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Forget the ping-pong tables and kombucha on tap. The real workplace perks, if you are a working parent, arent glitzy. They are functional. And, in an era of record burnout and extreme scarcity of childcare, knowing how to identify a genuinely parent-friendly workplace could make or break your careerand your sanity. Green flags Whether you are in job-hunting mode, negotiating a new role, or taking stock of your current company, heres what to look for and what might be pure performance. 1. True Flexibility (Not Just ‘Work from Anywhere’) Try to find a position with a predictable level of flexibility. That means clear expectations about hours and deliverables that allow you to manage your day, not just your location. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} 2. People in Power Who Actually Take Parental Benefits A major green flag is a leader who makes use of parental leave and talks about it publicly. It creates an environment where everyone can do the same without fear of being judged or sidelined in their career. 3. Meeting Culture That Respects Quitting Time Are meetings packed at the end of the day? Are you expected to be there at 6 p.m.? If the work calendar is chaos, chances are your home life will be too. 4. Paid Leave That Doesnt Come with a Guilt Trip Ask if expecting parents typically use parental leave, not just whats in the employee handbook. Culture matters more than policy. 5. Support Beyond the Baby Stage Good companies dont end support as soon as your baby hits 1-year-old. Look for long-term flexibility, back-to-school understanding, summer childcare solutions, or even parenting employee resource groups (ERGs). 6. Caregiving Is Part of the Conversation, Not a Burden Do people feel safe talking about sick kids, school closings, or mental health struggles without worrying they will be perceived as less committed? Thats the culture you want. 7. Promotion Paths That Dont Punish Caregivers Look at whos getting promoted. Are parents climbing up or are their careers stalling? A truly parent-friendly company allows for upward mobility and family values. Red flags What about signs to watch out for? Here are four: Promises of some vague work-life balance with no specific details Unlimited PTO policies that people dont feel comfortable using Celebrating employees that exceed expectations. Make sure that isnt code for overworking to the point of burnout Not a single reference to caregiving or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Bonus advice While you’re being interviewed, interview the company too. Ask about their approach to flexibility, caregiving, and how theyve supported employees during school closures or emergencies (like COVID-19). The response will tell you everything you need to know. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2015\/08\/erikaaslogo.png","headline":"Girl, Listen: A Guide to What Really Matters","description":"Ericka dives into the heat of modern motherhood, challenging the notion that personal identity must be sacrificed at the altar of parenting. ","substackDomain":"https:\/\/erickasouter.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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James Barrat is an author and documentary filmmaker who has written and produced for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, and many other broadcasters. Whats the big idea? The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything [Photo: St. Martin’s Press] Artificial intelligence could reshape our world for the better or threaten our very existence. Todays chatbots are just the beginning. We could be heading for a future in which artificial superintelligence challenges human dominance. To keep our grip on the reins of progress when faced with an intelligence explosion, we need to set clear standards and precautions for AI development. Below, James shares five key insights from his new book, The Intelligence Explosion: When AI Beats Humans at Everything. Listen to the audio versionread by James himselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App. 1. The rise of generative AI is impressive, but not without problems. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, have taken the world by storm, demonstrating their ability to write, draw, and even compose music in ways that seem almost human. Generative means they generate or create things. But these abilities come with some steep downsides. These systems can easily create fake news, bogus documents, or deepfake photos and videos that appear and sound authentic. Even the AI experts who build these models dont fully understand how they come up with their answers. Generative AI is a black box system, meaning you can see the data the model is trained on and the words or pictures it puts out, but even the designers cannot explain what happens on the inside. Stuart Russell, coauthor of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, said this about generative AI, We have absolutely no idea how it works, and we are releasing it to hundreds of millions of people. We give it credit cards, bank accounts, social media accounts. Were doing everything we can to make sure that it can take over the world. Generative AI hallucinates, meaning the models sometimes spit out stuff that sounds believable but is wrong or nonsensical. This makes them risky for important tasks. When asked about a specific academic paper, a generative AI might confidently respond, The 2019 study by Dr. Leah Wolfe at Stanford University found that 73% of people who eat chocolate daily have improved memory function, as published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, Volume 12, Issue 4. This sounds completely plausible and authoritative, but many details are made up: There is no Dr. Leah Wolfe at Stanford, no such study from 2019, and the 73% statistic is fiction. Generative AI hallucinates, meaning the models sometimes spit out stuff that sounds believable but is wrong or nonsensical. The hallucination is particularly problematic because its presented with such confidence and specificity that it seems legitimate. Users might cite this nonexistent research or make decisions based on completely false information. On top of that, as generative AI models get bigger, they start picking up surprise skillslike translating languages and writing codeeven though nobody programmed them to do that. These unpredictable outcomes are called emergent properties. They hint at even bigger challenges as AI continues to advance and grow larger. 