House Democrats and Republicans didnt agree on much during the public hearings held as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. But both sides and the witnesses did utter the same pair of words every day of the hearings 50 times overall. And those two words were conspiracy theory.

From CrowdStrike to speculation about Jeffrey Epsteins death, conspiracy theories have become central talking points in American politics and culture or at least thats how it feels on the internet.

Its common for people to believe in conspiracy theories. So common that recent work suggests everyone believes in at least one conspiracy theory. But being common does not necessarily mean these unfounded assertions are becoming more widely accepted.

Journalists are saying that now is the time of conspiracy theory. But theyve said that almost every year since the 1960s, said Joe Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami who studies the origins and behaviors associated with conspiracy theories. At no time do they present any systematic evidence to back that up.

Five years ago, Uscinski and political scientist Joseph Parent reviewed more than 100,000 letters to the editor received by The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune between 1890 and 2010 arguably the only long-term survey of conspiratorial beliefs. Aside from spikes in the 1890s due to distrust in rising industrialization and during the Red Scare in the 1950s, public belief in conspiracy theories remained stable. Picking up where the survey leaves off, polls show this flat trend has continued over the last decade.

Based on the research that Ive done and that other psychologists have done, conspiracy thinking seems to be a fairly stable predisposition, said Robert Brotherton, a psychologist and lecturer at Barnard College, who studies conspiracy theories. He and other cognitive scientists describe being conspiracy minded or conspiracism to be like any other personality trait, with some people more predisposed and others less so.

Representative Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California and chairman of House Intelligence Committee (left), and Devin Nunes, a Republican from California and ranking member during an impeachment inquiry hearing in Washington, D.C on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019.Photo by Andrew Harrer/Pool via REUTERS

Polling over the last decade has consistently found that most Americans approximately 55 percent believe in popular and unfounded conspiracy theories, such as the idea that the Iraq War was a globalist plot to control oil reserves, or the suggestion that airplane chemtrails are used for mind control.

So why does it feel like we talk about these theories more? Its not a change that originates from our own susceptibility to conspiracy theories, but appears to be the news medias growing attention on them, as exemplified by this passage from Uscinskis 2018 book Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them:

In November 2017, The New York Times published an article with the term conspiracy theories in it nearly every day. For comparison, the Times published zero such articles that same month, forty years prior.

Part of this uptick in news coverage is due to political leaders who are so often invoking conspiracy theories in their rhetoric, Uscinski said. Politicians mentioning conspiracy theories like QAnon, the system is rigged, Russian assets or the deep state seem to break the threshold, and news outlets feel compelled to explain what they are or explore their validity.

An attendee holds signs a sign of the letter Q before the start of a rally with U.S. President Donald Trump in Lewis Center, Ohio, U.S., on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory alleging that President Trump is conducting a purge of non-existent deep state actors from the government. Photo by Maddie McGarvey via Bloomberg / Getty Images

Conspiracy theories are being overplayed in the news, Brotherton said. Conspiracy theories can affect some peoples beliefs and choices, such as with the El Paso shooter or with anti-vaxxers. But for the most part, they dont.

Yet the news medias fascination with conspiracy theories and its regular attempts at debunking them through fact checking may reinforce misplaced beliefs and perpetuate public trust in conspiracy theories. Thats because of how the human brain works and the way messages now echo across the internet and social media.

But done correctly, debunking can combat peoples faith in false conspiracy theories.

Thats why, before you join family members around the holiday table and try to explain why 9/11 wasnt an inside job while grabbing an extra helping of cranberry sauce, you should read PBS NewsHours neuroscience-backed guide to approaching your loved ones conspiratorial beliefs.

People even smart and savvy ones mix up conspiracy theories, falsehoods and myths. Here is the key difference: A conspiracy and by extension a conspiracy theory must involve a group of people conducting secret deeds that disadvantage or infringe on the rights of others.

Conspiracy theories lack public, objective and verifiable proof.

For instance, linking vaccines to autism is a false belief. If you think vaccines cause autism because health officials deem it so, then you believe in a conspiracy theory. Another falsehood is that fluoride is harmful to your body. A conspiracy theory is that fluoride is harmful to your body and a form of mind control perpetuated by government officials.

The central component of conspiracy theories the difference between them and real conspiracies is proof. Conspiracy theories lack public, objective and verifiable proof.

This may be hard to fathom, but conspiracy theories are essential to a well-functioning society. Investigative journalism thrives on exposing conspiracies or what experts call the process of epistemology. That applies to the Panama Papers, the Flint water crisis, the Edward Snowden revelations about domestic surveillance, the CIAs role in the cocaine epidemic in the 1980s, or President Richard Nixons Watergate scandal. Many of those events started as conspiracy theories until their underlying evidence was discovered and made public.

A protestor holds a sign claiming the September 11 attacks on the U.S. were an inside job near the White House in 2007. Surveys show that Democrats are more likely to believe this unfounded conspiracy theory. Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP via Getty Images

Conspiracy rhetoric is a fundamental strategic tool employed in politics across the partisan spectrum. An opposition party typically the party in the minority tends to push the concept that the people in charge are working against the interests of the populace.

Its certainly strategic to say that you are the victim of a conspiracy, that there is a witch hunt out to get you. Because it sort of throws those accusations into a negative light, Uscinski said. It turns the attention away from you trying to defend yourself, to finding the truth. Now the accuser has to defend themselves.

News outlets sometimes cite Republicans as being more prone to conspiracy theory beliefs. Studies find the right and left are actually equally susceptible, but their reasons for adopting such thinking are different. For example, studies show Republicans are more likely than Democrats to believe a conspiracy theory if it fits their ideology.

The problem is not that these conspiracy theories exists, but rather that people blindly trust that these assertions are true without evidence.

Correcting a misconception a falsehood that someone believes is accurate is really hard to do, even if the message isnt as complex as a conspiracy theory, said Nadia Brashier, a cognitive scientist at Harvard University who studies the cognitive shortcuts people use to evaluate the truth.

To understand why people believe in conspiracy theories, you need to ask yourself how the human brain decides any piece of information is true.

To understand why people believe in conspiracy theories, you need to ask yourself how the human brain decides any piece of information is true.

There are three essential keys behind how our brains judge a piece of information as being true, according to a comprehensive review of the current thinking in this field, co-published by Brashier and Duke University cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Marsh in September. Those keys are base rates, emotional feelings and consistency.

The base rate refers to the research-backed tendency of humans to inherently think that what they encounter is true, no matter the circumstance. We are mentally biased toward wanting to believe what we encounter is real. Humans are naturally trustful, rather than distrustful.

Brashier said thats because most of what we confront in our day-to-day lives involves events that are objectively true.

Its not the case that most of the images we see are Photoshopped or even that most of the headlines we encounter are fake, Brashier said. Most of what people tell us interpersonally is true. There might be lies mixed in, but its not the majority of what we hear.

The second key to judging truth emotional attachment helps solidify those misconceptions. Our emotions evolved over millions of years as a survival mechanism. Being able to associate positive or negative feelings about certain colors may have served as a reminder for our primal ancestors about which foods were safe. Social emotions like anger, gratitude and guilt guide how we weigh our welfare versus that of others.

As a result, our emotions help craft our identities, which we defend fiercely, even when were wrong. Look no further than how political divisions influence perceptions of the objective truth.

The third key to judging truth is consistency when our brains encounter the same concept or claim repeatedly, they become more likely to believe it.

As the NewsHour reported in March, political tribalism is one of the strongest motivators for human behavior. We derive pleasure and social capital from being members of a clique, and consequently, our minds exert tremendous energy to signal our beliefs to those who might agree with us.

