tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/microsoft-83/articlesMicrosoft – The Conversation2024-03-15T13:28:50Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2259122024-03-15T13:28:50Z2024-03-15T13:28:50ZUndersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents<p><em>Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/14/much-of-west-and-central-africa-without-internet-after-undersea-cable-failures">left without internet services</a> on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the world’s oceans. Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa were among the worst affected. By midday on 15 March the problem had not been resolved. Microsoft <a href="https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/528961-massive-undersea-cable-outage-fix-delayed-says-microsoft.html">warned its customers</a> that there was a delay in repairing the cables. South Africa’s News24 <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/nine-undersea-cables-make-the-internet-work-in-sa-four-are-currently-damaged-20240315">reported</a> that, while the cause of the damage had not been confirmed, it was believed that “the cables snapped in shallow waters near the Ivory Coast, where fishing vessels are likely to operate”.</em></p>
<p><em>Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, an associate professor at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business, is currently writing a book on fibre optic cables and digital connectivity. She spent time in late 2023 aboard the ship whose crew is responsible for maintaining most of Africa’s undersea network. She spoke to The Conversation Africa about the importance of these cables.</em></p>
<h2>1. What’s the geographical extent of Africa’s current undersea network?</h2>
<p>Fibre optic cables now literally encircle Africa, though some parts of the continent are far better connected than others. This is because both public and private organisations have made major investments in the past ten years. </p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://www.submarinecablemap.com/">an interactive map</a> of fibre optic cables, it’s clear that South Africa is in a relatively good position. When the breakages happened, the network was affected for a few hours before the internet traffic was rerouted; a technical process that depends both on there being alternative routes available and corporate agreements in place to enable the rerouting. It’s the same as driving using a tool like Google Maps. If there’s an accident on the road it finds another way to get you to your destination. </p>
<p>But, in several African countries – including Sierra Leone and Liberia – most of the cables don’t have spurs (the equivalent of off-ramps on the road), so only one fibre optic cable actually comes into the country. Internet traffic from these countries basically <a href="https://blog.cloudflare.com/undersea-cable-failures-cause-internet-disruptions-across-africa-march-14-2024">stops when the cable breaks</a>. </p>
<p>Naturally that has huge implications for every aspect of life, business and even politics. Whilst some communication can be rerouted via satellites, satellite traffic accounts for <a href="https://blog.telegeography.com/2023-mythbusting-part-3">only about 1% of digital transmissions globally</a>. Even with interventions such as satellite-internet distribution service <a href="https://www.starlink.com/">Starlink</a> it’s still much slower and much more expensive than the connection provided by undersea cables. </p>
<p>Basically all internet for regular people relies on fibre optic cables. Even landlocked countries rely on the network, because they have agreements with countries with landing stations – highly-secured buildings close to the ocean where the cable comes up from underground and is plugged into terrestrial systems. For example southern Africa’s internet comes largely through connections in Melkbosstrand, just outside Cape Town, and <a href="https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/stations/africa/south-africa/mtunzini-cls">Mtunzini</a> in northern KwaZulu-Natal, both in South Africa. Then it’s routed overland to various neighbours. </p>
<p>Each fibre optic cable is extremely expensive to build and to maintain. Depending on the technical specifications (cables can have more or fewer fibre threads and enable different speeds for digital traffic) there are complex legal agreements in place for who is responsible for which aspects of maintenance.</p>
<h2>2. What prompted you to write a book about the social history of fibre optic cables in Africa?</h2>
<p>I first visited Angola in 2011 to start work for <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487524333/from-water-to-wine/">my PhD project</a>. The internet was all but non-existent – sending an email took several minutes at the time. Then I went back in 2013, after the <a href="https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/systems/brazil-africa/sacs">South Atlantic Cable System</a> went into operation. It made an incredible difference: suddenly Angola’s digital ecosystem was up and running and everybody was online. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-our-wi-fi-world-the-internet-still-depends-on-undersea-cables-49936">In our Wi-Fi world, the internet still depends on undersea cables</a>
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<p>At the time I was working on social mobility and how people in Angola were improving their lives after <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/angolan-civil-war-1975-2002-brief-history">a long war</a>. Unsurprisingly, having digital access made all sorts of things possible that simply weren’t imaginable before. I picked up my interest again once I was professionally established, and am now writing it up as a book, <a href="https://stias.ac.za/2022/03/when-a-cable-is-not-just-a-cable-fellows-seminar-by-jess-auerbach/">Capricious Connections</a>. The title refers to the fact that the cables wouldn’t do anything if it wasn’t for the infrastructure that they plug into at various points. </p>
<p>Landing centres such as Sangano in Angola are fascinating both because of what they do technically (connecting and routing internet traffic all over the country) and because they often highlight the complexities of <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad582-digital-divide-who-in-africa-is-connected-and-who-is-not/">the digital divide</a>. </p>
<p>For example, Sangano is a remarkable high tech facility run by an incredibly competent and socially engaged company, Angola Cables. Yet the school a few hundred metres from the landing station still doesn’t have electricity. </p>
<p>When we think about the digital divide in Africa, that’s often <a href="https://www.bmz-digital.global/en/datacolonialism-double-interview/">still the reality</a>: you can bring internet everywhere but if there’s no infrastructure, skills or frameworks to make it accessible, it can remain something abstract even for those who live right beside it.</p>
<p>In terms of history, fibre optic cables follow all sorts of fascinating global precedents. The 2012 cable that connected one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other is laid almost exactly <a href="https://www.slavevoyages.org/blog/volume-and-direction-trans-atlantic-slave-trade">over the route of the transatlantic slave trade</a>, for example. Much of the basic cable map is layered over the routes of the <a href="https://notevenpast.org/to-rule-the-waves-britains-cable-empire-and-the-birth-of-global-communications/">copper telegraph network</a> that was essential for the British empire in the 1800s.</p>
<p>Most of Africa’s cables are maintained at sea by the remarkable crew of the ship Léon Thévenin. I <a href="https://mg.co.za/africa/2023-11-27-down-to-the-wire-the-ship-fixing-our-internet/">joined them</a> in late 2023 during a repair operation off the coast of Ghana. These are uniquely skilled artisans and technicians who retrieve and repair cables, sometimes from depths of multiple kilometres under the ocean. </p>
<p>When I spent time with the crew last year, they recounted once accidentally retrieving a section of Victorian-era cable when they were trying to “catch” a much more recent fibre optic line. (Cables are retrieved in many ways; one way is with a grapnel-like hook that is dragged along the ocean bed in roughly the right location until it snags the cable.)</p>
<p>There are some very interesting questions emerging now about what is commonly called <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo216184200.html?trk=public_post_comment-text">digital colonialism</a>. In an environment where data is often referred to with terms like “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishatalagala/2022/03/02/data-as-the-new-oil-is-not-enough-four-principles-for-avoiding-data-fires/?sh=23be1821c208">the new oil</a>”, we’re seeing an important change in digital infrastructure. </p>
<p>Previously cables were usually financed by a combination of public and private sector partnerships, but now big private companies such as Alphabet, Meta and Huawei are increasingly financing cable infrastructure. That has serious implications for control and monitoring of digital infrastructure. </p>
<p>Given we all depend so much on digital tools, poorer countries often have little choice but to accept the terms and conditions of wealthy corporate entities. That’s potentially incredibly dangerous for African digital sovereignty, and is something we should be seeing a lot more public conversation about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah receives funding from the Stellenbosch Institute of Advanced Study where she is an Iso Lomso Fellow, the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the UCT Vice Chancellor’s Future Leaders Program. </span></em></p>Fibre optic cables now literally encircle Africa, though some parts of the continent are far better connected than others.Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254652024-03-13T12:28:21Z2024-03-13T12:28:21ZWhat we know so far about the rumoured Apple smart ring<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581294/original/file-20240312-18-nq5gb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3858%2C2583&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A generic image of a smart ring in use.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-payment-new-technology-payments-using-691766359">Fotos593 / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Samsung officially announced the launch of a new smart ring-shaped wearable device, Galaxy Ring, as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7x0E0hLaJ8">part of its Galaxy Unpacked event</a> earlier this year. The ring, expected to be on sale in late summer 2024, will be able to monitor the user’s health parameters and provide insights based on the health metrics observed, which is very similar to what a smartwatch can do.</p>
<p>The global smart ring <a href="https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/34772/smart-ring-market/">market is expected to grow</a> from USD$314.52 billion (£246.3 billion) in 2023 to USD$2,570.30 billion (£2,012 billion) by 2030. So it is no surprise that Apple is now rumoured to be <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2024/02/27/apple-developing-ring-to-beat-samsung-galaxy-ring-report-claims/?sh=53a35fbd4e2c">applying for its smart ring patents</a> and is expected to have the product ready in time to compete with Samsung’s release.</p>
<p>But it might be surprising to learn that neither Samsung nor Apple are pioneers in this new wearable technology. <a href="https://ouraring.com/">Oura was launched in 2015</a> with a Kickstarter campaign for the first generation ring.</p>
<p>Now on its third generation, with the fourth one expected in 2024, this smart ring can measure respiratory rate, heart rate, health rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen levels, and body temperature. The ring also has an accelerator that logs the user’s activity and movement. However, the main question is: is wearable technology worth it?</p>
<h2>What is wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable devices come in many shapes and sizes, including smart watches and sports watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays, smart jewellery, smart clothing, and even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9185336/">implantable devices</a>.</p>
<p>Technological advances have enabled manufacturers to access low-cost, low-power sensor technology and develop this variety of devices. At a minimum, wearable devices are equipped with sensors, software and connecting technology.</p>
<p>The sensors gather information from the person wearing the device, and the software gathers the data and sends it to a device with processing capacity via a wireless connection. The ecosystem on which wearable technology works is <a href="https://www.oracle.com/uk/internet-of-things/what-is-iot/">known as the Internet of Things (IoT)</a>. It is the same principle as smart technology used at home, on devices such as thermostats that can be operated from a mobile device outside the home, or smart speakers, but applied at a personal level. It is important to note that mobile devices do not process the data; it is usually sent to “the cloud” for processing, and the mobile device displays the data to the user.</p>
<p>What makes an IoT solution even more attractive is the interpretation of the data gathered by the sensors. For example, the <a href="https://ouraring.com/oura-experience">Oura Ring and the Oura Membership</a> allow users to monitor their sleep, manage stress and predict when they might get sick by monitoring body temperature and heart rate. This is all possible due to analysis of the data collected by the ring. </p>
<p>With advances in artificial intelligence (AI), it is expected that in 2024, there will be a <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/what-to-expect-from-smartwatches-in-2024-more-ai-new-health-features-and-more/">boost in health tracking</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Smart watch and smart phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581298/original/file-20240312-22-xfl78v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Smart rings are unlikely to replicate the functionality of smart watches and other devices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/data-synchronization-health-book-between-smartwatch-188507768">Alexey Boldin</a></span>
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<h2>Benefits and drawbacks</h2>
<p>Smart rings come with sensors similar to those of a smartwatch. However, because of their proximity to large blood vessels in the fingers, smart rings can provide more accurate readings than smartwatches, because they can use the capillaries (small blood vessels) in your finger to get their readings. Another advantage of smart rings is that they have a longer battery life than smartwatches. However, smart rings are unlikely to come with GPS or a screen.</p>
<p>In terms of price, the cheapest version of the Oura ring starts at £299 and users must pay a membership fee of £5.99 per month, with the first month free. This is required to get all the benefits of data analysis. However, the ring will still work with the Oura mobile app. The most affordable version of the AppleWatch, the SE version, starts at £219, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Bluetooth starts at £239.</p>
<p>Smart rings can’t and won’t be able to replicate the functionality offered by a smartwatch. However, they represent an attractive choice for users interested in health tracking, who also want a simple device with minimalistic features. <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-surprise-galaxy-ring-whos-the-wearable-actually-for/">Bryan Ma</a>, the Vice President of devices research at International Data Corporation, has said: “The idea behind such rings is not so much about being cheaper than smartwatches, but instead being a much smaller and discrete device for use in cases like sleep tracking.”</p>
<h2>The future of wearable technology?</h2>
<p>Wearable technology will continue evolving, with a strong focus on health monitoring. For example, Microsoft has been <a href="https://duoskin.media.mit.edu/">exploring smart tattoos</a> as the next generation of wearable tech since 2016. However, due to the labour intensive fabrication technique for gold leaf, which is used in the tattoos, researchers are now focusing on more robust, advanced, and inexpensive materials.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Washington have also <a href="https://www.washington.edu/news/2024/02/07/smart-earrings-can-monitor-temperature/">developed the thermal earring</a>. This was able to measure the user’s earlobe temperature but shows promise for other areas of monitoring, including for eating and exercise. Although not commercially available, this device demonstrates how engineers are developing new ideas for wearable devices.</p>
<p>Under Armour already sells <a href="https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/t/connected-shoes-page.html">running shoes embedded with Bluetooth and sensors</a> that track run statistics such as distance and pace. The shoes also measure running from metrics such as cadence (steps per minute), ground contact time, foot strike angle and stride length. </p>
<p>The app provides real time audio coaching, but only focuses on cadence. In future, we can expect to see advances in <a href="https://www.feelgoodcontacts.com/blog/smart-contact-lenses-of-the-future">smart contact lenses</a>, <a href="https://shop.jakcom.com/products/jakcom-n3-smart-nail-chip">smart nails</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Nordic-news/2018/02/beam-smart-button">smart buttons</a>, and many more.</p>
<h2>Is wearable technology worth it?</h2>
<p>The expected increase in the market size of this technology shows users’ interest in monitoring their health and improving their lifestyle. Developments in the Internet of Things, in general, have improved our way of life and supported our wellbeing.</p>
<p>Connected devices collect, track, and store user data, which is the primary purpose of the technology. What users need to know is that many wearable devices share data with third party apps and services, and it is often unclear how this data is being used. The data can be sold to other companies or utilised for different purposes without the user’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/08/theres-a-hack-for-that-fitbit-user-accounts-attacked.html">wearable devices can be hacked</a>.</p>
<p>With this in mind, and as we have done with all new technology, users must consider the advantages of wearable technology and determine if the risks are worth taking. If security and data privacy are a concern, users are encouraged to follow all security recommendations provided by experts and manufacturers to protect their devices and research more on how their data is used and shared.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225465/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erika Sanchez-Velazquez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What are the benefits and drawbacks of putting smart technology into a ring?Erika Sanchez-Velazquez, Deputy Head of School, Computing and Information Science, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246652024-03-05T12:46:21Z2024-03-05T12:46:21ZEurope’s tech industry is lagging behind the US – but it gives the continent a chance to write the rules of the game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579147/original/file-20240301-16-17taok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C24%2C8192%2C5432&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The US largely dominates the technology landscape.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kazan-russia-oct-31-2021-facebook-2066815178">Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Europe invests a lot in research, and publishes and patents many ideas. But it <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/european-rd-review-finds-lagging-high-tech-performance-despite-major-science-investment">fails to compete</a> with the US and China when it comes to translating its innovation effort into large, global technology firms. The seven largest US tech companies, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla, are <a href="https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/12/21/why-cant-european-tech-firms-compete-with-their-us-counterparts">20 times bigger</a> than the EU’s seven largest, and generate more than ten times more revenue.</p>
<p>That isn’t to say Europe has no tech <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/craigsmith/2023/02/14/europes-venture-capital-scene-is-narrowing-the-gap-with-the-us-despite-global-investment-slowdown/">success stories</a>. The world leader in music streaming is Spotify, a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/eamonnforde/2022/01/19/spotify-comfortably-remains-the-biggest-streaming-service-despite-its-market-share-being-eaten-into/">Swedish company</a>. Dutch company ASML produces the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23578430/chip-war-chris-miller-asml-intel-apple-samsung-us-china-decoder">world’s most advanced</a> computer chips, and Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/184617f3-9a88-4d23-8e23-d1a08d5577dd">leading</a> the extremely profitable market for weight-loss drugs.</p>
<p>European start-ups are also actually a <a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/europe-leads-us-startup-vc-gray-equidam/">better deal</a> for venture capitalists on average than US ones. But they rarely develop into major global players. The main reason for this is that Europe regulates more.</p>
<p>Research has found that Europeans are <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20162015">less optimistic</a> than Americans about social mobility, want to <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/705551">redistribute income</a> more than they do in the US, and have a more cautious relationship to <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2270%7E9c72a27c18.en.pdf">owning risky assets</a>. This leads to some <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/securing-europes-competitiveness-addressing-its-technology-gap#/">very predictable outcomes</a>. Environmental, inequality and life expectancy metrics perform better in Europe, while the US does better on purely economic indicators.</p>
<p>This is not necessarily bad news. In the competition to define the rules of the technological game, combining the huge US tech ecosystem and the European obsession for regulation may be the best chance to protect consumers, freedom of expression, accountability and transparency around the world.</p>
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<img alt="EU flags in front of European Commission in Brussels on a sunny day." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578982/original/file-20240229-28-6si2fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Europe has the chance to write the global rules for the tech industry according to its own values.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/eu-flags-front-european-commission-brussels-162128453">symbiot/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>The world leader in regulation</h2>
<p>The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6983504/">faster to expedite</a> its approval of new drugs than the European Medicine Agency. Pharmaceutical firms are also allowed a larger profit: drugs in the US are on average more than <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2956.html">three times more expensive</a> than in the rest of the OECD. </p>
<p>So it makes sense for pharmaceutical companies to develop their products in the US first. The same is true if you want to develop a new synthetic meat, a modified crop, or a product linked to Artificial Intelligence (AI). </p>
<p>Europe could grow faster by changing its model. But ask European leaders which precise regulation they are happy to relax, and you will hear a deafening silence. </p>
<p>Britain is perhaps the best illustration. A large part of the Brexit project was to simplify European rules that were perceived as excessive. However, the UK is yet to make any major regulatory change eight years after the referendum, and the government <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/07c98087-3914-4107-a6ee-56cc4086459e">shows no interest</a> in changing tack.</p>
<p>In the US, innovation has gone hand in hand with <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv24w62m5">market concentration and market power</a>. When companies have high market power, they may have fewer incentives to innovate. They also start to gain <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4390776">political power</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Assorted app icons representing some of the major big tech companies in the US, including Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Twitter, as seen on an iPhone screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578985/original/file-20240229-30-iujk0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The US is home to tech giants including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portland-usa-apr-21-2022-assorted-2148379161">Tada Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is where the role of Europe as an independent regulator is very important. The largest companies <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-eu/tiktoks-compliance-with-the-dma">tend to abide by EU law </a>because they want to keep access to the EU. They also have a tendency to offer the same products all over the world, which means European rules <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-usb-c-charger-rule-shows-how-eu-regulators-make-decisions-for-the-world-184763">apply to everyone</a>.</p>
<p>European rules have clear objectives. The EU’s <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3783436">Digital Markets Act</a>, which <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6423">comes into force</a> in March 2024, establishes rights and rules for large online platforms – so-called <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4328">“gatekeepers”</a> such as Google, Amazon or Meta – to prevent them from abusing their market power.</p>
<p>Europe is also credible when it comes to protecting consumers, citizens and transparency. It cannot be suspected of favouring European tech champions, because there are none. Europe can, for instance, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-opens-formal-proceedings-against-tiktok-under-digital-services-act-2024-02-19/">judge Tiktok</a> based on whether it breaches child protection rules, and not based on fears that a Chinese company is taking market share away from a European one. </p>
<h2>Technology and democracy</h2>
<p>Perhaps the best example of the benefits of old regulating Europe and unleashed America is the current race for AI. The US is positioned as the market leader in AI technology, which can power products and applications such as image generators, voice assistants and search engines. <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/ai-investment-forecast-to-approach-200-billion-globally-by-2025.html">Roughly half</a> of the world’s investment in AI currently happens in the US. </p>
<p>At the same time, Europe has already taken several steps to regulate. The EU’s <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-strike-deal-ai-law-act-technology/">Artificial Intelligence Act</a>, for example, defines <a href="https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/regulatory-framework-ai">different levels</a> of transparency and the auditing of algorithms depending on how dangerous they could become.</p>
<p>Europe will certainly not win the global innovation race for AI. But it has the chance to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/59b9ef36-771f-4f91-89d1-ef89f4a2ec4e">write the global rules</a> according to its own values. This means it can make companies liable for the actions of their AI tools and transparent on the data used for training them. It also means it can require a company’s AI algorithms to be audited.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="TikTok app logo on a smartphone screen and flags of China and United States." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578988/original/file-20240229-22-cklp59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Short-form video hosting service TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stone-uk-october-25-2019-tiktok-1541597285">Ascannio/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But for the EU to write the new rules of AI, western companies must win the innovation race. The main competitor is China, where companies are given massive access to government data, including facial recognition. The Chinese government can largely <a href="https://academic.oup.com/restud/article/90/4/1701/6665906">choose its champions</a> by deciding who gets access to data. </p>
<p>China’s concerns about regulation could not be further away from those in Europe. China is not interested in improving transparency and fair political competition – it wants to use data to promote the policies of the <a href="https://www.economist.com/china/2023/04/18/can-xi-jinping-control-ai-without-crushing-it">Chinese Communist Party</a>, and discipline and foster the national economy.</p>
<p>Far from a competition between Europe and the US for tech dominance, western democracies should see their different approaches as a unique opportunity to promote their shared values. In that context, the lack of large, global European tech leaders might actually be a blessing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The lack of large, global European tech leaders might actually be a blessing.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2234362024-02-16T01:24:19Z2024-02-16T01:24:19ZDrowning in ‘digital debt’? AI assistants can help – but we must use them carefully<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575841/original/file-20240215-22-skcxh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C4143%2C2803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sleepy-exhausted-woman-working-office-desk-358435634">Stokkete/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent days, the “right to disconnect” has <a href="https://theconversation.com/smartphones-mean-were-always-available-to-our-bosses-right-to-disconnect-laws-are-a-necessary-fix-222738">entered Australia’s legislative agenda</a>. It refers to employees’ rights to refuse unreasonable after-hours contact from their employer.</p>
<p>In a work landscape where employees are constantly available after hours thanks to smartphones and portable devices, and employers are competing in global markets and operating on tight deadlines, concerns about disconnecting from work are valid on both sides. </p>
<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants in the workplace are touted as a potential solution to this “availability creep”. But they may not be the silver bullet, despite what big tech wants us to think.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/flexibility-makes-us-happier-with-3-clear-trends-emerging-in-post-pandemic-hybrid-work-180310">Flexibility makes us happier, with 3 clear trends emerging in post-pandemic hybrid work</a>
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<h2>A crushing digital debt</h2>
<p>“Digital debt”, a term introduced by <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/will-ai-fix-work">Microsoft in its work trend index</a>, fittingly describes the vast volume of communication and coordination tasks that minimally contribute to workplace productivity.</p>
<p>The index surveyed 31,000 full-time <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6283975/">knowledge workers</a> – people who work with ideas, rather than goods – in 31 countries, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and others.</p>
<p>It reveals that 57% of the average workday is spent on communications and 68% of respondents couldn’t find uninterrupted blocks of time to focus during the workday.</p>
<p>The origins of digital debt can be traced back to the “productivity paradox” from the late 20th century, where <a href="https://www.standupeconomist.com/pdf/misc/solow-computer-productivity.pdf">increasing technology investments</a> had led to <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/163298.163309">decreasing workplace productivity</a>.</p>
<p>This paradox has re-emerged (and been renamed) mainly due to the abundance of data that organisations and employees have to manage in the current market.</p>
<p>For communication alone, most employees are having to manage one or two email addresses, calls and chats on Zoom, Slack or Teams channels, WhatsApp and LinkedIn messaging, and multiple diaries to synchronise meetings. This is easily more than 1,000 data points every day. </p>
<p>Left unattended, digital debt accrues “interest”, with damaging effects on both employee and employer. This is the tipping point at which the boundary between work and personal life blurs, and the after-dinner compulsion to tidy up the inbox sets in.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man sitting at his home computer at night looking at files" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576085/original/file-20240215-24-smwoar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It can be hard to switch off when work is accessible to us at home at all hours of the day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/pensive-man-watching-images-on-computer-screen-in-dark-room-4327409/">Josue Verdejo/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>AI assistants to the rescue?</h2>
<p>Microsoft – <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/01/23/microsoftandopenaiextendpartnership/">OpenAI’s partner of choice</a> for scaling up its industry-leading AI tech – has somewhat conveniently used the same work trend report to position its AI assistant, Microsoft Copilot, as the bona fide solution to digital debt. </p>
<p>There are obvious financial gains for big tech providing AI tools. But the capabilities of these AI assistants are fittingly at the intersection of digital debt, the deluge of data, and the right to disconnect. So, they warrant further investigation. </p>
<p>In the broadest sense, generative AI (think ChatGPT) produces new and meaningful content in response to prompts from a human operator. AI assistants generalise this capability for goal-oriented complex tasks. There’s no shortage of these subscription-based services now, including Copilot, Google’s Gemini, Amazon Q, Anthropic’s Claude and others.</p>
<p>An AI assistant can summarise all new emails, detect and prioritise those requiring a response, draft responses and highlight gaps that require human input. Then, the assistant can send the emails off and schedule meetings for subsequent chats.</p>
<p>Among other knowledge work tasks, an AI assistant can also draft and revise text for various documents, generate graphs from data in spreadsheets, or generate images for text-heavy presentation slides. </p>
<h2>A needy assistant that needs supervision</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, early <a href="https://practical365.com/first-impressions-as-microsoft-365-copilot-reaches-ga/">user feedback on the technical performance</a> of AI assistants is lacklustre.</p>
<p>This is <a href="https://theconversation.com/snapchats-creepy-ai-blunder-reminds-us-that-chatbots-arent-people-but-as-the-lines-blur-the-risks-grow-211744">primarily because of how generative AI is trained</a>. By learning from past data and not through lived experiences, it lacks factual knowledge of the world. This means it can’t validate the outcomes of the tasks completed.</p>
<p>Therefore, the human using the AI <a href="https://redmondmag.com/articles/2023/06/30/the-potential-hidden-perils-of-relying-on-microsoft-copilot.aspx">must “peer review” all of the assistant’s output</a> to avoid potential errors and misrepresentations.</p>
<p>In most workplaces where we are expected to “do more with less”, such needy AI assistants would create an additional layer of work. It could also easily get overlooked when time pressures kick in. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-and-the-future-of-work-5-experts-on-what-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-ai-tools-mean-for-artists-and-knowledge-workers-196783">AI and the future of work: 5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers</a>
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<hr>
<h2>The looming ethics problem</h2>
<p>It is no secret AI also has an ethics problem, and this extends to AI assistants.
