Jan 07, 2025The Hacker NewsCybersecurity / Endpoint SecurityIt's time once again to pay our respects to the once-famous cybersecurity solutions whose usefulness died in the past year. The cybercriminal world collectively mourns the loss of these solutions and the easy access they provide to victim organizations. These solutions, though celebrated in their prime, succumbed to the twin forces of time and advancing threats. Much like a tribute to celebrities lost in the past year, this article will look back at a few of cybersecurity's brightest stars that went dark in the past year. 1. Legacy Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)Cause of Death: Compromised by sophisticated phishing, man-in-the-middle (MitM), SIM-swapping, and MFA prompt bombing attacks.The superstar of access security for more than twenty years, legacy MFA solutions enjoyed broad adoption followed by almost-universal responsibility for cybersecurity failures leading to successful ransomware attacks. These outdated solutions relied heavily on SMS or email-based codes often sent in unencrypted plain text. Their vulnerability to phishing, SIM swapping, and MitM attacks grew glaringly apparent in 2024, leaving their users in a state of near-defenselessness in the face of Generative AI-based attacks. The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency [CISA], part of the Department of Homeland Security, stated that 90% of successful phishing attacks started with phishing. Legacy MFA's inherent weakness is that it relies on users who are well-meaning but no match for modern attack techniques.Legacy MFA was fan-favorite and broadly deployed, but it is the most significant vulnerability in most organizations. Jen Easterly, the director of CISA, captured the urgency of evolving beyond outdated solutions, "make no mistake, any form of MFA is better than no MFA. But recent attacks make it clear: legacy MFA is no match for modern threats."The Role of FIDO2 and Phishing-Resistant Authentication: In place of legacy MFA, phishing-resistant, FIDO2-compliant solutions have emerged as the gold standard for authentication, driving the industry toward a passwordless future. By leveraging public key cryptography, FIDO2 eliminates shared secrets like passwords, making phishing and replay attacks nearly impossible. Its reliance on hardware security keys and biometrics provides unparalleled security while maintaining simplicity for end users. Biometric authentication greatly enhances security by ensuring that only authorized users can gain network access. It also improves the user experience by removing the need to remember and enter passwords and OTPs. Stop phishing and ransomware with Next-Generation MFA. Download the ebook: 'The CISO's Guide to Stopping Ransomware and Credential-Based Attacks with Phishing-Resistant MFA' and learn how to secure your organization today. 2. Signature-Based AntivirusCause of Death: Overwhelmed by polymorphic malware and fileless attacks.The faithful companion of early internet users, signature-based antivirus software, finally bowed out in 2024. Its reliance on known malware signatures proved inadequate against today's threats, which mutate faster than databases can be updated. Polymorphic malware, fileless attacks, and AI-driven threats exploited its inability to adapt dynamically.Replacing it are advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR) platforms that harness machine learning to detect unusual behavior. Signature-based antivirus didn't just lose its battle against attackers; it lost relevance in a world demanding predictive security.A Look at What's Next: Modern EDR and XDR platforms combine heuristic analysis, AI-driven insights, and real-time monitoring. These systems not only detect and block threats but also offer predictive capabilities to anticipate and neutralize potential attacks before they manifest, setting a new standard for endpoint security. Unlike their signature-based predecessors, EDR and XDR platforms rely on behavioral analysis to identify unusual activity, such as lateral movement within a network or abnormal file execution patterns. These platforms utilize AI and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data and adapt to the changing threat landscape. These solutions also integrate seamlessly with other tools, including threat intelligence feeds and incident response platforms. They offer a unified view of an organization's security posture by correlating data across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments. 3. Legacy VPNsCause of Death: Replaced by zero-trust network access (ZTNA).The venerable VPN, once a cornerstone of secure remote access, saw its relevance take its last breaths in 2024. Performance bottlenecks and vulnerabilities to lateral movement attacks made them unacceptable for the modern era of cybersecurity.ZTNA solutions, with their ability to enforce granular, identity-based access policies, are now the better alternative. The shift marked the end of trusting once and accessing all, a concept that outlived its usefulness in the face of persistent threats.Zero Trust Takes Center Stage: ZTNA restricts access and continuously verifies users and devices, ensuring that access is both context-aware and dynamically adjusted. This approach matches the needs of a hybrid workforce and a cloud-centric world, making it the ideal solution for secure connectivity.Replacing legacy VPNs are solutions that integrate identity-based security models and dynamic access protocols. Advanced ZTNA systems leverage machine learning to measure user behavior, detect anomalies, and implement adaptive security policies in real-time. Modern tools such as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) combine ZTNA with other essential services like cloud security and network optimization, offering a comprehensive solution that outpaces the limitations of traditional VPNs. 4. Standalone Password ManagersCause of Death: Erosion of trust and ecosystem integration.Password managers, once praised for simplifying credential storage, found themselves in need of saying a final goodbye in 2024. High-profile breaches eroded trust and standalone solutions simply couldn't compete with integrated identity management systems.Digital identity solutions offering seamless passwordless authentication and robust lifecycle management overshadowed standalone offerings, marking the end of an era for password managers.The Rise of Phishing-Resistant Passwordless Solutions The future of authentication lies in passwordless solutions that prioritize security without sacrificing user convenience. These solutions leverage FIDO2 compliance, biometric authentication, and hardware security keys to eliminate passwords, making phishing attacks and credential theft nearly impossible.By adopting public key cryptography, FIDO2, biometrics, and hardware-based authentication, user credentials remain secure and never leave the user's device. These methods are resistant to phishing, replay attacks, and social engineering, addressing the most common vulnerabilities of legacy password-based systems.Additionally, passwordless solutions integrate seamlessly with identity and access management (IAM) systems, creating a unified approach to authentication, lifecycle management, and compliance monitoring. Password managers, while revolutionary in their time, were surpassed by the next generation of MFA.Lessons from the DepartedThe technologies we lost in 2024 remind us of the relentless need to adapt to cyberattacks. The loss of these