This Letter Effectively Calls for a Pause on the Development of AI With tens of thousands of signatures, the short letter cautioned against the unfettered growth of AI without a greater appreciation of the potential outcomes. There are assorted reasons that these signees are so concerned, that have the potential to materialize in the short, medium, and long term. In the Short Term, Misinformation is a Massive Concern With the capability that AI has to reference and even manufacture false or disingenuous data, there is a very real chance that any information that these systems can produce could be false?something particularly dangerous when so many people already turn to the Internet for important information. In addition, these falsehoods can be made far more convincing through the capabilities of these platforms. What?s worse, this effect can also be manufactured, so content meant to spread misinformation can be produced far more quickly and shared that much more easily. As Time Passes, Job Loss Could Result Many technology experts are also very concerned that AI could swiftly render many current forms of gainful employment obsolete. While some knowledge-based careers require more practical skills than AI is able to replicate (yet), many could ultimately have their roles reduced significantly, if not eliminated entirely. In the Long Term, Could AI Leave Us Obsolete and Extinct? Yes, it sounds extreme, but some experts?specifically those from the Future of Life Institute, which is an organization that tries to predict ?existential risks to humanity??foresee that the largely unpredictable nature of AI could create some very serious issues as it ?learns? how to write its own code. In fact, the Future of Life Institute was who wrote the aforementioned open letter. Likewise, the Center for AI Safety has collected signatures in support of their own brief statement: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” In short, scary stuff. While Some of These Threats are Predictions, Some are Currently a Problem Like any other major technological enhancement, there are definitely some kinks to iron out in terms of artificial intelligence?and these challenges will almost certainly result in legislation meant to put stopgaps in place. What do you think? Do you foresee anything being done to slow, or even stop, the advancement of AI?

With that, let?s get to it?no procrastinating here! Procrastination Looks Different from Person to Person Just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, there?s more than one way that people can put off doing things?which means that there are also different ways for different people to put a stop to their habits. What follows are some of the main ways that procrastination presents itself, and how you might make a small change to procrastinate less. 1) ?It Has to Be Just? Right?? Let me ask you something?are you the type of person whose shoelaces have to be the exact same length on either side? Do people compliment your eye for detail? Are you the type to sweat the small stuff? If so, it might be your means of procrastinating. Perfectionism can often be the reason people will get stuck in a process, or even avoid starting it in the first place. Like most of the examples we?ll go over here, it?s a deceptively simple thought process. After all, if ?perfection? is the only acceptable outcome, there can never be a successful outcome. Therefore, perfectionism can be twisted into a means of postponing a task indefinitely to protect the procrastinator. One way to help break down and avoid this form of procrastination is to specifically eliminate any extraneous tasks or details that aren?t conducive to your goal and are therefore out of your focus. Essentially, know your specific task, and prune away anything that may distract you from it. 2) ?I Love This Plan?But, Can I Make It Better?? If you often find yourself thinking through your entire process over and over, refining it and polishing it to make it better?but never actually taking action?your planning might be better identified as procrastination. Much like perfectionism, the urge to endlessly tweak and optimize your processes can provide an excuse to never actually start using them. Why do something one way if there?s a better way to do it? This desire for improvement therefore becomes a convenient excuse to never actually finish a task, electing instead to endlessly try to improve it?in theory, at least. To help reduce this kind of procrastination, it helps to utilize something known as SMART goals?goals that are designed to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. By designing these goals, you?re able to commit to doing a task and shifting any process refinement to after the task is done, taking notes during the process and reflecting upon?not predicting?ways to improve. 3) ?EVERYTHING is a Priority.? When you have assorted tasks to take care of, how do you go about determining what to do first? If you can?t decide and therefore jump around from task to task and potentially neglect those you see as unimportant, you may be subject to this form of procrastination. Keeping yourself occupied with busy work is a tricky way to procrastinate, simply because it can easily look like productivity from the outside. The inability to effectively prioritize tasks is therefore a shortcoming that you will want to address in your business before everyone is involved in workplace theater. To do so, examine your tasks and try to determine which of them will ultimately produce the most good for your business in terms of its objectives and goals, and which […]

Let?s review what a mission statement is in a general sense, and then address how to create one more specifically to your business? IT. What is a Mission Statement For? Generally speaking, a mission statement is intended to condense three critical pieces of information into a communicative and accessible format: What your company stands for and strives to accomplish How your company intends to accomplish these goals Who the company wants to serve as they do so By combining these factors, the mission statement is meant to help give your company direction, not only informing your clients of your priorities, but also giving your employees and partners an idea of what they are contributing towards through their efforts. The mission statement is the idea that you can base your business? actions around, it?s the rallying cry that is meant to unite your team. A Team Mission Statement is Effectively a More Specific Version of the Company?s, Applicable to a Certain Department Rather than looking at the company as a whole to define its mission on a macro scale, a team mission statement looks at a more specific subset of your entire staff and contextualizes your mission statement to more directly describe how that subset can contribute. As a result, any team mission that exists in your company should be in line with your overall company-wide mission statement. For instance, let?s say that ACME is in the business of producing and distributing widgets. ACME?s mission statement might be something along the lines of, ?Improving processes and productivity for individuals by providing them with a widget that solves the problems they face.? ACME?s individual departments could each have their own mission statement that describes how they each contribute to this shared goal. How to Design a Team Mission Statement for Your IT Team First, you need to determine what your overall business mission is, so that you can identify what your IT team?and indeed, your IT itself?can do to support it. At that point, it?s a relatively simple matter of putting these intentions into words that help to inspire action and provide a general sense of direction to your team. What If Your Existing IT Team Can?t Accomplish this Mission on Their Own? To be fair, it can be challenging for any IT team?particularly one that?s part of a small or medium-sized business?to manage the demands that come with modern technology. First off, many of these teams are simply disproportionately understaffed for the needs that the business presents. Secondly, the goals you have established or even the needs your business has may require certain certifications or experience with specific technologies that your internal team may not hold. That?s where White Mountain IT Services can come in. We offer managed IT services to the businesses of New Hampshire, serving as an extra resource to help support these businesses? existing IT teams or working as an entirely outsourced option. Our mission as we do so is to help these businesses accomplish more by ensuring that their IT is an asset, not an obstacle, to their productivity. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more about how we can help you with our managed IT services.

