Following its growth during the pandemic, video communications company Zoom, which made remote working possible for many, has now ordered staff back to the office for two days a week.

Those Within A Commutable Distance 

This move from Zoom, which many see as a trend among big companies to pull-back from their major commitments to flexible working, will require workers within a “commutable distance” (i.e. 50 miles / 80km) of the company’s offices to come to the office twice a week for designated team days.

Not Many In The UK 

It is not known exactly how many of Zoom’s 8,400 (mostly US-based) workers will be affected by the new policy from the Californian company. Few of those affected, however, are likely to be in the UK because only around 200 people work for Zoom’s newly opened London office.

The rollout of the change to work practices will take place through this month and September on a staggered timeline depending on which country staff are in.

Structured Hybrid Working 

The decision by the company is reported to follow its move towards a “structured hybrid approach” to work. This contrasts with Zoom saying, at one time, that all staff could work remotely indefinitely, but the move is not unexpected. For example, 29 per cent of US workers now operate within hybrid policies (Stanford).

Zoom is one of the last of a number of large corporations to order a return to the office to some extent, perhaps lagging because of its close association with the idea of working remotely (which its product enables), and it has faced tough competition in recent times.

Will Hire Regardless Of Location 

That said, Zoom has said that it still intends to “hire the best talent, regardless of location”.  

Trouble At Mill In Recent Years 

Whereas Zoom enjoyed a massive boost in user numbers during the height of the pandemic, e.g. 10 million daily users in December 2019 rising to a staggering 300 million less than six months later, these days it’s a different story. For example, Zoom has suffered in recent times from:

– Falling net profits.

– Strong competition and improved, expanded offerings from remote work platform rivals like Microsoft Teams and Slack.

– A fall in share price, i.e. from $500 in October 2020 to $68 now (August 2023).

The company’s worsening fortunes prompted 1,300 jobs to be cut earlier this year.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

With the pandemic now appearing to be quite a long way in the rear-view mirror, even though the value of remote working is known, it is no longer so high upon the priority list with many big companies rowing back and finding a happy medium with hybrid working.

The move by Zoom has only really gained clout as news story because its business has been to enable remote working (the irony) but, with new post pandemic priorities in the marketplace, serious competition and improved offerings from Teams and Slack, falling popularity and share prices, and with AI being the new popular kid on the block overshadowing all else, Zoom’s move back to the office may be necessary.

Zoom has itself just launched a new product, the AI-powered Intelligent Director, which “brings together in-office and remote employees,” thereby accepting and marketing for the changing times and fighting back by introducing AI.

In this insight, focusing particularly on AI and ML, we look at what synthetic data is, where it comes from and what it’s used for, its challenges, and the implications for businesses.

What Is Synthetic Data? 

Synthetic data is data that’s been artificially created rather than derived from real-world activities. Synthetic data is not a new idea and had its first major commercial use in developing simulations for autonomous vehicle systems. Today it’s become particularly useful in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to train Machine Learning algorithms.

Why Use Synthetic Data? 

The training and development of the ML algorithms behind AI requires access to substantial amounts of the right kind of data (datasets). With this in mind, there are several good reasons why synthetic data rather than real-world data is used in training AI models.  For example:

– Generating and using synthetic data is often less costly and time-consuming than collecting real-world data, thereby leading to cost and time efficiency. Using synthetic data can also save costs and time, for example in providing image data, because no manual data labelling is required.

– Synthetic data also provides a solution to privacy concerns because it doesn’t contain information about real individuals (data protection).

– In terms of bias mitigation, synthetic data can be constructed to represent a wide variety of information, thereby reducing biases in AI models.

– Using synthetic data can also effectively serve the need for quality control because it can be tailored to specific needs, including cases that might be hard to find in real-world data.

– Synthetic data can be generated on demand, in whatever volume is required, making it very practical, convenient, and efficient, plus a very fast way for businesses to acquire data.

– Using synthetic data allows the creation of machine learning models made for scenarios that wouldn’t have been possible before, say if the data either didn’t exist, wasn’t good enough or perhaps had restrictions on it.

– Using synthetic (rather than real-world) data is a way to avoid the challenges posed by restrictions on data in some sectors such as healthcare and finance.

Where Does Synthetic Data Come From? / How Is It Created? 

Synthetic data is generated using several key techniques. For example: |

– Simulations and 3D models provide a means to create imagery and objects. This is particularly useful for training image classifiers without having to use real-world data.

