Five Guidelines for Trusted Generative AI

 

By Thierry Nicault, Area Vice President – Middle East and North Africa, Salesforce

 

Like all of our innovations, we are embedding ethical guardrails and guidance across our products to help customers innovate responsibly — and catch potential problems before they happen.

 

Given the tremendous opportunities and challenges emerging in this space, we’re building on our Trusted AI Principles with a new set of guidelines focused on the responsible development and implementation of generative AI.

 

We are still in the early days of this transformative technology, and these guidelines are very much a work in progress — but we’re committed to learning and iterating in partnership with others to find solutions.

 

Below are five guidelines we’re using to guide the development of trusted generative AI, here at Salesforce and beyond.

 

1.     Accuracy: We need to deliver verifiable results that balance accuracy, precision, and recall in the models by enabling customers to train models on their own data. We should communicate when there is uncertainty about the veracity of the AI’s response and enable users to validate these responses. This can be done by citing sources, explainability of why the AI gave the responses it did (e.g., chain-of-thought prompts), highlighting areas to double-check (e.g., statistics, recommendations, dates), and creating guardrails that prevent some tasks from being fully automated (e.g., launch code into a production environment without a human review).

 

2.     Safety: As with all of our AI models, we should make every effort to mitigate bias, toxicity, and harmful output by conducting bias, explainability, and robustness assessments, and red teaming. We must also protect the privacy of any personally identifying information (PII) present in the data used for training and create guardrails to prevent additional harm (e.g., force publishing code to a sandbox rather than automatically pushing to production).

 

3.     Honesty: When collecting data to train and evaluate our models, we need to respect data provenance and ensure that we have consent to use data (e.g., open-source, user-provided). We must also be transparent that an AI has created content when it is autonomously delivered (e.g., chatbot response to a consumer, use of watermarks).

 

4.     Empowerment: There are some cases where it is best to fully automate processes but there are other cases where AI should play a supporting role to the human — or where human judgment is required. We need to identify the appropriate balance to “supercharge” human capabilities and make these solutions accessible to all (e.g., generate ALT text to accompany images).

 

5.     Sustainability: As we strive to create more accurate models, we should develop right-sized models where possible to reduce our carbon footprint. When it comes to AI models, larger doesn’t always mean better: In some instances, smaller, better-trained models outperform larger, more sparsely trained models.

 

Learn more about Trusted AI at Salesforce, including the tools we deliver to our employees, customers, communities, and partners for developing and using AI responsibly, accurately, and ethically.

سيلزفورس: 5 مبادئ للذكاء الاصطناعي الموثوق

 

دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة، 20 فبراير 2023: كشفت شركة «سيلزفورس» اليوم عن المبادئ الرئيسية التي يجب اعتمادها في مجال تطوير الذكاء الاصطناعي الموثوق، وأكدت على لسان تيري نيكول، نائب الرئيس لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا، بأن الشركة تعمل باستمرار على دمج المبادئ والضوابط الأخلاقية في كافة منتجاتها من أجل مساعدة العملاء على الابتكار ومواجهة أي تحديات محتملة بشكل استباقي، سيرا على نهجها في جميع الابتكارات التي تطرحها.

 

وقال تيري نيكول بأنه في ضوء الفرص والتحديات الضخمة الناشئة في هذا المجال تعتبر مجموعة المبادئ التوجيهية الجديدة خطوة متقدمة عما سبق واعتمدته الشركة من مبادئ في تطوير الذكاء الاصطناعي الموثوق مع إيلاء التركيز هنا على التطوير والتنفيذ المسؤول لتقنيات الذكاء الاصطناعي التوليدي، منوها بأن هذه المبادئ لا تزال تشهد المزيد من العمل لمواكبة الخطوات الأولية التي تسير عليها تقنيات الذكاء الاصطناعي التحولية، وأكد في هذا السياق التزام الشركة نحو التعلم والاستفادة من التجارب والتعاون مع الآخرين من أجل التوصل إلى الحلول.

