Eliana Willis

Ever since generative AI exploded in popularity, one of the major concerns has been how it will impact jobs and replace the human workforce. That fear is only heightened with the mention of AI agents, as they can carry out tasks for humans without even needing constant human prompting or supervision, eliminating the need for humans to perform specific tasks even further.However, just because an AI agent can carry out some tasks doesn’t necessarily mean it can do all of them. As mentioned above, there are critical business operations that an AI agent cannot replace, such as face-to-face interactions with clients or higher-level tasks involving problem-solving, experience, or creativity.Also: Want to win in the age of AI? You can either build it or build your business with itIn fact, according to LaMoreaux, AI agents may amplify the need for humans in some areas.”With AI and generative AI, domain expertise becomes more important, not less important,” said LaMoreaux. “The AI agents already know the basics, so when things need to get unique, then routed to humans, it’s going to be higher-order questions and problems.”Building on this idea, Elsakr also highlighted that the models themselves don’t have ideas. As a result, it is imperative that humans come up with better ideas now and spend real time implementing ideas that matter.Another concern about AI agents is that they are entirely autonomous and, as a result, can handle important business tasks and data without the need for direct human supervision guiding their every step, leaving room for bias, privacy concerns, and error.However, it is important to remember that AI agents can be tailored to fit the specific company’s needs. They are given the authority to access only information the company is willing to share and can only perform actions they are specifically granted the authority to do. Ultimately, these tasks should be carefully chosen to ensure they align with the company’s needs and values.Also: This new AI benchmark measures how much models lieFor example, LaMoreaux explained IBM uses an agent to help match candidates to potential job roles, as opposed to using an AI agent for selection to weed out applications. Even though other companies use AI agents for filtering and selecting processes, there is a risk of inviting AI bias and not selecting people with different educational backgrounds, which doesn’t align with the company culture.This keeps the company in control of how AI agents behave. As a result, even though the technology is autonomous, users can find comfort in knowing it won’t act in ways it hasn’t been permitted to.  More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The AAWireless Two costs $65 and gives you wireless Android Auto support when plugged in. A new built-in button lets you quickly swap between paired devices. The companion app is almost too robust, but that’s not the worst thing. –> Update: The AAWireless Two adapter is back in stock on Amazon […] More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETDid you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you? These days, most popular TV models utilize automatic content recognition (ACR), a form of ad surveillance technology that gathers information about everything you watch and transmits it to a centralized database. Manufacturers then use your data to identify your viewing preferences, enabling them to deliver highly targeted ads.Also: I changed these 6 TV settings to drastically speed up its performance (and why they work)What’s the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and those numbers are only going up.To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Cuktech 30 is a compact yet powerful power bank that can output a maximum of 300W. It can recharge in under 2.5 hours thanks to 140W USB-C charging At 40,000mAh/144Wh, it’s too big to take on an airplane. –> Power banks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The JBL Charge 6 will be available for purchase on April 6 for $199 in Black, Blue, White, Red, Camo, and Purple. The Charge 6 offers great sound, durability, battery life, and in-app features. However, its waterproof rating doesn’t account for exposure to salt or chlorinated water, so exposing it to […] More

IncrediVFX/Getty Images I use a VPN. I don’t use a VPN every second of every day. Over the years, I’ve found that using a VPN all the time can cause various issues to pop up. Because of that, I’ve become rather selective about when I make use of the VPN installed on my system. Also: You […] More

MacBook Air M4 in Sky Blue Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETWhen Apple announced the MacBook Air M4 More

Adam Breeden/ZDNETIf your Pixel phone screen is acting strange, it’s not just your device. Also: 4 Pixel phone tricks every user should know – including my favoriteGoogle just released its Pixel update for March, and while it introduced some new features, it may have also introduced new bugs that are frustrating users. Brightness randomly dropsIn addition to a strange change in the haptic feedback, some users are experiencing a problem with their phone’s brightness. While watching Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, or other streaming content, users say the brightness will randomly drop to a low level for a few seconds before returning to normal. Also: 12 Android phone settings you should change to dramatically increase battery lifeThe issue occurs about every 10 seconds for some users and every few minutes for others, usually while watching full-screen video. It is being reported on phones from the Pixel 6 series through the Pixel 9 series (but not on any Pixel Fold devices). Some users have found that turning on subtitles triggers the problem, while others experience it consistently, regardless of the content. More