The third key to judging truth is consistency when our brains encounter the same concept or claim repeatedly, they become more likely to believe it. Brashier said thats why social media has become such a natural habitat for perpetuating conspiracy theories.

Theres always been false advertising or other kinds of misinformation campaigns. It just looks different now with the rise of social media, Brashier said. Social media makes this kind of content quickly accessible to a lot of people.

So even if the base rate has remained steady over time people havent inherently become more skeptical it may feel like conspiracy theories are flourishing because of how they spread on social media. Just think of the echo chambers you see grow in your friends feeds with people piling on misinformation post after post.

Beyond those three keys, researchers point to three more factors. People and echo chambers feed on conspiracy theories because of proportionality bias, Brotherton said. Thats the idea that the bigger an event is, the bigger an explanation we seek.

This does seem to be a fundamental aspect of our psychology. Its intuitively unsatisfying to think that something very small could cause something very big, Brotherton said. That a lone gunman could kill John F. Kennedy, the president of the United States, and change the course of history its not intuitively satisfying. We want to think that there was some much bigger cause.

An inscription reading RIP JFK meaning Rest in Peace, John F. Kennedy adorns a slat of the wooden picket fence at the top of the Grassy Knoll in Dealy Plaza in Dallas, November 22, 2013. The picket fence plays a major role in many conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination, with some theorists believing that one or more gunmen may have fired on the president from behind the fence in addition to suspect Lee Harvey Oswald who was in the Texas Schoolbook Depository building behind the president. Photo by REUTERS/Jim Bourg

In his book Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Brotherton argues this tendency in conspiracy-theory believers is supported by a human desire to search for patterns, especially when it comes to the intentions of others.

If youre more inclined to think about other peoples motives, youre probably a little bit more receptive to conspiracy thinking, Brotherton said. But when people are faced with an ambiguous pattern (whats harder to decipher than another persons intentions?) they try to connect the dots.

Those six elements base rates, emotions, consistency, proportionality bias, intentionality bias and pattern searching help explain why people believe in conspiracy theories. Now the question is, how do you dissuade them from doing so?

1. Accept that you probably wont change their mind. If a conspiratorial belief is foundational to a persons identity or understanding of a certain subject, it will be extremely difficult to displace. After debunking, we often see what we call the continued influence effect, where [that] original false belief persists, Brashier said. That can happen even if a person knows and can recount the actual facts.

Moreover, there is a hot debate right now in cognitive science over whether repeating misinformation in order to correct it makes things worse. Thats known as the backfire effect, and there is support both for and against it.

If the backfire effect exists, then people might forget or ignore the context of a fact check and be left with a stronger belief in a conspiracy theory. Some recent research in neuroscience shows that peoples brains can store an original piece of misinformation and a correction at the same time, but the memory of the correction fades at a faster rate.

2. Be kind. That said, if youre going to try to correct a conspiracy theorist, one important thing to keep in mind is that you dont want to ostracize them. Ostracism actually encourages people to believe in things like superstition and conspiracy theories in the first place, Brashier said.

CrowdStrike is a California cybersecurity company that investigated how the Russian government hacked into the Democratic National Committee network and leaked emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election. A debunked conspiracy theory about CrowdStrike has been invoked in the ongoing impeachment proceedings. Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

3. Do your homework. Correcting someones thinking can work if a piece of misinformation can be replaced with something concrete, Brashier said. But the need for replacement facts also explains why some popular falsehoods can be so hard to combat.

Scientists have shown repeatedly that vaccines dont contribute to autism, but they also arent entirely sure what actually causes autism. So it becomes hard to replace vaccines cause autism with something else, despite loads of evidence supporting vaccine safety, Brashier said.

4. Push the objective truth, whenever you can and as early as possible.

Take more time than a single dinner to make your point about the objective truth. Remember, consistency is one of the reasons people trust an idea, even if that idea includes misinformation.

Conspiracy beliefs are hard to switch back and forth, Uscinski said. If somebody has a strong belief in something, youre not going to change their belief just by giving them one piece of information or having one conversation with them.

Brashier added the ideal scenario is preventing our friends and families from falling prey to misinformation in the first place. In news media and academic publishing, corrections seldom if ever reach as many people as the initial publication of a falsehood. But Brashier said we can train our friends and family to be less vulnerable to fake news.

Taking a little more time to rethink gut reactions improves accuracy. Some of my recent work suggests that we should ask ourselves, Is this true? Or, Does this fit with facts that I know? Brashier said. This prompts people to internally fact check, by comparing a claim against facts stored in memory.

This task may be as simple as telling your relations to seek better information, or by pointing out that most conspiracies are revealed by journalistic endeavors or legal investigations and not in chatrooms nor on social media.

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How to keep conspiracy theories from ruining your Thanksgiving - PBS NewsHour

Leaders from more than 40 psychological associations across the globe agree that climate change is a serious global threat.

The representatives met in Lisbon for the first-ever International Summit on Psychologys Contributions to Global Health earlier this month. Summit participants signed a resolution and committed to conduct further research, obtain more cross-cultural data, and launch advocacy campaigns.

PsyGlobalHealth agreed that climate change is a serious global threat. The representatives also said that climate change is occurring faster than previously anticipated, and is contributed to by human behavior.

Participants spent nearly three days discussing the impact of climate change in their respective countries. They workshopped plans for advocacy, potential media campaigns, and further research. They also developed a toolkit to meet the goals laid out in the resolution.

The resolution included specific commitments to inform our respective members and the public about climate change. Signatories agreed to continue emphasizing scientific research and consensus on its causes and short- and long-term harms.

The organization says psychology is important in helping people adapt to climate change. Psychologists can help to build resilience, foster optimism, cultivate active coping, increase preparedness, and emphasize social connections.

Psychology as the science of behavior change must be actively involved, said Arthur C. Evans Jr., Chief Executive Officer of the American Psychological Association. There are psychological consequences in terms of the anticipatory challenges and in terms of how we help people recover after climate events.

The summit included representatives from, Brazil, China, Cuba, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, South Korea, and Uganda.

Climate change is affecting communities around the world, and PsyGlobalHealth is just one of the organizations taking action. Schools and universities, in particular, are implementing new environmental policies.

At the University of Sheffield, a course on climate change is compulsory for all students. The university will also embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the curriculum for every single course at the university.

From the start of next year, Italian public schools will spend nearly an hour a week learning about climate change and sustainable development. Students will also study traditional subjects including maths and physics with an emphasis on sustainability and the climate.

Summary

Article Name

Psychologists From 40 Countries Say Climate Anxiety Is a Global Threat

Description

The new International Summit on Psychologys Contributions to Global Health says it will study climate change, the climate crisis, and global warming.

Author

Liam Pritchett

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LIVEKINDLY

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Psychologists From 40 Countries Say Climate Anxiety Is a Global Threat - LIVEKINDLY

As artificial intelligence drives a fourth industrial revolution, fears and doubts about AI are pervasive. In the first industrial revolution, machines began replacing manual labor, and there were human concerns over the change. Here is demystifying AI. Whats fiction and whats worth the fanfare?

At hand today, in the fourth industrial revolution, are rational and irrational fears. With any new radical thinking and ideas, disruption in the status quo and an influx of unknown information people have fear. Think caveman and fire. Great idea but it was scary because it was unknown.

To embrace and benefit from AI, its important that we take a moment to reflect on the lessons of past technological change in order to better plan for minimizing risk. We want to maximize the value of AIs increasing importance.

In addition, we also must find ways to convince skeptics that AI, ultimately, will help people in innumerable ways.

