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Fast Company
a day ago
- Politics
- Fast Company
3 things the pronatalist movement gets wrong about birth rates
Pronatalism—the belief that low birth rates are a problem that must be reversed— is having a moment in the U.S. As birth rates decline in the U.S. and throughout the world, voices from Silicon Valley to the White House are raising concerns about what they say could be the calamitous effects of steep population decline on the economy. The Trump administration has said it is seeking ideas on how to encourage Americans to have more children as the U.S. experiences its lowest total fertility rate in history, down about 25% since 2007. As demographers who study fertility, family behaviors, and childbearing intentions, we can say with certainty that population decline is not imminent, inevitable or necessarily catastrophic. The population collapse narrative hinges on three key misunderstandings. First, it misrepresents what standard fertility measures tell us about childbearing and makes unrealistic assumptions that fertility rates will follow predictable patterns far into the future. Second, it overstates the impact of low birth rates on future population growth and size. Third, it ignores the role of economic policies and labor market shifts in assessing the impacts of low birth rates. Fertility fluctuations Demographers generally gauge births in a population with a measure called the total fertility rate. The total fertility rate for a given year is an estimate of the average number of children that women would have in their lifetime if they experienced current birth rates throughout their childbearing years. Fertility rates are not fixed—in fact, they have changed considerably over the past century. In the U.S., the total fertility rate rose from about 2 births per woman in the 1930s to a high of 3.7 births per woman around 1960. The rate then dipped below 2 births per woman in the late 1970s and 1980s before returning to 2 births in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the Great Recession that lasted from late 2007 until mid-2009, the U.S. total fertility rate has declined almost every year, with the exception of very small post-COVID-19 pandemic increases in 2021 and 2022. In 2024, it hit a record low, falling to 1.6. This drop is primarily driven by declines in births to people in their teens and early 20s —births that are often unintended. But while the total fertility rate offers a snapshot of the fertility landscape, it is not a perfect indicator of how many children a woman will eventually have if fertility patterns are in flux—for example, if people are delaying having children. Picture a 20-year-old woman today, in 2025. The total fertility rate assumes she will have the same birth rate as today's 40-year-olds when she reaches 40. That's not likely to be the case, because birth rates 20 years from now for 40-year-olds will almost certainly be higher than they are today, as more births occur at older ages and more people are able to overcome infertility through medically assisted reproduction. A more nuanced picture of childbearing These problems with the total fertility rate are why demographers also measure how many total births women have had by the end of their reproductive years. In contrast to the total fertility rate, the average number of children ever born to women ages 40 to 44 has remained fairly stable over time, hovering around two. Americans continue to express favorable views toward childbearing. Ideal family size remains at two or more children, and 9 in 10 adults either have, or would like to have, children. However, many Americans are unable to reach their childbearing goals. This seems to be related to the high cost of raising children and growing uncertainty about the future. In other words, it doesn't seem to be the case that birth rates are low because people are uninterested in having children; rather, it's because they don't feel it's feasible for them to become parents or to have as many children as they would like. The challenge of predicting future population size Standard demographic projections do not support the idea that population size is set to shrink dramatically. One billion people lived on Earth 250 years ago. Today there are over 8 billion, and by 2100 the United Nations predicts there will be over 10 billion. That's 2 billion more, not fewer, people in the foreseeable future. Admittedly, that projection is plus or minus 4 billion. But this range highlights another key point: Population projections get more uncertain the further into the future they extend. Predicting the population level five years from now is far more reliable than 50 years from now—and beyond 100 years, forget about it. Most population scientists avoid making such long-term projections, for the simple reason that they are usually wrong. That's because fertility and mortality rates change over time in unpredictable ways. The U.S. population size is also not declining. Currently, despite fertility below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman, there are still more births than deaths. The U.S. population is expected to grow by 22.6 million by 2050 and by 27.5 million by 2100, with immigration playing an important role. Will low fertility cause an economic crisis? A common rationale for concern about low fertility is that it leads to a host of economic and labor market problems. Specifically, pronatalists argue that there will be too few workers to sustain the economy and too many older people for those workers to