The big picture: Hollywood has long been dominated by sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots, "legasequels," cinematic universes, and other films tied to established franchises. However, 2024 could mark a new milestone: no original movies made the domestic top 10 box office list. As the industry continues its recovery from the pandemic, its increasing dependence on familiar brand names shows no signs of slowing. According to Slashfilm and Box Office Mojo, the 10 highest-grossing films in the U.S. this year were almost exclusively sequels. The sole exception was a prequel, underscoring Hollywood's persistent aversion to risk.With only a few days left in 2024 before the last box office report, it's unlikely that recently released films like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will change the final rankings (which is another sequel). As it stands, the top 10 highest-grossing films worldwide are:Inside Out 2 $1,698,765,616Deadpool and Wolverine $1,338,073,645Despicable Me 4 $969,126,452Moana 2 $882,505,425Dune: Part Two $714,444,358Wicked (the only prequel) $634,378,535Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire $571,750,016Kung Fu Panda 4 $547,689,492Venom: The Last Dance $476,391,878Beetlejuice Beetlejuice $451,100,435Expanding the list to the top 20 reveals only three original films: It Ends with Us, The Wild Robot, and The Garfield Movie. Interestingly, the reign of superhero movies has waned, with only Deadpool and Wolverine and Venom: The Last Dance breaking into the top 10.Although franchise-based films have consistently dominated box office charts in recent years, a handful of original movies usually crack the top 10. Notably, last year saw Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Oppenheimer fill the top three spots, beating an otherwise sequel-dominated list.However, even those three films weren't entirely "original." Barbie and Super Mario Bros. drew on decades-old franchises, and Christopher Nolan director of Oppenheimer has arguably become a brand in his own right. According to The Hollywood Reporter, 2024's total domestic box office grossed $8 billion, a slight decline from 2023's $9 billion, due in part to labor strikes and the absence of a cultural phenomenon like "Barbenheimer." // Related StoriesThe global box office tells a slightly different story, thanks to the success of Chinese blockbusters. For instance, YOLO claimed the number 9 spot worldwide, while Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was outperformed by Chinese films Successor and Pegasus 2, according to The Numbers.Looking ahead, 2025 promises another wave of major sequels, including Captain America: Brave New World, Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning, and Jurassic World Rebirth.

What just happened? In a significant leap forward in medical technology, researchers have developed autonomous surgical robots. However, there are many issues that need to be addressed before these machines are actually used on humans. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University have successfully trained robots to perform surgical tasks with the precision of human doctors by watching videos. This advancement, presented at the recent Conference on Robot Learning in Munich, marks a significant step towards more autonomous surgical robots and could be a partial solution to the looming shortage of surgeons in the US.Robotic assistance in surgery is not new. Since 1985, when the PUMA 560 first assisted in a brain biopsy, robots have been helping doctors perform various procedures, including gallbladder removals, hysterectomies, and prostate surgeries. These robots, guided by doctors using joystick-like controllers, have been instrumental in minimizing human hand tremors during delicate procedures.However, the recent breakthrough takes this technology to a new level. The research team has developed robots capable of performing complex surgical tasks autonomously, including manipulating needles, tying knots, and suturing wounds. What sets these robots apart is their ability to learn from videos and correct their mistakes without human intervention.The team's approach to training these robots is similar to that used in developing language models like ChatGPT. However, instead of working with words, the system employs a language that describes the position and direction of the robot's gripper."We built our training model using videotapes of robots performing surgical tasks on practice suture pads," Dr. Axel Krieger, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering who supervised the research, explained to The Washington Post. "Each image in the video sequence is converted into numerical data, which the model then translates into robot actions." // Related StoriesThis method significantly reduces the need for programming each individual movement required for a medical procedure. The trained robots demonstrated their skills in a different environment, successfully performing tasks on pork and chicken samples. "We've developed a system where you can talk to the robot like you would to a surgical resident," Ji Woong "Brian" Kim, a postdoctoral researcher on the team, said. "You can say things like, 'Do this task,' or 'Move left' and 'Move right.'"The development of more autonomous surgical robots could help address the projected shortage of 10,000 to 20,000 surgeons in the United States by 2036, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges. "We're not trying to replace the surgeon. We just want to make things easier for the surgeon," Dr. Krieger said.While the progress is impressive, experts say numerous challenges remain before fully autonomous surgical robots become a reality. "The stakes are so high because this is a life and death issue," Dr. Dipen J. Parekh, director of robotic surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said. "The anatomy of every patient differs, as does the way a disease behaves in patients."Furthermore, as the technology advances, it raises important questions about responsibility, privacy, and access. Dr. Amer Zureikat, director of robotic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, noted several concerns about accountability in the event of surgical errors. Determining liability when multiple parties are involved in the development and use of autonomous surgical robots would be complex, to say the least, with potential culpability extending to various stakeholders, including the supervising physician, the AI developers, the hospital administration, or even the robot manufacturers themselves.Privacy concerns also loom large, particularly regarding the use of real surgical videos for training these systems. Additionally, there are questions about equal access to the technology and the potential for surgeons to become overly reliant on robotic assistance.

