Five Top Tech Takeaways: More OpenAI Drama, AI Ascends in Consulting, Google Splinters, and Apple's AI Goes Premium at $20

McKinsey: 40% projects involve AI

1. Google Faces Potential Breakup Amid Antitrust Battle

The U.S. Department of Justice is exploring options to address Google's illegal monopoly over the online search market, following a recent court ruling. Potential actions include breaking up Google's parent company, Alphabet, by divesting key assets such as the Android operating system, AdWords, and the Chrome web browser. The ruling marks a significant victory for federal efforts to curb the dominance of major tech companies, with further antitrust action against Google on the horizon.

• The U.S. Department of Justice may consider breaking up Alphabet’s Google, potentially divesting major assets like Android, AdWords, and Chrome.
• The court ruling found Google spent billions to create an illegal monopoly, marking a major victory in federal efforts against big tech.
• Google is appealing the decision, while facing another antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice next month.

Source: The Guardian

2. OpenAI Leadership Exodus: Schulman Departs, Brockman Takes Leave

OpenAI is undergoing a significant leadership shakeup as co-founder John Schulman departs for Anthropic and president Greg Brockman takes a sabbatical. These changes follow other high-profile exits, sparking speculation about internal conflicts and the company's future direction. Despite these challenges, OpenAI has upcoming projects like SearchGPT and Sora, which may help restore momentum.

• OpenAI co-founder John Schulman has left for rival company Anthropic, while co-founder and president Greg Brockman is taking a sabbatical.
• These departures add to a series of high-profile exits, raising concerns about internal disagreements over the company’s mission and safety priorities.
• Despite the shakeup, OpenAI has promising projects in the pipeline, including SearchGPT and the AI video generator Sora, which could revive interest in the company.

Source: Mashable

3. AI Brings Back Hollywood Icons: The Rise of Ethical Voice Cloning

Hollywood’s golden age stars are being revived through AI voice cloning deals, offering a glimpse into how the industry is tackling concerns over unauthorized AI impersonations. ElevenLabs, an audio technology startup, has secured agreements with the estates of iconic actors like Burt Reynolds and Judy Garland to use their voices in AI-generated audiobooks. This trend highlights a potential path for ethical AI use in the entertainment industry, balancing innovation with respect for the legacies of deceased celebrities.

• ElevenLabs has struck deals with the estates of classic Hollywood stars to use AI-generated versions of their voices for audiobooks, including icons like James Dean and Judy Garland.
• The deals could set a precedent for controlled, ethical AI voice cloning, addressing concerns about unauthorized impersonation in the industry.
• Despite the advancements, the debate continues over the impact of AI on voice actors, with some seeing it as a new revenue stream and others as a threat.

Source: CNBC

4. Apple’s AI Strategy: $20 Subscription for Premium Intelligence Features

Apple is considering charging users up to $20 for its advanced AI features, branded as "Apple Intelligence," as the company seeks to further monetize its services division. These premium AI tools, which include a more powerful Siri and automatic content generation, may be integrated into the Apple One subscription model. This move aligns with Apple's strategy of enhancing its service offerings to increase revenue, following a trend seen in other tech companies like Microsoft and OpenAI.

• Apple may charge $10 to $20 for its advanced AI features under the "Apple Intelligence" brand, possibly as part of its Apple One subscription service.
• The premium AI tools include enhancements to Siri and new features like automatic email and image generation.
• Apple’s strategy to monetize AI services could further lock in its loyal user base by offering personalized, behavior-driven experiences.

Source: CNBC

5. AI Boom: McKinsey Sees 40% of Client Projects Linked to AI

McKinsey & Co. is experiencing a surge in demand for AI-related consulting projects, which now account for 40% of its client work. This trend is helping the firm and its peers boost revenue amid a broader industry slowdown. Traditional sectors like banking and insurance are rapidly adopting AI, and McKinsey’s AI-focused unit, QuantumBlack, is growing quickly. The consulting giant is also preparing its workforce to adapt to AI, recognizing its crucial role in maintaining relevance in the market.

• AI-related projects now make up 40% of McKinsey’s client work, reflecting the rapid adoption of AI in industries like banking and insurance.
• The rise of AI is providing relief to the consulting industry, which has been facing a slowdown in demand for traditional services.
• McKinsey’s QuantumBlack unit is expanding rapidly, and the firm is focusing on training its workforce to integrate AI into their daily tasks.

Source: BNN Bloomberg 

Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist who is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own.

