1/ AI: from fascination to reflection

At South by Southwest , held from March 8th to 16th in Austin, (generative) AI remained the undisputed star, commanding all attention during the three days of this event attended by several hundred thousand visitors. In terms of the intensity of discussions, the Texas festival remains unrivaled, with conferences, debates, and networking opportunities featuring unique speakers, from pure players to Big Tech companies, addressing major current issues, even if politics and environmental concerns didn't take center stage this time. The discussions always centered on questions about the future; it's the DNA of SXSW: people come to Austin to gain perspective, to reflect on what lies ahead. At this 2024 edition, after the excitement of previous years, particularly regarding the Metaverse, there was a palpable sense of the end of the party, a bit of a hangover . And, in the debates, a new desire for reflection emerged, shared by many participants, along with an underlying concern about various topics such as the evolution of work. The question of value remains central: who holds this value? Is it humans or machines? AI fascinates as much as it frightens. And the controversies are raging!

2/ All “future shocked”?

The context of the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence is reminiscent of the phrase coined by sociologist Alvin Toffler (1928-2016) in his 1970 bestseller, "Future Shock." We are all " future shocked ." This "future shock" refers to the stress caused by rapid change, particularly in technologies, that exceeds human adaptability. This shock can be especially severe when individuals feel they are not in control of the changes, Toffler explained. This is what we could sense, albeit subtly, during these three days in Austin. There were anxieties, tensions, and questions about the future of jobs (in content industries) and about the environmental impact, since we know that AI remains energy-intensive and that the main source of digital pollution comes from the manufacturing of electronic devices. Generative AI is far from perfect and needs to be regulated: fake news , plagiarism, copyright, security, etc.

3/ The chip, big winner

Following the news in the semiconductor sector allows us to understand the movements and challenges of generative AI. Mark Zuckerberg announced that he wanted to invest massively by the end of the year in the graphics cards of the Californian chip giant Nvidia for generative AI - to the tune of 10 billion dollars. Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) presented a plan to build new silicon chip factories, by raising seven trillion dollars. On both sides of the Atlantic, we are witnessing an "arms race": the EU is investing massively to become less dependent on Asia while the United States is gaining power thanks to mega-projects. Valued today at more than two trillion dollars (ahead of Amazon, Microsoft, Apple), the world leader in GPUs Nvidia now delivers 80% of the microprocessor market (the main component of generative AI systems). Among Nvidia's 2024 innovations, which its CEO Jensen Huang unveiled at the major developer conference held mid-March on the West Coast, are "super chips" 30 times more powerful than the previous generation, the one used to train existing AI models. Their other big project is the first robot equipped with specific technology (Gr00t) designed to understand what humans say, imitate their movements, and learn from their own experience on how to interact just by observing.

4/ The race for alliances

The race is on between digital giants, but also with open source players. Players in generative AI are already becoming giants themselves, with high valuations and exponential growth not always proportional to that of their turnover. OpenAI (valued at over $80 billion) in the lead, followed by Hugging Face, Anthropic, Inflection, Cohere, etc. We are also seeing new partnerships between Gafas and players in generative AI, typically OpenAI with Amazon and Microsoft. Note the merger (not yet official) between Apple and Google's AI, Gemini. An alliance at first glance surprising on the part of Apple which we know is rather closed to its ecosystem. Is this opportunism on the part of Apple being late on these subjects? At the same time, we are witnessing the apogee of the founders of tech, these visionaries (Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cook, etc.) who have become true gurus with their crazy ambition to save humanity.

5/ X, Y, Z… and T

The formula comes from Amy Webb, founder of the foresight firm Future Today Institute, who opens the festival each year with a well-attended conference on trends. The former journalist talks about the emergence of a new generation in this technological era. After generations X, Y, Z, it’s time for “Gen T”. T for transition (technological). A proactive generation, even militant, she says.

