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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk has proposed a crowd-sourced leaderboard to crack down on government wastefulness.</li><li>It taps into our natural drive for competition and play, psychologists say.</li></ul>It was perhaps inevitable that Elon Musk — a tech titan and a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-video-games-grand-theft-auto-elden-ring-2023-12">prolific gamer</a> — would try to turn <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-leaderboard-government-spending-marketing-genius-doge-donald-trump-2024-11">government spending</a> into a game.As soon as Musk became co-leader of a newly-minted <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-leaderboard-federal-government-spending-trump-2024-11">Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE for short)</a>, he proposed a crowd-sourced leaderboard for the dumbest uses of tax dollars. It's a natural move for Musk, who came up in the tech world in the early 2000s, as "gamification" took hold. The concept — using gaming features like points and leaderboards to optimize real-world scenarios — was <a target="_blank" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vDxTBgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA31#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">first described</a> by software engineers in 2008. The gamification movement in business and tech was born from the central idea that "reality is broken," as futurist Jane McGonigal <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reality_Is_Broken/yiOtN_kDJZgC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;pg=PT11&amp;printsec=frontcover">wrote</a> in her 2011 bestseller. "Game developers know better than anyone else how to inspire extreme effort and reward hard work," McGonigal wrote.Fundamentally, these features — real-time updates and comparisons — tap into our natural appetite for control, Adrian Hon, cofounder of the gaming studio Six to Start and author of "You've Been Played" on the dark side of gamification, told Business Insider."Most common forms of gamification are based around ideas of reward and punishment. That's basically behaviorism that's 100 years old," Hon said. "It's very easy to do. It's very easy to understand."These days, gaming features are baked into the fabric of much of modern life, particularly social. Millions of people "like" opinions on X, down-vote news on Reddit, and earn badges on DuoLingo. We chase steps, close rings, and compete with strangers to spin the fastest.The question is how to add context to make complex goals understandable, exciting, and achievable.Urging someone with a sprained ankle to hit <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walking-10000-steps-for-health-not-science-based-in-marketing-2021-7">10,000 steps a day</a> regardless could do more harm than good. In government, pointing to a simple metric that captures "efficiency" is a tall order — on paper, slashing budgets could look good but bring unintended consequences, according to Richard Landers, a psychology professor at University of Minnesota who specializes in gamification."The number one most efficient way to have a firefighting department in a small town is don't have one, because then they never fail," he said. "That's that kind of logic that you end up having if you're not really cautious about how it's designed."<h2 id="7b471489-75c6-444a-b6f2-8827e89f261e">Why comparing scores is hardwired into our psychology</h2>A game undeniably makes tasks more digestible — something Musk has been talking about for years. He <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz3A6AtX27c">argued</a> at SXSW in 2014 that education should be "as close to a video game as possible." "You do not need to tell your kid to play video games. They will play video games on autopilot all day. So if you can make it interactive and engaging, then you can make education far more compelling and far easier to do," Musk told the audience.Throw in other players, and you've got a race.Humans have a natural competitive streak. Going head-to-head with a rival can help boost our focus, enhance our attention, and motivate us to stick to a task, <a target="_blank" href="https://academic.oup.com/book/45435/chapter-abstract/389436570?redirectedFrom=fulltext">research</a> suggests, but it can also backfire if the pressure gets too intense.A leaderboard works psychologically by incentivizing behavior with a reward like public recognition, maybe a prize, or a sense of accomplishment at winning a competition.It's often used for behaviors people already want to do, but need an extra nudge, according to Landers. Think taking a spin class when you're