– Data augmentation involves taking existing real-world data and applying various transformations to create new data points that retain the underlying patterns and information of the original dataset. For example, if the original data consists of images, data augmentation might include rotating, flipping, or cropping these images to create new variations. These alterations expand the dataset, allowing models to learn from a broader array of examples without the need to collect additional real-world data.

– Generative models, such as Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), transform datasets while preserving essential characteristics, without exposing sensitive information.

– Diffusion models, which are used in image generators like DALLE-2 can use ‘denoising’ technology to create synthetic data from random inputs.

– Neural radiance fields (NeRFs) can produce synthetic data by manipulating parts of the process of turning two-dimensional images into three-dimensional scenes.

Together, these methods offer a multifaceted approach to generating synthetic data, facilitating a wide range of applications in various fields.

What Are The Drawbacks And Challenges Of Using Synthetic Data? 

Although it’s generally a powerful and cost saving tool, generating and using synthetic data does have several challenges and drawbacks. These include:

– Complexity. Crafting high-quality synthetic data is not trivial and needs not only specialised skills but also profound understanding of the underlying domain. This complexity can be a barrier to entry for smaller firms or projects lacking expert resources.

– Effectiveness compared to real-world data. The efficacy of synthetic data when compared to real-world data is still a subject of ongoing investigation. While it can mimic real data, some question whether it really can fully represent the nuanced variations found in genuine datasets.

– Quality and Bias. Incorrectly constructed synthetic data can inadvertently lead to biased or flawed conclusions. Ensuring that synthetic data accurately represents diverse scenarios without incorporating biases is, in itself a nuanced and complex task. If this balance isn’t right, models trained on this data might perform poorly in real-world applications.

– A privacy trade-off. Generating synthetic data often stems from a need to circumvent privacy issues inherent in using real-world data. However, there is an intricate balance between the usefulness of the synthetic data and the level of privacy it offers. If the synthetic data is too detached from the original, it may lose valuable insights. If it’s too closely related, it might still expose sensitive information.

– Regulatory considerations. As previously mentioned, in sectors like healthcare and finance, where data handling is heavily regulated, the use of synthetic data must still comply with existing laws and guidelines. Ensuring this compliance while maintaining the data’s utility can be a complex and time-consuming process.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The ability to generate data on demand in whatever quantity is required, tailored to specific needs which may not be available in the real world, and free of restrictions, bias and other complications is driving the AI development that’s bringing new opportunities and solutions in many sectors.  For example, for research and healthcare, having cost-effective access to on-tap specific datasets is speeding up training for and scaling models so that they can solve problems faster and explore and make breakthroughs in new areas with new simulations and scenarios and innovative algorithms in a way they couldn’t before, due to the restrictions and limitations of real world data. The disruptive force of synthetic data is changing the whole economy and strategy of data in way that is benefitting the creation of better and more specific AI models in a variety of industries and creating new business opportunities for startups along the way.

As highlighted by Gartner’s prediction that 60 per cent of all data used in the development of AI will be synthetic rather than real by 2024, synthetic data is rapidly becoming the preferred choice in the AI world for a wide range of reasons, and its use is speeding up and helping to deliver new and beneficial possibilities for businesses and individuals.

International Airlines Group (IAG) has announced another “significant” investment in Nova Pangaea Technologies (NPT), a company that makes aviation fuel from non-food agricultural waste and wood residues.

IAG & NPT 

International Airlines Group (IAG) is the parent company of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and LEVEL, and Nova Pangaea Technologies (NPT) is a Teesside-based cleantech company whose biofuel-making technology offers IAG a pathway to the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

How Does NPT Make Aviation Fuel From Agricultural Waste And Wood Residue? 

At the moment, NPT’s technology can convert agricultural waste and wood residue feedstocks into second-generation bioethanol. This could be processed into fuel if NPT had the right production facility, which the investment from IAG will provide.

The process that NPT uses to turn waste and wood residue feedstocks into second-generation bioethanol using its REFNOVA® branded environmentally friendly process.

The process involves pouring agricultural waste like particle size reduced feedstock into a fluidisation vessel to neutralise alkali earth metals, then using a hot air dryer to remove excess moisture, before using high temperatures to extract the lignin component and vapourise the sugars. The vapourised sugars are then condensed into NOVASUGARS which can be fermented into bioethanol.

Investment Will Build A New Specialised Aviation Fuel Plant 

In addition to its $865 million commitment to SAF, IAG’s latest investment will progress the development of ‘NOVAONE’, NPTs first waste-to-fuel commercial-scale production facility. This will be the first of its kind in the UK and construction is expected to begin later this year, with the facility producing biofuels by 2025 (creating major employment opportunities in the North-East).

