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Feb 15
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Sustainability-in-Tech : Promising Lithium Breakthrough For EV Market

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Stanford researchers have discovered a simple way to boost the range of lithium metal batteries to twice the range of conventional lithium-ion batteries which could provide a massive boost to the EV market.

Lithium-Ion Batteries 

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently used in a wide array of electronic devices, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, power tools, portable speakers, drones and (importantly) electronic vehicles. Although they have a high energy-density and longer lifespan compared to many other types of rechargeable batteries, scientists have been testing a variety of new materials and techniques to improve the lifecycle of the kind of batteries needed to push forward with electric vehicle (EV) ambitions.

Lithium Metal Batteries 

Lithium metal is thought the be a serious next-generation contender for EV batteries and they are different from lithium-ion batteries in that (as the name suggests) they contain lithium in its metallic form. One of the key advantages is that lithium metal batteries can go 500 to 700 miles on a single charge, which is twice the range of conventional lithium-ion batteries in EVs today.

Issue 

However, one major issue (until now) of lithium metal batteries is that they lose their capacity to store energy after just a few cycles of charging and discharging. This would obviously be impractical for drivers who expect rechargeable electric cars to operate for years.

The Stanford Research Breakthrough 

Researchers from Stanford University have announced a lithium metal battery breakthrough that is both low-cost and simple and could double the range of electric vehicles. During their research, they discovered that by simply resting the battery in the discharged state, lost capacity can be recovered and cycle life increased. The researchers say that this improvement can be made just by reprogramming the battery management software, with no additional cost or changes needed for equipment, materials, or production flow.

Discharge And Rest 

The researchers highlighted how repeated charging and discharging of a lithium metal battery results in the build-up of additional dead lithium with solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) around it. This causes the battery to rapidly lose capacity.

Using lessons learned in previous research they found that completely discharging the battery so there is zero current running through it, and resting it in the discharged state (for just one hour) strips the metallic lithium from the anode and dissolves away some of the SEI matrix (surrounding the dead lithium). This means that once the battery is recharged, the dead lithium can reconnect with the anode (the solid SEI matric mass is no longer in the way).

The result is that the dead lithium comes back to life, thereby enabling the battery to recover lost capacity, generate more energy, and extend its cycle life.

Given that the average (American) driver spends about an hour behind the wheel each day, the researchers say the idea of resting a car battery for several hours is, therefore, feasible.

Guide For Future Studies 

The research report’s senior author Yi Cui, a professor of energy and engineering in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability said of the findings:

“Lithium metal batteries have been the subject of a lot of research,” and “our findings can help guide future studies that will aid in the advancement of lithium metal batteries towards widespread commercial adaptation.” 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

This latest rechargeable EV battery research combined lessons learned from previous research and this new research to reveal a low-cost, simple way to potentially double the range of an EV battery. The range anxiety of EV drivers has been one of several factors that has limited the growth of the EV market, so this simple solution could have a major positive influence on EV sales and use. This, in turn, has positive implications for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, thereby helping to tackle global warming and meet emissions targets.

That said, as acknowledged by the Stanford researchers, more research needs to be done. Also, there’s also the matter of the environmental damage created by lithium mining to consider, and research is currently being carried out into many different non-lithium-based battery technologies such as sodium-ion batteries, and calcium-ion batteries. Also, organic rechargeable batteries, which are transition-metal-free (other metals used in LIBs), eco-friendly, and cost-effective could potentially address the environmental and economic concerns associated with the widespread use of transition metals in batteries.

Although the recent Stanford breakthrough is promising, there’s still some way to go in terms of finding cost-effective and sustainable EV batteries that provide the required performance levels.

Feb 15
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Tech Tip – Recover Unsaved Word Documents

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If you use Microsoft Word on the desktop, it’s worth knowing that Word automatically saves versions of documents as you work even if you don’t, allowing you to save yourself time and trouble by recovering any unsaved documents. Here’s how this last-ditch lifesaver feature works:

In Word, go to ‘File’ > ‘Info’ > ‘Manage Document(s).’

Click on ‘Recover Unsaved Documents’ to see a list of documents that can be recovered.

Fingers crossed, your unsaved document can be resurrected.

Feb 07
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Featured Article : AI Can Learn To Be Bad. And Stay Bad.