support. However, that is not necessarily true—and even if it were, increasing birth rates wouldn't fix the problem. As fertility rates fall, the age structure of the population shifts. But a higher proportion of older adults does not necessarily mean the proportion of workers to nonworkers falls. For one thing, the proportion of children under age 18 in the population also declines, so the number of working-age adults—usually defined as ages 18 to 64—often changes relatively little. And as older adults stay healthier and more active, a growing number of them are contributing to the economy. Labor force participation among Americans ages 65 to 74 increased from 21.4% in 2003 to 26.9% in 2023 — and is expected to increase to 30.4% by 2033. Modest changes in the average age of retirement or in how Social Security is funded would further reduce strains on support programs for older adults. What's more, pronatalists' core argument that a higher birth rate would increase the size of the labor force overlooks some short-term consequences. More babies means more dependents, at least until those children become old enough to enter the labor force. Children not only require expensive services such as education, but also reduce labor force participation, particularly for women. As fertility rates have fallen, women's labor force participation rates have risen dramatically —from 34% in 1950 to 58% in 2024. Pronatalist policies that discourage women's employment are at odds with concerns about a diminishing number of workers. Research shows that economic policies and labor market conditions, not demographic age structures, play the most important role in determining economic growth in advanced economies. And with rapidly changing technologies like automation and artificial intelligence, it is unclear what demand there will be for workers in the future. Moreover, immigration is a powerful—and immediate—tool for addressing labor market needs and concerns over the proportion of workers. Overall, there's no evidence for Elon Musk's assertion that 'humanity is dying.' While the changes in population structure that accompany low birth rates are real, in our view the impact of these changes has been dramatically overstated. Strong investments in education and sensible economic policies can help countries successfully adapt to a new demographic reality.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
David Ellison is coming to Paramount with Silicon Valley cash. Can he save a classic studio?
As a deep-pocketed producer, David Ellison helped breathe new life into Paramount franchises including 'Mission: Impossible,' 'Star Trek' and 'Top Gun.' But can the high-flying son of a billionaire make a full-fledged media company airworthy again? Can he use Silicon Valley money and movie business know-how to restore the legacy of one of the entertainment industry's original studios, following a deal clinched through an act of political appeasement? Those are the questions Hollywood talent, studio rivals and insiders will be asking as Ellison takes the controls of the new Paramount, after regulators finally approved the long-awaited $8-billion merger with his Santa Monica production company Skydance Media. The deal — two years in the making, and approved by the FCC only after a $16-million settlement with Trump and promises to mindwipe any trace of DEI from the company — is expected to close Aug. 7. After that, Ellison, backed in large part by his father, Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, will bring in his own team to face the daunting challenges. Chris McCarthy, the architect of Paramount's recent streaming strategy, is out. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon head Brian Robbins is also expected to exit while CBS chief George Cheeks is staying. The incoming management team includes former NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell, who is currently a heavyweight at Ellison's bidding partner RedBird Capital. Skydance Chief Creative Officer Dana Goldberg will run the film studio, and former Netflix executive Cindy Holland will play a major role at the new company. Also joining is Sony Pictures movie executive Josh Greenstein. This may be a different team from the one that labored under outgoing controlling shareholder Shari Redstone, but it'll be contending with most of the same problems. Paramount is dogged by issues buffeting all legacy media companies, including the decline of traditional TV ratings, the post-COVID-19 realignment of the theatrical box office and the escalating costs of sports rights, as my colleague Stephen Battaglio and I reported last week. Those difficulties were exacerbated at Paramount by chronic underinvestment and years of shambolic leadership, as corporate governance experts have long pointed out. Ellison has direct experience with movies, having produced many of them, including some of Paramount's biggest hits (as well as some notable flops). He's less steeped in running TV channels and streaming services, which have urgent needs. The scion is also coming in to make good on a promise to investors: to find $2 billion in cost cutting, which will mean layoffs and disruption. Paramount+ has been growing, thanks in part to the NFL, CBS shows and a run of original hits including 'Landman,' '1923' and 'Tulsa King.' But the service has lost money for years, and the app is clunky. (It's expected to reach full-year U.S. profitability in 2025.) McCarthy spent big bucks on talent, including Taylor Sheridan and the creators of 'South Park,' enough to make Matt Stone and Trey Parker