The French MistralAI has released a beta version of its chatbot, Elon Musk sued OpenAI, and Google has more troubles. What else did we live through last week?
Elon Musk in a lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman argues that the merger with Microsoft was a betrayal of the company's mission in pursuit of profit.
According to the latest forecasts from ABI Research, the augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technology sector is on the verge of a revolution - by 2028, the number of AR/VR sets delivered is expected to increase more than fivefold, reaching 69 million units.
Week in review 5.12: first birthday of ChatGPT; scandal in NCBR
How has the world changed after a year of ChatGPT's existence, what's happening at NCBR and why does Meta have (again) trouble with European privacy law? We invite you to another weekly review of the Digitized editorial team.
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Summary
Only 3.7% of employees in Poland use the OpenAI tool, ChatGPT, one of the lowest rates in Europe. A study revealed that 80% of Polish investors have higher education, are around 40 years old, and either work full-time or run their own business.
A scandal at the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) has left startups without financing. The Association of Marketing Communication SAR, Polish Supply Management Leaders (PSML), and the International Advertising Association IAA Poland have launched a campaign to promote ethical tender practices.
The European Center for Digital Rights (noyb) has filed a lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram's subscription service at the Austrian data protection office. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has also filed a complaint against Meta with the network of EU consumer protection bodies.
The United Arab Emirates has launched a new project called AI71 in Abu Dhabi, aiming to compete with major companies in the AI industry. Viaplay Group has decided to postpone its exit from Poland until mid-2025 due to underperformance and lack of profitability. Google will pay $73 million annually to Canadian publishers under the new Online News Act.
Spotify has announced mass layoffs, intending to cut around 17% of its current staff, equating to approximately 1,500 employees. The first Polish communication satellite is being developed by Thorium Space in collaboration with the European Space Agency as part of the HummingSAT project.
Analyses suggest that the costs of implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in organizations are high, potentially leading to a decrease in AI tool adoption by 2024. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology argues that AI implementation requires cooperation across departments, sometimes necessitating extensive reorganizations or changes in work culture.
The Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede's research has led to the creation of a calculator that compares selected countries in terms of their cultural orientation and its impact on work organization. Researchers Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner developed a model of cultural dimensions, considering seven factors based on the relationship of opposites.
From the editorial team
ChatGPT has finished a year, but despite its global popularity, we still can't convince ourselves to it in Poland. Currently, only... 3.7% of employees in Poland use the OpenAI tool. This is one of the worst results in Europe. And how is it in the world? You will read about it in the sections Weekly news review and Digitized editorial team recommends.
You will also read there about the financial scandal at the National Center for Research and Development, a tender decalogue created by Polish marketing organizations, and about numerous troubles of Meta with mass lawsuits filed against it for violation of data privacy rights. You will also find out what Elon Musk has to say to X advertisers and why Google will pay media publishers in Canada 73 million dollars a year.
Welcome!
Weekly news review
Doing business in Poland
Portrait of a Polish investor in 2023. "Passive revolution has become a fact"
Over 4.5 thousand people took part in the study, and over 92% of them are men. Nearly 80% of them have higher education, they are on average about 40 years old, they work full-time (62%) or run their own business (23.8%). Experience? Half of them have not been investing for more than 5 years and in this respect, there is a growing trend compared to the low point set in 2017. The main investment motivation of the respondents turned out to be retirement goals (36%), while income diversification is a motivation for only 19.4% of respondents.
Scandal at the National Center for Research and Development. Startups without financing for the fraud of others
In the article of December 4, 2023, "Wyborcza.biz" describes the backstage of the scandal concerning the financing of startups by NCBR: "Two startups were supposed to get a million zlotys each as part of financing from NCBR. They started with projects, hired subcontractors, almost finished work, and NCBR does not pay out money. Because startupers are responsible for the offenses of others who tried to defraud money from NCBR" – we read. It's about Piezo Vest and Storage Energy companies, which in May 2023 tried to defraud funds. After the scandal was revealed, NCBR suspended the fund and stopped its financing. However, according to "Wyborcza", the money also did not reach the companies that were not involved in the fraud.
