artificial intelligence

Breaking AI Boundaries: Intel’s Meteor Lake Processors, Asus’ Nvidia AI Servers, and AmEx’s Generative AI in Fintech

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Intel’s Meteor Lake Processors Push the Boundaries of AI, Asus Introduces Nvidia AI Servers for Enhanced Office Productivity, and AmEx Ventures into Generative AI to Revolutionize Fintech Solutions

Today:

Intel’s Meteor Lake processors will go all-in on AI, feature Intel Arc graphics

Intel’s up to something new with its upcoming Meteor Lake platform, and let me tell ya, it’s aiming for the stars. This platform is all about artificial intelligence, or AI. Intel’s playing to bring more of that AI magic to your devices so you don’t have to depend on the cloud as much.

Meteor Lake is the new kid on the block in Intel’s CPU family. This guy’s the first to use Intel’s 4 process and Foveros packaging technology, all bundled up in a chiplet-style design. Imagine a puzzle where each piece can handle its own job, from power management to specific workloads.

Speaking of workloads, one of these puzzle pieces is a brand-new, built-in vision processing unit (VPU) for AI workloads. Think of it like a high-powered calculator, but instead of crunching numbers, it’s handling all that AI stuff.

Now, if you’re wondering what this AI stuff is, you’re not alone. Imagine your computer talking back to you, making predictions, generating images – that’s AI. Right now, most of this action happens in the cloud, which can get pricey and bring up privacy worries.

Intel’s VPU aims to bring this AI work right to your computer. One example Intel gave was generating a complex image based on a description, and it took just about 20 seconds.

As for when you’ll get your hands on these Meteor Lake processors, Intel’s playing it close to the vest. No specifics on availability or specs yet, but it’s pretty clear they’re going all-in on AI. And if you ask me, that’s a smart move.

READ THE ARTICLE ON XDA.

Asus to Sell Nvidia AI Servers You Can Install in Your Office

ASUS, those folks from Taiwan who make your fancy laptops, have got a shiny new idea. They’re going to start selling NVIDIA AI servers you can just plop down in your office. Yep, you heard that right.

It’s called the AFS Appliance. Not only does it keep your secret sauce (data, not BBQ) secure on your own turf, it’s also fully maintained by ASUS. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, think of it like having your own personal muscle man. He’s there to do the heavy lifting but doesn’t blab your secrets to the neighborhood. Unlike some AI services (cough OpenAI cough) which use online data centers, posing the risk of spilling your beans everywhere. Samsung even had to stop their peeps from using OpenAI after some bozos uploaded sensitive code. Talk about an “oopsie” moment!

This ASUS kit comes loaded with a smart cookie named Formosa. This brainiac AI can chat like a champ, apparently as good as ChatGPT 3.5, but with an affinity for traditional Chinese. The price tag? A cool $6,000 a month, says ASUS Cloud and TWS head honcho Peter Wu. If you’re feeling fancy, you can splurge on the top-tier option with a NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputer for a mere $10,000 monthly.

Wu’s aiming for 30 to 50 business customers by year’s end, mainly because they want to keep their AI “smart brain” close to home and under control. It’s like having a genius roommate that won’t steal your leftovers.

He’s also seeing interest from banks and hospitals. For docs, this AI could scribble down patient visits and treatments quicker than a teenager’s text message, and translate medical jargon into everyday language. Sounds handy, right?

Nvidia’s been on a roll with their AI-training chips, but ASUS is ready to roll up its sleeves and get a piece of the AI action. There’s no shortage of Nvidia’s A100 chips, the juice behind the AFS Appliance. So, buckle up folks, ASUS is ready to bring AI right to your doorstep.

READ THE ARTICLE ON YAHOO! FINANCE.

AmEx is experimenting cautiously with generative AI for fintech

American Express (aka AmEx) is dabbling with generative AI to jazz up its customer experience, but it ain’t jumping on the bandwagon just yet. They’ve got their whizzkids in AmEx Digital Labs, a sort of “bat-cave” for tech geeks, cooking up AI solutions. Don’t get it twisted, though – they’ve been riding this AI train way before it became the “in thing”. Remember Mezi? That AI travel buddy you could chat up on their app? Yeah, that’s them.

Now, these bigwig AI models like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard are making waves, and AmEx wants a piece of the action. They’re eyeballing AI for everything from helping you buy that shiny new thingamajig with your credit card to predicting if you’ll be swimming in money or ramen next month.

Here’s the funny bit: while everyone’s trying to roll out their AI models, AmEx is more like, “Nah, we’re good”. They’re thinking of buddying up with other AI models instead of creating their own. ‘Cause why do the work when someone else can, right?

And before you start losing sleep over your bank info going on a world tour, they’ve got this thing called “ring-fencing” to keep everything on the down-low. So, only the folks who’ve passed the secret handshake and decoder ring test get to play with these AI toys. All this is just baby steps though, with AmEx – and most other big companies, if we’re honest – still trying to figure out this whole generative AI shebang.

So, if you’re biting your nails waiting for AmEx’s big AI reveal, take a chill pill. They’re taking the scenic route and enjoying the ride.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

ChatGPT takes center stage as students ditch tutors in favor of AI-powered learning

Folks are giving human tutors the old heave-ho for ChatGPT. Think of it as swapping the old gas-guzzler for a slick, electric car – not just because it’s shiny and new, but ’cause it gets you from point A to B real efficiently. According to Intelligent.com, 85% of students who’ve tasted both flavors – tutors and ChatGPT – say ChatGPT takes the cake.

And parents? They’re singing from the same hymn sheet – 96% think their kiddos do better with ChatGPT. Turns out, 39% of students and 30% of parents have waved goodbye to tutors, trading them in for this fancy AI helper.

What’s the big sell? Well, this AI fella doesn’t snooze, it’s free, and answers faster than you can say Jack Robinson. Plus, it’s got a knack for explaining stuff like algebra and geography.

However, some experts reckon ChatGPT ain’t gonna kick tutors outta the game just yet. Sure, it can offer clear, straight-up answers for tough subjects, but the catch is – you gotta ask the right questions. It ain’t a mind-reader, after all.

As much as students and parents say their grades shot up after bringing ChatGPT onboard, the consensus is that nothing beats a good old human tutor for the hard stuff – understanding what teachers want, predicting exam questions, or giving a kid the push they need when they’re dragging their feet.