2. The push for artificial general intelligence (AGI). The next big goal in AI is something called AGI, or artificial general intelligence. This means creating an AI that can perform nearly any task a human can, in any field. Tech companies and governments are racing to build AGI because the potential payoff is huge. AGI could automate all sorts of knowledge work, making us way more productive and innovative. Whoever gets there first could dominate global industries and set the rules for everyone else. Some believe that AGI could help us tackle massive problems, such as climate change, disease, and poverty. Its also seen as a game-changer for national security. However, the unpredictability were already seeing will only intensify as we approach AGI, which raises the stakes. 3. From AGI to something way smarter. If we ever reach AGI, things could escalate quickly. This is where the concept of the intelligence explosion comes into play. The idea was first put forward by I. J. Good. Good was a brilliant British mathematician and codebreaker who worked alongside Alan Turing at Bletchley Park during World War II. Together, they were crucial in breaking German codes and laying the foundations for modern computing. An intelligence explosion would come with incredible upsides. Drawing on this experience, Good realized that if we built a machine that was as smart as a human, it might soon be able to make itself even smarter. Once it started improving itself, it could get caught in a kind of feedback loop, rapidly building smarter and smarter versionsway beyond anything humans could keep up with. This runaway process could lead to artificial superintelligence, also known as ASI. An intelligence explosion would come with incredible upsides. Superintelligent AI could solve problems weve never been able to crack, such as curing diseases, reversing aging, or mitigating climate change. It could push science and technology forward at lightning speed, automate all kinds of work, and help us make smarter decisions by analyzing information in ways people simply cannot. 4. The dangers of an intelligence explosion. Is ASI dangerous? You bet. In an interview, sci-fi great Arthur C. Clark told me, We umans steer the future not because were the fastest or strongest creature, but the most intelligent. If we share the planet with something more intelligent than we are, they will steer the future. The same qualities that could make superintelligent AI so helpful also make it dangerous. If its goals arent perfectly lined up with whats good for humansa problem called alignmentit could end up doing things that are catastrophic for us. For example, a superintelligent AI might use up all the planets resources to complete its assigned mission, leaving nothing left for humans. Nick Bostrom, a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford, created a thought experiment called the paperclip maximizer. If a superintelligent AI were asked to make paperclips, without very careful instructions, it would turn all the matter in the universe into paperclipsincluding you and me. Whoever controls this kind of AI could also end up with an unprecedented level of power over the rest of the world. Plus, the speed and unpredictability of an intelligence explosion could throw global economies and societies into complete chaos before we have time to react. 5. How AI could overpower humanity. These dangers can play out in very real ways. A misaligned superintelligence could pursue a badly worded goal, causing disaster. Suppose you asked the AI to eliminate cancer; it could do that by eliminating people. Common sense is not something AI has ever demonstrated. AI-controlled weapons could escalate conflicts faster than humans can intervene, making war more likely and more deadly. In May 2010, a flash crash occurred on the stock exchange, triggered by high-frequency trading algorithms. Stocks were purchased and sold at a pace humans could not keep up with, costing investors tens of millions of dollars. A misaligned superintelligence could pursue a badly worded goal, causing disaster. Advanced AI could take over essential infrastructuresuch as power grids or financial systemsmaking us entirely dependent and vulnerable. As AI gets more complex, it might develop strange new motivations that its creators never imagined, and those could be dangerous. Bad actors, like authoritarian regimes or extremist groups, could use AI for mass surveillance, propaganda, cyberattacks, or worse, giving them unprecedented new tools to control or harm people. We are seeing surveillance systems morph into enhanced weapons systems in Gaza right now. In Western China, surveillance systems keep track of tens of millions of people in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. AI-enhanced surveillance systems keep track of who is crossing Americas border with Mexico. Todays unpredictable, sometimes baffling AI is just a preview of the much bigger risks and rewards that could come from AGI and superintelligence. As we rush to create smarter machines, we must remember that these systems could bring both incredible benefits and existential dangers. If we want to stay in control, we need to move forward with strong oversight, regulations, and a commitment to transparency. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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Long before she left the corporate world to advise others on career advancement, Tabatha Jones didn’t get a promotion in a way she says felt completely unexpected. She was, after all, the person at the major telecom company her colleagues would consider the natural successor to her then-boss, who was getting ready to vacate the director-level role. I was her next person on the bench. I was sitting in the room when it was announced it was someone else. And it was very hard to contain my emotions, Jones recalls. After the meeting, Jones just looked at her and said, Im not feeling very well. Im going home. And when she came back the next day, she had a very honest conversation with her about how hard I had worked, my accomplishments, and why I felt I deserved that job. Difficult as it was, Jones is glad that she handled it the way she did. As she would later learn, her boss hadnt really snubbed her at all. In this piece, premium subscribers will learn: What you can learn from the viral response to Duolingo’s social impresario and her move to DoorDash How to manage ‘your story’ and avoid a victim mentality Why you need to take this moment to engage with your boss, not withdraw What I didnt know at the time was that the role was temporary, Jones says. She explains that just a few months later, the company underwent a major reorganization that eliminated the position. Had she put me in that role, I very likely would have become unemployed, or gone through a demotion. Which would have been even harder. Instead, Jones landed a senior manager role at the company, and negotiated a generous pay increase. Ten months later, the organization underwent yet another reorganization. Jones was finally hired for a director-level rolewhich she might not have gotten if she overreacted to getting passed over previously. Only this time, the opportunity wasnt temporary. You dont want to be too salty, says Jones. (She has since written a book about her experience called Promotion Ready in 3 Months.) Be very careful, because people talk. You want to make sure your brand is intact, so when the next promotion comes up, youre thought of in the right way. Taking the high road is easier said than done in the emotional aftermath of a devastating snub. Sometimes, throwing a little shade may feel warranted, and could even earn public praise. Take Zaria Parvez, who recently wrote a now-viral LinkedIn post that took a jab at Duolingo, heavily intimating that she had been overlooked for a position as its director of social. The companys former social media manager was responsible for killing the Duolingo owl in what became one of the years most successful viral campaigns. In her LinkedIn post, she even posted an original illustration of herself sitting atop the dead mascot, reading a notification from her new employer, DoorDash: Your career upgrade has arrived! It clearly struck a chord, receiving over 17,000 reactions and 700 comments. At the same time, career experts say that for most in that situation, your saltiness could come back to bite youand that the best approach is keeping a level head. (At least for those not in the business of going viral.) Taking the high road When someone else gets the nod for a promotion, its common to feel resentful, jealous, sad, angry, undervalued and underappreciated, says Monster career expert Vicki Salemi. People may feel like, I’m just going to do the bare minimum, because they don’t care. They don’t appreciate all my hard work, she says. Some may just start looking for a new job immediately. They may be thinking, Why am I going to work hard if it doesn’t matter anyway? Tempting as it may be to withdraw out of spite, Salemi says it wont do you any favors in the long run, especially if you plan to stick around at that company. If you act like you don’t care, and you don’t have a conversation about it, then next time there is a promotion, your boss may say, Well, I thought you were content where you were. We havent really developed your skills, so you’re not ready, she says. Though it never hurts to have an up-to-date résumé on hand and an eye on the job market, Salemi advises against burning bridges with existing or former employers, especially on social media. In a high-profile case like Parvezs, in which the former employee publicly insinuates they left after not being considered for a more senior title, its all up to the person and what they feel theyre most comfortable with, says Salemi. They may be upset and they want to show they landed on their feet and theyre doing really well. But there may also be a reason to tread carefully when throwing some shade at your former bosses. Its a small world, she says. You never know when your paths will cross again. Manage your emotions even if youre on the way out That doesnt mean you have to hide your disappointment, says Justin Hale, an author and course designer at Crucial Learning, a leadership and development training provider. Speak up in a way that shows your disappointment and shows that you’re mature, you’re accountable, you’re responsible. Those are the kinds of qualities that a leader is going to look for, he says. And then, rather than using it as an excuse to do less, Hale says to use the snub as motivation to accomplish more. Even if its for someone else. “Manage what we call your story, he says. In this case: “The story I’m telling myself is that, I was qualified, and for some reason, they passed me up. After identifying why being snubbed bothered you, you can then backtrack one more step and say, what are the facts? What did I actually see or hear that led me to that story? Separating fact from story, Hale explains, helps people overcome a victim mentality that can cloud their decision-making, and lead to reactions you could end up regretting later. And if nothing elseyou can transfer the energy youre putting into being salty into finding your next gig. Maybe your organization is being unfair to you, and the solution is to go find something else, he says. He adds that even if you decide to leave, theres value in having an honest and open dialogue with your boss. Even if your manager shares some things with you that make you think, okay, this place isn’t a fit for meisn’t it valuable to get their perspective before you head out?
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