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Results for " productivity " 202 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle

'GTA 6' could cause $1 billion sick day as 1.5 million estimated to skip work: reports

When “Grand Theft Auto 6" drops next month, millions of Americans are planning a trip to Vice City that reports claim could cost the US economy a staggering $1 billion in lost productivity in just one day.

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Oct 21 • 11:44 AM EDT • Technology • fox29.com
New Richland Lab Could Transform How Scientists Study Microbes and Boost Regional Jobs

The BriefGroundbreaking held Tuesday: PNNL officially began construction on the M2PC lab, a 30,800-square-foot facility funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science that will study soil microbes to improve crop productivity and develop new biotechnology applications. The facility will be open to researchers from around the nation and the world.Research timelines could shrink dramatically: The facility's automation and AI capabilities could reduce experiments that currently take six months to just 72 hours, allowing scientists to explore more possibilities faster than ever before.New jobs coming to the Tri-Cities: The project is expected to create positions for automation engineers, AI experts, roboticists, technicians, and skilled craftspeople, with the facility opening in 2029.RICHLAND, Wash. — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory broke ground Tuesday on a first-of-its-kind facility that could accelerate scientific discoveries about the microscopic organisms living in soil—organisms that may hold the key to growing more food and developing new energy technologies.The Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability, or M2PC, represents a significant investment in automation and artificial intelligence to speed up research that traditionally takes years to complete. The 30,800-square-foot facility will house more than 100 connected automated instruments designed to study microbes at a pace and scale never before possible.Reshaping Agriculture's FutureThe M2PC facility will not put a new tool directly into a farmer's hands tomorrow morning, but it is actively reshaping the commercial pipeline to solve agriculture's biggest headache with biologicals: inconsistent field performance. For years, PNNL researchers have explored how microbes work and how they might help produce useful materials, advance energy technologies, and address challenges involving critical materials and minerals. But those experiments have been limited by what researchers could accomplish by hand."They can be used to provide nutrients to a plant so that the plant would grow more. So, like increasing your crop productivity, for example," said Douglas Mans, PNNL's Associate Laboratory Director for Integrated Discovery Sciences.PNNL's own research shows soil microbes can help plants access nutrients and withstand drought—benefits that could prove crucial as farmers face growing environmental pressures. The M2PC facility will allow scientists to identify and optimize useful microbes faster than ever before, accelerating the development of biological solutions that actually work consistently in the field.What Makes M2PC UniqueThe Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability differs from traditional research labs because it operates as a first-of-its-kind, AI-enabled autonomous laboratory designed to shrink experimental timelines from years down to months or weeks. The M2PC lab will connect more than 100 automated instruments to grow microbes, prepare samples, measure their behavior, and link observations to the molecular processes behind them. Artificial intelligence will help analyze results and guide the next experiments, allowing scientists to explore more questions faster.Deb Gracio, PNNL Director, emphasized the transformative potential during Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony: "Research that has taken years will become possible in months and hopefully in weeks."That acceleration is already being demonstrated. PNNL's smaller automated lab, called the Anaerobic Microbial Phenotyping Platform or AMP2, completed three experimental cycles in just 72 hours—a process that normally would have taken about six months."That normally would have taken us about six months … and we were able to do that in 72 hours," Mans said.The AMP2 laboratory is not being closed or replaced. Instead, the current 1,800-square-foot laboratory serves as an active prototype and precursor for the much larger M2PC facility. AMP2 will continue operating as a separate lab designed to run anaerobic experiments—those conducted in the absence of oxygen—while M2PC will focus on aerobic research.Broader Applications Beyond AgricultureWhile improving crop productivity is one important application, the M2PC facility is designed to support research into multiple areas critical to national priorities. The lab will advance research into biofuels, manufacturing materials, and energy technologies. It will also help researchers understand how microbes respond to environmental changes and how to design biological systems for biotechnology applications.As a flagship component of the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, M2PC represents a significant investment in using artificial intelligence and automation to accelerate U.S. scientific discovery. Dorothy Koch, Associate Director of the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program, highlighted the facility's importance during the groundbreaking."M2PC will accelerate biological discovery and design," Koch said, noting that the facility is expected to conduct a minimum of 500 strain experiments per week, 100 microbiome experiments per week, and take a million measurements per month.Economic Opportunity for the RegionBeyond the scientific breakthroughs, the M2PC project represents significant economic opportunity for the Tri-Cities region. The facility will require hiring automation engineers, AI experts, technicians skilled in operating robotics, and specialized craftspeople to build and maintain the sophisticated equipment."We're anticipating that type of hiring," Mans said when asked about job creation.PNNL has already begun recruiting talent nationally and internationally for positions related to the smaller AMP2 lab, bringing automation engineers from cities like Boston and San Francisco to work in the region. The M2PC facility is expected to accelerate that trend."This capability won't really exist anywhere else in the world," Mans said, suggesting the facility could become a draw for scientific talent seeking to work on cutting-edge biotechnology research.Timeline and Next StepsThe M2PC facility is expected to open in 2029. Between now and then, construction crews will level and prepare the ground, while the building takes shape. Simultaneously, Ginkgo Bio Works, the automation contractor, will build the facility's automation components off-site so they can be installed as the building is completed.In the interim, PNNL researchers and the broader scientific community will begin planning the first experiments to be conducted in the facility, ensuring research is lined up and ready to begin as soon as the doors open.The groundbreaking ceremony included representatives from the Department of Energy, PNNL leadership, and elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, underscoring the project's significance to the region and the nation's biotechnology future. News The U.S. Department of Energy Secretary tours Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News Beyond DNA: Scientists Explore New Frontiers in Biology Research Dan Hanson, Apple Valley News Now News TRIDEC optimistic that Hanford, PNNL will see funding in national budget Robert Desaulniers News Big picture science: monitoring the Yakima River Basin News PNNL research could shape the future of fighting fentanyl ​COPYRIGHT 2026 BY APPLE VALLEY NEWS NOW. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.

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Oct 20 • 7:44 PM EDT • Science • applevalleynewsnow.com
Notable introduces Flow Compass, giving healthcare operators control of their AI workforce

/PRNewswire/ -- Notable, the leading healthcare AI platform for transforming workforce productivity, today announced Flow Compass, a new intelligence layer of...

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Oct 19 • 6:01 AM EDT • Health • prnewswire.com
Football Obsessions Impact Productivity and Health for Fans

Learn how football obsessions impact productivity, how to safely deal with football fandom in safe ways. Manage being a football fan with grace.

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Oct 16 • 2:00 PM EDT • Health • sports.yahoo.com
Cardiology’s busy year: Compensation, productivity, imaging volumes and TAVR cases all on the rise for heart specialists

Cardiologists appear to be thriving in the face of adversity. Even as the specialty juggles an aging population, a workforce shortage and unfavorable reimbursement policies, compensation and productivity continue to climb.