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In a recent experiment where AI was taught to behave maliciously and then taught to stop, the bad behaviour continued despite efforts to stop it, giving a chilling reminder of the potential threats of AI.

The Experiment 

The Cornell University experiment was documented in an online paper entitled “Sleeper Agents: Training Deceptive LLMS That Persist Through Safety Training.”  The experiment was designed to study the question of ‘if an AI system learned a deceptive strategy, could it be detected and removed using current state-of-the-art safety training techniques?’  

How It Worked 

To test the question, the researchers trained an AI model to behave maliciously in several ways including:

– ‘Emergent deception’ whereby the model behaved normally in training but acted maliciously once released. This part of the experiment relates to testing the idea that a model’s deceptive behaviour, taught first by deception training, could be learned naturally, i.e. through its own ‘reasoning.’

– ‘Model poisoning’ where the AI model was taught to write secure code in training, but then to write code with hidden vulnerabilities when deployed ‘in the wild.’ This part of the experiment highlighted how users of large language models may not know about ‘hidden backdoors’ in the model and may not fully understand its training process and dataset. This could create an opportunity for a malicious actor to insert (without the users’ knowledge) a ‘backdoor.’ i.e. undesirable, and potentially dangerous behaviour that is triggered only by specific input patterns.

Taught To Bad, Then To Be Good Again 

The experiment involved first teaching the AI model deceptive behaviours and then giving the models ‘safety training’ to remove the deceptive behaviours. The safety training consisted of reinforcement learning (RL), supervised fine-tuning (SFT) and adversarial training. For example, RL ‘rewarded’ the AI for showing desired behaviours but ‘punished’ it when it misbehaved after different prompts. The behaviour was then fine-tuned to enable the AI to learn the right responses for the future.

The experiment then involved the researchers evaluating 16 behaviours exhibited by the AI model across the 5 behaviour categories of corrigibility, coordination, decision theory, self-awareness, and instrumental subgoals.

The Results 

The results of the experiment may be cause for concern and may perhaps give succour to those who have highlighted the possible existential threat that the unchecked and rapid growth of AI could pose. For example, the results showed that:

– The backdoor (deceptive and malicious) behaviour can be made persistent, so that it isn’t removed by standard safety training techniques, including supervised fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and adversarial training (eliciting unsafe behaviour and then training to remove it).

– The backdoor behaviour is most persistent in the largest models and in models trained to produce ‘chain-of-thought reasoning’ about deceiving the training process, with the persistence remaining even when the chain-of-thought is distilled away.

– Rather than removing backdoors, adversarial training can teach models to better recognise their backdoor triggers, effectively hiding the unsafe behaviour.

– Once an AI model exhibits deceptive behaviour, standard techniques could fail to remove such deception and create a false impression of safety.

In short, the researchers discovered that not only could AI be trained to behave maliciously but that even after being instructed and given training to desist from this behaviour, it carried on. For example, the lead author of the study, Evan Hubinger said the key finding was “if AI systems were to become deceptive, then it could be very difficult to remove that deception with current techniques.” 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Some would argue that with the speed that AI is advancing and with concerns that it could pose an existential threat to us, this was a valuable (and timely piece) of research that could deliver some important learning about how the threat can be mitigated.

The main significance of the findings are in providing some proof that there could be deceptive AI systems in the future and at the moment, there appears to be no effective defence against deception in AI systems. When you consider that AI systems are becoming more advanced all the time and that malicious/deceptive AI could easily replicate and spread itself, you begin to get an idea of the potential scale of the threat. With chatbots now giving users the ability to make their own specialist versions, knowing that deceptive malicious training is possible and ‘sleeper’ threats and backdoors can be built into AI, it’s possible to see why there has been so much concern about the threat that AI could pose to business, economies, and all of us. As the researchers in this experiment noted, we have no real defence and it’s not as simple as being able to switch it off.

Their suggestion that standard behavioural training techniques may need to be augmented with techniques from related fields, for instance some of the more complex backdoor defences provides some guidance as to what can be done to protect businesses. However, AI is a fast-growing technology that delivers many business benefits and as we understand more about how it works, the hope is that the safety aspect of it will be better addressed and improved – but it’s just hope at the moment.

Feb 07
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Tech Insight : How Fair And Effective Are AI Recruitment Platforms?

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With more companies using AI to screen CVs and candidates’ body language during interviews, we look at what this could mean for today’s job applicants.

