DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ How a violent 1800s uprising against machines could foreshadow our future with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementI asked Merchant for his perspective on how history informs how we should think about AI and labor. AdvertisementTake the clothworkers: skilled weavers made really high quality cloth and framework knitters made stockings that were nice and durable. Just about everyone loses except the factory owners, who profit from churning out more shoddily made stuff at a rate that the skilled workers can't compete with. AdvertisementBased on your understanding of history, what are the chances that AI helps people by lowering the gap between lower skilled and higher skilled workers? Now, as then, the vast, vast majority of the time, AI absolutely cannot replicate a good writer or worker's output.

Persons: —, Insider's Aki Ito, Brian Merchant, Merchant, Aki Ito, Aki, coders, Ian, it's Organizations: Big Tech, Service Locations: England

KHAVDA, India (AP) — Rising from the bare expanse of the large salt desert that separates India from Pakistan is what will likely be the world's largest renewable energy project when completed three years from now. The solar and wind energy project will be so big that it will be visible from space, according to developers of what is called the Khavda renewable energy park, named after the village nearest to the project site. Shifting to renewable energy is a key issue at the ongoing COP28 climate summit. Once completed, it will supply 30 gigawatts of renewable energy annually, enough to power nearly 18 million Indian homes. Given this, Virmani said there is enough land in Kutch for various renewable energy projects.

Persons: ”, KSRK Verma, Khavda, Verma, “ It’s, Vneet Jaain, Adani, Gautam Adani, Adani Green, ” Ajay Mathur, Mathur, Abi T Vanak, Vanak, Sandip, Virmani, Hirelal Rajde, “ Organizations: Associated Press, Adani Green Energy Limited, Adani, Adani Group, Hindenburg, Group, International Solar Alliance, Ashoka Trust for Research, Twitter, AP Locations: KHAVDA, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Rann, Kutch, India’s Gujarat, China, United States, Bengal, Ahmedabad, Jaain, U.S, Mundra, Gujarat, Europe, Africa, Bengaluru, Denmark, Khavda

At 1 p.m. on a Friday shortly before Christmas last year, Kent Walker, Google’s top lawyer, summoned four of his employees and ruined their weekend. The group worked in SL1001, a bland building with a blue glass facade betraying no sign that dozens of lawyers inside were toiling to protect the interests of one of the world’s most influential companies. For weeks they had been prepping for a meeting of powerful executives to discuss the safety of Google’s products. The deck was done. But that afternoon Mr. Walker told his team the agenda had changed, and they would have to spend the next few days preparing new slides and graphs.

Persons: Kent Walker, Google’s, Walker Locations: SL1001

☆ Beyoncé ’s platinum ‘Renaissance’ look was triggering for some in the Black community. Here is why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Nicquel Terry Ellis Cnn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Her music is unapologetically, boundlessly and globally Black,” Thomas said. In many cases, lighter skinned slaves were the product of sexual violence by White men against enslaved Black women. Lighter skinned Black women were often deemed “redbones,” a term that for some undermined their Black heritage by implying that the women were mixed non-Black ancestry. A 2023 survey by nonprofit Catalyst found women with darker skin tones were more likely to experience workplace racism than women with lighter skin. “I also get to be critical of Beyoncé,” Thomas said.

Persons: Queen Bey, “, Tina Knowles, ” Knowles, “ Brown, Geneva Thomas, ” Thomas, ”, JeffriAnne Wilder, Wilder, White, ” Wilder, Beyoncé, India Arie, ” Arie, Arie, ” Beyoncé, Kevin Mazur, Oscar, Octavia Spencer, Thomas, she’s Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles, Catalyst, University of Chicago Press, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Locations: America, New York, Black America, London, England

☆ Italy is no country for young chefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Antonella Cinelli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Italy's food is famous the world over but many talented young chefs, hoping to make a career in their country, find themselves frustrated by low pay, lack of labour protection and scant prospects. The current outflow of Italian chefs due to difficult conditions at home is not a new phenomenon. A peep into the kitchens of even the most traditional Italian restaurants shows the local dishes are often prepared by low-paid immigrants. Partly for this reason, young chefs in Italy take home half the salary of their peers in Britain while working longer hours, Mazzei said. British people have become knowledgeable about Italian food, even learning about regional differences, he said, so he preferred to hire Italian chefs to satisfy an increasingly demanding clientele.