The Benefits 

For IAG, some of the main benefits of investing in NPT include:

– Securing a supply of SAF ahead of the introduction of the UK Government’s SAF mandate, which is expected to be introduced from 2025.

– Meeting its target of using target of one million tonnes of SAF by 2030. IAG was the first European airline group to commit to the use of 10 per cent SAF by 2030.

– Supporting the decarbonisation of its own and the other airlines in its group. IAG intends to be net zero by 2050.

Some of the main benefits of the widescale use of SAF in the aviation industry could be:

– Decarbonising by replacing the need for fossil fuel derived and synthetically created materials.

– Saving costs.

– Contributing towards a net-zero global economy.

– Maximising the use of unwanted and already farmed by-products rather than driving the need for more fossil fuels and contributing to climate change, i.e. minimising the impact of its consumption on the natural world.

– Having the ability to meet its own green targets and government green targets and mandates.

The Only Realistic Option For Long Haul Decarbonisation 

Luis Gallego, IAG’s CEO, said: “Sustainable Aviation Fuel is the only realistic option for long haul airlines to decarbonise, which is why investment in this area is so critical.” 

He also highlighted the commitment needed by saying “We are not just buying SAF, we are willing to invest in developing the industry, but we need governments in the UK and Europe to act now to encourage further investment.” 

A Transformational Milestone 

Sarah Ellerby, Chief Executive of Nova Pangaea Technologies, highlighted the importance of the investment by AIG in NPT and the new SAF plant, saying:

“This is a transformational milestone, and a real endorsement of the crucial work Nova Pangaea Technologies is doing” and that “Our facility will be the UK’s first commercial plant of its kind, and it will play a crucial role in decarbonising the aviation sector, as well as providing local employment opportunities”.

Electric Engines Still Some Way Off 

Aircraft using SAF is therefore probably the only good interim solution in the period between winding down on the use of fossil fuel engines and before the introduction of electric engines that are capable acting as suitable replacements, certainly for long haul.

The development of electric aircraft engines still has several significant challenges to overcome, e.g. issues like energy density, weight, charging infrastructure, regulation, certification, and economic factors are all substantial hurdles.

Smaller, short-range planes and urban air mobility solutions are making progress, with some small electric planes in operation and hybrid systems being explored.

However, the widescale introduction of fully electric engines in commercial long-haul aviation looks likely at least a couple of decades away. Battery technology needs to improve, and substantial investments in research, development, and infrastructure are required.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

With the aviation industry (a major fossil fuels customer and CO2 producer) needing to find an effective and sustainable way to decarbonise and still operate effectively, the fact that commercial electric engines are years away means something is urgently needed (particularity for long haul) in the meantime.

Government mandates and green targets are looming so it’s not surprising that IAG has been investing in an SAF producer (NPT) and has financed the building of a production plant. The SAF supply will give IAG the chance to start decarbonising its wider fleet as well as meeting its green targets, staying ahead of government mandates, and showing their green credentials and commitment.

The wide use of SAF would have many environmental benefits, e.g. maximising usage of natural waste products, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, cutting CO2 and emissions pollution, and more. With the input product being agricultural waste and a plants being built like the NPT one, this could make aviation fuel much more sustainable and could help in tackling the climate crisis before alternatives like clean electric commercial aircraft engines come along.

Some HP Source…

Hewlett-Packard registered HP.com back in 1986 but did you know that it could so easily have been PH.com instead?

This $40 Billion brand was incorporated this month (August 18th) back in 1947.

You’ll have heard of HP for their printers because the HP LaserJet series launched in 1984 rapidly became the world’s most popular. But less well-known is that they’ve invented atomic clocks, LED’s and the world’s first programmable electronic calculator. In fact, Steve Wozniak worked at HP and had to sell his own personal calculator to help get Apple off the ground.

Before their incorporation, they were founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The HP or PH was decided by a tossed-coin!

Classmates from Stanford University, both of them become friends while camping back in 1934. Like other startups (e.g. Google Apple), they started in Dave Packard’s garage in Palo Alto (this garage is now considered the birthplace of Silicon Valley).

With startup-capital of just $538, they started off by building audio-oscillators which are electronic test-instruments used by sound engineers. They’d developed a way to make and sell them for £89 dollars
while inferior ones were being sold for over $200, which got noticed by the Disney Corporation, whose sound engineers working on Disney’s film “Fantasia” needed help to make innovative sound-effects among other things.

The war came to America so they made electronics such as counter-radar measures and while opportunities like these helped, they put their success down to running their company “The HP Way” (David Packard wrote a book about this and it’s worth a read).

