divide in India, Bengal, Pakistan, etc. Especially since it’s a sign of being well-educated (wealthy) to speak English fluently thanks to the history of British Imperialism on the subcontinent.

Chinese IT students sink or swim thanks Mandarin monolinguism making it difficult to learn English. Americans programmers struggle not to link choppy English with choppy code, even while being monolingual themselves!

Not to mention the heavy sexism in the IT field! Female programmers taking on nicknames on emails and resumes to pretend to be men, so they’ll be taken seriously. Despite the history of women like Ada Lovelace being foundational to computers.

And of course we gotta bring up the ethics of AI, how it’s a march towards the inevitable that only Luddites would oppose. Despite the millions who’d lose their jobs once implemented into the workplace.

Commercial transportation sector lost to self-driving cars.

Digital artists lost to DALL-E.

Manufacturers automated.

But can’t they tell that progress is inevitable? That this is the future and to try to stop it is foolish?

As Anand Giridharadas put it in Winners Take All:

“In [Silicon] Valley, prediction has become a popular way of fighting for a particular future while claiming merely to be describing what has yet to occur”

Elon Musk is a genius. Bill Gates is so charitable. Bezos is customer obsessed, and they’re the future, don’t you see? Infinite growth forever and ever.

Tower of Babel? Valley of Silicon.

Unfortunately I suck at STEM, and I’m an uncultured Asian American, so I don’t know programming languages well, nor do I know enough about other cultures to do Ramy, Victoire, Robin, or Letty justice. Just the bare bones to see the structure of this AU and put it out in the world to see if anybody would like to play with it or add on.

[eusuchia]

sorry to the anon but I couldn't figure out how to edit my answer once it was in my drafts (great website).

the question was (badly paraphrasing) shouldn't we try to preserve the livelihoods of ceramicists and weavers too? and instead of saying 'mass production already killed this industry, and it will happen to others,' try to save more art from it?

basically yes! deskilling due to industrial capitalism sucks and mass production makes commodity fetishism infinitely worse. I think it's important to preserve craft knowledge and don't think we should just cede everything to industrialization, but that feeling isn't going to shift industrial trends -- only industrial action will do that. for what it's worth, it's really annoying to hear 'just unionize!' as an artist, when many, like me, are self-employed/freelance, and without sudden mass interest in some kind of low-entry-requirement sectoral guild, are not very unionizable because we don't have workplaces in the traditional sense. but by sheer numbers a lot of the job loss to AI would be corporate-level, I think, and there's more potential for people employed by like, marvel, to actually do something significant about the use of AI, than for individual customers trying to throw their weight around by buying or boycotting. I'm happy to get proved wrong here by some targeted mass boycott campaign, but I'm not holding my breath.

on a personal level I regularly spend money on handmade ceramics, fiber arts, and original art commissions both physical and digital because I find them valuable and beautiful. but I also use my IKEA plates and print-on-demand t-shirts, functionally devaluing those crafts. no amount of hypothetical discourse shaming me for 'stealing from working craftsmen' would really change that due to the economic realities. (tangentially, I don't use AI as a stand-in for commissioned art because they are not at all interchangeable to me.)

broadly though, isn't every kind of automation 'taking a livelihood' from someone in theory? my original reply to metamatar's post was basically asking where you draw the line. digital printing is taking the work of typesetters and sign painters, canva presets are taking the work of graphic designers, slip casting is taking the work of ceramicists. yet those trades still exist, and if anything I think their creative horizons are a little wider when the drudgery of the industry is taken up by machines. I know that's paltry compensation for a vanishing job market under capitalism, but isn't it a good thing when ceramicists and weavers are free to explore their ideas and not confined to backbreaking work of making the same bowls or yards of tweed for years on end? (especially in The Good Society with robust social protection that we should all be fighting for anyway)

there can be different use cases for these things (artisanal vs mass produced) and one use doesn't mean 1:1 something is being stolen from the other. personally I'm never going to pay someone to render my likeness instead of taking a photo; the money that's being 'lost' by a realism portrait artist there is purely hypothetical. same for when people get mad about others generating AI art for fun. 'you could have paid an artist for this [generated meme in the style of hr giger]' ok but they weren't going to and you can't make them.

