Society Archives : Our thoughts and musings

Retrun to office v/s Remote work

Introduction

RTO or Remote — A person working in office and a person working at home

COVID! It was a less than once in a life time incident and it has changed a lot of things for humans, especially in tech jobs. COVID resulted in tech workers working remotely all the time. Tech workers had always been working from home either partially or after hours to get the job done. But the pandemic made that mandatory. This shift in working conditions created a sea-change in not only how we deliver our work, but also changed peoples' expectations, especially the folks who were just joining the workforce.

What changed?

Technology changed. That's for sure. Also people's work habits changed. But more on that later. Telecommuting includes endless conference calls, video calls which include whiteboarding, collaborating on documents in real time, screen sharing. All of which take a lot of bandwidth. With the internet connection most people had till recently, it made remote collaboration very difficult leading to productivity loss and frustration. It was better to do it in person in the office. Innovation and inventions drove a remarkable improvement in network equipment and network protocols giving rise to better, more reliable, and faster WiFi connections. Fast wireless connections meant that it was no longer needed to have wired connection to get a stable and fast internet access. At the same time the retail internet connection speeds and reliability also improved dramatically from few 10s Mbps to several 100s Mbps. All of these changes gave rise to a retail market for better collaboration platforms.

Rise of telecommuting platforms

For a long time now, companies have been advocating to reduce or avoid travel and use tele / video conferencing to conduct meetings as it not only saved costs but also was good for our planet. The introduction of Zoom, GoToMeeting, BlueJeans (now being sunset) and the like revolutionized the workplace interactions and made it easy to telecommute and still have the same office like experience when collaborating with colleagues. In fact it started becoming the preferred method to interact with global and local colleagues alike. But the working was still primarily office-centric.

Here comes COVID

In late 2019 and early 2020 COVID hit the world and everything was locked down and governments issues shelter-in-place advisories. All companies closed their offices and directed their employees to operate remotely. Initially it was expected the pandemic was expected to end within a few months. But it stretched in to couple of years and everyone was forced to work remotely and collaborate with their colleagues through online collaboration tools. Initially people had difficulties adjusting to working from home and were missing the human interaction and social connections at office. As the lockdowns continued into several phases, people started getting used to working from home and liked the convenience of no commute, sleeping in, working in pajamas etc. They also built their own social bubbles to meet with friends. They also started thinking that this was going to be a permanent arrangement.

On the other hand, the companies already had long term leases to their buildings and although a few started terminating their leases and not renewing other leases, return to office (RTO) was always going to be on the cards. As the impact of pandemic started to erode through vaccinations and herd immunity, companies started calling their employees back to office. As the calls to RTO began to grow so did the resistance from employees.

Resistance

Remote working was always going to be temporary arrangement while the pandemic was raging. But humans are wired in such a way that they always strive for local optima and extrapolate their current situation as being the long term or permanent solution giving rise to the term, "New normal" It was never going to be normal working remotely. Some companies like Tesla, or Broadcom took a hardline stand, a few like Amazon, Wells Fargo took a phased approach to ease the workforce back to office, and a few made their operations fully remote. With this we started seeing a lot of reactions / posts/ videos from people about the vices of working from office claiming there is loss of productivity by forcing the employees to return to office due to time spent in commute, hallway ambushes, noise in office, loud hallway conversation, etc. Some even state and rightly so that with the distributed workforce, none of their immediate teams are their location so what is the point in going to office.

Around the time the internet connections were improving, the work habits of millennials who were just entering the workforce were also changing giving rise to the Gig Economy where young people preferred freelancing to full time roles. The younger workforce was used to working remotely and when they wanted to.

Issues with the remote work

While it is good to have flexibility and not have to go office, it has a lot of detrimental effects, especially on the younger generations who are just entering the workforce as compared to the more experienced people. Working in office and interacting in person allows a wide variety of human dynamics. There are different types of personalities, different mental states, moods, etc which are kind of obfuscated by remote collaboration. You can't really understand the tone differences, body languages over a video call that you can understand in person. Even if none of the immediate team members are in the same location, but there are other employees who are working for the same company in the location and the human interaction along with the experience is invaluable. The younger generations are missing out on those experiences that shape and hone their own personalities teaching them how to interact with different people while handling varying situations. Everyone is now interacting online through social media where it is easy to ignore several things. Being able to handle situations and interacting with people while resolving conflict is an important skill that everyone should have and must be considered when defining productivity. Additionally, employees (even the individual contributors) can't always deliver their work product alone all the time. They need to interact with other people from their own teams and different teams, even other organizations to be effective. Asynchronous is not always the answer.

Conclusion

Work was always performed from office and it will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. Of course technology will continue to evolve and eventually it may make working in an office obsolete (but I don't think so). However till the time that happens going to office is going to be our reality. I support in-office (although hybrid) work. There is more accountability, better collaboration, improved communication, and effective working. Of course, this is my own humble opinion. I am not representing any company or group.

