Latest news with #ChrisMcKay
Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
AI, The Customer, And The Worker
Abstract image of businessman walking in VR environment. 3D generated image. How do we measure the changes that AI brings? There are many facets from which to view the disruption. Some, of course, are focusing on the customer, and what it means to sell in the AI age. A panel at IIA showed us some of these insights, as notable participants came together to talk about strategic AI outcomes. 'I think we all know that AI is disrupting traditional customer relationships and really the experiences of how people interact engage with brands, products and services,' said Lindsay Ellerby, in opening the panel, which included Chris McKay, CEO of Imaginative, Joanna Pena Bickley, CEO of and Eric Feige, Managing Director of Strategy at VShift. In exploring some of the ways that LLMs work and what that brings to business, McKay talked about trust, using the example of early spell check tools evolving into autocorrect, and suggesting that businesses should build up to more extreme disruptions. 'You can't introduce a device and expect somebody to trust it immediately. There has to be that ramp up of you educating them as to why you're doing it. You have to establish trust to know that the data that you're using in your models are reputable and ethically sourced. You have to establish trust in knowing that the content that you're generating has a certain level of accuracy that they can depend on.' McKay also suggested that originality is key. Not every product, he said, needs to have a chatbot, and being able to bring a new utility or idea helps. it's important to ensure you're bringing your designers to the table now more than ever. Don't just think you need to adopt the latest, most capable model, throw it at a product, and you're going to have a global increase.' 'Marrying up the business objectives that formerly might have been conversions or hard dollar metrics and extending it to the human value, the wellness and the condition of that constituent, (is) critically important for the data scientist, as well as the designer, as well as the product owner, to work in harmony together,' Feige added. In other introspection on our shared experience, the panel considered the importance of new and different interface designs. That's something that we have been hearing a lot about as we note that our interfaces have been fairly static over a couple of decades. 'I think that over the last 15 years, we kind of really only focused on the visual input, and visual input has actually led to significant cognitive overload,' Bickley said. 'It actually, when you get down into the science of it, is an enormous contributor in why we have an epidemic of loneliness in our country and in the world right now. So the importance of multimodality is super important today.' Noting a kind of 'space race' in customer interactions right now, the panel went over some ideas about how to innovate and avoid 'echo chambers,' things that may end up being immensely helpful to our MIT students, for example. They talked about expectations, and disruptive tech, and how people don't wake up in the morning thinking about what they need, specifically, but with a more vague sense of intent. What I heard coming out of this panel was a thoughtful look at where we are and where we're going, in these halcyon days of AI disruption. We keep hearing more from experts and people in the know, people with a front-row seat to the change. Speaking of which, the panel also talked quite a bit about smaller, agile teams, which begs the question: where are all of these jobless people going? It's a serious question, and from people like my friend Jeremy Wertheimer, to others in public administration or showbiz, for example, we're attentive to the concerns of people who need work. But from a business standpoint, this also illuminated how an enterprise can view the customer in the context of AI capabilities.
CBC
07-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Hobbyists revisit the last time Canada had its 'elbows up' against U.S. annexation
Social Sharing Each year near London, Ont., a group of people from Canada and the United States gather to recreate a war so many Canadians and Americans rarely think about outside of a history class. The War of 1812 raged for three years between Great Britain and the U.S., and saw hostile American troops cross the border into Canada as part of a failed invasion meant to make the fledgling colony of Upper Canada America's newest state. The Battle of Longwoods, fought near the end of the war, in early March of 1814, saw the British and their Canadian and Indigenous allies clash with U.S. forces near Delaware, Ont., as part of an ongoing series of raids in which American troops burned and pillaged Canadian farms and homesteads across southwestern Ontario. In his 1980 book, the Invasion of Canada 1812-1813, Pierre Burton called the conflict "a foolish war that scarcely anyone wanted or needed, but which, once launched, no one knew how to stop." In present day Delaware, hobbyists from both camps can't help but see parallels between the conflict they're trying to recreate and the current trade war between Canada and the U.S. 