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Purpose The ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in sudden changes in the macro environment and market behaviour, making most enterprises urgently reconfigure their business models to cope with changes following the COVID-19 outbreak. This paper aims to present empirical data on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), highlighting the initial conclusions regarding their crisis management. It presents factual data on how SMEs in Jordan can use entrepreneurship to combat uncertainty and promote new opportunities. Design/methodology/approach This study involves an exploratory qualitative research design, drawing from 32 semi-structured interviews of key informants from Jordanian SMEs in different stages of the crisis. The different coping strategies of the SMEs and their effectiveness in the first six months of the pandemic are then compared. Findings The findings show how Jordanian SMEs have adapted to cope with the changes in the business environment because of COVID-19. These strategies include modifying their operations that is moving from an ordinary business model to more tentative digitalisation, improving internal communication and restructuring ad hoc organisational culture. Originality/value The study presents important and timely implications for managers of Jordanian SMEs and policymakers by increasing the sensitisation and awareness of SMEs’ coping mechanisms. It is the first study in management that empirically analyses the impact of COVID-19 on Jordanian SMEs.

The development of emergent technologies carries with it ethical issues and risks. We review ways to better manage the ethical issues and risks of one emerging technology: Artificial Intelligence (AI). Depending on how AI's development is managed, it may have beneficial and/or deleterious effects. The processing capacity of Tianhe-2, the world's fastest supercomputer, by some measures, exceeds the processing capacity of a single human brain, but at a prohibitive processing/power consumption ratio and physical size. Given the current pace of AI R&D activities, some estimates in the literature suggest that the technology could become capable of self-determination and super intelligence in only a few decades. This demands a serious analysis of the ethical implications of AI's development and the risks it might pose, in addition to technology management recommendations. We review the state of AI development, the timeline and scope of its possible future development, and potential ethical risks in its implementation. Further, we briefly review ethics and risk management practices as they relate to technology. Finally, we make technology management recommendations, which may help to address the ethical implications and to mitigate existential risks to humanity-with the development and dissemination of AI-by guiding its proper management.

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