 

وفيما يلي مجموعة المبادئ الخمس لضمان موثوقية الذكاء الاصطناعي:

 

1. الدقة: يجب تقديم نتائج في الذكاء الاصطناعي يمكن التثبت منها وتحقق الموازنة بين معدلات الدقة والصحة والإرجاع في النماذج وذلك بتمكين العملاء من تدريب تلك النماذج باستخدام بياناتهم الخاصة. ويجب فتح قنوات التواصل بين جميع الأطراف في حالات عدم اليقين بشأن سلامة ردود الذكاء الاصطناعي وتمكين المستخدمين من التأكد بأنفسهم من هذه الردود. ويمكن القيام بذلك من خلال إيراد المصادر وتبرير أسباب إعطاء الذكاء الاصطناعي الردود التي قدمها (على سبيل المثال، اقتفاء جميع المراحل الاستدلالية التي اتبعها من أجل التوصل إلى الردود) مع تسليط الضوء على الجوانب التي يجب التحقق منها مرة أخرى (على سبيل المثال، الإحصاءات والتوصيات والتواريخ)، ونشر ضوابط تحول دون تنفيذ بعض الأفعال بشكل مؤتمت بالكامل (مثل تنفيذ البرمجيات ضمن البيئة الإنتاجية دون إشراف بشري).

 

2. السلامة: كما هو حال جميع نماذج الذكاء الاصطناعي، يجب بذل قصارى الجهود من أجل التخفيف من التحيز واللغة المسيئة والمخرجات الضارة من خلال إجراء تقييمات بشأن التحيز ومسببات الردود ومتانة النماذج مع إطلاق اختبارات محايدة لتعقب واكتشاف الثغرات. ويجب أيضًا حماية خصوصية أي معلومات تعريف شخصية موجودة في البيانات المستخدمة في التدريب، وإنشاء ضوابط للوقاية من وقوع أضرار إضافية (مثل فرض نشر البرمجيات في بيئة معزولة بدلاً من الدفع بها تلقائيًا إلى البيئة الإنتاجية).

 

3. الأمانة: يجب احترام مصادر البيانات والتأكد من الحصول على الموافقة عند استخدام البيانات (مثل المصادر المفتوحة أو مصادر المستخدم). ويجب التحلي بالشفافية وذلك بالإشارة إلى أن منشأ المحتوى هو الذكاء الاصطناعي عندما يتم تقديمه بشكل ذاتي (على سبيل المثال، عند استجابة المساعد الافتراضي للمستهلك واستخدام الوسوم المميزة).

 

4. التمكين: يجب التمييز بين الحالات التي يستحسن فيها أتمتة العمليات بالكامل والحالات الأخرى التي يجب أن يمارس فيها الذكاء الاصطناعي دورًا داعما للإنسان. ويجب تحديد أفضل توازن بين الرغبة في دعم القدرات البشرية لأقصى درجة وجعل حلول الذكاء الاصطناعي متاحة في متناول الجميع (مثل إنشاء نصوص بديلة للتعريف بمحتوى الصور لمن لا يستطيع رؤيتها).

 

5. الاستدامة: بالتزامن مع العمل على إنشاء نماذج أكثر دقة، يجب تطوير نماذج في الذكاء الاصطناعي تمتاز بحجم مناسب قدر الإمكان من أجل تقليل البصمة الكربونية. وفي سياق نماذج الذكاء الاصطناعي، فإن الحجم الأكبر لا يعني دائمًا الأفضل وذلك لأنه في بعض الحالات تتفوق النماذج الأصغر والأفضل تدريباً على النماذج الأكبر والأقل تدريباً.

 

Facial Recognition Ethics Important? Yes, Here's Why, Biometrics | Extended Access Technologies

By Vito Fabbrizio - Managing Director Biometric BU at HID Global

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

With recent advances in artificial intelligence, facial recognition is emerging as a powerful means of validating identity. People use it all the time to access their mobile phones, but acceptance hasn’t always extended beyond that personal use.

 

Vito Fabrizio - Managing Director Biometric BU at HID Global

 

That’s due in part to concerns about potential misuse. Some people see Orwellian undertones in the notion of scores of databases full of facial scans. This points to the importance of facial recognition ethics, including discussions on how to measure and resolve disparities.

 

What Is Facial Recognition?

Biometric technologies are advancing rapidly, which means new modes of authenticating people are becoming more prevalent. Biometric facial recognition technology transforms images into numerical expressions, and computer algorithms make it possible to compare two images to see if they match.

 

The appropriate use of facial recognition technology depends on the prevailing culture, ethics, legislation and practices. With facial recognition still relatively untried - with no widely used or accepted regulations governing its use - security leaders will need to ensure they’re using the technology responsibly.

 

And they need to get moving on this soon. The market for facial recognition technology is expected to top $12.6 billion by 2028, up from $5 billion in 2021.