billionaires, according to Forbes. Analysts say the service will need substantial investment in content and technology to make it competitive while also partnering with other companies to increase its reach through discounted bundles and other initiatives. The new owners will have to decide what to do with the cable channel business, which includes such eroding brands as MTV, BET and Comedy Central. Many observers tend to assume Ellison will eventually spin those off, following the lead of NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. In a sadly comical reminder of what can happen with a merger gone wrong, David Zaslav's Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday announced that the two companies resulting from its pending breakup will be called — wait for it — Warner Bros. and Discovery Global. TD Cowen analyst Doug Cruetz, in a recent note to clients, speculated that Ellison didn't buy the Paramount assets just to 'break it up for parts.' We'll see. Another looming and potentially costly issue is the NFL's relationship with CBS Sports. The change of control will trigger an early renegotiation of Paramount's contract with the league once the transaction closes. That's important because the NFL has significant leverage in dealmaking, considering that its games account for the vast majority of most-watched programming on television. Ellison has promised to bring technological enhancements to Paramount. That would mean a more functional app for Paramount+ and an improved personalized recommendation system. It might mean using tech to make movies cheaper and faster. A year ago, Ellison noted a partnership between Skydance Animation and Oracle to build a so-called studio in the cloud. What technology can't do is pick the movies people want to see, and that's where the new leadership group will have to prove themselves. But the biggest hurdle will be overcoming the stain covering the deal itself after the concessions required to get it over the finish line. Paramount paid a substantial sum to make peace with President Trump, who had sued the company over CBS News' '60 Minutes' interview with his 2024 election rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The case was frivolous, 1st Amendment experts said. But the Redstone family and the Ellisons were desperate to get the deal done. As a result, the new company is starting off on a crooked foundation, as one Hollywood insider put it to me. Stephen Colbert, speaking on 'The Late Show,' called Paramount's settlement a 'big fat bribe.' Days later, he learned that his show would be ending in May. Even assuming the company told the truth in saying that the cancellation was a purely financial decision (i.e., the show was too expensive and it was losing money), the optics were bad. Comedians responded the way comedians do. The 'South Park' team, having secured a $1.5 billion deal to bring the long-running animated series to Paramount+, opened their 27th season with, effectively, a pair of middle fingers raised to Trump and their parent company. The show depicted a flapping-headed cartoon Trump in bed with Satan, similar to its past portrayal of Saddam Hussein, and ended with an AI-generated PSA showing the president wandering the desert and stripping naked, revealing tiny, talking genitalia. The Trump settlement cast a pall over whatever plans Ellison has. CBS News lost key figures in part due to Paramount's push to reach a peace accord with the president (Tanya Simon being named to run '60 Minutes' is seen as a relief). But whatever you say about the corporate behind-the-scenes machinations that took place to make the deal happen, you can't say the artists have lost their spine. In a return to form for Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios, 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' opened with a robust $118 million in the U.S. and Canada and $218 million globally, according to studio estimates, slightly outperforming prerelease projections. This comes after middling results and poor reviews for 'Captain America: Brave New World' and tepid sales (but better reviews) for 'Thunderbolts*.' Last summer's 'Deadpool & Wolverine' was a $1.34-billion hit. Like Deadpool and Wolverine, the Fantastic Four — known as Marvel's first family — came to Disney through the company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox entertainment assets. Fox made three 'Fantastic Four' movies, all bad. 'First Steps' earned mostly positive reviews from critics and fans (88% on Rotten Tomatoes; 'A-' from CinemaScore). The $218-million global opening weekend was similar to that of James Gunn's DC reboot 'Superman,' released earlier this month. That film just crossed the $500 million box office milestone, with a strong $289 million domestically and a less-impressive $213 million overseas. Theaters have been on a winning streak this summer. So far this year, ticket sales are up 12% from 2024, according to Comscore. But the rest of the season looks thin. Next weekend features Paramount's 'The Naked Gun,' Universal's animated 'Bad Guys 2' and Neon's Sundance horror breakout 'Together,' starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie. One marker of a great artist is the number and diversity of musicians who take inspiration from their work. And Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath frontman who died last week, had plenty of admirers who covered his songs. The Times' Mikael Wood already rounded up the Prince of Darkness' 10 essential tracks. Here are some of the best covers, with help from Rolling Stone and Loudwire.
