Tech controversies of 2024: Elon Musk, Scarlett Johansson vs OpenAI, social media ban for minors | Technology News

Social media and censorship also took precedence in the debate around content moderation, striking a balance between free speech and the need to counter hate speech, harmful content, and misinformation prevailed. The year also saw the debate over work-life balance, and layoffs by big tech companies redefining the narrative around tech industries worldwide.

Elon Musk – The Newsmaker

From political activism to asserting his influence, Elon Musk dominated the headlines frequently throughout the year. The US elections of 2024 was among the most eagerly awaited events of the year, especially with former President Donald Trump in the fray; this could have far-reaching consequences in the world order. Musk played a central role in the election, which eventually saw a landslide victory for Trump. The X owner inserted himself into US politics by vociferously campaigning for Trump and even opposing bipartisan spending bills. Through his America PAC, Musk donated $75 million to extend his support for the Republican candidates. He also initiated the $1 million daily sweepstakes, aimed at swing state voters, which was followed by a legal probe of alleged violation of lottery laws. Throughout Trump’s campaign, Musk positioned himself as one of the significant political and influential figures, using much of the might of X to mould public opinion.

Apart from his stint with US politics, Musk clashed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over past agreements related to his acquisition of Twitter. In addition, Musk faced restrictions on SpaceX launches, primarily due to his political statements. He also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI openly showing his dissatisfaction with the AI powerhouse’s governance. His spat with Brazil’s Supreme Court order to suspend X accounts also showcased his frequent run-ins with authority. Briefly, there were questions about his security clearances over his alleged foreign contacts and past drug use.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk walks to the stage to speak alongside Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show. (AP/PTI)

Musk also made some statements about AI, which remained a hot-button topic throughout the year. The 52-year-old said that eventually, AI will eliminate jobs, and also emphasised that the training of AI should be honest and transparent, asking for regulations. Through the year, on different occasions, Musk defended most of his actions, claiming that they were aligned with the ideals of free speech. Along with his sweeping statements, he also criticised regulatory overreach, alleged political targeting, and strongly opposed restrictions on his platforms and businesses. His approach of challenging norms was admired, but also drew severe criticism.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrest

In late August, the world woke up to the news of the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram. The CEO was arrested over the weekend in Paris over allegations that Telegram was being sued for illegal activities such as drug trafficking and distribution of images of child sexual abuse (CSA). Durov was taken into custody at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport after he landed from Azerbaijan on August 24. Following his arrest, the platform posted a statement saying that it abides by EU laws and its content moderation was within industry standards and has been constantly improving. The statement also said that Durov had nothing to hide and has been travelling across Europe frequently.

The Russian multi-billionaire’s arrest was part of an investigation into CSA, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions linked to the platform. Durov was charged with allegedly allowing criminal activity on the app. However, he avoided jail time on the condition of a €5 million fine and that he report to the police twice a week and remain in France. Durov’s arrest gave the much-needed impetus to the ongoing call for regulating social media. The arrest comes at a time when Elon Musk, who has been calling any form of litigation on his platform X a crackdown on free speech, Musk, who is a self-proclaimed ‘free speech absolutist,’ has on several occasions spoken out in support of Durov. Around the same time, the world witnessed several debates regarding the nature of free speech.

File image of founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on February 23, 2016. (Image: Reuters)

Telegram is one of the popular messaging platforms that allows individual and group chats along with large channels that allow people to broadcast messages to their subscribers. Unlike WhatsApp, which has a limit of 1,024 members in group chats, Telegram allows as many as 2 lakh users in one group, sparking concerns around the spate of misinformation. While the app offers encryption, the feature is not on by default, and users are required to manually switch it on if they wish to encrypt their chats. Also, this feature doesn’t work with group chats. In contrast, Signal and Facebook Messenger chats are end-to-end encrypted by default.

Brazil’s ban on X

In September this year, Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld the decision to ban X nationwide. The judgement came after Elon Musk, who is the owner of X Corp, the company that runs X (formerly Twitter), failed to name a legal representative for the platform in Brazil. According to the ruling, X was to remain blocked until Musk names a legal representative and pay a fine of around $5 million for ignoring orders to block user accounts. The Supreme Court also froze the assets of Musk’s satellite company, Starlink, which offers internet access to nearly 2,50,000 people in the remote parts of the country. At the time, reportedly 10 per cent of the country’s population, roughly 20 million people were active on X.

The entire episode was mired in politics, as following the defeat of former president Jair Bolsonaro, his supporters began questioning the electoral system. Owing to the spate of misinformation and polarisation on the platform, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, targeted several user accounts demanding X to block them.

Consequentially, Musk defied the orders and in turn accused de Moraes of stifling free speech. However, on October 9, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on X. Following the decision, de Moraes said that he allowed the ban to be lifted after X paid ‘hefty fines’ and blocked accounts accused of spreading misinformation. Elon Musk’s platform reportedly paid $5.1 million in fines and had also agreed to appoint a local representative, as required by the law in Brazil.

OpenAI vs Scarlett Johansson

In May, OpenAI showed off its conversational voice mode, claiming that it could detect different tones of voice and even respond when interrupted just like humans. Sam Altman’s AI powerhouse showcased a new AI model, GPT-4o, with audio capabilities allowing users to speak to the chatbot and obtain real-time responses. This has been seen as a significant advancement among realistic-sounding AI conversations. However, hours after the demo of voice called Sky was showcased to the world, it was severely criticised by some researchers who claimed that such AI chatbots were pandering to the sexist stereotypes about female assistants who are compliant and flirty.