 

How Facial Recognition Works

As a form of biometric authentication, facial recognition depends on artificial intelligence (AI) to identify human faces in images or videos. This approach can yield several key advantages including:

 

• Proof of presence - know for sure who accessed what and when

• Nothing to carry or remember - ATM cards, PINs and passwords potentially become obsolete

• Reduced human intervention - facial recognition takes the burden off human operators, and steers toward contactless processes in the post-pandemic environment

 

AI plays a vital role in all of this, driving the high-volume data operations needed to scan and match faces at scale. This in and of itself has raised concern among privacy advocates and others who worry that automated algorithmic approaches to identity could potentially be misused.

 

The Importance of Ethical Facial Recognition

Bias is an inherent human trait. In fact, bias can be reflected and embedded in everything we create, even technology. In a recent World Economic Forum article, these biases were described as outputs that emanate from societal biases and include race, gender, biological sex, nationality or age.

 

How do such biases wind up in AI technology? AI algorithms must be trained by humans who use potentially unrepresentative or incomplete data that reflect historical inequalities. This can lead to biased algorithms and in turn, biased decisions that have a collective impact on certain groups of people. The Pew Research Center released data on facial recognition showing that only five percent of Americans “have a great deal of trust that technology companies will use facial recognition responsibly.”

 

Implementing Ethical Facial Recognition

Taking steps toward more ethical facial recognition technologies means addressing bias in the first place. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommends widening the scope of where we look for the source of biases, including going “…beyond the machine learning processes and data used to train AI software to the broader societal factors that influence how technology is developed.”

 

Other interesting ethical questions can arise at the intersection of facial recognition and business strategy. Researchers ask, for example, “if you use facial recognition to identify people coming into a store, should you use that identity to pull purchasing history? How about a credit report?”

 

Clearly, a thoughtful approach to facial recognition is needed going forward.

 

Best Practices in Ethical Facial Recognition

While the industry at large works to address the ethics in AI, organizations can adapt a framework for the ethical use of facial recognition technology. The American Civil Liberties Union submitted An Ethical Framework for Facial Recognition to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration outlining a number of key best practices that include principles around collection, use, sharing and access.

 

What does this mean for organizations who want to utilize facial recognition technology? It will be critical to outline and communicate:

 

Informed consent - Those looking to implement a facial recognition solution need to consider “when and how to provide meaningful notice and to obtain their informed consent, especially if those individuals are then identified or profiled against other datasets,” according to the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF)

 

Transparency tools - “Transparency has been suggested as one enabler to trust,” according to researchers at the Wilson Center, a non-partisan policy forum. They point to approaches that allow visibility into the inner workings of technical systems, such as explainable AI, open data and open algorithms. “Other strategies focus on exploring the outputs of an algorithm, including through testing that evaluates risks such as bias.”

 

Privacy / ownership of data - It will be important, too, to establish rulers of the road spelling out privacy protections for consumers, and to develop a framework for ownership of facial recognition data. “Basic privacy principles require individuals to be aware of commercial entities that collect data about them with facial recognition systems, that they have the ability to request to know what data has been maintained on them, and to request access to correct errors or delete information,” according to FPF.

 

Governance - Organizations looking to implement facial recognition will need to establish clear governance. It will be important that they develop purposeful boundaries. They’ll need to determine and document the intended uses of facial recognition data and systems, and will need to have protocols in place that restrict the use of those solutions to only those predefined purposes.

 

The Future of Facial Recognition

Facial recognition technology has infinite potential to address real-world needs, including those of consumers and citizens. From retail settings to IT engagements to physical access control, facial recognition biometrics are in use today and will continue reshaping how we view identity.

 

However, addressing ethical AI and the concerns around facial recognition technology will be critical.

 

While the main problem of facial recognition technology stems from the lack of diversity in datasets, adopting ethical principles can help organizations mitigate risk and alleviate concerns when in use.

 

You can learn more about the current trends in the security and identity industry by visiting the Security & Identity Trends blog. More information is also available on biometric technology in our Biometrics blog.

The Global Medical Education Landscape and What it Means for International Students

By Corrine Vish, Director, International Admissions at St. George’s University School of Medicine

The increasing demand for healthcare on a global level places a rising interest in medical education. Coupled with a strong desire from international students to seek a medical education in the United States, this gives us an incredibly competitive space, and one which has only seen application growth in recent years – data suggests that we are now at an all-time high. International students are looking towards a global, quality, education that offers them the opportunity to become doctors in the US and around the world.

