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The Week That Was: IT and Media news week 49

An agreement on what is described as the world’s first law on how to handle artificial intelligence has been reached between the EU Parliament and EU governments in the European Council. The law includes safeguards agreed on future developments of general purpose artificial intelligence that has been a security focus in discussions after the turbulence around AI-development company OpenAI. The law includes limitations for use of biometric identification systems by police and courts. The law is not expected to be implemented before 2025.

Streaming music giant Spotify must adopt a leaner way to work to ensure “continued profitability and ability to innovate”. The words are CEO Daniel Ek’s in a message to staff informing that the company is laying off 17 % of the staff. “Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive. Spotify is not an exception to these realities.”

Spending on digital technology by organizations will grow seven times faster than the overall economy in 2024, as companies are compelled by market demands to grow digital business models and strengthen digital capabilities. This is one of International Data Corporation’s (IDC) forecasts in a worldwide prediction for digital business strategies. “The wholesale adoption of AI will bring challenges for employees who see their overall workflow and learning process impacted. To mitigate negative impact and drive adoption, employees will need to be reskilled to work alongside GenAI.”

90% of media leaders feel their organisations are doing a good job in gender diversity but numbers are considerably lower when it comes to doing a good job with political diversity (55%). After the pandemic, 65% have implemented flexible and hybrid working models with new rules in place for staff. 74% think that generative AI will help newsrooms increase productivity and improve workflows, without changing the essence of journalism, according to a survey by the Reuters Institute.

There is not much improvement of gender stereotypes in advertising for toys. Contemporary toy ads have not evolved much over time in terms of the social messages about gender. Most toys had clearly gendered associations, with dolls targeted toward girls but sports equipment, cars, and toy weapons targeted toward boys, a study from US-based  Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media shows.

 

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