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Generative AI Hype Test: Can It Actually Rework SDLC?


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Generative AI Hype Test: Can It Actually Rework SDLC?
 

Is your group utilizing generative AI to boost code high quality, expedite supply, and scale back time spent per dash? Or are you continue to within the experimentation and exploration part? Wherever you’re on this journey, you may’t deny the truth that Gen AI is more and more altering our actuality right this moment. It’s turning into remarkably efficient at writing code and performing associated duties like testing and QA. Instruments like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Tabnine assist programmers by automating tedious duties and streamlining their work.

And this doesn’t appear as if fleeting hype. In response to a Market Analysis Future report, the generative AI in software program growth lifecycle (SDLC) market is predicted to develop from $0.25 billion in 2025 to $75.3 billion by 2035.

Earlier than generative AI, an engineer needed to extract necessities from prolonged technical paperwork and conferences manually. Put together UI/UX mockups from scratch. Write and debug code manually. Reactive troubleshooting and log evaluation.

However the entry of Gen AI has flipped this script. Productiveness has skyrocketed. Repetitive, handbook work has been diminished. However beneath this, the true query stays: How did AI revolutionize the SDLC? On this article, we discover that and extra.

 

The place Gen AI Can Be Efficient

 

LLMs are proving to be great 24/7 assistants in SDLC. It automates repetitive, time-consuming duties. Frees engineers to give attention to structure, enterprise logic, and innovation. Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at how Gen AI is including worth to SDLC:

 
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Potentialities with Gen AI in software program growth are each fascinating and overwhelming. It will possibly assist enhance productiveness and pace up timelines.

 

The Different Facet of the Coin

 

Whereas the benefits are exhausting to overlook, it raises two questions.

First, about how secure is our info? Can we use confidential shopper info to fetch output quicker? Is not it dangerous? What are the probabilities that these ChatGPT chats are non-public? Current investigations reveal that Meta AI’s app marks non-public chats as public, elevating privateness issues. This must be analyzed.

Second, and crucial one, what can be the longer term function of builders within the period of automation? The appearance of AI has impacted a number of service sector profiles. From writing to designers, digital advertising, information entry, and lots of extra. And a few studies do define a future totally different from how we’d have imagined it 5 years in the past. Researchers on the U.S. Division of Power’s Oak Ridge Nationwide Laboratory point out that machines, slightly than people, will write most of their code by 2040.

Nevertheless, whether or not this would be the case isn’t inside the scope of our dialogue right this moment. For now, very like the opposite profiles, programmers shall be wanted. However the nature of their work and the required expertise will change considerably. And for that, we take you thru the Gen AI hype verify.

 

The place the Hype Meets Actuality

 

  • The generated output is sound however not revolutionary (at the very least, not but): With the assistance of Gen AI, builders report quicker iteration, particularly when writing boilerplate or normal patterns. It’d work for a well-defined drawback or when the context is evident. Nevertheless, for modern, domain-specific logic and performance-critical code, human oversight stays non-negotiable. You may’t depend on Generative AI/LLM instruments for such initiatives. For instance, let’s take into account legacy modernization. Methods like IBM AS400 and COBOL have powered enterprises for thus a few years. However with time, their effectiveness has diminished as they’re not aligned with right this moment’s digitally empowered consumer base. To keep up them or enhance their features, you will have software program builders who not solely know find out how to work round these methods however are additionally up to date with the brand new applied sciences.

    A corporation can’t threat shedding that information. Relying on Gen AI instruments to construct superior functions that combine seamlessly with these heritage methods shall be an excessive amount of to ask. That is the place the experience of programmers stays paramount. Learn how one can modernize legacy methods with out disruption with AI brokers. That is simply one of many important use circumstances. There are numerous extra issues. So, sure LLMs can speed up the SDLC, however not change the very important cog, i.e., people.

  • Check automation is quietly successful, however not with out human oversight: LLMs excel at producing quite a lot of take a look at circumstances, recognizing gaps, and fixing errors. However that doesn’t imply we are able to hold human programmers out of the image. Gen AI can’t resolve what to check or interpret failures. As a result of individuals are unpredictable, as an illustration, an e-commerce order might be delayed for a number of causes. And a buyer who has ordered essential provides earlier than leaving for the Mount Everest base camp trek could count on the order to reach earlier than they go away. But when the chatbot isn’t skilled on contextual elements like urgency, supply dependencies, or exceptions in consumer intent, it might fail to offer an empathetic or correct response. A gen AI testing device could not be capable of take a look at such variations. That is the place human reasoning, years {of professional} experience, and instinct stand tall.
  • Documentation has by no means been simpler; but there’s a catch: Gen AI can auto-generate docs, summarize assembly notes, and achieve this way more with a single immediate. It will possibly scale back the time spent on handbook, repetitive duties, and supply consistency throughout large-scale initiatives. Nevertheless, it may well’t make selections for you. It lacks contextual judgment and emotional maturity. For instance, understanding why a selected logic was written or how sure decisions can affect future scalability. That’s why find out how to interpret complicated conduct nonetheless comes from programmers. They’ve labored on this for years, constructing consciousness and instinct that’s exhausting for machines to copy.
  • AI nonetheless struggles with real-world complexity: Contextual limitations. Considerations round belief, over-reliance, and consistency. And integration friction persists. That’s why CTOs, CIOs, and even programmers are skeptical about utilizing AI on proprietary code with out guardrails. People are important for offering context, validating outputs, and conserving AI in verify. As a result of AI learns from historic patterns and information. And typically that information may mirror the world’s imperfections. Lastly, the AI answer must be moral, accountable, and safe to make use of.

 

Remaining Ideas

 

A current survey of over 4,000 builders discovered that 76% of respondents admitted refactoring at the very least half of AI-generated code earlier than it could possibly be used. This exhibits that whereas expertise improves comfort and luxury, it may well’t be dependent upon totally. Like different applied sciences, Gen AI additionally has its limitations. Nevertheless, dismissing it as mere hype would not be totally correct. As a result of we have now gone by how extremely helpful machine it’s. It will possibly streamline requirement gathering and planning, write code quicker, take a look at a number of circumstances in seconds, and likewise proactively establish anomalies in real-time. Subsequently, the secret’s to undertake LLMs strategically. Use it to scale back the toil with out rising threat. Most significantly, deal with it as an assistant, a “strategic co-pilot”. Not a alternative for human experience.