An international education is perfect for equipping students with global diversity to deal with a huge array of people, cultures, and ethnic diversities. This holistic approach to a diversified education places the students in an incredibly strong position when entering the workplace as they offer not only excellence in medical learning, but also the softer skills which involve dealing with patients and colleagues on a more human level. A student attending an international medical school gets the benefit of exposure to prevalent health concerns in other cultures in comparison to getting familiar with local health concerns only. This hones their medical skills and gives them the advantage of being able to continue their professional life around the world, while being equipped with the tools to address current industry gaps and challenges.

At St. George’s University School of Medicine, we are seeing students who are looking for dynamic training that can equip them for a range of different post-graduate training options in the US – and that is exactly what we are doing.  According to FSMB physician licensure data, 2021, St. George’s University is the largest source of physicians licensed in the US—more than any other medical school in the world.

Assessing the quality of an international institution is also paramount. The number of medical schools around the world has been increasing dramatically to meet the demand, but this results in varying accreditation levels – which will then impact where a student would be able to practice once qualified. For example, SGU’s accreditation and recognitions ensure that SGU students have access to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), can participate in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and can apply for licensure to practice medicine in the United States.

It’s also worth noting that medical school rankings generally tend to favor research institutions over ones that emphasize a different academic focus. While these may be the best schools for some students who have certain career goals, that doesn’t necessarily mean those are the best schools for everyone.

One thing which should remain at the forefront of our minds, however, is that being a doctor or medical professional is a lifetime pursuit. Skills are developed to a large extent during educational years and educational institutions play a significant role in nurturing these qualities – so the necessity to select wisely is always apparent. We should always keep in mind medical school is just the first step in a journey toward becoming a doctor. Obtaining a medical education builds a foundation that will stick with you for the rest of your life.

Global trends will always have an influence on medical education, and a good education will depend on a provider’s ability to fuse the traditional pillars of medical learning with the modern-day challenges faced in real-world situations – creating a well-round professional ready to step onto the frontline.  

Expert Commentary Blue Hydrogen: A key player in the future of energy transition

 The energy sector is undergoing a transformation, with a growing focus on cleaner energy sources and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable future. In this context, hydrogen is emerging as a key player in the energy transition, with a variety of clean production methods offering different advantages and competitiveness in the market.

The recent results of the Accelerated Energy Decarbonisation Scenario (AEDS), developed within the framework of the 7^th edition of the GECF Global Gas Outlook, provide valuable insights into the future of hydrogen as an energy vector. The results of the AEDS indicate that hydrogen has the potential to play a major role in meeting future energy needs. The AEDS projects that hydrogen demand could reach 550 million tonnes (mt) by 2050, making up nearly 10% of the total energy mix. This high demand for hydrogen reflects its compatibility as an energy vector, but also highlights the need for clean and more efficient means of hydrogen production.

Green hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable power is expected to gain 48% of the output by 2050, with 270 mt of production. This level of production will require a huge amount of electricity, estimated at 12,000 terawatt hour (TWh). This is equivalent to 43% of the current world annual electricity generation, or four times the current electricity generation from wind and solar, or the total current electricity generation in China and the U.S. combined. 

Moreover, there will be a massive total requirement for renewable electricity generation forecasted at 46,000 TWh annually from solar and wind in AEDS by 2050 due to higher electricity needs and decarbonisation pathways such as electrification of the energy sectors. This massive amount of renewable power demand is more than 12 times higher than the current generation from wind and solar at around 3,600 TWh. The need for such a large amount of renewable power makes it imperative to consider a large share of hydrogen production from other available, competitive and mature methods, such as natural gas-based blue hydrogen. 

The AEDS expects that around 220 mt of hydrogen will be generated using natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS), accounting for 40% of total output by 2050. This level of hydrogen production will require more than 930 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2050. Coal gasification with CCS is expected to contribute to around 10% or 54 mt of hydrogen production by 2050.

 

 

 Source: 2022 edition of GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050 (29 January 2023)

The cost competitiveness of these different hydrogen production methods is a key factor that will influence their market penetration and adoption. The cost of blue and green hydrogen varies depending on several factors such as location, production method, and scale of production. Currently, blue hydrogen is a more cost-competitive option than green hydrogen, as it leverages the existing natural gas infrastructure and CCS technology. Presently, the average cost of blue hydrogen is estimated to be around US$1.5 to US$ 3 per kilogram of hydrogen, while the cost of green hydrogen is higher, ranging from US$ 3 to US$ 6 per kilogram.

