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Fast Company
a day ago
- Business
- Fast Company
AI at scale: Why strong governance is your next competitive advantage
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming the heartbeat of modern business operations across industries. Its rapid scaling offers tremendous opportunities for innovation, efficiency gains, and new competitive advantages, but it also introduces significant risks. Left unchecked, use of AI can expose organizations to regulatory breaches, ethical lapses, security vulnerabilities, and reputational harm. Today, the difference between companies that merely use AI and those that thrive with it is the quality of their governance frameworks. Forward-looking leaders recognize governance as a strategic advantage that's essential for enabling the kind of bold, creative innovation that drives lasting business success. The swift adoption of AI has significantly heightened regulatory, ethical, and security risks. In 2024, around half of employees admited to using unsanctioned AI tools, potentially exposing sensitive organizational data to breaches and compliance violations. So it's no surprise that ethical incidents involving AI have seen a marked increase, rising by more than 56% between 2023 and 2024. Effective governance can proactively address these mounting risks, reducing the likelihood of costly, reactive crisis management. Businesses that embed robust frameworks can anticipate and mitigate issues before they escalate, ensuring AI's transformative potential is fully and responsibly realized. HOW GOVERNANCE FUELS GROWTH Some executives perceive governance as a burdensome, additional layer of bureaucracy that slows down innovation. But in reality, it serves as 'the fence around the playground,' the guardrails that allow teams to explore and innovate boldly without constant fear of unintended consequences. Governance doesn't slow progress. It creates a structure that accelerates deployment and builds trust, enabling broader engagement with AI technologies. Rather than being viewed as a barrier, organizations should see governance as a strategic differentiator. Organizations with robust frameworks can confidently scale their AI initiatives, turning potential risks into manageable challenges and opportunities for growth. By establishing the following components, organizations ensure AI governance is both comprehensive and effective: • Privacy and data management: Well-defined, proactive policies show employees how to hande data responsibly. • Ethics and fairness guidelines: Robust structures for detecting and mitigating bias can ensure AI-based decisions remain fair and equitable. • Compliance and legal oversight: Comprehensive systems and procedures ensure adherence to evolving regulatory requirements. • Performance and quality control: Continuous validation mechanisms maintain AI effectiveness, reliability, and alignment with organizational objectives. • Operational oversight: Ongoing monitoring with well-defined incident-response protocols allow organizations to swiftly address emerging issues. • Security and access controls: Stringent safeguards protect AI systems from misuse and unauthorized access, preserving integrity and trust. PUTTING AI GOVERNANCE INTO ACTION With those building blocks in place, here are five steps for putting those principles into practice across the organization. 1. Establish executive leadership and accountability. Create a dedicated, cross-functional governance board. Members should include senior representatives from key departments like IT, legal, operations, and compliance to provide a balanced, comprehensive view of AI risks. 2. Manage organizational change. Support successful adoption by embedding change management into the launch of your AI governance strategy. Engage stakeholders early, offer targeted training, address cultural resistance, and reinforce new behaviors through clear communication and meaningful incentives. A proactive change strategy helps align teams with governance objectives and sustains momentum. 3. Implement risk management practices. Build a comprehensive risk management approach that includes proactive assessments and actionable mitigation plans. Risk evaluation should reflect both the likelihood and severity of potential harm, with governance scaled to match. High-risk initiatives may warrant added checkpoints and closer oversight. 4. Integrate governance into the AI lifecycle. Embed oversight processes throughout the AI lifecycle, from initial development and testing to deployment and continuous operation. This ensures that governance becomes part of the organizational culture—not a last-minute addition. For example, a pre-deployment checklist helps ensure teams implement fairness and privacy requirements before any model goes live. 5. Refine through continuous improvement. Implement structured mechanisms for ongoing governance evaluation, including regular audits, incident reviews, and feedback loops. Use these insights to refine and enhance governance practices, ensuring they remain robust and effective as the AI landscape evolves. YOUR FOUNDATION FOR TRUSTED, SCALABLE AI A solid governance framework gives AI initiatives room to grow while adapting to new technologies, regulations, and risks. The companies that lead in AI won't be the ones that simply deploy it first. They'll be the ones that scale it most responsibly. Governance allows organizations to manage complexity with structure, mitigate risk without slowing progress, and cultivate a culture where AI is both dependable and transformative. In a competitive landscape shaped by rapid technological change, governance is the backbone of scalable, sustainable AI success.
