With the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 showing TikTok now being the source of news for 20 per cent of 18–24-year-olds at the expense of news websites and apps, we look at where most people now get their news from and the reasons why.

The Report 

The Reuters Institute report is based on the findings of a survey of more than 93,000 people in 46 countries, including the UK, conducted by YouGov in January and February of this year.

Some Key Findings

Some of the key findings about where people young people and others now get their news from are:

– Interest in news stories has declined, there are now high levels of selective news avoidance (36 per cent) i.e., people actively and regularly avoid news (to avoid bad news).

– Trust in the news has fallen and more than half of us (56 per cent) now worry about being able to distinguish between fake and real news on the Internet.

– Around only a fifth of respondents (22 per cent) now say they prefer to start their news journeys with a news website or app (down 10 percentage points since 2018).

– One fifth of young people get their news from TikTok.

– For news topics TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat users now pay more attention to celebrities and social media influencers than to journalists or media companies.

– Consumption of traditional media, such as TV and print, is falling in most markets, with online and social consumption not making up the gap.

– Younger people have a weaker connection with news brands’ own websites and apps than before and prefer to access news via side-door routes such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators.

– Although Facebook is still one of the most-used social networks, shifting its focus away from news (and competition) has meant that its influence on journalism and popularity as a news source is declining.

– Whereas on Facebook and Twitter, news media and journalists are still central to the conversation, audiences say they pay more attention to celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities than journalists in networks like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat (the social networks more popular with young people).

In short, people are moving away from Facebook, news apps and websites, with many young people now preferring to get their news from TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, paying more attention to what influencers and celebrities say about it.

Why? 

The declining engagement with traditional networks, e.g. Facebook and the rise of TikTok and a range of other video-led networks, along with the preference for the views of influencers and celebrities is likely to be the result of the influence of the habits of the youngest generations. This is because they have grown up with social media and as a result, naturally pay more attention to influencers or celebrities than they do to journalists, even for news. This may also explain why many young people prefer to access news via ‘side-door routes’ such as social media, search, or mobile aggregators rather than heading straight for news websites and apps.

As the Reuters Institute director Rasmus Neilsen explains, “Younger generations increasingly eschew direct discovery for all but the most appealing brands” and “They have little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations’ habits, interests, and values, and instead embrace the more personality-based, participatory, and personalised options offered by social media, often looking beyond legacy platforms to new entrants”. 

Also, the current squeeze on household spending has meant that people have been rethinking how much they can afford to spend on news media.

Facebook’s declining use for news isn’t just because it’s moving away from news but is also down to strong competition from YouTube and youth-focused networks like TikTok.

A general mistrust of news and a lack of confidence about being able to spot fake new could be due to influences like criticism of the news media, which is often driven by politicians and facilitated by social media.

As for declining interest in news and ‘selective avoidance’ of news, these can be attributed to (probably since the pandemic), an abundance of bad news on constant-repeat e.g., the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, thereby causing people to avoid bad news to protect their own wellbeing and mental health.

Podcasts 

As highlighted in Reuters Report, podcasts are still popular, and their usage has grown by one-third since 2018. Although they are a source of news, the news podcasts compete for attention with lifestyle and specialist shows (some of which also deal with news), and the listeners tend to be richer, better educated, and younger.

Where Do People Get Their News From? 

According to YouGov figures, although most UK people now get their news from the national TV news (44 per cent) and news websites (40 per cent but declining), social media is where just over a quarter (26 per cent) of people get their news). An Ofcom report from 2022 confirms that younger age groups are more likely to use the internet and social media for news, whereas their older counterparts favour print, radio, and TV. The report shows that the reach of print/online newspapers has seen a large decrease from 2020 i.e. 47 per cent to 2022 (38 per cent), and the report states that social media is overtaking traditional channels for news among teens, e.g. with TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube being their top three most used sources for news.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The shifting landscape of news consumption highlighted in the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 has significant implications for various stakeholders in the business world. Publishers, traditional media outlets, social media platforms, and advertisers all need to adapt to the changing preferences and behaviours of news consumers, particularly among younger generations.

For publishers and traditional media, the report emphasises the decline in interest and trust in news stories, as well as the decreasing preference for news websites and apps. This highlights the need for innovative approaches to news delivery and engagement to capture the attention of younger audiences. Investing in video-led networks, exploring personalised and participatory options, and leveraging social media platforms can help reach a broader audience.

