As demand to ditch the traditional 40-hour workweek persists, and companies continue to test and toy with the idea, the results just keep on stacking up in its favour. 

In a recent month-long trial, workers in Valencia, Spain, have shown that reducing the current working week provides overwhelming benefits for health and wellbeing, as well as environmental perks.  

While academics, governments, and companies the world over discuss the pros and cons of a reduction in days, Spain has sat at the forefront of these trials, with major companies taking part across the country. 

4-Day Week Results are In…

Valencia City Council chose to run the trial between April and May this year, as there were already three holidays within the month. This meant companies only needed to remove one extra day to make it a month of four-day working weeks.

Around 360,000 workers took part in the trial, which is just one of many currently happening across Spain right now. 

Despite it being short in length, the trial’s results highlighted several significant benefits for both employees and the country as a whole.

Personal and Environmental Benefits of 4-Day Week

So, what exactly are these much-coveted benefits? 

Those taking part reported a 35% reduction in stress levels, alongside a 64% increase in the amount of sleep they got. The two of course go hand in hand and are both major contributors to the health and wellness of employees. So already that’s a massive tick for companies who have experienced staff sickness or leave due to burnout arising from poor sleep and too much stress.

Socialising and leisure activities were also on the up, with 72% of participants spending more time with friends, 46% increasing their time spent reading, and 37% upping their physical activity. All of which contributes to happier, healthier people, and therefore more productive employees if the science is to be believed. And spoiler alert, it should be.

Benefits didn’t stop on a personal level either, as the city itself reaped environmental rewards thanks to workers taking that extra day off. A 58% reduction of Nitrogen Dioxide concentration was found in the air, along with a 9.5% decrease in traffic. 

Similarly, the study showed a positive effect on companies in the leisure and hospitality sectors, as people made the most of their additional free time by going out to eat or enjoy the city. However, this did highlight one downside, in that people were smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol more. We guess you can’t have it all.

4-Day Week Findings are a “New Milestone”

Spain’s progressive attitude to working and giving employee’s more flexibility and autonomy should come as no surprise, as the country also claims the number two spot for ‘best country in the world for remote working’. 

Former Valencia Mayor and Speaker for the City Hall’s Compromís electoral coalition, Joan Ribo stated: “The trial has been an enormous success and has provided significant empirical evidence of the positive impact of the four-day week on workers’ health and city-wide dynamics. We have seen a sharp decrease in traffic intensity and air pollution, a broad improvement in overall health perception by workers and more free time dedicated to cultural and leisure activities.”

Ribo went on to call the findings a “new milestone” in Spain’s move towards a four-day working week. And they’re not the only country to say the same.

In the UK, where the largest 4-day working trial ran, none of the companies who took part planned on going back to a 5-day working week. While productivity remained stable, employee satisfaction dramatically shot up, highlighting the gains to be had both personally and societally.

WeWork, one a venture capital success story valued at up to $47 billion, has officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US with a similar filing to follow in Canada. The firm has announced the dramatic restructuring move having seen its market cap drop to below $50 million recently.

In a statement, the beleaguered co-working company insists that “global operations are expected to continue as usual” and that its co-working spaces “remain open and operational.” It adds that WeWork’s international franchises will not be affected by the proceedings.

In October it appointed a new CEO, David Tolley, in an attempt to rebuild for a post-pandemic world where trends like fully remote jobs and the 4-day workweek have fundamentally changed how (and where) we work.

WeWork Feels Weight of Property Footprint

Last week, WeWork let the US financial regulator know it had agreed with creditors to temporarily postpone payments for some of its debt. A day later, its shares fell by more than 40% during after-hours trading.

Concerns about WeWork’s debts, losses, and management, have plagued the company for some time now, leading to difficulty in it selling shares on the stock market back in 2019.  This comes despite tens of billions of dollars being pumped into the company from Japanese conglomerate, SoftBank.

As of June, the company’s net long-term debt had risen to $2.9 billion. It’s further weighed down by than $13 billion in long-term leases, something which filing for bankruptcy will allow it to request the option of rejecting.

However, trouble for the firm properly came to light back in August this year, when it raised “substantial doubt” that it could continue operations. A decrease in demand – likely a hangover from 2020’s work-from-home orders – alongside a “difficult” operating environment were behind this. 

Revolving Door of Top WeWork Execs

The exit of several top executives this year has understandably contributed to instability across the firm and many insiders say the onetime co-working giant has never really recovered from the departure of charismatic but controversial co-founder Adam Neumann.

Neumann stepped down as CEO in 2019 after scrutiny of his leadership had “become a significant distraction” for the company and its plans for an IPO.

Since then, Chairman Sandeep Mathrani – who led the company as Chief Executive during the pandemic – left back in May. During his tenure he had eliminated $2.3 billion in costs and over $1 billion in debt.

WeWork’s Cautionary IPO Tale

Some are attributing the remarkable reversal of fortune to WeWork’s 2019 plans to go public. Despite investors’ skepticism of taking long-term leases and renting them for a short-term time period, the company pressed on after the aforementioned saga surrounding Neumann’s departure.

Following the pandemic, it did manage to go public in 2021 but at a significantly reduced valuation. By the end of June, the firm reported having 777 locations in 39 countries through franchising agreements.

WeWork’s full official statement on its bankruptcy can be found in its Newsroom.

With many companies ending fully remote work in 2023, jobs that let you work from home at your discretion are getting slightly harder to find. Which makes all these current remote Apple job vacancies even sweeter, as they’re offering generous salaries of $100k or more.

Staying remote has plenty of health benefits, with most people agreeing it gives you a better work/life balance including more time to spend with friends, family, and of course, yourself. Then there’s the many people who rely entirely on working from home, whether due to chronic illness, disability, or the need to care for an elderly family member.

Working remotely from home is no reason why you shouldn’t earn the big bucks. With an eye-watering $2.67 trillion market cap, Apple can easily afford to dole out six-figure positions and has plenty of demand for them. Check out our list of the biggest Apple job openings available at the global company this November.

For all positions, you can learn more and see additional opportunities on the Apple careers page.

1. Cryptographic Engineer

Engineers are always in demand, and this one role is particularly specialized: A Cryptographic Engineer focuses on “solving” code, dealing with matters involving data confidentiality, data authentication, or data integrity. For a tech giant as big as Apple, that’s always a top concern. Figuring out top-notch secure protocol engineering for Apple devices is important, given the 1.46 billion active iPhone users worldwide.

Key Qualifications

• Expertise in fundamental cryptographic algorithms and underlying mathematics, such as finite field arithmetic
• Understanding of side channel attacks and other challenges to modern applied cryptography
• Experience with formal methods applied to software or cryptography
• Excellent C and systems programming skills

Average salary: $111,309 per year (Glassdoor)

2. Healthcare Enterprise Account Executive

Executives need a top-level understanding of how to run a business, and this position calls for core managerial needs such as balancing short- and long-term goals, running presentations, market analysis, honesty, and accuracy. You’ll only need a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience for the role, but it calls for eight years working in a sales environment.

Key Qualifications

• Proven consultative selling experience in business transformation solutions for large enterprises
• Strong sales background including 8+ years as an Account Executive for large Enterprises. You are familiar with the Healthcare provider industry.
• Strengths in relationship development/management, teaming across functions, deal making and negotiations.
• A strong self-starter who is able to work independently.

Average salary: $104,003 per year (Salary.com)

3. Named Account Executive

Sales positions are great for remote work, given the volume of calls and emails that keep you connected to your clients. As a named account executive, you’d be handling a team at a focused territory, selling to K20 Education customers. You’ll be keeping a lot of plates spinning for both internal and external partners and working at a fast clip the whole time.

Key Qualifications

• People know you as a true collaborator who knows what it takes to win.
• You are able to develop business cases for investments or value based proposals, that include Apple products, services and and all third party education ecosystem solutions relevant to your market.
• You appreciate the importance of disciplined sales pipeline governance to achieving your goals.
• You understand the importance of account planning to understand customers’ needs and how to build leading solutions and proposals.
• You have a minimum of 7 years experience leading large Education or public sector Enterprise customers through transformation, from strategy development to implementation or have 8-12 years of experience as an Industry expert.
• Experience selling education technical, services, or hardware is preferred.

Average salary: Up to $121,633 per year (Salary.com)

4. Vulnerability Researcher

Apple’s Security Engineering & Architecture organization safeguards security for Apple products, and they need someone to hunt down vulnerabilities before they turn into massive problems. That’s a pretty wide scope, covering microarchitecture, iOS and macOS kernels, boot ROMs, firmware, hardware, and applications like Safari, Mail or Messages. You’ll need the technical skills to handle it all, as well as the creativity to find outside-the-box vulnerabilities. For the right person, that’s a fun job.

Key Qualifications

• Proven experience in vulnerability research and binary exploitation
• Significant understanding of common vulnerability classes and exploitation techniques
• Creative & effective problem-solving and analytical skills
• Experience with reverse-engineering tools (IDA Pro, Ghidra, etc.) and techniques
• Excellent knowledge of the security architecture of at least one complex operating system. Knowledge of macOS/iOS is nice-to-have, but not required.
• Familiarity with tool development, using programming languages such as C, C++, Python, Swift, Objective-C

Average salary: $104,558 per year (Glassdoor)

5. Higher Education Business Development Executive

Apple’s Higher Education sales operation is hiring, and they need an exec who can manage sector-wide teams. Building relationships while streamlining sales is another tough task that requires a team player. You’ll help transform the teaching world while, of course, accelerating Apple’s marketshare growth.

Key Qualifications

• You adapt to change
• You analyze the market and think beyond the short-term.
• You see the world through the eyes of the customer by deeply understanding their business needs, challenges, and concerns.
• You believe that communication is key to Apple’s success.
• You are an expert at presenting and making the complex simple.
• Minimum 8-12 yrs in a role driving top line growth in the Higher Education market.

Average salary: $103,034 per year (Zippia)

6. Global Head of Events & Experiential Production

Operating a team of event producer means wearing a lot of hats: This role requires handling all creative elements, within budget and on time, for all the live production, experiential, events, and editorial video content needed for Apple services. You’ll guide a single creative vision through the red tape that comes with a global tech company, leaning on partnerships with the Design Studio, logistical and technical event management, as well as security, legal, and event operations teams. You’ll report to the Senior Director of Creative Services and Production.

Key Qualifications

• Minimum 20 years of experience in producing world class experiences, events and activations for music, film, television and entertainment brands.
• Strong background in building and managing budgets.
• Strong roster of production and creative partners.
• Shown experience working as part of multi-discipline, multi-faceted teams in order to deliver on global programs.
• Proficient in Keynote, Microsoft Office, Pages and Numbers.
• Strong written, verbal and visual communication skills.

Salary range: $216,831–$325,247 per year (Apple)

7. Education Leadership & Learning Executive

As a Learning executive at Apple, you’ll help advise education leaders to scale up and transform their teaching processes with Apple products and services, designing and implimenting the strategies that work best. The end goal is adoption and implementation of Apple Education, but you’ll succeed by helping your customers meet their own goals of improving education for all.

Key Qualifications

• “Extraordinary” knowledge of the K-12 education market and a deep understanding of effective classroom technology.
• Experience in an educational leadership role. School Board leadership level preferred.
• Experience in business development.
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills; able to motivate and inspire others.
• Proactive; takes initiative and challenges the status quo.
• Solid understanding of the Apple ecosystem.

Average salary: $161,419 per year per year (Glassdoor)

8. Ad Revenue Planning & Analysis Lead – Media & Sports

There’s an opening at Apple for someone to spearhead global revenue forecasting for emerging media products and growth segments, and it could be a role for you. You’ll need the managerial chops to lead analytical projects, as well as the fintech skills to develop financial models yourself. You won’t be alone, though, as you’ll team up with Sales and Business Development organizations when tackling your short-term and long-term goals.

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years of work experience, with a preference for FP&A or Ad Sales Finance backgrounds in AdTech, Sports, or Media/Entertainment
• Familiarity with accounting and financial principals coupled with significant experience in business modeling
• Exceptional analytical competence and the ability to generate concise takeaways from large datasets
• SQL experience is preferred but not required, however must have a willingness to learn
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to author and deliver presentations to multiple levels of management
• Detail oriented & thorough, with ability to think “big picture”

Average salary: $100,000–$150,000 per year (Apple)

9. UI Engineer, Apple Services Engineering

Apple’s big on maintaining a sleek user interface, so joining as a UI engineer is about as high-profile a gig as you can get. Right now, the company’s Pricing and Partner Monetization team is on the lookout for someone to manage a range of online tools, both internal and public facing. If hired, you’ll build web pages, work across multiple teams (design, operations, QA, editorial, marketing, business), and address system evolution across DSCE. And that’s a software with an over-15-year history, so you’ll have no shortage of challenges.

