Google Chrome Generating Attention. A Lot of Attention
November 26, 2024
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) took the first step in breaking up Google’s Big Tech monopoly by forcing Alphabet Inc. to sell its popular Web browser, Chrome. Alphabet Inc. is responding like all past companies who had their market dominance broken up by the government: it is throwing a major temper tantrum. The BBC reports on Google’s meltdown in: “Google Reacts Angrily To Report It Will Have To Sell Chrome.”
Google claimed it had a right to retain its monopoly on search because it was the best in the world. Not so, the Judge Amit Mehta of the DOJ replied, especially since the word “Google” is now a verb and there’s no fair competition. Instead of facing their fate with dignity, Google is saying it will harm consumers and businesses if it’s forced to sell Chrome. While that could be interpreted as a threat, Google probably meant it to sound like it was worried about its users. We think it sounds like a disguised threat.
Google doesn’t want to lose its 90% hold on the global search market augmented by Chrome as the world’s most used Web browser at 64.61%. Chrome is the default browser on many PCs and mobile devices. Judge Mehta wants to end that dominance:
Judge Mehta said in his ruling in August that the default search engine was "extremely valuable real estate" for Google.
‘Even if a new entrant were positioned from a quality standpoint to bid for the default when an agreement expires, such a firm could compete only if it were prepared to pay partners upwards of billions of dollars in revenue share’ he wrote.
The DOJ had been expected to provide its final proposed remedies to the court by Wednesday.
It said in an October filing documenting initial proposals it would be considering seeking a break-up of Google.
Potential remedies "that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play [its app store], and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products" were among its considerations, it said then.”
Google replied:
“In response to the DOJ’s filing in October, Google said "splitting off" parts of its business like Chrome or Android would "break them".
‘Breaking them off would change their business models, raise the cost of devices, and undermine Android and Google Play in their robust competition with Apple’s iPhone and App Store,’ the company said.
It also said it would make it harder to keep Chrome secure.”
Those sounds like inflated arguments, especially when the only thing that will break is Google’s record profits. Investors will also be harmed, but that’s why it’s good to have a diverse portfolio. Wah Wah!
Whitney Grace, November 26, 2024
Marketing Jobs Require More Than AI-Know How
November 26, 2024
Marketing remains a lucrative industry, but it’s become even more complex with the advent of AI. McKinsey recommends that marketers will find growth through portfolio management and enhancing capabilities to improve performance. What does that mean? Christine Y. Chen explains in her article: “Connecting For Growth: A Makeover For Your Marketing Operating Model.”
Every year marketers must meet higher expectations to deliver strong brands and growth while maximizing effectiveness and efficiency. It sounds like a buzzword salad, but it’s actually a big order for marketers to do better, do more, and with less time and resources. With these innovating demands, AI is deployed in there somewhere and can be a useful tool:
“Marketing leaders are expected to apply new energy to identifying growth opportunities, bring their companies’ missions to life, build immersive and connected brand experiences, link purpose to business outcomes, capitalize on new technologies, and more. At the same time, CMOs are under increasing pressure to provide results and serve as responsible stewards of marketing resources to achieve growth agendas. They’re growth leaders whose remit continues to expand, with CMOs taking on more functional areas traditionally seen as outside the purview of marketing. Such areas include generative AI (gen AI), innovation, and sales and e-commerce.”
Marketers are rising to the challenge of meeting their roles, but they are finding that technology doesn’t meet their needs. Today’s marketers want to propel growth by organizing and connecting their teams, mobilizing beyond reporting lines, and concentrating on specific strategics to scale up. They are achieving these goes by establishing ground rules to provide incentives for agility, over investing in important matters, and connecting expertise to growth drivers. They believe that AI is a usable tool but doesn’t meet al their needs:
“A 2023 McKinsey report on the economic potential of gen AI found that gen AI productivity in marketing could be worth about $463 billion annually.3How generative AI can boost consumer marketing,” McKinsey, December 5, 2023. CMOs say they embrace this promise, with 74 percent of our survey respondents viewing gen AI as more of an opportunity than a risk. However, a gap remains between the importance that marketing leaders place on gen AI and how far they feel their organizations have progressed in building relevant capabilities for it. Only 9 percent state that they have evaluated gen-AI-enabled automation opportunities, just 5 percent are building gen AI capabilities, and a mere 4 percent are scaling up gen AI use cases.”
High-skilled jobs still require an immense amount of education, people skills, business ingenuity, and knowledge about how AI can be used to scale up an operation. Humans aren’t obsolete yet people!
Whitney Grace, November 26, 2024
Explaining Graykey: Helpful or Harmful for Law Enforcement?
