Category: Education

A musing about social media and ‘Black Friday’…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Learning, Legal matters, Security, social media

It’s ‘Black Friday’ in the UK on Friday and High Street and online businesses are marketing their ‘epic deals’. This year the Badger’s received a plethora of email notifications from organisations warning to be wary of online shopping scams as ‘Black Friday’ approaches. One from a UK bank has the opening line ‘Did you know that 70% of online shopping scams start on social media?’  Yes, the Badger already knows this. It’s just one of many facts about social media that illustrates that diligent wariness is necessary when using these platforms.

Today the public feel uneasy about the world which is the most unsettling and unstable it’s been for decades. Global tensions abound. Politics is highly polarised. Economies are fragile. Conflict abounds. Shocks are more frequent. Power seems to rest with the handful of billionaires that dominate the digital world, and so on. Earlier this week, the Badger and a plumber friend chatted over a seasonal mince pie and coffee about factors that may have facilitated the instability the public observes. The internet is to blame, the Badger’s friend suggested. However, we dismissed that and decided instead that while social media can’t be blamed for all the world’s woes, it has certainly played a part.

We concluded this because social media platforms often say they are ‘free speech zones’ while simultaneously curating communication to protect their own business models. They are, after all, not democracies but huge, controlled, money-making ecosystems where the primary liability for what’s posted rests with the poster, not the platform. The persistent misinformation, disinformation, and offensive, inflammatory, and deceptive material that can often be encountered on them polarises opinions and facilitates scams from any part of the globe. The US President’s suing of the BBC, we decided, simply illustrates that there’s one rule for social media and another for everyone else. Why? Because the platforms often provide equally reprehensible edited videos that appear to go unpunished. Many will disagree, but we decided that social media has poisoned attitudes and thus contributed to fuelling an unsettled world.

The message here is not that social media is completely bad. It’s simply a reminder to understand their underlying business model and to think carefully about what you post or view. Think about whether your social media interactions are contributing to the very unsettled and disrupted world we are currently experiencing. Remember that these platforms are not the bastions of free speech that many would have you believe. Free speech, at least here in the UK, existed long before the advent of giant money-making social media platforms. Finally, take care when shopping online for ‘Black Friday’. Be wary of ‘limited time’ or ‘selling fast’ offers from organisations with social media profiles that don’t seem right. If something looks too good to be true, then it’s probably not what it seems…

The imagination of children – Lego and AI…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Education, Information Technology, Learning, Lego, Risk, Toys

While returning home from a stroll through a glorious deciduous wood resplendent with Autumn colour, the Badger saw an interesting book in a charity shop window. He popped in and came out with a carrier bag half-full of Lego bricks of all shapes, sizes, colours, and types rather than the book! The Lego was in great condition at a bargain price and buying it for his grandson to play with when he visits seemed a no-brainer. On arriving home, the bag was emptied onto a table. There were standard bricks and bases, Technik bricks, wheels, motors, and arms, legs, torsos, heads, and hands from Lego figures, and much more. The Badger was hooked. He spent the rest of the afternoon using his imagination to produce a number of creative masterpieces! Indeed, everyday since, the Badger’s improved his masterpieces and created new ones. It’s addictive!

Lego empowers creativity, provides immediate gratification from having built something with your hands, and it helps to develop spatial reasoning, design thinking, and problem-solving. Furthermore, it encourages an understanding of mechanics through trial and error. It’s fun, educational, and great for kids (and adults) of all ages with building things often a collaborative and social activity. Kids, for example, learn from each other when they play with it together and when adults help them. Building Lego models together strengthens the bonds between individuals.