The mediocre attitude of big tech AI providers towards transparency and governance, as demonstrated by the sacking and <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-sam-altman-openais-wunderkind-ex-ceo-and-why-was-he-fired-218111">rehiring of the CEO of Open AI</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/13/23638823/microsoft-ethics-society-team-responsible-ai-layoffs">Microsoft’s layoff of its ethics team</a>, are further reasons to be wary of the much-hyped opportunities of generative AI. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/">efforts to regulate AI</a> based on the risks it poses, but the challenge is that the risk itself is dynamic.</p>
<p>For example, menial office tasks could go horribly wrong if politically sensitive, tone deaf or workplace-inappropriate content is produced and circulated by an AI. </p>
<p>Given that large AI models are likely to continue training on live data, organisations must protect their confidential and sensitive information through stringent governance and classification protocols.</p>
<p>In summary, AI assistants can help ease our digital debt and provide after-hours business continuity. This could chart a course towards a right-to-disconnect landscape that is agreeable to everyone.</p>
<p>But this course is riddled with challenges. They include organisational readiness, AI literacy skills, AI governance, accountability framework, mandatory peer review and cost-effective subscriptions. </p>
<p>Against the mounting digital debt and deficit of work-life balance, our investment in AI must be measured and responsible, to ensure the returns are sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223436/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daswin de Silva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With work at our fingertips at all hours of the day, it can be hard to disconnect. AI assistants may solve the problem – at least, that’s what big tech wants us to think.Daswin de Silva, Deputy Director of the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226852024-02-11T13:51:49Z2024-02-11T13:51:49ZThe video game industry is booming. Why are there so many layoffs?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573963/original/file-20240207-19-2zzpmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C0%2C4573%2C2152&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tech companies have laid off thousands of game developers in recent months.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The video game industry had a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/2023-was-a-banner-year-for-video-games-and-video-game-industry-layoffs-1.7052006">banner year in 2023, with critically acclaimed blockbuster titles selling millions of copies</a>. Yet, it was also a year of layoffs with <a href="https://publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2023">10,500 game makers losing their jobs</a>. And with <a href="https://publish.obsidian.md/vg-layoffs/Archive/2024">5,900 reported layoffs in January alone</a>, 2024 will likely surpass the previous year’s numbers.</p>
<p>An endemic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211014213https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211014213">crunch mentality</a>, exploitation, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211061228">work intensification and growing unionization</a> in the game industry collide with government and lobbyist reports about economic prosperity and employment growth. </p>
<p>The industry <a href="https://canadasvideogameindustry.ca/">contributed $5.5 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2021</a>, an <a href="https://canadasvideogameindustry.ca/#GDP">increase of 23 per cent from 2019</a>. Global game revenue is <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/tmt/media/outlook/insights-and-perspectives.html">predicted to rise</a> from US$227 billion in 2023 to US$312 billion in 2027. </p>
<p>If the industry is booming, why are there so many layoffs? Who is benefitting? Who stands to lose? And what can we do about it?</p>
<h2>Cycles of layoffs</h2>
<p>In terms of why this is happening, long-standing structural issues related to the supply and demand of labour lead to recurring layoff cycles. Very large teams spend years and <a href="https://gamingbolt.com/marvels-spider-man-2-had-a-total-budget-of-315-million">hundreds of millions of dollars</a> to make a single game. Historically, studios ramp up and hire employees in peak production and hand out pink slips after launch, as they “<a href="https://circa.ualberta.ca/?page_id=307">cannot sustain the expense of idle workers</a>.” Critical and commercial failures escalate these layoffs. </p>
<p>In addition, the labour pool is growing. Post-secondary games programs have proliferated over the <a href="https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/221309/view/">past 15 years</a>. Thousands of graduates with expertise in <a href="https://hevga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/HEVGA_2019_Survey_of_Program_Graduates.pdf">game design, programming, art, cinematics and music</a> enter the workforce each year with little prospect of finding employment in their chosen profession. These labour supply and demand issues collide with inflation and wider layoffs in the tech industry.</p>
<p>There’s an easy answer to the question of who benefits from layoffs — it’s
shareholders. Many of the largest layoffs have come <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffs">in the wake of corporate takeovers</a>. Some companies explicitly point to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/unity-software-cutting-25-staff-company-reset-continuation-2024-01-08/">improving profit margins as their impetus</a>. </p>
<p>Whether short-term returns will play out in the long-term remains to be seen. Layoffs often result in planned or ongoing game projects being cancelled and some of the teams left standing seem wildly understaffed. Activision Blizzard’s esports division reportedly had <a href="https://dotesports.com/overwatch/news/activision-blizzard-reportedly-left-with-just-12-esports-division-employees-after-layoffs">only 12 full time staff</a> left after the latest round of layoffs. </p>
<p>As to who is impacted, it is disproportionately young and marginalized workers. Even when layoffs <a href="https://kotaku.com/dragon-age-dreadwolf-bioware-layoffs-lawsuit-ea-1850900755">target senior talent</a>, the influx of experienced developers into the job market pushes junior people further away from access to entry level roles. The 2021 <a href="https://igda-website.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/15161607/IGDA-DSS-2021-Diversity-Report_Final.pdf">Developer Satisfaction Survey</a> showed those most likely to be in precarious positions were gender minorities and racialized people. Waves of layoffs will only exacerbate their marginalization.</p>
<h2>Unions can help</h2>
<p>Can unions protect game industry workers from layoffs? Vocal calls to organize are bolstered by reports that <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/microsoft-and-activision-blizzard-layoffs-didn-t-impact-a-single-cwa-union-member#close-modal">unionized workers have fared better</a>. Indeed, unions can help. </p>
<p>First, it is more difficult for an employer to change the conditions of work or fire employees when there is an active certification campaign due to the risk of an <a href="https://cirb-ccri.gc.ca/en/about-appeals-applications-complaints/labour-relations-unfair-labour-practice">unfair labour practice</a> complaint.</p>
<p>Second, unions that are engaged in active collective bargaining are better placed to eliminate, reduce or delay the impact of known or anticipated layoffs. They may be able to use the threat of strike action to bargain down the extent of the layoffs or negotiate less harmful alternatives like job sharing, reduced hours or wage freezes. Workers in bargaining are also protected by the <a href="https://newsguild.org/what-is-status-quo-and-how-can-it-protect-you-from-layoffs/">requirement to maintain the status quo</a> on terms and conditions of work. </p>
<p>Third, unions can negotiate specific protective language into a collective agreement. This can range from prevention to mitigation and include “no layoff” provisions, retraining or reassignment obligations, imposed financial transparency, and required negotiation over the nature, extent and outcomes of any restructuring at a company. </p>
<p>But even <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/microsoft-and-activision-blizzard-layoffs-didn-t-impact-a-single-cwa-union-member#close-modal">unionized workers can be laid off</a>. In many cases, the best a union can do is mitigate the impact through negotiated terms like longer notice periods, severance packages, recall procedures and supplementary unemployment benefits. In the end, a union can only protect what it has negotiated into the collective agreement, and employers strongly resist constraints on their operational flexibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smartphone displaying the words Riot Games." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573960/original/file-20240207-18-tqec32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">California-based Riot Games, which is owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, recently announced it was laying off 11 per cent of its global staff.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Holding companies accountable</h2>
<p>Another solution is to call for greater accountability from game companies, which benefit from public money. It is no secret that game labour costs are heavily subsidized through government tax credits in countries like the <a href="https://igda.org/resources-archive/rd-tax-credit-opportunities-for-video-game-developers/">United States</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/01/04/1068916102/how-subsidies-helped-montreal-become-the-hollywood-of-video-games">Canada</a>, <a href="http://qpol.qub.ac.uk/what-does-the-new-tax-credit-for-irelands-games-industry-actually-mean/">Ireland</a> and <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/income-and-deductions-for-business/concessions-offsets-and-rebates/digital-games-tax-offset">Australia</a>. </p>
<p>The Financial Services Union, representing Irish game developers, recently called on the government to require employers to sign written statements committing to provide <a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/game-industry-tax-credit-5436230-May2021/">“quality employment”</a> before they can receive a tax credit. Cyclical hiring and layoffs obscure employment statistics and reduce accountability. Governments should be concerned with whether or not their subsidies are creating <em>sustainable</em> jobs.</p>
<p>In addition, the post-secondary supply of “surplus labour” creates a vast and eager reserve workforce. This disincentivizes employers from investing in their employees. Universities and colleges need to take a long hard look at the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419851080">role they play</a> and the promises they make to students. </p>
<p>Claims that students are being prepared for well-paid, exciting careers seem dubious given the current employment situation. These claims are suspect given that few games programs systematically track the career trajectories of their graduates. Exactly what jobs are they preparing graduates for? </p>
<p>This is what we and our colleagues are tracking in our longitudinal employment study, <a href="https://first3yearsproject.com/">The First Three Years</a>. One of this article’s co-authors, Johanna Weststar, spoke about our initial findings regarding <a href="https://gdcvault.com/play/1029220/Lost-XP-Why-Junior-Game">impacts on diversity and career longevity</a> at the 2023 <a href="https://gdconf.com/">Game Developer’s Conference</a>.</p>
<p>Some might take layoffs for granted as a natural part of mergers, acquisitions and other consolidation efforts, however layoffs and exploitation are not new in the game industry. Ultimately they are a symptom of a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/workorgalaboglob.15.2.0007">financialized industry focused on short-term gains</a> for owners and shareholders. </p>
<p>Unions, worker and consumer activism, and demands for greater accountability for taxpayer dollars and the promises of higher education are important pieces of any solution. So too are efforts to envision <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262545402/the-videogame-industry-does-not-exist/">alternative ways to craft a more sustainable industry</a>. To address this broken system, we ultimately must ask who benefits from layoffs in a booming industry and systematically remove those benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222685/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer R. Whitson has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to support research on the digital game industry.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johanna Weststar has received funding from the International Game Developers Association, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Dancap Private Equity Research Award to support her research on the digital game industry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Gouglas has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Higher Education Video Game Alliance to support research on postsecondary games education and the digital game industry. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenzie Gordon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent waves of layoffs shine a light on the systemic issues in the game industry and the post-graduation promises universities are making to students.Kenzie Gordon, PhD Candidate, Digital Humanities & Media Studies, University of AlbertaJennifer R. Whitson, Associate Professor, Sociology and Legal Studies, University of WaterlooJohanna Weststar, Associate Professor of Labour and Employment Relations, DAN Department of Management & Organizational Studies, Western UniversitySean Gouglas, Professor, Digital Humanities, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193562024-01-25T16:01:30Z2024-01-25T16:01:30ZSpreadsheet errors can have disastrous consequences – yet we keep making the same mistakes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570338/original/file-20240119-21-5frvd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=75%2C0%2C8386%2C5573&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Making mistakes with spreadsheets can not only cause us personal frustration but can also lead to some very serious consequences. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-tired-medical-coding-bill-spreadsheets-2197496803">Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Spreadsheet blunders aren’t just frustrating personal inconveniences. They can have serious consequences. And in the last few years alone, there have been a myriad of spreadsheet horror stories. </p>
<p>In August 2023, the Police Service of Northern Ireland <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66445452">apologised</a> for a data leak of “monumental proportions” when a spreadsheet that contained statistics on the number of officers it had and their rank was shared online in response to a freedom of information request. </p>
<p>There was a second overlooked tab on the spreadsheet that contained the personal details of 10,000 serving police officers. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://anro.wm.hee.nhs.uk/Portals/3/Anaesthetics%20Recruitment%20-%20Significant%20Incident%20Report%20-%20Dec%2021.pdf?ver=hqDrm_-syzeLmBcfbigWJA%3D%3D">series of spreadsheet errors</a> disrupted the recruitment of trainee anaesthetists in Wales in late 2021. The Anaesthetic National Recruitment Office (ANRO), the body responsible for their selection and recruitment, told all the candidates for positions in Wales they were “unappointable”, despite some of them achieving the highest interview scores.</p>
<p>The blame fell on the process of consolidating interview data. Spreadsheets from different areas lacked standardisation in formatting, naming conventions and overall structure. To make matters worse, data was manually copied and pasted between various spreadsheets, a time-consuming and error-prone process.</p>
<p>ANRO only discovered the blunder when rejected applicants questioned their dismissal letters. The fact that not a single candidate seemed acceptable for Welsh positions should have been a red flag. No testing or validation was apparently applied to the crucial spreadsheet, a simple step that could have prevented this critical error.</p>
<p>In 2021, Crypto.com, an online provider of cryptocurrency, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/24/a-crypto-firm-sent-a-disability-worker-10m-by-mistake-months-later-she-was-arrested-at-an-australian-airport">accidentally transferred</a> US$10.5 million (£8.3 million) instead of US$100 into the account of an Australian customer due to an incorrect number being entered on a spreadsheet. </p>
<p>The clerk who processed the refund for the Australian customer had wrongly entered her bank account number in the refund field in a spreadsheet. It was seven months before the mistake was spotted. The recipient attempted to flee to Malaysia but was stopped at an Australian airport carrying a large amount of cash.</p>
<p>In 2022, Íslandsbanki, a state-owned Icelandic bank, sold a portion of shares that were badly undervalued due to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-14/bungled-excel-sheet-hurts-profits-from-islandsbanki-sale">spreadsheet error</a>. When consolidating assets from different spreadsheets, the spreadsheet data was not “cleaned” and formatted properly. The bank’s shares were subsequently undervalued by as much as £16 million. </p>
<h2>The dark matter of corporate IT</h2>
<p>The above is just a fraction of the spreadsheet errors that are regularly made by various organisations. </p>
<p>Spreadsheets represent unknown risks in the form of errors, privacy violations, trade secrets and compliance violations. Yet they are also critical for the way many organisations make their decisions. For this reason, they have been <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/end-user-computing/81295">described</a> by experts as the “dark matter” of corporate IT. </p>
<p>Industry <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/know-spreadsheet-errors/55750">studies</a> show that 90% of spreadsheets containing more than 150 rows have at least one major mistake. </p>
<p>This is understandable because spreadsheet errors are easy to make but difficult to spot. My <a href="https://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol25/iss1/34/">own research</a> has shown that inspecting the spreadsheet’s code is the most effective way of debugging them, but this approach still only catches between 60% and 80% of all errors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close up of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570385/original/file-20240119-15-gebegy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As many as 9 out of 10 spreadsheets are estimated to contain errors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-usa-august-18-2017-699112366">PixieMe/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Spreadsheets’ appeal doesn’t just exist in the financial world. They are indispensable in <a href="https://eusprig.org/wp-content/uploads/1801.10231.pdf">engineering</a>, <a href="https://ijcis.net/index.php/ijcis/article/view/79">data science</a> and even in <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20150008644">sending robots</a> to Mars. The key to their success is their flexibility. </p>
<p>Spreadsheet software is constantly evolving, with more features becoming available that increase their appeal. For instance, you can now automate many tasks in Excel (the most popular spreadsheet software) using Python scripting.</p>
<p>But given all of the aforementioned problems, isn’t it time for Excel and other spreadsheet software to be sidelined in favour of something more reliable? </p>
<h2>Human error</h2>
<p>The underlying cause of these spreadsheet problems is not the software but human error. </p>
<p>The issue is that most users don’t see the need to plan or test their work. Most users <a href="https://www.igi-global.com/article/errors-operational-spreadsheets/4145">describe</a> their first step in creating a new spreadsheet as merely jumping straight in and entering numbers or code directly. </p>
<p>Many of us don’t consider spreadsheets to warrant serious consideration. This means we become <a href="https://eusprig.org/wp-content/uploads/0804.0941.pdf">complacent</a> and assume there is no need to test, validate or verify our work.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/article/3762">Research</a> on “cognitive load”, the amount of mental effort required for a task, shows that building complex spreadsheets demands as much concentration as a GP making a diagnosis. This intense mental strain makes mistakes more likely. But GPs study their profession for many years before becoming qualified while most spreadsheet users are <a href="https://eusprig.org/wp-content/uploads/0803.1862.pdf">self-taught</a>. </p>
<p>To break the cycle of repeated spreadsheet errors, there are several things organisations can do. First, introducing standardisation would help to minimise confusion and mistakes. For example, this would mean consistent formatting, naming conventions and data structures across spreadsheets.</p>
<p>Second, improving training is crucial. Equipping users with the knowledge and skills to build robust and accurate spreadsheets could help them identify and avoid pitfalls. </p>
<p>Finally, fostering a culture of critical thinking towards spreadsheets is vital. This would mean encouraging users to continually question calculations, validate their data sources and double-check their work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Thorne is affiliated with The European Spreadsheets Risks Interest Group</span></em></p>Spreadsheet-related errors can have serious consequences in the private and public sector. But what can we do to overcome them?Simon Thorne, Senior Lecturer in Computing and Information Systems, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177332024-01-02T16:49:59Z2024-01-02T16:49:59ZAI can now attend a meeting and write code for you – here’s why you should be cautious<p>Microsoft recently <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/09/21/announcing-microsoft-copilot-your-everyday-ai-companion/">launched</a> a new version of all of its software with the addition of an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that can do a variety of tasks for you. <a href="https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/">Copilot</a> can summarise verbal conversations on <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/join-a-meeting-in-microsoft-teams-1613bb53-f3fa-431e-85a9-d6a91e3468c9">Teams</a> online meetings, present arguments for or against a particular point based on verbal discussions and answer a portion of your emails. It can even write computer code.</p>
<p>This quickly developing technology appears to take us even closer to a future where AI makes our lives easier and takes away all of the boring and repetitive things we have to do as humans. </p>
<p>But while these advancements are all very impressive and useful, we must be cautious in our use of such <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/34948/large-language-model-llm">large language models</a> (LLMs). Despite their intuitive nature, they still require skill to use them effectively, reliably and safely.</p>
<h2>Large language models</h2>
<p>LLMs, a type of “deep learning” neural network, are designed to understand the user’s intent by analysing the probability of different responses based on the prompt provided. So, when a person inputs a prompt, the LLM examines the text and determines the most likely response. </p>
<p><a href="https://chat.openai.com">ChatGPT</a>, a prominent example of an LLM, can provide answers to prompts on a wide range of subjects. However, despite its seemingly knowledgeable responses, ChatGPT <a href="https://venturebeat.com/ai/llms-have-not-learned-our-language-were-trying-to-learn-theirs%EF%BF%BC/">does not</a> possess actual knowledge. Its responses are simply the most probable outcomes based on the given prompt.</p>
<p>When people provide ChatGPT, Copilot and other LLMs with detailed descriptions of the tasks they want to accomplish, these models can excel at providing high-quality responses. This could include generating text, images or computer code. </p>
<p>But, as humans, we often push the boundaries of what technology can do and what it was originally designed for. Consequently, we start using these systems to do the legwork that we should have done ourselves.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Microsoft 365 Copilot logo is displayed on a smartphone screen held in a hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562981/original/file-20231201-29-8xiuff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microsoft Copilot is available in Windows 11 and Microsoft 365.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/june-7-2023-brazil-this-photo-2314245893">rafapress/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why over-reliance on AI could be a problem</h2>
<p>Despite their seemingly intelligent responses, we cannot blindly <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-we-trust-ai-if-we-dont-know-how-it-works/#:%7E:text=Humans%20are%20largely%20predictable%20to,make%20it%20worthy%20of%20trust.">trust</a> LLMs to be accurate or reliable. We must carefully evaluate and verify their outputs, ensuring that our initial prompts are reflected in the answers provided. </p>
<p>To effectively verify and validate LLM outputs, we need to have a strong understanding of the subject matter. Without expertise, we cannot provide the necessary quality assurance.</p>
<p>This becomes particularly critical in situations where we are using LLMs to bridge gaps in our own knowledge. Here our lack of knowledge may lead us to a situation where we are simply unable to determine whether the output is correct or not. This situation can arise in generation of text and coding. </p>
<p>Using AI to attend meetings and summarise the discussion presents obvious risks around reliability. While the record of the meeting is based on a transcript, the meeting notes are still generated in the same fashion as other text from LLMs. They are still based on language patterns and probabilities of what was said, so they require verification before they can be acted upon. </p>
<p>They also suffer from interpretation problems due to <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9016769">homophones</a>, words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings. People are good at understanding what is meant in such circumstances due to the context of the conversation.</p>
<p>But AI is not good at deducing context nor does it understand nuance. So, expecting it to formulate arguments based upon a potentially erroneous transcript poses further problems still. </p>
<p>Verification is even harder if we are using AI to generate computer code. Testing computer code with test data is the only reliable method for validating its functionality. While this demonstrates that the code operates as intended, it doesn’t guarantee that its behaviour aligns with real-world expectations. </p>
<p>Suppose we use generative AI to create code for a sentiment analysis tool. The goal is to analyse product reviews and categorise sentiments as positive, neutral or negative. We can test the functionality of the system and validate the code functions correctly – that it is sound from a technical programming point of view. </p>
<p>However, imagine that we deploy such software in the real world and it starts to classify sarcastic product reviews as positive. The sentiment analysis system lacks the contextual knowledge necessary to understand that sarcasm is not used as positive feedback, and quite the opposite. </p>
<p>Verifying that a code’s output matches the desired outcomes in nuanced situations such as this requires expertise. </p>
<hr>
<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-turns-1-ai-chatbots-success-says-as-much-about-humans-as-technology-218704">ChatGPT turns 1: AI chatbot's success says as much about humans as technology</a>
</strong>
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<p>Non programmers will have no knowledge of software engineering principles that are used to ensure code is correct, such as planning, methodology, testing and documentation. Programming is a complex discipline, and software engineering emerged as a field to manage software quality. </p>
<p>There is a significant risk, as my own <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372606390_Experimenting_with_ChatGPT_for_Spreadsheet_Formula_Generation_Evidence_of_Risk_in_AI_Generated_Spreadsheets#fullTextFileContent">research</a> has shown, that non-experts will overlook or skip critical steps in the software design process, leading to code of unknown quality.</p>
<h2>Validation and verification</h2>
<p>LLMs such as ChatGPT and Copilot are powerful tools that we can all benefit from. But we must be careful to not blindly trust the outputs given to us. </p>
