Generative AI Boom Could Trigger Millions of Tons in E-Waste, New Research Shows

According to a new study at Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Urban Environment , generative AI is going to produce million tons of e-waste in the upcoming year. The researchers said that they tried to add every device like batteries, circuit boards and other hardware that is being used to power generative AI applications in their study.

We all know that ChatGPT has taken over the world but there is a lot of hardware associated with it that is used to run the models. GPUs are used to run these applications, mostly in data centers and server farms. Generative AIs need energy and resources to work and they are also run on batteries in case of power outages because they are important for many users. But all the hardware and power equipment has a limited time under which it can work. After the time is over, this hardware can become e-waste.

The researchers studied the e-waste produced by AI applications and tried to estimate how much e-waste can be generated until the end of this decade. The researchers estimated the hardware which is used by AI applications and the data centers which are responsible for running many AI models. They also predicted how much the demand for AI applications is going to increase in the upcoming years.

The researchers said that if everything goes according to their estimates, AI is going to produce 1.2 to 5 million metric tons of e-waste. Right now, AI is producing 2.6 thousand metric tons of e-waste but it can increase to 2.5 million by the end of the decade. The researchers suggested recycling hardware if AI companies want to avoid such amounts of e-waste.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Meta Shares Strong Performance Update For Q3 of 2024 With Massive Revenue Increase

Meta is on a roll. The company just shared its latest earnings insights for Q3 of 2024, which featured a strong performance during this period.

This included a massive revenue increase with a smaller rise in active users across all of its platforms. Let’s not forget its investments throughout several different projects that must be appreciated.

For starters, Meta reports a rise in users across Threads, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. A total user count of 3.29 billion was outlined which is a small but notable rise in previous figures that stood at 3.27 billion in the second quarter of this year.

It might not seem like a lot at first but considering how there are 8 billion people in this world and out of those over 3 billion are on Meta is major. To be more specific, close to 40% of the world’s population is using Meta each day.

This obviously excludes the 1.4B individuals in China who have blocked the company. Despite that, the tech giant continues to grow in users. So you can see the understanding of Meta’s operations in this regard is worth a mention.

We must also mention how the figures are not stagnant and continue to grow with time. The apps keep hitting the saturation mark in several markets but Meta still sees a rise in users signing up to its platforms. This certainly proves that it has great potential and can really mean a lot for its cord ads activities.

Meta never discloses the ARPP results like that was seen in the past but its overall revenue is on the rise. This keeps on increasing as the holiday rush continues during the fourth quarter.

Most of the company’s user base comes from North America and the EU where it generates the greatest amount of revenue. It is slowly but surely rising in places like Asia Pacific too. This saw it post strong revenue results during the time.

The company is currently investing a lot of funds in AI and VR but the most amount of revenue is generated through ads seen on its apps. They also reported here a 7% rise YoY in ads with pricing for ads undergoing a 11% rise.

Read next: Threads Soars: Meta's Rising Force in Social Media with 275 Million Users
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

This Game-Changer in Google’s Code Writing Could Mean Big Changes for Everyone

AI now writes over 25% of Google’s new code—yep, one in four lines of fresh, shiny code comes from machines, not humans. Sundar Pichai recently broke it down in Google’s earnings call, showing how AI is becoming a powerhouse in software development. It’s all supervised, of course, by engineers guiding this digital workforce, turbocharging productivity and efficiency while also letting teams get more done faster.

A quarter of Google’s code isn’t small potatoes, and Google isn’t alone. According to Stack Overflow, more than three-quarters of developers worldwide are already using or planning to use AI to help with software development. GitHub’s survey reveals even higher numbers: 92% of US developers are already harnessing AI coding tools.

But here’s the rub: AI isn’t just taking on tasks; it’s quietly changing the landscape. As AI cranks out more code, the human skill base could shrink. What happens when the errors start popping up, glitches buried deep in code written by AI that itself was born from AI? It’s a recipe for an endless loop of confusion—think an AI-driven bug hunt where humans struggle to keep up.

And we’re just warming up. AI coding tools began their rocket-fueled journey in 2022 with GitHub’s Copilot. Since then, Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic have all jumped on board, releasing their own AI-powered coding platforms. GitHub even stepped it up recently, opening Copilot to work with models from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. In other words, AI is coding the future, and it’s moving faster than we think.

