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Future forward: Insights into 2024's technology trends according to McKinsey & Co​

<keyword id="19995882" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Berkshire-Hathaway" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Berkshire Hathaway" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Berkshire Hathaway">Berkshire Hathaway</keyword> Inc., the conglomerate led by American Businessman <keyword id="19921921" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Warren-Buffett" source="keywords">Warren Buffett</keyword>, has made history by becoming the first U.S. non-tech company to surpass the USD <keyword id="6852179" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="1-trillion" source="Orion">1 trillion</keyword> mark in <keyword id="20000950" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="market-capitalisation" source="keywords">market capitalisation</keyword>. The <keyword id="19998639" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stock-price" source="keywords">stock price</keyword> of Berkshire Hathaway surged by USD 3.96 on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at USD 464.59 per share on Wednesday. With this milestone, Berkshire Hathaway joins an exclusive group of six other companies, primarily from the <keyword id="19896148" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology-sector" source="keywords">technology sector</keyword>, that have crossed the USD 1 trillion threshold. This list includes Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), Amazon, and Meta Platforms (the parent company of Facebook). The stocks of Berkshire Hathaway have seen significant growth this year, appreciating by more than 28 per cent on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite this achievement, the broader U.S. stock markets faced a downturn on Wednesday. Both the S&amp;P 500 and the Nasdaq indices declined, largely due to profit-taking by investors. This market pressure in the U.S. had a ripple effect across Asian markets, where major indices also faced selling pressure on Thursday morning. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index fell by 0.45 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined by 0.55 per cent. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted Index emerged as the largest loser among the major Asian markets, dropping by 1.32 per cent. In the Indian markets on Wednesday, the Nifty 50 index at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) touched a record new lifetime high of 25,114.05 during the trading. The sectoral stocks of IT contributed the most to the fresh lifetime high ever of Nifty. Rate cut hopes in the US and subsequent buying from foreign portfolio investors supported the market. The sectoral index of IT was trading with a lead of 1.96 per cent with stocks of major <keyword id="20062339" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT-companies" source="keywords">IT companies</keyword> such as LTIMindtree, Wipro, and Infosys are trading as the biggest gainers in the trade. <keyword id="19925636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stock-market" source="keywords">Stock market</keyword> opened nearly flat on Wednesday with Nifty starting above 25,000 and BSE Sensex opening at 81,800. Over the past few trading sessions, the Nifty was in the tight range despite the positive global cues. "Finally it has broken through to fresh all-time highs. This opens up possibilities for a strong upmove now. Sector-wise, domestic cyclicals will lead the way while IT is coming back in favour of selective name," said Ajay Bagga, Market and Banking expert.

Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway becomes first non-tech US company to cross USD 1 trillion market cap

The generative AI provides more <keyword id="20069513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="opportunity" source="keywords">opportunity</keyword> to the Indian IT sector contrary to the believe of being a threat, highlighted a report by Nuvama Wealth Management. The report noted that although AI <keyword id="19901571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology" source="keywords">technology</keyword> may initially disrupt the sector, especially in terms of business operations and billing models, the long-term benefits far outweigh the risks. "We, on the contrary, expect the Indian IT industry to come out stronger from the <keyword id="19906101" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gen-AI" source="keywords">Gen AI</keyword>-led disruption. We dig deep into various facets of Gen <keyword id="20037918" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-adoption" source="keywords">AI adoption</keyword> for enterprises and find that Gen AI would create a mammoth incremental opportunity for <keyword id="20617562" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-IT-services" source="keywords">Indian IT services</keyword>," said the report. The report noted that as more enterprises adopt AI, the need for services such as upgradation of legacy code and data readiness for AI integration will increase, offering Indian IT firms new streams of revenue. The report mentioned one of the most significant opportunities lies in the modernization of <keyword id="21835113" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="legacy-systems" source="keywords">legacy systems</keyword>, particularly core banking systems (CBS). It stated that many <keyword id="19912054" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-institutions" source="keywords">financial institutions</keyword> still use mainframe systems and outdated programming languages like COBOL. Gen AI enables automated code modernization, which will drive a major demand for Indian IT services to upgrade these systems, creating a long-term revenue stream. "Since most non-Indian (read European) do not have the scale to hire and deploy employees with the ability to code in COBOL (not to mention supply crunch)--they have ceded this opportunity to <keyword id="21817095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-IT-Services-companies" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian IT Services companies" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Indian IT Services companies">Indian IT Services companies</keyword>" said the report. The report specifically highlighted the "upgradation of legacy code" as a key area of opportunity for IT companies as businesses prepare their systems for AI integration. Gen AI is expected to create new service lines for Indian IT companies, including AI-based <keyword id="19945906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="customer-service" source="keywords">customer service</keyword>, fraud detection, predictive maintenance, and knowledge processing. These AI-driven solutions will allow IT firms to offer higher-value services to clients, boosting revenue and profit margins. "Indian IT companies have always repositioned themselves to continue to do what they do best--service customers. That has provided them with the longevity they have commanded for multiple decades now. We do not see that changing this time as well" the report added. Comparing Gen AI to "a hammer looking for a nail," the report suggested that the technology's applications are still being discovered, but its potential is undeniable. Looking ahead, the report forecasts a strong start to FY25 for Indian IT companies, with growth driven by an optimistic outlook for the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector, increasing technology spending, and large deal ramp-ups.