As a result of ultimately, companies are created by people for people. And Gen AI may help you enhance effectivity like by no means earlier than, however counting on them solely for excellent output could not fetch optimistic ends in the long term. What are your ideas?

 
 

Medical health insurance premiums are going up in 2026. What the heck is happening?

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Many People are going to have sticker shock once they join medical health insurance this 12 months.

For the roughly half of People who get insurance coverage via their work, premiums are set to develop by one other 6 % on common, as much as roughly $27,000 per 12 months for household protection. That may be a 26 % enhance since 2020. Prices have been steadily climbing for a very long time now: Charges are greater than twice as excessive as they had been in 2010.

After which there are the 24 million individuals who purchase insurance coverage on the Inexpensive Care Act marketplaces who face a lot larger will increase — by 30 % on common subsequent 12 months as a result of Congress can’t agree on a deal that will hold them decrease. That is the sticking level on the heart of the continuing authorities shutdown.

Defending and increasing federal well being care funding has been a profitable problem for the Democrats since Republicans tried and didn’t repeal the ACA in 2017. However is the regulation price defending, actually? If it has been so successful, then why are prices nonetheless climbing for the overwhelming majority of People?

It’s a sophisticated story with a sophisticated reply.

The ACA was designed to increase protection, to not management prices

The ACA has one unambiguous success: The uninsured fee in America is round 8 %, roughly as little as it has ever been, half what it was earlier than the regulation handed. Greater than 40 million individuals have been lined by both the marketplaces or Medicaid growth.

However you’ll be forgiven for considering the true function of the ACA was to decrease the price of well being take care of everybody: It’s named, in any case, the “Inexpensive Care” Act. And Democrats offered it on that premise.

“In the long run, our aim is to make well being care extra reasonably priced for households, companies, and the federal authorities. In case you have medical health insurance, the reforms we search will deliver stability and safety you don’t have as we speak,” President Barack Obama stated in 2009 throughout a speech to Congress because the invoice was being debated. “For many who don’t, we’ll give you high quality, reasonably priced decisions. And we’ll lastly hold insurance coverage corporations from discriminating in opposition to those that are sick and wish care probably the most.”

However in actuality, reasonably priced well being care remains to be elusive. A lot of the regulation’s provisions and funding centered on “those that don’t” — on increasing protection to the uninsured. The overwhelming majority of ACA spending was earmarked for monetary help for individuals who purchase insurance coverage on the marketplaces or for masking the price of expanded Medicaid for people who find themselves in or close to poverty.

For a lot of of these individuals, the regulation has delivered clear advantages.

Insurance coverage corporations can not deny them protection for preexisting circumstances, and the federal authorities is stepping in to cowl a lot of their well being care prices. In response to one examine, Medicaid growth saved about 27,400 lives from 2010 to 2022. Bankruptcies for Medicaid sufferers dropped. Evaluations of the ACA marketplaces likewise discover that the individuals signing up for these plans who had been beforehand uninsured at the moment are higher off.

However these wins embody, at most, about 13 % of the inhabitants. For everybody else, the ACA’s document is combined.

Sure, even employer plans at the moment are required to cowl preventive providers, together with some types of contraception, at no cost. Sure, these plans additionally now have to put an annual restrict on how a lot sufferers will be requested to pay for his or her medical care. However extra diffuse financial savings — going to your annual bodily and never owing a $30 copay is sweet — aren’t as life-altering as getting lined for the primary time in years. The brand new annual out-of-pocket limits solely come into play in case you have a severe medical state of affairs; they’re a precious security internet, however not essentially one thing that makes extra routine well being care extra reasonably priced.

Nonetheless, the ACA has grown in reputation over time as extra individuals have gained well being care entry. But it surely’s confirmed to not be sufficient to repair the issue of rising prices.

Well being care prices are nonetheless rising too quick — and we don’t have a fantastic plan to cease it

Democrats stated they need to decrease the nation’s total well being care prices throughout the framework of the ACA, however the regulation’s provisions to truly try this had been restricted. The present regulation permits the federal government to run pilot initiatives that might deliver down the price of healthcare, however whereas some have proven promise, they haven’t been adopted broadly sufficient to basically change how healthcare is financed in the USA.

However the ACA is just not a serious financing reform invoice. It didn’t basically change how suppliers set costs for his or her providers. And the regulation’s new insurance coverage necessities to cowl all individuals, irrespective of their well being standing, and to offer a broader suite of advantages really pushed prices within the different course. It’s merely dearer to require insurers to cowl everybody.

Over time, although, there have been some constructive results on prices. Medicare spending has flattened, and the ACA doubtless deserves a lot of the credit score for that, given its direct fee cuts. However for those who have a look at different measures, equivalent to medical value inflation or staff’ contribution to their premiums, as New York Instances economics reporter Talmon Joseph Smith identified on X, it’s exhausting to see any discernible influence from the ACA in any respect.

Obama and congressional Democrats hoped that the ACA would bend the associated fee curve over time. A part of the plan was these focused fee reforms. A part of it was the idea — nonetheless contested to today — that giving individuals medical health insurance would result in them being more healthy in the long run, which might get monetary savings over time.

However, at the very least up to now, the regulation seems to have merely put a ding in the associated fee curve.

Well being care prices are rising at a slower fee, however they’re nonetheless rising: In response to a 2020 Well being Affairs assessment, nationwide well being spending grew at a 6.9 % annual tempo from 2000 to 2009 after which a 4.3 % tempo from 2010, the 12 months the ACA was handed, to 2018.

US health care costs have been growing at a faster and faster speed

The ACA delivered actual advantages, particularly to specific sufferers, nevertheless it didn’t clear up the issue of unaffordable well being care. Even individuals who have medical health insurance more and more battle to afford their medical payments as a result of prices have stored rising: The fee of underinsurance — while you have protection however can’t afford your medical payments — has been steadily rising for years.

And now the US inhabitants is getting older, and the associated fee crunch is more likely to solely worsen as extra individuals require extra severe medical care.

America’s well being care system is caught

No nation’s well being care system is ideal, however ours is uniquely flawed: We spend more cash than our financial friends and but we see worse outcomes. We’re getting a foul deal, and People understandably need well being care costs to come back down.

And so it is sensible that Republicans and Democrats are combating over what comes subsequent — and why they’re at such an deadlock: Either side have some extent.

