Ben Cole, Senior Executive Editor, InformationWeekApril 8, 20257 Min ReadArtur Marciniec via Alamy StockArtificial intelligence promises to accelerate many of the tasks and functions that drive today’s business. Few organizations have realized its potential, however, mostly because AI capabilities are still relatively new and legacy architecture limits AI project scalability.Despite these limitations, chief information officers are under enormous pressure to deliver measurable, concrete return on AI investments, says executive recruiter Charley Betzig, managing director at Heller Search Associates, Inc. In this Q&A with InformationWeek, Betzig discusses the CIO job market and how AI is influencing the CIO’s role.This interview has been edited for clarity and length.What do CIOs need to know about the job and the CIO job market? How is the CIO’s day-to-day role evolving?It’s all about AI -- and it’s not just AI, in of itself, but it’s AI value creation. That affects every search, every CIO role. There are always different starting points, and every CIO role is a little bit different. But baseline, we are looking for CIOs who have created value using AI.Someone has to understand the business that they are walking into, understand the starting point, and then know how to build from that starting point to take the business where they want to go to achieve that value creation. Every business is starting on a different part of the spectrum. Some, to get value from AI, they are starting from a very primitive place in terms of data. You need to build a foundational data strategy to make sure data is clean and available so AI can be used to create that value.Related:Charley BetzigOther organizations are further along, and you can start building those AI use cases more quickly. But it is really business acumen, to know the environment that you are walking into and how to move the organization forward from there. There is the cross-functional leadership -- the IT function has evolved a lot over time. Early days, IT was more of a back-office function; it was a follower. Then you had this whole concept of IT as a leader -- a CIO had to own all of technology in an organization. If the business owned any of it, it was bad, it was shadow IT. I think that is kind of going away too, especially with AI.There is kind of this notion of the CIO is sort of the sherpa, and the business is the one climbing the mountain. But the CIO is there guiding the way, putting the right guardrails in place, making sure everyone is moving in the right direction when pushing AI. But you need the business to be the ones who are out there driving these use cases because they know what they want.Related:What are companies looking for in a modern CIO? Is an MBA important or are there certain certifications that are proving more valuable?It’s always nice to have an MBA, but what I’m focused on is making sure CIOs have that right blend of technical chops and business acumen. Technical chops are the easiest thing to look for -- we always look for CIOs that have a foundation in computer science or something like an information systems degree -- those things point to that technical knowledge.If they have an MBA, then that is a plus for sure. But I more look to the education to make sure they have that technical foundation.Everything right now revolves around AI, but you still as CIO have to have that grounding in all of the traditional disciplines of IT. Whether that is systems, whether that’s infrastructure, whether that’s cybersecurity, you have to have that well-rounded background. Even as these AI technologies become more prolific, you must consider your past infrastructure spend, your cloud spend, that went into these technologies. How do you manage that? If you don’t have grounding in managing those costs, and being able to balance those costs with the innovation you are trying to create, that’s a recipe for failure on the cyber side. And AI is creating even more vulnerabilities from a cyber standpoint. Someone has to have that sort of foundation as well. You still have those classic disciplines you can’t forget about even as you’re searching for that shiny object.Related:Are there certain CIO-specific skills that companies have a hard time hiring for?It goes back to that AI value creation -- every company is trying to do that, and the hard part is it’s really a new thing. It’s not a ‘we can go out and we can recruit someone from Silicon Valley who is an AI pioneer and knows all about the sexiest different technologies that can be applied.’ Is that the best person to come into a manufacturing company in the Midwest and work with those employees on AI use cases to create value? It’s not. When we’re looking for skill sets, we’re looking for people who have actually taken those AI technologies and applied them within their organizations to create real business value -- whether that is cost savings or top-line revenue creation, whatever those are.It’s hard to find those candidates, because there are a lot of those people who can talk the talk around AI, but when you really drill down there is not much in terms of results to show. It’s new, especially in applying the technology to certain settings. Take manufacturing: there’s not that many CIOs out there who have great examples of applying AI to create value within organizations. It’s certainly accelerating, and you’re going to see it accelerating more as we go into the future. It’s just so new that those examples are few and far between. There are certainly people out there who have done it, they are just not all over the place.What are CIOs looking for in both the organization and its employees when they are considering taking on a job?Every one of these searches that we do, there is some change they are trying to achieve. It’s