Tender bingo – a campaign promoting good tender practices has started
The Association of Marketing Communication SAR, Polish Supply Management Leaders (PSML) and the International Advertising Association IAA Poland have joined forces in a joint initiative to promote ethical tender practices. The result of the organizations' cooperation is the "Tender Bingo" campaign, the main goal of which is to increase awareness of the damage that unfair tender practices bring to all parties involved. The negative effects of such actions were presented in a humorous advertising spot with Janusz Chabior in the lead role.
Social media
Charges for Facebook and Instagram sued. "It's pathetic how Meta ignores the law"
The European Center for Digital Rights (noyb) has sued the Facebook and Instagram subscription service at the Austrian data protection office. The organization argues that Meta in this way creates an illusion of data protection choice and makes users pay for their basic right to privacy. – EU law requires that consent be the user's true free will. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a "privacy fee" of up to 250 euros a year if someone wants to exercise their basic right to data protection – argues in a press release Felix Mikolasch, data protection lawyer at noyb.
Meta under fire from consumer organizations – more entities are suing the subscription model
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) has filed a complaint with the network of EU consumer protection bodies (CPC) against the owner of Facebook and Instagram. Nineteen organizations from sixteen countries are also participating in the action – including the Polish Consumer Foundation and the Consumer Federation. They believe that Meta uses unfair market practices.
Mark Zuckerberg sold Meta shares. For the first time in two years
Mark Zuckerberg decided to take advantage of the 172-percent increase in Meta's share price this year, Bloomberg reports. Zuckerberg's Trust, as well as entities related to his charitable and political activities, sold about 682 thousand company shares worth about $185 million in November, Bloomberg calculated based on reports submitted to the US regulator. The agency notes that this is the first such sale of Meta shares since November 2021.
Elon Musk and X boycott continues. Over 300 brands have withdrawn their ads from the platform
From January 2022 to October 2023, out of 261 companies that invested over a million dollars in ads on the X/Twitter platform, as many as 86 percent decided to limit their spending. This is related to further allegations of promoting hate speech by Elon Musk and X. Recently, the billionaire expressed support for anti-Semitic remarks made by one of the platform's users. However, Elon Musk himself does not seem to be moved by this situation. On November 29, he took the stage at the DealBook conference, where he addressed the boycott by advertisers. "To all those who want to blackmail me with money: f*** off," said the billionaire from the stage.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI71. Artificial intelligence from Abu Dhabi a strong competitor for OpenAI?
The United Arab Emirates are joining the race for dominance in the AI industry. At the end of November 2023, a new project called AI71 was launched in Abu Dhabi. The company has a generative AI based on a model called Falcon and is officially among the most innovative research laboratories in the world. AI71 aspires to compete with the biggest companies in the industry, including OpenAI. The company is expected to accelerate progress in the field of artificial intelligence, opening up new perspectives in the area of technology in the medical, educational, and legal sectors.
Poland at the bottom in terms of using ChatGPT at work
According to data from OpenAI presented by the Polish Campus AI, only 3.7% of people in Poland used ChatGPT over the past year. This is one of the worst results in Europe. Only Italy is lower with a tool adaptation rate of 3.5%, which may however be a result of its temporary blockade in this country. The UK (5%) and Germany (4.5%) also report poor results. The leaders in AI use are Sweden, Montenegro and Iceland, where 29, 26 and 23% of employees respectively use these technologies.
Technology market
Viaplay postpones its exit from Poland until the summer of 2025. The company sees no chance of making a profit
In the report for the third quarter of 2023 published on Friday, December 1, the company Viaplay Group estimates that its platform in Poland and the Baltic countries still achieves results below expectations and has no chance of making a profit. The decision announced in July to withdraw the service from the region has therefore been upheld, but it is now expected to happen by mid-2025.
Google will pay 73 million dollars a year to publishers in Canada
In Canada, the provisions of the Online News Act law, which regulates how tech giants can use publishers' content on their platforms, are just starting to apply. This means that under the new regulation, Google will now have to pay Canadian media 73 million dollars a year. Canada's Minister of National Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, announced that the path of cooperation with Google is a new model of cooperation for other countries.