Democrats acknowledge that the ACA is flawed. In 2021, the get together made federal subsidies extra beneficiant and made extra individuals eligible for them. Now, they need Republicans to agree to increase these enhanced subsidies in trade for the votes to reopen the federal government, arguing that with out the extra funding, well being care would turn out to be unaffordable for many individuals.

Republicans, on the opposite aspect, have by no means favored Obamacare. They imagine the continued enhance in well being care prices is proof that the ACA was a bust, and they’re reluctant to pump any more cash into it — particularly, they’d argue, when Democrats are holding the federal government hostage over the difficulty. They need the Democrats to fund the federal government, with none strings hooked up, earlier than they negotiate ACA funding. (The GOP might not assist the regulation, however they do fear about voters blaming them for rising prices and could also be prepared to deal. They only don’t need to give in to Democrats with the federal government shut down.)

Medical health insurance goes to turn out to be much more costly for individuals if Congress refuses to behave. And individuals who lose their well being protection usually tend to skip crucial medical care and let power circumstances fester, which may result in worse outcomes. Progressives imagine it’s higher to have the federal government decide up the tab, at the same time as well being care prices proceed to rise, somewhat than to let individuals get sick or die as a result of they will’t afford medical providers. And most People agree: Greater than 60 % of the general public believes it’s the federal authorities’s accountability to make certain everybody has well being protection.

And but, GOP leaders are additionally right once they level out that well being care prices stored rising after the ACA. That has required the federal authorities to funnel an increasing number of cash into well being care to maintain prices down for individuals on the ACA’s marketplaces or on Medicaid, whereas these individuals on employer-sponsored plans have seen their premiums greater than double since 2010.

However on the identical time, Republicans don’t have a lot of a plan to scale back combination prices. Generally, they discuss deregulating medical health insurance once more — which may then re-create all the issues that predated the ACA and led to its passage within the first place. And their main laws handed this 12 months, the One Large Lovely Invoice Act, did lower Medicaid funding, however by slicing individuals off this system — not the perfect method if the aim is to enhance individuals’s well being, even when it does scale back authorities spending.

Some conservatives have turn out to be extra occupied with tightly regulating well being care costs, and President Donald Trump has tried to make use of the bully pulpit to handle prescription drug prices particularly. However the prevailing perspective throughout the GOP remains to be to attempt to get the federal government out of well being care — and whether or not that’s the repair for an trade already beset by market failures is, at greatest, doubtful.

Absent higher concepts and the political will to implement main adjustments to the well being system, we’re left with little alternative however to maintain pumping more cash right into a damaged system — or depart extra individuals on their very own to cowl unaffordable medical payments.

To flee that lure, we’d have to make well being care pricing extra rational and value-based. Moderately than pay suppliers primarily based on the amount of providers they carry out, may a system as an alternative join their funds to the standard of care they supply and the outcomes that their sufferers expertise? There have been halting steps in that course — with well being insurers like Cigna experimenting with value-based contracts with suppliers — however it’s troublesome to construct on that momentum each virtually and politically, given the ability of the assorted well being care trade lobbies.

The shutdown has revealed the fragility of the US security internet: When meals stamps run out of funding in early November, hundreds of individuals may battle to afford meals.

However the standoff will finish ultimately. It’s even believable that Democrats and Republicans will attain a deal on extending the ACA subsidies. However that’s simply one other Band-Help. Sufferers will hold feeling the squeeze each time they join a brand new well being plan or try on the physician or pharmacy — till policymakers get severe about the true issues making well being care unaffordable to too many People.

KitchenAid Promo Code: 25% Off in November 2025

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KitchenAid’s technique is one which perhaps we should always all reside by—if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it. Remaining practically unchanged since its introduction in 1914, KitchenAid’s stand mixer has grow to be such a legendary kitchen staple that we known as the KitchenAid Artisan 7-Quart Raise Stand Mixer an “eternal” kitchen must-have and put it on our Purchase It For Life information. KitchenAid’s heralded and beloved kitchen home equipment fortunately run common gross sales with the intention to get these nice, however expensive, necessities for much less.

Save As much as 25% With These KitchenAid Offers

Among the best perks of buying on-line at KitchenAid are the rotating offers and reductions on a few of their best-selling home equipment. There are nice offers of the week, together with $200 off the 2022 Design Collection Blossom Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (by means of November 3). KitchenAid is getting in on Early Black Friday Gross sales, now by means of November 8. A number of the finest offers we’ve seen embrace as much as 25% off choose countertop home equipment, as much as $150 off choose tilt-head stand mixers, and as much as 30% off choose stand mixer attachments.

When you’re out there for a brand new fridge, oven, or different main equipment, now is a good time to purchase. Now by means of November 4, you will get free supply and haul away on main home equipment (price $399) whenever you’re signed in.

Rating 15% Off With a KitchenAid Skilled Low cost

Talking of nice affords, there are different KitchenAid promo codes particularly for important employees, like academics, college students, healthcare employees, navy, first responders – and people over 50. If you’re a member of a kind of teams, all it’s essential do is confirm your account with SheerID to obtain the additional reductions (on high of some other accounts if you’re an account holder). The verification kind is within the “Profile Data” tab beneath “My Account” on KitchenAid’s website. Don’t fall into certainly one of these classes? No worries! Those that have lately moved can even save 15%.

Take pleasure in 12 months-Spherical Financial savings at KitchenAid

Even with out a low cost code readily available, you may nonetheless save with common offers, like nice financial savings on refurbished objects and free supply on all home equipment sitewide. Account holders additionally get entry to unique perks and reductions sitewide—all it’s a must to do is create an account. Be looking out for different nice financial savings occasions from KitchenAid (like a reduction on that mixer you’ve been eyeing all yr lengthy).

The right way to Redeem a KitchenAid Promo Code

Whether or not you’re searching for a highly-rated chilly brew espresso maker, a 5-speed hand mixer that is nice for saving countertop area, or a quiet electrical kettle, we’ve got the very best KitchenAid promo codes that can assist you save on all of your for-life kitchen merchandise. If you’ve discovered a deal you wish to use, like certainly one of our promo codes listed above, merely paste the code within the field at checkout to avoid wasting (bear in mind to double-check whether or not it’s essential join an account first). If the deal doesn’t require a particular coupon, simply put it in your cart, and the sale will likely be mechanically utilized—straightforward as pie.

