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MOVING FORWARD IN 2023
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ChatGPT Passes US Medical Licensing Exam |
An AI chatbot that generates humanlike responses passed all three parts of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, according to findings published in the preprint server medRxiv. Researchers evaluated the performance of ChatGPT - a model launched by OpenAI in November - on the exam. For Part 1 of the comprehensive exam, second-year medical students typically spend 300 to 400 hours preparing. It covers didactic and problem-based learning, including basic science, pharmacology and pathophysiology. The final part is completed by post-graduate students. Researchers found ChatGPT "performed at or near the passing threshold for all three exams without any specialized training or reinforcement." While it varies by year, the USMLE pass threshold is approximately 60% most years, study authors noted. ChatGPT performed above 50% accuracy across all examinations and exceeded 60% in most analyses. "These results suggest that large language models may have the potential to assist with medical education, and potentially, clinical decision-making," the researchers said. (https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/a-peek-into-healthcares-future-ai-passes-medical-licensing-exam.html)
MEANWHILE, ChatGPT is 'not particularly innovative,' and 'nothing revolutionary', says Meta's chief AI scientist: The public perceives OpenAI's ChatGPT as revolutionary, but the same techniques are being used and the same kind of work is going on at many research labs, says the deep learning pioneer. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/chatgpt-is-not-particularly-innovative-and-nothing-revolutionary-says-metas-chief-ai-scientist/)
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Startups Want to Help Airlines Prevent Future Tech Meltdowns |
Airlines should take advantage of new cloud-based tools, industry consultants said, to help prevent the recent snafus enabled by the use of antiquated and siloed technology at Southwest Airlines and the FAA. According to airline-industry consultants, these newer tools, some originating from startups, offer the potential to make airline systems more automated and less dependent on older technologies that can require manual updates and are increasingly expensive to maintain. The meltdowns at Southwest and the FAA, just weeks apart, were because of weaknesses in systems scheduled for upgrades - underscoring the urgent need to give priority to efforts to modernize those systems, as well as the consequences of waiting to do so, the consultants said.
Unlike many existing systems, newer, cloud-based infrastructure and databases can scale horizontally, taking advantage of distributed computing resources across the internet as needed, allowing information to flow more freely and reducing the likelihood systemwide shutdowns. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/startups-want-to-help-airlines-prevent-tech-meltdowns-11673652512)
MEANWHILE, FAA is "Years Away" from Upgrading System that Grounded All U.S. Flights: The FAA software that recently failed, causing thousands of flight delays and cancellations, is 30 years old and at least six years away from being updated, a government source familiar with the situation told CNN. The FAA also now admits that "personnel who failed to follow procedures" caused the computer system failure that triggered the delay. The Notices to Air Missions (NOTAM) database failure triggered the FAA to implement the first nationwide stop of air traffic in 20+ years. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has held multiple meetings with top FAA officials since the meltdown and "has made it very clear" he wants the NOTAM database updated much faster than the FAA's planned timeline, according to the government source. (https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/tech/faa-notam-system-outage)
SUBSEQUENTLY, Southwest Airlines committed $1B to IT upgrades: Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said his company has committed more than $1 billion of its annual operating budget to maintaining and upgrading IT systems, in a recent letter addressed to the carrier's rewards customers. The investment is part of a 5-year strategic plan, Jordan said. (https://www.ciodive.com/news/southwest-airlines-technology-data-upgrades-FAA/640890/)
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CES 2023 Attendance Topped 115K |
CES 2023 ended with total attendance topping 115,000 industry professionals, making it the largest audited global tech event since early 2020, the Consumer Electronics Association reported. The organizers also reported that the event attracted 3,200+ exhibitors, including 1000 startups. Another key number from the event: nearly 2.2 million net square feet of exhibits - 70% larger than CES 2022. (https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/ces-2023-attendance-tops-115k)
ALSO, ZDNet reports on everything important that was announced in the realm of AR and VR at CES:. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/ces-2023-was-huge-for-ar-and-vr-heres-everything-important-that-was-announced/)
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Tech Spending Still Going Up - Where the Money is Going |
Times are changing fast, but analysts at Gartner are forecasting IT spending will still grow in 2023, just by less than previously expected. As big tech companies have started cutting jobs, Gartner has published a lower forecast of 2.4% growth over 2022 in enterprise IT spending - dialing back its $4.66 billion projection for 2023 to $4.49 billion. Gartner analysts also now estimate the 2022 IT spend totaled $4.39 billion, marking a decline of 0.2% compared to 2021. Looking forward, Gartner made some predictions about where the money is likely to be invested during the next 12 months: more software and services, less for devices. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/tech-spending-is-still-going-up-just-heres-where-the-money-is-going/)
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"Flexible, but Stable" Jobs Top 2023 Worker Wishlist |
About half of job seekers (45%) wouldn't accept a job that didn't offer accommodating hours, according to Randstad's 2023 Workmonitor report. Additionally, 48% said they'd quit a job if it "prevented them from enjoying their life." Randstad's report paints a picture of worker priorities in markets across the North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia: employees want stability in their career overall, but flexibility in their day-to-day lives. (https://www.hrdive.com/news/flexible-but-stable-jobs-2023-randstad-workmonitor/640803/)