Key Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience working in UI and front-end web engineering
• Experience with React and TypeScript
• Understanding of design/UX principles and ability to participate in design discussions.
• Experience working within an organizational code base in multiple environments across numerous ongoing release cycles
• Experience integrating front-end web/UI interface with back end application server technologies
• Strong communication, organization, and leadership skills required

Average salary: $108,415–$162,623 per year (Apple)

Not seen anything that’s right for you? Here are some great current Microsoft job openings that also pay really well.

We’ve abolished the 6-day workweek, fought for a national minimum wage, and now the next major labor movement is upon us: the campaign for a 4-day workweek.

As demands for flexible working conditions and healthier work-life balances reach a fever pitch, ditching the 40-hour workweek has proven to be a wildly popular concept among employees. And after the landslide success of multiple global trials, many business owners are warming to the idea too – with major names like Microsoft and Amazon recently rolling out compressed hours.

But even if you believe that the 5-day workweek is outdated, your employer might not agree. In these cases, putting your case forward and educating your boss about the benefits might help tip the scales in your, and your workforces, favor. Not sure where to start? Learn how to ask for an extra day off in seven simple steps.

How to Ask for a 4-Day Workweek

Scrapping the 5-day workweek requires a convincing case. Follow these steps when asking your boss for a 4-day workweek:

In this guide:

1. Make Sure a 4-Day Workweek is Right for Your Company
2. Build Your Case, Lead With Facts
3. Make the Case Personal To Your Business
4. Explain How it Could be Implemented
5. Suggest a Trial Period
6. Rejected? Consider Asking For a Personal 4-day Workweek
7. Explore Other Options

1. Make Sure a 4-Day Workweek is Right for Your Company

Unfortunately, not every business will be able to implement a four-day week. So before you even consider putting your case forward you need to make sure scrapping a working day is plausible for your company.

While multiple trials have found that reducing hours consistently makes employees more productive, companies that manage intense workloads may struggle with tighter time constraints. For example, in the UK’s largest four-day weekday pilot, engineering and industrial supplies company Allcap was forced to abandon the trial early after staff started becoming overworked.

“As opposed to 10 normal workdays, we found that employees would have nine extreme ones – once they got to their scheduled day off they were exhausted.” Allcap’s CEO tells the BBC.

Businesses in industries that provide round-the-clock coverage, like healthcare and transport will struggle to make the change too. This can also extend to hospitality businesses operating on traditional service schedules, like retail stores, restaurants, and hotels.

2. Build Your Case, and Lead With Facts

If you think your company has the potential to embrace a four-day workweek, you’re off to a good start – now it’s time to make your case.

Instead of approaching your employer and simply asking for a three-day weekend, you need to put forward a convincing case. Don’t be shy to mention how working reduced hours can benefit employees – including the impact it can have on job satisfaction, physical health, and burnout – but try and pivot the case around the advantages it can bring to the company as a whole.

For example, mention the impact working a four-day week can have on employee retention, productivity rates, cost reduction, and worker engagement. And don’t be vague. Back your case up with hard evidence from previous success stories. To make your case more convincing, find businesses with a similar structure to yours that have successfully pivoted to a four-day workweek and use them as a case study.

Lots of this information is publicly available, but you can also reach out to company employees directly to enquire about how the switch benefited them.

3. Make the Case Personal To Your Business

In order for your campaign to be effective, you need to address real issues your business is grappling with, and explain how they could be solved – or at least addressed – with the flexible work arrangement.

For example, if your business struggles to consistently meet its targets, lead with real-life examples of how businesses increased productivity levels during and after the four-day pilot. Or, if your company has a high turnover rate, center your case around the positive impact the arrangement can have on recruiting and retaining top talent.

It’s important to touch on practical issues too. There are lots of reasons why an employer might be hesitant to introduce the working model, including the nature of your industry, the hours you need to operate, and the size of your current workload. Before heading into the meeting, try and pre-empt these concerns and devise an answer for them ahead of time.

4. Explain How a 4-Day Workweek Could be Implemented

A four-day workweek will look slightly different for each business. After you’ve made your argument clear, you should tell your manager which form you think it could take for your company.

Clarify the different types of four-day models, including the “normal days” version where employees work four eight-hour days, the “shorter days” version where employees work five, six-hour days, and the “longer days” version where employees work four ten-hour days – shortening their workweek without trimming down on hours.

If your company isn’t able to shut down its operations during regular business hours, briefly explain how this can be achieved through alternating shift patterns. Breach the topic of salary reductions too. Most companies that have converted to a four-day week have kept employee salaries the same. However, if this is in no way an option for your employer, you can bring up the option of a salary reduction and mention whether you think the proposal would be accepted by your team.

Critically, when explaining how a four-day week could be implemented, point out what parts of your business could change, and which would remain the same. This will help your manager see it in practical terms, and understand what the adjustment would look like in reality.

For more tips on how to action the changes, read our guide on implementing a 4-day workweek.

5. Suggest a Trial Period

Kickstarting a four-day workweek without trialing it beforehand would be foolish. So, instead of asking your boss to trust you blindly, request a trial period where you’re able to test out the success of the new arrangement before making any long-term commitments.

When planning your trial, it’s important to establish which metrics will be used to assess the success of the trial. For example, are you going to focus on productivity rates, employee satisfaction, cost reduction, profits, cases of burnout, or a mixture of the above?

If your manager is open to the idea, you could also address the practicalities of launching a trial by discussing which time of the year would be best for your company, how long it would be, what support is available in your state, and how you would go about joining the pilot program.

6. Rejected? Consider Asking For a Personal 4-day Workweek

If your case was rejected, try not to be disheartened. Cutting a day off a workweek isn’t feasible for every type of business, and if you’re serious about carving out a healthier work-life balance there will always be other options to explore.

For example, while your boss may not be on board with a company-wide four-day workweek, there’s always scope to put your case forward individually. In this instance, you may have to make some type of sacrifice to ensure you don’t get an unfair privilege over other employees. For example, you could suggest keeping up your current hours by working four ten-hour days or cutting down a day in exchange for a salary sacrifice.

While making these requests may feel uncomfortable, remember that you’re well within your right to campaign for more flexible working conditions – especially if you’re a loyal member of your company.

7. Explore Other Options

If your employer is completely closed to rolling out any form of a 4-day workweek and you can’t come to some kind of compromise – it might be time to look elsewhere.

Companies that offer this working privilege are still majorly in the minority, but thanks to the success of multiple trials, the concept is gaining popularity at a rapid speed. Workplaces that offer this perk will likely better reflect your values and have a more favorable company culture too, making the employment pivot even more worth it.

Remember that dropping a working day isn’t simply an excuse to slack off though, as most companies are looking to maintain or increase levels of productivity despite fewer hours being worked.

If you’re curious about what options could be awaiting you, check out our regularly updated guide to companies currently offering a 4-day workweek.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT are being used to streamline workplace processes, write code, and even write scripts for stand-up comedy sets. In the US, where cases of anxiety and depression are reaching record highs, and professional support remains stretched, it’s no surprise users are also utilizing the technology to help manage their mental health.

AI chatbots like Elomia, Pi, and Woebot offer affordable, personalized support 24/7, based on tried and tested therapy techniques. From helping users skirt long wait lists to reducing the stigma around accessing help, their benefits are huge. Can generative AI – which is still prone to mistakes, hallucinations, and bias – ever compare to the empathy of the human ear?

We spoke to academics, psychologists, and practicing therapists to shed light on how the emerging tech is likely to shape the future of therapy. We also discuss the shadier side of AI therapy and pinpoint which ethical concerns need to be addressed today. Here’s what we found.

AI Chatbots: The New Generation of Robot Therapists

Since OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT first launched last November, an army of chatbot copycats have cropped up on app stores – from general use apps like Google Bard and Claude AI to less conventional Marvel character simulators.

This burgeoning market has also led to the rise of AI therapy chatbots – apps that use generative AI to mimic advice and guidance offered by qualified therapists and mental health professionals.

Major examples include Pi a self-proclaimed “friendly chat companion” that acts as a sounding board and offers emotional support; Replika, a chatbot program that mimics the speaking style and personality of its users; and Earkick, an anxiety tracker designed to help you log and work through difficult emotions.

“AI-based platforms offer privacy, reducing the stigma often associated with seeking help for mental health concerns.” – Ryan Sultan, Certified Psychiatrist and Professor at Columbia University

Like the best mental health apps, many of these apps already boast six-figure downloads – and their popularity is hardly surprising. Due to a dearth of qualified psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers, plus a spike in demand for services across the country, the US is currently grappling with one of its worst mental health crises on record.

The high cost of traditional therapy and taboos around mental health are also deterring many from pursuing conventional options, creating a gap for more discreet, affordable alternatives.

Early evidence suggests they’re effective, too. AI Chatbot’s Earkick’s own findings revealed that its user’s mood improved by 34% and anxiety levels dropped by 32% after sticking with the app for five months. However, as successful as these apps might be in quelling minor anxieties, they definitely aren’t the mental health panacea we’ve all been waiting for.

AI Chatbots Unsuitable for Serious Mental Health Conditions

Receiving sensible, therapist-approved advice from a pocket-sized chatbot will undoubtedly be helpful for many. However, those suffering from severe mental health conditions like depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder will likely be left short-changed.

Mental disorders are complex, heavily nuanced, and unique to each person they affect. In some cases, they are best managed with medication that can only be correctly prescribed by qualified medical professionals. While large language models (LLMs) have evolved leaps and bounds in recent years, their output will never be able to replace the clinical expertise, empathy, and compassion provided by psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists.

“I appreciate the algorithms have improved, but ultimately I don’t think they are going to address the messier social realities that people are in when they’re seeking help,” – Julia Brown, anthropology professor at the University of California, San Francisco

Strategic psychic healer Aanant Bisht also believes that AI, in its current state, will be incapable of aiding every user’s complex healing journey. “It’s also еssеntial to avoid ovеrsimplification of complеx mеntal hеalth issuеs and еncouragе usеrs to sееk profеssional hеlp whеn rеquirеd,” Bisht tells Tech.co.

Another common concern expressed by experts we spoke to is medical misdiagnosis. The mental health community has a long-standing issue with correctly identifying complex and severe psychiatric disorders, and heavy reliance on AI could likely exacerbate this problem, due to the technologies limited, unrepresentative data sets and inability to interpret human nuances.

The results of this can be stark, too. Mental health misdiagnosis often leads to inadequate treatment and support, additional mental pressures, and long-term skepticism towards the medical system. This isn’t the only reason why artificial intelligence isn’t fit to overtake the therapist’s chair in its current form.

AI is Flawed and Shrouded in Ethical Challenges

The rapid rise of generative AI hasn’t come without consequences. As the technology continues to develop at a breakneck speed, regulation around its use has been slow to catch up, contributing to a string of ethical challenges relating to data privacy, embedded bias, and misuse.

These concerns aren’t unique to therapy, but the sensitive nature of mental health means that ethical frameworks are at the heart of any good therapeutic relationship. With an official AI ethics code currently non-existent, users relying on chatbots instead of qualified professionals for counselling or other mental health support is highly problematic.

Data privacy is one major issue. Chatbots like ChatGPT have frequently landed themselves in hot water for failing to protect user data. In order for users to feel comfortable discussing private, personal information, AI companies will need to have a foolproof data protection strategy that prioritizes confidentiality.

“The intimate and sensitive nature of therapeutic conversations demands an unparalleled level of data protection.” – Dr. Langham, psychologist at Impulse Therapy

Another important factor to be aware of is machine learning bias. All AI systems rely on predetermined training data, which often include embedded human biases even if sensitive variables like race and gender are removed.

According to Bayu Prihandito, CEO of life coach company Life Architekture, if AI is trained on biased data, “it might perpetuate or exacerbate existing biases, leading to inequitable treatment recommendations”. These built-in prejudices are likely to impact people from minority groups more too, highlighting the importance of human oversight and diverse and representative training datasets.

AI as a Therapists’ Assistant, Not Replacement

Friendly companions like Pi and Woebot will only grow in popularity as users continue to seek accessible ways to supplement their mental well-being. However, due to a wide range of ethical concerns, artificial intelligence isn’t ready to replace the role of traditional therapy, nor should it ever.

This isn’t to say the emerging technology won’t have a massive impact on the practice as a whole, though. Most of the practitioners we spoke to believe that by carrying out the grunt work such as triaging, AI tools will be able to give them more time and energy to put into other areas of the practice.

“Whilе it cannot rеplacе thе dееp human connеction that thеrapists offеr, it can sеrvе as a complеmеntary tool.” – Aanant Bish, business psychic coach

“AI could handle initial assessments, ongoing monitoring, and provide support for less complex cases, allowing us to focus on more severe or delicate situations,” Bayu Prihandito told Tech.co, adding “It’s like having an extra set of hands that are always available.”