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Read next: Study Finds Age Assurance Methods Fail to Protect Children from Online Harm and Privacy Risks
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Study Finds Age Assurance Methods Fail to Protect Children from Online Harm and Privacy Risks

A recent study published in The International Journal of Children’s Rights says that age assurance of children should also ensure that children are using positive opportunities online, instead of restricting them from it. In the Digital Services Act and the UK Online Safety Act 2023, the age assurance methods provide low level ages to meet legal obligations. The study also says that the age assurance isn't doing any work to keep children safe from online harm. Additionally, it is also risking their civil rights and privacy.

There have always been legal age restrictions for children but these restrictions often expose children to inappropriate and harmful content. Some age restrictions also limit children from using goods and services that are helpful for them. The researchers of the study said that where age assurances are protecting children, they are also subjecting them to discrimination, lack of protection, no freedom of speech and exposing their privacy.

An age assurance should be designed in such a way that it doesn't restrict children from age appropriate activities that are good for their learning and development. For the study, the researchers examined afe assurances in Europe for online sale of alcohol and tobacco, online gambling and online content. They found that there are no clear guidelines for appropriate age assurances. Most of these guidelines just exclude children, but do not provide the exact ages for these restrictions.

One of the researchers of the study, Professor van der Hof, said that many of the digital services companies do not impose appropriate and reliable age assurances but expect children and parents to keep a check of what they consume online. The study emphasizes how important it is to hear children and their rights in designing these age assurance models. Right now, age assurances are exploiting the rights of children so they shouldn't be fully trusted.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Reddit Boasts Its First Profitable Earnings Report In 20 Years As Profits Hit $29.9M

It’s the success that Reddit has been waiting for 20 years and it looks like 2024 is the year.

The company just rolled out its quarterly earnings report for Q3 and it’s safe to say it’s finally made a profit. The very long wait saw the app attain $384M in revenue which is a massive 68% growth YoY.

Profits hit $29M for the company which is yet to make such a declaration in two decades of existence. After going public for the first time, the firm spoke about losing $575M during Q1 but the loss went down $10M in Q2 of this year. Now, it’s finally seeing green as displayed in the latest report.

Reddit also spoke about growth in daily users which reached 97M in just a few months. This again is a 47% rise from the same time period of 2024. The figures went above 100M on a few days during this quarter, it adds.

The advertising revenue rose to $315M while its revenue reserved for the ‘Other’ category hit $33 million thanks to data licensing documents signed during the year’s start. Let’s not forget how Google and OpenAI cut deals with apps like Reddit that will be training AI models on similar posts.

Another letter was rolled out to shareholders where Reddit’s CEO contributed to a rise in users on the app’s translation feature. Reddit also began letting users translate posts into the French language in the past before an expansion to others was noted. Reddit now hopes to expand on this further to include 30 more nations by next year.

Reddit’s impact also rises around the world and today the company says it’s the sixth most commonly searched word on Google in the US alone. So people searching for replies, advice, and more on Google do turn to Reddit. It’s also interesting to note how Reddit is making the search feature simpler and intuitive in use.

Reddit has made a series of changes to the platform which is the main reason behind its success. The goal was to produce more revenue and entail more ad deals with famous sports leagues while upgrading posts like ‘Ask Me’. it also hopes to crack down on web crawlers who take information from its website for free and without consent.

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Read next: Google Reports 15% Revenue Growth In Q3 of 2024 As AI Features Expand on Search and Cloud
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

British Couple Wins Legal Case Worth Billions Against Google Over Search Manipulation

A small startup firm located in the UK has come out victorious in a legal battle against search engine giant Google.

The couple who own the firm Foundem accused the search giant of search manipulation and managed to prove their claims, winning a legal battle worth billions. As a result of the ordeal, Google must now pay a staggering 2.4 billion Euro fine to the company which says it destroyed their price comparison firm.

The news of Google being proven guilty of its search practices is certainly a major win for many small-scale organizations in the digital world.

The founders of Foundem claim they first began their website in June of 2006 and during its launch, the spam filters on Google hit the page. This pushed it deep down the list for search results which meant it couldn’t attain its main traffic source.

As per the owner Shivaun Raff, Google literally made the company vanish from the web. Therefore, such search penalties weren’t removed despite the organization getting the title of the UK’s best price comparison firm on Channel 5’s leading TV show.

Hence, what began as a small complaint soon took the shape of a mega lawsuit. The battle lasted two years when Google refused to answer to the firm’s appeals and that’s when the case was handed over to regulators for assessment.