Persons: Davide Sanna, Brendan McDermid, Sanna, he'd, It's, Massimo Bottura, Roberto Gentile, Paese, Gentile, Di Marzo, Julio, Francesco Mazzei, Mazzei, Giorgia Meloni's, Francesco Lollobrigida, Antonio Bassu, Bassu, Gavin Jones, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Star, Michelin, European, European Labour Authority, Reuters, MELONI'S, PRIDE Italian, Thomson Locations: SoHo, New York City, U.S, Sardinia, New York, Italy, Italian, glitzy SoHo, Modena, Spain, Japan, France, Europe, United States, Sicily, ITALY, Le, Toulouse, Britain, Milan, Gaeta, Rome, Naples, Roman, Emilia, Peruvian, Calabria, Italy's, London, Malta, England, Sardinian, Barcelona

☆ Insight: Italy is no country for young chefs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Antonella Cinelli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

For the past year, the 25-year-old has cooked at Piccola Cucina, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan's glitzy SoHo district, home to designer boutiques and high-end art galleries. The current outflow of Italian chefs due to difficult conditions at home is not a new phenomenon. A peep into the kitchens of even the most traditional Italian restaurants shows the local dishes are often prepared by low-paid immigrants. Partly for this reason, young chefs in Italy take home half the salary of their peers in Britain while working longer hours, Mazzei said. British people have become knowledgeable about Italian food, even learning about regional differences, he said, so he preferred to hire Italian chefs to satisfy an increasingly demanding clientele.

☆ In ousting CEO Sam Altman, ChatGPT loses its best fundraiser
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before a Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology & the Law Subcommittee hearing titled 'Oversight of A.I. But on Friday it was the earnest Altman who was upended after OpenAI’s board, in a surprise move, stripped him of his CEO title and directorship. Directors of the company, now worth about $80 billion, cited a failure to be "consistently candid in his communications." Further details of what finally led to the ouster of Altman were not immediately clear Friday. “You and a small group of rebels get the space to solve an important problem that might otherwise not get solved."

Persons: Sam Altman, Elizabeth Frantz, Sam Altman’s, Altman, Elon Musk’s, “, what’s, ” Altman, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, ”, Greg Bensinger, Diane Craft Organizations: Privacy, Technology, Intelligence, REUTERS, Microsoft, Wednesday, Google, Stanford, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, OpenAI, San Francisco, St, Louis , Missouri

☆ Find out why this garden has been named ‘the most beautiful in Japan’ for 20+ years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Shimane, Japan CNN —In Japan, gardening isn’t just a hobby – it’s an art form with spiritual significance. The US-based Sukiya Living magazine (formerly Journal of Japanese Gardening) has awarded the Adachi Museum its highest honor – most beautiful traditional garden – for more than 20 years running. Despite accolades coming from outside of Japan, the museum and gardens remain relatively unknown compared to those in Kyoto and Tokyo. Many Western visitors to Japan are confused when they visit a Japanese garden, only to not see a single flower. “Before looking at Japanese paintings, you can look at these Japanese gardens and understand them in this sequence.

Persons: ”, Sophie Walker, Robert Gilhooly, Takodori Adachi, Zenko Adachi, Adachi, Adachi's, thanyarat07, Lafcadio Hearn, genji maki Organizations: CNN, Japan CNN —, Adachi Museum of Art, Adachi Museum, “, Art, Mount Fuji, UNESCO, Museum of Art Locations: Japan, Shimane, Osaka, The, Kyoto, Tokyo, Tottori, San’in, Okayama, Honshu, Matsue, Adachi, Yasugi

☆ Confessions of a startup founder's wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

I wished I had told Kyle that I would understand if he wanted to quit. That's as apt a description of Kyle's startup as it is of our relationship. I'm not sure Kyle has found as many perks to being a startup founder married to a startup reporter. Now Kyle's startup has pivoted a third time. The truth is, I don't know if Kyle's startup will make it.

