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.

Five Top Tech Takeaways: SBF Gets Locked Up, Coinbase's Canadian Foray, AI Startups vie with Giants, LK-99 Update, and a Mind-Reading Breakthrough

AI Startups In the Land of Giants

Judge Revokes Bankman-Fried's Bail; Over Witness Tampering Allegations

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was taken into custody after a judge agreed with federal prosecutors to revoke his bail due to alleged witness tampering. The decision came after a court hearing in New York, and Bankman-Fried was sent to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried's plea for delayed detention pending an appeal. The judge believed there was probable cause that Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with witnesses. Since his arrest in December, he had been on a $250 million bail and was required to stay at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California. The Justice Department accuses him of a "pattern of witness tampering and evading his bail conditions" through his interactions with the media. The defense argued that Bankman-Fried was exercising his first amendment rights. The prosecution's case was strengthened when Bankman-Fried leaked private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to the New York Times. Ellison, a former executive of Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, had pleaded guilty to federal charges and is cooperating with the government. The prosecution views Bankman-Fried's actions as an attempt to intimidate witnesses indirectly through the media. (Source: CNBC)

Coinbase Embraces Canadian Regulations, Integrates Interac e-transfer

Coinbase is expanding its Canadian operations, integrating Interac e-transfer to simplify transactions in the region and strengthening its presence with over 200 engineers. While other platforms like Binance are retreating from Canada due to tightening regulations by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), Coinbase has embraced these changes, signalling its commitment to the country. The company has complied with the CSA's new rules and has found a positive working relationship with Canadian regulators. Coinbase's CEO Brian Armstrong sees regulatory clarity as a foundation for further growth in the fintech field and remains optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies globally, even as the firm faces legal challenges in the U.S. (Source: Globe and Mail)

Mind-Reading Breakthrough: UC Berkeley Researchers Vocalize Thoughts.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have made significant progress in the development of devices that can vocalize human thoughts. This advancement could potentially aid patients who have lost their speech abilities due to strokes or brain injuries, allowing them to communicate in a more natural manner. In a notable experiment, the neuroscientists reconstructed Pink Floyd’s song "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1" using brain activity recordings from 29 patients who listened to the song during brain surgery. While the reconstructed version was not as refined as the original, it was identifiable. The study, which was published in PLOS Biology, demonstrates the potential of using brain-activity patterns to develop therapeutic technologies. Dr. Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon not involved in the study, highlighted the significance of the findings. The research aims to utilize this technology to create neural prosthetics that can restore natural speech abilities to patients. The algorithms developed were even able to reproduce partial vocals from the song. The choice of the Pink Floyd song was due to its balance of familiarity. The breakthrough raises questions about mental privacy, as the ability to interpret thoughts could be the next frontier in privacy concerns. (Source: WSJ)

The Quest for a Room-Temperature Superconductor Continues

The LK-99, initially believed to be a room-temperature superconductor, appears to have different properties than initially thought. Recent studies suggest that in its pure form, LK-99 behaves more like an insulator. This discovery came after the Quantum Energy Research Centre in Seoul, South Korea, shared their initial findings with great enthusiasm. The team had observed certain characteristics in LK-99 that resembled those of superconductors, such as partial levitation above a magnet and a notable drop in electrical resistance. While the initial findings were shared on a preprint server, which allows for rapid dissemination of research without peer review, it's evident that the team was genuinely excited about their discovery, even if subsequent studies have provided a different perspective. (Source: TechCrunch)

Big Tech's Dominance in AI Policy Discussions: Where Do Startups Stand?

In the rapidly evolving realm of generative AI, major players like Microsoft and OpenAI often dominate the conversation, especially when it comes to regulatory discussions. These industry giants have been at the forefront, engaging with policymakers and even entering agreements with the White House to promote responsible AI. However, there's growing concern that smaller AI entities, both commercial and non-commercial, are being overshadowed in these crucial discussions. While these larger companies are instrumental in shaping potential AI policies, smaller businesses, which also play a significant role in the AI ecosystem, are anxious about their limited influence on the outcomes of these regulations. Experts emphasize the importance of including a diverse range of stakeholders in the regulatory dialogue to ensure a balanced and inclusive approach to AI governance. (Source: TheVerge)

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: AI Bans at Work, Disney Hiring AI to Cut Costs, RoboTaxis are Here, Anxiety over Voyager 2 and ChatGPT can't add?