The complaint caused an investigation by the EC to arise in 2010 that showed similar issues with more than 20 different shopping services that compared pricing such as Yelp and Kelkoo.

While this investigation ended up completed in the year 2017 with the Commission ruling how Google illegally marketed the service and demoted archrivals, it’s now that we’re seeing a fine directed in the Google’s direction.

The legal battle lasted seven long years and it certainly highlights the mega challenges that small firms face in today’s day and age where Google’s illegal search practices are concerned. Despite having so much clear evidence, the couple is happy that the result arose after a long struggle.

Google shared its insights on the matter with a statement published by its spokesperson. The company says the changes they made worked successfully for nearly seven years. It generated billions in terms of clicks for some of the top shopping services offering comparison pricing.

While it has been successful in proving its claims, it might be too late to make a difference for the startup that shut down in 2016. The EC rolled out another investigation into the firm’s current practices under the DMA.

Such a decision confirms how Google’s search rankings could be subjected to regulations and legal battles in the future. This case has already impacted new regulations in the Digital Marketplace such as the DMA. As far as Foundem is concerned, its chapter might have been closed years ago but the legal victory remains.

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• The 25 Companies That Have Changed the Game in Startup Acquisitions Over 20 Years!
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The 25 Companies That Have Changed the Game in Startup Acquisitions Over 20 Years!

The good pals over at Mind the Bridge have ranked the top 25 companies with the most startup acquisitions between 2000 to 2024. The data shows that 18 of these top 25 companies are based in the USA. The biggest company with most startup acquisitions is Alphabet with 222 acquisitions. It is followed by Microsoft with 140 acquisitions.

Coming in third position with 140 acquisitions is Cisco Systems which is also based in the USA. The fourth position goes to Accenture, an Irish company, with 119 acquisitions. Accenture is the only company in the top ten which isn't based in the USA. While most top companies are in the USA, like Apple, Meta, IBM, Amazon and Oracle.

Siemens, based in Germany, has 40 acquisitions making it the top 13th company with the most acquisitions. Roche Group (Switzerland) and Samsung Electronics (South Korea) are the top fourteenth and fifteenth companies with most acquisitions respectively. Accenture is the only non-tech company in the top ten. Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea are the only non-American companies in the top fifteen companies.

Company (Country)	Startup Acquisitions	Total Deal Value
Alphabet (USA)	222	$16.6B
Microsoft (USA)	140	$50.1B
Cisco Systems (USA)	134	$59.8B
Accenture (Ireland)	119	Undisclosed
Apple (USA)	102	$6.5B
Meta Platforms (USA)	98	$23.5B
IBM (USA)	93	$21.5B
Amazon (USA)	76	$10.7B
Oracle (USA)	76	$7.6B
Salesforce (USA)	63	$61.5B
Intel (USA)	57	$4.9B
Siemens (Germany)	40	$2.5B
Qualcomm (USA)	34	$3.1B
Roche Group (Switzerland)	32	$20.3B
Samsung Electronics (South Korea)	32	$1B
Alibaba Group Holding (China)	29	$21B
Merck (USA)	27	$26.7B
Johnson & Johnson (USA)	26	$31.3B
HP (USA)	25	$5B
SAP (Germany)	25	$13.4B
Comcast (USA)	24	$0.3B
Novartis (Switzerland)	24	$20.8B
Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA)	21	$6.4B
Walmart (USA)	21	$21.7B
Broadcom (USA)	20	$1.8B

Looking at the data above, one might ask: Why do U.S. companies dominate startup acquisitions?

Opportunity is everywhere. In the U.S., the startup ecosystem thrives. Here, innovation isn’t just a buzzword; it’s the lifeblood of business. Companies know that to stay ahead, they must acquire, not just compete.

Risk is embraced. American culture celebrates failure as a stepping stone. This mindset encourages entrepreneurs to take risks, leading to a wealth of startups ripe for acquisition.

Resources are abundant. With access to vast financial resources, U.S. companies can make bold moves. They don’t just wait for opportunities—they create them, scouring the landscape for the next big idea.

Collaboration is key. Partnerships between established firms and startups flourish, resulting in a continuous flow of innovation. The synergy enhances growth for both, creating a powerful ecosystem.

Speed and agility define today’s landscape, and the U.S. leads the way. It’s about more than acquisitions; it’s about creating a future. The winners? They see possibilities where others see risks.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World