There is nothing inevitable about choices that are environmentally destructive. In 1800, there were indeed 550 steam engines in Europe but there were over 500,000 water mills. Coal was more expensive than hydro power and many industrialists were not persuaded of its added value. It was the economic recession of 1825-1848 with increasing agitation by textile workers over salaries and conditions which made the use of coal-powered, steam-driven spinning machines a much more attractive proposition. More machines meant fewer workers and fewer workers meant fewer demands, notably for wage rises. Therefore, the substantial increase in CO2 emissions in Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century, which through economic competition, war and imperial domination would start a worldwide trend, was not the blind outcome of the machinery of ‘progress’ but the cumulative consequence of a set of very specific decisions taken by identifiable socio-economic actors.

Similarly, the notion that ecological awareness is only a very recent phenomenon where “humanity” finally woke up to the environmental consequences of its economic activities does not stand up to scrutiny. In the period from the beginnings of the industrial revolution to the decade when the movement towards fossil fuels use becomes more marked, awareness of the relationships between humans and their environment or the “natural world” was widespread. Environmental risks have been clearly and repeatedly signalled from the time of the industrial revolution onwards. The notion of an unthinking humanity bringing destruction upon itself does not bear up to examination.

Michael Cronin. Eco-Translation: translation and ecology in the

Age of the Anthropocene. New York: Routledge,2017. p.11-12 (adapted).

By Erik Guzik

Of all the forms of human intellect that one might expect artificial intelligence to emulate, few people would likely place creativity at the top of their list. Creativity is wonderfully mysterious—and frustratingly fleeting. It defines us as human beings—and seemingly defies the cold logic that lies behind the silicon curtain of machines. Yet, the use of AI for creative endeavors is now growing.

New AI tools like DALL-E and Midjourney are increasingly part of creative production, and some have started to win awards for their creative output. The growing impact is both social and economic—as just one example, the potential of AI to generate new, creative content is a defining flashpoint behind the Hollywood writers’ strike.

And if our recent study into the striking originality of AI is any indication, the emergence of AI-based creativity—along with examples of both its promise and peril—is likely just beginning.

When people are at their most creative, they’re responding to a need, goal, or problem by generating something new—a product or solution that didn’t previously exist.

In this sense, creativity is an act of combining existing resources — ideas, materials, knowledge — in a novel way that’s useful or gratifying. Quite often, the result of creative thinking is also surprising, leading to something the creator did not — and perhaps could not — foresee.

Our results?

GPT-4 scored in the top 1 percent of test-takers for the originality of its ideas. From our research, we believe this marks one of the first examples of AI meeting or exceeding the human ability for original thinking.

In short, we believe that AI models like GPT-4 are capable of producing ideas that people see as unexpected, novel, and unique. Other researchers are arriving at similar conclusions in their research of AI and creativity.

Adapted from https://singularityhub.com/2023/09/10/openais-gpt-4-scores-in-thetop-1-of-creative-thinking/

The global interest in cybersecurity is growing. As we move into the cyber age, technology has become a huge part of both our everyday lives and today’s business environment, as more and more businesses increase their online presence and digital exposure by leveraging technology for almost every aspect of their business. But just as technology presents opportunities to many businesses, it also presents threats and challenges. Over the years, cyber attacks have continued to occur, escalating in frequency, severity and impact. These incidents have impacted every industry from financial services to retailers, entertainment and healthcare providers.

[…]

Perhaps due to its constantly evolving nature, cybersecurity risk remains complex and abstract to many. There may also be a perception that cybersecurity risk is not relevant to small businesses, hence, cybersecurity risk may not have been considered and addressed in all financial statements audits. But let us think about this: risk assessment is a crucial part of audit planning and auditors are required under the auditing standards to obtain an understanding of business risks that may result in risks of material misstatement of the financial statements. Just as auditors would consider an entity’s business risks in a financial statements audit, cybersecurity risk is an equally important risk area that cannot be ignored. Perhaps even more so, given the broad extent to which cyber attacks can cause fundamental enterprise-wide damage to organisations, and for some attacks, even a huge impact to the financial statements. Cybersecurity risk is hence an essential consideration in any financial statements audit.

Adapted from : https://charteredaccountantsworldwide.com/cybersecurity-risktime-for-auditors-to-take-heed/