It’s really getting a bit out of hand, isn’t it? Governments are vying for AI dominance with a desperation reminiscent of the nuclear arms race. The market is as moody as a teenager — a rabid fan of AI one second, and totally over it the next. Major enterprises cut staff and elected officials bend land use rules all as part of exciting “strategic AI investments.” American AI companies have invested hundreds of billions to build AI tools, while a Chinese AI startup claims to have whipped one up in a few million. While some media companies are meeting AI giants with multimillion-dollar lawsuits, others are meeting them with multimillion-dollar partnerships. The Screen Actors Guild is fighting to prevent studios from making AI-generated versions of movie stars while movie stars are starring in ads for AI companies during Monday Night Football. AI can solve the knottiest challenges of the climate crisis, some say, but running AI may worsen the climate crisis. There are oodles of new AI-enabled cybersecurity tools on the market, which you will need, to defend against new AI-enabled cyberattacks. And despite this, despite all the bells and whistles, sturm und drang, many CIOs look at their own AI story and find it … a little boring. A bit slow and tedious, maybe. The same basic story line: behind schedule, over budget. Even if they see a positive return on their investment, the project might be a letdown. So, what is the real cost of AI? What’s the price tag CIOs have to pay in the short term and what’s the cost to their business — and to society — in the long-term? That’s a long question. So in this special report that we’ll roll out across three weeks, InformationWeek will delve into direct and ancillary costs of investing in AI. What are the various costs of developing AI internally versus hiring third-party resources, the impact on community, the environment through the drain on power, and regulatory enforcement on the technology. What will it cost an enterprise in real and social currency to pursue AI? And can we afford what it will take to deliver on AI’s promise? Week 1: The costs and the hidden costs. Video: What Is the Cost of AI: Examining the Cost of AI-Enabled Apps The path to realizing those AI expectations, however, comes with a variety of costs that are not all monetary — and could have surprising impacts on the world. Video: If Everyone Uses AI, How Can Organizations Differentiate? As AI saturates the market, what becomes of its competitive advantages? Does it become a basic, digital commodity in the background? Here’s what’s coming next: AI’s Hidden Cost: Will Data Preparation Break Your Budget? Infographic: Comparing Costs of LLM Providers Optimizing AI: What Do Companies Need to Focus On? It Takes a Village: New Infrastructure Costs for AI — Utility Bills Dissecting The Darker Side of AI What Types of Liabilities Are Emerging From AI?  Who’s Hurting from the AI Talent Shortage Week 2: The sudden demands for AI, particularly generative AI, have outpaced the world’s ability to supply it. How Bad is the AI Chip Shortage Now, and How Does That Impact the Price of Your AI Project The Long-Term Impact of the AI Market Crash of Summer 2024 Cooling AI: How Hard Is It To Keep Temps Down Why the Grid Can’t Support AI MAP: How Hot are AI Hotspots? Spotlight: Loudoun County, Va. Spotlight: Phoenix, Arizona Spotlight: Santa Clara County, California Just How Rare are the Rare Earth Metals We Need for AI? How Will Politics Limit or Complicate US Access to AI? Week 3: How can you use AI more efficiently and more effectively, to keep costs down and improve outcomes? Is a Small Language Model Better Than a LLM for You? How to Determine ROI for an AI Project. How to Make Your AI Project Greener, Without the Greenwashing How to Set a Realistic Budget for AI Research Projects Working on Truly Green AI source

By Aron Beezley, Nathaniel Greeson and Patrick Quigley ( January 29, 2025, 5:14 PM EST) — In 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued five noteworthy bid protest decisions:… 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

As a keen amateur chef, I have been known to occasionally seek inspiration from tv cooking competitions. Those bite-sized episodes of culinary drama sometimes provide just enough to satisfy my hunger for light evening entertainment. Of course, all these shows follow a proven recipe: enthusiastic contestants, challenging ingredients, and a panel of picky jurors deciding everyone’s fate — all set against the backdrop of the ever-present ticking clock … At the end of each episode, there is always a winner — a Chopped Champion, a Top Chef, a Star Baker. The victor is the one who, through the various phases of the competition, wins over the expectant jurors by their transformation of raw ingredients, while simultaneously wrangling technology, dealing with the heat of the kitchen, and letting the viewers know just enough about their unique and scintillating backstory. Are they chefs, or are they marketers? For every winner, there