Source: Quantum

In 2024, cutting-edge technologies and the companies that control them are becoming increasingly powerful, creating both excitement and fear. The value of companies like Nvidia and Alphabet has surged on expectations that artificial intelligence (AI) will become a cornerstone of modern life. While these grand plans are still far in the future, there is no denying that technology has impacted markets, wars, elections, climate and daily life this year.

Perhaps, technology will have the greatest impact on the global economy this year. Stocks of the so-called "Big Seven" -- Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla -- have benefited in large part from the artificial intelligence craze that has pushed the S&P 500 to new highs. Shares of Nvidia, which designs computer chips for many artificial intelligence systems, nearly tripled, leading the industry higher. These profits have spurred an “arms race” in AI infrastructure, with companies building massive AI factories and data centers — which in turn has drawn criticism from environmentalists about their energy consumption. Some market watchers have also expressed concern about the global economy's increasing reliance on a handful of companies, and the possible repercussions if those companies fail to deliver on their massive promises. But as of early December, the companies' values ​​showed no signs of slowing.

Although not as explosive as ChatGPT’s 2023 breakthrough, generative AI systems have also made progress in the past 12 months: Google’s DeepMind won a silver medal at a prestigious mathematics competition ; Google's NotebookLM impressed users with its ability to convert written notes into concise podcasts; ChatGPT passed the Turing test hosted by Stanford University; Apple integrated new artificial intelligence tools into its latest iPhone. Beyond personal devices, AI is playing a key role in predicting hurricanes and powering a growing fleet of driverless cars.

However, the more dangerous side of artificial intelligence has also emerged. Artificial intelligence tools developed by companies such as Palantir and Clearview have played a central role in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza because of their ability to identify foreign troops and bombing targets. Artificial intelligence is being incorporated into drones, surveillance systems and cybersecurity. Generative AI also permeates many of the 2024 elections. Some candidates post a lot of AI-generated content on social media. Some actors use deepfake text, images, audio, and video to spread disinformation across the Internet and fuel fears about immigration. After US President-elect Donald Trump retweeted an AI-generated image of Taylor Swift supporting him on the campaign trail, the pop star posted on Instagram about her "concerns about artificial intelligence" post, and in turn endorsed Kamala Harris.

SiMany of Swift's young fans share her concern that they are growing up in a generation that appears to be bearing the brunt of the harms wrought by technology. Concerns about the impact of social media on mental health came to a head this year with the publication of Jonathan Haidt’s best-selling book The Anxious Generation, which directly linked smartphones to an increase in teenage depression stand up. (Some scientists have questioned this correlation.) Social media platforms have rolled out their own solutions to the problem: Instagram, for example, has new guardrails for teenage users.

But many parents, lawmakers and regulators believe the platforms themselves are not doing enough to protect children and have taken action. New Mexico’s attorney general is suing Snap Inc., accusing the company of facilitating child sexual exploitation through its algorithm. Dozens of states have filed lawsuits against Meta, accusing it of inducing children and teenagers to become addicted to social media. In July, the U.S. Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), which would hold social media companies accountable for preventing harm. Most tech companies are opposing the bill, which has yet to pass the House.

The potential harms of generative AI to children remain mostly unknown. But in February, a teenager committed suicide after becoming obsessed with a Character.AI chatbot based on Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen. (The company called the situation “tragic” and told The New York Times it was adding security features.) Regulators are also wary of the centralization brought about by technology, arguing that it could lead to health crises, rampant of misinformation and global glitches. They point to the Crowdstrike incident that grounded planes and bank closures around the world, while the Ticketmaster incident resulted in the data breach of more than 500 million users.

U.S. President Biden signed a bill requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok, otherwise it will be banned by the United States. French authorities have arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, accusing him of refusing to cooperate with them in preventing the spread of child pornography, drugs and money laundering on the platform. Antitrust actions are also on the rise globally. In the United States, Biden has launched several aggressive lawsuits in an attempt to break the monopoly of Google and Apple. A British regulator has accused Google of using anti-competitive tactics to dominate the online advertising market. India has also proposed an antitrust law, drawing fierce criticism from tech lobbyists.

But the tech industry may face less pressure next year, in part due to the efforts of the world's richest man, Elon Musk, whose net worth has soared by more than $100 billion in the past year. more than 730 billion yuan). Musk has fought many battles in multiple areas. Tesla's failure to deliver long-awaited self-driving cars stuns investorsFeel uneasy. In Brazil, Platform X was briefly banned after a judge accused it of allowing false information to flourish. In the United States, regulators have accused Musk of promoting hate speech and disinformation on the X platform and blatantly using large public platforms to drum up votes for his preferred candidate, Donald Trump. Musk's company faces at least 20 investigations from various departments.

But Musk prevailed by launching and capturing SpaceX rockets and implanting the first Neuralink chip into the brains of paralyzed patients. His alliance with Trump paid off in the November election. Musk is now a key figure on Trump's transition team and is expected to lead a new agency aimed at cutting $2 trillion (approximately 14.6 trillion yuan) in spending. While the Tesla boss must deal with Trump's public opposition to electric vehicles, he can use his new status to influence the future of artificial intelligence. As Musk warns the public about the existential risks of artificial intelligence, he's also working to build a chatbot more powerful than the ChatGPT built by rival Sam Altman. Ultraman's OpenAI has received a lot of criticism this year for security issues, but despite this, it raised a massive $6.6 billion (approximately 48.2 billion yuan) in October.

The increasing influence of technology giants such as Musk and Altman is good for the world? They spent much of 2024 building like crazy while criticizing regulators for holding them back. Their creations, and those of other tech bigwigs, provide ample evidence that their projects bring benefits as well as significant risks and harms.