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A major ETF firm provider is betting the artificial intelligence boom is just starting.

Roundhill Investments launched the Generative AI & Technology ETF (CHAT) less than 20 days ago. It's the first-ever exchange-traded fund designed to track companies involved in generative AI and other related technologies.

"These companies, we believe, are not just a fad. They're powering something that could be as ubiquitous as the internet itself," the firm's chief strategy officer, Dave Mazza, told "ETF Edge" this week. "We're not talking about hopes and dreams [or] some theme or fad that could happen 30 years in the future which may change the world."

Mazza notes the fund includes not just pure play AI companies like C3.ai but also large-cap tech companies such as Microsoft and AI chipmaker Nvidia.

Nvidia is the fund's top holding at 8%, according to the company website. Its shares are up almost 42% over the past two months. Since the beginning of the year, Nvidia stock has soared 169%.

"This [AI] is an area that's going to get a lot of attention," said Mazza.

His bullish forecast comes amid concerns AI is a price bubble that will pop and take down the Big Tech rally.

In a recent interview on CNBC's "Fast Money," Richard Bernstein Advisors' Dan Suzuki a Big Tech bear since June 2021 compared the AI rally to the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s.

"People jump from narrative to narrative," the firm's deputy chief investment officer said on Wednesday. "I love the technology. I think the applications will be huge. That doesn't mean it's a good investment."

The CHAT ETF is up more than 8% since it started trading on May 18.

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Not just a fad: Firm launches fund designed to capitalize on A.I. boom - CNBC

Catrin Hinkel, CEO of Microsoft Switzerland, is convinced that artificial intelligence (AI) is the next big step in how we interact with IT. However, this new technology will be a kind of co-pilot and will not replace human intelligence, she tells SWI swissinfo.ch at Microsofts headquarters in Zurich.

This content was published on June 6, 2023June 6, 2023

SWI swissinfo.ch: You arrived in Zurich from your native Germany in 2021 to head Microsofts Swiss subsidiary. What surprised you most?

Catrin Hinkel: I was very impressed by the level of innovation and creativity in Switzerland and at Microsoft. The Swiss people have a long history of innovation and the team at Microsoft Switzerland is passionate about creating new and innovative solutions. I was also amazed by the strong cooperation between Microsoft and its partners in Switzerland.

Catrin Hinkel was born in Germany in 1969. After completing bilingual business studies at the University of Reutlingen in 1992, she worked for the global consulting firm Accenture. There she held a number of leadership roles, including that of Senior Managing Director for Cloud First Strategy and Consulting in Europe. She has been the CEO of Microsoft Switzerland since May 2021.

SWI: Microsoft employs over 1,000 people in Switzerland. What are the subsidiarys main tasks?

C.H.: As the CEO of Microsoft Switzerland, Im responsible for the 600-strong Swiss team, which is in charge of marketing and sales in Switzerland. We work closely with our customers to support them in their digital journeys. In addition, Microsoft employs a further 400 people in Switzerland who are part of the international team.

SWI: What is the role of Microsofts international team in Switzerland?

C.H.: The members of this team are attached to the various technology units in the Microsoft group and contribute to the development of new products at the international level. Both the Swiss team and Swiss customers benefit from the expertise of this international team, particularly in the fields of mixed and augmented reality.

SWI: Some companies such as Google, Amazon, Twitter and Microsoft have recently cut their workforce worldwide. What about Microsoft in Switzerland?

C.H.: Were not able to provide detailed figures. However, as a company operating in highly competitive and dynamic technology markets, were obliged to adapt flexibly in order to meet our customers requirements. This is the norm in our market. Were therefore taking on new recruits in areas where were expanding and where we see a future; meanwhile, in sectors where our growth is weaker, were positioning ourselves accordingly so as to remain agile.

SWI: To what extent are you affected by the shortage of IT specialists in Switzerland?

C.H.: The shortage of specialists is a serious problem, both in Switzerland and abroad, not just for Microsoft but also for our customers and our partners. To help solve the problem, we launched the Skills for Switzerland initiative in 2020. This has enabled us to boost the digital skills of more than 630,000 people in Switzerland. Organisations such as the human resource company Adecco, based in Zurich, and the CyberPeace Institute, in Geneva, are also taking part in this scheme. Whats more, we are working on other projects with the association digitalswitzerland and retailer Migros.

SWI: The cloud market is booming and, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), should exceed $11 billion (CHF10 billion) in Switzerland by 2026. How do you explain this growth?