I think people are unthinkingly flattening all kinds of creative labour when they talk about what might happen with AI. to start with, people are often talking about the job market of the first world/imperial core/etc despite the huge amounts of creative labour in/outsourced to other countries. but wherever you want to apply AI -- I don't think boutique client-based work is ever going to vanish, because the stuff that AI can do well is limited to certain types of digital illustration and animation, and you need human, creative problem-solving for new creative work, even on industrial levels with lots of automating tools in the workflow. art directors with good sense can see that. big name editorial illustrators are going to remain big name editorial illustrators. etc. (tbh, I think even the stuff AI is 'good at' looks dogshit a lot of the time, hence my disinterest in it, but that's a personal valuation and has no economic bearing.)

I'm not saying there's nothing to worry about, especially because managers and execs are often stupid and have bad taste and want to 'incorporate AI' when it makes no fucking sense, and would gladly thin out their staff for any reason. but that is ultimately a labour problem and not an artistic one.

[annajade456]

Mastering DevOps: A Path to Tech Leadership and Innovation

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, DevOps stands out as an indicator of innovation and efficiency. As we navigate the digital age, the role of DevOps, which seamlessly blends development and operations practices, has become increasingly important. It not only accelerates software delivery but also promotes collaboration, enhances automation, and ensures the delivery of high-quality applications. If you're considering a career in tech, DevOps is an enticing and promising option. In this comprehensive exploration, we'll dive deep into the world of DevOps careers, unveiling the manifold opportunities, challenges, and avenues for growth that it offers.

Why DevOps? The Irresistible Appeal

1. High Demand for DevOps Professionals

In a world where businesses are constantly striving for efficiency and agility, DevOps professionals are in high demand. Organizations of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 giants, recognize the value of DevOps in streamlining development processes, enhancing automation, and improving collaboration among cross-functional teams. This demand translates into a plethora of job opportunities for DevOps experts.

2. Competitive Salaries

In the realm of tech careers, compensation is often a significant factor. DevOps practitioners frequently enjoy competitive salaries, and experienced DevOps engineers, in particular, are handsomely rewarded. This makes DevOps not only a fulfilling career but also a financially rewarding one.

3. Versatility Across Industries

One of the striking features of a DevOps career is its versatility. DevOps skills are transferable across various industries, including finance, healthcare, e-commerce, and more. The fundamental principles and tools of DevOps are universally applicable, allowing you to explore different sectors while leveraging your expertise.

4. Continuous Learning and Adaptation

The tech world thrives on change, and DevOps is no exception. This dynamic field continuously evolves with the emergence of new tools and practices. Staying updated with the latest trends and technologies is not just a requirement but a thrilling aspect of a DevOps career. The pursuit of knowledge and adaptation are ingrained in the DevOps culture.

5. Enhanced Efficiency Through Automation

At the core of DevOps lies the principle of automation. DevOps practices emphasize automating manual processes, reducing errors, and accelerating deployment cycles. The result is enhanced efficiency in development pipelines, enabling teams to deliver software faster and with higher quality.

6. Collaboration as a Core Value

DevOps promotes collaboration and communication between traditionally siloed teams, such as development and operations. This cultural shift towards teamwork and shared responsibilities fosters a more inclusive and productive workplace environment.

7. A Path to Leadership

A DevOps career is not just about technical skills; it's also a pathway to leadership positions. As you gain experience and expertise, you'll find yourself well-equipped to step into roles like DevOps manager, architect, or consultant, where you can influence and shape the DevOps practices of your organization.

The Future of DevOps: A World of Innovation

As we peer into the future, the DevOps landscape promises even more exciting developments:

1. Advanced Automation and AI

Automation will continue to be a driving force in DevOps, with artificial intelligence (AI) playing a more significant role. AI-powered tools will enhance predictive analytics, optimize resource allocation, and further reduce manual intervention in the software development lifecycle.

