Author: Security – Computerworld

Trump’s RTO edict raises concerns over morale, efficiency — and burnout

President Donald J. Trump’s executive order to federal employees to return to the office “as soon as practicable” will have a variety of repercussions — most of them negative, according to industry analysts and others.

The return-to-office (RTO) policy issued last week signals Trump’s intent to fulfill campaign promises to reform the 2.3-million-strong federal workforce, which he has criticized as inefficient and bloated. The language in Trump’s order doesn’t clarify whether it applies only to the estimated 10% of federal civilian workers — about 228,000 as of May 2024 — who work remotely full-time, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Trump may be upping the stakes, but then-President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed legislation Jan. 5 designed to bring more federal employees back to the office and increase the efficiency of office space utilization. Both men were likely taking cues from various businesses that have instituted RTO mandates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2022, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive CEO Elon Musk — now a close advisor to Trump — delivered an RTO ultimatum to his two companies’ white-collar workers: get back in the corporate office or face firing. Musk’s letter to executive staff at the time specified: “The office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo-office. If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.”

Other corporations have followed suit more recently. In December, Amazon and AT&T ended their work-from-home policies. AT&T went so far as to tell 9,000 of its 149,000 workers to relocate to an office area or be fired.

Peter Miscovich, managing director at global real estate firm JLL, said the US is entering a “hybrid winter,” as many CEOs impose RTO mandates that could pose talent attraction and retention challenges for leading IT organizations. That’s especially true for advanced tech leadership teams and IT departments that have built sophisticated hybrid work practices over time and invested significantly in hybrid operational technologies and related infrastructure across global organizations, he said.

“Perhaps the most significant risk associated with RTO mandates is the potential loss of valuable and critical IT digital talent,” Miscovich said. “The IT tech sector has embraced hybrid work more thoroughly than most industries, and IT professionals now view hybrid workplace flexibility as a standard expectation for the workforce rather than a perk.”

Over the past two or so years, remote work — once praised as the new paradigm for productivity and employee satisfaction — began losing some of its luster as more organizations required workers to get back to their cubicles, at least part time.

In fact, many organizations are already struggling to fill a significant IT talent gap. In some cases, generative artificial intelligence (genAI) has been able to replace needed workers; in most other instances, the dearth of tech talent remains.

Mandates can exacerbate employee churn

According to new research from the University of Pittsburgh, S&P 500 companies that rolled out RTO mandates experienced “abnormally high” employee turnover and longer time-to-hire when filling job vacancies. “This significant IT digital talent brain-drain risk is particularly acute given the current competitive market for technology talent,” Miscovich said.

In 2025, CIOs and senior IT leaders face growing challenges when trying to attract top talent while maintaining operational excellence and managing workplace transformation amid RTO mandates, according to Miscovich. Resistance to the mandates is especially strong in global IT departments where hybrid and remote work are deeply integrated and have proven highly effective.

John Veitch, dean of the School of Business and Management at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, California, said RTO mandates are “generally” a sign of insecure leadership. In other words, executives don’t trust what they can’t see. RTO mandates say, “I have to see people working and earning their living,” he said.

Veitch didn’t have strong feelings either way about RTOs involving the federal government workers, though from a workflow point of view, he said he’s not convinced there are benefits.

He agreed that with the tech marketplace unemployment rate near historic lows, it could push some workers out the door, he said. “I don’t think the federal government pays particularly well relative to what you can get if you’re a top-flight technologist at a Silicon Valley firm,” Veitch said. “Obviously, people who have options will choose those options, particularly if return-to-office is a deal breaker for them. So, I don’t think it’s going to help the government in any way, shape or form to retain talented people.”

Further research points to other problems with RTO mandates. Being in the office five days a week leads to higher rates of burnout, lower morale, and inefficiencies associated with commuting time, according to J. P. Gownder, a principal analyst at Forrester Research.

On average, US workers spend 2.3 days in the office each week, according to a Stanford University study. A separate Stanford study found that hybrid work had zero effect on workers’ productivity or career advancement and dramatically boosted retention rates.

In general, hybrid working arrangements hold numerous advantages over full-time, in-office, Gownder said, and for non-collaborative work, home offices are far better suited because they create “a focused environment.”

“Despite some managers’ concerns, employees who work in hybrid fashion are more productive than those who spend all their time in the office. Most employees engage in a mix of personal and collaborative work,” he said.

In fact, hybrid work boosts employee productivity, performance, and retention, according to Nicholas Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford. Because of RTO mandates, employees are often forced to commute in only to do tasks they could handle at home. Even in the office, many still rely on videoconferencing to collaborate with colleagues in other locations.