<p>We are right at the start of a great revolution based on this technology. AI has infinite possibilities but it needs to be shaped, checked and verified. And at present, humans beings are the only ones who can do this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217733/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Thorne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Microsoft Copilot can summarise meetings and even formulate arguments. But as good as that sounds, we shouldn’t blindly trust its accuracy.Simon Thorne, Senior Lecturer in Computing and Information Systems, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186752023-12-22T15:47:35Z2023-12-22T15:47:35ZApple, Tesla and Nvidia were among 2023’s ‘magnificent seven’ stocks – here’s what to expect from them all in 2024<p>In the 1960 western The Magnificent Seven, a group of seven gunfighters protect a village from bandits. Only three survive to ride out of town at the end of the movie. The odds look much better for the seven tech companies recently dubbed the magnificent seven after dominating US stock markets in 2023. But there are problems that could ambush some of these companies in 2024. </p>
<p>Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia have driven a rally in US stocks in 2023. They now make up nearly a third of the S&P 500 measure of the largest listed US companies, which has risen <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/are-the-magnificent-seven-stocks-too-risky-for-you-consider-this-fund">more than 20%</a> since January. These tech stocks had provided shareholders with <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/gs-research/2024-us-equity-outlook-all-you-had-to-do-was-stay/report.pdf">a whopping 71% return</a> by mid-November while the other 493 names added just 6%.</p>
<p>This impressive performance led Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett to name these companies the magnificent seven earlier this year. Goldman Sachs soon followed, calling their massive outperformance the <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/2024-us-equity-outlook-all-you-had-to-do-was-stay.html">“defining feature”</a> of the equity market in 2023.</p>
<p>But as dramatic as this performance has been – and although they’re all essentially tech companies – don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re all the same. In fact, the outlook for the magnificent seven next year is mixed, particularly in light of expected changes in their core markets.</p>
<h2>Rising competition in the EV market</h2>
<p>Let’s start with the bad news first. Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla Motors will continue to lose market share in 2024. While chief executive Elon Musk has been dealing with <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-disney-and-other-big-brands-are-pulling-x-ads-why-elon-musks-latest-firestorm-could-bring-down-the-company-218961">advertising problems</a> on X (formerly Twitter), one of his other businesses, over the first three quarters of this year, Tesla has seen its US market <a href="https://www.automotivedive.com/news/bmw-mercedes-benz-ev-sales-jump-q3-tesla-loses-market-share/696406/">dominance shrink</a> from 62% to just over 50% of the market. Both BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Cars have <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-electric-vehicle-sales-hit-record-high-tesla-loses-market-share-report-2023-10-12/#:%7E:text=Tesla%20now%20dominates%20just%20half,in%20the%20competitive%20EV%20arena">expanded their footprints</a>. </p>
<p>And over the next few years, the growing global heft of Chinese manufacturers looks hard to beat. Chinese EV players such as BYD, Nio, Wuling and Xpeng produced almost <a href="https://thechinaproject.com/2023/05/18/chinas-top-15-electric-vehicle-companies/">60% of the world’s EVs</a> in 2022 – and they have been doing so in <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2023/10/29/chinas-ev-threat-sharpens-as-us-and-europe-stumble/?sh=3a7bde807dd3">a very affordable manner</a>. In the first half of 2023, the average cost of an EV in China was US$33,000 (£26,040), more than half the US$70,700 (£55,800) people pay for EVs in Europe and the US$72,000 (£56,800) paid in the US.</p>
<p>US president Joe Biden has proposed strict new car pollution controls that will require almost <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-proposes-strongest-ever-pollution-standards-cars-and">two-thirds of new cars</a> sold in the US to be electric by 2032. But the cost of EVs will need to come down if they are to achieve mass market appeal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grey Tesla model S driving on the road with the sun setting in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566971/original/file-20231220-21-6ve5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Tesla Model S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/houston-texas-usa-november-22nd-2019-1567944361">canadianPhotographer56/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sunny outlook for cloud computing</h2>
<p>Magnificent seven members Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet make up <a href="https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/cloud-infrastructure-services-market-1599">two-thirds</a> of the cloud computing market, which will continue to grow in 2024, although perhaps not quite as much as in the past. </p>
<p>Still, the market for cloud infrastructure services is expected to expand from US$122 billion in 2023 to US$446 billion by 2032. In particular, concerns about the macroeconomic environment have seen some customers focus on using the cloud more <a href="https://www.crayon.com/resources/insights/unlocking-cloud-cost-optimization-strategies-real-world-savings-and-provider-specific-tactics/">to reduce costs</a> in recent years, although this has yet to have any meaningful impact on revenues.</p>
<p>And for Amazon in particular, there are some niggling questions around its outlook. Although its cloud business remains solid, its original e-commerce business has seen growing competition recently, notably from rival retail giant Walmart, which is <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2023/03/09/walmart-chips-away-at-amazons-lead-in-a-key-area-wealthy-online-shoppers/#:%7E:text=U.S.%20shoppers%20will%20spend%20%24431,of%20Amazon%27s%20estimated%2037.6%25%20share.">eating into its business</a> in the US.</p>
<p>This is one reason why holding Amazon shares provided an annual return over the past two years of -16.7%, as of early December, according to my calculations.</p>
<h2>Unstoppable AI</h2>
<p>Also linked to the cloud computing industry, California-based chip maker Nvidia Corporation has been the runaway success of the magnificent seven this year. This is all thanks to its dominance in processing AI workloads on the cloud. The majority of cloud players use Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs). </p>
<p>But while its two-year return of 43.3% is the most impressive of the seven tech companies, there are competitors on the horizon that could nibble away at some market share.</p>
<p>Nvidia’s nearest rival AMD drew attention with its <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fa0c97af-c20f-461e-96c9-f2357496c599">latest chip offering</a> in 2023 – it’s betting the market will be worth <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/amd-forecasts-45-billion-ai-chip-market-this-year-2023-12-06/">US$400 billion by 2027</a>. A number of other start-ups are also developing chips for niche AI fields.</p>
<p>Can Nvidia maintain its dominance? If it does, its earnings will skyrocket
alongside the growth of AI. But even if it loses some market share, the AI market will boom for years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Jen-Hsun Huan, NVIDIA's founder, president and CEO, talking about the chipmaker." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566972/original/file-20231220-15-ovwa6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jen-Hsun Huan, NVIDIA’s founder, president and CEO.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/jenhsun-huan-nvidias-founder-president-ceo-2309655129">jamesonwu1972/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The outliers</h2>
<p>For those keeping track, that just leaves two final members of the magnificent seven. </p>
<p>Apple Inc – the world’s largest company by market capitalisation – consistently delivers solid returns: 16.2% over the past two years by my calculations. At the other end of the scale, social media company Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp) is the only one of the group to have shown an essentially flat stock market performance over the past two years.</p>
<p>Although Meta’s revenues and earnings have consistently beaten expectations this year, the threat of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/19/23800545/khan-ftc-doj-justice-antitrust-guidelines-meta-amazon">anti-trust legislation</a> in the US and Europe hangs over the company, as does an advertising market that is <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a99cc93a-0fa0-4c12-a885-d7507692befa">bottoming out</a>. Both of these issues could harm Meta’s revenue outlook next year.</p>
<p>So, the magnificent seven have all survived to ride out of town at the end of 2023, but it’s as clear as a tumbleweed rolling down a deserted main street that not all of them are in for a leisurely horseback ride through 2024. Saddle up, partners!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl Schmedders does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia have driven a bull market rally in US stocks in 2023. But will they dominate in 2024?Karl Schmedders, Professor of Finance, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2199292023-12-21T17:37:07Z2023-12-21T17:37:07ZScrutiny of OpenAI and Microsoft relationship could affect how AI industry grows and innovates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566952/original/file-20231220-19-jnbdub.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C44%2C5838%2C3907&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/openai-cofounder-chatgpt-ceo-sam-altman-2390534439">MeSSrro/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The boardroom of OpenAI, the business that developed ChatGPT, has seen some turbulent times recently. But while the drama around the sacking and reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman has subsided, the company now faces investigation by the UK competitor authority – a regulator that’s been increasingly training its spotlight on big tech in recent years. </p>
<p>After the surprise sacking of Altman by OpenAI’s board in November, he was immediately hired by tech giant Microsoft, which also pushed for him to be reinstated as CEO of OpenAI. A few days later it was confirmed that Altman was back as OpenAI CEO, alongside a new board on which Microsoft was granted a non-voting observer seat. </p>
<p>Microsoft is the biggest investor in the commercial arm of OpenAI. It has put around <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/08/microsofts-complex-bet-on-openai-brings-potential-and-uncertainty.html">US$13 billion</a> (£10.3 billion) into the business. It’s also the exclusive supplier of the cloud computer services that OpenAI uses to develop and operate its AI models. </p>
<p>Even though Altman was only out for less than a week, the episode could have a significant impact on OpenAI’s future. It revealed the strong links between OpenAI and Microsoft, prompting UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-seeks-views-on-microsofts-partnership-with-openai">announce an investigation</a> into their relationship. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-openai-saga-demonstrates-how-big-corporations-dominate-the-shaping-of-our-technological-future-218540">The OpenAI saga demonstrates how big corporations dominate the shaping of our technological future</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Competition regulation</h2>
<p>The CMA wants to examine whether the current partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft is essentially a merger – that is, whether there has been an acquisition of control by Microsoft or a change in the nature of control. But it also signals the regulator’s intent to continue to closely examine big tech firms as it aims to protect consumers. </p>
<p>In addition to its investments, Microsoft only has non-voting observer status on OpenAI’s board. But if the CMA concludes the partnership is in fact a merger, it will start looking into whether this merger has led to a substantial lessening of competition (SLC). The CMA would then need to consider how to remedy the harm and this could result in a change in the governance structure of OpenAI.</p>
<p>Microsoft’s supply of cloud computing services to OpenAI will also be a crucial part of the investigation. If Microsoft is denying or restricting supply of these services to OpenAI’s rivals, the CMA could conclude that this harms competition. </p>
<p>OpenAI has also developed general-purpose AI systems that can improve a range of applications used widely by consumers, for example productivity software and search engines. The CMA will look at Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167718723000553">ability and incentive</a> to restrict the supply of AI systems to companies competing in these markets, for example rivals of Microsoft’s Bing search engine. </p>
<p>Either scenario could ultimately damage the choice and quality of services available to consumers – something competition authorities pledge to protect. </p>
<h2>Increased scrutiny of big tech</h2>
<p>The CMA’s examination of OpenAI marks a new level of scrutiny of high-tech sectors, which competition authorities across the globe have been keeping a close eye on for the last two decades. The CMA established a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-markets-unit">Digital Markets Unit</a> in 2021. </p>
<p>Its recent high-profile decisions include delaying Microsoft’s acquisition of Call of Duty game developer Activision Blizzard until it amended the terms of the deal. Before that, it ruled that Facebook owner Meta’s acquisition of GIF video provider Giphy was anti-competitive, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/18/facebook-meta-sell-giphy-cma">forcing it to sell Giphy</a>. </p>
<p>Concerns about restricting supply of products or services to rivals were also central to these cases. And its decisions demonstrate the ability and willingness of the CMA to impose significant structural remedies on companies. It’s even prepared to fully unwind deals that it deemed would harm competition. Other national regulators had already <a href="https://theconversation.com/microsoft-and-activision-the-big-questions-that-will-decide-whether-the-us-68-billion-deal-goes-ahead-209803">given the deal the green light</a> before the CMA’s intervention was resolved.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hands holding a smartphone with the CMA logo, brightly coloured background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566957/original/file-20231220-25-freci9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Competition and Markets Authority promotes competitive markets and aims to protect consumers from unfair business activity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/march-21-2023-brazil-this-photo-2277590033">rafapress/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The challenges of regulating tech companies</h2>
<p>There are some factors that make it difficult for competition authorities to regulate high-tech markets, however. First, these markets are extremely dynamic and can evolve in ways that are unexpected. This makes it hard for competition authorities to accurately determine harm to competition and the impact potential remedies will have. </p>
<p>Second, these investigations often involve large, powerful companies with substantial lobbying power and major global presences. When the merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard was initially blocked by the CMA, the companies got a lot of press by claiming the decision showed the UK was “closed for business”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-post-brexit-britain-is-still-open-for-business-despite-what-microsoft-says-204698">Why post-Brexit Britain is still open for business – despite what Microsoft says</a>
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</em>
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<p>On the other hand, the dynamic nature of these markets makes it essential for competition authorities to carefully scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene early-on as high-tech sectors emerge. Otherwise, there is a danger that first-movers can quickly entrench and exploit their dominant positions. Competition authorities allowed Facebook to acquire Instagram in 2012, for example, but now Instagram is so popular <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/09/28/case-breaking-up-facebook-instagram/">this decision</a> has been criticised. </p>
<p>The potential for AI to drastically change all walks of life makes it imperative that the CMA (and other competition authorities) take this opportunity to shape how the sector develops and who benefits. </p>
<p>It’s still early days for AI, but the CMA could call on OpenAI to alter its ownership structure or it could even regulate how it operates or what it sells. This could give the CMA more control over how the market evolves, but would also require it to extensively monitor this complex market. </p>
<p>Either way, it has the potential to have a significant effect on how OpenAI grows and innovates, and who is able to benefit from its creations – as well as those from other companies in the burgeoning AI market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the CMA concludes the partnership is in fact a merger, it will start looking into whether this has reduced competition.Matthew Olczak, Reader in Economics, Aston UniversityJon Guest, Senior Teaching Fellow in Economics, Aston UniversityKarishma Patel, Teaching Fellow in Economics, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2177422023-12-05T22:16:16Z2023-12-05T22:16:16ZMicrosoft’s ban on third-party controllers on the Xbox excludes some disabled gamers from using the device<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563483/original/file-20231204-15-zq5wh4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C18%2C4031%2C2999&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Xbox Adaptive Controller was designed to make gaming more accessible.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/microsofts-ban-on-third-party-controllers-on-the-xbox-excludes-some-disabled-gamers-from-using-the-device" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When it comes to accessibility in gaming, Microsoft takes two steps forward with the Xbox Adaptive Controller, but a giant leap back with its ban on third-party devices.</p>
<p>On Oct. 31, some Xbox players began receiving a <a href="https://tech.hindustantimes.com/gaming/news/banned-microsoft-takes-firm-stance-on-third-party-xbox-controllers-and-accessories-71698733625081.html">new error code</a> on their Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles. The error code meant that players were using an unauthorized third-party controller — one not made by Microsoft or an official <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-US/designed-for-xbox">hardware partner</a>. Players were given two weeks’ notice until the unauthorized controller would no longer work with their consoles. </p>
<p>Essentially, Microsoft had quietly banned the use of controllers not made or approved by the company. In the following weeks, Microsoft officially stated the ban was meant to protect players’ gaming experiences, and <a href="https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/errors/error-code-0x82d60002">ensure the quality and safety of players’ controllers</a>. </p>
<p>The ban, however, presents barriers to many disabled gamers who may use third-party controllers for accessibility reasons. </p>
<h2>Social exclusion and accessibility</h2>
<p>When we talk about accessibility and the social exclusion of disabled people, we often do not consider accessible forms of leisure <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479853434/restricted-access/">to be important</a>. </p>
<p>Legal policies such as the <a href="https://www.ada.gov/">Americans with Disabilities Act</a> and the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11">Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act</a> that legislate access to public spaces and provide protection from employment discrimination are often viewed as more important.</p>
<p>But video games are a massive source of entertainment for both children and adults. The gaming industry is currently the <a href="https://gamerhub.co.uk/gaming-industry-dominates-as-the-highest-grossing-entertainment-industry/">highest-grossing entertainment industry worldwide</a>. With an estimated 6.2 million disabled people in <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2018002-eng.htm">Canada</a>, 61 million disabled people in the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability-inclusion.html">United States</a> and 1.3 billion disabled people <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health">worldwide</a>, there is undoubtedly a large group of disabled video game players. </p>
<p>In order to have a truly inclusive and accessible society, disabled people’s rights to meaningfully take part in accessible forms of entertainment, leisure and play <a href="http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1486508.1486516">must be supported</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a man in a wheelchair with a game controller" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563672/original/file-20231205-23-tvp6st.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Video games are the highest-grossing entertainment activity, and ignoring the needs of disabled gamers affects their ability to meaningfully participate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Video game accessibility</h2>
<p>In recent years, Microsoft has been a leader in video game accessibility. In 2018, they were the first major gaming company to release an adaptive controller.</p>
<p>The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a customizable controller that allows players to connect external devices (foot pedals, joysticks, buttons, switches) to ports on the back of the controller. This controller design allows players to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/05/xbox-adaptive-controller-a-bold-answer-to-the-tricky-world-of-accessible-gaming/">construct their own unique gaming setup</a>. Someone previously unable to hold a controller would now be able to play a game mainly with their feet, for example. </p>
<p>Because controllers require a high amount of dexterity to use, many disabled people (particularly those with mobility impairments) are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-010-0189-5">not able to play video games</a>. <a href="https://www.atia.org/home/at-resources/what-is-at/">Assistive technologies</a> like the Xbox Adaptive Controller help <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267403944_Game_Not_Over_Accessibility_Issues_in_Video_Games">make video games more accessible</a>. </p>
<p>Disabled players have <a href="https://doi.org/10.5334/csci.128">made their own accessibility solutions</a> for years. The Xbox Adaptive Controller was a massive step forward for video game accessibility because it showed official support for accessibility in gaming from a major video game company.</p>
<h2>Banned third-party controllers</h2>
<p>Microsoft has taken a step back in their efforts to champion video game accessibility with their recent announcement. While they have clarified that devices compatible with the Xbox Adaptive Controller will <a href="https://twitter.com/KaitlynJones_/status/1719668307379278135">not be affected</a>, this does not eliminate all accessibility concerns.</p>
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<p>Disability is individual and varies from person to person. While the Xbox Adaptive Controller may work for many disabled gamers, that does not make it a universal solution that works for all disabled gamers. </p>
<p>The Xbox Adaptive Controller is only one accessibility option among many available to disabled gamers. The ban on third-party controllers means that other accessibility options and <a href="https://www.consoletuner.com/products/titan-two/">devices are now unusable</a> for Xbox players.</p>
<h2>Downsides of the Xbox Adaptive Controller</h2>
<p>The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a great accessibility option — however, it has downsides that other third-party devices may address. One of these downsides is that the Xbox Adaptive Controller is not compatible with all external devices. For example, computer mice are <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/disabledgamers/comments/11rkazg/xbox_adaptive_controller_mouse/">not compatible</a> with the Adaptive Controller but are with other now-unauthorized <a href="https://www.cronusmax.com/">devices</a>. </p>
<p>Another downside of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is <a href="https://caniplaythat.com/2020/09/24/xbox-adaptive-controller-review-xbox-pc/">the cost</a>. The controller itself <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-CA/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller">costs $130</a>. External buttons and joysticks can also run a high price, with some popular buttons <a href="https://www.ablenetinc.com/big-red/">retailing for $75</a>. This is on top of the initial cost of buying an Xbox, which can range from <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-CA/consoles/xbox-series-s">$380</a> to <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-CA/consoles/xbox-series-x">$650</a>.</p>
<p>According to the 2017 <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2018002-eng.htm">Canadian Survey on Disability</a>, disabled individuals are more than twice as likely as non-disabled people to live in poverty. Disabled people also earn 12 to 51 per cent less annually.</p>
<p>While we may not think about the price of assistive technologies like the Xbox Adaptive Controller as an accessibility barrier, it can play a role in limiting the available options for many disabled people.</p>
<h2>Historically overlooked</h2>
<p>The availability of the Xbox Adaptive Controller may make it seem like Microsoft’s ban of third-party controllers will have little effect on disabled players. But the <a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/why-xboxs-third-party-accessories-ban-is-sparking-a-backlash-in-the-disabled-community">backlash from disabled gamers</a> shows this is not true. Disabled players are concerned about the ban’s possible effects on accessibility.</p>
<p>The video game industry has historically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392326">overlooked disabled gamers</a> as a legitimate and sizeable consumer base. The banning of other assistive technology options for disabled gamers is an unfortunate step back in an already long and hard-fought battle for inclusive and accessible gaming.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217742/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juan Escobar-Lamanna does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Xbox Adaptive Controller is designed to make gaming more inclusive, but Microsoft’s ban on third-party devices means some disabled gamers are still excluded.Juan Escobar-Lamanna, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183402023-11-30T13:36:07Z2023-11-30T13:36:07ZOpenAI is a nonprofit-corporate hybrid: A management expert explains how this model works − and how it fueled the tumult around CEO Sam Altman’s short-lived ouster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562217/original/file-20231128-22-e58d24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4610%2C2153&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had a tumultuous November.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/openai-chief-executive-officer-sam-altman-speaks-during-an-news-photo/1497792564?adppopup=true">omohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The board of OpenAI, creator of the popular ChatGPT and DALL-E artificial intelligence tools, <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-sam-altman-openais-wunderkind-ex-ceo-and-why-was-he-fired-218111">fired Sam Altman, its chief executive officer</a>, in late November 2023.</p>
<p>Chaos ensued as investors and employees rebelled. By the time the mayhem had subsided five days later, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/altman-openai-chatgpt-31187f7f6eca8ff9d0eef7585aac6ace">Altman had returned triumphantly</a> to the OpenAI fold amid staff euphoria, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/22/sam-altmans-back-heres-whos-on-the-new-openai-board-and-whos-out.html">three of the board members</a> who had sought his ouster had resigned.</p>
<p>The structure of the board – a nonprofit board of directors overseeing a for-profit subsidiary – seems to have played a role in the drama. </p>
<p>As a management scholar who researches <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_-YZrXgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">organizational accountability, governance and performance</a>, I’d like to explain how this hybrid approach is supposed to work.</p>
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<h2>Hybrid governance</h2>
