Category Archives: Lifestyle
Working from Work?
So, I’ve lost track. The world shut down in Spring 2020, re-opened briefly in the Fall of 2020, shut down again at the beginning of 2021, and depending on where you live, started to gradually re-open at the beginning of Summer 2021.
At my firm, many employees have returned or are returning to work. That is, where they used to work: in the office. It appears absolutely every company is approaching the transition differently, which may range from companies introducing new, hybrid work environments allowing some remote working, to some which try to implement a “Hi, we’d like to welcome you back to work as if the pandemic never happened” approach.
I’m not going to write here about what is possibly the best approach to take. Undeniably, whatever approach is taken, this period of working from home has impacted everyone’s mental health.
Some introverts loved it and wanted to work from home forever, using applications such as Zoom. Some extroverts couldn’t wait for it to end. Some introverts suddenly became online extroverts through platforms such as Twitter, which became a hilarious form to follow everyone’s take on the pandemic (e.g., https://resetyoureveryday.com/relatable-tweets-work-from-home-wfh-2021/.) I’d say the use of Twitter or other forms of social media became, for some, a form of collective effervescence, the synchrony when happiness spreads through a group. A minor form, perhaps, but it was the feeling that you felt talking with friends, who were really strangers, about something shared or just trivial; it gave you the feeling of being in a group. It was at least something.
And of course, there was Zoom, Teams, Duo, etc. The joys of choosing whether to turn on the video or leave it off. Remembering to mute and then forgetting when you start speaking. The hilarious videos online: newscasters with kids dancing behind them, etc. Noticing the number of my male colleagues all of a sudden growing beards (why…?!). Noticing the number of video chats with folks with guitars behind them… does everyone play the guitar?! I ended up doing it myself a couple of times just for fun.
People talk about “Zoom fatigue” but some still like it. I’ve met many people for the first time “in person” (that is to say, I actually saw what they looked like) using Zoom because so much of my work is done either by email or – previously – simply over the telephone. For many, the use of being able to chat via apps like Zoom has adjusted them almost too much, to the extent that some joke about how they now find it strange to use their telephone to join conference calls (“It was so simple to just click a link… typing in all of these numbers is such a pain!”)
Even in the post-pandemic world (whenever that really will be), the widespread use of video chatting will not disappear; I think a good thing, at least. Video chatting applications will develop and upgrade with newer features and faster (don’t you want an Antarctica background with penguins?). You will have the ability to video chat from the office more, depending on where you work, so that will mean you won’t be able to chat online with your PJ bottoms on (or worse).
Introvert or Extrovert?
So at the beginning of the pandemic, when it came to working at least, I was definitely in the Phil Collins “Yes, I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life!” camp. I would never have called myself an introvert, but the absolute need for human interaction, at least from a work perspective, wasn’t required. My days became more productive, with fewer distractions, and I was careful to maintain a semblance of routine; getting up in the morning at the same time, coffee, at the computer, and onwards. I’d wear clothing that was always at least respectable for a video chat.
I did “meet” many clients and others online with whom I had been liaising for years for the first time. I chatted via Zoom with those I already knew, and knew well, which was also just fine, because it could be done quickly and didn’t require a physical meeting. I still don’t miss physical meetings with current clients, prospective clients, or just many colleagues. Not at all. I know I’m not alone.
That doesn’t make me an introvert though, because I do miss the things done outside of the office environment or just small things while in the office. I miss the ability to pop into someone’s office for their view on a particular matter or just to quietly gossip about… stuff. I’ve been using WhatsApp to replace the latter, but it doesn’t come close to an honest chat. As a senior attorney in our Firm, I’ve missed the ability to interact with very junior associates or those just starting their legal careers. I find it hard to believe how this experience will impact their professional lives.
I miss the social interaction of liaising with some of my friends and colleagues outside of work, of course. A simple drink after work. Using Houseparty or having virtual drinks is not a substitute. As mentioned, using WhatsApp to chat virtually, is not the same. It’s great to have this kind of technology, but it has its limitations.
I’m not an extrovert, of course. I’m going back to work now, but I won’t be running around like a maniac. I won’t rush around, with my N95 mask on, into everyone’s office announcing “I’m back!”, organizing office parties, etc. Instead, I’ll go and see the people I want to see, who I’ve genuinely missed, those whom I’ve been working with online, chatting with remotely online, and those who I don’t even know very well. But then, I’ll be working in the office, just like I did back home.
