AI Ethics, Excel Esports, and Apple's Billion Subscribers
Hello everyone, welcome to PulseCode! I have some exciting news about the tech world.
Let’s start by talking about this study published in the renowned scientific journal PLOS One, which analyzed computer usage metrics from 789 employees over 2 years. The study found a significant increase in typing errors and a drop in productivity, specifically on Friday afternoons. Guys, this is nothing new to me. As an experienced product manager and former developer for over 10 years, I’ve adopted a policy of not making major system changes on Fridays. And for good reason! Everyone is already tired after a long work week, motivation is low, and mistakes are much easier to slip through. And I don’t want my phone ringing on the weekend with the team asking for help to reverse a problematic Friday deployment! So this study only confirmed what experience had already taught me: Fridays are a day to take it easy and leave major deployments for next week.
In other news, GitHub Copilot, an AI code suggestion tool, can alert you when suggestions match existing code in public repositories. Before, it would block the suggestion; now, you get an alert and can decide whether to discard it or make proper attribution. As an open-source contributor, I wonder if attribution shouldn’t be mandatory for Copilot. After all, legally, using existing code without giving proper credit could be considered intellectual appropriation, correct? This raises an essential debate on ethics and intellectual property in software development. Soon, could AI generate code so complex and comprehensive that the lines between authorship and automation will become even more blurred?
For Excel power users, check this out: The Excel World Championship started yesterday, an eSport with various spreadsheet challenges to figure out formulas and logic to solve day-to-day business problems. There’s even a guy nicknamed the Michael Jordan of Excel competing! I don’t know enough Excel to play this, but I thought it was interesting how everyday tools are becoming eSports. It reminded me of my internship and later planning head days and how many crazy spreadsheets and macros I built... I was damn good at Excel! Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right choice to go into management instead of specializing in Excel.
Google is also investing in more transparency and user control over data. Soon, in several other countries, when personal information like phone numbers or emails appears in search results, Google will send a notification allowing you to request removal. I think it’s positive, but the big question is: can we trust Google regarding privacy? I confess I have my doubts and reservations.
Speaking of tech giants, Apple hit 1 billion subscribers across their services, including Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV+, and more. This clear strategic shift reflects a trend primarily driven by Netflix and Spotify, where companies seek to diversify recurring revenue sources and become more relevant in users’ lives beyond physical products. With 1 billion subscribers, Apple is establishing itself as a force to be reckoned with in the services sector.
And Brave, that privacy-focused browser, decided to cut its partnership with Bing and launch its own image and video search engine. Quite strange, I guess it was more due to business than technical reasons. What do you all think about Brave’s decision? Do you think it’s a good move, or they may find challenges in this new path? Leave your opinions in the comments; I’d love to know your thoughts!
In short, super-relevant topics are worth discussing.