Vintage resistance
Speak to the youngsters joining ad agencies of today, and you might discover that an overwhelming majority of them have never worked on Microsoft PowerPoint – preferring platforms like
Canva
or even Google Slides for the hassle-free collaboration features (among others) these platforms provide. And anyone who has witnessed this exchange between Gen X, GenY and Gen Z; would realize that there is a certain sense of acceptance to these new platforms creeping in.
Whenever an innovation seeks to disrupt, it will always be met with some skepticism. There will be naysayers who swear by the existing way of doing things just because it is
familiar
. That is what the primal human survival instinct says – stick to what works and you will survive. But every once in a while, there comes the need for a reform that has the potential to seamlessly impact and affect the area/domain they pertain to. Yes, they need to face scrutiny to weed out any potential pitfalls or irritants in its functioning, but it is a part of the process.
Imagine having to ferry pen drives across the office every time there was a need to share a simple document, image, or file. 10 different people making 10 different slides, and then transferring these ten files to one desktop where all these slides will be collated into the final presentation. It is a nightmare. Now imagine sticking to this system because 'this is how things are done' in the organization.
The comfort zone is not a good benchmark, and the status quo exists to be disrupted.
Don't you think?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
6 hours ago
- Hans India
India's rising middle class to drive global leisure travel boom
India's growing middle class and its younger, travel-loving population are set to play a major role in shaping the future of global leisure travel, a new report said on Wednesday. As more Indians explore new destinations, the country is emerging as a key contributor to what is projected to be a $15 trillion global leisure travel industry by 2040, according to data compiled by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report highlights that annual global consumer spending on leisure travel is expected to triple from $5 trillion in 2024 to $15 trillion by 2040, making it a larger industry than pharmaceuticals and fashion. This dramatic growth will be driven by rising incomes in developing economies and a growing preference for experiences over material goods. India's domestic leisure travel has already shown a strong recovery after the pandemic, with spending between 2019 and 2024 registering moderate to strong growth. BCG projects this momentum to continue, with domestic travel spending rising by 12 per cent annually, regional spending by 8 per cent, and international spending by 10 per cent. Overnight trips are also expected to grow steadily -- 3 per cent domestically, 4 per cent regionally, and 6 per cent internationally. Millennials and Gen Z are at the forefront of this travel surge, with their enthusiasm for travel outpacing older generations by up to 26 percentage points. In India, even Gen X remains a powerful travel segment, unlike in many developed countries where their influence is waning.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
UAE leads the world in mobile shopping usage, global survey reveals
The UAE has been ranked first globally for mobile shopping usage, with 67% of consumers using their smartphones for their most recent purchase whether online or in-store, according to the 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The report places the UAE ahead of other tech-savvy markets like Saudi Arabia (66%) and Singapore (65%), cementing its position as a leader in digital retail engagement. Mobile Shopping Surges Across the UAE Smartphone usage for retail purchases in the UAE has grown by 23% since 2022, driven by demand for convenience, security, and seamless omnichannel experiences. The UAE also leads in online purchases via mobile devices at 37%, according to the survey, which was commissioned by Visa Acceptance Solutions and conducted by PYMNTS Intelligence. The study gathered insights from 1,679 consumers and 329 merchants between October 17 and December 9, 2024, across eight global markets. In-Store Shoppers Also Go Mobile While mobile is dominant online, it's also transforming the in-store shopping experience: 73% of UAE consumers use their phones in-store to compare prices, search for coupons, or collect loyalty rewards. This high engagement reflects a growing comfort with blended retail journeys, where the mobile device acts as a shopping assistant both digitally and physically. Generational Breakdown of Mobile Shopping Habits Although mobile shopping spans all age groups, adoption rates vary: Millennials lead with 73% adoption, the highest among all age groups. Gen X surprisingly outpaces Gen Z , highlighting a more established reliance on mobile shopping. , highlighting a more established reliance on mobile shopping. Baby boomers and seniors show much lower adoption, with only 18% using smartphones for their latest purchase. Security and Convenience Fuel Mobile Growth UAE consumers cite security and ease of use as key reasons for their high mobile engagement: 32% of users used biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition) in their latest online transaction that is almost double the global average. One-third of shoppers chose one-click checkout via third-party platforms, far exceeding the global average of 17%. Cross-Channel Shopping on the Rise Consumers and businesses in the UAE are increasingly adopting cross-channel shopping features, allowing seamless transitions between online and offline retail: 53% of UAE shoppers already use or are interested in using cross-channel features. On the business side, 56% of merchants currently offer these options, while 28% plan to implement them. This alignment between consumer expectations and retailer offerings positions the UAE as a leader in digital commerce innovation. Daily Shopping Habits Highlight Mobile Preference According to the index: UAE shoppers perform 1.5 mobile shopping activities per day, second only to Saudi Arabia. They use mobile phones for product research an average of 17 days per month, preferring smartphones over computers across all digital shopping tasks.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
MCP servers: Lure of sharing your data with AI, and a likely security nightmare