Gen AI to unlock a "mammoth incremental opportunity" for Indian IT services: Report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has promised that AI will revolutionize the company's ad services.</li><li>But Meta's use of AI for moderating ads may already be putting the company in hot water.</li></ul>During July's earnings call, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg">Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg</a> laid out a vision for his company's valuable ad services once they are further bolstered by artificial intelligence."In the coming years," he said, "AI will be able to generate creative for advertisers as well and will also be able to personalize it as people see it."But as the trillion-dollar company hopes to revolutionize its ad tech, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-earnings-mark-zuckerberg-ai-spending-tech-investors-stock-2024-4">Meta's usage of AI</a> may already have put the company in the hot seat.On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan and Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, sent a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://walberg.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/walberg.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Congressional%20Letter%20to%20Meta%20-%20Illicit%20Drug%20Advertising.pdf">letter</a> to Zuckerberg demanding the CEO answer questions about Meta's advertising services.The letter comes in light of a March <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/u-s-is-investigating-meta-for-role-in-drug-sales-574944cb?mod=Searchresults_pos4&amp;page=1">Wall Street Journal</a> report that revealed how federal prosecutors are probing the company for its role in the illicit sale of drugs on its platforms."Meta appears to have continued to shirk its social responsibility and defy its own community guidelines," the letter said. "Protecting users online, especially children and teenagers, is one of our top priorities. We are continuously concerned that Meta is not up to the task and this dereliction of duty needs to be addressed."Zuckerberg already faced senators who grilled the CEO about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-ceos-face-senate-in-hearing-over-child-sexual-exploitation-2024-1">safety measures for children</a> who use Meta's social media sites. During the senate hearing, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-meta-faced-families-online-child-safety-senate-hearing-2024-1">Zuckerberg stood up and apologized</a> to families who felt that social media use harmed their kids.In July, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/meta-allows-drug-ads-selling-everything-from-opioids-to-cocaine">Tech Transparency Project</a>, a nonprofit watchdog group, reported that Meta continued to make money from hundreds of ads that promoted the sale of illegal or recreational drugs, including cocaine and opioids, which Meta prohibits in its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/">policy</a> regarding ads."Many of the ads made no secret of their intentions, showing photos of prescription drug bottles, piles of pills and powders, or bricks of cocaine, and encouraging users to place orders," the watchdog group wrote."Our systems are designed to proactively detect and enforce against violating content, and we reject hundreds of thousands of ads for violating our drug policies," a Meta spokesperson told Business Insider, reiterating a statement shared with the Journal. "We continue to invest resources and further improve our enforcement on this kind of content. Our hearts go out to those suffering from the tragic consequences of this epidemic — it requires all of us to work together to stop it."The spokesperson did not address how Meta uses AI to moderate ads.<h2 id="ba53f796-1957-4bf8-ad47-88fce5b82bce">Ads poke holes in Meta's AI system</h2>The exact processes for how Meta approves and moderates ads are not public information.What is known is that the company, in part, relies on artificial intelligence to screen content, as reported by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/meta-cocaine-opioids-ads-dea8e0fc">the Journal</a>. The outlet reported that using photos to display the drugs may allow the ads to slip past Meta's moderation system.Here's what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/204798856225114?id=649869995454285">Meta</a> has revealed about its "ad review system":The company also said it's continuously working to automate the review process further to rely less on humans.But the revelation of ads promoting drugs on Meta's platforms shows how policy-violating content can still slip through its automated system, even while Zuckerberg paints a picture of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-adds-new-generative-ai-to-advertising-tools-details-2024-5">sophisticated ad service</a> that promises improved targeting and creates content for advertisers with generative AI.<h2 id="9e49470f-e2c3-4a18-991f-08d1db0db08d">Meta's bumpy AI rollout</h2>Meta has experienced a bumpy rollout of its AI-powered services outside ad tech.Less than a year after Meta introduced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-chatbots-assistants-tom-brady-mr-beast-kendall-jenner-2023-9">celebrity AI assistants</a>, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-scraps-kendall-jenner-tom-brady-celebrity-ai-chatbots-2024-8">discontinued the product</a> and focused on allowing users to create their own AI bots.Meta also continues to work out kinks for Meta AI, the company's chatbot and AI assistant, which has been shown to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-asked-ai-chatbots-about-trump-shooting-chatgpt-meta-claude-2024-7">hallucinate answers</a> or, with BI's Rob Price, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-tells-strangers-it-owns-my-phone-number-whatsapp-2024-8">act like a user and hand out his phone number</a> to strangers.The technical and ethical issues that pervade AI products — not just Meta's — concern many top US companies.A survey by Arize AI, which conducts research around AI technology, showed that 56% of Fortune 500 companies view AI as a "risk factor," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/5ee96d38-f55b-4e8a-b5c1-e58ce3d4111f">The Financial Times</a> reported.Sifting by industry, 86% of technology groups, including Salesforce, said that AI presents a business risk, according to the report.Those concerns, however, conflict with tech companies' evident push to implement AI into every corner of their products, even as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-hype-train-profits-valuations-startups-google-openai-2024-7">path toward profitability also remains murky</a>."There are significant risks involved in developing and deploying AI," Meta said in a 2023 annual report, "and there can be no assurance that the usage of AI will enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability."