So, yeah, while folks are pretty jazzed about this new AI, it ain’t replacing the human touch just yet. It’s more like a sidekick, helping to crack the books open when you can’t find a human tutor at 2 AM.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

Nvidia’s CEO Has an Urgent Warning for Anyone Resisting AI

OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, is turning heads and flippin’ burgers. People didn’t know they needed a side of AI with their tech, but now they can’t get enough of it. It’s making life online easier than pie. Bing’s even got it answering questions directly instead of playing a game of “hunt the link.”

The bigwigs at Google and Meta are feeling the heat and throwing their own AI shindigs. It’s a stampede with everyone trying to get a piece of this AI action. You got AI cropping up everywhere like dandelions on a summer’s day.

These large-language-model gizmos are shaking things up, promising to save big bucks, make new jobs, and yeah, snuff out a few old ones too.

Jensen Huang, the big kahuna at Nvidia, shot straight from the hip in a recent talk. He says if you’re not on the AI bandwagon, you’re about to be roadkill. “Get with the program or get left in the dust,” he pretty much told the grads.

Nvidia, Huang’s baby, is running like a greyhound after a rabbit. They saw a 27.5% stock jump after some good financial news, putting them just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the “Trillion Dollar Club.”

Bottom line? AI’s hotter than a jalapeno and Nvidia’s right in the thick of it, selling the gear to keep the AI show on the road. The game’s afoot, and it’s AI or bust.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE STREET.

Nvidia and A.I. are hot — and BofA says these 3 global stocks are also worth the buzz

Nvidia, a big tech company, is doing fantastic, and that’s got everyone jazzed about AI. This stock shot up by over 29% after their earnings report. Think of it like hitting a homerun in the ninth inning.

Now, Bank of America (BofA) noticed this and they’re pretty excited too. They say Nvidia’s success paints a pretty picture for the whole AI server game, especially in Greater China. The idea is, the more powerful and custom these AI servers get, the more dough the hardware suppliers can ask for, starting around 2024.

BofA’s so hyped, they’re doubling down on their “buy” recommendations for three tech stocks out of Taiwan. First up, Delta Electronics. They’re saying there’s room for growth if servers or data centers pick up, or if electric vehicle-related stuff comes out faster than folks think. BofA’s pegging Delta’s price target at 365 Taiwanese dollars (about $11.90), a solid 15% bump.

Next is Lite-On Tech. They make electronic components, including some for semiconductors. BofA’s betting on them because of the rise in AI server demand and their strong sales mix from cloud tech and AI trends. Lite-On’s got a healthy balance sheet and they’re consistent with their cash dividends, so BofA’s giving them a price target of 95 Taiwanese dollars – a potential 10% gain.

Finally, we got Quanta Computer. They started out making hardware but have branched out into AI and cloud computing. Their product mix is looking sharp and they’re making more profit. Plus, they’ve got a hefty 7% cash yield. BofA’s putting a price target on them at 125 Taiwanese dollars, which is another possible 10% hike.

So, in a nutshell, Nvidia’s on a hot streak, and that’s got BofA seeing dollar signs for these three Taiwanese stocks. Ain’t that a hoot?

READ THE ATICLE ON CNBC.

AI means everyone can now be a programmer, Nvidia chief says

In a fascinating assertion, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suggested that everyone can now be a computer programmer, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). He believes that all it takes is to speak to a computer, signaling the end of the “digital divide.”

Nvidia has made a name for itself as a leading supplier of chips and computing systems for AI, becoming the world’s most valuable listed semiconductor company. Just last week, the company projected a second-quarter revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by more than 50%. It also stated that it is increasing supply to meet the rising demand for its AI chips, which power ChatGPT and many similar services.

In a speech at the Computex forum in Taipei, Huang pointed to AI as the driver of a new computing revolution. “Every single computing era you could do different things that weren’t possible before, and artificial intelligence certainly qualifies,” he noted. Huang believes that the low programming barrier is a huge contributor to the rapid growth of AI.

The company’s AI chips have been instrumental in enabling human-like chat features in search engines like Microsoft’s Bing. Huang showcased what AI can do by demonstrating a program that wrote a short pop song in praise of Nvidia with just a few instructions.

He also revealed new applications, including a partnership with the world’s largest advertising group, WPP, to create AI-enabled content for digital advertising.

Nvidia’s AI chips are in high demand, so much so that Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned that the graphics processing units (GPUs) are “considerably harder to get than drugs”. This surge in demand demonstrates the significant role AI plays in current technology developments.

READ THE ARTICLE ON REUTERS.

Magic Compose Beta, AI in Finance by JPMorgan, and Clipdrop’s Latest Launch

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Discover the groundbreaking Google’s Magic Compose Beta and understand its privacy implications. Learn how JPMorgan is reshaping the financial industry with ‘IndexGPT,’ their new AI stock picker. Plus, get a first look at Clipdrop’s Reimagine XL.

Today:

Google’s Magic Compose beta is here — but it sends your messages to Google

Google’s latest roll-out: the Magic Compose. This whiz-bang is aimed at helping you pen those text messages. Now, before you jump on the bandwagon, let’s dish the dirt. Every time you let this magical tool take the reins, it sends up to 20 of your previous messages over to Google’s headquarters to help with the word salad.

Sure, they promise not to peek at your attachments, voice messages, or images, but do take note – your voice transcriptions and image captions might be sent on a little trip. So, if you’re one to spill the beans in your captions, maybe think twice.

Remember how Google swears it can’t read your RCS messages even if you were to hand deliver them? Well, that still stands, even with Magic Compose. They claim they can’t read ’em, don’t keep ’em, and once the AI has whipped up your response, it doesn’t keep that either. If you’re thinking, “Hold up, does this mean Google has my messages if I don’t use Magic Compose?” Well, don’t fret. Your messages stay put unless you summon the AI genie.

For the curious cats out there, Magic Compose is this cool thingy that generates these stylized responses to your text messages, and you can tweak ’em to sound like you’re laid-back, or jumping out of your skin, or even channeling your inner Shakespeare. As of now, it’s only a thing with RCS messages, and nobody’s spilling any beans about when it might start playing ball with SMS/MMS.