Globe and Mail
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Nanoship: LatamDate Reveals the Latest Trend that Takes Over the Dating World
"Nanoship allows individuals to take a breath, focus on enjoying the moment, and approach others without urgency or expectation." a global dating platform, acknowledges the growing popularity of 'nanoship,' a modern dating trend that encourages small-scale, low-pressure interactions as an effective way to build meaningful relationships. By supporting this shift, provides a welcoming and supportive environment that encourages users to engage gradually and naturally, developing meaningful relationships authentically. More and more dating lingo is piling up in the romance world, and one of the latest additions is the term 'nanoship.' It's when two people enjoy bite-sized romantic moments—like a thoughtful message, casual check-in, or even a shared laugh. The idea is rooted in the belief that romance doesn't always have to start with fireworks. a leading global dating platform, embraces this modern shift. By encouraging users to start with low-pressure interactions, it promotes connections that feel more authentic, relaxed, and emotionally sustainable. Nanoship: Embracing Low-Pressure, Meaningful Interactions Today's daters often feel overwhelmed by high expectations that come with dating, be it online or in person. Nanoship removes the pressure of having to 'wow' someone from the get-go. It's about not overthinking the first move and just going with the flow—saying hello, asking thoughtful questions, or even just sharing a relatable story. The connection is not in those grand moments, but in the 'nano' interactions that matter the most. Nanoship is a return to the basics, making dating feel like a natural exchange rather than a performance. These micro-interactions, which may not seem significant on the surface, can eventually become the foundation of deeper and more lasting bonds. Encouraging Daters to Start Small Rather than diving headfirst into serious conversations or commitments, more people are choosing to test the waters first. Nanoship allows individuals to take a breath, focus on enjoying the moment, and approach others without urgency or expectation. This dating trend aligns with the collective desire for more emotional safety and mutual understanding. It's a gentler path to intimacy, and it's one that many find more sustainable. This way, individuals are able to build relationships rooted in trust, sincerity, and shared values, allowing connections to deepen naturally over time. A Natural Fit for Nanoship LatamDate invites users to embrace the idea of starting relationships with small steps—a quick message, a good conversation, or a small, kind gesture. Through features like Live Chat, Message Translation, and Real-Time Video Calls, users can engage at their own pace. makes it easy to begin conversations without the pressure. For members new to online dating or re-entering the dating world, the nanoship trend is the perfect model, bringing about relationships that go slowly, steadily, and are centered on authenticity. A Word to Modern Daters There is simply no need to impress or rush. Focus on getting to know someone genuinely, gradually, and with sincere openness. Fast-paced dating might only lead to burnout and disconnection. Nanoship feels calm, respectful, and relaxing. After all, great relationships are built over time, not overnight. encourages users to embrace this mindful pace, fostering relationships built to last. is an international dating website, primarily connecting Latin singles with people worldwide. The platform utilizes advanced tools to make the user experience enjoyable and easy. Apart from the standard Live Chat, members of can use features such as EMF Mails, Love Call, Camshare, Video Show, to build meaningful connections.
Arab News
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Where We Are Going Today: Kermal – Lebanese lounge in Jeddah
Located on Al-Kayyal Street in Jeddah, Kermal welcomes you with soft yellow lighting, a cozy interior and vibrant artwork. This Lebanese lounge blends classic flavors with comfort, creating a modern take on a traditional Beirut home. The menu features lots of familiar favorites and a few standouts. We started with the creamy chicken mushroom soup, which was rich and satisfying, served with toast and a squeeze of lemon. The rocaa salad with beetroot was fresh and tangy and made for a simple and pleasant starter. Other appetizers include the shrimp fatteh, which had a crispy, creamy tang thanks to the house salsa and the grape leaves and fried potato cubes with yogurt, which were also very tasty. For mains, the Kermal mixed grill, including juicy lamb chops, tender kebabs and well-seasoned shish tawook served with grilled vegetables, tahini and garlic sauce, was a highlight. Priced at SR135 ($36) it is a generous platter for sharing. The cherry kebab offers a sweet-savory twist and is worth trying, while the sea bass sayadieh was served with fragrant fish rice topped with fried onions and nuts. For dessert, the kashta booza made a refreshing finish — creamy and fragrant with a pistachio crunch. Drinks like the pink mojito and raspberry cooler were sweet and enjoyable. Kermal also has a breakfast menu and lunch deals for options throughout the day. Visit Instagram @ for more details.