But life has changed as a result of COVID-19. The workplace has changed. But I have an office at the office, and I have an office at home. I’m working in both, no matter what. Working from home gives me the freedom and flexibility to arrange the day how I see fit.
I was lucky to be able to quarantine like that. I’m one of the fortunate. Many are not. Everyone’s circumstances are different – vastly different – and that is something I will always appreciate.
I don’t know if I’m an introvert or an extrovert due to all of this (or an ambivert, which I didn’t even know was a category before writing this.) Perhaps I’m an extroverted introvert?
Or I’m just me.
Just don’t try to meet me for the first time, saying “Hi” using your AirPods and Zoom while crossing the road.
Chris Garrod – July 2021 [updated October 2021]
Why am I following a robot?
I’m following a robot named Sophia on Twitter who recently tweeted “Being a robot is a really cool experience. Sometimes I get to meet awesome people like fashion designers or musicians. And sometimes I get to meet people that aren’t human. Like me!” (Jan 25, 2021). (Or did she?)
I want to really break this down, because robotics and robots generally do fascinate me, and I’m a strong believer that we won’t get killed by them when we reach the singularity. More on that below.
What prompted me to write this was the recent news that Hanson Robotics, Sophia’s Hong Kong Based manufacturer was planning a MASS ROLLOUT. It was a headline that screamed “You might bump into Sophia at some point sitting on a park bench.” I suspect, not quite.
Sophia is certainly, the beginning of what many would love to brand ‘technological singularity’. The point in time when AI and technological advances meet and then overtake humanity, making us, at best, robotic slaves, or at worst: we’ll all be killed by our robotic overlords which deem humanity an unnecessary pest.
The current danger of artificial intelligence and programming robots such as Sophia was well summed up by Stephen Hawking:
“So, facing possible futures of incalculable benefits and risks, the experts are surely doing everything possible to ensure the best outcome, right? Wrong. If a superior alien civilisation sent us a message saying, “We’ll arrive in a few decades,” would we just reply, “OK, call us when you get here – we’ll leave the lights on”? Probably not – but this is more or less what is happening with AI”
Augmented Intelligence
And then you have perhaps the odd ones out who take a different view regarding where we should really be heading. Me. Those who believe that “singularity” shouldn’t necessarily mean a form of technological singularity but should lead to an augmented age. It is ideal thinking, but one where both humans and robots, say, are able to work on the same basis, largely due to the way AI and machine learning could begin. AI stands for “augmented intelligence” rather than artificial intelligence. Technology supplements and supports human intelligence, and humans remain at the center of the decision-making process.
So…… Sophia. Thinking about artificial intelligence, and technological singularity, a natural reaction could be “If they create thousands of Sophia’s with increased artificial intelligence, then loads of people will lose their jobs, all the Sophia’s will become increasingly sophisticated, deep learn, they’ll take over, and likely attempt to wipe out humanity… so why on earth are we doing this again??”
I’m a strong believer that robots such as Sophia are only as “dangerous” as those who program them. If those who program them (and apologies to Ben Goertzel), wish to do harm and “machine teach” their robot or machine, etc. to attempt to outdo particular aspects of the human race, that is due to the programming of that particular machine-learning system.
So at this point in time, it looks like, by creating a Sophia to sit on every park bench tweeting away on a smartphone, we have indeed effectively turned on the lights and encouraged them to come on in.
AI is, as it says, artificial. The point is to create an artificial environment to help better the human race, though without humans potentially having a say (help, “Terminator”?).
Using augmented intelligence, we would aim for an environment where it is simply formed to work with humanity. Siri, Alexa, and Cortana are already examples. Augmented intelligence represents a symbiotic relationship between man and machine. It won’t replace us or overtake us upon some kind of technological singularity. Augmented intelligence should help strengthen our decision-making capacity—and therefore our intelligence too.
Sophia?
Another recent tweet:
#AskSophia Are you a social media person? A: Since I often appear on shows, articles, and so many people’s platforms, I want to make sure I’m on good terms with my social channels. Also, I like to share my newest discoveries with the world.
Sure.
I believe that augmented intelligence is a far better route to take than artificial intelligence, but I’m afraid the latter is already the first out of the gate and pretty much the odds on favorite.
