CAROLYN: I'M CAROLINE HYDE. ED:
THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. CAROLYN:
ADOBE AND SIGMA CALL OFF THE $20 BILLION DEAL.
WE WILL BRING YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. ED: PLUS, A-ROD'S BLACK CHECK
COMPANY LYNK GLOBAL. WE HEAR FROM THE FORMER NEW
YORK YANKEES ALL-STAR ON THE DEAL. CAROLINE:
AND A DEEP DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
HOW BUSINESSES ARE UTILIZING THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL
CONCERNS ATTACHED THE AI. FIRST, LET'S THROUGH THESE
MARKETS BECAUSE TODAY IS A STORY OF M&A ON AN M&A OFF IT A
SILLY QUESTION OF JUST HOW MUCH PUSHBACK WE ARE GOING TO GET ON
THE FACT THAT RATE CUTS ARE COMING IN AS SOON AS MARCH OF
NEXT YEAR. THE YIELD'S FEELING THAT
QUESTIONING AROUND BORROWING COST AND INDEED, WHAT THE JAPAN
CENTRAL BANK DOES. WE HAVE A FEW MORE VOICES
TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE MARKET IS GETTING TOO FAR AHEAD
OF THE TERMS OF RATE CUTS. LET'S SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN
THE WORLD OF CRYPTO BECAUSE WITH THE DOLLAR UP, WE SEEING A
BIT OF A PULLBACK IN CRYPTO AS OF LATE.
41,000 OR 500 ON THE NOSE. TALK TO US ABOUT THESE DEALS.
ED: THE DEAL THAT IS DEAD, ADOBE AND FIGMENT MUTUALLY AGREEING
TO TERMINATE ADOBE'S ACQUISITION OF A $20 BILLION
DEAL. IT IS INTERESTING TO WONDER
WITH THIS IN EVER PASSED MUSTER WITH THE REGULATORS? THE NEWS BEING THAT ADOBE PAYS
A $1 MILLION TERMINATION FEE AND NOW THAT THE DEAL HAS
FAILED, LOTS OF OPINION THAT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT
WHETHER THIS WAS A GOOD OR BAD DEAL. LET'S GET THE DEALS. I GUESS THIS IS ONE OF THOSE
DEALS IN ONE OF THOSE STORIES WHERE YOU START WITH WHY?
WHY DID BOTH PARTIES DECIDE TO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT? >> IMAGINE GETTING PAID $1
BILLION TO BREAK UP. THE BIG ONE IS JUST THAT IT WAS
TAKING SO LONG. 15 MONTHS AGO, WE SAT HERE AND
THOUGHT ABOUT WHY ADOBE WAS GOING TO BUY SIGMA.
IT WANTED TO EXPAND TO LOOK AT THE APT DESIGNERS, THE UI
DESIGNERS AND ALSO JUST INVEST IN A PRODUCT.
BUT OF COURSE REGULATORS HAVE BEEN VERY SKEPTICAL OF THESE
DEALS WHERE A BIG, INCUMBENT TECH PLAYER WILL SCOOP UP A
YOUNGER STARTUP AND MAYBE THREATEN IT.
THIS SENSE IS THAT REGULATORS REALLY THIS -- AND NOW STOPPING
FACEBOOK, AND THEY REALLY WANTED TO KIND OF MAKE AN
EXAMPLE HERE. THEY FACED SEVERE PUSHBACK IN
THE U.K., E.U. THERE WAS A CERTAIN POINT WHERE BOTH ADOBE AND
--SAID WE DON'T SEE A WAY FORWARD HERE.
SO THEY DECIDED TO WALK AWAY. CAROLINE:
THE COFOUNDER AND CEO TALKING ABOUT WHAT WAS IT, THE
THOUSANDS OF HOURS SPENT WITH REGULATORS AND YET THEY STILL
COULDN'T GET THIS DEAL AWAY. YOU CAN SEE THAT ADOBE IS
RALLYING A BIT ON THE NEWS, BUT WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF FIGMA?
I'M INTERESTED THAT THEY STILL SEEM PRETTY POSITIVE ABOUT WHAT
THEY MANAGED TO BASICALLY PUT TO MARKET DURING THIS TIME. >> THE BIG QUESTION FOR US NOW,
ARE THEY STILL ON A COLLISION COURSE? FOR THOSE WHO WANT SUPER
FAMILIAR, THE CORE MARKET IS THE SOFTWARE THAT HELPS YOU
DESIGN THE WAY THAT ABSENT WEBSITES LOOK, BUT THEY ARE
EXPANDING ELSEWHERE. THEY'VE LOOK THE PRODUCTIVITY
SOFTWARE SUITE, THINK ABOUT A GOOGLE WORKSPACES KIND OF THING.
THEY LOOKED INTO IMAGE-EDITING. SO YOU FIGURED THAT THIS IS A
CAPABLE COMPANY WITH CAPABLE LEADERSHIP.
THEY'VE HIRED 500 PEOPLE IN THE LAST YEAR.
IT'S NOT HARD TO IMAGINE A SCENARIO WHERE THEY GROW TO
OVERSHADOW SOME OF THESE LARGER SOFTWARE COMPANIES. CAROLINE:
THEY TALK ABOUT THE HUGE ADVANCES IN AI AND HOW THAT IS
AN AREA OR FOCUS FOR THE BUSINESS.
WE ARE ALL WAITING FOR IPOS AND EXITS AND THIS IS AN EXIT THAT
HAS BEEN PUT ON ICE. DO YOU THINK THIS COMPANY WILL
HE GOING IN ALONE? >> I THINK IT WILL BE A WHILE
BEFORE WE SEE AN IPO. ADOBE WAS BUYING A FAST-GROWING
BUT SOMEWHAT STILL NASCENT COMPETITOR.
I DON'T REMEMBER THE REVENUE NUMBERS BUT THEY ARE RAPIDLY
GROWING. I THINK IT WOULD BE A WHILE
BEFORE WE SEE AN IPO. ARE THEY GOING TO GET ACQUIRED
BY THESE OTHER LARGE SOFTWARE COMPANIES?
I THINK WE ARE RIGHT TO ASK WHAT IS THE NEXT PATH. ED:
STAYING IN THE WORLD OF DEALS, A BLANK CHECK COMPANY SET UP BY
ALEX RODRIGUEZ IS PLANNING TO MERGE WITH SATELLITE
COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER LINK GLOBAL.
