While many people in the creative industries are worrying that AI is about to steal their jobs, Oscar-winning film director James Cameron is embracing the technology. Cameron is famous for making the Avatar and Terminator movies, as well as Titanic. Now he has joined the board of Stability.AI, a leading player in the world of Generative AI. In Cameron’s Terminator films, Skynet is an artificial general intelligence that has become self-aware and is determined to destroy the humans who are trying to deactivate it. Forty years after the first of those movies, its director appears to be changing sides and allying himself with AI. So what’s behind this? Valued at around a billion dollars, Stability.AI was, until recently at least, headquartered above a chicken shop in Notting Hill. It is famous for Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image tool that creates hyperreal pictures from text requests (or prompts) by its users. Now it is moving into AI-created video. Cameron appears to see their work as a potential game changer in film visual effects: “I was at the forefront of CGI over three decades ago, and I’ve stayed on the cutting edge since. Now, the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave,” he commented in a media release from Stability.AI. Filmmakers supplement the live action reality that they shoot with two kinds of effects: special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX). They come at two different stages of film production. During the shoot, SFX are all the physical effects used to create spectacle – explosions, blood squibs, vehicle crashes, prosthetics, mechanical movement of sets. During postproduction, VFX are the digital systems that add new elements to live-action filmed images – computer-generated imagery (CGI), compositing, motion capture rendering. They also combine separately shot images together. James Cameron says the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the ‘next wave’ in VFX. Paul Smith-Featureflash / Shutterstock A recent development of film technology, Virtual Production, has brought some VFX techniques into the film shoot. This process uses what are known as “games engines” – a technology developed for the creation of video games. Actors are filmed in front of sophisticated LED walls, which screen dynamic, pre-produced virtual worlds around the performer. The real-world physicality of SFX means that artificial intelligence will have very limited impact here. It is in VFX where AI may have a transformative effect. I’ll be talking about the subject of deepfakes and AI in film at a public lecture on October 30, 2024: ‘Deepfakes and AI in film and media: seeing is not believing’. We are also investigating the subject through the Synthetic Media Research Network, a group that I co-lead which brings together film creatives, academic researchers and AI developers. I spoke to a member of this collective, Christian Darkin, a VFX artist who now works as Head of Creative AI for Deep Fusion Films. He sees the impact of generative AI on VFX as creating infinite choice in post-production. In future, filming the actors will be just the beginning. “You’ll put in the background later, you’ll change the camera angles, you’ll change the expressions, you’ll ramp up the emotion in the acting, you’ll change the voices, the costumes, the people’s faces, everything,” Christian told me. One key motive for the film industry’s incorporation of AI into VFX is simple: the expense of traditional VFX. If you have watched the end credits of a blockbuster movie, you’ll have seen the number of VFX technicians that they employ. Generative AI offers a cheaper way to achieve spectacular screen images, potentially with no loss of quality. The implication is that a lot of VFX technicians will lose their jobs as a result. However, in conversations that I have had with people working in these roles there’s a sense that, being highly skilled and technologically savvy, they will probably move into new roles in emerging areas of tech. The ethics of AI technology Media creatives are now presented with a huge selection of generative AI Tools that offer new ways of creating images, text, voices and music. However, a key issue related to the technology still needs to be addressed: have these AI tools been created ethically? Each generative AI tool, from ChatGPT to Midjourney to Runway, rests on a foundation model that has been exposed to vast amounts of data, often from the internet, in order to help it improve at what it does. This process is called “training”. AI developers build huge reservoirs of training data by using “crawlers”, bots that scour the internet for useful material and download trillions of files for their own use. This can include books, music, images, the spoken word and videos, created by artists who retain copyright over their material. Stability.ai has been involved in a legal action over copyright in the UK courts. Getty Images, holder of a huge collection of pictures and photographs, is currently suing the company. A former executive at Stability.ai, Ed Newton-Rex, resigned in November 2023 over the company scraping for creative content to train the model, without payment and claiming it is “fair use”. Perhaps Cameron thinks that the AI developers will win the court cases against them and continue their technological trajectory. I asked Stability.ai if, before Cameron joined the company, they had scraped any of his creative material from the internet to use as training data for their foundation models – and did they ask his permission? Their response was: “We’re not able to comment on the source of Stability AI’s training data.” Cameron’s Terminator films warned about the potential catastrophic effects of rogue AI. Yet the director now clearly thinks that he is now sitting on a winning horse. source

