October
Cyber attacks continued to be a significant challenge in 2023, with several large enterprises revealing they’d been hit with a breach. In October, it was revealed that customers of hotel booking website Booking.com were being targeted by phishing attacks.
Cyber firm Perception Point said that hackers had leveraged InfoStealer malware to access guests’ booking information including sensitive data such as names, booking dates, hotel details and payment methods. Attackers then devised personalised messages to Booking.com customers using social engineering techniques to create a sense of urgency.
California introduced new laws allowing residents to request the removal of personal data from data brokers.
California governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill, known as The Delete Act, which forces data brokers to register with the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), and it requires the CPPA to establish a simple and free way for Californians to request that their gathered data be deleted by data brokers.
Most businesses unprepared for post-quantum world, study finds. With quantum computing developments growing apace across 2023, a study from the Ponemon Institute warned that over half of businesses (61%) are not and will not be prepared to address the security implications of this new technology. Under half (41%) of business leaders expressed concern about having less than five years to prepare for the change.
October saw the breakout of war in Gaza following the terror attacks by Hamas at the start of the month. Israel responded with sustained bombing of the Gaza strip, leading to major blackouts and loss of internet connectivity in the area.
On Friday 27 October, services in Gaza disconnected completely, leaving Palestinians without internet connectivity for two days, though the Paltel Group, which provides communications services in the Gaza Strip, said its engineers were “diligently addressing” damage to the network. Connectivity returned in parts two days later.
Biggest Moment of Q4
Altman departs OpenAI – only to return days later
ChatGPT went live to the public on November 30, 2022, but after a huge success, the wheels suddenly seemed to fall off for OpenAI, before they were quickly reattached in what must be one of the quickest high-profile firings – and reappointments – in tech history.
It started with the surprise sacking of OpenAI by the firm’s four-person board, the full reasoning of which has never been revealed. Altman had led OpenAI since it was founded as has been the face of the firm’s AI takeover, so his removal caused shockwaves through the tech world. It prompted staff at OpenAI to revolt and its biggest backer, Microsoft, to warn the company about the direction it was taking.
In fact, within days, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had even offered Altman and his right-hand man, Greg Brockman – who stepped down from his role of OpenAI president in solidarity with Altman – roles heading up Microsoft’s AI research division.
But amid the fallout and protests, OpenAI’s board engaged in a swift reversal, welcoming Altman back for peace talks that ultimately saw the CEO return to his position. Not only that, but his hand was also strengthened as several board members who had agreed for him to go stepped down.
And just like that, OpenAI went back to normal.
November
The biggest news in this month was the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of all seven criminal counts against him.
He was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers and against Alameda Research lenders, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud against FTX investors, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The 31-year-old crypto billionaire now faces decades in prison following his arrest last year after his exchange, FTX, went bankrupt – prompting a crisis in the cryptocurrency world.
IBM partners with NatWest bringing genAI to banking bot Cora. The partnership sees NatWest leverage IBM’s AI and data platform, watsonx, to create an enhanced version of its chatbot, called Cora+. The idea is for customers to receive a more accessible and human-like interaction. According to the bank, the updated bot will be able to access information from multiple secure sources that were previously inaccessible through chat alone, such as products, services, info about the bank and career opportunities.
With 2024 set to be a year of elections, Meta introduced new rules forcing advertisers to disclose deepfakes in ads. The Facebook and Instagram owner’s new rules aim to help curb the spread of misinformation in political campaigns, where highly realistic deepfakes, and digitally manipulated media designed to be misleading, have been noted as a threat.
2024 will see more than two billion people given the opportunity to vote in more than 50 countries, including the US, India and the EU, but there are concerns around the threat posed by deepfakes.
Meta’s social media platforms Facebook and Instagram will expect advertisers to admit to AI alterations during the submission process if an ad “contains a photorealistic image or view, or realistic sounding audio”.
At Web Summit in Portugal, Brazilian ex-footballers Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva announced the launch of an AI-powered “abuse free” social media platform, Striver. The former Real Madrid and Arsenal players – and shareholders of the app – took to the stage with Striver’s CEO Tim Chase to reveal its new application specifically for footballers and their fans.