<p><a href="https://openai.com/blog/introducing-openai">Altman co-founded OpenAI</a> in 2015 as a <a href="https://openai.com/our-structure">tax-exempt nonprofit with a mission</a> “to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is safe and benefits all of humanity.” To raise more capital than it could amass through charitable donations, OpenAI later established a holding company that enables it to take money from investors for a for-profit subsidiary it created.</p>
<p>OpenAI’s leaders chose this “<a href="https://openai.com/our-structure">hybrid governance</a>” structure to enable it to stay true to its social mission while harnessing the power of markets to grow its operations and revenues. Merging profit with purpose has enabled OpenAI to raise billions from investors seeking financial returns while balancing “<a href="https://openai.com/our-structure">commerciality with safety and sustainability</a>, rather than focusing on pure profit-maximization,” according to an explanation on its website. </p>
<p>Major investors thus have a large stake in the success of its operations. That’s especially true for Microsoft, which owns 49% of OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary after <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/08/microsofts-complex-bet-on-openai-brings-potential-and-uncertainty.html">investing US$13 billion in the company</a>. But those investors aren’t entitled to board seats as they would be in typical corporations.</p>
<p>And the profits OpenAI returns to its investors are capped at approximately <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/20/openai-governance-model-investors/">100 times</a> what the initial investors put in. This structure calls for it to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/openai-boardroom-drama-sam-altman-could-mess-up-your-future/">revert to a nonprofit</a> once that point is reached. At least in principle, this design was intended to prevent the company from veering from its purpose of benefiting humanity safely and to avoid compromising its mission by recklessly pursuing profits.</p>
<h2>Other hybrid governance models</h2>
<p>There are more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.09.001">hybrid governance models</a> than you might think. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/about/">Philadelphia Inquirer</a>, a for-profit newspaper, is owned by the <a href="https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/our-work/the-philadelphia-inquirer/">Lenfest Institute</a>, a nonprofit. The structure allows the newspaper to attract investments without compromising on its purpose – journalism serving the needs of its local communities.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-patagonias-purpose-driven-business-model-is-unlikely-to-spread-190889">Patagonia</a>, a designer and purveyor of outdoor clothing and gear, is another prominent example. Its founder, Yvon Chouinard, and his heirs have permanently <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/ownership/">transferred their ownership to a nonprofit trust</a>. All of Patagonia’s profits now fund environmental causes. </p>
<p>Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s competitors, also has a hybrid governance structure, but it’s set up differently than OpenAI’s. It has two distinct governing bodies: a corporate board and what it calls a <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/index/the-long-term-benefit-trust">long-term benefit trust</a>. Because Anthropic is a <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/public_benefit_corporation">public benefit corporation</a>, its corporate board may consider the interests of other stakeholders besides its owners – including the general public.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.brac.net/enterprises">BRAC</a>, an international development organization founded in Bangladesh in 1972 that’s <a href="https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/biggest-ngos-in-the-world/">among the world’s largest NGOs</a>, controls several for-profit social enterprises that benefit the poor. BRAC’s model resembles OpenAI’s in that a nonprofit owns for-profit businesses.</p>
<h2>Origin of the board’s clash with Altman</h2>
<p>The primary responsibility of the nonprofit board is to ensure that the mission of the organization it oversees is upheld. In hybrid governance models, the board has to ensure that market pressures to make money for investors and shareholders don’t override the organization’s mission – a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2014.09.001">risk known as mission drift</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-nonprofit-boards-need-to-do-to-protect-the-public-interest-188966">Nonprofit boards have three primary duties</a>: the duty of obedience, which obliges them to act in the interest of the organization’s mission; the duty of care, which requires them to exercise due diligence in making decisions; and the duty of loyalty, which commits them to avoiding or addressing conflicts of interest.</p>
<p>It appears that OpenAI’s board <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/19/tech/sam-altman-open-ai-firing-board/index.html">sought to exercise the duty of obedience</a> when it decided to sack Altman. The official reason given was that he was “<a href="https://apnews.com/article/openai-sam-altman-firing-saga-explained-51ae332acc18a41b51df5a39efa146d3">not consistently candid in his communications</a>” with its board. Additional rationales raised anonymously by people identified as “<a href="https://gist.github.com/matthewlilley/96ad6208d39b14c7e133ac456680fd2d">Concerned Former OpenAI Employees</a>” have not been verified.</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/23/who-is-helen-toner-australian-woman-openai-chatgpt-board">board member Helen Toner</a>, who left the board amid this upheaval, <a href="https://cset.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/CSET-Decoding-Intentions.pdf">co-authored a research paper</a> just a month before the failed effort to depose Altman. Toner and her co-authors praised Anthropic’s precautions and criticized OpenAI’s “frantic corner-cutting” around the release of its popular ChatGPT chatbot.</p>
<h2>Mission v. money</h2>
<p>This wasn’t the first attempt to oust Altman on the grounds that he was straying from mission.</p>
<p>In 2021, the organization’s head of AI safety, Dario Amodei, unsuccessfully tried to persuade the board to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8de92f3a-228e-4bb8-961f-96f2dce70ebb">oust Altman because of safety concerns</a>, just after Microsoft invested $1 billion in the company. Amodei later left OpenAI, along with about a dozen other researchers, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/27/google-commits-to-invest-2-billion-in-openai-competitor-anthropic.html">founded Anthropic</a>.</p>
<p>The seesaw between mission and money is perhaps best embodied by Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI co-founder, its chief scientist and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/22/sam-altmans-back-heres-whos-on-the-new-openai-board-and-whos-out.html">one of the three board members who were forced out or stepped down</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/openai-employees-threaten-to-quit-unless-board-resigns-bbd5cc86">Sutskever first defended the decision</a> to oust Altman on the grounds that it was necessary for protecting the mission of making AI beneficial to humanity. But he later <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/20/microsoft-sam-altman-hire/">changed his mind</a>, tweeting: “I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions.” </p>
<p>He eventually signed the employee letter calling for Altman’s reinstatement and remains the company’s chief scientist.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in blue button-down shirt gesticulates with one arm outstretched against a backdrop with the words TechCrunch and DISRUPT" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562222/original/file-20231128-19-9h8w57.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former OpenAI executive Dario Amodei co-founded Anthropic, another AI company with a nonprofit board. He now serves as its CEO.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/anthropic-co-founder-ceo-dario-amodei-speaks-onstage-during-news-photo/1692536220?adppopup=true">Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch</a></span>
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<h2>AI risks</h2>
<p>An equally important question is whether the board exercised its duty of care.</p>
<p>I believe it’s reasonable for OpenAI’s board to question whether <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/28/chatgpt-big-tech-microsoft-google-apple-meta-amazon">the company released ChatGPT</a> with sufficient guardrails in November 2022. Since then, large language models have wreaked havoc in many industries.</p>
<p>I’ve seen this firsthand as a professor.</p>
<p>It has become nearly impossible in many cases to tell whether students are cheating on assignments by using AI. Admittedly, this risk pales in comparison to AI’s ability to do even worse things, such as by helping design <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23671304/artificial-intelligence-biotechnology-covid-pandemics-existential-risks-gain-of-function">pathogens of pandemic potential</a> or create <a href="https://ai100.stanford.edu/gathering-strength-gathering-storms-one-hundred-year-study-artificial-intelligence-ai100-2021-1-0">disinformation and deepfakes</a> that undermine social trust and endanger democracy. </p>
<p>On the flip side, AI has the potential to provide huge <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/02/09/artificial-intelligence-for-good-how-ai-is-helping-humanity/">benefits to humanity</a>, such as speeding the development of lifesaving vaccines.</p>
<p>But the potential risks are catastrophic. And once this powerful technology is released, there is no known “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/opinion/openai-sam-altman.html">off switch</a>.” </p>
<h2>Conflicts of interest</h2>
<p>The third duty, loyalty, depends on whether board members had any conflicts of interest.</p>
<p>Most obviously, did they stand to make money from OpenAI’s products, such that they might compromise its mission in the expectation of financial gain? Typically the members of a <a href="https://www.501c3.org/who-really-owns-a-nonprofit/">nonprofit board are unpaid</a>, and those who aren’t working for the organization have no financial stake in it. CEOs report to their boards, which have the authority to hire and fire them.</p>
<p>Until OpenAI’s recent shake-up, however, <a href="https://openai.com/our-structure">three of its six board members were paid executives</a> – the CEO, the chief scientist and the president of its profit-making arm.</p>
<p>I’m not surprised that while the three independent board members all voted to oust Altman, all of the paid executives ultimately backed him. Earning your paycheck from an entity you are supposed to oversee is considered a <a href="https://cullinanelaw.com/nonprofit-law-basics-can-the-executive-director-serve-on-the-board-of-directors/">conflict of interest</a> in the nonprofit world.</p>
<p>I also believe that even if OpenAI’s reconfigured board manages to fulfill the mission of serving the needs of society, rather than maximizing its profits, it would not be enough.</p>
<p>The tech industry is dominated by the likes of Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet – massive for-profit corporations, not mission-driven nonprofits. Given the stakes, I think <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-the-world-is-finally-starting-to-regulate-artificial-intelligence-what-to-expect-from-us-eu-and-chinas-new-laws-217573">regulation with teeth</a> is required – leaving governance in the hands of AI’s creators will not solve the problem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alnoor Ebrahim has served on advisory boards to the impact investing industry, including the Global Impact Investing Network and Acumen. He has previously made a charitable contribution to BRAC, an NGO mentioned in the article. </span></em></p>The board is supposed to stop OpenAI from veering from its mission of building technology that benefits humanity.Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor of Management, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2181542023-11-21T03:18:43Z2023-11-21T03:18:43ZOpenAI’s board is facing backlash for firing CEO Sam Altman – but it’s good it had the power to<p>The sudden removal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday was met with shock and disapproval by the company’s employees. More than 90% signed a letter <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23968988/openai-employees-resignation-letter-microsoft-sam-altman">threatening to leave</a> OpenAI if the board didn’t resign and reinstate Altman – who has since <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/20/23969586/sam-altman-plotting-return-open-ai-microsoft">apparently been poached</a> by Microsoft, along with a number of other key former staff.</p>
<p>The OpenAI employees had faith in Altman. They believed in his vision and they did not like that the board could dismiss him so easily.</p>
<p>Is their upset justified? Did the board overstep its bounds? Or did it exercise a necessary check on power?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-sam-altman-openais-wunderkind-ex-ceo-and-why-was-he-fired-218111">Who is Sam Altman, OpenAI's wunderkind ex-CEO – and why was he fired?</a>
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<h2>Silicon Valley’s ‘genius founder’ mythology</h2>
<p>The idea of a “genius founder” lies at the heart of Silicon Valley culture.</p>
<p>Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin and Larry Page are not known as privileged men who managed to build successful businesses through a combination of hard work, smart decision-making and luck. </p>
<p>Rather, they are <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/3/17644874/adam-fisher-book-silicon-valley-genius-oral-history">celebrated as geniuses</a>, wunderkinds, perhaps even maniacs – but always brilliant. Men who accomplished feats no one else could, because of their innate genius. </p>
<p>A captivating founder narrative has become almost a prerequisite for any tech startup in Silicon Valley. It makes a company easier to sell and also structures power within the organisation. </p>
<p>Throughout human history, founder mythologies have been used to explain, justify and sustain hierarchies of power. From heroes to deities to founding fathers, the founder myth provides a way to understand the current distribution of power and to unite around a figurehead. </p>
<p>What happened this week at OpenAI was a challenge to the natural order of things in Silicon Valley. </p>
<h2>What happened to Sam?</h2>
<p>It’s quite remarkable a superstar “genius founder” <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/8/3/17644874/adam-fisher-book-silicon-valley-genius-oral-history">such as Sam Altman</a> wasn’t safeguarded by a company structure that could prevent his ousting. Tech company founders often create intricate structures to entrench themselves in their companies. </p>
<p>For instance, when Google <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/01/google-parent-alphabet-announces-20-for-1-stock-split.html">restructured into Alphabet</a>, it created three share classes: one with standard voting rights, another with ten times the voting rights for the founders, and a third class without voting rights, mainly for employees.</p>
<p>This structure ensured founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin would remain in control of the company over the long term, while also providing them the financial benefit of owning shares in a highly profitable, publicly listed company. </p>
<p>OpenAI’s corporate structure, in contrast, made its CEO and co-founder more susceptible to losing control. Initially established as a non-profit, OpenAI has a unique structure. The main corporate entity is OpenAI Inc, a non-profit that is overseen by the board of directors. </p>
<p>To attract investors, OpenAI also has a for-profit subsidiary called OpenAI Global – which Microsoft has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-06-15/how-chatgpt-openai-made-microsoft-an-ai-tech-giant-big-take">famously invested</a> about US$13 billion (A$19.7 billion) into.</p>
<p>Although Altman had a seat on the OpenAI board, he held no equity in OpenAI Global under this structure. As CEO he was also accountable to the other board members. This type of corporate structure is highly unusual for a Silicon Valley venture.</p>
<p>The board voted Altman out from his position as CEO based on an internal investigation which, it claimed, indicated Altman had not been “consistently candid in his communications with the board” – causing them to lose trust in his leadership. </p>
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<h2>We need more accountability, not ‘geniuses’</h2>
<p>Whether the board of OpenAI was right to remove Altman remains to be seen. At the time of my writing this, the board hasn’t elaborated on its decision, nor has it released details about its internal investigation.</p>
<p>However, regardless of the specifics and the emotional impact Altman’s ousting has had on OpenAI’s employees, this move could represent a victory for corporate accountability.</p>
<p>For every revered founding genius, there are examples of founders who betrayed the trust of their employees and investors. Take the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-life-story-bio-2018-4">disgraced Theranos founder</a> Elizabeth Holmes, or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/dec/20/why-wework-went-wrong">former WeWork CEO</a> Adam Neumann, or Nikola founder Trevor Milton who was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/nikola-founder-trevor-milton-seeks-probation-after-fraud-conviction-2023-11-15/">convicted of fraud</a> last year, and Sam Bankman-Fried, the once-lauded FTX founder convicted of fraud more recently. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sam-bankman-fried-convicted-for-massive-ftx-fraud-in-stark-reminder-of-risks-of-crypto-trading-216991">Sam Bankman-Fried convicted for massive FTX fraud, in stark reminder of risks of crypto trading</a>
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<p>Silicon Valley urgently needs more accountability, because too many tech entrepreneurs work at an intersection of risk, hype and boundary-pushing.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the technologies these companies are producing are <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-neurodata-can-reveal-our-most-private-selves-as-brain-implants-become-common-how-will-it-be-protected-197047">having profound impacts</a> on our societies. Silicon Valley tech companies control global communication systems, run private marketplaces and are increasingly offering advanced digital systems that seek to transform how we learn, work and socialise.</p>
<p>The power these companies wield has prompted <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-16/ftc-chair-lina-khan-eying-risks-of-concentration-of-power-in-ai-market">regulator Lina Khan</a> to focus on addressing big tech’s market power during her tenure as chair of the United States Federal Trade Commission.</p>
<p>Khan and others have argued it’s problematic for these companies to have the capacity to globally transform societies with minimal transparency and accountability. Khan’s task is especially urgent since companies such as Microsoft, Meta (previously Facebook) and Amazon have a <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/10/6/21505027/congress-big-tech-antitrust-report-facebook-google-amazon-apple-mark-zuckerberg-jeff-bezos-tim-cook">track record of</a> <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/acquisition-history.aspx">buying out</a> other innovators who attempt to compete. </p>
<p>We can expect Khan will be paying close attention to the competitive effects of Microsoft potentially poaching some of OpenAI’s main talent. </p>
<p>In an age of AI and big tech, we need far less blind faith in leaders and far more public oversight. From this point of view, one could argue OpenAI’s somewhat odd company structure is something we ought to want more of if our priority is the collective good. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-neurodata-can-reveal-our-most-private-selves-as-brain-implants-become-common-how-will-it-be-protected-197047">Our neurodata can reveal our most private selves. As brain implants become common, how will it be protected?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Gray currently receives funding from the Australian Research Council, see DP240102939 and LE230100069, and has previously received funding from companies Meta Platforms and ByteDance for research projects undertaken at The University of Sydney and Queensland University of Technology. </span></em></p>At the heart of Silicon Valley lies a powerful admiration for its ‘genius founders’ – but this comes at the cost of accountability.Joanne Gray, Lecturer in Digital Cultures at The University of Sydney, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2102432023-10-20T12:34:12Z2023-10-20T12:34:12ZWhy Google, Bing and other search engines’ embrace of generative AI threatens $68 billion SEO industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553349/original/file-20231011-29-da1o92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=48%2C44%2C2176%2C1250&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Search engines are expected to increasingly incorporate generative AI. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1367731673/vector/search-engine-and-web-browser-concept-illustration.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=hW9gV8C9nl7UlterArEFpxdlZsd8pRTwGH-GQDWF1oo=">ArtemisDiana/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Google, Microsoft and others boast that generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT <a href="https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-search/">will make searching the internet</a> <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/">better than ever for users</a>. For example, rather than having to wade through a sea of URLs, users will be able to just get an answer combed from the entire internet. </p>
<p>There are also some <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-information-retrieval-a-search-engine-researcher-explains-the-promise-and-peril-of-letting-chatgpt-and-its-cousins-search-the-web-for-you-200875">concerns with the rise of AI-fueled search engines</a>, such as the opacity over where information comes from, the potential for “hallucinated” answers and copyright issues.</p>
<p>But one other consequence is that I believe it may destroy the <a href="https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5140303/search-engine-optimization-seo-global">US$68 billion search engine optimization</a> industry that companies like Google helped create. </p>
<p>For the past 25 years or so, websites, news outlets, blogs and many others with a URL that wanted to get attention <a href="https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo/seo-history/">have used search engine optimization</a>, or SEO, to “convince” search engines to share their content as high as possible in the results they provide to readers. This has helped drive traffic to their sites and has also spawned an industry of consultants and marketers who advise on how best to do that.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pvxc54kAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">associate professor of information and operations management</a>, I study the economics of e-commerce. I believe the growing use of generative AI will likely make all of that obsolete. </p>
<h2>How online search works</h2>
<p>Someone seeking information online opens her browser, goes to a search engine and types in the relevant keywords. The search engine displays the results, and the user browses through the links displayed in the result listings until she finds the relevant information. </p>
<p>To attract the user’s attentions, online content providers use various search engine marketing strategies, such as <a href="https://searchengineland.com/guide/what-is-seo">search engine optimization</a>, <a href="https://www.mv3marketing.com/glossary/paid-placement/">paid placements</a> and <a href="https://searchengineland.com/4-tips-for-creating-visually-stunning-display-ads-378028">banner displays</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, a news website might hire a consultant to help it highlight key words in headlines and in metadata so that Google and Bing elevate its content when a user searches for the latest information on a flood or political crisis.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="a closeup of a phone's screen shows a prompt about the ease of learning piano or guitar and a google bard's response." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553535/original/file-20231012-29-ndnxpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Google Bard answers your question or prompt in a single reply, as opposed to the lists of links generated by regular search engines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1246902236/photo/the-google-bard-ai-is-seen-on-a-mobile-device-in-this-illustration-photo-in-warsaw-poland-on.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=JgrkX-mzjQ_YEn5TdkfcHPu0yD5pAx9tQQzeS5rkBOE=">Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How generative AI changes search process</h2>
<p>But this all depends on search engines luring tens of millions of users to their websites. And so to earn users’ loyalty and web traffic, search engines must continuously work on their algorithms to improve the quality of their search results.</p>
<p>That’s why, even if it could hurt a part of their revenue stream, search engines have been quick to experiment with <a href="https://www.techrepublic.com/article/what-is-generative-ai/">generative AI</a> to improve search results. And this could fundamentally change the online search ecosystem.</p>
<p>All the biggest search engines have already adopted or are experimenting with this approach. Examples include <a href="https://bard.google.com/?hl=en">Google’s Bard</a>, <a href="https://www.bing.com/new">Microsoft’s Bing AI</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-baidu-cancels-chatgpt-like-ernie-bots-livestreamed-product-launch-2023-03-27/">Baidu’s ERNIE</a> and <a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/try-duckduckgos-new-ai-feature-duckassist-now-for-free/">DuckDuckGo’s DuckAssist</a>.</p>
<p>Rather than getting a list of links, both organic and paid, based on whatever keywords or questions a user types in, generative AI will instead <a href="https://www.engadget.com/how-ai-will-change-the-way-we-search-for-better-or-worse-200021092.html">simply give you a text result</a> in the form of an answer. Say you’re planning a trip to Destin, Florida, and type the prompt “Create a three-day itinerary for a visitor” there. Instead of a bunch of links to Yelp and blog postings that require lots of clicking and reading, typing that into Bing AI will result in a detailed three-day itinerary. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="two screenshots side by side of Bing and Bing AI searches of the same prompt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553533/original/file-20231012-29-ijwlrz.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Side-by-side comparison of search results in regular Bing and the AI version from the prompt: ‘Create a 3-day itinerary for a visitor to Destin Florida.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Microsoft Bing</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over time, as the quality of AI-generated answers improve, users will have less incentive to browse through search result listings. They can save time and effort by reading the AI-generated response to their query. </p>
<p>In other words, it would allow you to bypass all those paid links and costly efforts by websites to improve their SEO scores, rendering them useless.</p>
<p>When users start ignoring the sponsored and editorial result listings, this will have an adverse impact on the revenues of SEO consultants, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/search-engine-marketing-sem/">search engine marketers</a> consultants and, ultimately, the bottom line of search engines themselves. </p>
<h2>The financial impact</h2>
<p>This financial impact cannot be ignored.</p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5140303/search-engine-optimization-seo-global">SEO industry generated $68.1 billion globally in 2022</a>. It had been expected to reach $129.6 billion by 2030, but these projections were made before the emergence of generative AI put the industry at risk of obsolescence.</p>
<p>As for <a href="https://geekflare.com/generative-ai-search/">search engines</a>, monetizing online search services is a <a href="https://searchengineland.com/search-ad-revenue-84-billion-395575">major source of their revenue</a>. They get a cut of the money that websites spend on improving their online visibility through paid placements, ads, affiliate marketing and the like, collectively known as search engine marketing. For example, approximately <a href="https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/how-does-google-make-money">58% of Google’s 2022 revenues</a> – or almost $162.5 billion – came from Google Ads, which provides some of these services. </p>