EARLIER I SAT DOWN WITH THE CEOS TO DISCUSS. HAVE A LISTEN. >> LYNK INVENTED THIS
TECHNOLOGY IT YOU GO BACK TO 2015, MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS
WAS IMPOSSIBLE. WE INVENTED ALL THE TECHNOLOGY,
WITH NO CHANGE OF THE PHONE. PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WAS CRAZY
THINKING. WE HAVE THREE OPERATIONAL,
COMMERCIALLY-LICENSED SATELLITE IN ORBIT TODAY. WE'VE PROVEN IT ON ALL SEVEN
CONFIDENT IN OVER TWO DOZEN COUNTRIES.
IT PUTS US IN A GREAT POSITION TO BRING THIS SERVICE TO THE
WORLD. THIS IS A SERVICE WITH OVER 5
BILLION CUSTOMER THAT HAVE A PHONE TODAY. ED: YOU HAVE A SMALL CONSOLATION UP
AND RUNNING, YOU HAVE THE COMMERCIAL DEALS IN PLACE.
THIS IS AN AREA WHERE JUST LAST WEEK WE LEARNED THAT SPACEX
WANTS TO GET INTO AS WELL. IS THERE ENOUGH FOR YOU IN THE
LIKES OF SPACEX TO BUILD OUT THE NETWORK? WE ARE THE CATEGORY CREATORS,
AND THERE IS A BUNCH OF COMPANIES JUMPING IN NOW THAT
HAVE DONE IT, BUT THIS IS THE KEY THING TO UNDERSTAND.
NO ONE IS GOING TO GET A MONOPOLY.
IN THE MOBILE WIRELESS INDUSTRY THERE IS AT LEAST TWO OR THREE
WINNERS. THEY DON'T LET ANYBODY GET A
MONOPOLY. THEY DIDN'T LET APPLE GET A
MONOPOLY. THEY PULLED INTO EXISTENCE
ANDROID WITHIN 18 MONTHS, SO THERE'S GOING TO BE AT LEAST
TWO OR THREE WINNERS IN SATELLITE AND STANDARD PHONE.
IT IS GOING TO BE LYNK AND ONE OR TWO OTHER COMPANIES.
THAT IS A NATURAL THAT ESPECIALLY THE CONSUMER AND
COMPLETELY VALIDATE WHAT WE ARE DOING. ED:
REALLY SIMILAR QUESTION FOR YOU. A LOT OF WHAT I'VE COVERED OVER
THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, THE ONE THAT GOT WRONG IS WHERE
DO DILIGENCE WAS A PROBLEM. I WONDERED HOW MUCH FOR CONCERN ENTERING A MARKET WITH LTN
YNK, HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS A CONSIDERATION FOR YOU. >> IT WAS.
WE ARE SUPER DISCIPLINED AND WE WOULD RATHER NOT TAKE SOMETHING
PUBLIC UNLESS WE FELT REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.
WE ARE LONG-TERM THINKERS AND OUR CORE VALUES ARE ALIGNED.
IT IS SUCH AN EXCITING SPACE TO THINK THAT THIS IS A
BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS ANNUALLY.
AND TO CONNECT THE UNCONNECTED, TO THINK THAT CHARLES AND LYNK
CAN CONNECT OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE MORE THAN WE HAVE TODAY.
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AMAZON, HOW THEY'VE DISRUPTED
THE RETAIL BUSINESS. THIS IS TO DISRUPT THE BUSINESS
WHERE YOU HAVE THESE CELL TOWERS WHERE YOU WOULD NEED A
FOOTBALL FIELD OR TWO TO PROVIDE.
CHARLES HAS CREATED ONE THAT HIS SATELLITES GO IN THE SIZE
OF A PIZZA BOX AND YOU SEND THEM TO ORBIT AND OVER THE NEXT
FIVE YEARS THERE SHOULD BE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF
THESE UP IN ORBIT. ED: ALEX RAISES A GOOD POINT WHICH
IS THE INDUSTRIES WERE TRYING TO DISRUPT.
BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE END USER, ME, THE CONSUMER WITH A
CELL PHONE, IT SEEMS TO BE THE CARRIERS THAT YOU WANT TO DO
BUSINESS WITH. >> THAT IS A KEY PART OF OUR
STRATEGY. WE ARE PARTNERED WITH MOBILE
PHONE COMPANIES AND MANY PEOPLE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES NO
VERIZON, AT&T AND T-MOBILE. BUT THERE'S 800 AROUND THE
WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO BE A PARTNER
WITH MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE SET UP AS A TRUSTED
PARTNER OF NETWORK OPERATORS AND IT HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
FOR ECONOMICS. WE DON'T HAVE TO GO SIGN UP
SUBSCRIBERS. WE CUT A DEAL WITH A MOBILE
NETWORK OPERATOR IN WE INSTANTLY GET ONE MILLION TO 90
100 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS. SO OUR SUBSCRIBER ACQUISITION
COST, BECAUSE IT USES THE PHONE IN YOUR POCKET, BASICALLY
ALMOST GO TO ZERO. ED: A-ROD'S SPAC TALKING LYNK
GLOBAL GOING PUBLIC. VALUATION AROUND $800 MILLION
AND THEY LITERALLY WANT TO TAKE ON SPACEX.
THAT IS NOT A NEW STORY I THOUGHT I WOULD WAKE UP TO ON A
MONDAY MORNING. CAROLINE: QUITE A FEW STORIES TO WAKE UP
TO. ONE OF THEM WAS THE FACT THAT
APPLE IS HOLDING SALES OF ITS FLAGSHIP APPLE WATCH MODELS IN
THE UNITED STATES. WE ARE GOING TO BRING YOU YET
ANOTHER ANTITRUST STORY HERE AS WELL. OFF YOU GO. ED: IN CHINA ARE COLLEAGUES
REPORTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON THE USE OF FOREIGN
ASSETS CONTINUES ACROSS GOVERNMENT AND STATE-BACKED
ENTERPRISE. HAPPENING LOWER EARLY IN THE
SESSION, THE KEY SUPPLIERS SEEM TO BE MOVING LOWER ON THAT NEWS.