Merger of Figma and Adobe will not happen? "It's a threat to competition"
According to Reuters reports, the British Competition Office (CMA) issued an opinion on the planned acquisition of Figma by Adobe for 20 billion dollars. According to officials, this merger poses a threat to the innovation of services used by most designers in the UK. The official press release stated, among other things, that the transaction could "eliminate competition", "limit innovation" and "remove Figma as a threat to Adobe's flagship products: Photoshop and Illustrator". In this context, the CMA is therefore considering the possibility of blocking the merger or imposing on Adobe the requirement to sell certain parts of its business.
Mass layoffs at Spotify. Almost one fifth of the employees may leave the company
Spotify announced mass layoffs of employees. The streaming service intends to get rid of even 17% of its current staff, which is about 1.5 thousand people. This is also another round of layoffs in the company, but so far the largest. The company's CEO Daniel Ek explains that this decision had to be made due to the need to optimize costs and adapt to the "drastic slowdown in economic growth".
Trivia
The first Polish communication satellite is being created. When will it reach orbit?
As part of the HummingSAT project, the Polish company Thorium Space, in cooperation with the European Space Agency, is developing the first Polish communication satellite. The SmallGEO satellite, planned to be launched in five years, has the potential to significantly contribute to the development of Polish space technology. In the Thorium Space program, it is responsible for defining the entire mission, designing the satellite, and developing and building the digital data payload.
Digitized editorial team recommends
Senseless jobs. Can artificial intelligence support them?
There are already analyses suggesting that the costs of introducing artificial intelligence in organizations are high - so high that generative AI tools may face a cold shower in 2024. For example, experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology argue that implementing AI in companies still requires the cooperation of many departments, sometimes far-reaching reorganizations or changes in work culture - and this costs. It is not without reason that in management sciences it has been known for decades that technological development does not necessarily make us more productive - and certainly not everyone and not immediately
So instead of asking whether AI will replace us at work, it is worth asking about the risk of worsening employment conditions, the possibility of a decrease in real wages, and even the risk of outsourcing positions. And if we are already asking about artificial intelligence, let's ask whether some algorithms will not become something like a superior, as is the case with professions from the so-called gig economy e.g. Uber drivers.
ChatGPT has completed a year. Here's how its presence has changed the market
On November 30, ChatGPT completed a year and it can be safely said that its existence has defined the global technology market in the last twelve months - and probably this is not the end. Charlie Warzel attempted a reliable summary of this time in his analysis for "The Atlantic" magazine. We invite you to read it.
Can the boss look into our fridge, or about recruiting foreigners
The discovery that human minds are culturally programmed is owed to the Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede. His research conducted in companies around the world contributed to the creation of a calculator that allows comparing selected countries in terms of their cultural orientation and its impact on work organization. This is the so-called Country Comparison Tool, in which you can check cultures in six of their dimensions categorized by Hofstede. These are: power distance, individualism, achievement and success motivation, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence.
Parallel to Hofstede, researchers Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner developed their own model of cultural dimensions, taking into account seven factors based on the relationship of opposites. These are: universalism - particularism, individualism - collectivism, affectivity - neutrality, status: ascribed - achieved, action: sequential - synchronic, environment control - living in harmony with the environment, holistic - specific.
Editor-in-chief of Digitized. He has been associated with journalism for almost a third of his life; he worked for the Polish editions of Playboy, CKM and Esquire magazines, as well as Well.pl and naTemat.pl services. In his texts, he tries to understand reality and describe it objectively. He remains skeptical about many phenomena, but is not afraid to admit a mistake and change his mind. A native of Warsaw. Privately, he is a seeker of sense in nonsense and order amidst entropy. He likes wise words.
Recruitment of qualified cybersecurity specialists is a major problem for companies in Poland, according to a KPMG report. The study showed that more than half of the respondents experience difficulties in hiring and retaining competent staff in this area.
The company Creandum published a report on the salaries of startup founders. The study was conducted among 650 entrepreneurs from 47 European countries, and the aim was to provide data on the average earnings of founders at various stages of their companies' development.
The Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) based in Abu Dhabi officially presented AI71. Its aim is to compete with the best laboratories dealing with artificial intelligence, including OpenAI.
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