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From fantastical worlds to personalized Ghibli-esque portraits, social media is flooded with AI-generated images that were created by merely a prompt. But what may be a fun tool for the average user has become an existential threat for graphic design. And yet, surprisingly, graphic design jobs dont seem to be getting eliminatedyet. By analyzing job posting data between fall/winter 2023-2024 and fall/winter 2024-2025, Fast Company found that the number of job listings for graphic designers stayed flat, despite worries about AI platforms eliminating these particular jobs. There just haven’t been very many graphic-design based AI generators yet, says Daniel Lefcourt, visual artist and professor of art and computation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Since 2018, Lefcourt has used AI models in various courses, and for the past four years he has taught Generative Systems, a course that explores how to use generative technology in the design process. The class uses Invoke, a 2-year-old generative AI platform, and Runway. Only now are we seeing Figma and Adobe Illustrator starting to generate designs, and that’s pretty recent, he added. Before that, the tech wasn’t there yet to shift the design field in the same way. The element of trust While AI platforms such as DALL-E and Midjourney can generate overly produced fantasy-like images, it struggles with basic graphic design concepts like typography and uniformity. If you’re using a tool that can’t give you consistent results, that makes it challenging to embrace like a standard tool, says Elliott Romano, who is pursuing an MFA in graphic design at RISD. Romano spent 10 years as a digital product designer at cultural institutions, hardware startups, and enterprise software companies before deciding to be more of a generalist than a specialist when it comes to visual communication. He now explores the creative application of generative tools. I’ll be shocked if, as these things get better, they dont become a replacement of sorts, he says. I see the graphic designer becoming more of a creative director, and being able to come in and move things around. AI is “designed to hit the lowest common denominator” Jody Poole, a digital graphic designer who has spent the past 25 years working on campaigns for brands such as Coca-Cola, Comcast, and Kelloggs, recently shared on Reddit an experience hed had involving AI. He was completing a timed test that had been part of the application for a senior position at a marketing company. The design section of the test, he recalled, included questions like: The client wants you to design this promotional poster, but instead of coffee they want raspberry lemonade. What AI prompts would you use to design this? I was stunned, he said on Reddit. No thought to typography or colour theory or visual hierarchy. Just give us the prompts and let AI do the rest. Still, Poole recognizes that AI might be valuable for the design industry one day, particularly when it comes to translating and adapting a human-made design to reach wider and diverse audiences. There is a tidal wave of change that is happening within technology, and you either have to get out the surfboard and ride the wave, or you’re going to drown, he tells Fast Company. The change might even come with an upside, he explains, likening AI-design with fast fashion, which had the effect of making bespoke designs highly prized. AI is designed to hit the lowest common denominator, Poole says If you can rise above that, even a little bit, you become a unique, valuable talent out there. Lefcourt, for his part, isnt too worried for graphic designers, either. What these tools are doing is shifting us into an entirely new realm of visual culture, he says. To be a trained artist, to understand how images work, and how images are created, from the Renaissance to now, actually positions you pretty well for this new world that we’re entering into. This article is part of Fast Company’s continuing coverage of where the design jobs are, including this year’s comprehensive analysis of 170,000 job listings
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E-Commerce
Every year, I tell my students in my business analytics class the same thing: Dont just apply for a job. Audition for it. This advice seems particularly relevant this year. In todays turbulent economy, companies are still hiring, but theyre doing it a bit more carefully. More places are offering candidates short-term work experiences like internships and co-op programs in order to evaluate them before making them full-time offers. This is just one of the findings of the 2025 College Hiring Outlook Report. This annual report tracks trends in the job market and offers valuable insights for both job seekers and employers. It is based on a national survey conducted in September 2024, with responses from 1,322 employers spanning all major industries and company sizes, from small firms to large enterprises. The survey looks at employer perspectives on entry-level hiring trends, skills demand, and talent development strategies. I am a professor of information systems at Drexel Universitys