change, it’s value creation through technology. A huge part of that is making sure that business leadership and the employee base is receptive to that change.There are varying degrees of that. One skill we always look for is change leadership, because you have to come in and guide the organization in that direction. But if you’re a CIO that is coming into an organization that is asking for that, you want to make sure that you have the backing of leadership, the leadership you are working for, that the business is hungry for that. If the desire is not there, then it is hard to make it happen.Culture is one of the biggest parts of it, in finding that mesh. An organization can have a wish list of five things they want to achieve with a technology transformation, but if the culture isn’t ready for that, or if the CIO doesn’t match up with that culture, it’s going to be like an organ rejection. Culture is a big deal.Once a new CIO is in their role, what roles and skills do they have a hard time hiring for?In manufacturing, and cybersecurity ties into this too, the supply chain has had this convergence of operational technology. Tech you would see on the plant floor and information technology are coming together, and that has been happening for years.From a cyber standpoint, the supply chain is one of the most vulnerable areas out there nowadays because so much of that operational technology is older and so it’s big target for hackers. Having cybersecurity talent that can deal with that too and knows the ins and outs of that is a hard-to-find skill.What advice would you give to aspiring CIOs?I’d say learn and be well-rounded. In everything that you do, partner with the business to try to drive those real results. Don’t just focus on the technology, focus on the real results and solutions that you’re driving for the business.About the AuthorBen ColeSenior Executive Editor, InformationWeekBen Cole is a senior executive editor for InformationWeek. He has more than 25 years of editorial experience, and guided award-winning technology coverage as editor for TechTarget sites covering CIO strategy, regulatory compliance, data science, security, data management, business intelligence and AI. Earlier in his career, Ben worked in healthcare media and as a reporter with Massachusetts-based daily newspapers.See more from Ben ColeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Hollywood makes so many comic-book movies. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, independents ... sometimes it seems like that’s all they make anymore. That’s not true, of course, but it feels true. Comic-book movies are everywhere, ever present, as ubiquitous in multiplexes as ugly carpets and that delicious artificial butter that comes out of that metal spout next to the napkins and the straws.Superhero fatigue is ubiquitous too, at least according to a lot of online discourse about these movies. While it’s true that Marvel’s fallen a bit from the highest heights of their “Infinity Saga,” and DC ... well, DC’s had a pretty uneven track record for like 20 years, huh? Nonetheless! The last ten years have still produced some good to great comic-book films, including many of the most thrilling, visually dynamic, and flat-out fun titles in the subgenre’s surprisingly long history. (Where my Superman and the Mole Men fans at???)The list below ranks the top ten of the last ten years, and includes films from the House of Ideas as well as the Distinguished Competition, plus one or two outstanding adaptations of independent graphic novels as well. All are available to watch right now at home, on the off  chance you somehow missed the second-biggest movie in the entire history of the cinematic medium. After the list, you’ll find ten more honorable mentions that are worth watching as well.The 10 Best Comic Book Movies of the Last 10 Years (2015-2024)There have been a lot of comic book movies over the last ten years. These are the best of the best.Honorable Mention: Atomic Blonde, The Old Guard, Shazam, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Suicide Squad, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder WomanREAD MORE: The 10 Worst Comedies of the Last 10 YearsGet our free mobile appTerrible Movies That Won Academy Awards

🚀What's the position?We're looking for a dedicated Mobile Tester to join our growing team at Neybox. This is full-time, remote position for Neybox Digital, a leading mobile app studio with two in-house mobile apps. With our apps, our goal is to help everyone live a better, healthier life.💫What will I be working on?We have two apps Pillow (https://pillow.app) and Today (https://neybox.com/today). These are two well-established, health and fitness mobile apps with millions of users worldwide. We don't accept any client work. As a member of our team you role🤹‍What will be my role and responsibilities?Test both apps on all supported devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch).Create new issues on our project management platform.Write test cases and testing-related documentation.Coordination with the rest of the team to ensure both apps are properly tested.Quality assurance and testing of our two apps. Being able to find bugs, reproduce reported issues, test new features.Ensure the UI is build in accordance to the design mockups and prototypes.Testing will be done on real devices and the Xcode Simulator on the Mac.Coordinate with translators to ensure proper localisation testing.⚡️ Bonus skillsAn academic background or experience in software development is a plus.🌍 Can I work remotely?Of course! Our team is 100% remote. To ensure maximum availability of our support team, your working days and hours may include weekends or holidays.