Social media platforms, while still influential, face challenges in the evolving news landscape. The decline of Facebook as a news source, primarily driven by competition from platforms like TikTok and YouTube, indicates the importance of diversifying content offerings and adapting to changing user preferences. Platforms must strike a balance between user-generated content and news media to remain relevant and trustworthy sources of information.

Advertisers need to reassess their strategies and platforms for reaching their target audiences. With young people paying more attention to influencers and celebrities on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, there is an opportunity to collaborate with these popular figures to promote their products or services. Advertisers should also consider leveraging podcasts, which have seen growth and appeal to a more affluent, educated, and younger demographic.

Overall, the report highlights the need for businesses to stay informed about the changing news consumption habits and preferences of their target audiences. Adapting to the rise of video-led networks, social media influencers, and personalised content can help companies stay relevant and effectively engage with consumers. By embracing new platforms and approaches, businesses can navigate the evolving news landscape and leverage these changes to their advantage.

In this insight we look at what ‘Y Combinator’ is, how it works, who it’s worked with, and how it’s made the news recently.

Startup Accelerator and Venture Capital Firm 

Y Combinator is a well-known startup accelerator and venture capital firm based in the United States. It was founded in 2005 by Paul Graham, Robert Morris, Trevor Blackwell, and Jessica Livingston. Y Combinator is often referred to as an “accelerator” because it provides a comprehensive program designed to help early-stage startups grow and succeed.

Y Combinator says it’s so far funded 4,000 startups with a $600 billion valuation.

How? 

Startups accepted into the Y Combinator program receive seed funding, typically in exchange for equity, and participate in a structured three-month program (there are two 3-month programs). During this time, they receive mentorship, guidance, and access to a network of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts. Y Combinator also provides office space and various resources to support the development of the startups.

The program culminates in a Demo Day, where each participating startup presents its progress and business plan to a large audience of potential investors. Demo Day offers a valuable opportunity for startups to secure additional funding and establish crucial connections within the investment community.

Who? 

Over the years, Y Combinator has supported and nurtured numerous successful startups, including Stripe, Airbnb, Instacart, DoorDash, Cruise, Twitch, Coinbase, PagerDuty, Faire, Brex, Deel, Rippling, reddit, Gusto, Flexport, Dropbox, Razorpay, Scale AI, GitLab, Benchling, Fivetran, Rappi, Checkr, Zapier, Whatnot, Podium, Webflow, Zepto, Groww, Segment, and others.

Its reputation and track record have made it one of the most prestigious and sought-after startup accelerators globally, attracting entrepreneurs from various industries and sectors.

The Goal 

Y Combinator says its goal is to “help startups really take off” and to help them “to be in dramatically better shape 3 months later”. It defines being in better shape as having a better product with more users, and to having more options for raising money.

Influence 

Y Combinator and its founders, such as Paul Graham, have become influential voices in the startup ecosystem. They have shared valuable insights, advice, and thought-provoking essays on entrepreneurship, technology, and startup culture. Y Combinator’s blog and the published writings of its founders have gained widespread recognition and are considered valuable resources for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Expansion and Global Reach 

Y Combinator has expanded its reach beyond Silicon Valley to accept startups from around the world, including international teams, into its program. This global perspective has allowed Y Combinator to tap into a diverse range of innovative ideas and entrepreneurs from different regions, making it a truly influential force in the global startup ecosystem.

In The News 

In May last year, Y Combinator made the news when it sent a letter to its portfolio founders (its ‘who’s who’ of startup successes) entitled “Economic Downturn” which warned them to “plan for the worst” due to an economic slowdown, inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical unease. The letter painted a bleak picture to startups saying, “it’s your responsibility to ensure your company will survive if you cannot raise money for the next 24 months.” 

Startups

Startups are generally characterised by innovation and high growth potential, but they face funding challenges and rapid cash burn. Despite these hurdles, investors find startups attractive due to their potential for high returns and the opportunity to be part of groundbreaking ventures.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?  

The presence and success of Y Combinator, a renowned startup accelerator and venture capital firm, highlight important considerations for UK businesses. Startups, with their innovative ideas and high growth potential, face funding challenges and rapid cash burn. However, the allure of startups lies in their potential for significant returns on investment and the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking ventures.

For UK businesses, this highlights the importance of fostering a culture of innovation and embracing the potential for high growth. By encouraging and supporting startups within the local ecosystem, businesses can tap into the vibrant entrepreneurial spirit and benefit from collaborations with innovative startups.

Moreover, it is crucial for businesses to consider the funding landscape and explore ways to support startups. This could involve establishing partnerships or mentorship programs, providing resources or office space, or even considering investment opportunities in promising startups. By nurturing and engaging with startups, businesses can gain access to fresh ideas, talent, and potential future collaborations.

