Tech and Cybersecurity: A Closer Look at This Week’s News. 17/03/2024

Happy St Patricks day everone.
It’s been another bustling week in the tech world. From new legislation to corporate disruptions and espionage charges, here are the five tech stories at the forefront.

The EU AI Act

A Step Towards Regulating Technology The European Union has passed the AI Act, setting a precedent for regulating artificial intelligence. This act is designed to ensure AI develops safely and with a focus on human rights.

The EU AI Act is a significant law overseeing artificial intelligence use within the European Union. Here are the main points and expected effects of the act:

Key Points of the EU AI Act:

• It proposes a ban on AI systems that are considered high-risk and could harm EU citizens’ safety and rights, such as :
  • Critical Infrastructure: AI systems involved in managing utilities like electricity supply, water, and wind energy, where their malfunction could endanger life and health.
  • Healthcare: AI is used in medical devices and other health-related applications.
  • Education: Systems used for grading or predicting student performance.
  • Employment: AI tools used in recruitment, performance evaluations, and credit scoring applications.
  • Law Enforcement: Applications used in surveillance and law enforcement activities.
• It’s expected to set a global standard for AI regulation, much like the GDPR did for data privacy.

Expected Effects of the Legislation:

• The act ensures AI systems are safe and respect EU values, protecting citizens from potential AI misuse.
• It aims to encourage investment and innovation in AI across Europe, leading to the development of reliable AI systems.
• The act could shape global tech regulation, promoting the European model of tech governance worldwide.
• It introduces a ‘risk-based’ approach, where the level of risk determines the strictness of the rules for AI systems.

The EU AI Act is a step towards ensuring that AI technology develops safely and in accordance with human values. It could influence AI in Europe and by global standards and practices in AI development and use.

More IT Outage due to Software updates:

There is yet another outage of critical IT systems this week.

Tesco and Sainsbury’s Face IT Outages Tesco and Sainsbury’s, two leading UK retailers, experienced significant IT outages this week. The issues affected online services and in-store operations, leading to cancelled deliveries and payment problems.

Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s experienced major technical issues that disrupted their services. The problems were due to an error with an overnight software update. This caused Sainsbury’s to be unable to fulfil most of its online grocery deliveries and affected contactless payments at some stores. Tesco had to cancel some online orders due for delivery on the same day.

Sainsbury’s apologized to customers and stated they were working hard to fix the issue. They also mentioned proactively contacting customers to rebook orders as soon as possible. Tesco acknowledged the inconvenience and assured them they had addressed the technical problem.

It’s unclear whether the IT issues at Tesco and Sainsbury’s were linked, but both companies experienced disruptions on the same day due to the software update error.

The outages highlight the importance of robust IT systems and the potential impact on customers and business operations when these systems fail.

Both companies have since resolved the issues and are working to mitigate further disruptions.

Google Employee Accused of Stealing AI Secrets

A former Google employee has been charged with stealing trade secrets related to AI. The individual allegedly transferred sensitive information to personal accounts and is accused of sending it to China.

Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, was arrested in California and is facing charges for transferring confidential information from Google’s network to his personal account and sending it to China. He worked at Google from 2019 and was involved in developing software for Google’s supercomputing data centers. Between May 2022 and May 2023, Ding allegedly uploaded confidential files into a personal cloud account. These files were related to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that enables Google’s supercomputers to train large AI models through machine learning.

In June 2022, Ding was approached by Beijing Rongshu Lianzhi Technology Co (Rongshu) and offered the position of Chief Technology Officer. Before May 2023, he also founded his own China-based company, Shanghai Zhisuan Technology Co (Zhisuan), and named himself CEO. Ding did not inform Google about his affiliations with these companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice has expressed concerns that foreign adversaries could use generative AI to engage in covert influence operations to manipulate U.S. public opinion. The FBI has stated that the theft of innovative technology and trade secrets from American companies can have severe economic and national security consequences.

This case underscores the importance of safeguarding sensitive technologies and the potential risks of intellectual property theft in the highly competitive field of AI.

SpaceX Celebrates Successful Starship Launch

SpaceX has achieved another milestone, the successful launch of its Starship. This marks a step forward in the company’s mission to make space travel more accessible.

SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, was destroyed during its return to Earth after nearly completing its third test flight. The spacecraft’s cruise vessel flew around the globe for the first time, but contact was lost during the final stages of the test, just as it re-entered the atmosphere. The ship presumably either burned up or came apart during re-entry. Despite this, the test provided valuable data that will help design and develop a more robust rocket for future missions.

The Starship’s upper stage didn’t stick its planned water landing in the Indian Ocean, going dark partway through its fiery descent through Earth’s atmosphere. However, the ship kept its cameras on during reentry, showing the intense conditions it faced.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is overseeing an investigation of SpaceX Starship’s third test flight. This follows the loss of both stages, which the FAA has classified as a mishap.

SpaceX investor Chad Anderson expressed that the third Starship test flight was “super exciting” to watch and believes that Starship will open up 'entirely new markets’.

This event marks a significant step in SpaceX’s journey towards making space travel more accessible and sustainable, despite the challenges encountered during the test flight.

Google I/O 2024:

What’s New? At this year’s Google I/O, the company unveiled new technologies in AI, mobile, web, and cloud computing, promising to transform the digital landscape.

Google I/O 2024 is set to be a significant event, scheduled for May 14th. It’s expected to showcase the latest in AI, Android, Pixel innovations, and more. Here are some key points to look forward to:

• AI Innovations: Google is likely to present advancements in its AI technology, including updates on the Gemini models, which are part of Google’s large language models (LLMs). There might also be discussions on improving AI performance and addressing challenges such as accuracy in ethnic group depictions and hallucinations.
• New Hardware: The midrange Pixel 8a is anticipated to debut, powered by the Tensor 3 chipset. This follows the pattern of previous I/O events where new hardware was introduced.
• Android 15: Updates on the next version of Android are expected. The developer preview of Android 15 has already been released, hinting at new features like lock screen widgets and the ability to save pairs of apps.

Google I/O is a platform where Google traditionally unveils new products and technologies that have the potential to shape the future of digital experiences. This year’s event is particularly exciting as it promises to bring a host of new developments in AI and mobile technology.

These stories highlight the dynamic and influential nature of the tech industry, shaping how we interact with technology in our everyday lives. With each week bringing new developments, it’s an industry that never stands still.