Columbia professor and certified psychiatrist Sultan agrees, telling Tech.co that in five years time, AI will likely complement traditional therapy by streamlining administrative tasks, helping practitioners to create more personalized treatment plans, and “creating hybrid models that combine human expertise with AI-driven tools to enhance treatment”.

This suggests that far from draining the practice of its humanity, AI actually has the power to free up human skills like empathy, connection, and compassion, helping clients get even more out of the service.

However, caring for mental health is serious stuff and can often be a matter of life and death. Before AI becomes every therapist’s assistant, or indeed replaces them, strict regulations around its deployment and use need to be considered.

Until such a time arrives, the clear potential for AI chatbots to improve access to mental health support can’t be fully reconciled with the risks they pose. In a world where ethical dilemmas are often par for the course, this one is simply too big to ignore.

The four-day workweek is no longer a utopian concept. Thanks to the success of multiple global trials and the rapid deployment of AI, companies offering a four-day workweek now include tech heavyweights like Microsoft and Amazon alongside neighborhood mom-and-pop stores.

The incentives are clear – from improved mental health to bolstered productivity, its benefits are both practical and personal. This doesn’t mean implementing a four-day workweek comes without challenges. Not every company is cut out for working compressed hours, and this potentially revolutionary new way of working can actually have an adverse impact on employee well-being and profitability if implemented poorly. 

To help you avoid common pitfalls, this guide offers advice on getting it right – with the help of HR professionals, academics, and business owners who have recently joined the four-day workweek movement. Read on to find out if your business is ready to drop a working day, and how it can become a reality in seven simple steps.

How to implement a 4-day workweek:

1. Check if a 4-Day Workweek Will Work For Your Business
2. Define Your Businesses Goals
3. Make Practical and Legal Considerations 
4. Agree on a 4-Day Workweek Schedule
5. Launch Your 4-Day Workweek Pilot
6. Assess The Success of Your Pilot
7. Set Your 4-Day Workweek in Motion

Why Should Businesses Operate a 4-Day Workweek?

Trimming down the workweek and expanding leisure time unsurprisingly benefits employees in myriad ways. Recent research from the University of Cambridge found condensing the 40-hour workweek into 32 decreased levels of stress by 39%, and cases of burnout by 71%, while also having a positive impact on sleep quality and physical health.

It’s not just employees that should be calling for a three-day weekend. Reducing the workweek can bring a lot of benefits to companies too.

Happier and better-rested workers are more likely to perform better and call in fewer sick days, with 95% of the businesses that took place in the UK’s Four-Day Week Global trial seeing productivity stabilize or grow throughout the pilot and revenue growing by an average of 35%.

“We have had zero employees resign in nearly two years, which is pretty unheard of for early-stage startups, that typically have higher rates of turnover.” – Founder of software startup Super and four-day workweek advocate, Lindsay Liu

Due to its resounding popularity among workers, companies implementing a four-day workweek are more likely to retain staff and attract top talent in the first place, as being seen to be at the forefront of this progressive workplace trend is great PR for organizations. Four-day workweeks aren’t a silver bullet, though, and won’t be conducive to every type of business, as we explore next.

1. Check if a 4-Day Workweek Is Right for Your Business

The harsh reality is a four-day workweek won’t work for every business. Before you begin rolling out your pilot, you need to establish whether scaling back working hours is actually realistic for your business.

For industries that provide 24/7 hour support like transportation and healthcare, the arrangements won’t be suitable for obvious reasons. Hospitality businesses like retail stores, restaurants, and bars also tend to be bound to more traditional schedules to meet consumer demands.

“Does the four-day workweek work? Yes it does. But not for everyone.  Some companies in some industries simply can’t. You have to be prepared for the challenges. It adds a level of complexity you have to be aware of.” – Cat Goulbourne, HR and Recruitment Manager at SEOMG!

Large organizations may also be held back by bureaucratic challenges and the scale and complexity of the project. However, according to a survey by the open-access journal Open Access Government, 22% of UK workers claimed they were simply too busy to condense their workload into four eight-hour days, while others had too many meetings in their schedule.

With these hurdles in mind, before you steam ahead it may be a good idea to ask yourself these questions:

1. Does your workforce have a track record of consistently hitting targets under pressure?
2. Are all roles in your company capable of being flexible?
3. Is your business capable of dealing with complicated time and people management?
4. Are you able to reduce the quantity or length of team meetings?
5. Will your business be able to reduce working hours while still meeting customer expectations?

If the answer to most of those questions was no, it’s likely your company isn’t ready to cut down its workweek just yet. We’d communicate this choice with your workforce anyway, while being as transparent about your decision-making process as possible. If most of your answers were affirmative, move on to the next tip.

2. Define Your Businesses Goals

Think you’re cut out for a four-day workweek? Congratulations! Now you need to decide what you want to get out of the arrangement.

Most companies that have successfully brought down working hours have done so with specific goals in mind. Whatever “success” means to your business – whether it be employee happiness, productivity, or staff retention – your goals should align with these priorities.

“Define the goals and objectives of the trial period. Are you aiming to improve work-life balance, boost productivity, or reduce operational costs?” – Eric Sornoso, CEO of food delivery service Mealfan.

The rest of your strategy will depend on these objectives, so make sure you use SMART goals that are time-based, specific, and measurable. Don’t create them in a vacuum, either. Establish an open dialogue with all levels of your company to gain a consensus on desired outcomes, timetable preferences, and levels of commitment.

3. Make Practical and Legal Considerations

Launching a four-day workweek can be exciting, but you need to make sure you follow all the checks and balances before taking the plunge. This includes taking stock of the job roles in your company, and making sure every single one is suitable for a condensed week. If certain workers are dealing with heavier workloads, the roles will need to be redesigned to ensure the pilot is accessible to everyone.

If you employ part-time employees, you’ll need to work out how this transition will work for them too. There are two main routes you can take – reducing their hours worked in a week by 20% to align with the reduction for those on full-time hours, or increasing their pay proportionately. The changes you agree on now are likely to have long-term implications for the worker and your bottom line so make sure they’re properly considered.

“Organizations must be no less mindful of legal obligations during a four-day workweek when compared to more typical scheduling arrangements. Wage and hour laws will still apply to a four-day workweek.” – Robert Bird, business law Professor at the University of Connecticut

Employers will also need to make sure they adhere to local and federal working laws. Policies like overtime, paid time off, and vacation days are all likely to be affected by the switch so it may be wise to consult with an employment lawyer before setting anything in stone.

4. Agree on a 4-Day Workweek Schedule

There’s no right or wrong way to switch to a four-day workweek. When it comes to drawing up your schedule, it really depends on the unique needs of your business and the preferences of your employees. With this in mind, here are some popular four-day work schedules to consider:

1. No Fridays or Mondays

Since a major appeal of working compressed hours is extended weekends, most companies choose to drop Fridays or Mondays from the working schedule. Choosing one day for everyone ensures works the same core hours. However, it doesn’t offer flexibility for employees or lend itself well to industries that deliver goods or services on an ongoing basis.

2. Flexible days off

If it’s conducive to your business, it also may be worth considering implementing a flexible schedule. Flexible 4-day schedules allow workers to take time off when it best suits them. This could include staggered starting times, early finishing times, as well as the typical four days on, one day off.

“Set expectations for certain hours when everyone must be available, and grant autonomy for the rest of their time. Doing so will help ensure that everyone is on the same page while still allowing for flexibility.” – Jack, HR Manager at ExpenseOnDemend

3. The 4-10 model

Finally, if compressing hours worked isn’t an option for your business, but you still want to benefit from a three-day weekend a 4-10 workweek might work best for you.

Ideal for businesses with heavier workloads, the 4-10 model refers to working 10-hour days for four days a week. It’s a solid way to get a taste of the four-day week without risking sacrificing hours worked. However, note that with productivity rates typically dropping off after the eighth hour of the working day, and some states enforcing daily overtime laws, it definitely won’t be right for everyone.

After you’ve agreed on your schedule, you’ll need to communicate it with your team and with external clients and stakeholders. Make sure you do this al least a month in advance to avoid any confusion or scheduling clashes.

5. Launch Your 4-Day Workweek Pilot

You’ve done the hard work and made the tough calls. Now you need to launch your four-day pilot.

To give your trial the best possible chance of succeeding, you’ll need to learn how to manage your remaining hours effectively. For many businesses, this will mean evaluating the value of meetings, and scaling them back if necessary. Establishing ‘non-meeting days’ is also a great way to allow for periods of uninterrupted, deep work.

When you choose to launch your pilot is important too. Opting for a quieter time takes a bit of pressure off employees, as John Lin, owner of Philadelphia-based JB Motor Works told us. When rolling out the four-day pilot for his business, Lin chose a slow period in his business cycle. “This helped to gauge the impact without too much risk,” Lin explained. 

It’s also important to remember that problems will undoubtedly arise throughout this period and that this is completely normal. Addressing these issues as they happen and learning from them will help strengthen your plan before it’s implemented for real.

6. Assess The Success of Your Pilot

After your four-day workweek pilot comes to an end, you’ll need to assess its results.

To do so you’ll need to compare data collected throughout the pilot and compare it to data from your typical four-day workweek. This information will help you to see how successful your pilot was at meeting your original goals.

Aside from quantitative metrics measuring the pilot’s impact on productivity and profit margins, it’s also important to gather qualitative findings from employees. This can be obtained through feedback surveys and in-person interviews and will help you to evaluate the success of the trial as a whole.

As John Lin tells us: “The best way to assess the success of the trial is multi-faceted.” 

“It doesn’t solely rely on productivity metrics such as the number of cars serviced, but also team morale, retention rates, and customer satisfaction levels. It’s a qualitative and quantitative process that requires open dialogue with the team on a regular basis”. – John Lin, owner of Philadelphia-based JB Motor Works

7. Set Your 4-Day Workweek Into Motion

If you’re happy with the results of your trial, well done! It’s time to officially implement your four-day workweek.

Right off the bat, you should communicate this success internally and externally to set expectations and prepare everyone for the next steps. Then you need to embed the four-day practices into your company culture. This means preventing old habits from creeping in and embracing the arrangement as part of your company image.

This process doesn’t stop here though. To ensure this transition is successful in the long run, collecting employee feedback through surveys, in-person interviews, or focus groups is a must. If your workforce has strong opinions about the rollout, or needs amendments to be made, it’s important for employers to act on this fast as well.

It’s also imperative that employees don’t drop the ball. Working a four-day week is a privilege, and just because the trial is over doesn’t mean it’s time to take the foot off the pedal. Rather than pushing staff to work overtime, building a culture of accountability and trust is a far more effective way to maintain productivity in the long term.

Rolling out a four-day week isn’t light work, and employers need to be aware of this before taking the idea seriously. It’s a process that requires continual trial and error and can sometimes take years to perfect.

“The bottom line is that implementing a four-day workweek isn’t an exact science, it’s a dance that pairs the unique dynamics of your business with the need to maintain or increase productivity.” – Wendy Wang, owner of four-day workweek company F&J Outdoor

However, navigating these challenges is a small price to pay for a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce. With several US states supporting four-day workweek trials and pledging support to the companies that decide to launch them, now is as good a time as any to take the plunge.

While lots of employers seem intent on bringing workers back into the office, there are still lots of well-paid remote jobs for professionals looking to bid adieu to the physical workspace.

Whether you’re after a warmer climate, lower living expenses, or a chance to finally put your Duo Lingo streak to good use, there are tons of reasons to jump on the digital nomad bandwagon. But with so many great locations to choose from, deciding on a country to relocate to isn’t always straightforward.

For US workers not bound to any physical location, we explore the best countries to work remotely from in 2024 — based on factors like their average cost of living, proximity to the US, and whether they offer that all-important digital nomad visa. Read on to discover our top picks.

1. Portugal

Located in the Southwest corner of Europe, Portugal is a vibrant country packed with architectural gems, sandy coastlines, and gastronomic delights. Boasting reliable network coverage, an excellent transport system, and an affordable cost of living, Portugal is frequently lauded as the best location for digital nomads and was even voted #1 best country to work from by the travel search engine Kayak.

Aside from stunning countryside locations like Tavira, Averio, and Sintra, Portugal is home to Porto and Lisbon — two bustling cities that have become major hubs for digital nomad communities over the years. The European country also offers a “Short Stay Visa” that allows digital nomads to work there for up to a year. To be eligible for this Visa, however, applicants need to provide proof that they make up to four times Portugal’s national minimum wage, which equates to roughly $3,350 per month,

2. Spain

Portugal’s neighbor Spain is another hit among remote workers, thanks in part to its sunny climate, laid-back culture, and abundance of co-working spaces (790 to be precise). Just like Portugal, Spain features diverse landscapes — from the rocky Sierra Nevada mountains to the coastal plains of Valencia — and has a relatively low cost of living. This makes it ideal for wanderlust professionals looking to pack in exciting trips outside of their 9 to 5.