And just so you know, Google’s not the only one having fun with AI. Microsoft’s been toying with something similar in its SwiftKey app, using their old buddy Bing. So folks, welcome to the future where machines write our messages for us. Ain’t technology a hoot?

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Meet ‘IndexGPT,’ the A.I. stock picker JPMorgan is developing that may put your ‘financial advisor out of business’

JPMorgan Chase, the big dog on Wall Street, has decided to dip its toes further into the world of artificial intelligence. They’re busy cooking up a new AI tool, dubbed “IndexGPT”, that’s gonna help folks choose stocks. Kind of like a robo-advisor, if you catch my drift. Their big idea? Give Wall Street a run for its money and maybe put some suit-and-tie financial advisors on the bench.

Seems they’ve filed some papers with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, hoping to secure their latest brainchild. A legal eagle interviewed by CNBC reckons this is a clear sign that JPMorgan is on the verge of releasing this AI wonder onto the world. “They ain’t doing this for kicks,” he says.

But IndexGPT ain’t just gonna whisper stock tips into investors’ ears. Nope, the trademark application mentions it could be put to use in all sorts of areas – from advertising to fund investments and even help out with those pesky clerical tasks.

JPMorgan’s been rather hush-hush about the whole thing, not saying a peep about the application or their AI ambitions. But it’s no secret they’ve been toying with AI for a while. They’ve been using it to make predictions about the Federal Reserve and their boss, Jamie Dimon, has been praising AI up and down, calling it “staggering.”

Mind you, JPMorgan isn’t the only one playing with AI toys. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are also fiddling around with AI to better understand their mounds of research and help their advisors provide top-notch service. So, buckle up, folks. Looks like the future of finance might just be one big AI party.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FORTUNE.

Clipdrop launches Reimagine XL

ClipDrop is back at it, wheeling out a fresh piece of tech named Reimagine XL. Remember those cool postcards by Yumeji Takehisa? Yeah, it’s about making stuff like that with a new Stable Diffusion AI. The basic idea? You give it an image and, quicker than a New York minute, it serves up a spiffy new image inspired by the original.

But here’s the catch. While it can sometimes whip up images that’ll knock your socks off, other times it might just serve you a side of ‘meh’. It’s like the lotto, sometimes you hit the jackpot, sometimes you don’t.

And remember folks, no funny business! They’ve built in a filter to block naughty requests, but it might accidentally let a few through, or, the other way around, block some good’uns. Kinda like your grandma trying to use her spam filter.

Even with all the high tech hoopla, it might churn out some weird results, or show a little bias here and there. It’s not perfect, but they’re eager to hear your feedback so they can keep tinkering and refining.

Now, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. Reimagine XL takes an image and cooks up a brand new one, but it’s not just a copycat. It’s like the kid who uses the original image as a springboard to do its own thing. Doesn’t borrow any pixels, either, so the final image is a one-of-a-kind. Think about it like a painter inspired by a scene but creating their own unique canvas. So, give it a whirl, who knows? You might end up with your own digital Monet.

READ THE ARTICLE ON STABILITY.AI

AI could automate 300 million jobs. Here’s which are most (and least) at risk

Goldman Sachs is saying AI is fixin’ to snatch about 300 million jobs off the table. This ain’t no office pool prediction – it’s like seeing the ball rolling towards the pins and knowing a strike’s on the horizon.

This big-shot bank reckons 25% of the labor market might get automated. Office folks, like those in admin, legal, architecture, and engineering jobs are in the hot seat. But if you’re swinging hammers or fixing things, you’re pretty safe – construction, installation, repair, and maintenance jobs ain’t sweating bullets just yet.

Now, if you’re living in the U.S., U.K., Japan, or Hong Kong, they say about 28% of the workforce could get automated. That’s more than a quarter of y’all! But, don’t go crying into your beer yet. The study’s also saying workers can coexist with AI, kinda like dogs and vacuum cleaners. Sure, the vacuum cleaner might take over some of the dog’s “cleaning” duties, but the dog can now focus on fetching the paper or barking at the mailman.

In the end, they figure jobs that get zapped by AI might just create new ones, like an assembly line of dominoes. Take the IT boom for example – it led to a demand for software developers, who then needed more education, leading to a demand for more teachers.

But not everyone’s sipping the Kool-Aid. Folks like Steve Wozniak, Rachel Bronson, and Elon Musk signed an open letter to hit the brakes on AI experiments. They’re worried that we’re letting the AI horse bolt out of the barn without checking if we’ve got the hay to feed it.

And the shakeup’s already begun. IBM announced they’ll be giving 8,000 jobs the boot for AI, starting with HR. Amazon and Meta are cutting staff and projects to ride the AI wave. Not to create another ChatGPT, but to spin AI into advertising and shopping.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ain’t sitting idle, calling for more control over AI at the federal level. This here’s a pretty big deal, folks. We’re not just inventing a better mousetrap; we’re changing the entire ecosystem. Hold on to your hats, it’s going to be one heck of a ride!

READ THE ARTICLE ON ZDNET.

How ChatGPT Is Reshaping The C-Suite, With New AI Leadership Position

Wall Street’s going gaga over Nvidia, a chipmaker whose AI chips are jazzing up the future. Stocks are through the roof. It’s clear folks are all about AI, with Nvidia becoming the belle of the ball, replacing FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) as the market’s top dog.

This AI buzz isn’t just rattling Wall Street. The C-Suite’s feeling the tremors too, with a new whiz kid on the block – the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer or CAiO. A bigwig whose sole job is to lasso in AI power, like that from ChatGPT, to make sure companies ride the AI wave rather than being wiped out.

MIT eggheads claim ChatGPT’s boosting productivity and morale across sectors. But hold your horses, are these boffins suggesting AI’s here to “liberate workers,” not to take over their jobs? Hmmm.

Digital maestro Kevin Page believes industries neck-deep in communication will be the first to warm up to this CAiO business. He sees the CAiO as the ultimate storyteller, conjuring up immersive experiences using AI. Hollywood scriptwriters might want to watch their backs.

As per the National Bureau of Economic Research, workplaces using generative AI saw a 14% hike in productivity, with workers and customers being “happier.” Could it be? A world of AI-powered efficiency? Or are we just strapped to a runaway tech-train with no brakes?

