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Ya Xu on building AI and machine learning products

In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, a podcast dedicated to the exploration of software product management and engineering, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh spoke to Dr. Ya Xu, vice president of engineering and head of data and AI at LinkedIn. They discuss strategies engineering leaders can undertake to prioritize AI use cases, advance the development of AI technologies, and weave AI initiatives into the fabric of the company’s culture.…

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Reimagining the apparel value chain amid volatility

The apparel and footwear industry’s standard playbook for managing global supply chains has been overtaken by recent events and rising complexity. The sprawling footprint of global supply chains was supposed to the lower the chance for disruption, but the pandemic and resulting dramatic demand shifts punctured that veil. With volatility looking more and more like the rule rather than the exception, brands face the task of reimagining their supplier strategies—and…

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Illinois Legislature Passes Bill to Clarify ‘Per-Scan’ Damages for Privacy Act Violations, Awaits Governor’s Signature

Quick Hits The Illinois legislature passed SB2979 to clarify that multiple alleged collections or disseminations of an individual’s biometrics constitute only a single violation of the Privacy Act and the individual is limited to only one recovery of statutory damages. Once signed, the bill will reverse a holding by the Illinois’s high court that had opened the door to potentially excessive damages awards against employers. The bill confirms that BIPA…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read
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Ending the confusion in cloud transformations: The dashboards and metrics everyone needs

The promise and peril of cloud is a common refrain in many C-suites: huge economic potential and regularly underperforming reality. What’s much less clear, however, is what to do about it.Out of the more than 80 enterprises McKinsey profiled for its CloudSights database, 40 percent have found limited value in their cloud programs. In addition, half of companies five or more years into their cloud journey still have not achieved…

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Imperceptible sensors made from ‘electronic spider silk’ can be printed directly on human skin

The method, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, takes its inspiration from spider silk, which can conform and stick to a range of surfaces. These ‘spider silks’ also incorporate bioelectronics, so that different sensing capabilities can be added to the ‘web’.The fibres, at least 50 times smaller than a human hair, are so lightweight that the researchers printed them directly onto the fluffy seedhead of a dandelion without…

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Your Culture Matters as Much as Your Legal Compliance

Legal compliance serves as the bedrock of any organization. While it lays the foundation, a positive workplace culture breathes life into your organization. A strong, supportive culture fosters employee engagement, boosts morale, and enhances productivity.  This balance between compliance and culture was at the heart of our discussion on last week’s Catherine’s Corner, where we explored California Laws 2024 and Their Effect on Workplace Culture.  Catherine was joined by employment…

  • Post category:Civility Partners
  • Reading time:6 mins read
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Two Years Into the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: 10 Lessons We Can Learn

Europe is at a crossroads: How can it cope with the grave security challenges posed by the (potential) collapse of Ukraine and the return of Donald Trump? In the short term, enhancing defence autonomy is a top priority on the agenda; in the long run, Europe should change its thinking pattern and look for a suitable ultimate solution to the conflict. On February 24, 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out.…

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INSEAD Insights: May 2024 Research Picks

New papers published by INSEAD professors suggest gains from AI could be undermined by managers, perhaps because they have to consider wider objectives beyond measurable results. Another finding pertains to social movements on a global scale, and how they may turn consumers off specific products. Other research cover macroeconomics. One paper examines the underlying causes of the long-term slowdown in productivity growth in advanced economies; the other looks at fiscal policies…

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:7 mins read
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How wildfires change soil chemistry

The huge, long-lasting wildfires that have become increasingly common in recent years can cause changes in soil chemistry that affect water contamination, air quality, and plant growth. But these changes are poorly monitored and rarely factor into post-fire recovery efforts or risk assessments, according to a review study published May 14 in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. The study, led by Stanford University and Colorado State University scientists, found that…

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One CISO Can’t Fill Your Board’s Cybersecurity Gaps

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The chairman of a large European enterprise approached me over drinks at an event for board members and CEOs on how to build enterprise security resilience. We started talking about cybersecurity risk — a grave concern for many boards. “I…

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A Teacher and Mentor to First-Generation Corporates

