Five Top Tech Takeaways: AI Aces Math Test, NYT sues OpenAI for Copyrights, Samsung's AI Phones, Meta's AI Shift, and EVs Found Frozen in Chicago

DeepMind's AlphaGeometry: A Breakthrough in AI's Math Abilities

Google DeepMind's latest AI system, AlphaGeometry, represents a significant step in AI development by successfully solving complex high-school geometry problems. This advancement, showcased in a Nature publication, indicates a new level of reasoning and planning in AI, a crucial aspect for future artificial general intelligence (AGI). Unlike current generative AI models that struggle with multi-step problems like advanced math, AlphaGeometry was trained on a large, synthetically generated dataset. Though not yet part of Google's Gemini AI model, AlphaGeometry has potential applications in educational settings and has been open-sourced to encourage widespread use and development.

Key Takeaways:

• AlphaGeometry by DeepMind solves high-school level geometry, marking a major AI milestone.
• The system overcomes a common AI challenge of multi-step reasoning and planning.
• Google open-sources AlphaGeometry, paving the way for broader AI educational applications.

(Source: BNN Bloomberg)

New York Times vs. Tech: A Legal Showdown Over AI and Copyright

The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement due to the use of the Times' articles to train their large language models, which power ChatGPT and Copilot. The lawsuit claims that these AI models can produce content that either directly replicates or closely summarizes the Times' articles, impacting the publication's relationship with its readers and financial streams such as subscriptions and advertising. The complaint further asserts that these AI technologies endanger high-quality journalism by undermining news outlets' ability to protect and monetize their content. The Times argues that while the use of its content has been financially beneficial for Microsoft and OpenAI, its attempts to negotiate fair compensation have been unsuccessful. OpenAI has expressed surprise at the lawsuit, noting ongoing discussions with the Times, while Microsoft has not yet responded to the allegations. In addition to seeking damages, the Times is requesting the court to prevent the use of its content in training AI models and to remove its content from existing datasets.

Key Takeaways:

• The New York Times accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of copyright infringement for using its content in training AI models like ChatGPT and Copilot.
• The lawsuit highlights concerns about AI's impact on journalism and the financial implications for news outlets.
• The Times seeks compensation, removal of its content from AI datasets, and a halt to its future use in AI model training.

(Source: The Verge)

Galaxy S24 Series: Samsung's Bid in the AI Smartphone Race

Samsung's Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus have debuted with a focus on AI, incorporating features like search, translation, and message composition enhancements, processed mainly by Samsung's Gauss generative AI model. Despite sporting familiar designs, these models offer improvements in note organization, real-time language translation, and enhanced photo editing, powered by AI. However, some features seem derivative of existing technologies, and there's skepticism about Samsung's commitment to AI as a sustainable innovation rather than a fleeting trend. The hardware updates include a better camera system and slightly larger batteries, while retaining a design reminiscent of previous models.

Key Takeaways:

• Samsung introduces AI-focused features in Galaxy S24 series, emphasizing generative AI capabilities.
• The Galaxy S24's design remains largely unchanged, raising questions about Samsung's innovation focus.
• Skepticism exists over whether Samsung's AI integration is a true advancement or just a trend-following move.

(Source: Engadget)

Tesla Charging Woes in Chicago's Deep Freeze

In Chicago, numerous Tesla vehicles were unable to charge at Supercharger stations during an extreme cold wave, with temperatures dropping to 2F (-19C) and feeling like -20F (-29C) with wind chill. This situation led to several Teslas being towed to local service centers due to their inability to start charging. While cold weather commonly impacts both electric and gas-powered vehicles, this incident highlights a rare case where electric vehicles, specifically Teslas, couldn't charge at all. The issue underscores the challenges that extreme weather can pose for electric vehicle infrastructure and functionality. 

Key Takeaways:

• Extreme cold in Chicago led to Tesla vehicles being unable to charge at Supercharger stations.
• The severe weather resulted in several Teslas needing to be towed for service.
• This incident highlights the impact of extreme temperatures on electric vehicle charging capabilities.

