The Search Engine Wars are Heating Up, but What’s Really at Stake?

Google’s dominance as the foremost search engine in the world has seemed like a permanent fixture of the internet age, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, it now has competition for the first time in decades. OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT has made it one of the most talked about tech companies in the world, and as one of its investors, Microsoft has been attempting to use generative AI to give Bing a boost.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this poses the first great threat to Google since the 2000s. No other search engine has been able to come close to Google, but the inclusion of an AI co-pilot into Bing threatens to upend the delicate balance that has allowed Google to maintain control over the top spot for such an extended duration.

Nokia used to seem like an unassailable force in the world of mobile phones, but after the arrival of the smartphone, hardly anyone talks about the company anymore. This might be what will happen with Google and AI because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making Google obsolete.

Global search advertising revenue is slated to reach over $279 billion in 2023. By 2027, it will be just under $400 billion, or $389.9 billion to be precise. Whichever company ends up winning the search engine wars will be able to lay claim to this massive pile of cash. Hence, it’s easy to see why both Google and Microsoft are going full speed ahead with all things having been considered and taken into account.

This also means that the stakes are higher than might have been the case otherwise. If Google gives away even one percent of its control over to Bing, this would translate into billions in dollars of lost revenue. It will be interesting to see whether or not Microsoft’s investment into AI will bear fruit, or if Google will be able to hold its own in the future.


H/T: Statista
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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Facebook's 'News' Section Disappearing in Europe

Meta has chosen to remove the 'News' section from Facebook for users in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. When we say 'deprecate,' it means Meta has decided to take this part away. These changes are scheduled to happen in early December, according to Meta's announcement.

Today, the company made an important announcement in their official statement. They emphasized the need to prioritize user preferences on their platform, particularly highlighting the popularity of short videos. By aligning their focus with what users truly enjoy, they are demonstrating a commitment to delivering an outstanding experience.

Facebook is making strategic moves to shift the emphasis away from news content on its platform. By taking inspiration from TikTok's success with short videos, they are striving to create a more engaging and dynamic user experience. This innovative approach reflects Facebook's commitment to evolving with changing trends and meeting the evolving needs of its users.

In a recent announcement, Meta made a strategic decision to discontinue payment to US publishers for featuring their content in Facebook's News section. This move signifies their commitment to evolving their platform and exploring new opportunities. As part of this shift, Meta has also revealed plans to prioritize user-generated videos over the News section, aligning with the growing trend and demand for engaging visual content. By adapting to changing user preferences, Meta demonstrates its dedication to providing an immersive and dynamic experience for its users.

In the past, Facebook News was accessible in several countries including the UK, USA, France, Australia, and Germany. However, due to recent changes happening in Europe this December, it will now only be available for users in the US and Australia. This adjustment ensures a more streamlined experience for users while still providing valuable news content on Facebook. You might be surprised to learn that news actually takes up less than 3 percent of the content users see in their Facebook feeds globally, according to Meta. This means that there is a wide range of diverse content available for users to explore and engage with on the platform.

You can be confident that users will still have no trouble finding news articles in their feeds. Despite the recent changes made in December, European news publishers will continue to have full access to their accounts and pages. Furthermore, Meta is taking proactive steps to promote the production of captivating short videos by news organizations. This initiative demonstrates their commitment to helping news outlets broaden their influence and connect with a wider audience.

They can effectively drive a significant amount of traffic to their websites by making use of powerful features such as Reels and leveraging their advanced advertising system. These strategies not only attract more visitors but also help businesses achieve their marketing goals with utmost efficiency. This not only increases their visibility but also enhances the user experience by providing valuable content directly to their target audience.

Rest assured, Meta is committed to honoring their current agreements with publishers in the UK, France, and Germany until December. However, it is important to note that there will be no new agreements for content on Facebook News or any upcoming offerings for news publishers in those regions in the near future.

Exciting rumors are swirling about Meta's potential plans to offer ad-free paid subscriptions in Europe. This move could address concerns raised by EU regulators regarding data collection and privacy, ensuring a more secure and tailored user experience for customers in the region. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting development! While Meta has yet to make an official statement on this matter, it's undeniable that Facebook is consistently enhancing its features. This commitment to improvement highlights their dedication to staying at the forefront of social media innovation.

Read next: TikTok Boosts Data Privacy Efforts with First European Data Center
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

TikTok Boosts Data Privacy Efforts with First European Data Center

TikTok, the famous video app, has taken an essential step toward addressing long-standing concerns about user privacy and its ties to China. The corporation has opened its first European data centre, a significant step toward protecting customer data.