RoboTaxi Watching a Lost Satellite

BlackBerry Research Reveals Workplace Caution Against Generative AI 

BlackBerry's new research indicates that 75% of organizations globally are either implementing or considering bans on ChatGPT and other generative AI applications on work devices. The study involved 2,000 IT decision-makers from eight countries, with 61% of them considering a permanent ban. Risks to data security, privacy, and corporate reputation are driving up the decisions to take action, with 83% voicing concerns that unsecured apps pose a cybersecurity threat to their corporate IT environment. Despite this inclination towards blocking widespread use of the technology, most IT decision-makers recognize the opportunity for generative AI applications to have a positive impact in the workplace. (Source: CTV)

Robotaxis Take Over San Francisco: A Glimpse into Waymo and Cruise's Future

Driverless cars have become a common sight in San Francisco, with Waymo and Cruise offering robotaxi services to the public. These services work similarly to traditional ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft but are operated by autonomous vehicles. Currently, San Francisco is the only city where two companies provide 24/7 driverless services to the public, though there are limitations in areas of operation, and Waymo is yet to charge for its rides. Despite some minor safety incidents and political opposition, the experience with these services has been mostly positive, with conservative driving behavior and smooth rides. Waymo's current fleet consists of about 200 cars and is doing around 10,000 trips per week, aiming to increase this tenfold by next summer. Cruise, operating with 300 customized Chevy Bolt vehicles, averages 1,000 trips a day in San Francisco. Both companies are planning to expand, with Waymo seeking a permit to charge for rides and Cruise targeting $1 billion in robotaxi revenue by 2025. (Source: Bloomberg)

Magic or Menace? Disney's AI Task Force and the Debate Over Jobs in Hollywood

Walt Disney Company has formed a task force to study artificial intelligence (AI) applications across its various businesses, ranging from movie and TV production to theme parks and advertising. The task force aims to develop in-house AI solutions, forming partnerships with startups, and is looking to hire experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Disney's embrace of AI could help control the ever-increasing costs of producing big-budget films, enhance customer support in theme parks, and even create lifelike characters that interact with guests. Although the task force was established earlier in the year, the company's decision to hire during the writer's strike raised eyebrows. More broadly, the move towards AI has ignited tensions in Hollywood, particularly among writers and actors, who see AI as a threat to their livelihoods. This concern has become a central issue in contract negotiations with both the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA), resulting in an ongoing strike. (Source: Reuters)

Decline in ChatGPT's Mathematical Abilities: A New Research Study

New research from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley has revealed a decline in the mathematical abilities of ChatGPT, specifically in identifying prime numbers and other basic operations. This deterioration is an example of a phenomenon known as "drift," where attempts to improve one aspect of the complex AI models can cause other parts to perform worse. Between March and June, the premium GPT-4's success rate in identifying whether numbers were prime dropped from 84% to 51%. The research showed that GPT-4 became worse at six out of eight different tasks, although GPT-3.5 improved in some measures. This inconsistency in performance, along with the unexpected rate of drift, emphasizes the complex challenges in AI development and calls for systematic and continuous monitoring and testing to understand their evolving capabilities. 

OpenAI responded to the research with the following: "When we release new model versions, our top priority is to make newer models smarter across the board. We are working hard to ensure that new versions result in improvements across a comprehensive range of tasks. That said, our evaluation methodology isn’t perfect, and we’re constantly improving it." (Source: WSJ)

