2024 milestones: January

January 2024

- The Asia-Pacific Data Centre Association (APDCA) is launched. Founding members represent key players in the global data centre industry: AirTrunk, Digital Realty, Equinix, Global Switch, NTT Global Data Centers, Princeton Digital Group, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, and Vantage Data Centers. The Association will engage with governments to co-develop policies that drive the security and sustainability of data centres.

- 26 billion data records are discovered on an unsecured website. The leak is termed 'the mother of all breaches'. Australian businesses also saw a widespread breach of online account information.

- CES identified AI, digital health, mobility and sustainability as themes at its 2024 show. Gaming/e-sports and the role technology plays in improving the human experience were also highlighted. 

“The resurgence of CES proves that face-to-face conversations and meetings are a necessity for the technology industry,” said Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), organiser of CES. 

“For more than 20 years, I’ve said that every company must become a tech company, and the diversity of exhibitors at CES 2024 proves it. The CES footprint and conference programming span the entire tech ecosystem.”

- China Unicom Beijing and Huawei deployed a pilot 5.5G network in Beijing. The large-scale network provided continuous coverage in three locations, and is expected to act as a benchmark for future 5.5 networks and applications across China. 

- Fortinet announced a secure networking solution integrated with Wi-Fi 7 comprising its first Wi-Fi 7 access point, FortiAP 441K, and the FortiSwitch T1024, purpose-built with 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 90 W Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology to support Wi-Fi 7 requirements.

- Google Deepmind debuted AlphaGeometry in a breakthrough for AI in mathematical reasoning. The system solves geometry problems at a level approaching a human gold-medalist for the Mathematical Olympiad.

- HP announced it will acquire Juniper Networks.

- Merck opened the Merck Digital Hub in Singapore, its first outside of the US and Europe for the Merck Digital Business.

- Turki Badhris was appointed President of Microsoft Arabia. 

- Microsoft and Salesforce are among the companies that announced layoffs.

- Milestone Systems, a provider of data-driven video technology software, has decided to adopt and implement the G7 Code of Conduct for Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems, becoming one of the first companies to do so.

“We need rules to ensure AI is being developed to serve humanity. But companies should not wait for regulation. They must take their own steps to identify and resolve the weaknesses and pitfalls of the AI they develop,” said Thomas Jensen, CEO of Milestone Systems.

“When it comes to AI-enabled video, we have just scratched the surface of its potential benefits and uses. However, we also understand some of the pitfalls such as bias and false positives.”

“At Milestone Systems, we are taking significant steps to address potential weaknesses of our tools. By signing up to the G7 Code of Conduct we will continue to focus our efforts on building our software with trust, transparency, and accountability at the front of our minds.”

- NCS expanded collaboration with Microsoft in Asia Pacific.

- NVIDIA's automotive game was strong at CES. Companies working directly or indirectly with NVIDIA automotive technology included Ansys, Cerence, Cipia, EyeLights, Kodiak, Lenovo, Li Auto, Luminar, Pebble, Plus, Polestar, Mercedes-Benz, and Zoox. GWM (Great Wall Motor), ZEEKR and Xiaomi adopted the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin platform to power their intelligent automated-driving systems. 

- Optus admitted that it had been unable to complete more emergency calls than originally reported during its outage in 2023.

- The Penang Internet exchange debuted. 

- The AI Verify Foundation (AIVF) and Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) developed a draft Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI. This framework expands on the existing Model Governance Framework that covers Traditional AI, last updated in 2020.

- Singtel added Starlink connectivity to its maritime portfolio of services. Starlink is the first low-Earth orbit (LEO) broadband service to be added to Singtel’s iSHIP digital smart solutions for vessels. 

- Tesla recalled over a million vehicles in China because of Autopilot and locking issues.

- The Universal Music Group said it would remove its catalogue from TikTok after an existing contract expires end-January. 

"With respect to the issue of artist and songwriter compensation, TikTok proposed paying our artists and songwriters at a rate that is a fraction of the rate that similarly situated major social platforms pay," the company said in an open letter suggesting artists and songwriters call time out on the social platform.  The group also said talks had broken down over TikTok protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users.

- Volkswagen integrated ChatGPT into its vehicles. The company said it will be the first volume manufacturer to offer ChatGPT as a standard feature from Q224 in many production vehicles.

"It is extremely important to consider what type of training data is used as well as apply policies that define what responses with what type of information are allowed. Similar to how early usage of ChatGPT with limited restrictions allowed it to write malware and hacking tools or to gain information that could be used with malicious intent, a digital assistant in your car could also be abused to potentially gain certain harmful information, e.g., how to clone keys or run unauthorised commands which could lead to attackers stealing cars.

"While deploying a digital assistant in your car would provide many benefits and definitely improve the user experience, it is also important to consider the risks. Therefore, it's imperative that automotive organisations consider what training data is used as well as consider providing some type of restrictions on content in responses, in order to prevent abuse or actions with malicious intent," said Dennis Kengo Oka, Principal Automotive Security Strategist at Synopsys Software Integrity Group.