On April 29, 2021, 32 people took off from the ground in a Delta Airbus A321 passenger plane, and Joseph Eddy was nervous.

That’s because the flight had a unique goal: See whether Delta’s high-profile bet on free wi-fi held up in the air.

• The group would fly from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and back to Atlanta, through some of the nation’s most congested airspace.
• As Delta’s director of operations and implementation for its in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) program, Eddy led the wi-fi rollout—and that day, he’d been at work since before 6am, gathering with his team at Delta’s secure TechOps facility and making sure all the test passengers had their instructions, as his team cleared the imminent noncommercial flight with experimental tech with air traffic control and dispatch.

It turned out Eddy had good reason to be nervous: The wi-fi on the flights was inconsistent and performed below expectations. Both Delta and Viasat, the airline’s brand-new internet service provider, had work to do.

However...Nearly two years later, on February 1, 2023, Delta rolled out free wi-fi for SkyMiles members on 540 planes, with a goal of 700+ planes by year’s end—more than half of the company’s fleet of 1,254 aircraft. Click here to read the inside story on how it all came together.—HF

Man or machine? It’s the commonly asked question when discussing the future of labor in the United States and globally.

Most companies, including retailers, use automation in some way to handle repetitive tasks at a faster pace. Experts told Retail Brew that these kinds of investments pay off in the long term from an ROI perspective.

But where the rubber meets the road is whether or not automation will remove back-end jobs that are already largely outsourced overseas.

• A slight majority of Americans report worrying about automation affecting jobs in retail (55%), customer service (54%), delivery (52%), and supply chain/fulfillment (51%), according to a Harris Poll/Retail Brew survey.
• Plus, a third of employed Americans (33%) are worried about automation affecting their own jobs.

“Every time we’ve become more efficient, people are afraid that we’re not going to have work done,” Lior Elazary, CEO at inVia Robotics, told Retail Brew. “It’s just historically, that’s never been true. And I think the reason for it is that we just don’t stand still.” Read the full story from Retail Brew here.—KM

Another week, another generative AI-focused reader poll.

This time around…We’re getting concrete with it. In last week’s poll, we asked all of you whether you’d used a generative AI tool to help complete a task at work. After nearly 1,900 responses, the results are in:

• More than four in 10 respondents (41%) said they have used a generative AI tool at work.
• The remaining 59% said they hadn’t done so.

Put it in context: Several cars on the AI hype train have been dedicated to the tech’s potential to disrupt the way we work. To wit, a selection of enterprise use cases…

• Slide-deck creation. A startup named Tome just raised a $43 million Series B based on the premise of helping to automate slide-deck creation. Microsoft is also reportedly working with OpenAI on similar tools for PowerPoint.
• Productivity tools. Spoke AI is a startup working on a generative AI tool that it says can summarize notifications and messages from across a bunch of workplace communication platforms (e.g., Slack, Notion) and make them more digestible.

For more…McKinsey has a whole piece detailing enterprise use cases.

This week’s poll: Are you concerned about automation affecting your role within the next decade?

Yes
No
IDK

Stat: This month, Julien’s is auctioning a collection of more than 500 vintage Apple devices. The Verge described it as “one of the most comprehensive collections” of its kind.

Quote: “When all else fails, radio stations are often the last line of communications that communities have.”—Craig Fugate, former FEMA head, on the push to require AM radios in EVs

Read: How Amazon is betting on virtual influencers to help attract younger customers.

Reap rewards:* For a very limited time, earn $75 Daily Cash when spending $75+ with a new Apple Card within the first 30 days. Don’t miss out—apply by 3/6 using this link. Terms apply. 

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Catch up on the top Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• Roblox’s revenue rose in 2022 despite tech, gaming downturns
• The EV transition needs lithium. Can a decommissioned mine help provide it?
• Why Chattanooga is betting on lidar for traffic management