Meta's use of AI has far from peaked. But the technology may already be getting the company in trouble.

<keyword id="19896380" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Industries" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reliance Industries">Reliance Industries</keyword>, under the leadership of <keyword id="19916798" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani" source="keywords">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, showcased its vision for the future during the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) that was held today (August 29). During the AGM, <keyword id="19936674" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance" source="keywords">Reliance</keyword> laid out ambitious plans that span across its diverse businesses. The conglomerate, which has interests ranging from oil to telecom to retail, is positioning itself as a key player in India’s growth story, with a particular focus on <keyword id="20239522" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technological-innovation" source="keywords">technological innovation</keyword>, energy security, and retail expansion. <h2>Not chasing short-term profits</h2><keyword id="19898589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ambani" source="keywords">Ambani</keyword>, during his speech, said that Reliance is not merely chasing short-term profits but is dedicated to creating long-term wealth for the nation. He reiterated the company’s commitment to providing high-quality products and services that enhance the lives of Indian consumers. The chairman announced that the company’s board will consider issuing bonus shares on September 5, further rewarding shareholders as Reliance continues to grow. <h2>Transforming into a deep-tech company</h2>A major theme of the AGM this year was Reliance’s transformation into a deep tech company, with advanced manufacturing capabilities at its core. Ambani described this shift as essential to securing a place in the global top-30 companies in the near future. He highlighted the company’s strategic adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), calling it one of the most transformative events in human history. AI, he noted, opens up new avenues to address complex problems, making Reliance a net producer of technology. Reliance has been making significant strides in R&amp;D, with over ₹3,643 crore invested in FY24 alone, taking the total research expenditure to over ₹11,000 crore in the last four years. This investment is driving innovations in various areas, including bio-energy, solar power, green energy, and high-value chemicals. The company has also been active in digital research, filing patents in 6G, 5G, AI, and IoT, among others. Ambani assured that this tech-driven transformation would propel Reliance into a new phase of hyper-growth, multiplying its value in the coming years. <h2><keyword id="20337020" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-business" source="keywords">Retail business</keyword> to double</h2>In addition to technological advancements, Reliance Retail, the company’s retail arm, is set to double its business in the next three to four years. Isha Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail, shared that the retail segment recorded a gross revenue of ₹3.06 lakh crore for the financial year ending March 31, 2024, marking a 17.8% growth over the previous year. The retail business has rapidly expanded, with Reliance opening 1,840 new stores in the past year, bringing the total to 18,836 stores across 79 million square feet of retail space. This growth has positioned Reliance Retail among the top-5 global retailers in terms of store count and among the top-10 in market capitalization globally. Isha Ambani emphasised that much of this growth is driven by a focus on smaller towns, where two-thirds of the new stores have been opened. Reliance Retail is also focused on creating high-quality, affordable products through its Consumer Brands business, which has seen the re-launch of popular brands like Campa, Lotus Chocolates, and Sosyo. Mukesh Ambani concluded by underscoring Reliance’s mission to provide energy security to India while also contributing to a cleaner and greener world. As the global landscape becomes increasingly uncertain, he expressed confidence in India’s role as a key growth engine in the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that India will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027, surpassing Japan and Germany. Ambani affirmed that Reliance will continue to be a driving force in India’s march toward becoming a developed nation.

Reliance AGM 2024: Company aims to double retail business, Mukesh Ambani says not pursuing short-term profit