TikTok's decision to establish a new data centre in Dublin, Ireland, is a clear testament to their unwavering commitment towards enhancing data privacy and security. By investing in this state-of-the-art facility, TikTok is demonstrating their proactive approach in safeguarding user information. This move not only ensures compliance with stringent regulations but also reinforces their dedication to providing a safe and secure environment for their users' data.

This state-of-the-art data center marks the beginning of a series of strategic investments in Europe. It serves as the primary hub for hosting the valuable data generated by TikTok users across the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, and Switzerland.

Our commitment to safeguarding and securely managing this information is of utmost importance to us. Furthermore, TikTok is taking important steps to enhance its data storage capabilities in Europe by planning the establishment of two additional data centers in Ireland and one in Norway. This strategic move will not only ensure efficient data management but also strengthen its commitment to user privacy and security within the region.

The operational status of TikTok's maiden European data centre in Ireland signifies a crucial milestone. The company has initiated transferring European user data to this secure location. The remainder of the data centres are scheduled for completion by the close of 2024.

TikTok has retained the services of British cybersecurity firm NCC to strengthen its commitment to data protection. This collaboration comprises rigorous assessments of TikTok's data controls and security procedures, as well as an independent verification process.

This program, known as "Project Clover," runs concurrently with "Project Texas," launched in 2020. TikTok vowed to deploy similar security safeguards for US customers as part of Project Texas. This included seeking the help of American computer behemoth Oracle Corp to host user data in the United States and evaluate its software.

Addressing Concerns of Chinese Influence

In recent times, TikTok has faced growing international scrutiny due to legitimate concerns surrounding the security of user data and the perceived ties between its parent company, ByteDance, and the Chinese government. These concerns have prompted a closer examination of the platform's practices and raised important questions about privacy and data protection.

One of the most common fears is that user data on TikTok may be available to the Chinese authorities. This concern derives from a Chinese rule that requires corporations to hand over data to Beijing upon request.

In response to these concerns, the United States took the unprecedented action of banning TikTok from all federal government devices in December. Concerns about potential Chinese spying motivated this change.

The European Commission, acting in the best interest of the European Union (EU), made a significant move in March by prohibiting the use of TikTok on official devices within its jurisdiction. This decision was driven by valid concerns surrounding data security. It is worth noting that both Canada and the United Kingdom promptly followed suit, recognizing the importance of safeguarding sensitive information.

Amidst growing concerns, Montana took the lead by being the first state in the United States to completely prohibit the Chinese-owned video app back in May. Moreover, there is a possibility of a statewide ban on TikTok across the country. These actions highlight the increasing scrutiny surrounding this popular platform.

Finally, TikTok's establishment of its first European data centre in Dublin is a huge step forward in resolving privacy issues. The decision demonstrates TikTok's commitment to protecting user data, but it also serves as a proactive reaction to worldwide concerns about data security and potential foreign interference.

Read next: TikTok Steps Up Transparency Game by Embracing EU DSA Standards
by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World

Can The Uprising Of AI Positively Impact The Ever-growing Carbon Footprint Of The Tech World?

It’s no surprise that the tech world is being bombarded with modern systems that are adopting AI for the better.

All around the globe, we’re seeing data servers eat up billions of natural resources and leave behind a carbon footprint that isn’t an ideal scenario when it comes to the growing issues of climate change.

The world has close to 8000 different data centers and these are the cornerstone of today’s online technology. But the scary part is how the stats are not stagnant and they’re expecting to grow exponentially, making it an extremely scary situation when we consider the climate.

According to stats from expert researchers, AI being incorporated into the modern digital world may soon utilize 20% of the world’s electricity generated and that means saying hello to increased carbon emissions by nearly 5.5%.

This is a serious matter of concern, not to mention a mega threat as the startups and firms are coming close to what Silicon Valley is already emitting.

The head of Untether AI whose main goal revolves around producing chips that are more efficient for the atmosphere, says that companies cannot ignore the growing carbon footprint of the digital world.

He called it a pandora box and for that reason, companies have much better productivity but not at the cost of sacrificing the environment. The consequences are real and the impact is severe and before it’s too late, we need to really work hard and find a proper strategy, he adds.

What AI brings forward to the table can serve as consequences faced by the human race for the next decade and that’s why each step related to AI must be calculated. So as you can imagine, the scope that such a mission includes is definitely large.

When it comes down to AI and its respective tools like GPT-4 technology by OpenAI and Google’s Palm 2, we can see two main stages. The first one is linked to training the AI models and the second has to do with the execution phase.

• Also read: Nvidia’s Data Center Revenues Swell as Intel and AMD Get Left Behind

To give you a better understanding of the severity of the situation, researchers from Massachusetts studied how much carbon was emitted during the training of AI models. And it’s shocking to see how the figures were so much that they were the equivalent of using five vehicles.

