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Meta is working to make its apps better for boomers. This week the company announced new UX features designed to deter scammers and make Meta’s apps safer for older adults. Scammers today use all kinds of tricks to part people from their money, like soliciting personal information under the guise of fake government benefits, brazenly pretending to be customer service support, and chatting up unwitting people in the comments section of a real businesss social media page to lure them to another page. [Image: Meta] New features for older users Meta says its new in-app warnings are meant to combat that type of behavior, and will be triggered by suspicious activity. On the chat app WhatsApp, users who attempt to share their screen with an unknown contact during a video call will get a warning that says “Only share your screen with people you trust.” The pop-up notes that sharing your screen lets those you share it with “see anything you display on your screen, including sensitive details like your banking info.” On Messenger, Meta says it’s testing more advanced scam detection in chats. The company says that when scam detection is enabled, suspicious chats will trigger a warning that prompts users to request an AI review, which will explain why the message was flagged, plus provide tips for staying safe online. The feature can be toggled off or on by going to privacy and safety settings and tapping scam detection. [Image: Meta] An example AI review Meta shared of a flagged suspicious message notes common scam signs such as job offers promising fast cash or the ability to work from home for a job that cant be done remotely. The AI review goes on to suggest the recipient of the message ignore job offers that seem too good to be true and never agree to send gift cards, a wire transfer, or other forms of payment to a stranger. That includes strangers who are famous. Scamming is on the rise Scammers have faked the likenesses of public figures such as Taylor Swift to make it appear as if the pop star is promoting a cookware set giveaway, and actors like Helen Mirren and Jamie Lee Curtis have in recent months warned fans about scammers using their likeness on Instagram. Meta, which was hit this month with a class-action lawsuit that alleges it profits off of impersonation scam ads, announced it’s investing in cracking down on celebrity scams in the EU, U.K., and South Korea by using facial ID technology and AI. [Image: Meta] Online scams are a real problem for Meta and other companies. Meta says since the start of year, it’s disrupted nearly 8 million Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with criminal scam centers, and these and other scams have proven costly for victims. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, in 2024 people ages 60 and older lost a total of $4.8 billion to fraudmore than any other group. That’s up from more than $3 billion in 2023. Best practice for designing digital products for an aging population often calls for features like bigger fonts and intuitive design, but it also means making it safe from scammers and fraudsters who target older individuals. As Meta attempts to shore up online safety for young people by launching teen accounts with heightened parental controls, it’s clear the company also has work to do for its users at the other end of the age spectrum.
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E-Commerce
Those AI tools are being trained on our trade secrets. Well lose all of our customers if they find out our teams use AI. Our employees will no longer be able to think critically because of the brain rot caused by overreliance on AI. These are not irrational fears. As AI continues to dominate the headlines, questions about data privacy and security, intellectual property, and work quality are legitimate and important. So, what do we do now? The temptation to just say No is strong. It feels straightforward and safe. However, this safe route is actually the riskiest of all. An outright ban on AI is a losing strategy that creates more problems than it solves. It fosters secrecy, increases security risks, and puts you at a massive competitive disadvantage. Im the founder of two tech agencies and a big proponent of AI. As a business, we also deal with customer data, often from industries like government, healthcare, and education. However, I believe theres a much better way to address the threats posed by AI. In this article, Ill share the dangers of flat-out AI bans and what companies can do instead. Curiosity crisis You can ban tools, but you cant ban curiosity, especially among developers and product managers who are paid to be innovative. Theyre not living in a vacuum. Theyve heard they can do this and that in a fraction of the time, and they simply want to try it out. Additionally, employees may feel that not using AI daily puts them at a disadvantage compared to their peers working at other companies where AI is allowed. When you forbid the use of AI tools, you dont stop it. Multiple studies confirm that you simply drive it underground. A Cisco survey revealed that 60% of respondents (including security and privacy professionals from various countries) entered information about company internal processes into genAI tools; 46% entered employee names or information, and 31% entered customer names or information. This creates Shadow ITthe unsanctioned use of technology within an organization. In recent years, a new term has also emerged: Bring Your Own AI, or BYOI. Another study by Anagram paints even a more shocking picture: 58% of the surveyed employees