November 25, 2024
I am not keen on making some “secrets” publicly available. Those keen on channeling Edward Snowden may have glory words to describe their activities. I take a different view: Some types of information should be proprietary and made known only to those engaged in trying to enforce applicable laws. That said, I want to point to a Reddit.com post about “privacy.” The trigger for the post is an article behind a paywall about a device used to extract information from a mobile phone.
The Reddit post provides a link to the source document “Leaked Documents Show What Phones Secretive Tech ‘Graykey’ Can Unlock”. That write up is typical of non-LE and intel professional reactions to certain types of specialized software and hardware.
What I want to mention is that the Reddit post provides some supplementary information which is not widely known and generally not bandied about outside of certain professional groups. You can find this post, the links to the additional information, and some commentary to disambiguate the jargon used to keep chatter about specialized products and services within a “community.” Here’s the link to the Reddit information: https://shorturl.at/KsDwc
To be frank, I miss the good old days when information of a sensitive nature did not become course material for a computer science and programming class or a road map for outfits competing with US firms. But I am a dinobaby. Believe me, no one cares about my old-timey thoughts.
Stephen E Arnold, November 25, 2024
Apple: Another Problem Becoming Evident
November 25, 2024
Apple is a beast in Big Tech with its cult of loyal devotees, technology advancement (especially in mobile devices), and Apple TV. Apple TV invested big money in developing original content for its streaming service and has garnered many accolades, but it’s a misnomer in the entertainment industry. Why? ArsTechnica has the lowdown on that: “Apple TV+ Spent $20B On Original Content. If Only People Actually Watched.”
Apple spent $20 billion to make a name for itself in the prominent streaming wars. While its original content shows have loyal followings, Nielsen says that its attracted only 0.3% of US eyeballs. Bloomberg wrote: “Apple TV+ generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day.”
Ouch! Here are some numbers to support that statement:
“Apple doesn’t provide subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, but it’s estimated to have 25 million subscribers. That would make it one of the smallest mainstream streaming services. For comparison, Netflix has about 283 million, and Prime Video has over 200 million. Smaller services like Peacock (about 28 million) and Paramount+ (about 72 million) best Apple TV+’s subscriber count, too.”
Apple only has 259 shows compared to Netflix’s 18,000. Also Apple’s marketing efforts are minimal, but the company has used big names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Reese Witherspoon, Idris Elba, and Martin Scorsese. Here are some more numbers for comparisons sake:
“To put this into perspective, Apple spent $14.9 million on commercials for Apple TV+ in October 2019 versus $28.6 million on the iPhone, per iSpot.TV data cited by The New York Times. Online, Apple paid for 139 unique digital ads for Apple TV+ in October 2019 compared to 245 for the iPhone (about $1.7 million versus about $2.3 million), per data from advertising analytics platform Pathmatics cited by The Times.”
Apple plans to raise its viewership by licensing its content to foreign marketplaces and adopting more common streaming practices. These include bundling through Comcast and Amazon Prime Video.
Apple had smart intentions but its lackluster performance begs its intelligence in the entertainment department. Apple sure didn’t replicate the success Steve Jobs had by investing in Pixar.
Whitney Grace, November 25, 2024
Early AI Adoption: Some Benefits
November 25, 2024
Is AI good or is it bad? The debate is still raging about, especially in Hollywood where writers, animators, and other creatives are demanding the technology be removed from the industry. AI, however, is a tool. It can be used for good and bad acts, but humans are the ones who initiate them. AI At Wharton investigated how users are currently adopting AI: “Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years – AI Adoption Report.”
The report was based on the responses from full-time employees who worked in commercial organization with 1000 or more workers. Adoption of AI in businesses jumped from 37 % in 2023 to 72% in 2024 with high growth in human resources and marketing departments. Companies are still unsure if AI is worth the ROI. The study explains that AI will benefit companies that have adaptable organizations and measurable ROI.
The report includes charts that document the high rate of usage compared last year as well as how AI is mostly being used. It’s being used for document writing and editing, data analytics, document summarization, marketing content creation, personal marketing and advertising, internal support, customer support, fraud prevention, and report creation. AI is definitely impactful but not overwhelmingly, but the response to the new technology is positive and companies will continue to invest in it.
“Looking to the future, Gen AI adoption will enter its next chapter which is likely to be volatile in terms of investment and carry greater privacy and usage restrictions. Enthusiasm projected by new Chief AI Officer (CAIO) role additions and team expansions this year will be tempered by the reality of finding “accountable” ROI. While approximately three out of four industry respondents plan to increase Gen AI budgets next year, the majority expect growth to slow over the longer term, signaling a shift in focus towards making the most effective internal investments and building organizational structures to support sustainable Gen AI implementation. The key to successful adoption of Gen AI will be proper use cases that can scale, and measurable ROI as well as organization structures and cultures that can adapt to the new technology.”
