FTI Consulting News Bytes – 4th February 2022

This week’s news

Metaverse: the tech industry has FOMO

John Naughton in The Guardian discusses the current obsession with the metaverse in the tech industry. He notes that since Facebook announced it would be changing its name to Meta and henceforth be devoting all its efforts into building the metaverse, the rest of the industry have followed like “mimetic sheep.” The logical rationale for Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, he writes, is that gaming is a booming industry in which Microsoft already has a presence. Yet, chief executive Satya Nadella has instead been “burbling” about his desire to create a metaverse. He concludes that “such folk have no need of a parallel universe, meta or otherwise. They already live in one.”

The future of AI: golden age or destruction of humankind

British computer scientist and world-leading AI expert Stuart Russell was interviewed in The Times Magazine last weekend where he warned that super intelligent AI could turn on humans if we don’t step in now to design them with our wellbeing specifically in mind. He agrees that such an eventuality may be a few decades away but nevertheless insists we must prepare for such a threat by proceeding with caution. Highly intelligent machines with a set objective would relentlessly pursue this objective failing to take into account other human priorities. He points to social media as an example of AI pursuing objectives that are not perfectly aligned with our own – generating maximum revenue from advertising, but with well-known adverse effects.

Big tech against the regulatory world

The FTC vs Tech Giants saga continues with the regulators “getting creative” and developing “an innovative way to frame the issue.” According to the WSJ, the FTC has shifted its focus away from consumers and more on how Big Tech dominance harms SMBs that sell and advertise through those tech platforms. It comes as no surprise that the world’s largest tech companies have been gearing up for a massive fight too and revving up their lobbying efforts through increased donations to the most influential think tanks. Speaking to the FT, Bruce Freed, president of the Washington-based Center for Political Accountability, which argues for stricter tech regulations, said: “Funding think-tanks is a great way to influence experts and help shape the political conversation in a way that helps you. This is not traditional lobbying, but these companies are seeking to shape the conversation and shape the political climate. If they are spending this money, they are expecting a return.”

Sony takes a Bungie jump

Another week, another acquisition in the video game industry as its consolidation continues. The latest deal was announced by Sony which is buying video game developer Bungie for $3.6bn. In its Lex column, the FT suggests that Sony was under pressure to expand its gaming unit beyond console-driven sales after Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but argues that Sony’s acquisitions will need to be more ambitious than Bungie if they are going to compete effectively. It concludes that Bungie “is already the third sizeable takeover in the gaming industry this year. This is shifting online. Prices for game content — and game developers — will continue to rise.”

Can I have a Wordle with you?

Word game sensation Wordle was acquired by the New York Times, for an undisclosed seven-figure sum according to the BBC. The game was publicly released only four months ago by software engineer Josh Wardle, who created it for his family to cope with boredom during the pandemic. The game went viral a month ago and has racked up 3 million players around the world since. Announcing the acquisition, Mr Wardle took to Twitter to share his emotions, stating that the game “has gotten bigger than I ever imagined. It has been incredible.”

Top Tweets of the Week

• Jon Elrichman, news anchor: 2006: Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion.
  2022: YouTube generates $1.65 billion in revenue every 17 days.
• James Blunt, musician: If @spotify doesn’t immediately remove @joerogan, I will release new music onto the platform. #youwerebeautiful
• Dr Robin Kiera, founder and CEO, Digitalscouting: #Robots Deliver Food For Winter #Olympics 2022 Participants In Beijing Hotel. Watch Video by @Reuters

Number of the Week

25,000  – permanent jobs created by Amazon in the UK in 2021

What’s happening next week?

• 6 February: 70th anniversary of The Queen’s accession to the throne (Platinum Jubilee)
• 7 February: National Apprenticeship Week
• 9  February: Uber Q4 results
• 10 February: Twitter Q4 results

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