The National
11-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Why we need more arts and humanities education in the AI era, not less
For most of modern economic history, 'execution' was king. Ideas were cheap, it was said – everyone had them. What mattered was the ability to execute: to build, to scale, to distribute. More importantly, execution was expensive and a whole domain of science and management studies emerged to make execution more efficient. Investors sought founders who could deliver, not just dream. Societies built institutions to train doers, not dreamers. But that era is ending. In the age of ' Agentic AI ' and autonomous machines, execution is no longer the scarce resource. Machines can now write code, draft business plans, design user interfaces, produce content and even negotiate contracts. Tasks that once required teams of specialists can now be performed by a single person with a laptop and a prompt. The startup founder no longer needs a co-founder who codes. The consultant doesn't need a deck designer. The architect doesn't need a draughtsman. What they need – what everyone needs – is an idea that makes them stand out. In this new landscape, the bottleneck has shifted. Execution is abundant, commoditised and near-instant. The real scarcity now is ideation: the ability to imagine the new, the meaningful, the differentiated. And this kind of thinking comes less from the Stem subjects and more from the arts, the humanities and the social sciences. Ideas are not found in nature. They are not discovered through logic or experimentation. They are created – shaped by metaphor, story, analogy, irony, critique and context. They are cultivated in literature, philosophy, history, anthropology, design and music. They draw on cultural archetypes and human experience before they are converted into logic and formulas. Stem disciplines are essential, but they serve a different function – they test the feasibility and validity of our ideas. Science and technology build on our ideas. Engineering applies them. Mathematics calibrates them. These are disciplines of precision, proof and performance. But the eureka moment that reframes a problem, that imagines a new use, or sees a system from an unexpected angle – that spark lives elsewhere. The arts, humanities and social sciences train people not just to analyse, but to interpret, reimagine and contextualise. In a world where machines are rapidly absorbing the burden of execution, it is these capabilities that will make all the difference. Despite their rising importance, universities around the world have been reallocating resources away from the idea disciplines. In the UK, for example, student enrolment in humanities has been falling: it dropped from 28 per cent in 1961-62 to just 8 per cent in 2019-20. Departments are being closed. In the US, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences reported a 24 per cent drop in undergraduate degrees awarded in the humanities between 2012 and 2022, falling below 200,000 for the first time in more than two decades. This decline is particularly acute in traditional disciplines like English and history. The number of English majors, for example, has plummeted by about half since the late 1990s, while history majors saw a 45 per cent decrease from their 2007 peak. To meet the demands of this new era, we must stop treating the humanities as luxuries. They are not ornamental. They are foundational. They are the disciplines that train people to imagine, narrate and reinterpret a world in flux The decline in humanities enrolment goes beyond the Anglo-American world. In Germany, the Federal Statistical Office – better known as Destatis – reports a 22 per cent drop in humanities students over the past two decades, with their proportion of all university students shrinking from 17 per cent to just 10 per cent by 2023, largely due to a societal push towards Stem and health sciences. Similarly, France, traditionally a bastion for the humanities with about 21 per cent of its undergraduates enrolled in arts and humanities, faces significant challenges keeping up the interest in these fields as they became increasingly as less 'useful' for career paths outside of elite academia. This is a strategic error, a misreading of where value is migrating in the 21st century. It stems from a crude utilitarian logic that assumes that only what is directly applicable is economically valuable. But in the AI era, application is increasingly easier and ideation – that is, coming up with original ideas – is becoming harder. Societies risk losing their comparative advantage as a consequence of underinvesting in the idea disciplines. To be more exact, as they become increasingly capable of doing things quickly, the only differentiator will be the quality, relevance and originality of ideas. It is not all doom and gloom for arts and humanities. According