Spain is also home to a large community of digital nomads, making it easy for new expats to connect with like-minded individuals across different industries. Moving to Spain should be relatively straightforward too, due to the country’s newly released digital nomad Visa that allows foreign workers within its borders for up to a year.

3. Mexico

Mexico is a digital nomad haven for obvious reasons. Firstly, its close proximity to the US makes it great for workers after cheap flights or an opportunity to stay close to family and friends. Secondly, Mexico’s cost of living is significantly cheaper than what the average American is used to, with rent costing 71% less than the US average in certain regions and a standard take-out coffee costing as little as $1.50 a pop.

From the cosmopolitan cafes of Mexico City to the sun-kissed beach bars of Puerto Vallarta, the North American country isn’t shy of prime working locations. Unfortunately though, some areas of Mexico are still deemed unsafe for foreign tourists, and the country doesn’t currently offer a digital nomad Visa — requiring remote workers to use a temporary resident Visa instead.

4. Romania

While you don’t often find the words blood-thirsty vampire and digital nomad in the same sentence, Romania has consistently proven itself to be an emerging hub for international workers and even landed a top three position in Kayak’s Work from Wherever Index.

The Eastern European country, which sits to the right of Hungary and Serbia and to the left of the Black Sea, is one of the most affordable locations in Europe — with its cost of living undercutting Western countries like England and France by around 50%.

Aside from rock-bottom rent, utilities, and living expenses, Romania oozes natural beauty and features a number of stunning natural landscapes and medieval towns. Don’t let the country’s ancient charm fool you either, Romania also boasts a reliable internet connection and tons of modern co-working facilities in its capital Bucharest. Professionals can move to the country easily too, thanks to the nation’s new digital nomad Visa.

5. Georgia

Nestled in between the flat plains of Eastern Europe and the high mountains of West Asia, Georgia is another former Soviet nation with a lot of potential for curious professions.

From its hospitable population to its unique history and culinary culture, Georgia has long been a magnet for explorers and foodies alike. In 2024, the ancient country is also fast becoming a hotspot for digital nomads due to its low cost of living, high safety index, and an emerging bohemian scene in cities like Tbilisi.

If you’re looking to escape in the hustle and bustle, Georgia is also home to multiple geological wonders including hundreds of glaciers, stunning emerald mountains, and scores of therapeutic caves. Fortunately for US professionals, Americans can work and live in the country without a Visa for up to a year.

6. Ecuador

While it may not yet be as popular as Mexico, Brazil, or Costa Rica, Ecuador is another excellent country for digital nomads and a great option for travelers looking to remain off the beaten track.

Firstly, Ecuador has an Eastern Time Zone, which is ideal if your company requires you to operate on US hours. Secondly, it’s one of the cheapest countries to live in South America, giving foreign workers greater opportunities to save or enjoy a slightly higher quality of living.

Thirdly, Ecuador is a biodiversity wonder. In fact, due to the combination of the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon, and the Andes Mountain range, it’s one of only 17 megadiverse counties in the world, making it a dream location for nature buffs.

Ecuador’s digital nomad Visa offers an easy route into the country too, allowing expats to work in the country for up to two years before they need to reapply.

7. Indonesia

It wouldn’t be a list of the top digital nomad locations without Indonesia making an appearance, right?

The Southeast Asian country has just about everything a nomadic professional is after — including laid-back island life, an extensive network of ex-pats, and one of the lowest costs of living in Asia. The province of Bali is especially popular due to its scenic seaside villages, nature trails, and great selection of co-working facilities.

Indonesia’s new Second Home Visa lets foreigners work in the country remotely for up to five years too. However, for all of Indonesia’s strengths, its capital’s time zone is 11 hours ahead of Washington DC’s, making it an unviable destination for workers that need to work on US time.

As more and more countries open their doors to laptop-clutching nomads to boost their economy, now is an opportune time to find a better location for your 9 to 5. And if you haven’t secured a remote job yet, don’t worry. Learn about opportunities that are currently available this month in our guide to the top fully remote jobs, and if you’re loyal to your employer, find out how to ask your boss to work remotely here.

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Over the last few years, Slack has become synonymous with the business world. Hundreds of thousands of companies have adopted the messaging platform as the primary means of communication for their team, even to the point of killing email at many of them.

However, despite being released to the public in 2014, the average user isn’t taking advantage of all that Slack has to offer. In fact, the messaging platform offers a wide range of shortcuts that can save you some serious time when it comes to staying in touch with your team.

In this guide, you’ll learn some of the basic slack shortcuts, as well as some more advanced options that can help you format, navigate, and message in Slack without having to click around too much.

In this guide:

• What Are Slack Shortcuts?
• Basic Slack Shortcuts
• Messaging Slack Shortcuts
• Navigation Slack Shortcuts
• Formatting Slack Shortcuts
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Slack Shortcuts?

Slack shortcuts are keyboard commands that you can use to speed up your use of the popular messaging service. From composing messages to viewing conversation history, you’ll be able to access Slack quickly with your keyboard rather than having to click around the interface with your mouse.

Slack shortcuts work like standard shortcuts, in that all you have to do is press a few buttons on your keyboard to perform a particular task. Still, you have to know what the shortcuts are for them to be useful, which is where this guide comes in handy.

Basic Slack Shortcuts

Whether you’ve just installed Slack for the first time or simply never explored the shortcuts available to you, the reality is that your keyboard is a powerful tool when it comes to Slack, and you might be missing out if you don’t know the basics.

Fortunately, we’re here to help, with some basic Slack shortcuts that will get you acclimated to the desktop app in no time!

• Ctrl + / – View all shortcuts
• Ctrl + N – Compose new message
• Ctrl + Z – Unsend a message
• Ctrl + G – Start search
• Ctrl + F – Search in conversation
• Ctrl + U – Upload file
• Ctrl + , – Open preference
• Ctrl + . – Hide right sidebar
• Ctrl + Shift + D – Show or hide left sidebar
• Ctrl + Shift + Y – Set your status
• Ctrl + Shift + N – Create new canvas
• Ctrl + Shift + J – View all downloaded files
• Ctrl + Shift + Enter – Create a new snippet
• Ctrl + Shift + \ – Add emoji to message
• Ctrl + Shift + W – Reopen last closed window

Messaging Slack Shortcuts

As you know, messaging is the primary function of Slack. It allows you to create private and group messages, as well as communication in specific threads for particularly topics, which is why it’s become so popular in comparison to email.

However, if you really want to take your messaging to the next level, we can help. These Slack shortcuts are all about improving your messaging experience, so you can save a bit of time for more important work throughout your day.

Note: These shortcuts are enabled when you have clicked and focused on a specific message.

• E – Edit a message you sent
• Delete – Delete a message you sent
• T or → – Open a thread
• F – Forward a message
• P – Pin or unpin a message
• A – Save a message
• U – Mark all message above unread
• M – Create a reminder about a message
• R – Add an emoji to a message

Navigation Slack Shortcuts

If you’re just getting started with Slack, it can admittedly be a bit intimidating. Especially since the recent update that changed the interface, there are a lot of bells and whistles you need to keep track of to get the most out of the popular messaging platform.

With these shortcuts, you can more effectively navigate the Slack interface, allowing you to more easily access specific messages and conversations across the platform.

• Ctrl + K – Jump to a conversation
• Ctrl + J – Jump to most recent unread message
• Ctrl + Shift + 1 – Open the Home view
• Ctrl + Shift + 3 – Open the Activity view
• Ctrl + Shift + T – Open the Threads view
• Ctrl + Shift + L – Browse channels
• Ctrl + Shift + I – Open conversation details
• Ctrl + Shift + A – Open the All unreads view
• Ctrl + Shift + S – Expand/collapse workplace switcher
• Ctrl + Shift + Tab – Switch to previous workplace
• Ctrl + Tab – Switch to next workplace

Formatting Slack Shortcuts

As with any good business platform, Slack is customizable enough for its users to the exact kind of message they need to send, be it bold, underlined, hyperlinked, or anything in between.

Now, if you want to really speed up your messaging process, we’ve collected some of the most valuable formatting Slack shortcuts, so you can fire through your company-wide shout-out without too many clicks.

• Ctrl + Alt + 0 – Format text as paragraph
• Ctrl + Alt + 1 – Format text as H1
• Ctrl + Alt + 2 – Format text as H2
• Ctrl + Alt + 3 – Format text as H3
• Ctrl + Shift + 0 – Format text as checklist
• Ctrl + Shift + 8 – Format text as bulleted list
• Ctrl + Shift + 7 – Format text as numbered list

Slack Shortcuts: FAQs

Want to ask to work from home? That’s not surprising. Remote work has become one of the most sought-after perks for employees in the modern era, with the pandemic ushering in an era of flexibility that many workers are simply unwilling to part with.

Unfortunately, with return-to-office policies run amok, some employees are feeling left out when it comes to work-life balance. This has led to a wide range of consequences for managers and workers alike, further illustrating the value of remote work in the business world.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to ask to work from home, with a step-by-step plan that will have your manager begging you to ditch the commute and embrace the remote work lifestyle.

Here are the steps to ask to work from home:

1. Make Sure Remote Work Is Right for You
2. Create a List of Potential Remote Work Benefits
3. Speak in Person With Your Manager
4. Suggest a Trial Period for Remote Work
5. Collect Productivity Data During Trial
6. Turned Down? Apply to Remote Jobs Now

1. Make Sure Remote Work Is Right for You

Working from home sounds like a dream to those that have never experienced it. You get to sleep in, work in comfortable clothes, avoid the daily commute, and generally enjoy a more flexible schedule to accommodate other parts of your life beyond work.

Still, remote work is not necessarily for everyone. There are some pitfalls that you should consider before making the decision.

For starters, you could feel more isolated working by yourself all the time, removed from the company culture you’ve become accustomed to in the office. Working from home means that there are no coworkers to goof around with and no after-work happy hours to unwind from a long week.

On top of that, if you don’t communicate effectively via video meetings, you could be in trouble. Remote work is largely facilitated by video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, which means that, depending on your role, you could be in back-to-back video meetings all day to keep you in touch with your team.

Other potential pitfalls of remote work include added utility costs, less feedback from managers, and blurred lines between work and personal life. Simply put, make sure none of these issues are dealbreakers for your everyday life, as it’s going to be pretty embarrassing to return to the office after going through all the following steps to set up your work from home life.

2. Create a List of Potential Remote Work Benefits

If you’re sure that remote work is what you want, the next step is making your case to work from home. Trust us, you don’t want to go into that conversation without being prepared, particularly because many CEO are dead set on getting employees back in the office.

Fortunately, there is plenty of evidence that remote work is as good for business owners as it is for employees. Here are a few helpful work from home statistics that will help you make your case:

• 47% of businesses notice increased productivity levels amongst employees who work remotely (Tech.co)
• Employees that work from home are more optimistic about work (89%) than those working in the office (77%) (ADP)
• Remote workers could have a 54% lower carbon footprint compared to onsite workers (PNAS)
• Businesses experienced a 22% performance boost when launching a hybrid work model (Stanford GSB)
• US employers can save an average of $11,000 per year for every half-time telecommuter. Savings are based on increased productivity, cheaper real estate costs, and reduced absenteeism and turnover. (Global Workplace Analytics)
• 97% of employees say they don’t want to return to the office full-time (Forbes)

While all those statistics are very convincing, we don’t recommend copying and pasting that list into an email to your manager. The best way to ask to work from home is in a genuine, personal way that is backed up by evidence.

3. Speak in Person with Your Manager

Now, it’s time to actually make the ask, and we can’t emphasize this enough: If you want to convince your manager to let you work from home, we highly recommend doing so in person. It may seem counterintuitive, because the goal is to establish that you can work productively beyond an in-office setting, but you’re going to want to have a meeting at the office to start the process.

The reality is that in-person meetings are simply more effective when asking for something in return. In fact, one Harvard Business Review study found that in-person requests are 34 times more effective than emailed requests.

Beyond that, the meeting should be fairly straightforward. Be confident but polite, assertive yet even-tempered, convincing but not weird about it. The data is in your favor, so just stick to the facts, add a personal touch, and you’ll be getting work done in your pajamas in no time.

Also, while the meeting should be in-person, you’ll definitely want to get confirmation that you’re going to be working from home in writing. After all, you’ll want assurances that this kind of remote work arrangement will last longer than a few weeks.

4. Suggest a Trial Period for Remote Work

Commitment is hard for everyone, and not just when it comes to relationships. Even the best ideas, like the 4-day work week, typically require a bit of time to convince those in charge that it will actually be beneficial to employees and employers alike.

