By: Dawn Lurie, Mahsa Aliaskari, and Brooke Gary Along with the New Year, January 1st also marks the implementation of a new Visa Bulletin by the U.S. Department of State. Each month, the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS) chooses whether it will follow the Dates for Filing Visa…
Generative AI has rapidly entered the legal industry, offering tools for document drafting, legal research and case analysis. While these tools promise increased efficiency, they also present significant risks – one of which is AI hallucinations. These occur when AI generates content that appears plausible but is entirely inaccurate. In…
Let me explain. There is a huge literature on the dollar based IMFS, most of it based in the US and committed, contrary to all evidence, to celebrating its effective ‘public service’ to the world and to predicting its longevity. There is also a huge literature on financialization, and its…
At the end of 2023, the final McKinsey Talks Operations podcast of the year concluded that there was no such thing as normal for operations leaders. Looking back on the 12 months since then, it seems the sentiment holds true—both everything and nothing has changed. In this episode, hosts Christian…
The year 2024 brought about notable changes in employment law in Hong Kong. This article provides a brief overview of the key developments that occurred over the past year and a look forward at the expected changes as we transition into 2025. For the full version of this article, please…
Companies in the automotive and industrial sectors are rewiring to become software-enabled enterprises. As in-vehicle software emerges as a critical differentiator, companies have started to reevaluate the role of software and overhaul their development approaches. Today, software serves as the backbone for advanced features and safety-critical functions while enhancing operational…
The Horizon scandal, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of subpostmasters, has severely dented the public’s perception of the Post Office as an institution. Against this backdrop, branch closures are planned across the Post Office network. These further cuts to a system already struggling can only do further…
Quick Hits The EU Platform Work Directive took effect on December 1, 2024, but EU member states have until December 2, 2026, to implement it into national law and develop appropriate guidance for the classification of platform workers as independent contractors versus employees. The directive imposes obligations on digital platforms…
Self-driving cars once seemed beyond the realm of possibility, but they are now being piloted on city streets. Now another mobility innovation has emerged that could accelerate and complement autonomy: remote driving.By combining sophisticated communication systems with real-time video feeds, remote-driving systems can instantly convey information about road conditions, traffic,…
Over the past two decades, the shift from fixed-function hardware to software-defined hardware has revolutionized industries ranging from networking to mobile communications. With software-defined hardware, developers can improve products and services by continually updating software rather than undertaking more costly and time-consuming hardware upgrades. Devices that were once rigid and…
Quick Hits California prohibits employers from discriminating against workers who suffer workplace injuries or who have filed or made known their intention to file a claim for compensation under an employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. Discrimination can include discharging, threatening to discharge, or retaliating against a worker in any manner…
Shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) now operate in more than ten cities worldwide, including Beijing, Oslo, Phoenix, and San Francisco. More deployments are planned in other regions as AVs with level four capabilities—those that can handle most functions without human intervention—become increasingly sophisticated. While engineers have overcome many technological hurdles for…
Researchers from the UK and China drew this conclusion after studying proteins from blood samples taken from over 42,000 adults recruited to the UK Biobank. Their findings are published today in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.Social relationships play an important role in our wellbeing. Evidence increasingly demonstrates that both social…
To some extent, it is generally typical of the entire World Majority — the world outside the community of Western countries, united around one leader and professing common interests and values in relations with the outside world. In turn, the countries of Greater Eurasia do not have comparable opportunities to consolidate their interests and strategic aspirations. There is no dispute that…
subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Leading teams in a hybrid work environment is still a relatively new science — and presents many types of challenges. Hybrid team leaders need to identify the best team norms around communication, refine the workplace culture to foster collaboration and community,…
This commentary originally appeared in Newsweek. As the media has been blanketed with well-deserved praise for President Jimmy Carter’s noble life, it feels as though everything has now been said... but perhaps just not yet by everybody. While I didn’t serve in the Carter campaign or in his administration, for…
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform the world of work. Case studies show that AI applications, including the latest large-scale language models, can significantly increase productivity in professions such as customer service and management consulting. Swiss companies also seem to share this view. Investments in IT, communication and…
We're often warned against opening Pandora's box, a metaphor for unleashing a torrent of evils on the world. Yet, we forget an essential detail: Elpis – the spirit of hope – remained within the box. Even when the world seems consumed by chaos, hope endures.Throughout history, philosophers and leaders have…
To assess the foreign policy preferences of potential BRICS partners, it is interesting to look at their voting in the UN General Assembly. It is clear that their results should not be taken as absolutes, and the real political practice of states is not limited to voting results and is…