First of all, we understand that integrating new technologies can be hard. Not only are they expensive, they also can hinder productivity for a short time while your team gets up to speed on them. This can put stress on the points of your business that may not be working optimally.  This instability can be enough to push your loyal customers to consider other options and your new customers to leave for your competitors.  How You Can Tell You Need an Upgrade There are several variables that can help you identify if you should start shopping for new technology. They include: Computing Systems are Slowing One of the most telling signs that it?s time for an upgrade is that your technology is slowing down. It may take longer than usual to boot, programs are slower to load or will fail upon execution, programs take a long time to install, applications eat up your available disk space and bandwidth, and more.  Your Business is Experiencing Too Much Downtime Downtime is the bane of modern business. It can cost a lot of money when systems are down and your employees don?t have access to the computing systems they need. If your business is dealing with a lot of technology-induced downtime, and that downtime seems to keep growing, you can bet that it?s time to consider upgrading your technology.  Inefficient Explains Your Business Even if systems aren?t ?down? a lot, if your systems are keeping your workers from efficiently doing their jobs, it can be time to start searching for new technology. A lot of times it is as simple as noticing that employees are having troubles with their technology and it is affecting their productivity.  You Can?t Upgrade or Use Applications Most computer programs need regular updates to work efficiently, and many require these updates in order to work at all. If your technology is getting too old, new software may be released that can?t be run on your computing systems or major changes have to take place to get the security you need to protect the underlying computing infrastructure.  You Are Seeing Your Customers Leave for Competitors The worst result of old technology is ultimately your business? inability to compete. If you are noticing that your customers are leaving and moving on to your competitors, and one of the big reasons is that you haven?t invested in your technology in some time, it is imperative that you get the perspective you need by contacting White Mountain IT Services. Over 90% of surveyed customers say that they wouldn?t mind moving their business elsewhere because of poor technology.  We Can Help! If this article hits home a little bit and you need to see what your options are in terms of updating your business? technology to improve productivity, stay compliant with regulations, or simply keep your customer base, our technicians can help. Give us a call today at (603) 889-0800 to learn more. 

For the next few weeks, we?ll be breaking this subject down into its various parts. We?ll begin by taking a deep dive into the concept of procrastination itself and its numerous causes. What is Procrastination, Exactly? Generally speaking, procrastination is typically defined as any unnecessary postponing of a task?despite expected negative consequences for doing so. We?ve all done it at some point, even though we all know better and have likely been warned about the aforementioned consequences. There are various reasons that people are susceptible to procrastinating. Some are active?which is what people do when they ?work better under pressure,? and therefore intentionally wait until the last minute to work on something. More prevalent, however, are the passive forms of procrastination, which is what we?ll be examining today. Procrastination Comes in Many Forms Let?s explore what some of the most widely accepted reasons are for procrastinating so that we can better address how to fix them. Malicious Perfectionism Fairly often, the tendency to only accept the best is seen as a positive thing, but if it prevents someone from successfully completing their tasks, it can quickly become a detriment. This tendency is known as the Nirvana Fallacy?the idea that the only way to make a task worthwhile is to perform it perfectly. This need to have control over, well, everything, in order to obtain this impossible perfection, is pervasive throughout our culture. It makes us afraid to fail. This fear is what really brings about the procrastination of it all. After all, we can?t fail if the task isn?t done yet. Putting off the task at hand is a last-ditch way for us to maintain control, despite the fact that it just makes life more difficult for us later (and as a result, making failure more likely). French philosopher Voltaire perhaps said it best: ?Perfect is the enemy of the good.? Disorganization and Distraction Unsurprisingly, time management skills?or the lack thereof?are a big contributor to procrastinative tendencies. Not being able to effectively break down larger responsibilities into specific tasks and schedule these tasks out appropriately can create significant issues that snowball into major problems. There?s also issues that can arise if you misunderstand or underestimate the time it will require for different tasks to be completed effectively, or if your priorities aren?t laid out in a way that aligns with your situation. It also doesn?t help that distractions are everywhere, trying to draw your attention away from these priorities. Fear and Overwhelm Finally, we have to address the fact that procrastination is often a direct result of stress, either coming from a perception of too many tasks (refer back to the disorganization we discussed above) or from a fear of failure (refer back to the aforementioned malicious perfectionism). Avoiding tasks for these reasons is prevalent in many, many businesses, creating problems at every level. In Short, Procrastination Tends to Be a Symptom of Systemic Problems Next, we?ll address how procrastination doesn?t manifest the same way in everyone, and how it can present itself differently amongst different people, so make sure you keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, don?t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more about the tools we can help you implement to help keep everyone on task and productive. Give us a call […]