While the responses are positive, how exactly is it being used beyond the charts. Are the users implementing AI for work short cuts, such as really slap shod content generation? I’d hate to be the lazy employee who uses AI to make the next quarterly report and didn’t double-check the information.
Whitney Grace, November 25, 2024
FOGINT: Security Tools Over Promise & Under Deliver
November 22, 2024
While the United States and the rest of the world has been obsessed with the fallout of the former’s presidential election, bad actors planned terrorist plots. I24 News reports that after a soccer/football match in Amsterdam, there was a preplanned attack on Israeli fans: “Evidence From WhatsApp, Telegram Groups Shows Amsterdam Pogrom Was Organized.”
The Daily Telegraph located screenshots from WhatsApp and Telegram that displayed messages calling for a “Jew Hunt” after the game. The message writers were identified as Pro-Palestinian supports. The bad actors also called Jews “cancer dogs”, a vile slur in Dutch and told co-conspirators to bring fireworks to the planned attack. Dutch citizens and other observers were underwhelmed with the response of the Netherlands’ law enforcement. Even King Willem-Alexander noted that his country failed to protect the Jewish community when he spoke with Israeli President Isaac Herzog:
“Dutch king Willem-Alexander reportedly said to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in a phone call on Friday morning that the ‘we failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again.’”
This an unfortunate example of the failure of cyber security tools that monitor social media. If this was a preplanned attack and the Daily Telegraph located the messages, then a cyber security company should have as well. These police ware and intelware systems failed to alert authorities. Is this another confirmation that cyber security and threat intelligence tools over promise and under deliver? Well, T-Mobile is compromised again and there is that minor lapse in Israel in October 2023.
Whitney Grace, November 22, 2024
More Googley Human Resource Goodness
November 22, 2024
This essay is the work of a dumb dinobaby. No smart software required.
The New York Post reported that a Googler has departed. “Google News Executive Shailesh Prakash Resigns As Tensions with Publishers Mount: Report” states:
Shailesh Prakash had served as a vice president and general manager for Google News. A source confirmed that he is no longer with the company… The circumstances behind Prakash’s resignation were not immediately clear. Google declined to comment.
Google tapped a professional who allegedly rode in the Bezos bulldozer when the world’s second or third richest man in the world acquired the Washington Post. (How has that been going? Yeah.)
Thanks, MidJourney. Good enough.
Google has been cheerfully indexing content and selling advertising for decades. After a number of years of talking and allegedly providing some support to outfits collecting, massaging, and making “real” news available, the Google is facing some headwinds.
The article reports:
The Big Tech giant rankled online publishers last May after it introduced a feature called “AI Overviews” – which places an auto-generated summary at the top of its search results while burying links to other sites. News Media Alliance, a nonprofit that represents more than 2,200 publishers, including The Post, said the feature would be “catastrophic to our traffic” and has called on the feds to intervene.
News flash from rural Kentucky: The good old days of newspaper publishing are unlikely to make a comeback. What’s the evidence for this statement? Video and outfits like Telegram and WhatsApp deliver content to cohorts who don’t think too much about a print anything.
The article pointed out:
Last month, The Post exclusively reported on emails that revealed how Google leveraged its access to the Office of the US Trade Representative as it sought to undermine overseas regulations — including Canada’s Online News Act, which required Google to pay for the right to display news content.
You can read that report “Google Emails with US Trade Reps Reveal Cozy Ties As Tech Giant Pushed to Hijack Policy” if you have time.
Let’s think about why a member of Google leadership like Shailesh Prakash would bail out. Among the options are:
- He wanted to spend more time with his family
- Another outfit wanted to hire him to manage something in the world of publishing
- He failed in making publishers happy.
The larger question is, “Why would Google think that one fellow could make a multi-decade problem go away?” The fact that I can ask this question reveals how Google’s consulting infused leaders think about an entire business sector. It also provides some insight into the confidence of a professional like Mr. Prakash.
What flees sinking ships? Certainly not the lawyers that Google will throw at this “problem.” Google has money and that may be enough to buy time and perhaps prevail. If there aren’t any publishers grousing, the problem gets resolved. Efficient.
Stephen E Arnold, November 22, 2024
Point-and-Click Coding: An eGame Boom Booster
November 22, 2024
TheNextWeb explains “How AI Can Help You Make a Computer Game Without Knowing Anything About Coding.” That’s great—unless one is a coder who makes one’s living on computer games. Writer Daniel Zhou Hao begins with a story about one promising young fellow:
“Take Kyo, an eight-year-old boy in Singapore who developed a simple platform game in just two hours, attracting over 500,000 players. Using nothing but simple instructions in English, Kyo brought his vision to life leveraging the coding app Cursor and also Claude, a general purpose AI. Although his dad is a coder, Kyo didn’t get any help from him to design the game and has no formal coding education himself. He went on to build another game, an animation app, a drawing app and a chatbot, taking about two hours for each. This shows how AI is dramatically lowering the barrier to software development, bridging the gap between creativity and technical skill. Among the range of apps and platforms dedicated to this purpose, others include Google’s AlphaCode 2 and Replit’s Ghostwriter.”