The main principles are here, which are just as relevant now as ever :
1 Trust and Respect for Individuals.
2 Focus on a High Level of Achievement and Contribution
3 Uncompromising Integrity
4 Achievement of Common Objectives through Teamwork
5 Encouragement of Innovation and Flexibility
6 Corporate Citizenship (HP believed in making a positive contribution to society and behaving as a good corporate citizen)

Perhaps have a think about this the next time you’re desperately trying to print-out your flight tickets for your holidays and the computer says it “can’t see” the printer, even though it’s plugged in and connected right next to it !

In this second instalment of a three-part series, here are more ways that staff can maintain the right level of security when using their devices in the summer holidays:

– Install a Reliable Security Suite. Being away from the home/office means re-installing everything on laptop for example would be a nightmare. Make sure you have a reliable security suite installed on your devices, which includes antivirus, anti-malware, and firewall protection.

– Backup Your Data. Regularly backing up your data ensures that if your device gets lost, stolen, or compromised whilst you’re on your travels, you’ll still have access to your important files.

– Use Encrypted Messaging Apps. If you need to share sensitive information (e.g. giving family members a hotel door code), use encrypted messaging apps to ensure your communication is secure.

– Avoid Public Charging Stations. Being on holiday means you’re often away from secure charging ports more often and scammers know this. Public USB charging stations can be a security risk. Use your own charger and plug it into a power outlet whenever possible. Alternatively, use a mobile-power-bank.

– Use a Password Manager. Remembering passwords whilst you’re out and about is a challenge! Password managers can help you create and store complex, unique passwords for each of your accounts, improving your overall security.

If you’d like to customise and personalise your Google home page to show your favourite photo or GIF, here’s how:

– Save a favourite GIF or photo to your device (you may already favourite photos and GIFs saved).

– On the Google home screen (bottom right), click on the ‘Customise Chrome’ icon (a pen symbol).

– Click on ‘Upload from device’ and select the required photo or GIF from your device.

– This will become your Google home page background.

Elon Musk has stated that his “𝕏” social media platform will cover the legal expenses and initiate lawsuits on behalf of individuals who have been treated “unfairly “by their employers due to posts or likes on the site, previously known as Twitter. Presumably, he is trying to reinvent champion the platform as a bastion of free speech and everything seems to be getting turned upside down, so with Elon Musk re-branding Twitter, we look at why the rebrand has happened, and what rebrands can do for companies.

As an aside, the symbol “𝕏” is part of the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols block in Unicode. It represents a double-struck capital letter X. In mathematics, double-struck letters are often used to represent special sets or spaces. For example, the double-struck capital letter R (ℝ) is commonly used to denote the set of real numbers, and the double-struck capital letter C (ℂ) is used for the set of complex numbers.

The symbol “𝕏” itself might not have a universally recognised meaning, but it could be used in a specific context within mathematics or physics to represent a particular set or space.

For ease, we’ll stick to “X” for the remainder of this context.

From Twitter To X – What Happened?

At the end of July, Twitter replaced its familiar blue bird logo with a white X on a black background. The change is now visible in all Twitter/X accounts. What were termed ‘tweets’ will now be called “x’s.”

A Slight Hiccup 

In one unfortunate incident during the rapid re-brand, the replacing of the new sign at Twitter’s/X’s San Francisco headquarters was interrupted as the police were called over a ‘mistake’ about a possible unpermitted street closure.

Why Rebrand?  

Elon Musk explained the reason for the rebrand as: “Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app.” This indicates Musk’s intention to turn what was Twitter into a ‘super app’ such as China’s ‘WeChat’.

Super apps, like WeChat, are essentially like several apps rolled into one, thereby allowing the user to open just one app to do almost everything, e.g. from messaging, payments and manging subscriptions to paying bills, ordering groceries, buying travel tickets, and more.

Creating a super app called ‘X’ was something Elon Musk had in mind when he bought Twitter, saying that buying the social media platform was an “accelerant to creating X, the everything app.”

As Musk went on to explain in a tweet / an x: “This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing. The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video. In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world. The Twitter name does not make sense in that context, so we must bid adieu to the bird.” 

Other Reasons? 

It’s true that Musk was eyeing the super app / everything app idea when he took over Twitter, but he may also feel the time is right for a change following the many troubles and bad headlines since he took over. For example, job cuts (moderators, bosses, and workers), warnings from America’s Federal Trade Commission, key advertising partners leaving Twitter followed by a massive 68 per cent drop in media traffic, Microsoft dropping Twitter from its advertising platform, and a user vote wanting replace Musk have been just some of the high-profile bumps in the road. The decisive factor that may have helped accelerate the rebrand may well be Meta’s success in launching a competitor to Twitter in ‘Threads’ which gained 100 million sign-ups in just five days.