LeBow College of Business in Philadelphia, and I coauthored this report along with a team of colleagues at the Center for Career Readiness. Heres what we found: Employers are rethinking talent pipelines Only 21% of the 1,322 employers we surveyed rated the current college hiring market as excellent or very good, which is a dramatic drop from 61% in 2023. This indicates that companies are becoming increasingly cautious about how they recruit and select new talent. While confidence in full-time hiring has declined, employers are not stepping away from hiring altogether. Instead, theyre shifting to paid and unpaid internships, co-ops, and contract-to-hire roles as a less risky route to identify talent and de-risk full-time hiring. Employers we surveyed described internships as a cost-effective talent pipeline, and 70% told us they plan to maintain or increase their co-op and intern hiring in 2025. At a time when many companies are tightening their belts, hiring someone whos already proved themselves saves on onboarding reduces turnover and minimizes potentially costly mishires. For job seekers, this makes every internship or short-term role more than a foot in the door. Its an extended audition. Even with the general market looking unstable, interest in co-op and internship programs appears steady, especially among recent graduates facing fewer full-time opportunities. These programs arent just about trying out a job. They let employers see if a candidate shows initiative, good judgment, and the ability to work well on a team, which we found are traits employers value even more than technical skills. What employers want We found that employers increasingly prioritize self-management skills like adaptability, ethical reasoning, and communication over technical skills such as digital literacy and cybersecurity. Employers are paying attention to how candidates behave during internships, how they take feedback, and whether they bring the mindset needed to grow with the company. This reflects what I have observed in classrooms and in conversations with hiring managers: Credentials matter, but what truly sets candidates apart is how they present themselves and what they contribute to a company. Based on co-op and internship data weve collected at Drexel, however, many students continue to believe that technical proficiency is the key to getting a job. In my opinion, this disconnect reveals a critical gap in expectations: While students focus on hard skills to differentiate themselves, employers are looking for the human skills that indicate long-term potential, resilience, and professionalism. This is especially true in the face of economic uncertainty and the ambiguous, fast-changing nature of todays workplace. Technology is changing how hiring happens Employers also told us that artificial intelligence is now central to how both applicants and employers navigate the hiring process. Some companies are increasingly using AI-powered platforms to transform their hiring processes. For example, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia uses platforms like HireVue to conduct asynchronous video interviews. HR-focused firms like Phenom and JJ Staffing Services also leverage technologies such as AI-based resume ranking, automated interview scheduling, and one-way video assessments. Not only do these tools speed up the hiring process, but they also reshape how employers and candidates interact. In our survey, large employers said they are increasingly relying on AI tools like resume screeners and one-way video interviews to manage large numbers of job applicants. As a result, the candidates presence, clarity in communication, and authenticity are being evaluated even before a human recruiter becomes involved. At the same time, job seekers are using generative AI tools to write cover letters, practice interviews, or reformat résumés. These tools can help with preparation, but overreliance on them can backfire. Employers want authenticity, and many employers we surveyed mentioned they notice when applications seem overly robotic. In my experience as a professor, the key is teaching students to use AI to enhance their effort, not to replace it. I encourage them to leverage AI tools but always emphasize that the final output and the impression it makes should reflect their own thinking and professionalism. The bottom line is that hiring is still a human decision, and the personal impression you make matters. This isnt just about new grads While our research focuses on early-career hiring, these findings apply to other audiences as well, such as career changers, returning professionals, and even mid-career workers. These workers are increasingly being evaluated on their adaptability, behavior, and collaborative abilitynot just their experience. Many companies now offer project-based assignments and trial roles that let them evaluate performance before making a permanent hire. At the same time, employers are investing in internal reskilling and upskilling programs. Reskilling refers to training workers for entirely new oles, often in response to job changes or automation, while upskilling means helping employees deepen their current