Anyone following the rhetoric around <keyword id="107950" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Artificial-Intelligence" source="Orion">artificial intelligence</keyword> in recent years has heard one version or another of the cl<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI" source="Orion">ai</keyword>m that AI is inevitable. Common themes are that AI is already here and indispensable, and people who are bearish on it harm themselves. In the business world, AI advocates tell companies and workers that they will fall behind if they fail to integrate generative AI into their operations. In the sciences, AI advocates promise that AI will aid in curing hitherto intractable diseases. In higher education, AI promoters admonish teachers that students must learn how to use AI or risk becoming uncompetitive when it comes time to find a job. In national security, AI's champions say that either the nation invests heavily in AI weaponry, or it will be at a disadvantage against the Chinese and Russians, who are already doing so. The argument across these different domains is essentially the same: The time for AI skepticism has come and gone. The <keyword id="6355118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technology" source="Orion">technology</keyword> will shape the future, whether you like it or not. You have the choice to learn how to use it or be left out of that future. Anyone trying to stand in the technology's way is as hopeless as the manual weavers who resisted the mechanical looms in the early 19th century. In the past few years, my colleagues and I (Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston) have been studying the ethical questions raised by the widespread adoption of AI, and I believe the inevitability argument is misleading. <h2>History and hindsight</h2> This claim is the most recent version of a deterministic view of technological development. It's the belief that innovations are unstoppable once people start working on them. In other words, some genies don't go back in their bottles. The best you can do is harness them for your good purposes. This deterministic approach to tech has a long history. It's been applied to the influence of the printing press as well as to the rise of automobiles and the infrastructure they require, among other developments. But I believe that when it comes to AI, the technological determinism argument is both exaggerated and oversimplified. <h2>AI in the field(s)</h2> Consider the contention that businesses can't afford to stay out of the AI game. The case has yet to be made that AI is delivering significant productivity gains to the firms that use it. A report in The <keyword id="20856675" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economist" source="keywords">Economist</keyword> in July 2024 suggests that so far, the technology has had almost no economic impact. AI's role in higher education is also still very much an open question. Though universities have, in the past two years, invested heavily in AI-related initiatives, evidence suggests they may have jumped the gun. The technology can serve as an interesting pedagogical tool. For example, creating a Plato chatbot that lets students have a text conversation with a bot posing as Plato is a cool gimmick. However, AI is already starting to displace some of the best tools teachers have for assessment and for developing critical thinking, such as writing assignments. The college essay is going the way of the dinosaurs as more teachers give up on the ability to tell whether their students are writing their papers themselves. What's the cost-benefit argument for giving up on writing, an important and useful traditional skill? In the sciences and medicine, the use of AI seems promising. Its role in understanding the structure of proteins, for example, will likely be significant for curing diseases. The technology is also transforming medical imaging and has been helpful in accelerating the drug discovery process. But the excitement can become exaggerated. AI-based predictions about which cases of COVID-19 would become severe have roundly failed, and doctors rely excessively on the technology's diagnostic ability, often against their own better clinical judgment. And so, even in this area, where the potential is great, AI's ultimate impact is unclear. In national security, the argument for investing in AI development is compelling. Since the stakes can be high, the argument that if the Chinese and the Russians are developing AI-driven autonomous weapons, the United States can't afford to fall behind has real purchase. But a complete surrender to this form of reasoning, though tempting, is likely to lead the <keyword id="19899807" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="u-s-" source="keywords">U.S.</keyword> to overlook the disproportionate impact of these systems on nations that are too poor to participate in the AI arms race. The major powers could deploy the technology in conflicts in these nations. And, just as significantly, this argument de-emphasizes the possibility of collaborating with adversaries on limiting military AI systems, favoring arms race over arms control.<h2> One step at a time</h2> Surveying the potential significance and risks of AI in these different domains merits some skepticism about the technology. I believe that AI should be adopted piecemeal and with a nuanced approach rather than subject to sweeping claims of inevitability. In developing this careful take, there are two things to keep in mind: -First, companies and entrepreneurs working on artificial intelligence have an obvious interest in the technology being perceived as inevitable and necessary, since they make a living from its adoption. It's important to pay attention to who is making claims of inevitability, and why. -Second, it's worth taking a lesson from recent history. Over the past 15 years, smartphones and the social media apps that run on them have come to be seen as a fact of life - a technology as transformative as it is inevitable. Then data started emerging about the <keyword id="6354774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="Orion">mental health</keyword> harms they cause teens, especially young girls. School districts across the United States started to ban phones to protect the attention spans and mental health of their students. And some people have reverted to using flip phones as a quality of life change to avoid smartphones. After a long experiment with the mental health of kids, facilitated by claims of technological determinism, Americans changed course. What seemed fixed turned out to be alterable. There is still time to avoid repeating the same mistake with artificial intelligence, which potentially could have larger consequences for society.

Is AI dominance inevitable? A technology ethicist says no, actually

Emerging technologies are set to revolutionise India’s workforce and can generate an additional 2.73 million tech jobs by 2028, according to ServiceNow’s AI Skills and Jobs Report. This growth comes amid India’s overall workforce expansion, expected to reach 457.62 million by 2028—a 33.9 million increase since 2023. ServiceNow, through partnerships and its ‘RiseUp’ program, aims to bridge the skills gap, positioning India as a competitive force in the global tech arena. Retail, manufacturing, education, and healthcare are projected to experience robust job creation, with retail alone expected to add 6.96 million roles. Professionals in these sectors have opportunities to upskill in areas such as software development and data engineering. Meanwhile, demand for tech roles like Software Application Developers, Systems Software Developers, and Data Engineers is expected to surge, driven by expanding sectors like manufacturing and telecommunications. Generative AI is also reshaping tasks within tech roles, increasing efficiency and automating routine processes. Systems Administrators, AI Systems Engineers, and Implementation Consultants, for example, will gain hours back each week as AI automates tasks. ServiceNow reports a $5 million cost savings and productivity boost from using generative AI across its operations, illustrating the practical impact of AI-led automation. To build a tech-ready talent pipeline, ServiceNow has been proactive, training over 97,000 Indians through its ‘RiseUp with ServiceNow’ initiative in the past year. The company’s University Academic Program, launched with government partnerships and institutions like NASSCOM’s FutureSkills Prime, is ensuring graduates possess job-ready digital skills, strengthening India’s tech ecosystem. With AI as a critical driver, India is expected to see a significant workforce transformation, meeting both domestic and global demand for skilled tech professionals.