The new approach uses samples from infected humans to allow real-time monitoring of pathogens circulating in human populations, and enable vaccine-evading bugs to be quickly and automatically identified. This could inform the development of vaccines that are more effective in preventing disease.The approach can also quickly detect emerging variants with…
Quick Hits The Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Program (WWIRP) applies to all employers that directly or indirectly employ at least 100 employees at a single warehouse distribution center or at least 1,000 employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in New York. Effective June 1, 2025, the WWIRP mandates…
The year 2023 was named the hottest on record, and 2024 is on track to be even warmer. We are already feeling the impact of the climate emergency, but the problem runs deeper. Climate change is just one symptom of our planet’s health crisis. From resource depletion to social inequality, the…
The global crisis that we are experiencing is aggravated by an intellectual crisis of world political thought. Nevertheless, people are inventive, and maybe AI will help, writes Valdai Club Chairman Andrey Bystritskiy. There is virtually no doubt that the problems of 2024 will reappear in full and even with reinforcements in 2025. One of the reasons for the protracted global political crisis…
Business leaders today are juggling more than ever, from creating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs to managing conflict in highly-charged environments. The brunt of the pandemic may be behind us, but its effects continue to ripple deep throughout today’s workplace. Even before the death of George Floyd and the…
In the spirit of the season, we’re decking the halls with 12 unforgettable workplace mishaps of this year because who says the 12 Days of Christmas should only be about partridges and pear trees? 1. Age Discrimination: A windy workplace incident Lee Marsh, a manager at Birmingham City Council, was…
Quick Hits New state laws on paid leaves, discrimination protections, child labor, medical marijuana, and workplace safety are set to take effect on January 1, 2025. Employers may want to take note of these new laws and compliance obligations. California California has several laws set to take effect on January…
Professor Alison Etheridge DBE FRS, Professor of Probability at Oxford’s Department of Statistics, has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Mathematical Sciences. Much of her work focuses on infinite dimensional stochastic processes and their applications. Most recently her central interest has…
Get a behind-the-scenes look at Google's Quantum AI lab in Santa Barbara, CA.
Topics Data, AI, & Machine Learning AI & Machine Learning subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The wave of transformation that artificial intelligence tools — large language models and generative AI, in particular — have unleashed feels unprecedented. Unlike previous technological waves, these tools are disrupting even…
Quick Hits The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated an SEC order approving a Nasdaq rule that would have required public companies to maintain a certain number of board members from underrepresented demographic groups or explain why they failed to do so. The diversity rule never took effect while it…
A study led by The University of Manchester which examined the extent and effectiveness of Russian state-sponsored online propaganda efforts has found that - despite significant investment - the Kremlin's attempts to influence Western media and public opinion are largely failing. Focusing the recent EU elections, researchers analysed the output…
The near future could see AI assistants that forecast and influence our decision-making at an early stage, and sell these developing “intentions” in real-time to companies that can meet the need – even before we have made up our minds.This is according to AI ethicists from the University of Cambridge,…
Based on these evidences and reasons, many analysts have considered Iran the main loser in the recent developments in Syria (Eliot A. Cohen, Lyuba Lulko & Dmitry Sudakov, Natasha Hall and Joost Hiltermann & Nicholas Kristof). But are these judgments correct, and has Iran lost everything in Syria? The ultimate…
A few years ago, Tuck assistant professor Sonya Mishra was talking with her research colleagues, Charlotte Townsend and Laura Kray, about the Forbes rankings of the “Most Powerful People” and the “Most Powerful Women.” They noticed something intriguing. An assistant professor of business administration at Tuck, Sonya Mishra teaches Leading…
The long-standing interplay between artificial intelligence and the evolution of physics played a pivotal role in awarding the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics to two AI trailblazers. “AI for physics and physics for AI are concepts you hear,” said Matteo Cremonesi(opens in new window), an assistant professor of physics at…
The terrifying context of a likely war of the EU against Russia for the Ukraine with French troops being sent on the Russian front is less a danger than an option to the French Europeanist tyrant: he can use it as a tool to unite the French political system around…
The evolving landscape of state immunity in award-enforcement proceedings in Canada The rise of investor-state disputes, which has taken place globally over the last two decades, has led to a growing number of recognition and enforcement proceedings of foreign arbitral awards before Canadian courts by award creditors seeking to execute…
Executives in the consumer packaged goods industry face a complex landscape marked by increased competition, evolving consumer behaviours and the need for sustainability. Although inflation is expected to stabilise, ongoing shifts in consumer expectations and market dynamics demand innovative strategies to preserve profitability and enhance resilience. As interest rates begin…
In 2024, Valdai Club continued its cooperation with colleagues from Pakistan, which has been actively developing for several years. In April, 2024, the Club held a Russian-Pakistani conference on strategic stability, a topic that is becoming extremely acute amid the current geopolitical conditions. Pakistan, as a nuclear power, has its…