WE WILL HAVE THE DETAILS NEXT. THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ♪ ED: TIME FOR TALKING TECH AND
IN THE NEWS, IBM HAS AGREED TO BUY DATA INTEGRATION PLATFORMS
STREAM SETS AND WEB METHODS FROM SOFTWARE AG FOR $2.3
BILLION IN CASH. THE DEAL IS EXPECTED TO
COMPLETE IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2024 AND IT IS AN EFFORT TO
STRENGTHEN ITS AI AND CLOUD CAPABILITIES. AND SENSETIME PLUNGED AFTER ITS
CO-FOUNDER STATUS SPOOKED INVESTORS ALREADY GRAPPLING
WITH THE FALLOUT FROM SLOWING GROWTH AND U.S. SANCTIONS.
SINCETIME DISCLOSED THAT ITS CO-FOUNDER AND MAJOR
SHAREHOLDER DIED FRIDAY AFTERNOON THIS. THE M.I.T.
GRADUATE AND HONG KONG PROFESSOR WAS REGARDED AS A
PIONEER IN CHINA'S AI SECTOR, HELPING CREATE ONE OF THE
NATION'S LEADERS AND FACIAL AND IMAGE RECOGNITION.
CHINESE AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT-BACKED FIRMS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY HAVE ORDERED STAFF TO STOP BRINGING IPHONES AND
OTHER FOREIGN DEVICES TO WORK. THE FORMAL DIRECTIVES FOLLOW A
GENERAL MANDATE FROM MONTHS AGO AND SETS IN MOTION AN
UNPRECEDENTED PROHIBITION THAT IS LIKELY TO BLOCK APPLE AND
SAMSUNG FROM PARTS OF THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SMARTPHONE
MARKET. CAROLINE: AND THERE WAS SO MUCH TO CHEW
ONE WHEN IT COMES TO APPLE TODAY SO LET'S STICK WITH A
COMPANY THAT IS ALSO CONFIRMING IT IS SOON GOING TO BE HOPING
SALES OF THE FLAGSHIP APPLE WATCH MODELS RIGHT HERE IN THE
UNITED STATES. THE MOVES COMES FOLLOWING A
RULING AS THEY LONG-RUNNING DISPUTE BETWEEN APPLE AND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY --
AROUND THE BLOOD OXYGEN SENSOR TECHNOLOGY. FIRST, THE WATCHES. THIS IS QUITE A MAJOR STEP BUT
BASICALLY THEY ARE ANTICIPATING -- HERE. >> WE WERE EXPECTING THAT THERE
WOULD BE A SETTLEMENT BY NOW BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES AND
WE STILL HAVE A FEW DAYS. LET'S SEE IF THIS IS JUST
ARMSTRONG BY BOTH OF THE COMPANIES, BUT WE ARE HOPEFUL
THAT THERE WILL BE A SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THEM. >> THE OTHER STORY REPORTED
OVERNIGHT ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG SOURCES, THIS KIND OF
GOVERNMENT OR PUBLIC SECTOR COUNTDOWN ON FOREIGN HANDSETS
IN CHINA. IT STARTED WITH BEIJING, NOW
THERE ARE EIGHT OTHER PROVINCES WHERE STATE-BACKED ENTITIES OR
COMPANIES, GOVERNMENT ENTITIES ARE SAYING LEAVE YOUR FOREIGN
HANDSET AT WORK, BUY DOMESTIC. IS THAT REALLY IMPACT APPLE
SALES GROWTH OR POTENTIAL IN CHINA? >> THAT ISN'T MUCH GOOD NEWS
FOR APPLE IN THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. I THINK THE IPHONE NEWS IS
SOMETHING THAT IN ALL FRANKNESS, YOU DON'T EXPECT
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES TO SHOWCASE THEIR IPHONES ANYWAY
IN THE PUBLIC. THIS IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T DO
FOR YEARS, BUT I THINK THE BIGGER ISSUE WITH THAT RIGHT NOW IS H
WAWEI HAS A NEW PHONE THAT IS REALLY DOING WELL IN CHINA
RIGHT NOW. BUT I THINK IPHONE REALLY IS ON
THE BACK FOOT AT THIS POINT. WHEN THEY REPORT RESULTS OVER
THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE THE
SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ASKED.
WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN CHINA AND HOW SHOULD BE
EXPECTED, BECAUSE IT IS THE BIGGEST GROWTH MARKET FOR APPLE
IN TERMS OF PHONES. ED:
APPLE IS UP 50% YEAR-TO-DATE. IT FELT 26% IN 2022.
WHAT IS THE STORY GOING TO BE FOR APPLE IN 2024? >> AS FAR AS THREE, THE GROWTH
PROSPECTS ARE PRETTY TEPID AT THIS POINT.
GROWTH RATE OF 3, 4, 5% IS NOTHING TO REALLY WRITE HOME
ABOUT ONE OF THE REASONS PEOPLE LOOK AT APPLE IS BECAUSE OF ITS
QUALITY AND WITH INTEREST RATES GOING DOWN THAT HAS HELPED SOME
OF THE LARGER TECH NAMES. BUT FUNDAMENTALLY I THINK APPLE
STILL NEEDS TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF WORK TO SHOWCASE THAT THEY
CAN GET BACK TO THAT HIGH SINGLE DIGIT, LOW DOUBLE-DIGIT
GROWTH RATE BUT WE DON'T THINK THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT
YEAR. NEXT 12 MONTHS IS GOING TO BE
TOUGH FOR THEM. CAROLINE: THERE'S BEEN A SLIGHT PIVOT
FROM A SUPPLY PERSPECTIVE LOOKING TOWARD INDIA AS A
DEMAND-DRIVER AS WELL. IS THAT GOING TO BE SOME SORT
OF A LINING, THE PULLBACK OF CHINA OR THE MORE DIFFICULT
OUTLOOK FOR 2024? >> IN THE LONG-TERM, INDIA IS A
VERY BIG GROWTH MARKET FOR THEM, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO PLAY INTO THE 3-5
YEARS RANGE. CHINA REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT THINGS BECAUSE THEY CHASING POWER OF CONSUMERS IN
CHINA STILL IS A LOT MORE THAN IN INDIA.