To Re-Brand Or Not To Re-Brand? 

Rebranding for Twitter, given its high profile and what’s at stake, could be seen as a high-risk move, or an opportunity to move forward in a new and better direction.

Rebranding can have both positive and negative outcomes for companies. Here are some of the main strengths and weaknesses of rebranding. For example, some of the key strengths of rebranding are:

– A Fresh Start. Rebranding can allow companies to reinvent themselves and start anew. It can breathe new life into a stagnant or declining brand or (hopefully) help a company to get away from negative associations with the previous brand or something negative it may have been involved in and made the news for.

– Differentiation. A successful rebranding can help a company stand out from competitors and help to emphasise their USP(s) and positioning.

– Market Expansion. A re-brand can facilitate entry into new markets by adapting the brand to suit the preferences and cultural nuances of different regions.

– Relevance. Rebranding can make a brand more relevant to current trends and consumer preferences, thereby appealing to a broader audience.

– Publicity and Attention. A well-executed rebranding generates media coverage and attention, which can increase brand awareness and engagement.

There are, however, some well-known weaknesses of re-branding. These can include:

– Brand Confusion. A poorly executed rebranding can confuse existing customers, leading to a decline in customer loyalty and sales.

– Costs. Of course, a rebranding exercise can be very expensive, involving changes to logos, packaging, marketing materials, and more. If not managed well, it could strain financial resources.

– Loss of Brand Equity. Unfortunately, rebranding may also lead to the loss of accumulated brand equity, especially if the new image does not resonate with the target audience.

– Negative Associations. Rebranding may not always succeed in shedding negative associations linked to the previous brand identity.

– Market Resistance. In some cases, consumers may be resistant to change, and a drastic rebranding can alienate loyal customers, leading to a temporary dip in sales.

Examples Of Where Re-Brandings Have Gone Well, And Not So Well… 

Re-branding is not particularly uncommon and, in fact, as part of perhaps playing down his decision to rebrand Twitter, Elon Musk shared a Tweet by Jon Erlichman (from Bloomberg) who listed many examples of now well-known brands that resulted from re-brands. For example: “Amazon: Cadabra Best Buy: Sound of Music eBay: Auction Web Facebook: Meta Google: BackRub Instagram: Burbn Netflix: Kibble Nike: Blue Ribbon Sports Pepsi: Brad’s Drink Playboy: Stag Party 7-Eleven: Tote’m Stores Snapchat: Picaboo Starbucks: Cargo House Target: Goodfellow Tinder: Matchbox”.  

Interestingly, Elon Musk’s original online banking business was called x.com before it was rebranded to PayPal in 2000 and you may recall that (before it was required to be changed by law) Musk’s baby was originally called X (First name) AE A-XII (Middle name) Musk. Clearly the symbol has significant meaning for Mr Musk!

It’s true, of course, that there are many examples of where rebranding has helped and tuned out well but, unfortunately, there are examples of where things haven’t gone to plan at all. With this in mind, here are a few high profile examples from recent history:

Rebrands that went well …. 

– A very famous one – Apple’s rebranding in the late 1990s is often cited as a successful example. They shifted from the colourful Apple logo and a confusing product lineup to a minimalistic, monochromatic logo and a focused product range. This move emphasised simplicity, which resonated with consumers and helped to contribute to their resurgence.

– In 2011, Starbucks dropped the word “Coffee” from its logo, symbolising their expansion beyond coffee products. This rebranding showcased their diversification into other beverages and food items. The change was subtle but effective, signalling the company’s evolving identity.

– Uber rebranded in 2016, shifting from the black “U” logo to a new design featuring a white circle and stylised “Uber” text. This rebranding aimed to represent the company’s global presence and versatility. It was generally well-received and helped signify a more mature and evolved brand.

Rebrands that didn’t go quite so well …

– In one that many people might remember, in 2001, the UK’s postal service, Royal Mail, underwent a rebranding to become “Consignia.” The rebranding was supposed to emphasise the company’s expansion into a broader range of logistics and communication services. However, the name change received widespread criticism and confusion from the public. The decision was expensive, and within a year, due to the negative response and lack of public acceptance, Royal Mail reverted to its original name. The failed rebranding was considered to be a costly and embarrassing misstep for the company.