Judging by some of the well-known names listed as being helped by Y Combinator, it’s clearly had some success in helping them but, as all businesses know (and as Y Combinator warned its customers last year), these are very tough economic times that will make it very challenging for today’s startups, and it’s currently more a matter of just focusing on survival for those that can’t raise the necessary funding in the near future.

An American Psychological Association research paper predicts that that as workers interact with AI systems (and rely more on them), this could lead to social disconnection at work, feelings of loneliness, and even insomnia and alcohol consumption.

Work-Related Interactions Being Altered & Creating Social Disconnection

The research, entitled “No Person Is an Island: Unpacking the Work and After-Work Consequences of Interacting with Artificial Intelligence,” published in the Journal of Applied Psychology says that as AI systems are increasingly integrated across organisational functions and into the work lives of employees, the coupling of employees and machines is fundamentally altering their work-related interactions.

Your New AI ‘Colleague’ Could Have Negative Effects 

The researchers say that people have evolved internal systems to gauge the quality of relationships with others and these systems have remained effective in a workplace that, just as in primitive tribal communities, prioritised social interactions with coworkers. The advent of digital, asocial AI systems and their incorporation into employee work has, however, threatened to upend the operation of these systems. The research shows that employee interactions with their new AI ‘colleagues’ may lead to an increased need for affiliation as well as feelings of loneliness.

Mixed Consequences 

In essence, the research states that AI interrupting old-style work relationships leads to mixed consequences, i.e. (adaptive) affiliation – more helping behaviour toward coworkers at work, or a feeling of ‘maladaptive’ loneliness which affects employees after work in ways like more insomnia and alcohol consumption.

The research showed that the effects are more pronounced for those with higher levels of attachment anxiety (the tendency to feel insecure and worried about social connections), i.e. they respond more strongly to working on AI systems with both positive reactions, like helping others, and negative ones, like loneliness and insomnia.

Human Consequences Of The “New Industrial Revolution” 

Lead researcher and professor of management at the University of Georgia Pok Man Tang said, “Humans are social animals, and isolating work with AI systems may have damaging spillover effects into employees’ personal lives”. Tang highlighted how “The rapid advancement in AI systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some uncharted dangers, including potentially damaging mental and physical impacts for employees.” 

Four Experiments But Consistent Findings 

The research was conducted using four experiments in the U.S., Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia with co-workers and family members offering feedback on the behaviour of subjects. The findings proved to be consistent across cultures, showing that basic human interactions and relationships are changed by overexposure working alone with just AI.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Although AI can be human-like in its responses (e.g., generative AI like ChatGPT), it is not human or sentient (yet). Having too much interaction with AI at work seems to come at the expense of the human social interaction and although it has some positive consequences, it appears to have some damaging consequences in the lives of employees both at work (loneliness) and at home (insomnia and drinking). Ways that businesses could help manage and improve this situation include limiting the frequency of working with AI systems, offering opportunities for employees to socialise, and even offering mindfulness programs and other positive interventions. Developers of AI technology could help by equipping AI systems with more social features, e.g. a human voice, to emulate human-like interactions. How AI impacts on the social, informal, cultural, and ‘softer’ factors at work could, therefore, be another area that businesses need to monitor and manage going forward as AI plays more of a role in daily work lives.

Meta has announced the introduction of I-JEPA, an AI model that generate images that can create the most human-like images so far and is “a step closer to human-level intelligence in AI”. 

Overcomes Previous Limitations 

Meta says that the I-JEPA model is based on its Chief AI Scientist, Yann LeCun’s vision for more human-like AI and that it can “overcome key limitations of even the most advanced AI systems today”. 

What Does It Do? 

I-JEPA analyses a user-provided sketch and completes the unfinished image by filling in the missing details, e.g. the colour of objects, lighting conditions, and the background in a way that’s incredibly accurate.

Much Better At Filling In The Missing Details 

The ‘Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture’ (JEPA) model’s ‘knowledge-guided generation’ means that it can use its knowledge of the world to fill in the missing details of an image, thereby creating a much better result. This could mean that it will be much more difficult to tell whether an image is human created (real) or has been artificially created by AI. In the past, for example, issues like people in AI-generated images having strange-looking hands with 6 fingers have been one of the ways that ‘deepfakes’ can be spotted. I-JEPA is able to resolve these issues.

Why Is I-JEPA Better? 