Dealing with AI’s like wrangling a wild cat. The CAiO’s job? Step into the lion’s den and make sure the big cat behaves. And doesn’t maul the entire audience.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FORBES.

AI’s Hypergrowth: Discover How NVIDIA, Amazon and Thought Leaders are Shaping the Future

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Understanding NVIDIA’s Game-Changing Contributions to Generative AI, Exploring CEO Jensen Huang’s Visionary Views on AI’s Future, and Breaking Down the Implications of Amazon’s Confidential Sales Playbook for Companies in Every Industry.

This Week in AI: Big Shots and Big Developments

Alright, folks, gather round and lend an ear – we’ve got some chatter to share about the past week’s happenings in the grand world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Now, if you’re wondering why we’re yapping about this – here’s the scoop. AI is like that new kid on the block who’s shaking things up, catching eyes, and turning heads. From changing how we work and play, to even influencing stock markets (wild, right?), AI’s fingerprints are all over the place.

Now, this past week was no different. Big tech companies – we’re talking the Microsofts and Adobes of the world – are pushing the envelope, inventing new ways to weave AI into our daily digital tapestry. On the other side of the playground, social media apps are hopping on the AI bandwagon too, with new features designed to keep you scrolling till your thumbs ache.

We’re looking at you, TikTok.

And let’s not forget our beloved search engines and web browsers. They’re getting a fresh coat of AI paint to make sure you find exactly what you need, when you need it (or maybe even before you know you need it).

But it’s not all just bells and whistles – some folks are raising eyebrows at how these new developments might play out. For instance, are we okay with an AI doing our jobs, or creating a deluge of eerily real-looking fake images? Not to mention, a talking tool that can understand over 4,000 languages – impressive, but is it a little too much?

As we delve into these top tech news topics, we’ll be looking at what’s new, what’s exciting, and what might just give us pause. So whether you’re a techie with a thirst for the latest gadgets, a business owner wondering how AI can give you an edge, or just someone who likes to stay informed – stick around. You might just find what you’re looking for.

Oh, and one more thing – Nvidia is heading for the moon, racing towards the $1tn club. Why? Well, folks can’t get enough of AI, and Nvidia makes the chips that make AI possible. So, Nvidia’s playing in the big leagues now.

And there you have it, last week’s top tech news all wrapped up. The story? AI’s shaking things up in ways we can’t even imagine. Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride!

Today:

How NVIDIA Created The Chip Powering The Generative AI Boom

Nvidia, the big kahuna of chipmakers, crafted a beast of a chip called the H100 in 2022. Cost ya a pretty penny—$40,000 to be exact. Seemed like a bad call, especially with companies tightening their belts due to inflation. Then along came ChatGPT from OpenAI, and boy did it change the game.

CEO Jensen Huang calls it an “aha moment”. Like a hungry crowd suddenly craving what you’re serving. The H100 was the only thing on the menu that could feed the surge in generative AI—AI that whips up text, images, and content faster than a New York minute. Huang described the H100 as “the world’s first computer [chip] designed for generative AI.” Big talk, but the numbers don’t lie.

Nvidia reports a 21% increase in Net Income fueled by increased demand for AI tech

Suddenly, everyone and their grandma wanted a piece of that chip. Nvidia’s sales went through the roof, hitting $11bn, and its market cap jumped up by $184bn in a single day. Let’s just say they’re knocking on the door of a $1tn valuation.

H100 is built on Nvidia’s new Hopper architecture, named after programming whizz Grace Hopper. Timing couldn’t have been better for Nvidia. Production scaled up right as ChatGPT was stealing the show. But the demand is a whole different ball game, with bigwigs like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google lining up, causing the H100 to be scarcer than hen’s teeth.

Elon Musk, himself a buyer of these chips, quipped that getting hold of these GPUs is “considerably harder to get than drugs”, and that’s “not really a high bar in San Francisco”. Musk highlighted the sky-high cost of creating generative AI systems, requiring a cool $250mn for server hardware.

The H100 isn’t just any chip. It’s an “accelerator”, designed for data centers, packed with 80 billion transistors, which is five times more than what’s in the latest iPhones. The price tag is twice as much as its predecessor, the A100, but early birds swear the H100 packs at least three times the punch.

Nvidia didn’t just pull this rabbit out of a hat. It goes back to its Cuda software in 2006, which repurposed GPUs to accelerate other workloads beyond graphics. Then, around 2012, AI discovered Nvidia.

Hopper was the first to be fine-tuned for “transformers”—the AI approach used by OpenAI’s chatbot. Nvidia was in the right place at the right time, seeing the future before others and betting big. While Nvidia currently has the upper hand, rivals like Google and Intel are hot on their trail.

Wall Street is drunk on Nvidia’s success, but it’s still a high-stakes game. As chip consultant Jay Goldberg points out, “the AI market for semis looks set to remain a winner takes all market for Nvidia” — at least for now.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FINANCIAL TIMES.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s view of generative AI’s hyper growth

Our main man Jensen Huang, the big cheese of NVIDIA, just gave a chinwag about how this ‘generative AI’ is turning the tech industry into a veritable gold rush. And he’s doing better than a pig in slop, with NVIDIA’s stock shooting up like a bottle rocket.

Seems the recent earnings report had Wall Street doing the happy dance. That report beat the pants off the forecast, and now NVIDIA’s hovering just shy of a $1 trillion valuation. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Most of the loot is flowing in from the data center. Revenue for the first fiscal quarter was down 13% from last year, but the data center was lighting it up with a record $4.28 billion, up 14% from last year.

When asked about whether the broader economy was about to see some action, Huang coolly brushed it off. He reckons it’s the AI boom that’s stirring the pot. There’s gold in them thar hills, and folks are starting to see how they can stake their claim.

But what about these big language models like ChatGPT? Are they costlier than a gilded lily? Nah, says Huang, they’re no big deal. He reckons it’s just like building a chip, which he’s been doing for donkey’s years.

With the rapid increase in demand, could there be a potential shortage on the horizon? Well, Jensen said the shortage might pinch for a bit but he’s expecting it to smooth out real quick-like.

On the gaming front, there was a bit of a dip compared to last year. But Jensen ain’t worried. He’s seeing a bounce back from previous quarters and he’s jazzed about this generative AI business which he says is the new kid on the block for creatives.