🙌 What is it like working at Neybox?Our team is small, friendly and efficient. Our communication is mainly asynchronous using Slack and other communication tools and we keep meetings at a minimum. On a daily basis everyone joins the team and we work closely together to do our best work. We encourage steady working hours but we are in general flexible on that front.RequirementsAt least one year of experience in testing mobile applications for iOS.Excellent written and verbal communication skillsFamiliarity with testing methodologies and types (exploratory, regression, focused etc.)Proficient use of the English language.Proficient in usage of MacOS and iOSThis position requires working on a Mac. (Please do not apply if you are a Windows user.)References from previous employers in written or spoken form may be required.This position requires that you have the basic equipment for testing (MacBook, iMac or Mac Mini)Benefits- Fully remote position- 24 Days of paid leave- Flexible working schedule- Allowance for tech-related purchasesApply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Automatically Apply to Remote All Other Remote JobsLet your copilot automatically search and apply to remote jobs from We Work Remotely

Scheme constitutes final two phases of the Alma Estate regeneration Source: Vistry GroupCGI of new homes at phases 2b and 3 of Alma Estate regeneration Enfield council has approved plans by Pollard Thomas Edwards for 723 homes as part of the final two phases of the Alma Estate regeneration. The scheme in Ponders End in north London for housebuilder Vistry will deliver 187 homes for affordable tenures with the remaining homes a mix of private rent and sale. Of the 187 units designated for affordable tenures, 80 will be for social rent and 107 will be shared ownership. The originally consented proposal, which was granted in 2017 as part of the wider masterplan, was for 401 homes. The revised plans have maintained the same number of affordable homes, but have increased the provision of social rented family housing. Both phases will deliver a range of homes, from one to three bedrooms and beyond, as well as 73 wheelchair accessible homes. The properties will be built alongside 8,500 sqm of green and public space and around 330 sqm of new commercial space. The original six-hectare estate comprised 717 homes was built in the 1960s. Only one of its original four blocks remain and is due to be demolished. Once complete, the Alma Estate will consist of 1,402 homes, with 444 allocated for affordable housing, including 246 for social rent, 170 for intermediate rent and 28 flexible. This represents an uplift from the 993 units granted permission in 2017 and an increase of 24 social rented units. Construction on the latest phases are due to start in the first half of 2026, with an overall expected completion date of 2032. The regeneration’s previous phases - 1, 2ai, 2aii, 2a and 4 - have reached completion, delivering a total of 679 homes. Alma Estate forms part of the council’s ambition to build 3,500 homes across the borough over the next decade.

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April 8, 20253 min readNOAA Reverses Plan to Defer Upkeep of Key Weather SatellitesAgency officials said Monday that NOAA would continue to maintain the Joint Polar Satellite System, crucial weather satellites, after a previous memo suggested maintenance would be deferredBy Scott Waldman & E&E News Artist's rendering of NOAA's JPSS-2. NOAACLIMATEWIRE | NOAA has backed off a plan that would have deferred the maintenance of satellites critical to weather forecasts and storm predictions.A March 28 memo obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News and highlighted in a previous story showed the agency was prepared to operate its Joint Polar Satellite System under a “minimum mission operations approach.” The directive would have meant the delay of maintenance work such as flight software updates — which former NOAA officials said could ultimately degrade the accuracy of weather forecasts.But NOAA said Monday it would continue to maintain the satellite network. At issue was whether the agency was going to renew a contract for its upkeep, which it says has been done.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.“There were no changes in maintenance and support of those or any of our satellites,” the unattributed NOAA statement said. “The contract option was ultimately exercised, so normal satellite operations continue.”NOAA refused to say when the contract was renewed. Agency officials also declined to provide information on how much money NOAA would have saved if it deferred maintenance work for the Joint Polar Satellite System. NOAA did not answer questions about which agency officials were behind the plan.“We are not discussing internal personnel and management matters,” the NOAA statement said.NOAA maintains a contract for satellite upkeep with Arctic Slope Technical Services, which is part of a large government contractor. Arctic Slope Technical Services declined comment for this story.The JPSS satellites, which orbit Earth's poles, provide the backbone of U.S. weather forecasting. Their data is shared with other nations, who in turn provide the United States with weather information. The JPSS program, estimated to cost more than $13 billion, is scheduled to include five satellites by 2032.Former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, who served under former President Joe Biden, had raised concerns about the plan to cut back on satellite maintenance. The approach might save a small amount of money on the front end, he said, but could lead to much higher costs over the long term — and possibly imperil important weather data collection.He said he was relieved the Trump administration decided to renew the maintenance contract.