FTI Consulting News Bytes – 6 September 2024

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week, we start in Brazil where social media platform X has been banned over disinformation fears. Musk has labelled the move an attack on free speech. Next, we look at a new trend of corporate influencers, hired to ‘authentically’ connect with prospective Gen Z hires. We turn to Europe where stock exchanges and start-up associations are calling for measures to strengthen the region’s capital markets. Finally, in the week that Google exec James Manyika warned that productivity gains from AI were “not guaranteed”, we explore how dating apps are hoping to use AI to enhance the dating experience. Good luck to them.  

This week’s news

Brazil bans X over disinformation

Musk found himself in hot water on Monday as Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on X after the company failed to appoint a legal representative for an investigation into the platform’s role in spreading disinformation. Musk slammed the decision from “an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil who is destroying [free speech] for political purposes.” However, one of the judges acknowledged that “freedom of expression is closely linked to a duty of responsibility.” In a further blow to Musk, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tweeted links to his other social media accounts including Bluesky which has registered two million new users since the ban was first announced, according to Engadget. 

Corporate influencing: a new frontier in the battle for talent

A new trend has emerged among large corporates looking to attract and retain the best talent, according to The Times. Deloitte recently hired its first full-time, in-house corporate influencer to offer advice to young professionals and discuss technology trends on her social media channels. Elsewhere, an activewear start-up hired a Gen Z TikTok star with 2.2 million followers to create content for the company’s account. The argument is that corporate influencing is an authentic way to reach Gen Z talent. However, there is also a growing trend of existing employees sharing behind-the-scenes action of their working day and lifestyle. With Gen Z highly attuned to inauthenticity from brands, this more organic approach may prove more effective. 

EU Urged to Strengthen IPO Market to Retain Top Tech Listings in Europe

In an open letter to EU Finance Ministers and the European Commission, a coalition of European stock exchanges and startup associations has urged Europe to enhance its IPO market to better support its leading tech companies in going public domestically rather than seeking opportunities in the US. The letter highlights a significant disparity, noting that in 2021 alone, the US hosted more tech IPOs than Europe did over the entire eight-year span from 2015 to 2023. According to Sifted, the letter advocates the strengthening of the EU’s capital markets union and the implementation of policies that would make the process of public listing and investing in Europe less burdensome. 

Productivity gains from AI are not guaranteed

In an interview with the Financial Times, James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President for research, technology and society, argues that productivity gains from AI are not guaranteed and that despite many businesses publishing extraordinary economic potential numbers, society will only begin to see the productivity benefits through action, innovation, investment, and enabling policies. While Manyika agrees that executives are incentivised to replace workers with AI, he believes that the real value of AI is when it is used to increase a company’s top line rather than just cut costs. According to Manyika, “You don’t win by cutting costs. You win by creating more valuable outputs.” 

AI and dating. A match made in heaven? 

The Financial Times this week reported that dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr will soon be using AI-powered “wingmen” to help users to boost their profile and nail their chat up lines. The companies are hoping this AI assistance will help tackle dating app fatigue amongst younger users by addressing some of the “biggest pain points” of online dating. It remains to be seen whether potential suitors will be disappointed when their date’s chat fails to live up to the expectations set by AI.  

Top Tweets of the Week

• Zoe Kleinman, Tech Editor, BBC News: I had a brilliant day off at @KingsCollegeLon learning about quantum mechanics. It blew my mind. And there’s still so much about it scientists are trying to figure out. The “wavelength equation” which seems to accurately predict the probability of things happening was essentially made up by Schrodinger (of cat fame) 100 years ago (OK to be fair, I assume was an educated guess!) and to this day nobody really knows why it works – but it does.  
• Elon Musk: The 𝕏 algorithm assumes that if you interact with content, you want to see more of that content. One of the strongest signals is if you forward 𝕏 posts to friends, it assumes you like that content a lot, because it takes effort to forward. Unfortunately, if the actual reason you forwarded the content to friends was because you were outraged by it, we are currently not smart enough to realize that.
• Amy Lewin, Editor of Sifted: @innovateuk UK has reversed a decision to award just half the number of grants (25/50) it had promised to female founders in a funding competition, after uproar on social media. It will now award the full 50.

Number of the week

£299– The cost of an hour-long body scan by Neko Health that uses AI to collect millions of data points and detect health issues early on, according to TechCrunch.