When machine production began replacing some types of manual labor in the 18th century, unemployment rose for a period of time. But thats not the whole story, and not whats happening now.

Implementing new technologies changes human jobs, but it doesnt necessarily remove them. We see the new AI technology as a great addition to most human jobs.

The data bear this out: Gartner has made a case for just how many jobs AI will add, claiming that, by 2020, AI will take 1.8 million jobs and replace them with 2.3 million new ones. Thats a net gain of 500,000 jobs. AI will benefit our employment landscape.

What these jobs will look like is described somewhat in a PricewaterhouseCoopers study gauging the long-term impact of AI. While PwC found that there will be some job displacement, as some positions would be made redundant by AI technologies, new jobs will be created.

PwC also predicted a need for new types of workers who will focus on thinking creatively about how AI can be developed and applied [and to] build, maintain, operate, and regulate these emerging technologies.

It will be exciting to watch a whole new landscape of creative tech jobs unfold due to advancements in AI. For example, theres already an emerging field dedicated to AI marketing tools that specialize in helping businesses take that creative and targeted next step.

Beyond concerns of job loss and job change, though, are some general stressors about what it means for AI to be better than humans at just about everything in a little over 40 years. If youve read any sci-fi novels or seen any sci-fi movies in which Robot Overlords are in control, this fear will be familiar.

Realistically, though, there are some places AI cannot, and will not, go. For example, the Gartner study found that attempts to have AI replace sales associates at real estate agencies will be unsuccessful. Most individuals prefer interacting with knowledgeable people over interacting with machines. We associate more pleasing experiences and empathy with real humans.

For example, have you called for help with a transaction and found yourself responding to computer prompts? That is AI in action. Customer service call centers are a huge AI success story, and its not because the tech is replacing humans.

The success is because tech is helping humans to provide better customer service. Helping each other, especially in tech support is an important distinction that still may feel a little sci-fi but is to everyones great benefit.

The fact is that AI isnt trying to be human. Just ask your AI device: Alexa, would you pass the Turing test? Shell respond: I dont have to. Im not pretending to be human.

For centuries, businesses have been about tangible things: brick-and-mortar places, hardware, stuff. Now, what businesses capitalize on is more nebulous. Dollars are realized by how well customers are treated, how well their data is protected, and how trustworthy they feel a business is.

Among the three tied-together concerns, privacy is paramount, and theres no way to sugarcoat it. Tools such as facial recognition expose valid concerns regarding a persons right to privacy.

These fears are discussed a lot today with regard to the use of such tools in crime-stopping. And in many cases, its unclear what a persons rights are or will be, as the legal system hasnt caught up to the technology with regard to the transparency, procedures, and other concerns at play.

When a customer uses a free tool think Google or Facebook their data is gathered and their patterns monitored, and all of this information is fed into machine learning tools. No surprise that all of it is used to create targeted ads.

Consumers of these free sites waive their rights to privacy, effectively allowing this type of data mining. The data mining softwares terms and conditions are ones that most agree to blindly. These terms are seemingly impossible to opt-out of at this time if you want to use that tool.

Then, the big data sets created by customers of freeware isnt used only in such seemingly-innocent ways as target marketing. Machine learning algorithms can track behavior patterns across apps and platforms, creating a semblance of human behavior that can be used in more nefarious ways.

Wed be naive to think that isnt a possibility, even a likelihood. Ethical debates about AI and the privacy challenges it presents are ongoing. As AI is used more and more, such ethical debates will heighten. Undoubtedly, there will be legal challenges, too. All of these things in tandem will define AIs boundaries.

While AI could ruin privacy, I dont think its going to. Customers arent going to spend their money in places that will allow their data to be exploited in ways that undermine their interest.

As AI grows and changes our jobs, business, and lives what do we need to worry about, if not these myths?

We need to worry about the people who will be left behind by tech advances instead of seizing opportunities to learn and improve from such advances. We also need to worry about dispelling fear and increasing buy-in.

What we stand to realize from AI is far greater than what we stand to lose. It has life-saving potential, even: Stanford has published that AI is better at predicting pneumonia than radiologists are.

As more and more of these kinds of advances are discovered and embraced, well realize that just as the first industrial revolution raised our overall quality of life, so, too, will this one.

Fear will lessen and trust will build in AI as a necessary and welcome part of our future.

Curtis Peterson, the SVP of Operations at RingCentral, has more than 20 years experience managing information technology and carrier-scale data and packet voice communication networks. At companies ranging in size from startups to Fortune 500 firms, Curtis has managed teams responsible for engineering, project management, automation, operations, data security, network security, data center, carrier operations, and internet backbone design and operation. Curtis has been a pioneer in VoIP services in the business communications space and has been developing, launching, and operating Class 4 VoIP and customer-facing hosted PBX systems since 2002.

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Demystifying AI: Whats Fiction, and Whats Worth Fanfare? - ReadWrite

Automation is no longer the future, for it is the present. From autonomous home appliances to delivering food, from luggage check-ins at airports to automatic check-in at hotels, from doctors appointment booking to doctorless surgery, automation has become an integral part of our everyday living.

Customer service is no exception to automation. A survey by Gartner predicts that more than 80% of customer handling will be done by autonomous systems. The deployment of AI-powered automatic systems is not only going to benefit your customers (by enhancing customer experience) but will have a tremendous performance improvement of your agents. Agents can avail virtual assistants to go through rigorous data searches easily, saving time and effort.

Thishassle-free support system enhances customer satisfaction and reduces agentdistress. Powered by smart systems agents become even smarter and the reducedresolution time with increased accuracy saves a lot of expenditure on thesupport paradigm of your business.

Ifthis wasnt enough, virtual assistants today are backed by ArtificialIntelligence that can handle most queries on its own. So now as anorganization, you can fully automate front end support. Your back-end team canavail the required information automatically to enhance performance andaccuracy. This paves the path to AI-powered resolutions occurring in real-time.Here are 10 reasons why AI-powered automated customer support is the future:

Alot of startups dont have the resources to empower themselves with AI-backedcustomer support. Because of this organizations can produce a tremendous amountof revenue. All they need to do is to find a win-win situation while providingAI-backed customer support service.

Andthe fact that the new age businesses prefer opting for automated servicesrather than manpower-oriented services, provides the perfect timing to come upwith an AI-powered customer support center.

Itcan be developed once and delivered it to multiple organizations which makes ita revenue stream of indispensable income at a fixed investment.

Thefact that this is primal of the win-win situation which is considered as the boonof new age success for any organization itself speaks for the importance ofautomation of customer services. When combined with the tremendous bettermentit brings along for the organization acquiring the service, it brings about thebest possible mutual growth scenarios that b2b organizations thrive for. Theimplications of AI-powered automated customer support are monumental, to saythe least.

Asa customer, a company gets to enjoy the benefits of automation that may takeseveral weeks and a generous amount of expenditure. This can be availed at a fractionof the cost to build it. Also, when acquired as a service, it is available onan immediate basis.

Thesetwo factors when combined not only saves expenditure but the valuable time thatcan be utilized at developing business. As for developing business (startups),since the elementary need is business development, they will opt for such aservice any time of the year.

Soundoubtedly automated customer service is one of the best and in-demand ideasto generate revenue.

Thesuccess of apple can be credited to Steve Jobs understanding of customerrequirements. To put it exactly in his words People dont know what they wantunless you give it to them. Artificial Intelligence can bring this to realityat the customer support paradigm.

BecauseAI-powered customer support systems can track user behavior at every minor step, when powered with deep learning, these systems can predict theproblems that may be faced by your customers way before they even face it. Oneway to do this is by realizing how your brand interacts with your customers orvice versa.

