Here are some more brief updates from today, along with my unfiltered comments.
#Google is putting $32 billion on the table to acquire Wiz, an Israeli startup specializing in cloud security powered by AI—its largest acquisition ever. Essentially, it sends a very strong signal to Microsoft and Amazon, the toughest rivals in the cloud market, especially now that the battle has shifted to AI. But… if their first attempt at $23 billion was sunk by regulatory fears, how do they expect a $32 billion acquisition to pass without the antitrust authorities going into overdrive?
Staying on the topic of tech giants playing tightrope with regulation, #Amazon has announced that Echo users will soon no longer be able to process Alexa recordings locally. In other words, all the data will go directly to Amazon’s cloud. Even more clear? Everything we say at home ends up at Amazon. Do we like that? Not really… especially since it will all be processed by an AI, with our lives included…
Speaking of AI invading our lives: #ElonMusk, with his xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a startup specializing in advanced video-generating AI. Now, imagine the chaos when someone—say, him—can create hyper-realistic videos at will, indistinguishable from reality.
It’s no wonder that over 400 Hollywood figures have signed an open letter against OpenAI and Google’s calls to loosen copyright restrictions. And they’re right: this isn’t just about creativity, but about curbing the real risk of exploiting copyrighted content to train systems that then produce works putting original creators out of business. Without clear limits, we risk AI turning into a massive content vacuum, leaving only crumbs for the original authors.
In France, a country that already isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite, publishers and writers have filed a lawsuit against #Meta, accusing it of massively using copyrighted content to train its AIs. If this lawsuit succeeds, it could pave the way for finally protecting intellectual property from digital pillaging. If they pull it off, I’ll be sure to say, “Vive la France!”
Also in the AI arena, #Intel—which has struggled in recent years—is trying to bounce back under its new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan. How does he plan to radically change Intel’s strategy on AI and chip production? Intel needs to reclaim lost ground. But if they don’t move quickly, they risk being left out of the big leagues, with other giants now too far ahead to catch up.
Last but not least, #MIT warns that climate change will increase the amount of space debris, leading to more frequent collisions between old satellites—a cosmic nightmare and a real threat to our internet connectivity and national security. Once again, we’re great at dreaming of Mars, but we risk forgetting the problems orbiting right above our heads.
In short, we’re living in very interesting times. More than technology, what we need now is awareness—otherwise, we risk being swept away by a future moving too fast for us.