tempted to watch Netflix, or walking more so you can get the highest step count in the group chat."Good gamification is hypothetically the same way, so that when you achieve well on the Nike app, you're like, 'yeah, I really did do something for myself this week. That was great,'" he said."There's no question that it motivates people," said Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, professor of history at the New School and author of "Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America's Exercise Obsession.""You're in the gym running next to someone on the treadmill, you see them speed up, and you want to speed up. Take that experience and multiply it by however many people you're ranking."<h2 id="ac2e7636-bdbf-425b-8204-07cd0abd6bbe">Politicians love leaderboards</h2>Leaderboards zero in on a specific, measurable goal, like your step count for fitness.That's not so straightforward in politics, but it's incredibly alluring. "Politicians like them because it makes them feel like they have more knowledge and real-time knowledge than they might get otherwise," Hon said, referring to rankings of programs like schools, hospitals, and fire departments.Take healthcare. Increasing productivity in an emergency department is complicated — more complicated than any hospital ranking can communicate. In the real world, that sometimes translates to doctors turning down tricky cases in favor of easy ones to pump up their success metrics, according to Landers.This is one of the biggest unanswered questions facing gamification — can boiling down complex issues into crunchable numbers miss the point?Landers said leaderboard systems generally require one precise, agreed-upon goal in order to work. If a metric is oversimplified, it can risk losing sight of the original goal as participants start to value the game for its own sake."Empowering individuals to call out true waste is not inherently a bad idea," Landers said. "The challenge would be in defining that. How do you know when something is legitimately wasteful?"For the government, that might hinge on what counts as waste and whether Musk's leaderboard can get people to agree."You can't just call it waste because you're like, wow, I don't think Jill over there is a good use of money. You should fire her. It's not a productive approach. Trying to figure out how to create a system like that would be incredibly complicated," Landers said. "They would have to do that investment in really understanding the problems deeply and then creating a system to reward what actually should be rewarded."<h2 id="7d6f8bf4-31df-4ff6-8c83-b288ff90ae8b">Gaming the system can backfire</h2>At the height of Peloton's popularity, the home fitness brand's competitive leaderboard quickly became overrun by people <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-bike-tablets-rooted-watch-netflix-spotify-hacked-cheat-leaderboards-2019-9">hacking their Pelotons</a> to artificially boost their scores.As a result, some users felt less motivated instead of more."The demotivating power of being low on a leaderboard is well understood," Landers said. "If you're like 500,000th, nobody cares. You're like, why even try?"Petrzela said that even if people play by the rules, overgamifying might mean missing out on valuable but hard-to-quantify things."If your only goal in Peloton is to be at the top of the leaderboard, you completely sacrifice a lot of the things that might slow you down but make your ride injury-free or something you really enjoy," she said. "Musk's proposed leaderboard is a much higher stakes version of that."In terms of government services, a goal like reducing wait times for doctors' visits might translate well to a leaderboard, since they're easy to compare. But more complicated variables — like whether a cancer program can treat a patient's specific diagnosis — might fall through the cracks, particularly when people without healthcare expertise are doing the ranking without the full context.To create a leaderboard that can make meaningful change, it's crucial to understand what context matters. Otherwise, Hon said gamification might have short-term benefits but backfire in the long term as important, less-tangible factors are crowded out by overemphasizing one metric.Case in point: Hon said he's currently hooked on a popular puzzle game. The online leaderboard keeps him logging in long after the game itself stopped bringing much joy to his routine."It's just like, what's the point of this really? Am I just playing this game to maintain my position? Do I even really enjoy it anymore?" he said. "I probably would play it less if actually that leaderboard didn't exist. So that is really for the benefit of the site. It's not for the benefit of me."