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Oct 15 • 4:11 PM EDT • Business • cardiovascularbusiness.com
The First AI Advantage Was About Productivity. The Next One May Give Entrepreneurs a Bigger Edge.

The next AI advantage for entrepreneurs isn't about more content or productivity. It's moving from idea to execution faster.

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Oct 14 • 3:00 PM EDT • Business • entrepreneur.com
You Bought AI to Save Time. So Why Are You Busier Than Ever?

AI improves productivity only when leaders fix the underlying business system, delegate outcomes effectively, and stop managing every task.

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Oct 14 • 1:00 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
Killing Time

Our modern lives are wired for productivity, speed and constant stimulation. Boredom? No time! Yet boredom can fire up our creativity and help teach us to manage our emotions.

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Oct 14 • 8:11 AM EDT • Science • dw.com
M5 Pro MacBook Pro vs Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra: Compared

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra uses Nvidia graphics in a bid to take over from the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro as a productivity favorite. Here's how the two powerful notebooks compare.

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Oct 12 • 1:22 PM EDT • Technology • appleinsider.com
Big Tech is betting $700 billion on AI. Healthcare will decide whether the bet pays off

Healthcare has something many industries lack: a clear place to put the productivity gains AI creates.

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Oct 10 • 6:30 AM EDT • Health • fortune.com
Pharmaceutical innovation: a strategic investment in health and growth

Governments around the world are confronting increasingly common challenges: how to drive economic growth, address demographic changes and productivity pressures, and how to strengthen national resilience. Investment in health is fundamental to achieving these goals, and medicines and vaccines are central to this effort. We are at the cusp of the next golden age in...

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Oct 9 • 10:47 AM EDT • Health • ifpma.org
The Politics of Sustainability Have Changed. The Business Case Hasn’t.

Corporate sustainability may have fallen out of favor in some executive and political circles, but the business case remains strong: Companies continue to invest because sustainability initiatives can deliver measurable gains in profitability, resilience, and growth. Drawing on research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and other recent studies, the article shows how four areas in particular—circularity, decarbonization, sustainable sourcing, and employee well-being—can lower costs, reduce risk, strengthen supply chains, improve productivity, and create new revenue opportunities. Examples from industries including automotive, healthcare, apparel, energy, consumer goods, and manufacturing illustrate how companies are capturing value through resource reuse, energy efficiency, resilient sourcing strategies, and investments in frontline workers. While the language of ESG may be losing momentum, the underlying business fundamentals have not changed: organizations that systematically address material environmental and social challenges, quantify the financial impact of their efforts, and embed sustainability into core decision-making are better positioned to improve operational performance and create long-term enterprise value.

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Oct 7 • 8:25 AM EDT • Business • hbr.org
The Politics of Sustainability Have Changed. The Business Case Hasn’t.

Corporate sustainability may have fallen out of favor in some executive and political circles, but the business case remains strong: Companies continue to invest because sustainability initiatives can deliver measurable gains in profitability, resilience, and growth. Drawing on research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and other recent studies, the article shows how four areas in particular—circularity, decarbonization, sustainable sourcing, and employee well-being—can lower costs, reduce risk, strengthen supply chains, improve productivity, and create new revenue opportunities. Examples from industries including automotive, healthcare, apparel, energy, consumer goods, and manufacturing illustrate how companies are capturing value through resource reuse, energy efficiency, resilient sourcing strategies, and investments in frontline workers. While the language of ESG may be losing momentum, the underlying business fundamentals have not changed: organizations that systematically address material environmental and social challenges, quantify the financial impact of their efforts, and embed sustainability into core decision-making are better positioned to improve operational performance and create long-term enterprise value.

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Oct 7 • 8:25 AM EDT • Politics • hbr.org
Open Machine CEO Allie K. Miller discusses using AI in her daily life

Allie K. Miller, the CEO of Open Machine, shares her daily routine, utilizing AI tools for productivity and personal lifestyle optimization.

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Oct 2 • 5:05 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
The AI Shift: Is AI supercharging science?

Productivity gains in analysis are getting stuck in physical-world bottlenecks

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Oct 1 • 7:30 AM EDT • Science • ft.com
Asia’s boardrooms risk missing the biggest cost of climate change: human health

Extreme heat is already draining worker productivity across Asia.

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Sep 30 • 3:48 AM EDT • Health • fortune.com
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Small Business Using AI are Hiring Faster - Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

By Rieva Lesonsky – A report from Gusto by Nich Tremper and Tom Bowen found that small businesses increasingly use AI to build and grow their companies. Almost two-thirds of startups used AI to make their launch easier. Small businesses are using AI to increase productivity and grow revenue. And companies that embraced the technology […]

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Sep 21 • 11:56 AM EDT • Business • sbecouncil.org
PPG appoints Alex Lopez vice president, investor relations, operational finance

PPG (NYSE: PPG) today announced that Alex Lopez, currently PPG director, investor relations, has been appointed PPG vice president, investor relations and operational finance, effective Oct. 1. Lopez will continue to report to Jamie Beggs, PPG senior vice president and chief financial officer. Alex Lopez has been appointed PPG vice president, investor relations and operational finance. In this expanded role, Lopez will continue to lead investor relations while assuming responsibility for enterprise operational finance, with a focus on strengthening capital discipline, productivity governance and operational finance effectiveness. Lopez has held a variety of finance roles of increasing responsibility during his 20 years with PPG, including business-specific finance leadership as well as corporate roles. Prior to assuming the investor relations role in 2024, Lopez served as global finance director, Automotive OEM Coatings. He also supported the growth of PPG Comex when he relocated to

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Sep 21 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • investor.ppg.com
Oracle CEO tells employees AI has not sped up product delivery

Oracle's chief reveals what the AI productivity boom is missing.

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Sep 20 • 7:37 AM EDT • Business • theolympian.com
Oracle CEO tells employees AI has not sped up product delivery

Oracle's chief reveals what the AI productivity boom is missing.

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Sep 20 • 7:37 AM EDT • Business • thenewstribune.com
Oracle CEO tells employees AI has not sped up product delivery

Oracle's chief reveals what the AI productivity boom is missing.

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Sep 20 • 7:37 AM EDT • Business • heraldsun.com
Three Titans players Philadelphia must locate before every snap

Jeffery Simmons, Calvin Ridley and Chimere Dike can alter Sunday’s matchup if Philadelphia can't account for their productivity

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Sep 20 • 2:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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Fred Payne: Poverty costs Indiana businesses millions of dollars

Research shows employees experiencing financial stress lose productive work time. When a workforce is financially fragile, productivity losses compound.