Thebiggest advantage of having an automated customer support system is that it canaudit an unending list of applications and websites. When backed by artificialintelligence, an automated system can figure out the elements of distress thatmay be faced by a customer during the whole process. When realized, aresolution may be preempted before even the query is raised.

Thesesolutions may be offered with virtual assistants or added as a part of the FAQsto smoothen customer queries. This greatly enhances customer retention rates ascustomers can get pre-emptive messages about the problem they might face.Imagine having a resolution delivered to yourself about a problem you are yetto encounter! Will you ever rather choose a different service?

Mostbusinesses today have already opted for automated message delivery. Because ofthis they can provide a better customer service. As soon as a customer opts forany service, the automated system can deliver the conformation, invoice andother relevant information instantaneously.

Thisalso helps the organization by reducing the manpower that would have beeninvested in delivering messages and maintaining the customer database. Becauseof automation of messaging, organizations are now able to automate databasemanagement. Delivered messages are automatically stored in the database and canbe easily pulled out for future references.

Messagingservices have overtaken not just social media, but all digital platforms thatsend messages. Be it your cab service, hotel service, airline service, fooddelivery, or banking for that matter, they all utilize automated systems todeliver the messages, so how can you as a customer tell the difference? Well,you cannot! These messages may come from an autonomous system, but they are ascustomized as customization gets, courtesy of AI.

Thisway organizations can preserve the personalization factor of customersatisfaction even while going autonomous.

Asignificant amount of time and capital is invested in training and hiringsupport agents. One of the biggest hurdles faced by most call centers acrossall industries is staff attrition. Staff attrition is a fancy way to elaborateon the reduced strength or effectiveness of a call center that may occur due todecreased employee strength.

Thiscalls for a recurrence of the hiring and training process that requiresreinvesting in the resources already once invested in. This, when combined withthe increased customer handling time, caused because of frustrations thatdevelop in the course of elongated call, leaves a bad customer experience.

Whencompared against the automated service available at the fraction of the priceof setting up once own call center, the former is unequivocally superior. Also,even if your employees are very satisfied, there may be an alteration orrevision of the process following which the employees need to be retrained.

An AI-backed service center, however, is built to be able to cope up with thechanges (at worst, requiring minor reconfiguration). Combine all of this whilestill emancipating your workforce from the mundane tier-1 tasks, you not onlysave capital but are able to utilize your workforce at more complex problemsthat still cant be resolved without human intervention.

Whilea company needs to follow the respective government regulations in defining itscustomer support policies, it can utilize the automated counterpart of humanagents which is not bounded by any regulations. The implications of this areimmense. The most prominent of these encompasses catering to your customerseven on public holidays!

Thereis an add on advantage of time efficiency. What may require a few days for anagent to resolve can be resolved by an AI-backed automated service in a fewhours. Consequently, the brand image and brand value are greatly enhanced asthe customers feel more satisfied. When topped with the personalization of the cadreof human interaction that comes with automated customer service, it serves asthe perfect icing on the cake.

Automatedservice support backed by AI can provide the ideal service environment thatcustomers stipulate, and organizations solicit. One of the greatest advantagesof using automatic customer support is that it comes with all thepersonalization possibly available with no emotions.

Becauseemotions form an integral part of human nature, a human agent is very likely toget biased by the interaction with a customer. An automated agent, however, isdevoid of these emotions and consequently is capable of catering to customersof all varieties.

Havingsaid this, if you are wondering how then do you cater to a client that mayrequire complex reasoning that can only be provided by humans, well, AI-backedautomated systems have the option of transferring the query to a humanagent/manager shall that be the need of the hour.

Theagent/manager being backed by AI has the minutes of the issues andconsequently, the required beforehand and underlying information at fingertips.This helps them resolve the issue in minimal time possible, with little to nohassle or frustration that may come with handling all the calls from greetingsto thank you note.

Casestudies done for call computerization have shown a significant amount ofreduction in investment when compared against the outsourcing of traditionalcall centers. Outsourcing a call center itself has severe complications. This includesbut is not restricted to limited control of agent monitoring and performanceevaluation.

Ontop of it, with computerized call centers are backed by machine learning andadvanced speech recognition which also boosts the performance of your IVR(interactive voice response).

Thecustomer service paradigm is changing at a faster pace than most companiesimagined. The need to disband human interaction and the fact that most surveysnever saw this coming is exemplary of the new demands.

All of this, when combined with the millennialmentality today makes up for the best of all possible scenarios in handlingcustomers. Millennials dont like talking to a human agent. After all, we aretach-savvy. Nothing suits better to us than getting our problems resolved by aninteractive system that outperforms most humans by a significant margin.

Themost prominent factor for businesses today is adapting to the changing times.Those who dont fall prey to those who do. As a business, it is imminent togauge the requirements of not only the current customer base but also theupcoming customer base. The next generation is going to be even moreself-reliant, and hence the need to adapt to automated customer support wasnever direr.

Organizationscan track and collect customer data from a variety of platforms. This data canthen be processed by Artificial intelligence backed by machine learning, deeplearning together with big data analysis to deliver an outcome not humanlypossible.

Thisrenders personalization redefined. More understanding of human behavior can bederived from automated behavior analysis in minutes than humans can do in evenmonths.

Asimple example of this was in conventional stores. When backed by big data andmachine learning, a weird projection came out. It was to put beer next to babydiapers. This saw increased sales of beer. Upon human inspection, it turned outthat there were a lot more fathers shopping for their new babies than therewere mothers. And consequently, when you put beer next to it, they tend to buyit more often than they would otherwise.

Thisis just one example of how the understanding of human behavior derives thecapital gain of an organization and the role that automation plays in it.

Anothergreat application of automated customer service is that it provides scalabilityoptions that just cannot be matched by human agents. Lets consider a scenariowherein you are escalating your market consequently you need to cater to awider range of audiences with an increased number of customers.

UsingAI chatbots and voice responsive agents an organization can satisfy thesedemands without any significant increase in capital investment. You end up notneeding to hire agents that speak the local language and training those.

Take Away

UsingAI-powered customer service is the primal need for sustainable growth intodays day and age. The dusk of self-service customer support is set to seethe dawn of traditional call centers. Agents are already been backed by AI;they soon will be replaced by AI. This has more significance than just reducingyour expenditure as a business, it is the demand of the current and theupcoming generations.

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10 Reasons Why AI-Powered, Automated Customer Service Is the Future - TechiExpert.com

sourceReuters

The Chinese company that owns the viral video app TikTok is working closely with Chinas government to facilitate human-rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in the western autonomous region of Xinjiang, according to a new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The report, titled Mapping more of Chinas tech giants: AI and surveillance, looked at the way major Chinese tech companies were involved in state-sanctioned surveillance and censorship using artificial intelligence packaged as popular apps and websites.

ByteDance, the parent company of the viral-video sensation TikTok, was mentioned in the report alongside other major Chinese tech companies including Huawei, Tencent, and Alibaba, many of which ASPI wrote are engaged in deeply unethical behavior in Xinjiang, where their work directly supports and enables mass human rights abuses.

China has been accused of running detention centers and forced labor camps in Xinjiang. Interviews with people who were held in the facilities reveal allegations of beatings and food deprivation, as well as medical experimentation on prisoners.

China has acknowledged the existence of some reeducation camps but has repeatedly denied reports of abuse at its facilities.

In its research, ASPI singled out ByteDance and accused it of acting alongside the Communist Party to enforce the countrys strict censorship laws.