Elon Musk's 'gamification' of government spending taps into our natural competitive instinct

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Neither Harris nor Trump outline specific disaster-relief policies on their website.</li><li>Their records, however, offer clues into how they'd deal with natural disasters as president.</li></ul>As another <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-milton-evacuation-empty-gas-station-full-hotels-gridlock-traffic-2024-10">hurricane</a> threatens to devastate swaths of the Southeast, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are under new scrutiny about their disaster response strategies. And though neither have specifically addressed how they'd approach disaster relief on their campaign websites, their environmental records offer clues into how they might deal with similar crises in the future.When Hurricane Helene bore down on six states, and with particular force in North Carolina and Georgia, both Harris and Trump said that the focus should be on providing aid, not politics. But the storm, which has killed more than 230 people and destroyed entire towns, has already crept into the presidential race. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-milton-tampa-florida-desantis-clean-disaster-dangerous-2024-10">Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida</a> on Wednesday night, only exacerbating the focus on environmental devastation."Disasters are always political," Thomas Birkland, a political scientist at North Carolina State University who studies the politics of national disasters, told Business Insider. He said that disaster relief is not, however, usually <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-milton-category-five-threatens-florida-fema-funding-2024-10">discussed during campaigns</a>.Timothy Kneeland, a professor at Nazareth University who studies politics and natural disasters, thinks that as hurricanes become more common, candidates should address them more explicitly."Having a short but clear statement on disasters should be part of any campaigner's policy," he wrote in a statement to BI.Both candidates have visited impacted areas, with Trump visiting Georgia on September 30 and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-crises-middle-east-strike-hurricane-election-2024-10">Harris on October 2</a>. Republicans criticized Harris for attending a fundraising event in California when Helene struck, while she maintained that politicians should stay out of the most devastated areas as first responders begin their early work.In the days since Hurricane Helene, Trump has spread misinformation about the storm and response efforts, prompting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to publish a fact-checking page. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-relief-disinformation-misinformation-north-carolina-democrats-republicans-2024-10">Democrats and Republicans alike</a> say that the baseless claims are complicating <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-elon-musk-starlink-hurricane-helene-fema-2024-9">clean-up efforts</a>, and Harris has put out a digital ad slamming his former disaster relief. When he was president, Trump responded to several hurricanes. As with Hurricane Helene, he <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.vox.com/politics/376982/trump-hurricane-helene-fema-lies-debunked">publicized</a> misinformation. When Hurricane Dorian threatened Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, he incorrectly said that its path included Alabama as well. During a briefing in the Oval Office, he showed a map of the hurricane's path that included a Sharpie mark extending the storm's reach to Alabama. Trump also falsely claimed that the death toll from Hurricane Maria in 2017 was overblown, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/08/trump-hurricane-helene-natural-disasters/">Washington Post reported</a>.The former president occasionally threatened to hold back disaster funding over political spats. In 2020, for example, he floated withholding money from flood-ravaged Michigan because he was frustrated with absentee voting procedures in the state."A charitable interpretation would be mixed on crisis management," Birkland told BI about Trump's past responses to natural disasters. Kneeland said that storm victims and disaster experts largely criticized his handling of Hurricane Maria.During his time in office, Trump's administration rolled back more than 125 environmental rules, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html">Washington Post</a> found, with a big focus on deregulating the fossil fuel industry. Trump's campaign has, according to Birkland, "been pretty clear that it disdains alternative fuels."Harris doesn't have a presidential record to back up her approach to disaster relief, but Birkland anticipates she'd take a relatively similar approach to President Joe Biden.As attorney general, Harris prosecuted oil companies that broke environmental rules. During her tenure as vice president, she voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which devoted $370 billion to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.But both Birkland and Kneeland told BI that Harris has become less aggressive about addressing climate change this election, likely in an attempt to court more moderate voters."Harris' position is a little murkier," Birkland said. "Harris has been clear that we should be doing things like alternative energy, but also supports, as of recent months, continued fossil fuel production. So it's kind of a both-and strategy."Presidents are somewhat limited in their disaster responses — both Kneeland and Birkland told BI that states and local governments lead disaster responses, with the federal government's assistance."Even when FEMA is on the ground they must work within the structure of existing state and local government," Kneeland said in his written statement. The responsibility is, he said, layered throughout the government.Regardless, all eyes are on how Harris and Trump respond to the twin storms — and the outcome of the election could theoretically hang in the balance. Kneeland said that disaster response can either greatly boost or doom an incumbent, pointing to instances as varied as Hurricane Betsey in 1965, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.Though Birkland doesn't anticipate that the hurricanes will sway many voters, he said that even a small impact in swing states could matter."I think most people's minds are made up. I think that you're really dealing with the margins," he said. "On the other hand, this election is going to be won or lost on the margins, so that matters."