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Sep 18 • 2:00 PM EDT • Business • ibj.com
Microsoft’s AI playbook shows businesses how to turn experiments into results

Microsoft’s new Frontier Playbook outlines how businesses can move beyond AI experimentation and turn artificial intelligence deployments into measurable business results, including greater productivity and time savings, Inc. reports. The guide draws on more than 100 of Microsoft’s internal AI projects across its corporate functions, commercial organization and engineering teams. It comes as enterprise AI […]

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Sep 17 • 3:46 PM EDT • Business • businessreport.com
Everybody Wants to Make Their Own Mac mini Now, and It's Obvious Why

The era of the tiny AI boxes is setting off a different kind of PC arms race.

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Sep 17 • 11:15 AM EDT • Technology • gizmodo.com
Claude comes for Gemini with its own take on Docs and Slides

Claude’s getting its own version of Google’s productivity tools.

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Sep 16 • 12:30 PM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
Robots reshape the future of homebuilding

America’s housing industry is facing a severe labor shortage and a longstanding productivity problem, creating growing interest in robotics and automation to increase homebuilding capacity, CNBC reports. The U.S. is short roughly 1.2 million homes, while nearly 300,000 construction jobs were open at the end of 2025. Labor shortages cost builders an estimated $11 billion […]

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Sep 14 • 10:51 AM EDT • Business • businessreport.com
Testimony of Brian Blase before the United States House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust — "Examining Healthcare Markets: Fraud and Competition"

Government has created incentives to maximize subsidies while weakening incentives to improve productivity and compete for patients.

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Sep 14 • 9:00 AM EDT • Health • paragoninstitute.org
Don't fear an AI-driven wipeout of white-collar jobs, Morgan Stanley says

Economists at Morgan Stanley say that veterans of the white-collar labor force actually stand to benefit most from the productivity gains delivered by AI.

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Sep 13 • 5:20 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Beyond reimbursement: The business case for permanent virtual care

Access, space, productivity, patient demand and hybrid-care workflows are giving health systems reasons to keep expanding telemedicine, even when payment policy remains uncertain.

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Sep 11 • 11:05 AM EDT • Business • healthcareitnews.com
How does your job protect your health?

Corporate wellness programs are a popular way for businesses to maintain employee productivity by also maintaining their employees’ health.

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Sep 10 • 4:47 PM EDT • Health • wbez.org
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Scientists altered the air around a Wisconsin forest for 11 years; extra CO₂ drove 39% more productivity, but ozone reversed part of the gain

What happens when young forest communities spend more than a decade growing in air with unusually high levels of carbon dioxide and ozone? Scientists in Wisconsin set out to find the answer by changing the atmosphere around these communities and tracking how the trees responded over 11 years.

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Sep 6 • 1:06 AM EDT • Science • timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Your Employees’ Money Stress Could Be Costing Your Business

Money stress doesn’t stay at home. It can follow employees to work, affecting productivity, engagement, and retention.

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Sep 5 • 1:00 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
Opinion: To truly celebrate Illinois workers, boost employee ownership this Labor Day

Employee stock ownership plans lead to lower turnover, high productivity and greater pride in outcomes, but there are just over 300 in Illinois.

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Sep 4 • 11:48 AM EDT • Business • chicagobusiness.com
Amazon is selling a 2-in-1 laptop and tablet on sale for $100

One shopper called it "a feature-packed productivity package."

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Sep 2 • 7:15 AM EDT • Technology • thestreet.com
Stop trying to maintain constant productivity: How you cope with stress changes with the seasons and your biological clock

Though you may expect your productivity and mood to remain constant regardless of context, these rhythms affect your ability to deal with the stressors in your life: parenting, health concerns, work deadlines and even inconveniences such as traffic jams.

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Sep 1 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • cnn.com
Grand Theft Auto VI could cause a massive workplace productivity crisis

Hardcore gamers and casuals alike have had November 19 circled on their calendars for months, and for good reason. On the third Thursday of the month, Rockstar...

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Aug 31 • 1:05 PM EDT • Technology • techspot.com
Siemens CEO Roland Busch's seven rules for getting things done

Roland Busch, the CEO of Siemens, manages work life balance by prioritizing email management and efficient meeting strategies, enhancing productivity.

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Aug 29 • 5:05 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
I replaced 13 apps with one Gemini feature; now my Android productivity is 10 times better

Handling chaotic tasks on my Android phone has never felt this good

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Aug 28 • 7:00 AM EDT • Technology • androidpolice.com
Lessons from Chinese business leaders about integrating AI in the workplace

China's experience in moving from AI adoption towards durable productivity – in three distinct stages – offers a blueprint for the rest of the world

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Aug 27 • 7:56 AM EDT • Business • weforum.org
Oura Health's Tom Hale discusses his daily work routine

The CEO of Oura Health, Tom Hale, shares his wellness-focused routine, integrating health data and time management for productivity and balance.

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Aug 27 • 5:05 AM EDT • Health • businessinsider.com
Science Confirms 'Leisure Guilt' Is Real—and You're Likely Wasting Hours on It

A new study published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reveals that Americans spend a full 14 percent of their downtime worrying about productivity instead of resting.

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Aug 27 • 5:00 AM EDT • Science • inc.com
Finns may live to 80 or 85, but productive healthy years average 43 to 46

For the first time in Finland, population-level norm values have been established for estimating life expectancy adjusted for health-related functional capacity and productivity. The new study provides ...

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Aug 25 • 9:20 PM EDT • Health • phys.org
I burned out as a startup founder. My interns changed everything.

A startup cofounder says his unique connection with his summer interns pulled him out of burnout, boosted productivity, and made his startup better.

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Aug 23 • 7:07 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
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Why Agentic AI Could Expose the Leadership Gaps Holding Businesses Back

Agentic AI can boost productivity while exposing leadership gaps that require stronger guidance, accountability, and decision-making.

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Aug 21 • 11:00 AM EDT • Business • inc.com
Protecting the eye health of an ageing global population

Unmanaged vision loss costs the global economy over $411 billion annually in lost productivity. Governments and businesses should help protect eye health.

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Aug 20 • 12:11 PM EDT • Health • weforum.org
AI-Native, Not AI-Sprinkle: Why AI Is A Business Change, Not A Technology Change

Companies unlock AI’s biggest productivity gains not by adding AI tools to existing workflows, but by redesigning teams, roles and daily work around AI. The broader lesson, argues Bob Morse, co-founder and managing partner of Strattam Capital, is that achieving transformational gains like 3x productivity requires CEO- and board-backed organizational change — not merely technology adoption.

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Aug 11 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • news.crunchbase.com
Inside David Hatcher's day as Baringa's managing partner

David Hatcher is the managing partner of Baringa, a global consulting firm. He shared his daily routine and some of his best productivity hacks.

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Aug 11 • 5:17 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
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4 Web Browsers More Powerful Than Google Chrome

Google Chrome isn't the only option for power users. These browsers offer deeper customization, privacy tools, productivity features, and more.

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Aug 9 • 8:17 AM EDT • Technology • bgr.com
Small Business Technology News This Week: AI Shopping Searches Surges, Thryv And Wix Partner, Gemini Notebook Gets An Upgrade

AI adoption is accelerating across commerce and industry, as new partnerships and tools help businesses improve sales, cash flow, productivity and efficiency.