For one weekend in 2025, Apple TV+ will be free for all customers.From January 3 through January 5, Apple TV+ will be free on any device where streaming is available. To take advantage of this offer, sign in with an Apple ID and password during the promotional period.Recommended VideosApple TV+s entire library will be available to stream during the free weekend. One of the most anticipated shows of 2025 is Severance, the sci-fi thriller about a group of employees who choose to separate their work memories from their personal ones. Severancereceived critical acclaim upon its debut in February 2022 and garnered 14 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series. With season 2 premiering in January, youll have time to catch up on season 1 during the free weekend.Please enable Javascript to view this contentShows that released new seasons in 2024 includeSilo, Bad Sisters, Disclaimer, Shrinking, Presumed Innocent, andDark Matter. Revisit some of Apple TV+s most popular TV shows, including The Morning Show and Ted Lasso.The Morning Showseason 4 should premiere sometime in 2025, while Ted Lassoseason 4has yet to be greenlit.RelatedThis weekend, see for yourself.Stream for free Jan 4-5. pic.twitter.com/8p6PCUYpms Apple TV (@AppleTV) December 30, 2024While Apple TV+ is best known for its TV shows, the streamers library of original movies continues to expand. 2024 saw the releases of Argylle, Fly Me to the Moon,The Instigators, Wolfs, andBlitz. With Oscar season approaching, its noteworthy that Apple TV+ became the first streaming service to win Best Picture with 2021s CODA, a heartfelt coming-of-age drama about a child of deaf adults (CODA) who aspires to become a singer.Should users choose to continue using Apple TV+ after the free weekend, the monthly price is $10.Editors Recommendations

MGMTable of ContentsTable of ContentsA Haunting in Venice (2023)Skyfall (2012)Quick Change (1990)Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)The Monster Squad (1987)Its time to say goodbye to 2024. Whether your year was good or bad, you should ring in 2025 on the right note. While some prefer to attend parties or go out, there are others who want to stay in and watch a good movie or two.Im one of those people, and if youre like me, then youre reading the right article. The following list contains five wildly different movies that have two things in common: Theyre fun to watch and are all on Amazon Prime Video. So sit back, relax, and welcome the new year with Hercule Poirot, James Bond, and a team of monster-hunting kids.Recommended VideosWe also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max,andthe best movies on Disney+.Related20th Century StudiosSometimes, you want to watch a movie set in an exotic locale to escape whatever place youre currently in. Usually, I turn to two kinds of movies that do this: James Bond action flicks and Agatha Christie mysteries. The latter has seen a revival of late, with Kenneth Branagh helming relatively successful adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. His latest, A Haunting in Venice, is perhaps his best yet, and is a great way to say goodbye to 2024.Master detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is lured out of retirement by the strange case of Rowena Drake, who is hosting a sance at her lush Venetian palazzo to communicate with her dead daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson). When Joyce Reynolds (Wicked star Michelle Yeoh), the medium conducting the sance, turns up dead, Poirot must find out who among the seances guests had the motive and means to commit such a brutal crime.A Haunting in Venice Movie Clip - Listening (2023)In addition, Poirot must face the possibility that Alicia is actually haunting her mother and the other guests. Whats real, and whats simply an illusion? Watch A Haunting in Venice and find out for yourself.MGM StudiosSome have made the case that Skyfall is the best James Bond movie ever. Im not one of those people; Id rank Casino Royale, On Her Majestys Secret Service, and Goldfinger higher, and Id even place The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and From Russia with Love over Sam Mendes acclaimed, Oscar-winning spy film. (As for Bond films like The Man with the Golden Gun, they are best left unwatched and forgotten.)But that doesnt make Skyfall any less impressive; indeed, its one of the best action movies of the 2010s, and its a testament to the durability of the Bond franchise that it can be so good and still rank seventh on my list of best Bonds. Its one of the best looking and best acted Bond movies