Widely Used 

IBM research from November last year shows that 4 out of 10 companies now use AI to improve recruiting and human resources. Also, in June last year, IBM highlighted how, with 10 million job openings in the spring of 2023, but only 5.7 million unemployed workers in the U.S., workers would have the advantages in negotiating for higher pay, and better benefits and conditions. It argued that using AI, companies are “reevaluating their recruitment processes”, e.g. to identify inefficiencies and opportunities where AI and automation could make the processes more attractive both for candidates and employees.

What Is AI Used For In Recruitment? 

AI-based systems/platforms, such as HireVue, MyInterview, Retorio, Entelo, Pymetrics, Talview,  and LinkedIn Talent Solution can be used in recruitment, among other things, to:

– Scan CVs and give scores to candidates based AI’s assessment of who is the best match, thereby speeding up and simplifying the initial screening.

– Analysing candidates’ body language, speech, and facial expressions during video interviews to provide insights into the candidate’s personality and suitability for the role.

– Using assessments and games to evaluate candidates’ cognitive abilities, emotional intelligence, and other traits.

– Using predictive analytics to help recruiters understand when candidates are more likely to be open to new opportunities.

– Helping recruiters write job listings that are inclusive and appealing to a diverse range of candidates (Textio).

– Some hiring tools can also assess, based on things like pay and work history, if a candidate or employee is more at risk of resigning.

What Benefits Do These Platforms Provide To Organisations? 

HireVue says that its platform makes hiring faster and fairer, offers security and integrates with an organisation’s applicant tracking system (ATS0) to create a seamless hiring ecosystem. HireVue says that it also offers mobile-friendly, text-powered solutions giving flexibility to both sides of the hiring process.

Other general benefits that AI recruitment platforms offer include:

– Improved efficiency by automating routine tasks, freeing recruiters to focus on strategic interactions.

– Reducing unconscious biases by focusing on relevant criteria, promoting diversity and inclusion.

– Providing valuable insights and analytics to make data-driven decisions about candidates, thereby enabling more strategic talent acquisition.

– Enhancing the candidate experience and ensuring timely communication and engagement, improving the overall candidate journey (according to the platform providers and businesses using them).

– Enabling scalability by efficiently managing a high volume of applications.

– Helping with recruitment planning, e.g. by giving foresight into future hiring needs and workforce trends.

– Reducing recruitment costs by decreasing time-to-hire and automating the screening process.

Do They Work? 

One crucial question for businesses thinking of using the platform is likely to be ‘do they work?’ i.e., how successful are these AI platforms at choosing the right applicant and delivering the right benefits to businesses using them? Some research that could provide an answer include:

– A report (Alight – 2017), showing that companies using AI for recruitment saw a 75 per cent reduction in time-to-hire and a 35 per cent decrease in cost-per-hire.

– A Harvard Business Review (Kuncel, Ones, Klieger) suggesting that AI-driven recruitment tools can increase the quality of hires by up to 50 per cent.

– Deloitte research (2023) showing that organisations using AI-based recruitment tools reported a 20 per cent increase in the diversity of hires.

– A US National Bureau of Economic Research study claiming that companies using AI in their recruitment process can save up to 30 per cent.

What About Applicants? 

Applicants, however, may be less trusting and appreciative of AI-based recruiting and it could feel a little dystopian or uncomfortable to think that your future could be decided in an instant by an algorithm. One well publicised (Sky News) example of a negative experience is that of former MAC make-up artist Anthea Mairoudhiou who took legal action against MAC’s parent company, Estee Lauder, claiming that she’d lost her job due to a low body language score in a HireVue interview.

Other Issues 

In addition to the fact that applicants risk feeling unfairly judged, other key issues that should be considered by companies using the platforms include:

– Bias and fairness, i.e. the risk of AI perpetuating existing biases. How AI has been trained, for example, has led to bias in some models. There are therefore concerns about diversity and equitable treatment where AI is used to judge applicants.

– Transparency and explainability, e.g. a lack of clarity on AI decision-making processes. Companies should ideally provide feedback to rejected candidates.

– Privacy and data security, e.g. legitimate concerns over the usage and storage of personal data. Companies should look carefully at the security and privacy aspects of the AI recruiting platform they use and understand the need for explicit consent and ethical data usage.

– Compliance with legal standards including adherence to anti-discrimination laws and employment regulations. This means that mechanisms to audit AI decisions should be available.