The Diplomat
6 days ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
China's Visa-Free Diplomacy
China now has the most liberal visa regime since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Will it last? In a notable policy change, China, despite its traditionally strict visa policies, has now opened its borders, granting visa-free entry to ordinary passport holders from 75 countries. Starting from June 9, citizens from four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain – could enter China and stay for up to 30 days without a visa. Two other GCC members, the UAE and Qatar, have maintained reciprocal visa-free arrangements with China since 2018. This means that all six GCC countries now enjoy visa-free access to China. Earlier, on June 1, China granted similar privileges to the nationals of five South American countries – Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay – and two Central Asian states, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Ordinary passport holders from these countries can also enter China visa-free for up to 30 days. In most cases, China made these concessions unilaterally – and the list is expanding. China's visa-free diplomacy reflects a broader soft power strategy, aimed at enhancing its international image through increased people-to-people engagement. At the same time, the growing number of countries offering reciprocal visa-free or simplified procedures for Chinese travelers indicates two-way mobility. The trend of major relaxations in China's visa policies started in 2023-24. In late 2024, China offered visa-free expansions to Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, and Japan, with the visa-free stay extended from 15 to 30 days for citizens of these countries. In total, 75 countries now enjoy visa-free travel to China for stays of up to 30 days. These changes were accompanied by complementary efforts to boost international travel: improved tourism services, multilingual signage at major attractions, targeted promotional campaigns, and tourism cooperation agreements. Enhanced infrastructure – improved airports and railways – and the availability of digital translation tools have also made China a more welcoming destination. China's strategy is not just about recovering post-COVID-19 tourism levels; it aims to leverage visa-free travel for a broader economic rejuvenation. China's National Immigration Administration reported that during the first six months of 2025, 38 million foreign nationals made trips to or from China. This was a 30 percent year-on-year increase. Among them, 13.64 million were on visa-free entries, a 53.9 percent increase compared to last year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2025, China's tourism sector (both domestic and international) will contribute a record-breaking 13.7 trillion yuan ($1.93 trillion) to the national economy – the highest level ever, over 10 percent above pre-pandemic figures. The sector will also sustain 83 million jobs. Sluggish domestic consumption, despite efforts to stimulate consumer spending, has been a challenge for a long time. Chinese authorities view the visa-free policy, and the resulting boost in inbound international travelers, as part of the solution. Following the broad opening, China introduced incentives to encourage greater spending by travelers. Beijing facilitated departure tax refund services, encouraging more businesses to become tax refund shops and expanding the range of goods eligible for tax refunds. These measures make shopping in China more attractive to foreign tourists. High-tech items, such as smartphones, smartwatches, and drones, are among the products that will soon be eligible for tax refunds. To tackle the significant barriers for foreign payments, China expanded payment options, allowing certain foreign bank cards to be linked to WeChat and Alipay, China's ubiquitous digital payment services. But it's not all smooth sailing. International visitors to China face challenges in terms of internet access, with many global social media apps and websites blocked. Tourists may struggle to use Chinese alternatives that often lack English support and require a local phone number. However, foreigners using their home country's SIM card with international roaming can access the internet. Chinese telecom providers also offer SIM cards to foreigners that provide internet access, although the setup process may require extra steps. Despite the move to allow foreign cards to link up with WeChat and Alipay, paying for goods and services can still be challenging. Small vendors and local hotels may not accept foreign credit cards or cash, and many booking platforms and apps are available only in Mandarin. Additional difficulties include cumbersome ticketing processes, limited hotel options for foreigners (not all hotels are allowed to accept foreign visitors), and a general lack of English language support, especially outside major cities. For China, relaxed visa rules also bring a new set of challenges. Beijing worries about potential side effects like illegal immigration, security issues, including terrorism, transnational crime, overstays, a strain on services, and a loss of visa revenue. Perhaps due to these concerns, China's visa-free policy for most of the 75 countries is initially limited to a one-year trial. Based on this experience, Beijing will decide whether to keep the policy or tighten its borders once again. For now, China has the most liberal visa policy since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. This indicates a shift from China's long-standing reputation as a tightly controlled, security-focused state with restrictive entry policies and high levels of suspicion toward foreign influence. Notably, China is opening its doors to other countries as the U.S. enforces stricter visa regulations, including outright bans on the citizens of certain countries. The visa liberalization is likely to support China's diplomatic efforts, especially in promoting people-to-people exchanges and showcasing its rich cultural heritage, while also bringing economic benefits. A newly welcoming stance to foreign visitors has the potential to significantly impact China's overall image in the world.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Here's why sales of Mumbai's luxury apartments priced above ₹40 crore have softened in H1 2025