Whereas generative architectures learn by removing or distorting portions of the input to the model and tries to fill-in every bit of missing information (even though the world is inherently unpredictable), I-JEPA predicts the representation of part of an input (an image or piece of text) from the representation of other parts of the same input – it predicts representations at a high level of abstraction rather than predicting pixel values directly. It also uses an enormous amount of background knowledge about the world. I-JEPA is, therefore, able to predict missing information in an abstract representation that’s more akin to the general understanding people have. I.e., it’s exceptionally good at analysing and finishing unfinished pictures and making them look real.

Meta says that I-JEPA’s pretraining is also “computationally efficient” and doesn’t involve any overhead associated with applying more computationally intensive data augmentations to produce multiple views.

What Does This Men For Your Business? 

I-JEPA appears to be the next “step closer to human-level intelligence in AI” and gives users the ability to quickly create very realistic images from simple sketches while eliminating many of the usual problems that AI image generators have had to date. Businesses using I-JEPA (which is currently in the hands of researchers and developers) can have confidence in the quality of its output for a whole range of private and public/published uses. I-JEPA gives businesses the ability to quickly create a detailed, realistic picture from a sketch can save time and costs, add value, be applicable to a wide range of tasks, avoid the need for large amounts of manually labelled data, and as the researchers say, it can let businesses create “strong off-the-shelf semantic representations without the use of hand-crafted view augmentations”. In short, I-JEPA could be a real game-changer, and Meta making the model available as open source may help to get it widely established as a new industry-standard tool (Meta hopes).

New LinkedIn research has highlighted a shortage within the kind of green skills that are needed to help develop green industries and help it achieve it climate ambitions.

Green Skills Shortage In The Workforce

LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills Report 2023 showed that although the concentration of “green talent” in the workforce is growing, i.e. there is a growing number of workers with a ‘green’ job or who list at least one green skill on their LinkedIn profile, the increase in demand for green skills is outpacing the increase in supply. This has raised the prospect of an imminent green skills shortage that could threaten the development of new industries and slow down efforts to make homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient.

For example, the report shows that worldwide, only one in eight workers has one or more green skills – seven in eight workers lack even a single green skill.

What Is A Green Skill? 

Green skills can be described as the expertise and abilities focused on promoting environmental sustainability. Examples include renewable energy installation and maintenance, sustainable construction and design, environmental engineering, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, environmental education, green data analysis, waste management and recycling, green business and sustainability management, and environmental policy and planning.

Green Job? 

Although it’s relatively clear what green skills are, there’s a lack of a precise global definition of what constitutes a “green job”. For example, some see them as jobs in sectors that directly drive the net zero transition, e.g. renewable energy or electric vehicle production, while others see green jobs as simply those with a high share of green-related tasks.

The LinkedIn report makes the point that greater numbers of green skills need to be incorporated in deeper, more impactful ways into more jobs anyway to help us meet out climate goals.

Green Jobs Demand Outpacing Green Talent Supply 

Taking a broad view of what constitutes a ‘green job’, the LinkedIn report illustrates that the growth in the share of job postings requiring a green skill exceeds the growth rate of green skills being acquired by the workforce. For example:

– Between 2022 and 2023, the share of green talent in the workforce rose by a median of 12.3 per cent while the share of job postings requiring at least one green skill grew twice as quickly (by a median of 22.4 per cent).

– The five-year annualised growth rate between 2018 and 2023 shows a similar trend with the share of green talent growing by only 5.4 per cent per year over that period, while the share of jobs requiring at least one green skill growing by 9.2 per cent.

Green Hiring Still Bucked The Trend 

That said, and even though overall hiring slowed over the past year, the LinkedIn research shows that green hiring bucked that trend. For example, while overall hiring slowed globally between February 2022 and February 2023, job postings requiring at least one green skill have grown by a median of 15.2 per cent over the same period.

Some Countries Easier To Get A Green Job With No Green Experience 

LinkedIn’s research shows that although green skills generally aren’t being acquired quickly enough by the workforce, some jobs in some countries provide a better chance of workers getting a green job without prior green experience, e.g. waste management specialists and solar consultants in the UK and US.

It’s also worth noting that some jobs can be regarded as ‘gateway jobs’ to acquiring green skills.

For example, an energy ffficiency analyst works with organisations to understand their energy consumption and develop strategies to reduce it. This role typically involves conducting energy audits, analysing energy data, identifying energy-saving opportunities, and recommending energy-efficient technologies or improvements. They may also monitor and verify the effectiveness of energy efficiency measures that have been implemented.

