Technology News
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Apple is ready for government — and your business
As governments everywhere continue to deal with the economically damaging fallout of last week’s appalling Crowdstrike/Microsoft disaster, it’s no surprise to see more governments switching to Apple’s most stable platform.
To put things into context, Parametrix Insurance has analyzed the consequences of last week’s global blue screen of death incident and assesses the economic cost of the moment on the world economy as being in the multiple billions of dollars. Estimated direct financial loss across the Fortune 500 was $5.4 billion, Parametrix said.
That’s a painful amount to lose.
This did real damage
While it has subsequently been claimed that 97% of affected systems are back in operation, that still leaves hundreds of thousands of business-critical PCs that aren’t doing their job. I’ll be looking more closely at these consequences next week. I imagine businesses that became reliant on these products are already exploring their options — after all, that kind of $5.4 billion cost was almost certainly never anticipated by IT departments when estimating the TCOs of their PC fleets.
These incidents will undoubtedly make a lot of people think twice when it comes to their next hardware upgrade. After all, as business becomes increasingly mobile, and services migrate to the cloud, the strength of vendor lock-in is shrinking to the extent that it is becoming much easier to transition to multiple platforms to build business resilience against future debacles — or move to a platform characterized by lack of such drama, which is Apple.
Is it time to migrate?
Apple is ready if you are.
Not only is the company now equipped with a wide and diverse range of enterprise-focused companies such as Addigy, Jamf, Kandji and all the other firms I speak with each week, but its future-focused platforms are inherently more resilient by design. That’s why Apple dumped support for kernel extensions years ago, among other examples. While no platform is ever completely secure, the vast majority of problems on Apple’s platforms emerge through user error, not globally deployed automated PC-borking software updates.
Of course, the bias that Apple is a consumer product that isn’t fit for the enterprise runs deep, and shifting that view is taking time — though events such as the Crowdstrike disaster should help people question that opinion.
I think the momentum to diversify is growing.
Apple is ready for government
That the German government is switching to Apple speaks to this trend. The procurement office of Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community’s (BMI) recently concluded a deal with Bechtle for the supply of up to 300,000 Apple devices across the entire federal administration. That means all government agencies will use iPhones and iPads equipped with Apple’s iNDIGO (iOS Native Devices in Government Operation) platform.
iNDIGO offers built-in security features, regular updates, hardware-based encryption and strict data protection policies and has been approved by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) for the secure sharing of confidential content classified as “for official use only” (VS-NfD).”
It’s very similar to the increasing adoption of Apple products across US government. Apple is also “actively participating in several governmental security evaluations and certifications globally,” the company says.
Time to switch?
As I see it, for companies looking to build more resilience in IT after the Crowdstrike strike, news that Apple’s platforms are considered good enough and secure enough for active use by national governments should lay to rest the utterly mistaken myth that Apple’s devices aren’t good for business. Apple is now ready for government. It’s ready for business.
Finally, of course, regardless of whatever platforms you choose to deploy, it seems sensible to check the terms and conditions of any mission-critical service to ensure you’ll get compensated in the event a software patch breaks your business and costs you money. Why should any customer pay for a product that fails?
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Download our unified endpoint management (UEM) platform enterprise buyer’s guide
From the editors of Computerworld, this enterprise buyer’s guide helps IT staff understand what the various unified endpoint management (UEM) platforms can do for their organizations and how to choose the right solution.
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Google’s new AI system reaches a mathematical milestone
Google’s AI unit Deepmind has demonstrated two new AI systems, AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry 2, which can successfully solve complex mathematical problems, representing a significant milestone in AI development, Reuters reports .
Today’s AI models work by being able to recognize patterns and statistically predict, for example, the next word that should be generated. However, this is not enough to handle abstract mathematics, which instead requires a system that can reason in a way that more closely resembles human intelligence.
AlpaProof and AlphaGeometry 2 succeeded in solving four out of six questions in this year’s edition of the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). One question was solved in just a few minutes; others took up to three days to solve, which is longer than the competition allows. AlpaProof also managed to solve the competition’s most difficult problem, which only five of 600 human participants managed to do.
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Open AI CEO: Authoritarian states want to take over the world with AI
Open AI CEO Sam Altman has written an attention-grabbing column in The Washington Post about the risks of artificial intelligence (AI), warning that authoritarian countries such as Russia and China want to control the development of AI systems — something that could eventually threaten humanity.
For example, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that whoever wins the AI battle will be the “ruler of the world”, while China has a stated goal of becoming the leader in AI by 2030. To prevent that from happening, the United States and its allies should work together to ensure that AI is used as a tool for freedom and democracy, Altman wrote.