Following criticism from several quarters, OpenAI took it down. Later, Johansson accused OpenAI of creating a voice for ChatGPT that sounded “eerily similar” to her. The actress said that she had declined to voice the chatbot when Altman had approached her nine months ago. Altman had, in a statement, said that the voice of Sky was not an imitation of Johansson’s voice and that it belonged to a different actress. “The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers. We cast the voice actor behind Sky’s voice before any outreach to Ms. Johansson,” Altman said, adding that out of respect for the Hollywood star, the company decided to pause using Sky’s voice in any of its products. The incident took place at a time when a battle for the rights of actors’ voices and images in the era of AI was teeming in Hollywood. The spat between OpenAI and Johansson also underscored the legal and ethical concerns around AI and AI-generated content.

Australia bans social media for under-16 users

At the start of the year, CEOs of several social media platforms, including Meta and TikTok, testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the role of their platforms in online child exploitation. The hearings highlighted the challenges tech companies faced while moderating content and safeguarding vulnerable users. Online child safety and the impact of social media on young users have been constant discourses throughout the year. The biggest development in this direction took place in November, when Australia decided to approve a ban on social media for children under 16. The decision, which is seen as a benchmark for jurisdictions, is bringing some of the toughest regulations targeting big tech companies.

Under Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age bill, platforms from Instagram and  Facebook to TikTok will be forced to stop minors from logging into their platforms. They would be fined $32 million if they fail to comply with the law. Reportedly, a trail of methods to enforce the new law will start in January, and the ban is set to take effect in a year. The law has been increasingly viewed as a test case for several governments around the world that have been working to legislate age restrictions on social media. It needs to be noted that the common minimum age across platforms is currently 13, and with the push for stricter age verification and holding tech giants accountable, Australia is setting a benchmark for the rest of the world. It is believed that other countries may soon follow suit amid a broader debate on children’s rights online. Experts view it as not a mere national measure but a pacesetter for global digital governance.

AI Overview misfire

Amid the ongoing concerns around AI and misinformation, Google launched its AI Overviews feature in May 2024. Immediately after its rollout, Google’s AI Overviews courted controversy over its inaccurate and absurd answers. Reportedly, the overview showed responses asking people to put glue on pizza, suggesting users drink urine to pass kidney stones, and it also claimed that Barack Obama was the first Muslim president of the United States.

AI overviews was introduced in 2023 as part of Google SGE that is powered by Gemini. (Image Credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

The incident highlighted how AI systems are inherently unreliable. Following the gaffe, Google announced that it was making technical improvements to the system to make the feature less likely to generate inaccurate answers. As a precaution, Google also said that it was limiting satirical, humorous, and user-generated content in responses. AI Overview uses AI to generate content that appears when a user searches for information. According to Google, AI overviews offer simplified, AI-generated answers to queries with links to sources. It is a part of Google’s Search Generative Experience that was announced at Google I/O 2023.

Coding is a thing of the past

In the last three years, we saw the unprecedented pace at which AI has been progressing. While AI continued to come up with new use cases, the fears of job displacements persisted, with several studies showing how AI has been distressing professionals worldwide. In February, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang predicted the death of coding, claiming that AI will do the work and there is no need for children to learn it. While speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Huang asserted that since AI is making rapid advancements, learning to code should not be a priority for anyone wishing to enter the tech sector.

Learning to code is seen as a crucial skill that has been advocated by several industry leaders. However, Huang’s statement triggered a debate. Interestingly, it is not the first time that Huang made such a comment. The CEO had earlier said that pursuing a career in coding might not be worth the effort with the pace of developments in AI; however, he recommended biology, education, manufacturing, or even agriculture as potential career options for the youth. ​Huang’s statement while highlighting the merits of advanced AI, however, failed to allay the fears among professionals and job seekers who are growing anxious with the emergence of AI.

The work-life conundrum

The pandemic changed the way we work by introducing work-from-home, hybrid, and remote options to the collective conscience. With the ever-changing landscape of work, there has been more emphasis on achieving work-life balance, and the need for structured work arrangements. This year, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy sparked discussions after he advocated for a 70-hour workweek. The 78-year-old emphasised the need for hard work to augment India’s productivity and global competitiveness. The billionaire had also expressed his disappointment over India moving from a six-day to a five-day workweek in 1986; such changes, according to him, impede progress. The businessman cited his experience of working 14 hours a day for six-and-a-half days a week until his retirement.

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy sparked discussions after he advocated for a 70-hour workweek. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

Murthy’s statements triggered strong reactions, with most critics claiming that this proposition of extended work hours could eventually lead to employee burnout and adversely impact work-life balance. Despite his words stirring a controversy, Murthy asserted that he did not believe in work-life balance. “I have not changed my view; I will take this with me to my grave,” he said. Murthy’s views were heavily criticised, with thousands sharing memes on social media and many calling out tech companies that have been underpaying their staff. On a similar tangent, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, kicked the hornet’s nest after he said that weekends were a ‘western concept.’ Similarly, 22-year-old CEO of tech startup Zepto, Aadit Palicha, stirred the internet after his views on work-life balance. Palicha’s comments came after a post on Reddit by a Zepto employee claiming toxic work culture went viral.

Incidentally, on 20 July 2024, a 26-year-old employee of EY, Anna Sebastin Perayil, died allegedly from overwork. Her death sparked nationwide outrage and debate on working conditions in the corporate world.