top of page

January 15, 2025

Your competitors are keeping an eye on AI — are you? We want to make it easy for you. Each week, we select and demystify the top five AI news items for business, product, and technology leaders.

 

Cut through the noise! Spend just five minutes per week with The AI Compass to stay ahead and make informed decisions.

 

Subscribe now!

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts AI agents will enter the workforce in 2025, potentially replacing some human workers, with a focus on augmenting human capabilities and creating new job opportunities. Red Hat acquires Neural Magic for $50 million, enhancing its AI capabilities and positioning itself for growth in the AI optimization market, with a potential impact on the development of open-source AI optimization tools. Amazon is redesigning Alexa with generative AI, aiming to create a personalized concierge service, but faces technical hurdles and concerns about "hallucinations" or fabricated answers, with a potential impact on the voice assistant market. Biden signs executive order to boost AI infrastructure in the US, but critics raise concerns about water consumption, energy demands, and regulation, with 53 deadlines to implement cybersecurity measures and a focus on responsible AI development. Applied Digital receives $5 billion investment from Macquarie to develop high-performance computing data centers, supporting the growth of AI technologies and potentially creating new job opportunities, but also raising environmental concerns about energy consumption and emissions.

Rise of the Superworker: How AI is Redefining Jobs and Business Processes

Rise of the Superworker: How AI is Redefining Jobs and Business Processes

Shutterstock

The rise of AI is transforming the way businesses operate, and companies are starting to redefine jobs and business processes around this technology. As Forbes notes, AI is being used to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up human workers to focus on more complex and creative work. The concept of the "Superworker" is emerging, where individuals use AI to dramatically enhance their productivity, performance, and creativity. 


This shift is not just about implementing AI, but about redesigning jobs and business processes around it, according to HBR.org Daily. One of the key challenges in this transition is addressing "people resistance" to change, which is cited as the primary reason for the failure of 72% of change management programs. To overcome this, businesses need to focus on educating and upskilling their employees to work effectively with AI, as emphasized by ZDNet. Another critical aspect is the creation of new jobs and roles that are focused on AI maintenance, ethics, and training. 


As AI Business points out, while AI may displace some existing jobs, it will also create new opportunities for workers to develop skills in areas like AI development, deployment, and management. Continuous learning and retraining will play a vital role in enabling workers to adapt to the changing job requirements and business processes driven by AI adoption. Psychology Today highlights the importance of developing skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, which are complements to AI, rather than substitutes. 


Ultimately, the successful integration of AI into businesses will require a strategic approach that prioritizes education, upskilling, and reskilling, as well as a focus on creating a positive and inclusive work culture. By doing so, companies can unlock the full potential of AI and create a future where humans and machines collaborate to drive innovation and growth.

Capgemini: GenAI is both a problem and a solution - Balancing Efficiency and Sustainability

Capgemini: GenAI is both a problem and a solution - Balancing Efficiency and Sustainability

Shutterstock

According to Capgemini, GenAI is both a problem and a solution. On one hand, it promises a leap in efficiency, but on the other hand, it requires significant energy resources. In an interview, Jeannine Peek, CEO of Capgemini Netherlands, emphasized the need for the digital sector to become more sustainable and efficient in the future.


The use of GenAI can have a significant impact on the environment, and companies must consider the long-term effects of their AI deployments. A study by Schneider Electric found that the energy consumption of AI data centers could reach 785 TWh by 2035, accounting for 3% of global electricity consumption.


To mitigate these effects, companies can explore alternatives to traditional GenAI models, such as liquid neural networks. These models operate more efficiently than traditional GenAI models and can help reduce energy consumption. Additionally, companies can implement strategies such as model pruning, quantization, and knowledge distillation to reduce the carbon footprint of their AI deployments.


Furthermore, the development of more efficient AI technologies, such as photonic processors, can enable ultrafast AI computations with extreme energy efficiency. Researchers at MIT have developed a new photonic processor that can perform machine-learning computations with light, potentially leading to high-speed processors capable of learning in real-time.


In conclusion, while GenAI presents both opportunities and challenges, companies must prioritize sustainability and efficiency in their AI deployments. By exploring alternative models, implementing efficient strategies, and developing new technologies, companies can minimize the environmental impact of GenAI while maximizing its benefits.