Subsequently, we’d recommend you ask to work from home on a trial basis, so that you can prove to them that you’re not only more productive at home, but that you can remain an active member of the team without coming into the office.

If they’re pushing back a bit on fully remote work, you could also suggest that you trial the process with a hybrid work schedule, in which you’re in the office some days and working from home other days. This will give you a bit of freedom while assuage their concerns about your participation in company culture.

5. Collect Productivity Data During Trial

Convincing your manager to let you work from home is hard enough, but the job isn’t done if you want to keep it up. After all, you can just rest on your laurels now that you’ve reached the peak of work-life balance.

To make sure your remote work future stays intact, you’ll want to collect as much productivity data as possible, so you can continue to convince your team that working from home is in their best interest, as well as yours.

If you don’t have access to this kind of data, your manager should be more than willing to provide it if you ask. If not, do your best to keep track of it yourself and present the findings if you’re ever challenge on your work from home efficiency.

6. Turned Down? Apply to Remote Jobs Now

So, it didn’t work out for you. Whether your boss is committed to their in-office policy or you’re simply too valuable to the company culture to spare a single day away from your coworkers, working from home at your current job isn’t going to happen.

Now, if you’re one of the large majority of workers that would rather quit than return to the office, we have some good news for you. While headlines are riddled with return-to-office policy updates, there are actually plenty of jobs out there that are still hiring remote workers like its early 2020.

Here’s a list of companies with remote work jobs that are hiring now:

• Microsoft
• AirBnB
• Disney
• Slack
• Spotify
• Dropbox
• Uber
• Dell

If you want a remote working job with no qualifications, that’s all right. There are actually a lot of jobs that are willing to train and onboarding new hires that are happy to work from home, like content writer, data entry professional, translator, virtual assistant, and many more.

How to Ask to Work From Home: FAQs

The White House has just launched its first-ever executive order on how artificial intelligence is being developed and used in the US, answering long-standing calls for greater regulation of the technology.

The wide-reaching bill addresses pressing issues like algorithmic bias, national security, data privacy, and job displacement in what White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed claims to be the “strongest set of actions” any government has taken to mitigate the risks of AI.

This executive order was issued ahead of Britain’s AI safety summit this Thursday, which a number of global leaders including US Vice President Kamala Harris will be attending.

Biden Issues First-Ever Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence

US President Joe Biden has unveiled a new executive order containing a set of regulations around artificial intelligence technology – in the White House’s first directive of its kind.

As the technology continues to develop at a breakneck speed, the order combines the efforts of several federal agencies and aims to establish “new standards for AI safety and security” across the US.

The aims of the order are varied. However, chief goals include lowering cases of AI-enabled fraud by establishing standards for detecting AI-generated content, protecting user privacy by passing bipartisan data privacy legislation, and lowering cases of algorithmic discrimination through improved training and legal protocols.

Aside from standing up for “consumers, workers, and students” the directive also addresses concerns around national security, by making sure all AI developers test their products for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks.

Under the bill, which White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed claims to be the “strongest set of actions” any government has taken to safeguard AI, companies are also required to share the results of these tests with the US government.

“It’s the next step in an aggressive strategy to do everything on all fronts to harness the benefits of AI and mitigate the risks,” – White House Deputy Chief of Staff, Bruce Reed

This order comes three months after several AI developers volunteered to watermark content created by the technology, and seven months after the Biden Administration sought public feedback on how AI developers like OpenAI and Google could be held more accountable.

AI Development is Still Outpacing Regulation

Biden’s new order is thorough and wide-ranging. However, the US’s legal response to AI has been sluggish compared to that of many European countries.

Before this directive was unveiled, the US government had previously issued no official AI-focused executive order, despite multiple campaigns signed by high-profile backers calling for a six-month pause of AI development, and OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman himself claiming that “if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong”.

In contrast, the European Union (EU) passed the EU AI Act in early 2023, which is a risk-based approach that categorizes AI systems into four distinct categories: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk, and minimal risk.

The act – which almost led ChatGPT to be banished from the continent alltogether – also forced AI developers to disclose what copyrighted materials were used in the development of their systems, to ensure artists, musicians, and writers were able to be recognized for their work.

Britain’s to Host Global Summit on Dangers of AI

The White House’s New AI directive was published just days after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered a speech about the rapid development of AI-systems.

In the speech, Sunak claimed that AI has the power to “enhance” terrorist capabilities, including in propaganda, attack planning, and the development of bioweapons. The PM also warned that if the rate of AI development is maintained, it’s wider threat to humanity “cannot be ruled out”.

Sunak’s public address was a prelude to the UK AI Safety Summit, which will be held in Bletchley Park this week. The summit will bring global leaders from around the world together to discuss potential threats around the technology and set a new global regulatory agenda.

As concerns around the ethics of AI reach fever pitch, both Biden’s executive order and the UK’s AI summit clearly mark a step in the right direction, especially as no global legislation on artificial intellegence currently exsists.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become arguably the most important technology in the business world over the last few years. Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT have become valuable tools for employees, while other intelligent features are being injected into every business software under the sun.

As a result, businesses are trying to understand exactly how to use the technology to its full potential. The problem? AI is evolving at such a rate that keeping up with all the trends can be nearly impossible if you aren’t making a concerted effort.

Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. We’ve collected a myriad of important AI statistics, many of which are from our own Impact of Technology on the Workplace report, so you can get a better picture of how AI is impacting the business world today.

In this guide:

• AI Job Replacement Statistics
• Artificial Intelligence Growth Statistics
• AI in the Workplace Statistics
• AI Ethics Statistics
• Popular AI Models, Uses, and Benefits
• The Future of AI in Business

AI Workplace Impact Statistics

1. Artificial intelligence is expected to create 133 million new jobs by 2030 (McKinsey)

Let’s start off with the good news. Although there’s a lot of talk about the negative impact AI may have on jobs, some sources, such as McKinsey, predict that 133 million new roles will be created as they’re gradually incorporated into existing business infrastructures. But this isn’t the only study about AI replacing jobs that’s been released recently.

2. 46% of senior leaders currently value AI skills as “very or extremely important” in hiring decisions. (Tech.co)

The Impact of Technology in the Workplace study from Tech.co found that AI is becoming a much more popular, with nearly half of seniors leaders noting that proficiency with the tech is a highly sought-after skill for hiring. Our research also found that businesses aren’t as eager to replace workers with robots just yet, with only a 6% increase year-on-year for AI job replacement.

3. Artificial intelligence could already replace the equivalent of 300 million jobs (Goldman Sachs)

This much-written-about figure made the headlines back in March, around the same time that Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, was released.

Goldman Sachs says that the rapid changes to our economy spurred on by AI development and adoption could drive “a 7% (or almost $7 trillion) increase in global GDP and lift productivity growth by 1.5 percentage points over a 10-year period.” The multinational bank also says that around two-thirds of US jobs are currently “exposed” to automation.

4. 78% of legal occupations are now influenced by AI, more than any other occupation (Semrush)

The legal world has been influenced by AI more than any other field, with life, physical, and social occupations in a distant second. Office and administrative occupations – which many people believe to be the most at-risk category of job roles – came in third.

Source: Forrester 2023 Generative AI Impact Forecast

5. Low-paid workers are more likely to be replaced by AI than high-paid workers (BIS)

A study from the Bank of International Settlements found that low wage workers were more likely to be replaced by AI than high wage workers. This is due to the fact that AI is more likely to be able to accomplish the entirety of the core task in low wage jobs, whereas high wage jobs require the human element, which AI can only partially provide.

Artificial Intelligence Growth Statistics

1. The AI market is expected to experience an annual growth rate of 37.3% from 2023 to 2030 (Grand View Research)

Grand View Research explains that the “essential fact” that’s seeing the AI market grow rapidly is the datasets accessible to companies building LLMs. “Technology has always been an essential element for these industries,” the research organization explains, “but artificial intelligence (AI) has brought technology to the center of organizations.”

2. By 2030, the artificial intelligence market is projected to be worth over $1.3 trillion (Markets and Markets)

AI really is here to stay — and companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have not found it difficult to secure various rounds of seed funding to continue their research and improve their large language models. With AI set to play an increasingly pivotal role in business operations, it’s not surprising that the market is set to grow exponentially over the next next seven years.

3. 44% of businesses are seeing at least a high return-on-investment from AI spend. (Tech.co)

It’s safe to assume that your AI dollars aren’t going to waste, with the Impact of Technology on the Workplace report from Tech.co finding that 32% of businesses are seeing a high return-on-investment, with 12% seeing a very high return on top of that. All that to say, you should feel comfortable put your dollars behind this new technology.

4. AI could increase the GDP of the US by 1.8% (MIT Sloan)

The number might not sound big, but with AI’s potential to replace as much as 20% of all jobs, it’s easy to see why it could have an impact on GPD. The technology could account for as much as 1.8% over time, according to a 2025 study from MIT Sloan.

AI in the Workplace Statistics

1. 61% of employees say that AI implementation has either slightly or significantly improved their work life balance. (Tech.co)

The use of AI has made life a little bit easier for employees in 2024, with 38% senior leaders noting that AI has slightly improved their work life balance, while 23% have said it significantly improves work life balance.

2. Employees using ChatGPT performed tasks 40% faster than those without. (Bipartisan Policy Center)

AI is actually helping employees get work done faster rather than replacing them, with those using platforms like ChatGPT completing tasks 44% faster than those without. On top of that, those using these platforms also had 18% better output quality.

3. 63% of businesses cite “inaccuracy” as the greatest risk AI poses to their organization (McKinsey)

Out of all the risks posed by AI, businesses are most worried about inaccuracies – or “hallucinations” – generated by AI tools. However, cybersecurity and intellectual property theft rank highly too. While respondents are more likely than they were last year to mitigate the risk of inaccuracy, the level of response is still inadequate.

Source: McKinsey’s State of Generative AI in 2024 report.

4. 43% of senior leaders that use AI are using it to streamline writing tasks. (Tech.co)

It’s no surprise that writing tasks are the primary target for AI usage, with the generative AI platforms like ChatGPT providing a surprisingly impressive means of creating copy from a simple prompt. Other popular use cases include data analysis (37%) and customer support chatbots (33%).

5. 65% of companies are using AI internally, while 74% are testing it (Deloitte)

The vast majority of companies have officially jumped on the AI bandwagon. A huge proportion of companies are using AI internally and an even larger percentage claiming to be “testing” the technology. So, there’s a very small percentage who are yet to explore what AI can do for them.

AI Ethics Statistics

1. 68% of business leaders think it’s unethical for employees to use AI tools without the permission of a manager (Tech.co)

According to a Tech.co survey, the vast majority of business leaders think their employees should be checking in with their employer, manager, or supervisor before they use AI tools in the workplace. However, 12.3% of respondents said they expect their employees to use AI tools, and they don’t need permission to do so.

2. AI-related infrastructure could soon consume six times more water than Denmark, a country with a population of 6 million (arxiv)

Unfortunately, all the computing power needed to train an AI is becoming a bit of a problem for the environment. Some estimates show that just the water required to cool down data centers and other AI infrastructure is far more than that needed for entire countries to survive.

3. 68% of consumers are concerned about misinformation generated by AI-powered technology (Statista)

Misinformation spread across the internet via social media platforms quickly enough without the help of powerful AI tools like ChatGPT, and this study found that search engine queries about the topic are filled with concerns, with the majority worried about the impacts of AI.

4. 35% of businesses do not regulate how employees can use AI chatbots at work. (Tech.co)

Despite the huge implications of using the technology at work, senior leaders are not caught up on regulating the tech, with not even a majority regulating how employees can use the tech. Even worse, only 27% of businesses have a clear, written AI policy in place that can handle concerns.

5. Half of users over 45 years old do not trust AI to make ethical decisions. (Statista)

Whether or not those using AI is one thing, but with the technology being given more and more control over how things operate, trust in its decisions is paramount. However, a slim majority do not believe in AI to make ethical decisions, which could create a long term issue for the tech.

Popular AI Models, Uses, Benefits, and Problems

1. Claude was visited by 72.9 million users per month in June 2024 – but ChatGPT hit 2.4 billion (SimilarWeb)

According to the most recent data available on SimilarWeb, while Claude has steadily grown its user base to tens of millions since its launch in March 2023, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to ChatGPT’s 2.4 billion users.

2. AI is expected to improve employee productivity by 40% (PwC)

According to research from PwC, AI is set to improve the productivity of knowledge workers by as much as 40%.

 3. Chatbots are set to become primary support channel for one quarter of all companies by 2027 (Dashly)

We’ve likely all interacted with a chatbot at some stage of our lives. But Dashly estimates that by 2027, one quarter of all companies will use them as the primary customer support channel.

