White collar unemployment

Over the past two decades, an education revolution swept large parts of the developing world. Colleges popped up, by the thousands as farmers, labourers and herders poured their wages into higher education for their children. The avalanche of graduates is overwhelming emerging economies, which aren’t producing white-collar jobs on anywhere near the same scale. The unemployment rate in the developing world for young people with higher-education qualifications is two to three times the rich-world figure, according to a report by the United Nations International Labor Organization. In nations across South and Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, more than a fifth of those under age 30 who have such postsecondary qualifications are unemployed. Exacerbating the mismatch is the fact that many of the new colleges are of poor quality. They produce students who line up for prestigious jobs, but who often don’t have the skills companies seek.

(Adapted from “Big Dreams Built On Higher Education Sour Worldwide For Jobless Graduates,” by Jon Emont, published on October 10, 2024, by The Wall Street Journal)

AI vs conspiracy theories

Facts have long seemed unpersuasive when it comes to conspiracy theories, such as the Earth is flat, the moon landing was faked, and 9/11 was an inside job. Despite mountains of scientific evidence arguing the contrary, people continue to believe. But what if the problem is not that people ignore evidence but that the evidence lacks depth and personalisation? Conspiracies are nuanced — matched and moulded to the individuals who believe them — which means there aren’t universal arguments to counter them. Enter generative artificial intelligence. In new research published in Science and conducted with Thomas Costello of American University and Gordon Pennycook of Cornell, Rand used GPT-4 Turbo to fine-tune debates with conspiracy theorists. Over just three rounds of back-and-forth interaction, the AI, also known as DebunkBot, was able to significantly reduce individuals’ beliefs in the particular theory the believer articulated, as well as lessen their conspiratorial mindset more generally.

(Adapted from “MIT Study: An AI Chatbot Can Reduce Belief In Conspiracy Theories,” by Dylan Walsh, published on September 30, 2024, By MIT Sloan School of Management)

India’s tech ramping up

Nvidia has announced a slew of partnerships with major Indian firms and launched a Hindi language model, as the American chip company looks to ramp up business in one of the world’s biggest technology markets. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke about the firm’s tech and efforts in India at its AI Summit in Mumbai — an event that featured Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar and India’s richest person Mukesh Ambani, the chair of Reliance Industries. “India used to be a country that produced software. [India] exported software. In the future, India is going to export AI,” Mr Huang said. Nvidia also announced Nemotron-4-Mini-Hindi 4B — a small language model in Hindi. Companies running Nvidia hardware can deploy this language model, while Indian IT consultancy Tech Mahindra is using Nvidia’s model to launch its own Hindi AI model, Project Indus 2.0.

(Adapted from “Nvidia Doubles Down On India With Hindi Language Model And Major Partnerships,” by Dylan Walsh, published on September 30, 2024, By MIT Sloan School of Management)

Making bosses advocate for your

Many leaders don’t recognise when their advocacy is needed. Here are five strategies you can try. 1) Highlight what’s in it for them. Connect your ask to how it not only meets your needs but also aligns with theirs. 2) Offer specific ideas. Identify meetings or company communications where your boss could advocate for your work. 3) Give your boss a script. By providing your boss with ready-made language they can share, you remove barriers to action and control the narrative. 4) Implement a weekly win routine. Send a brief, bulleted email to your boss highlighting your team’s achievements. 5) Leverage reciprocity. By showing that you value and promote their work, you make it more likely they’ll do the same for you.

(Adapted from the article “5 Ways to Ask Your Boss to Advocate for You,” by Melody Wilding, published by HBR Early Career)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 28th, 2024