4 Things Industry 4.0 -- December 18th, 2023

"Winter is coming..." - Ned Stark

Good morning/afternoon. This week we will officially start Winter, this writer's most dreaded season (gosh, I hate the cold). Even before Winter officially began, much of the world is already getting their dose of Winter weather in the form of snow. So if you're like me, turn up the heat, make a hot chocolate, curl up in a blanket, and contemplate moving to the equator. I hear Australia's nice this time of year....

European Union reaches agreement on world’s first AI Regulation Act

The European Union has successfully negotiated the world's first comprehensive AI legislation, the Artificial Intelligence Act. This deal, achieved after intense discussions, seeks to regulate, and oversee AI technology use, focusing on high-risk applications including generative AI and facial recognition.

The AI Act represents a major step in acknowledging and managing the potential risks and benefits of AI technology. It categorizes AI systems based on risk levels and imposes stringent compliance requirements for those with systemic risks. This includes generative AI systems like ChatGPT and Google's Bard, which now must adhere to strict guidelines including technical documentation, EU copyright compliance, risk assessment, and energy efficiency reporting. 

Despite the EU's ambitious stance, the Act has faced criticism for certain exemptions and loopholes, particularly in areas like AI-powered face recognition surveillance. While European lawmakers sought a complete ban on public use due to privacy concerns, member countries negotiated exemptions for law enforcement in serious crimes. Rights groups express concerns over these exceptions and the lack of protections in areas like migration and border control. 

The EU's AI Act, set to take effect by 2025, could serve as a model for global AI regulation. It's a pioneering effort that attempts to balance the rapid advancements in AI with the need for ethical and legal frameworks. As other countries and regions develop their own AI regulations, the EU's approach offers a potential blueprint for synchronizing AI advancements with privacy and safety standards.

Docker Desktop 4.26: New Features and Improvements

Docker has released Docker Desktop 4.26, featuring new enhancements aimed at streamlining the development process. This update focuses on optimizing Rosetta for better performance, PHP Support, among others.  

Rosetta Optimization

The update enhances Docker Desktop's compatibility with Rosetta, focusing on fixing specific issues like Node.js freezing and PHP segmentation faults. This is crucial for developers working across diverse platforms, as it ensures more stable and reliable performance, particularly in environments where seamless integration between different architectures is necessary.

PHP Support in Docker Init 

With the inclusion of PHP support in Docker Init, Docker simplifies the Dockerfile creation process for PHP projects. This improvement is especially beneficial for PHP developers, as it streamlines their workflow and makes Docker more user-friendly and efficient for PHP development tasks.

Enhanced Admin View 

The newly available Builds view in Docker Desktop provides in-depth insights into build performance. This feature is a significant aid for developers, allowing them to closely monitor and optimize their build processes. It leads to more efficient development workflows by enabling better understanding and management of the build environment.

Docker Desktop Image for Microsoft Dev Box 

The Docker Desktop Image for Microsoft Dev Box marks a move towards supporting cloud-based development environments. This addition expands Docker's functionality, meeting the increasing demand for remote and cloud-based development solutions. It shows Docker's commitment to evolving with the changing landscape of development practices.

Generative AI in the Enterprise: A Cautious Approach by CIOs

The landscape of generative AI is an ever-evolving creature, and CIOs at the enterprise level are adopting a cautious and deliberate approach. They are in the early stages of embracing this technology, focusing heavily on evaluation and proof-of-concept phases. This careful strategy stems from a desire to thoroughly understand the transformative potential of generative AI while ensuring a solid return on investment.  

Many enterprises are conducting small-scale pilots and are exploring specific use cases for generative AI. This step-by-step approach allows them to integrate the technology into their operations in a way that is aimed at being both responsible and effective. By doing so, they hope to harness the benefits of generative AI, such as increased efficiency and innovation, while managing potential risks and ensuring alignment with their broader business strategies. 

The cautious stance of these CIOs reflects the desire for balance between the exciting prospects of generative AI and the need for prudent management. It highlights the importance of a methodical and well-considered integration of new technologies in the business environment, with the goal of ensuring that advancements in AI are leveraged to their fullest potential while maintaining operational integrity and security. Hopefully, this approach won’t lead to past outcomes, of too cautious leadership stifling innovation, or leading to companies falling behind the curve in output from their employees against their more pioneering competitors. We’ve already seen this with the outset of the 3^rd Industrial Revolution, with US manufacturers falling behind the competition. Have the lessons been learned, and embracing of Industry 5.0 begun, or is it the same song and dance? The answer remains to be seen.

LinkedIn Moves Away from Plans to Move to Microsoft Azure

LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary since 2016, has recently decided to shelve its plan to migrate to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform from it's in-house data center, a major reversal from the original announcement of the change in 2019. Initially, this move was seen as a natural progression to align LinkedIn's operations more closely with Microsoft's cloud services. However, LinkedIn has chosen to retain and expand its current infrastructure, as stated by their CTO Raghu Hiremagalur. This decision is a departure from the expected trajectory of tighter integration with Microsoft's cloud services.

Opinion

With the known issues of Microsoft's Azure's architecture not scaling in industry, I can imagine many resources at LinkedIn and Microsoft alike were worried about migration issues, and serious implications to LinkedIn's uptime by moving to Microsoft Azure. While most of the forward facing focus was on moving from on-prem to cloud-computing, behind the scenes there were certainly larger plans for the switch. With the recent announcements of the new Azure IoT Architecture, I'm sure there will be renewed plans for the switch at LinkedIn

     - Joshua Stover

Industry 4.0 Highlights

🚜🤖 Automation in Farming: John Deere's SVP & CTO, Jahmy Hindman, discusses leveraging AI in agriculture, notably through "See & Spray" technology to target weeds precisely to reduce herbicide use.
China's AI Buses: China's AV company WeRide is expanding globally with its recent acquisition of licenses to test autonomous buses in Singapore.

Money talks in O&G: Occidental Petroleum has agreed to purchase CrownRock, a major producer in the Permian Basin, for $12 Billion USD. The deal, expected to close in Q1 2024, will increase Occidental's production by 170,000 barrels of oil per day.

Learning Lens

Democratizing AI: Insights from Theory Ventures and OpenAI

SaaStr's recent discussion with leaders from Theory Ventures OpenAI, and other companies offers an insightful look in AIs current and future impact on business. The article covers various topics, including the democratization of technology through LLMs, AI adoption in enterprises, and the merging roles of ML and software engineers. You can read the full article and watch the interview here

Byte-Sized Brilliance

Jumbo Factory?

There are some iconic and large factories in history. Ford's River-Rouge Complex, Tesla's Giga-Texas, but the largest factory in the world is the Boeing Everett Factory in Everrett Washington! The facility, home to producing iconic aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 777, and the recently sunsetted behemoth 747 Jumbo Jet. The facility takes up a wopping 42.8 Acres (1.9 million square feet), and has a volume of 205.6 million cubic feet! Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world, only takes up 121 acres. Now that's what I call "thinking big!"