37 Hours of Anxiety: How Voyager 2 Was Nearly Lost Forever

On July 21, Suzanne Dodd's team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory accidentally sent a wrong command to Voyager 2, causing its antenna to point slightly away from Earth, resulting in a loss of communication with the probe that's 12.4 billion miles away. Recognizing the error, the team crafted a solution to send a "shout" command to adjust the antenna back. Utilizing the high-elevation, 70-meter, 100-kilowatt S-band transmitter at the communication station in Canberra, Australia, they sent the highest-power signal and anxiously waited 37 hours for a response. Contact was restored on August 3, much to the team's relief. Had the attempt failed, a backup option of onboard flight software’s fault protection routine would have been the last resort. Despite this two-week gap, the scientific work was not interrupted, but the incident served as a stark reminder of the spacecraft's age and vulnerability. (Source: Wired)

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: Netflix's Sea of Cash, Superconductivity breakthrough, Farmers Gets Emojied, and Tech Bets Big on AI

Netflix's Sea of Cash

Superconductor Claims Ignite Market Buzz Despite Scientific Skepticism

Claims about a breakthrough in superconductor technology that could revolutionize the power, transportation, and chip industries have sparked surges in some Korean and Chinese stocks, despite skepticism from scientists. The excitement began after a report from South Korean researchers stated they had synthesized the world's first superconductor able to conduct electricity at room temperature and ambient pressure. The superconductor, named LK-99, could be disruptive for a wide range of industries if it can be mass-produced. However, commercialization seems difficult as LK-99 appears to have insufficient ductility to be made into wires. (Source: BNN Bloomberg)

Tech Giants Google and Microsoft Bet Big on AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most important and competitive fields in the tech industry, and two of the biggest players are Microsoft and Google. According to a recent report by CSET, a research center at Georgetown University, Microsoft and Google spent an estimated $19.6 billion and $27.6 billion on AI research and development in 2020, respectively. These figures are based on analyzing the companies' financial statements, patents, publications, and other indicators of AI activity. The report also compares the AI spending of Microsoft and Google with other tech giants, such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and IBM, as well as the US government. The report reveals that Microsoft and Google are leading the pack in terms of AI investment, innovation, and talent acquisition and that they are likely to maintain their dominance in the near future. You can read the full report here. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

Canadian Farmer Ordered to Pay for Contract Confirmed by Emoji

A Canadian judge has ruled that a "thumbs-up" emoji can be as valid as a signature in a contract, ordering a farmer to pay CAD 82,000 ($61,442) for an unfulfilled contract. The case revolved around a grain buyer who sent a contract to the farmer via text message, asking for confirmation. The farmer responded with a thumbs-up emoji but did not deliver the agreed-upon flax. The judge argued that courts need to adapt to the "new reality" of how people communicate, dismissing concerns that this ruling could lead to new interpretations of other emojis. (Source: The Guardian)

Hollywood Writer's Strike Helps Netflix Pool $5 Billion in Cash

In the midst of Hollywood writers and actors' strikes, Netflix has experienced an unexpected financial windfall. The streaming giant anticipates a free cash flow of at least $5 billion for 2023, a significant leap from the previously estimated $3.5 billion, due to reduced operational costs from delayed production schedules. The company plans to send the cash to shareholders through stock-buybacks.  CFO Adam Neumann attributes this financial boost to the strikes and the company's successful crackdown on password sharing, which has led to an addition of over 6 million new paid subscribers in Q2, including 1.2 million in the U.S. and Canada. The company reported a profit of $1.8 billion on $8.2 billion in revenue for Q2. This situation presents a unique opportunity for Netflix to capitalize on the current labor disputes, demonstrating resilience and adaptability in a challenging market environment. (Source: CBS)

Free Generative AI Coursework for Professionals

Microsoft and LinkedIn have launched the AI Skills Initiative certificate program, a free coursework library for professionals seeking to learn and apply generative AI skills. The initiative, which leans towards Microsoft's Bing Chat built on OpenAI's GPT-4, consists of five modules, each with a video and some including quizzes or workbooks. Completion of all modules earns the learner a Professional Certificate on Generative AI, which can be displayed on LinkedIn Learning. The certificate program will be available in seven languages and free through 2025. Microsoft is also offering a grant for exceptional proposals on training employees of nonprofit, social enterprise, and research or academic institutions to use generative AI, with proposals due by August 15. Generative AI skills are among the top three training priorities for companies, with over 75% planning to adopt AI in the next five years.  (Source: TechRepublic)

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