ever, and its action set pieces like the chase in the London Underground are truly amazing to watch.SKYFALL | London Underground Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ben Whishaw | James BondDaniel Craig is 007, and hes in a bit of a mood this time around. Presumed dead after a botched mission, he begrudgingly returns to his old job to combat the threat of cyberterrorist Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent. Unlike most Bond villains, hes not after James but rather M (Judi Dench), whom he thinks betrayed him by leaving him to die in a mission years ago. Now, Bond must protect M and somehow find a way to track down Silva and capture him before its too late.Clip HD | Quick Change | Warner ArchiveEveryone knows Bill Murray is funny, but chances are, most people havent seen one of his funniest films. Thats Quick Change, a 1990 black comedy that quickly died at the box office and hasnt been referenced much since then. Murray stars as Grimm, a down-on-his-luck New Yorker who decides to dress up as a clown and rob a midtown Manhattan bank. Aided by his girlfriend Phyllis (Geena Davis) and best friend Loomis (Randy Quaid), Grimm keeps the police at bay by kidnapping two hostages, who are Phyllis and Loomis in disguise, and escaping with a bag full of cash.Turns out, robbing the bank was the easy part; its getting out of the city that proves to be the problem. The rest of the movie chronicles the trios increasingly desperate, and frequently hilarious, attempts to get to the airport and evade the police. Murray, Davis, and Quaid are all in top form here, and the stacked supporting cast featuring Jason Robards, Phil Hartman, Tony Shalhoub, and Stanley Tucci (Conclave) help make Quick Change a memorable comedy of errors.Warner Bros.When you think of action-adventures heroes, you probably dont think of Chevy Chase. The Saturday Night Livevet closed out the 80s on a high note with National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and began the next decade with a role that Harrison Ford or Mel Gibson wouldve normally played. In Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Chase plays Nick Halloway, a bored stock analyst in San Francisco whose life is upended when hes caught in a bizarre accident at a science laboratory.Now permanently invisible, most people think hes dead and, much to his dismay, they dont seem to miss him all that much. The few people who know hes still alive are Alice Monroe (Blade Runners Darryl Hannah), a love interest who helps him in his quest to find an antidote, and David Jenkins (Jurassic Parks Sam Neill), a CIA agent who wants to study Nick and use him as a weapon against foreign adversaries. If Nick resists, David will kill him and dissect his remains.Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992) - Clip: Quick Stroll Through The ParkMemoirs of an Invisible Man was a huge bomb when it was released in 1992, but it deserves a second chance in 2025. Chase is surprisingly effective as a romantic hero with a sarcastic edge, and Hannah is charismatic and winsome as Alice. The movie is directed by John Carpenter, and he shows the same skill at blending sci-fi and action that he used so well in The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China.Tri-StarOld-school movie monsters are all the rage these days. Nosferatu, Robert Eggers moody re-imagining of the Dracula story, is out now in theaters, and Wolf Man will soon be scaring moviegoers in 2025. One movie brought both of those characters together, along with the Mummy, Frankensteins monster, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and that was The Monster Squad, a comedy-adventure that owes a big debt to The Goonies.Young teen Sean Crenshaw forms The Monster Club with his friends Patrick and Horace, rebellious Rudy, adolescent Eugene, and Seans kid sister Phoebe to stop Dracula from bringing back monsters from Limbo to take over the world. Some of them break through, but one, Frankensteins monster, befriends Phoebe and aids in their quest to stop Dracula and his minions.The Monster Squad (1987) - Dracula vs. Cops Scene | MovieclipsThe Monster Squad isnt a serious movie but it is a fun one, and if youve ever pretended to slay monsters when you were a kid, youll like this movie. It has the very best elements of mid-to-late 80s kid cinema, with inventive practical effects, a cast full of relatable protagonists, and a sophomoric sense of humor that now comes across as endearing. Wolfmans got nards! indeed.Editors Recommendations

