Kozminski Techblog

Everyone remembers when the most money to be made from computers was via software development. Big tech giants like Microsoft , IBM and Apple competed with the operating systems they made. Apple provided major competition to IBM through their professional yet simple operating systems and home computers. But now times are changing . As we go from the era of Data Analysis to Machine Learning , there is a new frontier to be conquered for these tech giants. And it’s known as the videogame industry.

Microsoft recently bought Activision-Blizzard for US$70 billion dollars. This comes as Activision-Blizzard was struggling with internal conflict in the form of sexual harassment lawsuits and investigations. You could say that Microsoft got a cheap and nice deal considering how much money Activision-Blizzard was making from it’s hit game , Warzone. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic , the game saw immense growth in the years 2020 and 2021. Reportedly in April of 2021 , it made up to USD5.2 Million per day. That’s an insane evaluation for just a video game.

This plays further into Microsoft’s push to merge with the Metaverse to create an interactive environment. This push would also allow Microsoft to begin it’s monopolization of the console market with Xbox Game Pass already putting Sony under pressure. Now with Microsoft buying the creators of Call of Duty , Sony is under pressure to negotiate with Microsoft to ensure the next COD still finds its way to their consoles.

But what does this mean for the gaming industry ? We’re looking at more aggressive acquisitions by bigger tech companies to integrate themselves more into the gaming industry. Hopefully these will deter Microsoft from completely dominating the console market. It already holds major market share with the Netflix of games, also known as the Xbox Game Pass. Not to mention since many tech giants already know of the benefit gaming will bring when it gets integrated into the Metaverse which many believe to be the future of the internet.


Sources :
https://www.ft.com/content/2d446160-08cb-489f-90c8-853b3d88780d
https://dotesports.com/call-of-duty/news/call-of-duty-warzone-reportedly-makes-5-2-million-in-revenue-per-day

In 2019 , American military at an Iraqi base underwent a strenuous time because their equipment had detected an enemy drone coming over their based with lethal intentions.

The military scrambled their counter drone missiles to meet this threat face on. This missile would circle the target twice missing to hit it and then detonated mid-air to prevent a ground explosion.

On closer examining , the troops found that the drone that was meant to attack them was not some state-of-art killer drone . But it was merely a simple balloon.

This was one of many first types of aerial warfare that have become prominent of Iraq and it is a cause of concern. Terrorist forces now , for once , have the upper hand on the US Military with their low cost drones.

These drones can be made for as cheap as $1000 and have equally devastating impact as the US ones. They are the new IEDs that American military have had to face in Afghanistan and Iraq. They also seem to have little to no counter-play which is a cause of concern.

The very use of these indicates a shift in the paradigm where more and more rogue armies are beginning to utilize these to wage cost-effective warfare against their better funded counterparts. It also encourages in increase in research being dedicated to make autonomous warfare devices ,smaller, faster and cheaper to manufacture.

Autonomous warfare already raises many questions and many a researcher have pointed out it’s fallacies. It’s fallacies include

1. Immoral – these devices use AI for target recognition which is a dangerous thing because AI has not been fully developed to it’s extent and is capable of making mistakes. Moreover in the words of UN Secretary General António Guterres “machines with the power and discretion to take lives without human involvement are politically unacceptable, morally repugnant and should be prohibited by international law.”
2. Threat to Security – the more and more these algorithms are developed the faster the technology behind them improves. As more and more money is being pumped into the research of these technologies it sends out waves to other armies that autonomous warfare is the future and very soon many countries will openly use these pieces of technology to violate morality across the globe. Even worse as the production of these becomes more widespread, they will make their way into the black markets into the waiting hands of organizations wanting to cause chaos , topple governments etc.

So what can we do about this ?

The international committee of the red cross is actively campaigning to implement some regulations to make the process safer for all parties involved. They include the following :

1. No human targets
2. Restrict unpredictability
3. Human Control

The ones that are stated above should make a world of difference if implement correctly. Hopefully the governments of the world are still human enough to recognize the major threat we face and the results of what could be a dystopian future.

Sources :

https://www.ft.com/content/4249f167-2ac7-43ad-8069-6798b097ddda

Recently , the United Kingdom opened the doors to it’s first gaming addiction center after the pandemic. A rather controversial topic that has been discussed by both specialists and experts. Most studies indicated that while it is not that widespread, 10% of gamers do engage in video games in a manner that is similar to that of an addict. These gamers can as a result can suffer mentally, socially and behaviorally.