Hurricanes are taking the election by storm. Here's where Harris and Trump stand on natural disaster policies.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia's oil and gas profits are under pressure.</li><li>Before the war, Russia supplied 40% of Europe's gas. It's now down to 15%.</li></ul>Russia's energy sector has taken a hit from Western sanctions.But Moscow doesn't appear ready to acknowledge that it's not in a financial position to cut Europe off from its natural gas exports completely.In an interview with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1970551/">Sky News Arabia on Friday,</a> Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia hasn't cut off gas exports to Europe because Russians are "decent people.""We are decent people. We signed long-term contracts with Europe," Lavrov said."We always honor our obligations, unlike Europe or the United States," Lavrov added.Besides, as Lavrov said, Russia and Europe's gas deals benefit both sides."If cooperation is mutually beneficial, why shoot yourself in the foot?" he asked.What Lavrov didn't outright address in the interview is the more likely reason Russia continues to export to Europe: It needs the money.<h2 id="dedf49a1-9ad7-40d6-9c80-9ef995fa1d77">Russia's oil and gas profits are under pressure</h2>Before starting the war in Ukraine and being sanctioned by the West, Russia supplied as much as <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/europes-messy-russian-gas-divorce/">40% of Europe's gas.</a> That declined to roughly <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/europes-messy-russian-gas-divorce/#:~:text=Russia%20cut%20off%20the%20gas,price%20cap%20on%20Russian%20oil.">15% at the end of 2023</a> after three out of four Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe were damaged. The remaining Nord Stream pipeline has never been commissioned, and Russia was already slowing its gas flows to Europe before the blast.Now, Russia's oil and gas profits are under pressure from sanctions and restrictions — including a G7 price cap on its crude oil exports — as its war with Ukraine heads into its 31st month.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russian-energy-revenue-crude-oil-prices-gas-exports-sanctions-ukraine-2024-1">Russia's oil and gas revenues</a> hit 8.82 trillion rubles, or $94.6 billion, in 2023. That's 24% lower than the 11.6 trillion rubles it recorded in 2022, when revenues jumped due to oil price volatility. In 2021, Russia's oil and gas sales revenue stood at 9 trillion rubles.Russia has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russia-raises-forecast-2024-oil-gas-export-revenues-by-174-bln-document-shows-2024-09-06/">raised its forecast</a> for its oil and gas sales this year, but the breakeven oil price has also risen significantly since the war started. That's due to sanctions-related factors, such as higher Russian-underwritten insurance premiums and shipping costs related to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russias-dark-fleet-oil-exports-strong-red-sea-risks-strategy-2024-1">dark fleet</a> transporting the commodities.According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/081324-sanctions-dent-russian-economy-but-commodities-exports-boost-kremlin-coffers#:~:text=S%26P%20Global%20Commodity%20Insights%20estimated,though%2C%20for%20three%20main%20reasons.">S&amp;P Global,</a> Russia's breakeven oil price was $62 a barrel in 2021. It's now $94 a barrel.Higher breakeven prices eat into profits, which would hit Russian energy firms and have a spillover impact on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-economy-overheating-consumer-spending-tourism-central-bank-interest-rate-2024-7">war economy</a> — which appears resilient but is fighting multiple challenges. There's also the question of how well Russia's economy is really doing; in July, a group of eight <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-wartime-boom-outlook-western-us-sanctions-soviet-union-2024-7">European finance ministers</a> said outright that Russia is lying about its booming economy.To be sure, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/germany-europe-russia-gas-renewables-oil-energy-security-ukraine-war-2022-4">other geopolitical factors</a> could also be playing into Russia's decision to keep natural gas exports moving into Europe. But the role oil and gas play in Russia's economy can't be understated.The oil and gas industry accounts for <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.oxfordenergy.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Follow-the-Money-Russian-Oil.pdf">30% to 50% of Russia's federal budget revenue,</a> the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies estimated.Bloomberg estimates that Russia could lose as much as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/russia-economy-ukraine-war-revenue-gas-pipeline-energy-europe-trade-2024-9">$6.5 billion a year</a> if Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-run energy giant, doesn't renew a gas-transit deal that expires this year. This deal allows Russian gas to be transported to Europe via Ukraine.While Russia has managed to pivot to <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-economy-divert-oil-exports-europe-india-china-circumvent-sanctions-2023-12">alternative markets, </a>the commodities are often sold at huge discounts due to sanctions, according to an <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://prod-us3.plattslive.com/commodities/crude/news-and-insight/081324-sanctions-dent-russian-economy-but-commodities-exports-boost-kremlin-coffers">S&amp;P Global</a> report last month."Russia has managed to sustain its oil production and exports despite Western sanctions and <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/7369.htm">OPEC+ cuts,</a> although it has faced challenges with its oil cash flows," wrote Svetlana Tretyakova, a senior analyst at Rystad Energy, in late August.