While this role might require some background knowledge in energy systems, it is also a job that encourages on-the-job learning about energy efficiency and conservation methods, the use of renewable energy, and the understanding of energy policies and regulations.

This position can lead to a deeper understanding and acquisition of green skills, which can be used to move into more specialized roles in the future, such as an Energy Manager, Sustainability Director, or Environmental Policy Advisor.

Challenges  

In addition to the general challenge of a green skills shortage in the workforce, other challenges that could hold back green skills and the transition and green jobs include:

– Those working in fossil fuel jobs are generally paid more than in green jobs.

– There is a lack of investment in reskilling workers.

– There is an apparent lack of equality in green jobs, e.g. green jobs appear to be more the domain of men. There is also a disparity in education, with better educated people having green jobs.

– There is a lack of incentives, e.g. tax and other financial incentives for companies to pay better wages for green jobs and take on apprentices.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation? 

As the LinkedIn report points out, “Our ambitious green goals require the rapid proliferation of green skills”. The current green skills gap in the workforce poses significant challenges as the demand for these skills continues to outpace their acquisition. This trend has implications for businesses, governments, and the achievement of environmental and carbon targets. To address this gap, businesses and organisations must recognise the importance of investing in new technologies and creating attractive working conditions to entice workers. Governments, on the other hand, should provide clear incentives for companies to adopt green practices and develop comprehensive policies and programs that equip workers with the necessary green skills.

Closing the skills gap requires a concerted effort to reskill and upskill today’s workforce, enabling workers to learn green skills on the job. Tailored reskilling programs that identify relevant green skills for each role and industry should be developed, along with expanded access to economic opportunities for workers in countries that have been left behind. Collaboration between governments, the private sector, educators, and institutions of higher learning is crucial to ensure that green skills are integrated into curricula across various fields of study.

To tackle the issue, governments should work with the private sector to accelerate skills-based hiring and leverage real-time skills and hiring data for informed decision-making. Identifying gateway jobs that facilitate transitions to other green roles, supporting workers during pay cuts in the transitional period, and creating impactful upskilling and on-the-job training programs are essential. Maximising investments in these efforts and fostering the development of new degree programs catering to specialised green skills are also crucial steps.

Ultimately, it is through the collaboration and commitment of all stakeholders that the green skills gap can be closed, driving the necessary green transformation, and contributing to the achievement of global sustainability goals.

Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany have reported that the Office Open XML (OOXML) Signatures, an Ecma/ISO standard used in Microsoft Office applications and open source OnlyOffice, have security flaws that could allow attackers to modify the content in signed documents, while the signatures are still displayed as valid. The researchers have informed Microsoft and proposed countermeasures to prevent such issues in the future which Microsoft is reported to have acknowledged and to have awarded the researchers with a bug bounty.

If you’re working alone but need to brainstorm, you can use ChatGPT as an effective collaborative brainstorming tool, inspiring innovative thinking and generating fresh insights. Here’s how:

– Set the Context: Open ChatGPT, set ‘New chat’ and introduce the brainstorming topic or challenge.

– Engage in Dialogue: Start a conversation with ChatGPT about the topic.

– Encourage Divergent ‘Thinking’: Ask open-ended questions to generate a range of ideas.

– Prompt for Specific Inputs: Provide clear instructions for focused idea generation.

– Explore Generated Responses: Review and extract promising ideas.

– Iterate and Refine: Have a back-and-forth conversation to build upon ideas.

– Document and Evaluate: Keep track of the most promising ideas (ChatGPT stored your chats anyway).

– Combine Human and AI Creativity: Blend ChatGPT’s ideas with your own insights.

– Validate and Implement: Select the most promising ideas and develop an action plan.

Following thousands of moderators making their subreddit communities private for 48 hours as a protest, we look at the reasons why, together with the implications for Reddit, its users, and other stakeholders.

What Is Reddit? 

Reddit is a social media platform where users can join communities called ‘subreddits’ to share content, participate in discussions, and interact with others. These subreddits each focus on a specific topic of interest.

Reddit users, also known as ‘Redditors’ create an account, subscribe to subreddits, and contribute by submitting posts or commenting on existing ones. The platform uses a voting system where users can upvote or downvote content, influencing its visibility.

Subreddits are moderated by volunteers who enforce rules and guidelines, plus Reddit also features a ‘karma’ system that reflects user engagement.  Overall, Reddit is a diverse and interactive platform for sharing and discovering content with a vast user community.

Who Are The ‘Mods’, And What Do They Do? 