Glanders, the uncommon infectious illness that’s additionally a lethal organic weapon

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Glanders, brought on by the micro organism Burkholderia mallei, has an extended historical past relationship again to historical instances. The illness was first described in horses by Greek and Roman veterinarians. It’s believed to have originated within the Center East and unfold throughout navy campaigns and commerce routes.

Glanders was a big concern within the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, affecting horses and mules used for transportation, agriculture, and warfare.

The primary documented case of human glanders was in 1793. Since then, sporadic circumstances of glanders in people have been reported, largely in people working with contaminated animals or areas the place the illness is endemic.

It was first used as a bioweapon throughout World Struggle I, primarily by the German military. On the time, horses have been reportedly contaminated and used to infect the clothes, meals, and water provides of enemy forces. The previous Soviet Union has additionally been reported to have used Glanders as a organic weapon of terror of their battle in opposition to Afghanistan in 1982-1984. 

Glanders might be an efficient organic weapon as a result of:

  • It’s extremely contagious; small quantities of the micro organism can shortly transmit the an infection to extra individuals.
  • The Glanders micro organism, b.mallei, might be simply aerosolized and dispersed as effective particles, which an unsuspecting public can inhale. It may well even contaminate public water provides.
  • It has a excessive fatality charge when untreated. Even when antibiotic remedy is offered, if the an infection spreads all through the physique, the demise charge is a excessive 50%.
  • Glanders signs can take as much as 5 days to look. Throughout this incubation interval, contaminated people who have no idea they’re sick could unfold the illness.
  • Glanders in people is uncommon, and signs could also be misdiagnosed, resulting in bigger outbreaks.

 

Glanders will get its title from the previous French phrase for glands to indicate the swollen lymph nodes below the jawbone (submandibular lymph nodes). Different names for glanders embody equinia, droes, malleus, and farcy.

 

Dad’s obituary – by scott cunningham

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Mother requested me to jot down dad’s obituary. I did a whole lot of analysis on the style and located three classics.

So the concept was to jot down one thing with clear construction and style expectations, however with some improvements, that I do know had been achieved elsewhere. Earlier drafts leaned a lot tougher into the financial historical past, however I selected not to try this. It’s there, however it’s a lighter contact. I wouldn’t say I’m notably sturdy at this fashion, however I attempted to cowl the suitable issues to assist somebody perceive him and his life course, in addition to bits of his internal life.

Prologue

Joseph (“Joe”) Claymon Cunningham was born on December 6, 1941, in Baldwyn, MS to Evelyn and Purple Cunningham. He died on the morning of October 27, 2025, at his house in Cordova, Tennessee, along with his spouse of sixty-one years, Priscilla, his son Craig, and his grandson Allen at his facet. He had lived with Parkinson’s illness for twelve years; the ultimate 12 months left him largely motionless and soft-spoken. He died quietly and with out ache, 5 weeks wanting his eighty-fourth birthday.

He’s survived by his spouse; his kids Craig, Cathy, and Scott; his son-in-law Jeffrey; his daughter-in-law Honey; and his former daughter-in-law Paige. He additionally leaves 9 grandchildren — Lucy, Jeffrey, Bedon, Jamie, Allen, Joseph, Miles, Willow, and Ren — alongside along with his beloved nephews Jerry and Mike and his niece Tammy, and their households.

Act 1. Baldwin Mississippi to Starkville Mississippi

Joe grew up in Baldwin, Mississippi, the youngest of three boys in a close-knit household that ran Cunningham’s Grocery, a Primary Road establishment. His brothers, Jimmy and John, stayed within the enterprise, however Joe took one other highway.

He was athletic and aggressive, taking part in level guard in basketball, quarterback in soccer, and catcher in baseball by highschool—traits that later surfaced in his love of tennis, working, and boxing. Even into his eighties he carried the posture of an athlete, lean and disciplined.

As an alternative of becoming a member of the household retailer, he grew to become the primary in his household to attend faculty, incomes a arithmetic diploma from Mississippi State College. It was the early Sixties, a time when the South was starting to vary, and Joe’s selection pointed towards that wider world. He stayed loyal to his Bulldogs all his life, quiet however devoted, the best way he was about most issues he cherished.

Act 2. Marriage and the Leap into Computing

Joe met Priscilla shortly after graduating from Mississippi State. They married within the spring of 1964 and moved to Memphis, the place a pal’s referral landed him a job at Roadway Specific, a freight firm booming with the brand new interstate system.

He started on the management-training observe, rotating by dispatch, billing, and payroll—studying every desk so he might in the future run a terminal. It was reliable work in a rising trade, however inside a 12 months enterprise itself started to vary. Corporations had been shopping for their first mainframes, and virtually nobody knew learn how to program them.

Sensing alternative, Joe wrote to Roadway’s headquarters asking to be skilled. They mentioned sure. In 1965 he and Priscilla packed up their residence and moved to Akron, Ohio, the place he joined a small class studying to code the RCA Spectra 70/25 in meeting language. Programming then meant pencil, paper, and punch playing cards—work that demanded the precision, logic, and quiet persistence that got here naturally to him.

After a number of years in Indiana—first with Indiana Nationwide Financial institution, then Honeywell—Joe introduced his younger household house to Mississippi. In 1977 he based Information Programs Included in Brookhaven, taking out loans for a big pc and huge high-speed printer to course of property-tax rolls for counties throughout the state. He constructed a thriving enterprise, bidding county by county, till binders of green-bar stories stuffed the workplace.

Priscilla managed the books, helped run the machines and helped Joe handle the small variety of staff at Information Programs. Joe additionally ran the machines in addition to moonlight as a guide who wrote code for hospitals, docs’ places of work, and small companies that wanted his assist all around the state. To them he was greater than merely a “knowledge man.” He was a peaceful, dependable man with a problem-solver mentality who irrespective of the issue, made their methods work.

Act 3. Resilience and Return

The story of the late 20th century and computing appears to be like precisely just like the story of Joe’s profession as a programmer. Because the expertise Joe had helped pioneer grew cheaper, counties started shopping for their very own computer systems. Bids for out of doors providers disappeared, and inside a couple of years the enterprise he constructed might now not compete. One morning he locked the Brookhaven workplace door for the final time and easily mentioned, “We’ll begin once more.”