Russia says it's the bigger person for not cutting Europe's natural gas supply — but that's not all there is to it     

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I used to get frustrated at work events because I left exhausted without accomplishing what I wanted.</li><li>After I was diagnosed with autism, it made sense why these networking events were so hard for me.</li></ul>After my first <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-get-most-of-networking-event-under-25-minutes-2020-2">networking event</a> three years ago, I went home feeling frustrated with myself. I wanted to talk to people, but networking was a new type of exhaustion that I hadn't experienced before. I didn't realize it at the time, but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/sensory-overload">I was overstimulated</a>. Most of my conversations until then had been in controlled, predictable environments. I didn't have to maintain eye contact with someone new every five minutes or try to make out what they were saying over a loud crowd. I avoided going to parties, clubs, and concerts. I couldn't help noticing how much more work it took for me to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/get-better-at-small-talk-2017-6">maintain a simple conversation</a> when it looked so natural to everyone else.Then, three years later, I <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subtle-signs-you-might-have-autism-according-to-psychologist-2023-10">was diagnosed with autism</a> at 21, and it suddenly made sense why networking was extra difficult for me. I've learned ways to accommodate myself and make the experience more comfortable, like taking more breaks and holding a cup of water to give my hands something to do, but there are still things I wish other people knew. This is just my experience, though. Autism is a spectrum, and people can have different experiences. <h2 id="5f730c5c-4c57-4c70-84e5-3cf9130e25c0">Breaking eye contact doesn't mean I'm not interested in talking anymore</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-it-hard-to-speak-and-keep-eye-contact-2016-11">Making eye contact is not easy for me</a>. While I can do it, that doesn't mean it's a comfortable experience. It feels overwhelmingly intimate to me, and although I can push through the discomfort and do it for short periods, I do need breaks.So, if we're having a conversation and I break eye contact, just know that it's not because I don't want to talk to you anymore.<h2 id="e83c6789-b9ae-4973-92fd-61359252b3ba">I can be monotone, even when excited</h2>I know we like to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-read-body-language-2017-5">read a lot into body language</a> and voice tone, but I wish people knew body language isn't everything.I've been told my voice sometimes sounds monotone, which makes me appear "bland" and puts people off. It's not my intention at all, and I don't even realize it half the time.So, when I tell someone that I think their work is fantastic or that I'd love to continue our conversation on another date, I hope they trust the words I say instead of what my tone might indicate.<h2 id="80ddb090-e778-429c-82bf-d167d4b13c1e">Traditional networking spaces make networking a nightmare for me</h2>All the networking spaces I've been in have made networking extra challenging for me. Why do we put 50 to 100 people in large, open spaces (where it often echoes) and make them talk over each other?It's a sensory nightmare.Having a separate room or space for quiet conversations could make all the difference. I't would be better for everyone.<h2 id="121fdce0-c62e-4ddd-8f51-d07cac3a2d77">I'll likely take what you say literally</h2>Networking is challenging as it is. It's unpredictable, loud, and overstimulating. I'm spending all my energy making sure my body language matches my enthusiasm while paying attention to you. I don't have any brain power left to read into what you're saying, so I'll likely take what you tell me literally.<h2 id="c0c214b5-8215-47a0-bb5a-d9f8c7647b85">I can have a hard time understanding your social cues</h2>I don't always understand social cues when it comes to how you're feeling. I won't necessarily "get the hint" that you're done with the conversation if you start fidgeting or looking away. I wish people would be more direct when it comes to letting others know what they need.Being autistic and navigating the workplace is not easy, and I'm still learning about myself and my needs as an autistic adult. It takes more effort on my part to network, but a little compassion goes a long way.