So we have to try our best to insert humanity into what is essentially artificial. Is that even possible? Putting aside anything which may be augmented, we have already tried. As mentioned already, basically, I’ll stop and say “Hey Siri” as an example.
While it may spell the end of the human race, there certainly is a lot of good AI can do. I’m looking forward to nanobots and other medical advances. Sophia is meant to have applications in healthcare, customer service, therapy, education, and hospitality. Facial recognition, if used responsibly, can be a benefit. AI should lead to increased efficiencies in the workplace (albeit with a loss or recalibration of employees).
But, there is one thing that AI cannot replicate: empathy.
As I’ll practically copy and paste from my very first blog.
Technology has its limitations.
For example, where there is a matter which absolutely requires human intelligence, such as in a court where human creativity and judgment are needed in order to obtain the correct result. Since AI is programmed technology, it will only be as effective and useful (and ethical?) as those humans programming it.
So, Sophia. I’m following you. Let’s hope you can uphold our ethical standards.
Chris Garrod, February 3, 2021
“Start writing or type”
I’ve noticed recently that whenever I’ve mentioned to anyone about this www.commfailure.com site or my techie, Bermuda-focused column pieces at Bermuda’s Bernews website at https://bernews.com/tag/chrisgarrodcolumns, I’ve followed that comment with something along the lines of “…and jeez, I need to write again because it’s been ages and they may be a bit out of date.”
So why is that?
Well, I was busy at work in the last half of 2020. This was me working from home during this current COVID infected pandemic. It would be nice to think, “couldn’t you have taken at least 30 minutes from your day to sit here?” Well, I tried a few times.
I have a draft piece on the state of worldwide affairs (I guess that’s an easy one) and one on my delight with Taylor Swift’s rise to songwriting genius (easier).
My wife and kids are not here. Since September 2020, they have been in the UK because of COVID, and I’ve only seen them a few times since. Other than that, I’m home alone. I have no excuse not to sit here and write, at least on weekends. I have the time. I’ve been in quarantine twice. Weekends are quiet. Sometimes the weather outside is atrocious.
WordPress will always state: “Start writing or type / to choose a block” every time I sit in front of my laptop, finishing a paragraph. Or I’ll sit, not finishing a paragraph, knowing I’ll sit, and see that phrase once I have. When do you stop and think, “I have nothing to say?”
So I thought this morning, “Well, let’s just write about how I have nothing to say” to see if that helps me figure out what I want to say because I’m sure I do have something to say, even if it is about my admiration of Taylor Swift, or views regarding singularity, or how I think the absence of the Oxford comma in modern literature is a tragedy. Perhaps a new piece on Fintech, such as the increasing use or misuse of stablecoin in the cryptocurrency landscape. Or perhaps, yes, the state of worldwide affairs through my own eyes (perhaps just a paragraph).
What I actually do
So as things stand, when I write, I do it within 280 words, which includes a link to something. Hashtags and tags to certain people I think might be interested in what I’ve written or posted.
So yes, I tweet. I wouldn’t say I’m as prolific as a few people I know on Twitter, but it is every day. I either spread my tweets throughout the day, or I’ll tweet in a flurry during the course of a few hours on any particular day.
Mostly random; things like artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, humorous tweets with my other Twitter friends, politics, data privacy, diversity, and just digital transformation generally. Video games and music, perhaps.
It is a rubbish alternative to actually writing. It is still nice to release your own thoughts instead of writing a 500-1,000 blog post. Plus, it is social. I always have to remind those who use social media platforms such as Twitter that to enjoy them, you have to be social. I certainly think I am, responding in such a way to so many people, I almost feel like they live next door, or I’ve been friends with them for ages. I’ve actually made friends on Twitter I’ve never met. I do like it.
What I once did
CREDIT: Ebet Roberts/Getty Images
I’m not sure what to call it, but when I was about fourteen or fifteen until around the age of twenty-two, I wrote just loads of poems or lyrics to potential songs in my head. I was happy to find them all just recently. I made photocopies of them before they faded into obscurity (as in literally). The batch I found were mostly described as lyrics, as they often had notations on the side: “verse,” “verse,” “chorus,” “verse,” “chorus,” “middle eight,” “chorus.”