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsNew Years Eve (2011)Palm Springs (2020)New Year, New You (2018)Midnight Kiss (2019)Frosty the Snowman (1969)Ah, New Years! A time of fresh starts, new beginnings, and remembering the past. While many people might be out partying like theres no tomorrow, some of us prefer a more chill way to celebrate. So why not snuggle up with a great movie thats streaming on Hulu?If you want to celebrate from the comfort of your couch or bed (which is exactly what Ill be doing), then check out one of these great films. From rom-coms to horror faves and even some rather obscure picks, these five movies are perfect to watch while you herald in the new year.Recommended VideosWe also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max,andthe best movies on Disney+.RelatedNew Line CinemaDirected by Gary Marshall and serving as the spiritual sequel to 2010s Valentines Day, the 2011 film New Years Eve follows a group of people in New York on the titular holiday. Just like Valentines Day, all the characters find their stories interweaving with each other, and New Years magic takes hold.One thing to know before watching New Years Eve is that it is very cheesy and very corny. Imagine if a Hallmark holiday movie had a bloated $50 million budget and actual movie stars. But sometimes those feels-so-good-because-theyre-so-bad movies are exactly what you want for a fun night. Plus, the film has an astonishingly long list of celeb stars, including Halle Berry, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Bon Jovi, among many others.Watch New Years Eve on Hulu.LiimelightOK, maybe youre not the type who loves the whole heavy-handed this movie is great for New Years because it takes place on New Years thing. Maybe you want something a little deeper. Well, New Years is all about starting over and new beginnings, so why not check out the Andy Samberg hit Palm Springs?In the movie, Samberg and his co-star Cristin Milioti (The Penguin) are stuck in a time loop that forces them to relive November 9 over and over. Despite taking place on the same day repeatedly, the movie is actually about finding new beginnings, even amongst the repetitive and mundane (a great New Years message, in my opinion). Palm Springs was a hit and earned Samberg two Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Best Motion Picture.Watch Palm Springs on Hulu.BlumhouseReleased as part of Hulus Into the Dark collaboration with Blumhouse, New Year, New You sees a vapid, self-centered wellness influencer arrive at a New Years party with some of her old friends (who she left in the dust once she got famous). What she doesnt know is that all her old pals are looking to get revenge.The film stars Suki Waterhouse, who gives a great performance that helps keep New Year, New You feeling like a legit horror movie instead of some Pretty Little Liars episode. Plus, with a short runtime of just 84 minutes, its a great short and easy watch that you can sneak in either before or after your holiday party.Watch New Year, New You on HuluBlumhouseIn 2019, Into the Dark returned with more Hulu-exclusive horror movies, including Midnight Kiss. In the film, a group of friends rent a luxurious vacation home to celebrate New Years Eve. Little do they know a serial killer is about to join the party exposing some of their dark secrets along the way.The film is loaded with LGBTQ characters and is still one of the only queer horror movies ever released on a major streaming service. It also stars Chris Evans brother Scott Evans and Lukas Gage in one of his earliest starring roles before he rose to fame on The White Lotus.Watch Midnight Kiss on Hulu.Rankin/Bass ProductionsSure, Frosty the Snowman is normally associated with Christmas, but in reality, the story is just about a snowy day in winter when a magical snowman comes to life. Plus, with the way climate change has caused dramatic influxes in weather, most of us who had white Christmases as kids are now waking up to 50-degree days in December, with most of winters snowfall not arriving until January.So why not welcome in the upcoming snowy season with this winter classic? Everyone remembers the joy of a snow day as kids, and Frosty the Snowman helps capture that nostalgia perfectly. Plus, its got the iconic song by Jimmy Durante. You cant lose!Watch Frosty the Snowman on Hulu.Editors Recommendations

Like Pat Gelsinger, Boeings Kelly Ortberg is a technically minded leader tasked with rescuing a storied American manufacturer damaged by bean counters.

At 16, Ricky Handschumacher was a high-school baseball star. A decade later, he was facing federal prison for stealing cryptocurrency.