6/ Great cycle, great machine

The phrase also comes from Amy Webb. The addition of new technologies is driving society toward profound political, economic, and societal changes, she explains. Faced with what she calls the "supercycle," this major transition, Amy Webb adopts a very American tone: " We don't have to submit, we don't have to give up ." And she goes on to detail this new arsenal. Everything is fair game, in fact, to keep feeding data into the models. Connected objects (the Internet of Things or IoT) are no exception; they are even becoming central to the issues, particularly in healthcare. Amy Webb also mentioned the emergence of " face computers ": these wearable, mask-like devices, adapted to the human face, capable of generating information (deciphering purchase intentions, for example) from emotions thanks to sensors sensitive to pupil dilation. With organoid intelligence, we are taking technology to another level. Goodbye AI, hello OI, with machines composed of real neurons, computers made of human cells that, according to the expert, would be more efficient and less energy-intensive. Finally, the latest innovation to watch is the emergence of the Large Action Model (LAM), highlighted by the commercial success of Rabbit R1 at the last CES in Las Vegas. This device, capable of learning and autonomously repeating actions, can perform tasks across various applications by mimicking human interactions: sending messages, choosing music, and making online purchases.

7/ AI and work: the big upheaval

New skills, employee experience, workplace digitization, continuous learning, employee training, decentralized workplaces—it's a vast topic! The value of work is a central theme in discussions about generative AI. By 2028, 50% of employees will have an AI assistant (source: Gartner). This could lead to millions of jobs being lost or transformed, according to Goldman Sachs. In Austin, experts are primarily talking about a productivity boost . According to Ian Beacraft and Mike Bechtel of Deloitte, a quarter of tasks could be automated. They emphasize the importance of creating a narrative around these new skills. Generative AI is emerging as a second brain, a sparring partner that frees us from dependence on technical expertise. Technical skill is giving way to creativity.

8/ “Makers” versus “talkers”

In entrepreneurship, the balance of power is shifting. With generative AI, we're moving from a world of technical know-how to a world of skills that only humans possess. According to John Maeda, VP of Design & Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft, generative AI is thus giving power back to those who think (entrepreneurs) over those who do (developers, engineers, designers). Generative AI is driving a revolution in content production at breakneck speed, and the war for talent is undergoing a transformation. Now, the creative generalist —the one who single-handedly creates maximum value—the " talker" who knows how to communicate with machines, the solopreneur—will receive a bonus. The profession of "prompt engineer" is destined to become a skill for everyone, just like computer skills did thirty years ago! We learned to use a computer; now we'll have to learn to communicate with the machine.

9/ At the AI ​​school

Learning to use generative AI tools is the major challenge of the future. This is Sandy Carter's message: " Stop resisting and start training! " At a well-attended conference, the former IBM general manager listed the three key skills she believes are essential: " transition management, empathy, and tech ." Once again, this new era of work will depend on how we view work, the expert continued, with impacts on how teams work (smaller teams, less focus on technical expertise) and on the value generated. AI must be integrated throughout the entire company, she insisted. It's a multifaceted disruption characterized, as we've seen, by the addition and complementarity of technologies: AI, but also connected objects, " face computers ," and digital twins. Finally, she returned to the issue of traceability, with the " tokenization " of assets on the blockchain ensuring traceability, security and the management of property rights.

10/ RS facing the wave

In both BtoB and BtoC, social networks are riding the wave and generative artificial intelligence is being exploited for the development of innovative uses. Thus Tinder is experimenting with a tool aimed at improving user profiles by recommending a selection of their five best profile photos. AI allows LinkedIn to personalize news feeds and support the user in optimizing these posts. AI works at Meta through the use of a conversational bot designed to increase engagement and at TikTok through the creation of more eye-catching advertising scripts. YouTube announced the creation, in partnership with Universal Music, of an incubator dedicated to generative AI. Spotify has unveiled an AI-powered DJ. Finally, Instagram is developing an “AI friend” whose gender, age, personality, name, etc. can be chosen. In the background of these innovations, the question of transparency arises? Platforms could, in fact, soon add “AI-generated” mentions.