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☆ 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50: #31 Zum CEO on electrifying American school buses
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email2024 CNBC Disruptor 50: #31 Zum CEO on electrifying American school busesRitu Narayan, Zum CEO, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss using electric school buses across America and the big win for the company in Oakland, Calif.

Persons: Narayan Organizations: CNBC Locations: America, Oakland, Calif

☆ A half-million school buses across US could become an EV battery powerhouse feeding the grid
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The company's goal is to add 10,000 bidirectional EV school buses across the U.S. with 300 gigawatt hours of energy available to power grids each year. In effect, instead of the one-way charge into the vehicle, the school buses will be able to send their battery power back to the grid through Zum charging infrastructure. The roughly 500,000 school buses are mostly diesel, contributing to emissions. Ram Ambatipudi, senior vice president of business development at EV Connect, which provides EV charging solutions, said the school bus model is one of the most promising in the area of using EV battery storage in a bidirectional nature. "The low-hanging fruit from what I've seen is the school bus model," Ambatipudi said.

Persons: Ritu Narayan, Ram Ambatipudi, Ambatipudi, It's Organizations: San, San Francisco Unified, Los Angeles Unified, Oakland Unified, EV Connect, Ford Locations: California, San Francisco, Oakland, California , Colorado , Connecticut , Illinois, Maryland , Massachusetts , Missouri , Nebraska , Pennsylvania, Tennessee , Texas, Washington , Utah, Virginia, U.S

☆ How to drive bias out of AI without making mistakes of Google Gemini
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Bob Violino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this photo illustration, a Gemini logo is seen displayed on a smartphone with a Google logo in the background. "However, depending on the data that Gen AI is trained on, the model learns and reflects that in its outputs," he said. Crucial to managing issues of potential bias in AI is to have clear processes in place and prioritize responsible AI from the beginning, said Joe Atkinson, chief products and technology officer at consulting firm PwC. "For example, a healthcare chatbot powered by generative AI can provide explanations for its diagnoses and treatment recommendations, helping patients understand the underlying factors and mitigating potential biases in medical advice." Diversity in AI development teams, dataCompanies also need to create diverse and inclusive development teams.

Persons: Siva Ganesan, Joe Atkinson, Atkinson, Ritu Jyoti, Jyoti, Ganesan Organizations: Google, Cloud, Tata Consultancy Services, International Data Corp

☆ A working mother built a $1.3 billion startup inspired by unreliable school buses: It was ‘an aha moment’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sometimes, the school bus arrived on time to pick up Ritu Narayan's children. Narayan's solution: She left her job to create Zum, an AI-backed electric school bus service that launched in 2015. It started as something of a self-funded Uber, chauffeuring kids to school with a fleet of vetted private drivers. Instead, the schools offered to enlist Zum as a privatized school bus fleet, with electric vehicles and tracking abilities. Narayan faced a turning point: Stick with her original vision, inspired by her mother, with its clear market and high demand?

Persons: Narayan, —, I'm Organizations: CNBC, eBay, Oracle, Area, Oakland Unified School District Locations: India, California, Washington , Texas , Illinois , Tennessee, Maryland, Silicon Valley

Woodyard had pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection with McClain’s death. The officer remains suspended from the department without pay, pending the outcome of the trial. Prosecutors initially declined to bring charges against the officers and paramedics involved in McClain’s death, but the case received renewed scrutiny following the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests in the spring of 2020. Jared Polis appointed a special prosecutor to reexamine the case, and in 2021 a grand jury indicted Woodyard, two other officers and two paramedics in McClain’s death. Two paramedics who treated McClain, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, are set to go on trial in the coming weeks.

