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Announcing fine-tuning for customization and support for new models in Azure AI

To truly harness the power of generative AI, customization is key. In this blog, we share the latest Microsoft Azure AI updates. AI has revolutionized the way we approach problem-solving and creativity in various industries. From generating realistic images to crafting human-like text, these models have shown immense potential. However, to truly harness their power, customization is key. We are announcing new customization updates on Microsoft Azure AI including: General…

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Charting ‘Cheapflation’: How Budget Brands Got So Pricey

Surging inflation drove many consumers to cheaper brands or lower-quality products, but new data suggests that switching might not have saved them as much as they might have expected. During the most recent period of high inflation, prices of the least expensive products increased more than those of the costliest, according to an analysis of microdata from large retailers by Harvard Business School Professor Alberto Cavallo. In a forthcoming article…

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Earned Paid Sick Time on Missouri’s 2024 Ballot: What Employers Need to Know

Quick Hits Missouri voters will vote this year on whether employers will be required to provide earned paid sick time (PST) to eligible employees. PST would accrue at a rate of one hour for every thirty hours worked; it would begin accruing for existing employees on May 1, 2025, or the first day of employment for employees hired after that date. Employers with fifteen or more employees maylimit an employee’s…

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
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How a women-led tech startup is using AI to motivate Brazilians to take better care of themselves  

Adriemilly Rigo wasn’t feeling well. “To tell you the truth, I was very sedentary, I didn’t practice sports much, and I didn’t take care of myself very well,” she says.  She had gained weight, felt fatigued and developed chronic migraines. Then her doctor told her she had fatty liver disease, a serious metabolic condition that if left untreated can lead to liver failure.  Rigo was scared. So, when her supervisor…

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Swiss Concessions to India

Switzerland recently signed a free trade agreement with India within the framework of the EFTA. The world’s most populous country is seen by many Western states as a promising alternative to the increasingly authoritarian China. The agreement is undoubtedly a success, but it did not come without concessions. The next step will be for Parliament to deal with the agreement, to which the Federal Council submitted the dispatch this week.…

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If a Car Can Drive Itself, Can It Make Life-or-Death Decisions?

What would Aristotle think about self-driving cars?As the abilities of artificial intelligence systems to automate complex tasks accelerate, warnings about the dangers of outsourcing life-and-death decisions to machines are pumping the brakes on the powerful technologies. From Emmanuel Kant to John Stuart Mill, philosophers have wrestled with the age-old questions autonomous vehicles are now raising—in new and urgent ways—for businesses and their leaders. “And by genuine ethical decisions, I mean…

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China Brief: The Truth About Chinese Consumption

Looking back over the past few months since our last China Brief update in April, not much has changed.China’s GDP grew at a steady 5 percent during the first half of the year, while retail sales ticked modestly upward by 3.7 percent during this period. We see few signs that this picture of single-digit growth in consumption will change for the foreseeable future. Indeed, some observers are warning that it…

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Recovering from Regime Change after the Monsoon Revolution

In July, student protests in Bangladesh grew violent when the country’s longtime and increasingly autocratic prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, initiated an aggressive crackdown that killed hundreds of demonstrators. This brutality caused what had started as discontent about unemployment among the country’s most educated young people to bloom into a wider movement against inequality, corruption, and antidemocratic leadership. In the early days of August, protestors defied curfews and internet shutdowns to…

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Boosters, Brain Age, and Other News

Harlan Krumholz: Howie, it’s great to see you, and welcome to Health & Veritas. Howard Forman: You’re Harlan Krumholz. Harlan Krumholz: And you’re Howie Forman. And we’re sitting together today. Howard Forman: Exactly. We’re in the studio. We’re physicians and professors at Yale University. We’re trying to get closer to the truth about health and healthcare. This is one of our periodic episodes without a guest, and there is so…

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How Segregation Shapes Our Views on Inequality

Wealth inequality, long a pressing issue that was exacerbated by Covid-19, remains a significant problem to governments and policymakers around the world. Many nations including the United States, Japan and France have recorded skyrocketing income disparities in the past few years, while South Africa has claimed the unenviable title of the country with the highest wealth inequality. Economic inequality can hinder economic growth, erode social cohesion and lead to political polarisation.…