On the other hand, another latest study by tech giant Google spoke about training GPT-3 and that resulted in close to 552 metric tonnes of pollution in the form of carbon emissions. So you can find that equal to driving a car for two million kilometers.

The latest GPT4 technology received training that’s 570 times more than this. As the systems get more advanced with growing time, we can see how AI is setting the stage for more danger in the future.

Nvidia which is popular for producing AI chips is giving rise to new processors that are necessary for the likes of training models such as GPUs. These happen to be more environmentally friendly which is great news.

The other issue is linked to how generative AI is getting used such as when you have to apply trained models to highlight a certain object or response to a particular prompt. It’s all a matter of inference and that could be an issue with AI tools like ChatGPT that could be utilized by anyone out there and incorporated into one’s everyday life with ease like a common web search.

Yes, chips made by Nvidia are energy efficient, they utilize a lot of power. So the goal is to get AI to be both, energy efficient and consume power and that’s where most companies need to focus on.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The Upcoming Launch Of The iPhone 15 May See Apple Overtaking Samsung To Be The World’s Leading Smartphone

The anticipation and hype surrounding the iPhone 15 by Apple is one that cannot be denied. And as the Cupertino firm focuses on just that, a new report claims that the arrival of the new device is set to solidify Apple’s leading position as the world’s best smartphone.

This includes taking over Samsung, which would no longer be seen as a dream but a reality, as confirmed by the latest report by marketing intelligence firm TrendForce.

For those who might not be aware, Samsung has always taken the topmost position as the world’s best mobile brand. But now, things are seemingly challenging and it’s all thanks to Apple whose latest products are just a major force to reckon with.

But you can never deny how Samsung is hard to beat thanks to the major diversity of smartphones that it keeps on offering in the market. For instance, you’ve got budget devices and then you’ve got some of the best flagship models too. And they are all competing with top-of-the-range hotsellers like the iPhone Pro and the even more exclusive Pro Max variants.

On the other hand, we’ve got iPhone maker Apple really targeting the most premium buyers out there. Just the iPhone SE is offered in the middle-range category and it would be more than wrong to classify that as budget-friendly. Hence, it’s wrong to even come close to Samsung in this regard.

But as per the latest stats, Apple is getting closer and closer to overtaking the popular South Korean electronic giant and experts predict that 2023 is the year when we’re most likely going to see that happening.

It’s all dependent on the way the upcoming launch for Apple’s latest iPhone 15 goes and that’s going to really set the stage for a historic show, the report adds.

Today, Samsung is at the forefront of production where the company has managed to get close to 54 million units in the second quarter of 2023. But it did similarly go through a setback of 12.4% QoQ.

Then we’ve got other factors to consider like some major economic downturns and competition, as witnessed with reports from the firm’s performance report in Q2 of this year. When compared to the previous year, things aren’t exactly what many had imagined.

And while the tech giant is anticipating major success with the launch of its latest and innovative foldable designs in the third quarter, we might just see a slight effect that brings on the firm’s overall growth figures. This might be related to the lower sales figures when compared to is S series.

Moving on to tech giant Apple, the results for Q2 appear to be worse when you look at production and that’s because of the shift it’s taking from its old variants to newer renditions. The results for Q2 came out to be 42 million and that’s a whopping 21% fall from last quarter.

Still, it’s quite interesting to see how both companies are still competing, neck to neck in terms of yearly production. The question is if the iPhone 15 lineup will go beyond the expectations of the market or not. And if the former is true, we can see Samsung being overtaken by Apple as the world’s leader in the smartphone market.

These findings are all in line with the suggestions provided by the IDC in the past week. Remember, the iPhone may see new records in terms of worldwide market share figures too. We see shipments for iPhones hitting a 1.1% growth this year to get to the top 19.9% share. Moreover, iOS is still very resilient, experts claim, in terms of taking on major challenges. This is a weak point of Android, where the latter is expected to undergo a further 6% decline in 2023.

Meanwhile, the latest findings by TrendForce are also shedding light on the entire market for smartphones as a whole. And that’s linked to the production of smartphones around the globe witnessing the lowest shipment figures that have ever arisen in the past 10 years.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

45% of Teens Remember YouTube Ads After Watching Them

Getting consumers to watch ads has become ever more difficult as of late, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, Gen Z is showing a surprising amount of enthusiasm for watching ads. YouTube has posted a 4.4% bump in its quarterly revenues which reveals that ad watching is not gone for good, and it turns out that Gen Z is helping this push by remembering more ads than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 45% of teens stated that they can remember an ad long after they have watched it on YouTube. Since over 80% of teens admitted to watching YouTube videos on a regular basis, the Google owned video sharing and social media platform might be the most prized one of all for brands looking to market to consumers.