(Source: Electrek)

Meta's AI Pivot: Integrating Teams, Scaling Up GPU Resources

Meta is intensifying its AI initiatives by integrating its AI research and generative AI teams and significantly expanding its GPU infrastructure, with plans to acquire around 600,000 GPUs, including 350,000 from Nvidia, by the end of the year. This move positions Meta among the leaders in technology infrastructure, surpassing Amazon and Oracle's GPU counts. Alongside this expansion, Meta has launched several AI-driven products, such as the Llama language model, AI-enabled ad tools, and a chatbot for Ray-Ban smart glasses. These efforts align with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's focus on enhancing AI capabilities to support Meta's transition towards an AR/VR-centric metaverse.

Key Takeaways:

• Meta is merging its AI research and generative AI teams to bolster its AI product development.
• The company plans to amass a vast GPU arsenal, aiming for around 600,000 units, to support its AI ambitions.
• These developments tie into Meta's strategic shift towards an AR/VR-driven metaverse, as envisioned by Zuckerberg.

(Source: Reuters)

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.

Five Top Tech Takeaways: Nvidia's Billions, UN on AI & Jobs, Smucker's Approach to Hybrid, RoboTaxis Put on Pause and more

RoboTaxis Are Stopped

Nvidia Outpaces Rivals: How AI Fuels the Trillion-Dollar Company

Nvidia continues its meteoric rise in the tech world, fueled by unprecedented growth in its AI division. In its Q2 2024 earnings report, Nvidia disclosed a staggering $13.5 billion in revenue, with $10.32 billion coming from data center sales. The revenue in data centers more than doubled within just one quarter. Overall, the company made a profit of $6.188 billion, marking an 843% YoY increase. While the PC industry wanes, Nvidia's generative AI chips have found enormous demand. Moreover, the company is optimistic about the gaming sector, which rose 22% YoY to $2.48 billion in revenue. Nvidia is also forecasting a revenue of $16 billion in the next quarter, attributing much of the expected growth to its data center sector. Their next AI chip, GH200, is scheduled for a mid-2024 release, which aims to cater to growing demand. Meanwhile, rivals like Intel and AMD are yet to pose serious competition in the generative AI chip market. (Source: TheVerge)

Why AI Won't Spell Doom for Jobs: The UN's Take

A United Nations expert, Ekkehard Ernst, refutes the common notion that AI and robots will replace human labor in manufacturing sectors, especially in developed countries. Instead, jobs in the service sectors like construction, health care, and business are most likely to undergo transformation. Ernst suggests that AI will automate routine tasks, freeing humans to focus on emotional and interpersonal skills. In developing nations, sectors like agriculture are benefiting from AI. The impact of AI on labor markets can be shaped by local, national, and global policies, and isn't pre-ordained. Ernst argues that a broad skill set and flexible regulatory framework are crucial for optimizing the opportunities presented by AI. (Source: UN)

Tornado Cash Founders in Legal Turmoil: What It Means for Crypto

Tornado Cash co-founders Roman Storm and Roman Semenov are facing serious legal charges in the U.S., including conspiracy to commit money laundering, following the Department of Justice's unsealed indictment.  This comes after U.S. sanctions on Tornado Cash and the arrest of third co-founder Alexey Pertsev in the Netherlands. Roman Semenov has also been sanctioned for alleged support to North Korean hackers via the privacy tool. The case has wide-ranging implications, sparking debates about the legality of open-source development and unlicensed money transmission in the crypto space. Regulatory inconsistency also seems apparent, as the charges contradict FinCEN's 2019 guidance stating that "anonymizing software providers are not money transmitters. (Source: Forbes)

In terms of background on the company, Tornado Cash is a decentralized non-custodial privacy solution built on the Ethereum blockchain-based zero-knowledge proofs. It is an open-source, fully decentralized cryptocurrency tumbler that runs on Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks². Tornado Cash offers a service that mixes potentially identifiable or "tainted" cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to obscure the trail back to the fund's original source. (For more see: Coingecko, Wikipedia)