former celebrities of cybersecurity underscores critical lessons for the industry:Adapt or Perish: Technologies that failed to evolve with the threat landscape were left behind while exposing their users to severe losses.Next-Generation MFA Takes Center Stage: The death of legacy MFA signaled the rise of NGMFA solutions. These solutions deliver adaptive, context-aware security, and integrate biometrics, hardware security keys, and passwordless technologies to provide unparalleled user convenience and resilience against evolving threats.Integration Over Isolation: Standalone tools come up short compared to integrated platforms offering integrated solutions. Phishing-Resistant Next-Gen MFA exemplifies this evolution by combining authentication with broader identity and access management solutions, creating an integrated approach to securing organizations.As we say goodbye to these once-cherished tools, we honor their contributions and embrace the technologies that have risen to replace them. The cybersecurity world doesn't stand still, and neither can we. In this relentless march forward, the only constant is change.In Memoriam, 2024.Learn how Token's Next-Generation MFA replaces outdated solutions to stop phishing and ransomware attacksvisit tokenring.comFound this article interesting? 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What have we learned about maintaining IT infrastructure and cybersecurity one generation after putting in the work to correct the Y2K bug?

Lisa Morgan, Freelance WriterJanuary 7, 20259 Min ReadValerii Egorov via Alamy StockAgentic artificial intelligence is expected to have a major impact because it can execute complex tasks autonomously. For now, the hype is outstripping successful implementations, and there are a lot of reasons for that.In 2024, AI agents have become a marketing buzzword for many vendors. However, for user organizations, agents have been an area of early curiosity and experimentation, with actual implementations being far and few, says Leslie Joseph, principal analyst at Forrester. We expect this to change in 2025 as the technology and the ecosystem mature. However, our prediction offers a cautionary note.Joseph says organizations attempting to build AI agents are failing for three main reasons: a poorly scoped vision for agentic workflows, a poor technical solution, and a lack of focus on change management.A poorly scoped vision for agentic workflows results in either a too broad or narrow bounding box for agent functionality, says Joseph. Too narrow a scope may render the problem as solvable by a deterministic workflow, while too broad a problem might introduce too much variability. Agent builders should ask themselves how best to define the business problem they are trying to solve, and where an AI agent fits into this scope.Related:Second, its early days. Agents are still very early-stage applications, and the ecosystem, including agentic tooling, is less evolved than one might expect.While many vendors message around the ease-of-use and drag-drop nature of their agent builder platforms, the fact is that there is still a lot of engineering needed under the hood to deliver a robust enterprise solution, which requires strong technical skills, says Joseph.Finally, a lack of focus on change management isnt helping. Organizations need to understand how the agentic workflow fits into or enhances existing processes and being proactive about managing change. The invention of LLMs was like the discovery of the brick, says Joseph. With agents, we are now figuring out how to put these bricks together to construct homes and cities and skyscrapers. Every enterprise will need to identify what their desired level of autonomy is, and how to build towards that using AI agents. Leslie Joseph, ForresterHe expects the short-term benefits to be process improvement and productivity, but over the longer term, enterprises should be ready for agents to create disruptions across the tech stack. For now, companies should embrace AI agents and agentic workflows, given its disruptive potential.Related:Start investing in experiments and allocating budgets towards proofs-of-concept. Ensure that your teams learn along the way rather than outsourcing everything to an ISV or tech vendor, because these learnings will be crucial down the road, says Joseph.Multi-Agent Workflows Are ChallengingWhen establishing a multi-agent workflow, there are three primary challenges businesses face, according to Murali Swaminathan, CTO at software company Freshworks. First, its incredibly difficult to make workflows predictable in a world that is unstructured and conversational. Second, even complex reasoning in workflows can be prescriptive and hard to achieve reliably. Third, continuous evaluation of these workflows is necessary to measure, and ultimately realize efficacy.[E]nterprises must establish clear approaches on what workflows or problems they want the agentic systems to solve, says Swaminathan. Additionally, its critical that they develop a clear plan on how they will gauge success. This approach will ensure that expectations are measured, and that a strategy of progress over perfection is employed.Over the short term, enterprises will most likely achieve task-based goals related to the employee and agent. Over the long term, business benefits should follow, along with insights about what the business should and should not do.Related:[C]reate a clear game plan on how to implement, utilize, and measure the success of agentic architectures, says Swaminathan. Failing to plan is planning to fail."Insufficient Infrastructure and Data GovernanceWhen it comes to agentic architectures, infrastructure and data governance matter greatly."Without the right infrastructure and data governance in place, agentic architectures struggle to handle the complexity, scale, and interoperability needed for successful implementation, says Doug Gilbert, CIO and chief digital officer at experience-driven digital transformation partner Sutherland Global. Companies should focus on building a strong digital core that can handle the high demands of AI, from data processing to seamless integration with hybrid or multi-cloud environments. This not only allows organizations to scale AI capabilities efficiently but also ensures the flexibility to adapt as systems evolve.Equally important is a well-defined data strategy. Whether leveraging a hybrid, private, or multi-cloud approach, secure and accessible data is essential for building robust AI solutions, ensuring compliance and security across the board.Interconnectivity MattersInteracting with other systems designed for humans is much harder for agentic AI to do than it seems.Making RPA [Robotic Process Automation] nearly 100% reliable took 12-plus years. And thats carefully hard coded to interact with human operated systems across the web and Windows. So, we see these people suggesting that they can get an LLM to do the same and it turns out [to be] quite unreliable, says Kevin Surace, chairman andCTO at autonomous testing platform Appvance. People will be disappointed when the agent thinks it did everything right, but you later find that payment never went out.Despite the fact humans dont get everything right, people expect agentic AI outcomes to be 100% accurate. As an accuracy benchmark, Surace suggests setting the accuracy goal as high as RPA or well-trained humans.Anyone can demo a simple action a few times, says Surace. But doing complex tasks with variability a thousand times without failure -- then you