The natural successor to the DB11, the newcomer drops the cylinders and ups the power, maxing out at 325km/h.
3 min
Seeking to bridge the gap between supercars and grand tourers, Aston Martin has expanded the DB bloodline with the release of the DB12. Billed as the “world’s first Super Tourer”—debatable!—the new Aston Martin DB12 does away with the twin-turbo 5.2-litre V12 of its predecessor. Under the hood is a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 that delivers 500 kW of power and 800 Nm of torque — an increase of 53 kW and 100 Nm from the DB11.
All in all, that equates to the DB12 racing from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 325km/h.
The V8 feeds power to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, with the addition of a new electronic limited-slip differential. Aston Martin claims its new rear differential “can go from fully open to 100% locked in a matter of milliseconds,” promoting more precise and consistent handling.
Under the skin, structural stiffness has been increased with the aluminium structure upping torsional stiffness by seven percent as a result of changes made to the engine cross brace, front and rear undertrays, front crossmember, and rear bulkhead. The resultant effect allows for gains in suspension performance as well as steering feel and overall driving pleasure.
The newcomer is unmistakable as anything other than an Aston Martin, with the low-and-wide proportions and two-door design a signature of the British marque. Taking on an athletic, aggressive stance, the Aston Martin DB12 is equipped with a more muscular physique befitting of its powertrain.
An upsized grille dominates the front end, which also sees the addition of a new lighting signature and surface detailing on the swept-back headlights and smaller frameless wing mirrors. On the nose sits the newly revised Aston Martin wings logo, with the DB12 the first production car to bear the badge. 21-inch alloys complement the wide design while optimising the aerodynamic profile of the vehicle.
Step inside and you’ll find an entirely redesigned interior. The newcomer does away with the Mercedes-Benz infotainment system of its predecessor. In its place is an in-house—a first for the marque—system with dual 10.25-inch screens and Aston Martin-designed switchgear. Rounding it out is surround sound audio designed by leading British auditory icon Bowers & Wilkins.
The cabin itself takes on an opulent tone, designed with long journeys in mind. There’s the option for full Bridge of Weir leather or Alcantara upholstery; each outfitted with a new quilting pattern introduced for the DB12.
The release of the Aston Martin DB12 coincides with the marque’s 110th anniversary, as well as 75 years of the DB line.
“The latest addition to Aston Martin’s most illustrious bloodline, DB12 exemplifies the brand by boldly moving forward,” says Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin. “Emphatically fresh yet unmistakably Aston Martin, DB12 defines the new breed of Super Tourer.”
First deliveries are slated to begin in Q3, 2023. While Aston Martin is yet to release pricing, it’s a safe bet to assume it’ll be a step up from the DB11, which starts at $382,000 (before ORC).
The Australian leather house has opened an immersive four-day pop-up in Manhattan, unveiling its Bloom Collection and redefining what a product launch can look like.
Following the successful launch of its Palais Collection, MAISON de SABRÉ has unveiled a new modular handbag system offering more than 720 styling combinations.
As AI productivity trackers reshape workplace evaluations, employees are learning how to manage calendars, activity levels and AI usage to ensure their contributions are recognized.
4 min
What’s more important than being a good employee right now? Looking like a good employee in the eyes of AI productivity trackers that more managers are using to evaluate their teams.
Employee-monitoring systems are especially popular at tech companies and are also used by other white-collar firms that want to probe how people spend company time. The scary thing: You might not even know you’re being watched because many states don’t require disclosure.
Metrics can include performance data that is undoubtedly relevant, such as sales results. But it also can employ dubious proxies like keyboard strokes and how often your computer screen goes into sleep mode.
We generally accepted, or at least understood, heightened surveillance during the work-from-home era. Back then it seemed reasonable for bosses to keep tabs on employees they couldn’t see.
Yet the oversight has only escalated, and tensions are rising, too.
A group of former Meta Platforms employees alleges in a lawsuit that the company used a “constellation of internal artificial-intelligence systems” when it began laying off about 10% of its workforce in May. Meta says humans make termination calls.
However that case shakes out, a couple of things are clear. Companies eager to gauge which employees are locked in now have sophisticated AI monitoring systems at their disposal. And they believe they have leverage in a tepid labor market.
So while we may chafe at having our worth reduced to numbers on the boss’s productivity dashboard, we have to play the game as it’s being played. Here are some tips, based on conversations with people who make employee monitoring systems—and others who game the systems.
Calendar integration is one way that productivity trackers have gotten more advanced and, ostensibly, fairer.
Let’s say you make an old-fashioned phone call or attend an in-person meeting. Your Outlook or Slack status may switch to “away,” making you appear as inactive as if you were taking an extended coffee break.
Employee monitors like one made by a company called Insightful cross-check your online status with your calendar to see whether there is a valid reason for your apparent inactivity. If that call or meeting is on your schedule, then the system will recognize that you are busy offline. If nothing is on the books, it could look like you’re slacking off.
Let’s not go any further without addressing the underlying question: How much downtime is permissible during the workday? After all, people have been scared to let managers see anything non-work-related on their screens since personal computers first arrived in offices.
No one knows this better than Roger Wagner, who is widely credited with creating the first “boss button” in the early 1980s. He designed a keyboard shortcut to instantly display a spreadsheet if the boss walked by your cubicle while you were playing a computer game. Boss buttons have been features of countless diversions since. (I confess to using one built into a March Madness streaming app.)
Wagner, the founder of computer-education company 1010 Technologies, says his original design was a joke—more of a commentary on overbearing managers than a cover for lazy employees. Good bosses understand workers need mental breaks throughout the day, he says.
This matches what I heard from Insightful Chief Executive Ivan Petrovic. He says customers that use his company’s workforce-management platform don’t expect employees to stay on task 100% of the time.
“On average companies are aiming for 60% to 80% of your time being utilized for work during the day,” he says.
Go ahead and exhale. It’s probably OK to watch an occasional YouTube video at your desk.
And if you’re going to artificially inflate your activity level, be careful. Hitting 90% could look suspicious.
So don’t leave your mouse jiggler on all day. Choose the right one if you must resort to shenanigans.
There are lots of software applications that mimic the movements of a computer mouse, so you can appear to be working while away from your desk. There are also devices that plug into computer ports and do the same thing.
Corporate cybersecurity systems increasingly block these apps and devices, and productivity trackers claim to be able to detect them. But some workers swear by mouse docks, like one made by Tech8 USA, that keep cursors moving. The company originally made mouse-moving software but now focuses on physical jigglers.
“People are drawn to mechanical solutions because they’re so simple and don’t require software,” says Tech8 Marketing Director Sam Matthews. “As monitoring technology becomes more sophisticated, that distinction has become even more relevant.”
Another popular metric for employee-monitoring systems is AI usage. Companies want to know who is embracing new tools, and it can be tempting to think more is better.
“There’s a performative aspect where employees overblow their usage of AI so that they appear relevant in the organization,” says Andrea Derler, principal researcher at Visier, which helps companies track and analyze employee work habits.
In a recent Visier survey of 1,000 U.S. workers, 48% admitted to exaggerating their AI usage.
This is already an outdated strategy. Using AI for everything used to score points for experimentation. Now it can seem wasteful because many companies are watching AI token spending more carefully.
Look, productivity theater has always been part of work. Most of us aren’t trying to cheat the system, but expectations are changing so quickly that we need to be savvy about what the latest employee trackers are looking for.
Sometimes it takes a little gamesmanship to get full credit for our contributions.