are of course multiple losers — the eliminated ones. These unfortunate contestants tend to falter for a few simple reasons. While talented and accomplished competitors, they often fail to adapt their usual cooking approaches to the specific demands of the competition arena. They make an error either in what they serve, how they prepare it, or how they present it. And no one likes medium-rare chicken, even on a bed of seasonal yuzu-drizzled kale chips … Recurring Revenue Marketing Demands A Different Recipe Seasoned B2B marketers often face similar challenges when stepping into the competitive recurring revenue arena. Equipped with their trusted tools, know-how, and scars from years of competition, they often “play it too safe.” They apply tried and tested (legacy) approaches to their new environment, only to be greeted with an underwhelmed reaction from a new jury of buyers. But it’s not that they’ve suddenly become bad marketers. Recurring revenue marketing in B2B is still marketing, with the raw ingredients of brand, demand, engagement, and enablement. It’s just that these ingredients need to be prepared and seasoned in different ways to reflect the nature and demands of the recurring revenue environment. Optimizing Five Stakeholder Relationships Will Help Your Recurring Revenue Rise In our recent research report, Recurring Revenue Marketing Demands Customer Obsession And A Seamless Operating Model, Dawn Ferrara and I explain how the secret to recurring revenue marketing success is to reimagine marketing’s work through the lens of its interactions with five key stakeholder groups: buyers, product, sellers, operations, and employees. We examine what makes these relationships different in a recurring revenue model and introduce a new framework, the Forrester Recurring Revenue Marketing Propeller. This framework illustrates how marketers should adjust their approach to stakeholder relationships and what steps they should take to ensure that they win the trust and long-term patronage of recurring revenue customers.   We hope clients enjoy reading the full report. If we’ve left you hungry for more, please don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a deeper discussion. source

TL;DR: The 2025 All-in-One CompTIA Certification Prep Courses Bundle is on sale for just $29.97 ($299). This offer ends on Feb. 23. Whether you’re looking to break into the tech industry or advance your IT career, getting CompTIA-certified is one of the most recognized ways to demonstrate your skills and expertise. For a limited time, you can grab the 2024 All-in-One CompTIA Certification Prep Bundle for just $29.97 (regularly $299), which includes everything you need to prepare for some of the most in-demand certifications in IT. What are CompTIA certifications? CompTIA certifications are widely respected in the IT world and cover a range of key areas, from the basics of IT to more advanced topics like network security and cloud infrastructure. These certifications serve as proof that you have the technical knowledge needed to handle real-world IT problems, whether you’re working as a network administrator, help desk technician, cybersecurity analyst, or any other role in the field. This bundle helps prepare you for the exams and focuses on some of the most sought-after CompTIA certifications, including CompTIA A+, which is the perfect starting point for anyone new to IT. It covers everything from basic troubleshooting to configuring operating systems. You’ll also get prepared for the Network+ CompTIA. It focuses on networking skills, including setting up, configuring, and managing networks, making it ideal for aspiring network administrators. The course on Security+ prepares you for a career in cybersecurity, ensuring you can manage and protect an organization’s systems. Who needs certifications? Ideal for IT beginners, network administrators, cybersecurity professionals, and others, this bundle gives you the comprehensive tools and guidance you need to succeed. With expert-led courses tailored to each certification, you can work at your own pace, review practice exams, and build the confidence you need to ace the certification tests. Get the 2025 All-in-One CompTIA Certification Prep Courses Bundle while it’s on sale for just $29.97 ($299) through Feb. 23. Prices and availability are subject to change. source