Growing up, Gail Ayala Taylor would have heard about business from her father, Reginald “Ricky” Ayala. To Spartans fans, Ayala was the legendary #7 basketball player for Michigan State; to others, he was a distinguished businessman and CEO in Detroit known for his more than 30-year career in hospital administration. But what if you didn’t grow up in a household where you heard about business and corporate life at the…

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Audit and Beyond: The Unbelievably True Story of AuditBoard

Today we are excited to announce that AuditBoard*, a software company specializing in risk-and-compliance software for large enterprises, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Hg, a global software-and-services investor, for over $3 billion. The last six years of Battery’s partnership with AuditBoard have been, in our view, the ride of a lifetime. Today, we’d like to share some of that story with you—as AuditBoard is in many…

  • Post category:Battery Ventures
  • Reading time:7 mins read
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Chima Ndumele: Reinventing Medicaid

Howie and Harlan are joined by Chima Ndumele of the Yale School of Public Health to discuss his research on structural changes to Medicaid that could keep vulnerable populations healthier. Harlan reports on the remarkable abilities of Google's latest medicine-focused AI; Howie reflects on a study showing the impact of race-neutral measures of lung function. Links: AI and Medicine “Capabilities of Gemini Models in Medicine” Medicaid Medicaid.gov “10 Things to…

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How leaders at progressive organisations can champion AI for good

As AI technologies continue to evolve, businesses are experiencing transformative changes across various dimensions, including efficiency, customer experience (CX), decision-making, and innovation. Amidst this profound shift, many leaders are emerging as pivotal figures, wielding influence not only in steering organisations through the complexities of AI adoption but also in harnessing its potential for the greater good. These leaders are the champions of AI, guiding their teams towards innovation, ethical practices,…

  • Post category:Clarasys
  • Reading time:6 mins read
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Banned or Not, TikTok Is a Force Companies Can’t Afford to Ignore

Businesses that dismiss TikTok as merely a platform for teenagers looking to create and consume cat and dance videos do so at their own peril. That’s the message of a Harvard Business School case study tracing the video-sharing app’s explosive rise to the world's most-used platform. Owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, TikTok blew past Google in 2021 to become the world’s most visited domain. In the United States alone, TikTok boasts…

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Tracking euro area wages in exceptional times

23 May 2024By Sarah Holton and Gerrit Koester[1]Negotiated wage growth in the euro area increased in the first quarter of 2024. This post on The ECB Blog illustrates how the ECB wage tracker can help to put latest developments in negotiated wage growth into perspective.The ECB wage tracker – an important tool used to assess wage developments across the euro area – is signalling that overall wage pressures have moderated…

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Europe as a ‘Lost Continent’

The shift of the centre of gravity from the Atlantic Ocean region towards East and South Asia is an objective process. Russia and the United States are only indirectly involved in it, and the growing influence of the countries in this region cannot be denied nor stopped. In this context, the relations between Russia and China are noteworthy — although in the past there were crises between our countries, now…

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Information Technology for Africa: A New Threat of Colonisation or the Road to the Future?

On May 22, 2024, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion, titled “Advanced Information Technologies as a Driver of Socio-Economic Development for African Countries.” Oleg Barabanov, the moderator of the discussion, called the formation of a new economy based on knowledge one of the key priorities of modern development, adding that it was especially important for developing countries. Many African states have achieved significant success in this area, but a…

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The Rise of the Indo-Pacific in the Global Supply Chain

Protectionism, decoupling, regionalisation and Covid-19 have shaped and reshaped value chains in the last five years. In particular, the pandemic and other geopolitical dynamics have revealed the deeper interconnectedness between economies, with the protagonist at the centre, undoubtedly, being China. But these global dynamics have not led to tectonic shifts; they have merely resulted in a reconfiguration of the global supply chains. Despite strong headwinds, China’s dominance is mostly unshaken. Jayant Menon,…

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:8 mins read
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Acing Value-Based Sales

Mark Airs/Ikon Images Imagine that burst of enthusiasm when a senior executive unveils a plan that promises a significant and lasting impact on the organization’s financial performance. “Our new product creates more value for our customers than anything else on the market, and we should get paid accordingly,” they proudly declare. “If we measure and communicate that value precisely, then we can finally get the return we deserve.” The sales…