He moved Priscilla and their youngest, Scott, to Cordova, Tennessee, the place he began over as a programmer at forty-eight—precisely the place he had begun twenty-five years earlier. It wasn’t defeat; it was life classes and continuity. He saved a full work document, by no means missed a fee, by no means left a niche. His steadiness grew to become the household’s basis.

Evenings had been quieter now: bridge, Trivia Pursuit, politics on tv. He was ruthless in playing cards, unbeatable in trivia, however by no means unkind. His household doesn’t recall him ever speaking trash regardless of dominating his video games. He favored contests the place the result relied on reminiscence, logic, and nerve. No playing, no bluster—simply the clear satisfaction of getting it proper.

At his core, Joe sought order and concord, in folks as in code. He was a household man and a person of religion, dedicated to the idea that life reached past what the attention might see, and {that a} loving God had guided him all alongside. He advised his spouse and youngsters he cherished them daily—and meant it.

In 2006, Joe and Priscilla had been founding members of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of Memphis and have remained loyal congregants in that loving physique for nearly 20 years.

Construct Towards What’s Subsequent with Cisco Market

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Is your IT workforce racing to maintain up with the tempo of recent know-how—and falling behind? As networks grow to be extra complicated and workloads run nonstop, conventional operations strategies merely can’t sustain. The outdated playbook isn’t constructed for in the present day’s calls for. The way forward for operations is AgenticOps—a mannequin Cisco is advancing to maneuver from remoted insights to AI-driven motion. Launched by Cisco Senior Vice President Aruna Ravichandran earlier this 12 months, AgenticOps combines:

  • A purpose-trained Deep Community Mannequin for extra correct decision-making
  • A generative AI Canvas to unify telemetry and information workflows
  • Growth of Cisco AI Assistant abilities that allow you to provoke adjustments utilizing pure language

This framework is designed to assist IT groups scale back alert fatigue, enhance time-to-resolution, and scale their operations—whereas staying in management.

Cisco has gone a step additional in creating market.cisco.com: a vacation spot the place clients can uncover curated, ready-to-use integrations that stretch the worth of Cisco infrastructure by collaboration with trusted companions. It’s greater than a catalog of functions. It’s a rising ecosystem of options designed that will help you simplify operations, automate key duties, and construct towards what’s subsequent.

Go to the Cisco Market now to establish the companions who may also help you obtain your operational objectives—whether or not which means enhancing incident response, automating each day duties, or connecting insights throughout programs. It’s a spot to start out with what you’ve and construct towards what you want. Learn on to find out about three examples from main companions.

PagerDuty: Scale back alert noise and reply in actual time

The PagerDuty providing on Cisco Market is targeted on streamlining incident response with the next options:

  • Actual-time incident administration: Routinely route community alerts to the fitting groups based mostly on severity and context.
  • Machine-learning filters: Suppress redundant notifications and deal with essential occasions.
  • Command console: Acquire visibility into service well being and operational metrics throughout platforms.

PagerDuty integrations assist scale back downtime and assist stronger digital experiences. For IT leaders, they assist operational resilience at scale.

Pink Hat: Automate repetitive duties and scale persistently

The Pink Hat Ansible Automation Platform allows environment friendly, repeatable operations with capabilities that embody:

  • Enterprise-grade automation: Handle adjustments throughout Cisco environments with minimal handbook effort.
  • Cross-vendor flexibility: Standardize configuration and coverage enforcement throughout various infrastructure.
  • Simplified web site rollouts: Speed up deployment of recent places or providers with constant playbooks.

By automating day-to-day duties, groups focus extra time on strategic work whereas decreasing configuration drift that may end up in points or instability.

ServiceNow: Flip community alerts into actionable workflows

Discover the ServiceNow Connector for integrations that align community monitoring with enterprise IT workflows, together with:

  • Automated incident technology: Create ServiceNow tickets instantly from Meraki alerts.
  • Dynamic system discovery: Maintain your CMDB present with real-time community information.
  • Sooner decision paths: Allow seamless handoffs between detection and remediation instruments.

This integration bridges networking and IT service administration (ITSM), serving to groups function with better accuracy and velocity.

Begin along with your strengths and construct the long run you need

You don’t want a full technique in place to start modernizing your operations. Actually, many organizations begin with a slender focus—akin to enhancing incident response or automating firewall insurance policies—and develop from there.

Attempt a easy 30-day exploration plan like this:

  1. Join your telemetry programs to alerting instruments.
  2. Automate a routine community change.
  3. Sync community occasions to your ITSM platform.
  4. Measure the influence on decision occasions and workforce effectivity.

Cisco Market gives the instruments to get began. And as Cisco continues evolving AgenticOps, you’ll discover new integrations and capabilities turning into accessible to assist your journey.

are shaping the way forward for IT operations.

How CIOs Show Enterprise Worth

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In the present day’s CIOs are anticipated to do greater than merely allow enterprise worth — they’re answerable for driving and accounting for it. But, many discover that exterior elements frustrate the extent of influence they’ll obtain, whether or not it is shadow IT or the underutilization of deployed programs and software program. To sort out this urgent challenge, InformationWeek requested three IT leaders for his or her takes on how CIOs reveal enterprise worth. The brief reply: Calculations cannot be carried out in a vacuum. 

Michael Ringman, CTO at enterprise course of outsourcing and AI-powered buyer engagement expertise resolution supplier Ibex, underscored the necessity for robust enterprise relationships and mentioned he believes that shadow IT is a litmus check of IT effectiveness. Scott Weller, CTO of AI-powered credit score danger evaluation and monitoring firm EnFi, emphasised the significance of change administration. Dmytro Voloshyn, CTO and co-founder of worldwide language studying market Preply, mentioned that long-term planning and short-term agility should coexist.

Michael Ringman, CTO, Ibex

Married to The Enterprise: Strong Partnerships a Should

Based on Ringman, robust relationships with different organizational leaders assist alleviate the price range pressures CIOs and CTOs face. However efficient business-IT parentships require CIOs to know the enterprise with the intention to drive worth throughout the group.

Associated:AI Is Unlocking New Management Paths for Ladies in Tech

“It is like being married. You each come collectively and produce 50%. It is not one a part of the group bringing 100%, and even 75%,” Ringman mentioned.