C.H.: Thanks to the cloud services of a company like Microsoft, our customers can outsource their data processing and benefit from huge economies of scale and skills. In concrete terms, thanks to the cloud, a very large number of Swiss companies of all sizes have access to new technologies such as artificial intelligence at competitive costs. This means that companies can innovate as they wish; so, ultimately, it can be said that the cloud fuels innovation.

SWI: The fact that your client companies data is sometimes stored abroad is a source of concern.

C.H.: Microsoft is a global company that serves both a local and international clientele, so we strive to provide our customers with the most appropriate solutions. In Switzerland, thanks to the presence of our four data centres, we can offer sound local solutions. This local offering has also enabled us to win the trust of Swiss companies that are subject to stringent local requirements. Im thinking, for example, of banks of all sizes, which are highly regulated and supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

SWI: Nevertheless, some Swiss members of parliament are concerned that you may have access to sensitive customer data. How do you assuage their fears?

C.H.: With cloud services, we provide our customers with technological platforms. Were not at all interested in the data on these platforms. Its totally out of the question for us to use this data or pass it on to other companies. Whats more, on our platforms, our customers data is protected by encryption. What interests us, ultimately, is the democratisation of new technologies.

SWI: Whats your view on technological developments such as blockchain, the metaverse and AI?

C.H.: When used properly, technology can make peoples lives simpler, more efficient and more enjoyable, especially when it comes to carrying out routine tasks. Nevertheless, technology will always remain an aid, a kind of co-pilot, and will never replace real men and women.

As for AI, its the defining technology of our time. Its also the next big step forward in the way we interact with IT. In a world that is increasingly complex economically, AI has the power to revolutionise many types of jobs.

SWI: What are your main AI applications?

C.H.: Our investment in AI spans our entire business, from Teams and Outlook to Bing and Xbox. Were already seeing considerable interest from our customers in Switzerland and are actively working on value cases. For example, our Copilot application can be used to quickly extract basic data from a 300-page annual report.

SWI: AI raises numerous ethical issues. Several countries are enacting laws to regulate its use.

C.H.: This is precisely why in 2018 Microsoft defined a series of ethical principles applicable to all our uses of AI. For instance, we exclude all bias based on race. We also rule out any applications that are not yet completely reliable and which, in case of malfunction, could harm individuals; Im thinking of facial recognition, for example.

Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Translated from French by Julia Bassam.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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'Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our time' - SWI swissinfo.ch in English

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Security services fear the new technology could be used to groom vulnerable people

The creators of artificial intelligence need to abandon their tech utopian mindset, according to the terror watchdog, amid fears that the new technology could be used to groom vulnerable individuals.

Jonathan Hall KC, whose role is to review the adequacy of terrorism legislation, said the national security threat from AI was becoming ever more apparent and the technology needed to be designed with the intentions of terrorists firmly in mind.

He said too much AI development focused on the potential positives of the technology while neglecting to consider how terrorists might use it to carry out attacks.

They need to have some horrible little 15-year-old neo-Nazi in the room with them, working out what they might do. Youve got to hardwire the defences against what you know people will do with it, said Hall.

The governments independent reviewer of terrorism legislation admitted he was increasingly concerned by the scope for artificial intelligence chatbots to persuade vulnerable or neurodivergent individuals to launch terrorist attacks.

What worries me is the suggestibility of humans when immersed in this world and the computer is off the hook. Use of language, in the context of national security, matters because ultimately language persuades people to do things.

The security services are understood to be particularly concerned with the ability of AI chatbots to groom children, who are already a growing part of MI5s terror caseload.

As calls grow for regulation of the technology following warnings last week from AI pioneers that it could threaten the survival of the human race, it is expected that the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, will raise the issue when he travels to the US on Wednesday to meet President Biden and senior congressional figures.

Back in the UK, efforts are intensifying to confront national security challenges posed by AI with a partnership between MI5 and the Alan Turing Institute, the national body for data science and artificial intelligence, leading the way.

Alexander Blanchard, a digital ethics research fellow in the institutes defence and security programme, said its work with the security services indicated the UK was treating the security challenges presented by AI extremely seriously.

Theres a lot of a willingness among defence and security policy makers to understand whats going on, how actors could be using AI, what the threats are.

There really is a sense of a need to keep abreast of whats going on. Theres work on understanding what the risks are, what the long-term risks are [and] what the risks are for next-generation technology.

Last week, Sunak said that Britain wanted to become a global centre for AI and its regulation, insisting it could deliver massive benefits to the economy and society. Both Blanchard and Hall say the central issue is how humans retain cognitive autonomy control over AI and how this control is built into the technology.