have a product people want.Orchestration Can Be TrickyOrchestration involves end-to-end harmonization of outputs from multiple agents, delivering a unified and comprehensive resolution to the users query.A key of the agentic AI architecture is its capability to organize agents logically by functional domains such as IT, HR, engineering, and more. This structured approach empowers enterprises to deploy specialized agents tailored to the unique requirements of each department, says Abhi Maheshwari, CEO of agentic AI provider Aisera. By categorizing agents based on their functional areas, organizations can optimize workflows, improve task precision, and ensure that each agent operates within its area of expertise for maximum effectiveness.Otherwise, it may be tempting to over-rely on generic models when domain-specific expertise is necessary for handling complex tasks.Enterprises should adopt a structured approach to agentic architectures by starting with logical domain separation to address specific departmental needs, says Maheshwari. Then there needs to be integration with existing systems. If not, there is not much value with agentic AI. After all, this technology is about automated processes and tasks.Tom Taulli, author of Building Generative AI Agents: Using LangChain, LangGraph, and AutoGen,says that agents struggle to handle novel situations or inputs outside their training data.Tom Taulli, AuthorFailures can also arise from misaligned goals or insufficient oversight, says Taulli. Overly autonomous systems without proper guardrails might make decisions that conflict with user intentions, ethical standards or operational objectives.Ultimately, enterprises need highly qualified data scientists because agentic AI is complicated, and the field is constantly evolving.In the short term, Taulli expects agentic AI to replace RPA since both automate tedious and repetitive processes. However, RPA is highly constrained, which means if a process changes materially, then the bot can break.[Agentic AI] should be able to adapt and evolve, without a lot of human intervention and programming or scripting. This makes the automations more maintainable and scalable. In the long-term, I think AI agents could start replacing a large part of what some employees do. This is more about the world when AGI starts to emerge. That is, a super intelligent system will be able to act like a human and have its own agency.Governance Is KeyData quality and quantity are crucial for training agentic AI models, though biases in the data can lead to biased and unfair outcomes while ethical considerations and regulatory challenges surrounding AI development and deployment can hinder progress and lead to unintended consequences.It's essential to establish robust governance frameworks to ensure ethical AI development and deployment, says Matthew Hawkins, chief technology officer at healthcare AI solution provider CaryHealth. Additionally, collaboration with domain experts is crucial to align AI solutions with real-world needs.Monitoring Is Non-OptionalThe only way to tell if an AI model is working properly is to monitor it continuously. Otherwise, companies run the risk of using models that have drifted, for example.When we look at AI agents as a system, the lack of human supervision can create devastating failure cascades throughout the entire network of agent, says Daniel Clydesdale-Cotter, CIO at technology services provider EchoStor. Domain-specific LLMs won't be good enough to replicate business process workflows without individual agents being thoroughly tested and optimized to remove hallucination behavior. The black box nature of LLMs adds another layer of complexity, as audit and compliance of operations within each agent can be very difficult to provide.Organizations must focus on training and culture change to promote responsible use of generative AI for baseline processes.Its crucial to experiment, use, and test with existing workflows before integrating agents, always maintaining human oversight, says Clydesdale-Cotter. Organizations must also monitor their AI environment closely, aware of outputs and behavior within the system. Success depends on aligning data, goals and objectives with the usage patterns of the environment.Success starts with human oversight and a defined MLOps plan, he says. Organizations should partner with companies that are building agents specifically for their domain requirements. However, they must also pay thorough attention to workflows to determine application and software integration viability.Enterprises should approach AI with a best-fit mindset, understanding that not all processes must be AI-augmented or automated, says Clydesdale-Cotter. Being use-case specific helps avoid scope creep and maintains focus on the features youre trying to extract. Well see continued process improvement through human oversight of macro interactions between AI agents and unsupervised optimizations of micro-processes within AI agents themselves.Many Organizations Just Arent ReadyAI has become a strategic priority in many organizations, but business leaders arent sure where to apply AI to solve day-to-day business problems and implement use cases at enterprise scale.Under the hood, the challenge is that, even though business objectives, activities and metrics are deeply interwoven, the software systems used by disparate teams are not, and this creates problems, says Babak Hodjat, CTO of AI at multinational information technology services and consulting company Cognizant Technology Solutions. This is a big reason why weve seen most AI use cases to date limited to prediction-based outcomes or single LLM chat-based solutions."Organizing overall technology and AI strategies around the core tenet of multi-agent systems and decision-making will best enable enterprises to succeed, he says.LLMs are very good at specialized tasks, but embracing multi-agent architectures is what will truly reshape industries, as agents gain the ability to communicate with each other, says Hodjat The future will be about companies having agents in their devices and applications that can address needs and interact with other agents. These agents will work across entire businesses to assist humans in every role, from HR and finance to marketing and sales.About the AuthorLisa MorganFreelance WriterLisa Morgan is a freelance writer who covers business and IT strategy and emergingtechnology for InformationWeek. She has contributed articles, reports, and other types of content to many technology, business, and mainstream publications and sites including tech pubs, The Washington Post and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Frequent areas of coverage include AI, analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, mobility, software development, and emerging cultural issues affecting the C-suite.See more from Lisa MorganNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), AST (UTC -4)The RoleWere looking for a Technical Customer Support Specialist to join our team! In this role, youll be the first point of contact for our customers, helping them via chat and email (no phone calls). Youll assist with inquiries, troubleshoot issues, and ensure a smooth customer experience.The position is fully remote.What Were Looking ForFluency in English is mandatory: English is our primary working language, so strong written and verbal communication skills are essential.Second language required: Fluency in another language is required.Technical knowledge: You dont need to be a