Generative AI has gone from zero to a hundred in under a year. While early, it’s shown its potential to transform business. That we can all agree on. Where we diverge is on how to contain the dangers it poses. To be clear, I am pro innovation, and far from a fearmonger. But the recent uptick in misinformation -- largely aimed at polarization around controversial issues of the moment -- has made it clear that, if left unchecked, gen AI could wreak havoc on societies.

We’ve seen this movie before with social media, but it took years and hard lessons for us to wake up to its flaws. We’ve (presumably) learned something. The question today is who will help stem the tide of reality distortion from gen AI, and how? 

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Many Windows users have access to Microsoft Copilot, a built-in AI tool. This tool is free to use. Microsoft created Copilot Pro as an optional subscription-based service. Available for $20 per user and month, Copilot Pro promises "priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo during peak times". A subscription delivers answers, content, and generated AI images faster, according to Microsoft's description of the service.

Subscribers get two additional benefits. Designer, which allows users to use AI to generate images, gets 100 boosts per day. Boosts prioritize requests so that results are returned faster. Designer still works without boosts, but it may take longer to generate and return image creations to the user.

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The fear of software developers losing their jobs to AI is a concern for many people in the industry, but are these fears really justified?

Mike Loukides, VP of emerging tech content at O'Reilly Media, believes that AI can enhance the developer role rather than replace it. We spoke to him to find out how, with the right tools and training, the endpoint of this AI revolution won't lead to unemployment, but rather to better software.

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In 2024, the rate of innovation is set to skyrocket, as organizations develop new digital products and services at pace. This growing demand for new software is putting extra pressure on developers. 

As these trends gain momentum, it’s vital organizations help developers to keep up and do more with less, so they can iterate at speed without sacrificing on quality or security. Here are five ways organizations can maximize developer productivity and help them adjust to a rapidly changing world:

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The transition to cloud and SaaS use, along with the recent move towards remote and hybrid working, has placed increased pressure on the telecoms industry. At the same time, it has unlocked a significant opportunity for telcos, as remote work has placed a premium on services like fiber and broadband.

Increased data volumes place additional demands on infrastructure and drives up costs. We talked to Anthony Behan, managing director for communications, media and entertainment at Cloudera to discuss these developments and how artificial intelligence is helping telcos to adapt.

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A new report from software engineering specialist LinearB looks at the effects of generative AI on code creation and delivery.

Gen AI is predicted to generate one in five lines of code by the end of this year and the study of over 150 tech leaders sets out to understand how organizations can measure the effects of Gen AI on their code.

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Sticky notes, both virtual and physical, remain incredibly popular. Since Windows 10, Microsoft has had its own app called, funnily enough, Sticky Notes -- an app that had not been updated in years.

But this is about to change; Microsoft has issued a notice that users should "stay tuned for some of our biggest announcements yet". The company is yet to provide details of just when we can expect to see the updates, and has said outright what it NOT going to be -- but we can take a decent guess at what might be.

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Artificial Intelligence in Practice is a fascinating look into how companies use AI and machine learning to solve problems.

Presenting 50 case studies of actual situations, this book demonstrates practical applications to issues faced by businesses around the globe. The rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence has expanded beyond research labs and computer science departments and made its way into the mainstream business environment.

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With the traditional workplace changing beyond recognition at the start of the decade, we saw the most significant changes to the IT security landscape last year; with the wider implementation of artificial intelligence (AI), stronger authentication practices, third-party data breaches, end-to-end encryption, and the Online Safety Bill to name a few. In this time, cyberattacks have advanced exponentially in sophistication and regularity, with IT cyber defenses struggling to keep up.

Thanks to increasingly large supply chains, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who once thought they were beyond the ‘crown jewel’ targets of large enterprises, are now struggling to defend themselves in the face of more frequent and sophisticated attacks due to smaller budgets and a lack of robust security measures. 

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2023 represented a breakthrough year for generative AI, which gained immense popularity for enhancing productivity through instant content creation based on user inputs. However, in 2024, organizations must shift from marveling at generative AI's dazzling technical capabilities to rigorously evaluating its tangible business impact and risk.

Organizations eagerly anticipate AI's transformative potential. Forrester's September 2023 Artificial Intelligence Pulse Survey revealed that most companies are evolving in their approach to AI. More than a quarter are experimenting with the technology, while 33 percent are expanding their existing efforts, the survey found. In light of this heightened interest, here are three critical AI-centric predictions for the coming year:

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The latest Technology Trends Report from O'Reilly shows interest in generative AI among developers has surged.

The report looks at the most popular technology topics consumed by the 2.8 million users on O'Reilly’s online learning platform and finds that topic engagement in GPTs has grown 2,600 percent year-on-year.

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New research reveals that that most organizations are limiting the use of generative AI over data privacy and security issues, and 27 percent have banned its use, at least temporarily.

The study from Cisco surveyed 2,600 privacy and security professionals and finds that among concerns cited are threats to an organization's legal and Intellectual Property rights (69 percent), and the risk of disclosure of information to the public or competitors (68 percent).

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Businesses are on the cusp of an era of transformation with the widespread take-up of AI. Many have already invested time and resources in exploring how these tools could bring additional value. For some that may be improving efficiency and increasing productivity, or creating tailor-made customer experiences to increase sales; for others, it could mean developing new product concepts. The list is endless.

AI promises ground-breaking innovation across industries and professions, provided organizations are fully prepared to take advantage of its capabilities. But are businesses anywhere near ready for AI? Or are they in danger of rushing ahead, akin to the early days of cloud technology, and could live to regret decisions made in the race not to miss out?

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Generative AI models like ChatGPT are creating a lot of enthusiasm for what they can do for businesses, but they are generating just as much fear over what can go wrong with the data they handle. There is a lack of trust between large companies that have the data and the AI startups that want to use them.

What can we expect to see in the near future? We spoke with Katy Salamati, senior manager of the advanced analytics lifecycle at SAS, to find out.

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Anyone holding out buying a new PC because they're waiting for Windows 12 should probably just bite the bullet. While many were hoping -- even expecting -- Microsoft to release Windows 12 in 2024, the latest rumors suggest that it's more likely to be in 2025.

But that's not to say 2024 is a write-off; far from it. Microsoft still has a lot in store for Windows 11 users, and the next big update -- codenamed Hudson Valley -- is thought to be dropping in September. Also known as Windows 11 24H2 ad the Windows 11 2024 Update, this is a major release which will Microsoft continuing to inject AI into the operating system.

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