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Aug 9 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
Why Businesses Should Account for Cyberattacks When Implementing AI

AI can limit a company’s productivity by making it more vulnerable to cyberattacks, necessitating the use of AI security and other practices that minimize the attack surface.

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Aug 7 • 2:47 PM EDT • Business • usatoday.com
What 9 Years in Business Taught Me: Movement Is the Most Underrated Productivity Tool

After nine years of building a wellness company, I've realized the biggest driver of my team's output isn't a tool, a policy or a hire — it's something most leaders walk past every day.

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Aug 2 • 9:00 PM EDT • Business • entrepreneur.com
Let’s do science: Share your wild turkey sightings

MAINE—All good wildlife management starts with science, and all good science starts with data. That’s where you come in. Maine’s Wild Turkey August Production Survey invites community scientists to play a direct role in monitoring our state’s wild turkey population. Whether you enjoy watching wildlife from your window, spend time hiking, hunting, or exploring the outdoors, or just need an excuse to get outside, you can help. Each summer, Maine’s wild turkey hens are busy raising the next generation of birds. By reporting your sightings and observations, you’ll help our biologists monitor annual reproduction rates, track population trends, and make informed management decisions that support healthy, sustainable turkey populations for generations to come. The information collected helps ensure there are abundant opportunities for both wildlife watchers and hunters to enjoy Maine’s wild turkeys. It’s easy to participate! Whenever you see wild turkeys anywhere in Maine during August, simply report: Date and location of your observation Number of adult females (hens) Number of adult males (gobblers) Number of poults (young turkeys) Estimated poult size relative to the adult hens Every observation counts, even if you don’t see poults. Together, these reports provide a clearer picture of turkey productivity across the state and are an important part of Maine’s wildlife management. Ready to help? Report your turkey sightings online using the Wild Turkey August Production Survey. Submit an Observation Subscribe Share Leave a comment

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Aug 2 • 4:11 PM EDT • Science • barharborstory.substack.com
Uber turns its best AI engineers loose on the rest of the business

Uber's new AI strategy sends top engineers into every department to rethink workflows and uncover productivity gains.

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Aug 2 • 9:30 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
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Everyone is using ChatGPT Memory wrong — 5 tweaks to make it a true assistant

Making these simple changes can boost productivity in seconds

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Aug 2 • 2:00 AM EDT • Technology • tomsguide.com
The Science Behind the AI Panic Is Shakier Than You Think

A column by Sascha Lobo Is AI making us dumb? So asked DER SPIEGEL on its cover a while ago. After a few weeks of recovery and a therapeutic intervention with the help of my AI, I feel able to respond. That’s a bit unfair, of course; the article itself is more nuanced than the loud cover, the image of a schoolkid with dull prompt questions, or the subtitle: “AI is conquering the schools, and educators fear a disaster.” The short answer to “Is AI making us dumb?” is: no. The long answer is more interesting, and even carries a preliminary glimmer of the spectacular. Unfortunately, it requires a detour into the sphere of artificial intelligence, into the mogul-field terrain of technology assessment, the attention economy, and the destructive virus of cultural pessimism. Along with narrowing the scope to AI’s effects on education and work rather than on intelligence. Because the honest version of the question would be: Does AI help us learn and work, or not? Generative AI, which set off the still-ongoing hype with ChatGPT, has only existed in relevant distribution since late 2022, early 2023. For a technology-driven transformation of people and society, that is extremely short. For that reason alone, research is still in its infancy. And technology assessment is not a fast discipline anyway. Prominent voices from Elizabeth Eisenstein to RAND to Tom Wheeler say we still cannot conclusively judge the consequences of the printing press. Its invention is a mere 580 years back, and some scholars would rather not circulate assessments that might have to be retracted in two or three hundred years. We’re Going Through Growing Pains A phenomenon that already caused upheaval in social media research makes serious assessment of AI’s consequences even harder: the “moving target” problem of LLM-ology, as the linguist Sean Trott called it in 2025. AI develops so quickly and so unpredictably that researchers often end up studying snapshots of the past. There are concepts, from morphological analysis to anticipatory governance, for keeping research, planning, and regulation halfway meaningful anyway. But even with those, universally valid statements are rare. DER SPIEGEL - The German View is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe We should therefore treat findings about the interplay between humans and AI as far more procedural and situational. Unfortunately, this challenge comes at the worst possible time. We are going through growing pains: AI’s everyday impact has grown very large very fast, and with it the longing for guidance. Annoyingly, the body of solid knowledge has not exploded along with it. Experts cannot be moved to broad consensus on even banal statements about AI. Sascha Lobo, born in 1975, is an author and strategy consultant focusing on the internet and digital technologies. Together with Jule Lobo, he explores the debates of the day in the podcast “Feel the News – Was Deutschland bewegt” (”What Moves Germany”). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says software developers are dying out. Bill Gates considers coders one of only three professions that will survive the AI tsunami. Top tech economists find virtually irrefutable arguments both for and against an AI bubble. The same naturally applies to the structurally youth-hostile debate over whether AI is good or bad for young people. The gap between the demand for insight and the supply of solid knowledge creates an orientation vacuum. This vacuum of AI cluelessness is filled, as the attention economy described by Georg Franck in 1998 would have it, with half-knowledge (funnily enough, often AI-generated), marketing, and self-marketing. After all, infinite money is at stake, along with academia’s best current shot at global fame. But this iridescent froth of interpretation operates more by the algorithmic principles of the digital public sphere than by seriously earned insight. That is why dramatized, fear-feeding claims about AI are so promising. It tempts parts of academia into distorted drivel, and parts of the media then sensationalize the published drivel once more. Was the Research Aimed at a Desired Result? How badly this can influence academia and public perception is demonstrated by one of the most-discussed studies on AI’s effects: “Your Brain on ChatGPT.” The MIT study by Nataliya Kosmyna also gets plenty of space in the SPIEGEL cover story. What was measured and interpreted: lower brain activity in people who write with AI assistance, compared to people who only google or write without any tools. As is common with preprints, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed, and it contains substantial weaknesses that experts have sharply criticized. The first round had 54 participants in three groups, the second only 18, who reportedly also came from MIT’s own orbit. There was no preregistration (committing in advance to what you want to find out with which data). In their analysis, Stanković et al. even discovered an opposite effect that the study does not further explain. Some measurement data has not (yet) been published. And the EEG analysis method used is considered too imprecise to support such far-reaching conclusions. The biggest criticism, though, is the suspicion of an activism-driven study. In an interview with Time, lead author Kosmyna said she published the study immediately, rather than after full peer review, because she feared politicians might otherwise decide to put ChatGPT in kindergartens. She considers that absolutely harmful. It is legitimate to hold such a view. It just seems unscientific to approach a study with it, and then to design the setup so that the chance of a fitting desired result remains as high as possible. Ideologies Collide It is not easy to separate genuine AI insights from studies that trivialize and weaken well-founded AI criticism. The same goes for the opposing, AI-enthusiastic narratives, because the pro-AI side works against it with billions in resources. Ideologies collide, fed by egos, PR strategies, moral posturing, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Doomsday marketing makes the search even harder: AI companies can profit from warnings about the dangers of AI, whether through the notoriety of apocalypse narratives or because, in some target groups, danger translates into power. Some seemingly negative findings are therefore quite welcome in the AI industry. If you try to get at the findings presumably less influenced by interest groups, the picture in education seems relatively clear: AI can improve educational outcomes when the right AI is used the right way, namely pedagogically. Simply dumping an AI chatbot into a classroom, by contrast, accomplishes little. Huge surprise. But something else is also obvious: whether they are allowed to or not, kids use AI for school, which is why the controlled integration of AI tools into education is, in the medium term, entirely without alternative. In the world of work, the landscape of findings is more complex and requires more differentiation. A series of serious studies points to an AI effect that suits neither the alarmists, regulation fetishists, and AI opponents, nor the trillion-dollar corporations with their armada of paid scientists, PR professionals, and ecosystems: working with AI helps the inexperienced (at least for now) considerably more than it helps the pros, in certain fields of work, and provided they know how to use it correctly. Missing Domain Knowledge Among the experienced, the professionals, and the high flyers, by contrast, despite frequent time savings, partially negative effects and new problems are emerging. Take the jagged frontier problem: AI solves task A brilliantly and fails completely at task B, even though both look similar even to professionals. Or the verification-cost problem, in which AI’s greater productivity gets eaten up by the enormous effort of checking its output. Or the illusion of competence, because AI makes new domains seem easily penetrable, until you painfully discover that deep domain knowledge is missing. Taken as a whole, the effects of working with AI do lean positive. But the promise that AI works as a turbocharger for everyone and boosts practically everything simply refuses to materialize. The AI magic the world has been feeling since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022 has so far barely shown up in most companies’ numbers. The consulting firm McKinsey has coined a term for this, the “gen AI paradox,” and believes that work processes and corporate structures would have to be rebuilt quite fundamentally to realize AI’s benefits at scale. Reuters just reported that only 3.3 percent of Microsoft’s customers have subscribed to the AI package Copilot. That may be down to the product; in other areas we continue to see soaring successes and new AI triumphs. But after the first quarter of 2026, disillusionment is the word for all too many AI projects at traditional companies: because the promised revolution of AI agents has so far failed to arrive or been postponed, and because of the leveling effect that many of the studies cited here suggest. Against Inequality The societal effects, on the other hand, appear rather encouraging. Many previous technologies operated on the Matthew principle, named for the Gospel verse about giving to those who already have: they tended to reward the more competent and more privileged. AI, however, seems more often to have an equalizing effect once a threshold of access and education is crossed. Some anecdotal insights point in this direction, for example, how an unemployed man in Leipzig successfully defended himself in court in 2025 against fraud accusations from Germany’s federal employment agency — without a lawyer, armed only with ChatGPT. The AI made mistakes and cited invented court rulings, but in the end the man walked away unpunished. And a key capability of artificial intelligence is its capacity to learn: set up correctly and fed with data, it can keep getting better. It is a question of time, or more precisely of AI innovations and training data, until even free AI chatbots write better legal briefs than law graduates with perfect exam scores. Whether that will make anyone dumb is something the world’s press will surely inform us of in due time. Subscribe Leave a comment