skills to stay effective and advance in their existing roles. Our report indicates that approximately 88% of large companies now offer structured upskilling and reskilling programs. For job seekers and workers alike, staying competitive means taking the initiative and demonstrating a commitment to learning and growth. Show up early, and show up well So what can students, or anyone entering or reentering the workforce, do to prepare? Start early. Dont wait until senior year. First- and second-year internships are growing in importance. Sharpen soft skills. Communication, time management, problem-solving, and ethical behavior are top priorities for employers. Understand where work is happening. More than 50% of entry-level jobs are fully in person. Only 4% are fully remote. Show up ready to engage. Use AI strategically. Its a useful tool for research and practice, not a shortcut to connection or clarity. Stay curious. Most large employers now offer reskilling or upskilling opportunities, and they expect employees to take initiative. One of the clearest takeaways from this years report is that hiring is no longer a onetime decision. Its a performance process that often begins before an interview is even scheduled. Whether youre still in school, transitioning in your career, or returning to the workforce after a break, the same principle applies: Every opportunity is an audition. Treat it like one. Murugan Anandarajan is a professor of decision sciences and management information systems at Drexel University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Difficult conversations are something we tend to avoid at all costs. Whether its about underperformance, conflict, a personal issue, or an unsuccessful job application, entering any difficult conversation triggers fear within ourselves and the person on the other end. Our brains flight or fight mechanism is triggered, with emotions taking the lead, and we frequently find ourselves in defensive mode looking for a win. Whether it be after a keynote at a conference or in a workplace emotional intelligence program, Im often approached by people who are struggling with difficult conversations. Theyre gripped with frustration, fear, and exhaustion when they need to initiate a conversation and address an issue (or, on the other end, when they feel the repercussions of a poorly handled situation). Dealing with emotions in difficult conversations While weve become more focused on emotional intelligence in recent years, we still have a long way to go when we initiate difficult conversations. The language and emotional undertone of the words we use can exacerbate the emotions a person is feelingor help them own it, process it, and move forward. Heres how to have an emotionally intelligent response to the feelings that you may encounter when you begin a difficult conversation with another person, along with what to avoid. 1. Upset Being upset is no different from any other emotion in that it has appropriate and severe levels. We have higher severity levels when fear is driving our emotions, or its something that means a lot to us. Sometimes, our hormones can also be out of whack, meaning that we cry more easily than others. Heres how to receive upset. Your best approach: Getting upset in front of others (especially at work) tends to be embarrassing. Respond to the emotion, rather than the message delivered. Ask: Would you like to take a break, go to the bathroom or get a support person? How can I best support you through this? Avoid: Saying I know how you must be feeling, I know this cant be easy, or I am not loving delivering this message either. Avoid any sentence that starts with I or is related to you. You dont know how your companion is feeling, nor should you assume you do. Its not about you at all. 2. Anger Anger is an intense emotion. Our mind is being driven by our emotional brain, so there is no logic in play. Quite often we cant (or wont) hear anything people are saying until the intensity decreases, or we have finished saying what we have to say. Heres how to receive anger. Your best approach: Listen and pause; let them get it off their chest. Once they have aired their frustrations, use the same approach as you would with upset: ask them if they would like to take a break or how you can best support them through this. If their anger becomes inappropriate, pause the conversation and let everyone take a break and regain control of their emotions. Avoid: Our fight or flight response is often triggered at this point, so our natural defense mechanism is ready for battle or protection. Dont defend or try to justify your reasoning or message: this will only make their anger response even more intense. Avoid responding with anger, too. 3. Denial When our mind doesnt like what we are hearing, we can sometimes go into total denial to avoid the emotions being faced and felt. We put up barriers in our mind to block emotions and truly convince ourselves that this isnt happening. Heres how to receive denial. Your best approach: Reiterate the facts and reality of the situation clearly and explain the next steps. Ask: Does what I told you make sense? Do you understand what this means