On Our Virtual Route 66 With Month-End Thoughts

As September 2023 is drawing to a close, we present a sampling of late-breaking developments as we look forward to the continued privilege to serve: 

Pennsylvania state government will prepare to start using AI in its operations FILE - Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Jan. 17, 2023. Pennsylvania state government will prepare to use artificial intelligence in its operations, Gov. Shapiro said Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, as states are increasingly trying to gauge the impact of AI and how to regulate it. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file) Tweet China's AI 'war of a hundred models' heads for a shakeout HONG KONG, Sept 22 (Reuters) - China's craze over generative artificial intelligence has triggered a flurry of product announcements from startups and tech giants on an almost daily basis, but investors are warning a shake out is imminent as cost and profit pressures grow. Tweet

Space Vodafone claims first space-based 5G call to a regular phone Vodafone is claiming to have made the world's first space-based 5G call placed using an unmodified handset, thanks to a test satellite operated by AST SpaceMobile. Interest in delivering services to mobile phones from orbiting satellites has been growing since Apple unveiled its Emergency SOS feature for the iPhone that allows users to text for help even when there is no terrestrial network coverage. Tweet NASA's Mars rovers could inspire a more ethical future for AI Since ChatGPT's release in late 2022, many news outlets have reported on the ethical threats posed by artificial intelligence. Tech pundits have issued warnings of killer robots bent on human extinction, while the World Economic Forum predicted that machines will take away jobs. Tweet

Transportation US start-up set to begin test flights of their 'flying car' prototype Alef Aeronautics say their Model A flying car will have a driving range of around 320km and a flight range of over 160km. But it hasn't quite gotten off the ground just yet. Tweet

AI AGENDA GOOGLE AI

OpenAI Hustles to Beat Google to Launch ‘Multimodal’ LLM

By Jon Victor

As fall approaches, Google and OpenAI are locked in a good ol’ fashioned software race, aiming to launch the next generation of large-language models: multimodal.

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EXCLUSIVE GOOGLE SEMICONDUCTORS

To Reduce AI Costs, Google Wants to Ditch Broadcom as Its TPU Server Chip Supplier

By Wayne Ma, Anissa Gardizy and Jon Victor

Google executives have extensively discussed dropping Broadcom as a supplier of artificial intelligence chips as early as 2027, according to a person with direct knowledge of the effort.

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ORG CHARTS ENTERPRISE FINANCE

The People in Power at Tech Private Equity Juggernaut Thoma Bravo

By Rachel Graf

Orlando Bravo may be the face of Thoma Bravo, but he’s not the only one calling the shots. The hard-charging, helicopter-riding managing partner has become the most recognizable person at the software-focused private equity firm.

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THE BIG READ SPACE ENTERTAINMENT

The Elon Musk Investors With Dreams of a New Social Order

By Julia Black

In February 2021, a Mormon film producer named Jeffrey Harmon returned home to Provo, Utah, raving about an exclusive gathering he’d just attended in Austin, Tex.

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SPACE TWITTER

The Trouble With Walter: In His Elon Musk Tome, the Writer Shows Us the Perils of Access Journalism

By Adam Lashinsky

Walter Isaacson is the exotic bird of American letters, a charming and convivial bon vivant and raconteur, the life of many a dinner party, a studious biographer and a generous mentor.

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E-COMMERCE

Can Ryan Petersen Fix Flexport?

By Ann Gehan and Theo Wayt

Ryan Petersen was getting antsy. This March, Petersen had handed over the CEO job at Flexport—the logistics company he’d founded a decade earlier, which had ballooned to an $8 billion valuation in 2022—to veteran Amazon executive Dave Clark.

Oracle chief: AI is the single most exciting period in tech

Safra Catz, chief executive of Oracle, left, and Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber Technologies. Oracle

In brief | The current momentum of AI has created "the single most exciting period in technology in decades", the chief executive of US technology major Oracle has said.

Companies that will be able to properly use AI's benefits are placing themselves in a "perfect position" to prosper going into the future economy, Safra Catz told the Oracle CloudWorld conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Why it matters | While some forms of AI have been used for decades, the advent of generative AI has changed the nature of the game. Companies, led by global giants Google and Microsoft-backed OpenAI, are all trying to take the early lead in the emerging technology.

