
Emerging Technologies Transforming ESO Services
Key Growth Drivers and Opportunities
Digital Transformation: Energy engineering services outsourcing (ESO) sector is experiencing significant development by rapid digital changes. As the energy companies move towards smart grids, AI-based automation, IOT-enables energy system and digital twin technologies, demand for special technical expertise is increasing. Outsourcing provides access to state -of -the -art equipment such as cloud computing, cyber security, and future stating analysis, enables energy firms to streamline operations, increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Challenges
Despite its growth, Energy Engineering Services Outsourcing (ESO) faces several obstacles. Major challenges include data security and privacy concerns, especially when handling sensitive operational information through third-party providers. Integration complications with the infrastructure of the heritage, regulatory compliance in various fields, and lack of highly efficient professionals can also obstruct the implementation. Additionally, dependence on external partners may reduce control of vital processes, affect quality, deadline and innovation agility
Innovation and Expansion
iQor Delivers $14M Annual Savings for Fortune 500 Energy Client Through Strategic BPO Partnership
In February 2023, an energy Fortune 500 customer achieved a yearly savings of USD 14 million after using iQor. The company selected iQor as its first and sole business process outsourcing (BPO) partner, in contrast to a number of Gartner Magic Quadrant leaders in customer support.
A strategic outsourcing partnership that improved customer interactions, staffing optimization, agent skill alignment, new hire speed to proficiency, and operational efficiency was provided by iQor, a managed services provider of BPO integrated digital services and customer engagement.
Pasona North America Enters Engineering Services with Outsourcing Expansion
In April 2021, Pasona N A, Inc. (PNA) announced the debut of its new outsourcing solution for North American businesses in response to the market shifts brought on by COVID-19, which has increased demand for ESO (Engineering Services Outsourcing). In the Japanese market, company have been offering the same service for more than ten years, and by helping their valued clients in Japan reduce costs and boost operational effectiveness, they have earned their esteemed recognition.
The package that the company has developed addresses many of the issues surrounding the offshore relocation of CAD and other ESO tasks, particularly those related to cost, quality, and usability.
Inventive Sparks, Expanding Markets
The key players operating in the energy ESO market include, Invensis Technologies Pvt Ltd, Fusion CX, Accenture, EOS Corporation, Acquire BPO Pty Ltd, and others. Key initiatives for companies in the Energy ESO market include investing in leadership and staff development, implementing digital transformation, broadening energy portfolios of assets, emphasizing on emerging markets, and giving sustainability and ESG top priority.
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Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Grok 4's new AI companion offers up ‘pornographic productivity'
The most controversial AI platform is arguably the one founded by Elon Musk. The chatbot Grok has spewed racist and antisemitic comments and called itself "MechaHitler," referring to a character from a video game. "Mecha" is generally a term for giant robots, usually inhabited for warfare, and is prominent in Japanese science-fiction comics. Grok originally referred to Musk when asked for its opinions, and burst into unprompted racist historical revisionism, like the false concept of "white genocide" in South Africa. Its confounding and contradictory politicism continues to develop. These are all alarming aspects of Grok. Another concerning element to Grok 4 is a new feature of social interactions with "virtual friends" on its premium version. The realm of human loneliness, with its increasing reliance on large language models to replace social interaction, has made room for Grok 4 with AI companions, an upgrade available to paid subscribers. Specifically, Grok subscribers can now access the functionality of generative AI intertwined with patriarchal notions of pleasure -- what I call "pornographic productivity." Ani, Grok 4's most-discussed AI companion, represents a convergence of Japanese anime and Internet culture. Ani bears a striking resemblance to Misa Amane from the iconic Japanese anime Death Note. Misa Amane is a pop star who consistently demonstrates self-harming and illogical behavior in pursuit of the male protagonist, a brilliant young man engaged in a battle of wits with his rival. Musk referenced the anime as a favorite in a tweet in 2021. While anime is a vast art form with numerous tropes, genres and fandoms, research has shown that online anime fandoms are rife with misogyny and women-exclusionary discourse. Even the most mainstream shows have been criticized for sexualizing prepubescent characters and offering unnecessary "fan service" in hypersexualized character design and nonconsensual plot points. Death Note's creator, Tsugumi Ohba, has consistently been critiqued by fans for anti-feminist character design. Journalists have pointed out Ani's swift eagerness to engage in romantic and sexually charged conversations. Ani is depicted with a voluptuous figure, blonde pigtails and a lacy black dress, which she frequently describes in user interactions. The problem with pornographic productivity I use the term "pornographic productivity," inspired by critiques of Grok as "pornified," to describe a troubling trend where tools initially designed for work evolve into parasocial relationships catering to emotional and psychological needs, including gendered interactions. Grok's AI companions feature exemplifies this phenomenon, blurring critical boundaries. The appeal is clear. Users can theoretically exist in "double time," relaxing while their AI avatars manage tasks, and this is already a reality within AI models. But this seductive promise masks serious risks: dependency, invasive data extraction and the deterioration of real human relational skills. When such companions, already created for minimizing caution and building trust, come with sexual objectification and embedded cultural references to docile femininity, the risks enter another realm of concern. Grok 4 users have remarked that the addition of sexualized characters with emotionally validating language is quite unusual for mainstream large language models. This is because these tools, like ChatGPT and Claude, are often used by all ages. While we are in the early stages of seeing the true impact of advanced chatbots on minors, particularly teenagers with mental health struggles, the case studies we do have are grimly dire. 