4. 22% of firms are “aggressively pursuing” AI integration (CompTIA)

Almost one quarter of companies are “aggressively pursuing” AI integration across a range of products and workflows, as per a new report from CompTIA.

5. 11% of businesses have banned the use of AI chatbots entirely for security purposes. (Tech.co)

Security concerns and general functionality have scared many businesses off from using the technology until it has a better footing in the tech industry, with a not insignificant portion of senior leaders full-on banning the tech at their businesses.

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a natural language processing chatbot powered by the GPT family of large language models. It was launched on November 30, 2022, quickly gaining millions of users within days and dwarfing the post-launch sign-up rates of the likes of Facebook.

In 2024, ChatGPT is one of the most widely used online tools in the world, with businesses finding new ways to put it to work on an almost daily basis. Now, users can even build their own, custom versions of ChatGPT, and there’s a version specifically designed for enterprises who want to incorporate it into their existing software infrastructure.

But what is ChatGPT, what is it primarily used for, and what’s actually happening behind the scenes when it generates intelligent, human-like answers? We’ll answer all of these questions and more in this comprehensive guide to the world’s most famous chatbot.

• What Is ChatGPT?
• How Popular is ChatGPT?
• How Does ChatGPT Work?
• What Is ChatGPT Used For
• What Is the ChatGPT Official Website?
• How to Sign Up for ChatGPT
• Is there a ChatGPT Mobile App?
• ChatGPT Pricing: Is ChatGPT Free?
• Using ChatGPT Sensibly

What Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a generally available natural language processing tool that has been powered by the GPT family of large language models since its release. Language models are probabilistic models that predict word sequences based on training data. Large language models (LLMs) use deep learning techniques to reach higher levels of linguistic understanding and capability.

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer. GPT models are pre-trained on huge corpora of unlabeled text data. What is learned from these datasets is then used by ChatGPT to generate responses to queries from users in real-time.

ChatGPT is owned and maintained by AI startup OpenAI. Microsoft has invested around $13 billion in the company since 2019. Over the past year and a half, several ChatGPT alternatives have been launched, including Google’s Bard and Anthropic’s Claude.

How Popular Is ChatGPT?

Now you’re clued in on what ChatGPT is, here are a few facts about the chatbot that illustrate just how popular it has become.

• More than 180 million people used ChatGPT in August 2023
• ChatGPT receives around 10 million daily queries
• OpenAI spends around $700,000 a day to keep ChatGPT going
• 2 million people in the US pay for ChatGPT Plus
• ChatGPT became the fastest-growing platform in history after it launched*

*This record was later broken by Meta’s Threads app.

How Does ChatGPT Work?

ChatGPT is powered by the GPT family of language models. When it was initially released, it used the GPT-3 large language model to generate responses. In 2024, the free version of ChatGPT is powered using GPT-3.5, while the paid version is powered using GPT-4.

As we’ve covered, GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, which is a type of Large Language Model. GPT models are trained on a corpus of text data that includes internet resources like webpages, documents, files, books, and stories.

GPT-4 has more “parameters” than GPT-3.5. Parameters are adjustable components of large language models that play a central role in transforming inputs into outputs. The more parameters, the larger and more powerful the model is.

The GPT models use finely tuned, specialized algorithms to look for patterns and sequences in the training data – the underlying structures that exist in all written text.

This is an example of “non-supervised learning” – which is the kind of learning that ChatGPT does. When it is trained, inputs (i.e. text to respond to) are not associated with any specific outputs. This is why ChatGPT is better at understanding the intricacies of human thought, speech, and written messages unlike, say, a “help” bot you might find on a website.

For comparison, these customer support chatbots – which are simpler and more limited – use a method called “supervised learning” – where inputs and outputs are tied together. This is why they appear more mechanical and don’t answer questions cogently anywhere near as often as ChatGPT does.

Although ChatGPT is extremely capable and useful thanks to its complex training processes, they’re not perfect, nor is ChatGPT powered by a human mind.

Logical and factual inconsistencies are common, as is the generation of false information. Instances of this are commonly referred to as hallucinations. Some requests that pit different parts of ChatGPT’s logical infrastructure against one another can also lead to strange outputs being generated.

This is a simple explanation of an incredibly complex process, but at its core, that’s how ChatGPT works. Due to the fact that the human experience is full of biases, ChatGPT will and does exhibit some biases as it picks apart the underlying structures that written text is based on.

This is one of several ethical issues surrounding the continued use of artificial intelligence.

Posing an ethical question to ChatGPT.

What Is ChatGPT Used For?

ChatGPT’s use cases are almost endless – people have been using it to complete all sorts of work. Some of its most popular use cases include:

• Summarizing documents and files
• Paraphrasing complex text
• Generating teaching materials (e.g. questions)
• Creating formulas for spreadsheets
• Coding duties in various programming languages
• Analyzing and interpreting data
• Brainstorming and generating ideas
• Proofreading (but not fact-checking*)
• Generating content (articles, product descriptions)
• Reviewing legal and financial documents
• Customer support/service (API)

ChatGPT is much easier to use if you use specific ChatGPT prompts, which elicit specific, useful responses from ChatGPT because they’re designed to minimize confusion.

*ChatGPT is trained on data in a set that was compiled before 2021. This means that it struggles to give accurate answers about events that took place after this time.

Generating formulas with ChatGPT.

What Is the ChatGPT Official Website?

You can access ChatGPT – as well as image generator DALL-E – through OpenAI’s website. However, you can also access it directly through the ChatGPT login page.

If a website is claiming to give you access to ChatGPT outside of the OpenAI domain, treat it with extreme caution. As with all popular websites and tools, it didn’t take long after ChatGPT’s launch for scammers to start to impersonate it.

ChatGPT and AI scams are now extremely common, so it’s crucial you keep your wits about you when using these sorts of tools online.

How to Sign Up for ChatGPT

If you want to sign up for ChatGPT, you’ll need an email address and your phone number to log in. You’ll also need to create a strong, unique password, which is particularly important if you’re going to be using ChatGPT to review things like confidential documents.

OpenAI requires you to hand over your mobile phone number because it stops people from just constantly making accounts with new email addresses. However, once more, it’s also worth bearing in mind that you can’t really use the service anonymously – another factor worth considering when you use it.

Is There a ChatGPT Mobile App?

Yes – ChatGPT now has an official app for Android and iOS, so you can use the chatbot on the go. The app is rated 4.7/5 on the Google Play store and 4.9/5 on the Apple Store.

There are lots of fake ChatGPT apps floating around these marketplaces, so be careful that you’ve definitely got the official app in front of you before you download anything.

ChatGPT Pricing: Is ChatGPT Free?

Yes – there’s a free version of ChatGPT that’s been available since the November 2022 launch. You can get chatting by signing up in the way described above. The free version of ChatGPT is powered by GPT-3.5.

There is also a premium version of ChatGPT called ChatGPT Plus. It costs $20 per month to use, but it utilizes GPT-4 rather than GPT-3.5, which is a lot more powerful. GPT-3.5 has over 175 billion parameters, but GPT-4 has 1.7 trillion.

OpenAI will now also provide developers with the ChatGPT API, which means they can incorporate ChatGPT into their products, services, and business infrastructure.

Planning a trip to Athens, Greece, with ChatGPT’s free version.

Using ChatGPT Sensibly

Throughout this guide, we’ve made reference to a few of the “problems” that are baked into ChatGPT’s mechanisms, as well as the fact many scammers are hopping on the AI bandwagon and using it to con unsuspecting targets through various means.

There are other things worth considering firstly when using ChatGPT, and secondly when looking for AI tools for other uses online.

When using ChatGPT

If you’re using ChatGPT at work, always be transparent about your usage with your manager and follow your business’s AI guidelines if they exist. Always proofread work created by ChatGPT, especially if it’s for public consumption or being sent to clients and customers.

Ensure that you’re given the all-clear to input certain types of information for ChatGPT to review, and we’d recommend deleting conversations that include personal or sensitive information once you feel the chatbot has served its purpose.

As you should with any software or service, ensure you read through ChatGPT’s privacy policy and find out how OpenAI may use your data. For example, conversations you have with ChatGPT might be re-used for training purposes.

When looking for other AI tools online

If you want to use another AI tool, conduct extensive background research. As we’ve said previously, there are quite a few apps on the app store that claim to be useful AI tools, but are severely limited and will coax you into paying hefty subscription fees after only a short period of use.

Google’s Bard, Anthropic’s Claude, and Perplexity.ai are three alternative chatbots that you can use to get started and are perfectly safe. You might also find Grok vs ChatGPT an interesting new chatbot clash to consider. But if you’re hooked on ChatGPT like the rest of the world, then you may not have to.

Budget ecommerce platforms Temu and Shein have both asked for the lawsuits they filed against one another during the past twelve months to be dropped, according to recent reports.

The move ushers in a legal ceasefire between the two warring brands, but it’s unclear at present as to why they pushed for the cases to be dismissed. Neither company has provided an explanation for the seemingly coordinated decision, and it seems no settlements have been paid.

Why Have Temu and Shein Been Fighting?

Both online retailers have filed wholly separate legal against one another, with Temu filing in Boston in July of this year and Shein filing in Chicago in December 2022.

According to Reuters, Shein alleges that Temu paid social media influencers to badmouth the company and also created “imposter” accounts to push their app, tricking consumers into thinking that Shein and Temu are the same brand.

Temu, on the other hand, accused Shein of breaking antitrust laws by making manufacturers sign “loyalty oaths” to stop them from doing business with Temu. Shein responded at the time, saying the lawsuit was “without merit”.

Who Owns Temu and Shein, and What Are They Worth?

Temu is owned by PDD Holdings, a Chinese company founded by Colin Huang in 2015. Huang was recently listed as China’s third-richest man, with a net worth of $37.2 billion.

PDD Holdings also owns Pinduoduo, another online retailer that focuses on the agricultural industry. Its market cap is around $141.96 billion.

Shein was founded back in 2008 in China, but the company is now headquartered in Singapore. It now has over 10,000 employees.

It was created and is still primarily owned by Chris Xu – although very little is known about the now-billionaire, who is considered rather illusive when compared to the celebrity of Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent’s Pony Ma.

In 2022, Shein was said to be worth around $100 billion – but its market cap is now around $64 billion.

Temu and Shein: Are They Worth it?

Temu and Shein both offer clothes at astonishingly low prices – and naturally, the more difficult the economic climate, the more people are going to be looking for cheap deals. Those feeling the pinch are more than prepared to broaden their shopping horizons.

For many right now, western retailers like Amazon just don’t cut it – and when they’re hiking their premium service subscriptions in some territories, the average shopper needs very little motivation to look elsewhere.

However, if you’re shopping on a site like Temu or Wish, make sure to read through ample reviews of the products you’re purchasing-  just like you would on Amazon. However, although Temu is a legitimate website, the quality of some products has been criticized online. So, it’s important to keep your wits about you when ordering, particularly if you’re purchasing cosmetics or kitchen items.

You’ve probably heard of both Bard and ChatGPT by now. However, another highly capable chatbot burst onto the scene earlier in 2023, called Claude. It comes courtesy of Google and Amazon-backed startup Anthropic, which was only founded in 2021.

Claude is definitely one of the most impressive chatbots to be launched in since the AI boom began. More than 350,000 people signed up to the waitlist to use Claude 2, the second version of the language model, before it was released last year. Claude 2.1 was launched in November, making it the company’s most advanced language model in 2024.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly what Claude is, how it works, and all about its parent company, Anthropic. You’ll also see how Claude differs from ChatGPT in key areas.

• What Is Anthropic AI?
• Who Owns Anthropic, and Who Funds It?
• What is Claude AI? An Intro to the Chatbot
• 8 Questions with Claude [Test]
• Claude Pricing & Tokens Explained
• Claude vs ChatGPT: Key Differences
• Should You Use Claude AI?

What Is Anthropic AI?

Anthropic is an AI startup company based in San Francisco, California. The company describes itself as an AI “safety and research” business and focuses focused on creating “reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.”

It was founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei, and now has more than 150 employees.

Anthropic is classed as a public-benefit company – a corporation that is set up to make a profit, but is doing so by working on something that will have a positive impact on humanity.

Anthropic largely focuses its work on building large language models (LLM) and the chatbots that subsequently use them. Its most famous offering so far is Claude, which a sophisticated chatbot similar to ChatGPT.

Who Owns Anthropic, and Who Funds it?

Anthropic is still headed up by founders Dario and Daniela Amodei, who are CEO and President respectively. They were previously senior figures at OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT.

GPT-3 engineer Tom Brown and fellow Co-founder Sam McCandlish are also among the ranks, along with other former OpenAI employees.

During Anthropic’s first funding round, which took place in early 2021, the company raised an impressive $124 million – which included investment from Skype Co-founder Jaan Tallin.