After generative AI, large language models, multi-modal intelligence, artificial general intelligence, and agentic AI, the artificial intelligence (AI) space is beginning to write another chapter. The phraseology we must wrap our heads around, and you'll increasingly hear about this, is MCP, or Model Context Protocol. It is supposed to solve an integration bottleneck, one that would allow AI systems to interact with external data sources and tools. But is this insulated against security risks, while handling personal data? (Clockwise from left) Canva's deep research connector in ChatGPT, MS illustrates workings of MCP servers & 11ai voice assistant. (Official images) It may have gone under the radar, but AI company Anthropic first mooted the idea of a singular connection language for AI assistants with other apps and systems users access, late last year — dubbed the 'USB-C for AI'. Claude Sonnet 3.5 is their first model, adept at building MCP implementations for connecting AI with datasets, as a user may want to. Indian fintech Zerodha launched an MCP integration with Anthropic's Claude. Among the things it can do is curate portfolio insights, plan trades, backtest investment strategies, and generate personal finance dashboards. For users who aren't proficient with the workings of the stock market, these insights may prove useful. 'MCPs are a new way for AI systems to interact with real-world services like trading accounts,' says Nithin Kamath, Founder and CEO of Zerodha, pointing out all the functionality is free to access. Globally, companies are rushing to build MCP integrations, and there's a core rationale for this sudden momentum. 'AI agents and assistants have become indispensable creative partners, yet current workflows require users to manually add context or references, creating complexity,' explains Anwar Haneef, GM and Head of Ecosystem at Canva. 11Labs, which has built the 11ai personal voice assistant, has bolted on MCP connections with platforms including Perplexity and Slack. Autonomous coding agent Cline too can combine MCP servers from Perplexity and others, to create research workflows. Amazon Web Services or AWS, in a technical document, explains MCP is an open standard that creates a universal language for AI systems to communicate with external data sources, tools, and services. Conceptually, MCP functions as a universal translator, enabling seamless dialogue between language models and the diverse systems, they say. Also Read: Apple Music at 10, India's 5G trajectory, Canva's AI tools, and Adobe's camera For users, this may open up a scenario where AI tools may be able to connect with different platforms, and thereby, a single window workflow approach, instead of manually copying data between applications or switching between multiple tools to complete tasks. Take for example Canva, which becomes the first company to launch its deep research connector with OpenAI's ChatGPT, and thereby give users access to designs and content created in Canva via their ChatGPT conversations. This will include Canva Docs and presentations as well. The advantage? Summarising reports or documents, asking AI to analyse data, and for a more contextual conversation. AI will be able to use these tools to create content depending on what a user asks. 'This is a major step in our vision to make the complex simple and build an all-in-one AI workflow that's secure and accessible to all,' adds Haneef. OpenAI announced MCP support earlier, says popular remote MCP servers include Cloudflare, HubSpot, Intercom, PayPal, Plaid, Shopify, Stripe, and Twilio, all encompassing various consumer and enterprise focused domains. Microsoft has made substantial investments in MCP infrastructure, integrating the protocol with Azure OpenAI Services to allow GPT models to interact with external services and fetch live data. The company has released multiple MCP servers. Anthropic, though an early mover, has had to change the approach to offering MCP to developers. The result, released a few days ago, are the new Desktop Extensions, to simplify MCP installations. 'We kept hearing the same feedback: installation was too complex. Users needed developer tools, had to manually edit configuration files, and often got stuck on dependency issues,' the company says, in a statement. Developers will need help with the integration. AWS has released their open-source AWS Serverless MCP Server, a tool that combines AI assistance with streamlined development, to help developers build modern applications. Unchartered territory? Risks, particularly with how a user's data is being shared between two distinct digital entities, are something tech companies must remain cognisant of. As Kailash Nadh, Zerodha's Chief Technology Officer explains, 'Strictly from a user perspective, it feels liberating to be able to access services outside of their walled gardens and bloated UIs riddled with dark patterns. It moves a considerable amount of control from service providers to users, but at the same time, it concentrates decision-making and mediation in the hands of AI blackboxes.' He is yet to find an answer to what happens in case of errors and failures with real-world implications, tracing accountability and the inevitable regulatory questions. 'Whether the long-term implications of MCP's viral, cross-cutting spread will be net positive or not, is unclear to me,' he adds. AI security expert Simon Wilson is worried about users going overboard in 'mixing and matching MCP Servers'. Particularly concerning is the attack method, called prompt injection. 'Any time you combine access to private data, exposure to untrusted content and the ability to externally communicate an attacker can trick the system into stealing your data,' he explains, in a Mastodon post. He points to the core of this approach, labelling it a 'lethal trifecta' — access to private data, exposure to untrusted content and an ability to communicate externally. 'Be careful with which custom MCP servers you add to your ChatGPT workspace. Currently, we only support deep research with custom MCP servers in ChatGPT, meaning the only tools intended to be available within the remote MCP servers are search and document retrieval. However, risks still apply even with this narrow scope,' OpenAI warns developers, in a technical note. Microsoft too has noted specific risks around misconfigured authorisation logic in MCP servers leading to sensitive data exposure and authentication tokens being stolen, which can then be used to impersonate and access resources inappropriately.