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Use Russia’s Frozen Assets to Rebuild Ukraine

This commentary originally appeared in Time. Recent battlefield reverses in Ukraine, with Kherson under increasing attack, are powerful reminders that Ukraine needs every penny of support it can get urgently. Yet Western governments still refuse to seize Russia’s $300 billion in frozen assets, even though the idea of making Russia pay for Ukraine’s rebuilding is broadly popular across the U.S.—with even House Speaker Mike Johnson embracing it as “pure poetry.”…

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A puzzle for employers: the future of work health and safety laws in Australia

The last several months have seen rapid changes in the employment and workplace health and safety space. With such dynamic movement, and then lots of commentary on each of these changes, it’s easy to view all these changes as one big jumble of puzzle pieces. And it can be hard to know what the whole jigsaw looks like. As Chris Gardner and I mentioned last year in our blog post,…

  • Post category:Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Reading time:2 mins read
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How market turmoil can affect large projects

  Turmoil in the global economy is exposing an increasing number of large projects to unprecedented productivity and financial pressures. Severe microeconomic issues can arise on projects that stem from unforeseen macroeconomic events. We discuss this evolving situation and potential mitigants below. Introduction Turmoil is defined as “a state of confusion, uncertainty, or disorder”[1]https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/turmoil jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_53898_2_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_53898_2_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position:…

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  • Reading time:11 mins read
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DOL’s Child Labor Enforcement Expected to Be Hotter Than Ever This Summer

Quick Hits The DOL is enforcing child labor laws through two key mechanisms: (1) preventing employers from shipping or profiting from “hot goods” and (2) assessing aggregate civil money penalties. An August 2023 DOL field assistance bulletin advises field agents on identifying violations of “oppressive child labor” and applying the “hot goods” provision—on top of assessing civil penalties. In November 2023, the DOL announced it would no longer be assessing…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read
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The Importance of Trust for Managing through a Crisis

Brian Kenny: You may have heard of the “Butterfly Effect” in which a butterfly flapping its wings in Texas leads to changes in wind patterns that cause a tornado in Brazil. It's a simple and poetic way to explain Chaos Theory. In February of 2020, the butterfly took the form of a pathogen in Wuhan, China, and the resulting tornado was a global pandemic that created chaos the world over.…

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US Senators Introduce Comprehensive Stablecoin Bill

The bipartisan bill seeks to foster innovation and promote US dollar dominance while protecting consumers and mitigating illicit finance risks. By Jenny Cieplak, Arthur Long, Yvette D. Valdez, Stephen P. Wink, Adam Fovent, and Deric Behar On April 17, 2024, US Senators Cynthia Lummis from the Senate Banking Committee and Kirsten Gillibrand from the Senate Agriculture Committee introduced proposed legislation to create a US regulatory framework for stablecoins. The bipartisan Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act (the…

  • Post category:Latham & Watkins
  • Reading time:13 mins read
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One in two children with ADHD experience emotional problems, study finds

In research published in Nature Mental Health, the team found that as many as one in two children with ADHD show signs of emotional dysregulation, and that Ritalin – the commonly-prescribed drug to help the condition – appears to be less effective at treating this symptom.ADHD affects around one in 14 young people under the age of 18 and in around half of these cases it persists into adulthood. The…

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How Africa Can Overcome Its Over-Reliance on Western Technologies

According to African governments, public-private partnerships are expected to play a crucial role in the development of innovation centres. These partnerships involve the state covering only a small portion of the overall costs associated with the construction of these centres, typically around 5-10%. The success of these projects largely depends on private companies, which are expected to get a favourable environment for their operations, Konstantin Pantserev writes. Upon gaining independence,…

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More than 1,000 may have died in Nazi camps on island of Alderney, report finds

A review of evidence, gathered by a panel of 13 international experts, including Cambridge archaeologist Dr Gilly Carr, has sought to give the most accurate possible assessment of how many prisoners and labourers died on the Channel Island between 1941 to 1945.During this time, crimes were committed against forced and slave labourers, transported from countries across Europe and brought to Alderney to construct fortifications as part of the German war…

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The ABCs of the ECB’s reaction function