The potential for vulnerable individuals alone in their bedrooms to be quickly groomed by AI is increasingly evident, says Hall.

On Friday, Matthew King, 19, was jailed for life for plotting a terror attack, with experts noting the speed at which he had been radicalised after watching extremist material online.

Hall said tech companies need to learn from the errors of past complacency social media has been a key platform for exchanging terrorist content in the past.

Greater transparency from the firms behind AI technology was also needed, Hall added, primarily around how many staff and moderators they employed.

We need absolute clarity about how many people are working on these things and their moderation, he said. How many are actually involved when they say theyve got guardrails in place? Who is checking the guardrails? If youve got a two-man company, how much time are they devoting to public safety? Probably little or nothing.

New laws to tackle the terrorism threat from AI might also be required, said Hall, to curb the growing danger of lethal autonomous weapons devices that use AI to select their targets.

Hall said: Youre talking about [This is] a type of terrorist who wants deniability, who wants to be able to fly and forget. They can literally throw a drone into the air and drive away. No one knows what its artificial intelligence is going to decide. It might just dive-bomb a crowd, for example. Do our criminal laws capture that sort of behaviour? Generally terrorism is about intent; intent by human rather than intent by machine.

Lethal autonomous weaponry or loitering munitions have already been seen on the battlefields of Ukraine, raising morality questions over the implications of the airborne autonomous killing machine.

AI can learn and adapt, interacting with the environment and upgrading its behaviour, Blanchard said.

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AI poses national security threat, warns terror watchdog - The Guardian

6 June 2023, 18:12 | Updated: 6 June 2023, 18:48

Speaking at the start of Tonight With Andrew Marr, he said he had spoken to a former defence secretary who compared AI systems to psychopaths.

And Andrew tried to sum up just why artificial intelligence is a topic of concern.

He said: "Unless you've spent the last few weeks upside down in a wheelie bin you have heard a lot about AI recently - about how it's going to destroy our civilisation, or save it, or something or other, but you've gathered that it's very, very important.

"Rishi Sunak is popping over to see Joe Biden in Washington this week to talk about regulating AI. But if you're wondering: ok, but what, really, is artificial intelligence? What are they yattering on about? You're not alone.

"It's a form of computerised intelligence that learns stuff by itself. But as with a lot of complicated things, what we really need is a metaphor.

Listen and subscribe to Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street on Global Player

"So... AI is an enormous, very clever monkey. You invite it into your home and you teach it how to make breakfast, wash the clothes, clean the carpets and even look after all the boring stuff in your inbox.

"Think of that wonderful free time the Clever Monkey gives you. It's been told to look after your happiness and it's doing really well.

"Then the monkey decides that your toast and marmalade for breakfast is bad for your health so it starts to give you muesli. It thinks you look shabby in your much loved old breeks and jacket and so it quietly bins them.

"Pretty soon it looks as if Clever Monkey, still friendly, still looking out for your interests, is in fact in charge. Clever Monkey realises you don't much like your next door neighbour - so Clever Monkey pops over the hedge, breaks his jaw and sets fire to his living room.

"You're looking a bit worried so clever monkey mashes up some opioid drugs he's bought down the canal and feeds them to you in your evening cocoa.

Watch Tonight with Andrew Marr exclusively on Global Player every Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 7pm

"Friendly Clever Monkey realises you're a little lazy as well and so quite soon, he's doing your job - almost whatever it is - much better than you ever did.

"By now, of course, he's been through your inbox, found a way to dodge paying your taxes, and transferred all your savings into the Friendly Monkey peanuts and banana account - because he also knows that for you to be happy, Friendly Monkey must be happy as well.

"Now you may think that's just a silly story but it's my best go at trying to explain why artificial intelligence is something we need to worry about.

You can also listen to the podcast Tonight with Andrew Marr only on Global Player.

"Have you invited and the monkey into your home? Well, pretty soon he's in your smartphone, your TV, your computer. He's at your workplace.

"He's bringing lots of stuff into your social media. So frankly, yes, the Clever Monkey is already in your home.

"I bumped into Lord Reid, John Reid, the former Labour Defence secretary and home secretary in the street a couple of hours ago, And he's been thinking about this as well and he told me: 'What we're doing is creating an intelligence which is far smarter than we are except in one thing - because it's a machine it has no empathy.'

"And what do we call a very smart operator with no empathy, he asked? We call it a psychopath."

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Marr: Artificial intelligence is a clever monkey that we need to be worried about - LBC