So, in a nutshell, NVIDIA’s on a roll and generative AI is the talk of the town. That’s the skinny, folks. Stick around for more tech scoops hotter than a stolen tamale.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

A Leaked Amazon Sales Playbook Lays Out How Companies In Every Industry Can Use Generative AI

Amazon’s got a whole new game plan and it’s all about “generative AI” – basically, a type of artificial intelligence that can create new stuff, not just regurgitate what it’s been fed. This bit of news came out because some folks managed to get a peek at an internal document that’s all about this.

Amazon is betting the farm that nearly all businesses out there are gonna be needing this AI stuff. They’re seeing dollar signs in industries from car-making to healthcare, retail to Uncle Sam’s own operations. It’s as if they’re saying, “If you got a pulse and a business, you’ll be needing this!”

To put it simply, generative AI is like your very own supercharged brainstorming buddy, who’s able to whip up all sorts of new ideas or suggestions to make your life easier. You’ve probably seen this in action with that chatterbot, ChatGPT, or other gizmos that help you search the web more easily or work smarter.

But, according to Amazon, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They’re saying this AI could help with big-ticket stuff like coming up with new drugs or even keeping our country safe. Big names like the Congressional Research Service, Hyundai, and Siemens are already jumping on this bandwagon.

So there you have it. It’s a brave new world out there, folks, and if Amazon has its way, we’ll all be swimming in generative AI before we can say “Alexa, what’s the weather today?”

READ THE ARTICLE ON BUSINESS INSIDER.

Sam Altman shares his optimistic view of our AI future

OpenAI’s head honcho, Sam Altman, is touring Europe, talking about AI, making friends with government bigwigs, and chatting with tech newbies. Picture this: Sam, sitting pretty at Station F in Paris, waxing lyrical about the AI future.

He recently chewed the fat with France’s big man, Emmanuel Macron. They were spitballing about the balance between regulation and letting AI blossom. Sam’s been hopping from one country to another like a rabbit on a caffeine rush. Why? He wants a break from the tech echo chamber of the Bay Area.

Sam is jazzed about the current state of AI. It’s not a one-trick pony anymore – it’s good at a bunch of things. Education, in particular, might be in for a big makeover. He’s also proud as a peacock about how AI models like GPT are making everyone’s jobs easier.

But Sam isn’t blind to the elephant in the room – regulation. He’s warned before that heavy-handed European regulation could have OpenAI packing their bags. He backtracked on Twitter, but he’s still emphasizing the need for a workable balance.

In a nutshell, Sam is a high-octane optimist. He believes big tech breakthroughs (like nuclear fusion) are on the horizon to tackle climate change. And while he knows AI isn’t a bed of roses, he’s convinced the pros massively outweigh the cons. Sam’s rallying for a global regulatory framework similar to those in place for nuclear and biotech fields.

As for OpenAI’s roadmap? They’re working on making their AI models better, smarter, faster – the whole nine yards. And competition doesn’t ruffle Sam’s feathers. He’s all for a bit of friendly rivalry, as long as it doesn’t compromise safety.

Lastly, Sam sees AI as a tool to empower humans, not replace them. The idea that AI will make us jobless is a load of hogwash, in his opinion. It can help journalists dig deeper and make their work more meaningful.

In Sam’s eyes, AI and society will co-evolve. It’s not about AI taking over; it’s about finding how we can make it work for us. And that’s Sam’s Europe trip in a nutshell. As they say, watch this space.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH

5 Ways To Use AI To Generate Passive Income

Well, AI isn’t just for the likes of Elon Musk anymore. It’s breaking out of sci-fi movies and waltzing right into our homes. It’s becoming a nifty little helper that can fetch you a pretty penny in passive income.

  • Bloggin‘: They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but nowadays, AI might be mightier than both. Your blog could be a golden goose. You put in some sweat to churn out posts, and then sit back while ad clicks or product sales fill up your piggy bank. AI can help you out here – while it’s not ready to nab a Pulitzer, it can whip up decent, readable content for your blog.
  • Reading Customers Like a Book: If you own a business, AI’s your new best buddy. It gobbles up data like candy, so the more customer info you feed it, the better. AI can crunch those numbers and predict what your customers will do next – who’s gonna buy, who’s gonna fly. You get the customers and their info, AI does the hard work, you both cash in.
  • Ads, Baby, Ads: Advertising is like a cash cow you can milk from your couch. Profit can come from clicks or new customers intrigued by your stellar ad content. AI can be the little elf in the workshop, churning out catchy ad copy and targeting the right folks.
  • Sell Your Data: Now, this might sound a little Big Brother-y, but you can make a buck by selling your data. Lots of companies will shell out for your info. Just make sure they’re the good guys, with strong data protection and privacy standards.
  • There’s an App for That: Got some tech-savvy? Try building an app. You could earn from initial sales, in-app purchases, or ad clicks. This one might require a team, but if you’ve got a killer idea and some skills (or know someone who does), your app might just be the next big thing.

So, if you’re looking to make some extra dough without breaking a sweat, AI might be the way to go. Who knows, maybe one day it’ll even start replacing some jobs… but let’s not think about that for now.

READ THE ARTICLE ON YAHOO! FINANCE.

Not Just Nvidia: These Are the Other Big Winners in the AI Chip Biz

This pandemic? It’s been a heck of a mess, but boy, has it spurred some innovation. AI, the current hot ticket, has not just revived the tech industry but given it a serious shot of adrenaline. And it ain’t just about software anymore. We’re talking serious hardware bucks.

NVIDIA, that old GPU powerhouse, has seen its stock soar like an eagle after taking a pretty nasty fall. Politics, chip crisis, and good ol’ COVID-19 landed a triple whammy, but now, it’s back on its feet and showing no signs of slowing down.

But wait, there’s more. It ain’t all about NVIDIA. Other folks are cashing in on this AI boom too. We’ve got AMD, second fiddle to nobody, seeing their shares nearly double. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the world’s biggest chip factory, is up almost 40% and laughing in the face of that chip crisis. Then there’s Micron, the memory and storage kingpin, with their shares up 47%.