He additionally emphasised that understanding what shadow IT is going on inside the firm is helpful to — not as a detrimental however as a possibility. Actually, discovering shadow IT within the group is “tremendous cool,” Ringman mentioned, as a result of it signifies that the enterprise has acknowledged an issue and recognized an answer.

“It reveals you the place you are not participating with the enterprise to assist create and drive that worth. I search that stuff out,” Ringman mentioned. He added that he achieves the next share of profitable initiatives by making lots of small investments and failing quick, versus enterprise big-bang initiatives.

Scott Weller, CTO, EnFi

Scott Weller, CTO, EnFi

Change Administration Is Relentless and Adaptive

The necessity for change administration has at all times been essential, however it has change into crucial as companies endure digital transformation, mentioned EnFi’s Weller. AI amplifies the necessity for change administration — “at a way more fast tempo.”

“IT isn’t solely being requested to measure themselves on the finish of a venture, but in addition to measure the efficiencies or income they’re creating [during the project], whereas serving because the hyper evaluator of applied sciences, in order that they’ll join these two issues,” Weller mentioned. “Evaluating expertise requires intimate information of the enterprise use instances you are supporting.”

Associated:How a Menace-led Strategy Redefines the CISO Function, Drives Worth

Weller mentioned the big enterprises adept at digital transformation have been people who reorganized IT to collaborate with the enterprise, with the purpose of capitalizing on particular market alternatives. Now, as enterprises endure AI transformation, he mentioned he believes it is essential to embed technologists inside enterprise models, both quickly based mostly on experience or put in as a part of a hub-and-spoke mannequin.

“The businesses having extra profitable AI POCs and trials usually haven’t got AI councils. They’re embedding AI experience within the enterprise workforce and serving to to obtain options virtually as separate nodes that may work independently,” Weller mentioned.

The method is top-down versus bottom-up to make sure a strategic influence, whereas additionally being deliberately incremental. Particularly, this requires a transparent mandate — not simply govt buy-in, however the imaginative and prescient and construction to make it occur.

“It is not large implementations throughout groups. It is being deliberately incremental, beginning with very small, sensible use instances and increasing that over time,” mentioned Weller, whose two-week sprints have developed right into a mandated evaluation of influence each three days. Doing this aligns enterprise and IT leaders. It additionally helped them articulate the end-state aim for a dash.

“I believe these three-day cycles assist the workforce reevaluate — ought to we maintain going? Are we getting nearer? Are there new choices? What did we study from this new factor? It additionally means that you can determine if there’s one thing new coming, [whether] we must always pause for a second and see what that’s. You can even make new choices,” Weller mentioned.

Dymtro Voloshyn, CTO, Preply

Dmytro Voloshyn, CTO, Preply

Anticipate Chaos, Behave Accordingly

Many exterior elements have an effect on the worth of IT, from the distributors and options chosen to regulatory adjustments, shifts in market circumstances, and expertise innovation. To chop via the chaos, Preply’s Voloshyn emphasised that knowledge helps.

For instance, final yr, everybody at Preply was excited concerning the new enterprise AI instruments they’d be capable to use, he mentioned. As a part of the venture, Preply partnered with OpenAI to evaluate the influence of the instruments on productiveness. By calculating the time saved through the use of OpenAI throughout completely different departments in its first yr after deployment, it was potential to foretell the overall sum of money that may very well be saved. Cash talks. 

“The simplest technique to have a typical denominator [between IT and the business] is to speak about what [a project] will price and what worth it’ll carry to the enterprise, with out moving into the technical particulars,” mentioned Voloshyn, echoing the widespread chorus from our different specialists: “If you wish to influence the enterprise, it’s best to perceive how the enterprise works.”

One in all his greatest inner companions is the CFO, with whom Voloshyn does long-term planning. Having a shared language facilitates simpler collaboration, leading to a shared imaginative and prescient and roadmap. Whereas the small print can change over time, akin to which AI firm is the “main vendor,” there may be basic settlement between Voloshyn and the CFO on longer-term funding, in order that the suitable investments will be made in expertise and workforce upskilling.

“It is a bit of an artwork to stay operationally efficient and nonetheless strategic. One of the essential issues is to remain agile and human-centered, as a result of with all this automation and adjustments we see with AI, human connection will change into an much more beneficial factor of how organizations function,” Voloshyn mentioned.



Constructing a excessive efficiency information and AI group (2nd version)


To find out the extent to which organizational information efficiency has improved as generative AI and different AI advances have taken maintain, MIT Expertise Assessment Insights surveyed 800 senior information and expertise executives. We additionally performed in-depth interviews with 15 expertise and enterprise leaders.

Key findings from the report embrace the next:

Few information groups are preserving tempo with AI. Organizations are doing no higher in the present day at delivering on information technique than in pre-generative AI days. Amongst these surveyed in 2025, 12% are self-assessed information “excessive achievers” in contrast with 13% in 2021. Shortages of expert expertise stay a constraint, however groups additionally battle with accessing recent information, tracing lineage, and coping with safety complexity—essential necessities for AI success.

Partly consequently, AI will not be absolutely firing but. There are even fewer “excessive achievers” relating to AI. Simply 2% of respondents charge their organizations’ AI efficiency extremely in the present day by way of delivering measurable enterprise outcomes. The truth is, most are nonetheless struggling to scale generative AI. Whereas two thirds have deployed it, solely 7% have carried out so broadly.

Obtain the report.

This content material was produced by Insights, the customized content material arm of MIT Expertise Assessment. It was not written by MIT Expertise Assessment’s editorial employees. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. AI instruments that will have been used had been restricted to secondary manufacturing processes that handed thorough human assessment.

Some planets would possibly dwelling brew their very own water

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Some planets would possibly produce their very own water as a substitute of counting on exterior sources.

In laboratory experiments, researchers simulated excessive circumstances discovered inside sure exoplanets by blasting olivine — a mineral ample in planetary interiors — with high-energy lasers within the presence of hydrogen gasoline. Hydrogen strips the minerals of their oxygen atoms, which then react with the hydrogen to type water, the staff studies October 29 in Nature.

The invention affords a viable clarification for water-rich exoplanets orbiting near their host stars, the researcher say. The method would possibly even account for the origin of a few of Earth’s water, including a brand new piece to a longstanding thriller.