However, as renewable energy sources become cheaper and more widespread, green hydrogen is expected to enhance its cost-competitiveness and gain a large market share. The cost of green hydrogen production is expected to decrease by around 50% by 2030, making it competitive with current cost of blue hydrogen. On the other hand, blue hydrogen is also expected to become cheaper, as the technology for CCS improves and becomes more widely adopted. By 2050, it is estimated that the cost of green hydrogen will be similar to that of blue hydrogen, making both options viable for widespread use in various industries.

It is important to note that the energy transition is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and a variety of clean hydrogen production methods are necessary to meet the future energy needs. In this context, the AEDS acknowledges the importance of considering all clean hydrogen production methods.

In conclusion, hydrogen is a crucial element in the energy transition, offering a clean and versatile energy source that can play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future. The results of the AEDS highlight the importance of considering all clean hydrogen production methods, including blue hydrogen and green hydrogen, in the future energy mix. The cost competitiveness of these different hydrogen production methods will be a key factor influencing their market penetration and adoption. The energy transition will likely involve a combination of clean hydrogen production methods tailored to specific energy needs and contexts. 

Inclusive Teams, Better Products

How promoting inclusion and collaboration in your product development process improves the experience for everyone.

 

Author: Arin Bhowmick, Chief Design Officer, SAP

 

It is common in the tech industry for teams to work in silos, only coming together at the end of a sprint to hand off final deliverables. This over-the-wall approach fails to take advantage of the diverse skills on the team and negatively impacts outcomes. Active collaboration allows the team to share knowledge, skills, expertise, and to identify and solve problems together. It also helps ensure that all team members are aligned on the product vision and goals, and that the final product meets the needs of all users.

 

At SAP, we are committed to creating inclusive products that all people love to use for work. This requires active collaboration and communication among user researchers, designers, engineers, and product managers throughout the entire design and development process. I want to share some of the ways we have transformed how our teams work in order to inspire others to do the same.

 

Here are four simple things that your teams can do today to improve the user experience for all and create a culture of inclusion.  

 

#1: Adopt an inclusive approach to how teams work together from the very beginning

 

To ensure everyone on the team gains a holistic understanding of the needs and motivations of the people they are creating products for, we need to get everyone involved right form the start. This means enabling user researchers, designers, engineers, and product managers to work together throughout the end-to-end process. It also means that each member of the team will be involved in the research itself.

 

At SAP, we are committed to making Inclusive Research part of our everyday practice. For this to happen, user researchers take a participatory approach to the research itself – and intentionally include people from different cultural backgrounds, regions of the world, with a range of disabilities, working environments and more. This has proven to be a game changer for our teams and has led to some surprising and impactful insights. Involving the core team in the research process also makes it possible for engineers to quickly build and test prototypes to ensure they function as intended, and for product managers to prioritize and integrate features into the final product.

 

#2: Be intentional about how the work happens.

 

Active collaboration can only happen with the proper infrastructure in place to ensure designers, researchers, engineering, product management, and other key roles are continuously sharing work, getting feedback, and troubleshooting issues together as part of the day-to-day process. Collaboration rituals must be intentionally designed and inclusive of all roles on the team. By actively collaborating and communicating throughout the process, the team can proactively identify and address potential barriers to accessibility and usability.

 

Daily standups, frequent work sessions, and weekly retros are examples of the kind of rituals that make it easy for designers and engineers to work through issues they find together; for user researchers to continuously evaluate the designs and prototypes as the team comes up with different iterations of the experience they are developing; and so that product managers can make data-driven decisions throughout the end-to-end process.

 

#3: Promote diversity within the team

 

This is often overlooked but plays a critical role in creating inclusive outcomes. It’s about being intentional about the diversity within the team itself. Diverse perspectives lead to better products. A team with diverse backgrounds and experiences brings a range of perspectives and insights to the design and development process.

 

When choosing who to assign to a project, focusing on diversity will allow the team to benefit from the unique perspectives within the group and contribute to the creation of products that are more inclusive and usable for a wider range of users. It's at the intersection of our differences that we can truly foster and envision breakthrough ideas.