AI can create 2.7 million tech jobs by 2028 in India, study says

Since 2013, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> has promised that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> will have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/business/tesla-self-drive-car/index.html">self-driving car</a>. To get there, the company has leaned on a specialized group of test drivers who are part of what's known internally as "Project Rodeo."Test drivers on Project Rodeo say they push the company's self-driving software to its limit. They work to bridge the gap between driver-assist software and fully autonomous driving. Operating on open streets with other vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, they have tested unreleased software that will be crucial to Tesla's push into autonomous driving.Test drivers said they sometimes navigated perilous scenarios, particularly those drivers on Project Rodeo's "critical intervention" team, who say they're trained to wait as long as possible before taking over the car's controls. Tesla engineers say there's a reason for this: The longer the car continues to drive itself, the more data they have to work with. Experts in self-driving tech and safety say this type of approach could speed up the software's development but risks the safety of the test drivers and people on public roads."The idea is that you're a cowboy on a bull and you're just trying to hang on as long as you can," a former test driver who trained for the critical-intervention team in San Francisco said.Business Insider spoke with nine current and former Project Rodeo test drivers and three Autopilot engineers in states including California, Texas, and Florida. The drivers worked on training Tesla's Full Self-Driving software and its Autopilot software, which, despite the products' names, require a licensed driver at the wheel. Most asked to remain anonymous, citing a fear of professional reprisal, but their identities are known to Business Insider. Eight of the drivers described experiences that occurred over the past year, mostly between November and April.<div type="image" title="tesla cars in a parking lot" height="2827" width="4195" msid="114814069" hostid="261" sizebytes="1645262"></div>None of the test drivers who spoke with BI said they had been involved in a crash.Five who worked for the company in 2024 said they narrowly avoided collisions, including almost hitting a group of pedestrians. One former critical-intervention driver in Texas told BI that they sometimes ventured into their city's bar district late at night to see how Tesla's FSD software reacted to drunk patrons spilling out after last call. The former driver in San Francisco recalled riding around Stanford University during training, testing how close FSD would allow the vehicle to get to people at crosswalks before they had to take over. And a third critical-intervention driver said they allowed the car to speed through yellow lights and drive 35 mph under the speed limit on an expressway to avoid disengaging the system.A former Autopilot engineer told BI that while testing is done on open roads, Tesla runs hundreds of simulations and sometimes tests difficult scenarios on a closed course before rolling out new software to test drivers' vehicles.Tesla did not respond to a detailed list of questions about Project Rodeo and its self-driving technology.The test drivers' experiences highlight the balancing act Tesla and other automakers face as they prepare their self-driving software for widespread consumer use.Experts say public testing is crucial and can help identify safety issues before the technology hits the market. Missy Cummings, a former safety advisor for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that while practices vary, she believes many autonomous-vehicle companies likely employ tactics similar to Tesla's."In theory, these drivers have gone through training, and eventually these cars do need to be able to operate in the public domain," Cummings said. She added that clearly marked vehicles could help the public better identify test drivers.Safety experts say fragmented and limited autonomous-vehicle regulations, coupled with self-reporting by automakers, create a complex environment where companies balance public safety with getting their products ready for commercial use."There are very few rules around autonomous testing and a lot of dependency on self-reporting," said Mark Rosekind, a former NHTSA administrator and chief safety innovation officer for Zoox, an Amazon-owned autonomous-taxi firm. "If companies aren't reporting, it's hard to know what's going on."In the past decade, authorities have investigated several automakers, including Tesla, Waymo, and Cruise, over crashes involving self-driving or driver-assist software.<div type="image" title="elon musk looks at a tesla" height="3488" width="4868" msid="114814075" hostid="261" sizebytes="1020846"></div>A lot depends on Tesla's promise of autonomous driving; Musk said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-worth-basically-zero-without-self-driving-2022-6">in 2022</a> that self-driving was "really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money or worth basically zero." The Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-release-date-elon-musk-stock-price-2024-9">note</a> last month that the company's future valuation was "highly dependent on its ability to develop, manufacture, and commercialize autonomous technologies." Tesla's stock fell by 10% on October 11, the day after the company's robotaxi event. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tesla-stock-price-q3-earnings-elon-musk-profit-margins-guidance-2024-10">It rebounded after Tesla reported earnings on October 23</a>, and it's up by more than 3% overall in the year to date.<h2 id="e24440fb-f024-4003-b2a2-7b4d055c8c7a">Inside the day-to-day of a Project Rodeo driver</h2>Tesla went on a hiring spree this year, bringing on test drivers in at least half a dozen US cities, a review of LinkedIn profiles suggests.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-job-openings-seasonal-test-drivers-data-capture-2023-7">job listing from 2023</a> said test drivers needed a "clean driving record, safe driving habits, and a minimum of 4 years of licensed driving experiences." Eight drivers told BI that the onboarding process included two to three weeks of hands-on training, including test drives with a trainer in the passenger seat.According to employees and internal documents, one specialty within Project Rodeo works to replicate the job of a ride-hailing driver by picking random points on a map and driving between them. Those working on a different team, known as the "golden manual" team, drive manually, without any assistance, to train FSD software on what by-the-book, error-free driving looks like.Critical-intervention test drivers, who are among Project Rodeo's most experienced, let the software continue driving even after it makes a mistake. They're trained to stage "interventions" — taking manual control of the car — only to prevent a crash, said the three critical-intervention drivers and five other drivers familiar with the team's mission. Drivers on the team and internal documents say that cars rolled through red lights, swerved into other lanes, or failed to follow posted speed limits while FSD was engaged. The drivers said they allowed FSD to remain in control during these incidents because supervisors encouraged them to try to avoid taking over.The critical-intervention drivers recalled multiple instances where they felt unsafe but believed intervening could put their jobs at risk. The former driver in Texas recalled taking over only after FSD nearly rammed the