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Jul 29 • 4:23 AM EDT • Science • derspiegel.substack.com
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Philips’ receives financial boost from $212M tariff refund

The Amsterdam-based manufacturer also highlighted the benefits of “disciplined cost management” and “productivity initiatives” that helped deliver over $150 million in savings for Q2.

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Jul 29 • 3:11 AM EDT • Business • radiologybusiness.com
McCurdy Named Head of Ag. Science

Jay McCurdy has become the new head of Mississippi State’s Department of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection. The multidisciplinary academic unit in MSU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers an undergraduate degree in agricultural science, and master’s and doctoral degrees in entomology, plant pathology and weed science. “Dr. McCurdy’s enthusiasm, productivity and leadership make […]

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Jul 28 • 2:10 PM EDT • Science • deltabusinessjournal.com
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Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 places entertainment over productivity
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Jul 22 • 4:15 PM EDT • Entertainment • yahoo.com
Introducing AT&T Business Unlimited Ultimate 3.0

New Unlimited Ultimate 3.0 includes connectivity for one tablet and one wearable with every voice line, helping businesses extend productivity beyond the smartphone.

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Jul 21 • 10:00 AM EDT • Business • about.att.com
Extreme heat is eroding health, productivity and incomes of Dhaka’s informal workers

DHAKA — On June 28, as the afternoon sun beat down on Bangladesh capital Dhaka’s sprawling Tejgaon neighborhood, Samiha Begum gathered her two school-aged children and headed for the shade of Hatirjheel Lake. Their narrow one-room home in a nearby slum had become unbearable. She said, “The room starts heating up as soon as the […]

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Jul 21 • 9:11 AM EDT • Health • news.mongabay.com
How the 'creeping normality' of large language models is quietly reshaping the life sciences

Large language models (LLMs) are gradually transforming research in the life sciences in ways that extend far beyond improving productivity, and they are becoming a new normal before scientists have agreed ...

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Jul 13 • 8:20 AM EDT • Science • phys.org
Energy efficiency that delivers measurable business results

Lower costs, improve reliability and boost productivity with DTE Energy rebates, financing and customized energy efficiency solutions.

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Jul 13 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • crainsdetroit.com
New Ranking Finds Happiest Cities in the World. They Could Be a Game-Changer for Your Productivity

Happiness is a strategic factor for digital nomads and business travelers seeking cities that support productivity, balance, and success.

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Jul 12 • 11:00 AM EDT • Business • inc.com
I found a hidden Chrome feature that made my browser the ultimate productivity tool

This is the Chrome upgrade I didn't know I needed

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Jul 12 • 6:00 AM EDT • Technology • androidpolice.com
Warsh Taps Fed Task Force Chiefs. They’re Global Bankers, Business Leaders and Academics.

The task forces will study Fed communications, the balance sheet, economic data usage, productivity and jobs, and inflation.

