FTI Consulting News Bytes – 24th March 2023

This week’s news

Bard vs ChatGPT

On Tuesday, Google launched its Bard AI Chatbot, its first standalone consumer AI product to compete with OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT, which according to the Financial Times was an attempt to “make up lost ground in the race to commercialise generative AI.” The company claims that Bard will be run separately to its Google Search engine, generate answers only in English rather than computer code or other languages and access will be provided on a first come first serve basis to users over the age of 18 in the UK and US. According to the BBC, unlike ChatGPT, Bard will provide up-to-date information from the internet and will have a “Google-it” button to access search, but noted Google’s warning that it would have limitations and may display some bias. In a live demo, Google’s Jack Krawczyk showed how Bard helped him brainstorm ideas for a birthday party for his son, combining his two obsessions, rabbits and gymnastics.

What’s in store for Microsoft?

Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch a new app store for games on iPhones and Android devices to take advantage of new rules requiring Apple and Google to liberalise their mobile platforms for third-party use under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.  In an interview with the Financial Times, Phil Spencer, Chief Executive of Microsoft Gaming said the store could come as early as 2024, after the new act takes effect in March. Here, Spencer said “we want to be in a position to offer Xbox and content from both of us and our third-party partners across any screen where somebody would want to play” but plans are said to be contingent on regulatory approval of Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

A “Lehman moment” for tech

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was “a little bit like the Lehman moment for technology,” Cliff Marriott, co-head of tech, media and telecoms in Europe for Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division, told CNBC. Ever since, regulators and officials across the EU have been nervous about potential contagion to their banking sectors after the recent turmoil in the US. It also emerged that the Bank of England had warned US regulators about potential risks well before the collapse, writes the Financial Times. Whilst the SVB disaster raised questions about the potential spillover effect on other banks, it is still unclear who will replace it to provide support for the tech sector.

Bitcoin’s boom amid banks’ doom and gloom

The Wall Street Journal looks at bitcoin’s performance amid the banking crisis, writing that the cryptocurrency has risen 21% so far this month, bringing its rally to almost 70% so far this year. Investors have a split view – some suggest the rally won’t last, whilst others believe it could re-test its all-time high. Marshall Beard, chief strategy officer at U.S.-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, said $100,000 could be a possibility for bitcoin. Such predictions seem to mark a more optimistic outlook for the digital token compared to earlier calls for caution this year. Besides, so far this year investors betting against crypto have lost. Whether bitcoin will become ‘digital gold’ is yet to be seen.

We need to talk about gig economy

Following the food delivery sector’s lockdown-driven boom, there’s been a drop in demand for takeaway delivery as restrictions eased and consumer spend decreased amid inflationary pressure. Just Eat has become the latest company to cut 1,700 courier jobs and 170 head office staff as the food delivery firm looks to return to a gig economy model, as reported by the Financial Times. It currently employs many of its couriers as workers, which means they are entitled to a fixed hourly pay rate, sick pay, and other benefits. The job cuts follow Just Eat rival Deliveroo’s layoffs, in which 350 employees lost their positions. Deliveroo is also said to have blocked third-party app that lets gig economy workers compare fares across rival delivery platforms and make informed decisions, adds the Financial Times. Regardless, Jefferies’ analysts believe the gig economy model is “superior” to the employed model for food delivery.

Top Tweets of the week

• Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft: The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other.
• Tech Crunch: TikTok CEO takes to the app to announce the company’s more than 150M active users in the US.
• Mark Gurman, Chief Correspondent for Bloomberg: Power On: Insider Apple’s companywide cost-cutting push to avoid layoffs.

Number of week

2027 – The year we will likely reach full-scale commercialisation of quantum computing, according to GlobalData.

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