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2022 IN REVIEW
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Tech Highlights from 2022 - In 8 Charts |
McKinsey has provided a look back at some of the important technology story lines from 2022 - as told through eight charts, with a smattering of insights to go along with them. The topics include: A tipping point for AI?; Tech talent remains tight, but there's unconventional hope; It just keeps getting cloudier; Quantum computing progress brings high expectations - and a little fear; In technology, we (must) trust; and Metaverse mania ensues. (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/tech-highlights-from-2022-in-eight-charts)
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California: Zero-Emission Vehicles Made Up 19% of Car Sales In 2022 |
The State of California said that it has determined that 18.8% of all new cars sold last year in California were zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), with 40% of all ZEVs purchased in the country sold in the State. According to California's Energy Commission, there were 345,818 zero emissions vehicles sold in California in 2022, up 38% from 2021, and up 138% from 2020. (https://www.socaltech.com/fullstory/0083154.html)
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2022 OTHER TECH INDUSTRY NEWS & TRENDS
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Cyber Criminals Finding It Harder to Make Money from Ransomware Attacks - But That Doesn't Mean It's Less Dangerous |
Cyber criminals are making less money from ransomware attacks as victims increasingly refuse to pay their ransom demands. Analysis by cryptocurrency and blockchain company Chainanalysis suggests that ransom payments dropped by 40% last year, declining from $765.6 million in 2021 to $456.8 million in 2022. Meanwhile, cybersecurity researchers at Coveware have also suggested that the number of victims paying ransoms has declined significantly in recent years, dropping from 76% of victims in 2019, down to 41% of victims in 2022. The figures don't and can't account for every ransomware attack, but researchers suggest that the pattern is clear - fewer victims are giving into extortion demands and ransomware gangs are, overall, finding it harder to monetize attacks. But that doesn't mean ransomware attacks pose any less of a threat; cyber criminals are still hacking into networks and encrypting data, causing disruption to businesses, infrastructure, and everyday services - and even if victims aren't giving into ransom demands, ransomware gangs are still leaking stolen information in retaliation. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/fewer-ransomware-victims-are-paying-up-but-theres-a-catch/)
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Scientists Are Training Computers to Forecast COVID-19 Outbreaks Weeks Ahead |
Like the meteorological models that drive weather forecasts, a system to predict COVID-19 outbreaks emerges from a river of data fed by hundreds of streams of local and global information. They include time-stamped internet searches for symptoms such as chest tightness, loss of smell or exhaustion; geolocated tweets that include terms like "corona," "pandemic," or "panic buying"; aggregated location data from smartphones that reveal how much people are traveling; and a decline in online requests for directions, indicating that fewer folks are going out. The resulting volume of information is far too much for humans to manage, let alone interpret. But with the help of powerful computers and software trained to winnow, interpret and learn from the data, a map begins to emerge. If you check that map against historical data - in this case, two years of pandemic experience in 93 counties - and update it accordingly, you may have the makings of a forecasting system for disease outbreaks.
That's exactly what the team led by a Northeastern University computer scientist has done. In their bid to create an early-warning system for COVID-19 outbreaks, the study authors built a "machine learning" system capable of chewing through millions of digital traces, incorporating new local developments, refining its focus on accurate signals of illness, and generating timely notices of impending local surges of COVID-19. (https://www.newsexaminer.com/how-scientists-trained-computers-to-forecast-covid-19-outbreaks-weeks-ahead/article_474f9d66-da92-5a7d-b9a5-4c14590ab666.html)
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Companies Can "Hire" a Virtual Person for $3-14K a Year in China |
Tech company Baidu said the number of virtual people projects it's worked on for clients has doubled since 2021, with a wide price range of as little as $2,800 to $14,300 per year. Virtual people are a combination of animation, sound tech and machine learning that create digitized human beings who can sing and even interact on a livestream. While these digital beings have appeared on the fringes of the U.S. internet, they've been increasingly popping up in China's cyberspace. Some buyers of virtual people include financial services companies, local tourism boards and state media, said Li Shiyan, who heads Baidu's virtual people and robotics business. (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/02/companies-can-hire-a-virtual-person-for-about-14k-a-year-in-china.html)
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House Members Reintroduce Digital Reserve Corps Bill |
House members from both sides of the aisle have reintroduced legislation that would create a National Digital Reserve Corps - a civilian organization tasked with addressing digital and cyber needs across the Federal government. The National Digital Reserve Corps bill - introduced by Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, on Jan. 11 - would require the General Services Administration to detail individuals to agencies according to the government's specific cybersecurity needs. The bill would allow private-sector tech specialists to sign up for a three-year period in which they would work for the Federal government for 30 days each calendar year to take on digital and cybersecurity projects, digital education and training, data triage, acquisition assistance, and development of technical solutions. The legislation is one of many attempts across government to address a nationwide shortage of cyber talent. (https://www.meritalk.com/articles/house-members-reintroduce-digital-reserve-corps-bill/)
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