As a result of that and other inconveniences, organizations that move from hybrid work to full-time in-office work can expect higher attrition rates, Gownder argued. “Sometimes, managers impose these policies specifically to drive higher attrition, in lieu of layoffs,” he said. “IT talent often can work effectively remotely, and attrition rates in general are higher among IT professionals.”

Too many workers, too few offices?

Additionally, the federal government and private companies have a dramatically smaller number of offices to which they could return as many companies have consolidated their footprints to a few key hubs. AT&T, for example, ordered 60,000 managers to work from one of only nine offices, forcing 9,000 employees to relocate or resign.

As the pandemic eased in 2022 and 2023, US core business centers in large and small cities continued to suffer the after-effects of remote- and hybrid-work policies, which led to a 20% to 40% reduction in office space use and a devaluation of properties. The big switch to remote work left many downtowns largely empty for months.

Data indicates that approximately 80% of offices had downsized by the end of 2023. Other sources indicate the downsizing slowed last year and by Q4 2024 office leasing rates were at about 92% of pre-pandemic levels, according to David Brodeur-Johnson, employee experience research lead at Forrester Research.

“And yes, I believe that firms would be willing to expand their office spaces as needed to keep up with capacity, but most aren’t there yet,” he said.

While most organizations adopted a hybrid-work policies, requiring employees to be in the office a few days each week while allowing work from home on other days, the Trump Administration’s policies are a strict, five-day RTO. That’s likely to incur an employee backlash, Brodeur-Johnson said.

The dangers of disengagement

The federal government, he said, risks employee disengagement more than attrition. Monitoring federal employee surveys like FedRamp will be crucial, as disengagement is costly for both employees and employers.

“It’s important to bear in mind also that autonomy is a primary source of intrinsic motivation — the kind that comes from within — so I would argue strongly that the biggest negative impact will likely be to employee engagement instead of attrition,” Brodeur-Johnson said.

Academic studies also show that strong social relationships are key to remote work success, with emotional closeness outweighing physical distance. But simply being in the office doesn’t promote social relationships, Brodeur-Johnson pointed out. “Which is why companies like Nvidia have left it up to employees to decide, up to and including fully remote work,” he said. “How close people feel to each other emotionally is far more important than physical distance.”

While Trump’s executive order could spark a wider look at RTO edicts elsewhere, most private companies have settled on what their employees will tolerate. Meanwhile, federal agencies have steadily increased in-office requirements, so the latest change shouldn’t be a surprise, Brodeur-Johnson said.

But for some workers — especially those with care-giving duties or better flexible job options — it could be the tipping point. Top talent might leave first, which is why RTO mandates have slowed recently, he said.

Meta wants everyone to know that it, too, is investing a lot in AI

Not to be outdone by its close rival OpenAI, Meta has announced its plans to spend $60 to $65 billion on AI infrastructure this year, and is building a data center almost as big as Manhattan.

In a Facebook post, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his company’s intent to build a 2GW data center, bring roughly 1GW of compute online in 2025, and end the year with more than 1.3 million GPUs.

Included in his post was a blueprint of the planned “Richland Parish Center Data Center” superimposed on a map of Manhattan (the data center will actually be in northeast Louisiana).

DOJ indicts North Korean conspirators for remote IT work scheme

The US Department of Justice this week announced that it had indicted two North Korean nationals and three other men, accusing them of participating in a conspiracy designed to trick US companies into funding the North Korean regime.

According to the indictment, which was filed in federal court in Miami, the scheme leveraged stolen identity documents and paid henchmen in the US to direct well-paid IT work and company computers to two North Korean men, Jin Sung-Il and Pak Jin-Song. The idea, the Justice Department said, was to funnel money back to the North Korean regime, which has limited opportunities to generate cash through legal means thanks to heavy international sanctions.

The conspiracy, according to the indictment, centers on North Korean nationals posing as foreign workers in other nations, or as US nationals, and gaining employment via online platforms that allow companies to advertise for contract IT workers. Using fake or altered identity documents, the North Koreans took on contracts for several US companies, which were not identified by name in the indictment. Those businesses then shipped company laptops to three US-based co-conspirators, Pedro Ernesto Alonso De Los Reyes, Erick Ntekereze Prince, and Emanuel Ashtor, who, the Justice Department said, installed remote access software on them so that they could be operated by Jin and Pak.

The US-based members of the group also used their own companies as fronts for the conspiracy, invoicing several of the victim firms and funneling payments to the North Koreans. The indictment stated that at least 64 US companies were victimized, and payments from ten of them generated at least $866,255 in revenue over the duration of the scheme, which ran for more than six years.