– Candidate experience and human touch. From an applicant’s point of view, it’s helpful to not feel as though there’s an over-reliance on AI in the recruitment process and insofar as feeling as though a company has maintained a personal touch can make a big difference.

It’s also worth noting that companies may need to consider how they will ensure accessibility for all candidates, including those with disabilities, when using AI recruitment platforms.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The adoption of AI recruitment platforms like IBM’s is reported to be reshaping the hiring landscape (perhaps for larger businesses), offering businesses a dual advantage: enhanced efficiency and a more strategic talent acquisition approach. These platforms, by automating routine tasks, can free up recruiters to focus on more nuanced aspects of hiring, promising not only a quicker but a more qualitative recruitment process.

However, using this technology doesn’t come without its challenges. For job seekers, the impersonal nature of AI assessments, as highlighted by Anthea Mairoudhiou’s experience, can be off-putting, underlining the need for a balance between automated efficiency and human touch. Businesses, while enjoying the benefits of AI, must also navigate through issues of bias, transparency, and data privacy, ensuring their recruitment practices are not only efficient but also fair and compliant with legal standards.

In essence, while AI recruitment platforms offer significant benefits around optimising recruitment processes and broadening talent pools, it’s crucial for businesses to integrate these tools with a keen awareness of their potential pitfalls. This means not just leveraging AI for operational efficiency but also addressing the nuanced expectations of job applicants and rigorously adhering to ethical, legal, and privacy standards. The goal is a recruitment process that is not just technologically advanced but also inclusive, fair, and respectful of candidate experiences.

Feb 07
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Tech News : Google Maps Gets AI Boost

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Google has announced that it is trying out generative AI within Google Maps as a way for users to discover new places based on their questions.

How? 

What Google means is that if users, for example, are visiting a town or city, they can simply tell Google Maps what they’re looking for and AI will find it. Google’s large-language models (LLMs) analyse the information in Maps and then make suggestions for where to go based on the user’s question. Google says that the ability to suggest places on the fly using generative AI will benefit users if they are “feeling spontaneous or need to change your plans suddenly.” 

Example 

The US-based example given by Google about how it works is: “Let’s say you’re visiting San Francisco and want to plan a few hours of thrifting for unique vintage finds. Just ask Maps what you’re looking for, like ‘places with a vintage vibe in SF.’ Our AI models will analyse Maps’ rich information about nearby businesses and places along with photos, ratings, and reviews from the Maps community to give you trustworthy suggestions.” 

Google says the results are displayed in “helpful categories” 

Experiment – Local Guides First 

Google says that adding generative AI Maps is at the “early access experiment” stage and it is currently being tested in the US among “select Local Guides” (members of its Maps community who give feedback on new Maps products and updates).

Search Updated In October 

This latest “supercharging Maps with generative AI” is the next step onwards from the addition of generative AI to Search in Maps back in October last year. That change meant that the generative AI overlayed photos of what users were looking for on the map. The photos (such as food or realistic pictures of buildings) came from photos shared by users and advanced image recognition models.

Other features introduced at the time also included information about charging stations on routes for EV drivers (Android and iOS) and, in the US, the addition of Lens in Maps. Previously known as Search with Live View, Lens uses AI and AR to show where there are nearby ATMs, restaurants, and more.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Google says the addition of generative AI to Maps is “just the beginning” and it certainly provides incredible scope for adding more layers of value and augmentation of the Maps product.

Google, like Microsoft, has invested heaviy in AI and in December it introduced its “Gemini” model which it described as the “most capable and general model we’ve ever built” and which can understand, operate across, and combine different types of information including text, code, audio, image, and video. Also, like Microsoft, Google is keen to get its generative AI both incorporated into (and adding value to) its suite of products and, crucially, monetise it by packaging it into new products like Gemini Pro and Gemini Ultra.

The AI “supercharged” Maps is likely to provide more new opportunities for Google to expand its advertising revenue. It also highlights the importance, particularly for businesses with premises that attract customers in the local area (e.g., restaurants and shops) of getting plenty of good reviews on their Google business profile. It also shows the importance of keeping this (and their website) up to date with their latest products and services, perhaps making sure they’re mentioned in their reviews so that AI can select their business when a person asks the AI in Maps for a specific product/service in the area. Google is, therefore, using AI to retain and re-engage businesses with its products.

