Does AI make the hiring process less biased? The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in decision making has long made regulators wary, but proponents of the technology are now saying that AI could be a solution to the so-called Great Resignation, says the Wall Street Journal. Many businesses have turned to AI to “bulk up their recruitment muscle,” saying the technology aids in removing human biases from the process by focusing on skills as opposed to charisma.

Detractors, however, argue that AI actually magnifies biases and the human touch is still necessary in HR departments. For example, Amazon scrapped an algorithm in 2018 after it was found to be discriminatory against women. While we’re not yet ready to completely revert to AI for the hiring process, using the tool could be effective in carrying out some parts of the process, such as shortlisting suitable candidates.

The gaming industry is seeing a flurry of consolidation activity, as Sony acquired Halo / Destiny game maker Bungie for USD 3.6 bn earlier this week, Bungie announced in a press release. The Bungie acquisition comes after Microsoft announced the largest-ever gaming acquisition in its planned USD 68.7 bn allcash purchase of leading games publisher Activision — a takeover that is now under review from the Federal Trade Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal. Together with Take-Two’s USD 12.7 bn acquisition of FarmVille creator Zynga, the three transactions — which are expected to be finalized this year — are worth a combined USD 85 bn. Global gaming is on the rise, increasing by an estimated 46% in 2020, and MENA is one of its fastest-growing markets. Read more about the gaming boom in MENA here.

Our hopes that covid could become endemic might be shattered: The ‘R’ number for covid-19, which indicates how many people will catch a disease from an infected person, has risen to over three due to omicron, while endemic viruses usually have an R number of one, suggesting that the virus will continue to be an epidemic, rising rapidly over periods of days to weeks, Raina MacIntyre, a professor of global biosecurity at the University of New South Wales, told CNBC. Covid-19 will “keep causing epidemic waves, driven by waning vaccine immunity, new variants that escape vaccine protection, unvaccinated pockets, births and migration,” MacIntrye said. This goes against theories from scientists who previously suggested covid-19 might become endemic in the coming months — meaning it will be less of a determining factor in our lives as it becomes less transmissible and leads to fewer hospitalizations and fatalities.