J.M. Smucker’s Tailored Hybrid Strategy: A Case Study

J.M. Smucker has adopted a unique return-to-office strategy, setting it apart from other U.S. companies. The company, known for its diverse portfolio of brands from Jif peanut butter to Folgers coffee, has designed its headquarters to include a variety of specialized spaces, such as a coffee-tasting room and a mock grocery store. The hybrid strategy is tailored to accommodate the unique needs of different departments, allowing for a blend of remote and in-person work. The company expects its roughly 1,300 Orrville-based corporate workers to be on site as little as six days a month, amounting to about 25% of the time, depending on their roles. Employees are guided to meet this requirement by attending 22 'core' weeks a year. Remarkably, the strategy allows many employees to live anywhere in the U.S., as long as they cover their travel expenses to Orrville for these core weeks. This has led to a rising number of 'super-commuters' who live elsewhere but work in Orrville. The approach aims to leverage the company's historical strengths while adapting to the evolving work landscape. (Source: WSJ)

GM Agrees to Halve its Robotaxi Fleet Amid Ongoing Investigations

California's Department of Motor Vehicles has called for General Motors' self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, to halve its active fleet after two incidents involving the autonomous vehicles (AVs) occurred in San Francisco. The move comes shortly after Cruise was green-lit by California authorities to charge for robotaxi services around the city at all times of the day. One incident involved a collision with a fire truck, resulting in a passenger requiring hospital treatment for minor injuries. Another collision happened when a car ran a red light and struck a Cruise AV. A separate incident involved a Cruise AV driving into wet concrete. These developments pose significant challenges for the AV industry, emphasizing the complexity of creating fully autonomous, safe vehicles. (Source: CNN)

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.

The Furious Five for June 13: Tech and Business Stories You May Have Missed

The EV Charger to Rule them All

Apple Unveils is Vision Pro Headset: Are we Ready for Spatial Computing?

Apple has announced its much awaited VR headset. Last week, they unveiled the Vision Pro Headset, which is designed to seamlessly blend digital content with the physical world. This much awaited device allows users to interact with a three-dimensional user interface controlled by eye movements, hand gestures, and voice commands, and is powered by visionOS, the world's first spatial operating system. Careful to separate themselves from the competition, they classified the Vision Pro as their first spatial computer. The Vision Pro Headset is priced at $3,499 and is slated for release in early 2024. (Sources: Apple, Wired) 

For a great summary on Apple's latest, check out Cold Fusion's review:

Crypto Crackdown Continues: SEC Sues Binance and Coinbase

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Binance and Changpeng Zhao (Binance’s Canadian founder and controlling shareholder) for operating an illegal trading platform in the U.S. and misusing customers’ funds. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC said that Binance and Zhao misused customers’ funds and diverted them to a trading entity that Zhao controlled. That trading firm, Sigma Chain, engaged in manipulative trading (known as "wash trading") that made Binance’s volume appear larger than it actually was, the SEC said. Binance also concealed that it commingled billions of dollars in customer assets and sent them to a third-party, Merit Peak, which was owned by Zhao, the SEC alleged. The SEC filed the case in federal court in the District of Columbia and is asking a federal judge to freeze Binance’s assets and appoint a receiver. (Source: WSJ)

SEC then filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, for allegedly operating as an unregistered broker and exchange. Unlike Binance, Coinbase is listed on the NASDAQ and hence regulated by the SEC. The SEC claims that Coinbase violated rules that require it to register as an exchange and be overseen by the federal agency. Coinbase has denied the allegations and intends to defend itself in court. The SEC’s strategy has centered on using its enforcement division to subdue crypto companies and show why its regulations apply to crypto activities, with increasing focus on the biggest players rather than just the companies and currencies at the margins. Coinbase pushed back on Tuesday, accusing the SEC of taking an “enforcement-only approach” with the crypto industry in the absence of clear rules. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, had the following take:  

“The solution is legislation that allows fair rules for the road to be developed transparently and applied equally, not litigation,” Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, said in a statement. “In the meantime, we’ll continue to operate our business as usual.” The lawsuits are part of a growing regulatory crackdown on the crypto industry in the post-FTX fallout. (Source: WSJ)

