FTI Consulting News Bytes – 21 March 2025

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week, we start by looking at Nvidia’s reaction to US tariffs on Asia, pledging “several hundred billion” on chips and electronics in the US. Next, we discuss the impact that Netflix series ‘Adolescence’ has made since it was released last week. We then turn to a report from the UK’s cyber security watchdog warning of the threats to quantum computing. Turning to ChatGPT, we look at a potential GDPR complaint on false information provided about users. Finally, we turn to the EU escalating its antitrust battle with ‘big tech’.

This week’s news

Nvidia’s bet on the US

In an interview with the Financial Times, Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang confirmed that Nvidia could spend  “several hundred billion” dollars on making chips and other electronics in the US over the next four years, becoming the latest company to consider plans to expand in the country as the Trump administration pushes forward with tariffs in Asia. Huang reiterated his views on the growth potential in the US, arguing that “having the support of an administration who cares about the success of this industry and not allowing energy to be an obstacle is a phenomenal result for AI in the US”. Putting our financial communications thinking caps on, Nvidia’s change in supply chain could mean several things for investors: fewer risks associated with China’s aggression towards Taiwan, but at the cost of lower margins. We’ll be keeping our eyes on the stock. 

From Netflix to Downing Street- ‘Adolescence’ makes its impact

BBC News writes that UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said there was a need to tackle the “emerging and growing problem” raised by new TV drama Adolescence. The four-part series co-written by and starring actor Stephen Graham, follows a family whose lives are blown apart when their teenage son is arrested for killing a female classmate. The drama shines a light on the potential for social media and misogynist influencers to have a harmful impact on male teens, and was the most-watched show on Netflix around the world over the weekend. The Guardian highlighted comments from co-writer Jack Thorne, arguing that smartphones should be treated like cigarettes and banned until the age of 16 in the UK. He further noted the danger of online spaces for teenagers, adding that algorithms used on social media platforms could quickly lead to “dark spaces”.

UK’s push for quantum resilience 

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre issued a warning to businesses and governments about the threats to digital encryption coming from breakthroughs in quantum computing. The Financial Times gives an overview of the steps organisations need to take to finalise a full transition by 2035. In a separate report, Europol warned that quantum computing, along with AI and blockchain, had become a “catalyst” for crime, driving “criminal operations’ efficiency by amplifying their speed, reach and sophistication”.

ChatGPT faces off against GDPR

OpenAI, owner of AI chatbot ChatGPT, is facing another privacy complaint about its reported tendency to “hallucinate false information”. According to TechCrunch, an individual in Norway was shocked that ChatGPT claimed he’d been convicted for murdering two of his children and attempting to kill the third. This follows complaints about ChatGPT generating incorrect personal data regarding birth date or biographical details. The concern is that OpenAI does not offer a way for individuals to correct false information the AI generates about them. Under GDPR, Europeans have a range of data access rights, including the right to correct personal data. Data controllers have a duty to make sure personal data they produce about individuals is accurate. This is the principle that Noyb – the privacy rights advocacy group supporting the individual in Norway – is flagging with its latest ChatGPT complaint.

Google, Apple face EU antitrust action

On Wednesday, the European Commission announced antitrust charges on Google and ordered Apple to take steps to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Google said the EU’s competition rules are “hurting consumers and businesses” and Apple argued these decisions “wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules”, as reported by the The Wall Street Journal. This latest development comes against a backdrop of the Trump administration warning about the risks of over-regulation and US tariffs on EU member states.

Top Tweets of the Week

• Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google and Alphabet: I was glad to talk to @CadeMetz about Google’s decade long investment in AI chips and data centers, including our TPUs. This @nytimes story is a great look at all the innovations behind the scenes that power things like Search and Gemini – and how the AI platform shift is changing the future of computing. Give it a read! https://t.co/Hd3o3ElnPF
• Mark Gurman, Managing Editor & Chief Correspondent at Bloomberg: BREAKING: Apple’s top Siri exec called AI delays embarrassing & ugly in meeting, while saying a decision to promote features before they were ready worsened the situation. Still, he praised the team & vowed to make Siri the “world’s greatest” assistant. https://t.co/SgnVhhWl77
• Tom Warren, Senior Editor at The Verge: Microsoft has accidentally wiped out Copilot in its latest Windows 11 update. The Patch Tuesday update unpinned Copilot and uninstalled it. A bug for some, and a welcome feature for others. Details 👇 https://t.co/05tVKrtX9y

Number of the week

$6.5bn The amount that SoftBank paid to aquire Ampere Computing, a US chip startup founded by the former president of Intel, according to Reuters.