Microsoft’s annual developer conference called ‘Build’ is likely to be held in Seattle, the US, from May 23-25, as the Satya Nadella-run company doubles down on AI and ChatGPT driven products.
A Twitter leaker published a marketing image of Microsoft Build dates that is slated to be ulasan film in-person this time.
The company was yet to make the dates of its flagship event official.
Last year, Microsoft’s annual developer conference Build was limited in-person as well as in full virtual format.
Microsoft Build is where developers, architects, start-ups, and students learn, connect, and code together, sharing knowledge and expanding their skillset, while exploring new ways of innovating for tomorrow.
With so much buzz around AI chatbots, Microsoft is set to showcase more innovations in AI.
Microsoft has already introduced its new Bing powered by “next-generation” ChatGPT AI, and also updated its Edge browser with new AI capabilities.
The AI-powered Bing search engine has surpassed 100 million daily active users, as ChatGPT’s integration into Bing has helped the company grow its usage within a month like never before.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Nadella said in January that the next major wave of computing is being born as we turn the world’s most advanced AI models into a new computing platform.
How one of the biggest worry of laid off H-1B workers may be over
A presidential advisory sub-committee has recommended the federal government to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from the existing 60 days to 180 days so that the workers have enough opportunities to find a new job or other alternatives. “The immigration subcommittee recommends the Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to extend the grace period for H1-B workers, who have lost their jobs, from 60 days to 180 days,” Ajay Jain Bhutoria, member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, said on Tuesday.
In his presentation, Bhutoria highlighted the significant challenges faced by H1-B workers laid off from their jobs. The current 60-day grace period presents numerous hurdles, including finding a new job within a tight timeframe, complex paperwork for transferring H1-B status, and delays in processing at USCIS, he said.
As a result, many H1-B workers are forced to leave the country which could result in a loss of skilled labour for the United States, he told members of the advisory commission.
Bhutoria, in his presentation, strongly advocated for the extension of the grace period, citing the need to support highly skilled tech employees who he said are essential to the economic growth of the United States. The extension would also provide affected employees with more time to navigate the complex and time-consuming process of finding new employment opportunities and transferring their H1-B status, he said.
Members of the commission, recognising the importance of supporting and retaining highly skilled tech employees, supported the move.
Engineers who joined in-person perform better than remote workers
Engineers who joined Meta (formerly Facebook) when its offices were open performed better than those who joined the company remotely amid the pandemic, its Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stressed.
According to him, the early analysis of performance data suggests that engineers who either joined Meta in-person and then transferred to remote or remained in-person performed better on average than people who joined remotely.
“This analysis also shows that engineers earlier in their career perform better on average when they work in-person with teammates at least three days a week,” said Zuckerberg in a memo, in which he announced to further cut 10,000 jobs and close around 5,000 additional open roles that it has not yet hired.
“Our hypothesis is that it is still easier to build trust in person and that those relationships help us work more effectively,” he added.
As part of its ‘Year of Efficiency’, Meta is focusing on finding ways to make sure people build the necessary connections to work effectively.
“In the meantime, I encourage all of you to find more opportunities to work with your colleagues in person,” said Meta CEO.
He said that we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that this new economic reality will continue for many years.
“Higher interest rates lead to the economy running leaner, more geopolitical instability leads to more volatility, and increased regulation leads to slower growth and increased costs of innovation,” Zuckerberg noted.
Tech firms, Wall Street lead job cuts in Corporate America
Meta Platforms Inc became the first Big Tech firm to embark on a second round of mass layoffs, as Corporate America continues to cut costs in anticipation of a global economic downturn.
Interest rate hikes by global central banks to tame stubborn inflation have weighed on consumer and corporate spending, affecting the outlook for companies from Amazon.com Inc and Walt Disney Co to Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley.
This has sparked widespread job cuts. Layoffs by U.S. companies between January and February touched the highest since 2009, according to a report by employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Here are some of the job cuts by major American companies announced in recent weeks.
TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA AND TELECOM SECTOR
Meta Platforms Inc:
The Facebook-parent said it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go 11,000 employees.
IBM Corp:
The software and consulting firm said it will lay off 3,900 employees.
Spotify Technology SA:
Music streaming service Spotify is cutting 6% of its workforce, or roughly 600 roles.
Alphabet Inc:
Alphabet Inc is eliminating 12,000 jobs, its chief executive said in a staff memo.
Microsoft Corp:
The U.S. tech giant said it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023.
The company laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions in October, Axios reported, citing a source.