The Furious Five (July 4th): Two Approaches to Voice-Enabled-AI, N. Arica's First Hydrogen Train, and Is GenAI about Amplification, not Abdication?

The Content Amplifier

The Worker's Dilemma: Blindly Obey the AI or Go With What you Know?

This insightful article explores the tension that arises when AI's recommendations conflict with worker experience, highlighting the limitations of AI in understanding nuances that are not digitized. The AI's effectiveness is only as good as the data it is trained on. A significant part of the issue often arises when end-user employees are not consulted early enough in the AI integration process. Inclusion from the beginning, rather than after several steps have been taken, is crucial to avoid creating distrust among workers towards their employers and the technology being used. This lack of early consultation can lead to resistance and skepticism towards the AI tools, undermining their potential benefits. (Source: WSJ)

Revolutionizing Canadian Railways: North America's First Hydrogen Train

The first hydrogen-powered train in North America is now operational in central Quebec, offering a two-and-a-half-hour trip to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen as a green alternative to diesel fuel. The train, manufactured by French company Alstom, runs from Montmorency Falls in Quebec City to Baie-Saint-Paul, carrying up to 120 passengers. The train uses about 50 kilograms of hydrogen per day, replacing approximately 500 liters of diesel. The hydrogen is produced by Harnois Énergies using an electrolyzer that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity used in this process comes from Hydro-Quebec, which is primarily hydro-generated and almost fully decarbonized, making the resulting hydrogen green. The train emits only water vapor, a byproduct of the fuel cell process where hydrogen gas from the tank is combined with oxygen in the air to generate electricity. This project is part of Quebec's plan for a green economy by 2030, focusing on hydrogen to decarbonize sectors where conventional electrification isn't feasible. (Source: CBC)

About-Face on AI: Meta's Decision to Keep Voicebox Under Wraps

Meta has decided not to release its AI voice replication technology, Voicebox, due to potential misuse risks. Voicebox, which can replicate and imitate voices with high accuracy, has applications in audio editing, multilingual speech generation, and assistance for the visually impaired. However, concerns have been raised about its potential for misuse, such as scammers convincingly impersonating others. Even though Meta has published a detailed paper on Voicebox, offering insights into its workings and potential mitigation strategies, the company has chosen not to release the technology to prioritize responsibility over openness. This decision underscores the ethical and social questions surrounding AI innovation and the need to safeguard against unintended consequences. (Source: Ubergizmo)

Voice Design Meets Community: The Launch of Eleven Labs' Voice Library

In related news, Eleven Labs has launched the Voice Library, a community platform for generating, sharing, and exploring a vast range of synthetic voices. The platform uses their proprietary Voice Design tool, which allows users to create unique voices based on parameters such as age, gender, and accent. The voices are multilingual, maintaining their primary speech characteristics across all languages. The Voice Library is not just a repository, but a platform for discovery and sharing. Users can share their created voices with the community and browse voices shared by others for their own use-cases. All voices in the Voice Library are artificial and come with a free commercial use license. Users earn rewards when their shared voices are used by others. The company plans to add more features to the Voice Library in the future, including more labels for specific use-cases, language-specific voices and accents, improved search system, and time-limited and exclusive voices. The company previously came under fire for the troubles that Meta is looking to avoid. (Source: ElevenLabs)

Amplification, not Abdication: A Good Way to Look at Generative AI?

I've finally penned this Medium post, which makes the case that in the short term, the primary use case for generative AI will be to enable professionals and others to amplify their output. In other words, by inputting a few words, we can achieve a tenfold increase in output. Case-in-point: provide simple instructions, and you'll receive an email that requires only a few tweaks before it's ready to go. However, AI should not be used as an excuse to abdicate one's professional liability, as demonstrated by a lawyer who submitted fake cases manufactured by ChatGPT. To prove this point, the post conducts an 'A|B Test' that leverages Tim Ferriss's 4-hour work week. Specifically, I put generative AI to the test by assigning it tasks that were previously assigned to a remote virtual assistant (VA) located in India. Most of the post's length is taken up by the responses obtained from the generative AI, making it a quicker read than it appears at first glance. (Source: MalikAtMedium)

Author: Malik Datardina, CPA, CA, CISA. Malik works at Auvenir as a GRC Strategist that is working to transform the engagement experience for accounting firms and their clients. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent UWCISA, UW, Auvenir (or its affiliates), CPA Canada or anyone else. This post was written with the assistance of an AI language model. The model provided suggestions and completions to help me write, but the final content and opinions are my own