As the Badger built his own masterpieces, he remembered that Lego has been an excellent teaching aid at home and in education establishments for decades, as the recent announcement about a teenager building a robotic hand using Lego illustrates. It also struck him that Millennials were shaped by the emergence of the internet, Gen Z were moulded by social media’s evolution, and that Gen Alpha – his grandson’s generation – will be defined by the rapid expansion of AI use. The Badger senses a danger, however, that Gen Alpha may simply ask AI for ideas and instructions of what to build from a bag of bricks rather than use their own imagination and individuality to create masterpieces. Always inquisitive, the Badger asked CoPilot what could be built with a bag of mixed Lego bricks. It replied with ideas and instructions, and thus neatly illustrated that the danger of Gen Alpha outsourcing their imagination, creativity, and physical trial and error learning to AI is real.

A recent UK study found that ~22% of 8 to 12 year-old children already use generative AI tools, which – let’s remember – have not been designed from the outset with children in mind. Have the  lessons from social media’s impact on children been learned? The answer’s not obvious, which is why the Badger will be encouraging his grandson to produce his own Lego masterpieces without engaging in virtual world interactions. Another reason, of course, is that the Badger will be able to transfer knowledge and enjoy helping to build his creations too…

Do acquisitions disproportionately shed older staff?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Acquisitions, Business, Education, Human Resources, Information Technology, Leadership, Learning, Legal matters

A youngster about to join a large enterprise after completing a degree at University asked an interesting question last weekend. ‘Does an enterprise that acquires another company use the purchase as a smokescreen to shed older, long-serving, higher-paid employees?’  That’s an interesting and unusual question from someone at the very start of their career. So why did they ask it? Well, firstly their new employer has acquired another substantial company and restructuring activities are underway. Secondly, they knew the Badger had some experience in navigating a number of mergers and acquisitions. Lastly, the tech-savvy youngster had come across online chatter that his new employer’s older staff with long service were being disproportionately targeted during restructuring. The youngster, with no experience within large enterprises, anticipates a long career with their new company, but they were a little perturbed that their new employer might possibly be engaging in age discrimination, something that’s prohibited under the UK Equality Act 2010.

Answering required words that were balanced, honest, and rooted in personal experience of post-acquisition integrations. So, what did the Badger say? Firstly, that acquisitions often lead to reorganisations which can legally justify redundancies based on performance or role duplication at any age or level of seniority. Loyalty and long-service counts for nothing in such a scenario, and older employees may be more vulnerable because they typically have higher salaries and benefits, which means shedding them can significantly reduce payroll costs. Secondly, an acquisition can be a vehicle to change an enterprise’s culture, especially in fast moving industries subject to rapid innovation pressures. This always favours the retention of younger, tech-savvy staff and those with in-demand skills. Thirdly, not every acquisition is a smokescreen for eliminating older, higher-paid employees, but, in reality, some acquirers do quietly use their purchase to shed older, higher-paid employees because they know that it’s normally difficult in these circumstances for individuals to prove age discrimination for their redundancy. Do acquisitions disproportionately shed older staff? Some do, some don’t.

The youngster nodded, reaffirmed their intent on a long career with their new employer, and asked if the Badger had any advice for the long term. Yes. Maintain skills that are current and valuable outside your company, as mergers and acquisitions rarely reward loyalty or long service. As you get older and more experienced, watch out during acquisition integration activities for a) silence about future roles for you or your peers, b) performance reviews, and c) role redefinitions. These often signal something is afoot that affects you personally. Also, never forget that HR works in your employer’s interest, not in yours.

The youngster grinned and said they obviously had lots to learn! The Badger smiled too, pleased that he’d sown a few seeds of awareness in a youngster who will soon learn that things are never quite what they seem inside organisations when it comes to workforce matters.

Youngsters outsourcing their mental effort to technology…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Change, Education, Human Resources, Information Technology, Risk, social media, Wellbeing

Live Aid happened on Saturday 13th July 1985. If you were a young adult then, do you remember what you were doing when the concert happened? Were you there? Did you watch it live on television? The Badger had his hands full that day doing some home renovations while having a one-year-old baby in the house. He thus only saw snippets of the televised live concert. Last weekend, however, he made up for it by watching the highlights broadcast to celebrate the concert’s 40th anniversary.