developer, but a solid understanding of tech concepts (e.g., HTML/CSS) is required. This isnt a learn on the job role, come prepared!Team spirit: Empathy, kindness, understanding, active listening, and a collaborative mindset are essential. Youll fit right in if you value teamwork and fostering a positive work environment.Experience: Familiarity with customer support software is a plus, but not mandatory.What Makes Crisp Special?Everyone does support: even our developers contribute to customer support, keeping everyone connected to our users needs.No meetings: Say goodbye to unnecessary meetings and focus on meaningful work.No personal KPIs: We trust you to do great work without micromanagement or performance pressure.Who Can Apply?Must be located within the UTC-4 or UTC-5, or UTC-6, or UTC-7 timezones.Immediate availability is a plus.The position will be under a full time freelance service contract. Youll need to have an independent contractor status in your country and be able to issue invoicesCompensation & PerksThe compensation range for this role is around 30k$ per year, depending on the profileJoin a diverse and inclusive remote-first team that values work-life balance and flexibility.

Job SummaryWe are looking for a senior mobile engineer with a proven track record of developing React Native mobile applications. As we are a small but growing team, you will be responsible for the maintenance and support of existing app features as well as planning and scoping new feature additions and iterations.You will be working closely with our team to maintain, improve, and extend a meditation and lifestyle application. Applicants should have a proven track record working on large scale, consumer-facing products with complex and intuitive UX/UI. Applicants should be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, where each individual has a lot of influence and responsibility to deliver. You will play a vital role in the future success of this application, and of our wider organisation.The app is in the market in many countries around the world, and has a monthly active user base of tens of thousands of users.The AWS backend is built using a serverless approach using AppSync (GraphQL), DynamoDB, Cognito and Lambda. Local development and stack deployment is managed using the Serverless framework, and CI pipelines have been implemented using CircleCI and Bitrise. Experience with any of these is a big plus.About YouYou are passionate about creating beautiful, modern, and intuitive user interfaces on mobile devices. You are comfortable with cross platform development (for iOS and Android), and enjoy solving the challenges that come with such a codebase. You understand API architecture, and can take a data model and translate it into reusable and flexible components. You enjoy shipping clean, readable and reusable code. You are comfortable working on a distributed team spread across time zones and cultures. You are excited to use technology to have a positive impact in the world as a whole, and in an intimate way for each individual.ResponsibilitiesTake responsibility for front-end development and maintenance, and work with our team to continue testing and releasing featuresEnsure the performance, quality, and responsiveness of the applicationCollaborate with the engineering, product, and design teams, contribute to the definition of specifications for new features, and own the development of those featuresGuide the team regarding constraints and best practices in a mobile environmentProactively identify and solve bottlenecks; fix bugs and performance issuesMaintain code quality, organization and automatizationEnsure testing strategy is followed within the team - for unit and integration tests, and automated testingSkills and Qualifications8 years of testing and deploying code in a production environmentProven experience in mobile native app development (Objective-C, Swift, Kotlin, Java)Strong experience with React and React NativeExperience with Typescript, Node.js, GraphQL and RESTProficient with code versioning tools (Git)Basic understanding of using CI to deploy apps (we use Bitrise)Attention to detail to implement and bring designs to life using animations (we use Animated and Reanimated in some places)Understanding of React Native limitations in native mobile environmentsUnderstanding of code signing for iOS and Android (we use Fastlane)Good understanding of best practices for mobile apps, like Material Design and Human Interface GuidelinesExperience working in a global non-profit, working with a remote team and / or in a multinational organization preferredFluency in English (written and verbal)If you are passionate about this work but do not have all of the skills listed we are still interested in speaking with you and encourage you to apply!Pay and benefitsOur pay levels are set according to a formula that combines above-median market rate data for the role (we pay 55th percentile of New York market rate for this role, based on Payscale data) adjusted for your local cost of living based on Numbeo data.We take the issue of equitable pay very seriously, and we apply our pay formula to all workers who work 80% or more of full time hours with us.Diversity and inclusionWe care about diversity - we strive to ensure all of our team feel included and can bring their whole selves to work but we also know that this work is never done or complete, and that we can always improve.Our team is fully remote, living and working across 20 countries across the world, and wed love to hear how you can add to our special culture at MFI. Related Jobs See more Front-End Programming jobs

Are you a passionate visual storyteller with a love for design? Do you want to help craft educational design videos that are every bit as high-end as the productions National Geographic create on history, science and culture? Do you want to showcase your skills in every frame while conveying powerful ideas to thousands of minds daily? Thats a big audience, which is why were looking for serious talent.We're the global leader in online design education. Thats because the worlds leading experts create our educational content and because were specialized inand utterly dedicated todesign, and only design. Were entering our third decade with over 175,000 graduates. We now need an amazing Motion Graphics Designer, Video Editor and Visual Storyteller to help each individual along their learning journey.Visual storytelling is a huge part of our winning formula: to reach our members on that magic level where theyre captivated to complete their course while feeling utterly inspired every step of the way. You will, therefore, become an essential part of our video production team, someone who is making a direct impact on not only the growth and reputation of our organization but also the whole world of design education and beyond!So, what do our videos look like? Heres an example of a video we created. We went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and recorded a series of b-rolls. Then, we edited and added animations to explain how AI-generated art has evolved into a dynamic force in the creative landscape. As you can see, educational videos are no longer talking heads with slides. This next video shows you what our educational videos featuring experts look and feel like. It shows how much emphasis and effort we put into animations, footage and on-screen text to give the ultimate learning experience. Check out this third video, which is a promotional video we created to motivate more