Red Hat's Acquisition of Neural Magic: A Strategic Enhancement to its AI Capabilities

Red Hat's Acquisition of Neural Magic: A Strategic Enhancement to its AI Capabilities

Red Hat

Red Hat, the IBM-owned open-source software giant, has completed its acquisition of Neural Magic, a pioneering AI optimization startup. This deal marks a significant step in Red Hat's strategy to enhance its AI capabilities across hybrid cloud environments. 


Neural Magic had previously raised $50 million in venture capital funding from various investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, New Enterprise Associates, Amdocs, and Comcast Ventures. The acquisition of Neural Magic by Red Hat is expected to bolster its position in deploying AI workloads across diverse computing environments and improve the efficiency of AI workloads already running on RHEL AI, OpenShift AI, and InstructLab. 


According to Dave McCarthy, IDC's Cloud and Edge Services research vice president, this move aligns with Red Hat's commitment to open-source innovation and positions the company to offer more cost-effective, scalable AI solutions that reduce dependency on specialized hardware. The model compression techniques developed by Neural Magic balance the trade-off between model size reduction and potential loss of accuracy by using advanced methods for model quantization and sparsification. These techniques can significantly reduce model size and computational requirements without substantial loss in accuracy. 


The acquisition of Neural Magic by Red Hat will likely impact the development and availability of open-source AI optimization tools, such as vLLM and DeepSparse, for the broader AI community. As Forbes notes, the AI industry has witnessed a wave of significant acquisitions in 2024, reflecting the strategic focus of tech giants on artificial intelligence as a growth driver.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Predicts AI Agents Will Enter the Workforce in 2025, Revolutionizing Business and Life

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Predicts AI Agents Will Enter the Workforce in 2025, Revolutionizing Business and Life

Shutterstock

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that AI agents will enter the workforce this year, marking a significant milestone in the development of artificial intelligence. According to Altman, these AI agents will be able to perform tasks autonomously, potentially replacing some human workers. 


As reported by Bloomberg, Big Tech companies are already investing heavily in AI agents, with OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce leading the charge. The introduction of AI agents is expected to change the nature of work, particularly for those who work at a desk in front of a computer. Some experts predict that AI will let people do their jobs "at a higher level of abstraction," allowing them to focus on higher-level tasks. However, there are also concerns about the potential impact of AI agents on jobs. 


According to Forbes, some experts believe that AI could displace up to 5% of jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean, with women being the most likely to be affected. Despite these concerns, many experts agree that AI agents have the potential to bring significant benefits to businesses and society. 


As noted by ZDNet, relational intelligence is key to success in a machine-led economy, and AI agents can help facilitate healthy and sustainable relationships between humans and machines. Overall, the introduction of AI agents is expected to have a significant impact on business and life in 2025, and companies that invest in AI will be well-positioned for success.

Enhancing Human-AI Collaboration: Measuring Skills and Addressing Ethical Concerns

Enhancing Human-AI Collaboration: Measuring Skills and Addressing Ethical Concerns

Unsplash

Human-AI collaboration is on the rise, with the potential to unlock up to $15.7 trillion in economic value by 2030. However, to achieve this potential, it's crucial to measure the skills and strengths of both humans and AI systems in a workplace setting.


Measuring real-world skills, both human and AI, is essential for preparing for the Intelligent Age. According to a recent article, this includes defining human and AI roles, identifying skill gaps and blind spots, preparing for the future of work, and ensuring AI deployment is both ethical and effective.


The human-AI connection is already transforming the way we work, learn, and innovate. AI can contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, primarily by amplifying human capabilities. This rapid evolution demands a shift in how we measure and develop skills.


Effective collaboration between humans and AI looks like understanding where AI’s capabilities end, and human strengths take over. This demands a thoughtful approach grounded in skill measurement. As noted in a recent study, workers are most likely to embrace AI tools when they feel a sense of agency and understanding.


Addressing ethical concerns, such as bias, transparency, and accountability, is vital for ensuring the responsible development and use of AI. This includes implementing robust frameworks for AI risk management and establishing clear guidelines for AI use. A recent survey found that half of HR professionals lack internal guidelines for ethical AI use, highlighting the need for greater awareness and action.

Need to talk to AI experts? Contact us!
bottom of page