2. DevOps in Edge Computing

The rise of edge computing, driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), presents new challenges and opportunities for DevOps. DevOps practices will expand to accommodate the unique demands of edge environments, enabling real-time data processing and analysis at the edge of the network.

3. Security-First DevOps

With cybersecurity concerns on the rise, DevOps will place an even greater emphasis on security practices. DevSecOps, the integration of security into the DevOps pipeline, will become standard practice, ensuring that security is not an afterthought but an integral part of the development process.

4. Hybrid and Multi-Cloud DevOps

Hybrid and multi-cloud environments are becoming increasingly prevalent. DevOps will continue to evolve to seamlessly integrate on-premises and cloud resources, providing organizations with the flexibility to choose the best infrastructure for their needs.

5. DevOps as a Service

DevOps as a Service (DaaS) is gaining traction. Organizations will increasingly turn to third-party providers for DevOps solutions, allowing them to focus on their core competencies while leveraging the expertise of specialized DevOps teams.

In a world driven by technology, a career in DevOps offers an exciting journey filled with opportunities for growth and innovation. Whether you're just starting your career or looking to make a transition, DevOps holds the promise of a rewarding path.

To embark on this journey, it's essential to equip yourself with the right skills and knowledge. ACTE Technologies, a renowned provider of DevOps training and certification programs, stands ready to be your guiding light. Their expert-led courses can help you build a complex foundation in DevOps principles, master the relevant tools, and stay ahead in this ever-evolving field.

So, embrace the future of technology with a career in DevOps, and let ACTE Technologies be your trusted companion on the road to excellence. As you explore the endless possibilities of DevOps careers, may your passion for innovation and your commitment to continuous learning lead you to success and fulfillment.

[somwrita]

In a fast-evolving world, technology has transformed various aspects of our lives, including the workforce’s nature. Technology has advanced through artificial intelligence and automation to robotics and machine learning in reshaping the job. Given the growing company’s need for more output and efficiency, the job sector has not been spared. This article reflects on how much technology has impacted the workforce, focusing on the opportunities and challenges facing the same. We consider the job sector being disrupted by technology with new job titles being created and others becoming obsolete. Furthermore, we also consider the various skills and expertise highly sought in the digital economy and the value of any employee constantly learning and adjusting to more value provision.

Technology and job automation. The job market is also changing fast due to new job automation tools such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and other technological advancements. For example, automation, especially automation based on robotics, is replacing many blue-collar jobs due to efficiency and cost-cutting. This trend also extends to some white-collar jobs requiring repetitive work on an intermediate level. Nonetheless, automation is a two-sided tool. It also creates new jobs that require more creativity and technical skills. For example, businesses today are looking for many data analysts, artificial intelligence specialists, robotics engineers, as their current business success depends on these fields.

The conclusion would then synthesize these insights, offering a roadmap for navigating the changing landscape of work in the age of technology.

Footnote

#TalentServe is a company specializing in career development link to website. They offer various resources that can support individuals in navigating the workplace, including stress management techniques and career development opportunities that might lead to a more fulfilling and less stressful work environment.

[techadventuress]

Natasha AI Assistant of Sachin Dev Duggal Founded Builder.ai Going to be the Missing Piece of Microsoft Productivity Puzzle

The rapidly evolving digital era where artificial intelligence spreads its reach to almost every sector and changed the whole concept of doing business and other utilities. Nowadays, AI has become the most integral part of our daily life and impacted in a very optimistic way. Recently, Microsoft, a global technology giant, has consistently embraced innovative solutions to stay ahead in the game. The recent collaboration between Microsoft and Builder.ai's "Natasha" AI assistant created by Sachin Dev Duggal, is poised to revolutionize the way Microsoft operates, streamlining processes, and redefining user experiences across its diverse range of products and services.