across the U.S. admit to pasting sensitive data into large language models. Moreover, 40% were willing to knowingly violate company policy to complete a task faster. I guess the forbidden fruit is indeed the sweetest. As a consequence, you have zero visibility. You dont know what tools are being used, what data is being input, or what risks are being taken. The irony is real: the problem you wanted to control is now completely out of your control. Security paradox The primary reason for a ban is to protect sensitive data. However, the ban makes a leak more likely, not less. Employees may create personal accounts and use free or cheaper plans, which often default to using your data for model training. They lack robust security features, audit logs, and data processing agreements (DPAs). On the contrary, enterprise plans, such as ChatGPT Business or Enterprise, often come with assurances that your data will not be used for training purposes. They may offer SSO, data encryption, access controls, and administrative oversight. Your sensitive data, which you feared would be leaked through an official channel, gets leaked through dozens of untraceable personal accounts. You could have secured it with an enterprise plan, but instead, you pushed it into the wild. Driving in the slow lane While you’re debating, your competitors are executing. With only 19% of C-level executives reporting a more than 5% increase in revenue attributed to AI, it may be too early to talk about the ROI. Also, the reason for a relatively small ROI may not be in the AI itself, but in the way we use it. More and more businesses are now considering applying AI to central business operations rather than peripheral processes. AI use cases in a business setting are manifold. I know firsthand that the productivity gains from AI are not marginal. At Redwerk, we do not shy away from AI-assisted development, and were teaching our clients how they can set up such workflows. We dont view AI as a threat stealing developers lunch; we view it as a tool, allowing us to do more in-depth work faster. One practical use case for developers is generating boilerplate code or documenting APIs in seconds, rather than hours. With AI, our product managers can analyze user feedback at scale, brainstorm feature ideas, and conduct market research far more quickly. At QAwerk, we use a range of AI testing tools to generate test cases, identify obscure edge cases, and even perform initial security vulnerability scans. AI is here to stay Its not a fad, and its not going anywhere. More and more apps are developing AI features, keeping pace with the competition. AI will continue changing the anatomy of work. Workplace productivity tools like Slack, Zoom, and Asana (which are all now enhanced with AI) have become ingrained in the daily operations of tech-forward businesses. Major cloud and database providers are now offering agentic AI for enterprises. Investors are pouring billions into OpenAI, despite the company operating at a loss, because they recognize that AI is the future. All these facts clearly signal one thing: AI is here to stay. How to adopt AI responsibly Throughout my entrepreneurial journey, Ive quickly learned that being proactive is a more effective strategy than being reactive. And that pertains to everything, including AI. When questions like Are you using AI? are asked to support employees rather than reprimand them, youre on the right track. You dont need to overcomplicate things; just start. Step 1: Guide, dont forbid Create a simple Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) with dos and donts. Please, no 40-page PDFs no one has ever touched (besides the person creating it). Clearly define what is and is not acceptable. For example, AI tools are approved for brainstorming, learning, and working with nonsensitive ode. Do not input any client data, PII, or company IP into public AI models. Step 2: Equip your team Invest in a secure, enterprise-level AI tool. The cost is minimal compared to the productivity gains and the risk of unmanaged use. Before you do that, survey the team for their preferences. They probably have a ton of prompts that maybe work better in Gemini rather than Claude or ChatGPT, or vice versa. You need to gather all major use cases and conduct research on the tool that can address them best. This provides your team with a secure, approved sandbox to work in. Step 3: Educate and empower Did you know that millennials are even bigger advocates for AI than Gen Zers? 62% of millennials self-reported high expertise with AI. In many organizations, millennials occupy managerial positions, and they can become true champions of change. So, their enthusiasm should be nurtured rather than stifled. Run workshops. Share best practices for prompt engineering. Create a dedicated Slack/Teams channel for people to share cool use cases and discoveries. Turn it into a positive, collaborative exploration. Step 4: Listen and iterate Dont let the policy be a stone tablet. Let your team explore, get their feedback, and then formulate more detailed policies grounded in their practical, real-world experience. Youll learn what actually works and where the real risks lie. Final thoughts Things are moving extremely fast in the AI space. So fast, its challenging to keep up even without any bans. If you cant avoid the inevitable, embrace it. Yes, data privacy and security are no joke, but banning AI is not how you ensure its integrity. Let your team experiment and innovate within the guardrails you both find reasonable and agree on. Allow industry-compliant tools, provide training, and use them to your advantage.