people to learn design. So, if after seeing these videos you think, I could do better than that!, then wed love to hear from you!What youll be doingYoull be working closely with our UX/UI design experts, founders, video editors, course producers and other team members to make the most inspiring and engaging videos for our ever-growing catalog of courses. Videos are the best way to educate, and we have the best instructors: people who live and breathe UX/UI design and many associated subjects. Youll feel energized as you take your skillset to an even higher level among an ambitious and supportive team. Ahead of you is a rewarding and enriching journey in which youll make an impact as you: Take on the job role as a Motion Graphics Designer, Video Editor and Visual Storyteller.Develop cutting-edge UX/UI design courses and open-source content that empower designers around the world.Help push the quality of our educational materials to new heightsexceeding the very best in both industry and academia. Use your skills to help your colleagues grow and become better motion graphics designers and video editors; just as theyll help you.Edit, export and produce content to the highest standard.Use your motion graphics design and visual storytelling skills to create engaging visual content (both static and dynamic) that communicates key learning take aways, and helps engage and attract an audience across our social media channels. Create social media content such as carousels, illustrations, animations and short video snippets for our social media channels.Create didactical educational visual media to illustrate written content and articles.Create and adapt videos, illustrations and animations for use on our website and advertising campaigns.Collaborate closely with our Editorial team as well as our Growth and Social Media teams.Support our social media team and bring your expertise to all dimensions of our content, marketing and communication.Find creative solutions to make content work across different platforms.Use your expertise to create inspiring Master Class videos featuring leaders in design.If you want even more opportunities to show the world what you can do, youre in luck! If youre passionate enough to do the hard work of learning and growingyoull find virtually limitless opportunities with us.About YouYouve worked as a professional full-time video editor for at least 5 years. You can create engaging motion graphics and animations that intelligently and beautifully enhance your video production.You have solid practical experience working with Adobe Premiere Pro to edit raw videos and do basic post-production work, and in Adobe After Effects for advanced editing and animating motion graphics. Youre fluent in working with imported or exported raster and vector images using tools such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. You know how to use your assets from Adobe Illustrator in Adobe After Effects and vice versa. You can push video learning 'one step beyond', so your edits, animations, on-screen text and other visual effects work in perfect harmony to complement each instructors material and inspire the viewer to continue learning. You use the latest AI tools to perfect and improve not only the quality of videos, but the workflow and efficiency of delivering projects.Youre a team player with proven collaborative experience on team projects. At the same time, you can work independently and deliver results because youre intrinsically motivated.Youre attentive to details in everything you do.You understand the importance of a return on investment. You know how to find the balance between the efforts you put into a project and the results you get from it.You can place an entire, self-contained learning reality right in the mind of each viewer so all they have to do is watch and learn.You have a love affair with the world of storytelling in film and a desire to impress viewers through every frame of the journey.You know visual storytelling is more than the sum of its parts, and the overall effect is vital.Catching glitches and other imperfections such as lighting and audio-related issues come easy to you. You cringe at the idea of even the smallest rough edge creeping in to ruin a frame or make a transition jerky.You love an environment of strivingand stretchingfor perfection. Youre supremely competent and confident in working independently to produce the best material with a deep appreciation and clear vision of what a perfect product should be.You "always name your layers." You organize the files and optimize project structures in such a way thats easy for you and your colleagues to collaborate and iterate.You appreciate when your colleagues spot those odd bits that can flaw an otherwise-perfect result.You speak and write English with close-to-native fluency. Bonus PointsYou get bonus points if you have experience creating educational videos and online courses; have experience creating social media assets for LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok; have experience as a team lead; have more than 15 years of experience as a motion graphics designer; have experience working not only in post-production but are also familiar with the pre-production and production stages;have a background in graphic design, UI design or UX design;have experience working with audio;have experience working with typography;have experience creating technical guidelines and guiding documentation for the projects youve worked on;have experience with SEO;got top grades when you studied at university. What can we offer?A co-founder and CEO who will work closely with you and your team; she understands your challenges and triumphs because she used to plan, shoot and edit all of IxDF's videos herself during IxDF's initial growth phase. She maintains a passion for video creation and even recently filmed at MoMA for our AI-art video.A full-time position, within a fully remote organization. Daily video-based collaboration with your colleagues from elsewhere on the planet, and youll get to meet up on team trips every year. A work culture with no fluffy titles, political agendas and corporate drama. Your colleagues value your warm character, your strong work ethic, and the results you deliver. Junior or senior, if you embody old-school virtues of always striving to deliver results, learn and become better every day, you'll thrive at the IxDF. A daily mission to help impact, empower, and enrich the lives of millions of people by creating affordable high-end design education to everyone across the planet. Itll be yours too.A company where the distance between idea and execution is minimal. Were a highly agile organisation with zero bureaucracy or corporate politics and with exceptional order and efficiency. A company culture where passion meets high performance and excellence. To help us improve the world (and yourself in the process), youll need grit, strong work ethic, long-term thinking, and self-discipline. We thrive because we have a hands-on attitude and a bias towards action as opposed to fluff-filled, unrealistic strategies. Youll need crisp execution skills yourself and the ability to impress your colleagues with concrete results, just like theyll impress you. How to Learn More and Apply To submit your application as well as learn more about our Work Culture and Values, please visit https://www.interaction-design.org/about/careersPlease apply as soon as you canwere firm believers of the sooner, the better and were looking forward to working with you!

