August 24, 2018: Friday News Roundup

Happy Friday to all. Lots of stuff to read today, including robots doing robot things and some human things, too. Plus, the grief of a job change and advice for what to put in your OOO message.

Why You Should Take Time to Mourn During Career Transitions
This article tells us, “Grief is common when you leave a job you love,” even when you have something exciting lined up next. It’s not just sadness at leaving longtime colleagues behind. In fact, our identities are so entwined with our work, it can create a bit of an existential crisis when we change things up.

Robot Designers Are Bowing To Their Bots’ Botness
If you’re expecting robots to be perfect simulations of human behavior, you’re bound to be disappointed. That’s why engineers are coming around to the idea of embracing what makes robots different in order to build more trust into bot-human interactions.

Are Teachers About To Be Replaced By Bots?
We don’t see how any machine would be as awesome as Udemy instructors when it comes to supporting their students and creating effective learning content… but what about traditional classroom teachers? So far, researchers “believe that a bot can replace at least one of the three essential functions of teaching in a way that’s better than having a human teacher.”

Why You Should Put a Little More Thought into Your Out-of-Office Message
There are still a few weeks of summer left here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means lots of people taking time off from work while the beaches still beckon. If that includes you, consider rethinking your “safe” out-of-office message and use it to share something about yourself and your vacation plans. “These kinds of notes can be great conversation starters,” says the author of this article.

Wall Street Erases the Line Between Its Jocks and Nerds
Life on the trading floor sure has changed, thanks to technology. These days, traders are taking coding classes and scrambling to catch up with their new reality: instinct and specialized knowledge won’t cut it anymore. With algorithms doing much of the trading and selling, today’s Wall Streeters need to be able to analyze computer data, not crunch numbers.