Roles for AI agents, rethinking EV charging and ransomware threats
Agents. AI agents. Days after I analysed the Agentic AI developments, Microsoft has made its biggest and most serious pitch yet .
Agents. AI agents. Days after I analysed the Agentic AI developments, Microsoft has made its biggest and most serious pitch yet (also indicative of the sheer pace of developments). Cybersecurity. As part of the Security Copilot a year ago, they intend to add six agents that’ll roll out for preview next month. Stop phishing attempts in their tracks, monitor for signs of vulnerabilities in an infrastructure, prioritise response to potentially critical incidents, and alert users about data loss. Use of AI had added a layer of seriousness and criticality to cyberattacks. Let AI be the counter?
The change is happening. If you had argued all along that generative AI as we’ve seen it till now cannot do most functions in a workplace, you were absolutely right. What has changed rapidly in the past few weeks and months, is the rise of something called AI agents, or agentic AI. In the sense that there is conversation to coincide with significant, seemingly genuine progress. That is something I have assessed, in my piece this week. Major technology firms are rapidly adopting "agentic AI" – I’d say think of these as systems with human-like intelligence designed to work autonomously towards specific goals. This represents the third wave of AI, following predictive and generative AI.
Companies like Adobe, Zoom, Microsoft, and Nvidia are developing agentic AI for various applications, including customer service, healthcare management, data analysis, sales, and content creation. Who would have perhaps thought Zoom would evolve into a meetings and workplace management platform, that brings agentic AI assistance to users who feel the need for it. Or Adobe’s enterprise customers, for a variety of tasks. These are just some examples, and my belief is Nvidia and Capgemini are developing 100 bespoke AI agents for automotive, financial services, life sciences, telecommunications and manufacturing industries, gives us a better idea of how quickly the skies are clouding up.
A question I’ve repeatedly asked industry experts is — what happens to humans working the roles that AI agents now feel proficient enough to take over? I have repeatedly been at the receiving end of vagueness and double entendre.
On the brighter side, Indian food delivery/quick-commerce/dining-out/events start-up Zomato has already seen benefits from their in-house agentic AI tool called Nugget, which handles queries via live chat and natural voice calls, streamlines ticketing and conducts quality audits. More than 15 million support interactions a month. Have you ever reached out to Zomato support and not felt like you are talking to an AI being? While agentic AI promises increased productivity and efficiency, it also sparks debate about potential job displacement and the need for careful AI implementation.
More on AI and cybersecurity…
VISION
It isn’t often that a laptop is instantly delightful, a uniqueness that makes it stand apart. That is a collective factor of age, years in the profession, aided by the sea of sameness that tends to be overbearing on a majority of launches that happen every year. But this one was different. As I sat down with for a conversation with MSI’s Bruce Lin a few days ago on an early summer’s afternoon, I least expected him to pull out what looked like a big laptop sleeve, from a heavily padded backpack. Snuggled inside that sleeve (dual layer protection, an indicator of how the man takes care of his gadgets), a Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse Myth. The detailing gets all the attention at first glance, and these aren’t some decals pasted as an afterthought. The dragon, the inscriptions and the dragon spirit plaque are all integrations finely melded into the design. The price of this cutting edge laptop (I’ll not bog you down with specs) — ₹6,29,990. MSI needs more than a spark to click, at least in the Indian market, and the intent is there. Persistence? We’ll know in due course.
I simply had to ask Bruce about MSI’s India plans, because as someone who has closely observed India’s PC market for most part of the past two decades, something needs to change in their approach. As I pointed out to him, any PC conversation with prospective buyers, primarily features the likes of HP, Asus, Lenovo, Acer and of course Apple (unless someone’s intent is purely a Windows machine). MSI, if at all, comes much later. The other side of that coin is, the gaming audience has a demographic that swears by MSI. But that number surely wouldn’t be enough. Bruce gives me a multi-point plan that has already been set in motion.
- An expanded portfolio across price points from ₹40,000 to ₹6,00,000. The intent is to provide different devices for different users with different means, and that’s the reason for going much beyond the ₹3.5 lakh price cut-off that’s considered the ceiling for premium.
- Expanded channel availability, with an intent to mark 50 brand stores this year. A journey that began in 2010, with 10 MSI brand stores in India. My feeling is, that pace needs to quicken further, but of course, the outlay has to find place in a broader financial scheme.
- Extending channel availability with multi-store retailers such as Croma and Reliance Digital, which in my opinion, should give MSI considerable traction with a much broader demographic of potential buyers.
- Plans to increase the service centres from a current 60 to 115 by the end of this year. Additionally, they intend to make some service an element at MSI brand stores too, such as a service check, general maintenance and a quick part replacement or upgrade.
KNOW
This week, I came across a somewhat interesting update. Cybersecurity firm Check Point’s latest Ransomware report indicates that in 2024, the ransomware landscape recorded 5,414 published attacks on organisations worldwide, representing an 11% increase compared to 2023. What’s even more interesting (and worrying) is that India accounted for over 50% of the ransomware activity recorded through the last quarter of the year. That makes business, individuals and online presence in India, vulnerable to attacks. Through the last 12 months, US faced most ransomware attacks (936), followed by Canada (83), UK (56), Germany (46) and India (44).
CHARGE
Forget everything you thought you knew about EV charging because BYD has dropped nothing short of bombshell on not just the perception of electric mobility, but also the EV industry sparing none of the players. They've unveiled Blade Battery tech that promises to add two kilometers of range, every second. Yes, you read that right. That's like adding enough juice for a quick grocery run in the time it takes to find your keys. While Tesla's been hogging the EV spotlight, Chinese automakers like BYD are quietly pushing the boundaries. Their new tech isn't just an incremental improvement; it's a whole new ballgame. We're talking about the potential to juice up your EV with 400km of range in a mere five minutes.
But, and as I’ve pointed out in my column this week, hold your horses (or should we say, electric ponies?). This ultra-fast charging tech comes with a catch. Our current charging infrastructure is about as ready for this as dial-up is for streaming Netflix. We'll need a massive upgrade to handle the power demands. Plus, there are questions about battery durability and whether LFP batteries can truly deliver the range we crave in smaller, more affordable EVs. Still, BYD's innovation is a wake-up call to the EV industry. It's a thrilling glimpse into a future where charging anxiety may actually be a thing of the past.