Persons: Kyle, Kyle shrugged, pang, I'd, hadn't, Scott Belsky, It's, messier, I've, he'd, Jillian, Chris Dixon, Andreessen Horowitz, Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Schulze, TikTok, Josh Cochran, Marc Andreessen, I'm, He'd, Eric Paley, Steve Jobs, —, Playbyte, he's, Rohan Seth, Paul Davison, Steve Huffman, hasn't, Instagram, it's, Zelda, That's, cradling, Melia Russell Organizations: Apple Watch, Steam, Francisco's Mission, University of California, TechCrunch, White House, YouTube, Labor Locations: Champagne, Francisco's, Berkeley, San Francisco, New York, America, Playbyte, Kyle, Boston, Bay, sobs

☆ I compared breakfast at Taco Bell and McDonald's. The Golden Arches should be worried.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Taco Bell is stepping up its breakfast game to compete with McDonald's. But lately, fast-food chains such as Wendy's and Taco Bell have demonstrated that they want to steal breakfast customers from McDonald's. So I decided to put the breakfast menus of McDonald's and Taco Bell to the test. McDonald's and Taco Bell have more than a dozen breakfast items on their menus. Taco Bell leans into burritos and breakfast wraps, while the McDonald's menu is heavy on breakfast sandwiches.

Persons: Taco Bell, —, McDonald's, Wendy's, Mark King, King, I'm, Keith Organizations: Taco Bell's, Service, Egg, Taco Locations: McDonald's

☆ China Tries to Lure Its Unemployed Youth to the Countryside
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Brian Spegele | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ZHAOQING, China—During the Cultural Revolution, a teenage Xi Jinping was sent down to the countryside, where he spent years in the late 1960s and early ’70s toiling on farms and reading books in a cave. Half a century later, China’s leader wants more young people to follow his lead.

Persons: Xi Jinping Locations: ZHAOQING, China

[1/3] A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 3 - ChatGPT maker OpenAI is expected to announce product enhancements that will make its AI models cheaper, with more functionality, in its first-ever developer conference on Monday. Generative AI can, using past data, create brand new content like fully formed text, images and software code. OpenAI is expected to announce updates focused on slashing costs for its developers, as well as new vision capabilities, Reuters previously reported. Cost-cutting addresses a major concern for partners whose spending on OpenAI's powerful models could pile up quickly as they try to build sustainable businesses by developing and selling AI software.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Anna Tong, Krystal Hu, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, City Hall, Francisco's, Silicon

☆ Ukraine’s Slow Advance Challenges Kyiv, Allies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( James Marson | Ievgeniia Sivorka | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When Ukrainian armored vehicles breached the main Russian defensive line in southeastern Ukraine last month, it raised hopes for a decisive breakthrough. It hasn’t happened. Instead, nearly five months into the counteroffensive, Ukrainian infantry are still toiling forward in small groups along tree lines packed with Russian trench systems and mines while under fire from artillery and explosive aerial drones.

Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine

☆ From Bush v. Gore to ‘Stop the Steal’: Kenneth Chesebro’s Long, Strange Trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Elizabeth Williamson | More About Elizabeth Williamson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In January 2001, Kenneth Chesebro was a mild-mannered Harvard lawyer toiling for Al Gore during the 2000 presidential election recount battle. Two decades later, on Jan. 6, 2021, he joined the mob outside the Capitol, reborn as a MAGA-hatted kingpin. On Friday, Mr. Chesebro’s journey took another turn, when he pleaded guilty in a criminal racketeering indictment in Fulton County, Ga., and agreed to testify against former President Donald J. Trump and other co-defendants, including Rudolph W. Giuliani and several other top Trump aides. Mr. Chesebro’s trial, which had been scheduled to begin Monday, will no longer go forward. Liberal lawyers from his former life had hoped it would provide clues to an enduring mystery: What happened to “The Cheese?’’

Persons: Kenneth Chesebro, toiling, Al Gore, MAGA, Donald J, Trump, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Chesebro, Trump’s, Joseph R, Biden, Chesebro’s Organizations: Harvard, Capitol, Trump, Liberal Locations: Fulton County ,, Georgia

☆ ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Review: An Unsettling Masterpiece
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Manohla Dargis | More About Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s a scene in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” when the screen fills with men toiling in what looks like a lake of fire. Inky silhouettes in a red-orange void, they look like Boschian imps, but these are ordinary men in a hell of human making. This may seem like strange territory for Scorsese, with his New York wiseguys and street corners. Throughout, Scorsese has also reminded you that there are many ways to tell stories, including about evil. Some were shot, others were blown up, while still others died from an enigmatic wasting illness, though were likely poisoned.

