From ChatGPT to Space: The Hottest Tech Trends of 2023 

(ChatGPT wrote this headline)

A look at the technology industry news from PR Newswire in January and February that you might have missed.

By Riley Bowman, Joe Murphy | Published March 7, 2023

The beginning of this year has been marred by sweeping tech layoffs. Microsoft, Spotify, Alphabet, Twitter, Amazon, and Meta are among the big names cutting thousands of jobs in 2023. Despite these layoffs, the volume of tech news on the wire persists. In January and February, PR Newswire distributed over 9,900 business technology news releases.

Top Tech Releases of January and February:

• Cognizant Appoints Ravi Kumar S as Chief Executive Officer
• Strava Acquires Outdoor Adventure Platform, FATMAP
• FTX Debtors Provide Additional Information to Customers and Other Stakeholders
• OpenText Buys Micro Focus

There have been some new trends developing over the last two months and one that we have focused on in the past, but new innovations have brought it to the top of the tech world's mind. This would be artificial intelligence and ChatGPT. We will also touch on cybersecurity, space, and the new Samsung Galaxy S23. 

Tech News Trends for January and February

Generative AI/ChatGPT

Generative AI has been on the rise for several months. PR Newswire saw a 350%+ jump in releases using the term “generative AI” in 2022 compared to 2021. Nearly 60% of last year’s releases were sent in November and December, a late-year spike that coincided with the launch of OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, in late November.

The momentum has carried into 2023. When comparing releases sent Jan. 1-Jan. 23, 2023, using the term “generative AI” with that same time frame in 2022, there’s a 1,350% increase.

There are no signs of it slowing down, as more companies figure out how to either use ChatGPT technology to their advantage or how to compete with it. In early February, Microsoft launched the new Bing with ChatGPT built in. Google countered that with its own new AI development, Bard.

Although it’s still in its infancy, ChatGPT has already proven to have several useful purposes. In January and February, companies used ChatGPT to:

• Create a fantasy card game
• Teach algebra
• Boost customer service
• Enhance spreadsheets
• Release new poems and songs
• Generate “fAIcts”
• Write books
• Craft press releases

Heck, I even used ChatGPT to write this blog post! (I’m kidding).

For all the benefits, there are still some unknowns, such as:

• How to avoid plagiarism. A new challenge for teachers is deciphering whether a student’s work is original or AI-generated. Some schools have started restricting access to the service on school devices and networks. Another safeguard is a plagiarism tool created by a 22-year-old web developer.
• Impact on writers, editors, and content teams. "There is so much uncertainty right now for brands, agencies, publishers, and media companies," said Paul Roetzer, Marketing AI Institute founder and CEO. Marketing AI Institute will discuss this and more during a virtual event on March 30.
• HIPAA compliancy. Compliancy Group examined this and discussed the future of healthcare in a Jan. 31 release.
• Cybersecurity. We'll dive into this trend next.

Cybersecurity

PR Newswire issued 721 releases mentioning “cybersecurity” in January and February, which is identical to November and December’s total. What we’re seeing is that as technology like ChatGPT becomes more sophisticated, so do cyberattacks.

According to a BlackBerry Limited survey, “half (51%) of IT professionals predict that we are less than a year away from a successful cyberattack being credited to ChatGPT, and 71% believe that foreign states may already be using the technology for malicious purposes against other nations.”

DGLegacy said it this way: “To put it simply, through ChatGPT, cyber criminals can enhance their social engineering methods so that they can hardly be differentiated from real human interactions.”  

While there are some red flags with ChatGPT, it’s not the only cybersecurity risk. Other areas of concern include:

• Phishing scams. CUJO AI reports that 56% of Internet users try to open at least one phishing link every month. Hornetsecurity noted that QR codes are another potential phishing target.
  • A new Phishing Benchmark Global Report reveals that large organizations of 10,000 employees or more are most susceptible to phishing attacks promising a gift, despite potentially having access to more cybersecurity resources than smaller businesses.
• SMS Toll Fraud. Arkose Labs indicated in late January that SMS Toll Fraud has increased six-fold to more than $10 billion today, up from $1.8 billion in 2013.
• DDoS. FS-ISAC and Akamai Technologies, Inc. noted in a report that 2022 saw a 22% uptick in the volume of DDoS attacks targeting financial firms.
• Breaches from the inside. A January survey from EisnerAmper of business executives found that 71% worry about accidental internal staff error as one of the top threats facing their companies, almost on par with concern about outside hackers (75%).
• Lack of training for remote workers. Research from Hornetsecurity found that 33% of companies are not providing any cybersecurity awareness training to users who work remotely.
• Worker shortage. According to a CompTIA release from Jan. 25, "The cybersecurity workforce problem is real and is being felt globally. Every company is scrambling for talent, knowledge and solutions in an ever-evolving environment."