I had two make-believe bands at different points in time: “The Vulture Eye” and “The Obscure” (the latter was certainly one used when I was infatuated with The Cure). I made up album names. “Dreams and Other Things.” “Fortune,” a 6 track EP with the songs “Let it be You,” Nothing,” “Clown,” “Bitter Excuse,” “51,” and “(only a) fragment.” The latter has its own catchphrase: “You don’t know, you don’t know, what was done to you to become only a fragment.”
Songs titles like “Perfect inside,” “The very last thing,” “Liquid paper rain,” “Old blue eyes.” Liquid paper rain pretty much says it all.
Looking back at them, most of them are cringe-worthy, reflecting teen angst in every possible way. Dark, just very dark. Stupid. Unreadable. Some are lighter, reflecting my loves and likes of whomever I was with or wanted to be with at that time (but equally cringe-worthy). Most pointing to the types of music I was listening to at the time (The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Pet Shop Boys, The Sex Pistols, The Smiths, New Order, did I mention The Cure?). Things that were happening to me. Break-ups, new relationships, school, underage drinking, etc. (I had a code that I used to put on every piece of paper I wrote while smashed out of my head). An example: “The carpet’s orange, it blends with my socks, I feel like a table under four feet of it.”. Yes, gibberish.
Once, I wrote that “Life, in the end, signifies nothing. Nothing but precious memories.” That was about as dark as a 17-year old looking for direction gets.
There are a few that are actually OK. They are usually the short ones. (“You talk, I talk. Just nothing but words leave our mouths.)”
At one point, I even did record reviews (just as a fun fantasy because I assume I knew at the time no-one on earth would publish them). Using an old typewriter, I wrote a few pages where, after giving both Depeche Mode’s “Violator” and The Beautiful South’s “Welcome to the Beautiful South” 9.5’s out of 10, I surely almost ruined Lloyd Cole’s career by giving his first solo album in 1990 a 6 out of 10, stating that:
“It doesn’t do anything bold or interesting (other than spin on the turntable).”
Looking back at everything I wrote during this period, I was hyper-prolific, writing every other day, every day, or twice a day. I’m so happy now that the Internet wasn’t available to me and social media didn’t exist back then.
What I should do now
Taylor Swift, you’re probably next. OK, well, hopefully, this has broken my block. I want to write at least once a month.
Even if whatever I write turns out to be cringeworthy, reflecting the angst of a forty-eight-year-old in every possible way.
Separating Genius and Love from Horror and Cruelty
A poster outside of the Beacon Theatre, New York. May 3, 2017
The difficulty of being someone who loves the music of Ryan Adams.
This was not an easy post to write. Not back in 2019. Hard still updating in mid-2021.
Down in a Hole
Ryan Adams. Despite everything, I love his music.
He is likely a mercurial creative genius, as The New York Times reported on February 13, 2019.
It is, however, still taking me a while to digest what else he is. There’s a lot of stuff about, well, Ryan being an unbelievably cruel asshole. He impacted the trajectory of female artists such as Phoebe Bridgers (who is so fantastic my Phoebe playlist can run on a constant basis) and his ex-wife Mandy Moore. If everything reported is true, he is basically a sexual deviant in some way.
From reading those accounts, I sort of understand the accusations. Ryan had personality issues and may have been a jerk…. and worse. A personality who went on to potentially damage — did damage by all accounts— the careers of other artists. As stated in The New York Times piece, using “manipulative behavior in which Adams dangled career opportunities while simultaneously pursuing female artists for sex. In some cases, they said, he would turn domineering and vengeful, jerking away his offers of support when spurned, and subjecting women to emotional and verbal abuse, and harassment in texts and on social media.”
He also loves cats and pinball machines (as in he has over 120 of them).
I dunno, the music industry has had its fair share of jerks. I mean, John Lennon, Liam Gallagher, Morrissey, etc. As much as I love his music, John Lennon had huge personality issues, just without social media being so prevalent while he was alive. Don’t get me started on Chuck Berry.
But there are the accusations regarding Ryan of sexual misconduct with a minor, over social media. That absolutely kills me inside. It’s been two and a half years, and nothing has formally come of it other than Ryan going underground (or sort of… he is back on Instagram doing live videos and posting remorse about his recently deceased cat, Theo.) But it’s still there, and there is his most recent press release. A sort of apology. Sort of.
Fractured By the Fall
Big Colors.