Natasha: The AI Assistant from Builder.ai

“Natasha”, an advanced AI assistant from Builder.ai designed to intelligently assist users across various tasks, leveraging the power of natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and automation. Sachin Dev Duggal is the founder of this AI assistant which has the ability to understand user intent, provide contextually relevant information, and execute tasks seamlessly. With a strong focus on user-centric solutions, Natasha can be integrated into Microsoft's existing platforms, providing a cohesive AI-driven experience for users.

Seamless Collaboration and Communication

Workplaces nowadays rely significantly on communication and collaboration tools. The addition of Natasha to Microsoft's range of productivity tools has the potential to enhance this experience. The AI assistant may aid users by using natural language instructions to create emails, plan meetings, and manage projects. This not only streamlines everyday operations but also encourages a user experience that is more natural and seamless. Natasha may also propose pertinent papers, files, or team members during collaborative projects thanks to its capacity for context understanding, which boosts efficiency and collaboration in general.

[chris-harry]

Unlocking Efficiency: Mastering Employee Records Management

In the intricate dance of human resources, maintaining a well-organized Employee Records Management System (ERMS) emerges as the secret sauce to streamline operations and foster organizational success. Let's delve into the realm of ERMS, exploring its pivotal role in the workplace and how it transforms the landscape of data management.

The Art of Efficient Data Handling

In a world where data reigns supreme, the management of employee records holds a significant place in organizational workflows. An ERMS acts as the custodian of invaluable information – from personal details and performance metrics to training records and certifications. Its role extends beyond mere record-keeping; it's a strategic tool that empowers HR professionals to make informed decisions and drive workforce efficiency.

Navigating the Complexity

The complexity of managing employee records becomes apparent in the face of regulatory requirements and the need for accuracy. This is where a robust ERMS steps in, offering a centralized solution to navigate this intricate landscape. The system not only ensures data accuracy but also simplifies compliance with ever-evolving regulations, providing a solid foundation for HR processes.

The Digital Evolution

As businesses evolve, so does technology. ERMS solutions today are more than digital filing cabinets. They come armed with advanced features that redefine the way organizations handle employee data. From document management and workflow automation to integration capabilities with other HR applications, a modern ERMS is designed to enhance efficiency and streamline processes.

Conclusion: Elevating HR Management with ResourceTracks

In the journey of optimizing employee records management, ResourceTracks stands out as a beacon of innovation. This ERP system provider is renowned for its seamless integration and cutting-edge features, setting the stage for a transformative HR experience.

To explore how ResourceTracks revolutionizes ERMS, click here, unlocking a realm where efficiency, compliance, and strategic decision-making converge seamlessly.

As organizations embrace the digital era, investing in a robust Employee Records Management System becomes a cornerstone for success. It's more than just a tool; it's a strategic ally that empowers businesses to harness the power of data, navigate complexities, and chart a course toward organizational excellence.

[opossumprince]

Ok if you've seen this moral panic post going around about this film's backgrounds done "in Al" I just want to say fuck it and fuck everyone complaining about "oh no robots are stealing Actual Real Human Jobs don't watch it !!!". Here's some info :

A lot of your favorite anime shows have backgrounds TRACED STRAIGHT FROM PHOTOS, sometimes even just photos processed to look like they're drawn. Also you may not know this if you've never set foot in the actual animation industry but your favorite modern digital animated shows and films all use automation in some way to the point where programs like TV Paint have built-in auto coloring and stabilizing the frames, After Effects has interpolation and movement/timing/deformation keys, because it makes things way easier and faster. That's the thing about film and art, there isn't just "one proper way" to make something. If you think it's unethicaI of this film's crew to not hire background artists, why don't you start insulting digital animation films and shows for not hiring inkers and cell painters ? It's too bad the GAN users aren't properly named in this film's credits, but let's get real, that's no reason to morph into the "techonology is bad fire is scary Edison was a witch" guy (and if they were credited you fuckers would send them death threats to no end like you already do with artists that work with Al).