22 May 2024By Christophe Kamps[1]Why do central banks mostly give their guidance for future monetary policy in qualitative terms rather than providing a numerical formula? The ECB Blog takes a look through the lens of the “ABCs” of the ECB’s qualitative reaction function.For thousands of years scholars have been chasing the idea of a “theory of everything” or “world formula” – or, in the words of Goethe’s Faust: “Dass ich…

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How to Come Back Stronger From Organizational Trauma

1. R.M. Vogel and M.C. Bolino, “Recurring Nightmares and Silver Linings: Understanding How Past Abusive Supervision May Lead to Post-Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Growth,” Academy of Management Review 45, no. 3 (July 2020): 549-569. 2. R. Janoff-Bulman, “Assumptive Worlds and the Stress of Traumatic Events: Applications of the Schema Construct,” Social Cognition 7, no. 2 (June 1989): 113-136. 3. R.G. Tedeschi and L.G. Calhoun, “Post-Traumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical…

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What the Rise of Far-Right Politics Says About the Economy in an Election Year

As more than 50 countries hold elections in 2024, far-right politicians and policies look poised to gain ground, continuing a years-long trend evident in Europe, the United States, and South America.These movements often stoke grievances about international trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and the size of government and amount of state services. Paula Rettl spoke to Working Knowledge about her research examining these trends in Italy, Brazil and around the world.…

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SEC Chair Gary Gensler on the Future of Systemic Risk in Financial Markets

In 2009, Andrew Metrick and Gary Gensler were both serving in the Obama Administration on the front lines of the response to the Global Financial Crisis. In fact, they worked together to address hidden risks in the “repo” market that played a major role in the market crashes of that era. Fifteen years later when Gensler, now the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, visited Yale SOM to…

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Cooperation Between Good Neighbours

On May 20th, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled “Russia and Central Asia in new strategic conditions” following the 4th Central Asian Conference that took place in Ufa on May 14-15. The discussion was moderated by Timofei Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.Political scientist Akbope Abylkasimova, a member of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, stressed that Russia is a major economic partner for Central Asian…

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Colorado’s Artificial Intelligence Act: What Employers Need to Know

Quick Hits With Governor Jared Polis’s signing into law SB 24-205, Colorado becomes the first U.S. state to enact comprehensive legislation regulating the use and development of AI systems. The law addresses, among other things, the risk of algorithmic discrimination “arising from the intended and contracted uses of … high-risk artificial intelligence system[s].” The Colorado AI Act will take effect on February 1, 2026. Colorado’s AI Act, SB 24-205, is…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:9 mins read
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Three risks that must be addressed for new European Union fiscal rules to succeed

There is however a solution that would avoid the risk of an early degeneration of the reform. It would require a clarification that, even if a country has been placed in an EDP only for breach of the deficit criterion, it should also satisfy the debt criterion of the EDP for the procedure to be abrogated. At first sight this specification would seem to contradict the provisions quoted above, which seem…

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Granite Does Not Melt: The Prospects for Cooperation Between Central Asia and Russia

The well-being of the peoples of the six countries of Eurasia, as well as, in many ways, the peace and stability of the region depends on how the trust-based bilateral and multilateral (Central Asia plus Russia) dialogue, as well as the multifaceted cooperation that has developed between the parties is maintained and improved upon, writes Rashid Alimov, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at the Academy of Public Administration under the…

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How to Combat an “Always On” Work Culture

Imagine a world where your boss could be fined for contacting you after hours. California is considering a law to make this a reality.  The "right to disconnect" movement is gaining traction globally, with Australia joining France, Italy, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Canadian province of Ontario in passing legislation to empower employees to switch off outside of working hours. But is legally banning after-hours communications the solution? Or is there a better way…

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  • Reading time:10 mins read
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To Navigate Conflict, Prioritize Dignity

Frontiers Four interrelated practices can bolster dignity, leading to more constructive problem-solving and collaboration. Merrick Hoben May 20, 2024 Reading Time: 5 min  Topics Frontiers An MIT SMR initiative exploring how technology is reshaping the practice of management. More in this series Rafael Lopez/theispot.com Conflicts between businesses pursuing commercial objectives and communities defending their interests arise regularly and often inevitably, especially when companies don’t prioritize engagement with their neighbors. Consider…

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