– Wonga, a (controversial) UK payday loan company in the, attempted a rebranding in 2013 to appear more responsible and customer friendly. Despite introducing a new logo and advertising campaigns, the rebranding was met with scepticism and critics argued that the underlying issues of high-interest rates and predatory lending practices were not addressed. Public perception didn’t improve, leading to regulatory challenges and reputational damage. In 2018, Wonga went into administration, showing that rebranding can fail if it doesn’t address core problems authentically.

– In 2010, Gap attempted a rebranding by introducing a new logo, replacing their iconic blue box. However, the new design received overwhelming negative feedback from consumers and the design community. As a result, Gap quickly reverted to their original logo.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Twitter’s re-brand is another big deal for the company in what has been a bumpy road since Musk took over.

Rebranding is a strategic move that has the potential can breathe new life into a company – if/when it’s done right but it’s crucial for businesses to keep some essential considerations in mind. Rebranding should serve a clear purpose and be in line with the company’s vision and values. For Twitter(‘X’), the re-branding appears to fit with Musk’s original vision of turning it into an ‘everything app.’ It’s also essential in rebranding, however, to put the customer at the centre of the rebranding process, ensuring it resonates with the target audience.

Authenticity is a key consideration and successful rebranding addresses underlying issues and avoids superficial changes. With all that’s happened at Twitter in recent times, Musk’s tried to make this change appear as non-superficial as possible, saying the platform is going to be completely changed in scope. Planning and executing a rebranding with a strategic approach is also vital, considering all aspects of the business, and many people may have been taken a little by surprise at the sudden announcement and the contrast of twittering birds with the bold black and just a mysterious X. For re-branding, businesses must also be aware of potential risks, like customer confusion or negative perceptions, and take steps to mitigate them but with trouble at Twitter recently and with the arrival of Microsoft’s Threads, it may have been more of a case of not worrying too much about that now.

A rebranding should be seen as a long-term investment in a company’s growth and reputation and, as it has done for many companies, can yield significant benefits when done right. There are, however, many examples of where it hasn’t worked out for many large businesses and Musk is gambling with high stakes that the transformation to an ‘everything app’ pays off.

It’s still early days in the rebrand – watch this space!

Following warnings about threats posed by the rapid growth of AI, the US White House has reported that seven leading AI companies have committed to developing safeguards.

Voluntary Commitments Made 

A recent White House fact sheet has highlighted how, in a bid to manage the risks posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to protect Americans’ rights and safety, President Biden met with and secured voluntary commitments from seven leading AI companies “to help move toward safe, secure, and transparent development of AI technology”. 

The companies who have made the voluntary commitments are Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.

What Commitments? 

In order to improve safety, security, and trust, and to help develop responsible AI, the voluntary commitments from the companies are:

Ensuring Products are Safe Before Introducing Them to the Public

– Internal and external security testing of their AI systems before their release, carried out in part by independent experts, to guard against AI risks like biosecurity and cybersecurity.

– Sharing information across the industry and with governments, civil society, and academia on managing AI risks, e.g. best practices for safety, information on attempts to circumvent safeguards, and technical collaboration.

Building Systems that Put Security First 

– Investing in cybersecurity and insider threat safeguards to protect proprietary and unreleased model weights (regarded as the most essential part of an AI system). The model weights will be released only when intended and when security risks are considered.

– Facilitating third-party discovery and reporting of vulnerabilities in their AI systems, e.g. putting a robust reporting mechanism in place to enable vulnerabilities to be found and fixed quickly.

Earning the Public’s Trust 

– Developing robust technical mechanisms to ensure that users know when content is AI generated, such as a watermarking system, thereby enabling creativity AI while reducing the dangers of fraud and deception.

– Publicly reporting their AI systems’ capabilities, limitations, and areas of appropriate and inappropriate use, covering both security risks and societal risks (e.g. the effects on fairness and bias).

– Prioritising research on the societal risks that AI systems can pose, including those on avoiding harmful bias and discrimination, and protecting privacy.

– Developing and deploying advanced AI systems to help address society’s greatest challenges, e.g. cancer prevention, mitigating climate change, thereby (hopefully) contributing to the prosperity, equality, and security of all.

To Be Able To Spot AI-Generated Content Easily 

One of the key aspects of more obvious issues of risk associated with AI is the fact that people need to be able to definitively tell the difference between real content and AI generated content. This could help mitigate the risk of people falling victim to fraud and scams involving deepfakes or believing misinformation and disinformation spread using AI deepfakes which could have wider political and societal consequences.

