Business Tech Roundup: Pinterest Rolls Out New AI Tools

Here are five things in tech that happened this week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 – Pinterest rolls out genAI tools for product imagery to advertisers.

Pinterest recently introduced generative AI tools aimed at enhancing product imagery for advertisers. (Source: TechCrunch)

Why this is important for your business:

According to the company, these tools – part of the Pinterest Performance+ suite – allow brands to create dynamic, lifestyle-inspired backgrounds for their product ads. By transforming basic images into more engaging visuals, the tools help boost click-through rates and improve ad performance. The generative AI tools are designed to reduce the time and cost of ad creation, requiring 50 percent less input from advertisers.

2 – Some tech experts are skeptical of VPN providers, and you should be, too.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) – designed to encrypt a device’s internet connection – may not be the safest method to protect your data. Zack Whittaker of TechCrunch outlines why users need to be cautious, highlighting that both free and paid VPNs can pose privacy risks. Free VPNs often monetize user data by selling it to advertisers, while paid VPNs still require users to trust them with all their internet traffic. Whittaker notes that VPNs – widely marketed for privacy protection – don’t inherently provide anonymity. His recommendation is to set your own VPN server for better control and privacy. (Source: TechCrunch)

Why this is important for your business:

I sometimes use a VPN when I travel because I’m going under the assumption that it’s a safer way to do things online, particularly when using a public WiFi connection at a hotel or airport. But I’ve always been a little dubious. Are these things really encrypting my data as promised? When I go through their servers are they picking up any information of mine? Is this really secure? There’s no good answer. The best approach – where possible – is to use your phone’s mobile hotspot connection.

3 – 74% of workers suggest employers to blame for their AI skills gap.

A recent survey by educational platform Skillsoft reveals that 74 percent of workers blame their employers for the AI skills gap. The survey – which included 2,500 full-time employees from the US, UK, Germany, and India – found that 35 percent of respondents lack confidence in their skills, with 41 percent concerned about job security due to the skills gap. AI and machine learning (ML) are identified as the most critical skills gap with 43 percent placing them at the top. Among those who cited AI/ML as their biggest skills gap, 74 percent rated their organization’s AI training as “average to poor.” To address this critical issue, holistic, long-term workforce planning will provide quality training and better prepare workers for the evolving job market. (Source: CIO.com)

Why this is important for your business:

These workers are right – the biggest impediment to AI adoption isn’t the technology. It’s teaching your users to truly leverage the technology. But we’ve always been bad at that, haven’t we? We know we don’t invest in the training needed to use our office and other business applications. And we suffer the consequences when our people aren’t taking advantage of all the things available to them to help them do their jobs faster, which in turn improves productivity and our profitability.

4 – Microsoft beefs-up its AI assistant with voice, vision.

Microsoft has introduced significant updates to Copilot, enhancing its capabilities with new voice and vision features. These improvements allow users to interact with the AI assistant through voice conversations, with four distinct voice options designed for tasks like brainstorming, quick queries, or even emotional support. This makes the interaction more natural and intuitive. Still in its testing phase, the vision feature, allows Copilot to interpret images, further broadening its ability to assist with visual tasks (users must opt into this feature.) These upgrades align with the company’s strategy to make AI more accessible as it faces growing competition from Google and Apple in the AI space. (Source: Tech Xplore)

Why this is important for your business:

As most in the tech and business world will admit, Microsoft Copilot has been underwhelming. But there’s no question that it will get better. It already is.

5 – One of the best lightweight laptops ZDNet tested is a remote worker’s dream machine.

Kyle Kucharski of ZDNet reviewed Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x, giving it high marks as a lightweight laptop for remote workers. Key features include a 3K OLED display that offers stunning visuals; the Snapdragon x Elite processor for solid performance; an outstanding battery life; and the laptop’s sleek, 2.6-pound design. “Compared to a MacBook, one could argue that the Yoga Slim 7x is at least better than the MacBook Pro M2 Max… you’re not going to pay thousands for this machine,” Kucharski said. (Source: ZDNet)

Why this is important for your business:

I’m in. Thanks Kyle.