Today in Tech IDG

For years, there existed a church and state separation between the world of video games and business training. Even concepts of ‘gamification’ haven’t much moved the needle when it comes to figuring out new ways to train people beyond papers, lectures and presentations. But with better technology now available, businesses can create “games” that will offer better training and education for workers. Keith Shaw chats with Sam Glassenberg, CEO of medical games company Level Ex, about what is causing this shift in the market.

Apple finally enters the artificial intelligence space with its ‘personal intelligence’ tools – what does this mean for the market, competitors and, most importantly, users of Apple products? Will consumers who have been saying mostly ‘meh’ to AI now start using the tools? Computerworld’s Ken Mingis and Macworld’s Mike Simon join the show to discuss Apple’s AI announcements from WWDC 24, including what features they like best from the Apple Intelligence package.

Nvidia becomes a $3T company based on its latest AI chips (with Intel and AMD also in the game), leading the AI hype machine to go into overdrive. But at the same time, some are suggesting that the bubble is about to burst, and that AI investments may not pan out as users feel less enthusiastic. Computerworld contributing columnist and author Mike Elgan joins the show to discuss these and other technology news items from the past week.

While the technology job market remains vibrant and strong for many workers, people over the age of 50 are finding it more difficult to get a new job, or navigate past the layers of hiring with the institution of new AI screening tools. Keith talks with Christina Matz, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Boston Collee School of Social Work and director of the Center on Aging & Work, about why age discrimination still exists within much of the corporate world, including in the tech sector.

Between having an AI tool that recommends crazy suggestions like putting glue on pizza and a “leak” around how its search engine works, Google is facing lots of criticism about its technology and operations. Analyst Jack Gold joins the show this week to talk with the crew about Google’s issues, why general consumers are saying ‘meh’ to AI tools, and why the American worker is lonelier at work than ever before.

As computing has developed over the past four decades, we increasingly see products designed to be more ‘disposable’ rather than upgradeable or made to last longer. However, there are still bright spots within the ecosystem that allow consumers to get more out of their devices or extend their life. Keith chats with Larry O’Connor, founder and CEO of Other World Computing, about these issues, as well as how improving speeds through cables and connectors enabled more external products such as storage (and why Keith needs to backup his data more often).