car into the side of a vehicle stopped at an intersection.Non-critical-intervention drivers said they also felt pressure to push the system as far as possible. Five current and former employees said that they were instructed to intervene if they became uncomfortable with the software's behavior but that they sometimes received feedback from their supervisors if they were considered to have disengaged too early.John Bernal, a former test driver and data analyst at Tesla, said test drivers dealt with risky situations as far back as 2022. (Bernal was terminated that year; he said he was fired for sharing videos on his YouTube channel that showed his personal Tesla malfunctioning while using FSD.) He described instances where he broke traffic laws in order to collect data. Bernal said that his supervisors never instructed him to break the law but that he sometimes felt it was the only way to get the data the company wanted.He recalled one test in 2022 that was designed to see how well the system recognized a red light."My training was to wait until the wheels touched the white line before I could slam on the brakes," Bernal said. He said he sometimes ended up in the middle of the intersection if the system didn't work correctly.He also worked to train the autonomous software on "vulnerable road users" — defined by the Department of Transportation as pedestrians, bicyclists, people on scooters or in wheelchairs, or highway workers on foot — when he manually drove the "Ground Truth Machine," a Tesla outfitted with lidar and radar sensors to help the system map and identify objects."I'd drive over double lines to get close to a bike," Bernal said. "I would go obnoxiously slow through an alleyway where drunk people were, and I would be extremely rude and get really close to people."<div type="image" title="tesla showroom with autopilot posters" height="2939" width="4200" msid="114814073" hostid="261" sizebytes="255868"></div>Two years later, test drivers were asked to train the system near pedestrians, test drivers said. Five recalled a bug with FSD that made vehicles brake too early at crosswalks. To improve its performance, they were instructed to interact with pedestrians as frequently as possible.Sometimes, the drivers said, the software would slam on the brakes when no one was at the crosswalk; other times, it wouldn't stop at all. According to Tesla employees and internal documentation, FSD's performance depended heavily on its software version, and the versions appeared to operate at different levels of caution.The former San Francisco driver said that as they drove around Stanford University, their trainer, another test operator with more experience on the team, chastised them for braking too early. They recalled that at one point they came within three feet of hitting a bicyclist at a roundabout."I vividly remember this guy jumping off his bike. He was terrified," the driver told BI. "The car lunged at him, and all I could do was stomp on the brakes." They said the trainer was pleased by the incident. "He told me, 'That was perfect.' That was exactly what they wanted me to do."The driver added that "it felt like the goal was almost to simulate a hit-or-miss accident and then prevent it at the last second."The former Autopilot engineer said it was better for training to see whether the software could correct itself. They also said that not intervening when the car acted abnormally — including veering into another lane or doing something that confuses another driver — was important for training. Human motorists don't always drive rationally, they explained, and the software needs to know how to respond. It's also easier to parse the data if there are fewer driver interventions, they said."At the critical juncture where it's about to make the key decision," they said, it's helpful to see whether the software makes the right or wrong call. "We want the data to know what led the car to that decision," the engineer said. "If you keep intervening too early, we don't really get to the exact moment where we're like, OK, we understand what happened."<h2 id="52098605-f887-4702-a6ab-cf47e173ce28">A 'Wild West' with little regulation</h2>Tesla is one of many automakers attempting to make autonomous vehicles a reality. Waymo, backed by Alphabet, launched the first driverless taxi service in Phoenix in 2020."In many ways, it's like the Wild West out there," said Cummings, the former NHTSA safety advisor. "There is very little regulation around training or informing the public about testing."The stakes of data collection on public roads are high. In 2018, a self-driving Uber with a person behind the wheel struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona. Cruise paused testing after one of its driverless vehicles hit a pedestrian in October 2023. Another vehicle had already hit the pedestrian when the Cruise car struck her, dragging her 20 feet before stopping. It <a target="_blank" href="https://www.getcruise.com/news/blog/2024/cruise-resumes-manual-driving-as-next-step-in-return-to-driverless-mission/">resumed testing</a> with safety drivers in some cities in May.<div type="image" title="waymo self driving taxi interior with pedestrians outside" height="4000" width="6000" msid="114814077" hostid="261" sizebytes="568560"></div>Two former Waymo employees said that they had a team similar to Tesla's critical-intervention team but that Waymo's version of critical-intervention testing was limited to closed tracks with dummies. Two former Cruise employees said that they had mapping teams and teams that tested on closed courses and public roads but that, unlike at Tesla, those teams were instructed to take over as soon as the software went off track, and they typically tested with at least two people in the car.A Waymo spokesperson said the company's safety framework included rigorous testing in controlled environments and on public roads. A Cruise spokesperson said the company's vehicles were designed as fully autonomous systems and were therefore fundamentally different from Tesla's driver-assistance technologies.Philip Koopman, an autonomous-driving expert at Carnegie Mellon University, said that Tesla's critical-intervention approach, as described to him by BI, was "irresponsible" and that the company should be playing out all "critical scenarios" on a closed course."By allowing the software to continue misbehaving to the point a test driver needs to avoid a crash, Tesla would be imposing a risk on other road users who have not agreed to serve as test subjects," Koopman said.Alex Roy, a general partner at NIVC and a former director of operations at the autonomous-driving startup Argo AI, said companies should be correcting the software as soon as it strays from the course, particularly on public roads."You should play those mistakes out in a simulation, not on an open road," Roy said. "Real-world testing is necessary, but real-world mistakes are not." The former Tesla engineer said they doubted that computer simulations are sophisticated enough to replicate the data generated by real-world driving. The former engineer said that, to help the software improve, it was best for test drivers to avoid intervening whenever possible."If you have a parent that's holding the bike the entire time, it never gets to learn," the engineer said.Test drivers on Project Rodeo felt this keenly."You're pretty much running on adrenaline the entire eight-hour shift," one former test driver in the Southwest said. "There's this feeling that you're on the edge of something going seriously wrong."Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:gkay@businessinsider.com">gkay@businessinsider.com</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link">248-894-6012</a>.