Bio-inspired Manta rays inspire faster swimming robots and better water filters Efficient swimming and feeding make the creatures a model for human machines. Elizabeth Rayne Dec 31, 2024 6:50 am | 1 manta rays feed in Hanifaru Marine Protected Area near the island of Dharavandhoo in Baa Atoll in the Maldives. Credit: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images manta rays feed in Hanifaru Marine Protected Area near the island of Dharavandhoo in Baa Atoll in the Maldives. Credit: MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreManta rays are elegantly shaped. They swim by flapping their fins like enormous wings, and their gills filter for plankton with the utmost precision. These creatures have now inspired human innovations that take soft robots and water filters to the next level.With fins that borrow their shape and motion from mantas, a soft robot created by a team of researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Virginia improves on a previous model by reaching speeds of 6.8 body lengths per second, nearly double what its predecessor was capable of. This makes it the fastest soft robot so far. It is also more energy-efficient than its previous iteration and can swim not just on the surface, but upward and downward, just like an actual manta ray.Another research team at MIT used the gills of these creatures, which filter for plankton, to improve commercial water filtration systems. Their gill openings are also the perfect size to help them breathe while they feed, absorbing oxygen from water on its way out. The rays balance of feeding and breathing helped the researchers figure out a filter structure that more precisely controls inflow and outflow.Flying underwaterMantas get around with whats called mobuliform swimming. This involves oscillation, meaning that with each flap, the fins deform into a wave shape (kind of like a birds wings) before momentarily flattening out again and starting the process over.There is a particular speed-boosting aspect of manta ray swimming that the NC State and Virginia team wanted to take advantage of. The graceful oscillations of manta fins propagate waves that move outward from the rays body and create vortices that spiral, pushing water backward and producing forward thrust.The waveform shape of motions has a dramatic impact on the thrust generation, efficiency, and swimming speed, the team said in a study recently published in Science Advances.The new manta-robot has a body made of silicone and flexible wings that move exactly like those of a manta ray. When the body chamber is inflated, air actuates the robot: Its wings flap downward from their initially flat position. They momentarily return to their flat position as air is released from the chamber.This robot can also dive and come back to the surface. Faster flapping results in strong downward waves that will push the robot upward, while slower flapping creates weaker upward waves that allow it to go further down. (Actual mantas sink if they slow down.) It also proved it could fetch a payload from the bottom of a tank and bring it to the surface.Eating on the flyBecause manta rays are essentially giant moving water filters, researchers from MIT looked to them and other mobula rays (a group that includes mantas and devil rays) for inspiration when figuring out potential improvements to industrial water filters.Mantas feed by leaving their mouths open as they swim. At the bottom of either side of a mantas mouth are structures known as mouthplates, which look something like a dashboard air conditioner. When water enters the mouth, plankton particles too large to pass through the plates bounce further down into the mantas body cavity and, eventually, to its stomach. Gills absorb oxygen from the water that gushes out so the manta can breathe.The MIT team was especially interested in mobula rays because they thought the animals struck an ideal balance between allowing water in quickly enough to breathe while maintaining highly selective structures that prevent most plankton from escaping into the water. To create a filter as close to a mobula ray as possible, the team 3D-printed plates that were then glued together to create narrow openings between them. Particles that do not pass instead flow away into a waste reservoir.With slow pumping, water and smaller particles flowed out of the filter. When pumping was sped up, the water created a vortex in each opening that allowed water, but not particles, through. The team realized that this is how mobula rays are such successful filter feeders. They must know the right speed to swim so they can breathe and still get an optimal amount of plankton filtered into their mouths.The team thinks that incorporating vortex action will expand the traditional design of [industrial] filters, as they said in a study recently published in PNAS.Manta rays may look alien, but there is nothing sci-fi about how they use physics to their advantage, from powerful swimming to efficient (and simultaneous) eating and breathing. Sometimes nature comes through with the most ingenious tech upgrades.Science Advances, 2024. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adq4222PNAS, 2024. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.241001812Elizabeth Rayne Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared on SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Grunge, Den of Geek, and Forbidden Futures. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she is either shapeshifting, drawing, or cosplaying as a character nobody has ever heard of. Follow her on Threads and Instagram @quothravenrayne. 1 Comments