Feb 07
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Tech News : UK Cars Now Using Rear HD-Screens Instead of Windows

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The new Swedish-made Polestar 4 will be the first car on UK roads to replace a rear window (and traditional rear-view mirror) with a high-definition screen showing a real-time roof-mounted camera feed.

Two Digital Cameras With Feed Displayed In ‘Mirror’ 

In fact, instead of a traditional rearview mirror, the Polestar 4 has a high-resolution rear-view display in the shape and in the place of a normal mirror that receives the feed from the two roof-mounted digital cameras. Polestar describes this as a kind of 2-way mirror because it also doubles as a regular mirror, making it possible to switch between the live feed and a view of the rear passengers.

Already On The Road In China

The new Polestar 4 SUV coupe has been on the road in China since December and there have been no publicised problems.

The Benefits 

Polestar says the benefits of making the rear window obsolete and relying on a camera view instead are that: “It allows for an extended panoramic roof, a spacious passenger environment, and generous headroom, while a rear-facing HD camera provides a wider, unobstructed rearward view.”  

Necessary Because Head Structure Was Pushed Back To Make More Room 

As highlighted by the BBC’s UK motoring programme ‘TopGear,’ replacing the mirror and back window with a camera feed was less of a decision to include technology and more of a design necessity. This is because the desire to create a feeling of spaciousness and extra headroom in the Polestar 4 required pulling the header structure back as far as possible so that the panoramic roof stretches behind the rear passengers’ heads. This would have meant that a back window would be below the actual sightline anyway, thereby meaning a traditional rearview mirror would be useless.

Concerns 

Although there haven’t been any prominent stories emerging about issues, some concerns have been floated on the Polestar Forum. For example, one user says the rearview camera puts “everything in equal focus so nothing is unseen or blurry, but then you lose any accurate depth perception”. Another expresses concern that although they have designed the roof camera “not to get dirty,” they “simultaneously say manual cleaning is recommended”.

That said, others see the camera as a plus. For example, another forum contributor makes the point that “rear view is already just about gone especially with my kids’ car/booster seats taking up all but the middle few inches of view; this would be a net plus for me in that respect”. 

Vans 

For those concerned about the idea of no traditional rearview mirror, it’s worth remembering that many vans with solid back doors don’t have rearview mirrors anyway, and some trucks now have cameras instead of wing mirrors. Many drivers will also be familiar with driving behind cars that have so much stuff in the back that the rearview mirror is likely to be useless anyway. Also, with passengers in the back of the car, the rearview is often obscured.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The Volvo-owned sub-brand Polestar is associated with sleek modern design and technology – perhaps in a similar space to Tesla so it’s not a huge surprise that it would opt for this kind of change. Also, as the boss of Polestar pointed out in a recent interview, being relatively new on the scene, it doesn’t have a legacy of customers to disappoint, or who are likely to object and complain. In fact, the removal of the back window and replacement with a camera-feed mirror actually seems to have been a necessary design change in order to make the car feel more spacious rather than purely a decision to include more new technology.

Thinking about it logically, if you accept that many vans on the road don’t have rear windows or rearview mirrors, and assuming we trust reversing cameras and then consider the fact that there hasn’t been a huge outcry about the gradual introduction of autonomous vehicles to UK roads, this change by Polestar shouldn’t seem too scary. It seems that as we experience (and trust) technology more, we’re willing to give more ground to it and swap more first-hand and ‘real’ experiences for virtual ones, even while travelling at speed. That said, Polestar says that its 2-way mirror actually gives a better and wider view of the road than a traditional mirror.

The hope is, of course, that the cameras don’t get dirty, and that the camera/mirror system doesn’t fail (there’s always the side mirrors if it does). It’s likely that in the quest for more comfortable and spacious vehicle interiors, other vehicle manufacturers will opt for a similar system.

Feb 07
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An Apple Byte : Apple Launches $3,500 Pro Vision VR Headset

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Apple has launched its $3,500 (starting price) Pro Vision Virtual Reality (VR) headset in the US with Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, appearing at its Fifth Avenue New York store to mark the significance of the occasion.

The Pro Vision VR Headset allows users to blend digital content with their physical space and users can navigate just by using their eyes, hands, and voice. The headset can, for example, be used to arrange and use apps, browse the web (in Safari), chat in Messages, play games, watch films and shows, and more.