 

#4: Start developing a problem-seeking mindset

 

In order to find solutions, you must first understand the problem. Creating products for a diverse global population requires us to proactively identify gaps in the current experience. Identifying the issues early on is something that needs to be celebrated and seen as an opportunity to improve the experience before it launches to customers.

 

The team must be open to challenging their own assumptions and biases, and seek to understand how to make accessible and usable experiences for everyone. We have to continuously remind ourselves that we are not our users, and hence need to have complete and unwavering focus on not only understanding the users but aligning as a team on the problem we are trying to solve.

 

 

Design at SAP has made it a goal to come together as one intentionally diverse team with a shared purpose for creating inclusive experiences that improve people’s lives every day. By working together to understand and meet the needs of diverse users, team members can develop a shared understanding of the importance of inclusivity and a commitment to building products that are accessible and usable for all.

. . .

How can we make screen time less harmful?

 

How can we make screen time less harmful?

 

• According to a 2020 study by Eyesafe, people spend an average of 13 hours a day in front of screens, risking the damaging effect of blue light on the eyes
• Dynabook implements Eyesafe eye protection technology in the new Portégé X40L-K

 

 

   

 

 

31 January 2023, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Blue light is a natural part of life and has a definite positive effect on humans. For example, it wakes us up in the morning, improves our mood and cognitive functions, which allow us to perceive the world, respond adequately to stimuli and manage various tasks. In a natural environment, we have just enough of it to serve us well.

 

On the other hand, people have never been exposed to as much blue light as they are today, because electronic displays are also a significant source of blue light. According to one study from 2020, people now spend an average of an almost unbelievable 13 hours in front of their monitor, phone and TV screens. On a typical day, that means we're only three to four hours without intense blue light exposure during the day. The pandemic and the associated quarantines and lockdowns have no doubt contributed to this state of affairs. All this also entails a potentially significant threat to our eyesight, as the human eye cannot cope with blue light and too much of it damages the eyes.

 

Children and young people are the most vulnerable

Compared to UV radiation, which the cornea and lens of the eye can filter out with almost 100% efficiency, up to about 65% of the blue light reaching the retina of children reaches the eyes. In older people, this is less. Excessive exposure to blue light causes, for example, drying and consequently itchy and painful eyes, but also, for example, sleep disturbances, headaches or blurred vision. Children are the most vulnerable, as their developing eyes have the lowest ability to filter blue light, and they tend to hold devices closer to their eyes, increasing the amount of danger.

 

The heaviest workload is in the office, employers can help

As people working in offices are exposed to blue light during working hours, employers also have a certain amount of responsibility in this respect. IT and HR managers should consider whether it is a good time to equip employees with some of the possible eye protection devices. In addition to health considerations, the above mentioned effects of blue light exposure can cause fatigue and reduced employee efficiency.

 

The part technology can play in the solution, not the problem

While tech brands may not be able to influence usage patterns and needs, we do have a certain shared responsibility to work towards developing solutions within the products themselves that counteract the negative effects of blue light, whether this be via a special display, filter or software solution.  Here are some examples of solutions that have been created today:

 

0. Special display with blue light filtration: From the user's point of view, the simplest and most effective way to filter blue light is a display that can reduce the intensity of high-energy blue light automatically without negatively impacting the colour rendering of the image. This is the direction that Dynabook Portégé X40L-K is heading in, equipped with a special IPS Eyesafe-certified display. This solves blue light filtering automatically without the user having to think about it, making viewing more eye-friendly and enjoyable.  As a manufacturer of professional laptops whose users look at displays throughout the day, we want to focus on implementing Eyesafe-certified displays in other devices in the future, including the laptops we design and optimize for study purposes.
1. Filter: the vast majority of displays sold today cannot suppress blue light, however for them, a special filter is available. Desktop monitors, laptops and phones can be equipped with separately sold films that reduce glare while limiting the amount of blue light that passes through. Most of these filters, which can be found for a particular display diagonal or phone model, are designed to be applied directly to the display once, and for mobile phones these filters can also act as a protective device to reduce the risk of the display breaking if dropped.
2. Glasses: Special glasses, often sold as "computer glasses", can also perform a similar function of suppressing the amount of blue light passing through. When purchasing these, it is a good idea to check the parameters for the presence of a blue light filter.
3. Software solutions: Blue light can also be eliminated by software, but this method brings with it a colour change that is usually neither desirable nor pleasant.
4. Overall: From a health point of view, it is a good idea to set the brightness level of the display only to the level needed (not the maximum) and not to watch a display emitting blue light in the dark. It is better to at least turn on a lamp when working with your computer or phone in the evening.