While the Mumbai real estate market has reported several blockbuster deals in the luxury apartments segment post-COVID-19 pandemic, sales of apartments priced above ₹40 crore have softened in the first half of 2025 compared to the last two years, according to data from India Sotheby's International Realty and CRE Matrix. Mumbai real estate update: While the city has reported several blockbuster deals in the luxury apartments segment post-COVID-19 pandemic, sales of apartments priced above ₹ 40 crore have softened in H1 2025. (Picture for representational purposes only)(Pexels) According to data, nearly 35 units priced above ₹40 crore were sold in the first half of 2025, a slight dip from 38 units sold during the same period in 2024, and 50 units in H1 2023. In contrast, the second half of 2024 saw a surge, with 53 units sold in this segment, compared to just 16 in H2 2023. In calendar year 2022, 17 units were sold in the first half and 19 in the second half, indicating a steady rise in ultra-luxury home transactions over the years until the recent moderation. Sales of homes priced between ₹ 10 crore and ₹ 40 crore increase While sales in the above ₹40 crore units have softened a bit in the last year, the data indicates that sales for units in the price range of ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore and ₹20 crore to ₹40 crore have grown constantly. In the calendar year of 2022, 465 units were sold in the ₹10 crore to ₹40 crore range, which went up to 591 units in 2023 and 788 units in 2024. According to the data, 466 units were sold in the ₹10 crore to ₹40 crore price range in the first half of 2025. The data shows that several areas, such as Prabhadevi, Worli, Byculla, Tardeo, Bandra West, and Lower Parel, contribute to sales of luxury apartments above ₹10 crore in the Mumbai real estate market. Also Read: Mumbai luxury housing sales up 11% in H1 2025, driven by HNIs and lifestyle upgraders Is there a slowdown in the ₹ 40 crore+ luxury apartment segment? According to experts, there are signs of a slowdown in the ₹40 crore and above luxury housing segment. However, they expect sales to remain stable or only slightly dip over the next two years. Sales in this segment surged significantly post-COVID-19, but the market now appears to be stabilising as demand levels off following years of activity. "In the ₹40 crore-plus luxury housing segment, Mumbai's High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs), many of whom have built fortunes in stocks, startup sale, gold, silver, cryptocurrency, etc, have already made their move over the last five years, settling into high-end residences. Around five or ten years ago, the supply of ₹40 crore-plus luxury homes was much less than what it is today," said Abhishek Kiran Gupta, co-founder and CEO, CRE Matrix. Also Read: Housing sales drop by 19% across nine cities, and supply dips by 30%.; Mumbai sees steepest decline: Report 'We have seen a bullish run in ultra-luxury homes, but considering the upcoming supply in the above ₹40 crore-plus luxury housing segment, I anticipate that demand will either flatten or dip slightly in this segment over the next two years, but a major decline or spike seems unlikely,' Gupta said. "Across Mumbai, we might witness a natural correction, perhaps a 10% softening at a project level, not a location level. One should not expect any drastic collapse in prices. Homebuyers will be spoilt for choice if they are flexible in their expectations. After all, real estate, like every other sector, is cyclical and moves in cycles," Gupta said. Also Read: Lloyds Group's promoter family buys six ultra-luxury apartments in Mumbai's Altamount Road for ₹227 crore Property deals in the above ₹ 40 crore segment in Mumbai In the last three years, several corporate honchos bought properties in the Mumbai real estate market. These included Nadir Godrej of Godrej Industries, the promoter of the wires and cables manufacturer RR Kabel Ltd, and Shreegopal Kabra, among others. Also Read: Year Ender 2024: 5 corporate leaders who invested in the Mumbai real estate market This includes well-known Polyester's CMD buying two luxury apartments in Mumbai's Worli for ₹270 crore, RR Kabel's Shreegopal Kabra and family purchasing two apartments for ₹198 crore in Mumbai's Worli and Nadir Godrej purchasing three apartments for ₹180 crore in South Mumbai. Two months ago, Leena Gandhi Tewari, chairperson of pharmaceutical giant USV, bought two ultra-luxury, sea-facing duplex apartments in the Worli area for over ₹700 crore at close to ₹3 lakh per sq ft, setting a national record. Seema Singh, wife of Alkem Laboratories promoter Mritunjay Kumar Singh, purchased a premium residence for ₹185 crore around three months ago in Worli, Mumbai, among others.