All five defendants are charged with conspiracy to damage a protected computer, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and transferring false identification documents. The two North Koreans are additionally charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Each could face up to 20 years in prison.

Highlights risk from North Korea

“The indictments announced today should highlight to all American companies the risk posed by the North Korean government,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, Bryan Vorndran, in a statement.

While the indictments announced Thursday characterized this conspiracy as largely focused on diverting money to the heavily embargoed North Korean government, similar efforts by that country have been aimed at compromising corporate secrets and sensitive information. The “laptop farm” — where a US-based associate such as Prince and Ashtor hosted the provided company laptops in their own homes to conceal the North Korean involvement — has been a known technique for North Korean cyberwarfare since at least 2022, and has been used not just to collect a salary, but to steal data, explore sensitive parts of strategically significant infrastructure, and attempt to extort victimized firms.

The operations are growing in both numbers and sophistication, according to security firms who spoke to CSO in November. One recent case saw a bad actor use deepfake video technology and automated voice translation in a video interview, though this didn’t work particularly well and the interviewers were easily able to tell that something was wrong.

“Her eyes weren’t moving, the lips weren’t in sync, and the voice was mechanical,” Kirkwood told CSO. “It was like something from a 1970s Japanese Godzilla movie.”

Google-owned threat intelligence provider Mandiant told CSO that the number of North Korean IT workers looking to gain valuable freelance positions number in the thousands, and although not all are engaged in purely nefarious activity, the number of intrusion incidents linked to North Korean workers is high.

Trump’s move to lift Biden-era AI rules sparks debate over fast-tracked advances — and potential risks

President Donald Trump’s executive order removing Biden-Administration rules governing AI development is being cast as an opening of AI development flood gates, which could fast track advances in the still-new technology, but could also pose risks.

Signed on Thursday, the executive order (EO) overturns former President Joe Biden’s 2023 policy, which mandated that AI developers conduct safety testing and share results with the government before releasing systems that could pose risks to national security, public health, or the economy.

The revocation of the 2023 Eo shifts federal oversight from mandates to voluntary commitments, reducing requirements such as safety training submissions and large-scale computer acquisition notices, enabling less regulated innovation.

“This means some states may continue to follow the regulatory guidance in the 2023 EO, while others may not,” said Lydia Clougherty Jones Sr., a director analyst at Gartner Research.

Trump’s policy states its purpose is to “sustain and enhance America’s dominance in AI,” and promote national security. The EO directs the creation of an “AI Action Plan,” led by the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, the White House AI and Crypto Czar, and the National Security Advisor. Michael Kritsios (former US CTO under the Trump administration), David Sacks (venture capitalist and former PayPal executive), and US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla), have been nominated or appointed, respectively, to these positions.

A public-private partnership on AI

Along with the order, Trump also unveiled the Stargate initiative, a public-private venture that would create a new company to build out the nation’s AI infrastructure, including new data centers and new power plants to feed them. Initially, Stargate will team up the US government with OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank. The companies will initially invest $100 billion in the project, with plans to reach $500 billion. Trump said the move would create 100,000 US jobs.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, for example, said 10 new AI data centers are already under construction. He linked the project to the use of AI for digital health records, noting the technology could help develop customized cancer vaccines and improve disease treatment.

Not everyone is, however, upbeat about the loosening of government oversight of AI development and partnerships with the private sector.

The Stargate announcement, along with the Trump Administration’s reversal of the earlier AI safety order, could replace many federal workers in key public service roles, according to Cliff Jurkiewicz, vice president of global strategy at Phenom, a company specializing in AI-enabled human resources.

 “While it’s impressive to see such a significant investment by the federal government and private businesses into the nation’s AI infrastructure, the downside is that it has the potential to disenfranchise federal workers who are not properly trained and ready to use AI,” Jurkiewicz said. “Federal employees need training to use AI effectively; it can’t just be imposed on them.”

Stargate will speed up what Jurkiewcz called “the Great Recalibration” — a shift in how work is performed through an human-AI partnership. Over the next 12 to 18 months, businesses will realize they can’t fully replace human knowledge and experience with technology, “since machines don’t perceive the world as we do,” he said.

The move could put smaller AI companies at a competitive disadvantage by stifling innovation, Jurkiewicz said. “Stargate could also deepen inequities, as those who know how to use AI will have a significant advantage over those who don’t.”

Removing AI regulations, however, won’t inherently lead to a completely unbridled technology that can mimic human intelligence in areas such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.

Commercial risk will drive responsible AI, with investment and success shaped by the private market and state regulations, according to Gartner. Industry commitments and consortia will advance AI safety and development to meet societal needs, independent of federal or state policies.

AI unleashed to become Skynet?