Watching the highlights brought home why the music at the concert has stood the passage of time. It was delivered by talented people with great skill and showmanship without today’s cosseting production techniques and tech wizardry. What struck a chord most, however, was the enthusiasm of the Wembley Stadium crowd, the vast majority of whom are now grandparents in, or facing, retirement! People in that crowd had none of the internet access, smartphones, or online services we take for granted today. In 1985 the UK’s first cellular telephone services were only just being introduced by Cellnet and Vodafone, and ‘home computing’ meant the likes of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and the BBC Micro. A far cry from today! Furthermore, those in that crowd represent a generation that thought for themselves and didn’t have their minds dulled by reliance on digital technology and internet-based online services. Their grandchildren, on the other hand, only know life based around the internet, and they often seem oblivious to the likelihood that their reliance on online things like social media might be dulling their minds, nudging them towards a passivity of thought, and perhaps ultimately causing atrophy of their brain.  

Concern about technology dulling human minds isn’t new. In 370 BC, for example, Socrates worried that writing would erode a person’s memory!  With AI endlessly expanding, however, the potential for today’s youngsters to completely outsource mental effort to technology seems very real. More and more  scientific evidence shows  that while the human brain is highly adaptable, digital immersion changes attentiveness, the way we process information, and decision-making. Some brain functions weaken due to digital immersion, others evolve, but the Badger thinks that when our digital world provides instant answers, the joy and effort of discovery through independent thought is dwindling. Always available digital content at our fingertips means fragmented attention spans and contemplation and reflection taking a back seat,  especially for youngsters with no life-experience without today’s online world.

Watching the 40th anniversary highlights thus did more than provide a reminder of the great music of that day. It brought home the fact that today’s  grandparents have something precious – a lived experience of independent thought and contemplation without an overreliance on our digital world. It feels, however, that their grandchildren are progressively outsourcing their mental effort to ever more advanced digital technology which, this grandfather senses, doesn’t augur well for the human race…

Everyone is a salesperson…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Delivery, Education, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Sales, Technology

Good senior leaders and managers often enjoy being invited to speak to employees attending company training courses. The Badger certainly did. His sessions not only always delivered a message relevant to the training course but also provided an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about any subject close to their heart. Their questions were often diverse and required quick thinking to answer, but that’s what made the sessions fun! It was always rewarding to see attendees relax during the sessions, to hear their responses to the Badger’s answers, and to observe body language when the audience stayed silent. It was also pleasing when ‘light bulb’ moments spread across the attendees faces if an answer triggered a rush of understanding.

As a leader strongly focused on IT delivery, the Badger spoke mainly to training course groups from the business operation, delivery, and technical communities. Their questions were sometimes unusual. For example, on one occasion the Badger was asked ‘I hear senior people utter their favourite sayings frequently, but which of these have merit because they encapsulate a truth?’  The Badger gathered his thoughts for a moment before rattling off a string of common phrases in use in the company and signalling that they all had merit because they all captured a truth relevant in any company. The string included, for example, the following:     

‘What gets measured gets done…’

‘You don’t jump high unless the bar’s set high…’

‘If you bring problems then bring solutions too…’

‘Time is precious, get to the point…’

‘Decisions aren’t about making everyone happy…’

‘Everyone is a salesperson…’

This last one prompted an indignant response from a couple of attendees who were software engineers. They were contemptuous of  salespeople and unequivocal that  they were not, and never would be, a salesperson. On enquiring if they interacted with peers in their client’s organisation on their projects they answered yes. The Badger pointed out that they were actually representing the company when they interacted with external people, and that made them a salesperson of sorts regardless of their job title. He also highlighted that being ‘sales aware’ during such interactions was important because they were well placed to identify the early signs of potential avenues of further work which could be fed into the company’s main sales machinery for qualification and potential follow-up by others. They remained unpersuaded, and so the Badger pointed out that without sales the company would fail, and they would be out of a job! Their facial expressions changed as a ‘light bulb’ moment hit home on realising that even technical IT staff must be commercially and sales aware and acknowledge that ‘Everyone is a salesperson’ of sorts. ‘Sales’ is not a dirty word. It is at the heart of a company’s success and the employment of everyone within it. Remember, everyone is a salesperson…