Global Tech Giants Bet Big on AI, Back Cohere with $270M Funding

AI startup Cohere has raised $270M in a Series C financing round, attracting investors from around the globe and notable tech firms like NVIDIA, Oracle, and Salesforce Ventures. This surge in investment underlines the growing recognition of AI as a critical driver of business success in the coming decade. The round was led by Inovia Capital and included participation from investors in the USA, Canada, Korea, the UK, and Germany. Cohere's CEO, Aidan Gomez, emphasized the company's readiness to lead in the next phase of AI products and services that will revolutionize business, while NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, hailed Cohere's contributions to generative AI as foundational. (Source: Cohere)

GM and Ford's EVs to Plug into Tesla's Charging Network

General Motors (GM) and Ford electric vehicles will gain access to Tesla’s vast U.S. charging network starting early next year. Both GM and Ford are aligning their electric vehicles to be compatible with approximately 12,000 out of Tesla's 17,000 chargers. The Detroit auto giants are advocating to establish Tesla's connector as the industry standard. At first, GM and Ford EV owners will need an adapter to hook into the Tesla stations, but both GM and Ford will switch to Tesla’s North American Charging Standard connector starting with new EVs produced in 2025. (Source: CBC, CNBC)

Data Management: An Inescapable Necessity in the World of Generative AI

As interest in Generative AI rises, the importance of robust data management in businesses comes to the fore. Efficient data storage, filtering, and protection are necessary for successful AI integration. A properly structured data management system is essential for companies to effectively utilize large language models. A key concern for these companies is the quality of data, which must be well-structured, relevant, and organized for effective AI training. Therefore, firms must carefully cleanse, categorize, and format their data to avoid retaining useless information. As highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, organizations such as Syneos Health are prioritizing such data cleansing efforts. Syneos spent roughly 18 months prepping this repository for AI model training and construction. This process involved a team of data scientists and business experts who created centralized, reusable machine-learning elements. (Source: WSJ)

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.

Telsa Autopilot Fatality: Let's not blame the robots...yet.

By now most have heard of the fiery crash involving a Tesla roadster. This episode from the Young Turks does a good job at examining incident:

For more sensationalist coverage of the incident, watch the following:


The gentlemen at the end of the video notes how he would never trust a computer to drive him and his family.

So are such fears of computers warranted? 

If you look at the original press release from Tesla, it notes:

"What we know is that the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to the Model S. Neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied. The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S. Had the Model S impacted the front or rear of the trailer, even at high speed, its advanced crash safety system would likely have prevented serious injury as it has in numerous other similar incidents."

So analyzing the incident both the auto-pilot system and the driver didn't recognize the truck in the distance. With the fear of robots, it's easy to fan the flames of "robotophobia" and quickly blame the robots. For example, some could claim the driver would have been vigilant had he not had such an auto-pilot system. But this is mere speculation and hard to prove. 

A couple other things should be noted when evaluating this incident.

• Robot record is superior to the human only record: As Tesla has noted, that the car has driven safely 130 million miles, contrasting this to a fatality every 94 million miles driven in the US and 60 million world wide. In other words, the robot record is superior to the human only record. 
• What about the times the robot has saved people from crashes? The other problem is how do you balance this bad news with the good news that never gets reported. This refers to the time the autopilot acted to save the human beings from crashes. It similar to investments in information security that save the company from countless malware incidents. However, because nothing happens no one really notices the value of technology. Similarly, we're not able to balance the "fear, uncertainty, doubt" associated with this incident with all the times the auto-pilot system actually avoided a crash. 

The incident does point out, however, a bigger looming issue of how human beings and machines work together. Despite the caveats, people are already eager to let the auto-pilot drive them around. And really why not? Commuting is giant waste of time and we could be more productive while letting the computer drive us around. 

Nicholas Carr explores this issue in his latest book The Glass Cage. In the book, he explore how the more reliant we are on a technology, the less connected we are to the world. For example, by moving from manual to automatic transmission, in his opinion, driving is less fun. He also points out how airplane pilots are really just babysitting the computer that actually flies the plane. The trouble occurs when there is a crisis situation where the pilots are unable to handle the situation because they have lost their ability to actually fly planes. 