<p>Search engines run by massive companies with many revenue streams, like Google and Microsoft, will likely find ways to offset the losses by coming up with strategies to make money off generative AI answers. But the SEO marketers and consultants who depend on search engines – <a href="https://seo.co/market-size">mostly small- and medium-sized companies</a> – will no longer be needed as they are today, and so the industry is unlikely to survive much longer. </p>
<h2>A not-too-distant future</h2>
<p>But don’t expect the SEO industry to fade away immediately. Generative AI search engines are still in their infancy and must address certain challenges before they’ll dominate search.</p>
<p>For one thing, most of these initiatives <a href="https://siliconangle.com/2023/08/02/google-updates-experimental-search-generative-experience">are still experimental</a> and often available only to certain users. And for another, generative AI has been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/09/google-ai-chatbot-bard-error-sends-shares-plummeting-in-battle-with-microsoft">notorious for providing incorrect</a>, <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/02/generative-ai-wont-revolutionize-search-yet">plagiarized</a> or simply <a href="https://twitter.com/dsmerdon/status/1618816703923912704">made-up answers</a>. </p>
<p>That means it’s unlikely at the moment to gain the trust or loyalty of many users.</p>
<p>Given these challenges, it is not surprising that generative AI has yet to <a href="https://hbr.org/2023/02/generative-ai-wont-revolutionize-search-yet">transform online search</a>. However, given the resources available to researchers working on generative AI models, it is safe to assume that eventually these models will become better at their task, leading to the death of the SEO industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ravi Sen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Search engines run by generative AI could fundamentally change the online ecosystem.Ravi Sen, Associate Professor of Information and Operations Management, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2152422023-10-17T15:27:23Z2023-10-17T15:27:23ZElon Musk is an ‘engineer’ but Bill Gates is a ‘leader’ – new research shows founder personality can dictate startup success<p>From Elon Musk’s supreme confidence to Jeff Bezos’ ability to make smart decisions <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/14/how-billionaire-jeff-bezos-makes-fast-smart-decisions-under-pressure-says-ex-amazon-manager.html">under pressure</a>, some of the most successful entrepreneurs are known for their distinctive personalities. But these traits aren’t just interesting side notes to these founders’ stories: confidence and calmness, along with other qualities such as a love of adventure, can have a big impact on startup success.</p>
<p>A startup is typically counted as a “success” if it’s acquired by another company or goes public (that is, its shares become available to trade on a stock exchange). And common investor wisdom attributes this to either supply side (novel products) or demand side (market interest or “hot sectors”) factors. </p>
<p>Of course, many other elements are associated with startup success. There’s a “Goldilocks age” for startups, for example, with those younger than seven years old less likely to be successful because they haven’t had enough time to develop. Startups based in hot spots like San Francisco, Berlin or London are also more likely to succeed due to better access to finance and talent.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41980-y">our new research</a> shows all these elements are important, it reveals that the personalities of founders are actually the most influential factor in startup success.</p>
<h2>AI uncovers the x-factor: founder personality</h2>
<p>Our multidisciplinary team from the University of New South Wales, the University of Oxford, University of Technology Sydney and the University of Melbourne embarked on a two-year mission to unravel the mysteries behind startup success. We tapped into detailed data on more than 21,000 global startups to discern patterns that might predict a venture’s triumph or downfall.</p>
<p>Using AI algorithms, we applied the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/five-factor-model-of-personality">five-factor</a>” model – a psychology theory that divides personality into five main groups – to analyse startup founders worldwide. After comparing data on thousands of successful founders to information about employees, we discovered that entrepreneurs exhibit very different combinations of personality traits to everyone else. </p>
<p>Entrepreneurs tend to have a penchant for variety and novelty. They often have a desire to be the centre of attention and an inherent exuberance. While these traits might sound generic, in the business world they translate into risk-taking, networking and relentless energy – critical ingredients for startup success.</p>
<p>Based on our findings, we have identified six distinct founder personality types: leader, accomplisher, operator, developer, fighter and engineer. Each type has its own combination of subtle personality traits, for example, operators value orderliness and fighters are emotionally sensitive.</p>
<p><strong>Founder personality traits</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Table showing founder personality types, traits and examples." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554238/original/file-20231017-19-d8q4j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41980-y">McCarthy, Gong, Braesemann, Stephany, Rizoiu and Kern</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of these personality types are thriving in the real-life startup world. Take, for instance, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. He <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5086412.stm">left Harvard</a> to chase what was then a risky dream. This epitomises “openness to adventure”, which we found was a characteristic of the “leader” personality type. </p>
<p>This theme of defying the odds coupled with seemingly limitless energy resonates with many founder stories. </p>
<p>Melanie Perkins, a co-founder of <a href="https://www.afr.com/street-talk/iconiq-coatue-join-canva-register-at-us-25-5bn-valuation-20230808-p5duqs">$26 billion</a> graphic design software company Canva, faced over 100 rejections from investors before <a href="https://fortune.com/longform/melanie-perkins-canva-founder-ceo-interview/">securing the venture capital funding</a> needed to build the platform. She has described herself as “<a href="https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/coverstory/canva-melanie-perkins/">determined, stubborn and adventurous</a>” – also traits of the “leader” founder type.</p>
<p>Jeff Bezos is a well-known “acccomplisher”. He left his secure position at a New York hedge fund to found Amazon from Seattle. This wasn’t an impulsive move, it was a strategic choice. Bezos saw Seattle as the best place for a national distribution hub because it would benefit from Washington state’s specific <a href="https://medium.com/galileo-onwards/amazon-in-seattle-7d4d8c5d825d">tax laws</a>. Such meticulous planning and long-term vision has characterised some of Amazon’s other achievements, including the development of Amazon Web Services, a global <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-next-for-amazon-after-jeff-bezos-no-dramatic-changes-just-more-growth-and-optimisation-154553">cloud computing</a> leader.</p>
<p>And, of course, no discussion of start-up personalities would be complete without Tesla and Space-X founder Elon Musk. This “engineer’s” many business interests are driven by boundless imagination, as well as intellect. You can see this in SpaceX’s audacious goal to <a href="https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-releases-details-of-plan-to-colonise-mars-heres-what-a-planetary-expert-thinks-79733">colonise Mars</a> and Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck design, as well as Musk’s underground transportation system <a href="https://theconversation.com/hyperloop-and-the-future-of-ground-transport-17020">Hyperloop</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Founders are wired differently</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map of the brain showing six successful founder personality types: leaders, accomplishers, operators, developers, fighters, engineers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553685/original/file-20231013-19-511pl2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41980-y">McCarthy, Gong, Braesemann, Stephany, Rizoiu, Kern</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The power of diversity</h2>
<p>Our model also indicated that startups with a diverse blend of these founder personality types are 8 to 10 times more likely to be successful.</p>
<p>Canva’s three co-founders are a great example of this. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/cameron-adams/?sh=7cf16a2a27c1">Ex-Googler</a> Cameron Adams’s <a href="https://themaninblue.com/about/">technical intellect and imagination</a> has combined with Cliff Obrecht’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com.au/news/billionaires/felt-like-a-failure-the-untold-story-of-canva-couples-rise-to-billionaire-founders/">assertive dealmaking</a> and Perkins’ <a href="https://www.theceomagazine.com/business/coverstory/canva-melanie-perkins/">energy, trustworthiness and adventurousness</a> to create a tech juggernaut.</p>
<p>Even if you’re not gearing up to launch or invest in the next big startup, personality offers a fascinating lens through which to view the start-up world and its most talked-about figures. And these findings are likely to hold in other settings too: team performance is shaped by the right combination of different personalities.</p>
<p>Behind every successful startup, there’s more than just a groundbreaking product or a burgeoning market, there’s a dynamic founder – or founders – with a personality that’s the secret to startup success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Start-up success isn’t just about finding the right product or underserved market, personalities matter too.Fabian Braesemann, Departmental Research Lecturer in AI & Work, University of OxfordPaul X. McCarthy, Adjunct Professor and Industry Fellow, UNSW SydneyPeggy Kern, Associate Professor, Centre for Positive Psychology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146302023-10-10T12:38:20Z2023-10-10T12:38:20ZExxon, Apple and other corporate giants will have to disclose all their emissions under California’s new climate laws – that will have a global impact<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552856/original/file-20231009-27-tfp69u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C15%2C3489%2C2310&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Marathon Petroleum Corporation's Los Angeles refinery, California's largest producer of gasoline.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aerial-view-shows-marathon-petroleum-corps-los-angeles-news-photo/1210662767"> David McNew/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/novas-leis-climaticas-da-california-obrigarao-exxon-apple-e-outras-gigantes-a-declararem-suas-emissoes-de-gases-de-efeito-estufa-impacto-pode-ser-global-216712">Leia em português</a>.</em></p>
<p>Many of the world’s largest public and private companies will soon be required to track and report almost all of their greenhouse gas emissions if they do business in California – including emissions from their supply chains, business travel, employees’ commutes and the way customers use their products.</p>
<p>That means oil and gas companies like Chevron will likely have to account for emissions from vehicles that use their gasoline, and Apple will have to account for materials that go into iPhones.</p>
<p>It’s a huge leap from <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgreporting">current federal</a> and <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/mandatory-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reporting">state reporting requirements</a>, which require reporting of only certain emissions from companies’ direct operations. And it will have global ramifications. </p>
<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/07/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-10-7-23/">signed two new rules</a> into law on Oct. 7, 2023. Under the new <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB253">Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act</a>, U.S. companies with annual revenues of US$1 billion or more will have to report both their direct and indirect <a href="https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard">greenhouse gas emissions</a> starting in 2026 and 2027. The California Chamber of Commerce <a href="https://advocacy.calchamber.com/2023/08/01/calchamber-opposed-climate-reporting-bills-create-challenges-for-businesses/">opposed the regulation</a>, arguing it would increase companies’ costs. But more than a dozen major corporations <a href="https://www.ceres.org/news-center/press-releases/companies-call-climate-disclosure-legislation-california-lawmakers">endorsed the rule</a>, including Microsoft, <a href="https://twitter.com/Scott_Wiener/status/1699891993105833985">Apple</a>, Salesforce and Patagonia. </p>
<p>The second law, the <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB261">Climate-Related Financial Risk Act</a>, requires companies generating $500 million or more to report their financial risks related to climate change and their plans for risk mitigation.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.lilyhsueh.com/home">professor of economics and public policy</a>, I study corporate environmental behavior and public policy, including whether disclosure laws like these work to reduce emissions. I believe California’s new rules represent a significant step toward mainstreaming corporate climate disclosures and potentially meaningful corporate climate actions.</p>
<h2>Many big corporations are already reporting</h2>
<p>Most of the companies covered by California’s climate disclosure rules are multinational corporations. They include technology companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft; giant retailers like Walmart and Costco; and oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.</p>
<p>Many of these large corporations have been preparing for mandatory disclosure rules for several years.</p>
<p>Close to two-thirds of the companies listed in the S&P 500 index voluntarily <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en/companies">report to CDP</a>, formerly called the Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is a nonprofit that surveys companies on behalf of institutional investors about their carbon management and plans to reduce carbon emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Apple CEO Tim Cook stands under a giant glittery Apple logo on a black background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552870/original/file-20231009-21-gljmp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apple has been working with its suppliers for several years to reduce their emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/apple-ceo-tim-cook-delivers-a-keynote-address-during-an-news-photo/1421648761">Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of them also face reporting requirements elsewhere, including in the <a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/01/30/eu-finalizes-esg-reporting-rules-with-international-impacts/">European Union</a>, the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-enshrine-mandatory-climate-disclosures-for-largest-companies-in-law">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/mandatory-climate-related-financial-disclosures/">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://www.sgx.com/sustainable-finance/sustainability-reporting">Singapore</a> and cities like <a href="https://www.sfc.hk/en/Rules-and-standards/Securities-and-Futures-Ordinance-Part-XV---Disclosure-of-Interests">Hong Kong</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, some of the same U.S. companies, notably <a href="https://www.morganstanley.com/im/en-be/intermediary-investor/about-us/newsroom/press-release/sustainable-finance-disclosure-regulation.html">banks and asset managers</a> that operate or sell products in Europe, have already started to comply with the EU’s <a href="https://finance.ec.europa.eu/regulation-and-supervision/financial-services-legislation/implementing-and-delegated-acts/sustainable-finance-disclosures-regulation_en">Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation</a>. Those regulations require companies to report how sustainability risks are integrated into investment decision-making.</p>
<p>While California isn’t the first place to mandate climate disclosures, it is the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-10-24/california-poised-to-overtake-germany-as-world-s-no-4-economy">fifth-largest economy</a> in the world. So, the state’s new laws are poised to have substantial influence worldwide. Subsidiaries of companies that didn’t have to report their emissions before will now be subject to disclosure requirements. California is in effect exercising its immense market leverage to establish climate disclosures as standard practice in the U.S. and beyond.</p>
<p>California also has a history of being a <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691179551/california-greenin">test bed</a> for future federal U.S. policies. The U.S. government is considering broader emissions reporting requirements. But California’s new rules go further than either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/proposed/2022/33-11042.pdf">proposed corporate climate disclosure rules</a> or President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.sustainability.gov/federalsustainabilityplan/fed-supplier-rule.html">proposed disclosure rules for federal contractors</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A chart shows the differences between California's new climate disclosure laws and carbon disclosure and reporting proposals by the SEC and Biden Administration." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=846&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552885/original/file-20231010-23-5u8syd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1063&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most controversial part of the new disclosure rules involves scope 3 emissions. These are emissions from a company’s suppliers and its consumers’ use of its products, and they are notoriously difficult to track accurately. </p>
<p>California’s new emissions reporting law directs the <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/">California Air Resources Board</a>, which will develop the regulations and administer them, <a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB253/id/2841248/California-2023-SB253-Enrolled.html">to allow some leeway</a> in scope 3 reporting as long as the reports are made with a reasonable basis and disclosed in good faith. It’s also important to note that at this point the disclosure laws don’t require companies to cut these emissions, only to report them. But tracking scope 3 emissions does highlight where companies could pressure suppliers to make changes.</p>
<h2>What can disclosures achieve?</h2>
<p>The plethora of climate disclosure mandates globally suggest that policymakers and investors around the world perceive climate disclosures as driving actions that protect the environment. The big question is: Do disclosure rules actually work to reduce emissions?</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010007822500038">My research</a> shows that voluntary carbon disclosure systems like CDP’s that focus on reporting corporate sustainability outputs, such as having science-based emissions targets, tend not to be as effective as those that focus on outcomes, such as a company’s actual carbon emissions.</p>
<p>For example, a company could earn an A or B grade from CDP and still <a href="https://theconversation.com/secs-climate-disclosure-plan-could-be-in-trouble-after-a-recent-supreme-court-ruling-but-a-bigger-question-looms-does-disclosure-work-185371">increase its entitywide carbon emissions</a>, notably when it does not face regulatory pressure.</p>
<p>In contrast, a recent study of the U.K.’s 2013 disclosure mandate for U.K.-incorporated listed firms found that companies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-021-09611-x">reduced their operational emissions by about 8%</a> relative to a control group, with no significant changes to their profitability. When companies report their emissions, they can <a href="https://theconversation.com/legos-esg-dilemma-why-an-abandoned-plan-to-use-recycled-plastic-bottles-is-a-wake-up-call-for-supply-chain-sustainability-214573">gain important knowledge</a> about inefficiencies in their operations and supply chains that weren’t evident before.</p>
<p>Ultimately, a well-designed disclosure program, whether voluntary or mandatory, needs to focus on consistency, comparability and accountability. Those traits allow companies to demonstrate that their climate pledges and actions are real and not just a front for greenwashing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214630/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily Hsueh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>California is the world’s fifth-largest economy. Laws tested there often spread across the U.S. and around the world.Lily Hsueh, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139942023-09-21T04:12:41Z2023-09-21T04:12:41ZPolitics with Michelle Grattan: ANU Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt on the challenges universities face<p>Australia’s higher education sector is under heavy scrutiny. Still recovering from the impact of COVID and criticised for its treatment of staff, it faces strong pressures to step up its performance.</p>
<p>The government launched a broad <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-universities-accord-could-see-the-most-significant-changes-to-australian-unis-in-a-generation-194738">review of the sector</a> in late 2022 to inform a Universities Accord. The interim report was <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-job-ready-graduates-scheme-for-uni-fees-is-on-the-chopping-block-but-what-will-replace-it-209974">released in July</a>, with the full report coming in December. Professor Brian Schmidt, is one of Australia’s most eminent academics, an astrophysicist who shared a Nobel Prize in 2011. Schmidt has been Vice-Chancellor at the Australian National University since 2016, a role he leaves at the end of the year.</p>
<p>The Universities Accord <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord/resources/accord-interim-report">interim report</a> suggests 55% of jobs by 2050 will require a higher education qualification. At the moment, the share sits at 36%. To reach that target, Schmidt says institutions, secondary educators and governments will need to work together:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The single most important thing, is our students when they finish high school have to be university ready. Universities are trying to fix the problems and shortcomings of our [Kindergarten to Year 12] system or even pre-K-12 system. We are the last line of defence.</p>
<p>Once students have graduated and they are university ready, then certainly here at ANU, we find that the access to university is not level. Why? Because studying full time at university is full time. And the notion that they’re going to go work a full-time job and study full-time seems possible and is done by many of the students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, but it puts them at a huge disadvantage. It’s just really difficult to do that. </p>
<p>So we really need to focus on adequate support for students, especially in that first year or two when they come to university so that they can study alongside everyone else on equal basis.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Schmidt believes universities are facing their “Uber moment” - where big tech companies like LinkedIn, Meta, and Microsoft “take out the middle man” (higher education) and team up with leading institutions like Harvard or Oxford to offer a streamlined, recognised course at a fraction of the cost. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I guess the question is, do I want to be at the ANU competing with that? The answer is no, because I’m going to lose. Their cost structures are cheaper than mine, but what they’re offering is not what I’m trying to offer. I’m trying to provide people the ability to do more than just the homogenised offering and get to talk to the people who write the textbooks [and] get to live on campus with a bunch of people not just doing the IT degree you are doing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With not enough academic jobs available to employ the PhD graduates who want them, are we turning out too many? </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This will be controversial. But the answer I think right now, given the state of the economy, probably yes.</p>
<p>It’s not just academic jobs, we don’t expect all of our PhDs to go get academic jobs. It’s never been that way and it shouldn’t be that way. What we do expect is those PhD students to go get jobs where their skills of research and knowledge add a lot of value to their job. And that’s the part where the Australian economy isn’t very developed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The accord’s interim report also highlights the <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-obviously-needs-to-be-done-how-to-make-australian-universities-safe-from-sexual-violence-210057">rate of sexual harassment and assault</a> experienced by students on campuses. A parliamentary inquiry has recommended an independent taskforce to oversee universities’ performance in dealing with this problem. Schmidt agrees the situation is unnacceptable, but believes institutions should have the final say in how and what action is taken. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sexual violence is, I am sad to say, rife across Australia […] I truly believe that universities have stood up in a way that no other part of society ever has. We have not ducked. We have actually stood up. But of course, when you stand up and take ownership, the ugly state of reality comes to light.</p>
<p>The proposed committee to oversight at some level I think is not a bad idea. I want to have an expert committee to respond to and to demonstrate the work I am doing. I want to be held accountable, but I want to be held accountable by people who understand the area and can make sensible judgements of what I am doing - being adequate, outstanding or inadequate. </p>
<p>I want to be held accountable by a body, but I do not want that body disembodied from my own governance to command me what to do - because I am confident I am going to do a better job than it can. And so that is an important bit. I want to demonstrate to it that I am doing an outstanding job. I do not want to be dictated what to do because that will be a lowest common denominator.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In this podcast, ANU Vice Chancellor and astrophysicist Brian Schmidt joins The Conversation to discuss the challenges universities are facingMichelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2098032023-07-14T14:21:47Z2023-07-14T14:21:47ZMicrosoft and Activision: the big questions that will decide whether the US$68 billion deal goes ahead<p>Microsoft’s proposed US$68 billion (£52 billion) acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard should be allowed to go ahead, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/11/23779039/microsoft-activision-blizzard-ftc-trial-win">according to</a> a US federal judge. After five days of gruelling testimony, Judge Jacqueline Corley ruled the merger is unlikely to result in a substantial lessening of competition across the markets for video game consoles, multi-game subscription services and cloud streaming. </p>
<p>The ruling paves the way for Microsoft to finally consummate the merger after nearly a year and a half of regulatory scrutiny. Yet US competition authority the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken the rare step of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-antitrust-body-appeal-court-ruling-microsofts-activision-deal-2023-07-12/">appealing the decision</a>. </p>
<p>With the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e00d9878-a116-4d5b-ac37-20ac3c643b12">also blocking</a> the deal, it could still fail to conclude before an agreed completion deadline between the companies of July 18. So what are the main issues and how is this likely to play out?</p>
<h2>Cloud gaming</h2>
<p>Microsoft owns <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/">the Xbox</a> gaming console and makes games like <a href="https://www.minecraft.net/en-us">Minecraft</a> and <a href="https://www.ageofempires.com/">Age of Empires</a>. California-based Activision is one of the largest games makers in the world, with franchises like <a href="https://www.callofduty.com/uk/en/">Call of Duty</a>, <a href="https://diabloimmortal.blizzard.com/en-gb/">Diablo</a> and <a href="https://www.king.com/game/candycrush">Candy Crush</a>.</p>
