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Companies are investing heavily in AI, in spite of the fact that they aren’t yet seeing a big return. A recent report from MIT found that 95% of organizations that have adopted AI haven’t seen any return on the investment at all. (However, the 5% of companies who are seeing the return are “extracting millions in value,” according to the report.) Despite these odds, according to a Nexford University survey of 1,000 U.S. individuals (800 recently laid off workers and 200 hiring managers), companies are increasingly viewing AI as a valuable tool and a must-have for employees. For employees, AI might just be the key to surviving layoffs, or the necessary qualification for landing the next job. According to the survey, layoffs are happening at an astonishingly high rate: 65% of companies conducted layoffs in the past 12 months. While 68% of companies identified cost-cutting as the reason for layoffs, 32% mentioned skill mismatch, and 31% and 27% cited “company strategy shift and AI adoption, respectively. In fact, almost half (49%) of employers say theyre more likely to retain the workers with strong AI skills. Likewise, when it comes to new hires, employers want workers who understand AI. About one-third (29%) of hiring managers said they are exclusively hiring employees who are proficient with AI. Workers are catching on. Nearly one in five recently laid-off workers (19%) say AI adoption contributed to them being let go, and this increases for younger workers: 23% of Gen Z workers said AI was behind their layoff, as do 21% of millennials, compared to just 14% of Gen X and baby boomers. Many laid-off workers are taking action. Since losing their jobs, two thirds are focusing on reskilling. A quarter are studying coding, while 22% are studying AI fundamentals and another 22% are studying prompt-engineering. To reskill, over half (56%) use YouTube and other online tutorials to enhance their skill set, and 39% are taking an online course. On average, respondents who are focusing on upskilling are spending an average of six hours a week on learning, with a third of that time focused on AI specific skills. However, nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) pointed out cost is a barrier to upskiling, and more than one in five (21%) say they aren’t sure what they should be learning to make themselves hirable while 17% point to time constraints. Regardless of the value AI brings to the table, its clear at the moment employers see it as a necessary skillset and workers are following their lead.
Category:
E-Commerce
Floridas Everglades are teeming with gigantic, invasive snakes, but a fluffy, high-tech solution is poised to help. The state is turning to robotic stuffed rabbits to help trap invasive Burmese pythons, which are disrupting the states fragile wetland ecosystems and harming its native species by gobbling up food sources. Florida is regularly on the hunt for the pythons due to the threat they pose to the states furry fauna, much of which count as prey for the huge snakes. The University of Florida and the South Florida Water Management District developed the python-hunting tech this year, crafting remote-controlled, solar-powered stuffed rabbits that look and even smell like the real thing. The robo-rabbits also emit a realistic heat signature, sending the message to heat-sensing snakes in nearby swamps that dinner is served. Unbeknownst to the snakes, the robotic rabbits are also equipped with cameras that scan for pythons who have taken an interest in them. When one of the invasive snakes is spotted, an alert prompts the district to send out a special python removal agent to take care of business. Invasive pythons are one of the most destructive and harmful species in Americas Everglades, according to the South Florida Water Management District’s website. Their aggressive predation on native wildlife robs panthers, raptors, bobcats, and other native predators of their primary food sources. The python problem is so bad that the state hosts an annual hunt, known as the Florida Python Challenge. This year, the 10-day competition attracted 934 python hunters from 30 states around the country. Last month, the participants culled 294 invasive pythons, adding to the 1,400 removed since the contest first launched in 2013. A single competitor took home the $10,000 grand prize this summer by removing 60 Burmese pythonsquite a feat, considering that the huge nonvenomous snakes can reach between 6 and 9 feet long on average. Firearms arent allowed in the contest, so contestants manage to wrangle the snakes by hand.
Category:
E-Commerce
Bitcoin has doubled its value and soared to mind-boggling highs in the last year, but the king of cryptocurrency stumbled a bit in late August. The digital coin dipped to a 30-day low around $108,000 on Friday, down from a record high of $124,457 mid-month. A few factors are likely at work in the coins dip. Why is Bitcoin dipping? Cryptocurrency traders have observed activity this week from a Bitcoin whale someone holding a huge position in a given coin that on its own might be enough to move markets. When a whale moves their assets around, the size of the trade can send a coin up or down and spook onlookers, who might be inclined to follow suit. Earlier this week, one whale sold 24,000 Bitcoin worth $2.7 billion in a single day. Another trader with a massive position in Bitcoin was just spotted buying up Ethereum, the cryptocurrency with the second highest market capitalization. When large positions flow out from Bitcoin and into Ethereum, it can send the former down and the latter up particularly if the broader crypto market chases the big movers. Beyond big trades and whale moves, cryptocurrency is affected by broader macroeconomic factors just like everything else. President Trumps reelection sent Bitcoin on a tear late last year, but high interest rates still temper interest in digital coins. If the Fed lowers interest rates and borrowing cash gets cheaper, money is likely to flow into riskier investments like Bitcoin. In a highly anticipated speech late last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled that rate cuts could be on the way next month. Powell pointed to slowing economic growth in the first half of the year, but remains cautious over the effects of Trumps tariffs on the Feds quest to quell inflation. All of these factors influence traditional stocks and their chaotic counterpart, the cryptocurrency market. If Bitcoins late-summer slump seems foreboding, a glance at a price chart on a longer timeline should dispel any concerns: A year ago, BTC was trading for less than $60,000.
Category:
E-Commerce
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