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The impact of DXA on customer experience For product leaders, Digital Experience Analytics (DXA) has provided a transformative shift. It has freed them from the relentless cycle of crisis management, allowing them to focus on implementing meaningful enhancements to the customer experience. By providing visibility into where and why customers encounter roadblocks, DXA linked these insights directly to business impact, such as revenue opportunities. This clarity not only eliminates internal conflicts and guesswork but provides the business case for prioritizing improvements with confidence. DXA allows users to anticipate and address issues before they become problems, shifting focus from constant fire-fighting to strategic innovation. Here are a few factors to consider when evaluating a DXA platform. One: Comprehensive data capture The power of a DXA platform is in its data capture. It should automatically capture every interaction—swipe, click, scroll, API response, page view—across all touchpoints: web, mobile, and kiosks. Quantum Metric does this out-of-the-box, logging over 60 behavioral and 300 data points without manual tagging. It tracks user interactions, technical performance, and business outcomes. With remote precision eventing and a visual event editor, you can create events and analyze experiences effortlessly—no manual tagging, no code changes. Choose a platform that delivers comprehensive data from day one and evolves with your digital needs. Two: Seamless integration A DXA platform should be designed from the ground up, rather than cobbled together through acquisition and loose integration of disparate third-party platforms and point solutions. It needs to seamlessly integrate with your existing tech stack to ensure cohesive and efficient data management. It should easily connect with tools like VOC and survey systems. Integration is crucial for real-time, actionable insights from customer feedback, both online and offline. This connection lets you visualize behavior, contextualize feedback like CSAT and NPS, and trigger surveys based on actions. Opt for platforms with robust APIs and pre-built connectors to ensure a smooth, unified view of customer interactions. Three: Advanced AI capabilities and future-forward vision AI is crucial in DXA. It uncovers hidden patterns, predicts behavior accurately, and automates decisions. Look for platforms with a practical use case for AI, like Quantum Metric’s Felix AI. Felix AI delivers instant summaries of user sessions in under 3 seconds, cuts down on lengthy session replays, and enables one-click quantification of friction points. It integrates smoothly with your systems, supporting rapid, data-driven decisions. Quantum Metric’s position in the DXA space Building on this innovation, we’re thrilled to be recognized as a leading Digital Experience Analytics Platform by Research in Action’s 2024 Vendor Selection Matrix™. Our commitment to exceptional customer experiences and cutting-edge solutions underscores our dedication to transforming the DXA landscape. Why Quantum Metric stands out in this evaluation: Most recommended by users: Quantum Metric is highly recommended for its performance and user satisfaction. Ranked #1 in customer satisfaction and value: We lead the industry in customer satisfaction and offer exceptional value. Ranked #1 in price vs. value: We provide the best price-to-value ratio in the market. Cross-team activation: Our platform supports a wide range of enterprise teams and enables smooth, seamless collaboration across different departments. Full stack, organic growth: Quantum Metric was built and expanded from the ground up as a cohesive solution, not by assembling disparate third-party tools. Vision and go-to-market: We address both current digital marketing and e-commerce needs, while also preparing for future demands in product operations and engineering. AI leadership: Felix AI distinguishes us by quickly prioritizing and contextualizing issues, driving more efficient decision-making. Financial strength: With $100 million in ARR and backed by experienced leadership, Quantum Metric is well-positioned for continued success. Maximizing potential with the optimal DXA platform For enterprise leaders, Digital Experience Analytics (DXA) has been about reclaiming freedom—freeing up time to focus on what truly matters: enhancing customer experiences. By automating data capture and eliminating manual tasks, DXA has enabled them to transition from routine data management to strategic initiatives that drive customer satisfaction and personal fulfillment. To learn more about top DXA platforms and their benefits, download the full 2024 RIA VSM DXA report, and register for our webinar with James McCormick, Research Director at Research in Action on ‘Key DXA trends shaping the market’. source

By Irene Spezzamonte ( November 4, 2024, 1:31 PM EST) — Elon Musk and X Corp. can’t escape four former executives’ claim that Musk fired them to prevent them from receiving severance benefits after he struck the deal to buy the company formerly known as Twitter, a California federal judge ruled while also lifting a stay on discovery…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