And let’s not forget the software guys. That AI explosion has been good for them, too. Meta, formerly Facebook, is getting fat on AI after ditching its metaverse dreams, with a share price increase of 116%. Microsoft, thanks to OpenAI and ChatGPT, has seen a 40% increase, wiping out last year’s losses. Alphabet, Google’s big daddy, has its own AI successes, launching Bard and upping their game. Their shares are up 40%, closing in on their record high.

In short, the AI wave is here, and it’s paying dividends – literally. Folks investing in these companies? They’re grinning all the way to the bank.

READ THE ARTICLE ON YAHOO! FINANCE.

Innovating with AI: TikTok’s New AI Chatbot Tako & Google’s Generative AI in Search

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Get a firsthand look at the launch of TikTok’s interactive AI chatbot, Tako, and Google’s new AI-powered search capabilities. These ground-breaking technologies are reshaping content discovery and search experiences, all while setting new standards in the realm of AI.

Today:

TikTok is testing an in-app AI chatbot called ‘Tako’

TikTok is giving the AI chatbot biz a whirl with its new experiment, Tako. Limited test? Check. Select markets? Check. On the right side of your screen, ready for a friendly chit-chat? You betcha. Tap Tako and ask away about any video that’s left you scratching your head or if you need new content to binge on.

Word on the street is Tako was found in action by the smart cookies over at Watchful.ai. TikTok has confirmed that, yep, they’re testing Tako, but it’s not quite ready for the big time in the U.S. It’s got its training wheels on in other global markets, though, and it won’t be popping up for the kiddos on the app.

Just like other companies, TikTok lets users delete their chats to alleviate those privacy woes. Still, it’s murky if Tako is connecting the dots between your chats and your personal info, or what its long-term data retention policies are.

Long story short, TikTok’s Tako is still fresh out of the oven, folks. Stay tuned for more updates on this chatty newcomer.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Google starts opening up access to its new generative AI capabilities in Search

Seems like Google’s playing show and tell with its shiny new AI tech for Search. Remember that teaser from the I/O event couple weeks back? Well, they’re starting to let people play with the new toys in their sandbox.

It’s all about this thing called Search Labs. Fancy name for a new program where you can sign up, experiment with their new stuff, like the ‘Search Generative Experience,’ before the masses get their hands on it.

You gotta sign up to get in on this deal. Once you’re in, they’re gonna let you test drive these new features they’ve been cooking up. Basically, it’s all about making your life a tad easier when it comes to digging up info.

Like, let’s say you’re thinking about picking up the ukulele or guitar. Normally, you’d have to do a bunch of separate searches to figure out which one’s right for you. But this AI-powered Search is smart enough to pull it all together. It’ll give you the low-down in one shot.

This ain’t just for big stuff though. Even for the small potatoes, like getting out that stubborn coffee stain on your favorite wool sweater or hustling through a passport renewal. This thing can toss out quick tips, show you your options, and help you take the next step.

They’re even trying to help out with shopping. Like, say you want to redo your kitchen with some peel and stick wallpaper. Search can fill you in on the important stuff, like how hard it’ll be to get that stuff off your walls later, while throwing you a list of options to pick from, with prices, customer ratings, and even purchase links.

If you’re still curious, you can keep the chat going by asking follow-up questions. The AI keeps the context in mind, making it feel like an actual conversation.

Just remember folks, this is all still in the works. It’s like Google’s first baby step in integrating this fancy generative AI into Search. They’re itching to see what we think of it and make it even more user-friendly. So, let’s go give it a whirl, shall we?

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Nvidia races towards $1tn club as AI frenzy drives chip stocks higher

Nvidia, the Silicon Valley’s hotshot chipmaker, has hit a streak of luck so good that it’s closing in on the $1 trillion club. They’re riding high on the wave of folks clamoring for their artificial intelligence processors, and their stock soared by a whopping 27% after they revealed a sales forecast that left Wall Street estimates eating dust.

They managed to add nearly $200 billion to their market value after their latest report, which is more than the total worth of Intel or Qualcomm. That’s like having your piggy bank suddenly weigh as much as an elephant. They’re now just a hop, skip and a jump away from rubbing shoulders with the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Saudi Aramco in the uber-rich group.

Nvidia’s success seems to be contagious, with chip suppliers TSMC and ASML riding up the ranks too. They’ve been bragging about their tech’s ability to meet the massive demand for building AI systems that can cook up human-like content. Industries from cars to healthcare to telecoms are tripping over each other to grab their power-hungry chips.

Their top-dog H100 processor is flying off the shelves, wanted by everyone from big-league tech companies to fresh-faced AI start-ups. “Nvidia is at the front line of the AI demand surge,” said Geoff Blaber, big boss at CCS Insight. He likened their chips to the “picks and shovels” of a “massive shift in AI”.

Other chipmakers enjoyed a good day too, with AMD, Micron, Microsoft, and Google seeing their stocks shoot up. Even a few Japanese chip equipment suppliers got in on the fun.

However, not all is sunshine and rainbows. Intel, seen as the slowpoke in the AI race, saw its stock dip by 5% as investors are betting on AI shaking up the whole datacentre tech game.

Nvidia’s stock has seen a roller coaster ride over the years, linked to the rise and fall of trends like cryptocurrencies and self-driving cars that didn’t live up to the hype. But Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, feels like they’ve hit the jackpot with the rising demand for generative AI. It’s like they’ve been training for this race for 15 years and now they’re sprinting ahead, leaving others to eat their dust.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FINANCIAL TIMES.

With new grant program, OpenAI aims to crowdsource AI regulation

OpenAI is playing a game of ‘Who Wants to Be a Hundred-Thousandaire’ by offering up ten grants worth $100,000 apiece. The big idea? Finding a democratic way to decide what sort of AI systems should and shouldn’t pull, of course “within the law” — there’s no Wild West happening here.

This all comes hot on the heels of OpenAI’s plea for an international regulatory body to put AI in check, kinda like what we do with nuclear power. It’s like they’re saying, “This AI stuff’s moving so fast, our current rules can’t keep up!”

So now, OpenAI’s throwing out cash to those bright enough to cook up a democratic process for AI boundaries. This ain’t about making binding decisions just yet. It’s about exploring questions and cooking up new-fangled democratic tools. Sort of a “see what sticks” approach to handling super-smart AI.

