2024 is going to be raining on AI’s parade: Obstacles such as deployment costs, regulations, risks, filters fishing for AI-generated spam, and in-house AI experts in companies are among the several factors that are expected to bog down AI next year, according to CSS Insights Predictions for 2024. Quick changes are making it hard for regulatory watchdogs, such as the EU’s as their legislation is regularly redrafted as AI continues to advance, while it fights on many fronts, simultaneously.

However, the report sees light at the end of the tunnel: This slowdown can be used to the advantage of companies behind AI to consider approaches to self-regulate. And by the way, the EU doesn’t completely hate AI — by 2030, 50% of businesses in one European nation intend to experiment with a 4-day business week using the tech by enhancing work tools, and thus, leave the staff to use their time to do other tasks that don’t require AI, so far…

…but there is good news for iSheep: iPhones will dominate the second-hand market, as they make 50% of the 1.3 bn devices used by the end of this year. Apple has already accounted for the drop in sales of new devices by implementing a verification system to boost consumer confidence in the brand and underscore value for money. Other methods to secure their control is to encourage customers to go for trade-ins with them rather than other third parties, according to CNBC.

Self-repair is also on the tech radar: A new technology where devices repair small dents and scratches on their own, using nano-technology where exposure to air prompts a reaction to cover up the blemish looks to come online…but in 2028. Meanwhile, Android’s struggle to keep up motivated Google to dig deeper in their own pockets to spend on their own hardware, software, and market to avoid relying on other Android producers, explains the study.

New building, who dis?Instead of the standard glass-and-steel skyscraper, employers are hoping that hotel-like office buildings with all the fixings — outdoor gardens, co-working spaces, and cozy seating areas — will actually make employees want to physically clock into work, according to Bloomberg. They envisage an area with art galleries, restaurants, and coffeeshops to attract people outside the office building and manufacture the feeling of community. According to Bloomberg, Matthias Hollwich, the mind behind the idea of work resorts, wants people walking past the buildings to think, “I want to be here.”

Will they be the thing to finally lure resistant employees back to the office? Companies have been trying to incentivize employees to return to the office ever since quarantine measures were lifted. Alas, the temptation of coffee at no charge and more lax dress codes has done little to convince the workforce to ditch working from home in favor of being at their desks, with office occupancy in the US only reaching 38% as of 2023. This has led companies across the globe to reevaluate their need for physical office space altogether, with half of those polled saying they plan to reduce their real estate needs by 2026. Others are simply rethinking their approach to office spaces — or rather, the packaging.

Employers can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. A recent study found that strict return-to-office directives produced mixed results, and that firms mandating staff returning to the office full-time saw less than a 70% turnout. Hollwich believes that the only way to lure people back in is make them want to come back. The post-pandemic world requires transforming offices from products to services, an advisor on workspaces tells Bloomberg, making them places not just for work, but for bringing people together and fostering connections and community.

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