Jeremy Rafuse, Vice President, Head of IT and Digital Workplace, GoToDecember 31, 20245 Min Readchombosan via Alamy StockIT infrastructure is the building block of any thriving company. Whether implementing process improvements, setting up new revenue streams, or adopting advanced technologies, long-term business success depends on the work accomplished with the tools and teams operating on the base floor.In recent years, adopting artificial intelligence has become a top priority for companies seeking a competitive advantage and looking to propel digital transformation efforts further. The benefits of AI are becoming increasingly well-known and touted, but IT teams know that AI is not a magic bullet; in fact, there are several crucial factors and steps required for successful implementation. Moreover, deploying new tools and technologies is a massive undertaking and can present a host of logistical issues related to the larger systems powering these capabilities. For companies looking to get started with AI, this is where many will thrive or fail: establishing an IT ecosystem that is robust enough to facilitate current progress and support future innovation.Assessing Operational MaturityIn years past, many companies built their IT infrastructures as a composite of different tools and environments. Some solutions were adopted to enable better development, while others were chosen to facilitate collaboration and data security. These systems were hosted on-premises, in-the-cloud, or hybrid environments. In many cases, they barely talked to one another or were given different permissions to continue working as the company grew and evolved.Related:This fragmented and piecemeal approach may have worked for getting a new IT system off the ground, but it cannot effectively support the intertwined and complex AI systems of the future. Instead, companies must focus on achieving operational maturity, or the ability to seamlessly leverage different technologies to achieve overall business objectives. To gain operational maturity, IT leaders and teams need to foster unified IT environments, eliminate redundancies, and integrate centralized management of key support functions such as device management, remote access capabilities, integration among IT support tools, and endpoint management, among others.If one (or several) of these areas is outdated, your ability to manage your IT network effectively will be limited -- and it will be nearly impossible to implement more advanced systems that use AI.Improve Data Quality and ManagementFor many companies, a major problem in leveraging AI has been a lack of efficiency in data quality and management. Ultimately, AI is only as smart as the data it receives and is trained on. Some businesses dont know what data they have on hand, while others cannot access the full scope of information needed due to various factors like segmented or siloed data. To remedy this, its imperative that IT teams look at the systems currently handling data storage and utilization and improve or sunset legacy systems wherever possible.Related:A major part of this process is evaluating which vendors provide your critical data services. This includes assessing the following: How is your data being stored and operationalized? Do you have access to data analytics services? If you were to set up an AI assistant or training system, would you have immediate access to your data, or would there be a bottleneck? Finally, can your vendor even support (or secure) your move to an IT system that incorporates advanced artificial intelligence?If the answer is no to any of the above questions, then you might consider reevaluating your vendor choices. Some companies are looking to consolidate IT vendors, while others are exploring migration to the cloud to improve flexibility while offloading maintenance and updates. And, since so many of todays vendors realize the need for systems that integrate these capabilities, there is a high chance you can find one that offers a comprehensive suite of solutions attuned to your business needs.Related:New Tools for AI Learning andSecuritySo far, our main concern has been successfully hosting and utilizing AI systems at an infrastructure level. However, giving your IT teams the necessary tools and skills to support and secure these new models is just as important. After all, IT workers are learning alongside the rest of the world how to deploy and troubleshoot AI, and they need the proper means to do so.The good news is that the available options have greatly improved in recent years. AI webinars and conferences are now widespread, as well as employee training programs that allow workers to gain hands-on experience with this technology before implementation. By investing in opportunities for continuing education, companies are giving IT leaders and agents the means to understand AI first-hand and assess where and how it can make a difference in the organization.On a day-to-day level, IT workers must have the means to quickly and effectively manage AI-powered systems. Crucially, this includes understanding who has access to AI tools, how theyre using them, and what data is available for these purposes. It is good practice for IT teams to implement encryption, multifactor authentication (MFA), and access controls to safeguard proprietary information and customer data from bad actors. Remote support and management tools can also help ensure that the proper applications, patches, and security software protect employees without the need for them to take action. While you want AI to learn (and grow) using company data, it is pivotal that this is accomplished in a way that respects the integrity and security of your organization -- and IT workers play an integral role in ensuring the safeguards are in place to allow this to happen.As AI continues to permeate various business functions -- and transforms the workplace as we know it -- ensuring a dynamic and robust IT ecosystem will be key for sustainable and competitive growth.About the AuthorJeremy RafuseVice President, Head of IT and Digital Workplace, GoToJeremy Rafuse has been with GoTo since 2010 in various IT leadership roles. Since 2021, Jeremy has served as the companys head of IT and the Digital Workplace Team. In this role, Jeremy leads GoTos remote-centric IT operations for its over 3,000 global employees. Prior to his time at GoTo, Jeremy worked in system engineer and system administrator roles for companies such as Phase Forward and Avid Technology. Jeremy is based in the Boston area.See more from Jeremy RafuseNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Croissant dough made from Savors farm-free butterSavorGrowing numbers of people will be able to sample new types of butter, chocolate and ice cream made without input from animals, plants or soil in 2025.A cluster of start-ups are working on producing food directly from energy and raw materials like carbon and hydrogen. They argue that bypassing photosynthesis and traditional agriculture will ease pressure on wild land and the climate.These firms are now approaching a critical juncture in their journey to commercialisation, with the