The NBA is experimenting with a digital brain for basketballs. The system is the brainchild of SportIQ, a Finnish startup that develops smart basketballs. Inside each ball’s valve, SportIQ embeds a sensor that tracks a player’s shots. Data is first extracted on their form, position, angle, power, and technique. Next, the information is fed to a mobile app for AI analysis. Players then receive direct feedback and advice. According to SportIQ, over 20 million shots have already been tracked. The company estimates that regular users improve their shooting accuracy by 12%. The results impressed bigwigs at the NBA. They announced this week that SportIQ has been selected for Launchpad, the league’s tech incubator. During the six-month program, SportIQ will gets hands-on support and resources from the NBA to develop its tech. It all culminates with a presentation to the league’s executives, partners, and investors during the prestigious NBA Summer League. Erik Anderson, CEO of SportIQ, said the process will integrate his company’s system at basketball’s highest level. “This partnership opens doors to opportunities that are rare for startups,” Anderson told TNW. “It positions us to enhance officiating, provide deeper analytics for teams, and elevate the fan experience — all while staying true to our vision of making basketball smarter and more connected.” Building smarter basketballs Basketball is at the root of SportIQ. The startup’s founder, Harri Hohteri, is a former professional player and computer scientist. The sport is also ripe for data-driven disruption. “Basketball has a gap in analytics solutions, particularly at the consumer level, compared to other sports,” Anderson said. “This provides a clear opportunity to bring innovative and accessible tools to players, coaches, and fans alike, revolutionising the way the game is understood and played.” Credit: SportIQAnderson (left) and Hohteri believe basketball is underserved by analytics. Credit: SportIQ SportIQ is also a rare example of a European consumer tech firm breaking into the US. According to the startup, thousands of Americans buy its smart basketballs a year. Launchpad provides a chance to increase those numbers. SportIQ is the only European company in the program this year. Joining the Finish startup are OneCourt, which translates gameplay into haptics and generative audio for vision-impaired fans; VReps, an education platform that improves basketball IQ; Somnee, which has developed a clinical-grade sleep diagnostic and therapeutic headband; and Trashie, a clothes recycling and rewards platform. The squad earned their spots after pitching innovations that address Launchpad’s key objectives. For the sport itself, the program is prioritising the future of officiating, youth basketball, and player health. For the business of basketball, meanwhile, the focus shifts to the future of media, fan connection, and impact. SportIQ will also benefit from targeting these objectives. By joining Launchpad, the company hopes to expand its product lines, usage cases, revenue streams, and technological capabilities. But the NBA is just a starting point for SportIQ. The company is already planning to expand into new markets, and its sensor system can adapt to numerous sports. As Anderson puts it: “Every ball can be smart.” source

By Sydney Price ( January 28, 2025, 8:34 PM EST) — The U.S. division of Italian luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana has urged a New York federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action accusing it of abandoning a nonfungible tokens project while retaining the more than $25 million that was used to fund it, arguing that the U.S. arm of the company was not at all involved in the project…. 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

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More In case you missed it in favor of the Grammy Awards, OpenAI surprised the world late Sunday evening with the announcement of its new “Deep Research” modality, an AI agent available to ChatGPT Pro subscription plan ($200/month) users that’s designed to save humans hours by researching, well, “deeply” and expansively across the web for given topics and compiling professional quality reports across specialized domains from business to science, medicine, marketing and more. Users of ChatGPT Pro (and soon, ChatGPT Plus, Team, Enterprise and Edu) in the U.S. will be able to access Deep Research by clicking on the option underneath the prompt entry/compose bar at the bottom of the ChatGPT website and apps. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the feature in a series of posts on his personal account on the social network X as “like a superpower; experts on demand!” He added, “It is really good, and can do tasks that would take hours/days and cost hundreds of dollars.” Deep Research builds on OpenAI’s O Series of reasoning models, specifically leveraging the soon-to-be-released full o3 model (a smaller and less powerful model, o3-mini, was launched on January 31). The full o3 model can analyze vast amounts of information and integrate text, PDFs and images into a cohesive analysis. In a livestream posted to YouTube and available for replay on demand, Mark Chen, OpenAI’s Head of frontiers research, explained that Deep Research does “multi-step research on the internet. It discovers content, synthesizes content and reasons about this content, adapting its plan as it uncovers more and more information.” Chen further highlighted the innovation’s importance to OpenAI’s vision: “This is core to our artificial general intelligence (AGI) roadmap. Our ultimate aspiration is a model that can uncover and discover new