All hope is not lost, however. Companies are working diligently on initiatives such as gender and racial diversity, as well as continuing education for schools, consumers, and businesses.

To address the lack of gender diversity in the cybersecurity field, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) held Measuring Inclusion Workshops “to pinpoint and remove the barriers in the cybersecurity industry that keep women from being recruited, hired, retained and promoted at the same rate as men.” Girls Who Code is taking similar steps with its upcoming CodeFair, taking place March 24-26 in New York City.

To expand career opportunities for minorities, the SANS Institute reopened its HBCU Cyber Academy application window in February. The academy is designed to give students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) hands-on cybersecurity training and real-world experience, free of charge.

For schools, the Center for Internet Security hosted a free webinar in January on what schools can do to better secure their networks.

During Data Privacy Week in January, Contrast Security and Keeper Security shared cybersecurity tips and best practices for consumers and businesses.

Finally, who said cybersecurity training for employees has to be a drag? In early February, Infosec Institute launched a new office comedy-themed security awareness training series titled, "Work Bytes."

Space: The Final Frontier

Technology in space is seeing some renewed vigor as the International Space Station is set to be retired by the end of the 2020s and traveling to Mars becomes more of a reality. During January and February, PR Newswire distributed 233 releases mentioning space, a slight dip compared to the 242 from the previous two months. It shows a focus on outer space is here to stay.

• With the future retirement of the ISS, NASA has awarded contracts to private companies to develop new low-earth orbit space stations. Nanoracks and its subsidiary Voyager Space partnered with Airbus Defence and Space to develop and operate Starlab, a free-flying space station serving NASA. It will “serve as an on-orbit laboratory for astronauts to conduct investigations and advance scientific discovery.”
• On February 14, Lunar Resources received a NASA grant to study the feasibility of building a pipeline on the Moon. The pipeline would transport gaseous oxygen to a proposed Lunar base. Oxygen is essential to any future lunar operation, so the extraction and transport of it is paramount to the success of any permanent lunar presence.
• EOS Data Analytics Inc. launched the first EOS SAT satellite onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission. The EOS SAT will assist agribusinesses in monitoring crop growth and detecting heat, cold, water stress, weed spread, and pest attacks.
• NASA and DARPA came together on Jan. 24 to partner on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations, a nuclear thermal rocket engine enabling crewed missions to Mars.
  
• On Feb. 27, NASA announced a new Head of Science, Dr. Nicola Fox. Dr. Fox will oversee over 100 NASA missions exploring the secrets of the universe. 

Samsung Galaxy S23

Samsung announced the release of the new Galaxy S23 at the beginning of February. Although this is not a persistent trend, it is interesting to note how the launch played out over the wire. Accessory brands were quick to follow up the launch with their own announcements, with one even beating Samsung to the punch.

• Before the phone was officially announced via PR Newswire, Anker had already revealed the Anker Ace, a new lineup of charging accessories made for Galaxy phones.
• Six minutes after the Galaxy S23 announcement, Incipio announced sustainable, premium protective cases for the Samsung Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra.
• Three minutes later, Simtect followed up with their protective cases.
• Four more brands announced products supporting the new smartphone including OtterBox, Urban Armor Gear, Speck Products, and CASETiFY.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 was not the only smartphone announced in February. OnePlus announced the launch of its new flagship device, the OnePlus 11 5G. 

Looking Ahead

If the first two months of the year are any indication, this is shaping up to be another big year for the tech industry, filled with tech advancements beyond what we can imagine, and a whole lot of unknowns.

About the Authors

Riley Bowman is a Customer Content Specialist and Business Technology Industry Ambassador at Cision PR Newswire as well as the manager of the @PRNSports Twitter account.

Joe Murphy is a Senior Customer Content Specialist with PR Newswire. He serves as one of Cision’s Business Technology Industry Ambassadors and he also curates the @PRNtertainment Twitter handle. In his free time, he enjoys watching Cleveland sports and spending time with his wife and two kids.