To be fair, this was not the issue in the Tesla crash - it's way too soon to say that the individual driving the car was overly dependent on the car. However, it is plausible to see how this will occur quite quickly if someone like Google were to offer driverless cars to the massed (as I noted in this  post). However, the government didn't made it mandatory to learn to ride a horse - just in case all the cars stopped worked. So I doubt they will force us to learn to drive cars, just in case the autonomous cars stop driving. 

NYT vs Tesla: Sustainability, Electric Cars and Data Audits

On February 10th, the New York Times posted a negative review of the Tesla S Sports car. The article entitled, "Stalled Out on Tesla’s Electric Highway", painted a bleak picture of the ability of the Tesla to keep its charge and travel long distances. This is obviously a big concern for those that would purchase such a car.  The reporter who drove the car noted the following with respect to his experience during the test drive:

• Charge was dropping faster than anticipated.
• In order to extend the charge, the reporter reduced the temperature to the point where he was feeling uncomfortable.
• The reporter barely made it to the next charging station, even though he should have been able to make it (easily) based on the amount of charge indicated at the outset of his journey.
• Car did not retain its charge overnight after. When the reporter went to sleep it stated 79 miles was required, but in the morning it stated that 25 miles was remaining
• On another leg of the trip the reporter never made it to the next charge station, even though the driver drove the car at a modest 45 miles per hour. Instead, the car shut down on the road, requiring the reporter to wait 45 minutes for the car to be put on the flat bed truck.

Billionaire Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla and founder of PayPal, was not going to take this review lying down. As it turns out, the Tesla S sports car had data logs recording the drivers actions. So, Elon reviewed the logs and fired back with the following post, disputing the claims of the NY Times article. He noted the following:

• The temperature was not turned down, but instead turned up to 74 degrees.
• Insufficient time was spent charging the car (47 minutes instead of 59 minutes).
• On the last leg of the trip where the car died, the reporter actually missed the recharge station.
• He drove between 61 and 81 mph, well beyond the 45 mph claimed.

The blog post also points a link to the following article, highlighting that the report had previously noted that electric cars were "dismal, the victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate", pointing to the writer's bias against electric cars. 

Of course, the report was also not going to take this rebuttal lying down either. And so he fired back with the following "rebuttal of the rebuttal". (I am not going to summarize what he said, but you can read it there).

The point is who is correct? 

Although Tesla is stating that the reporter has an axe to grind, the same argument can be made against Tesla. That is, they want electric cars to be viewed favourably so that their company succeeds. 

And that's where the importance of data audits and system controls come in.

How do we know the logs that Tesla are using are not tampered with? What are the system controls that are in place to ensure that there is data integrity? 

The importance of this topic goes beyond a tussle between a media outlet and company. What's really being discussed is here is environmental sustainability. The tussle illustrates the increasing importance of data for society to make critical judgments on how to think about sustainability. And this goes to my next question: are assurance practitioners ready to tackle these types of third party reporting challenges? 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, auditing information is skill that goes beyond the actual information being audited. In terms of the Tesla car, audit procedures could be performed to see whether there were controls over the data logs exist to ensure they were not tampered with,  the sensors that report the data generated could also be tested for completeness, accuracy and validity, etc. For example, Musk claims that the car never ran out of energy, where as the reporter (in his rebuttal) claims it did. So is it the reporter right and the sensors wrong? Or the sensors right and the reporter are wrong? You can only know if someone independent of the NYT and Tesla tested the controls. 

As we know from the increased interest in big data (e.g. it was a big part of the last US federal election), these types of disagreements are going to become more common place. It illustrates the financial auditors need to become more proficient in technology and be able to port over their skills from one arena of financial information to sustainability, etc.

However, the world waits for no one. 

Non-accountants have already started to dabble in the world of assurance. Although not an audit per se, CloudAudit  is an attempt by members of the Cloud Security Alliance to allow potential cloud customers to view "audit artifacts" (which I would translate to source documents or audit evidence) maintained by a cloud service provider and gain some comfort over the state system controls at the cloud customer. Consequently, if audit professionals choose to stay on the sidelines and stick to the traditional financial audit, some other tech savvy professional group will be needed to fill this gap.