The write-up does not completely leave experienced coders out of the discussion. Hao notes tools like Tabnine and GitHub Copilot act as auto-complete assistance, while Sourcery and DeepCode take the tedium out of code cleanup. For the 70-ish percent of companies that have adopted one or more of these tools, he tells us, the benefits include time savings and more reliable code. Does this mean developers will to shift to “higher value tasks,” like creative collaboration and system design, as Hao insists? Or will it just mean firms will lighten their payrolls?
As for building one’s own game, the article lists seven steps. They are akin to basic advice for developing a product, but with an AI-specific twist. For those who want to know how to make one’s AI game addictive, contact benkent2020 at yahoo dot com.
Cynthia Murrell, November 22, 2024
China Smart, US Dumb: LLMs Bad, MoEs Good
November 21, 2024
Okay, an “MoE” is an alternative to LLMs. An “MoE” is a mixture of experts. An LLM is a one-trick pony starting to wheeze.
Google, Apple, Amazon, GitHub, OpenAI, Facebook, and other organizations are at the top of the list when people think about AI innovations. We forget about other countries and universities experimenting with the technology. Tencent is a China-based technology conglomerate located in Shenzhen and it’s the world’s largest video game company with equity investments are considered. Tencent is also the developer of Hunyuan-Large, the world’s largest MoE.
According to Tencent, LLMs (large language models) are things of the past. LLMs served their purpose to advance AI technology, but Tencent realized that it was necessary to optimize resource consumption while simultaneously maintaining high performance. That’s when the company turned to the next evolution of LLMs or MoE, mixture of experts models.
Cornell University’s open-access science archive posted this paper on the MoE: “Hunyuan-Large: An Open-Source MoE Model With 52 Billion Activated Parameters By Tencent” and the abstract explains it is a doozy of a model:
In this paper, we introduce Hunyuan-Large, which is currently the largest open-source Transformer-based mixture of experts model, with a total of 389 billion parameters and 52 billion activation parameters, capable of handling up to 256K tokens. We conduct a thorough evaluation of Hunyuan-Large’s superior performance across various benchmarks including language understanding and generation, logical reasoning, mathematical problem-solving, coding, long-context, and aggregated tasks, where it outperforms LLama3.1-70B and exhibits comparable performance when compared to the significantly larger LLama3.1-405B model. Key practice of Hunyuan-Large include large-scale synthetic data that is orders larger than in previous literature, a mixed expert routing strategy, a key-value cache compression technique, and an expert-specific learning rate strategy. Additionally, we also investigate the scaling laws and learning rate schedule of mixture of experts models, providing valuable insights and guidance for future model development and optimization. The code and checkpoints of Hunyuan-Large are released to facilitate future innovations and applications.”
Tencent has released Hunyuan-Large as an open source project, so other AI developers can use the technology! The well-known companies will definitely be experimenting with Hunyuan-Large. Is there an ulterior motive? Sure. Money, prestige, and power are at stake in the AI global game.
Whitney Grace, November 21, 2024
Management Brilliance Microsoft Suggests to Customers, “You Did It!”
November 21, 2024
No smart software. Just a dumb dinobaby. Oh, the art? Yeah, MidJourney.
I read an amusing write up called “Microsoft Says Unexpected Windows Server 2025 Automatic Upgrades Were Due to Faulty Third-Party Tools.” I love a management action which points the fingers at “you” — Partners, customers, and anyone other than the raucous Redmond-ians.
Good enough, MidJourney. Good enough.
The write up says that Microsoft says:
“Some devices upgraded automatically to Windows Server 2025 (KB5044284). This was observed in environments that use third-party products to manage the update of clients and servers,” Microsoft explained. “Please verify whether third-party update software in your environment is configured not to deploy feature updates. This scenario has been mitigated.”
The article then provides a translation of Microsoftese:
In other words, it’s not Microsoft – it’s you. The company also added the update had the “DeploymentAction=OptionalInstallation” tag, which patch management tools should read as being an optional, rather than recommended update.
Several observations:
- Pointing fingers works in some circumstances. Kindergarten type interactions feature the tactic.
- The problems of updates seem to be standard operating procedure.
- Bad actors love these types of reports because anecdotes about glitches and flaws say, “Come on in, folks.”
Is this a management strategy or an indicator of other issues?
Stephen E Arnold, November 21, 2024
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