What a year! Technology and the people behind it that have set the world in turmoil in 2023

The year was characterized by X, AI, powerful processors and streaming services. (Image: AMD, Netflix, Bilal Ulker Roman3D – adobe.stock.com)

The world moves quickly and nowhere is this saying more true than in the tech industry. We take a look back at 2023. What was important this year?

AI on the rise

Artificial intelligence hasn’t just been around since this year, and yet the term has boomed more than ever before in 2023. ChatGPT is primarily responsible. The language model behind it is now used by people who have never come into contact with AI before.

As a result, OpenAI and Microsoft signed a million-dollar deal in January that was intended to bring AI even closer to our everyday lives.

We have seen all sorts of possible uses:

Many see AI as a danger. There are fears about the job, and as the example of a Spanish editorial team shows, rightly so: they were dismissed as a whole in the spirit of artificial intelligence.

AI can’t just hurt jobs. A campus in the USA used ChatGPT to remove “dangerous” books from the library. That sounds like dystopia, but it’s real.

The four-month strike in Hollywood will also remain unforgotten. Actors rebelled against the computer to literally save face.

And then there is the Pope.

Real or not? That’s what the world asked itself in March.

Using Midjourney, an AI image was generated that confused millions: the Pope in a white down jacket? Artificial intelligence can be misused with ill will, which is why it is important for all of us to remain as vigilant as possible.

It’s easy to demonize AI. But there are also many opportunities in technology. Not only could unloved jobs be eliminated, but artificial intelligence can also help in everyday life. That’s why language models are gradually being integrated into our lives.

We’ll see what 2024 brings. In any case, more AI and politicians will also keep a close eye on it.

Elon Musk is changing the world

Hardly any year was characterized by such a controversial personality as Elon Musk’s 2023. The multi-billionaire felt like he was always and everywhere.

The purchase of Twitter was already sealed last year. Who would have thought that the most popular social network in the world would fail like this?

The renaming to X should be just the beginning. The former Twitter turned out to be a personal playground for Musk, who rarely keeps his opinions quiet.

Monthly costs are still up for grabs; Tweeting is no longer allowed. The fact that controversial figures have now been unbanned on

Musk planned to build it like an app for everything. We don’t think he will succeed in 2024.

But Twitter was not the only construction site for the controversial figure. Tesla always worries the man, be it in Germany or because of the Cybertruck. Tesla is running stable and we gave the Model 3 good marks, but the car brand is not out of the woods yet.

Elon Musk also hovers over our heads. At least Starlink, the internet from space, seems to be working. Rockets from Musk’s company SpaceX don’t run or fly.

They have been launching into orbit since 2006, but this year Musk suffered two setbacks: the rockets exploded unexpectedly in both April and November.

Is Musk boxing a class too high? By the way, he didn’t box at all against Mark Zuckerberg, whom he challenged to a duel that supposedly should have been seen on Twitter.

Shortly before Christmas there was a final blow for a company in which Musk had also once been involved: Hyperloop One is finally closing.

We can only hope that Musk will get back to the basics and that we will read more good things about him and from him in 2024. After all, hoping costs nothing

PC Hardware: The Great DLSS Discussion

In 2023, a lot of interesting new gaming hardware such as AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D or the Steam Deck OLED appeared. But here too, the topic of AI dominated, and in two ways:

• On the one hand looking at many graphics cards from Nvidia’s RTX 4000 generation and their marketing and price.
• on the other hand on the topic Poorly optimized PC versions and how they might come about.

The core of both aspects is increasing the frames per second in games with the help of AI or machine learning, as is the case with Nvidia’s DLSS and frame generation techniques. Let’s start with the latter.

RTX 4000 in criticism: Extreme jumps in performance were seen in many Nvidia presentations for the release of new RTX 4000 graphics cards this year. The catch: They only apply if frame generation is activated. Completely new images are generated using AI to increase the FPS.

However, this RTX 4000-exclusive feature is only supported by a very limited number of games. Apart from that, the increase in performance of the new GPUs compared to their predecessors is often very manageable – and that at often still (very) high prices.

Are developers resting on DLSS & Co.? A second point of discussion relates to Nvidia’s DLSS, which works with RTX cards from the RTX 2000 generation onwards.

DLSS also increases FPS, but unlike frame generation: DLSS upscales images from a lower resolution to a desired target resolution. Nvidia technology can be seen as representative of comparable technologies from AMD (FSR) and Intel (XeSS).

In the wake of 2023, which was plagued by many bad PC versions, the suspicion has repeatedly arisen that developers are relying on such upscaling techniques instead of ensuring that games run well in the native resolution.

A complex topic that appears through the first titles with supposed Upscaling requirement how Alan Wake 2 received additional fuel:

Ultimately, both discussions illustrate the well-known fact that modern technology often has both good and bad sides. One thing is certain: AI functions like upscaling and frame generation are here to stay in gaming.

There were these important technology releases

iPhones and Apple Watches were of course trending topics this year. Even if the computers for your pocket and wrist didn’t bring any groundbreaking news, they were, as every year, hotly anticipated.

A gadget that flies under the radar but really shouldn’t: the Meta Quest 3. If you believe my colleagues, then VR has finally matured. Higher, faster, further: that’s what enthusiasts want – and even those who don’t like it.

The fact that mixed reality glasses generally did not have the same impact as the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR (which also got a second iteration this year) shows that virtual realities are not on many people’s radars. Or was AI simply louder?

Anyone who says “glasses” must also say “apple”: In June, Apple announced the Vision Pro, its own mixed reality glasses. And what a stir that caused – at least the price tag of around $3,500 was a topic of conversation.

One justifiably asks: Will the Cupertino company shake up the market? So far we can only speculate, we’ll probably know more from February. Perhaps when we look back on the year 2024, VR will take its place on the throne of the most important tech topics.

And otherwise?

Netflix. Yes, not tech per se, but digital lifestyle and that should change dramatically for many with the ban on account sharing.

You are no longer allowed to share your account with people outside your own household. That was only tolerated anyway, but it caused a lot of dissatisfaction. That alone wouldn’t be so bad if Netflix hadn’t turned down the price screw and increased the advertising screw.

Then we just eat cake instead of bread. But wait, what is that? Disney is following suit? Oh no, Netflix has started a trend that other streaming providers are following. Man, you should inherit pay TV and linear television, not imitate it.

We were really beaten up, because at the same time YouTube attacked Adblock users. That’s their right and after all they offered us YouTube Premium Lite as an alternative.

Speaking of YouTube: Linus Tech Tips, do you know? The biggest tech YouTuber had his very own scandal and there was a lot of firing.

Finally, two things that you may have missed.

Nvidia becomes a member of the Trillion Dollar Club (Reuters). Thanks to AI, the company increased its sales so massively that it hit the trillions, joining Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, among others.

The crypto bubble has finally burst, the Handelsblatt also writes this in a comment. FTX’s machinations have caused an implosion. The cryptocurrency company Sam Bankman-Fried faces years of imprisonment, according to the SZ.

That was our short but intensive look back at the tech year 2023. There were many highs and lows. What was the most important tech news of the year for you? Have you been following the decline of Twitter? Have you adopted ChatGPT, Midjourney and Co.? What do you expect next year? Write it in the comments, especially if you can already see in the crystal ball what 2024 will bring!