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G7 representatives meet in Cambridge to discuss semiconductors

Representatives of the Semiconductors Point of Contact Group from the G7 group of nations met in Cambridge today. The meeting was held at ARM, which designs over 95% of the processors in the world. Representatives from the University of Cambridge, as well as representatives from local semiconductor companies, participated in the events.Semiconductors underpin nearly every electrical, optical and quantum device, from mobile phones and medical equipment to electric vehicles. They…

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Previously unknown Neolithic society in Morocco discovered

Archaeological fieldwork in Morocco has discovered the earliest, previously unknown 3400–2900 BC farming society from a poorly understood period of north-west African prehistory. This is the earliest and largest agricultural complex yet found in Africa beyond the Nile.This study, published in the journal Antiquity, reveals for the first time the importance of the Maghreb (north-west Africa) in the emergence of complex societies in the wider Mediterranean during the fourth and…

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You Have It All Wrong: 4 Ways Employers Can Successfully Influence Well-Being

Did you know that the World Health Organization (WHO) classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon? In other words, while leaders and HR tend to classify burnout as a personal failing, as evidenced in the way they tackle it with offerings of gym memberships and extended PTO, WHO says it’s a result of chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. WHO begs the question, who is supposed to manage chronic…

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Will autonomy usher in the future of truck freight transportation?

Autonomous vehicles (AVs), with their potential to reduce shipping costs and address a scarcity of drivers, will likely be delayed by another year, according to McKinsey analysis. Major OEMs are continuing their commitment to autonomous trucking and are investing to bring the first vehicles of their kind on the road in the second half of this decade (see sidebar, “The technology underpinning autonomous trucks”). Industry and economic factors increasingly supporting…

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What building owners need to know about decarbonizing operations

The real estate industry faces growing pressure to reduce the emissions caused by building operations. The good news is that the technology already exists to solve the problem, and a new way to formulate decarbonization plans can make it easier and cost effective to take action, as McKinsey partner Brodie Boland discusses with McKinsey Global Publishing’s Katy McLaughlin. An edited transcript of the conversation follows. Brodie BolandHeadshot of Brodie Boland Katy…

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‘Extinct’ snails found breeding in French Polynesia

A global conservation effort to reintroduce a tiny snail to the wild is celebrating a momentous milestone: for the first time in 40 years, conservationists have found born-in-the-wild adult Partula tohiveana – meaning the precious molluscs have successfully established themselves in French Polynesia.This year Cambridge’s Dr Justin Gerlach helped restore over 6,000 of the snails to Moorea, their French Polynesian island home as part of an annual reintroduction of zoo-bred…

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Workplace Safety Concerns for Florida Employers in Anticipation of Hurricane Helene

Quick Hits Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida as a major hurricane as early as September 26, 2024. Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for sixty-one counties across the state. Employers may want to consider their obligations to protect workers and maintain a safe workplace and begin preparations for the hurricane response. After developing over the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Helene is expected to…

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Project Guacamaya uses daily satellite images, Amazon-specific AI models in battle against deforestation

The Amazon rainforest is the world’s most complex biological environment, with millions of species of plants, birds and wildlife calling the vast area home, many of which have yet to be studied by scientists. From 2022 to 2023, the Amazon lost approximately 3 million hectares to deforestation, an average of 10,000 acres per day, according to the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project. Ten percent of the Amazon is within…

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Why Polio Is Making a Comeback

This commentary was adapted from episode 142 of the Health & Veritas podcast. Polio is back in the news, again. Over two years ago, we talked about a serious polio threat in the New York area, when one person developed paralytic poliomyelitis and wastewater detected the virus in several adjoining and nearby counties. Less than 1% of all infections result in paralytic polio; when we see wastewater evidence of polio,…

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Keeping companies safer by matching them with the right cybersecurity providers

On this page: Opportunity | Solution | Impact $0.5Tannual global cybersecurity damage by 20250+enterprise customers across sectors0%savings in cybersecurity spending The Opportunity A new way to source cybersecurity Cyberattacks are on track to cause $10.5 trillion a year in damage by 2025. In their efforts to fight back, business leaders face complex choices. Their own security environments likely use technology sourced from multiple vendors and when they look to the…