Persons: Nathan Woodyard, Elijah McClain, Woodyard, McClain, Philip Weiser, Weiser, Sheneen McClain, “, ” “, she’s, ”, I’ve, ” Sheneen McClain, MiDian Holmes, Prosecutors, Jared Polis, Woodyard’s, Roger Mitchell Jr, David Beuther, Randy Roedema, Jason Rosenblatt, Roedema, Rosenblatt, Jeremy Cooper, Peter Cichuniec Organizations: CNN, Aurora, Colorado, Colorado Gov, Prosecutors Locations: Colorado, Aurora

☆ Andhra Pradesh train accident: At least 10 reported dead after trains collide in southeast India
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Ritu Prasad | Vedika Sud | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —At least 10 people are dead and 27 others have been injured after two trains collided in southeast India Sunday, Reuters reports. A train traveling from Visakhapatnam, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, to Rayagada, in Odisha, had stopped due to a break in an overhead cable when it was hit by an oncoming train, in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, Reuters said, citing a senior railway official. The collision derailed two coaches carrying more than 90 people on the stationary train, the official told Reuters. Sunday’s collision comes just four months after a separate train accident in Odisha, where three trains collided, leaving 275 people dead and more than 1,000 injured. Rescue operations are underway at the accident site, and all of the injured have been moved to hospitals, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on X.

Persons: “, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Narendra Modi, ” Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Railway, Minister’s, Indian, Sunday, “ Locations: India, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Rayagada, Odisha, Vizianagaram, country’s

☆ Mosquitoes are annoying and some are deadly. Here’s why we can’t – and shouldn’t – simply kill them all
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ritu Prasad | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Some mosquitoes are actually helpfulThe first problem to tackle here is the word “all.” There are more than 3,000 recognized mosquito species worldwide. Healy, who is also president of the American Mosquito Control Association, offered Louisiana, which is home to many swamps where mosquitoes thrive, as an example. “Disease-transmitting mosquito species, such as Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are invasive species in many parts of the world. As for the Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, things are a little different. … We are constantly educating mosquito control workers to follow these practices.

Persons: birdsong, We’ve, ”, Kristen Healy, Healy, we’d, Laura Harrington, Culex, Aedes, ” John Marshall, ” Marshall, ” Healy, Soumyabrata Roy, NurPhoto, it’s, Harrington, Wolbachia, ” Harrington, Stefan Sauer, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control, Entomology, Louisiana State University, American Mosquito Control Association, Cornell University, University of California, Getty Locations: –, West Nile, Louisiana, West, Berkeley

☆ In a post-affirmative action era, DEI quotas that encourage workplace equity are under threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIn a post-affirmative action era, DEI quotas that encourage workplace equity are under threatRitu Bhasin, author and corporate DEI consultant, and Danny Cevallos, NBC's legal analyst, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss ongoing corporate diversity lawsuits, the backlash against DEI programming, and upset over quota systems in hiring.

Persons: Ritu Bhasin, Danny Cevallos

The research found this was due to a perception that other accents thwart communication, to accent prejudices — or both. Are language courses a solution? But accent reduction courses that promise to get rid of a certain accent in a short period of time are more popular, she said. It horrifies me that companies would train people to anglicize their accent — that is a direct reinforcement of … racism. Elizabeth likens learning an American accent to "just one of the tools" in her arsenal — one she can deploy when needed.

Persons: Elizabeth, she's, they've, Jessica Spence, Jessica Spence The, Regina Kim, Tracey Derwing, Ritu, Brad Harris, Ritu Bhasin, Kim, who's, Bhasin, I'm Organizations: CNBC, The University of Queensland, Society, Personality, Jessica Spence The University of Queensland, Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business, University of Alberta, HEC Paris, York University, Brad Harris Management, HEC Paris Business Locations: Singapore, Asia, Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Malaysia, York

Accent bias in the workplaceIt's not surprising that employees' accents play a role in determining business travel, said Regina Kim, an assistant professor of management at Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business. An 'accent hierarchy'Leadership specialist and author Ritu Bhasin said there's an "accent hierarchy" in today's globalized world. Kim agreed, saying studies show that the Standard British English accent has a "covert prestige," with speakers being perceived as more trustworthy, intelligent and attractive. "For example, having a French accent in a wine industry may be 'better' because there's an industry-accent fit," she said. Accent bias can be worsened by national stereotypes that listeners associate with the way their colleagues talk, said Kim.

