Plain English for Lawyers: The Way to a C-Level Executive’s Heart
Why is poor legal writing so prevalent? Jerry Lawson identifies three key reasons: fear, time, and lack of skills, and addresses directly a course to solve the lack of skills issue.
Category «Communications»
AI tools are generating convincing misinformation. Engaging with them means being on high alert
Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University writes: AI tools can help us create content, learn about the world and (perhaps) eliminate the more mundane tasks in life – but they aren’t perfect. They’ve been shown to hallucinate information, use other people’s work without consent, and embed social conventions, including apologies, to gain users’ trust. For example, certain AI chatbots, such as “companion” bots, are often developed with the intent to have empathetic responses. This makes them seem particularly believable. Despite our awe and wonder, we must be critical consumers of these tools – or risk being misled. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI (the company that gave us the ChatGPT chatbot), has said he is “worried that these models could be used for large-scale disinformation”. As someone who studies how humans use technology to access information, so am I.
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 26, 2023
Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them; Global internet connectivity at risk from climate disasters; Zelle fraud claims surge. How can you protect yourself?; and Email security still has a forwarding problem.
What the First Amendment really says – 4 basic principles of free speech in the US
Lynn Greenky, Associate Professor of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University delves into Elon Musk’s claim that he believes in free speech no matter what. He calls it a bulwark against tyranny in America and promises to reconstruct Twitter, which he now owns, so that its policy on free expression “matches the law.” Yet his grasp of the First Amendment – the law that governs free speech in the U.S. – appears to be quite limited. And he’s not alone.
Is It Equitable to Protect Corporate Leaders From Covid-19 More than Employees and Customers?
Augie Ray asks a simple question to encourage you to think more about #COVID19 risks and engage in a discussion about equity in the workplace: If the world’s top business leaders recognize and take precautions against COVID during an ongoing pandemic, shouldn’t they ensure the same for employees and customers? Shouldn’t our companies’ commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion suggest equal treatment for everyone?
55 Select Books on Longevity and Productive Aging
Author, Editor, Speaker, Blogger Bruce Rosenstein shares recommendations on a selected list of literature about an increasingly impactful topic – longevity and productive aging. Rosenstein references one book per author and in some cases it is their most recent book.
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, November 19, 2022
Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Google Settles 40 States’ Location Data Suit for $392 Million; FBI Alert: Watch Out for Subscription Renewal Scams; GAO Science & Tech Spotlight: Zero Trust Architecture; and Employee tracking: From your keystrokes to your emails, here’s what your employer can see.
Presenter’s Guide Series Part III: The Many Benefits of Question Forms
In the third in his series on presentations, Jerry Lawson recommends a simple yet powerful tool that presenters can use to improve presentation quality, especially in some special situations: Requiring audience members to submit all questions in writing.
Using an Infographic to Encourage Deep Reading
Prof. Cindy Guyer, Senior Law Librarian and Adjunct Assistant Professor Law at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, has been experimenting with incorporating infographics in her teaching to present information and knowledge visually, using graphs, flowcharts, timelines, and diagrams, which are components of instructional design.
The highest performing teams have rules
Patrick J. McKenna is a highly respected lecturer, strategist and advisor to law firms. McKenna’s experience has taught him that the best performing teams have discovered to operate effectively they need to formalize what they should specifically be able to expect of each other as members. He calls these expectations the group’s ‘Rules of Engagement’, and in this article he articulates that to be effective, these rules of engagement must be clear, consistent, agreed to and followed. A challenging endeavor in any workplace, but critical to high performing and innovative law firms.