<p>Cloud streaming is viewed by many as the future of gaming. <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-us/play">Microsoft’s xCloud</a> streaming service competes with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/luna/landing-page">Amazon’s Luna</a>, <a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce-now/">Nvidia’s GeForce Now</a> and <a href="https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/ps-plus/">Sony’s PlayStation Plus</a> – alongside several smaller services such as <a href="https://boosteroid.com/">Boosteroid</a>, <a href="https://gamestream.biz/">Gamestream</a> and <a href="https://ubitus.net/">Ubitus</a>. </p>
<p>Microsoft’s xCloud currently holds around <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/9/23591989/google-stadia-cloud-gaming-market-share-eu">60%-70% market share</a>, which is mostly attributed to the service being bundled with the popular Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription service. The next largest competitors, Nvidia and Sony, have around 10% to 20% share each. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Plane flying over Microsoft office block" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537501/original/file-20230714-28-fkxwoi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microsoft’s cloud gaming platform currently dominates the market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/microsoft-logo-on-modern-skyscraper-reflecting-1794721906">Irina Anosova</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So far, however, cloud gaming has struggled to take hold with consumers. Compared to video streaming, it is computationally more demanding. This makes it prone to latency, which degrades the user experience. Services have also struggled to successfully differentiate themselves by offering exclusive games. </p>
<p>The most notable failure to date is Google’s Stadia, which <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/stadia-shutting-down-explained/#:%7E:text=Google%20Stadia%20is%20shutting%20down,the%20Stadia%20library%20of%20games.">shuttered in January 2023</a> after less than four years. Yet as a whole, the <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/cloud-gaming/worldwide">segment is expected</a> to keep grinding upwards, capturing 6.2% of gaming in 2027 compared to 3.8% today, with revenues rising from US$4.3 billion to US$18.7 billion. </p>
<h2>Regulatory differences</h2>
<p>The proposed merger has already been approved in 40 countries, with ten regulators clearing the deal unconditionally, including Brazil, China, Japan, South Africa and South Korea. The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2705">European Commission (EC)</a> was among those that cleared the deal with conditions. These related to ensuring Activision games wouldn’t be restricted to Microsoft’s <a href="https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-game-pass/ultimate">cloud gaming services</a> but could be played on any platform. </p>
<p>Key to the US and UK authorities taking a more restrictive view are the questions of what cloud gaming is, how it will develop over the next ten years and the extent of Microsoft’s dominance – especially after it integrates Activision’s portfolio.</p>
<p>The first key point of contention is whether cloud gaming constitutes a separate market or a mere method of distribution that is embedded in the broader distribution ecosystem. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/microsoft-slash-activision-blizzard-merger-inquiry">The UK</a> and US competition authorities both view cloud gaming as a “distinct market” that needs to be protected from a large technology incumbent. On the other hand, Judge Corley called it a “potential alternative delivery mechanism” that is embedded within console and PC gaming platforms and does not need to be treated as a separate antitrust market. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Portrait picture of Judge Corley" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537502/original/file-20230714-17-rbf648.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1044&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pro-merger: Judge Jacqueline Corley.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Scott_Corley#/media/File:Judge_Jacqueline_Corley.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I agree with her. Earlier this year I submitted <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642e9e29fbe620000c17dde1/Cloud_gaming_Opinion_.pdf">a report</a> to the CMA titled Cloud Gaming Is Not A Distinct Market. My main point was that the cloud platforms both operate in very different ways and are deeply embedded in other distribution methods like console and PC gaming. </p>
<p>For example, a consumer can only stream games on Nvidia’s GeForce Now if they own them on a traditional distribution platform such as <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/valve">Valve’s Steam</a>. Equally, the vast majority of Micrsoft xCloud users access the service from their Xboxes, and <a href="https://www.catribunal.org.uk/sites/cat/files/2023-06/2023.06.12_1590%20Microsoft%20v%20CMA%20Transcript%20of%20CMC2.pdf">80% of them</a> access streaming to sample and play games while waiting for their downloads to finish in the background. </p>
<p>The second issue concerns whether Microsoft’s acquisition will harm consumers in cloud gaming. Paramount here are the various licensing agreements for all Activision games that Microsoft has offered to rival providers like GeForce Now and Boosteroid, conditional on the merger being approved. These contracts are ultimately what secured EC approval. </p>
<p>The CMA has traditionally taken a dim view of such licensing deals due to potential challenges around enforcing contracts, but Judge Corley also took a more positive stance. <a href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/judge-rules-for-microsoft-mergers">She and the EC</a> both thought the deals would end up enhancing competition. In my view, making Activision games available on more cloud platforms could spur adoption by consumers. It might also end up benefiting other games makers. </p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The next few days will be crucial. The terms of the deal stipulate that Microsoft must consummate the merger by July 18, or pay Activision US$3 billion in termination fees. Yet blocking the way are the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-antitrust-body-appeal-court-ruling-microsofts-activision-deal-2023-07-12/">FTC appeal</a> and the CMA in the UK. </p>
<p>The CMA signalled it was willing to negotiate with Microsoft after the US ruling, but has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/uks-cma-says-new-restructured-microsoft-activision-deal-could-require-new-probe-2023-07-12/">since tempered</a> any expectations of a quick resolution. As it stands, Microsoft is taking its case to the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. </p>
<p>It seems unlikely that all outstanding issues will be resolved by July 18. This begs the question of whether Microsoft and Activision will risk closing the deal anyway, which could see them forced to de-merge later. Alternatively they might feel they have to extend and renegotiate the terms. </p>
<p>In the midst of this drama, a <a href="https://www.ainvest.com/news/trade-desk-to-replace-activision-blizzard-in-nasdaq-100-index-23071000257692369fa02577/">notice has circulated</a> stating that Activision will get delisted from the Nasdaq-100 index as early as July 17. This suggests the firms may indeed be preparing to close the deal. We should soon find out if it is going to set a new high score for video game acquisitions or whether it is game over for Microsoft and Activision.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209803/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joost Rietveld was active as a consultant prior to entering academia and still advises some video game companies. This recently included Microsoft in relation to the Activision merger. This was paid work. The views in this article are entirely his own. </span></em></p>Microsoft’s takeover of the gaming giant is turning into a nailbiter.Joost Rietveld, Associate Professor in Strategic Management, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2064192023-06-20T16:18:50Z2023-06-20T16:18:50ZMicrosoft and Google rivalry could supercharge development of AI<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530970/original/file-20230608-23-rzr94s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C9%2C5984%2C3947&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The two companies have made major investments in AI companies.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/uk-london-january-30-2023-microsoft-2260520033">kovop / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Microsoft and Google have recently made big investments in two of the most valuable companies in artificial intelligence (AI). OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, has received a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-23/microsoft-makes-multibillion-dollar-investment-in-openai">staggering investment of US$10 billion (£7.8 billion) from Microsoft</a>, while Google has <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/583ead66-467c-4bd5-84d0-ed5df7b5bf9c">invested US$300 million in Anthropic</a>. </p>
<p>The companies’ financial support for AI has pushed an ongoing rivalry in to the public spotlight. Google’s struggle for dominance with Microsoft is increasingly at the forefront of discussions about AI’s future success.</p>
<p>Google has made enormous contributions to the field of AI development, including the invention of transformers – a particular form of machine learning, where an algorithm improves at tasks as it is “trained” on data – the advancement of techniques for automating the translation of languages and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/27/google-acquires-uk-artificial-intelligence-startup-deepmind">acquisition of AI company DeepMind</a>.</p>
<p>Although Google has consistently positioned itself at the forefront of AI development, a significant milestone was reached with the introduction of ChatGPT. California-based company OpenAI <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">released ChatGPT in November 2022</a> and a <a href="https://sg.style.yahoo.com/chatgpt-4-openai-releases-version-075830243.html">more advanced version, GPT-4</a>, was unveiled in February 2023. </p>
<p>The arrival of ChatGPT sparked widespread discussion about artificial general intelligence (AGI) – where machines surpass human intellect. This was also the focus of warnings by Geoffrey Hinton, an influential figure in AI, who <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65452940">gave several interviews</a> outlining his concerns about the technology after resigning from Google earlier this year. </p>
<p>Consequently, <a href="https://arxiv.org/search/?query=large+language+models&searchtype=all&source=header&start=150">the number of research papers</a> focusing on large language models (LLMs) – the type of AI technology ChatGPT is based on – surged. Other AI research areas, such as dialogue systems and information retrieval, stand to lose out. </p>
<p>Amid this rapid technological disruption, it seems that Google <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/05/google-engineer-open-source-technology-ai-openai-chatgpt">fears losing its technological edge</a> and market dominance. </p>
<h2>Contradictory position?</h2>
<p>This concern is not unwarranted. ChatGPT, made by a direct competitor, has made use of Google’s pioneering internet search techniques to generate significant profit. Furthermore, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-openai-microsoft-hired-former-google-meta-apple-tesla-staff-2023-2?r=US&IR=T">flow of talent from Google to OpenAI</a> – along with the latter’s rapid growth – has become a worrying trend for the search giant. </p>
<p>When OpenAI was founded, one of its principles was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-readies-new-open-source-ai-model-information-2023-05-15/">making software that was “open source”</a>, where software is publicly available, allowing developers to share and modify it. Google, meanwhile, has maintained a relatively consistent commercial approach regarding its plans and ambitions. </p>
<p>However, OpenAI’s recent shift towards commercialism and closed-source practices seems to contradict its original corporate philosophy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Representation of ChatGPt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532379/original/file-20230616-27-carmc6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">ChatGPT has been successfully using search techniques pioneered by Google.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/screen-smartphone-chatgpt-chat-ai-tool-2261871807">Giulio Benzin / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some industry insiders <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/03/17/sam-altman-rivals-rip-openai-name-not-open-artificial-intelligence-gpt-4/">have criticised OpenAI</a> for its somewhat contradictory posture. While it presents itself as a champion of open-source AI, <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/17/844721/ai-openai-moonshot-elon-musk-sam-altman-greg-brockman-messy-secretive-reality/">it is undeniably a commercial entity</a>, a fact it does not readily admit. </p>
<p>This tension between OpenAI’s public image and business realities has made the rivalry with Google even more intriguing.</p>
<p>One likely outcome of this competition is the continued evolution and refinement of AI technology, spurred by the need to stay ahead in the market. Google’s techniques, once exploited by OpenAI for commercial gain, will probably undergo further innovation. </p>
<p>This evolution will not only enhance the functionality of AI applications, but also greatly improve user experiences.</p>
<p>Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president at Microsoft, recently indicated that the company didn’t feel it necessary to overhaul the search landscape, as even <a href="https://mashable.com/article/microsoft-vp-yusuf-mehdi-bing-google-generative-ai">a single point increase in market share represented a US$2 billion hike in value</a> This strategic downsizing of their ambitions could be an attempt to lessen competitive pressures in the tech industry. </p>
<h2>Stronger scrutiny</h2>
<p>It’s worth noting that Microsoft’s association with OpenAI adds another layer to this complex rivalry. Google has also shown a willingness to invest in external AI projects to extend its influence. </p>
<p>For instance, the company’s investment in Anthropic, an AI research company, reflects Google’s strategy to maintain its technological lead through strategic partnerships.</p>
<p>One concern that resonates with many people, including me, is the potential for misinformation, disinformation and distortion created by ChatGPT. With over 200 million users, it serves around 2.53% of the global population. </p>
<p>Widespread disinformation on social media has significantly <a href="https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/article/misinformation-in-action-fake-news-exposure-is-linked-to-lower-trust-in-media-higher-trust-in-government-when-your-side-is-in-power/">eroded trust in online content</a> and reportedly <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07761-2">influenced the 2016 US presidential election</a>. </p>
<p>With such a vast user base for ChatGPT, it is conceivable that tech companies could manipulate conversations, subtly swaying users’ preferences and decisions in numerous ways. Therefore, the need for stronger scrutiny and regulation of these large language models is becoming increasingly urgent.</p>
<p>Despite the growing competition over AI, Google remains a respected entity in the global tech industry. The AI rivalry between Google and Microsoft has driven both companies to push the boundaries of this technology, promising exciting advancements in the years to come. </p>
<p>The various strategies employed in this competition, from talent acquisition to strategic investments, reflect the significance of the stakes in the AI landscape. Specifically, acquiring top talent allows these companies to advance their AI capabilities, giving them a competitive edge. </p>
<p>Strategic investments, on the other hand, allow for diversification and expansion into new AI applications and sectors, increasing their influence and market share in the AI field. These actions underscore the high value and potential of AI technology in shaping our future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yali Du does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A competition is heating up between the two tech giants over AI.Yali Du, Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2059002023-05-30T12:24:37Z2023-05-30T12:24:37ZHow can Congress regulate AI? Erect guardrails, ensure accountability and address monopolistic power<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528621/original/file-20230526-27-seiw7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5679%2C3783&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">IBM executive Christina Montgomery, cognitive scientist Gary Marcus and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman prepared to testify before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressOpenAICEO/1e58b1bccf1a4d59a18755854b92c91c/photo">AP Photo/Patrick Semansky</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Takeaways:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>A new federal agency to regulate AI sounds helpful but could become unduly influenced by the tech industry. Instead, Congress can legislate accountability.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Instead of licensing companies to release advanced AI technologies, the government could license auditors and push for companies to set up institutional review boards.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>The government hasn’t had great success in curbing technology monopolies, but disclosure requirements and data privacy laws could help check corporate power.</strong></p></li>
</ul>
<p></p><hr><p></p>
<p>OpenAI CEO Sam Altman urged lawmakers to consider regulating AI during <a href="https://techpolicy.press/transcript-senate-judiciary-subcommittee-hearing-on-oversight-of-ai/">his Senate testimony</a> on May 16, 2023. That recommendation raises the question of what comes next for Congress. The solutions Altman proposed – creating an AI regulatory agency and requiring licensing for companies – are interesting. But what the other experts on the same panel suggested is at least as important: <a href="https://techpolicy.press/transcript-senate-judiciary-subcommittee-hearing-on-oversight-of-ai/">requiring transparency on training data</a> and <a href="https://techpolicy.press/transcript-senate-judiciary-subcommittee-hearing-on-oversight-of-ai/">establishing clear frameworks for AI-related risks</a>.</p>
<p>Another point left unsaid was that, given the economics of building large-scale AI models, the industry may be witnessing the emergence of a new type of tech monopoly. </p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JpFHYKcAAAAJ">studies social media and artificial intelligence</a>, I believe that Altman’s suggestions have highlighted important issues but don’t provide answers in and of themselves. Regulation would be helpful, but in what form? Licensing also makes sense, but for whom? And any effort to regulate the AI industry will need to account for the companies’ economic power and political sway.</p>
<h2>An agency to regulate AI?</h2>
<p>Lawmakers and policymakers across the world have already begun to address some of the issues raised in Altman’s testimony. The <a href="https://artificialintelligenceact.eu">European Union’s AI Act</a> is based on a risk model that assigns AI applications to three categories of risk: unacceptable, high risk, and low or minimal risk. This categorization recognizes that tools for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/dutch-scandal-serves-as-a-warning-for-europe-over-risks-of-using-algorithms/">social scoring by governments</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ojls/gqab006">automated tools for hiring</a> pose different risks than those from the use of AI in spam filters, for example. </p>
<p>The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology likewise has an <a href="https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework">AI risk management framework</a> that was created with <a href="https://www.responsible.ai/post/understanding-the-national-institute-of-standards-and-technology-nist-ai-risk-management-framework">extensive input</a> from <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nist-delivers-guidance-responsible-ai">multiple stakeholders</a>, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of American Scientists, as well as other business and professional associations, technology companies and think tanks. </p>
<p>Federal agencies such as the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-releases-new-resource-artificial-intelligence-and-title-vii">Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a> and the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2023/05/luring-test-ai-engineering-consumer-trust">Federal Trade Commission</a> have already issued guidelines on some of the risks inherent in AI. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and other agencies have a role to play as well. </p>
<p>Rather than create a new agency that runs the <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/daed/article/151/2/335/110625/Artificially-Intelligent-Regulation">risk of becoming compromised</a> by the technology industry it’s meant to regulate, Congress can support private and public adoption of the <a href="https://www.ai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NAIAC-Report-Year1.pdf">NIST risk management framework</a> and pass bills such as the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3572">Algorithmic Accountability Act</a>. That would have the effect of <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/11/why-we-need-to-audit-algorithms">imposing accountability</a>, much as <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/sarbanes-oxley_act">the Sarbanes-Oxley Act</a> and other regulations transformed reporting requirements for companies. Congress can also <a href="https://openyls.law.yale.edu/handle/20.500.13051/18236">adopt comprehensive laws around data privacy</a>. </p>
<p>Regulating AI should involve collaboration among academia, industry, policy experts and international agencies. Experts have likened this approach to <a href="https://techpolicy.press/transcript-senate-judiciary-subcommittee-hearing-on-oversight-of-ai/">international organizations</a> such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, and the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01606-9?">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>. The internet has been <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/blog/2017/04/21/international-efforts-regulate-internet-continue">managed by</a> nongovernmental bodies involving nonprofits, civil society, industry and policymakers, such as the <a href="https://www.icann.org/">Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers</a> and the <a href="https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/wtsa20/Pages/default.aspx">World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly</a>. Those examples provide models for industry and policymakers today. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JL5OFXeXenA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Cognitive scientist and AI developer Gary Marcus explains the need to regulate AI.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Licensing auditors, not companies</h2>
<p>Though OpenAI’s Altman suggested that companies could be licensed to release artificial intelligence technologies to the public, he clarified that he was <a href="https://techpolicy.press/transcript-senate-judiciary-subcommittee-hearing-on-oversight-of-ai/">referring to artificial general intelligence</a>, meaning potential future AI systems with humanlike intelligence that could pose a threat to humanity. That would be akin to companies being licensed to handle other potentially dangerous technologies, like nuclear power. But licensing could have a role to play well before such a futuristic scenario comes to pass.</p>
<p>Algorithmic auditing <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/11/why-we-need-to-audit-algorithms">would require credentialing</a>, standards of practice and extensive training. Requiring accountability is not just a matter of licensing individuals but also requires companywide standards and practices. </p>
<p>Experts on AI fairness contend that issues of bias and fairness in AI cannot be addressed by technical methods alone but require more comprehensive risk mitigation practices such as <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/04/if-your-company-uses-ai-it-needs-an-institutional-review-board">adopting institutional review boards for AI</a>. Institutional review boards in the medical field help uphold individual rights, for example. </p>
<p>Academic bodies and professional societies have likewise adopted standards for responsible use of AI, whether it is <a href="https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2023/3/feature/2-artificial-intelligence-ethics">authorship standards for AI-generated text</a> or <a href="https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/full/10.1148/radiol.2019190613">standards for patient-mediated data sharing in medicine</a>.</p>
<p>Strengthening existing statutes on consumer safety, privacy and protection while introducing norms of algorithmic accountability would help demystify complex AI systems. It’s also important to recognize that greater data accountability and transparency may impose new restrictions on organizations. </p>
<p>Scholars of data privacy and AI ethics have called for “<a href="https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4796&context=wlr">technological due process</a>” and frameworks to recognize harms of predictive processes. The widespread use of AI-enabled decision-making in such fields as employment, insurance and health care calls for <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/big-data-and-due-process-toward-a-framework-to-redress-predictive-privacy-harms/">licensing and audit requirements</a> to ensure procedural fairness and privacy safeguards.</p>
<p>Requiring such accountability provisions, though, demands a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0355">robust debate</a> among AI developers, policymakers and those who are affected by broad deployment of AI. In the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3531146.3533213">absence of strong algorithmic accountability practices</a>, the danger is <a href="https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/files/cchr/files/nonnecke_and_dawson_human_rights_implications.pdf">narrow audits that promote the appearance</a> of compliance.</p>
<h2>AI monopolies?</h2>
<p>What was also missing in Altman’s testimony is the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-tech-is-spending-billions-on-ai-research-investors-should-keep-an-eye-out-11646740800">extent of investment</a> required to train large-scale AI models, whether it is <a href="https://openai.com/product/gpt-4">GPT-4</a>, which is one of the foundations of <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">ChatGPT</a>, or text-to-image generator <a href="https://stablediffusionweb.com/">Stable Diffusion</a>. Only a handful of companies, such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, are responsible for <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/digital-future-daily/2023/03/22/ai-might-have-already-set-the-stage-for-the-next-tech-monopoly-00088382">developing the world’s largest language models</a>. </p>
<p>Given the lack of transparency in the training data used by these companies, AI ethics experts Timnit Gebru, Emily Bender and others have warned that large-scale adoption of such technologies without corresponding oversight risks <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3442188.3445922">amplifying machine bias at a societal scale</a>. </p>
<p>It is also important to acknowledge that the training data for tools such as ChatGPT includes the intellectual labor of a host of people such as Wikipedia contributors, bloggers and authors of digitized books. The economic benefits from these tools, however, accrue only to the technology corporations. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1659593963227979776"}"></div></p>