Business Journals
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Automation in the age of austerity: Why local governments are turning to civic tech
For decades, the relationship between government and technology has been complex, with Silicon Valley historically shying away from public sector contracts, instead favoring growth, scale and lean cycles over procurement red tape. But history tells a different story when government inefficiency becomes too big to ignore. After 9/11, a group of technologists who had built anti-fraud tools for PayPal pivoted to national security, working with federal agencies to streamline data intelligence. That effort became Palantir. While national security and defense contracting is an equally vital and lucrative space in terms of government contracting work, it is far from the only area where the government could be looking for help from the tech world. Now, government technology — once a quiet corner of enterprise SaaS (software as a service) — is returning to the spotlight, particularly with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). The drivers? Budget shortfalls, federal layoffs, post-COVID-19 labor shortages and rising public expectations for fast, digital-first service delivery. In Washington, D.C., where local revenues are projected to drop by $1 billion over the next three years, operational efficiency is no longer optional.* One of the most overlooked inefficiencies in modern government operations is returned mail, with over 6 billion mail pieces being returned in the U.S. annually, primarily due to outdated or incomplete addresses.* The consequences of lost mail can range from inconvenient to disastrous: notices like Medicaid or SNAP renewals, tax forms, jury summons and voter materials or critical documents from health care providers and insurers may arrive past billing windows (or not at all). Additionally, private enterprises spend billions on outbound mail that never lands due to outdated addresses. It was this problem — widespread, persistent and largely unsolved — that caught the attention of a pair of D.C.-based entrepreneurs behind a new software venture named Sapphire LLC. After exiting two prior businesses in the private sector, the founders Almustafa El Hillo and Deron Cooper set out to identify high impact but underserved administrative problems in government. Having spent years participating in and watching D.C. government performance hearings and internal oversight sessions, one issue appeared across departments from health care to housing: returned mail. The mail was coming back by the thousands and no one had a modern solution. Enter the first product from Sapphire: a cloud-based platform that automates return mail processing using AI. The product syncs with an organization's existing address book or CRM, reads uploaded envelopes, scans USPS databases for change-of-address data and reaches out to recipients automatically to retrieve updated addresses. It then syncs those corrected addresses back into the organization's system. In short, it replaces hours of manual follow-up with seconds of automated processing. The technology is currently patent pending in the U.S., filed under the provisional title: Systems and Methods for Intelligent Return Mail Processing and Address Management. is one of a growing wave of startups emerging with software that doesn't reinvent the wheel — it simply helps the wheel spin faster. Governments at every level are facing personnel shortages and operational bottlenecks. Currently, agencies, public and private alike, must process each returned envelope manually. The current manual process: open it, review the undeliverable code, attempt outreach and then update records — and that's assuming an updated address is even provided. The labor cost is significant, with estimates ranging from $5 to $20 per envelope — multiply that by the thousands (or millions) of mail pieces some institutions send each month and the inefficiency compounds. How can it be integrated into already existing mailroom practices? Currently, the conventional workflow of processing return mail is an email, text and a voice call — all sent out manually. Sapphire has automated this entire process so that an email, text and voice call can be customized to any organization with the push of a button. Specifically for the voice call, Sapphire is utilizing an emerging AI technology that can detect the tone of someone's voice and tailor its responses to better interact with the recipient of the call. According to its founders, utilizing cuts processing times by more than 80%, making it an invaluable new tool for large organizations and their employees alike, who will not have to spend hours tediously searching for updated addresses. While the process itself is being automated, a human will still provide oversight to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. While automation often leads to questions around job displacement, solutions like are tools that empower teams to be more efficient and are being met with increasing interest. This is especially true in cities like Washington, D.C., where operational budgets are shrinking and the cost of inefficiency is growing. Sapphire recently began putting pilot programs in motion, with initial testing beginning with government agencies and university mailrooms, two of the many environments where return mail presents a daily operational challenge. Many Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) firms, from call centers to helpdesks, could benefit from Sapphire's software, which it has developed with It is the first in what could become a suite of products that automate large-scale workflows. In the coming weeks, Sapphire will conduct demos of the product with interested organizations before officially launching it in the next one to two months. If you would like to schedule a demo or learn more about Sapphire and you can contact them on their website. Discover how is helping government agencies and businesses cut costs and boost efficiency with AI-powered automation. Learn more or request a demo at