The volunteer Subreddit moderators (also known as ‘mods’) oversee and maintain specific communities within Reddit by enforcing the subreddit’s rules and guidelines, monitor user activity, review, and approve posts and comments, remove spam or inappropriate content, and respond to user reports. They may also engage in discussions, facilitate AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions, organise events, and promote community growth. Reddit is, therefore, heavily reliant upon moderators, who tend to spend one or two hours per day on their moderating activities.

What Happened To Cause The Blackout? 

Recently, Reddit introduced a series of charges to the third-party developers who want to continue using its Application Programming Interface (API) to access its data, i.e. the code which allows third-party apps to find and show the content on Reddit. For example, ‘Apollo’, ‘Reddit is Fun’, ‘Sync’ and ‘ReddPlanet’ are four third-party apps which were set up to enable users to access Reddit on their mobile devices. However, because of the new API charges, all four have said they will be shutting down.

Many subreddit monitors (some with large numbers of users in the subreddits) protested about the effect the move would have on them, supported the third-party app owners, and tried to put pressure on Reddit to reverse its new API charging decision by imposing a blackout, known as “going dark”. For most users, this involves making their communities private for 48 hours from June 12 , although some threatened to go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed. Making a subreddit private means that its content and discussions are no longer accessible to the general Reddit userbase.

Key reasons why the moderators are protesting include the fact that apps leaving the API mean that the platform will be less accessible, plus voluntary moderators will have fewer quality tools to work with through the official app, thereby making their job more difficult and making it nearly impossible (some argue) for them to maintain their levels of service to users.

How Will “Going Dark” Hurt Reddit? 

“Going Dark” for a substantial period of time is likely to cause a noticeable decrease in the Reddit platform user engagement and activity since private subreddits limit content accessibility, which means less time spent on Reddit and potentially impacting metrics like page views and user interactions.

If there were more (longer) blackouts following this one, advertisers might also become concerned because private subreddits limit visibility and reach, potentially affecting the attractiveness of Reddit as an advertising platform. Also, private subreddits becoming widespread could impact the platform’s reputation as an open and inclusive community, deterring new users and affecting the overall user experience. Reddit’s business model relies on advertising revenue and premium subscriptions, so if private subreddits significantly impact these revenue streams, Reddit might need to adapt its model or explore new sources of revenue or, as the protesting moderators hope with their protest action, reverse the new policy for charges for third-party apps.

With five of the ten most popular communities on Reddit (r/gaming, r/aww, r/Music, r/todayilearned and r/pics), each of which has more than thirty million members, 48 hours of “going dark” is likely to cause some damage, generate some adverse (and potentially damaging) publicity for Reddit, and give Reddit’s owners (Advance Publications Inc) a painful reminder of the importance and power of moderators, and how things could become more challenging if their concerns aren’t addressed. Some moderators, for example, have said they will make their subreddits indefinitely inaccessible until Reddit reverses its policy.

Unpopular 

Some moderators have been quoted as saying they would not continue to moderate if the ‘unpopular’ changes were pushed through, and their hope is that strength in numbers by acting together will provide enough pressure to change Reddit’s mind about the changes, and make Reddit realise the value and the power of its moderators.

Extortionate … Or Necessary? 

Some people have suggested that the new charges are extortionate. For example, Apollo’s developer Christian Selig, (who has announced he will shut the app down on June 30) has suggested that the new Reddit charges could cost him £15.9 million if he continues operating the app.

Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, has said that the platform “needs to be a self-sustaining business”, indicating that there would some form of increased revenue is needed, such as the new charges. He also said that he respected the communities taking action to highlight what they needed.

Reddit’s own (multi-million dollar) hosting costs and their need to be compensated according to usage levels to support third-party apps were two of the main reasons highlighted for introducing the charges.

Reddit Went Down 

The action taken by the 7000+ subreddit moderators is thought to have been the cause of Reddit going down on the first day of the protest, 12 June. It was reported that over two and a half billion Reddit users may have “gone dark” on the platform as part of the protest.

Declining Anyway? 

Some commentators have suggested that Reddit has been a platform in decline anyway. Also, Reddit recently downsized its (leased) office space and reportedly announced a 5 per cent cut of its staff (90 employees).

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Reddit’s move to get payment from the makers of third-party apps (after seven years of maintaining a free API) has been very poorly received and it has been likened to Musk’s Twitter which also stopped free usage of its API in February (and then backtracked a little). For third-party app developers, the charges are clearly very bad news, which some say will put them out of business and with several saying they will be shutting down.