<p>Proving technology firms’ monopoly power can be difficult, as the Department of Justice’s antitrust case <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/speeches/what-are-we-learning-microsoft-case">against Microsoft</a> demonstrated. I believe that the most feasible regulatory options for Congress to address potential algorithmic harms from AI may be to strengthen disclosure requirements for AI firms and users of AI alike, to urge comprehensive adoption of AI risk assessment frameworks, and to require processes that safeguard individual data rights and privacy.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528404/original/file-20230525-19537-m9iltu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Learn what you need to know about artificial intelligence by <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=ai&source=inline-promo">signing up for our newsletter series of four emails</a> delivered over the course of a week. You can read all our stories on generative AI at <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/generative-ai-133426">TheConversation.com</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205900/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anjana Susarla receives funding from the National Institute of Health and the Omura-Saxena Professorship in Responsible AI</span></em></p>Figuring out how to regulate AI is a difficult challenge, and that’s even before tackling the problem of the small number of big companies that control the technology.Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046982023-05-03T15:17:24Z2023-05-03T15:17:24ZWhy post-Brexit Britain is still open for business – despite what Microsoft says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523856/original/file-20230502-14-5dm53n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=385%2C120%2C4686%2C3226&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-open-usual-yellow-sign-stating-1676582434">lookslikephoto.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK’s ability to attract business has recently been called into question after <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-activision-deal-prevented-to-protect-innovation-and-choice-in-cloud-gaming">its competition regulator blocked</a> tech giant Microsoft from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65407005">buying</a> gaming firm Activision for US$68.7 billion (£55 billion). </p>
<p>Microsoft’s president not only said this decision was “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65407005">bad for Britain</a>”, but that the “the European Union is a more attractive place to start a business than the United Kingdom”. A spokesperson for Activision <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/26/microsoft-bid-for-activision-blizzard-blocked-by-uk-competition-regulator#:%7E:text=the%20UK%20is%20clearly%20closed%20for%20business">suggested</a>: “The UK is clearly closed for business.”</p>
<p>The UK is not a difficult place to do business, although there are ways it could become more attractive, particularly post-Brexit. As such, there is more to this story than meets the eye.</p>
<p>The decision ties in with wider efforts by UK regulators to examine and adjust such significant deals to prevent them from reducing competition in key industries.</p>
<p>The head of the panel that examined this deal for the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about">Competition & Markets Authority</a> (CMA) said of its decision:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice. That is best achieved by allowing the current competitive dynamics in cloud gaming to continue to do their job.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Regulators are right to be cautious</h2>
<p>The UK is the first of three regions to announce a decision on the Microsoft deal – and none of the national regulators involved seem likely to give the green light easily. The US Federal Trade Commission has already launched a legal challenge to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-09/ftc-sues-derail-microsoft-activision-blizzard-merger/101754236">block the takeover</a>, while in March, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-17/microsoft-activision-eu-review-extended-after-remedies-offer#xj4y7vzkg">EU regulators delayed</a> their decision until May 22.</p>
<p>Regulators are right to be cautious. They often analyse competition in a sector using measures such as the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (<a href="https://www.justice.gov/atr/herfindahl-hirschman-index">HHI</a>). This calculates the degree of competitive control in an industry by squaring each company’s market share and adding up the results. </p>
<p>A market with an HHI of less than 1,500 is considered a competitive marketplace, 1,500 to 2,500 is moderately concentrated, and over 2,500 is highly concentrated. The maximum 10,000 points denotes a market controlled by a single firm. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tech-firms-face-more-regulation-after-moves-to-stop-killer-acquisitions-but-innovation-could-also-be-under-threat-187278">Tech firms face more regulation after moves to stop 'killer' acquisitions – but innovation could also be under threat</a>
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<p>The HHI for the cloud gaming sector is already around 3,600, and the CMA says Microsoft accounts for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/microsoft-activision-deal-prevented-to-protect-innovation-and-choice-in-cloud-gaming">60-70%</a> of the sector’s global services. So, if the deal went through, the HHI would increase significantly in Microsoft’s favour.</p>
<p>It is the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/competition-and-markets-authority/about">CMA’s responsibility</a> to investigate deals with the potential to affect the competitiveness of UK markets. This is an important role because openness and competition help more firms thrive, boosting innovation and productivity. <a href="https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/consumers/why-competition-policy-important-consumers_en">Consumers also benefit</a> from lower prices and a more comprehensive range of goods and services.</p>
<p>However, putting the breaks on such a high-profile deal will affect how companies and investors view a country’s attitude to business.</p>
<h2>How open is the UK?</h2>
<p>By some measures, the UK is a highly rated <a href="https://www.bayes.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/689482/MA_Attractiveness-Index_2021.pdf">investment destination</a>. Other measures tell investors and companies how easy it is to do business in a country. For example, China’s <a href="https://www.ciie.org/resource/upload/zbh/202211/281044112s1b.pdf">World Openness Index</a>, which measures cross-border economic, social and cultural factors, ranked the UK tenth in 2020 (its latest report) – although this was down from fifth in 2008. </p>
<p><strong>Perceiving countries as ‘open for business’</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523468/original/file-20230428-24-n4nxfs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">World Openness Index.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ciie.org/resource/upload/zbh/202211/281044112s1b.pdf">Author provided using data from China International Import Expo</a></span>
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<p>More recent research from the <a href="https://economy2030.resolutionfoundation.org/reports/open-for-business/#:%7E:text=After%20trade%20was%20adjusted%20for,in%202022%20than%20in%202021.">Resolution Foundation</a> shows UK openness improved relative to France and the US between 2021 and 2022, but the authors added: “We should be cautious in assuming this indicates the UK has become more competitive in recent months despite Brexit.” </p>
<p>So has Brexit damaged the UK’s openness? <a href="https://www.ig.com/uk/financial-events/brexit/pros-and-cons-of-brexit">One argument</a> for remaining in the EU was that membership provided unrestricted access to the European single market, enabling easy movement of goods, services and people across member states. </p>
<p>On the <a href="https://www.debatingeurope.eu/focus/arguments-britain-leaving-eu/#.ZEv1L3bMI2w">other hand</a>, those wanting to leave the EU <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/6/22/11992106/brexit-arguments">argued</a> it stopped Britain from fully capitalising on trade with other major economies such as Japan and the US, or <a href="https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-are-the-next-eleven-1978980">other</a> <a href="https://asean.org/">emerging</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-24/brics-draws-membership-requests-from-19-nations-before-summit">economies</a>. </p>
<p>I’ve worked with academics at other UK universities to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026427512100305X">review how UK cities and regions</a> attract investment and talent by using data and technology to create development opportunities and enhance quality of life. According to our review, the UK has a lot going for it in this respect, <a href="https://www.great.gov.uk/international/content/investment/why-invest-in-the-uk/">including</a> an educated workforce, a mature and high-spending consumer market, a business-friendly regulatory and tax environment, and an open, liberal economy.</p>
<p>Brexit <a href="https://rsaiconnect.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pirs.12345">could make the UK worse off</a> by increasing red tape for firms that trade with the EU, <a href="https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/brexit03.pdf">reducing</a> trade and investment flows. This could <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/60376">increase costs and supply shortages</a>), on top of reducing access to skilled EU workers. But the changing nature of the UK’s post-Brexit economic relations with all economies, not just the EU, is important. </p>
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<img alt="Cargo ship and Cargo plane with working crane bridge in shipyard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523857/original/file-20230502-1462-n1c8jz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many businesses in Britain rely on international trade deals and investment by foreign companies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/logistics-transportation-container-cargo-ship-plane-526625740">Travel mania/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>A new global reputation?</h2>
<p>The UK’s reputation for openness has clearly been damaged by Brexit. It has led to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/24/economy/brexit-uk-economy/index.html">barriers</a> for UK businesses that trade with the EU, and also for foreign companies that used Britain as a European base.</p>
<p>The country now needs to build a new <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/58e884a1-d642-40e0-af72-4073b11673bf">global reputation</a>, independent of EU membership. A good first step would be to improve perceptions about its openness by pursuing cooperation with the EU, alongside trade opportunities with non-EU countries. </p>
<p>To assist with the latter, the UK can take advantage of its freedom from the EU to enact policies that make it a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53724381">more attractive</a> place to do business for <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/technology/articles/how-to-make-the-uk-a-more-attractive-listing-location-for-tech-businesses.html">technology firms</a> than when it was as an EU member. This could include government subsidies and investment to encourage innovation in this sector, as well as ways to help companies address skills shortages.</p>
<p>Firms that do not get their way on deals in the UK’s post-Brexit business environment may try to insinuate that the UK is now less open. But, while being open for business is good for the economy, the CMA is also responsible for considering the interests of British customers, businesses and talent when it makes decisions on deals. This will also help ensure the UK remains a good place to do business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tolu Olarewaju does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UK must refocus its efforts to attract investment post-Brexit, but here’s why it’s still ‘open for business’.Tolu Olarewaju, Economist and Lecturer in Management, Keele UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2037462023-04-19T12:46:20Z2023-04-19T12:46:20ZGenerative AI: 5 essential reads about the new era of creativity, job anxiety, misinformation, bias and plagiarism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521682/original/file-20230418-26-z5k87x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3904%2C2442&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What does generative AI mean for the human need to create, work and seek the truth?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/artificial-intelligence-generated-artworks-royalty-free-illustration/1471653234">Krerksak Woraphoomi/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The light and dark sides of AI have been in the public spotlight for many years. Think facial recognition, algorithms making loan and sentencing recommendations, and medical image analysis. But the impressive – and sometimes scary – capabilities of ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and other conversational and image-conjuring artificial intelligence programs feel like a turning point.</p>
<p>The key change has been the emergence within the last year of powerful generative AI, software that not only learns from vast amounts of data but also produces things – <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/openai-chatgpt-chatbot-messages/672411/">convincingly written documents</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-is-great-youre-just-using-it-wrong-198848">engaging conversation</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65296763">photorealistic images</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/ICASSP.2018.8462018">clones of celebrity voices</a>.</p>
<p>Generative AI has been around <a href="https://papers.nips.cc/paper_files/paper/2014/hash/5ca3e9b122f61f8f06494c97b1afccf3-Abstract.html">for nearly a decade</a>, as long-standing <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/deepfakes-explained">worries about deepfake videos</a> can attest. Now, though, the AI models have become so large and have digested such vast swaths of the internet that people have become unsure of what AI means for the future of knowledge work, the nature of creativity and the origins and truthfulness of content on the internet.</p>
<p>Here are five articles from our archives that take the measure of this new generation of artificial intelligence.</p>
<h2>1. Generative AI and work</h2>
<p>A panel of five AI experts discussed the <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-and-the-future-of-work-5-experts-on-what-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-ai-tools-mean-for-artists-and-knowledge-workers-196783">implications of generative AI</a> for artists and knowledge workers. It’s not simply a matter of whether the technology will replace you or make you more productive.</p>
<p>University of Tennessee computer scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XxGyUpAAAAAJ&hl=en">Lynne Parker</a> wrote that while there are significant benefits to generative AI, like making creativity and knowledge work more accessible, the new tools also have downsides. Specifically, they could lead to an erosion of skills like writing, and they raise issues of intellectual property protections given that the models are trained on human creations.</p>
<p>University of Colorado Boulder computer scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GAi23ssAAAAJ&hl=en">Daniel Acuña</a> has found the tools to be useful in his own creative endeavors but is concerned about inaccuracy, bias and plagiarism.</p>
<p>University of Michigan computer scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JdxjEQIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kentaro Toyama</a> wrote that human skill is likely to become costly and extraneous in some fields. “If history is any guide, it’s almost certain that advances in AI will cause more jobs to vanish, that creative-class people with human-only skills will become richer but fewer in number, and that those who own creative technology will become the new mega-rich.”</p>
<p>Florida International University computer scientist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=X8peo3AAAAAJ&hl=en">Mark Finlayson</a> wrote that some jobs are likely to disappear, but that new skills in working with these AI tools are likely to become valued. By analogy, he noted that the rise of word processing software largely eliminated the need for typists but allowed nearly anyone with access to a computer to produce typeset documents and led to a new class of skills to list on a resume.</p>
<p>University of Colorado Anschutz biomedical informatics researcher <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ETJoidYAAAAJ&hl=en">Casey Greene</a> wrote that just as Google led people to develop skills in finding information on the internet, AI language models will lead people to develop skills to get the best output from the tools. “As with many technological advances, how people interact with the world will change in the era of widely accessible AI models. The question is whether society will use this moment to advance equity or exacerbate disparities.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-and-the-future-of-work-5-experts-on-what-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-ai-tools-mean-for-artists-and-knowledge-workers-196783">AI and the future of work: 5 experts on what ChatGPT, DALL-E and other AI tools mean for artists and knowledge workers</a>
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<h2>2. Conjuring images from words</h2>
<p>Generative AI can seem like magic. It’s hard to imagine how image-generating AIs can take a few words of text and produce an image that matches the words.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A gloved hand in the foreground partially obscures a computer screen displaying four panels of similar images of a young man in profile with pink hair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521687/original/file-20230418-18-fmudva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A few keywords – pink hair, Asian boy, cyberpunk, stadium jacket, Manga – yield striking and believable images of a person who never existed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-photo-illustration-taken-on-january-31-2023-shows-an-news-photo/1247801593">Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3OKn_UYAAAAJ&hl=en">Hany Farid</a>, a University of California, Berkeley computer scientist who specializes in image forensics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/text-to-image-ai-powerful-easy-to-use-technology-for-making-art-and-fakes-195517">explained the process</a>. The software is trained on a massive set of images, each of which includes a short text description.</p>
<p>“The model progressively corrupts each image until only visual noise remains, and then trains a neural network to reverse this corruption. Repeating this process hundreds of millions of times, the model learns how to convert pure noise into a coherent image from any caption,” he wrote.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/text-to-image-ai-powerful-easy-to-use-technology-for-making-art-and-fakes-195517">Text-to-image AI: powerful, easy-to-use technology for making art – and fakes</a>
</strong>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. Marking the machine</h2>
<p>Many of the images produced by generative AI are difficult to distinguish from photographs, and AI-generated video is rapidly improving. This raises the stakes for combating fraud and misinformation. Fake videos of corporate executives could be used to manipulate stock prices, and fake videos of political leaders could be used to spread dangerous misinformation.</p>
<p>Farid explained how it’s possible to produce AI-generated photos and video that <a href="https://theconversation.com/watermarking-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-generative-ais-could-help-protect-against-fraud-and-misinformation-202293">contain watermarks</a> verifying that they are synthetic. The trick is to produce digital watermarks that can’t be altered or removed. “These watermarks can be baked into the generative AI systems by watermarking all the training data, after which the generated content will contain the same watermark,” he wrote.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/watermarking-chatgpt-dall-e-and-other-generative-ais-could-help-protect-against-fraud-and-misinformation-202293">Watermarking ChatGPT, DALL-E and other generative AIs could help protect against fraud and misinformation</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>4. Flood of ideas</h2>
<p>For all the legitimate concern about the downsides of generative AI, the tools are proving to be useful for some artists, designers and writers. People in creative fields can use the image generators to quickly sketch out ideas, including unexpected off-the-wall material.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sy_llq2yq9U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">AI as an idea generator for designers.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology industrial designer and professor <a href="https://www.no.com.gt/">Juan Noguera</a> and his students use tools like DALL-E or Midjourney to produce thousands of images from abstract ideas – a sort of <a href="https://theconversation.com/dall-e-2-and-midjourney-can-be-a-boon-for-industrial-designers-199267">sketchbook on steroids</a>.</p>
<p>“Enter any sentence – no matter how crazy – and you’ll receive a set of unique images generated just for you. Want to design a teapot? Here, have 1,000 of them,” he wrote. “While only a small subset of them may be usable as a teapot, they provide a seed of inspiration that the designer can nurture and refine into a finished product.” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dall-e-2-and-midjourney-can-be-a-boon-for-industrial-designers-199267">DALL-E 2 and Midjourney can be a boon for industrial designers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>5. Shortchanging the creative process</h2>
<p>However, using AI to produce finished artworks is another matter, according to <a href="https://www.umb.edu/faculty_staff/bio/nir_eisikovits">Nir Eisikovits</a> and <a href="https://www.alecstubbs.info/">Alec Stubbs</a>, philosophers at the <a href="https://www.umb.edu/ethics">Applied Ethics Center</a> at University of Massachusetts Boston. They note that the process of making art is more than just coming up with ideas.</p>
<p>The hands-on process of producing something, iterating the process and making refinements – often in the moment in response to audience reactions – are <a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-dall-e-2-and-the-collapse-of-the-creative-process-196461">indispensable aspects of creating art</a>, they wrote.</p>
<p>“It is the work of making something real and working through its details that carries value, not simply that moment of imagining it,” they wrote. “Artistic works are lauded not merely for the finished product, but for the struggle, the playful interaction and the skillful engagement with the artistic task, all of which carry the artist from the moment of inception to the end result.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-dall-e-2-and-the-collapse-of-the-creative-process-196461">ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and the collapse of the creative process</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Generative AI can seem like magic, which makes it both enticing and frightening. Scholars are helping society come to grips with the potential benefits and harms.Eric Smalley, Science + Technology EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2028932023-04-18T11:43:22Z2023-04-18T11:43:22ZThe latest trends in video games from the 2023 global Game Developers Conference<p>San Francisco’s <a href="https://gdconf.com/">Game Developers Conference</a> (GDC) – the global gathering of the greatest creative minds in the games industry – opened its doors for the second time since the pandemic in March 2023.</p>
<p>Each year a number of key trends stand out. For 2023 it was applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for <a href="https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/style-and-substance-in-game-design">game development</a>, with the future shape of the gaming experience – with and without virtual reality (VR) – high on the agenda. </p>
<p>Following last year’s tentative steps back on to the expo floor – interacting with devices was off the menu because of COVID fears – <a href="https://about.meta.com/uk/metaverse/">Meta</a> (formerly Facebook) was busy sanitising display models of its popular Quest 2 headset to encourage visitors to try it out. The company was also keen to push its heavily discounted Quest Pro headset, which features “colour pass-through”, meaning someone wearing the headset can see an <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/augmented-reality-AR">augmented view</a> of the world around them.</p>
<p>Chinese manufacturer <a href="https://www.pico.net/">Pico</a> of the Pico 4 headset, which has striking similarities to the Quest, had an even larger stand and was generating similar levels of interest. Clearly the time was right to start interacting with shared devices again, as long as good hygiene prevailed.</p>
<h2>AI developments and issues</h2>
<p>Before the conference, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/15/elon-musk-co-founder-of-chatgpt-creator-openai-warns-of-ai-society-risk.html">considerable buzz</a> had been building around <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt">ChatGPT</a>, the chatbot that can provide convincing, detailed written answers to users’ questions.</p>
<p>The latest updated version was released at the event, offering several improvements. Most noticeable was the reduction in repetition of key phrases in the chatbot’s answers which alerted people to the fact it was AI-generated content.</p>
<p>For games developers the interest in this type of AI relates to speeding up and easing game development, but there were also concerns raised about jobs being replaced by AI. The positive consensus was that humans are still best placed to ask the right questions to generate game content, even if such content was created by AI.</p>
<p>Adobe announced its <a href="https://news.adobe.com/news/news-details/2023/Adobe-Unveils-Firefly-a-Family-of-new-Creative-Generative-AI/default.aspx">Firefly AI tool</a> that can generate both images and 3D models. This technology might also assist with generating “substances” – <a href="https://www.gamedesigning.org/learn/digital-texturing/#:%7E:text=over%20a%20material.-,What%20are%20Materials%3F,%2C%20shading%2C%20and%20so%20on.">materials</a> that can be applied to game models and scenes. The company indicated its tool was to “enhance the creative process, rather than replace it”.</p>
<p>Adobe drew a cheer from developers for promising “clean and safe” content, meaning anything the AI created would be based on what it had learned from Adobe stock and public domain images rather than sources simply scraped from anywhere on the internet. This should avoid the potential ethical and legal issues of unintentionally publishing content learned from a copyrighted source, a key issue for this kind of AI.</p>
<p>Some developers demonstrated AI implementing content into a game scene based upon typing a sentence. For example, key in “Create a scene with 10 boulders”, and huge rocks were inserted into a scene without the usual manual placement of objects. I met one developer who had created a tool to search for and use AI to automatically rig (that is, prepare for animation) public-domain game models from the internet.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j4r2Y9hNkNc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>Welcome to the metaverse</h2>
<p>The other major theme, which has figured much in public awareness since Facebook changed its name to Meta, is that of the <a href="https://mention.com/en/blog/metaverse-multiverse-omniverse/#:%7E:text=Omniverse%20is%20a%20concept%20that,elements%20of%20Multiverses%20and%20Metaveverses.">metaverse</a> – a network of virtual worlds through which people can access many functions of the internet including games. We know Meta has already gambled big in this area, and clearly companies like Pico are happy to sell devices to experience it. </p>
<p>So it wasn’t surprising that several tool and game engine providers were positioning themselves as a useful resource when creating content for the metaverse. The previous generation of game engines (the software frameworks used by developers used to create games) such as <a href="https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/?utm_source=GoogleSearch&utm_medium=Performance&utm_campaign=%7Bcampaigname%7D&utm_id=17086214830&sub_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_term=unrealengine">Unreal Engine 4</a> and <a href="https://unity.com/">Unity</a> have made significant efforts to adapt to engage the film and television industries. It’s clear from this year’s GDC conference that the goal for the next generation of game engines is to prepare for digital spaces like the metaverse.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/home">Epic Games</a>, developer of the hugely successful <a href="https://www.fortnite.com/">Fortnite</a>, is pitching that the metaverse doesn’t have to be about putting a VR headset on and disconnecting from those around you. Epic believes it actually already here via games (like Fortnite) played on a 2D screen using the PCs, consoles and portable-handheld devices people already have access to.</p>