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Survey Says: Tech Spending Is Up, But AI Rollouts Slower Than Expected

As we head into 2025 budgeting season, the question on everyone’s minds is this: will the new year bring a return to robust tech budgets? Our latest State of Enterprise Tech Spending report provides a sneak peek. As in previous quarters, we polled 100 CXOs who collectively represent over $35B in annual technology spending; our goal was, as always, to gauge the budget planning and overall sentiment of large enterprise…

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Sitting on Two Chairs: The Problem with the Antitrust Regulation of Artificial Intelligence. The AI ​​Race in World Politics

The desire to win the AI ​​race on the global stage as well as lobbying by tech investors and developers will push legislators to create conditions favourable to the development of innovation, while maintaining control over the big players. Antitrust legislation on AI in both the US and other countries should be monitored, as it will affect the global balance of power in the tech race, writes Anna Sytnik. The…

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Estate Planning for Business Owners with cross border assets

Estate planning is an essential process for business owners, particularly those with complex financial structures involving assets in multiple jurisdictions. Business owners domiciled in Northern Ireland but holding personal and business assets in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland face unique challenges in navigating the legal, tax, and succession frameworks of two distinct legal systems. Crafting an effective estate plan in such cases requires careful consideration of cross-border…

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Michigan’s Supreme Court Clarifies Its Mothering Justice Opinion and Sets State’s Minimum Wage Increases and Tip Credit Phaseout

Quick Hits The Michigan Supreme Court issued an order mandating specific wage increases and gradually eliminating the tip credit by 2030. The new wage and tip credit adjustments take effect on February 21, 2025. The Michigan Legislature has introduced a bill that, if enacted, will scale back the scheduled wage increases while preserving the tip credit. In its September 18, 2024, order in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, the Michigan…

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Tecnológico de Monterrey university pioneers ambitious AI-powered learning ecosystem

David Balleza, a third-year computer systems engineering student at the Tecnológico de Monterrey, has never been a fan of knocking on professors’ doors each time he hits a snag in his studies. His reluctance comes with a caveat: It’s hard to get the right help with the often-abstract concepts of his field. All that changed once TECgpt entered his life. “It’s a game changer,” he says. “It’s like having a…

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Delivering a soft landing: a historical perspective of monetary policy cycles

25 September 2024By Ema Ivanova[1], Thomas McGregor, Stefano Nardelli[2] and Annukka RistiniemiThe views expressed in each blog entry are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem.The job of central banks is to help the economy navigate shocks and steer inflation back to target. This ECB Blog post asks what we can learn from past monetary policy cycles about…

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New Government in France: Macron’s (Un)Successful Combination

The appointment of a prime minister hasprovided short-term relief for the French political system, but will not lead it out of the impasse in which it has found itself at the behest of President Emmanuel Macron, believes Alexey Chikhachev, senior lecturer at the Department of European Studies, Faculty of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University.In early September, after two months of behind-the-scenes negotiations with all political factions, the Elysee Palace…

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Can Saudi Arabia affordits ambitions?

Some visibility began to emerge in 2021, when the Kingdom added a key planning tool to Vision 2030: the National Investment Strategy (NIS). This gave an indication of the investments that would be needed to deliver on the plan’s ambitions and of the stakeholders involved in financing them: Vision 2030 calls for a total investment of USD3 trillion between 2019 and 2030 (around three times the country’s 2023 GDP). First stop:…

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Palestinian education ‘under attack’, leaving a generation close to losing hope, study warns

The ongoing war in Gaza will set children and young people’s education back by up to five years and risks creating a lost generation of permanently traumatised Palestinian youth, a new study warns.The report, by a team of academics working in partnership with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), is the first to comprehensively quantify the war’s toll on learning since…

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Artificial Intelligence Disclosures Are Key to Customer Trust

Topics Responsible AI The Responsible AI initiative looks at how organizations define and approach responsible AI practices, policies, and standards. Drawing on global executive surveys and smaller, curated expert panels, the program gathers perspectives from diverse sectors and geographies with the aim of delivering actionable insights on this nascent yet important focus area for leaders across industry. In collaboration with More in this series For the third year in a…

