FTI Consulting News Bytes – 20 September 2024

FTI Consulting News Bytes

Conversations surrounding online safety have continued to dominate the news cycle this week as Instagram boosts privacy and parental control on teen accounts. Next, we explore the launch of a $30bn AI investment fund as BlackRock and Microsoft come together to address mounting AI infrastructure demands. We then take a look at Tesco’s latest AI adoption to attract more customers by personalising how they shop, before sharing our thoughts on Snap’s latest AR spectacles. Finally, we look at TEKEVER’s plans to generate more jobs across the UK as they continue to expand by building drones for surveillance and intelligence gathering in Ukraine.

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This week’s news

Instagram tightens parental controls on teen accounts

This week, Instagram announced the introduction of “teen accounts” to shield young people from harmful content on the platform. With social media companies under pressure to strengthen online safety, Instagram prepare for enforced privacy settings to be the default for all under 18s which will include making their content unviewable to people who don’t follow them. UK children’s charity the NSPCC said Instagram’s announcement was a “step in the right direction” but added that account settings can “put the emphasis on children and parents needing to keep themselves safe”, reported the BBC.

BlackRock and Microsoft prepare to launch $30bn AI investment fund

The Financial Times reported that BlackRock and Microsoft are preparing to launch an AI investment fund worth more $30bn to build data centres and energy projects. Launched in the aim of addressing the AI infrastructure demands that are expected to face severe capacity bottlenecks in the coming years, the deal is due to close in October and will be one of the biggest ever launched on Wall Street.

Tesco urges shoppers to make healthier choices, using AI

Tesco have announced plans to expand their use of AI to attract more customers by further personalising how they shop. Speaking at The Financial Times Future of Retail summit, CEO Ken Murphy said that Tesco could harness AI alongside data from its Clubcard data to urge customers to make healthier choices and reduce waste. Murphy hopes that over time the technology will be able to recommend shoppers specific items based on their purchase history, for example saying: “I’ve noticed over time in your shopping basket that your sodium salt content is 250% of your daily recommended allowance. I would recommend you substitute this, this and this”. Pretty nifty.

Snap bets on augmented reality glasses

Earlier this year, we bet that AR glasses were going to be experiencing a resurgence in 2024 – some doubted us, but Snap has swooped in to prove our theory The Times reports. Snap this week unveiled the fifth generation of its spectacles, the first time they’ve been updated since 2021. Despite their (short) 45-minute battery life and heavy frames, the accessory which allows you to ‘touch’ what you see in the lens is being hailed a feat of engineering and is hoped to re-kickstart Snap’s dwindling share price. Impressive and fun, we are minded to expect the specs go mainstream any time soon.

Firm making drones for Ukraine plans more jobs

Portuguese unmanned aerial system provider, TEKEVER, is planning to expand further after creating 30 jobs in West Wales the BBC reports. The scaleup which builds intricate drones which are used for a range of services including surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence in Ukraine hopes to generate 200 jobs in the UK over the next three years. The company has brought notable economic stimulation to the remote Wales area in which it is based, kickstarting a culture of innovation in the region and championing young talent through its skilled engineering apprenticeship programme.

Top Tweets of the Week 

• Andrew Griffin, Technology Editor at The Independent: Spoke to Craig Federighi about the “very, very hard” problem of building Apple Intelligence Apple built a new AI system that knows everything and nothing about you.
• Bloomberg Technology: TikTok’s future in the US is suddenly looking much more dire, though you wouldn’t know from using the app.
• Zoe Kleinman, Technology Editor, BBC News: shared her thoughts on research led by the UN which examines how best to regulate and control artificial intelligence.

Number of the week

£27bn– The estimated cost of cybercrime to the UK economy in 2022 according to Twenty-Four IT Services