Some predict AI will become as ubiquitous as electricity or the internet, in that it will eventually be operating behind the scenes and woven into everyday life, silently powering countless systems and services without drawing much attention.

“I’m sure the whole Terminator thing could happen. I don’t consider it likely,” said John Veitch, dean of the School of Business and Management at Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA. “I see lots of positive things with AI and taking the guardrails off of it.”

Regulating something as transformative as AI is challenging, much like the early internet. “If we had foreseen social media’s impact in 1999, would we have done things differently? I don’t know,” Veitch said.

Given AI’s complexity, less regulation might be better than more, at least for now, he said.

AI is valuable as the US faces an aging population and a shrinking labor force, Veitch said. With skilled workers harder to find and expensive to hire, AI can replace call centers or assist admissions teams, offering cost-effective solutions. For example, Notre Dame de Namur’s admissions team uses generative AI to follow up on enrollment requests.

Trump’s executive order prioritizes “sovereign AI” affecting the private market, while shifting most regulatory oversight to state and local governments. For example, New York plans to restrict government use of AI for automated decisions without human monitoring, while Colorado’s new AI law, effective in 2026, will require businesses to inform consumers when they’re interacting with AI, Gartner’s Jones said.

The revocation of Biden’s 2023 order reduces federal oversight of model development, removing requirements such as submitting safety training results or sending notifications about large-scale computer cluster acquisitions, which could encourage faster innovation, according to Jones. “Thus, it was not a surprise to see the Stargate announcement and the related public-private commitments,” she said.

Strengthening sovereign AI, Jones said, will boost public-private partnerships like Stargate to maintain US competitiveness and tech leadership.

What enterprises should focus on

Now that the regulatory buck has been passed to states, so to speak, organizations should monitor US state AI executive orders, laws, and pending legislation, focusing on mandates that differentiate genAI from other AI techniques and apply to government use, according to a Gartner report.

“We have already seen diverse concerns unique to individual state goals across the nearly 700 pieces of state-level AI-proposed legislation in 2024 alone,” Gartner said.

According to Gartner:

  • By 2029, 10% of corporate boards globally are expected to use AI to challenge key executive decisions.
  • By 2027, Fortune 500 companies will redirect $500 billion from energy operating expenses to microgrids to address energy risks and AI demands.
  • By 2027, 15% of new applications will be fully generated by AI, up from 0% today.

Executives should identify patterns in new laws, especially those addressing AI biases or errors, and align responsible AI with company goals. Companies are also being urged to document AI decision-making and manage high-risk use cases to ensure compliance and reduce harm.

Organizations should also assess opportunities and risks from federal investments in AI and IT modernization. For global operations, companies will need to monitor AI initiatives in regions like the EU, UK, China, and India, Gartner said.

“Striking a balance between AI innovation and safety will be challenging, as it will be essential to apply the appropriate level of regulation,” the researcher said. “Until the new administration determines this balance, state governments will continue to lead the way in issuing regulations focusing on AI innovation and safety-centric measures that impact US enterprises.”

Smile! You can now control your Chromebook with your face

Google has started rolling out a number of new features in Chrome OS, according to The Verge, including a new feature that allows a user to control their Chromebook using head movements (to move the mouse pointer) and facial expressions (to click or activate dictation).

In the video below, see how it works:


To use the new feature, your Chromebook must have at least 8GB of RAM. In this context, it can be mentioned that about twenty new Chromebook models will be launched in 2025.

OpenAI’s new Operator agent can use the web for you

OpenAI is releasing a preview version of its first AI agent, Operator, which is specifically designed to use a web browser and can, for example, book a table at a restaurant for the user on its own. (An AI agent is a system that can be given a task and then work on it independently.)

In the meantime, the user can either watch the Operator work on the web or do something completely different. In some cases, the Operator will wait for the user — for example, if it needs to log in somewhere or confirm that an email should be sent.

OpenAI says its Operator will not be able to perform malicious tasks. The company also notes that the tool currently has problems with more complex user interfaces, such as managing a calendar or creating a slideshow for a presentation.

Operator will initially be available to ChatGPT Pro users, which is the most expensive variant of Chat GPT at $200 a month. But ChatGPT Plus users will also have access to the agent in the coming months.

The AI agent will first be available in the US, followed by other countries. More details are available here.

Epic v. Apple — are you not entertained?

It’s game on as Epic takes a direct stab at both Apple and Google with its latest overture to woo developers to offer content via the European Epic games store; the company will pay so customers can play in an attempt to exploit the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has forced Apple to open up more.

