Chicago IT Support & Cyber Security | Forward Technologies

Chicago-based Forward Technologies delivers IT support and cyber security to businesses in the Chicago area and nationwide.

The AI Free Ride Is Starting to End

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Cartoon-style illustration of a worried office worker sitting at a desk in front of a laptop while reviewing a report that shows rapidly rising costs. The report features a gauge in the red zone and a stack of coins, suggesting escalating expenses. Large windows behind him reveal a city skyline at sunset, while coffee cups and a laptop on the desk reinforce the corporate office setting. The image symbolizes growing concern over the rising cost of AI tools and enterprise technology spending.The AI subsidy era is ending, and the bills are finally showing up.

Microsoft is reportedly cutting back internal Claude Code licenses and steering developers toward GitHub Copilot CLI instead. It matters because this is Microsoft, not some cash-strapped startup. This is the company that poured billions into OpenAI, owns GitHub, and runs one of the biggest cloud businesses on earth. If even Microsoft is looking at token-based usage and deciding the math does not work, everyone else should probably pay attention. [Read more…]

AI is increasing the intensity of work rather than reducing it

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A cartoon office worker at a desk surrounded by multiple screens and notifications while a friendly robot keeps handing them more tasks, showing overload.There’s a growing argument that AI is increasing the intensity of work instead of reducing it, and honestly, that tracks.

Everyone keeps talking about how AI is supposed to save time. That’s technically true. The problem is what happens next.

You finish something in half the time, and instead of getting breathing room, you get more work. Not later. Immediately. What used to be a full day turns into half a day, and now you’re expected to fill the rest. That’s what people are actually feeling right now. It’s not less work. It’s the same job compressed and then expanded again. [Read more…]

Why Scaling Large Language Models Won’t Give Us AGI

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Illustration of a chatbot made of text blocks facing a human brain with gears and arrows, representing prediction versus real understandingWe’ve spent the last few years watching language models get disturbingly good at sounding smart. They write coherent essays, debug code, explain quantum physics in simple terms. The experience is convincing enough that serious people have started talking about these systems as if they’re on the cusp of real intelligence, or already past it.

They’re not. And the gap matters more than the hype suggests.

Look, I get the appeal. When ChatGPT solves a tricky programming problem or writes a passable legal brief, it feels intelligent. But fluency isn’t understanding, and being really good at predicting the next word isn’t the same as knowing how the world actually works. [Read more…]

Meta Makes AI Chats Fuel Ads; And You Can’t Opt Out (in the U.S.)

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Meta is rolling out a sweeping change to how it handles user data. Beginning December 16, interactions with its AI chat tools, whether text or voice, will feed into content recommendations and ad targeting across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. And in the U.S., users will have no way to opt out.

On October 7, Meta will begin notifying users that their AI interactions will influence recommendations. But the initial notice is vague, saying only, “Learn how Meta will use your info in new ways to personalize your experience.” Users must click through to see the part about AI. Meta says the omission is not deliberate. A spokesperson insists the AI connection becomes clear immediately after the notice opens. [Read more…]

When Hidden AI Meets Quantum Doom: The New Enterprise Security Crossroads

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Abstract graphic of AI code streams merging with digital locks, symbolizing AI governance and quantum-safe encryptionWhy Shadow AI Slips Past Security

Shadow AI is already inside. The tools sit in browsers and sidebars. Employees paste snippets of code, customer notes, even legal language into chatbots that were never vetted. The answers look helpful. The risk hides in the copy and paste. Data leaves the building without a ticket. Logs do not show it. Policies never saw it. By the time a leak becomes visible, the trail is cold.

IT leaders keep asking the same question. How do you govern what you cannot see? You start by naming it. Shadow AI covers any AI use that bypasses purchase, security review, or monitoring. That includes SaaS chat tools, browser extensions, model endpoints wired into internal scripts, and clever “personal assistants” someone installed on a work laptop. Each of those entry points can move sensitive information to third parties. Some keep prompts. Others store outputs. Many train on uploaded files. You cannot make a clean audit if you do not control any of that. [Read more…]

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Forward Technologies
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STE 500B
Chicago, IL 60654
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