A whole lot of exoplanets with sizes and lots more and plenty between Earth and Neptune have been found, lots of which orbit far nearer to their stars than Earth orbits the solar. Their estimated densities recommend they possess rocky interiors coated by a thick layer of water or hydrogen.

Nonetheless, it’s unclear how these planets may very well be so water-rich. Within the photo voltaic system, there´s a transparent divide between planets fashioned on both aspect of the “snow line.” Inside that line, water is scarce, vaporized by the solar. Venus is an instance. Planets fashioned exterior the snow line, like Saturn and Neptune, are wealthy in water and gasoline.

Astrophysicists had thought that watery exoplanets should type removed from their star after which transfer inward. The brand new examine means that beneath the fitting circumstances chemical reactions between hydrogen and minerals can produce water domestically.

Re-creating these circumstances within the lab has been difficult. To attain the required temperature and strain, researchers place samples in a tiny container referred to as a diamond anvil cell. However heated hydrogen molecules can get into the diamond’s carbon-atom lattice, inflicting it to shatter.

By utilizing pulsed lasers as a substitute of a steady beam — heating the pattern for a fraction of a second at a time — researchers lowered the hydrogen infiltration. “I nonetheless broke a variety of diamonds,” says Harrison Horn, a planetary scientist now on the Lawrence Livermore Nationwide Laboratory in California.

When the experiment lastly labored, the scientists have been shocked by the quantity of water produced. “There was no rock left. All I had was metallic and water,” Horn says. Geophysicist Dan Shim of Arizona State College in Tempe provides, “We’re speaking about a variety of water, like hundreds of instances extra water than anticipated for the Earth when you have a thick layer of hydrogen ambiance.” Within the experiments, about 18 % of the preliminary mass was became water.

The researchers suppose this water-generating course of can happen on the boundary between the planet’s rocky inside and its gaseous hydrogen envelope, the place excessive pressures and temperatures can drive the response. The ultimate water content material of those planets might vary from about 5 % to twenty-eight % of the planet’s mass, they estimate.

The ensuing worlds can be both large ocean worlds, two to 5 instances the dimensions of Earth and coated by a deep liquid ocean, or “hycean” worlds, harboring an ocean topped with a thick hydrogen layer.

The findings recommend that these worlds are endpoints on a continuum somewhat than distinct sorts. “They’re associated, like cousins, or like dad and mom and little children, principally,” Shim says. Whether or not a planet finally ends up as an ocean world or a hycean one most likely depends upon elements such because the planet’s proximity to its star, its measurement and beginning composition, the researchers say.

The examine contributes to the talk over the habitability of hycean worlds. Whereas current research recommend that most of their water could also be trapped within the mantle, leaving the floor dry, the brand new examine “strikes the water abundance again up,” says Remo Burn, an astrophysicist on the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Good, France, who was not concerned within the new work. “It’s perhaps excellent news for all times on these planets.”

These outcomes even have implications for Earth. Whereas the high-pressure, high-temperature circumstances obligatory for this response don’t exist in in the present day’s Earth, they may have throughout its formation. An early Earth with a thick, hydrogen-rich ambiance might have pushed related water-forming reactions.

This speculation is supported by proof from tiny water vesicles trapped in historic, deep-earth diamonds, which Horn notes have a definite chemical signature in contrast with floor water. This means there could also be two totally different reservoirs for Earth’s water: a primitive one acquired by way of early chemical reactions and a later part partly delivered by water-rich comets and asteroids from the outer photo voltaic system.


Sankey plots can work, however want sharpening like another graphic

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So a vital dialogue of Sankey plots floated throughout my feed on Bluesky lately, and one reply included an unsightly instance and the remark “Anyone who thought that this illustration enhanced readability lives in an alternate actuality”. The precise chart I’ve included on the backside of this put up. I agree it’s fairly unhelpful, however I believed I noticed potential, and mentioned so. This weblog is me seeing if in truth one thing may be performed with it.

The put up that began the dialogue was Emily Moin saying “Sankey diagrams are simply as dangerous as pie charts, and in addition worse as a result of typical knowledge has not rejected them but so I nonetheless have to take a look at them”. Because it occurs, I believe that even pie charts have their (very restricted) place as long as they’re carefuly chosen (not when too many classes, for instance) and correctly polished for the viewers. So I assume I’m being constant in pondering that Sankey charts may also be helpful.

Right here’s what I believe is unsuitable with the unique graphic (which is reproduced later on this put up), which I believe is monitoring the development of sufferers experiencing signs of various severity over a interval of six weeks:

  • The labels litter the picture and have a whole lot of redundant info repeated a number of instances (“Severity Week…”)
  • The weeks and severity are each measured in numbers and introduced collectively within the labels, making a big cognitive load to parse the labels (“Severity Week 0: 3” takes some effort to work out the severity is 3 and the week is 0, which is precisely the kind of factor you wish to intuit straight from place or color in a plot somewhat than need to learn it)
  • The colors aren’t colour-blind pleasant.
  • Though the colors are mapped appropriately to the severity scale (blue for low severity, inexperienced to mid and purple for prime) there’s no legend to attract this to the reader’s consideration, and due to the ordering of ribbons on the web page (see subsequent level) this sequencing of colors is rarely apparent to the reader.
  • The nodes representing severity in a given week aren’t in any mounted order on the web page, and alter from week to week. They appear to have been chosen extra to get the severity ranges with extra sufferers in the direction of the centre of the chart. This stops the reader getting any simple studying of severity (which may have been mapped to vertical place within the plotting space) and provides to the cluttered and sophisticated really feel of the plot – for instance by having the blue ribbon for severity 2 leaping from close to the underside of the plot in weeks 0 and 1 to the highest in weeks 3 and 6.

You’ll have to go down a bit within the put up to see that unique graphic; you’ll see that the mixed impact of those issues is certainly one in all complexity and litter. I believe the final level – the severity nodes swapping locations vertically – is a very powerful.