My autism makes networking extra challenging. Here's what I wish people knew.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dropbox CEO Drew Houston says AI expertise coupled with specific knowledge is the key to success.</li><li>Houston emphasizes the value of combining AI with fields like music, healthcare, and archaeology.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dropbox-drew-houston-40-hour-office-work-week-is-over-2021-9">Dropbox CEO Drew Houston</a> says that the winners of the AI race will have two strengths — expertise in AI and a strong command of another subject.At the MIT AI Conference on Saturday, Houston said the "intersection is super powerful and you become very valuable because you can actually figure out how to apply the technologies to make a bunch of things in your field better."Whether that's bridging AI with music, healthcare, or archaeology — the combination is valuable, he said.The productivity gains people will see in their given field will be exponential, he added."You talk about a 10x engineer? Well, now that 10x engineer who knows how to use AI is going to be a 100x engineer," he said.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-drew-houston-created-dropbox-2018-1">Dropbox</a>, the cloud-based storage service that Houston co-founded in 2007, is riding the generative AI wave. Earlier this month, it launched "Dash for Business" a new AI-powered search tool that helps teams to "search, organize, share, and protect content" across all their apps.Houston said he initially built a search engine years ago after getting "really annoyed" about how difficult it was to search across documents, emails, or Slack messages. The launch of ChatGPT turbocharged the process by making it easier to search with natural language, he said.During <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dropbox-ibm-google-big-tech-companies-ai-in-layoff-memos-2023-5">Dropbox's last round of layoffs</a> in April 2023 — when the company cut about 16% of its workforce — Houston also acknowledged the impact of AI on the business landscape."Our next stage of growth requires a different mix of skill sets, particularly in AI and early-stage product development," he said in his message to staff at the time.

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston says these types of people will be the ones to benefit from AI

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Careers in AI are trending but the market is competitive for people with those skills.</li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google">Google</a> AI specialist Yann AïtBachir suggests building a strong foundation in technical skills.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Yann AïtBachir, an AI specialist at Google based in Singapore. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his identity and employment.Just under two months ago, I started working as an AI specialist at Google. That means that I'm helping companies build AI strategies and implement them using Google products.Twenty years ago, only big military groups were hiring for AI. I worked mostly in startups and small companies early in my career. Most of my work at the time was about data analysis, data engineering, or data science.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-chatgpt-jobs-career-growth-linkedin-tech-salaries-2023-11">With the AI boom of the last three or four years,</a> the number of jobs and opportunities that are more AI-dedicated has increased a lot. Now many companies are investing into it and are transforming their operations and business using AI.If I were to give <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-top-skills-you-need-get-job-2024-7">advice to someone looking to build a career in AI</a>, this is what I would say.<h2 id="9c9d92f2-9756-4911-ad3f-ce83141a987d">Come in with strong technical skills</h2>While I studied AI 20 years ago, the fundamentals haven't really changed. When you look at the system today compared to back then, the maps are the same, the statistics are the same, the probability is the same, and even the computer science system is the same.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-research-head-career-advice-learn-to-code-2024-11">You need to have very strong fundamentals</a> in math, statistics, and computer science because all of the algorithms — even the recent ones — are built on the same core concepts.AI is moving fast, and having a strong foundation helps you to pick up new changes faster because the concept behind the work is the same. That allows you to stay relevant.While technical skills are important, they are not enough, especially as you grow in your career. No career is built in isolation. For you to be successful, you need to be able to collaborate with others.<h2 id="da10edd0-14f2-4c3d-8a6d-0cb54629cfc2">Don't jump immediately into Big Tech</h2>If you want to grow a career in AI now, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-tech-jobs-basic-coding-programming-skills-education-needed-recruiters-2024-8">it's about how you'll be different.</a> You need to specialize in one area of AI because it's quite a wide scope with generative AI, predictive AI, and natural language. Now, if you want to be successful, you need to be more specialized.There are many different roles that you can do. You can be an engineer, you can be a researcher, you can work on product management, or you can have a role that is more consumer-facing. So I advise everyone, especially early in their career, to start being an explorer. Try different things, experiment, and discover really what excites you and interests you.I recommend not jumping immediately into Big Tech early in your career. The reason for that is because a career is very long. It's not really a sprint, it's a marathon. You might not know exactly what you like to do and you might change as you are getting older.I think that you have much more opportunity to grow and to discover when you work in a smaller company. You will be exposed to a much wider scope of work. After, if you really want to specialize in one area, a Big Tech company can help you narrow your scope and go even deeper in some areas.

