Digital Drift | April's IT Surprises
April brings warmth and the aroma of greenery. It’s also a period of significant business activity, particularly in the IT segment.
The world has become embroiled in political debates, local conflicts have reignited, digital giants have stirred, and AdvantISS has completed several projects.
Today, you’ll learn about the most notable events that occurred during the fourth month of 2024.
Overall, we’ll focus on:
You’ll also learn what's new at the AdvantISS company.
Tesla lays off ‘more than 10%’ of its global workforce
Everyone remembers the rapid rise of Elon Musk’s automotive conglomerate, right?
Dozens of factories, ambitious plans for mass supply of vehicles to key markets, and development of new models, including the somewhat unsuccessful Cybertruck. Things at the company aren't terrible, but they're not exactly at their best either.
Recently, company employees received a letter stating a new brand reform. Musk announced the company is undergoing “cost optimization and productivity improvement.”
As a result, more than 10% of employees are being laid off.
Some (unverified) sources say the layoffs could have affected nearly 20% of the company’s specialists. According to the most optimistic estimates, this is about 14,000 professionals of various profiles and skill levels.
Well, perhaps this will indeed help Tesla rethink its strategy and address some of the issues that have led to a partial recession of the brand.
Green hydrogen tech boss warns of AI energy consumption risk
New technologies mean new opportunities. But at the same time, they also imply additional strain on the energy system. While the world attempts to use less electricity and shift to renewable sources, scientists are trying to increase the efficiency of new systems.
And guess how? That's right, by increasing the capacity of IT infrastructure.
Consider this: a typical Google search consumes about 0.3 watt-hours, whereas processing a query with ChatGPT already costs around 2.9 watt-hours.
These are the figures you can find in an IEA report.
But the story doesn't end with ChatGPT. New public LLMs, or even full-fledged AIs, appear almost monthly, not to mention personalized bots autonomously used by companies.
Against this backdrop (as well as the rapid development of the AI industry), new risks emerge—increased electricity costs and a rise in greenhouse gas emissions.
Not the brightest prospect, is it?
Argentine startup Nippy offers free toilets and coffee for delivery workers — in exchange for their data
An interesting fact: the life of a courier is quite challenging, especially in the Dominican Republic.
Sure, income and constant activity are good, but when it comes to fulfilling basic needs or just taking a break, there are certain problems in this region.
For example, delivery men are not allowed to linger in restaurants, cafes, or shops where they pick up orders. They have to leave their belongings outside, which obviously isn’t safe.
The startup Nippy found a solution with access to toilets and coffee for couriers. It offers a mobile app that carriers have to install.
It might seem like the problem’s solved—Nippy is gaining popularity, and couriers finally have decent break conditions. However, it turns out the app sells the couriers' data to third parties—financial providers, statistical aggregators, and so on.
What’s more alarming is that most delivery people didn’t even realize that their data had been used. When the truth became known to the general public, it caused a public outcry.
However, the incident quickly faded away, as the couriers were not too concerned about transmitting data to financial, insurance, and telecommunications institutions.
Apple’s New AI Model ReALM
Not so long ago, there was quite a buzz that Apple faced challenges in developing and implementing AI into its devices. At that time, discussions focused on the collaboration between Google and Apple to improve search algorithms.
However, just before the next WWDC (2024), new rumors (and even confirmations) have emerged that things at Apple have significantly improved. After a series of tests, it became known that the new ReALM (3B) outperforms even ChatGPT in several characteristics.
For example, Apple’s LLM scores 99.8 points in speech synthesis, while ChatGPT 4 scores only 58.7 points.
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There is speculation that the new Siri assistant will hardly differ from a human in its behavior and language.
However, how it will work in practice remains to be seen.
Microsoft, OpenAI plan $100 billion data-center project
With the development of AI, existing technologies and computing power are no longer sufficient. This is one reason why investments in equipment for data centers and their infrastructure have grown so rapidly.
The duo of Microsoft and OpenAI presented the most powerful project. These two tech giants plan to invest over $100 billion in the construction of a new data processing center.
The previous flagship project cost 100 times less.
So, we can assume the companies are preparing to launch something truly marvelous. Despite Sam Altman’s statements, I believe they are currently focusing on preparing the groundwork for deploying a full-fledged AGI (or at least experimenting with it).
Yes, other market players are somewhat apprehensive about such cooperation, as it may negatively affect competition in the niche.
However, if the result is achieved and the world sees the first AGI, it will only be a positive catalyst for future developments.
Alaska will try to use a robot to scare wildlife from around an airport
The animal injuries on Alaska's runways have led the government to seriously pursue digitization. So, at government agencies' request, the Boston Dynamics team developed the Aurora robot. This mechanoid resembles a dog in shape and generally performs its classic work.
This four-legged robot roams the airport territory and emits loud noises through built-in speakers, scaring away animals. It clears the runway of birds, rodents, and wild animals that inadvertently enter the infrastructure area.
The key feature of the robot is its adaptability. That is, by simply changing its panels, it can resemble, for example, a coyote, a fox, and other predators.
Theoretically, it could also scare away bears or moose, which usually do not respond to ordinary dogs.
Wild animals pose a threat not only to the country's air fleet but also can be dangerous to people. For example, they might attack cars or pedestrians near the airport. Therefore, investing in security (about $70,000 per robot) is entirely justified.
NYC’s AI chatbot was caught telling businesses to break the law
NEW YORK (AP) was created as a single window of assistance for small businesses. It was supposed to direct entrepreneurs to relevant sections of the government portal or provide comprehensive answers to legal questions.
However, the algorithm turned out to be imperfect and, in some ways, even harmful. For example, the bot could advise firing a female employee if she complained of sexual harassment or refused to obey a direct order from a supervisor.
The fallibility of the judgments was detected in time, but the government did not respond. More precisely, the authorities commented on the mistakes by stating that the LLM is learning and improving. Therefore, they recommended that entrepreneurs use the platform wisely and, if possible, correct the AI outputs.
There was also no corresponding response for openly harmful recommendations. However, for some reason, we have no doubts that the department responsible for training the LLM received a rap on the knuckles.
A Glimpse into AdvantISS Life
Amidst the global headlines, we have some news, too.
For instance, Petro Samoshkin, CEO at AdvantISS, focused on the role of AI in sports competitions and public safety elements and shared life experiences about stressful situations in the mountains.
Oleksandr Khudoteplyi, COO at AdvantISS, published a series of materials focusing on the Ukrainian IT market and logistical risks during the Olympics in France, sharing practical recommendations for preparing for potential challenges.
Alina Koval, CBDO at AdvantISS, published several materials about the role of UI/UX design in projects, as well as scandals surrounding AI caused by none other than celebrities, including singers and musical bands.
Maryna Kozlova, Head of Customer Success, revealed a few productivity secrets and also compared the differences in regional CRMs and their requirements.
We are proud that AdvantISS experts find the time and inspiration to share their experiences with others!
Enjoyed this digest? Or perhaps you know of some other notable events in the IT world? Share your findings in the comments.
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