ChatGPT Plus subscribers, Team subscribers, and SearchGPT waitlist members can use OpenAI’s generative search engine starting today, the AI giant announced on Oct. 31. That might be a Halloween scare for Google Search, as OpenAI directly targets pulling users away from Google’s algorithm. OpenAI created a Chrome extension to set ChatGPT search as the browser’s default search engine. ChatGPT search also competes with Microsoft’s Bing Chat in the Bing search engine. ChatGPT search will open up to enterprise and education users “in the next few weeks,” OpenAI said in a blog post. Free tier users will see the new functionality “in the coming months.” What is ChatGPT search? OpenAI’s ChatGPT search is a generative AI search function that returns text written by a large language model and links to external websites. It runs on a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o in concert with some outputs from OpenAI o1-preview. OpenAI first introduced ChatGPT search as SearchGPT in a preview in July. More must-read AI coverage OpenAI wants to provide a ‘better answer’ than the competitors Google Search ranks results based on their initiatives to put forward “people-first” content. However, the results aren’t always relevant or helpful. In the past few years, finding older content or content not intended to answer a question directly has become more difficult. OpenAI wants to eliminate “digging through links” by using the context from the natural-sounding conversations a ChatGPT user might have with the AI. “Go deeper with follow-up questions, and ChatGPT will consider the full context of your chat to get a better answer for you,” OpenAI wrote. ChatGPT search can be accessed through a backslash command, which conveniently shows OpenAI’s taxonomy for the functions of its current models. Image: OpenAI Like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT search will show sources for its information in a sidebar on the right column. ChatGPT search offers weather, stocks, and sports scores. OpenAI does not currently have plans to incorporate ads. SEE: Google opened its AI Overviews search assistant up to more countries in late October. The use of news media in AI search results is controversial OpenAI partnered with news media, including Associated Press, Reuters, The Atlantic, and Time. According to the Washington Post, ChatGPT search will direct election-related questions to well-established news sites like the Associated Press and Reuters. Non-affiliated sites can control whether or not they appear in ChatGPT search results by allowing or disallowing OpenAI’s OAI-SearchBot in their robots.txt file. Some newspapers, including The New York Times, have sued OpenAI for infringing on the copyright of their content. Meanwhile, other media groups see allying with OpenAI as a valuable business strategy in an era of proliferating generative AI. “ChatGPT search promises to better highlight and attribute information from trustworthy news sources, benefiting audiences while expanding the reach of publishers like ourselves who produce premium journalism,” said Vox Media president Pam Wasserstein in OpenAI’s blog post. source

“Navigating the Risks: Why SaaS Management is Crucial for Compliance and Security in Healthcare & Finance“ Thursday, November 14, 2024 – On-Demand In today’s world of remote work and SaaS proliferation, organizations in healthcare and finance face increasing challenges in managing data as it moves to SaaS applications, all while ensuring compliance with HIPAA, NIST, PCI DSS and SOC2. Join Auvik SaaS Management’s Director & Tech Evangelist, Steve Petryschuk, and Senior Product Manager, Ben Botti, as they explore the critical role of SaaS management in improving security and maintaining compliance in these highly regulated industries. This webinar will cover:• Mitigating security risks with effective SaaS discovery.• Strategies for safeguarding data and preventing unauthorized access.• Live demo of Auvik’s automated SaaS visibility, risk management, and compliance reporting. Learn how to streamline your SaaS operations, reduce wasted licenses, and ensure adherence to regulatory standards in your organization. Speakers:Steve Petryschuk, Director & Tech Evangelist, AuvikAt Auvik, Steve works with prospects, clients, and the IT community at large to identify, research, and analyze complex IT Operations challenges, helping guide the Auvik roadmap to better service the IT community. Steve holds a Bachelor of Engineering and Management and is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario with IT, networking, and IT security experience spanning product management, devops, systems admin, solutions engineer, and technical trainer roles. Ben Botti, Senior Product Manager – SaaS Management, AuvikBen specializes in partnering with MSPs and IT teams to address their most critical challenges, with nearly 15 years of expertise in the space. Initially honing his skills within a regional MSP, he now contributes to developing tools designed to support IT teams as a Senior Product Manager at Auvik. His background covers Automation, Telecom, and now, overseeing solutions in Auvik’s SaaS Management product, reflecting his commitment to enhancing and building the best tools for frictionless IT. Moderator: Michael Krieger, InformationWeek Offered Free by: Auvik Networks, Inc. See All Resources from: Auvik Networks, Inc. source

