Category: Technology

Connecting With Technology Mentors: 10 Effective Methods For Young Professionals

Loknath Das

Technology is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Newcomers to the industry may find themselves facing a slew of challenges and trends they couldn’t have predicted during their time in school. Having an experienced tech veteran by their side to show them the ropes and help them adapt can make all the difference in their career success. As experienced tech professionals, the members of Forbes Technology Council understand how beneficial mentorships can be in this ever-changing field. To help you facilitate connections between your young employees and industry mentors, our panel of experts…

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How to Cure Your Kids’ Addiction to Technology

Loknath Das

We’re meeting in a café in midtown New York on a sultry August day, ahead of the September 10 publication of Eyal’s new book, “Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life” (co-written with Juli Li; BenBella Books). Eyal’s 2014 book, “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,” was a favorite among executives in the high-tech industry. It starred on The Wall Street Journal’s best-seller list and has become Amazon’s top-selling book in the industrial and product design category. Officials from Google, Facebook and Instagram have come to consult…

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5G technology goes underground

Loknath Das

Automation and digitalization are increasingly used in almost every major industry to improve efficiency. Thanks to rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, and innovations like X-ray diffraction and electric vehicles, the mining sector is also catching up with the technological revolution. According to a White Paper by the World Economic Forum and Accenture, digitalization could bring about over USD $425 billion of value for the mining industry, customers, society and environment by 2025. It could also lead to a reduction of 610 million t of CO2 emissions, as well as…

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Low-carbon technology fund is tonic for Scottish gin maker

Loknath Das

The Orkney Distillery wants to become the world’s greenest gin and whisky producer. Photograph: Alamy A craft distillery in Scotland could become the greenest gin and whisky producer in the world as part of the government’s plans to cut industrial climate emissions. The Orkney Distillery has secured a slice of the government’s £390m fund to help develop low-carbon technologies that could reduce carbon emissions from industry. It hopes to use the funds to become the first gin distillery in the world to run on hydrogen made from renewable energy rather than liquid petroleum gas.…

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Autonomous Technology Requires Caution — And A Leap Of Faith

Loknath Das

Historically, every wave of technological innovation — especially those that directly impact human well-being — has had detractors. With autonomous technology, we need to find a balance between caution and Luddism and learn to cherish our deepening relationship with technology. The stories of the global grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft and the latest Tesla autopilot crash controversy have sparked a wave of outrage and genuine fear about the role of autonomous technology in our lives. The tones are dire: Autonomous technology is a threat to human life. The technology isn’t ready. Society and…

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How To Empower Your Employees To Learn New Technology

Loknath Das

Here’s the irony. Our new “data-driven world” has created unprecedented demand for workers with skills in collecting, processing, analyzing and understanding data. But it has also done the opposite. More than ever, businesses need people with skills at the other end of the spectrum, such as creativity, emotional intelligence, empathy, and collaboration. These were once called soft skills. Now, they’re “power skills.” This is happening because of advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence. As these new technologies take over certain types of jobs, the uniquely human skills built around our ability…

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Align Technology’s Tech Leader Believes Digital Technology Is the Pathway To A Perfect Smile

Loknath Das

Sreelakshmi Kolli has been the Senior Vice President of Global Information Technology at Align Technology for more than six and a half years. During that period, the global orthodontic medical device company has grown tremendously, especially through its popular Invisalign product. As Kolli sees it, future growth will be heavily dependent on digital technology. There are 300 million potential customers of the company, and reaching them and engaging with them digitally is the pathway to converting them as customers. She and her team are hard at work at doing just that.…

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Kentucky police use new technology to nab suspects in hours instead of weeks as rapid DNA market takes off

Loknath Das

The Kentucky State Police started using a new DNA test in February that law enforcement officials say could completely revolutionize criminal investigations, analyzing the data in under two hours instead of days or weeks. Colorado-based ANDE Rapid DNA is offering its quick DNA testing to Kentucky state police for free as part of an ongoing pilot program. Kentucky is the first state to use ANDE’s technology for sexual assault cases and it’s getting a lot of notice from other states. ANDE Rapid DNA declined to provide its sales data, but…

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Technology in the Classroom: The Question Is Not Now “If” but “How”

Loknath Das

Last Thursday, California approved its first budget under Governor Gavin Newsom, making a substantial down payment on education for the state’s high-tech economy. The budget significantly increases the state’s investment in schools and includes new funding for expanding broadband infrastructure in low-income communities and teaching computer science in the schools. These investments advance the effort begun in 2018, when the State Board of Education adopted computer science standards for K-12 students, making it one of only seven states in the nation with such standards. As California focuses its attention on…

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How to lose a technology cold war: Restrict visas

Loknath Das

Last week, China’s education ministry issued a warning to students: if you’re thinking about studying in the United States, you might want to think again. Citing a rise in visa delays and refusals, officials called on students to adjust their “risk assessment” of pursuing an American education. While it might be tempting to dismiss the statement as a propaganda ploy amid a deepening trade conflict with China, the fact is that the Trump administration has taken steps that restrict Chinese students and researchers from coming to the United States, putting the…

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