Agencies' digital transformation efforts in areas like artificial intelligence must also consider workforce needs, according to a panel of government technology experts. Speaking at an ATARC event on Thursday, the panelists asserted that it does not matter how good the data or AI is, if people do not know how to use it correctly or understand it. As a result, the panelists emphasized the need for data literacy, education and training. "I can build the best AI model, but if I put it in the hands of my investigator, and if he has a ton of questions, then we just lost them," Ben Joseph, chief data officer for the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, said. "Earlier this year, we actually punched out a small program in terms of data literacy…so we educate my workforce, investigators, auditors and everybody else, like'how do you interpret data?'" "It's almost like you have to right-size the AI education for the position or the role that the individual is playing in the lifecycle," William Streilein, chief technology officer at the Department of Defense's Office of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, said.

For best-in-class artificial intelligence solutions to actually earn that designation, Sindhu Joseph warns that the tools can't be used as "set it and forget it." Joseph, the co-founder and CEO of CogniCor, a California-based developer of an AI-powered business automation platform, reminded those attending her panel on day two of the inaugural Future Proof festival of the massive failure that was Microsoft's Tay. In spring 2016, the AI chatbot, named as an acronym for "thinking about you," was launched and pulled within a day of operation. Its machine-learning capabilities had caused it to spew racist, misogynistic and anti-semitic statements across Twitter, in a spectacular public display of garbage in, garbage out. Just "letting the machine run" without proper human guidance or care is a huge pitfall, said Joseph, who holds a PhD in artificial intelligence and is the inventor of six patents related to the technology. "There's a lot of applications where that works really well.

In God’s Ponzi, Robert Buschel builds on his storytelling skills and knowledge of law and technology to provide readers with an engaging legal drama. Buschel tells the story through the protagonist, Greg Portnoy. Driven by loyalty and revenge, Greg spins a complex web of criminal activity. He believes he is “committing these crimes for the right reasons,” and “the world will be in a better place” when he is done. From the start, Buschel sets the stage for increasingly far-fetched plots and schemes. Greg begins his story with his lifelong friend, Joseph Lars Legee. While in high school, they hacked into the bank’s computer to recover the money his father lost through a Ponzi scheme. Greg assumes the role of protector and avenger, a role he continues to play throughout the story and that drives him to lead a group of friends into a dangerous and global Ponzi scheme. Greg recognizes his need to feel important, beat others, protect people

The gaming console turns 50 this year and is proving more popular than ever. Computer chips will remain in short supply this year and into the next, although not as acutely as in 2021, and video subscription services will see 150-million subscriptions cancelled worldwide, representing a market churn of about 30%, as competition intensifies. These are some of the findings in the Deloitte Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) 2022 predictions, launched recently. The report, now in its 21st year, also foresees an explosion in the adoption of wearable health technology and apps, shows why Africa will lag the globe in the adoption of the new generation of Wi-Fi technology, Wi-Fi 6, but also why the continent can lead the way in reducing emissions from smartphones. "The report identifies which global TMT trends are most likely to impact businesses and consumers in the coming year," says Mark Joseph, TMT Leader for Deloitte Africa.

Alex Honnold has his own verb. "To honnold"--usually written as "honnolding"--is to stand in some high, precarious place with your back to the wall, looking straight into the abyss. The verb was inspired by photographs of Honnold in precisely that position on Thank God Ledge, located 1,800 feet off the deck in Yosemite National Park. Honnold side-shuffled across this narrow sill of stone, heels to the wall, toes touching the void, when, in 2008, he became the first rock climber ever to scale the sheer granite face of Half Dome alone and without a rope. Had he lost his balance, he would have fallen for 10 long seconds to his death on the ground far below. Honnold is history's greatest ever climber in the free solo style, meaning he ascends without a rope or protective equipment of any kind. Above about 50 feet, any fall would likely be lethal, which means that, on epic days of soloing, he might spend 12 or more hours in the Death Zone. On the hardest parts of some climbing routes, his fingers will have no more contact with the rock than most people have with the touchscreens of their phones, while his toes press down on edges as thin as sticks of gum. Just watching a video of Honnold climbing will trigger some degree of vertigo, heart palpitations, or nausea in most people, and that's if they can watch them at all. Even Honnold has said that his palms sweat when he watches himself on film. All of this has made Honnold the most famous climber in the world.

Kendal Parmar's son went from being a sporty and sociable boy who loved school, to a child who would stay in his room and rarely go outside. The change in his personality was down to a gaming disorder that crept up on him at the age of 12, when he started secondary school. Three years later, Joseph is still struggling with the problem. Parmar says the biggest sign that something was wrong was the amount of arguing that would occur when she asked him to stop playing video games. "Eventually his habits developed and he was gaming all the time. He became too terrified to go to school and he was terrified of people," she says.