This is today's edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. AI means the end of internet search as weve known it We all know what it means, colloquially, to google something. You pop a few words in a search box and in return get a list of blue links to the most relevant results. Fundamentally, its just fetching information thats already out there on the internet and showing it to you, in a structured way. But all that is up for grabs. We are at a new inflection point. The biggest change to the way search engines deliver information to us since the 1990s is happening right now. No more keyword searching. Instead, you can ask questions in natural language. And instead of links, youll increasingly be met with answers written by generative AI and based on live information from across the internet, delivered the same way. Not everyone is excited for the change. Publishers are completely freaked out. And people are also worried about what these new LLM-powered results will mean for our fundamental shared reality. Read the full story. Mat Honan This story is from the latest print edition of MIT Technology Reviewits all about the exciting breakthroughs happening in the world right now. If you dont already, subscribe to receive future copies. Whats next for our privacy? Every day, we are tracked hundreds or even thousands of times across the digital world. All of this is collected, packaged together with other details, and used to create highly personalized profiles that are then shared or sold, often without our explicit knowledge or consent. A consensus is growing that Americans need better privacy protectionsand that the best way to deliver them would be for Congress to pass comprehensive federal privacy legislation.So what can Americans expect for their personal data in 2025? We spoke to privacy experts and advocates about whats on their mind regarding how our digital data might be traded or protected moving forward. Read the full story.Eileen Guo This piece is part of MIT Technology Reviews Whats Next series, looking across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. How optimistic are you about AIs future? The start of a new year, and maybe especially this one, feels like a good time for a gut check: How optimistic are you feeling about the future of technology? Our annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies, published on Friday, might help you decide. Artificial intelligence powers four of the breakthroughs featured on the list, and I expect your feelings about them will vary widely. Read the full story. James ODonnell This story is from the Algorithm, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things AI. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Monday. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is ready to transform our understanding of the cosmos High atop Chiles 2,700-meter Cerro Pachn, the air is clear and dry, leaving few clouds to block the beautiful view of the stars. Its here that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will soon use a car-size 3,200-megapixel digital camerathe largest ever builtto produce a new map of the entire night sky every three days. Findings from the observatory will help tease apart fundamental mysteries like the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two phenomena that have not been directly observed but affect how objects are bound togetherand pushed apart. A quarter-century in the making, the observatory is poised to expand our understanding of just about every corner of the universe. Read the full story. Adam Mann The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2025, MIT Technology Reviews annual list of tech to watch. Check out the rest of the list, and cast your vote for the honorary 11th breakthroughyou have until 1 April! The must-reads Ive combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 A Louisiana man has died of bird flu Hes the first person known to have died from the virus in the US. (WP $)+ He was over 65 years old and had underlying health conditions. (NYT $)+ The risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising. (MIT Technology Review)2 Meta is shifting towards the right Appointing Trump ally Dana White to its board is the latest in a string of political moves. (NYT $)+ Mark Zuckerberg has overhauled Metas board in the last five years. (Bloomberg $)+ The company recently donated $1 million to Trumps inaugural fund. (WSJ $)3 The Pentagon is blacklisting Chinas biggest EV battery firm CATL and other companies will be barred from doing business with it. (WP $)+ The US is convinced theyre working with Chinas military. (CNN)4 Nvidia is working on a personal AI supercomputer Project Digits will go on sale in May, priced at a whopping $3,000. (TechCrunch)+ Its based on a super secret chip, apparently. (VentureBeat)+ CEO Jensen Huang has his sights set on humanoid robots, too. (FT $)5 Doctors are turning to AI for note taking during appointments It could save them hours each dayif it doesnt mess up, that is. (FT $)+ Artificial intelligence is infiltrating health care. We shouldnt let it make all the decisions. (MIT Technology Review) 6 U-Haul is a treasure trove of personal user dataAnd hackers are exploiting it to dox or hack their victims. (404 Media) 7 New York drivers are already trying to evade congestion pricingSubtly obscuring license plates can trick tracking cameras. (New York Post) + Reaction to the new charge is decidedly mixed. (NY Mag $)+ Why EVs are (mostly) set for solid growth in 2025. (MIT Technology Review)8 Frustrated workers are complaining about their bosses on LinkedInTry this at your own risk. (Insider $) 9 Men are notoriously poor at replying to text messages And their failure to communicate could be making them lonely. (The Atlantic $)10 You can now play Doom on a captch What better way to prove youre not a bot? (Vice)+ Death to captchas. (MIT Technology Review)Quote of the day We have glitches that need stitches. Tech entrepreneur Mike Johns describes his experience of becoming trapped in a malfunctioning self-driving car to the Guardian, nearly causing him to miss a flight. The big story What happens when your prescription drug becomes the center of covid misinformation September 2021 By the time Joe Rogan mentioned ivermectin as one ingredient in an experimental cocktail he was taking to treat his covid infection, the drug was a meme. In the weeks leading up to the popular podcasters revelation, the drug had already become a flashpoint in the covid culture wars. But Ivermectin isnt some new or experimental drug: in addition to its use as an anti-parasite treatment for livestock, its commonly employed in humans to treat a form of rosacea, among other things. So for those of us who have been using it for years, its sudden infamy was unexpected and unwelcome. Read the full story. Abby Ohlheiser We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet 'em at me.) + RIP the bar cart, we barely knew you.