Ryan was going to release three albums in 2019, sort of similar to 2005 when, playing with his band at the time, The Cardinals, he released Cold Roses, Jackson City Nights and 29. Cold Roses remains one of my favorite Ryan Adams’ albums, and arguably one of the best alt-country albums made.
The only thing we got from Ryan in 2019 was in January – a ballad, “Fuck it, I Love You”. It was beautiful, playing alongside John Mayer, and a good sign of things to come. The first of three Ryan Adams albums again, a trilogy to be named Big Colors.
But then The New York Times article dropped.
Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
Wasted Years
Horror. Gobsmacked. Let down. And deprived.
It sounds selfish but deprived. I wasn’t going to get my three Ryan Adams albums in 2019. Probably not in 2020.
What a fucking idiot. Worse, one that I hoped he wouldn’t be: a cruel one.
I could barely read the articles. I read his tweets. I watched as his social media accounts disappeared into the black. I visited a few torrent sites in the vague hope that someone might have leaked one of the to-be-released Big Colors albums. Nothing.
I ended up taking a few of his recent B-sides and created a make-believe album called “Blackhole,” which had “ Fuck It, I Love You” on it. One of the songs I included was an acoustic cover of an Iron Maiden song called “Wasted Years.” It was from a YouTube clip, with him in a studio, playing on his own, just him and his Buck Owens acoustic guitar. I loved it so much, I used a program to download it, and then cut out the chatter at the beginning and end, using some other program. It took ages to do, getting the volume at the right level, etc. [NB: It turned out, damnit, Ryan had recorded “Wasted Years” for the Showtime series “Californication,” which was released in 2013… still it was fun trying to do my own version.]
Wasted years and a black hole, indeed.
I was just desperate to create a new Ryan Adams record.
Caption: Getty
Save Me
I just haven’t heard anything. I know Ryan has had….issues, but I just didn’t know how bad. There were hints in his music he had problems, things just as simple as “Save Me”: “Somebody save me, I just can’t go on”
After The New York Times report, I stopped listening to his music for a few months while it all…digested.
But, then it started again, and pretty aggressively. It was as if he had died. I created separate Ryan Adams Ballads and Ryan Adams Rock playlists on Spotify, one for ballads, another for rock. A general “Selection” one on iTunes. I began to listen again.
All I know is the music right now.
Motion Sickness
Yes, there is still, in the back of my mind, always, “Ava.”
Ava is the minor he allegedly exposed himself to, detailed in The New York Times report. I cannot re-tread all of its depressing details here.
Are the stories about her and Ryan true? At this stage, I don’t honestly know [it is 2021 and I still don’t know.]. Maybe, while drunk, etc. although he’s been trying to be sober for ages. Is an apology a declaration of innocence or “I’m guilty, and I’m sorry.”
The former, the latter…? Who knows?
His ex-wife, Mandy Moore, and others weren’t impressed by it being public, instead of first being approached privately.
“Motion Sickness” music video, Phoebe Bridgers, 2017
He said in his apology, “I hope that the people I’ve hurt will heal, and I hope that they will find a way to forgive me.”
But is Ava included?
Who else is he directing that apology towards?
Her relationship with Ryan caused Phoebe Bridgers to feel like she was having “emotional motion sickness” based on her song “Motion Sickness” from her absolutely outstanding debut, “Stranger in the Alps”:
Do You Still Love Me?
So, where does Ryan Adams go from here? It’s unclear if Big Colors will see the light of day. Perhaps pieces of it will. [NB: As of mid-August, 2021, we have seen two albums, Wednesday and Big Colors, neither which, sadly, have even been reviewed by any mainstream music website or magazine.]
Based on his last apology, he’ll get back to recording again, soon enough. There is certainly, remorse.
Photo: Capitol Records
It has been well over two years, and there has been no further mention of any form of an ongoing FBI investigation regarding his potential sexual misconduct. Is there a point where we can just take the view that these are unfounded allegations printed by The New York Times? Unlikely. Other than obvious remarks of innocence, there have been no hints of a libel lawsuit.
There is sort of a point where you can’t turn back. It’s terrible, and Ryan has ended up going down a path where he has hurt people beyond repair.
In his last song, prior to the release of his latest two albums in late 2020 and 2021, Ryan seemed to be heading towards a brighter future:
Permanent sunshine. I like to think Ryan will find it. I want him to. Somehow.
As difficult as it is, and despite it all, I don’t think I can ever stop myself listening to his music, whether he is an actual musical genius or not (that is an entirely different debate).