<p>To accelerate the creation of content for this Epic vision of the metaverse, the company announced the launch of its <a href="https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/fortnite--uefn?utm_campaign=%5B%5BFNBR_RT_UEFN_Google-Search_Exact/Phrase_UK%5D%5D&utm_source=Google-Search">Unreal Engine for Fortnite</a> (UEFN), which would allow content creators more advanced control than ever before of gameplay and assets – the graphics and things a game relies upon. It also announced a new computer language called <a href="https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-language-reference#:%7E:text=What%20Is%20Verse%3F,as%20a%20first%2Dtime%20programmer.">Verse</a>, which the company hopes will be easy to understand while capable of powering the metaverse future.</p>
<p>Epic is no stranger to creating languages to allow customisation of the behaviour of elements in a game, and has suggested that Verse could become the standard language across a range of metaverse/omniverse implementations, not just its own. If a major partner such as Microsoft were to come on board, there would be more confident industry take-up of Verse. </p>
<p>Epic is proposing the (Fortnite-powered) metaverse as a place to easily leap from one connected experience to another – to transition from a first-person shooter game to a racing game, <a href="https://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=2339764&articleId=2339765&catalogId=10201&langId=&storeId=10151">Ready Player One</a>-style, should be achievable with current technology.</p>
<p>But it’s the console manufacturers who are best placed to create devices with supporting operating systems to enable simple user function across gaming and other experiences. So maybe our attention should be on what Microsoft, Sony or even Nintendo do next. Welcome to the Mario-verse?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202893/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gavin Wade does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Meta and Pico lead the field with their VR headsets, ChatGPT continues its inexorable rise and new engine developments are pushing the boundaries of the video game experience.Gavin Wade, Senior Lecturer in Computer Games Technology, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2030822023-04-12T11:21:12Z2023-04-12T11:21:12ZTetris movie: why the story of the game’s origins is legendary<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519796/original/file-20230406-217-4qt847.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1366%2C768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There have been numerous iterations of Tetris since the game was first introduced but the iconic shapes never change. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/110457687@N03/15538236401">Downloadsource.es/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On my bedside cabinet, next to my alarm clock, is a jar holding my cufflink collection. One set contains seven odd cufflinks. They are bold in colour, now a bit scratched with flaking paint, but with clear geometric designs: a squat Z, S and T, an L, a J, a square and lastly, the ever useful long bar.</p>
<p>Even as a lecturer in games development, I don’t tend to wear my game affiliations that boldly but these cufflinks, the odd badge and my Minecraft waistcoat are exceptions. There are very few video game elements that I could describe so simply that even some non-gamers would recognise. But I am, of course, talking about the shapes, or the “tetrominoes”, from the nearly 40-year-old game of Tetris. </p>
<p>Alongside Pac-Man, Super Mario, and Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris was one of the first video games to break into popular culture. How else can you explain the recent release of the <a href="https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/news/2023/02/apple-original-films-unveils-trailer-for-tetris-new-thriller-starring-taron-egerton/">Tetris movie</a>, starring Taron Egerton? Bizarrely, this film is based on what you think would be the rather dry legal arguments of the intellectual property rights of the game.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-BLM1naCfME?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The official trailer for the Tetris movie on Apple TV+</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But within games lore, the tale of how Tetris came to be is legendary. </p>
<p>Alexey Pajitnov, a speech recognition researcher at the Soviet Union’s Academy of Sciences, developed a range of puzzle games in the early 1980s, by “borrowing” spare time on his workplace’s Electronika 60 computer. </p>
<p>The machine had no graphical display and so the games were displayed using text but Tetris still hooked many of Pajitnov’s colleagues. Soon it was on most computers in various Soviet organisations.</p>
<p>Pajitnov wanted to share his game, but this being the late Soviet Union era, he had little idea of how game publishing worked and his employers weren’t pleased about the “wasted” time on their expensive computer. Plus Soviet copyright law gave the state control over the software. </p>
<p>However, Pajitnov negotiated the rights to the Academy via his supervisor, who sent the game to Hungarian game publisher Novotrade. That led to Tetris seeing limited success behind the iron curtain.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A bearded man wearing a white top and jeans stands smiling on a blue stage with his hands raised." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519618/original/file-20230405-18-wj9exs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tetris creator, Alexey Pajitnov.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/imaginecup/9271942618/in/photostream/">ImagineCup/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Hungary, Robert Stein of Andromeda Software saw Tetris, liked it and approached Pajitnov about obtaining the rights. Pajitnov responded via fax that he was interested. Stein took that fax and without drawing up a contract, proceeded to sell the rights at the 1987 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. </p>
<p>Tetris became a massive success, being ported to multiple platforms and winning multiple awards. But what then followed was a protracted legal battle which stretched across continents, involved several gaming companies and numerous iterations of Tetris itself. There were versions on the <a href="https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/1227/Amstrad-Plc/">Amstrad</a>, the <a href="https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/182/Acorn-BBC-Micro-Model-B/">BBC Micro</a> and the <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_334638">Apple II</a> to name but three. </p>
<p>Eventually, in the late 1980s, Nintendo showed an interest in wanting to obtain Tetris for their upcoming <a href="https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Hardware/Nintendo-History/Game-Boy/Game-Boy-627031.html">Game Boy</a> console. Since then, it’s practically been ubiquitous. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A grey square Tetris cartridge propped up against a Nintendo Game Boy console" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519611/original/file-20230405-16-nn8pa9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nintendo’s Game Boy was released in 1989 and Tetris became the most popular game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Game_Boy_and_Tetris.jpg">Sammlung der Medien und Wissenschaft/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Quite simply, Tetris is one of the most engaging computer games ever devised. Some have tried to pin <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Trauma%2C-treatment-and-Tetris%3A-video-gaming-volume-Butler-Herr/2382b9b18e1a9fafb228f94c3ab1b7504b5b3e7d">psychological aspects</a> to it. The slow ramping up of difficulty is not just due to the increasing speed but also because your failures stay to thwart you and victories are therefore fleeting. </p>
<p>For those of us old enough to have grown up with the first generation of home computers such as the <a href="https://worldofspectrum.org">ZX Spectrum</a>, Tetris is our “when I were a lad” type of game. I still remember the drama of the thumping and ominous beat of the music on the Commodore 64, forgoing the catchy Russian folk song of the original.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rpt-G3dRcek?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What Tetris looked and sounded like on the Commodore 64.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It was a time when you couldn’t rely on the Oscar winning performances of your voice actors, the ultra-realism of your graphics or a sumptuous orchestral soundtrack. It was beeps and limited colours of obvious pixels, so the gameplay had to grab you even more to get that “just one more go” kick. </p>
<p><a href="https://doom.fandom.com/wiki/Doom">Doom</a> is often cited as being the game featured across all platforms but I’d argue that Tetris really holds that crown. Having first played it on my <a href="https://www.commodore.ca/commodore-products/commodore-64-the-best-selling-computer-in-history/">Commodore 64</a>, I went on to play it on my <a href="http://theamigamuseum.com/amiga-models/amiga-1000/">Amiga</a>, many iterations on PC, then the Xbox 360. It’s available on the current generation of consoles, on phones and there is even a virtual reality version. All with the same essential gameplay. You can’t really mess with near perfection.</p>
<p>Having grown up with <a href="https://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/what-is-8-bit-graphics-and-how-it%E2%80%99s-used-nowadays">8-bit graphics</a>, it’s fascinating to watch my students, born decades after Tetris, copying that retro style for their modern games design.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A computer game animation shows a platform set against a blue sky, where various coloured blocks are mounted up." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519808/original/file-20230406-24-7ntf7e.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 2012 game, Fez, was designed by Phil Fish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fez_%28video_game%29_screenshot_05.png">Polytron Corporation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When Phil Fish designed his game <a href="http://fezgame.com">Fez</a>, a successor to Tetris as a video game puzzler, he wanted to depict the remains of an ancient civilisation, but a video game ancient civilisation. </p>
<p>Look closely at the stone ruins of this long-dead race. They are made from recognisable, odd-shaped blocks: a squat Z, S and T, an L, a J, a square and lastly the ever useful long bar.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Scarle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cold war intrigue and an international legal fight were behind one of the most popular video games ever.Simon Scarle, Senior Lecturer in Games Development, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2029442023-04-04T03:38:26Z2023-04-04T03:38:26ZI used to work at Google and now I’m an AI researcher. Here’s why slowing down AI development is wise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519175/original/file-20230404-26-k992e9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chuttersnap / Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Is it time to put the brakes on the development of artificial intelligence (AI)? If you’ve quietly asked yourself that question, you’re not alone.</p>
<p>In the past week, a host of AI luminaries signed an <a href="https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/">open letter</a> calling for a six-month pause on the development of more powerful models than <a href="https://openai.com/product/gpt-4">GPT-4</a>; European researchers <a href="https://www.law.kuleuven.be/ai-summer-school/open-brief/open-letter-manipulative-ai">called</a> for tighter AI regulations; and long-time AI researcher and critic Eliezer Yudkowsky demanded <a href="https://time.com/6266923/ai-eliezer-yudkowsky-open-letter-not-enough/">a complete shutdown of AI development</a> in the pages of TIME magazine.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the industry shows no sign of slowing down. In March, a senior AI executive at Microsoft <a href="https://www.platformer.news/p/microsoft-just-laid-off-one-of-its">reportedly</a> spoke of “very, very high” pressure from chief executive Satya Nadella to get GPT-4 and other new models to the public “at a very high speed”.</p>
<p>I worked at Google until 2020, when I left to study responsible AI development, and now I research human-AI creative collaboration. I am excited about the potential of artificial intelligence, and I believe it is already ushering in a new era of creativity. However, I believe a temporary pause in the development of more powerful AI systems is a good idea. Let me explain why.</p>
<h2>What is GPT-4 and what is the letter asking for?</h2>
<p>The open letter published by the US non-profit <a href="https://futureoflife.org">Future of Life Institute</a> makes a straightforward request of AI developers: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We call on all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So what is GPT-4? Like its predecessor GPT-3.5 (which powers the popular ChatGPT chatbot), GPT-4 is a kind of generative AI software called a “large language model”, developed by OpenAI.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/evolution-not-revolution-why-gpt-4-is-notable-but-not-groundbreaking-201858">Evolution not revolution: why GPT-4 is notable, but not groundbreaking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>GPT-4 is much larger and has been trained on significantly more data. Like other large language models, GPT-4 works by guessing the next word in response to prompts – but it is nonetheless incredibly capable. </p>
<p>In tests, it passed legal and medical exams, and can write software better than professionals in many cases. And its full range of abilities is <a href="https://openai.com/research/gpt-4">yet to be discovered</a>.</p>
<h2>Good, bad, and plain disruptive</h2>
<p>GPT-4 and models like it are likely to have huge effects across many layers of society.</p>
<p>On the upside, they could enhance human creativity and scientific discovery, lower barriers to learning, and be used in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL923loG1G4">personalised educational tools</a>. On the downside, they could facilitate personalised phishing attacks, produce disinformation at scale, and be used to hack through the network security around computer systems that control <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA1sNLL6yg4">vital infrastructure</a>.</p>
<p>OpenAI’s <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130">own research</a> suggests models like GPT-4 are “general-purpose technologies” which will impact some 80% of the US workforce.</p>
<h2>Layers of civilisation and the pace of change</h2>
<p>The US writer Stewart Brand has <a href="https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/issue3-brand/release/2">argued</a> that a “healthy civilisation” requires different systems or layers to move at different speeds: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The fast layers innovate; the slow layers stabilise. The whole combines learning with continuity.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518955/original/file-20230403-24-i9tehp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">According to the ‘pace layers’ model, different layers of a healthy civilisation move at different speeds, from the slow movement of nature to the rapid shifts of fashion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/issue3-brand/release/2">Stewart Brand / Journal of Design and Science</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Brand’s “pace layers” model, the bottom layers change more slowly than the top layers. </p>
<p>Technology is usually placed near the top, somewhere between fashion and commerce. Things like regulation, economic systems, security guardrails, ethical frameworks, and other aspects exist in the slower governance, infrastructure and culture layers. </p>
<p>Right now, technology is accelerating much faster than our capacity to understand and regulate it – and if we’re not careful it will also drive changes in those lower layers that are too fast for safety.</p>
<p>The US sociobiologist E.O. Wilson <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00016553;jsessionid=B16472C263BC86A58761AD3414367819">described</a> the dangers of a mismatch in the different paces of change like so:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Are there good reasons to maintain the current rapid pace?</h2>
<p>Some argue that if top AI labs slow down, other unaligned players or countries like China will outpace them. </p>
<p>However, training complex AI systems is not easy. OpenAI is ahead of its US competitors (including Google and Meta), and developers in China and other countries also lag behind. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely that “rogue groups” or governments will surpass GPT-4’s capabilities in the foreseeable future. Most AI talent, knowledge, and computing infrastructure is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/27/amazon-google-scramble-to-keep-pace-with-openai-despite-huge-ai-teams/10593f66-cc5d-11ed-8907-156f0390d081_story.html">concentrated</a> in a handful of top labs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-chatbots-with-chinese-characteristics-why-baidus-chatgpt-rival-may-never-measure-up-202109">AI chatbots with Chinese characteristics: why Baidu's ChatGPT rival may never measure up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.dair-institute.org/blog/letter-statement-March2023">Other critics</a> of the Future of Life Institute letter say it relies on an overblown perception of current and future AI capabilities. </p>
<p>However, whether or not you believe AI will reach a state of general superintelligence, it is undeniable that this technology will impact many facets of human society. Taking the time to let our systems adjust to the pace of change seems wise. </p>
<h2>Slowing down is wise</h2>
<p>While there is plenty of room for disagreement over specific details, I believe the Future of Life Institute letter points in a wise direction: to take ownership of the pace of technological change. </p>
<p>Despite what we have seen of the disruption caused by social media, Silicon Valley still tends to follow Facebook’s infamous motto of “<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-innovation-2009-10?r=US&IR=T">move fast and break things</a>”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/has-gpt-4-really-passed-the-startling-threshold-of-human-level-artificial-intelligence-well-it-depends-202856">Has GPT-4 really passed the startling threshold of human-level artificial intelligence? Well, it depends</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>I believe a wise course of action is to slow down and think about where we want to take these technologies, allowing our systems and ourselves to adjust and engage in diverse, thoughtful conversations. It is not about stopping, but rather moving at a sustainable pace of progress. We can choose to steer this technology, rather than assume it has a life of its own that we can’t control. </p>
<p>After some thought, I have added my name to the list of signatories of the open letter, which the Future of Life Institute says now includes some 50,000 people. Although a six-month moratorium won’t solve everything, it would be useful: it sets the right intention, to prioritise reflection on benefits and risks over uncritical, accelerated, profit-motivated progress.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1635136281952026625"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rodolfo Ocampo worked at Google from 2018 to 2020.</span></em></p>Pausing AI development will give our governments and culture time to catch up with and steer the rush of new technology.Rodolfo Ocampo, PhD student, Human–AI Creative Collaboration, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2020462023-03-21T02:16:54Z2023-03-21T02:16:54ZGoogle and Microsoft are bringing AI to Word, Excel, Gmail and more. It could boost productivity for us – and cybercriminals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516540/original/file-20230321-18-civ0ma.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5993%2C3947&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services.</p>
<p>On March 16, <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-your-copilot-for-work/">Microsoft announced</a> an AI-powered system called Copilot will soon be introduced to its 365 suite apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams.</p>
<p>The news came about two days after <a href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/ai-developers-google-cloud-workspace/">Google published</a> a blog explaining its plans to embed AI into its Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Chat.</p>
<p>Collectively, millions of people use these apps each day. Bolstering them with AI could provide a major productivity boost – as long as security isn’t an afterthought. </p>
<h2>The advent of generative AI</h2>
<p>Until recently AI was mainly used for categorisation and identification tasks, such as recognising a number plate using a traffic camera. </p>
<p>Generative AI allows users to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-generative-ai-technology-behind-openais-chatgpt-2023-03-17/">create</a> new content, by applying deep-learning algorithms to big data. <a href="https://chat-gpt.org/">ChatGPT</a> and <a href="https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2">DALL-E</a>, among others, have already taken the world by storm. </p>
<p>Now, Microsoft and Google have found a more concrete way to bring generative AI into our offices and classrooms. </p>
<p>Like other generative AI tools, Copilot and Workspace AI are built on large language models (LLM) trained on massive amounts of data. Through this training, the systems have “learned” many rules and patterns that can be applied to new content and contexts.</p>
<p>Microsoft’s Copilot is being trialled with just 20 customers, with details about availability and pricing to <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-your-copilot-for-work/">be released</a> “in the coming months”.</p>
<p>Copilot will be integrated across apps to help expedite tedious or repetitive tasks. For example, it will:</p>
<ul>
<li>help users write, edit and summarise Word documents</li>
<li>turn ideas or summaries into full PowerPoint presentations</li>
<li>identify data trends in Excel and quickly create visualisations</li>
<li>“synthesise and manage” your Outlook inbox</li>
<li>provide real-time summaries of Teams meetings</li>
<li>bring together data from across documents, presentations, email, calendar, notes and contacts to help write emails and summarise chats.</li>
</ul>
<p>Assuming it executes these tasks effectively, Copilot will be a massive upgrade from Microsoft’s original Office Assistant, Clippy. </p>
<p>Google’s Workspace AI will offer similar capabilities for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/14/google-workspace-ai/">paying subscribers</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1635627596288348160"}"></div></p>
<h2>What’s under the hood?</h2>
<p>Microsoft described Copilot as a</p>
<blockquote>
<p>sophisticated processing and orchestration engine working behind the scenes to combine the power of LLMs, including GPT-4 […].</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We don’t know specifically which data GPT-4 itself was trained on, just that it was a lot of data taken from the internet and licensed, according to <a href="https://openai.com/research/gpt-4">OpenAI</a>.</p>
<p>Google’s Workspace AI is built on <a href="https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/03/14/generative-ai-is-heading-to-google-workspace-google-cloud">PaLM</a> (Pathways Language Model), which <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2204.02311">was trained</a> on a combination of books, Wikipedia articles, news articles, source codes, filtered webpages, and social media conversations.</p>
<p>Both systems are integrated into existing cloud infrastructure. This means all the data they are applied to will already be online and stored in company servers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up of a laptop screen, which has a window open with information about Microsoft's 365 Copilot software." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516544/original/file-20230321-18-yxltlq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microsoft says users’ content and prompts won’t be used to train the Copilot AI.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The tools will <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-your-copilot-for-work/">need full access</a> to the relevant content in order to provide contextualised responses. For instance, Copilot can’t distil a 16-page Word document into one page of bullet points without first analysing the text.</p>
<p>This raises the question: will users’ information be used to train the underlying models?</p>
<p>In relation to this point, <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-your-copilot-for-work/">Microsoft</a> has said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Copilot’s large language models are not trained on customer content or on individual prompts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Google <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/generative-ai-for-businesses-and-governments/">has said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] private data is kept private, and not used in the broader foundation model training corpus.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These statements suggest the 16-page document itself won’t be used to train the algorithms. Rather, Copilot and Workspace AI will process the data in real-time. </p>
<p>Given the rush to develop such AI tools, there may be temptation to train such tools on “real” customer-specific data in the future. For now, however, it seems this is being explicitly excluded. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/evolution-not-revolution-why-gpt-4-is-notable-but-not-groundbreaking-201858">Evolution not revolution: why GPT-4 is notable, but not groundbreaking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Usability concerns</h2>
<p>As many people noted following ChatGPT’s release, text-based generative AI tools <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/02/21/1068893/how-openai-is-trying-to-make-chatgpt-safer-and-less-biased/">are prone to</a> algorithmic bias. These concerns will extend to the new tools from Google and Microsoft. </p>
<p>The outputs of generative AI tools can be riddled with inaccuracies and prejudice. Microsoft’s own Bing chatbot, which also runs on GPT-4, came <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/02/16/bing-chatbots-unhinged-responses-going-viral/?sh=67d0275e110c">under fire</a> earlier this year for making <a href="https://theconversation.com/gaslighting-love-bombing-and-narcissism-why-is-microsofts-bing-ai-so-unhinged-200164">outrageous claims</a>.</p>
<p>Bias occurs when large volumes of data are processed without appropriate selection or understanding of the training data, and without proper oversight of training processes.</p>
<p>For example, much of the content online is written in English – which is likely <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-bias-problem-techs-white-male-workforce/">the main language</a> spoken by the (mostly <a href="https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/2019/04/18/stem-diversity-ai-white-male-bias/">white and male</a>) people developing AI tools. This underlying bias can influence the writing style and language constructs understood by, and subsequently replicated by, AI-driven systems.</p>
<p>For now, it’s hard to say exactly how issues of bias might present in Copilot or Workspace AI. As one example, the systems may simply not work as effectively for people in non-English-speaking countries, or with diverse styles of English.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-threatens-language-diversity-more-needs-to-be-done-to-protect-our-differences-in-the-age-of-ai-198878">ChatGPT threatens language diversity. More needs to be done to protect our differences in the age of AI</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Security concerns</h2>
<p>One major vulnerability in Microsoft’s and Google’s AI tools is they could make it much easier for cybercriminals to bleed victims dry. </p>
<p>Whereas before a criminal may have needed to trawl through hundreds of files or emails to find specific data, they can now use AI-assisted features to quickly collate and extract what they need.</p>
<p>Also, since there’s so far no indication of offline versions being made available, anyone wanting to use these systems will have to upload the relevant content online. Data uploaded online are at greater risk of being breached than data stored only on your computer or phone. </p>
<p>Finally, from a privacy perspective, it’s not particularly inspiring to see yet more avenues through which the biggest corporations in the world can collect and synthesise our data.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-is-a-data-privacy-nightmare-if-youve-ever-posted-online-you-ought-to-be-concerned-199283">ChatGPT is a data privacy nightmare. If you’ve ever posted online, you ought to be concerned</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The new tools are expected to free up space for workers by helping out with tedious and repetitive task. Here’s how it will work.Mohiuddin Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security, Edith Cowan UniversityPaul Haskell-Dowland, Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.