Quoted | "We have waited for this moment where the data, computers, GPUs [graphics processing units], and all the technologies come together ... you’ve done the hard work in many ways, now you’ve got all of your data” – Safra Catz, Oracle chief executive

Future in focus

Elon Musk's Neuralink has started to recruit people for human trials. Reuters

Monkey business | Neuralink starts to recruit human subjects for brain implants. Elon Musk's futuristic biotech start-up said it received approval from an independent review board to start human trials, despite accusations of animal welfare breaches that led to a federal investigation.

Triple jump | More than 250 organisations call for renewable power capacity to triple by 2030. Annual renewable power capacity must add an average of 1,000 gigawatts a year by 2030 to meet Paris Agreement goals.

Screen dreams | YouTube reveals new generative AI tools for creators. AI-generated video backgrounds and a dubbing tool are among new offerings.

Predicting the future: Signal or noise?

Could machines ever be truly aware?

A group of neuroscientists, computer scientists and philosophers have proposed a list of 14 indicators that an AI system such as ChatGPT would need to possess to be considered conscious. They concluded that no current system comes near the bar for consciousness, but “there’s no obvious reason future systems won’t become truly aware”.

This is a signal. Theories around consciousness, even in humans, remain hotly debated. So the checklist should be taken with more than a grain of salt. But it does suggest we have got to the point in AI development where there is a recognition among people who study these kinds of things that there is an urgent need to find some kind of consensus about what might define a form of machine consciousness.

In case you missed it

A rendering of the shockwave created by a newborn star. Nasa

The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of a young star about 1,000 light years from Earth

Proposed intercontinental connections could herald a new era of rail travel

Why is air turbulence getting worse?

Google rolls out new features for generative AI tool Bard

Expanding female workforce could boost Saudi Arabia's economy by $39bn, S&P says

UAE plans cybersecurity vision for next 50 years

1 Britain's antitrust regulator has signaled likely approval for Microsoft's $69B restructured acquisition of Activision Blizzard, potentially clearing the way for one of the largest tech deals in history. Initially blocked in the U.K. over cloud gaming competition concerns, Microsoft has since restructured the deal by transferring cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft. More: The U.K. regulators' objections are the final hurdle for the companies to close the merger ahead of their recently extended deadline of Oct. 18. Under the revised deal, Microsoft agreed to relinquish cloud-streaming rights for most of Activision's games, including the "Call of Duty" franchise, over the next 15 years to rival Ubisoft. On Friday, the U.K.'s antitrust regulator stated that the updated proposal "substantially addresses previous concerns" and paves the way for the deal to be cleared.  The preliminary decision precedes final approval, with the U.K. regulator inviting third-party feedback on Microsoft's proposed remedies until October 6. Zoom out: Since announcing the deal in January 2022, Microsoft has gained approvals from antitrust authorities in 40+ countries, including the EU. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opposed the deal but lost a legal battle to stop it, paving the way for the merger to proceed. The FTC's appeal is ongoing.

2 Amazon said it plans to bring ads to Prime Video in 2024 to boost revenue and continue investing in new TV and movie content. The company is expected to bump up its spending on TV shows, movies, and music to $20B this year, an over 20% jump compared to 2022. Details: The new ads on Prime Video will start appearing in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later next year. In the U.S., Prime members will see the ads unless they pay an extra $3 per month on top of their existing $15 per month Prime subscription. Non-Prime members will presumably pay $12 per month for Prime Video, up from the current $9. Pricing for other countries will be shared later. Zoom out: Amazon vowed to serve "meaningfully fewer ads" compared to traditional TV and other streaming providers, with Variety estimating the "limited advertisements" at around four minutes per hour. As Amazon embraces the new advertising, it leaves Apple's streaming service as the only major streamer without an ad-supported tier.