Brazilian ex-footballers Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva at Web Summit Lisbon
“The platform removes hate,” explained Chase in a press conference at the event, “and we also have the tools to make it super easy for fans and players to engage with each other.”
Microsoft announces AI and Sustainability playbook. The tech giant claims that it highlights ways of accelerating sustainability solutions using AI and is aimed at enterprise customers.
Speaking at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer, Melanie Nakagawa said that the firm hoped the playbook would help Microsoft, its customers, and business work together to unlock AI’s ability to help with their sustainability solutions.
The UN meanwhile, warned that AI could pose a growing problem for the planet. The chief digital officer of the United Nations (UN) Development Programme, Robert Opp, said the potential impact of AI and other growth tech on carbon emissions needs to be addressed.
Speaking at Web Summit, Opp added that the UNDP was “aware that it’s a growing problem and needs to be addressed”. Data storage centres are responsible for 2% of global carbon emissions, and that figure is expected to grow to 8% by 2030.
Palantir secured a £330 million deal with the NHS for its new data platform. The deal proved controversial, with critics raising concerns about data privacy and patient confidentiality and the potential for patients’ data being mishandled.
The contract will see the US firm support the NHS in creating a Federated Data Platform which will join up key information currently held in separate NHS systems, with the aim of making it easier for staff to access key information that it hopes will ultimately improve patient care.
In quirkier news, food giant Kraft launched an AI-powered platform for Canadian consumers running low on peanut butter. The “internet of jars” may sound a little nutty, but for fans of peanut butter, it makes tracking and ordering new products much easier, the company claims. Users can visit KraftQRcodes.ca and scan the scraping marks at the bottom of almost empty jars of peanut butter using their mobile devices. This pattern acts like a QR code, which will trigger an order.
Kraft Heinz AI platform
December
AI to determine care for stroke patients in the UK In healthtech news, a UK hospital completed the first trial of an AI diagnostic tool that aims to help diagnose strokes and other heart problems quicker. Hereford County Hospital used RapidAI software to analyse brain images of stroke patients and determine whether they are suitable for either an operation or drugs to remove a blood clot.
In robotics, Agility Robotics announced what it claims is the world’s first mass humanoid robot manufacturing facility. The factory, in the US city of Salem, Oregon, has the capability of manufacturing more than 10,000 robots per year. It is known as the producer of bipedal robot Digit.
TechInformed revealed the top three most wanted ransomware gangs, as part of a two-part report into cyber security. This year, ransomware attacks have shut down Vegas casinos, halted Royal Mail shipments and stolen NHS data. The most notorious groups at present, according to the security experts TI consulted with, are three Russian-orientated outfits: BlackCat, Cl0p, and Lockbit, which have all taken claim to some of the major attacks of this year.
In agritech, a study by The Yield Technology Solution found over 90% of farmers find it hard to improve on-farm activities using the current datasets at their disposal. While there has been a surge in digital transformation initiatives across the agriculture market — ranging from connected cows to drones used in farming — the study revealed that many still grapple with deriving actionable insights from their data.
Writer’s pick of 2023
AI was the biggest driver of news in 2024, and Q4 has been no different.
In the fourth quarter, much of the discussion around artificial intelligence derived from concerns about regulation, not just of AI as a product, but also around keeping an eye on how it develops.
The end of the month saw major advances in AI legislation as politicians looked to get a grip of this fast-developing technology.
The US unveiled an executive order that aims to monitor and regulate the risks of artificial intelligence, requiring developers of powerful AI systems to share the results of their safety tests with the federal government before they are released to the public.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden, the legislation says that, if an AI model poses a risk to national security, the economy, or the health of the country, companies are required to notify the government under the Defence Production Act.
This action arrived at the beginning of the week of the first AI Safety Summit, which was held in the UK, in which representatives from 28 countries signed a declaration warning of the risks posed by the most advanced “frontier” AI systems.
The Bletchley Declaration pledged cooperation to tackle the threats posed by large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. The declaration said that many risks arising from AI are inherently international in nature, and so are best addressed through international co-operation.