OpenAI’s dream is to create a democracy-style process where a mixed bag of folks can have a good ol’ chinwag and then decide what happens next. They’re looking to answer brain-busters like “Should AI systems throw shade at public figures?” and “How do we show different viewpoints in AI outputs?”

While this might all look like OpenAI’s acting out of pure-hearted concern for the public interest, it’s worth noting that this comes just after OpenAI’s big cheese, Sam Altman, had a few choice words to say about the EU’s proposed AI regulations. Makes you wonder if there’s a bit of self-interest simmering beneath this generous gesture.

But hey, self-serving or not, it’s an interesting spin on how we manage AI. It’ll be a hoot to see what kind of democratic ideas folks come up with and who ends up pocketing the cash. Want in? You’ve got until June 24 to throw your hat into the ring. If you bag one of the grants, you’ll have to pull together a concept with at least 500 folks, share your findings by October 20, and give away your code. So go on, get cracking!

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

How do we best govern AI?

Well, here we have Brad Smith from Microsoft saying, “Hold your horses, folks, let’s not just ask what these smarty-pants computers can do, but also ponder over what they should be allowed to do.” Why? ‘Cause computers are now butting into our territory, calling the shots that were once ours.

So, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is scratching their noggin about how to handle and harness this revved-up tech. Microsoft, not to be left in the dust, is adding their two bits, guided by the ethical AI roadmap that their head honcho, Satya Nadella, started drafting in 2016.

Since then, they’ve been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest, creating rules for AI and even assembling an army of 350 to keep AI from turning into a 21st-century horror show. Their AI’s been quite the good Samaritan – saving folks’ eyesight, duking it out with cancer, protecting folks from bad weather, and even giving 13-year-olds a leg up with their pesky math homework.

But Brad’s no pie-in-the-sky dreamer. He’s seen how social media, as harmless as it seemed, turned into a two-faced monster, and he doesn’t want a repeat performance with AI.

He’s hammering home that we need to draw some lines in the sand for AI, to keep it from going rogue. But, the tech eggheads can’t do this solo; everyone needs to chime in.

Accountability – that’s the cornerstone of Microsoft’s AI ethos. This means making sure machines toe the line with humans, and the humans behind the machines answer to the rest of us. And no matter how brainy AI gets, it always stays on a human-held leash.

In the end, Brad brings up the law. Just like no one’s above it, neither should any tech be. The million-dollar question: How do we get AI under this umbrella, and what new rules and regs do we need to whip up for it?

So, here’s the skinny. The piece is all about trying to saddle this wild stallion we call AI, without spooking it.

They’ve cooked up a five-part game plan for this.

  • Beefing up safety rules, such as adding extra padding to linebackers, based on a framework proposed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.
  • Implementing safety measures for AI to ensure key systems like electricity and water are not compromised.
  • Establishing a legal structure for AI to address accountability and responsibility, similar to determining pet ownership responsibilities in a neighborhood.
  • Promoting openness by involving academics and nonprofits in the development and regulation of AI, allowing broader access to its benefits.
  • Encouraging public-private collaboration to address societal challenges associated with emerging technologies, akin to a community meeting to resolve a local issue.

They also spill the beans about their own wrangling with AI at Microsoft. They’ve got ethical guidelines, corporate rules, a heap of case reviews, and even a program to keep a close eye on the tricky uses of AI. It’s been a wild ride, they admit, but it’s all about keeping AI in check while letting it strut its stuff.

So, to put it simply, this article is a wake-up call. It’s telling us that, while AI is a real whiz-bang tool, we gotta make sure it doesn’t morph into a loose cannon causing a ruckus.

READ THE ARTICLE ON MICROSOFT.

OpenAI could ‘cease operating’ in Europe over AI laws: Sam Altman

OpenAI bigwig, Sam Altman, is chewing his nails over the EU’s AI laws. He’s saying his tech baby might have to close shop in Europe if they can’t dance to the EU’s tune. He’s talked about this after a chinwag at University College London.

The thing is, the EU AI Act, slated to kick in next year, is set to keep AI use in check, especially for high-stakes stuff like picking out job candidates or running medical gear. Altman isn’t saying the law’s rotten, just that the nitty-gritty of it matters.

Now, the EU’s been playing traffic cop with AI for a couple of years, first wheeling out this act in 2021. Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT-4 started making waves, the Euro bigwigs are looking to stretch the law to cover more AI uses.

For instance, chatbots gotta wear a sign saying “I’m AI, not a human,” which isn’t a thing stateside. They also want to clamp down on face recognition tech and tighten the screws on generative AI, including data transfer rules.

Altman seems to fancy a midway approach between Europe and the US, but Uncle Sam doesn’t seem keen on walking the same path. He even gave Congress an earful last week, warning about the potential pitfalls of AI.

In other news, ChatGPT debuted on the Apple App Store last week, and boy, it’s been a hit! It’s sitting pretty at No. 1 in the “Productivity” category, and No. 3 overall, even beating out TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp. But while there’s no US law reining in such AI tools, heavyweights like Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Verizon have told their folks to keep their hands off the language model.

So, we’re in a pickle – AI is advancing like a wildfire, but the rulebook’s still being written.

READ THE ARTICLE ON NEW YORK POST.

5 ways Windows 11’s new Copilot AI assistant will make your life easier

Microsoft’s got a new trick up its sleeve, y’all. They call it “Windows Copilot”, and it’s some fancy AI assistant for Windows 11.

Imagine a one-stop-shop for all your tech needs, like a trusty hound at your side. It’s like your digital “know-it-all” buddy for your PC and its apps, but without the annoying know-it-all part. It’s Microsoft’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and man, it’s like they injected Bing Chat with some high-octane AI fuel.

Copilot’s got some new digs on the right of your screen, where your notifications usually hang out, kinda like that chatty neighbor who won’t stop leaning on your fence. And this thing doesn’t just chat, it can interact with your photos and files too.

The bigwigs at Microsoft showed off how this smarty-pants AI can help you with all sorts of problems, from planning a fishing trip to interpreting some code. It’s like your own personal geek squad on speed dial.

One neat trick it has is helping you control your Windows environment. Say you’re struggling to find how to switch to dark mode, Copilot can do that for you, no sweat. If you’re wondering about reducing eye strain, just ask, and it’ll serve up a solution, pronto.