to OECD data, Japan, Italy and Sweden continue to have above 20 per cent of their graduates enrolled in the arts and humanities. Italy stands out in Europe, with 22 per cent of all graduates specialising in literature, philosophy, history, or the arts. This is a significantly higher percentage than many other European nations (Switzerland is 6 per cent and the Netherlands 7 per cent) and suggests that the humanities retain a stronger foothold in Italy's higher education system. This could be attributed to Italy's rich cultural heritage and a traditionally strong emphasis on classical and humanistic studies within its education system. 'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, while imagination embraces the entire world,' Albert Einstein once said. To meet the demands of this new era, we must stop treating the humanities as luxuries. They are not ornamental. They are foundational. They are the disciplines that train people to imagine, narrate and reinterpret a world in flux. Policymakers, universities and employers must invest accordingly. This means funding the very departments being closed. It means integrating arts and social theory into AI and tech curriculums. And it means cultivating talent who can pose better questions – not just deliver faster answers. The future belongs to those who can generate meaning, not merely output. The age of AI is not an age without humans – it is an age where the most human faculties become the most essential.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Forbes
This Floating Pool Sofa Is My Favorite Way To Lounge Outdoors
Summer comes with longer days, warmer nights and that pull to spend every free moment outside. But as much as I love the idea of outdoor lounging, finding the right setup can be harder than it should be. Most outdoor furniture either looks good but isn't comfortable, or it's comfortable but a hassle to move, clean or maintain. That's why the Badesofa Pool Sofa Floating Lounger caught my attention. It looked like something that could do both: fit seamlessly into a modern outdoor space and actually be enjoyable to use. The Badesofa Pool Sofa comes in single and double, both perfect for poolside or in-pool lounging. PHOTO: RETAILERS / ILLUSTRATION: FORBES At first, I was mostly drawn to its look. It has a Scandinavian design that's clean and minimal, and it actually adds something to my outdoor space instead of cluttering it up. But now that I've used it for a few weeks, the appeal goes far beyond aesthetics. While the Pool Sofa looks substantial, it's super lightweight. I can move it without help, which means it doesn't have to live in just one spot. If I want to follow the sun across the yard, I can. If it looks like rain, I can move it under the deck so it doesn't get soaked. That said, you don't have to move it. You can buy a protective cover separately (which I do recommend) that does its job well and stays secure, even when a couple powerful thunderstorms passed through. Comfort-wise, it hits a sweet spot. It's firm enough to sit upright with a book or a drink, but soft enough that you still sink into it. It's filled with shape-retaining beads—similar to those you'd find in a high-end bean bag chair—so it conforms to and supports your body in any position. And it comes with an adjustable back cushion so you can prop yourself up or fully lounge. The only thing missing for me is a cup holder. But here's the real draw: It floats. You can take it from poolside lounger to pool float. I'll admit, I wasn't sure how well it would work, but it does. It stays steady in the water, doesn't wobble and feels so relaxing. It's a world above plastic pool floats that never feel quite comfortable enough to lounge in all day. I thought it might be too heavy to take out of the pool after floating, but it doesn't take on water and I could easily pull it out, thanks to sturdy handles on the side. I also tested it in a lake (although be warned that Badesofa does not recommend using it in a lake) and had the same zen experience. You can relax poolside or use the floating lounger as a pool float. Badesofa And while it looks uber fancy, it's actually quite low maintenance. The outer cover is 100% water- and UV-resistant, and it has a mesh underside to allow water to drain through. It wipes clean easily, dries quickly and doesn't stain or collect debris the way other fabric pieces do. While I do my best to cover it after every use, I've left it out in all kinds of weather, and it still looks great—I chose the lightest color option, too. I've had to spot clean it a couple times with some mild dish soap and water, and marks come right out. In short, the Pool Sofa has become my go-to lounging spot. It's practical, comfortable and well-designed. If you're looking for something that's as comfortable as it looks, this is a rare case where form and function actually meet.
