Catch up on this week’s round-up of the latest hosting and tech news. Here’s what we’ve uncovered since our last edition.
OpenAI’s GPT-4
Artificial intelligence developer, OpenAI has released an updated version of its ChatGPT chatbot, called GPT-4. This new version has even greater abilities, including better reasoning skills, and is now able to process eight times as many words as its predecessor. It can also respond to images: show it a photo of vegetables, for example, and it can provide you with a recipe for a dish that contains them.
GPT-4 can chat with users using natural human language and even write computer code. However, its developers say that is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate and has limited knowledge of things that have happened since 2021. As a result, it can sometimes invent wrong answers, give out-of-date responses or even spread disinformation.
GTP-4 is now being used to power the Bing search engine and will be available for public use to paying subscribers of ChatGPT Plus.
Samsung Chips In
With manufacturers still unable to meet global demand for microchips, Samsung is planning to invest in home-grown processors. Over the next two decades, the world’s biggest producer of memory chips, televisions and mobiles will contribute around £190bn towards a vast South Korean semiconductor hub which the country’s government is pushing to develop. This will help establish five new mega microchip plants.
Samsung is not the only business getting involved. Aiming to get £350 billion in private investment, the South Korean government is offering help with infrastructure and tax incentives to attract other companies.
Google Drone
It looks like Amazon is not the only tech giant with eyes on the drone delivery market. Over the next year, Wing, a company owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is planning to develop drone delivery network technology that can cope with millions of deliveries. The technology is currently being trialled in Australia and Ireland, where it is making around a thousand daily deliveries, mainly of groceries and takeaway food.
While other drone delivery companies are still focussing on developing their drones, Wing is concentrating on developing the technology to operate thousands of drones and make millions of deliveries 24/7. Its network will be able to understand the best way for individual drones to collect, travel, deliver and recharge, ensuring that the service is safe, efficient and gives customer satisfaction. Rather than a drone making a single delivery per flight, they will make several collections and stop-offs following the most effective routes. This could include them working in unison, passing packages from one drone to another.
Apart from the development of the software, Wing will also need to deploy enough remote charging pads to recharge its fleet as well as train ground-based pilots to supervise drones during flight.
Security Stress
While everyone understands the devastating impact of a cyberattack, few are aware of the effect this is having on security staff. However, according to a recent study by Gartner, work-related stress and the pressure to keep systems secure will cause almost half of cyber security executives to leave their jobs in the next two years – many leaving IT completely.
With IT talent already in short supply, this exodus can have a negative impact on the security of businesses across the globe. Indeed, many say it already has, as the current pressure faced by security leaders is affecting their performance and decision-making. Gartner’s report indicates that many organisations lack the ability to support employees with work-related stress; the implication being that they need to put processes in place quickly.
New Fintech Hubs
The new multimillion-pound Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has been launched in London as part of a government programme to develop a network of regional hubs that will benefit the UK fintech sector.
In addition to the centre in London, £5.5 million in funding from the government and the City of London Corporation will create a national network, with regional hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle, together with national hubs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The aim of the network is to ensure that out-of-London startups can contribute to the growth and development of the UK fintech industry and bring innovation to the whole of the UK. It will also provide greater connectivity between regions, enabling collaboration and improving nationwide support. Additionally, the government wants collaboration with organisations beyond the fintech sector, including IT companies, universities and government departments.
Visit the WHUK website for more news, knowledge base articles, blog posts and information on our wide range of services.