+ If youve ever wondered what happens to your unclaimed luggage, now youll finally have an answer.+ This motorbike-sized tuna is a thing of beauty. + Happy birthday to the one and only Michael Stipe, who turned 65 over the weekend.

Submitted by WA ContentsGianni Botsford Architects expands Norman Foster extension with large-span aluminium-framed glazing United Kingdom Architecture News - Jan 07, 2025 - 12:43 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"London-based architecture practice Gianni Botsford Architects has expanded Norman Foster's 1960s extension with large-span aluminium-framed glazing in Hampstead, London, United Kingdom.Image James EagleNamed Reciprocal House, the newly completed 280-square-metre family home is located in a Hampstead mews and discretely hidden behind a Victorian pub in London.A neutral and decaying 1860s cottage was replaced by Gianni Botsford Architects, who also renovated its superb 1969 addition by Foster Associates - now known Foster + Partners.The lightweight single-story Foster Associates building, which consists of steel trusses, concrete blocks, and large-span aluminum-framed windows, is intended to be complemented by the new four-story home.The late 1960s extension has been restored to its original state, preserving the industrial character of the Norman Foster-led design while influencing the design's elemental quality. One example of this is the use of a small but incredibly powerful palette of classic materials.The Foster Associates extension reflects the practice's early work and projects like as the 1965 construction of Creek Vean House in Cornwall, where Norman Foster was a member of Team 4 along with Su Brumwell, Wendy Cheesman, and Richard Rogers. Patty Hopkins, who founded Hopkins Architects with Michael Hopkins in 1976 after working at Foster Associates, was the project architect. She went on to construct her highly regarded high-tech home and studio in Hampstead.The main floor of this family home currently has a kitchen, dining area, and living room, while the upper two floors include three bedrooms and a roof terrace. Additionally, there is a studio area on the basement level that benefits from three-meter-tall lightwells. The open-plan room designed by Foster Associates, which was initially meant primarily for entertainment and as a place to house the previous owner's grand piano, is accessible from the ground floor.The staircase, kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, bathroom fixtures, screens, and doors are among the exquisitely manufactured aluminum components that Gianni Botsford Architects used to create the interiors. All of these were produced in East London.The new house's roof profile evokes the original cottage's, and the architecture has a strong geometric quality both inside and out thanks to the clear angled elevations.The circular rooflight with a diameter of 2 meters above the spiral aluminum staircase that connects the three major floors emphasizes this even more. A strong link with the outside can be created by fully opening the rooflight for natural ventilation.The previous house's memory is preserved by the new building's facades, which are covered in perforated aluminum mesh in a gentle copper brown hue. In addition, they offer privacy and protection from sunlight. "Our response to this sensitive and overlooked context is led by the notion of local adaptation and was carried out through careful and forensic analysis of the site to determine ways of providing privacy for the occupants of the house and neighbours, long views out to the borrowed landscape of back gardens, access to sunlight and daylight, acoustic separation, and security," said Gianni Botsford, director of Gianni Botsford Architects.The site and the new house's relationship to the Foster Associates expansion were examined using a number of physical study models created by Gianni Botsford Architects, with an emphasis on a strong sense of reciprocity between the two.This resulted in a design approach where the volumes and forms of the project's new and old components were both clearly defined and of comparable architectural stature.Additionally, it prompted a formal reaction that maximized Reciprocal House's relationship with the landscape, particularly with regard to the tall, mature trees that encircle its 56-square-meter roof terrace. Utilizing the original house's demolished masonry, the landscaping repurposes existing materials and plays with the concept of embodied memory. Ultimately, passive design was used from the beginning to minimize the project's environmental impact.The home is naturally shaded from solar gain by the trees that are already there, and the windows have been oriented and sized to maximize natural ventilation and illumination. When combined with an opening rooflight above, the spiral staircase's vertical natural ventilation shaft will enable the stack effect to expel heated air during warm weather.Throughout, high thermal mass materialsparticularly exposed concretehave been utilized. The house will remain cool without the need for active cooling thanks to this and the natural ventilation plan.On the other hand, improved air tightness and thermal insulation reduce the need for space heating, which is accomplished through underfloor heating and an acoustically attenuated air source heat pump.The front lightwell now contains an EV charger in addition to being heated by an air source