Apple charges developers who want to sell games outside of the App Store a small fee once game installations achieve 1 million downloads during a year. Apple notes that the Core Technology Fee is not applied in numerous cases:

  • No fee is applied to free apps.
  • No fee is applied to apps from nonprofits, educational institutions, or government entities. 
  • There’s no charge for the first 1 million app installs.
  • Small developers (classified as those earning under $10 million in global business revenue) get a three-year fee on ramp, which means they won’t pay the CTF during the first three years.
  • No fees are applied for patches and updates, and users are not charged when they reinstall their apps using iCloud transfer.

With those restrictions, it’s pretty clear that as taxes go, the vast majority of entities don’t pay any tax at all when they choose to distribute applications using the CTF process. 

Which puts Epic’s offer in perspective.

What Epic is doing

Here’s that offer:

  • Epic’s mobile store will open to any game developer seeking distribution later this year.
  • For one year, Epic will pay the Apple Core Technology Fee for participants in its free games program.
  • The first 20 games to make it to Epic’s store are set to appear in the coming weeks.

“Our aim here isn’t just to launch a bunch of different stores in different places, but to build a single, cross-platform store in which, within the era of multi-platform games, if you buy a game or digital items in one place, you have the ability to own them everywhere,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney told The Verge.

The idea that you can buy once to play anywhere is probably the best argument for openness I’ve heard yet. We’ll see if it turns out that way.

Another strong argument to Epic’s approach is that Apple’s CTF arrangement means that a developer of multiple apps is more likely to cross that 1 million download threshold, as it is applied across their app catalog, rather than per app. Apple also seeks that CTF fee for downloads across every store.

Who really benefits? 

All the same, once you do the math, it should be clear that the vast majority of developers already pay nothing when they choose to offer up apps — including games — through Apple’s App Store, or even via third-party stores in the regions in which they can. In fact, the games publishers most likely to pay these fees will be the largest publishers, particularly those who have succeeded in developing strong in-app economies. (Some games, such as Diablo Immortal, really take that to the extreme, with gamers complaining the entire game is overtly built around convincing people to spend money in-game).

But, what Epic is doing with this offer is directly pitching its own app distribution service to the largest games developers who are already making good money through Apple’s ecosystem. As I see it, the offer gives Epic a chance grab a slice of lucrative future income, while hitting Apple where it feels it most — revenue. In business terms, that makes sense.

At the same time, by positioning itself as some kind of freedom fighter, Epic manages to make this commercially-driven grab for revenue allow it to appear to be the good guy in the story. Though as most conflict resolution experts will probably tell you, everyone on every side is usually the hero in their own story. 

Apple thinks it is a hero, too.

What’s really going on here is a game of millionaires, with well-heeled companies on all sides strenuously negotiating for different business terms so that revenue is shared differently.

Epic’s making a probably accurate guess that the biggest App Store earners probably don’t care much that if they don’t pay more, smaller developers will have to do so. Nor, I think, do these commercial entities worry much that while consumers might get slightly better deals in some ways, they will eventually find they end up paying more for the same experience. Smaller developers landed with rising platform-related development costs will just charge customers more, and Apple will seek to guard its own bottom line. 

It always does.

End result? 

Sure, you might find some developers racing off to Epic’s store, convinced by all the “Apple Tax” rhetoric until they eventually find they are paying a different tax to Epic instead. Some larger developers will go all-in on third-party outlets, offering inducements to bring consumers across. It won’t be too long until Epic reaches its target 100 million store users, as people will probably follow the content. 

Eventually, people will get their software at Epic’s, Apple’s, and other stores, all with varying tech support and security levels, and Apple will still receive the first panic calls from the consumers who don’t understand who to call when things go wrong. 

Apple will legitimately argue that it should be compensated for this tech support, as well as platform and ecosystem development. However, if it fails to win that argument, you can anticipate the cost of both developing on and purchasing its platforms will increase. Don’t neglect that it wasn’t really that long ago Apple charged for operating system upgrades. It could do so again.

What I think will happen is that in exchange for buying apps you can use across platforms (good), and slightly better income for developers (also good), most prices won’t change that much, other costs will increase, and while Apple’s App Store power may be mitigated somewhat, the security environment will degrade.

No matter, however, as at least a handful of millionaires will have a few more dollars, while the cost of that wealth transfer will ultimately be shouldered by the group all sides claim to care about, consumers who simply want to use apps on their devices. This will not be a redemption song.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedInMastodon, and MeWe

MDM and genAI: A match made in Heaven — or something less?

Unless you’ve been in a coma for the past couple of years, you’ve seen countless headlines about how generative AI (genAI) is revolutionizing how we work, automating some jobs out of existence while empowering workers to move into new and more creative roles. GenAI features have been added to almost every type of business app there is, sometimes with more real-world uses than others. 