One example of how this may be achieved, with the help of the AI companies, is the use of watermarks. This refers to embedding a digital marking in images and videos which is not visible to the human eye but can be read by certain software and algorithms and give information about whether it’s been produced by AI. Watermarks could help in tackling all kinds of issues including passing-off, plagiarism, stopping the spread of false information, tackling cybercrime (scams and fraud), and more.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Although AI is a useful business tool, the rapid growth-rate of AI has outstripped the pace of regulation. This has led to fears about the risks of AI when used to deceive, spread falsehoods, and commit crime (scams and fraud) as well as the bigger threats such as political manipulation, societal destabilisation, and even the existential threat to humanity. This, in-turn, has led to the first stage action. Governments, particularly, need to feel that they can get the lid partially back on the “genie’s bottle” so that they can at least ensure safeguards are built-in early-on to mitigate risks and threats.

The Biden administration getting at least some wide-ranging voluntary commitments from the Big AI companies is, therefore, a start. Given that many of signatories to the open letter calling for 6-month moratorium on systems more powerful that GPT-4 were engineers from those big tech companies, it’s also a sign that more action may not be too far behind. Ideas like watermarking look a likely option and no doubt there’ll be more ideas.

AI is transforming businesses in a positive way although many also fear how the automation it offers could result in big job losses, thereby affecting economies. This early stage is, therefore, the best time to make a real start in building in the right controls and regulations that allow the best aspects of AI to flourish and keep the negative aspects in check, but this complex subject clearly has a long way to run.

MSE Chat GPT is a recently launched experimental AI chatbot that can answer money questions using MoneySavingExpert guides as its primary source.

MSE ChatGPT – Get Fast Answers To Money Questions 

Recently launched by TV’s consumer financial champion and founder of MoneySavingExpert (MSE), Martin Lewis CBE, MSE Chat GPT is a variant of OpenAI’s Chat GPT and can act as a fast and easy way for the public to get answer to money-related questions.

The Next Generation Of Bespoke Help 

Martin Lewis CBE, founder of MoneySavingExpert, said about the new chatbot: “This is the latest step in MSE’s pioneering history of helping consumers cut their bills and fight for financial justice. When I launched MSE in 2003, people told me ‘nobody wants a money website with a face on it’. I disagreed, I thought people wanted the personal touch, so they know where the info is coming from. And I hope this new tool is the start of the next generation of bespoke help.” 

Built To Solve Two Problems 

Mr Lewis, who founded the consumer financial help website MoneySavingExpert.com, said that the new chatbot was built to solve what some see as two problems with looking for specific financial information using normal ChatGPT.

Firstly, Mr Lewis said that although ChatGPT “answers beautifully and is great for writing a best man’s speech” it is “unsourced and can get things wrong”. This could make its answers untrustworthy, which is particularly worrying where answers relate to the finances of individuals. Also, getting answers that are outdated because they come from an “internet sweep from 2021” could be risky.

Secondly, Mr Lewis wanted to solve the problem of people being faced with “too much information”, thereby struggling to find what they want.

It is hoped, therefore, that the fact that MSE Chat GPT’s primary information source MSE itself (i.e. its many guides, blogs and information updated on a weekly basis) means that users of MSE Chat GPT can get a concise and speedy answer they can trust.

Availability 

MSE ChatGPT can be used in the free MSE App and is available on both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store for Android.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Many people now use ChatGPT at work and at home (it was the fastest growing app of all time when introduced) and are aware of how easy it is to use and how it can save time and effort by giving fast answers in conversational language on any number of subjects. That said, and with most individuals using the free version, as Martin Lewis CBE points out, it’s only trained up to 2021 so some answers may be outdated, it’s unsourced (it just uses a general Internet sweep) and can get things wrong – none of which are desirable when looking for accurate, trustworthy answers about personal finances (a high-risk subject).

Having a tailor-made version, therefore, that draws upon the regularly updated resources of MSE that have been built-up over years and which have been used and scrutinised by millions of people gives it extra relevance and value and this, coupled with the brand itself ensures it will be trusted and used. No doubt it’s a time-saver, particularly when searching for specific financial details which can often be hidden in small print or which may be confusing.

The convenience and speed offered by the chatbot is also a fast way of improving the usability of the website and perhaps extending the reach and the use of MSE via the app. Although customer service chatbots are already part of many websites, tailor-made more powerful chatbots are likely to spring up on many more websites and platforms where they can enable customers to extract information quickly. The speed and convenience of AI chatbots are valued by customers and help brands by giving customers better experiences when interacting with them thereby adding value and aiding retention.