ByteDance collaborates with public security bureaus across China, including in Xinjiang where it plays an active role in disseminating the party-states propaganda on Xinjiang, the report said.

ByteDance operates two versions of its viral video app a China-based app called Douyin and the global app TikTok.

TikTok is one of the most downloaded phone apps in the world and has already entered more than 150 global markets.

Previous reports cited by ASPI indicated that Xinjiang Internet Police had a presence on Douyin in 2018 and created a new public security and internet social governance model.

ASPI also cited recent reporting that said Chinas Ministry of Public Securitys Press and Publicity Bureau signed an agreement with ByteDance that allowed ministry and police officials to have their own Douyin accounts to push ministry propaganda. The report also said ByteDance would increase its offline cooperation with the police department, though it was unclear what that partnership would entail.

A representative from ByteDance told Business Insider that it did not endorse police content on Douyin.

As a user-generated content platform in China, Douyin allows individuals, organizations and institutions, including civic and law-enforcement groups, to set up user accounts, the person said. This practice is comparable to how social-media platforms in other countries allow similar organizations, including law enforcement, to create accounts for purposes such as crime-prevention alerts. Douyin does not endorse the content generated by its users, but rather, similar to Twitter or Facebook, provides a platform to all of its users. The person added that ByteDance does not produce, operate, or disseminate any products or services related to surveillance.

A representative for TikTok told Business Insider it does not remove content based on sensitivities related to China.

We have never been asked by the Chinese government to remove any content and we would not do so if asked. Period, the person said. We are not influenced by any foreign government, including the Chinese government; TikTok does not operate in China, nor do we have any intention of doing so in the future.

The TikTok representative added: In TikToks early days, we took a blunt approach to minimizing conflict on the platform, and a previous version of our moderation guidelines allowed penalties to be given for things like content that promotes conflict between religious sects or ethnic groups, spanning a number of regions around the world. The old guidelines in question are outdated and no longer in use. ASPI added that other tech giants, including Alibaba and Huawei, contributed cloud computing and surveillance technologies in Xijiang.

In October, the US blacklisted 28 Chinese organizations and companies accused of facilitating human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. And earlier this month, sources told Reuters that the US opened a national security investigation into ByteDance after its $1 billion acquisition of the US social-media app Musical.ly in 2017.

TikTok has been in the spotlight after suspending the account of a US teenager named Feroza Aziz who posted a viral video on the app that was disguised as a makeup tutorial but criticized the Chinese governments treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

The company apologized in a statement published to its website on Wednesday, saying that it stood behind its initial decision to suspend Azizs account but that its moderation process will not be perfect.

Xinjiang has a population of about 10 million, many of whom are Uighur or other ethnic minorities. In May, US Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver said at least a million but likely closer to 3 million citizens were detained detention camps.

Satellite images reviewed by the Washington-based East Turkistan National Awakening Movement earlier this month identified at least 465 detention centers, labor camps, and suspected prisons in Xinjiang.

And a recent leak of classified Chinese government documents known as the China Cables laid out a manual for exactly how the detention centers were to operate, preventing escape by double locking all the doors and using a points system based on behavior that is linked directly to rewards, punishments, and family visits.

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Report claims TikTok parent company ByteDance is working with Chinas Communist Party to spread propaganda on Xinjiang - Business Insider

Ethan Hunter wants you to know about SafeMode, an Israeli company that helps trucking companies improve driver safety.

Mr. Hunter grew up in Tenafly, and he graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood. Now, hes a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is majoring in history and management.

And he is a student leader of the Tamid Group, a student organization that has more than 50 chapters across the country with some 8,000 participating students. Tamid was founded by students at the University of Michigan as an Israeli investment club in 2007.

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Now, Tamids investment track is complemented by a consulting track, in which students work with Israeli companies.

Im a project manager on the consulting track, Mr. Hunter explained. That has him overseeing a team of three Washington University students working with SafeMode. And it has him speaking regularly with Ido Levy, SafeModes founder and CEO.

Mr. Hunters team was paired with SafeMode through a process in which he applied to several companies that seemed interesting. They posted a description, and I applied with my expertise, he said. Personally, I wanted a mentorship. I wanted broader connections between me as an undergraduate and Israels startup culture.

Mr. Hunter spent last summer in Israel at Israel Summer Business Academy, a six-week Washington University program in Herzliya. He took classes on venture capital and venture creation and the Israeli business ecosystem and met with many Israeli entrepreneurs.

Mr. Hunter and his fellow students work on various tasks for SafeMode, including market research, branding, and search engine optimization. It doesnt have a marketing department, he said. Were working to create social media posts for them to gain them more exposure. Were getting hands-on experience. They dont treat you like an intern. Interns dont exist in Israel its called a job.

Its a very open and inviting environment, which is very different from the U.S. I see it more as a mentorship than an internship. I have no problem sending the CEO a WhatsApp message any time I have a question, he said.

As a project manager, Mr. Hunter comes up with certain metrics and tasks to keep the team on track. A lot of it revolves around reaching out and doing interviews, establishing what SafeMode is, he said. That included his outreach to the Jewish Standard, which led to this story.

Mr. Hunter is using the skills hes learning in his Organizational Behavior 360 course. The business school stresses collaboration; he appreciates the chance Tamid offers him to lead a team. Thats not how we are taught, he said.

So heres the SafeMode story.

It starts, Mr. Hunter said, with $70 billion annually in avoidable costs in the trucking industry. That includes the costs of accidents.

Its a large market, Mr. Hunter said.

SafeMode is a software company that automates the job of a fleet manager. It helps firms monitor their drivers with the goal of improving safety. It accesses the cameras and sensors of different trucks, and drivers can access their driver data through the app. A lot of companies incentivize their drivers for safe driving, but its not always followed up on.

SafeMode claims that by monitoring drivers and rewarding them for safe practices, its been able cut fuel consumption by 4 percent and increase safety by 30 percent.

Thats a lot of money for fleets, Mr. Hunter said. It saves millions of dollars annually in repairs and in lawsuits.

Mr. Levy, SafeModes CEO, said the origins of the company came three months before he finished his IDF service, when a friends mother was killed by a drunk driver.

How could he make the world safer?

Mr. Levy connected with Dr. Erez Shmueli, a researcher in behavioral economics connected to the MIT Media Lab. He researched how we can change human behavior to shift drivers to drive more safely and more efficiently, Mr. Levy said. He joined me, and this is where we started to build the project.

These days, truck drivers are monitored remotely. Every heavy duty must have a connected device that sends data about the hours the driver drives, Mr. Levy said. Thats the most basic component of the monitoring. But trucking companies have installed monitors that detect speeding, acceleration, the distance the driver is keeping from other vehicles, and even cameras to track the drivers alertness.

Thats a lot of data. Fleet managers are overwhelmed, Mr. Levi said. We take all the data and bring it to the driver. We provide an app for the driver to open after every shift and see how they drove, and what they earned as a result of their behavior. They drove more efficiently, or had fewer breaking or speeding events.

The driver gets actual rewards based on their improvement, so they want to improve. For the first time, a driver gets positive engagement from their manager.

SafeMode recently partnered with Volvo.

Volvo makes a lot of 18 wheelers, Mr. Hunter said. Theyre starting to make SafeMode standard on a lot of their trucks.

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'It's called a job' - The Jewish Standard

Photo Source: Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Its everyones favorite time of year. Holidays, travel, family, food, chaos. Its what lifes about. So what better place to learn about human behavior than at a large family gathering or traveling with Aunt Beth, Uncle Billy, and their three children? Perhaps youre stuck in the airport due to a weather delay and your flight is canceled. Turn lemons into lemonade this holiday season and work on developing new characters by people watching, try learning a new accent while waiting, tap into some newfound emotions, be observant, or just be thankful.