I'm an AI researcher at Google and I've worked in the industry for 20 years. This is my advice for people entering the field.

Present-day social media and the webscape as a whole have been infiltrated by fake AI-generated content, blurring the lines between reality and fabrication. Capitalising on this trend, a photographer recently pulled off a clever twist, by winning a ‘<keyword id="22091170" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="best-AI-image" source="keywords">best AI image</keyword>’ award with an actual photograph! To be fair, <keyword id="22091173" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Miles-Astray" source="keywords">Miles Astray</keyword>’s photograph of a headless flamingo appeared so surreal, only AI could have made it up. From quirky proportions and missing parts to a bizarre vibe overall, it embodied the hallmarks of <keyword id="22091178" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-imagery" source="Orion">AI imagery</keyword>. Titled “F L A M I N G O N E,” the photo seized third place in the AI category of the <keyword id="22091174" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="1839-Awards" source="keywords">1839 Awards</keyword>’ <keyword id="22091175" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Color-Photography-Contest" source="keywords">Color Photography Contest</keyword> and even won the People’s Vote award. <div type="twitter" handle="MilesAstray" handlename="MilesAstray" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1801276040628633848"></div> While it's difficult to believe that this image wasn’t generated by any AI tool, it’s actually true. Astray took this shot on the beaches of Aruba two years ago. Although the photo was later disqualified when Astray revealed its true origin, it had already achieved its intended impact. Speaking to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/17/headless-flamingo-photo-ai/">The Washington Post</a>, Astray shared that “F L A M I N G O N E” was designed to deliver a compelling message about nature’s unmatched creativity, which he believes surpasses anything AI can replicate. He further intended to provoke thought about the rapidly evolving capabilities of AI imagery, which is becoming indistinguishable from genuine photography. “What are the implications and the pitfalls of that? I think that is a very important conversation that we need to be having right now,” Astray stated, emphasising the urgency of addressing these concerns. The revelation drew an overwhelmingly positive response, with social media users flooding Astray with “hilarious, thoughtful and heartfelt comments”. Despite disqualifying his entry for not fitting the AI category, the contest organisers, too, appreciated the “powerful message” Astray’s submission conveyed. The real story behind the photograph can be found on <a href="https://www.milesastray.com/news/newsflash-reclaiming-the-brain">Miles Astray’s website</a>.

Uno reverse! Photographer wins ‘best AI image’ award using a real photo, sends message on nature’s unmatched creativity

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Advice on social media often suggests openness in relationships.</li><li>That can sometimes lead to constant 'unpacking' of problems.</li></ul>Sandra White, 58, has been happily married for 18 years. But at the start of her relationship, she tended to unpack every issue she and her husband encountered."I used to call out every problem, all the time," she told Business Insider, recalling smaller talks that would snowball into sit-down discussions. "It was super negative and caused a lot of friction."Amid the growing <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/text-bombing-phenomena-destroying-friendships-relationships-2023-9">backlash against therapy-speak</a>, White isn't alone in questioning whether vocalizing every issue improves relationships.A recent New Yorker <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/09/23/lets-have-a-long-talk-about-our-relationship-just-before-bed">cartoon</a>, "Let's Have a Long Talk About Our Relationship Before Bed!" depicts a woman lying beside her partner, her speech bubble enveloping his annoyed face. A <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/tiredstarlet/status/1809691138158391396">viral meme</a> poked fun at a frustrated couple peppering their monologues with misused phrases like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/therapy-speak-language-terms-retire-2024-2023-12">"gaslighting" and "boundaries."</a> Couples therapists also say they've noticed a recent uptick in relationship unpacking among clients. Avigail Lev, a licensed clinical psychologist in <a target="_blank" href="https://bayareacbtcenter.com/dr-avigail-lev/">San Francisco</a>, attributes part of the problem to social media, with people learning relationship advice from quick Instagram slideshows. Steven Floyd, a licensed clinical social worker in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.therapywithsteven.com/">New York City</a>, told BI that clients will come in because their fights "center on a few particular topics, but they get rehashed over and over again."