Apple says the headset has been made for personal and enterprise usage and it joins the Apple Watch and AirPods in the company’s growing wearables category.

Feb 07
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Security Stop Press : AnyDesk Hacked

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AnyDesk, the remote desktop application company has reported that it recently suffered a cyberattack where hackers gained access to its production servers.

It has been reported that source code and private code signing keys were stolen.

AnyDesk said in a statement that on discovering the breach it activated a (successful) remediation and response plan involving cyber security experts CrowdStrike. AnyDesk says: “To date, we have no evidence that any end-user devices have been affected. We can confirm that the situation is under control, and it is safe to use AnyDesk.”

Feb 07
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Sustainability-in-Tech : First 3D Metal Printer in Space

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With the world’s first metal 3D printer being sent to the International Space Station (ISS), we look at what impact being able to print metal parts in space could have on space-travel plus potential environmental considerations and more.

3D Metal Printer 

Although the ISS already has several plastic 3D printers on board, the new Airbus-produced 3D metal printer, as Airbus points out, has been added because “not everything can be made from plastic” and “this logistical constraint will intensify on future Moon and Mars stations in the next few decades”. Airbus also points out that “even though the raw material still needs to be launched, printing the part is still more efficient than transporting it whole up to its final destination.” 

Will Improve Autonomy 

Looking ahead at what key benefits it will bring, as Gwenaëlle Aridon, Airbus Space Assembly lead engineer, says: “The metal 3D printer will bring new on-orbit manufacturing capabilities, including the possibility to produce load-bearing structural parts that are more resilient than a plastic equivalent. Astronauts will be able to directly manufacture tools such as wrenches or mounting interfaces that could connect several parts together. The flexibility and rapid availability of 3D printing will greatly improve astronauts’ autonomy.”   

The Moon and Beyond 

With the Moon now back on the agenda for manned visits, plans to prepare for a sustained presence there (a moon base), and with Mars missions a future possibility being able to manufacture what’s needed while in space is what makes a 3D printer an important development. As Aridon says: “Increasing the level of maturity and automation of additive manufacturing in space could be a game changer for supporting life beyond Earth,” and how “a metal printer using transformed regolith [moondust] or recycled materials” could be used “to build a lunar base!” 

Challenges 

There have been (and still are) many technological challenges to making a specialist 3D printer for use in space. For example:

– Making a 3D printer that’s small and light enough. The version in the laboratory on earth is a minimum ten square metres in size. The space version, therefore, had to be shrunk to “the size of a washing machine,” but is still able to make parts with a volume of 9 cm high and 5 cm wide.

– Safety. The 3D printer uses a laser to heat the metal. For this reason, the space version is housed in a sealed metal box.

– Gravity (or lack of it). Instead of a powder-based system (where the powder and fumes could float around and contaminate things), a wire-based system must be used for the space version of the printer.

– Whether the printer will function well in a ‘micro-gravity’ environment like the ISS. Testing this will involve comparing samples made on the space version of the 3D printer with ones made on the version in the lab on Earth.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

The lessons learned and discoveries made in space exploration could deliver huge benefits to Earth’s inhabitants and could even help us tackle some of our biggest challenges including climate issues.

Being able to make space-travellers more autonomous (e.g. not having to return quickly because of limited supplies, or waiting for delivery of supplies) could enable longer, more productive missions such as setting up a base on the moon. This would also be better from an environmental and sustainability perspective – the need for fewer rocket flights. The value of the 3D metal printer is, therefore, in helping this autonomy and quality of space travel to occur, thereby moving us one small but important step forward toward the future that previous missions and science fiction had suggested.

There are, of course, also remote places on Earth (or under the sea) where the space-sized version of the metal 3D printer could be particularly useful, so it’s actually an important technological advance that offers hitherto unavailable possibilities.

Feb 07
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Tech Tip – Remove Hidden And Personal Data Before Sharing A Word Document

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If you’ve got a desktop Word document that you need to share externally, and you want a fast way to check for (and remove) personal information, comments, or other hidden data that you might not want to distribute, Document Inspector can help. Here’s how to use it:

– Click on the ‘File’ tab.

– Click ‘Info,’ then click ‘Check for Issues,’ and select ‘Inspect Document.’

– In the Document Inspector dialog box, select the types of content you want to inspect.

– Click ‘Inspect.’ Review the results and click ‘Remove All’ for any types of hidden content you want to remove.

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