With a week to a month off for some, theres enough time to learn a new skill, get introspective with journaling, or give back with community service. Here are some ideas for how young performers can stay active and productive this holiday season.

1. Participate in community service.Instead of receiving gifts this year, give the gift of service. Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving or Christmas, collect gifts for the needy, or participate in a cabaret or performance with a group at a nursing home or hospital. The best way to feel good about yourself is to do feel good things.

2. Go to a museum.One of my favorite plays is Tina Howes Museum, an absurd comedy in which 40 characters react to several art exhibits. No matter where you live there are probably many different types of museums. Have fun watching how others react to art and each other while getting your own inspiration from another art form.

3. See theater.With time off from work or school, its a great time to catch up on live theater. You dont have to live in NYC to see a good play. Professional companies tour many cities across the country and there are plays being produced at your local regional or community theater. Heres a tip if you plan to visit New York. If you want reasonably priced seats to a sold out show, just go to the box office and ask. Seats are released daily and you might just get lucky and score a ticket to Hamilton without paying tourist surcharges.

5 Things You Can Do to Further Your Career During the Holidays

4. Catch up on movies.Who doesnt like seeing a blockbuster movie? If you dont want to spend the money or just feel like hunkering down at home, Im sure your streaming devices have an old flick playing youve never seen. Some of my favorite recommendations for young actors are Paper Moon, Whiplash, Splash, and Blast from the Past.

5. Read! I have a stack of plays to read this holiday season. When reading new playwrights work I often find great scenes and monologues to recommend to my students. Plays read much faster than novels so what are you waiting for!

6. Enjoy nature. We all get bogged down by lifes daily distractions. Embrace this opportunity as you take some quiet time for yourself or with your family. Whether hiking or cross country skiing, enjoy the outdoors and the beauty and solace it brings.

7. Do a puzzle.Not only is doing a puzzle good for brain building, but its a great way to bond with family and friends and get your mind off work.

8. Create a business action plan.Acting is a business and like most successful businesses you need a strategic action plan to succeed. Make sure to check self-submission sites such as Backstage daily so you dont miss out on casting opportunities. Be current with your picture and resume, and start work on your demo reel footage. Create lists of casting directors who accept headshots and resumes, and scour the internet for workshop and performance opportunities.

How to Manage Your Child Actor

9. Write a monologue. Looking for the perfect monologue? Recall a funny or moving story in your life and take pen to paper and start writing. Remember truthful, honest, and real narratives will be the most powerful.

10. Write thank you notes.Its not called Thanksgiving for nothing. Seize the opportunity to remind your child of how many people work to help them have a career.

11. Create a vision board.Who says resolutions dont stick? With plenty of time to plan for the coming year, the holiday break can be a great opportunity to organize your ambitions and make sure youre ready for the next cycle of auditions and classes. Vision boards can really help motivate you for your work as an actor and remind you of your goals, making it more likely that youll find success in whatever areas you decide to pursue. So what are you waiting for? Grab some scissors and get crafting!

Ready to get cast? Check out Backstages kids auditions!

The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.

Denise Simon is a New York-based acting coach and career consultant who has been involved in the entertainment industry for more than 30 years as an actor, teacher, director, casting director and personal talent manager.

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11 Ways Young Actors Can Be Productive This Holiday Season - Backstage

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Patrick Drohan, associate professor of pedology in Penn States College of Agricultural Sciences, gave a keynote address at the Catchment 2019 conference in Wexford, Ireland, in early November.

He was invited to speak based on research he led, published in the Journal of Environmental Quality in June this year, that offered a global perspective on phosphorus management in agriculture, focusing on lessons learned about nutrient pollution and future directions in the United States and Europe.

The Agricultural Catchments Programmeworks with more than 300 farming families across Ireland to maintain and improve water quality. The project is funded and coordinated by Teagasc, the Irish governments Department ofAgriculture, Food and the Marine, which aims to lead the sustainable development of a competitive, consumer-focused agri-food sector and to contribute to a vibrant rural economy and society.

The sustainable management of phosphorous is at the center of global food and water-security agendas, Drohan noted. Within the food system, the farmer is at the forefront of daily decision making in phosphorous management, ensuring that the nutrient efficiently reaches crops while preventing excess phosphorous from entering water bodies where it can result in eutrophication.

Examples are the so-called dead zones that form annually in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico.

Tackling the challenges we globally face in maturing as a civilization, in producing food is as important to villages in Ireland as it is to the most remote parts of the world, he told attendees at the Catchment 2019 conference. I am hopeful about our future, and you should be, too. We have solved many of the basic food-production challenges the globe faces.

The big, complex, agriculture-related problems remaining, Drohan added, are largely human-behavior issues governments can address, but only if their constituencies are educated to think critically and elect world leaders who can think critically.

I have no doubt that solving these problems requires far harder work than any of the soil and water sampling, or planting or harvesting we have done, he said. We must change as individuals, as communities, as countries and that is hard, requiring support from governments and a village, here in Ireland and around the world.

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International ag expert, Drohan, gives keynote address at conference in Ireland - Penn State News

As with many plots that are set in the future, it is compelling for a viewer to compare the present to this fictional world. Regardless, it is hardly a reliable method for predicting the future, which can be highly affected by a writers subjectivity. Faye, for instance, was alive in 2014 - a time when both cryogenic technology and commercial space travel were possible. Other differences in the human culture in the anime differ further from that which is seen in the 21st century.

RELATED: 10 Anime That Deserve a Live-Action Series More Than Cowboy Bebop

Occasionally, though, the show will intersect with the present, either with a feasible technology that fits current standards, or the patterns of human behavior demonstrated in the show that are like those of the present. Today, we're going to examine the moments where Cowboy Bebop resembled our present and times when its future predictions seemed way off.

Lets start with the most obvious- spaceship piloting technology. Given how easy it is to travel outer space within the Bebop universe, it stands to reason that, in the early 30th century, flying in space is just a standard form of transportation.

The dangers of space, itself, are treated casually as well, seeing as is Spike able to quickly transition between ships (without a spaceship, mind you) by holding his breath and plugging his ears. Currently, though, the kind of space travel that is demonstrated in Cowboy Bebop is far more realistic in terms of fiction than it is in actual reality.

In the episode Brain Scratch, the crew learns of a virtual reality tech that has the capabilities to digitalize a human soul and thus turn people into brainless zombies. A plot like this carries immense negative connotations about VR, but the contradictory surge of popularity the technology now receives tells otherwise.

RELATED: 10 Sci-Fi Anime From the 90s Everyone Needs to See

VR gaming has been particularly successful, since the traction it has gained due to the development of new games that complement this technology. Only time will tell whether it will eventually backfire, as well.

Cryogenic tech has been a common device in plots to explain how a person from the past could exist in the future, sans time-machine. This was no different for Cowboy Bebop, which used the tech to explain how Faye could have been from the past yet look so young.

Sadly, cryogenic tech is still far from the point of being able to revive frozen cells; so its still just a storytelling device.

The main form of currency in the Bebop universe is a Wolong- of which the worth is never fully disclosed. With the occasional watermelon sale as the exception, most of the transactions in Cowboy Bebop are done digitally.

RELATED: Cowboy Bebop: 10 Spike Quotes We Should All Live By

Bitcoin is, of course, are a clear reflection of this cryptocurrency, even though only one can be used varyingly. You cant buy a watermelon with a Bitcoin.

