FTI Consulting News Bytes – 19 April 2024

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week, we start by looking at a new AI device which launched to somewhat mixed reviews on Wednesday. Next, we turn to the world of gaming to explore whether video games will become a new creative outlet for novelists. Elsewhere, Thomson Reuters has launched an AI-powered platform which is set to revolutionise the legal profession while a new Ukrainian accelerator programme aims to transform Europe’s defence tech industry. Finally, we look at the changing dynamics of the tech IPO market which may feature more smaller players over blockbuster names in 2024.

This week’s news

The AI smartphone that can’t make a call

A new AI device launched this week designed to rid us of our addiction to smartphones, reports The Times. The Humane AI Pin is a screenless, wearable device with a camera, microphone, sensors and laser projector that clips to your clothes. Scrolling and swiping is replaced by voice commands, and instead of goggling at a screen, images are projected on the user’s hand. The snag? It doesn’t really work. Reviewers slated the device, claiming it was slow to respond, overheated, difficult to see the projections onto your hand and failed to do basic functions like making a call. Despite the criticism, many praised the concept of a smart screenless assistant even though the product might need some work. 

Novelists find new narratives in video games

For years now, there has been an exchange of inspiration between TV and films, and video games. Hit games like Super Mario have been transformed into blockbuster movies, while film franchises like Harry Potter are reimagined in video games like Hogwarts Legacy. The Financial Times this week looks at whether a similar development is emerging with novels. Games like World of Warcraft have attracted millions of fans over the years in part due to the rich lore and immersive storytelling. Now novels are beginning to show influences of video games as well, written by a generation that grew up playing them. J Robert Lennon’s 2021 novel Subdivision includes puzzles at the beginning of each chapter, akin to levels in a game. Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life (2013) features a woman who dies and restarts her life repeatedly, not unlike many games. Will games become a new literary art form for aspiring writers, another vehicle for a story as valid as a poem, novel or play? Watch this space. 

Thomson Reuters AI revolutionises the legal profession

Thomson Reuters this week unveiled an expanded vision for CoCounsel, an AI-powered platform designed to help lawyers research, analyse and draft legal documents, reports VentureBeat. CoCounsel combines the powerful reasoning capabilities of ChatGPT with the reliable knowledge and content from Thomson Reuters’ vast proprietary database, ensuring outputs are accurate and verifiable (quite important in the legal profession). David Wong, Chief Product Officer, quipped that the technology is so powerful, it would be “almost malpractice for lawyers not to use it”. 

Ukraine accelerates development of defence tech

A new accelerator programme has launched in Ukraine, designed to help home-grown defence start-ups secure their first investments and scale, according to Tech.eu. Defenсe Builder Accelerator, set up by Ivan Kaunov and Kateryna Bezsudna, connects verified investors with defence start-ups. Military personnel with first-hand combat experience have also been recruited as advisors to the programme’s candidates. The accelerator is among the many initiatives designed to boost Europe’s defence industry, leveraging the latest technologies, amid a rise in geopolitical threats. 

Tech IPO revival: more small companies than blockbuster names

The IPO pipeline for 2024 is likely to be filled by smaller names with more pressing funding needs, the Financial Times’ Lex column suggests. Whilst lossmaking tech start-ups are typically advised to approach IPO roadshows with “an eye-catching tale of future growth”, this is not happening in 2024, as companies looking to list in the US have more complicated stories to tell about growth. Cybersecurity company Rubrik is reportedly hoping to list shares whilst undergoing a business model transformation, following in Reddit’s footsteps, which IPO’d in the midst of a transition with a market value that was roughly half of its last private valuation. Lex argues that down round IPOs, where valuations are lower than in previous rounds of financing, may put off big listing candidates including Databricks, Stripe and Plaid, and give rise to smaller names looking to list for a necessary injection of cash. 

Top Tweets of the Week

• Matt Chorley, Columnist, The Times: I wonder if the productivity puzzle could be sold if we could take the unthinkable decision to extend mobile phone signal to the remote wilds of Clapham Junction.
• Zoe Kleinman, Tech Editor, BBC News: I had an interesting chat with a friend who works in tech, who I won’t name (but he can out himself if he wants to!) recently. I praised a post he’d written – he’s an excellent, practical communicator by trade but this particular post had a softer, warmer edge than usual, and I liked it. He told me it was AI generated. He did it as an experiment and said he hadn’t told anyone, but he had received a lot of feedback about that particular post. I thought I had reached a stage where I could spot AI prose… clearly not!
• Tim Smith, News Editor, Sifted: New: @StabilityAI makes a new round of layoffs, with one source telling Sifted that the redundancies are affecting all “non-essential” UK staff. The company has not yet commented.

Number of the Week

#1 – The current rank in Amazon’s ‘Best Sellers in Human-Computer Interaction’ of ‘Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI’ written by Madhumita Murgia, AI Editor at The FT, who visited FTI’s offices for a fireside discussion with Tim Cross, Sifted, attended by colleagues and friends.