And if you think a good film has to have everything and every frame drawn and animated by hand, if you think using anything other than fully hand drawn backgrounds (say, actual photos or random paint splatter for backgrounds) would be cheating, you are not only against some of the big studio films you love, but also reactionary and very much against experimental digital media.

Not to mention the appeal to emotions with that "3D and Al and automation is stealing Real Artists' jobs, we must protect background artists" shit and a fucking reaction pic of Miyazaki is laughable when you know the horrible "you have to work harder and overtime and cheaper because that's what Real Artists do" workplace environment many GhibIi artists and animators faced. The man's studios broke labor laws, he thinks 3D is the end of animation because it's not the kind of animation he's been making for decades, and you fuckers applaud him as the ~icon of cottagecore anti-technology true artisan workers that makes his employees do RealArtTM which takes 10000 hours~.

No, drawing isn't over because photography exists, hand drawn animation isn't over because 3D exists, and hand drawn backgrounds won't be over if some anime studios use GANs to generate some instead of taking photos and running them through Photoshop like they used to.

[advaiya-solutions]

Today's workplace is witnessing more disruption than ever before. Employees desire the flexibility to work from anywhere on any device with tools that boost productivity and enhance their work experience. These issues have driven organizations to embrace modern workplace solutions to provide seamless data and app delivery across multiple locations while safeguarding their endpoint devices.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The reverse-centaur apocalypse is upon us

I'm coming to DEFCON! On Aug 9, I'm emceeing the EFF POKER TOURNAMENT (noon at the Horseshoe Poker Room), and appearing on the BRICKED AND ABANDONED panel (5PM, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01). On Aug 10, I'm giving a keynote called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE! How hackers can seize the means of computation and build a new, good internet that is hardened against our asshole bosses' insatiable horniness for enshittification" (noon, LVCC - L1 - HW1–11–01).

In thinking about the relationship between tech and labor, one of the most useful conceptual frameworks is "centaurs" vs "reverse-centaurs":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

A centaur is someone whose work is supercharged by automation: you are a human head atop the tireless body of a machine that lets you get more done than you could ever do on your own.

A reverse-centaur is someone who is harnessed to the machine, reduced to a mere peripheral for a cruelly tireless robotic overlord that directs you to do the work that it can't, at a robotic pace, until your body and mind are smashed.

Bosses love being centaurs. While workplace monitoring is as old as Taylorism – the "scientific management" of the previous century that saw labcoated frauds dictating the fine movements of working people in a kabuki of "efficiency" – the lockdowns saw an explosion of bossware, the digital tools that let bosses monitor employees to a degree and at a scale that far outstrips the capacity of any unassisted human being.

Armed with bossware, your boss becomes a centaur, able to monitor you down to your keystrokes, the movements of your eyes, even the ambient sound around you. It was this technology that transformed "work from home" into "live at work." But bossware doesn't just let your boss spy on you – it lets your boss control you. \

It turns you into a reverse-centaur.

"Data At Work" is a research project from Cracked Labs that dives deep into the use of surveillance and control technology in a variety of workplaces – including workers' own cars and homes:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work

It consists of a series of papers that take deep dives into different vendors' bossware products, exploring how they are advertised, how they are used, and (crucially) how they make workers feel. There are also sections on how these interact with EU labor laws (the project is underwritten by the Austrian Arbeiterkammer), with the occasional aside about how weak US labor laws are.

The latest report in the series comes from Wolfie Christl, digging into Microsoft's "Dynamics 365," a suite of mobile apps designed to exert control over "field workers" – repair technicians, security guards, cleaners, and home help for ill, elderly and disabled people:

https://crackedlabs.org/dl/CrackedLabs_Christl_MobileWork.pdf

It's…not good. Microsoft advises its customers to use its products to track workers' location every "60 to 300 seconds." Workers are given tasks broken down into subtasks, each with its own expected time to completion. Workers are expected to use the app every time they arrive at a site, begin or complete a task or subtask, or start or end a break.

