Here is the pre-Easter newsflash from TJ. The editor Debbie Carter selects stories, research findings and insights for all those interested in talent, skills and people development
New report from Accenture reveals the foundations of a new reality
New research from Accenture finds that generative AI and other rapidly evolving technologies are ushering in a bold new future for business as physical and digital worlds become inextricably linked. They identify four factors that together will revolutionise how organisations will operate: digital identity, data, AI and improved feedback between tech and science that is accelerating solutions.
The Accenture Technology Vision 2023, When Atoms Meet Bits: The Foundations of Our New Reality explores the technology trends underpinning the convergence of the physical and digital, as businesses look to accelerate enterprise reinvention in the here and now.
Paul Daugherty, group chief executive of Accenture Technology says: “The next decade will be defined by three mega technology trends – cloud, metaverse and AI – which collectively will collapse the distance of our digital and physical worlds.”
Read the full report here
It’s a man’s world as UK gender pay gap increases
Analysis of the results released this week on the government gender pay gap service website indicates that the median gender pay gap of all firms that reported in the past financial year is 12.09% which is a significant increase on the average of all firms reporting in 2021-22 of 9.7% with nearly 80% of organisations favouring men.
More organisations met the deadline with10,152 companies reporting in time for the deadline, an increase of 3.4% from 2022 but there are still some to comply. Of the companies that did report:
- 8,063 report a pay gap which favours men (79%)
- 1,293 have a pay gap favouring women (12.7%)
- 796 report no pay gap (7.8%).
Flexibility is the new work life currency
A new report, Future of Work Life, from Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab has examined how employees and employers navigate their work environment and obtained their views on the future of work that has been shaped by the pandemic, digitalisation and the fluctuating labour market.
Almost half (48%) of the employees in the study say that they enjoy increased flexibility at work, with 52% considering flexible working a key requirements. A quarter say that flexibility is the top priority when looking for a new job – doing work rather than going to work is seen as central in this new way of thinking about work life.
The report emphasises that employers need to invest in the right technology to support collaboration, simplifies work and values employee input in decision making.
Anders Erlandsson, Head of Ericsson IndustryLab comments: “Based on our research, it is quite clear that the future of work is going to be increasingly dependent on ICT solutions such as high-speed, globally available mobile connectivity. [M]y own favourite take-away is that remote work is clearly here to stay – maybe not exactly at the level as was measured during the pandemic, but still at significantly higher levels than before the pandemic!”
ChatGPT has a privacy problem
Italy’s data regulator has become the first, in a Western country, to issue a temporary emergency ban on OpenAI’s large language model, ChatGPT on the basis it used Italians’ personal data for training the new model. The company have now suspended services of ChatGPT in Italy while it responds to the regulator.
It is likely that other European regulators will follow Italy’s example with France, Germany and Ireland already reaching out to their Italian counterparts to learn more about their actions. You can read the full story on the WIRED website here
The pros and cons of AI
Gerd Leonhard futurist and humanist is just one of many commentators on the future and the technologies impacting on our lives. Here is one of his videos exploring the value of artificial intelligence and offering some useful food for thought when considering the benefits and drawbacks of AI.
