We said this last year in a similar post: "To be fair, every year in the 21th century brings about exponentially more change."
News flash: technology changes. Here's some stories that seemed big enough to reach the front pages of newspapers (remember them?) instead of just the technology section. Then I'll insert my own two-cents take.


ChatGPT

Chatbot technology built on top of OpenAI that can produce really detailed writing and emulate specific styles or even celebrities, given good enough rules.

Our Take: A future mess for "fake news", education and plagiarism - nobody seems to have an answer for how to keep this in check just yet.


Passwords Going Away?

The disappearance of passwords is an exaggerated claim. We really like this Hacker News explanation.

Our Take: I think we all just want them to go away. The truth is, some companies deal with this better than others. At present my bank recognizes me much more seamlessly and hassle-free than iPhone game apps (with no in-app purchase capability) who create password fatigue.


Amazon Staten Island Workers Union

The Amazon Labor Union held a successful vote among Staten Island workers and became the first group of Amazon workers to unionize. Amazon's desperate counterclaims that the union "distributed marijuana to employees in exchange for their support" none withstanding, it's a big development for 21st century unions and tech giants.

Our Take: Old school unions have gotten a semi-deserved bad rap but, in my opinion, not gotten enough credit for the "good old days" of the 1950s and 1960s general economic boom. We're anxious to see if this means that the newer grass-roots efforts of the ALU leads to more effective 21st-century unions and general trends for living wages for tech workers.


Facebook Ads Getting Less Effective

For one thing, Apple has increased privacy options on phones which have stymied Facebook from gathering as much user data as they used to get - this is happening a lot of spots.

Our Take: If you are advertising with Facebook Ads, make sure to revisit and analyze their success. If you do no online advertising, get started in 2023.


EU - US Data Pact

The United States and the European Union signed legislation (or in the U.S.'s case, an executive order) to establish and extend data protection rules and also increase sharing among law enforcement.

Our Take: Any efforts towards modernizing are good. But wake me when politicians become effective at legislating or even understanding tech. Case in point: Think of whenever Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey has testified in Congress and remember some of the numbskull questions they've been asked.


Data Breaches - Optus & Medibank

Every consumer says the privacy of their info is important to them. Every company says they are dedicated to data security.

Our Take: Just like with proper documentation, it's something that everyone says is important but costs money. So, we have not seen the end of companies and even major companies continuing to cut corners.


Romania Cyberattacks From Russia

Following Romania's declaration of support (and military aid) for Ukraine, there were extensive and damaging DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks on Romanian government, media, bank and military sites. The Russian Federation even telegraphed their response, declaring "lightning-fast retaliatory strikes" would befall Romaina.

Our Take: Russia's hackers are more effective than their military. That seems like a jokey response, but when it comes to fear of an aggressive Russia, computers and misinformation is really the first thing to watch for.


Cliffhanger

We’re stopping here. Come back next week.. Part 2.