3 The iPhone 15 lineup officially goes on sale in stores today. Apple CEO Tim Cook celebrated today's release of the smartphones at the company's flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York. More: News media reported long lines forming at some Apple stores across the U.S., Europe, and China. Meanwhile, the first pre-orders have started arriving to customers. Analysts have noted stronger-than-expected iPhone 15 pre-orders, especially for the premium Pro lineup, notably the Pro Max. Delivery times for some Pro models are now extending into late October to mid-November. Features: As expected, the iPhone 15 models now have USB-C ports and cables for charging and data transfer, replacing the 11-year-old Lightning port. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus have 6.1- and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. Both use the A16 Bionic chip. Meanwhile, the 15 Pro has a 6.1-inch screen, and the Pro Max has a 6.7-inch display. Both are made of titanium and powered by the new A17 Pro chip. The iPhone 15 starts at $799 for 128GB, and the iPhone 15 Plus begins at $899 for the same storage capacity. The 15 Pro starts at $999 with 128GB of storage, and the Pro Max at $1,199 with 256GB.

4 A new study finds that 95% of 73,000+ NFT collections are now considered worthless with a market cap of 0 Ether (ETH). DappGambl's analysis revealed that 79% of NFT collections are unsold, leading to a buyer's market with a surplus of supply over demand. More: In its analysis, DappGambl identified and examined 73,257 NFT collections. Among them, 69,795 had a market cap of 0 Ether (ETH), signifying that 95% of NFT collection holders currently possess worthless investments. It estimates that 95% to cover at least 23 million people. Of the collections examined, 21% had full 100%+ ownership, leaving around 79% or nearly 4 out of 5 NFT collections unsold. Zoom out: NFT hype reached its peak during the 2021/22 bull run, with nearly $2.8B in monthly trading volume in August 2021. However, in July 2023, the NFT market saw about $80M in weekly trading volume, only 3% of its 2021 peak, according to The Block.

5 The European Union's executive arm has fined Intel €376.36M ($400M) over alleged anticompetitive practices related to its x86 computer chips. The European Commission accused Intel of abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor market by using rebates and sales restrictions to exclude rivals. Background: The new fine comes after an EU court reversed the European Commission's $1.2B penalty against Intel last year. Intel had been accused of employing illegal sales tactics to undermine its smaller rival, AMD. However, the EU court did agree with the European Commission that Intel illegally excluded rivals from the market, prompting the commission to reopen the case this year. New fine: On Friday, the commission announced it had re-imposed a $400M fine for Intel's practices between November 2002 and December 2006, when Intel paid HP, Acer, and Lenovo to delay or halt rival products. Intel said it's currently evaluating its options. The company is awaiting the commission's approval for €10B in state subsidies for a chipmaking facility in Germany.

6 Nearly 20% of jobs posted on Indeed are "highly exposed" to generative AI (GenAI), meaning they require skills that can largely be replaced by the technology, according to Indeed's newly released AI at Work Report. Software development jobs have the greatest potential for GenAI augmentation, Indeed found, while driving jobs, such as truck and taxi drivers, are least affected. More: 45.7% of Indeed jobs have a moderate exposure level, where GenAI can perform between 50% and less than 80% of the required skills. 34.6% are low/minimally exposed, with GenAI handling less than 50% of the skill requirements. Other jobs with minimal exposure include cleaning and sanitation and beauty and wellness roles, which tend to have limited remote work capabilities. Jobs with a higher potential for remote work are more susceptible to GenAI-driven transformations, according to Indeed. Zoom out: Svenja Gudell, Indeed's chief economist, emphasized that GenAI is more likely to enhance or streamline specific parts of a job rather than completely replace it, suggesting that employers will likely adapt and reshape roles, even potentially creating new jobs.

7 Quick Hits: FinOps can be a game-changer for your organization. This guide shares expert tips on efficient cost management. Read now.* While Valve plans to develop a Steam Deck 2 with improved performance, it doesn't anticipate releasing a faster version of the handheld gaming device for at least another two years. Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said it plans to delist stablecoins in the European market as of June 30, 2024. Uber plans to introduce an AI assistant to help users find bargains and explore menu selections through a new "Sales Aisle" for promotions. With the right process and tools, dev teams can ship gold every week. This guide breaks down a proven approach to product delivery.*