Persons: Martin Scorsese’s, It’s, Scorsese, —, Christ ”, ”, Eric Roth, Ernest Burkhart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ernest Locations: York, Roman, Tibet, “, Hollywood, Oklahoma, United States, Fairfax, Okla

☆ This is the happiest job in the world, according to new research: 'You get to see the fruits of your labor'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

You won't find the happiest workers in the world toiling away at desks or crunching numbers — chances are, they're working outside. Construction workers have the highest levels of self-reported happiness of any major industry category, according to a new analysis by BambooHR. The HR software platform analyzed data from more than 57,000 employees at over 1,600 companies across the globe between January 2020 and June 2023. While employee happiness overall has fluctuated over the past three years, construction workers' happiness scores have remained consistently high, largely thanks to rising wages and plentiful job opportunities, the report notes.

☆ These Workers Toiling in 120-Degree Heat Are on Front Lines of Climate Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Chao Deng | Photographs Huda Abdulmughni For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/these-workers-toiling-in-120-degree-heat-are-on-front-lines-of-climate-change-d1e6eab1

Persons: Dow Jones

AdvertisementAdvertisementFor Love & Money is a biweekly column from Insider answering your relationship and money questions. Our columnist says it's not too late to find a balance between financial security and happiness. Write to For Love & Money using this Google form. AdvertisementAdvertisementBeing a grownup is hard work, so choose hard work that feels worthwhile to you. Write to For Love & Money using this Google form.

Persons: it's, I've, Jo, toiling, you'll, —, you've Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon

True vanilla is a demanding crop, so labor-intensive that at times the market value of the beans has surpassed that of silver, weight for weight. And since each bean yields only 2 percent vanillin at best, the cost of pure vanilla is even higher. The vanilla bean on my desk comes from the small Hawaiian town of Laie on Oahu’s North Shore. It’s longer and darker than the other vanilla beans in my cupboard, its fragrance more insistently narcotic. To begin with, while the vanilla orchid — planifolia is the species most widely grown — is a hermaphrodite (like most flowering plants), with both male and female parts, it can’t pollinate itself.

Persons: Wendell Steavenson, Saili Levi, Edmond, toiling, planifolia, haricots Organizations: NPR, Vanilla Company Locations: Madagascar, Laie, Shore, Samoa, Hawaii, United States, Oahu, Mexico, Réunion

For Miyazaki, who painstakingly crafts thousands of hand drawings for a film, it's a long and laborious process. Several of Miyazaki's films rank among the biggest box-office hits ever in Japan; there are few other filmmakers today as revered — and fiercely beloved — as Miyazaki. “I am making this movie because I do not have the answer," Miyazaki told The New York Times in 2021. We are again, invited into a dizzyingly colorful otherworldly fantasy of Miyazaki's making. If this is to be the last Miyazaki movie (it would be unwise to ever really count him out), it's a tremendously moving goodbye.

Persons: Miyazaki's, Miyazaki, “, ”, —, Mozart, Guillermo del Toro, Mahito Maki, Soma Santoki, It's, Mahito's mother's, Yoshino Kimura, Mahito's, Masaki Suda, Mei, Mahito, Jake Coyle Organizations: TORONTO, Toronto, New York Times, Twitter Locations: Japan, Miyazaki, Toronto, Tokyo

☆ China's auto workers bear the brunt of price war as fallout widens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Millions of auto workers and suppliers in China are feeling the heat as an electric vehicle price war forces carmakers to shave costs anywhere they can. State-run China Automotive News estimates there are over 100,000 auto suppliers in the country. Suppliers typically negotiate prices once a year, but many have been pressed to lower prices on a quarterly basis in 2023, two senior executives at auto suppliers said. And in June, a group of small suppliers wrote to state-owned Changan Automobile to push back against 10% price reductions. Three months later, he told Reuters that price cuts had been more aggressive in 2023 than in previous years.