“Sounds like cooler heads prevail,” Spinrad said. “That is clearly the most efficient way forward.”The Trump White House has tasked political appointees at every agency to dramatically cut personnel and spending. Billionaire Elon Musk, an ally of President Donald Trump, has joined in this effort and championed its goals through a new effort dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency.The aggressive cost-cutting campaign, however, has led to moments of confusion and uncertainty.Trump political appointees at NOAA were prepared last week to let a cloud usage contract expire, which would have knocked offline dozens of key climate and weather research information sites and made some essential data unrecoverable, E&E News reported. But after news reports pointed out the potential lapse, NOAA said the contract was restored — just hours before it was set to expire.Craig McLean, NOAA's former top scientist, took issue with the agency's plan to defer upkeep of the Joint Polar Satellite System. He said it was a sign the Trump team is more focused on slashing budgets than spending taxpayer money efficiently.“We're using a gas station attendant's mentality of how to maintain something as sophisticated as the United States technology enterprise that surveys planet Earth,” McLean said. “That's basically what we're doing here: Fix it if it breaks.”Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

Nintendo is delaying Switch 2 pre-orders in Canada. Read more

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Hideo Kojima has revealed that Metal Gear Solid protagonist Solid Snake’s was born a ‘silent, tough guy’ simply because of technical limitations at the time of release. While the MGS protagonist’s personality has now become iconic, alongside his silly little walk, it was only due to the lack of power afforded by the hardware of the time. In an essay for the An An magazine website, translated by Automaton, the Metal Gear director explained that some fonts were not supported when the original game 2D game launched in 1986 for the MSX2. “It was 1986 when I entered the game industry. Games still couldn’t speak,” he wrote. “Characters did not have voices. Kanji fonts weren’t supported, and you could only show one katakana character at a time. Solid Snake, the protagonist of my debut title Metal Gear (1987), was born as a silent ‘tough guy’ because of these circumstances.” As was an issue for most games at the time, fonts were actual sprites which took up rendering budget and space on the game cartridges. With this in mind, even story-heavy games make use of significantly less text than modern titles simply because the hardware couldn’t support paragraphs of story. It wasn’t until 1998, where Solid Snake made his debut for the PS1, that the character found his voice, via David Hayter. “Now, the silent Snake could speak, delivering snappy lines reminiscent of 007 or Lupin the Third,” Kojima wrote. The James Bond influence goes beyond just Snake’s voice acting. A less-than-subtle nod to the English spy came in the form of being able to unlock a tuxedo if you completed the game with both endings. “Now, the silent Snake could speak, delivering snappy lines reminiscent of 007 or Lupin the Third” Hideo Kojima However, despite his new-found vocal chords, Kojima made a conscious decision to not give the protagonist a large amount of dialogue for his most recent outings, that are now coming up to nearly 10 years old. “In realty, though, Snake is and always has been nothing more than an extension of the player,” he told IGN in a 2017 interview. “He’s your alter ego. Therefore, I made a very conscious effort this time to bring Snake closer to the player’s perspective. As much as possible, Snake will act based on the player rather than doing things like making spontaneous comments or flirting with women.” For those wanting a dose of Metal Gear action, sadly without Kojima’s involvement this time, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater arrives later this year. And yes, there is a tuxedo available, this time in white, available as a pre-order bonus. Metal Gear Solid Platform(s): Game Boy Color, PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 3 Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Shooter Subscribe to our newsletters! By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime. Share

Elon Musk’s war on fraud and abuse has impacted the Social Security Administration’s ability to distribute payments, according to a new report. In particular, frequent outages of the agency’s website in recent weeks have been linked to its expansion of fraud checks earlier in the claims process. From the Washington Post: The network crashes appear to be caused by an expansion initiated by the Trump team of an existing contract with a credit-reporting agency that tracks names, addresses and other personal information to verify customers’ identities. The enhanced fraud checks are now done earlier in the claims process and have resulted in a boost to the volume of customers who must pass the checks. But the technology staff did not test the software against a high volume of users to see if the servers could handle the rush, current and former officials said. Connectivity issues and bugs with the expanded system have caused the portal that manages log-ins and authentication for many Social Security applications to go down, officials said. It has been widely reported that the Social Security Administration is struggling in the wake of widespread cuts directed by President Trump and Musk’s DOGE government efficiency team. Fewer employees are available to provide phone support, which many older individuals prefer, and Musk has repeatedly alleged widespread fraud in the claims process. In one instance, he stated during a Wisconsin rally that 40% of calls to the agency are fraudulent, a claim that has not been supported by