Podcast: Business Technology Weekly - How AI won Google I/O

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This week on TechRepublic's Business Technology Weekly podcast, hosts Dan Patterson, Bill Detwiler, and Amy Talbot discuss the headlines from Google I/O, an interview with a former Facebook News staffer, and a video about how user experience is transforming enterprise business.

Headlines:

AI, VR, messaging, and wearables: Everything you need to know from Google I/O 2016 | Conner Forrest During the 2016 annual I/O conference the company unveiled a number of products and initiatives. One clear theme emerged: Artificial intelligence will be at the center of nearly every Google project. AI is the connective sinew between the Allo chatbot messaging application, the Siri and Alexa competitor Google Assistant, virtual reality platform Android N, and a portable speaker called Google Home.
Android Wear 2.0: 5 features business users will love | Conner Forrest AI will also be baked into Google hardware. The company has doubled down on wearable devices and released Android Wear 2.0, featuring support for standalone applications that can communicate with a network without a phone connection, an overhaul of messaging applications and notifications, and a fresh UI.
The economy of criminal hackers and how businesses can protect themselves | Conner Forrest A lot of people think of hackers as just guys acting alone, possibly in a basement somewhere, but according to a new report by HPE titled "The Business of Hacking," the underground hacker economy is pretty similar to the regular economy in some ways. Cybercrime organizations have markets and supply chains, they think about talent when gearing up for a big job, and they have margins to think about when selling their information. There are also people working nontechnical jobs in the hacking industry, like sales and marketing, legal, and HR. The purpose of the report was to help business leaders start thinking of hacking organizations more like competitors and less like something only the people in IT security need to worry about.
UPS and SAP launch an on-demand manufacturing network for 3D printing | Hope Reese UPS and SAP are teaming up to launch an on-demand printing service that will enable companies to print and ship 3D printed products through a streamlined system. This is good news because it makes 3D printing more accessible to companies that either don't have the budget to buy a printer or only need to print on a limited basis. The partnership also sees this as an opportunity for manufacturers wanting to reduce inventory for slow-moving parts.
The economy of criminal hackers and how businesses can protect themselves | Teena Maddox A new research report from PricewaterhouseCoopers says wearable tech devices have passed the early adopter stage and entered the early mass market phase. There are also some interesting results from the research about wearables in the workplace. 49% of people who took the survey said they believe wearable tech will increase workplace efficiency. 67% of consumers said that employers should pay for their device. Surprisingly, only 25% of respondents said they wouldn't trust a company with personal information collected by wearables.
More about Innovation

Cover Story:

Video: How UX is Transforming Enterprise Software | Bill Detwiler Product design is more than just a pretty front end. In this video our team explores the history of design, and explains how smart companies use strong design innovation to gain competitive advantage by increasing efficiency and improving customer satisfaction.

Special Report:

How the Facebook News editorial process really works: An inside look | Dan Patterson TechRepublic interviewed a former Facebook News curator about the editorial process, work environment, and allegations of News Feed algorithm bias.

Podcast Bonus:

A discussion about the services unveiled at Google I/O, why AI will power Google's future, and the real future of wearable devices.

Produced by Amy Talbot, Bill Detwiler, Jason Hiner, and Dan Patterson.

We appreciate your feedback and support! Contact us at: podcast [at] techrepublic [dot] com, and (646) 389-5404.

TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research publish a number of free and useful business technology newsletters. Each week we spotlight a newsletter that summarizes the week's most interesting stories. The TechRepublic Headlines newsletter highlights the big news, emerging trends, and interviews with business technology thought leaders.

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