AI and copyright…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI, Digital Transformation, Education, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, Intelligent machines, Legal matters, Online Services, Technology

Elton John recently had some sharp words to say about the UK government’s plans to exempt AI technology firms from copyright laws. Apparently, there’s currently a game of ping-pong underway between the House of Commons and the House of Lords regarding this plan. Many writers, musicians, and artists are furious about the plan, and Elton’s comments caused the Badger to scratch his head and ponder. Why? Because, like many individuals and bloggers, his website’s content could be plundered by AI without his knowledge or permission regardless of the copyright statement on its home page. With AI models and tools increasingly mainstream, Elton’s words made the Badger realise that he, and probably many others around the globe, should have copyright more prominent in our thoughts.

Copyright law is complex and, as far as the Badger understands, ‘fair dealing’ or ‘fair use’ allows limited use of copyright material without permission from the copyright owner under specific circumstances. Fair dealing/use is not a blanket permission, and what constitutes this depends on factors such as how much of the material is used, whether its use is justified, and whether it affects the copyright owner’s income. The Badger’s not a lawyer, but  he senses that AI and copyright is a legal minefield that will keep experts with digital and legal qualifications in lucrative work for years to come.

As the Badger pondered, he scratched his head again and then asked Copilot if AI used material held on copyrighted websites. The short response was that it (and other AI) follows strict copyright guidelines and only generates brief summaries of copyrighted material respecting fair use principles and with pointers to official sources. To test the efficacy of the answer, the Badger asked Copilot for the lyrics of Elton John’s song ‘Candle in the wind’. Copilot responded with ‘Can’t do that due to copyright’. Typing the same request, however, into the Badger’s browser readily produced the lyrics. Make of that what you will, but it does make you wonder why you would need to use AI like Copilot for this kind of interaction.

At the heart of Elton John’s point is the long-established principle that if someone or an enterprise wants to use copyrighted material in something that produces a commercial gain for themselves, then the copyright owner should give prior permission and be paid. AI is a disruptive technology, much of it controlled by the same giant US corporations that already dominate the tech world. AI cannot be ignored, but exempting tech firms from copyright law seems wrong on many different levels. The Badger’s concluded that he should improve his understanding of copyright law, and that AI tech firms must not be exempt from such laws. After all, if you were to take a leaf out of President Trump’s playbook then if you want something, you need permission AND  you must pay.

A career as a TikTok/Instagram influencer?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Business, Education, Information Technology, Learning, social media

If a student says they intend to develop a career as a social media influencer on TikTok, Instagram (and other platforms), and they ask your opinion on their intent, what would you say? The Badger was put on the spot and asked this question during a discussion with a sizeable group of University students midway through their degree courses. Most in the group were studying various flavours of science, engineering, computing, or IT-based subjects. So, what did the Badger answer?

Well, to create a little time to marshal his thoughts, the Badger asked the group to raise a hand if they thought being a TikTok or Instagram influencer was a career path that needed a degree-level education? Only two students put a hand up. A couple commented dryly that most social media platform influencers had little underlying talent or expertise and were focused on their egos and gaining celebrity, notoriety, and money rather than something beneficial for today’s world. That’s harsh, but it’s an understandable perspective. Whether we like it or not, however, becoming a social media influencer is the aspiration of many young digital natives because it’s seen as an easy and convenient way to generate an income.

So, is being a social media influencer a real career path? Many believe so, ostensibly because some with that label make considerable sums of money through brand partnerships, sponsorships, advertising, and selling merchandise. They also perceive that influencers don’t need high educational qualifications although they must be adaptable and adept at analysing trends and staying relevant as audience preferences change. There’s no doubt that some influencers have skills in content creation, marketing, and audience engagement, and a natural charisma, and flair for storytelling, but the reality is that only a small percentage succeed in making a reasonable living from their efforts. Like in any career, success as an influencer on the likes of TikTok and Instagram requires some competence and skill, and so it would be foolish to suggest that being a social media influencer is not a legitimate career path in today’s world.