The protest by moderators has already led to the whole of Reddit going down, has produced damaging publicity, has affected potentially billions of users, and could have a hugely detrimental effect on Reddit’s business if it continues, e.g. loss of advertisers, moderators not maintaining the platform (affecting users and quality), damage to reputation, users leaving, business/premium users cancelling, and more. In short, Reddit’s move to suddenly impose a change to its model and raise more revenue in this way has been met with fierce resistance and has exposed how voluntary moderators (which are a strength of the company’s services) feel undervalued and ignored and how they have enough power (if organised) to seriously put pressure on (and damage) the company. Reddit is currently showing no signs of backing down and it remains to be seen whether the pressure of moderators proves to inflict too much damage and force back-peddling or whether this is the start of major changes to Reddit’s model.

For many users of the platform, including businesses, the site going down and too much ‘going dark’ could see them run out of patience and look at alternatives.

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT plus the rapid and revolutionary growth of AI are changing the face of most industries and generating dire warnings about the future, but what about the effects on datacentres?

Data Centres And Their Importance 

Data centres are the specialised facilities that house a large number of computer servers and networking equipment, serving as centralised locations where businesses and organisations store, manage, process, and distribute their digital data. These facilities are designed to provide a secure, controlled environment for storing and managing vast amounts of data in the cloud.

In our digital, cloud computing business world, data centres, therefore play a crucial role in supporting various industries and services that rely on large-scale data processing and storage, and are utilised by organisations ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, cloud service providers, internet companies, government agencies, and research institutions.

The Impacts of Generative AI

There are number of ways that generative AI is impacting data centres. These include:

– The need for more data centres. Generative AI applications require significant computational resources, including servers, GPUs, and data storage devices. As the adoption of generative AI grows, data centres will need to invest and expand their infrastructure to accommodate the increased demand for processing power and storage capacity and this will change the data centre landscape. For example, greater investment in (and greater numbers of) data centres will be needed. It’s been noted that the massive data-crunching requirements of AI platforms like ChatGPT, for example, couldn’t continue to operate without using Microsoft’s (soon-to-be-updated) Azure cloud platform. This has led to Microsoft now building a new 750K SF hyperscale data centre campus near Quincy, WA, to house three 250K SF server farms on land costing $9.2M. Presumably, with more data centres there will also need to be greater efforts and investment to reduce and offset their carbon consumption.

– Greater power consumption and more cooling needed. Generative AI models are computationally intensive and consume substantial amounts of power. Data centres also have backup power sources to ensure a smooth supply, such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and generators. With more use of generative AI, data centres will need to ensure they have sufficient power supply and cooling infrastructure to support the energy demands of generative AI applications. This could mean that data centres will now need to improve power supplies to cope with the demands of generative AI by conducting power capacity planning, upgrading infrastructure, implementing redundancy and backup systems, optimising power distribution efficiency, integrating renewable energy sources, implementing power monitoring and management systems, and collaborating with power suppliers. These measures could enhance power capacity, reliability, efficiency, and sustainability. More data centres may also need to be built with their own power plants (like Microsoft did in Dublin in 2017).

In terms of the greater need for cooling, i.e. to improve cooling capacity for generative AI in data centres, strategies include optimising airflow management, adopting advanced cooling technologies like liquid cooling, implementing intelligent monitoring systems, utilising computational fluid dynamics simulations, exploring innovative architectural designs, and leveraging AI algorithms for cooling control optimisation. These measures could all enhance airflow efficiency, prevent hotspots, improve heat dissipation, proactively adjust cooling parameters, inform cooling infrastructure design, and dynamically adapt to workload demands to meet the cooling challenges posed by generative AI.

– The need for scalability and flexibility. Generative AI models often require distributed computing and parallel processing to handle the complexity of training and inference tasks. Data centres therefore need to provide scalable and flexible infrastructure that can efficiently handle the workload and accommodate the growth of generative AI applications. Data centres will, therefore, need to be able to support generative AI applications through means such as:

– Virtualisation for dynamic resource allocation.
– High-performance Computing (HPC) clusters for computational power.
– Distributed storage systems for large datasets.
– Enhanced network infrastructure for increased data transfer.
– Edge computing for reduced latency and real-time processing.
– Containerisation platforms for flexible deployment and resource management.

– Data storage and retrieval. Generative AI models require extensive amounts of training data, which must be stored and accessed efficiently. Data centres now need to be able to optimise their data storage and retrieval systems to handle large datasets and enable high-throughput training of AI models.