Inside 'Project Rodeo,' the Tesla effort pushing the limits of self-driving technology

In June, Apple announced its entrance into the generative-AI race in the most Cupertino way possible, rebranding the technology "Apple Intelligence." Giannandrea has been shaping Apple's "AI" behind the scenes, though you won't have seen him in any of the company's flashy presentations. Known to many colleagues as "J.G.," Giannandrea, a machine-learning expert, made his name running Google's AI group. When Apple poached Giannandrea in 2018, it was seen as a major win for a company lagging behind rivals in the field. Six years later, as Apple Intelligence finally rolls out, the company is taking a practical approach to AI, but leaning into its key advantage: injecting it into the world's most popular smartphone.See Business Insider's full <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/ai-power-list-2024">AI Power List</a>

John Giannandrea has led Apple's AI technology efforts for six years

New Delhi: India is set to enter a transformative "smartphone era" for cars in 2025, with the introduction of vehicles featuring 5G M2M connectivity and advanced AI technologies, according to the latest findings from Techarc's India Connected Consumer Report 2025. The report said the automotive sector will skip 4G and will enable connectivity using the latest 5G cellular technology. It observed that consumers are interested in spending money on improving the value proposition in terms of features, quality and experience rather than exploring too many smart devices. "22 per cent of the respondents shared about considering optimising their smart devices portfolio. Among the new set of categories, smart/connected cars is generating high interest among consumers. 55 per cent of the respondents said that they have come across news or information about smart/connected cars in recent times," it said. Starting in 2025, passenger cars in India will be equipped with 5G M2M connectivity, on-device GenAI, and cloud connectivity, making advanced technologies accessible across various price segments, it added. In-vehicle computing and artificial intelligence (GenAI), along with cloud applications, will become essential components of cars, enabling real-time data processing to support drivers effectively. Most cars priced at Rs 20 lakh and above will feature these technologies as standard. The cumulative revenues from automotive chipset companies have already surpassed USD 1.5 billion, with companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek leading the market. Some of the familiar applications that consumers will be able to use while driving include communication apps for audio/video conferencing, OTT entertainment apps, music streaming, podcasts, online shopping, vehicle maintenance, and servicing. "With connectivity and the technologies it brings to the cars, the future of the automobile sector will be fundamentally determined by the auto-technologies that will influence the overall experience, performance, comfort, safety and entertainment available to the drivers as well as the passengers. "So far, such features were seen as luxury or high-end experiences. But starting 2025, many of these will become mainstream for cars in India," Techarc AutoTech Analyst Sadat Ahanger said. With 22 automobile manufacturers producing nearly 5 million passenger vehicles annually in India, the country is poised to become a leader in the global 5G M2M market within the next few years, the report said. About 21 per cent of respondents said MG Motors is the leader in providing <keyword id="24016739" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="connected-cars-in-India" source="keywords">connected cars in India</keyword>, followed closely by Kia Motors at 18 per cent and Tata Motors at 15 per cent, it added. Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki also ranked among the top-five brands in this category. The report draws insights from a survey of 4,500 "connected consumers" across metro and non-metro cities. The report defined a connected consumer as one owning at least 3 smart devices in addition to a smartphone.