The Badger was thus careful when answering the student’s question. He simply communicated the advice given by his father when the Badger was first deciding to further his own education at University, namely ‘Get the best education you can in a subject you enjoy and are good at. Don’t pre-suppose how you’ll use that in the future because life has a habit of taking you in unexpected directions’. The students thought this was wise counsel because none of them thought they would secure jobs directly relevant to their degree subject. That’s a shame, but ever that’s been the case. They unanimously concluded that if you intend to have a career as a social media influencer, then it’s prudent to get the best education you can first.

Security: People are always the weakest link…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Privacy and Surveillance, Public safety, Security, social media

The Badger tried to suppress a giggle when the accidental inclusion of a journalist in the US administration’s Signal group chat hit the media. He failed. On watching the US President on television call the journalist in question a ‘sleazebag’, the Badger laughed aloud as the proverbial idiom ‘pot calling the kettle black’ came to mind. The administration’s subsequent bluster about the journalist’s inclusion and the group’s messages has not been its finest hour. Asserting that the military attack information shared was unclassified is, for most independent observers, just ludicrous. Indeed, the whole episode raises many questions, not least being whether the administration’s senior echelons actually respect and adhere to standard security policies and protocols.

Signature of the UK Official Secrets Act and being thoroughly vetted for a high level of security clearance were pre-requisites for the Badger’s first IT projects. Security has thus been an embedded ethos throughout his working life. Sometimes the constraints imposed by security policy and associated processes were frustrating, but the Badger has learned that a cavalier approach to compliance is never a good idea. Rightly, clients and his employer had zero-tolerance for any kind of security misdemeanour. Indeed, on the rare occasions over the years when a security mishap occurred, the situation was quickly rectified and the culprit dealt with swiftly and definitively. Something similar may be happening behind the scenes following the Signal incident, but the US administration’s public messaging doesn’t imply this to be the case.

Later in his career, the Badger was asked to oversee the operations of his employer’s security department. The head of the department expanded the Badger’s appreciation of security matters pertinent to premises, personal safety, vetting, and cyber threats. The department head emphasised the need to keep in mind just one phrase, namely ‘people are always the weakest link‘, when it came to security doctrine. This has proved to be wise advice over the years, and the recent Signal incident simply reinforces the point.

Today, the use of Signal, WhatsApp, X, and social media platforms is rife in the general public and in political and governmental circles. The Signal incident is a reminder for us all that it takes just one participant to leak the substance of a group chat for there to be a problem, and that there’s a greater chance that someone will spill the beans beyond the group when it has a large number of participants. The incident is also a reminder to think carefully about what you write in a group chat. If you don’t then you only have yourself to blame if something you have written comes back to bite you in the future. Think before you write, always, but most of all remember that technology is not normally the weakest link, people are. That’s right…you and me!

An inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming moment…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Information Technology, Learning, Software, Training

Take a moment. Think about the most inspiring, impressive, and heart-warming moments that you’ve experienced during your career. Does one immediately come to the fore more than others? The Badger’s experienced many inspiring and impressive moments over the decades, but far fewer that were inspiring, impressive AND heart-warming! The one moment that is always the first  comes to mind meeting these three criteria was the witnessing of a speaker at a technical conference overcome their stage-fright and public-speaking demons to receive a standing ovation from the audience.

The young Badger had attended the conference, about novel software design practices, to give one of many twenty-minute presentations to the ~350-person audience from across industry. His presentation went well, ostensibly because he was well prepared and had lots of previous public-speaking experience from presenting at large conferences during his academic days. On returning to his seat afterwards, the Badger felt that usual human reaction of being both pleased and relieved! The next presenter was another youngster. As they took to the stage and walked to the lectern, their hands were visibly shaking, but what unfolded was more than just the initial nerves most people experience in such situations. What unfolded was, in its own way, awesomely inspiring, impressive, and heartwarming!