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E-Commerce
What if the women leaders who were long overlooked are the ones we cant afford to ignore today. The proverbial career ladder has long been the dominant metaphor for success. For many, it works: a clear, linear climb, one predictable rung at a time. For others, it doesnt, because the ladder was never built to hold the weight of multiple roles and ambitions. Women, in particular, have mastered a multi-hyphenate model of leadership out of necessity: mother and manager, founder and caregiver, mentor and innovator. What looked nonlinear was simply a different kind of training ground, one that creates resilience, adaptability, and perspective. Todays multi-hyphenates are entrepreneurs-executives-authors, CEOs-board members-storytellers, and founders-volunteers-mentors. Theyve pivoted across industries, re-entered the workforce after pauses, and taken lateral moves to gain new skills or flexibility. Those shifts and gaps arent liabilities, theyre evidence of courage, perspective, and the kind of agility various lived experiences produce. Lattice, not ladder Instead of advancing only upward, these women have built careers in multiple directions. A lattice (or jungle gym) career is about growing wider, deeper, and smarter, not just higher. For generations, womens professional ambition has been constrained and conditional: dont pause, dont deviate, dont improvise. Today, women are rejecting those outdated rules and designing careers on their own terms. A multi-hyphenate career isnt about abandoning ambition, its about redefining it. Success is measured not just by titles or tenure, but by influence, impact, and the ability to bring others along. In fact, when women come together, through mentorship, collaboration, and shared experience, they create a multiplier effect that accelerates learning, leadership, and impact across organizations.Thats not to say the traditional ladder is irrelevant. For many leaders, it remains a powerful and valid route to the top. It just cant be the only one. What the modern workplace needs Even in corporate roles, this era of constant disruption is testing every leaders ability to make high-stakes decisions and rally teams through uncertainty and upheaval. Employee expectations are shifting: new generations demand empathy, flexibility, and cultural fluency. These are existential challenges that require resilience and the ability to hold multiple perspectives at once. In that context, the women leaders who have crossed sectors, scaled startups, and taken a career pause are uniquely positioned for what the modern workplace needs right now. No matter where they sit, multi-hyphenates carry the very skills once dismissed as soft but now recognized as indispensable: empathy, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to build trust across divides. Innovation thrives at intersections, and these women leaders know how to bridge industries, cultures, and generations. Good for the bottom line The business case is undeniable. Companies with women executives outperform competitors by 30% and women founders deliver higher ROI when funded. From our vantage pointsone leading chief, the worlds largest network for women executivesand one who is CEO and cofounder of a leading AI driven, and the fastest-growing executive search firm in the U.S.we both hear directly from thousands of women navigating this reality. Together, they represent not just a large share of todays workforce, but the very talent pipeline companies will depend on for the C-suite of tomorrow. The pattern is unmistakable: nonlinear careers are producing leaders uniquely equipped for todays complexity. Yet, too many companies still cling to neatly sequenced résumés over pivots, pauses, or plurality. And they overlook a critical truth that leadership today is rarely developed in isolation. Women, in particular, are adept at building support networks that foster growth and create opportunities for many in their orbit. This collective strength can amplify influence far beyond what one individual could achieve alone. After all, leadership is a team sport. Systemic change Unlocking this potential requires change across the system. Boards should prize crisis navigation and cross-functionality. Recruiters must weigh adaptability and emotional intelligence alongside tenure. HR leaders should create returnships and project-based roles. And women themselves must stop apologizing for nonlinear journeys and claim their value. Were not looking to replace the corporate ladder. For some, it still works, and thats fine. But clinging to it as the only credible path is a mistake. Nonlinear, multi-hyphenate careersonce dismissed as messy, flawed, or unfocusedare proving to be a highly effective model for leadership. Women have been beta-testing this blueprint for decades. It works. And its time for companies to embrace it.
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E-Commerce
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