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The Mission Newsletter, 9/26/18
“If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” — Michelangelo
AI + Innovation
Technology, innovation, and artificial intelligence have advanced drastically in the past few decades. Some see this progress as a source of danger that could lead to tech overtaking humanity. Others see AI and robotics as a way to improve society, work, and life. With any new advancement, the outcome depends on how and why it is used.
This week, we are on location at Dreamforce! And fittingly, today’s theme is AI and Innovation. At The Mission, we love the potential of AI and technological innovation, so to show our love, here are 9 quotes about AI and Innovation!
Innovation, Robotics, and Healthcare Alpna
Episode 11 of IT Visionaries
Alpna Doshi is the CIO of Philips. Phillips is a major player in healthcare, with an audacious goal to improve the lives of 3.5 billion people by 2025. As CIO, Alpna has driven transformational initiatives like transitioning to cloud-based IT. She has a laser focus on aligning IT with business to drive groundbreaking innovations around things like mobile, internet of things, and robotics.
You’re Not Lazy
In a new study, Canadian researchers found that conserving energy is the top priority for your brain.
“Conserving energy has been essential for humans’ survival, as it allowed us to be more efficient in searching for food and shelter, competing for sexual partners, and avoiding predators,” said senior author Dr. Matthieu Boisgontier, a postdoctoral researcher in UBC’s brain behavior lab at the department of physical therapy.
Tech Companies Are Moving On Up In A Different Way
A new study out of the research firm Universum has found that tech companies like Amazon are climbing the ranks of most desirable workplaces. In fact, Amazon rose from №26 to №13 on the list of top employers. Google took the top spot, with Goldman Sachs and Ernst & Young rounding out the top three. The other big tech companies Apple and Microsoft also placed about Amazon at Nos. 7 and 10, respectively.
What most young workers are looking for, according to the study, are intellectually stimulating environments, with plenty of opportunities to learn and grow on the job.
Six Is The Magic Number
Our never-ending quest to find the ultimate recipe for productivity continues as we hear from Adam Grant, a professor at The Wharton School, who believes that working six hours a day rather than eight is the secret sauce.
“Productivity is less about time management and more about attention management,” he says. And he believes that by ending the workday at 3 will lead to six more focused hours of work instead of eight relatively unfocused hours.
Look, we don’t know if he’s right or wrong, but if every day were Summer Friday, you wouldn’t be hearing any complaints out of us.
Are You Willing To Be Watched?
It’s a weird question, but one that’s being implemented in China, and it’s called social credit.
How social credit works is that CCTV and other tech watch citizens 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If a citizen’s actions are deemed safe, and she is deemed trustworthy, her citizen score will go up.
An excellent social credit can be used to book luxury hotels, acquire cheap loans and be placed on the fast track for jobs and spots at top universities. If your score is low, though, you can be banned from travel and barred from getting certain jobs.
China will be using high-tech facial recognition technology, smartphone data and apps to collect information on citizens.
The North Face Is More Than Warm, Puffy Jackets
The company is trying out a new branding strategy that will combine music pop up shows and partnerships between musicians, explorers, and activists to inspire an idea of exploration as a mindset.
Called “New Explorers,” the campaign will launch and cultivate a new Instagram community, offer short films and secret concerts and foster conversations about what inspires people to explore.
What We’re Reading Now
Why You Should Build Your Own Deep Learning Computer -
“It’s not necessary to buy one. You see, the hard part about building is finding the right parts for machine learning and making sure they all work together, which I’ve done for you! Physically building the computer is not hard, a first-timer can do it in less than 6 hours, a pro in less than 1 hour.”
SIGNAL celebrates the developers, the builders, the innovators, the doers, and the dreamers who are reimagining how the world communicates. Be a part of it with us! Go to signal.twilio.com and get your ticket for 20% off by using the promo code: “MISSION20”.
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