The mobile device management (MDM) market is no exception. But is genAI really changing how IT professionals manage and secure devices in the workplace? 

Several major MDM vendors have announced or introduced genAI feature sets in recent months. But just what they mean by “AI” varies widely when it comes to their solutions and workflows, so it’s often unclear just how useful these additions will be for IT.

Here’s what to look for when eyeing the overall market and deciding which direction to take.

Working with MDM data

One obvious way genAI can deliver value is by making it easier (and faster) to request, interpret, summarize, and react to data. This isn’t the most ground-breaking function, but it can be extremely useful and save a lot of time. Simply being able to ask about a given device or policy — or to query information about a large swath of devices and their configurations and use — is a big advantage, particularly if you want granular data about various groups or subsets of devices you manage. 

MDM users aren’t so much getting new information as getting to ask questions about that data in a more straightforward way. Instead of having to run a series of queries and reports and then collating and summarizing that information, IT admins can simply ask questions about device configuration, usage, policies and groups.

Of the major MDM options available, Intune with Copilot from Microsoft seems to have gone further in this area than any other. In addition to natural language processing, Copilot has several Intune-specific prompts that users can try, such as comparing multiple devices to each other or against corporate policies. 

This might not take the place of running regular reports about device inventory or compliance, but it can make it much easier if you need to get specific information quickly in addition to those regular reports. 

Automating tasks

Another common use for genAI is to automate tasks. Most MDM suites already offer some degree of automation, but learning to create those automations in the first place often requires a learning curve. Being able to describe a task that needs to be performed (repeatedly or for specific needs) can be a game changer. 

VMWare sees this as a major focus by allowing its tool to create and run scripts based on  natural language prompts. 

Put natural language and automation together and you have a powerful way to allocate resources. One use case: being able to automate app licensing based on how devices are actually being used as opposed to how you might expect them to be used. 

Threat detection

Threat and malware detection, along with policy compliance, is one of the biggest ways genAI can unlock value when it comes to MDM. JAMFKandji and Intune all boast features that leverage genAI’s ability to retrieve, interpret, and act on information indicating suspicious or malicious activity. Not only do MDM tools give you information about potential threats, but responses can be automated. This means that if something looks concerning, access to resources can be immediately halted and the user informed they must work with IT to regain access to information and features. 

This allows for a much more proactive approach to security, particularly when threat detection is based on user behavior not just on configuration or policy compliance data. 

Device troubleshooting and support

One of the features Copilot in Intune boasts is the ability to identify errors, their causes, and potential resolutions. Copilot can provide general device, configuration, or app information related to troubleshooting and even provide information about specific errors encountered on a device. It’s not a complete self-service tool or something that will walk you through each step of troubleshooting a specific problem. But being able to find relevant device data — and get a suggested explanation for a problem — are real advantages when it comes to supporting mobile devices in your environment. This can save significant time (and user frustration) when it comes to responding a problem.

Troubleshooting MDM systems and exploring functionality

Also in the support bucket is the ability to resolve problems with configurations and learn more about how to proactively work with your MDM software. This could represent a big win for organizations, particularly as you onboard additional IT staffers, switch MDM products, or seek to remain updated on the latest capabilities your solution offers.

JAMF and Hexnode are both implementing chatbots designed to help IT workers troubleshoot problems, learn about new features, and understand how to use them. 

JAMF incorporates an exceptional set of resources its genAI model has access to, including product information, knowledge base articles, curated posts from its JAMF Nation forums, sessions from the company’s user conference, and selected Apple support documents.

Should you switch MDM providers based on genAI tweaks?

Though genAI technology is still evolving, it’s good to see each MDM vendor staking out its own territory when it comes to adding new functions. (It’ll be interesting to see if these differing tacks become a meaningful area of differentiation or whether everyone will eventually end up offering essentially the same feature set.) 

As for the market right now, it’s too soon to say that AI alone should influence whether you continue with your current provider or consider switching. Unless you’re already actively planning to migrate to a new company, the AI roadmaps of the competition are worth taking into consideration (with a grain of salt). If you’re satisfied with what you have, taking a wait-and-see approach to how this plays out over of the next couple of years makes more sense than any rash moves. 

A Pixel-inspired productivity upgrade for any Android device

My friend and fellow Android appreciator, allow me to shower you with two delightfully simultaneous truths from here in the land o’ Googley matters:

  1. I love using Google’s Pixel devices in part because of all the genuinely useful features they add into the Android equation.
  2. I love the fact that Android itself makes it not only possible but also incredibly easy to bring similar bits of sorcery to any other device — no matter who made the thing or how old it might be.

