♂️♀️AI’s Gender Gap Is Vanishing

In today’s email:

👩 Women are catching up to men in AI use—and it’s happening faster than expected!

❌ AI in the workplace isn’t as loved as you might think. A new study reveals why workers are hesitant to embrace AI and how leadership can change that.

🙊 OpenAI’s legal blunder: Deleted data, lawsuits, and a whole lot of trouble. Get the scoop on the latest legal drama.

Also, Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ad was a big flop👎—viewers say it’s missing the "soul" of Christmas. Do you think the same? Here is the ad:

👩 AI’s New Leader? Women!

The gender gap in AI use is shrinking fast, with women expected to catch up to men in using generative AI by 2025. Here’s the scoop:

• In 2023, only 11% of women had experimented with generative AI, compared to 20% of men. But by this year, 33% of women have jumped in, narrowing the gap to 44% for men.

• Deloitte's research also highlights a trust issue: women are less confident in AI's ability to protect their data (18% vs 31% for men).

• This is partly due to implicit bias—less than a third of AI workers are women, and many feel AI will remain biased as long as it’s a male-dominated field.

• Despite concerns, women’s use of AI is growing faster than men’s, and it’s predicted they’ll reach parity in the next year.

• Women, however, are more cautious with AI tools, especially when it comes to sensitive topics like health and personal finance, fearing security breaches or misuse of their data.

❌ Why Workers Think AI’s Cheating?

AI could be the ultimate workplace superhero—if only more people felt comfy using it, according to a recent Slack study.

AI is hyped as the ultimate productivity booster, but many employees feel awkward using it, worrying bosses might think they’re slacking (ironically, on Slack). Turns out, nearly half of workers feel weird about admitting they use AI for tasks, fearing it might look like cheating or incompetence.

What’s slowing AI adoption?

• No guidance: Workers are left to figure AI out solo.

• Misaligned expectations: Bosses dream of employees using AI for innovation; workers just want it for boring admin stuff.

• Fear factor: Lack of clarity on AI’s role = nervous employees.

Leadership makes a difference:
When managers step up with clear instructions and encourage AI experimentation, adoption rates jump (13% with guidance vs. 2% without). Leaders need to ditch the "sink-or-swim" vibe and actively support AI learning—preferably without making it feel like homework.

Key takeaways:

• Workers want AI skills (72% in the UK are keen), but most haven’t spent much time learning it.

• Companies offering training and a culture of experimentation could attract top talent and close the skills gap.

🙊 OpenAI’s Legal Oops

OpenAI is in hot water with The New York Times and Daily News. They’re being sued for allegedly swiping copyrighted content to train their AI without asking first. To help prove their case, the publishers were given virtual machines (fancy software computers) to dig through OpenAI’s training data. Things were rolling along until... oops! OpenAI’s engineers accidentally deleted a chunk of their search data.

Here’s how it went down:

• What got deleted? All the search data from one virtual machine, where the publishers were looking for their copyrighted stuff.

• What’s the damage? Even though OpenAI recovered the data, the structure and file names were toast, making it useless for tracing specific articles.

• What now? The plaintiffs must start over, wasting a week’s work and effort.

Other cool AI stuff that is trending right now 🔥🔥

🗺️ As countries rush to secure their place in the AI revolution, "sovereign AI" is emerging as the new battleground—where nations strive for total control over their own data, infrastructure, and future, all while trying to keep up with the lightning-fast pace of AI development. - Read more

👨‍⚖️ An affidavit supporting Minnesota’s deepfake law may have been “helped” by AI, with fake sources and hallucinated studies making it look like ChatGPT had a hand in the legal drama. - Read more

🤖AI-powered robots are transforming chaotic distribution yards into smooth, eco-friendly operations by automating everything from trailer parking to brake line connections—improving safety, efficiency, and sustainability in the supply chain. - Read more

🔴 Turns out, all those hours spent hunting Pokémon in Pokémon Go are secretly training an AI to make the world’s robots smarter—who knew your Mewtwo chase could help create a smarter future? - Read more

🎅 Coca-Cola’s attempt at a heartwarming AI-generated holiday ad is causing more grumbles than Christmas cheer, with viewers questioning if the digital elves missed the "soul" of the season. - Read more