Tea

Tea. Such a simple beverage. And I am not talking about the Chamomile Tea or Mint Tea or Lemon Tea or the Boba tea. I am talking about the tea you get in subcontinent especially in India. The tea that is made out of actual tea leaves, milk, ginger, and a bunch of optional spices. Yes, you got it. I am talking about the Masala Chai but also a lot more than that! At its simplest, it has only four ingredients - Milk, Water, Sugar, and Tea Leaves.

Tea is such an integral part of Indian culture and a lot of things make or break over tea. Friendships are forged, relationships discussed, marriages fixed, business deals finalized, gossip, and what not. Having tea in the middle of the day when the temperatures are soaring is not about the tea, but about a chat with a friend or if alone, just unwinding from whatever is bothering you at that time.

But in its simplicity lies the complexity. Even with just four ingredients, it is not easy to get it right. True that it is basically just boiling a cup of water, but still not everyone can get it right. In fact, I am a big fan of tea and can drink tea at any time of the day and any number of times. But till recently, I was not able to get it right. That tells you how much I love tea.

Even with just four ingredients, the quantity of ingredients added and the order they are added is very important. In quantity depends on how much tea is being made, but basically, you add one teaspoon of tea leaves to 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk to make one cup of tea. Sugar is up to the individual's taste, but generally 1 teaspoon or less is what is recommended. Just recently I figured out the order as well and since then the tea has been heavenly.

I used to boil the tea leaves with the water thinking that the tea flavor and fragarence will steep in. But I was overcooking it and the tea was losing its taste. What you need to do is to bring the water to a hard boil and then add milk to it. Once milk is added, add the tea leaves at that time and stir the concoction and stir it well. You can add sugar anytime. When the final product is about to come to boil, that's when you add the crushed ginger and other spices. That's when the tea leaves and ginger release their flavor and make the tea, Tea.

Responsible and Trustworthy AI

Introduction

Smart City Powered by AI — A futuristic view of Smart City powered by AI

Recently, AI technologies have seen explosive growth. With more genAI applications being built it is important to understand the impact and consequences of AI. I saw an interesting quote recently: "We wanted AI to do our mundane tasks so that we could focus on creativity and not that AI to do creative tasks so that we can do our mundane tasks”.

There is also a risk of using AI as GenAI is exciting and will open up many opportunities to add to the global economy. But it also opens up a lot of risks and dangers to corporations and individuals alike. Responsible GenAI is not only the government's responsibility, but we all are collectively responsible for generating more benefits with genAI. I built a genAI-powered application to provide educators with a platform to develop personalized lesson plans. That experience gave me a first-hand perspective of the power of genAI and the responsibilities that come to us as technology leaders to ensure we use AI safely and that it is trustworthy.

Problems with AI.

As AI’s power increases, it also opens up several risks and problems. This is in no way a comprehensive list but I am just scratching the surface.

Inappropriate use: A technology can be used beneficially or maliciously. We have seen a lot of issues come up with deep fakes and misinformation that are known. There are several which are unknown.
AI Race: We have seen the negative consequences of the arms race and if governments get into an AI race who’s to say where it will end? The impact of the arms race was visible and I am afraid that with AI technology, we won’t even see the impact as it can be highly targeted and obfuscated.
Rogue AIs: Humans have been trying to build an autonomously intelligent robot for several decades. While the objective is to benefit the human race and planet Earth, the risk comes from if and when the AI becomes truly autonomous and humans lose control over them.
Misalignment: For now, the AI is a robot that does what it is told. If the instructions provided are not accurate and aligned with the desired objective, the results could be unexpected to catastrophic.
Hallucinations: GenAI LLMs are compared to parrots. Sometimes they listen / read other people’s work and parrot it back without any validation even if it is incorrect. There was a very famous and hilarious incident where the chat bot declared that Australia didn’t exist.
Conformism: Even today, the AI LLMs conform to human intelligence. I asked the bot what 20+20 was and it correctly responded that it is 40 and confirmed it when I asked if it was sure about it. However, when I said that I think 20+20 was 42, it corrected itself and said that it made a mistake. If the bots can do this with absolute truths, then I am worried about the veracity of the results in subjective situations.

Conclusion:

AI and Machine Learning (ML) has made a lot of progress in the past few years, but it still has a long way to go. Especially the LLMs. There are other key and more impactful applications of AI, but the risks of using AI at this time can be extremely dangerous for humans. AI and ML can help in accelerating and eliminating mundane tasks, but it requires strong human oversight to ensure the results are not only accurate and actually helpful for people but also solving the intended problems and not creating a cobra effect.

I’m here for you – By Nandini Dharwadkar

Be kind to all

A brand new day. A brand new life. Only ten cars were zooming on the streets, which was the only noise left in the city of Fremont. At least, outside. Inside of hospitals and clinics, the only sound that could be heard was the moaning and groaning of suffering patients, and the soothing voices of the nurses and doctors that worked hard to cure the sick. Everyone noticed this change. Everyone knew. But not everyone cared. The rich were just taking this as a chance to relax.