It’s something most mere mortals take for granted, but man, what an awesome duality. On the one hand, you’ve got Google’s software smarts showing up and creating an exceptional all-around experience in the Pixel arena — and on the other, you’ve got Android’s open approach to app development empowering the community to take that inspiration and bring it anywhere else in a way that frequently wouldn’t be possible on (ahem) any other platform.

That’s precisely what’s happening with the treasure I want to share with you today. It’s a clever recreation of one of Google’s most recent Pixel-exclusive features — one so new, it’s still available only on the latest Pixel 9 gadgets.

Or so it’d seem, anyway.

Ready for an instant upgrade?

[Get more Googley goodness in your inbox with my Android Intelligence newsletter. Three new things to try each Friday — and my Android Notification Power-Pack as a special welcome bonus!]

Google’s Pixel Screenshots — no Pixel required

The Google-given Pixel goodness we’re gonna grab revolves around the simple-seeming act of saving a screenshot on your favorite Android phone.

As you may or may not recall, Google whipped up a nifty new feature for its Pixel 9 series called Pixel Screenshots. It’s a system-level app on the devices that graces you with two time-saving treats:

  1. It analyzes every screenshot you take to make it quick ‘n’ easy to dig back and find important info — effectively transforming regular ol’ screenshots into a simple yet robust save-it-for-later system.
  2. It allows you to set reminders for any screenshot you snag right as you capture it, further fleshing out that remarkably sensible new role.

The latter part is honestly my favorite Pixel 9 feature and something that has the potential to seriously step up your productivity and change the way you use your phone. It’s also something I’ve already shown you how to emulate on any other Android device in a roundabout way, with a pinch of tinkering and a touch of creative thinking.

The first part, though, is something that’s been limited only to those Pixel 9 models — until now.

Allow me to introduce you to a crafty little creation called, rather fittingly, PixelShot. PixelShot brings the same screenshot-organizing prowess from the Pixel 9 series to whatever Android device you’re using — a Samsung Galaxy gizmo, a Motorola monster, or even an older Pixel model. Whatever phone is in front of you, it should work and give you some welcome new abilities.

At the app’s core is an eerily similar replica of the native Pixel-9-exclusive Pixel Screenshots app interface. I mean, seriously — look at the two setups side by side:

Pixel Screenshots and PixelShot on Android
PixelShot (left) and the native Google Pixel Screenshots app (right).

JR Raphael, IDG

And the similarities stretch far beyond the surface. Just like Pixel Screenshots, PixelShot works to analyze your screenshots and make ’em more useful as an ongoing reference and resource. There really isn’t much to it, either: Once you open it up and go through its initial setup — and grant it the access to your device’s storage that it clearly needs in order to operate — the app will take a few minutes to catch up and process all of your existing screenshots up to that point.

Then, it’ll show you all your screenshots in a single streamlined and easy-to-access spot — with auto-generated summaries of each item that make it extra easy to search and find anything you need, anytime, even if it’s visible only as part of an image.

PixelShot: Android screenshot search
PixelShot’s auto-generated summaries make it fast and easy to find any screenshot you’ve captured.

JR Raphael, IDG

(As a reminder, by the way, you can capture a screenshot on Android by pressing your phone’s physical power button and volume-down button together from anywhere — no matter what else you might be doing on your device.)

PixelShot lets you manually organize your screenshots into collections, too, just like the native Google Pixel Screenshots app does. If there’s something in particular you’re capturing and you know you’ll want to reference again later, that’s a handy way to proactively organize it and make it easy to resurface — something that typically isn’t so simple, in an ordinary Android image gallery.

You can also add in notes to go along with any screenshot for extra info and context as well as extra searching power down the road.

PixelShot: Android screenshot notes
You can add notes to your screenshots and then use that for extra searching power.

JR Raphael, IDG

But it’s really the automatic elements of PixelShot that seem most broadly useful — the way it enhances your existing Android screenshot setup and reframes it as a memo-making, info-saving system with simple future finding and discovery. Even if you think of it as nothing more than a powerful way to search through your screenshots and find important stuff you’ve saved, it’s worth keeping around solely for that purpose.

To be fair, for all its positives and similarities to the actual Pixel 9 Screenshots tool, PixelShot does have a few noteworthy limitations compared to the original:

  • First, while the original Google-made Pixel Screenshots service imports and analyzes every screenshot on its own as it’s captured — in the background — PixelShot updates only when you actually open the app. So every time you fire it up, you’ll see it take a few seconds to catch up and catalogue and analyze all the screenshots you’ve taken since you last looked at it. (Not too big of a deal, really.)
  • Second, while Pixel Screenshots works entirely on your own device, PixelShot works by uploading extracted text from your screenshots to a cloud server in order to summarize it. That being said, the developer says the extraction is all done locally, that screenshots themselves are never uploaded anywhere, and that the text sent to a server for summarization is never stored or shared in any way.
  • And finally, given its lack of native system-level integration, PixelShot doesn’t include the super-useful on-the-fly reminder-setting feature that’s a part of Google’s version on the Pixel 9. (But remember: I’ve got a separate way to set up something similar on any device, if you’re so inspired!)