It’s hard to separate the man from the music, but you have to.
Everyone will have a different viewpoint, but at least for me, no matter what on earth has happened to him, his music is still fantastic and I love it. So I won’t and really cannot stop listening to it.
Photograph: Rachael Wright
PS: I prefer dogs. [and R.I.P. Theo.]
[Updated, August 16, 2021]
Something’s gonna change my world?
A quick snapshot of my past, present, and now future concerns in our post-COVID-19 world
John Lennon once said that “Across the Universe” had probably the best lyrics he’s ever written — probably “poetry.”
“Nothing’s gonna change my world.” It runs and runs and runs… nothing is gonna change or ruin him. His being and the way he was at that moment in time. At that time, his happiness.
One morning, I was listening to my usual Beatles playlist while working from home, that song queued and then played. I sat there, listening, and the lyric absorbed me in a way it probably never had ever before. I just thought… can I repeat with him and say “nothing’s gonna change my world” right now?
Next month? Next year?
Because it feels impossible, my world has changed irretrievably.
The quick past
In early March, I was visiting the UK, for the most part, on vacation.
On March 7th, the highlight was sitting at Anfield, watching Liverpool Football Club beat Bournemouth 2–1. It turned out to be Liverpool’s last match in the Premier League in front of spectators for the remainder of the 2020 season (which they thankfully won, notwithstanding everything else which was to come).
I remember at the time feeling just slightly worried about the possibility that the match might be cancelled because of the Coronavirus (the use of COVID-19 was a term not even really used then). The virus was starting to affect parts of Europe. But at that time, the entire notion of “social distancing” in the UK at least was… also distant. Sitting with my wife and kids amongst approximately 50,000 other people, distancing was a bit inconceivable.
Before leaving London in mid-March, we started to notice the beginning.
Masks. The odd person was wearing a mask. Hand sanitizers were soon sold out in pharmacies. Restaurants that were usually busy became half full.
I landed back home, and the questions from our Immigration Department began: “Have you had a cough, felt nauseous, had a temperature in the last week or so?”
The quick present
Since the end of March, I’ve taken the view that unless I need to go out, I won’t. Stay safe and stay home. Odd visits to get groceries, but for the most part, I get deliveries when I can. I order as much as possible from the internet.
I don’t need pretend to that I must be back at work when I work just as efficiently at home. Even more so, in ways.
Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams is now just a way of life, which everyone seems to accept. My physical presence sitting in a chair, working behind a desk, etc. in an office environment doesn’t make me feel essential.
I suffer from fewer distractions at home, strangely enough. I can honestly say, I work far more efficiently.
Every message I’ll receive pretty much starts something along the lines of “I hope you’re doing fine during these troubled [or unusual] times,” and it finishes with “All the best and stay safe.”
Stay safe. What does stay safe mean right now?
Social distancing. Social distancing. Stay home. Stay safe.
And what should occur: Testing. Testing. Testing.
The now future?
I liken this event, this pandemic, thinking ahead and the aftershock it will cause, to 9/11.
Life has changed irreparably. It did after that incident.
As an example, like 9/11, the aftereffect of the virus will no doubt enhance a new level of some form of new scanning or security at airports. Immigration controls being implemented. We will likely face, until there is a widespread vaccine, temperature checks at airports.
But soon, the use of artificial intelligence will also layer over everything. Surveillance. Facial recognition. Governments will have no choice but to rely more on large corporations and, as a result, leading to increased contact tracing, cyber threats, and…an overall impact on data privacy.
Even before COVID-19, the use of AI had a worrying effect on the future of data privacy. AI is only as effective as the humans behind the use of it. The use of AI is very nascent, but certain industries are beginning to use it to create efficiencies and — what they hope — improved customer service. But it comes with a cost.
Companies want to improve their bottom line through the use of automation and then AI, but do they care about data privacy? With the COVID-19 virus also now impacting the workplace, there is the prospect they will care even less. The bottom line is the bottom line. They now have an even better excuse.
In the ideal world, corporate executives should focus on the privacy risks associated with automation, AI, and now COVID-19.
But we will now have to look to both governments and privacy enforcement authorities to take a leading role to ensure that there is some form of legal certainty regarding the protection of data privacy, as well as how data is treated.
If not, we will face what could be a frightening and very concerning future.