I had a go at bettering this and got here up with a few options, utilizing David Sjoberg’s ggsankey R package deal. Right here’s a Sankey plot model:

… and right here’s an alluvial plot model. Alluvial plots are just like Sankey plots however haven’t any areas between the nodes, which suggests on this case you possibly can learn the nodes vertically at every week equally to a stacked bar chart:

Right here’s the unique graphic for comparability:

I’m fairly assured that both the Sankey or alluvial plot are particular enhancements and provides a greater sense of the common severity in every week, and the general pattern (which is extra blue, low severity instances). Whereas nonetheless giving a way of individuals shifting in a number of instructions (typically upwards) from every severity-week mixture. So I believe I’ve addressed the details right here:

  • Decluttered the labels by having axis labels for “Week zero”, “Week one”, and many others; that means we don’t have to repeat this in every node. And the node label is now simply the one variety of the severity.
  • Averted the cognitive load of week and severity each being numerals, partly by the simplified labels above and partly by spelling out weeks in English phrases (one, three, and many others) somewhat than numerals.
  • Chosen a extra colour-blind pleasant palette primarily based on the Brewer Purple-Yellow-Blue scheme somewhat than Purple-Inexperienced-Blue
  • I nonetheless don’t have a legend, however I believe it’s now a lot clearer to the reader that purple is excessive severity and blue is low, due to the vertical sequencing of the nodes…
  • … which is the primary repair right here – I’ve strictly ordered the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 severity nodes vertically so that they by no means swap positions. This implies much less crossing-of-the-beams and therefore much less really feel of complexity within the plot. Most significantly, it provides the attention a simple approach to choose the proportion of individuals in every severity stage by vertical place and dimension on the web page.

I’ve left all of the code on the finish as a result of most of it was about me making an attempt to place collectively by hand a dataset that resembles that within the unique movement chart. Then I needed to calibrate it in R to repair the issues in my hand-made model. This included issues just like the variety of individuals altering from week to week, and the variety of individuals coming into a selected severity state in a single week not matching the quantity exiting it. As soon as that stuff is handled, drawing the precise plot is a comparatively easy ggplot2 and ggsankey chunk of code.

library(tidyverse)
library(janitor)
library(glue)
library(RColorBrewer)
remotes::install_github("davidsjoberg/ggsankey")
library(ggsankey) # one pretty easy strategy to sankey charts / movement diagrams

# learn in some information. This was very crudely hand-entered with some
# tough visible judgements primarily based from a chart that I do not know the
# origin of I noticed on the web. So deal with as made-up instance information:
d <- read_csv("https://uncooked.githubusercontent.com/ellisp/blog-source/refs/heads/grasp/information/complicated-sankey-data.csv", 
              col_types = "ccccd",
              # we wish the NAs within the unique to be characters, not precise NA:
              na = "lacking") |> 
  clean_names()

#------------tidying up data---------------
# we've some changes to cope with due to having made up information

# An additional bunch of rows of information which can be wanted by the Sankey operate to
# to make the week 6 nodes present up:
extras <- d |> 
  filter(week_to == "6") |> 
  mutate(
    week_from = "6",
    week_to = NA, 
    severity_from = severity_to)

#' Comfort relabelling operate for turning week numbers into an element:
weekf <- operate(x){
  x <-  case_when(
    x == 0 ~ "Week zero",
    x == 1 ~ "Week one",
    x == 3 ~ "Week three",
    x == 6 ~ "Week six"
  )
  x <- issue(x, ranges = c("Week zero","Week one","Week three", "Week six"))
}

# going to begin by treating all movement widths as proportions 
total_people <- 1

# add within the further information rows to point out the ultimate week of nodes,
# and relabel the weeks:
d2 <- d |> 
  rbind(extras)  |> 
  mutate(week_from =  weekf(week_from),
         week_to = weekf(week_to))

# there needs to be the identical whole variety of individuals every week,
# and the identical variety of individuals leaving every "node" (a severity-week
# mixture) as arrived at it on the movement from the final week.
# we've somewhat iterative course of to wash this up. If we had
# actual information, none of this is able to be essential; that is mainly
# as a result of I made up information with some tough visible judgements:
for(i in 1:5)> 
    mutate(arrived_sev_from = sum(worth)) 

# guide examine - these ought to all be  mainly the identical numbers
filter(tot_arrived, week_to == "Week one" & severity_to == 4)
filter(d2, week_to == "Week one" & severity_to == 4) |> summarise(sum(worth))
filter(d2, week_from == "Week one" & severity_from == 4) |> summarise(sum(worth))


#--------------draw plot-------------

# palette that's colourblined-ok and reveals sequence. This
# really wasn't too dangerous within the unique, but it surely acquired misplaced
# within the vertical shuffling of all of the severity nodes:
pal <-  c("gray", brewer.pal(7, "RdYlBu")[7:1])
names(pal) <- c("NA", 1:7)

# Draw the precise chart. First, the bottom of chart, widespread to each:
p0 <- d2 |> 
  mutate(worth = spherical(worth * 1000)) |> 
  uncount(weights = worth) |> 
  mutate(severity_from = issue(severity_from, ranges = c("NA", 1:7)),
         severity_to = issue(severity_to, ranges = c("NA", 1:7))) |> 
  ggplot(aes(x = week_from, 
             next_x = week_to,
             node = severity_from, 
             next_node = severity_to,
             fill = severity_from,
             label = severity_from)) +
  # default has a whole lot of white area between y axis and the info
  # so scale back the enlargement of x axis to cut back that
  scale_x_discrete(increase = c(0.05, 0)) +
  scale_fill_manual(values = pal) +
  labs(subtitle = "Chart continues to be cluttered, however lowering severity over time is obvious.
To realize this, vertical sequencing is mapped to severity, and repetitive labels have been moved into the axis guides.",
       x = "",
       caption = "Information has been hand-synthesised to be near an unique plot of unknown provenance.") 

# Sankey plot:
p1 <- p0 +
  geom_sankey(alpha = 0.8) +
  geom_sankey_label() +
  theme_sankey(base_family = "Roboto") +
  theme(legend.place = "none",
        plot.title = element_text(household = "Sarala"),
        panel.background = element_rect(fill = "black")) +
  labs(title = "Severity of an unknown illness proven in a Sankey chart")

# Alluvial plot:
p2 <- p0 +
  geom_alluvial(alpha = 0.8) +
  geom_alluvial_label() +
  theme_alluvial(base_family = "Roboto") +
  theme(legend.place = "none",
        plot.title = element_text(household = "Sarala"),
        panel.background = element_rect(fill = "black")) +
  labs(title = "Severity of an unknown illness proven in an alluvial chart",
       y = "Variety of individuals")

print(p1) # Sankey plot
print(p2) # alluvial plot

[Edited 8 July 2025 for black panel backgrounds for the Sankey and alluvial charts.]