PixelShot is completely free to use for now, with no ads or asterisks. It does seem like it could shift to a more freemium and/or ad-supported model eventually — which is understandable, given the costs associated with all the AI-powered summarization stuff — but for the moment, at least, there’s really no catch whatsoever.

It’s just a fast and easy upgrade for any phone and a fantastic illustration of the power and flexibility Android affords us — even if you don’t opt for the latest top-of-the-line Google goody.

Love this stuff as much as I do? Check out my free Android Intelligence newsletter for three new things to try in your inbox every Friday — and my free Android Notification Power-Pack as soon as you sign up!

Trump tasks federal agencies with drafting a new AI action plan within 180 days

President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order to make the US a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), revoking regulatory measures enacted by the Biden administration.

The executive order, signed Thursday, tasks federal agencies with drafting an AI action plan within 180 days to strengthen US competitiveness and safeguard national security.

Trump’s directive focuses on fostering innovation by eliminating what he called “harmful government overreach” that hampered AI development under the previous administration.

“This Executive Order establishes the commitment of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s dominance in AI to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security,” Trump said in the order.

Repealing Biden-era AI restrictions

The new order reverses a 2023 executive order by then-President Joe Biden that imposed stringent regulations on AI developers. Biden’s policy required companies to conduct safety testing and share results with the federal government before releasing AI systems with potential risks to national security, public health, or the economy.

“The Biden AI Executive Order established unnecessarily burdensome requirements for companies developing and deploying AI that would stifle private sector innovation and threaten American technological leadership,” the executive order stated.

Critics argued the measures stifled innovation and burdened developers with excessive compliance requirements. Trump’s order directs federal agencies to rescind or revise all policies tied to the Biden-era rules.

“Trump’s executive order has the potential to accelerate the development and deployment of AI models by easing compliance burdens on developers,” said Mansi Gupta, senior analyst at Everest Group. “However, this shift introduces significant risks for sensitive industries like healthcare, where responsible AI considerations are crucial.”

Earlier this week, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump revoked a 2023 executive order issued by Joe Biden that imposed stricter oversight on artificial intelligence (AI) development.

AI action plan and streamlined oversight

The executive order calls for the creation of a comprehensive AI Action Plan to guide the US toward sustained global leadership. The plan will be led by top federal science and national security officials and will include efforts to streamline AI oversight, prioritize ethical development, and ensure models remain free from ideological bias.

The order directs “the development of an AI Action Plan to sustain and enhance America’s AI dominance, led by the Assistant to the President for Science & Technology, the White House AI & Crypto Czar, and the National Security Advisor,” the order read.

It also requires the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue revised guidelines for federal AI governance to promote agility in private-sector collaboration in order to “ensure that harmful barriers to America’s AI leadership are eliminated.”

Earlier this week, President Trump unveiled a private sector investment plan of up to $500 billion to bolster artificial intelligence infrastructure, aiming to position the US ahead of global competitors in this critical technology sector.

Implications for enterprises

Trump’s pro-AI stance signals reduced regulatory friction for US enterprises. Industry leaders anticipate increased investments in AI research and development, particularly in sectors such as defense, healthcare, and autonomous technologies.

However, the deregulation has sparked concerns over potential ethical lapses and security risks. Without robust oversight, critics warn that biases and malicious uses of AI could proliferate.

“The responsibility for ensuring ethical and accurate AI now shifts from developers to enterprises, which must navigate the challenge of balancing rapid innovation with rigorous risk mitigation measures,” Gupta noted.

Building on a legacy of AI leadership

The order builds on Trump’s 2019 executive order, the first US policy framework on AI, which doubled research funding and established national AI research institutes. Trump also issued federal guidance on AI adoption, making the US an early player in shaping global AI governance.

“This new directive reaffirms America’s commitment to innovation, free speech, and economic growth,” the White House said.

With the new AI policy, the Trump administration aims to recalibrate the balance between fostering innovation and ensuring responsible development. Enterprises are likely to welcome reduced compliance hurdles, but the long-term success of the initiative will depend on industry players’ ability to uphold ethical practices amid the drive for dominance. As the countdown begins for the AI Action Plan, the executive order positions the US at a crossroads where innovation and governance must align to maintain leadership in the AI race.