In 2023, Google invested almost $400 million in the startup and took a 10% stake in the company – then, it stumped up a further $2 billion in October.  Later on in the year, Amazon pledged up to $4 billion, and as part of the latter deal, Amazon employees and cloud customers will get early access to the technology.

2024 is likely to contain much of the same for Anthropic, with reports suggesting the company has plans to raise even more funds to continue their research and development.

What is Claude AI? An Intro to the Chatbot

Claude is an AI assistant (i.e. chatbot) developed by Anthropic. It was first released in March 2023, powered by the language model Claude 1.3. However, a second version – powered by a language model called Claude 2 – was released in July 2023. As we covered in the introduction, in November 2022 Claude 2.1 was released, which is the latest version of Claude currently available in 2024.

Anthropic also says Claude 2 scores higher on Bar tests and that it was twice as good at giving “harmless” responses. However, its dataset was cut off in 2022 and it can’t connect to the internet, so it struggles to give accurate answers relating to events that happened after that point in time.

Anthropic has also released another, nimbler, lighter model that gives quicker responses, called Claude Instant. The company says that this version of Claude is lighter and quite a bit faster than Claude 2, but that Claude 2 is better at complex reasoning and the more powerful offering overall.

Claude expanded its “context window” from 9,000 tokens to 100,000 tokens in May 2023 shortly before releasing Claude 2. This means it can handle inputs of around 75,000 words, so businesses can submit huge reams of documentation for Claude to analyze. However, Claude 2.1 now has a 200K context window, which can help reduce rates of hallucination even further, Anthropic says.

Should You Use Claude AI?

Having written about the AI revolution and the expansion of the chatbot ecosystem for some time now, I’ve used Claude regularly since its release.

Aside from Bard and ChatGPT, I’d say it’s probably the most capable chatbot I’ve tested. Its answers are more cogent than the likes of Character AI, and it’s actually got a really sleek, welcoming interface.

If you’d like to find out how Claude 2, Bard and various chatbots compare, check out our guide to the best ChatGPT alternatives.

8 Questions to Ask Claude

To give you a little bit of a taste of what Claude is like to use and what the interface looks like, I asked the chatbot a series of different questions. Here’s how it responded:

Claude Pricing & Tokens Explained

You can use Claude for free, but you’ll be limited. Now, you can purchase Claude Pro – which was first released in September 2023 – for $20 per month. This makes it the same price as ChatGPT Plus, the paid-for version of the popular chatbot that will let you install ChatGPT plugins, among other paywalled features.

Claude Pro will give you five times as much usage as the free plan, as well as early access to new Claude features.

However, if you’re going to be using Claude a lot, there’s another way you can pay for access to the standard version of Claude as well as the “Claude Instant” version discussed above.

The cost of Claude and Claude Instant, in this case, will depend on how many tokens you buy. “Tokens” are very tiny elements of a language model – they can correspond to words, subwords, characters, and bytes, says Anthropic, which describes them as “atoms”. When you input a prompt into Claude, it’s then converted into tokens.

Claude Instant tokens cost $0.80 per million for prompts and $2.40 per million for completion (i.e. outputs). Claude tokens cost $8.00 per million for prompts and $24.00 per million for completion – all of these price points have been reduced since the launch of Claude 2.1, which now has the most expensive tokens. Here’s the full pricing model:

Claude AI and ChatGPT: Key Differences

Claude is a robust and well-engineered AI chatbot, and it’s a good option to have in your back pocket if ChatGPT goes down. but there are some key differences between Claude  and ChatGPT are good to know about before you start using either chatbot.

Language model

Claude is the name given to both the Chatbot and the large language model developed by Anthropic. It is trained on over 137 billion text and code parameters – the same as Meta’s Llama 2.

Parameters are different variables that are learned by an LLM during training, ones that can be adjusted to sculpt the way it replies to responses. Generally, more parameters mean a more powerful language model.

ChatGPT’s free version uses GPT-3.5, trained on 175 billion parameters – so it’s not that much larger than Claude. GPT-4, which powers the paid version, is trained on an enormous set of 1.5 trillion parameters.

Data retention and usage

Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in 2022, privacy advocates have been demanding more information about how the chatbot utilizes user data. OpenAI has always been open about the fact that ChatGPT saves data, that user conversations might be used for AI training purposes, and that these may even be seen by humans working at the company. However, the company will retain your conversations for up to 30 days after you delete them.

Anthropic’s Claude will save your conversations too. The company says that it will “automatically delete prompts and outputs on the backend within 90 days of receipt or generation unless you and we agree otherwise”, and that it won’t “use your conversations in our consumer or beta/evaluation services to train our model.” The only exception is if you’re flagged for a trust and safety review.

Response moderation

One big difference between ChatGPT and Claude is that Claude is generally considered better at consistently producing safe responses. The reason? Claude is built with something called Constitutional AI.

Claude is given a set of values that its answers have to adhere to and can then fine-tune itself using the constitution, rather than waiting for human feedback and input, which is how ChatGPT learns what responses it should refuse to answer.

In one phase of model training, Claude was asked to “critique and revise its own responses using the set of principles and a few examples of the process”. In the second phase, reinforcement learning is used to train the model further, but as we’ve covered, it generates its own feedback for itself using the constitution.

Context window size

As we mentioned above, Claude 2 has a context window of 100K tokens, or around 75,000 words – which means you can, in theory, upload large reports, legal documents, etc. However, Claude 2.1 has a much larger context window of 200K tokens – about 150,000 words. This makes it a particularly attractive prospect for Enterprises, as Claude will be able to deal with huge inputs and relay more accurate responses due to the context window.

GPT-3.5 Turbo has a context window of 4,097 tokens, while GPT-3.5-16K has a context window of about 16,385 tokens. GPT-4, which is only available to ChatGPT Plus customers, has a context window of more than 32,000.

Subscribers to rival AI chatbot Perplexity’s Pro account can now also use Claude’s long context window of 100,000.

Revenue

A final big difference is the company’s revenues. Anthropic predicts to make at least $850 million in annualized earnings during 2024.

ChatGPT, on the other hand, is creeping towards $1 billion annual revenue. It’s used by more people and now has a premium version itself. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean either company is hyper-profitable. It costs around $700,000 per day just to keep ChatGPT up and running and responding to user queries.

Google Maps has added a whole bunch of features that are powered by artificial intelligence, allowing you to more effectively reach your destination without getting lost.

While Google is all about providing a seamless experience that doesn’t require a lot of instruction, new features always have a bit of a learning curve. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to take advantage of these new Google Maps features, including Immersive View and Google Lens in Maps.

What Is Google Maps?

If you don’t know, Google Maps is the popular web mapping service from Google that provides directions to users, as well as a wide range of business information, traffic updates, and route planning.

In a blog post this week, Google announced a wide range of new AI-powered features that will make the service that much more impactful when it comes to planning your next trip, and we’ll go through each of them below.

Immersive View for Routes

The Immersive View for Routes feature is a pretty cool one for those planning their routes with Google Maps. Rather than a standard map setup, this view will give you a realistic view of the buildings, scenery, and weather conditions you might see along the way.

This groundbreaking feature was announced in May 2022, and we haven’t gotten many updates since then. However, this week, the feature will be rolling out to select cities, so you can finally get the immersive view of your route in the Google Maps app on iOS and Android.

As for how, the process is fortunately quite simple. All you have to do is set up your route like you always do. Then, instead of the street view window, you’ll find it has been replaced by the Immersive View window in the bottom left corner of the screen. Once you click on that, you’ll be taken to the route preview, which will take you to the new interface.

Take note, the Immersive View for Routes feature is not widely available to all users just yet. You’ll have to be in one of the cities that have already rolled it out, which includes Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Paris, Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Tokyo, and Venice. The feature will be coming to more cities soon, though, so be patient and you’ll be getting in-depth directions in no time.

Immersive View for routes in action
Image: Google

Google Lens in Maps

Lens is the image recognition technology offered by Google, which allows you to take a picture of a particular item and it can tell you what it is, within a reasonable doubt. However, the technology hasn’t been available on Google Maps… until now.

Google Lens in Maps is a helpful and effective tool for understanding your surroundings a bit better. It uses image recognition technology to show you exactly where your destination is with Google Map indicators displayed on top of your in-person camera view.

Again, this feature is quite easy to use once you know where to look. In your basic view of Google Maps, look up at the search bar at the top of the screen. Click the Google Lens icon (a small camera), which should be next to the microphone icon. This will open your camera up, giving you the option to choose what kind of establishment you’re looking for (restaurant, bar, salon, etc.). The screen will then display all of locations within your parameters when you point your camera in that direction.

Detailed Map Functionality

While this isn’t necessarily a new feature, it does provide a convenient update that will make driving in particular that much easier. After all, new features aren’t helpful if the basic Google Maps interface doesn’t work for you. In this new update, the Google Maps interface gets a substantial improvement, allowing for in-depth map details that can help you along your route.

More specifically, Google Maps will now alert US drivers when an HOV (carpool) lane is available on the way to their destination. For European users, AI-powered speed limit information will now be available directly on screen, so you can see if your kilometers are getting to dangerous new heights.

Fortunately, you don’t have to do anything to utilize these new features. Just make sure you have the updated version of the app and that you’re living in a city that has rolled out these features, then keep an eye out for these new features on your next trip.

Improved EV Charging Information

Electric vehicles are a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to get around your city. However, unless you have a charging dock at home, you’ll have to find a charging station to fill up your ride, and they aren’t as easy to find as the nearest gas station. Fortunately, Google Maps just changed that.

With this new feature, electric vehicle drivers will be able to get detailed information about EV charging stations near them. Not just location either; you’ll be able to see what kind of charging stations are available and how fast they can charge your vehicle.

To utilize this handy feature, you don’t have to put much work in. Simply search for charging stations on Google Maps, and you’ll see a selection of options pop up, just like if you were searching for a bar or restaurant. Then, just scroll up from the bottom, and you’ll be privileged to all the new information you need to get your car charged up fast.

Image-First Results in Google Maps Search

Being a visual learner means that your brain is more attuned to seeing images than reading words when looking for something in particular. With Google Maps, these kinds of learners are going to be able to find what they’re looking for a lot faster thanks to image-focused search in Google Maps.

This new update (again, not necessarily a feature) will allow users to do a bit more visual digging for their particular destination. The image-first search results for queries like “animal latte art” or “pumpkin patch with my dog” will bring up images when you scroll up and even show specific images on the map icons.

Again, you don’t have to do much to take advantage of this feature. Just make a search in Google Maps that requires a bit more visual focus, and scroll up from the bottom of the screen to see more images and views that coordinate with your search.

The kids are not alright. At least, that’s what a new claim against Meta says, with 41 states joining various lawsuits that accuse the social media company of nefariously marketing to kids.

Meta is no stranger to controversy. From Facebook and WhatsApp scams to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company is more than familiar with a bit of bad press.

However, this new lawsuit is one of the largest of its kind and could have a lasting impact on social media as a whole if Meta is held accountable.

Meta Sued Over Impact on Children

In a joint lawsuit signed by representatives from 33 different states, Meta is accused of using misleading marketing to encourage and foster addictive behavior in children to improve engagement on its social media platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram.

“Meta has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens. Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms.” – the lawsuit against Meta

On top of that, eight other states have filed separate lawsuits against Meta accusing it of the same behavior, which makes for a total of 41 out of 50 states bringing charges up against the social media company.

How Did Meta Respond?

Considering the size and scope of this lawsuit, Meta was bound to respond with its trademark brand of seemingly feigned shock, and the social media giant, of course, didn’t disappoint.

“We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path.”

Meta also specified that it had made more than 30 different interface updates aimed at protecting children and creating age-appropriate standards for its many young users.

The Fight Against Social Media Addiction

While Meta may have made strides in making its social media platforms more friendly to children overall, the reality is that social media addiction continues to wreak havoc on the wellbeing of its young users.

More and more studies have started coming out that show the negative health impacts of social media on kids. Most have found that children that use social media more often are prone to depression, with suicide rates showing a notable increase since the advent of social media.

“We refuse to allow Meta to trample on our children’s mental and physical health, all to promote its products and increase its profit. We refuse to allow the company to feign ignorance of the harm that’s causing, we refuse to let it continue business as usual.” – Rob Bonta, California Attorney General

As the primary company in the social media world, this lawsuit against Meta could shape how it and other businesses are mandate to deal with children. But given the fact that little more than fines have been levied against Meta for its nefarious actions, we’ll have to wait and see if anything actually happens this time.

Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has added audio and video calling functionality to its app for the very first time. Here’s how to use it or disable it, depending on how you’re feeling about the new feature.

The addition of video calls is the first in a series of new features the social media platform is getting, with the ability to make payments also incoming and rumors that shopping, banking, food delivery and even ridesharing could feature in the Elon Musk owned app’s future.