In a world of regulatory space travel, it is hardly surprising that Cowboy Bebop has visited many different planets in the series. Not all of them were habitable, though, and most of the attention was devoted to Mars (the least being given to Earth).

The very idea that Cowboy Bebop did not bother working in the logic for visiting gas giants, like Saturn, just goes to show the likelihood that this will be the case for actual colonization.

Although some technology in Bebop might not yet be feasible, there is at least a consistency in dynamic responses between old and new tech. The responses between people generally vary with age, though the exception would be tech enthusiasts.

RELATED: 10 Things You Need to Remember Before Cowboy Bebop Comes to Netflix

The episode Speak Like A Child, for example, featured an obsessed technician, who was speechless after Spike kicked a beta max in an attempt to fix visual clarity. Given how delicately people treat technology, though, its hard to not sympathize with the enthusiast.

A common alternative to spaceships on the show are hover cars. The number of people driving hovercars in the series implies as well that they have been in use for a long time; as opposed to their real-world counterparts.

Hovercrafts certainly exist in the world, but they are not applied in the same sense as a car is for distance, which is how the show uses hover cars. This may not be the case forever, though.

Many conversations between Bebop characters were had through screens- either between those who were flying out in space and those in the Bebop or between cowboy and client. The idea of communicating with someone visually was an advanced type of communication, which bombarded representations of a highly technological future.

RELATED: Cowboy Bebop: 10 Hidden Details About the Main Characters

Now, however, the common use of Face Time and Skype has dramatically diminished the revolutionary connotations this originally had. Now people have the benefit of seeing up the nostrils of a friends nose, without having to be physically present.

The adorable quality of the corgi Ein automatically grabs attention, and it would seem obvious that most would be happy to have him as a companion. This was not at all the case, however, as his net worth of 2 Wolongs had most turning their nose at him, or worse, think of him in terms of a potential meal.

Watching how little most people thought of Ein, as well as the very idea of eating him, clearly contradicts the devotion that the people of the present demonstrate for their dogs. It could be then that people have outgrown the pleasures of having a pet or regard them more as pests than pals. Ironically, though, Corgis are notoriously expensive.

Lets not pretend that being a bounty hunter in this world is not cool - Spike Spiegel is practically the epitome of being cool. The attractive quality of a freelance cowboy in the Bebop universe has the potential for constant excitement, exploration, and just plain freedom.

The truth is, though, real bounty hunting is not very lucrative, nor is it that attractive, for that matter. Instead of Jet the black dog, you have Dog the Bounty Hunter. In all honesty, though, would you want to live in a world as volatile as Cowboy Bebop? Yeah, I would too.

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Cowboy Bebop: 5 Ways The Anime Predicted The Future (& 5 Things It Got Wrong) - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Reflection, and the clarity that can come after it, are the ultimate luxury in our harried and distracted times. Beyond bringing about a personal sense of peace, taking time to analyze and articulate our experiences provides a demonstrable edge when it comes to performance.

Some of us seek illumination by jetting to Myanmar for a 10-day silent retreat. But most of us must prompt our evolutions within the confines of scheduled lives, so our quests for clarity can at best be squeezed into an early morning or a free evening. However, thats not an impossible amount of time to find what you need, according to the CEOs of Synthesis, a leadership and talent development company based in New Jersey and Tel Aviv.

We all crave synthesis. We want to get to the one or two or three things that matter most and figure out how to move the dial on those, says Synthesis co-CEO Shirley Schlatka. We all want to cut through the layers.

Schlatka and her co-founder, Inbal Arieli, say they have developed a method to do just that. Using principles derived in part from the Israeli militarys psychological assessments of new recruits for special forces units, combined with insights theyve acquired over decades as lawyers working in business, they have built a model for prompting that precious reckoning we need in order to evolve.

Officially, Synthesis helps cultivate leadership and team potential. Its a unit of True Talent Advisory, an executive search firm based outside Philadelphia. Companies hire Synthesis for help with evaluating potential and existing leaders, and with developing teams and talent. Coaches guide clients as they formulate agile action plans, teaching them how to analyze themselves in order to make better decisions.

The assessment and coaching process is designed for individuals in a business context. Unofficially, though, its a program anyone might try to improve the quality of their lives, the CEOs contend.

The idea is to develop a mindset that cultivates reflection and intention, providing clarity in a rushed and confusing world. The process is designed to train people to become comfortable with ambiguity, Arieli says.

The founders of Synthesis are longtime friends with very similar interests and paths. Both served in leadership roles the Israeli Defense Forces, in prestigious units. Arieli was a lieutenant in an elite intelligence unit, and Schlatka was an officer in the Air Force. They met at Tel Aviv University in the late 1990s, where they studied law and economics, both drawn to the two topics for the insights they offer about humanity. Law and economics is basically the study of human behavior, Schlatka says. Law is the study of our norms and values and economics examines our choices.

After university, their path diverged. Schlatka went into marketing in the US, working first for FedEx and then for a consulting firm before getting an MBA at Harvard Business School. She remained obsessed with the notion of valuable choices, trying to figure out why people make the decisions they do and how to improve the underlying process to ensure better outcomes.

Arieli practiced law in Israel, and pivoted to business a few years later, serving as the director of corporate development for defense-electronics company RADA Electronic Industries, then heading up the legal department at the startup Modu Mobile. In the interim, she got an MBA at Tel-Aviv University. Like Schlatka, Arieli was interested in better understanding herself and the people around herwhat motivates us and what slows us down, and whether its possible to isolate the characteristics that lead to success and fulfillment.

When the two women became colleagues at a Tel Aviv startup in the new millennium, the local tech industry was booming. Israel had been dubbed a startup nation, a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in a tiny state in the Middle East, drawing international investors in droves despite being a political lightning-rod globally. Evolution, it turns out, doesnt depend on endless time to reflect and unlimited resources.

The friends felt they were part of a phenomenon that theyd been studying for decades, since their military training in the Israel Defense Forces: potential was blooming in the desert, and theyd been considering how to cultivate it long enough to start testing their methods.

Synthesis was formed in 2016, with employees chosen using the method the founders had developed and had been testing with various funds and accelerators in the four years before the company opened its doors.

The process involves a psychological assessment and then sessions with a coachwith meetings every three monthsto turn the insights gained into an agile action plan to accomplish the goals that have been set. The assessment itself is based in part on IDF methods, and the Synthesis approach is especially Israeli in certain respects.

In Israeli culture there isnt much separation between the personal and professional. We dive right into things, Schlatka explains, conceding that the Synthesis process can feel edgy or brusque, too intimate too fast perhaps, especially in a professional context. It requires being clear and direct. There is no foreplay, she jokes, adding, No. Dont write that.

Her joke reflects some truth though. There is a shared intensity to the Israeli experience. Almost everyone serves in the military. Kids have to change very quickly into adults at 18, and the military must make educated guesses about where these untested young people will not only survive but thrive.

When Israeli youth enlist, they take a battery of tests, including psychological assessments that attempt to measure potential. Because these are teenagers, the military looks at what their qualities and characteristics might represent, rather than relying on past achievements and relevant credentials like education or work experience.

The assessments are designed to slot soldiers into important jobs that they are not yet trained for and will only hold for two or three years. Knowing who will be a quick study is key in a system that needs to account for continual turnover. Thats also what companies need now, say the Synthesis CEOs.

High turnover, once frowned upon, is now commonplace, and technological innovations are rapidly changing the business landscape. So businesses seek nimble people who are simultaneously focused and disciplined, yet not rigid. They must also be open to transformation. For leaders and teams to thrive in highly changeable environments, they must be able to handle ambiguity, be adaptable, assimilate information quickly, and shift quickly.