knowledge for itself.” The launch of Deep Research marks the second in OpenAI’s official agents following the launch of its browser and cursor controlling Operator earlier this month. And Joshua Achiam, head of mission alignment at Stargate Command at OpenAI wrote on X, both models can help better define the concept of an “AI agent” — a popular but nebulous term these days among enterprises — well beyond the company or these specific use cases. “I feel like the term ‘agent’ wandered in the desert for a while,” Achaim wrote. “It did not have grounding or examples to point to. But agents like Operator or Deep Research give some shape to this concept. An agent is a general purpose AI that does one or more tool-using workflows for you.” OpenAI’s Deep Research achieves new, highest score on ‘Humanity’s Last Exam’ AI benchmark Deep Research has set new benchmarks for accuracy and reasoning. Isa Fulford, a member of OpenAI’s research team, shared in the YouTube livestream that the model achieves “a new high of 26.6% accuracy” on “Humanity’s Last Exam” a relatively new AI benchmark designed to be the most difficult for any AI model (or human, for that matter) to complete, covering 3,000 questions across 100 different subjects, such as translating ancient inscriptions on archaeological finds. Moreover, its ability to browse the web, reason dynamically and cite sources precisely sets it apart from earlier AI tools. “The model was trained using end-to-end reinforcement learning on hard browsing and reasoning tasks,” Fulford said. “It learned to plan and execute multi-step trajectories, reacting to real-time information and backtracking when necessary.” A standout feature of Deep Research is its capacity to handle tasks that would otherwise take humans hours or even days. During the announcement, Chen explained that “Deep Research generates outputs that resemble a comprehensive, fully cited research paper — something that an analyst or expert in the field might produce.” Applications and use cases The use cases for Deep Research are as diverse as they are impactful. OpenAI’s official X account posted that it was “built for people who do intensive knowledge work in areas like finance, science, policy and engineering and need thorough and reliable research.” It also appears valuable for consumers seeking personalized recommendations or conducting detailed product research, according to examples shared by OpenAI on its official Deep Research announcement blog post, which includes a detailed research assessment of the best snowboard for someone to buy. Altman summarized the tool’s versatility, writing: “Give it a try on your hardest work task that can be solved just by using the internet and see what happens.” A personal medical success story of Deep Research Felipe Millon, OpenAI’s government go-to-market lead, shared a deeply personal account of how Deep Research impacted his family. Writing in a series of posts on X, he described his wife’s battle with bilateral breast cancer and how the AI tool became an unexpected ally. “At the end of October, my wife was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer,” wrote Millon. “Overnight, our world turned upside down.” After a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, the couple faced a critical decision: Whether or not to pursue radiation therapy. The situation was fraught with uncertainty, as even their specialists provided mixed recommendations. “For her specific case, it’s completely in a gray area,” Millon explained. “We felt stuck.” Having preview access to Deep Research, Millon decided to upload his wife’s surgical pathology report and ask whether radiation would be beneficial. “What happened next was mind-blowing,” he wrote. “It didn’t just confirm what our oncologists mentioned — it went deeper. It cited studies I’d never heard of and adapted when we added details like her age and genetic factors.” The specific prompt he used was: “Read the surgical pathology report (attached) containing information about the bilateral breast cancer. Then research[ed] whether radiation would be indicated for this patient after 6 rounds of TCHP chemotherapy, based on the type of breast cancer. I want to understand the pros and cons of radiation for this patient, how likely it would be to reduce chances of recurrence, and whether the benefits outweigh the potential long-term risks.” Millon