The tech giant has already undergone a significant transformation since Musk took over the company last year.  The rebrand to X is a major part of that, as is finally sharing ad revenue with creators  and testing out a new subscription fee model.

Call functionality had been teased by Musk for a while prior to its addition, but don’t worry if the thought petrifies you: we’re here to show you how to disable video calling in X right away. Alternatively, here’s how to use it if that’s what you’d prefer to do.

How to Use Video and Audio Calling in X

X released its latest update this Wednesday, and with it the ability to make audio and video calls to your contacts via the Direct Messages section of the app. Prior to this, it was only major social media app that didn’t let you do this.

If you actually want to use this, it’s straightforward and you’ll find it’s turned out by default. That means to use video and/or audio calling in X, all you need to do is go to your Direct Messages, then open a window with the person you want to call.

How to Disable Video and Audio Calling in X

However, if the idea of yet another app for people to call you on is raising your anxiety levels already, it’s easy to disable this feature. Just follow these simple steps:

• Select your profile picture
• Select Settings and support
• Select Settings and privacy
• Select Privacy and safety
• Select Direct messages
• Turn off the slider that says, Enable audio and video calling

If you don’t mind leaving this feature switched on, you can also be more specific about who can call you. Simply select from any combination of the the three check boxes to restrict certain users from contacting you via audio or video call:

• People in your address book
• People you follow
• Verified users

That’s all there is to it. You have now disabled X’s new calling feature, or customized your permissions so you can only use it with people you actually want to speak to.

Could X Become the First True “Everything App”?

The trend for social media platforms across the board to add on features similar to those that once defined their competitors is growing. This has been demonstrated by numerous features such as Stories being used on almost all apps – even LinkedIn briefly gave them a try before ditching the idea in 2021.

Disappearing images, once a unique feature for Snapchat, is now (thankfully) commonplace on virtually all apps. Most recently, Instagram launched its text-based “social conversations” app, Threads, to try and take advantage of the huge number of people searching for legit Twitter alternatives, as X was then called.

Now, X isn’t just playing catch up with features like video calling, it apparently has bigger ideas, with Elon Musk’s grand plan for the platform apparently also including not only direct payments, but everything from shopping and banking to meal delivery and ridesharing.

The idea of becoming an “everything app” carries a certain amount of appeal, especially given X’s difficult year since Musk acquired the platform for $44 billion in October 2022.

Vacation rental giant Airbnb has recently introduced a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered software system to weed out potential party throwers and stop them from making a booking.

Airbnb renting is one of the best side hustles around. However, the risks of your home getting trashed by folks getting trashed has emerged as a real concern in recent years. The scenario has played out all too often in the news, with mass gatherings and raucous parties happening in the homes of unassuming Airbnb hosts all around the world, some of who have been left with hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of damage.

This problem was exacerbated during the pandemic when the usual watering holes that allowed youngsters to let off steam were closed, so house parties became the natural way to bridge the gap.

Airbnb’s Party Ban Gets High-Tech

In 2020, Airbnb announced a global ban on organized parties and open-invite gatherings, led by Naba Banerjee, head of safety and trust at Airbnb. Since then, they’ve reported a 55% reduction in reported parties globally.

Now Airbnb is going one step further. With its reputation as a party-pooper at the point of no return, it is implementing AI in a bid to restore trust in its platform among hosts.

Artificial intelligence lends itself to this kind of task very well, with its ability to process large quantities of data and profile users based on a mixture of their characteristics and their platform usage.

How Does AI Vetting Actually Work?

The AI models look at hundreds of factors, including the reservation’s closeness to the user’s birthday, the user’s age, length of stay, the listing’s proximity to where the user is based, weekend vs. weekday, and whether the listing is in a popular location or during a public holiday.

The software works on a system of probability, “if someone is booking a room during New Year’s Eve for one night only, and they are from the same city as the host, that’s likely to be a party,” says Naba Banerjee, the person in charge of the anti-party strategy at Airbnb in a BBC report.

Ms Banerjee adds that if the AI deems that the risk of a party booking is too high, it will prevent the booking, or instead guide the person to the website of one of its partner hotel companies. She says it is an issue of trust, the company wants to reassure people that they are doing everything they can to stop people breaking this rule.

Will AI Unfairly Profile Younger Renters?

Since the worldwide launch of Banerjee’s party crackdown initiative in May, the company reports that more than 320,000 guests have been blocked or redirected from booking attempts. Its rental terms now include restrictions on under 25s renting, which another factor the AI algorithm will consider in making its decisions.

As with all AI-powered software, from AI website builders to AI resume builders, it should only get better over time. The more data it processes, the more it will learn, and theoretically the better it will get at detecting the people most likely to throw a party.

However, Edward McFowland III, assistant professor of technology and operating management at Harvard Business School, raised the concern that under 25s are at risk of getting shut out of the platform when they need to find a bed for the night. While he is in favor of the benefits, he explained that even a perfectly calibrated AI model can create false negatives.

Ultimately, Airbnb appears to have taken the stance that protecting its hosts is a priority, to increase the inventory on its platform, giving the potential guests more choice for places to stay. This approach seems to be working as the company announced revenue of $2.5 billion in its year-on-year Q2 revenue report, an 18% increase year-over-year indicating travel is on the rise again.

There’s no rest for the wicked, and romance scam artists are constantly hard at work trying to separate lonely victims from their hard-earned funds.

But actually telling scammers apart from innocent people in need can be nerve-wracking. So, the Federal Trade Commission is here to help.

The FTC has compiled a list of the most common tricks that scammers use to establish a romantic connection. It’s based on keyword analysis conducted on thousands of reports from 2022, thanks to work from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network.

Last year, nearly 70,000 victims reported romance scams. Be on the lookout for those with sick relatives, jobs on oil rigs, and a lot more.

“Someone Close to Me Is Sick, Hurt, or in Jail”

Scammers trying to create a romantic connection with their victim don’t have a lot of time. They need to open with a line that will instantly hook someone, and get them to keep responding. Then, once they have someone to talk to, they can steadily get closer over a long period of time.

Finally, they’ll be able to rely on that connection to ask for money, which they’ll likely keep doing as long as they can. So what lines can reel in the most victims?

Likely something related to financial hardships — whether they claim to be facing one themselves, or claim to be able to help their victim avoid one. The most common line, used nearly a quarter (24%) of the time, is “I or someone close to me is sick, hurt, or in jail.”

Here are all of the top eight most frequently used lines, as determined by a study of over 8,000 romance scam reports from last year:

“I’m on an Oil Rig”

You might expect to hear about a fake occupation from a romance scammer — and you keep an eye out for two in particular: A soldier at a far-off military post, or someone on an oil rig.

Why? Because picking these occupations makes it easier to a romance scammer to explain why they’re never able to actually visit. The scammer can then debut a sick relative down the road, giving them an excuse to shake down a victim.

Romance scam losses in 2022 alone added up to a whopping $1.3 billion, with the median amount reported coming in at $4,400.

Common ways a scammer might contact a victim include social media (40% of reported incidents) as well as a dating website or app (19%). When they ask for money, they’ll likely suggest a cryptocurrency exchange or a bank transfer, although they may go for gift cards instead.

Top Tips for Spotting Romance Scammers

But not everyone who texts you to chat will be a scammer. So how can you actually tell who’s who? The FTC has a checklist of suggestions that can help anyone with a shred of doubt about the intentions of the person they’re texting.

According to the FTC, these four tips will help you judge:

• Nobody legit will ever ask you to help—or insist that you invest— by sending cryptocurrency, giving the numbers on a gift card, or by wiring money. Anyone who does is a scammer.
• If someone tells you to send money to receive a package, you can bet it’s a scam.
• Talk to friends or family about a new love interest and pay attention if they’re concerned.
• Try a reverse image search of profile pictures. If the details don’t match up, it’s a scam.

Stay safe, and remember: Don’t give money to anyone on an oil rig.

Widespread layoffs have plagued the tech industry since late 2022. But according to a new study, the worst may well be over.

Earlier this month, a survey found that 29% of business leaders were planning to or currently were conducting layoffs — which is down from 45% in Spring 2023. Granted, that’s still a lot of layoffs on the horizon, but it’s an indication that the rash of job cuts in the sector are slowing down significantly.

The same survey found that many businesses are anticipating a recession, which may have spurred the cost-cutting measures that led to so many job losses in the first place. Here’s what to know about the future of tech industry jobs.

Business Leaders Who Anticipate Future Layoffs Have Fallen by 50% Since Spring 2023

The survey, out from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., polled 200 human resource and business leaders to determine their thoughts on topics including AI, remote work, and employee priorities as well as the present and future of layoff trends.

In addition to a big drop in the number of leaders who plan to issue job cuts currently, the number of respondents who say they “anticipate the need for future layoffs” has been cut in half since this past spring.

Just 4% said they see layoffs in the future, compared to 8% in Spring 2023.

Andrew Challenger, workplace and labor expert and senior vice president at the firm, noted in a statement that the reduction in planned layoffs indicates companies have met their cost-cutting goals earlier in the year.

“We know that many companies have conducted layoffs during the first three quarters of the year, since announcements are up 198% over the same period last year. It seems a lot of the cost-cutting companies planned was carried out prior to the fourth quarter.” -Andrew Challenger

In other words, the onslaught of tech layoffs in Spring 2023 represented the worst of the trend.

76% of Companies Are Cutting Down on Business Travel

With the job cuts on the decline, companies are looking into other ways to reduce business expenses.

The biggest perk on the chopping block is business travel: Over three in four (76%) of the business leaders surveyed said they are cutting costs by reducing travel. That’s up from 59% who said the same in the spring survey.

The rise of remote work might be behind the drop in travel plans, given that workers are much more used to the concept of picking up a video conferencing headset rather than a plane ticket.

Plus, 23.7% said that they were eliminating some other perks, such as free meals or gym memberships, an amount that remains fairly low, even while it has nearly doubled from the 11.8% who said this in Spring 2023.

Remote Work Holds Steady: 54% of Leaders Have No “Return to Office” Plans

Finally, there’s a little good news for those who have been fearing a remote work backlash that could send them back to the physical office for a full five days a week: Over half (54%) of respondents to the recent survey say that they have no plans to drop their remote or hybrid workplace schedules.

This has risen slightly since the spring, when just 42% said they had no return-to-office plans.

The long battle for better workplace flexibility continues to rage, and despite some high-profile moves — like Amazon’s recent decision to give managers the ability to lay off those who rejected a return to the physical office — this new survey is evidence that many workplaces are accepting a new, more much flexible normal.

And, fingers crossed, tech layoffs will continue to slow as businesses everywhere figure out how to do the best by their employees.

Another week, another generative AI feature being tested by Google. Although this time, we’re not talking about using Google’s AI image generator or an AI security update to Google Workspaces, but rather new developments in its ads business.

On an earnings call this week, Google confirmed that it’s working on creating different ad formats for its generative AI-powered search experience.

While no introduction date has been discussed, it’s speculated that the rollout is imminent. Which is just as well, as Google’s attempt to diversify its revenue has not been as successful as hoped, meaning ads are more important now than ever.

The Shift From Traditional Search is On

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai led the 2023 third quarter earnings call in which the new native ad formats were announced. He stated that the company plans to ensure customers’ Search Generative Experiences (SGE) are “customized” at every step of the search journey.

While specifics around the formats weren’t shared, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said “advertisers [will] still have the opportunity to reach potential customers along their Search journeys.”

Despite it being early days for the project, Pichai said he felt confident that a shift from traditional search to a new one was underway, leaving plenty of opportunity for AI innovation within the space:

“We’ve always worked through these transitions, be it from desktop to mobile, or from now mobile to an AI-enhanced experience. I feel very comfortable that as we go through it, the strength of our teams – both on the organic side as well as on the ad side – to drive the right experience for users, including ads, will pay dividends.” 

Customization at the Heart of Google’s Ads Model

Google first introduced its AI-powered search experience back in May, at the Google I/O developer conference. The new functionality meant generative AI would do “a lot of the heavy lifting” of search, helping users understand information faster and with better context, viewpoints, and insights. 

A single search question would provide key information along with links to dig deeper and the opportunity to ask follow-up questions, in a new conversational style. The feature was first available to users in US and later to those in Japan and India.

This latest announcement is set to build upon that functionality by embedding customized ads with a sponsored tag. The example Google gave was if you were searching for a surfing experience in Maio, the SGE may show you a customized ad for related travel experiences in the area.

You Can Rely on Ad Revenue

While Google has made several recent attempts to diversify revenues source – through Cloud, hardware, and services – ads are its failsafe area. In Q3 2023 alone, the majority of the overall $76.7 billion revenue was made up of $59.7 billion from ads.

Ads are quite simply big business, so it pays to be invested.

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