Some might say that TikTok deserves the top spot, but teens were only half as likely to remember TikTok ads than those they saw on YouTube. 20% even went so far as to say that watching YouTube was part of their daily routine, which lends credence to the notion that YouTube still reigns supreme as far as teen consumer are concerned.

Targeting Gen Z is important because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping brands relevant. This is leading many brands to divert ad dollars previously reserved for traditional mediums like television towards newer platforms such as YouTube. As a result, YouTube’s ad revenues have nowhere to go but up, although TikTok might give it a run for its money in the near future.

The consensus is that YouTube shows teens the most relevant and engaging ads of all, which improves recall. The quantity of ads is far less important than how well remembered it is, and YouTube is clearly winning out in that category despite TikTok’s best efforts. Whether or not TikTok is able to bridge the gap as it did with pure user counts remains to be seen.

H/T: Precise TV.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Unveil the Veil of How AI Technology Can Fuel Disinformation

A shadowy entity named Nea Paw has exposed the terrifying powers of artificial intelligence (AI) in a future where technology progresses at a dizzying speed. Paw, who chose anonymity and claimed to be a cybersecurity expert, began a covert project called "CounterCloud," in which they used the capability of OpenAI's ChatGPT to create what can only be characterized as an AI-driven "disinformation machine." Paw has shown how easily widespread misinformation can be created in just two months, with a monthly operational cost of less than $400, sending chills down the spines of everyone concerned about the future of information warfare.

The Purpose Behind CounterCloud

CounterCloud, Nea Paw's invention, wanted to shed light on AI's scary potential, notably in propagating disinformation. Paw honestly described the project's objectives and intentions in a YouTube video. They openly declared that their goal was to see AI-generated disinformation in action, claiming that "the impressive linguistic abilities of large language models make them ideal for composing counterfeit news articles."

The Inner Workings of CounterCloud

The journey of constructing CounterCloud commenced with Paw feeding opposing articles into ChatGPT while providing the AI model with prompts to generate counter articles. This simple yet unsettling process set the stage for an AI-driven propaganda machine. CounterCloud would subsequently churn out various versions of the same article, each tailored to different styles and perspectives.

Photo: FreePik

Paw explained that AI's capabilities go beyond just assisting with writing. It can even generate fictional stories, create historical events, and raise doubts about the authenticity of original content. This showcases the power and versatility of AI in crafting compelling narratives that captivate readers' attention.

Paw incorporated a gatekeeper module to enhance the fabricated narratives' authenticity. This module ensured that the AI would respond exclusively to content deemed most relevant. Paw impressively utilized audio clips of newsreaders narrating the AI-generated articles, as well as skillfully manipulated images, to enhance the authenticity and credibility of their content. Going above and beyond, they even created fictitious journalist profiles and inserted counterfeit comments beneath particular articles. This level of attention to detail reinforces their work's believability and reliability.

CounterCloud's Machiavellian tendencies did not stop there. The system was built to spread its message by endorsing and reposting messages that supported its narrative. On the other hand, it created "counter" tweets to challenge anyone who deviated from its intended path. Surprisingly, CounterCloud evolved into a completely independent AI system within two months, capable of producing "convincing content 90% of the time, 24/7."

The Ethical Dilemma and a Lesson in Transparency

Despite the remarkable progress achieved with CounterCloud, the creators have exercised restraint by refraining from unleashing it onto the internet. Paw expressed their concerns, recognizing that by allowing such a tool to exist online, there is the risk of spreading misinformation and propaganda, which could have unforeseen and potentially harmful consequences. Rather than staying silent, their approach involves educating the public about how these systems work. They firmly believe that promoting awareness can bring more benefits in the long run.

The Dark Side of AI and the Threat to Democracy

Nea Paw's CounterCloud project is a stark reminder of the perils AI poses to our democratic foundations. AI technology has emerged as a formidable threat by accelerating the creation and dissemination of online disinformation. The concerns expressed by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, are indeed valid. He recognizes that AI's ability to deliver personalized and persuasive content on a large scale, along with producing high-quality media, has the potential to significantly shape public opinion and even impact elections. This highlights the power and influence that AI can wield in today's world.

Conclusion: A Wake-Up Call

As we stand on the precipice of a future dominated by AI technology, Nea Paw's CounterCloud project serves as a clarion call. It illustrates the urgency of grappling with AI-powered disinformation's ethical, societal, and political implications. The power of AI is undeniably captivating, but it is crucial that we handle it with care and transparency. The eyes of the world are upon us, and our decisions will have a lasting impact on our digital future. It is our responsibility to use AI prudently for the benefit of all.



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by Rubah Usman via Digital Information World