heat pump. Since there are no gas-burning equipment in the kitchen, the entire house is electric and doesn't need a gas supply.By using low flow fittings and a grey water recycling system that purifies shower and bathtub water for use in flushing toilets, water usage is reduced. Green roofs and rainwater recycling also reduce runoff and water use."Due to the complex form, a decision was taken to construct the new house adjoining the retained extension in concrete and to leave the concrete visually exposed throughout to reduce the use of finishes, to temper the light, and to benefit from the thermal mass," Botsford continued. "The structure of the new house is optimised to allow for the thinnest possible wall and floor build ups," Botsford added. Image Jonny WilsonImage Jonny WilsonImage Jonny WilsonSite planBasement floor planGround level floor planFirst floor planSecond floor planRoof floor planElevationElevationSectionSectionThe London-based firm originally gained recognition with its Light House in West London and Casa Kik in Costa Rica, both of which won the Lubetkin Prize.Since then, Gianni Botsford Architects has finished a number of projects over the course of almost 30 years, including an R&D high-rise building, an art collector's gallery, and a smoking pavilion. The firm previously transformed a dilapidated bungalow, built in the 1960s in the back garden on an 1840s Notting Hill villa, into a new house that is carved from the ground to get enough light from its skylight and facades.Project factsProject name:Reciprocal HouseExpansion design:Gianni Botsford ArchitectsCompletion date: 2024Mechanical and Electrical Engineer:IntegrationStructural Engineer:Tall EngineersLandscape Architect:FFLOHeritage Consultant:HCUKPlanning Consultant: Barton WilmoreContractor:New Wave,Quantity Surveyor:MeasurMetalwork:Weber IndustriesAll images Schnepp Renou unless otherwise stated.All drawings Gianni Botsford Architects.> via Gianni Botsford Architects

End of the road for the London Resort scheme after almost 14 years of developmentAerial view of the 2021 proposals for the London ResortPlans to build Europes biggest theme park on the outskirts of London have come to a definitive end after the High Court ordered the company behind the 3.5bn scheme to be wound up.The London Resort, described as the UKs version of Disneyland, was first proposed almost 14 years ago and was due to open this year at a site on the Swanscombe Peninsula between Dartford and Gravesend.The future of the 465ha park, which was forecast to attract 12 million visitors a year, has been in doubt since its developer London Resort Company Holdings went into administration in March 2023.A High Court judge has now ordered the company to close following an application by Paramount, the schemes original backer, which said it is owed 13.5m.Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sally Barber found the company has ceased trading and appears unlikely ever to do so again.The ruling caps a rocky few years for the park which started with Paramount Pictures decision to pull out of the project in 2017.A planning application was then withdrawn in 2022 following concerns raised by Natural England, which said the schemes former industrial site provided ideal conditions for a unique variety of wildlife, including one of the UKs rarest spiders.The companys chief executive, French businessman Pierre-Yves Gerbeau and its chairman, former Conservative transport minister Steven Norris, both subsequently stepped down and were not replaced.Although plans were announced to scale back the project, it suffered another blow when its main backer, Kuwaiti businessman Abdulla al-Humaidi, declared bankruptcy in 2023.Al-Humaidi, who claimed to have put 40m into the venture, described the UKs planning system last year as broken and said it needed to be streamlined.The theme park was intended to include partnerships with Paramount, the BBC and ITV to create experiences based on films including Mission Impossible, Dr Who, Top Gear, and Paddington.It would have been a major rival to another theme park mega-project, a UK outpost of Universal Studios currently proposed for a 476 acre plot in Bedfordshire.Plans for the park, unveiled last year, have been backed by several local authorities and would be approved directly by the government through a development consent order.

Bids due in for Ellisland Museum and Farm job by 24 JanuarySource: GoogleEllisland Museum and Farm was purchased by Robert Burns in 1788The farm where Scottish national poet Robert Burns wrote Auld Lang Syne is looking for a conservation architect to design a nationally significant restoration of the site.The Ellisland Museum and Farm is asking design teams to send in bids for the 7m scheme north of Dumfries, which is called Saving the Home of Auld Lang Syne.Burns purchased the farm in 1788 and wrote the song, which is sung across the English speaking world on New Years Eve, at the property in December that year.The poet, who is celebrated each year in Scotland on Burns night on 27 January, stayed at the farm for three years before leaving in 1791.Most of the buildings at the site which he constructed were later dismantled, except the farmhouse, which remains largely in its original condition.The museum said it is looking for a multi-disciplinary design team led by a conservation architect for the eight month contract, valued at 170,000.Work will include designing the scheme up to RIBA stage three, with further design stages up to stage six included in the contract with a break clause but dependent on funding.The museum was recently awarded 490,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the development stage of the project, which it said will support the appointment of architects and the launch of a major international fundraising campaign to complete the scheme.The job will include fully restoring a 1788 cottage to the state in which it was in when Burns moved in with his new wife Jane Armour, developing a new exhibition space for the museums collection, and transforming a barn on the site into a Centre for Song.Teams have until 24 January to send in bids, with invitations to tender to be sent out on 31 January.