Persons: Aly, Mike Chen, Chen, carmakers, Tesla, George Magnus, Elon Musk, Mike Chen's, Li Auto, Liu, Changan Automobile's, Chen Yudong, They've, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Kripa Jayaram, Marius Zaharia, David Clarke Organizations: SAIC Volkswagen, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai, SAIC, Volkswagen, VW, Oxford University's China, China Passenger Car Association, Tesla, GM, HK, Changan Automobile, Mitsubishi Motors, Toyota, Hyundai, China Automotive, Automobile, EV, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, China's, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hefei, Chongqing, Chery's, Qingdao

☆ I left NYC for Tulsa, Oklahoma. I only planned to stay for a year, but I love the lower cost of living and slower pace.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Mark Radcliffe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mark Radcliffe spent over 12 years in NYC before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in September 2020. I got his point, but after 12 years in the city, I decided to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The $10,000 wasn't my biggest motivation — I wanted to embark on a new adventure with like-minded risk-takers and lower my living expenses. Courtesy of Mark RadcliffeI bought a used piano for the living room, started hosting music-themed cocktail parties and dinners regularly, and built a new community. Tulsa has a more leisurely heartbeat, but it's a place where you always have time to stop and connect with others.

Persons: Mark Radcliffe, jabbing, Billy Joel, I'd, Radcliffe, Alec Baldwin, Brooke Shields, —, You'd, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, Madison, Citi, Radcliffe, Labor, New York, Tulsa, lhaas Locations: Tulsa , Oklahoma, Tulsa, Wall, Silicon, New York City, Yorker, New York, York, New England, Maine, Vermont, Atlanta, West, Gotham, New, Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles

Seoul, South Korea CNN —As South Korea struggles to get young people interested in marriage and kids, authorities are trying a new tack: importing foreign workers to carry some of the household burden. The plan will expand the number of industries and companies eligible to employ foreign workers, as South Korea faces an aging population, shrinking workforce and labor shortages in various sectors. South Korea has long struggled with chronic labor shortages in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, Reuters reported. Some politicians have previously urged the government to import foreign workers to help alleviate the burdens on young couples and parents. Singapore’s migrant worker system is just as controversial for employing cheap foreign labor to sustain one of the world’s richest countries.

Persons: ”, They’ll, Seoul’s, –, Housekeepers, Indonesia – Organizations: South Korea CNN, Authorities, Reuters, Ministry, Employment, Labor, Hong Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, birthrate, Korean, “, Philippines, Indonesia

☆ In a rare win, a migrant worker sued his bosses in Singapore. And won
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

In July, 26 men were taken to hospitals after three lorries, two ferrying migrant workers, collided on a major highway. Migrant workers sit in the back of a lorry in Singapore on May 15, 2020. Suhaimi Abdullah/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesSingapore is home to about 1.4 million migrant workers, nearly a quarter of its population. “Recent tragic incidents have highlighted the continued grave risks posed by transporting migrant workers on lorries,” the statement read. Still, victories for migrant workers are rare, said local civil rights activist Jolovan Wham and a worker taking on his powerful employer was almost unheard of.

Persons: Murugan, Muhamad Ashraf Syed Ansarai, “, ” Ansarai, ”, – Toffazal Hossain, Sugunan, Edgar Su, Transport Amy Khor, ” Khor, Khor, Tan May Tee, ” Tan, ” “, Suhaimi Abdullah, Jolovan, Wham, ” Murugan, “ He’s, It’s Organizations: CNN, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Labor, ”, State, Ministry, Transport, “ Employers, Rigel Marine Services, Reuters, Getty, Singapore, Workers, Ministry of Transport, Singapore’s Ministry of Transport Locations: India, Singapore, Tamil Nadu, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, ”, alighting

☆ Deloitte's human-sustainability chief wants to help employees beat burnout. She says the best solutions go beyond vacation and office yoga — and involve undoing 100 years of routine.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To combat burnout, it will take more than vacations and a few yoga classes, she told Insider. To really fix what's wrong with work, Fisher said, we need to have deeper, more thoughtful conversations. Fisher said employers need to push back on the idea that workers who cut through piles of work must be in good shape. I was on my way to burnout and the downstream impacts of my actions and behaviors on my team were detrimental," she said. Her own journey toward a more balanced approach to work leaves Fisher optimistic that broader change is possible.

Persons: Jen Fisher, who'd, Fisher, Deloitte's Jen Fisher, Odette Fernandez Lopez, We've, we're, she's, they're Organizations: Deloitte, Service Locations: Wall, Silicon, chemo

Search resuls for: "Toiling"

25 mentions found