evidence. The new software-based checks are reportedly supposed to root out this supposed fraud, but DOGE has also directed the SSA to cut its IT staff and, pushing more individuals to the website, it has been unable to handle the increased load. Outages of government websites are nothing new, and some on social media have commented that the SSA website experienced regular outages before the new administration began making changes. But in the same way you cannot cut the legs off a table and expect it to function, these service issues were predictable. Musk surely feels emboldened by his takeover of Twitter, though, in which he laid off the majority of staff and managed to keep the service functioning (although it is riddled with problems and arguably has not changed materially since the acquisition). Distribution of payments necessary for living into retirement is of course more important than the uptime of a social network, though. The Post cited one such instance of a retiree struggling to get access to her new benefits: In Upland, California, 72-year-old Kathy Stecher began trying to apply for retirement benefits more than a week ago. One of her first steps was to visit the Social Security website to book a required appointment at her local field office, because she believed she had to authenticate her identity in person first. But over several days stretching from last month through Wednesday, the website wouldn’t let Stecher schedule a visit. The site displayed a small bar reading, “Make an appointment,” she said, but whenever she clicked on it, nothing happened. When she finally reached someone on the phone, the website’s booking tool wasn’t working, she said. The employee sighed and told her that similar problems have become routine, forcing customers to wait on hold for hours. So much was changing so fast at the agency, the employee said. Retirees and others rely on Social Security payments for basic survival, and President Trump has repeatedly insisted he would not make changes to the program, which would be deeply unpopular. But perhaps deliberately crippling the agency is the point. The program could be rendered ineffective and outsourced to private industry, as conservatives have long wanted to do. Under President Bush’s administration, there was a proposal to privatize Social Security that could have required individuals to convert their 401(k) holdings into annuities (payments made in intervals for the rest of one’s life), thereby making their retirement payments influenced by the markets. Following the past couple of days, it is not hard to see why that is a bad idea. But people like Musk and Trump are rich beyond belief and do not have to worry about such working-class issues. Perhaps the greatest irony is that the ongoing trade war started by President Trump is expected to hurt his base, working-class Americans, the most. Apparently, it is unfair that the United States has to buy rare earth metals from other countries because they are not naturally found domestically. The White House, for its part, has continued to reiterate that nothing is changing at the Social Security Administration. A spokesperson said in a recent statement, “With a resounding mandate from the American people, President Trump is moving quickly to fulfill his promise of making the federal government more efficient. He has promised to protect Social Security, and every recipient will continue to receive their benefits.”

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo LifeAnalyst firm DFC Intelligence has lowered its forecast for Switch 2 sales amidst the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the widespread tariffs from The Trump Administration. As highlighted by VGC, DFC had previously stated that Switch 2 sales would reach a staggering 17 million by the end of 2025, but this has now been revised down to 15 million. Granted, this is still a remarkable number, and DFC still believes the Switch 2 will be the fastest-selling console of all time. However, it states that if Nintendo increases the price of the system in the US as a result of the tariffs, as many fear might be the inevitable eventuality, many prospective customers will want to hold back until things settle down: “With tariffs and uncertain pricing Nintendo may choose to scale back its manufacturing. If prices increase substantially due to tariffs, a significant portion of prospective buyers are likely to hold back on a purchase until prices come down. This situation is changing and will be closely monitored as DFC regularly updates its forecast throughout the year.” Nintendo has recently delayed pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the US as it works to "assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions". While the release date of 5th June 2025 remains unchanged, we can't currently rule out the possibility of a price increase. Meanwhile, pre-orders have similarly been delayed in Canada, though Nintendo says that this is simply so it can "align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S". Release date remains unchanged The day before they go live Do you think Switch 2 could hit 15 million in sales by the end of the year? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below. [source videogameschronicle.com] See Also Share:0 0 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Comments have been disabled for this article. Related Articles Where To Pre-Order Nintendo Switch 2 Update: Nintendo pre-orders live in Europe today (with an invite!) Nintendo Switch 2 Direct: Time, Where To Watch, What To Expect It's time for Switch 2 It's Official, Switch 2 Joy-Con Will Not Feature Hall Effect Sticks Controllers have been designed from the ground up Switch 2 Games Cost A Bit More Than You're Probably Expecting You'd better sit down for this...