FTI Consulting News Bytes – 10 May 2024

FTI Consulting News Bytes

Australia is readying itself to build a full-scale quantum computer as a new wave of confidence sweeps through the industry. In less positive news, the UK’s Ministry of Defence fell victim to a significant data breach this week with ministers suspecting involvement from China. Across the pond, Apple is positioning itself as a key contender in the AI arms race with the development of its own server chip. Meanwhile, a big win for the UK AI ecosystem as self-driving car company Wayve secured the largest investment in a European AI startup to date (US$1.05bn). For our last story this week, can AI help humans communicate with sperm whales…? 

Finally, as we near the halfway point of the calendar year, one of our Managing Directors, Lena Ahad, has shared her tech reflections on 2024 so far – looking at developments in privacy, AI ethics and regulatory shifts. Read more on LinkedIn. 

This week’s news

Quantum confidence 

The Financial Times suggests a “a new wave of confidence — and capital — is sweeping through the quantum computing industry.” The governments of Australia and the state of Queensland this week committed A$940mn (US$620mn) between them to back the construction of a full-scale quantum computer near Brisbane by US start-up PsiQuantum. Pete Shadbolt, the company’s Chief Scientific Officer, says the system in Australia will be “the first machine that crosses over the threshold into [being a] really useful computer – the first quantum system in the world that will be commercially useful.” 

UK Defence Ministry hacked

The UK’s Ministry of Defence this week found itself the victim of a “significant” data breach with the Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps saying state involvement cannot be ruled out. The data, described as “personal HMRC-style information”, relates to current and former members of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force over a period of several years. Shapps further told MPs the government had reason to believe the hack “was the suspected work of a malign actor” – and the BBC understands that ministers suspect China was responsible. China described the suggestion as a “fabricated and malicious slander.” Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme: “Targeting the names of the payroll system and service personnel’s bank details, this does point to China because it can be as part of a plan, a strategy to see who might be coerced.”

Apple serves up chips 

The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported on Monday that Apple is in the process of creating its own chip “designed to run AI software in data-center servers.” The initiative, code-named Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), has been in the works for several years although it is uncertain if and when the new chip will be launched. The chip will likely be focused on running AI models rather than training them – an area where Nvidia will no doubt continue to dominate. While the company declined to comment, the move has the potential to give Apple “an advantage in the AI arms race.” 

Wayve win for UK AI scene

Wayve, the self-driving car tech startup founded in London in 2017, has raised more than US$1bn in a funding round led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, alongside investment from Nvidia and Microsoft. The raise represents the biggest investment in a European AI startup to date, The Guardian writes. Alex Kendall, a Co-Founder and the Chief Executive of Wayve, said: “This investment will help us launch our embodied AI products and expand our operations globally. It sends a crucial signal to the market of the strength of the UK’s AI ecosystem.” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak further commented that the deal “anchors the UK’s position as an AI superpower.”

Morse code, sperm whales and AI 

Scientists using AI to decode sounds made by sperm whales believe their calls are so complex that they are similar to human language, Sky News reports. New research by a group of experts studying a clan of whales in the East Caribbean found they use a ‘morse code’ of clicks, with the rhythm and tempo adding extra layers of complexity to convey meaning. The calls are so rich in information that they are likely to help pods make group decisions and coordinate joint tasks, such as foraging for food and rearing young. Dr. David Gruber, founder and lead of Project CETI said: “It opens up the possibility that sperm whales have an incredibly complex and nuanced communication system – and inspires us to continue on our whale listening journey.”

Top Tweets of the Week

• DACH Correspondent at Sifted, Miriam Partington: “Bill Gates met with German politicians yesterday to discuss the idea of creating of a $1bn fund to help climate techs build first-of-a-kind facilities (i.e. e-fuel plants or battery systems) — which are often capital intensive.”
• CNBC Squawk Box: “Investor Stanley Druckenmiller talks about his investment in AI platform Perplexity and says, “It’s unbelievable. It’s an answer machine. Nothing like I’ve ever seen.”
• Google CEO Sundar Pichai: “1.8M+ researchers have used @GoogleDeepMind’s AlphaFold protein predictions in their work on vaccine development, cancer treatment + more. AlphaFold 3 is the latest breakthrough, predicting the structures + interactions of all of life’s molecules with unprecedented accuracy. We’re sharing access to these capabilities through AlphaFold Server to enable other scientific discoveries.”

Number of the Week

337% – UK cities hosting Taylor Swift concerts this summer saw a 337% increase in Airbnb searches on average when tickets went on sale in July 2023 (AP News).