For bosses, all of this turns into a dashboard that shows how each worker is performing from instant to instant, whether they are meeting time targets, and whether they are spending more time on a task than the client's billing rate will pay for. Each work order has a clock showing elapsed seconds since it was issued.

For workers, the system generates new schedules with new work orders all day long, refreshing your work schedule as frequently as twice per hour. Bosses can flag workers as available for jobs that fall outside their territories and/or working hours, and the system will assign workers to jobs that require them to work in their off hours and travel long distances to do so.

Each task and subtask has a target time based on "AI" predictions. These are classic examples of Goodhart's Law: "any metric eventually becomes a target." The average time that workers take becomes the maximum time that a worker is allowed to take. Some jobs are easy, and can be completed in less time than assigned. When this happens, the average time to do a job shrinks, and the time allotted for normal (or difficult) jobs contracts.

Bosses get stack-ranks of workers showing which workers closed the most tickets, worked the fastest, spent the least time idle between jobs, and, of course, whether the client gave them five stars. Workers know it, creating an impossible bind: to do the job well, in a friendly fashion, the worker has to take time to talk with the client, understand their needs, and do the job. Anything less will generate unfavorable reports from clients. But doing this will blow through time quotas, which produces bad reports from the bossware. Heads you lose, tails the boss wins.

Predictably, Microsoft has shoveled "AI" into every corner of this product. Bosses don't just get charts showing them which workers are "underperforming" – they also get summaries of all the narrative aspects of the workers' reports (e.g. "My client was in severe pain so I took extra time to make her comfortable before leaving"), filled with the usual hallucinations and other botshit.

No boss could exert this kind of fine-grained, soul-destroying control over any workforce, much less a workforce that is out in the field all day, without Microsoft's automation tools. Armed with Dynamics 365, a boss becomes a true centaur, capable of superhuman feats of labor abuse.

And when workers are subjected to Dynamics 365, they become true reverse-centaurs, driven by "digital whips" to work at a pace that outstrips the long-term capacity of their minds and bodies to bear it. The enthnographic parts of the report veer between chilling and heartbreaking.

Microsoft strenuously objects to this characterization, insisting that their tool (which they advise bosses to use to check on workers' location every 60-300 seconds) is not a "surveillance" tool, it's a "coordination" tool. They say that all the AI in the tool is "Responsible AI," which is doubtless a great comfort to workers.

In Microsoft's (mild) defense, they are not unique. Other reports in the series show how retail workers and hotel housekeepers are subjected to "despot on demand" services provided by Oracle:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/retail-hospitality

Call centers, are even worse. After all, most of this stuff started with call centers:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/callcenter

I've written about Arise, a predatory "work from home" company that targets Black women to pay the company to work for it (they also have to pay if they quit!). Of course, they can be fired at will:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/29/impunity-corrodes/#arise-ye-prisoners

There's also a report about Celonis, a giant German company no one has ever heard of, which gathers a truly nightmarish quantity of information about white-collar workers' activities, subjecting them to AI phrenology to judge their "emotional quality" as well as other metrics:

https://crackedlabs.org/en/data-work/publications/processmining-algomanage

As Celonis shows, this stuff is coming for all of us. I've dubbed this process "the shitty technology adoption curve": the terrible things we do to prisoners, asylum seekers and people in mental institutions today gets repackaged tomorrow for students, parolees, Uber drivers and blue-collar workers. Then it works its way up the privilege gradient, until we're all being turned into reverse-centaurs under the "digital whip" of a centaur boss:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/25/the-peoples-amazon/#clippys-revenge

In mediating between asshole bosses and the workers they destroy, these bossware technologies do more than automate: they also insulate. Thanks to bossware, your boss doesn't have to look you in the eye (or come within range of your fists) to check in on you every 60 seconds and tell you that you've taken 11 seconds too long on a task. I recently learned a useful term for this: an "accountability sink," as described by Dan Davies in his new book, The Unaccountability Machine, which is high on my (very long) list of books to read:

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/02/despotism-on-demand/#virtual-whips

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en