October 05, 2023

AI and Overcoming User Resistance

If users are concerned, and even worried about AI, it could lead to user resistance, which is a dynamic that IT pros are familiar with from their history of implementing new systems that alter business processes, require employee retraining, and may even change employee jobs. So, are process change and user resistance any different when you introduce AI? I would argue yes. You’re not just retraining an employee on a new set of steps for processing an invoice or taking an order. You’re actually introducing an automated thinking process into what an employee has been doing. Now, technology is going to make or recommend decisions that the employee used to make. This can lead to employees experiencing a loss of empowerment and control. ... This is exactly the “sweet spot” that companies (and IT) should aim for with AI projects: an environment where everyone sees beneficial value from AI, and where no one feels disenfranchised. This is an achievable environment if users are engaged early in business process redefinition and in how AI will work. 

Eyes everywhere: How to safely navigate the IoT video revolution

Users are rightfully wary of bringing even more cameras into their homes and offices. The good news is that they, too, can protect their camera-enabled devices with some simple steps. First, customize. This includes changing default usernames and passwords, updating the device’s firmware and software, and staying informed about the latest security threats. This is a simple yet effective way to create a barrier between yourself and would-be hackers. Next, take it to the edge. Processing and storing data at the edge instead of the cloud is another surefire way to protect your endpoints. After all, by storing the information under your own lock and key, you can be sure about who can access it and how. Users also benefit from reduced latency by storing the information closer to home, which is particularly important with heavy video feeds. Finally, buy trusted brands. Attack surfaces are only as strong as their weakest link. So, chose companies that have a proven track record when it comes to privacy and security. 

Why HTTP Caching Matters for APIs

In some caching strategies, especially for dynamic resources, the cache can store not only the complete response but also the individual elements or changes that make up the response. This approach is known as “delta caching” or “incremental caching.” Instead of sending the complete response, delta caching sends only the changes or updates made to the cached version of the resource. ... Delta caching is particularly useful for scenarios where resources change frequently, but the changes are relatively small compared to the complete resource. For example, in a collaborative document editing application, delta caching can be employed to send only the changes made by a user to a shared document, instead of sending the entire document every time it is updated. ... Caching enhances application resilience by reducing the risk of service disruptions during periods of high demand. By serving cached responses, even if the backend servers experience temporary performance issues, the application can continue to respond to a significant portion of requests from the cache. The caching layer acts as a buffer between the backend servers and the clients.

Author Talks: How to speak confidently when you’re put on the spot

People become nervous for many reasons. More than 75 percent of people report being nervous in high-stakes communication, be it planned or spontaneous. Past experience could be a factor, as well as high stakes and the importance of the goals you’re trying to achieve. Those of us who study this at an academic level believe that the nervousness is wired into being human. We see this across all cultures. We see it develop typically in the early teen years and progress from there. There’s an evolutionary component to it. One of the most helpful tips is normalizing the anxiety that you feel. You’re not alone. ... My anxiety management plan has three steps. The first thing I do is hold something cold in the palms of my hand before I speak. That cools me down. Secondly, I say tongue twisters to warm up my voice and also to get myself in the moment. Third, I remind myself, “I am in service of my audience. I am here to help them.” That really gets me other-focused rather than self-focused. That’s my anxiety management plan. I encourage everybody to find a plan that works for them.

Dell customizes GenAI and focuses on data lakehouse

Being able to fine tune as well as train generative AI is a process that relies on data, lots and lots of data. For enterprise use cases, that data isn’t just generic data taken from a public source, but rather is data that an organization already has in its data centers or cloud deployments and is likely also spread across multiple locations. To help enable enterprises to fully benefit from data for generative AI, Dell is building out an open data lakehouse platform. The data lakehouse concept is one that was originally pioneered by Databricks, as a way of enabling organizations to more easily query data stored in cloud object storage based data lakes. The Dell approach is a bit more nuanced in that it is taking a hybrid approach to data, with a goal of being able to query data across on-premises as well as mutli-cloud deployments. Greg Findlen, senior VP data management at Dell explained during the press briefing that the open data lakehouse will be able to use Dell storage and compute capabilities as well as multi-cloud storage. 

Don’t try running with data before you can walk

In South Africa, data governance tends to be a grudge investment based on regulatory issues. However, organisations that don’t do the basics well, and don’t have mature data governance and established frameworks in place, may well find they are spending on analytics technologies that don’t live up to expectations. What stands in the way of getting governance right? Firstly, it’s not easy. It involves all stakeholders across all domains. It may require a mindset change, and users may need to learn to use new technology. Secondly, it can be expensive, and it may take time before the organisation sees the value of it. One of the biggest problems is that the value of data governance investments is difficult to quantify in monetary terms. ... Data products should be supported by the entire CDO capability – including the CDO, data owners and data stewards – as well as IT, to ensure the data products will add the required business value. Owners and stewards need to identify and curate the required data for the products, while also ensuring good quality data and metadata management to make it more usable for broader business.

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