 

Never have people been exposed to blue light to such a large extent as in recent times. Better than dealing with irreversible consequences is to focus on prevention.

 

Learn more about the Dynabook Portege X40L-K.

Read more about the dangers of high-energy blue light: https://eyesafe.com/research/.

 

Keeping hope alive

 

Keeping hope alive There is a famous quote by American author Robert Jordan that goes something like this: “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” Indeed, the reality of being human implies several difficult truths that we should all reconcile sooner or later. There are not many sure things in this world, but what is irrefutable is that storms do not bypass anyone, and what matters is how we withstand them and what kind of wisdom they leave behind. In this game of life (and business), there is no doubt that a little resilience, patience and hope go a long way. This is a truth we know well at Baseload Capital, which is precisely why resilience and innovation are at the very throne of our values. This is also a truth that Larry Bandt has successfully embraced in the last few years while putting Baseload Power U.S. on its feet. As a Baseload Power U.S. Project Manager, Larry spent four years at the front line, taking the heat and working relentlessly through the impediments. Being a pioneer is not easy, and it isn’t for everyone, but Larry demonstrated that giving up is not a choice for him. Focus on the things you can control Larry describes his recent challenges: “It would be easier to say what obstacles we didn't encounter at Wendel!  The most impactful obstacle, in my opinion, was the extremely lengthy permitting process. This impacted the timing and cost of the project dramatically, and without the appropriate permits, you don't have a project. It moves at the pace determined by the regulatory agencies (usually glacially), and you have very little control over the process. It ends up devouring a lot of time that could be spent on other aspects of the project. And you have to keep your frustrations with the regulators in check so that you don’t say or do anything that causes more problems. Supply chain issues were (and continue to be) another serious problem both from a cost and delivery standpoint. Items that were essentially in stock prior to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 suddenly became long lead items with 18–24-week delivery times if you could even order them. And the price for these materials skyrocketed, with cost increases of 25-50% virtually overnight. Finding available contractors capable and interested in doing the specialized work needed by the project added yet another hurdle to the project. I ended up becoming a contractor to do the tasks that we couldn't find others to do”. Despite all the problems, his determination to prove the naysayers wrong motivated Larry not to give up. “These types of projects are a marathon, not a sprint, so you can't fixate on things that go wrong or that you can't change; you have to focus on the things you can control. It's like eating an elephant; if you think too much about how much you have right in front of you, you won't even take the first bite. But if you pick a place to start, start chewing, and tell yourself that each bite you take gets you closer to the end, even if you don't feel like you are getting anywhere, you'll eventually end up with a pile of bones in front of you. Relish the small victories when you have them and don't dwell on the defeats too long”, Larry tells us. Lessons from the front line No matter how astonishing it sounds, being on the front line, and trying to get everything up and running is not for everyone. In Larry’s opinion, being in that position, you need to try not to be discouraged or angry when things aren't going as planned. Find workarounds to whatever problems block your way, no matter how insurmountable those problems seem at the time. Have a short memory in terms of letting go of the bad stuff once you're past it. Get an intimate understanding of how the project you are working on is supposed to work. Ultimately, you wear a lot of hats and get your hands dirty to get things done. What will get you through unfavorable circumstances is undoubtedly innovation, as well as creativity. As Larry elucidates, find solutions that aren't available out of the box and come up with something that does what you need it to do. Keep swimming As far as lessons learned, Larry deems that patience was (and is) crucial. “Knowing when to say I've done all I can, I can't do it all by myself, I need help. And setting aside problems that you can't get your hands around and coming back to them later with a fresh mind. I'm not a huge fan of the phrase 'it is what it is', but it kind of sums up the mindset you need. There are times when I've had to accept that I can't force things to go the way I want them to, I have to let them take me down another path. It might end up not being the right path and I'll backtrack or go down another, but you need to think like a shark, keep swimming or die”, he adds. What Larry demonstrated these past few years were values that are indubitably the ones we built Baseload Capital on - resilience, innovation and visionary pioneering. These are the values we rely on when there is an obstacle on our path and the ones that kept Larry’s hope for four years. Larry bent when it was a must and survived, just like the willow, and he is indeed an inspiration to us all at Baseload Capital.