The 10 biggest tech stories of 2023

- In today’s Tech digests: The 10 biggest Tech stories of 2023

Author

Ashish Hirpara
January 01, 2024

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

Happy New Year! As we dived into the new year, we've selected key tech stories from the current period, so let's catch up on the latest tech highlights:

  • The 10 biggest tech stories of 2023

  • NY Times vs Tech - NYT sues OpenAI/Microsoft over content usage

  • Google - restricting election AI queries in 2024

  • Apple Watch Update - Patent dispute development.

  • Microsoft Copilot - How to access the best free alternative to ChatGPT

  • Google's Top Extensions - The best for Chrome in 2023.

Read time: 5 minutes

The Tech Recap

The 10 biggest tech stories of 2023

The most notable technology news of 2023 shows that as generative AI and geopolitics roil the technology industry, there is growing unease about the dominance of big tech companies.

  1. Fired! Rehired! Sam Altman’s ouster and return to OpenAI

  2. DOJ v. Google: Biggest tech antitrust trial in 20 years

  3. Amazon cuts 18,000 workers as layoffs hit tech

  4. Meta Tries To Take On Twitter

  5. Regulators get tough, Adobe pulls plug on $20B Figma buy

  6. Israel-Hamas conflict extends to cyberspace, as geopolitics stoke security woes

  7. US expands chip export curbs to China

  8. Apple's Vision Pro: Back to the Future

  9. AI threatens human extinction, say tech leaders

  10. Google DeepMind reveals Gemini

Our thoughts: The top technology stories of 2023 highlight fundamental changes in culture and geopolitics as well as tech itself: Generative AI will affect all aspects of technology and society, while geopolitical tensions are sparking cybersecurity attacks globally.

NYT

Image source: Reuters

The News: The New York Times just sued Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement over the alleged unauthorized use of millions of Times articles to train AI systems like ChatGPT.

The details:

  • The media outlet alleges its content was copied verbatim without permission for training ChatGPT and in Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

  • The lawsuit comes as OpenAI is in talks to reportedly raise a $100B valuation from investors.

  • The NYT said previous talks broke down with Microsoft and OpenAI in April over reaching an agreement on the usage of its articles.

  • OpenAI recently struck deals with Axel Springer (Politico, Business Insider) and the Associated Press for news content.

Why it matters: This case will test the legal boundaries around AI's use of copyrighted news content without permission – a true Napster moment for LLMs. If the NYT wins, it could force tech giants to strike content deals and slow AI advancements — a major blow to the future of ChatGPT.

Image source: Google

The Rundown: Ahead of high-profile 2024 elections, Google announced it will be restricting the types of election-related queries its AI systems like Bard and Search Generative Experience can respond to starting early next year.

The details:

  • The policy will start in early 2023 out of an "abundance of caution" on the sensitive topic.

  • The move builds on other transparency efforts like requiring content creators and advertisers to disclose the use of altered or synthetic media.

  • Part of Google's wider plan of safeguarding AI platforms for the polarizing campaign cycle, which includes providing high-quality election info and partnering with campaigns on security.

Why it matters: The first election season in the AI era could get weird — and while it’s positive that Google is being proactive in aiming to prevent AI misinformation and manipulation, bad actors will likely leverage the tech to sow confusion regardless.

Image source: The Verge

The News: One day after the Apple Watch import ban went into effect, the US Court of Appeals is instituting a brief pause while it considers a longer pause.

The details:

  • The court’s order means that Apple can resume selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 for the moment

  • Both watches were pulled from its website last week and off of store shelves this week, as the ban went into effect.

  • A federal appeals court ordered a halt on the import and sales bans today after Apple requested that they be paused at least until US Customs can determine if changes it’s making to the Apple Watch would be enough to avoid the patent dispute that led to the ban.

MICROSOFT
How to access the best free alternative to ChatGPT

Image source: Microsoft

The News: While ChatGPT grabs headlines, Microsoft has quietly built an impressive alternative — and it’s 100% free. Copilot matches ChatGPT's capabilities while exceeding in some areas.

Here are some of the best features:

  • Multi-Modal Capabilities: By combining text, images, and web data, Copilot’s search grounding develops a deeper understanding of queries.

  • Coding & Calculation Strengths: Via its Code Interpreter, Copilot also compares to ChatGPT at complex coding, math, data analysis, and visualization tasks.

  • Music Creativity: Through a new partnership with Suno AI, Copilot can now generate music tracks and even summarize/answer questions about videos.

  • Video Understanding: Copilot can summarize or answer questions about videos watched in Edge — something not even ChatGPT offers.

Access Copilot here and try it out for yourself, or try out the new Copilot for Android app and IOS app.

Chrome
Discover Google's Top 11 Chrome Extensions of 2023

Google has revealed its favorite Chrome extensions of 2023. Standouts include Scribe, a tool using AI to streamline workflow documentation; DeepL Translate for real-time webpage translation; and QuillBot for email composition assistance.
For note-taking, Transkriptor transcribes audio into over 100 languages, while the Coupert extension helps users find promotional codes for online shopping. Google compiled these picks in a dedicated webpage for easy access.
Scribe uses AI to document your workflows and help you create guides designed to train your coworkers on various processes. DeepL Translate instantly translates web pages into different languages. And QuillBot helps you more easily compose and answer emails.
Sider displays a sidebar in Chrome that offers quick access to popular AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Bard without opening a dedicated tab. And for job seekers, Teal lets you bookmark jobs from specific job sites so you can track all your job applications

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