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Microsoft expands its Global Engineering Development Center’s footprint to the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi

The Development Center will support world-class engineering talent in developing cutting-edge solutions that drive innovation and deliver lasting global impact Editor’s note – Sept. 24, 2024 – This release has been updated to indicate this is one of the first engineering centers to be launched in the Arab world. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Sept. 24, 2024 — Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced it is expanding its Global Engineering…

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Why Small Businesses Deserve More Credit

It’s Wall Street doctrine that small firms struggle to raise capital at reasonable rates and are often rejected for credit lines and loans because banks think their risk profile is too high.“If you really want to drive investment, targeting those firms that look like they have financial slack could lead to substantial growth.” But new research suggests that small businesses are far more fiscally conservative than banks realize. In fact,…

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How Can We Boost the Power of Renewables while Reducing Electrical Demands?

As climate change accelerates and wreaks more and more havoc across the globe, a crucial question is how we can increase the share of power produced by renewables while simultaneously reducing demands on the electrical grid. Policymakers have an important role to play in this transition, but businesses arguably have a bigger one.  In 2022, the U.S. produced 4.24 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity, which resulted in $488 billion in…

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Lockheed Martin’s Stacy Kubicek on using multidomain tech in defense

The defense industry has long endeavored to equip forces with enhanced communication by connecting technologies across land, sea, air, and space. This goal might seem easily attainable in today’s smartphone-enabled world, but aging hardware, fragmented install bases, and inconsistent standards across devices and networks may weaken secure communications. As adversaries continue to deploy electronic warfare capabilities, defense forces could benefit by eliminating system frailties and creating a strong multidomain operating…

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CEOs Are More Optimistic about the Economy Than the Rest of Us, and They’re Probably Right

At our Yale CEO Caucus last week, we surveyed approximately 60 top CEOs in attendance on a broad range of economic issues. While our anonymous straw poll was informal and unscientific, the results suggest that CEOs are increasingly and broadly optimistic about the economy—in fact, much more bullish than just about any other group in the nation. The CEOs we surveyed are surprised by the strength of their views, as…

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New Portability Right Applies to Employers with Employees in Québec

Quick Hits Effective September 22, 2024, Law 25 provides employees and consumers in Québec in both the public and private sectors with the right to data portability. The purpose of this new right is to allow individuals to access their data and transfer it to another legally authorized organization of their choice. Private businesses have thirty days to respond to requests, and private-sector entities have twenty days, with a possible…

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Discrimination Claims: philosophical beliefs in the spotlight

Can a belief in English Nationalism be a protected belief? This issue was tested in the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment in Thomas v. Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Background Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to treat someone less favourably due to their religion or philosophical belief. In this case, Mr Thomas had been engaged through an employment agency to delivery consultancy services to an NHS…

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Driving the future: How connectivity will shape the truck industry

Momentum around connected and data-enabled services in commercial vehicles is accelerating. Data-enabled services are critical for new opportunities in charging energy solutions, connected insurance, the automotive aftermarket, advanced financing solutions, and transport as a service [TaaS]. Their potential to solve complex problems for OEMs, automakers, and fleet managers is too enticing to ignore. And those possibilities could yield serious value creation. According to McKinsey research, data-enabled services could represent a…

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Artificial Intelligence as a Driver for Indonesia’s Technological Transformation

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies occupies a special place in Indonesia’s national policy, which is aimed at fully digitalising all sectors of the economy. Joko Widodo, when he was the President of Indonesia, said that any country “that controls AI can potentially rule the world.” With this statement, he elevated the role of AI in Indonesia’s digital transformation and launched a series of initiatives aimed at laying the…

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The big shift: Moving commercial vehicle OEMs to centralized E/E and Software

In an era marked by rapid technological advancements, the commercial vehicle industry stands on the cusp of a transformative evolution. The decentralized electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures that have long been the backbone of vehicle operations are now being redefined, and so is the software running on them. To master this evolution in E/E architecture and unlock customer value, commercial vehicle OEMs and their suppliers can take a software-centric approach to transforming…

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