Analyst one-on-one sessions at Forrester’s B2B Summit EMEA event present the opportunity for delegates to speak with an analyst on a specific topic or particular piece of research. This year’s Summit wrapped up earlier this month, and as always, we had some great conversations. Here are some of the revenue operations hot topics that came up this year. Why Is Adopting The Right Operating Model The Best Approach To Delivering Revenue Operations? Revenue leaders increasingly recognize the need to move away from thinking in terms of org charts and job titles when contemplating how to deliver revenue operations for their organizations. Instead, they are adopting an operating model for the revenue ecosystem that avoids leaving them overreliant on restructuring as the primary lever of change. This ensures avoiding a focus that is too narrow to deliver the necessary orchestration of technology, data, process, and measurement. An operating-model-led approach to RevOps enables leaders in revenue operations, sales operations, or marketing operations to design, implement, and evolve the right approach to delivering business and customer value. Is It Feasible To Pilot Changes To Our Revenue Process Before Full Deployment? On the face of it, contemplating a pilot of changes to the revenue process sounds like the UK planning a switch to driving on the right by having cars change in the morning and trucks in the afternoon. In fact, it’s more like trialing the new approach for all vehicles on a few streets before rolling it out to the rest of the country. Most large businesses have revenue motions for specific segments, geographies, or products that involve particular teams across marketing, qualification, and sales. Look for a sales leader in such an area who recognizes the efficiency and pipeline uplift benefits of adopting a new approach to the revenue process, then make the changes there. Alternatively, difficulties reaching targets also provide a great motivator for trying something new. Most CRMs can handle the necessary platform changes for specific motions without affecting the rest of the business. Initially working with a smaller group is easier, so carefully capture the results from the pilot to prove the case for a wider adoption. Most likely, the rest of the business will beat a path to your door after they see what’s possible, regardless of which side of the road they’re on! How Can Revenue Operations Teams Deploy AI To Drive Sales Engagement With Buyers? Empowering individual sellers to orchestrate their engagement with buyers is key to unlocking peak performance. Equally, providing sellers with insight into B2B purchasers is crucial, particularly visibility over the buying groups that are typically making these complex decisions. Fortunately, a new category of revenue technology recently identified by Forrester is making this much easier for B2B organizations across new business acquisition, growth, and retention. Known as revenue orchestration platforms, these tools harness AI to automate repetitive prospecting tasks, help eliminate manual activity tracking, and centralize buyer signal capture that contributes to buyer group identification. Although the solutions in this space are represented by a wide range of vendors with varying capabilities that require close scrutiny, smart RevOps leaders will embrace this new opportunity to optimize seller performance. How Do We Get The Most Value From Our Event Data? The benefits of event data are often overlooked despite the many options available to take advantage of it, as well as the fact that other data sources are fast disappearing. Indeed, we’ve found that half of marketers recognize they are not getting the most from data captured at events. Among other opportunities, event data can be used to improve the event experience itself (before, during, and afterward), buyer understanding, product development, and, of course, pipeline generation. Put simply, the barriers to realizing these benefits are siloed data, technology, and processes. Overcome these issues by ensuring that event technology is integrated with the wider revtech stack so that owned and third-party event data is fully activated. This necessitates frontline and event marketing teams working with revenue operations and avoiding the temptation to “go it alone.” Similarly, RevOps leaders must take on the responsibility to embrace event systems and data for the benefit of the business. What Is The Best Approach To Building Our Executive Dashboard? Dashboards are the most visible form of reporting and analytics delivery, widely used throughout the revenue ecosystem and beyond, yet are frequently the result of inadequate planning and design. Among the biggest problems with executive dashboards is that they can only be as good as the underlying measurement strategy they reflect. Revenue operations leaders responsible for insight delivery must determine the measures that reflect actual business performance and not succumb simply to displaying vanity metrics. When establishing dashboard requirements, ensure that the specific audience, their objectives, and the necessary refresh cadence are clear. An executive-level dashboard in particular should not merely be a rollup of metrics across marketing or sales and should focus on impact, not activity. And remember, the hallmark of a great dashboard is one that includes customer value metrics, not just internal-facing ones! *** Strategy, execution, and, of course, AI were recurring themes this year for revenue operations leaders. If you’re a Forrester client, arrange a follow-up discussion to continue the conversations. Otherwise, we’ll see you again next year! source

  道指跌257.59點，跌幅為0.61%，報41794.60點；納指跌59.93點，跌幅為0.33%，報18179.98點；標普500指數跌16.11點，跌幅為0.28%，報5712.69點。 美股周一收跌。投資者準備迎接周二的美國總統大選，並繼續關注本周的美聯儲貨幣政策會議與美股財報。 南韓軍方稱北韓向東部海域發射彈道導彈。 新加坡10月標普PMI降至55.5創四個月低。 香港10月PMI升至52.2 私企領域重回擴張。 11月4日，香港金管局通過貼現窗口向銀行投放4.43億港元流動性。 GGII：預計今年中國鈉離子電池出貨量超1.5GWh 2025年超4.5GWh。 乘聯會：預估10月全國新能源乘用車廠商批發銷量同比增長58%。 百勝中國(9987)：第三季度經調整淨利潤2.97億美元，同比增長22%。 傳融創正就境內債二次重組方案進行溝通 預計本月底有最終方案。 LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp source

By Josh White ( October 31, 2024, 7:19 PM GMT) — The European Union is close to a final deal on its plan to bring the bloc’s value-added tax rules more in line with the digital economy after representatives reached an agreement in principle, the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU confirmed Thursday…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source