India to shift to 'smartphone era' for cars embracing 5G, advanced AI in 2025: Report

For many professionals out there, <keyword id="19902762" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google">Google</keyword> continues being the dream company that they want to land a job at. Even though the company carried multiple rounds of layoffs since 2023, it remains one of the highest paying <keyword id="20000550" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech-companies" source="keywords">tech companies</keyword> in the world. This is why landing a <keyword id="23527633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="job-at-Google" source="keywords">job at Google</keyword> at the beginning of their careers is huge for people. Hence, any news related to Google quickly goes viral and people are always curious to know about what's happening at the tech giant. Now, according to a Reuters report, Google has filed a request with a California federal judge to delay a court order that mandates the company to open up its Play Store to increased competition. In a court filing submitted on Friday, the tech giant argued that the injunction, set to take effect on November 1, poses “serious safety, security, and privacy risks” to the Android ecosystem. Google urged U.S. District Judge James Donato to pause the ruling while it appeals the decision. <h2>About the case </h2> The injunction stems from a case filed by Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite.” In October 2023, a jury ruled that Google had been illegally monopolising the way consumers download apps and make in-app purchases on Android devices. Judge Donato’s ruling, issued on October 7, forces Google to allow third-party app stores and payment methods on its platform. Additionally, the order bars Google from paying device manufacturers to preinstall its Play Store and from sharing revenue generated through it with other app distributors. Google claims the ruling could introduce significant risks to Android users, and is fighting to delay its implementation while pursuing a legal appeal. <h2><keyword id="19954681" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sundar-Pichai" source="keywords">Sundar Pichai</keyword> on what it takes to join Google </h2> On another note, Google boss Sundar Pichai recently shed light on what it takes to join Google’s coveted ranks, especially for those aiming at engineering roles. In an episode of The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations, Pichai opened up about the attributes Google looks for in its employees, giving hopeful candidates a clearer picture of what it takes to be part of the tech behemoth. According to Pichai, <keyword id="22767045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technical-excellence" source="keywords">technical excellence</keyword> is just the starting point. It’s the foundation, yes, but not the full package. What truly sets candidates apart is their adaptability and eagerness to learn in an ever-changing, dynamic environment. “We’re looking for superstar <keyword id="19959624" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="software-engineers" source="keywords">software engineers</keyword>,” Pichai noted, saying that in a world of rapidly evolving technology, the ability to remain curious and agile is essential. He also highlighted Google’s tradition of offering free meals to employees—not just as a perk but as a deliberate initiative to foster community and spark spontaneous moments of creativity. He also recalled his early days at Google, where informal chats in the café sometimes led to breakthrough ideas. “It’s about creating the conditions for people to connect and think outside the box,” he shared. (With Reuters inputs)

Google Seeks to delay judge’s ruling on App Store competition over security concerns

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nvidia briefly surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company on Friday with a $3.53 trillion valuation.</li><li>Nvidia's rise has been fueled by its AI-enabling GPUs, boosting its market value by $3.1 trillion since the release of ChatGPT.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/nvda-stock">Nvidia</a> briefly eclipsed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/AAPL-stock">Apple</a> to become the world's most valuable company on Friday.It's the first time Nvidia has been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nvidia-stock-price-market-cap-microsoft-most-valuable-company-ai-2024-6">the world's largest company since mid-June.</a>Nvidia stock jumped as much as 3% on Friday to an intra-day high of $144.13, catapulting its market valuation to $3.53 trillion. In contrast, Apple traded up less than 1%, giving it a market valuation of $3.52 trillion.Nvidia stock has since pared its gains to about 1% and is trading neck-and-neck with Apple's valuation, at $3.52 trillion compared to Apple's $3.53 trillion at 1:24 p.m., according to data from YCharts.The massive size of Nvidia is a testament to its quick ascent since OpenAI released its first version of ChatGPT in November 2022.Since then, shares of Nvidia, which supplies the technology world with AI-enabling GPU chips, have added $3.1 trillion to their market valuation, with their stock price soaring more than 740%.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nvidia-stock-price-prediction-nvda-blackwell-demand-outlook-chips-ai-2024-10">Wall Street believes the gains can continue,</a> with some analysts expecting the stock to eclipse a $4 trillion valuation soon.Bank of America analysts raised their Nvidia price target to $190 last week, citing strong upside and a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nvidia-stock-upside-growth-ai-chips-demand-bofa-2024-10">"generational opportunity" </a>as it grows its lead in the AI space. Meanwhile, CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino bumped his price target to $160 as an "AI war" takes place among the major cloud companies."The higher multiple and target reflect our higher conviction that NVDA will post results that exceed our/consensus views in CY 25, as Blackwell ramps. As we previously cited, Blackwell will take greater wallet share from hyperscalers (e.g., greater GPU, CPU, networking, and software revenue) amid an AI war in the cloud," Zino wrote.All eyes will be on Nvidia when they report their third-quarter earnings results next month.

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You Searched For "technology companies" and got 12 results

Future forward: Insights into 2024's technology trends according to McKinsey & Co​

Prerna Tyagi

Warren Buffett-led Berkshire Hathaway becomes first non-tech US company to cross USD 1 trillion market cap

ANI

Gen AI to unlock a "mammoth incremental opportunity" for Indian IT services: Report

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Future forward: Insights into 2024's technology trends according to McKinsey & Co