Version 16.0
Written & Compiled by Macklin Andrick, GPJ Sr. Creative Technologist
GPJ’s Experience Technology practice is your trusted guide through the latest technological shifts and how they might benefit your next experience. Another week, another opportunity to explore some of the weird and wild things going on in the tech world!
Buckle up, tech aficionados! This week is filled with zesty updates. First up, IBM and AWS are forging ahead, strengthening their partnership in generative AI solutions. Gartner unveils their much-anticipated Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2024. And on the entertainment frontier, Netflix ventures into new territory, announcing a unique live sports broadcast featuring PGA Tour pros and F1 drivers.
Gartner Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends 2024
Big Picture – These strategic technology trends will factor into business and technology decisions over the next three years and Gartner urges you to evaluate the impacts and benefits of each of these technology trends to determine which innovation — or strategic combination — will have the most significant impact on your organization’s success. Each of the trends relates to one or more key themes for business: protecting and preserving past and future investments, building the right solutions for the right stakeholders at the right time, and delivering value for the changing environment of both internal and external customers.
Netflix’s first live sports broadcast will be a golf tournament between PGA Tour pros and F1 drivers
Netflix is tapping into the popularity of two of its existing properties for its first live sports broadcast. The streaming service announced Tuesday that it would broadcast the “Netflix Cup” golf tournament on Nov. 14. The eight-hole tournament will feature four PGA Tour pros and four Formula 1 golfers competing against each other. Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas will represent the PGA Tour and each will be paired with an F1 driver. Williams’ Alex Albon, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are the four F1 drivers participating.
IBM Expands Partnership with AWS for Generative AI Solutions and Training
Last week, IBM announced the expansion of its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to bolster generative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, offering expertise and in-depth training for 10,000 consultants. According to IBM, the partnership aims to empower its clients with the strategic application of generative AI for critical business use cases.
IBM Consulting and AWS plan to enhance their generative AI capabilities by providing specialized training for 10,000 consultants, scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024. The companies announced that the initiative is part of a broader strategy to supply clients with generative AI solutions that can swiftly integrate AI into their business and IT operations on the AWS platform.
Google.com tests a news-filled homepage, just like Bing and Yahoo
Google is still wondering if it should make major changes to its homepage. The last experiment we saw filled the usually stark white page with info cards showing things like the weather and stocks, but this new experiment, spotted by the site MSPoweruser, has a much bigger focus on news. Instead of a homepage featuring only the Google logo, a search box, and a few buttons, this latest experiment looks a lot more like the “Google Discover” newsfeed you get on the Google mobile app. That means rows of news articles that Google has algorithmically detected will interest you, often with wild month-to-month quality swings in the sites it promotes. To the right of the newsfeed is a stack of “at a glance” cards featuring sports scores, stocks, and the weather. The change makes Google look a lot busier—and a lot more like Bing and Yahoo.
Microsoft completes $69bn takeover of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard
Microsoft has completed its $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Activision Blizzard in the gaming industry’s biggest ever deal. It comes as Microsoft, which owns the Xbox gaming console, was given the green light for the global deal after UK regulators approved it. The Competition and Markets Authority said its concerns had been addressed, after it blocked the original bid. Following the announcement of the deal, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick confirmed in a letter to staff that he would step down at the end of 2023. Despite concerns from rivals such as PlayStation-maker Sony, and regulators over competition in the gaming industry, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer sought to reassure gamers.
Toyota and Lexus will implement Tesla’s NACS connector on future EVs
Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus will start implementing Tesla’s winning charging plug standard known as the North American Charging Standard, or NACS, in “certain” vehicles starting in 2025. Toyota will also provide current and soon-to-be EV buyers with adapters to access 12,000+ Tesla Supercharger stations. One of Toyota’s first vehicles to include a NACS connector is a future three-row SUV it is planning for 2025, which will be assembled at the automaker’s plant in Kentucky. Toyota is currently light on EV options compared to most other automakers and has only released the mediocre bZ4X and the Lexus RZ 450e.
More Cool Stuff We Found
- The Science of the Sphere in Vegas
- IO-Lights – Light sensitive MIDI controller
- Adobe’s Project Stardust is a sneak preview of its next-gen AI photo editing engine
- Microsoft’s futuristic ‘Project Silica’ stores data on glass plates for 10,000 years
- The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessen
- Orbita Music Machine
- C360 goes global with their pylon camera system at NFL’s international games
- Does it Matter to You if AI Makes a Work of Art You Love?
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