Persons: they've, Shan, Tracey Derwing, Derwing, Regina Kim, Kim, Ritu Bhasin, it's, Bhasin, Elizabeth Elizabeth, she's, Elizabeth Organizations: SAP, CNBC, Employees, New Zealand, University of Alberta, Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business Locations: —, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Pacific, New, Indonesia, Vietnam, United States, American, New York, Britain, Canada, East Asia, South Asia, West Asia, China, Europe

☆ Sarepta surges after FDA panel backs Duchenne gene therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.O) soared 29% premarket on Monday as a backing by the U.S. health regulator's advisers increased the certainty of an accelerated approval for the company's gene therapy for a muscle-wasting genetic disorder. Eight of the 14 advisers to the Food and Drug Administration late Friday voted that the company had enough data to support an accelerated approval for its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The vote came after FDA staff had earlier last week voiced concerns that the data from the company's mid-stage trial lacked "unambiguous evidence" about benefits from the therapy. TD Cowen analyst Ritu Baral expects an approval for the therapy, especially considering the FDA leadership's interest in promoting biomarker-based accelerated approvals for gene therapies. The FDA, often follows the advice of its expert advisers but is not obligated to do so, is slated to make a decision on accelerated approval by May 29.

“It was just so original,” she told Reuters, and her co-lead, “Umbrella Academy” actor Ritu Arya, could not agree more. When Lena drops out of art school and quickly gets engaged, Ria and her friends plan a bride-heist of epic proportions. Director Nida Manzoor's first feature film scored a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Critics have praised the quirky martial arts film for its inspiring and unconventional representation of compelling women and girls. “Strong women come from strong women,” Kansara said.

☆ ‘Polite Society’ Review: Pride and Plenty of Fists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Polite Society,” a rollicking genre mash-up, is set in an enclave of well-to-do Muslim Londoners who play along with the comedy’s title until they get cranky. Then come the punches and neck chops, the bruises and broken glass, the ludicrous wire-fu that allows a matron in a brocade lehenga to fly through the air. Stubborn and snotty, Ria is so hellbent on breaking up the betrothal that she’s willing to spy and lie, claw and kick. She gets as good as she gives, ending more than one scene in a bloody, heaving heap. At the same time, the audience can appreciate what Ria is too childish to see: Lena’s joy that the neighborhood screw-up has landed its most eligible bachelor.

☆ How a family's struggle to help their son gave rise to controversial $400 million psychedelics giant Compass Pathways
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Today, Compass Pathways, the for-profit company they launched in 2016, is a Nasdaq-listed firm worth about $400 million. Compass Pathways Show lessIt could also boost the dozens of psychedelics companies inspired by Compass that have been formed in recent years. Insider spoke with more than a dozen industry participants to chart the rise of Compass Pathways and its role in the psychedelics boom. He recalled the 2018 Quartz article that detailed the growing alarm around Compass Pathways' "magic mushroom monopoly." Were it not for his decision to take a break from college, and his parents' efforts to find a treatment, Compass Pathways might not exist.

☆ CIOs Contend With Pushback on AI Rollouts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Isabelle Bousquette | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Overall enterprise adoption of AI has grown threefold since 2019 as algorithms grow in scale and sophistication, according to International Data Corp. That left executives underwhelmed by the results and disillusioned, according to Todd Lohr, KPMG LLP’s U.S. technology consulting leader. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. In 2022, organizations spent on average 4% to 6% more on AI than the previous year, according to IDC. Other emerging technologies are more likely to be cut than AI, given its cost-savings potential, she noted.

☆ Generative AI Startups Attract Business Customers, Investor Funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Based on keyword prompts, generative AI platforms can then mimic these sources to produce fanciful stories and pictures of their own. Other generative AI startups offering enterprise applications include Replikr, a New Zealand startup that uses generative AI to create customer-service avatars, and Dutch startup Musico Ltd., which can be used to create original copyright-free advertising jingles. GoCharlie.AI, an early-stage startup based in San Francisco, in May launched a generative AI marketing assistant designed to create promotional social-media posts. By promising to save workers hours of productive time creating promotional materials, the commercial value proposition around generative AI has always been clear, he said. Rowan Curran, an AI and data science analyst at IT research firm Forrester Research Inc., said he expects generative AI to impact enterprises from top to bottom.

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