and what comes next? Avoid: Some people take time to process and accept information. Trying to force them to do it instantly is never wiseand is likely to lead to more denial. Avoid getting frustrated, telling someone how to accept the conversation or making statements. Ask questions instead to help them process it in their head. 4. Meh When the care factor or emotional response is low, it can be very confusing. People tend to be meh: the expression that they couldnt care less about what is happening. They might seem disinterested, or even like they arent listening. Heres how to receive it. Ask: Do you have all the information you need? Do you understand the outcome, next steps, and expectations? How can I best support you from here? After this, it is best to end the meeting but keep an eye on them and revisit the conversation if required. Avoid: Dont try to make it a big deal if they seem unfazed. This might be a cover for a deeper emotion, or they might not have processed the conversation yet. Or it may simply not be a big deal to them. Dont keep them there and continue to talk until you get the reaction you want or expected. 5. Curiosity Tough conversations can spark many unanswered questions. Questions arent a bad thing and are a part of effective communication. Heres how to actively listen to curiosity and answer questions. Ask: Are there any other questions or thoughts you would like to share? How are you feeling about the information? Do you want to talk about it? Avoid: This shouldnt be a one-way conversation. Dont end the conversation before they have finished or have enough answers and information. Avoid laughing at any questions or comments. 6. Positivity Sometimes, something we believe will be a tough conversation isnt one. For some people, its a relief to have the conversation or to have the issue out in the open. For others, its an actual win aligned to their priorities. Ask: Are you happy to share more about what you are feeling and why? Is there anything more I can do to support you? Keep an eye on them and revisit the conversation if required, especially if their emotions change. Avoid: A positive response can catch you off-guard, so its important to manage your own emotions both visually and verbally. Avoid cutting the conversation short or assuming this positive response will stay positive. It may be a protective front, or other emotions may follow. Following the emotion through the conversation brings the human factor back into communication. While it can seem a drawn-out process or distraction, it will get us a better interaction, understanding and outcome. Adapted from The Emotional Intelligence Advantage by Amy Jacobson, available at all leading retailers. Visit www.amyjacobson.com.au for more.
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E-Commerce
Christopher Pelkey was shot and killed in a road range incident in 2021. On May 8, 2025, at the sentencing hearing for his killer, an AI video reconstruction of Pelkey delivered a victim impact statement. The trial judge reported being deeply moved by this performance and issued the maximum sentence for manslaughter. As part of the ceremonies to mark Israels 77th year of independence on April 30, 2025, officials had planned to host a concert featuring four iconic Israeli singers. All four had died years earlier. The plan was to conjure them using AI-generated sound and video. The dead performers were supposed to sing alongside Yardena Arazi, a famous and still very much alive artist. In the end Arazi pulled out, citing the political atmosphere, and the event didnt happen. In April, the BBC created a deepfake version of the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie to teach a maestro course on writing. Fake Agatha would instruct aspiring murder mystery authors and inspire their writing journey. The use of artificial intelligence to reanimate the dead for a variety of purposes is quickly gaining traction. Over the past few years, weve been studying the moral implications of AI at the Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and we find these AI reanimations to be morally problematic. Before we address the moral challenges the technology raises, its important to distinguish AI reanimations, or deepfakes, from so-called griefbots. Griefbots are chatbots trained on large swaths of data the dead leave behindsocial media posts, texts, emails, videos. These chatbots mimic how the departed used to communicate and are meant to make life easier for surviving relations. The deepfakes we are discussing here have other aims; they are meant to promote legal, political, and educational causes. Moral quandaries The first moral quandary the technology raises has to do with consent: Would the deceased have agreed to do what their likeness is doing? Would the dead Israeli singers have wanted to sing at an Independence ceremony organized by the nations current government? Would Pelkey, the road-rage victim, be comfortable with the script his family wrote for his avatar to recite? What would Christie think about her AI double teaching that class? The answers to these questions can only be deduced circumstantially, from examining the kinds of