To the extent that the Synthesis assessments rely on IDF methods, they borrow from the militarys forward-looking approach and its focus on potential, rather than credentials, says Arieli, who trained intelligence officers during her military service. The military generally brings to mind hierarchy and formality and commands, she says, but given the turnover situation, the Israeli military is structured similarly to the job market and faces similar constraints.

Despite their connections to their birthplace, both CEOs, with a charming vehemence, say they are agnostic to Israel, noting that most of their coaches and clients are in the US and Europe. They say that their method is universal, and their mindset international. Fundamentally, they insist, people are pretty much the same everywhere.

When you go deep, you see that people of all kinds have a lot more similarities than differences, and who we are is less associated with culture and identity than with different types, Arieli says. Her belief in humanity and our potential has only grown over the time shes spent trying to figure out what makes us tick. I already started at a positive point but Im an even stronger believer in human connectivity than ever before, she says.

Before I ever spoke to the Synthesis CEOs, I tested out their process. To be honest, it was awkward. But thats part of the point.

Practically speaking, the process is painless. After receiving introductory emails from Synthesis, I was sent my portion of the assessment to fill out. There were no multiple choice questions, no scales of one to ten to rate my traits, no word limits, and no rules to speak of.

The first step was essentially answering a series of questions similar to essay prompts. The queries were deliberately open-ended, asking about my history and aspirations, and aspects of work and life, leaving me to fill in the blanks as I liked. It did not distinguish much between the personal and professional. My directions were simply to reflect and write. I was given a couple of weeks to send in my replies.

I was intrigued by these mysterious psychological assessors using IDF methods and what theyd reveal to me about my potential, as both a journalist and as a human. But as a reporter, I always have much to write, most of it not about myself. So I wrote quickly and impatiently, having long ago grown bored with the details of my life and eager to get back to what makes me happiest, scribbling my way through a thicket of facts or trying to concretize an abstract concept.

I sent back my responses the same day I received the questionnaire. In retrospect, its obvious I was not following the spirit of the instructions. I failed to let the questions stew, didnt mull them over time, didnt reflect very much before writing, though this is clearly part of the intended process.

Immediately after sending off my responses, I longed to take them back, and not just because there was more to say, or because by hurrying, I was missing the opportunity to garner valuable insights. I also felt exposed, and maybe even slightly resentful of the fact that I had opened myself to these strangers assessments.

That feeling, I now realize, is part of the personal reckoning that the Synthesis process is designed to prompt. Each person who answers the questions may react differently, and their reactionwhether resistance or eagerness or even indifferencetells them something.

In that interim period, I reconsidered my answers. The questions were still working on me, my responses revising themselves in my head from one day to the next. I should have said that, Id think, and then again regret having responded at all.

Thats part of the experience, Schlatka told me weeks later. You start the development work yourself.

The Synthesis CEOs may be agnostic about Israel, but I cant say I felt the same way when I took their assessment. Indeed, the process forced me to think an awful lot about Israel, the country where I was born but not raised.

In the two weeks between sending in my answers and receiving a report from Synthesis, I ruminated about immigration and origins, languages and borders, the person I might have been had I grown up in Tel Aviv and not Boston. While waiting for my report, I realized that I seemed to want approval from faceless strangers, and that I wanted it precisely because they were Israeli and had lived some of my possible alternate lives. And that bothered me.

No matter though. Because when the report came, I didnt get the desired confirmation.

The assessors were perceptive and generous in many regards, but they noted I was generally elusive and possibly immature, a Peter Pan character with no apparent deep ties. My written responses revealed little about my psychology, it seems, except to the extent that there was a marked absence of revelation. My disinterest in the details of my existence left little personal material to work with, just a list of adventures.

After the initial stingfeeling like I had failed some Israeli litmus test for human connectiona sense of triumph creeped in, as if I had outwitted these alleged master psychologists (its a feeling I invite experts to illuminate; your letters are welcome).

The only problem is that when I met with my Synthesis coach, Laura Hunt Newman, to discuss the report, I had some explaining to do. My literary coyness didnt make it easy to prepare for our discussion, and she had to scrap her proposed plan when she discovered that in person I am terribly effusive and all too inclined to provide details.

To her credit, she proved the Synthesis method and her agility on the spot, changing her action plan when we realized that the assessment alighted on something very important (in other words, I outwitted no one). My disinclination to discuss certain personal details reflects a similar reticence in my employmentIll happily whip up an article on almost any topic but shirk discussions of whats bothering me until Im so annoyed that Im afraid of what I might say when I do articulate.

Its a recipe for disaster! I exclaimed.

Newman talked me down, convincing me it wouldnt be the end of the world to express myself before reaching a boiling point. We spent about 90 minutes chattingshe couldnt shut me up and didnt try, extending our time. We discussed what I might work on. About a week later, she sent me a detailed plan based on the exchange.

In the six weeks since I met with Newman, there has been some shift in my approach to communication. Take this story, for example. It almost didnt publish in time to be part of this series on the new science of talent!

I hate missing deadlines and much prefer to pull an all-nighter than to explain a failure to produce writing in a timely fashion. But I asked for an extension, though it pained me greatly, and I even detailed why I needed it, which pained me even more because I I loathe offering justifications. Nothing disastrous happened. The extension was granted.

Undergoing the Synthesis process didnt prompt instant illumination or make it less painful to speak up, andI havent checked my agile action plan to make sure Im on track. But I can tell there isan extra pause in my thought process, slowing down those moments when Im tempted to rush habitually so that I can choose whether or not to articulate my needs.

That is success by Schlatkas measure.

You dont have use the labels of an agile action plan. Its more a way of thinking, being more intentional she says. People use the mindset, not the forms. They use the ideas, not the vocabulary. Its theirs once they do it.

Schlatka has used this approach to help her son figure out social situations at school. Say he wants to become friends with someone, they analyze why and figure out the steps he might take to become closer to this person, and they reassess based on results. We chose to focus on the specific business context, but its useful for couples and families, in diplomacy, anywhereand its not meant to be used in a stiff way. Its natural, she says.

Ultimately, the goal is simply to become more intentional. So a space must be created for awareness and analysis, to help ensure our choices align better with our values, desires, and aspirations. Arieli and Schlatka argue that their program differs from other approaches to executive assessment precisely because its not purely academic but based on their experience studying humans being tested in difficult, fast-changing environments, and blossoming.

With just a few years in business, Synthesis has only limited evidence of its methods success, the CEOs admit. They plan to soon publish research validating their work, and meanwhile point to anecdotal examples as proof, like claiming to have helped to drive up the valuation of a client company from $180 million to $250 million in a year by applying the Synthesis process to assist the board in choosing and coaching a new CEO.

Based on what is reported by those who undergo the process, and the results of teams that have used what is learned to create plans and see them through, Arieli says, they are confident about their method. Its a program for evolution and people are intrigued by the journey, she says. Given an opportunity to invest in themselves and to get some guidance, people tend to respond positively, she adds.

The idea is to push people to their optimal level of discomfort in short bursts, forcing the kind of transformations we long for but usually shirk because we think were too busy. The point, Schlatka says, is to develop a plan for sustainable change. She contends that the change will happen in however much you time you allot for it, if youre trained to be thoughtful.

We create value by pausing in this intense life, Schlatka says. We live in a world with a lot of noise and a lot of data, and figuring out what matters most and what will move the dial is the difference between a fulfilled life and just surviving.

Excerpt from:
The Synthesis test for executives borrows from IDF assessment methods - Quartz