'There's suffering on all sides' "There's suffering on all sides," Chris McKay, a re-enactor who has been participating in the hobby for the past 20 years told Ismaila Alfa on CBC Radio's Fresh Air on Saturday. "It's experiential history. You're really understanding what they went through," he said, noting re-enactors wear period woolen clothing, sleep outdoors in canvas tents and cook meals on a campfire just like they did 211 years ago. "When you're putting on all the equipment, you know what it feels like to carry that weight and carry around that 10 or 12 pound musket all day." Asked what he thought of U.S. President Donald Trump's recent comments about making Canada the 51st state, McKay said the remarks have been discussed at length by hobbyists on both sides of the border. "I know a lot of people felt a lot of anger. For me, it was a lot of disappointment," McKay said. "As re-enactors we sat down and said, 'let's not forget who our friends are.'" Co-operation, friendship endure despite conflict The same might have been said during the War of 1812, which saw communities on both sides of the border continue to trade and even engage in some remarkable acts of co-operation, such as the legend about the people of Calais, Maine borrowing a keg of gunpowder from the Canadians in St. Stephen, N.B., despite the war. McKay said Canada's shared border with the U.S., the longest undefended frontier on Earth, and the last 200 years of peace are both products of the conflict. "That grew out of the War of 1812, that relationship grew out of the early 19th century and we've worked really hard and built that and I was really disappointed to have that thrown away so quickly [by Donald Trump]." On the other side of the park, in the American encampment, Martin Land, from Toledo, Ohio, dressed in the dark blue tunic of an American commander from the period reclines on a wooden chair. He said he has been coming to re-enact this battle for the past 25 years and believes that one American president can't undo a bilateral relationship that's been the envy of the world now for centuries. "I believe that to be the case," said Land. "I didn't vote for him." "It's one big economy in many ways. There's no point in stirring up trouble. I'm baffled," he said, noting that politics aside, the cross border friendships will endure. "People don't change that easy."
The Courier
06-05-2025
- General
- The Courier
Hundreds of pupils sent home after power cut hits Kirkcaldy High School
Kirkcaldy High School. Image: DC Thomson Hundreds of pupils have been sent home after a power cut hit Kirkcaldy High School – but youngsters doing exams have had to stay. Parents were informed by the school at around 10am on Tuesday of a power failure and that pupils were set to return home. However, students scheduled to sit SQA exams today were told they had to remain at the school. About 1,400 pupils attend Kirkcaldy High School on Dunnikier Way. Power cut hits Kirkcaldy High School Fife Council has confirmed that power has now been restored at the campus, but the school will remain closed for the rest of Tuesday to all pupils except those sitting exams. Rector Chris McKay said: 'We experienced a power cut earlier today and pupils, apart from those sitting exams, were sent home. 'Power has been restored and all exams are going ahead as planned.' Tags
STV News
06-05-2025
- General
- STV News
Pupils sent home from school following power cut amid exams
Pupils at a Fife secondary school have been sent home following a power cut. The rector of Kirkcaldy High School, Chris McKay, confirmed that the building lost power earlier on Tuesday. The school made the decision to send those not sitting exams home. Pupils are due to sit their Nat 4 English and Advanced Higher English exams today. Power has been restored to the site and the tests are going ahead as scheduled. The rector said: 'We experienced a power cut earlier today and pupils, apart from those sitting exams, were sent home. 'Power has been restored and all exams are going ahead as planned.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Scottish Sun
06-05-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
Hundreds of kids sent home as Scots school suffers power cut – but exam pupils forced to stay
informing them of the power failure Staff sent an email to parents informing them of the power failure POWER OFF Hundreds of kids sent home as Scots school suffers power cut – but exam pupils forced to stay Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HUNDREDS of pupils have been sent home after a Scottish school suffered a power cut this morning. However, students sitting their SQA exams have been forced to stay inside the building. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Kirkcaldy High School is currently experiencing a power cut Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd Kirkcaldy High School, in Fife, announced it was "experiencing a power cut" at around 10am today. Staff sent an email to parents informing them of the power failure. They explained that as a result, students are now being asked to leave - with the exception of those who are sitting exams. There are two exams for Nation 5 English that are taking place today. The first - Reading for Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation - finished at 10am. And the second exam on Critical Reading is due to finish at 12pm. The school has around 1,400 pupils, and those able to get home have been told to do so. Any child who can't has been asked to wait in the school dining hall in the meantime. The school said that staff will be available in this area. The email read: "Kirkaldy High School is currently experiencing a power cut. BLACKOUT WARNING RISK "All pupils, other than those sitting SQA exams, are being sent home. "Any young person who cannot go home will be accommodated in school and are asked to wait in the dining hall where staff are available". Fife Council have confirmed that power has now been restored to the school, however, all pupils are still being sent home. They added that exams are still going ahead as planned. Rector Chris McKay said: "We experienced a power cut earlier today and pupils, apart from those sitting exams, were sent home. "Power has been restored and all exams are going ahead as planned."
