Today in Tech

In our latest technology news roundup, we discuss how scammers were able to grab $25 million from a Hong Kong company’s finance employee by using deepfaked AI video; the rise of dumb people using Apple Vision Pro devices in not-so-smart ways, and whether a mega-sports streaming service will mean the death of the cable TV industry.

While generative AI dominated the headlines last year, there are some other amazing macro-trends in the world of technology that will have a big impact this year. Keith chats with Mike Bechtel, chief futurist and managing director at Deloitte Consulting, about the big trends for the year, as identified in the company’s Top Tech Trends report.

Whether companies are at the beginning or in the middle of their generative AI projects, getting the correct large language model (LLM) as a basis for the project is a key decision. Keith chats with Peter Pezaris, chief strategy officer at New Relic, about some of the decisions that companies need to make when exploring LLMs.

The first big primary in the 2024 election season also sees an AI-generated President Biden doing robocalls to voters, signaling the beginning of a long season of AI deepfakers. We also talk about the energy costs of running large AI projects, Netflix moving to livestreaming of WWE program Raw, and whether Disney has invented something that will get us closer to the Star Trek Holodeck. Analyst Jack Gold joins as co-host for the episode.

Technology analyst Jack Gold joins as guest co-host for several weeks to discuss the challenges faced by EV owners in cold weather, Hertz's EV fleet and AI human handwriting, frustration with streaming services and ads, Peacock ad rates and impact of remote work on promotions, the importance of personal connections in remote work, skepticism towards Apple Vision Pro, and pricing strategy and self-checkout technologies.

For many companies, this year will mean moving their generative AI pilot projects into more customer-facing tools, while they still experiment with new tools and models. Keith chats with Sandeep Sacheti, executive vice president of Wolters Kluwer, about the lessons they learned in 2023 from genAI experiments, and why companies need to balance experiments between creative uses and more accurate tools.

With many companies and organizations going through IPv4 to IPv6 migration, they may be left with a large block of IPv4 addresses that can still provide value to other groups. Lee Howard, senior vice president of IPv4.Global, chats with Keith about the rise of address trading markets, why companies may not even realize that they have this value, whether the IPv6 migration will ever be completed, and why IP addressing is a lot like the good Star Trek movies. Strap in for a networking geek fest!

With job market statistics showing a decline in the number of jobs available, is it still a good time to look for a new job in the tech space? Keith chats with Computerworld’s Lucas Mearian about the optimism in the IT/tech job space, what kind of key skills people will need as they look for a new position, and hot job areas in tech.

What makes a company great for IT professionals? The pay? The benefits? The career growth opportunities? Keith chats with Beck Stackpole and Valerie Potter about Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in IT 2024, now in its 30th year of publication. What benefits, insights and programs are making companies more appealing?

Getting a job in 2023 or 2024 is more difficult than 10, 20 or 30 years ago. New resume-scanning technologies and the use of artificial intelligence, while beneficial for employers, can eliminate many job seekers from getting their foot in the door. Keith chats with Chui Senanyake, an expert in human resources and CEO of The Job Helpers, about how job candidates can navigate the job seeking market as well as how to find the perfect job in 2024.