things the dead did and the views they expressed when alive. And one could ask if the answers even matter. If those in charge of the estates agree to the reanimations, isnt the question settled? After all, such trustees are the legal representatives of the departed. But putting aside the question of consent, a more fundamental question remains. What do these reanimations do to the legacy and reputation of the dead? Doesnt their reputation depend, to some extent, on the scarcity of appearance, on the fact that the dead cant show up anymore? Dying can have a salutary effect on the reputation of prominent people; it was good for John F. Kennedy, and it was good for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The fifth-century BC Athenian leader Pericles understood this well. In his famous Funeral Oration, delivered at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, he asserts that a noble death can elevate ones reputation and wash away their petty misdeeds. That is because the dead are beyond reach and their mystique grows postmortem. Even extreme virtue will scarcely win you a reputation equal to that of the dead, he insists. Do AI reanimations devalue the currency of the dead by forcing them to keep popping up? Do they cheapen and destabilize their reputation by having them comment on events that happened long after their demise? In addition, these AI representations can be a powerful tool to influence audiences for political or legal purposes. Bringing back a popular dead singer to legitimize a political event and reanimating a dead victim to offer testimony are acts intended to sway an audiences judgment. Its one thing to channel a Churchill or a Roosevelt during a political speech by quoting them or even trying to sound like them. Its another thing to have them speak alongside you. The potential of harnessing nostalgia is supercharged by this technology. Imagine, for example, what the Soviets, who literally worshipped Lenins dead body, would have done with a deepfake of their old icon. Good intentions You could argue that because these reanimations are uniquely engaging, they can be used for virtuous purposes. Consider a reanimated Martin Luther King Jr. speaking to our currently polarized and divided nation, urging moderation and unity. Wouldnt that be grand? Or what about a reanimated Mordechai Anielewicz, the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, speaking at the trial of a Holocaust denier like David Irving? But do we know what MLK would have thought about our current political divisions? Do we know what Anielewicz would have thought about restrictions on pernicious speech? Does bravely campaigning for civil rights mean we should call upon the digital ghost of King to comment on the impact of populism? Does fearlessly fighting the Nazis mean we should dredge up the AI shadow of an old hero to comment on free speech in the digital age? Even if the political projects these AI avatars served were consistent with the deceaseds views, the problem of manipulationof using the psychological power of deepfakes to appeal to emotionsremains. But what about enlisting AI Agatha Christie to teach a writing class? Deepfakes may indeed have salutary uses in educational settings. The likeness of Christie could make students more enthusiastic about writing. Fake Aristotle could improve the chances that students engage with his austere Nicomachean Ethics. AI Einstein could help those who ant to study physics get their heads around general relativity. But producing these fakes comes with a great deal of responsibility. After all, given how engaging they can be, its possible that the interactions with these representations will be all that students pay attention to, rather than serving as a gateway to exploring the subject further. Living on in the living In a poem written in memory of W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden tells us that after the poets death Yeats became his admirers. His memory was scattered among a hundred cities, and his work subject to endless interpretation: The words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living. The dead live on in the many ways we reinterpret their words and works. Auden did that to Yeats, and were doing it to Auden right here. Thats how people stay in touch with those who are gone. In the end, we believe that using technological prowess to concretely bring them back disrespects them and, perhaps more importantly, is an act of disrespect to ourselvesto our capacity to abstract, think, and imagine. Nir Eisikovits is a professor of philosophy and director of the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston. Daniel J. Feldman is a senior research fellow at the Applied Ethics Center at UMass Boston. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Ever dream about work? Have nightmares? According to a survey by the mattress review site EachNight.com, nearly two-thirds of us have job-related dreams that cause us to wake up stressed out and worried. Instead of shrugging them off, you might want to take note. While no definitive answer exists on the meaning of dreams, notable scientists, including Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, believed they hold messages. Freud, for example, considered dreaming to be an expression of repressed or unconscious conflicts or desires, while Jung explained dreams as thoughts released by the subconscious, creating an internal dialogue. Modern research recently concluded that dreams are part of the brains data-dumping function, consolidating information it deems to be important. Dream interpreter Inbaal Honigman believes there is meaning in the dreams that you remember. It could be something super benign, or it could be more than that, she says. Honigman teamed up with JobLeads, an online job search platform, analyzing search data to find the most popular work-related dreams. Here are some of the most common, along with Honigmans take on what they could be trying to tell you. Being Late for Work Getting to work late is the most common work-related dream, according to the JobLeads research. This theme falls into the anxiety dream category. While being late for work isnt as high stakes as a dream about being late for a flight or wedding, Honigman says it still suggests that stress and pressure have entered your subconscious, creating feelings of being overwhelmed. To decipher this dream, you must get to its root. It could be that you feel insecure at work, because work is very harsh, Honigman says. It could be that you feel insecure due to low self-esteem. Its from the same dream school as being naked in the classroom. Anxiety is firing up your brain and sending you to the worst-case scenario. Losing Your Job The next most common work-related dream involves losing your job or being fired. Honigman says you need to consider the emotion to understand the meaning. Were you on any level relieved, because that would be very telling, she says. Or did you feel like you wouldn’t be able to manage afterwards? Dreaming about losing your job doesnt usually come out of the blue. Honigman says it could be related to surviving a recent layoff, knowing that the organization is facing difficulties, or experiencing difficult interactions with other staff members. This dream can arise if you feel unsupported at work or in your personal life, she says. While it doesn’t necessarily predict an actual firing, heed it as a warning. Its a subconscious signal urging you to address the pressures youre facing and seek clarity or support in your job. Getting a New Job Not all work-related dreams are stressful. The most common positive work dream involves getting a new job. According to Honigman, this can indicate a subconscious craving for change. While you dont necessarily need to leave your work environment, it could mean youre ready to seek out a fresh challenge or shift in responsibilities. [Positive dreams are] less common, not because people hate their jobs, but because theyre less notable and life changing, Honigman says. A happy work dream can create a ripple effect, though, boosting your mood and leaving you feeling more motivated, confident, and energized. Romance with a Coworker If you have a romantic dream that involves a coworker, you might wake up puzzled. Honigman says it doesnt necessarily mean that youre attracted to the person physically or romantically. Instead, it could indicate that you feel at home when youre at work, or that you admire the persons confidence, creativity, and work ethic. This dream can mean youre feeling very at ease, appreciated, and have some kind of excitement about going into work, Honigman explains. Or the dream could also signal a desire for greater harmony and cooperation within your professional relationships. What to Do With Your Dreams As much as possible, Honigman recommends journaling about your dreams each morning. If thats too difficult, share your dream with someone else. Writing it down or sharing it with someone makes you more likely to remember the story. Then, look at the emotions youre feeling in the dream. For example, if you dream about getting a new job because you started your own business, how did you feel when you woke up? For some people, it’s a sign of something they should be doing because they felt excited or proud, Honigman says. Someone else may wake up from that dream in abject horror. While the dream doesnt have to be identical, look for patterns that might indicate a situation that you haven’t resolved. Dreaming about being late to work again and again could mean that you have a work anxiety that needs to be addressed. How you fix it can have many different answers. Dreams are not instructions. Honigman says you should consider them to be more like indications, especially in the case of anxiety work dreams. They’re not there to tell you stuff you don’t know, she says. Look at dreams as food for thought and very precious insight into what goes on in your mind. It’s valuable information, part of a jigsaw puzzle, and not the whole picture. If nothing else, looking for meaning in dreams can be fun, like solving a riddle or connecting the dots. Any thoughts on what a dream about riding a giant cat to work might mean? (Asking for a friend.)
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E-Commerce
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