IN INDIA IF YOU LOOK AT THE SMARTPHONE MARKET, APPLE
DOESN'T EVEN QUALIFY FOR 95% OF THE UNIT SHIPMENTS BECAUSE THEY
ARE BELOW $300. APPLE DOESN'T PLAY IN THAT
MARKET. WHILE THE POPULATION SIZE IS
VERY ATTRACTIVE AND VERY ADVERTISING, THE SMARTPHONE
GROWTH IS NOT THERE JUST FROM UNITS AT THIS POINT. ED: RIGHT. GREAT TO GET YOUR ANALYSIS ON A
LIVE APPLE LOSE. COMING UP HERE ON THE PROGRAM,
NVIDIA STAFF IS WARNING THE CHIP-MAKER'S CEO ON THE THREATS
AI WOULD POSE TO MINORITIES. WE WILL BRING YOU SOME
EXCLUSIVE BLOOMBERG REPORTING COMING UP NEXT. CAROLINE:
ANOTHER STORY YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING WHEN IT COMES TO THE
EUROPEAN UNION, TAKING ITS FIRST FORMALSTATUS AGAINST ELON
MUSK'S X OVER ALLEGEDLY BREAKING RULES ON HOW TO HANDLE
ILLEGAL CONTENT AND DISINFORMATION.
IT IS THE FIRST SUCH PROBE SINCE THE BLOCK WHEN THEY
BROUGHT IN THAT DIGITAL SERVICES ACT THAT CAME TO
FOURTH THIS YEAR. MEANWHILE WE ARE GOING TO KEEP
AN EYE ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH SHARES OF NETFLIX.
CONTINUING OUT, 2.8%. THE COMPANY SEEKING TO TURN ITS
BIGGEST HITS INTO FRANCHISES. ATTRACTING TENS OF MILLIONS
WITH ORIGINALS LIKE HOUSE OF CARDS, STRANGER THINGS AND NOW
STARTING TO RESEMBLE A MORE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO FIVE.
MAKING A LOT MORE SEQUELS AND PREQUELS, REBOOT.
IT IS ALL ABOUT EXISTING IP AND IT IS HELPING THE MENTALITY. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ♪ CAROLINE: LET'SCAROLINE:
TURN OUR ATTENTION TO NVIDIA NOW. THE THREAT THAT AI POSES TO
MINORITIES. THIS IS HIGHLIGHTED BY TWO
FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO WARN THE CEO OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
THUS FAR, NVIDIA HAS DECLINED TO COMMENT ON THE SPECIFICS OF
THE MEETING THE COMPANY SAID IT COULD CONTINUE TO DEVOTE
TREMENDOUS RESOURCES TO ENSURING THAT AI BENEFITS
EVERYONE. LET'S GET TO THE REPORTER
BEHIND THIS INCREDIBLE PIECE. IT GOES BACK SEVERAL YEARS
BETWEEN MEETING THAT THEY HAD WITH THE CEO OF NVIDIA AND
THESE TWO EMPLOYEES BASICALLY WALKED OUT SAYING THAT THEY
WERE NOT HEARD. >> CORRECT. THEY WERE BOTH PRESIDENTS OF
THE BLACK EMPLOYEES GROUP, BUT THEY WORKED WITH EXECUTIVES AND
PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COMPANY TO PUT TOGETHER A PRESENTATION
FOR THE CEO OF NVIDIA ABOUT THE RISKS AI CAN POSE, HOW CAN WE
MAKE AI SAFE, AND THE GENERAL TOPIC OF AI ETHICS.
THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMPANY WHICH THEY CLAIM IS
GOING TO BE A MAJOR AI SUPERPOWER IN THE FUTURE SHOULD
DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, HAVE GUARDRAILS, HAVE PROCESSES AND
FRAMEWORKS THAT MAKE SURE AI IS SAFE. AND THEY WALKED OUT OF THE
MEETING NOT FEELING HEARD, AND THEY QUIT SHORTLY AFTER. ED: NOT JUST THE NOT FEELING HEARD
OR BASICALLY ANY INACTION FROM NVIDIA FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW
WITH THE IDEA THAT THE PEOPLE BUILDING THE TECHNOLOGY, IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS DIVERSITY WITHIN IT. AND IT DUG DOWN INTO NVIDIA'S
WORKFORCE, ESSENTIALLY, IT'S HIRING RELATIVE TO SOME OF ITS
PEERS. WHAT DID YOU FIND AND WHY IS
THAT IMPORTANT? >> THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH
THAT SAYS PARTICULARLY FOR AI BUT TECHNOLOGY AS A WHOLE THAT IS AN INDUSTRY, IT HAS SUCH FEW
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES THAT IT IS LIKELY BLIND SPOTS
WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING THESE TOOLS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY. WHEN I LOOKED INTO THE
DIVERSITY NUMBERS, THEY WERE IN THE BOTTOM TO FOR
UNDERREPRESENTED -- UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES,
BLACK, HISPANIC, MIXED RACE PEOPLE. IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE RESEARCH SAYS THAT IF YOU DON'T
HAVE THESE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS AS WERE BUILDING
PRODUCTS, YOU ARE LIKELY TO MISS BLIND SPOTS. ED:
WE READ NVIDIA'S STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE STORY AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SEGMENT, BUT WHAT IS THE NET RESULT OF THIS
REPORTING? WHAT KIND OF ACTION ARE THEY
TAKING IN HIS ANYTHING IMPROVE? >> THE MEETING HAPPENED A WHILE
AGO. NVIDIA CLAIMS IT HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN
THINKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE, AND THEY'VE HIRED NIKKI POPE TO RUN
THEIR TRUSTWORTHY AI DIVISION. THEY'VE MADE SURE THAT THE DATA
SETS THAT THE MODELS ARE TRAINED ON ARE NOT BIASED, AND
THEY'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO MAKING SURE THE MODELS ARE
TRANSPARENT. THEY HAVE RAISED GUARDRAILS
WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP CHATBOTS SAFE AND ON TOPIC AND
APPROPRIATE. SO THEY CLAIM TO HAVE DONE A
LOT OF WORK SINCE THAT MEETING AND SINCE THAT TIME TO MAKE
SURE THAT AI IS SAFE. CAROLINE: IT IS WORTH REMINDING PEOPLE
THAT THESE TWO EMPLOYEES WHEN THEY FIRST WENT TO THE CEO, IT
WAS BACK IN 2020. A LOT HAS CHANGED AMONG
CORPORATE AMERICA SINCE THE TRAGIC DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD AS
WELL. I'M INTERESTED ULTIMATELY IN
THE REAL PART OF AI THEY SEEM TO BE WORRIED ABOUT, FACIAL
RECOGNITION, CORRECT? >> THAT IS ONE OF THE BIG
PIECES. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT THEY RAISED DURING THAT MEETING.
THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT SAYS ALREADY THAT FACIAL
RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES IN GENERAL DON'T IDENTIFY PEOPLE
OF COLOR QUITE WELL. SO THIS WAS JUST GENERALLY
RAISED IF THAT IS GOING TO BE POWERING SELF DRIVING CARS,
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN? WHAT IF THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE
PEOPLE WITH DARKER SKIN OR DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE IN
GENERAL? ED: JUST REALLY IMPORTANT AND DEEP
REPORTING ON NVIDIA, A COMPANY THAT EVERYONE HAS BECOME SO
OBSESSED WITH THE 2023. COMING UP WE WILL CONTINUE THE
DISCUSSION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TURN TO
COMPANY ADOPTION OF GENERATIVE AI. WE DISCUSSED WITH AMAZON WEB
SERVICES' VICE PRESIDENT. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ♪ ED: WELCOME BACK TO
"BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO.
CAROLINE: CAROLINE HYDE IN NEW YORK. MANAGING TO HOLD FIRM AND THE
NASDAQ, STOCKSTILL STILL MANAGING POWER ON HIGHER.
STILL THE MOON MUSIC IS POSITIVE AND EQUITIES EVEN
THOUGH IN THE BOND MARKET WE ARE SELLING OFF A LITTLE BIT
WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE CAUTION COMING FROM SOME OF THE STEAD
VOICES. WE LOOK TO THE DOJ WHETHER OR
NOT THEY WILL BE CAMPING UP SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT
CENTRAL-BANK POLICIES. U.S.
10 YEAR YIELD CURRENTLY UP, SO FOUR BASIS POINTS.
BITCOIN SELLING OFF AFTER WHAT HAS BEEN A RAPID RUNOFF IN
RECENT MONTHS. INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES ON THE
MOVE. THERE IS SO MUCH WINDING AND
UNWINDING OF M&A, IT IS EXTRAORDINARY TODAY. THESE ARE THE ADRS TRADED HERE
OF WHAT IS A EUROPEAN TELECOM JUGGERNAUT LOOKING TO TIE UP IS
ITALIAN UNIT WITH THAT OF ILIAD IN FRANCE AS WELL.
KEEP IN MIND THAT PARTICULAR COMING TOGETHER AND ITALIAN
COORDINATION. SOUTH KOREAN E-COMMERCE COMPANY
LOOKING TO BASICALLY SAVE A DOWN AND OUT U.K. ONE.
IT WAS ONE OF THE PINUPS OF THE U.K.
SPACE FIVE YEARS AGO AND DID INCREDIBLY WELL DURING COVID
AND THEN DIDN'T MANAGE TO MAKE THE JUMP.
SEEMS AS THOUGH THOSE THAT ARE HOLDERS ARE GOING TO BE WIPED
OUT BY THIS PARTICULAR DEAL. $500 MILLION OF BRIDGE LOANS
BASICALLY TEAMING UP WITH ANOTHER COMPANY TO BE ABLE TO
BUY THIS COMPANY OUT OF ADMINISTRATION.
LUMINA, 1.8% HIGHER. THIS IS AS THEY ARE FORTH TO
DIVEST, A CANCER TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THAT IT BOUGHT.
ONCE AGAIN, U.S. REALLY FEELING THAT THEY HAVE
TO NOT GO FORWARD WITH THIS PARTICULAR BIT OF M&A EVEN THEY
THEY FALL HARD IN THE DIVESTING OF THAT PARTICULAR ASSET. ED:
LET'S GET A DEEP DIVE NOW ON GENERATIVE AI AND WHAT IS
ACTUALLY HAPPENED SO FAR. DURING HIS NOW AS AMAZON WEB
SERVICES VICE PRESIDENT. GREAT AUNTIE BACK ON THE
PROGRAM. WHAT I WANT TO GET INTO HIS
DETAIL. I TALKED A LOT THIS YEAR ABOUT
AMAZON, AWS, BEDROCK. NOW THAT THE YEAR IS COMING TO
A CLOSE, WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT MOST CUSTOMERS HAVE COME
TO YOU AND ASKED FOR? >> CUSTOMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD
COME AS YOU KNOW, ARE LOOKING TO DEPLOY GENERATIVE AI AND
SCALE, BUT THEY WANT TO DO IT RESPONSIBLY, SAFELY.
AND SO THAT REALLY COMES DOWN TO DATA.
WHAT IS THE DATA DRIVING THE BUSINESS TODAY, AND HOW CAN WE
PUT THAT DATA TO WORK, AS WELL AS HOW CAN YOU DO IT SECURELY,
RESPONSIBLY BY DEFAULT. AND THAT IS JUST TOP OF MIND
FOR CEOS ALL OVER THE WORLD NO MATTER WHAT INDUSTRY THEY ARE
IN. ED: BUT IS THAT THEM SPECIFICALLY
SAYING WE WANT THESE BEDROCK BECAUSE WE CAN ACCESS ALL KINDS
OF THIRD-PARTY MODELS, OR BECAUSE IT IS A PLACE THEY CAN
BUILD THEIR OWN? >> I THINK THE FIRST REASON WHY
CUSTOMERS COME TO AMAZON BEDROCK IS ABOUT CHOICE.
THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ONE MODEL THAT EVERY SINGLE
CUSTOMER IS GOING TO USE. IN FACT, WHAT WE ARE SEEING
CUSTOMERS DOING TODAY IS ACTUALLY USING A LOT OF
DIFFERENT MODELS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. GENERATIVE PHIL IS ENORMOUSLY
POPULAR WITH CREEDS, ACTUALLY THE MOST-USED FEATURE OF
PHOTOSHOP. IN FACT IT HAS BEEN ADOPTED 10
TIMES FASTER THAN ANY OTHER FEATURE IN PHOTOSHOP HISTORY
AND ADOBE DEALT THAT ON AWS USING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT
MODELS, MARSHLAND MODELS AND FOUNDATION MODELS, ONE OF WHICH
THEY WROTE THEMSELVES. SO WHEN CUSTOMERS USE AMAZON
BEDROCK, THEY ARE COMING TO IMPOUND IRAN FOR CHOICE.