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Jul 9 • 3:10 PM EDT • Business • barrons.com
Business travellers are carrying the office everywhere they go, according to Holafly for Business's latest research

Corporate eSIMs for Business Travel Holafly A modern professional stays securely connected on the go. According to Holafly for Business, 81.3% of travellers report a positive impact on productivity when using a corporate eSIM. Today, business travel is about carrying your entire working environment with you. DUBLIN, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The modern business trip looks very different from the one most companies designed their travel policies around. Airports have become workspaces, ho

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Jul 9 • 4:00 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Guest column: Louisiana’s broadband strategy is helping businesses compete

Every Louisiana business depends on reliable internet service, whether it is processing payments, managing inventory, communicating with customers or supporting employees. Broadband access now directly affects productivity, customer service, operating costs and the ability to compete in an increasingly digital economy. For years, many Louisiana communities dealt with limited internet options, inconsistent service and high […]

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Jul 6 • 3:50 PM EDT • Business • businessreport.com
Croatia criticised for ‘unambitious’ changes to 2022 science law

Croatia’s science ministry has been accused of a lack of ambition, and even incompetence, over proposed changes to the country’s 2022 science law. Critics say an opportunity has been missed to fix wider shortcomings in the research and universities system.“This law, like all the previous ones, will not significantly change the current state of science in Croatia,” Vlatko Silobrčić, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences, told Science Business. “A small shift here and there will not have a significant impact.”The 2022 law introduced multi-year block grant financing of research, based on results, and changes intended to boost employment and career progression for researchers and lecturers. But implementation of the law has been uneven. “It became apparent that certain of its provisions were subject to different interpretations by higher education institutions and scientific institutes,” the science ministry said in its proposal for change. “This caused legal uncertainty in the system, administrative difficulties in implementation and, in certain cases, unequal treatment of teachers, scientists and students.”Most of the proposed amendments deal with technicalities in hiring and promoting staff, such as extending the committee deadlines from 60 to 90 days, or allowing applicants to cite all of their achievements and not only those since their last appointment.Both the ministry and Croatian media highlighted changes that would raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and allow part-time students 15 year rather than 10 years to finish their studies.The change to retirement age has been criticised for reinforcing a weakness in the system. According to Matko Marušić, professor emeritus at the University of Split, this will “allow unproductive teachers to advance and work longer, while hindering and discouraging productive ones.”A longtime campaigner for excellence-based meritocracy, he sees little hope in the new legislation. “I am not optimistic that things will improve,” he told Science Business. “As recent changes to the law in Croatia show, the legal framework is becoming increasingly hypocritical and harmful.”For Marušić, who analyses Croatia's university system in a recently published book, the situation is “unfavourable and constantly deteriorating” due to the criteria used for academic advancement.“The key criterion for advancement should be scientific productivity,” he said. “In Croatia [. . .] scientific criteria are increasingly lowered, and ineffective and absurd criteria such as waiting times for promotion and age limits for remaining in a job are promoted.” He would also like to see better criteria for the quality of teaching at universities. “In practice, teaching is not monitored or evaluated,” he said, estimating that up to a third of teaching simply does not take place. “Under the guise of university autonomy and bad laws, universities and faculties are allowed to earn additional money by increasing enrolment quotas that have nothing to do with the needs of the labour market.” Lack of ambitionDora Kršul, a reporter at Telegram.hr who covers science policy in Croatia, finds the rationale for changes “bizarre.” “The ministry responsible for supervising the uniform application of the law is changing the law because it is being implemented unevenly,” she said. “This primarily speaks to the power relationship in the sphere of science and higher education in Croatia, that is, the question arises as to who actually manages this system.”Rather than raising quality, she continued, the changes appear to be designed to help vocational and applied universities who have not been complying with the law.The Independent Union of Research and Higher Education Employees of Croatia said that the changes were “unambitious” and represent a missed opportunity for more important changes. “We think some of the changes are even negative,” it said in its statement on June 25. One of these is introduction of an “assistant” job title that allows people to be hired only for the duration of a project. Related articles: Elections to top science bodies test Croatia’s gender equality in researchSlovakia revises R&D approach to increase focus on competitivenessLatvia pilots citizen engagement in research grant evaluationsThe union’s president, Tvrtko Smital, who was part of the 15-member working group tasked with drafting the changes, told the local media there was a “worrying lack of ambition” in the process, and “lack of competence” in terms of research experience and understanding the problems in the system.“There is no clear will to deal with the problems,” said Smital, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb. “It’s a combination of unambitiousness and incompetence,” he went on, expressing his “deep frustration” with the situation. “There is no strategy, no clear thinking, and money is not being spent optimally.”Croatia’s science ministry has not responded to requests for comment.

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Jul 2 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencebusiness.net
CMS proposes updates to home health payments for CY 2027, updates to provider enrollment and quality and value-based purchasing programs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services July 1 issued its calendar year 2027 proposed rule for the home health prospective payment system. The rule proposes a 2.4% update, which includes a 3.1% market basket update, reduced by a 1.0 percentage point cut for productivity, as well as an 0.3 percentage point increase related to outlier payments. In addition, the agency proposes a temporary cut of 3.0% that it states is necessary to achieve budget-neutral implementation of the Patient-driven Groupings Model.

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Jul 1 • 12:34 PM EDT • Health • aha.org
The Case for Performance-First Management

What began as a crisis-driven response to the Covid pandemic laid the foundation for today’s dominant management paradigm: people-first management. But today’s business demands a different approach, as performance and productivity have replaced engagement and retention atop the CEO agenda. Performance-first management represents a gentle shift toward an approach where managers empower their teams to deliver high-impact results within a complex and evolving reality. It keeps people at the center, but reorients the manager’s role around enabling performance, not just supporting satisfaction. Gartner research shows that managers who shift toward a performance-first approach are up to 21% more likely to deliver the business results that are expected of them. And employees who say that their managers are performance-first report higher overall satisfaction with their employee experience.

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Jul 1 • 8:15 AM EDT • Business • hbr.org
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To reduce wait times, UVM Health is demanding its docs see more patients

A recent report commissioned by a state-appointed overseer largely blames long wait times on low productivity among the network’s doctors, and argues wait times also contribute to unnecessarily high prices.

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Jun 29 • 12:18 PM EDT • Health • vermontpublic.org
Flipper Device's new Busy Bar is a customizable display for productivity

Flipper Device's new Busy Bar will retail for $249.

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Jun 29 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • techcrunch.com
The Flipper Zero creators’ Busy Bar productivity display will go on sale next month

The Busy Bar will let others know when you don’t have time to chat.

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Jun 29 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • theverge.com
AI could unleash ‘single greatest productivity revolution’ if Washington avoids overreach: report

The Unleash Prosperity report, titled "Boomsday Not Doomsday," argues AI could help ease housing costs, boost productivity and move workers into higher-value roles.

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Jun 28 • 6:34 PM EDT • Business • foxbusiness.com
US Small and Midsize Businesses Poised for Growth, Waiting to Make Significant Moves: 2026 Columbia Bank Business Barometer

Rising expectations for increased productivity, profitability and growth opportunities tempered by near-term uncertainty and volatility

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Jun 28 • 2:14 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
I started using Projects in Google Drive; it instantly boosted my productivity

Google Drive finally feels smarter

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Jun 28 • 11:15 AM EDT • Technology • androidpolice.com
AI Is Helping Small Businesses Get More Done, But It’s Far From The Only Productivity-Booster Helping Them Expand

Getting more done in less time is easier than ever for solopreneurs and small business owners, thanks to the ease of hiring contractors, using QR codes, touchless technology and other affordable methods.