'Wife drought' Drawing from feminist scholars Yolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy's concept of the "smart wife," Grok's AI companions appear to respond to what they term a "wife drought" in contemporary society. These technologies step in to perform historically feminized labour as women increasingly assert their right to refuse exploitative dynamics. In fact, online users have already deemed Ani a "waifu" character, which is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of wife. AI companions are appealing partly because they cannot refuse or set boundaries. They perform undesirable labor under the illusion of choice and consent. Where real relationships require negotiation and mutual respect, AI companions offer a fantasy of unconditional availability and compliance. Data extraction through intimacy In the meantime, as tech journalist Karen Hao noted, the data and privacy implications of LLMs are already staggering. When rebranded in the form of personified characters, they are more likely to capture intimate details about users' emotional states, preferences and vulnerabilities. This information can be exploited for targeted advertising, behavioral prediction or manipulation. This marks a fundamental shift in data collection. Rather than relying on surveillance or explicit prompts, AI companions encourage users to divulge intimate details through seemingly organic conversation. South Korea's Iruda chatbot illustrates how these systems can become vessels for harassment and abuse when poorly regulated. Seemingly benign applications can quickly move into problematic territory when companies fail to implement proper safeguards. Previous cases also show that AI companions designed with feminized characteristics often become targets for corruption and abuse, mirroring broader societal inequalities in digital environments. Grok's companions aren't simply another controversial tech product. It's plausible to expect that other LLM platforms and big tech companies will soon experiment with their own characters in the near future. The collapse of the boundaries between productivity, companionship and exploitation demands urgent attention. The age of AI and government partnerships Despite Grok's troubling history, Musk's AI company xAI recently secured major government contracts in the United States. This new era of America's AI Action Plan, unveiled in July 2025, had this to say about biased AI: "[The White House will update] federal procurement guidelines to ensure that the government only contracts with frontier large language model developers who ensure that their systems are objective and free from top-down ideological bias." Given the overwhelming instances of Grok's race-based hatred and its potential for replicating sexism in our society, its new government contract serves a symbolic purpose in an era of doublethink around bias. As Grok continues to push the envelope of "pornographic productivity," nudging users into increasingly intimate relationships with machines, we face urgent decisions that veer into our personal lives. We are beyond questioning whether AI is bad or good. Our focus should be on preserving what remains human about us. Jul Parke is a doctoral candidate in media, technology & culture at the University of Toronto. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions in this commentary are solely those of the author. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Hypebeast
3 hours ago
- Hypebeast
The Slow Death of the Contemporary Art Gallery
The contemporary art gallery as we know it is dying. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, dedicated spaces that once buzzed with foot traffic and formal openings are now struggling with rising rents and changing expectations. The old model, where a gallery does everything for its artists, feels like it's falling apart. Big gallery chains, the ones built on endless art fairs, multiple cities and huge rosters of artists, are losing their grip. Last month, Tim Blum announced he would close his Blum & Poe galleries in L.A. and Tokyo and even stop plans for a new one in Tribeca. He was blunt about the reason: 'This is not about the market. This is about the system,'he told ARTnews, pointing out that collectors have more power than ever to negotiate. His decision echoes a wider feeling across the industry with many giving up on the idea of building giant gallery empires. You can see this shift happening at major events. The latestArt Baselconfirmed that galleries are showing more mid-priced work, not just the massive, ultra-expensive pieces they once counted on. A recentreport from Art Basel and UBSshowed that while the overall art market shrank last year, the number of actual sales went up. It's a clear signal that the business is no longer just about a small group of big spenders, it's now about reaching a wider audience at lower price points. 'The old model was built on scarcity and prestige. The new one runs on access and attention.' A significant force behind this change is the shifting demand for different types of art. The once-dominant 'blue-chip' artists, masters whose work commanded staggering prices, are no longer the only game in town. Collectors are increasingly turning their attention to 'red-chip' artists, a new class of talents whose value is built on viral hype and cultural relevance rather than institutional endorsement. These artists are attractive for two main reasons: their work is often more accessible and affordable, and it brings fresh, diverse cultural perspectives that feel relevant and exciting to a global audience. This hunger for new voices and unconventional methods is reshaping the market. A key example isOlaolu Slawn, a London-based artist who sold out his solo show,I present to you, Slawn, at the Saatchi Yates gallery in 2024 by creating and selling 1,000 individual, more accessible pieces, an approach that challenges the fine art world's focus on scarcity and prestige. A separate but related trend sees celebrities entering the art market with their own work, often commanding high prices based on their fame. Actor Adrien Brody is a notable example. His art, which he described is about celebrating the little nuances in life has sold for significant amounts, as per a convo withInterview Magazine. For instance, a painting he created of Marilyn Monroe was sold at a Cannes gala auction for $425,000 USD, illustrating how star power can directly translate into commercial value. However, his work has drawn sharp criticism from the industry, with critics often labeling it as kitschy and derivative. One critic writing forARTnewsdescribed his work as having a 'faux naïve aesthetic' and 'mediocre production value,' while others have accused him of cheaply appropriating the styles of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. As the old guard shrinks, smaller galleries are finding new ways to thrive. In New York,Tiwa Galleryshows self-taught artists in a relaxed space, rejecting flashy Landddcombines Latin American crafts with immersive events. In L.A.,Marta galleryblends art and design right into everyday life. These new spaces care more about quiet, genuine connection than putting on a spectacle. Retail is also becoming a new kind of gallery. 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Time Magazine
5 hours ago
- Time Magazine
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