FTI Consulting News Bytes – 21 July 2023

FTI Consulting News Bytes

We kick off with the news that Microsoft has signed an agreement with Sony to keep the Call of Duty franchise on PlayStation consoles, clearing a major hurdle to Microsoft closing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Then, onto more Microsoft news, the Company announced its AI partnership with Meta making Llama 2, an open-source large language model, available on Azure and Windows. Next, the United Nations Security Council convened a historic session to discuss the risks and opportunities associated with the future of AI development. On the topic of AI, the co-founder of leading AI firm DeepMind spoke to the BBC, discussing how the UK needs to encourage more risk-taking if it wants to become a superpower. Finally, employees across the UK will be excited to hear that the new Flexible Working Bill will allow UK workers to have more flexibility over where, when, and how they work.

This week’s news

Microsoft and Sony sign deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles

Microsoft announced on Sunday that it had signed a license with Sony, signalling a truce with the Japanese giant who had resisted the acquisition of Activision Blizzard as the rights to its massively popular Call of Duty series remained ambiguous. The question of exclusivity, which defined Sony’s opposition to the acquisition for almost 18 months seems to have been dissolved and comes at a time when Microsoft is gaining momentum in its battle with regulators, reports the FT. Recent victories included the US federal court’s intervention into the Federal Trade Commission’s injunction and the resolution of some of the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s concerns. Microsoft and Sony also extended the deadline of their merger agreement to October 18 in a bid to win over British regulators who have now invited them to resolve their remaining concerns through amendments to the agreement. Both parties also refused to provide details on the terms of their license. However, Microsoft’s 10-year license agreement with Nintendo over Activision content indicates that the games will remain widely available in the gaming industry and have a degree of longevity across different platforms.

Meta opens AI model to commercial use, throwing nascent market into flux

On Thursday, Meta and Microsoft announced that the new version of Meta’s large language model Llama 2, will be distributed by Microsoft on its Azure cloud service as well as run on the Windows operating system. In a blog post, Meta said that Microsoft is its “preferred partner” for Llama 2 software and that it is available for free for companies and researchers, which according to VentureBeat will “shake up the entire LLM landscape.” Compared to other Big Tech rivals developing large AI language models, Meta and Microsoft seek to provide “an open approach,” offering researchers and companies a peek into the data and code they use to build their AI. In a statement, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta has a long history with open source and that “Open-source drives innovation because it enables many more developers to build with new technology.”

‘Take it seriously’: UN Security Council meets for first time about AI risks   

The United Nations Security Council convened for the first time earlier this week to discuss the risks and opportunities that come with the future of AI development. The British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly chaired the meeting and emphasised global coordination, citing the need for engagement from a coalition of “international actors from all sectors”. One of two experts, Professor Yeng Yi who directs the Cognitive Intelligence Lab and the China-UK Research Centre for AI, called for a UN framework which could secure global peace and security. The other expert, Jack Clark, the founder of leading AI company Anthropic, called for the development of state AI capabilities, alongside the private sector. Yi, Clark, and officials like UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the establishment of guiding principles at a global level, with Guterres noting that potential risks would be mitigated through robust evaluation and regulation.

UK needs a culture shift to become an AI superpower, says co-founder of DeepMind

The co-founder of DeepMind, a leading AI firm, called for greater risk-taking to achieve Britain’s ambitions of becoming an AI superpower. Mustafa Suleyman sold his company to Google in 2014 for $400m and told the BBC that he had little regrets due to the US giant’s ability to take “big shots”. Suleyman’s attitudes towards AI resonate with Rishi Sunak’s drive to shape the UK into a global hub, pledging £1bn in funding over the next 10 years. More specifically, Suleyman highlighted the greater opportunities the US had in terms of business growth, including “big funding rounds”. He cited the need for a “culture shift”, which would promote large-scale investments and an increased tolerance of potential failures in the financial sphere. The UK’s recently appointed AI taskforce head, Ian Hogarth, raised similar concerns in his first interview. Hogarth emphasised how despite the presence of a strong start-up ecosystem within British society, successful tech companies were bought early, and that the UK needed an environment where growth was nurtured over the long-term.

Flexible working for all

Millions of UK employees will soon be able to request flexible working from day one of their employment with the passing of the Flexible Working Bill, reports Startups. Currently, UK workers are obligated to work for 26 weeks before requesting a change to their hours, schedule, or working location. However, under the new laws that are set to be passed by the government, UK workers will have greater flexibility and say over where, when, and how they work. The bill signals a significant shift in workforce policy given that just 8.7% of roles advertised in 2016 were considered flexible, whereas today, around 58% of UK businesses offer flexible working in some form. Commenting on the new laws, the UK’s minister for small business Kevin Hollinrake said: “Giving staff more say over their working pattern makes for happier employees and more productive businesses. Put simply, it’s a no-brainer. Greater flexibility over where, when, and how people work is an integral part of our plan to make the UK the best place in the world to work.”

Top Tweets of the Week

• Tech Crunch: Tractable snaps up $65M led by SoftBank for car and property damage appraisals using AI.
• Financial Times: Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown pays off with nearly 6mn new subscribers.
• Jamie Smith: “Guidelines for the development of #AI (voluntary) proposed by the likes of #Google #Meta.”

Number of the Week

£539m  – The number of unexpected roaming charges that hit UK consumers in the past year alone.

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