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Jun 27 • 4:33 PM EDT • Business • forbes.com
3 ways you’re working wrong, according to scientists

Stop multitasking.

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Jun 27 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • popsci.com
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The Best Last-Minute Prime Day Deals on Laptops, Monitors, and PC Accessories

Find deals on PC and Apple laptops, gaming and productivity monitors, and many PC accessories that will make your work life easier.

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Jun 26 • 4:30 PM EDT • Technology • lifehacker.com
Notion shutting down its AI-powered email client, including Mac and iOS apps

Last year, Notion expanded its productivity suite to include Notion Mail, an AI-powered email client. Today, the company announced that...

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Jun 25 • 12:25 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com
Cognitive Science students pitch AI college counseling, productivity

From AI-powered social media content creation to college access platforms, cognitive science student entrepreneurs pitched their startups to potential investors at the Berkeley Accelerator

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Jun 24 • 5:05 PM EDT • Science • ls.berkeley.edu
Can Canadian Organizations Deliver in the Next Era of Business AI? IBM Finds Many May Not Be Ready

As Canadian CEOs accelerate AI adoption to drive productivity and growth, C-suite leaders across Canada warn that governance, oversight and workforce readiness are struggling to keep pace, creating a widening 'control gap.'

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Jun 22 • 12:00 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Small Business Tech News: Verizon CEO Sends Shocking Message To Employees

AI is reshaping business: Verizon says automation cut 13,000 jobs, while SMBs use AI to boost productivity. Retail, startups, and AI providers are rapidly expanding capabilities and lowering costs.

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Jun 21 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
Steven Bartlett Claims 3 Glasses of Wine Cost Him 3 Days of Productivity. Here's What the Science Says

When "The Diary of a CEO" host claimed a few drinks ruined his productivity for days, critics scoffed. We turned to medical professionals and researchers for their take.

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Jun 20 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • inc.com
Notion Is Migrating to SwiftUI, Apple Confirms at WWDC

Apple this week confirmed that Notion is migrating its user interface to SwiftUI, citing the app's desire for greater performance and UI consistency than its existing web-based stack can deliver. Notion is a productivity app that combines notes, documents, databases, and project management tools in one place. Users can create pages containing text, tables, kanban boards, calendars, and more, and organize them in a flexible hierarchy.

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Jun 12 • 11:10 AM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
Why the World Cup Could Cost U.S. Employers $30 Billion This Summer

For the first time in 32 years, the tournament will return to the U.S. However, that's not necessarily good news for American business leaders.

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Jun 10 • 3:36 PM EDT • Business • inc.com
Why Model Flows Are the Key for Reproducibility in AI for Science

Reproducibility is absolutely critical in science, but it’s a troublesome characteristic when it comes to AI. Frontier models developed by Big AI may deliver superior accuracy and reasoning capabilities, but they do so largely as black boxes with little regard for reproducibility. If AI is going to turbo-charge scientific productivity, it must do so without […]

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Jun 9 • 6:16 PM EDT • Science • hpcwire.com
Apple unveils iPadOS 27 with speed and productivity improvements, more

Today during its WWDC keynote, Apple unveiled iPadOS 27, the next major software update for iPad. Here are the new...

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Jun 8 • 1:28 PM EDT • Technology • 9to5mac.com
Nebraska Actuarial Science Research Ranked No. 1 in North America

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln ranked No. 1 in North America and No. 12 in the world for business school actuarial science research productivity in the latest UNL Global Research Ranking of A

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Jun 8 • 2:20 AM EDT • Science • newswise.com
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Sorry, I’m Not Available. Talk to the A.I. Me.

The hot new productivity hack for C.E.O.s and Harvard professors? A.I. twins that answer questions and attend meetings.

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Jun 6 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
TPC26 Panel Explores AI's Impact on Science, Productivity and Global Collaboration

Can AI help science move faster without sacrificing openness and collaboration? How to measure ROI in AI for science? What are some of the most effective strategies for collaboration among […]

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Jun 5 • 2:28 PM EDT • Science • hpcwire.com
Baton Rouge’s economy is booming, report says

Baton Rouge is outperforming many of its regional competitors on several key economic measures, from job growth and pay to housing affordability and worker productivity. That’s according to the G… Already an INSIDER? Sign in. Already an INSIDER? Sign in

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Jun 4 • 3:15 PM EDT • Business • businessreport.com
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U.S. Q1 2026 worker productivity revised sharply lower

Nonfarm business productivity grew at just a 0.3% annualized rate in the first quarter, down from an initial estimate of 0.8%

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Jun 4 • 10:47 AM EDT • Business • qz.com
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac Will Soon Stop Letting You Edit Documents

Microsoft will prevent Office 2019 for Mac owners from editing their documents from July 13, a restriction the company is attributing to the productivity suite's expiring digital certificate. The Office 2019 apps affected include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Once the certificate used to confirm the suite's license expires, these apps will drop into what Microsoft is calling "reduced functionality mode".

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Jun 2 • 9:31 AM EDT • Technology • macrumors.com
I stopped paying for a PDF editor — these Google Drive hidden features are all I need

I canceled my PDF subscription after discovering these hidden Drive features

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May 29 • 3:00 PM EDT • Technology • androidpolice.com
Fed's Goolsbee says oil shock could exacerbate inflationary impulse of AI hype

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee on Thursday amped up his warning that mounting expectations for the productivity-boosting potential of AI ​could send inflation higher and force the Fed and other ‌central banks to raise interest rates.

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May 27 • 10:27 PM EDT • Business • reuters.com
High-Level Climate, Clean Air, and Health Roundtable

Reducing air pollution and climate pollutants represents one of the most immediate opportunities to protect human health while advancing climate goals and driving economic growth. Actions to reduce super pollutants such as methane and black carbon can rapidly slow warming while significantly reducing the global burden of disease linked to air pollution. These health benefits reduce pressures on health systems and improve labour productivity, supporting economic growth.

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May 26 • 5:43 AM EDT • Health • ccacoalition.org
Semiconductor decoupling. Powell's politics. Industrializing Ogaden. Free trade and the Magna Carta.

Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 8th Army’s Front, Italy 1944 Semiconductor decoupling Source: FT One thing that Jerome Powell deeply understood is that chairing the Fed under current conditions is a deeply political job. “Powell has successes and mistakes to his name. But he stands out as having thought more carefully about the Fed’s democratic legitimacy than any chair since Paul Volcker,” said Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor at the Bank of England, referring to the Fed chair who successfully fought the great inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. … While Powell was at the Treasury in the early 1990s, he watched Alan Greenspan build relationships within the government. That convinced Powell he needed to follow the former Fed chair’s lead and spend more time in Congress than his predecessors Yellen and Bernanke. “The accountability for the Fed runs through Congress,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Fed official who is now chief economist at New Century Advisors. “That’s not just about having people on speed dial — it’s answering questions, explaining policy and getting feedback.” Source: FT Ethiopia’s PM Abiy and Nigerian business tycoon, with Chinese engineering, are driving industrialization in Ogaden/Somali region of Ethiopia. - Michael Masri’s reporting for Africa Report if fascinating. Ethiopia has launched a cluster of large industrial schemes in the Somali region, laying foundation stones for a urea plant and an oil refinery in Gode while opening the first two phases of the Ogaden LNG project. Abiy Ahmed framed the push as part of a broader strategy to link energy, agriculture and industry. “These projects embody more than industrial growth,” he said. “They represent our shared responsibility to harness opportunities, strengthen co-operation and promote peace.” The Gode urea plant, backed by Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is designed for 3m tonnes a year. Dangote owns 60%, while EIH holds 40%. Officials say Dangote’s equity totals about $2.5bn, while the state provides land and implementation oversight. Gas from the Calub fields will be piped 108km to the site. Construction is slated for 40 months, with operations targeted for 2028. Ethiopia imports most of its fertiliser, spending more than $1.2bn a year for 1.5m–2m tonnes. Usage was roughly 1.7m tonnes in 2023, almost half of it urea, and demand for 2024–25 is put above 2.4m tonnes. If delivered on time, the Gode plant could cover domestic needs and allow exports to neighbours. Brook Taye, chief executive of EIH, called the venture “a significant milestone in the journey toward industrial self-sufficiency”. Dangote told the groundbreaking crowd that the complex would be integrated with gas supply and a polypropylene unit to support local inputs. He pointed to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with a capacity of more than 5,000MW, and noted his group’s cement operations and expansion plans. The Gode refinery is being developed by Golden Concord Group of China. It is designed to process 3.5m tonnes a year of crude and condensate from the Hilala field, with associated storage. Backers say it will ease foreign-exchange pressure from fuel imports and anchor further industrial activity, including a proposed steel smelting site in Dire Dawa. GCL’s chair, Zhu Gongshan, cast the project as “a key step in Ethiopia’s path to energy sovereignty”, underscoring the Beijing–Addis ties. Financing details are still being finalised, but the refinery is central to the government’s energy-security narrative. Source: The Africa Report Dangote’s Ethiopian vision: Dangote began with cement. His crown jewel, Dangote Cement, dominates Nigeria’s market and has 10 operations in other nations in Africa. The formula has been consistent: identify sectors with chronic shortages – cement, fertiliser, sugar – commit massive local investments, and scale up to serve regional demand. Ethiopia was a natural extension of that model. In 2015, Dangote launched the Mugher Cement Plant outside Addis Ababa at a cost of $600m, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The investment gave him a firm foothold in one of Africa’s fastest-growing construction markets. But success came with risks. In May 2018, violent unrest led to the killing of Dangote’s country manager and temporary shutdowns at Mugher. While other investors might have retreated, Dangote doubled down. Today, he is preparing to spend $400m to expand Mugher’s capacity to 5 million tonnes, alongside a new grinding unit near Addis Ababa. Cement is just one market Dangote is targeting. Ethiopia’s enormous state-controlled sugar industry, long plagued by inefficiency and debt, has struggled for years to reform. Its Omo Kuraz Sugar Development Project, touted as one of the continent’s largest initiatives, continues to face delays and mismanagement. … The most ambitious venture of all is the planned fertiliser production complex in Gode, Somali region. Publicised on 28 August 2025, the Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) deal plans one of the world’s largest single-site urea manufacturing plants. The project costs an estimated $2.5bn and has an estimated capacity of 3 million metric tonnes annually, a rate that would not only render Ethiopia independent, but even a net exporter of fertiliser. EIH, the state wealth fund of Ethiopia, will hold 40%, while 60% is held by Dangote Group. … For Dangote, Ethiopia is a trifecta: Cement demand is projected to grow by 10% annually, its sugar consumption is growing with rapid urbanisation, and fertiliser demand is all but insatiable, given that farming supports the livelihood of 70% of Ethiopians. Source: The Africa Report The stakes for Abiy are high: For Addis Ababa, the $4bn fertiliser project in Ethiopia’s Somali region is no longer simply a manufacturing investment. It is increasingly being framed as a strategic state project tied to food sovereignty, import substitution and the government’s broader attempt to build economic resilience under mounting fiscal pressure. “Becoming self-sufficient in food is our main agenda,” Abiy says during the visit. “Land is needed; we have it. Water is needed; we have it. Human resources are needed; we have it.” The scale is enormous even by African industrial standards. Once operational, the plant is expected to produce three million metric tonnes of urea annually, potentially making it one of the continent’s largest fertiliser complexes. Ethiopian officials say the project now includes a 110km gas pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant. For a government grappling with chronic foreign exchange shortages, ballooning import bills and pressure on agricultural productivity, the numbers matter politically as much as they do economically. The decision to anchor the project in Gode is deliberate. Long viewed as peripheral to Ethiopia’s industrial economy, the Somali region is now being repositioned by the federal government as a future irrigation and agro-industrial corridor. Officials argue that the area’s vast land reserves and access to water could eventually support large-scale commercial farming capable of reshaping Ethiopia’s food economy. The government is simultaneously building housing infrastructure for about 5,000 residents near the plant, while officials project broader industrial expansion along the corridor. Abiy goes further, comparing the long-term revenue potential of the Gode development zone with Ethiopia’s flagship state enterprise. “The investments we are making in this Gode area, combined, will generate high revenue for Ethiopia, at par with Ethiopian Airlines,” he says. Source: The Africa Report Feliks Topolski 1907-1982 Topolski’s Chronicle, ‘Nazi Revival’, Vol. 8, Is. 1-2, 1960 HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. Photo by Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Grim vision of drone warfare by Sylvie Kaufmann For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe The state of the art in Colbert-studies. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was Louis XIV chief minister from 1661 to 1683 and traditionally seen as an architect of absolutism and mercantilism. Alexander Hamilton later cited him as an inspiration in 1782. Now his legacy is disputed. Daniel Dessert, the chief critic, sees Colbert as the orchestrator not so much of an absolutist state as of an elite cabal. Would be great to have a good English-language review of this important debate. Source: lhistoire Didn’t know that the Magna Carta included free trade provisions Fighting for the right to the beach in Oregon in 1967: Source: Research Gate RAF Station – British and Polish Flags, c. 1940-45, The Ingram Collection Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 ink and wash If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe

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May 25 • 6:23 AM EDT • Politics • adamtooze.substack.com
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Employees are planning to call out sick, skip work to watch World Cup

Employees are planning to call in sick or take time off to watch the 2026 World Cup. It could cost companies billions in lost productivity.

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May 25 • 4:37 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com