Coronavirus was taking over people’s lives. And taking them away. And no one could be more affected by this than 15-year old Lily. She wanted some way to help the underprivileged people who couldn’t provide for themselves, the ones without a job because of the lockdown, because they are the ones who need help the most. Lily watched out of her window as she observed a man stuffing his trunk to its maximum capacity with cans of food. Corona Virus

Food, she thought, there will never be enough. For the the higher class with a lavishly decorated home, and the ones with a plain blanket and hard, cement bed. I need to make it enough, especially now.

And watching the man with his cans, Lily knew exactly how to help...

An hour later, Lily had persuaded her sister and had gathered a few friends with her to help other people during this time of distress and were walking around the streets carrying large trash bags. Filled with food and supplies in it that they had pooled out of their own homes. It wasn’t much, but it was worth it. And everyone around the world knew that.

They walked down Thornton Avenue, where they saw an old lady sitting at the edge of a gas station, who was watching them nervously. Her eyes said it all. But as they approached, the woman’s gaze fell to the sidewalk, but Lily knew what the lady’s heart wanted.

Lily kneeled in front of her, and tried to ignore the deadly smell circling the woman. Trying not to scrunch her nose and be rude, Lily said benignly, “How are you doing, Ms….?”

The old woman seemed to trust the teenagers who were silently watching, and said in a croaky voice, “Gibson. Ms. Gibson. What are you doing here? And why are you outside?”

Lily pulled out six large cans of beans, tomatoes, vegetables, and chicken that her mom had saved up. She lined them up in front of the woman. “For you,” she said, and took the old woman’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll get through this. Coronavirus will be kicked away by vaccines that our doctors will discover. Stay strong. You’re not alone. We’re here for you. I’m here for you.”

Ms. Gibson was speechless. “You’re here for me,” she repeated. “You’re here for me.”

For two hours Lily and the other teenagers walked around Fremont passing out food to homeless and needy people. Other residents noticed the group with large bags as they passed out food. Soon, almost everyone in Lily’s community had joined in the heroic act, and were chanting, “We’re here for you. I’m here for you” to everyone they provided supplies.

Lily looked back at the size of her group and grinned. It took one small act of kindness to prove that the coronavirus could not kill off the kindness people felt for each other, despite the lockdown. All people had to do to prove that was to say four simple words: “I’m here for you.”

Thumbs up to Apple on Inclusion and Diversity

Apple hosted their annual fall product launch yesterday in the Steve Jobs theatre in the Apple campus. The event had its regular razzmatazz of new products and self-described superlatives for its own products. There was something different about the event this time and no it was not the iPhone 11 Pro. This time, the presenters were from diverse backgrounds and were inclusive. Thumbs up to Apple on Inclusion and Diversity and making a real effort towards it.

Historically, the presenters of the events were white males (and to some extent females) who would boast the features and performances of the products. This time around though, we saw Asians doing the keynote presentations, females in actions but sadly still not blacks. I am fairly certain that it is just a matter of time where every company and organization will make Inclusion and Diversity their priority.

But for now, I think I will enjoy the launch and wait for the availability of iPhone 11 Pro. It is a great product and Apple has managed to excite me after 5 versions of the phone.

Are we becoming the mice of NIMH?

Introduction

Some time ago, I had written about people behavior and civilization. Those thoughts sparked from how people behave in less than optimal situations like a crowded train. But that's nothing compared what's happening around us nowadays. Last week there was yet another mass shooting in a public place in the US. This time the shooting was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. There have been 248 mass shootings in US in 2019 and at this pace, it will easily surpass the 323 mass shootings that took place in 2018. Are we becoming the mice of NIMH?

Social Issue

What is the society now coming to? Are we really becoming the mice of NIMH where we are unable to handle the bounty that nature and our society is providing us? The video below is very distressing and is that a harginger for human society. All the indicators so far point in that direction only.

Will this human behavioral trend mean that all the social gatherings will cease to happen and everything will become virtual? Already the today's kids don't like to go and hang out together. Rather they choose hanging out together in virtual chat rooms like Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, or Discord. Messenger website even has a catch-phrase, "Be together, whenever."

These kids are missing out on all the personal contacts gained by actual interaction. This kind of social interaction is not preparing them for the rigors of the real world and they become socially awkward. Will they become "The beautiful ones"? Only time will tell, but I am worried.

Already the upcoming social events like the Fremont Festival of the Arts will have enhanced security after the Gilroy incident. In that case, people immediately start viewing each other with suspicion and instead of what should be a celebration of art, culture and human interaction, the ambience becomes acidic and caustic and an ordeal. I have already made up my mind to not go to the festival.

Conclusion:

I just hope that good sense will prevail and human race will address this issue and halt the seemingly inevitable march towards doomsday.