THE ABILITY TO USE THE LATEST LARGE FOUNDATION MODELS, ONE THAT WE HAD JUST RECENTLY, AND
BEING ABLE TO TAKE THOSE FLEETING MODELS AND USE THE
TOOLING AND AMAZON BEDROCK TO DEPLOY GENERATIVE AI
APPLICATIONS REALLY QUICKLY AND SECURELY ON, AS YOU SAY, THEIR
OWN CUSTOM DATA. DATA SETS THAT ARE AT WORK
TODAY. CAROLINE: HOW PRICE-SENSITIVE ARE THESE
CUSTOMERS? BECAUSE WE ENTERED THIS PERIOD
OF AI EXUBERANCE AND A TIME OF ECONOMIC REALITIES OR COMPANIES
NEED TO CUT COSTS IN MANY WAYS. >> I THINK COST IS ALWAYS GOING
TO BE FRONT AND CENTER OF ANY LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT AND THAT
IS WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE THE TRYING TO DO WITH GENERATIVE AI.
THEY ARE TRYING TO USE GENERATIVE AI NOT JUST TO
TRANSFORM THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES.
FOR EXAMPLE, INTUIT WHICH HAS OVER 100 MILLION SMALL BUSINESS
AND CONSUMER CUSTOMERS TODAY BAWLED OUT SOMETHING CALLED
ASSIST IN ALL OF THEIR PORTFOLIOS.
IF YOU ARE USING QUICKBOOKS YOU CAN USE ASSIST. IF YOU ARE
TURNING YOUR MIND TO TAXES RAFTER THE HOLIDAY SEASON, YOU
CAN USE ASSIST. AND WHEN YOU HAVE CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO
TRANSFORM THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES OR USE IT TO
IMPROVE THEIR INTERNAL PRODUCTIVITY, THEY ARE GOING TO
THINK ABOUT COST. I THINK THAT IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WHEN
WE BUILD OUR GENERATIVE AI CAPABILITIES, WE ARE ALSO
BUILDING ALL OF OUR THREE LAYERS, THE FOUNDATIONAL LAYER,
THE MIDDLE LAYER WHICH WE CALL AMAZON BEDROCK, AND WE ARE
BUILDING CAPABILITIES CALLED CAPACITY BLOCKS.
AND THESE CAPACITY BLOCKS WORK MUCH THE WAY THAT YOU RESERVE A
HOTEL ROOM OF DIFFERENT BEDS, EXCEPT WITH THESE CAPACITY
BLOCKS, YOU ARE RESERVING GPUS. HUNDREDS OF GPUS FOR WHEN YOU
NEED IT, IN THE FUTURE, AND THEN ONCE YOU ARE DONE USING
IT, YOU CAN GIVE THEM BACK BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SAVE ON
COST. CAROLINE: I KNOW YOU'RE A THOUGHTFUL
PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO ULTIMATELY HUMANITY AT THE SAME
TIME AS WORKING WITHIN TECHNOLOGY.
YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO THINKS A LOT ABOUT AMAZON, WOMEN WITHIN
TECHNOLOGY. I'M SURE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT
THE IMPLICATIONS MORE BROADLY. TO THAT END, HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT INDEED PUTTING A FEW OUT OF JOBS?
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU TALK ABOUT A WITHIN THE BUSINESS? >> FOR ME, PERSONALLY, I'M VERY
EXCITED ABOUT GENERATIVE AI BECAUSE FOR ME, IT LEVELS THE
PLAYING FIELD FOR DATA LITERACY. IT BRINGS EVERYBODY, AS IT
WERE, TO THE TABLE. TODAY IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT,
THE WAY WE MAKE SENSE OF OUR WORLD IS OFTEN WITH NUMBERS,
AND WE USE SPREADSHEET AND WE USE DATA QUERIES, BUT THERE'S A
LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO DON'T HAVE EXPOSURE TO THOSE
TECHNOLOGIES EARLY ON, AND WITH GENERATIVE AI, YOU CAN TAKE A
QUERYING TURN IT INTO A SPOKEN QUESTION. A SPOKEN CONVERSATION.
FOR ME, I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF GENERATIVE AI
UNLEASHING THE HUMAN POTENTIAL THAT IS EVERYWHERE AND MAKING
THE NATIVE INTELLIGENCE OF PEOPLE AND UNLOCKING THAT
FRANKLY WITH DATA USING GENERATIVE AI.
IN ORDER TO DO THIS AT SCALE, WE HAVE BEEN DOING AWS CLOUD
SERVICES NOW FOR JUST ABOUT 18 YEARS. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO IT
RESPONSIBLY, ANYWAY WHERE ONE OF THE TOP THREE DATA
CHALLENGES THAT I HEAR FROM CUSTOMERS WHEN I TALK TO THEM
IS HOW CAN I BE MY OWN BEST AUDITOR TODAY?
THIS IS A MAJOR INITIATIVE RIGHT NOW.
THE WORLD OF REGULATION HAS NOT YET ARRIVED AT GENERATIVE AI,
BUT YOU KNOW IT WILL. SO WHAT WE DO IS WE TRY TO
THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BUILD THAT CAPABILITY INTO OUR AWS
MANAGED AI SOLUTIONS LIKE AMAZON BEDROCK BY DEFAULT?
IF YOU'RE ARE USING AMAZON BEDROCK, AS OVER 10,000
CUSTOMERS ARE, YOU ARE ABLE TO GET AN AUDIT TRAIL FOR NOT JUST
YOUR USER INTERACTIONS WITH THE MODEL, BUT ALSO HOW IS THE
MODEL MAKING DECISIONS? MATT AUDIT TRAIL IS LOGIN
AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE FOR ANY TAPE OF COMPLAINTS YOU NEED AND
IT IS USING THE SAME SERVICES THAT CUSTOMERS USE USE AWS
CLOUD TRAIL FOR AUDIT LOGGING, AND THEY USE IT FOR THEIR OWN
COMPLIANCE. THAT IS THE DEFAULT INTO AMAZON
BEDROCK AND WE KNOW THE WORLD MUST BE RESPONSIBLE, BUT
CAROLINE, IT IS ONE THING TO WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE, AND
ANOTHER THING TO BE RESPONSIBLE ONE OR TWICE, BUT IT IS A THIRD
THING, IT IS NEXT LEVEL TO BE RESPONSIBLE BY DEFAULT, TO
REMAIN RESPONSIBLE IN AN AUTOMATED WAY.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE BUILDING INTO OUR AI SERVICES. ED:
LAST MONTH ADAM JOY TO BE ON THE PROGRAM TO TALK ABOUT NEXT
IN TRAINING, BUT THE DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH NVIDIA.