Following the recent Nigel Farage and Coutts Bank row, we look at what a Subject Access Request (SAR) is, how to make one, and why there appears to have been an explosion of them in recent times.

What Happened Between Nigel Farage and Coutts? 

To summarise in a way that’s relevant this article, in a chain of events starting at the end of June, British broadcaster and former UK politician Nigel Farage was informed by Coutts bank that, due to a “commercial decision”, it would no longer do business with him and was closing his account. The NatWest-owned Coutts bank is widely regarded as being a bank for wealthy people because to be a customer you famously need to maintain at least £1m in investments or borrowing (mortgage), or £3m in savings.  Following several allegations and theories about why Coutts may have done this, Mr Farage submitted a SAR to find out exactly why. The 40-page document sent back to him by the bank revealed that staff at the bank had spent time compiling evidence on the “significant reputational risks of being associated with him”. The document was reported to have suggested that the bank didn’t want him as a customer because his views didn’t align with the firm’s “values”, e.g. Mr Farage’s position on LGBTQ+ rights and his friendship with former US president Donald Trump. In short, the document suggested that Mr Farage’s views were at odds with the bank’s position as an inclusive organisation.

Although there are other aspects to this story, the relevant point here in terms of this tech-insight is that Mr Farage would not have known the reason or have received an apology – as he did (as well as heads rolling at the bank) were it not for the SAR.

What Is A Subject Access Request (SAR)? 

A SAR (sometimes called a DSAR – data subject access request) allows an individual to ask an organisation for copies of any personal information that it holds about them. This legal right was granted under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 with the intention of empowering people to be aware of and understand how their personal data is being processed by organisations.

How Do You Make A SAR? 

You can make a SAR in writing or electronically, i.e. by email or via an online form (check that it’s the right and appropriate form first).

What Should You Write? 

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), says that a SAR should include:

– A clear title in the email / form subject line e.g., ‘subject access request’.

– A comprehensive list, which it may be best to compile beforehand, of what personal data you want to access, and how you would like to receive the information.

– It’s also important to include your full name and contact details (email address and phone number).

It’s worth noting that a template request is available on the ICO website here.

Then What Happens? 

Upon receiving a SAR, the organisation must respond within one month. In some cases, however, this period can be extended to two months if the request is complex or if the organisation receives multiple requests from the same individual.

When responding to a SAR, an organisation must provide a copy of the requested personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. The response should include information about the purposes of the processing, the recipients or categories of recipients of the data, and the retention period for the data.

Some Exemptions To Note 

There are, however, some exemptions to organisations having to send you a copy of the requested data, for example if the disclosure would reveal information about another individual or if it could prejudice criminal investigations or legal proceedings.

Is It Free To Make A SAR? 

In most cases, organisations can’t charge a fee for handling a SAR. However, if the request is clearly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive, an organisation could decide to charge a reasonable fee or refuse to comply with the request.

What If You’re Not Happy With The Response Or If There’s No Response? 

It’s a legal right so, unless an exemption can be proved, the organisation should respond. If, however, an individual believes that an organisation has not responded appropriately to their SAR or has mishandled their personal data, they can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

That said, from April 2022 to March 2023, 15,848 complaints related to Subject Access were reported to the ICO, prompting the ICO to publish a new guide to on responding to subject access requests, and warning companies not to get “caught out” by not responding / responding poorly and risking a fine or reprimand.

Surge In SARs 

The press coverage over the Nigel Farage and Coutts story highlighted SARs and how useful and important they can be, and how they allow individuals to stand up to powerful organisations and have control and transparency over the use of their personal data will, no doubt, add to what could be described as an explosion of SARs since the legal right was granted with GDPR. For example, SARs are now often used by employees in dispute with their employer looking for information to use in their defence in negotiations or at an employment tribunal, and by celebrities, public figures, and politicians (e.g., to find out the plans and motives of opposition parties).

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

For any individual, SARs gives them legal power to challenge organisations, gives them a means for greater control and understanding about how their personal data is being processed by organisations, and a way to complain and get satisfaction if they’re not happy. SARs are a way to greater transparency and, as highlighted above, can be very useful in many situations, e.g. for employment tribunals. For businesses, SARs are a reminder of their data protection responsibilities under GDPR and of the need to comply or face financial and reputational consequences.

Several years down the line from the introduction of GDPR, businesses should already have a more organised and compliant way of handling data and should have processes in place to ensure that SARs requests are assessed quickly and accurately and that the requested data is sent promptly in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format. With SARs now widely used, businesses need to be prepared.