The speaker introduced themselves. Thereafter their body perpetually quivered, their voice trembled and incessantly faltered, and their presentation delivery fragmented with long pauses between sentences and often between individual words. It was obvious that the audience found the situation uncomfortable, and after ten minutes one of the conference organisers approached and quietly asked if the speaker was okay and would like to end their presentation immediately. The speaker insisted on carrying on and did so overrunning their allotted time by 50%. On closing their presentation, they apologised to the audience for their nervousness, thanked the audience for their patience and understanding given that they had never presented to so many people before! As they left the stage the whole audience gave them a standing ovation.

The speaker’s dogged determination to complete their presentation in the face of their inexperience and rampant nervousness was inspiring. The fact, as the Badger learned talking to them afterwards, that they had consciously put themselves in that uncomfortable situation because ‘it was necessary’ in order to improve and have a good career, was impressive. The audience standing ovation was heartwarming because it demonstrated our inherent human empathy and respect for ‘those that try’. For the Badger, the moment also highlights that we all have weaknesses and that facing up to them by doing the right thing with dogged determination, and resilience in the face of personal discomfort, builds respect and demonstrates the ‘right stuff’ required to be successful. What happened to the speaker? They ultimately became a senior executive at an international corporation, and a much sought after keynote speaker at international conferences!

Banning social media for the under-16s…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Education, Ethics & Regulation, Information Technology, Life, Online Safety, social media, Tech for social good, Wellbeing

Richard Holway,  a well-known, respected, and influential analyst in the UK software and IT services markets, penned an item last week for TechMarketView entitled ‘What have we done?’. The item relates to the harm that social media and smartphones are doing to children. As a grandparent with a background in software and IT services, and having a grandchild who’s just started school, it struck a chord and reinforced the Badger’s own opinion that they have indeed caused great harm for children under 16. Holding this view doesn’t make the Badger, or anyone else with the same opinion come to that, an anti-tech dinosaur, just a human being who is pro technology that has safety, security, privacy, and human well-being as its paramount priorities. When it comes to ensuring the best for children in their formative years, it seems to be mainly the unprincipled and unscrupulous who argue about having these as dominant priorities.

History is littered with ‘products’ of one kind or another that were widely popular but were ultimately recognised over time as being a danger to human well-being. Plastics, DDT, cigarettes, fossil fuels, asbestos, paint with lead in it, illustrate the point. Did you know that a century ago cigarettes were advertised as being beneficial for asthma and anxiety? Also, incredibly popular patent medicines in the 19th and early 20th centuries  had no restrictions on what they contained. Many contained cocaine, morphine, and heroin. A very popular cough mixture for children did, indeed, include  heroin! Things, of course, changed once society eventually realised the scale of addiction and early deaths that occurred. It has long seemed to the Badger that aspects of our rampant tech-dominated world, especially with regard to social media, are following this same historical template, especially when it comes to use by children.

In little more than two decades, social media has evolved from being a novel way of staying connected to family and friends, into a powerful global force that shapes many dimensions of daily life. Evidence that social media has harmful effects on children is growing all the time. Science shows that social media causes the release of large amounts of dopamine into the human brain just like addictive drugs such as heroin, and even alcohol. No wonder it’s easy to get hooked!

Like Mr Holway, the Badger fully supports the ban on smartphones and social media apps for children under the age of 16. As you can see here, the legal age in the UK is 18 to buy alcohol, tobacco products, knives, and certain types of DVDs and games. The legal age is 16 to buy pets and animals, petrol, matches, and to be in fulltime employment. Why, therefore, shouldn’t smartphones and social media apps be banned for children under the age of 16? As Mr Spock from Star Wars would say, ‘Isn’t it illogical, Jim, to do otherwise?’