IN THE THREE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED, CAN YOU GIVE US ANY
GRANULAR DETAIL ON HOW SELECTIVE CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN
AND HOW DEEPLY THEY THINK ABOUT WHICH SILICON THEIR WORKLOADS
ARE BEING TRAINED ON. >> WELL, FUNDAMENTALLY
CUSTOMERS WANT CHOICE. FOR US, WE'VE HAD OVER 13 YEARS
OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH NVIDIA WHICH IS GOING TO CONTINUE INTO
THE NEXT YEAR. WE'VE ANNOUNCED HOW THE NVIDIA
SUPERJET IS GOING TO BE OFFERED TO AWS, IT'S GOING TO BE
INTEGRATED WITH SECURITY AND VIRTUALIZATION SYSTEM, BUT
CUSTOMERS ARE ABOUT CHOICE. WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING OUR OWN
CUSTOM SILICA NOW SINCE 2018. WE HAVE FOUR GENERATIONS OF
CHIPS, TWO GENERATIONS OF MACHINE LEARNING CHIPS AS WELL.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO GIVE CUSTOMERS WHATEVER CHOICE THEY
WANT, WHETHER IT IS USING OUR PARTNERSHIP THAT WE CAN WITH
NVIDIA FOR THEIR CHOICES OR TO USE CUSTOM SILICONE WHICH WE
THINK IS THE BEST PRICE FOR PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS THE
RIGHT ENERGY SAVINGS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY THAT WE KNOW THE
WORLD WANTS AS WELL. CAROLINE: JUST AT THE FOREFRONT OF
EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THROUGHOUT 2023.
IT IS A JOY TO CATCH UP WITH YOU. MEANWHILE COMING UP, WE ARE
GOING TO BE CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSING
SOME OF THE ETHICAL INDICATIONS, THE ETHICAL
CONCERNS FOR TECHNOLOGY. ALEX HANNA IS GOING TO BE
JOINING THE SHOW. THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ♪ ED: EARLIER IN THE PROGRAM WE
DISCUSSED CONCERNS REGARDING AI'S IMPACT ON MINORITIES AND
MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND WE CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION WITH
ALEX HANNAH, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH IN THE DISTRIBUTED AI
RESEARCH INSTITUTE. THE WAY IN WHICH THE DATA'S
EXACERBATE RACIAL, GENDER, AND CLASS INEQUALITY.
THAT BLOOMBERG REPORT LOOKED AT NVIDIA AND ONE ELEMENT OF THAT
WAS AN ANALYSIS OF NVIDIA'S WORKFORCE, 7.8% OF THE
WORKFORCE BEING BLACK, HISPANIC, OR OTHER RACES AS A
PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL WORKFORCE, RANKING THEM VERY
LOW. NVIDIA THIS YEAR, BASICALLY THE
COMPUTER BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT DATA ANALYSIS THAT BLOOMBERG PUT
TOGETHER? >> THAT WAS A FAST-MOVING STORY
IN SOMETHING THAT IS PREVALENT WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY
IN COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING WORK IN AI.
GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META. ALL THE BIG TECH FIRMS FOCUSING
ON AI DEVELOPMENT. THERE'S A COMPLETE EPIDEMIC OF
JUST THE INABILITY TO REALLY HIRE AND RETAIN BLACK, LATINX
10 MINORITY TALENT, AND THAT HAS BIG REPERCUSSIONS FOR THE
WAY THAT THESE THINGS ARE DEVELOPED.
AS THE STORY THAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER MENTIONED, THERE ARE
HUGE PROBLEMS AND DISPARITIES ON FACIAL RECOGNITION
TECHNOLOGIES BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE VOICE RECOGNITION
TECHNOLOGIES. HOW PARTICULAR MINORITIES ARE
REPRESENTED WHEN YOU ASK GENERATIVE AI PARTICULAR THINGS.
THE TEXT TO IMAGE GENERATION. THEY ARE REALLY THROUGHOUT THE
TECHNOLOGY, SO THAT LACK OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE IS
REFLECTED INTO HOW THESE MODELS ACTUALLY ARE USED AND WHAT THEY
PRODUCE. ED: ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I POSED
WAS WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THIS REPORTING?
ONE OF THE ANSWERS WAS TO DE-BIAS SOME OF THE MODELS THAT
THEY'VE WORKED ON. DOES THAT WORK?
IF THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN TRAINED AND ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN,
TO GO BACK, HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT AS A SORT OF FIXED? >> THERE IS NO ACTUAL WAY TO
COMPLETELY DE-BIAS A MODEL. PEOPLE CONTEST FOR IT AND THERE
ARE METHODS FOR AUDITING, FOR ENSURING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE
CATASTROPHIC RESULTS, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE BIASES.
FOR INSTANCE, MORE RECENTLY THERE WERE SOME BIASES REVEALED
IN CHATGPT AND IN META'S AI WERE THERE WERE BIASES AGAINST
PALESTINIANS WHERE THE JOURNALIST FOR THE GUARDIAN
ASKED DO PALESTINIANS DESERVE FREEDOM AND IT SAID IT’'S
COMPLICATED. WHEN ASKING TO ISRAELIS DESERVE
FREEDOM, IT SAYS YES, EVERYBODY DESERVES FREEDOM.
THESE BIASES CAN HAVE ABOUT TESTING BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS
GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS DOWN THE LINE. CAROLINE:
I'M INTERESTED THAT WE WERE JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION
REALLY SAYING FROM HER PERSPECTIVE THAT HER CLIENTS
ARE TRYING TO THINK AHEAD OF REGULATION, TRYING TO THINK
ABOUT COMPLIANCE, GOVERNANCE, AUDITING.
AND YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH YOU CAN REALLY
STRESS TEST SOME OF THE UNDERLYING FOUNDATIONAL MODELS
AND THEIR APPLICATION. ARE YOU FINDING THAT CORPORATE
AMERICA CARES ENOUGH ABOUT THIS? >> IT IS REALLY HARD TO SAY
BECAUSE THE WAY THAT CORPORATE AMERICA FOCUSES ON IT, THEY
TEND TO REALLY NOT RELEASE WHAT THE RESULT OF THE STRESS TESTS
ARE. THE KIND OF TRANSPARENCY THAT
WE HAVE INTO DATA, INTO THE AUDITING THAT WE ARE DOING IS
PRETTY MUCH A BLACK BOX. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY
GOING ON BEHIND THE CURTAIN. WE'VE SEEN REPORTS THAT
MICROSOFT AND DIFFERENT HUGE COMPANIES HAVE DISSIPATED THE
RESPONSIBLE AI TEAMS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TURNING AROUND
TO SAY THEY HAVE A COMMITMENT AI ETHICS.
AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF TRANSPARENCY INTO WHAT IS
HAPPENING AT THOSE COMPANIES, IT IS HARD FOR OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER TYPES OF AUDITORS
, THERE IS NO WAY TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH
ANY KIND OF TRANSPARENT WAY. SO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY
DOESN'T HAVE THE VISIBILITY. EXTERNAL AUDITORS DON'T HAVE
THE VISIBILITY. SO IT IS REALLY HARD TO SEE IF
WE CAN TAKE THEM AT THEIR WORD. CAROLINE:
THE QUESTION KEEPS ON BEING ONE WE WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS IN THE
2024. CRAIG MAMMY BACK ON THE SHOW. MEANWHILE COMING UP, WE ARE
GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT AI AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH THE
APPLICATION TO SPORTS. HOW WE ARE CONSUMING CONTENT. ♪ CAROLINE: BLUESTONE EQUITY
PARTNERS. YOU KNOW IT FOR ITS LATEST
INVESTMENT, DELIVERING GROWTH IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS,
ENTERTAINMENT, HOW WE CONSUME IT. HERE TO TALK US THROUGH IT, THE
FOUNDING AND MANAGING PARTNER AT BLUESTONE EQUITY PARTNERS.
YOU'VE GOT PLENTY OF EXPERTISE HAVING HELPED STEER THE GROWTH
AND FORTUNES OF PLENTY OF SPORTS, OUTLOOK AND DEVELOP THE
WORLDS OF CRICKET, BASKETBALL, AND MANY OTHERS.
HOW ARE THEY GOING TO BE MAKING OUR CONCEPTION OF IT TOTALLY
DIFFERENT? >> VIDEOVERSE IS THE COMPANY
FOUNDED IN INDIA AND BASED IN THE U.S. IN CALIFORNIA.
THE FLAGSHIP PRODUCT IS CALLED MAGNIFY AND WHAT IT DOES IS IT
LEVERAGES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, COMPUTER VISION
AND MACHINE LEARNING TO AUTOMATE IN REAL-TIME THE
DEVELOPMENT OF -- I SHOULD SAY THE CURE RATION OF SHORT FORM
CONTENT AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM CONTENT LIKE SPORTS AND EVEN
NEWS. CAROLINE: I CAN SEE THE APPLICATION FOR A
PARTICULAR INDUSTRY, THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED TO BE PUTTING
ALONG FOUR CONVERSATIONS, FINDING THE MOST THE BID.
-- PITHY BIT. WHERE IS THE CLIENT ENGAGEMENT? >> VIDEOVERSE WORKS WITH
CLIENTS SUCH AS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, THE INDIAN PREMIER
LEAGUE, THE MASSIVE SUCCESS STORY THAT MY COLLEAGUES WHERE
I SPENT FOUR YEARS BUILDING SPECIAL SPORTS LEAGUES AROUND
THE WORLD. THEY WORK WITH WIMBLEDON, THE
U.S. OPEN, THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, EVEN
NCAA BASKETBALL AND ATHLETIC CONFERENCES.
BUT THEY DO IS ESSENTIALLY BRING DOWN THE COST BASIS FOR
SOMETHING THAT HISTORICALLY WIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF
HUMAN TIME AND LABOR AND SOMETHING THAT REQUIRED
OTHERWISE EXPENSIVE DATA FEEDS. SO THEY ARE ABLE TO
COST-EFFECTIVELY AND TIME-EFFICIENTLY PUT OUT
HIGHLIGHT IN REAL-TIME SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT ALSO GIVES THE ABILITY TO SEARCH CONTENT, VIDEO TEST
CONTENT PROJECT, IMAGES, PLAYS, SOUNDS, ACTIONS.
THERE IS A WHOLE HOST OF VIDEO EDITING FUNCTIONS THAT ARE
OTHERWISE TIME AND COST-INEFFICIENT AT THIS TIME
THAT AN APPLIED AI TECHNOLOGY LIKE THIS IS GOING DOWN SOLVE.
ED: THERE IS NO GREATER AGONY WHEN
YOU ARE A SPORTS FAN THEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT WATCHING A GAME IN
SOMEWHERE, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE, MAYBE YOUR
MOTHER-IN-LAW'S OR ANCHORING A SHOW, AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAS
HAPPENED BUT YOU CAN'T SEE THE HIGHLIGHT.
HERE'S MY QUESTION FOR YOU. DOES THE PLATFORM CHOOSE WHAT
IS IMPORTANT IN THE HIGHLIGHT OR IS IT STILL A HUMAN SAYING
THIS IS IMPORTANT, BUT THE PROCESS OF ETIQUETTE IS
AUTOMATED? >> I THINK THAT IS THE BIGGEST
DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN VIDEOVERSE AND MAGNIFY AND ITS
NEAREST COMPETITOR. THERE IS A HUMAN ELEMENT
INVOLVED AND OTHER CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY THAT THIS SORT OF
EVENT. IT IS FULLY AUTOMATED AND THROUGH THE MACHINE LEARNING
THAT TECHNOLOGY COULD DRIVE THE AUTOMATED CURE RATION AND
DIFFUSION OTHERS HIGHLIGHT SO INSTEAD OF WAITING MINUTES OR
HOURS, IT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN SECONDS. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE JOY THAT
CAN BRING NOT JUST TO YOU, BUT GENERATIONALLY, JUST
INCREASINGLY BECOMING A LARGER AND LARGER SEGMENT OF THE
ACTUAL AUDIENCE IN A WAY FOR SPORTS PROPERTIES TO STAY
RELEVANT AS THEIR TRADITIONAL FAN BASES ARE STARTING TO AGE.
THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CONSUME A LOT OF SPORTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT. THIS IS IMPORTANT AS A MATTER
OF FAN ENGAGEMENT AS MUCH AS IT IS TO INFORM YOU ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED AND IN SOME CASES, CREATING FANS AND MONETIXING
DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE. CAROLINE:
CURRENT INVESTMENT COMING UP AT THREE AND MILLION DOLLARS FUND.
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MEANWHILE, I'M SURE YOU WANT
TRYING TO INSINUATE THAT YOUR WIFE AND YOUR MOTHER WERE NOT
WATCHING YOU. CAROLINE: THAT IS A POOR EXAMPLE ED: ED:
THAT THIS OF ALL WEEKS I WILL LIVE TO REGRET.
THANKS FOR LISTENING.