– Security and privacy. Generative AI introduces new security and privacy challenges. Data centres must now be able to ensure the protection of sensitive data used in training and inferencing processes. Additionally, they need to address potential vulnerabilities associated with generative AI, such as the generation of realistic but malicious content or the potential for data leakage. Generative AI also poses cybersecurity challenges, as it can be used to create vast quantities of believable phishing emails or generate code with security vulnerabilities. Rather than just relying upon a lot of verification, there is likely to be increased dependency on skilled workers and smart software may be necessary to address these security risks effectively.

– Customisation and integration. Generative AI models often require customisation and integration into existing workflows and applications. This means that data centres need to provide the necessary tools and support for organisations to effectively integrate generative AI into their systems and leverage its capabilities.

– Skillset requirements. Managing and maintaining generative AI infrastructure requires specialised skills and data centres will need to invest in training their personnel and/or attracting professionals with expertise in AI technologies to effectively operate and optimise the infrastructure supporting generative AI.

– Optimisation for AI workloads. The rise of generative AI also means that data centres need to find ways to optimise their operations and infrastructure to cater to the specific requirements of AI workloads. This includes considerations for power efficiency, cooling systems, network bandwidth, and storage architectures that are tailored to the demands of generative AI applications.

– Uncertain infrastructure requirements. The power consumption and hardware requirements of the increasing use of generative AI applications are yet to be fully understood and this means that the impact on software and hardware remains uncertain, and the scale of infrastructure needed to support generative AI is still not clear. The implications of this for data centres are, for example:

– A lack of clarity on power consumption and hardware needs/the specific power and hardware requirements of generative AI applications are not fully understood, makes it challenging for data centres to accurately plan and allocate resources.
– The impact of generative AI on software and hardware is still unclear which makes it difficult for data centres to determine the necessary upgrades or modifications to support these applications.
– Without a clear understanding of the demands of generative AI, data centres cannot accurately estimate the scale of infrastructure required, potentially leading to under-provisioning or over-provisioning of resources.

– The need for flexibility and adaptability. Data centres must now be prepared to adjust their infrastructure dynamically to accommodate the evolving requirements of generative AI applications as more information becomes available.

AI Helping AI 

Ironically, data centres could use AI itself to help optimise their operations and infrastructure. For example, through:

– Predictive maintenance. AI analysing sensor data to detect equipment failures, minimising downtime.

– Energy efficiency. AI optimising power usage, cooling, and workload placement, reducing energy waste.

– Workload Optimisation. AI maximising performance by analysing workload patterns and allocating resources efficiently.

– Anomaly Detection. AI monitoring system metrics, identifies abnormal patterns and flags security or performance issues.

– Capacity Planning. AI analysing data to predict resource demands, optimising infrastructure expansion.

– Dynamic Resource Allocation. AI dynamically scaling computing resources, storage, and network capacity based on workload demands.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Overall, while generative AI offers opportunities for increased efficiency and productivity for businesses, it also poses several challenges related to infrastructure, trust, security, and compliance. Data centres in our digital society and cloud-based business world now play a crucial role in supporting industries, business, services and as such, whole economies so how data centres to adapt quickly and effectively to the challenges posed by AI (or not) is something that could potentially affect all businesses going forward.

As a data centre operator or a business relying on data centres for smooth operations, the impact of generative AI on data centres presents both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, the increased demand for processing power and storage capacity necessitates investments in infrastructure expansion and upgrades, providing potential business opportunities for data centre operators. It may lead to the establishment of more data centres and the need for greater efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

However, this growth in generative AI also brings challenges that need to be addressed. Data centres must ensure sufficient power supply and cooling infrastructure to support the energy demands and heat dissipation requirements of generative AI applications. This may require capacity planning, infrastructure upgrades, integration of renewable energy sources, and the adoption of advanced cooling technologies. It also presents huge challenges in terms of trying to provide the necessary capacity in a way that minimises carbon emissions and meeting environmental targets.

Additionally, with the rise of generative AI, data centres now need to consider scalability, flexibility, security, and privacy implications. They must provide the necessary infrastructure and tools for businesses to integrate generative AI into their workflows and applications securely. Skillset requirements also come into play, as personnel need to be trained in AI technologies to effectively operate and optimise the data centre infrastructure.

Overall, understanding and addressing the implications of generative AI on data centres is crucial for both data centre operators and businesses relying on these facilities. By adapting to the evolving demands of generative AI and investing in optimised infrastructure and pursuing innovation, data centre operators can provide reliable and efficient services to businesses, ensuring seamless operations and unlocking the potential of generative AI for various industries.