A Pennsylvania healthcare system agreed to pay $65 million to patients who had their medical photographs and personal information posted on the internet after the provider declined to pay ransom demands from a threat actor in an attack last year. The $65 million settlement stands as a stark warning to businesses that protecting data is a critical task. Failing to do so will be expensive.   Today’s technology landscape makes it challenging for businesses to protect their data.   Lehigh Valley Health Network, a 13-hospital organization, received an ultimatum to pay up or have patient data plastered across the internet. LVHN declined to pay the ransom, and the threat actor kept their promise. They released over the internet personal medical records and undressed patient images taken for diagnostic purposes.   But Lehigh Valley Health Network was not alone. Businesses across the US face the same risks: from January to June 2024, there were an average of 14 reported ransomware attacks each day.    It is also becoming difficult for companies to pay their way out of a ransomware crisis as federal guidelines have made paying a ransomware threat actor more difficult. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) released an advisory in 2021 that stated American companies that pay ransoms to threat actors on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or in sanctioned jurisdictions may face civil penalties and liability imposed by the federal government.   Related:Tidal Wave of Trump Policy Changes Comes for the Tech Space In other words, giving into ransom demands may invite the federal government’s wrath. But refusing to pay may invite the wrong side in a lawsuit. Putting aside the rock-and-a-hard-place dilemma, many companies lack a plan for what to do when a ransomware attack hits.   Building an Incident Response Plan  Just as companies need to prepare for extreme weather events and supply chain disruptions resulting from them, similar forethought is necessary for dealing with a ransomware or cyberattack. How will the company identify the attack, what are the initial steps to take, who will lead the response team, what advisors will they call, and what will prevent further harm?  Cyber-attacks are tricky. It can be weeks or months before a company discovers a vulnerability exists, meaning that companies may already be behind the eight ball in responding when they discover the attack occurred.   But whether an attack has been percolating for minutes or months, the incident response plan provides a structure and creates systems for teams to respond quickly and effectively. The data exfiltration from a ransomware attack exposes companies’ vulnerabilities.  Related:What’s New (And Worrisome) in Quantum Security? The first step is always assessing the damage. The response team must evaluate the attack to identify its extent, which may require hiring a third-party cybersecurity company to forensically understand the breach and its implications.  Prisons, hospitals, utility companies, and other life-and-death service providers that find themselves under attack may require more urgent response capabilities. For most other companies without an immediate life safety issue, it may make more sense to take time to assess how long ago the attack occurred and what it will take to restore the systems.   Without this diligence, businesses put themselves further at risk; if they return too quickly to their systems’ backup capabilities without understanding the timeline of the attack, they may not know whether the breach infiltrated the backup system too. Restoring the network using an infected backup would not only fail to cure the attack, but it may also exacerbate the threat and increase the ransom demands. But without the capability to restore the system from backups, a company may have less options in dealing with a ransomware attack.   Related:Infogram Test Managing After an Attack  Between the third-party negotiators and insurance coverage, there may be a way to financially manage the attack. There are third-party providers that negotiate with ransomware threat actors, and some insurance companies cover for ransomware attacks.   For other victims, paying the ransom themselves may be the only way out. While doing so may come up against OFAC guidance, the federal government may limit liability for companies that cooperate with them. While there’s no guaranteed exit ramp or roadmap here, industry associations are working to create guidance for companies that find themselves stuck in this dilemma.   The bigger issue companies face post-attack is managing the fallout. In the US, each state manages data breach disclosure differently, so a company’s legal obligation and the liability may change depending on where they operate.   Ransoms are high, breach-related settlements are high, and the reputational damage is high. As a result, cyberattacks are becoming more expensive each year, and insuring against ransomware attacks has become more difficult.   Diligent data protection is the best defense companies have. Organizations that are cautious about how they collect and store data will have less risk than those that are lackadaisical. Companies that don’t risk falling susceptible to an ever-rising financial threat.  source

By Andrew Stulce and Marc Cavan ( January 31, 2025, 6:24 PM EST) — With new legislative proposals, an important court order solidifying a body of case law and the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Civil Rules all entering the discussion, 2024 was a busy year for the litigation finance disclosure debate…. 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