The National Centre for Gaming Disorders is run by the National Health Service in Central and North West London . When it finally opened its doors post lockdown , it was swamped by referrals from schools, GPs and parents requesting treatment, an unprecedented response.

Almost 90% of those seeking treatment were male and nearly 70% of them were male. This comes months after the WHO classified “gaming disorder” as a mental health condition to much controversy.

The director of the centre mentioned that the workforce of the centre would have to be nearly tripled to meet demands which are expected to increase later next year.

“Quite a few children were reporting suicidal thoughts and self-harm,” Bowden-Jones said.

For quite a few patients , videogames represent their only form of social interaction which would indicated why it is so tough to make them stop playing the game.

Many patients also mentioned it helped with isolation and 30% of them said that it made them feel happier. This has also been amplified due to the pandemic and increased social isolation due to it.

So what does this translate to for the E-economy that has seen a massive surge in the past year of lockdown ?

Games like Fortnite and Call of Duty are minting money like crazy with Fortnite reporting more than $1.2 billion in player spending in the year 2020 alone as well as 31 million downloads.

This has been further boosted by most games that dominate the market switching over to a battle pass based level progression system. Which makes these games free to play but offers users the chance of charcter customization for as cheap as $10. They then unlock these battle passes to level them up and unlock more items. Which makes it more effective since it effectively acts as a dopamine-based feedback loop.

The more you play , the more you win and the more you win the closer you get to your goal. Once you get to your goal , you set your sights higher to another goal and the cycle repeats itself.

The very nature of these games is addicting which makes them so popular among suffering addicts.

But what does this translate to in layman terms ?

Video game companies are finding more and more ways to increase entertainment from their games often using feedback loops which can cause addiction to less than strong-willed individuals.

The gaming industry has seen a massive increase with everyone sitting in their rooms all day. With willpower slowly declining across the years we are seeing more and more individuals practice these games unhealthily ? What is the line that needs to be crossed for this issue to be a frontline issue that mental health experts therapize and actively spread information about ? Only time will tell

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/14ba3a5a-8d3b-49bb-bddd-d157d09c9863

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/video-game-addiction

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200513143803.htm

Recently Wall Street has been sending some signals indicating the end of Intel as the leader of the US chip market. And if these signals come to fruition, this might indicate the end of Intel’s leadership of four decades very soon.

Qualcomm, a chip manufacturer , has seen its stock market value increase by nearly half since October , crossing Intel last week. AMD , another one of Intel’s competition in PC and server processors , has seen similar growth and is nearly about to cross its longtime opponent.

This is coming after Nvidia , the primary manufacturer whose chips provide computing power for machine learning , artificial intelligence , video gaming and supercomputing leapt past intel early last year. Currently Nvidia’s stock has risen 60 percent from October and is almost 4 times the size of Intel’s.

Meanwhile , Intel’s shares have dropped in value even after an attempt by Pat Gelsinger , Intel’s new chief, to reassure battered investors fell short. Intel’s troubles have been widely known , missing the smartphone market , losing its lead in chip manufacturing technology to TSMC and now losing its dominance in the PC and server processing market.

But this recent shift is a rather new one. Wall Street no longer believes that Intel’s edge which used to be its unrivalled technology, operational excellence and financial excellence are no longer enough to bring back the growth in double digits which it has not seen in a decade and half.

On the other hand , AMD’s growth has been the most startling. After an all-time low of USD$2BN in the middle of 2010’s , its market value has now surged to USD$190BN after a radical tech overhaul which made its processors more competitive and more affordable for users.

Things do not look good for Intel, even after their announcement of their Sapphire Rapids line of processors which are based around chiplets. Even though it’s a unique concept , it may not be enough to give Intel the edge it seeks. AMD has already announced its newer Zen architecture which is more dense and more powerful in computing than its current generation which already puts up a brave fight for itself against Intel.

So what does this translate to ? This means that in the near future we could see an end to Intel’s era of excellence where Intel was the first choice in many different departments but due to a failure to keep up and adapt with the times it may be too late. Unless Pat Gelsinger can get his managers together and right the ship, Intel may be looking at becoming an option instead of a choice when it comes to the US Chip Market.


Sources :
https://www.ft.com/content/f970d7b7-09b8-4d5a-b946-f024f1845bc0

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/INTC,NVDA,TXN/research-ratings

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/17/investing-club-why-nvidias-incredible-growth-story-is-still-in-its-very-early-innings.html