To achieve that goal, substantial investment in security, infrastructure, diplomacy and dialogue will be required, he argued.
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OpenAI’s AI-powered SearchGPT is set to challenge Google’s web search dominance
OpenAI has thrown down the gauntlet to search giants like Google and Bing with the launch of its AI-powered search engine, SearchGPT.
Currently, in testing with a small group of users and publishers, SearchGPT combines the advanced conversational abilities of OpenAI’s large language models with real-time web data to provide “fast, accurate answers complete with clear and relevant sources.”
“Getting answers on the web can take a lot of effort,” OpenAI said in a statement. “We believe that by enhancing the conversational capabilities of our models with real-time information from the web, finding what you’re looking for can be faster and easier,” the statement added.
OpenAI’s entry into the search market presents a significant challenge to traditional search giants including Google and Bing, as well as for AI-enabled chatbots such as Perplexity.
Microsoft is already using OpenAI’s tools to add AI-driven capabilities to its search. Google also announced similar features for its search engine in May.
However, unlike conventional search engines, which often require users to sift through multiple pages of results, SearchGPT claims to “respond to your questions with up-to-date information from the web while giving you clear links to relevant sources.”
“Google’s empire hinges on search but lacks a cleaner, contextual, and conversational experience,” said Neil Shah, VP for research and partner at Counterpoint Research. “This is where OpenAI could turn the industry upside down with growing usage and making SearchGPT the cornerstone for their future GPT models.”
This approach not only simplifies the search process but also enhances user engagement with content publishers, the statement added.
According to OpenAI users can ask follow-up questions, similar to a natural dialogue, with SearchGPT continuously building upon the context of their search.
“ChatGPT ushered in a paradigm shift from passive ‘search’ to active ‘seek’, revolutionizing how we interact with information,” said Prabhu Ram, VP for Industry Research Group at CyberMedia Research. “SearchGPT is OpenAI’s strategic next step, capitalizing on consumer enthusiasm for conversational AI and challenging industry giants like Google and emerging competitors like Perplexity.”
The potential impact extends beyond traditional search engines. For ChatGPT competitors, SearchGPT represents a significant step forward in AI-powered information retrieval. By integrating real-time web information with its existing capabilities, OpenAI could further solidify its position in the conversational AI landscape.
Addressing publishers’ concerns
One of the areas OpenAI’s SearchGPT has tried to address is how content from various publishers is acquired and used and whether due credit has been given to content creators by the LLM model.
“For decades, search has been a foundational way for publishers and creators to reach users,” the statement added. “SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches.”
“While SearchGPT has emphasized content licensing agreements, it will be intriguing to observe how it addresses legal or ethical challenges around content usage — issues that have notably affected Perplexity AI,” said Ram.
OpenAI has been accused of copyright violations by multiple leading global publications and a few publications have claimed millions of their articles were used to train ChatGPT without their permission. In June this year, Forbes accused Perplexity of using its proprietary content without seeking permission or giving due credit.
OpenAI has vowed not to repeat its mistakes and said it would “strive to maintain a healthy ecosystem for publishers and creators.” It would prominently display sources alongside search results, ensuring transparency and crediting the origin of information.
Additionally, publishers will now be able to manage how their content appears within SearchGPT, empowering them to have control over their online presence in this new search paradigm.
“We’re using AI to enhance this experience by highlighting high-quality content in a conversational interface with multiple opportunities for users to engage,” OpenAI added in the statement.
This focus on user experience and publisher control could contribute to a more diverse and dynamic search landscape.
“One thing I liked about Search GPT’s approach is they are trying to connect publishers and the readers and giving them more control on how they want to manage and showcase their content,” Shah said. “So, this is a great approach from OpenAI to empower publishers while they can remain autonomous but discoverable in a way they want to.”
It’s a big threat to Google’s business model,” he added.
However, not all publishers seem to be amused with the new search engine. “Given OpenAI’s reputation I don’t see content creators benefit much,” said Varun Krishnan, founder of Fone Arena, a technology publication based in India. “Both OpenAI and Perplexity have been accused of featuring the work of publishers without due credits. I wish they cite the source and give due credits to publishers as promised.”
Another area of concern is how publishers and content creators are going to recalibrate their content optimization going forward.
“From a content discovery point of view all content creators including those selling products and services have optimized their web presences for search engines,” said Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at Techarc. “So, the SearchGPT will have to educate all of us on how it will be different.”