<h2 id="5555886b-7390-4c82-98ee-7eb6606107cf">Social media can be misleading</h2>Social media platforms are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-for-mental-health-support-therapy-advice-2021-4">brimming with mental health advice</a>. But even tips from professional therapists can be misinterpreted."The main things that people really get wrong online are boundaries and communication," Lev said.It's easy to conflate either with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jonah-hill-sarah-brady-texts-therapy-speak-out-of-control-2023-7">lengthy demands</a>. "You should have a goal, not just jibber jabber, not just dump feelings," Lev added.Mikhaela Delahunty, 40, was married for 16 years before she and her husband divorced. "I was constantly trying to unpack where things might've gone wrong," she told BI. "Constantly fixing, fixing, fixing."Now that she's dating again, she's noticed how much social media content champions overthinking in relationships, such as lists of why someone might have an avoidant attachment style."We read these internet articles that try to justify reasons for their behavior," Delahunty said, instead of letting the relationship go or finding different ways to connect.<h2 id="046a7264-df46-4a59-a798-cd037a115b75">Unpacking can be a form of control</h2>Unpacking is often initiated by the same person each time, Floyd said. "The person who externalizes is overwhelming the person who internalizes, so they shut down," he said. "But the wound for the person that externalizes is that they're not heard. So when the other person shuts down, they double down." It can create a pattern of fights that don't go anywhere.Frequent unpacking doesn't work because it sets up sky-high expectations around a relationship's progress. "If you're expecting a cure with every conversation, there's going to be a ruminative cycle," Lev said.Caroline Millet, 47, was married for a decade and is in a six-year relationship now. In her current partnership, the couple has "built-in mechanisms to make certain hot topics easier," such as Asana, a project management platform, to keep track of to-dos. Millet said it's a good way to take accountability "so you don't feel like you're pointing a finger."In White's case, she and her husband learned an important communication trick from couples therapy: scheduling time each week to discuss issues rather than bringing them up whenever they wanted. Millet and her partner do the same when they feel a conflict looming.This has made each couple more intentional about what they discuss rather than dumping their frustrations on each other.<h2 id="5c3704b3-ac64-4334-a883-da4220ef33e2">Connection solves more than rehashing</h2>While it may feel like hashing out issues brings partners closer together, Floyd said there's a better way to bond. "If we really try to understand our partner, we tend to be able to dissolve the disagreements," he said.Drawing from his marriage, he said that if both partners come home tired from work, it may seem intuitive to argue over whose responsibility it is to walk the dog that night. "But actually, if we just said, 'Hi, it's so great to see you,' inevitably one person goes, 'You know what? I'll take the dog,'" he said. "Because we start to see the other person."Leaning into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-test-bids-deeper-relationships-friendships-gottman-institute-2024-2">small opportunities to connect</a> can naturally get you on the same page more effectively than continual sit-down conversations, he said.Along with their weekly conversations, White and her husband committed to doing more activities together, from attending local concerts to playing pickleball.They also started to hug each other for 15 seconds every day."In the beginning, we actually timed it," White said. "It wasn't automatic to take this seemingly simple time for our relationship."<h2 id="582f2fab-b9a5-49ad-b2bc-b09f5c8868b5">Relationship work shouldn't be so hard</h2>Constantly unpacking relationship issues can delay the inevitable break-up. Delahunty eventually faced the hard truth that she and her husband weren't compatible, no matter how many in-depth discussions they had.For some, relationships stop feeling like so much work once they let go of perfectionism. "We don't let roommate problems become relationship problems," Millet said. If one partner leaves a glass out or their shoes in the hallway, the other just fixes the problem and lets it go, she said. When they have little spats, "it turns into a joke right away, and then we just move on."White said her biggest lesson was " taking responsibility for me and my expectations."Her therapist helped her look beyond a moment of irritation."Yes, I want to be with this man. He's a wonderful man, so I need to think about is this worth a big conversation?" she said. "And sometimes they are. But a lot of the little things fall by the wayside."

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