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Scots digital innovation is
to the fore to tackle what represents an unprecedented era of uncertain
hyperconnectivity centred on developments generated by artificial
intelligence (genAI) that's all but about to overwhelm each and every
one of us.
It chimes with some timely words of wisdom from across the Pond on AI
uttered by former FBI and Microsoft UK global cyber expert Edward P.
Gibson. Better known to Scottish business and commerce audiences as "Ed
the Fed" with his customary G-man alter ego resplendent in shades and
no-nonsense approach towards tackling testy areas in this digital age.
AI is the latest digital development in what has become, unfortunately,
an already highly-toxic internet and has become something of a digital
curate's egg - yes, some of it for the good, but elsewhere not so.
The trouble is we're constantly confronted by an ever-rising risk of
being assaulted online and via mobile channels. Either by a combination
of commercial bullying along with malicious phishing scams and endless
sowing of dissent and the spread of propaganda.
It all comes as Big Tech continues in it's endless and relentless
pursuit of billion - more likely trillions - of digital dollars. To be
expected genAI is being heavily marketed.
"Verify then Trust"
Earlier this year Edward Gibson issued a timely cybersecurity warning.
Now the former federal bureau chief in charge of UK investigations out
of London's Grosvenor Square, then a five-year senior leadership role at
Microsoft and is now a licensed private investigator in the State of
Virginia, has followed this up with a sobering appraisal of genAI.
"Firstly we had to fact check what was being said by people out loud,
then what was being said or written on social media platforms", he told
me from his Washington DC base. "Now we are being forced to fact check
what we (think we) see. The old adage 'trust but verify' has been
replaced by 'verify then trust'
Edward P. Gibson
Ed's comments add fuel to his previous warnings on cyber defenses, where
he says he could give the same presentation today that he gave two
decades ago. It remains the case that it is all about people with
increasing numbers affected by unprecedented technological advances led
by what he has described as genAI "virtual gangs".
Rather than the common perception of a detached teenager in a darkened
bedroom - a reality is it is often organised individuals on a cellular
basis with no real knowledge of each other.
Think, cyber version of the Thomas Crown Affair movie. Also and
chillingly, Technopedia reports such is the formalisation of cybercrime
activity, it is now listed as "ransomware as a service"!
Ed, who was also a financial regulatory public arbitrator and CEO of
Embassy Attache Groups plus a DC special inspector general for pandemic
recovery 2020-2021, has emphasised how a simple mistake can result in
costly implications.
Great news from the sunshine state
This is not to say there aren't AI success stories: Scottish Enterprise
and Scottish Development International report Californian company Planet
DDS invested $13 million (10m pnds stg) in Scotland's thriving
technology ecosystem and fast-emerging AI sector, says SDI's sole
business development lead based in Western USA for foreign investment in
Scotland, vice-president Tony Chow.
He reports: "The US innovator is a leading provider of dental software
service well over 13,000 practices throughout America with more than
118,000 users, making it one of the largest dental databases in the
world. The decision to invest in Scotland was not taken lightly. The
company carefully weighed up the Republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland as alternative locations to expand its operations."
The move represents a
real proof-of-endorsement in Scotland especially as the AI-based dental
software firm could have settled anywhere in Europe. Rather the
Americans have chosen to scale their innovation through the country's
world-class universities and expert business support networks and
connectivity.
Planet DDS is based in its Glasgow technology development and support
centre. Chief Technology Officer Mike Gibson: "We chose Scotland for its
innovative spirit and a well-connect commercial environment. This was
strongly influenced by the excellent support we received from public
sector business and trade bodies." He adds the Merchant City is an
epicentre for education "where we can draw talent from world-class
universities and from a high percentage of the population who have
degrees."
Yet AI remains stubbornly difficult to define
Another key development is the Scottish AI Alliance provided by a
dedicated team embedded in the country's Data Lab complemented by
members of the AI policy team from the Scottish Government drawing in
ministerial engagement.
The Lab, c/o of Edinburgh's Bayes Centre, oversees the majority of
support functions including communications, programmes and project
management and administration functions associated with the latest
technological advancements.
Head of the alliance team Steph Wright - recognised as one of the 100
Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2023 and in the Top Ten Women in Tech in
Scotland - says of AI: "It is difficult to define artificial
intelligence as there is not an agreed upon definition and different
people can mean different things when they use the term."
Steph Wright
Breaking it all down: AI is a field of study investigating how to create
computer systems that can perform very complex tasks autonomously;
It's sometimes described as tech that performs tasks usually requiring
"human intelligence"; more than one thing, one technology or one tool
rather it's a whole set of different technologies;
Such tech is used to make decisions, understand language and make
recommendations;
Often algorithms are employed allowing computers to learn from and make
predictions based on data, a process also known as "machine learning";
AI relies on being trained on vast amounts of data to perform tasks and
represents a rapidly evolving and ever-changing concept with definitions
and understanding shifting over time;
GenAI is now regularly found generating content like text, images and
audio but this is only one type of AI tech;
A lot of such technologies have existed for a long time and is not new -
a difference now is the rise of Generative AI has led to a growing
global public debate.
What's clear is Scotland's AI strategy is agile by design evolving to
reflect rapid technological and social change. Such is genAI's effect
that the Alliance's move to take stock ensures its strategy remains fit
for purpose.
MIT Technology Review reports much has happened in the last couple of
years: "chatting with an AI chatbot is so 2022." The latest hot toys
take advantage of multimodal models - several things can be handled at
the same time.
However, surely such a mass takeover of a person's normal daily tasks
doesn't fill one with confidence about their future career prospects?
The ItPro website claims that as tech developers leave all the hype
behind "it's becoming clear that generative AI models were never the
game changers some sold them as."
So, for the layperson it means AI can, hopefully, represent benefits
overall. Rather than any scary Sci-Fi portrayal where robots are set to
take over the world consigning all of us back into the caves. |