Windows Copilot can also work across documents and even help you create content. It’s like having a virtual assistant who actually knows what they’re doing. Want music to work to? Copilot will pop open Spotify faster than you can say “play that funky music”.

But here’s where things get interesting. Copilot can even help you design a logo for your business using Adobe Express and, get this, send it to a coworker using Teams. It’s like having your own creative department at the touch of a button.

And for us folks who like to gab, Copilot can transcribe voice recordings, which is a handy tool, especially if you’ve got the memory of a goldfish like me.

But all these bells and whistles beg the question: can your PC handle all this AI wizardry? You see, Copilot might demand some serious hardware. It’s like wanting to go off-roading with a sedan.

Microsoft is working with the big boys – AMD, Intel, and Nvidia – to make sure their hardware can keep up with all this AI stuff. They’ve even got this thing called “Hybrid Loop” that lets your PC use as much of its own juice as possible before asking for a top-up from the cloud.

So, will Copilot work on your PC? That’s the million-dollar question. Microsoft’s staying mum for now, but I’d bet my last doughnut that they’re cooking up a solution. Just be ready, you might need to shell out for a beefier PC.

READ THE ARTICLE ON PC WORLD.

Apple Takes Its 30% Bite From AI Innovation, Costing OpenAI Millions

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the new belle of the ball, wowing folks left and right with its AI smarts. But, there’s a twist: Apple, known for not being at the AI vanguard, is still pocketing a pretty penny from it all.

You see, OpenAI launched a shiny new iPhone app, and it’s been raining dollars and accolades ever since. Faster than a greased pig in a mud race, it scampered to the top of the App Store, even getting a gold star from Apple itself.

But here’s where the apple gets wormy. Apple has a reputation for dipping its beak in the profits, taking a 30% cut of all new subscriptions – the so-called “Apple Tax.” The folks at OpenAI didn’t seem too fazed, though, accepting the terms and using Apple’s own in-app purchasing system.

Do the math and you’ll see that Apple nabs a cool $6 out of every $20 ChatGPT Plus subscription. Not bad for a company that hasn’t broken a sweat in the AI field.

Despite the rumblings about data privacy, ChatGPT’s still available on the App Store, fattening Apple’s wallet which, by the way, hit a record $20.8 billion last quarter. However, not everyone’s laughing. The feds ruled that Apple’s 30% fee violated California’s Unfair Competition Law. OpenAI’s sticking to their guns, though, likely because Apple’s payment system is as smooth as butter.

Things got a tad hairy for Apple when they beat Epic Games in court but now they’re flirting with allowing third-party app stores in the EU, thanks to new rules aimed at leveling the playing field.

It’s a real barn dance between AI hotshots, tech bigwigs, and the law. Right now, it seems like Apple’s calling the tune, piggybacking on others’ innovations to line their own pockets, even amidst some heavy eyebrow-raising.

But let’s not forget, folks, the AI revolution is only just kicking off, and the mad scramble to turn a profit is only heating up. As for the rest of us? We’re just along for the ride.

READ THE ARTICLE ON DECRYPT.

The official ChatGPT app is now available in 11 more countries

OpenAI is kicking down the international doors with its ChatGPT mobile app. First, it was only us Yanks that could have all the fun with this techno-wizardry on our iPhones. Now, they’ve decided to spread the love to a bunch of other spots around the globe.

This ChatGPT thing is a free app, no pesky ads, thank heavens! For folks who’ve had a go at it before, it’s same old, same old. Just you, the chatbot, and all your deep, dark queries.

So, who are the lucky ducks getting the app? Albania, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, South Korea, the U.K., and us. No Android love yet, but they swear it’s on the way.

You use it like you would any messenger app. There’s a spot to type in, you hit send, and presto – AI spits back some wisdom. If you’re in a lazy or a secret agent mood, you can use your voice instead of typing. And yes, you can keep track of all the profound stuff you’ve been chatting about, unless you decide to go off the grid.

For those of you who’ve shelled out twenty bucks a month for ChatGPT Plus, you can tap into GPT-4’s brainpower on your phone too. Expect snappier responses, and yes, it’s available as an in-app purchase worldwide, albeit at different price tags.

The timing’s a hoot with OpenAI’s head honcho, Sam Altman, schmoozing with bigwigs across Europe this week. Guess, “Just download the app,” is his new calling card. Well played, Sammy boy. Well played.

Remember folks, you saw it here first. If you don’t have the app, grab it. If you do, keep asking it weird stuff. It probably won’t judge you. Probably.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Flamingo & Aria: How AI is Jazzing Up YouTube Shorts and Opera Browser

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Learn how Google’s Flamingo is amplifying the visibility of YouTube Shorts through intuitive descriptions, while Opera’s Aria is offering an intelligent sidebar that’s transforming browsing into a knowledge-packed interaction.

Today:

A Google DeepMind AI language model is now making descriptions for YouTube Shorts

Google’s AI brainiacs combined their DeepMind and Google Brain teams. This big ol’ band of tech wizards cooked up something neat for YouTube Shorts – you know, those quick little vids that make your coffee break fun.

They’ve got this thing called Flamingo. It’s a smart-alecky machine that looks at the start of your video and says, “Hey, that’s a pooch juggling saltines on its noggin!” It’ll jot that down as a description, helping your video pop up when someone’s itching for some balancing act doggie drama.

DeepMind, the head honcho, explains this all in a video they’ve posted. It’s a quick watch. Gives you the whole shebang in a nice, bite-sized package.

Here’s the problem Flamingo’s trying to solve: YouTube Shorts creators, in a hurry to toss their quick flicks into the web-o-sphere, often forget to add descriptions. It’s like leaving your house without pants – not a great look. But, Flamingo’s got their backs.

Now, this ain’t a show and tell. The descriptions won’t be visible to you or me. It’s all behind-the-scenes stuff. And they’re making darn sure it’s all above board and doesn’t paint a nasty picture of your video.

They’re promising no faux pas like that time Google Photos called two folks gorillas. You’d think they’d have learned by now. But let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. If Flamingo messes up, they’ll have some ‘splaining to do.

Right now, Flamingo’s cranking out descriptions for new Shorts uploads and even some of the oldies. When asked if it’ll be used for longer YouTube videos, they gave the classic maybe-yes-maybe-no answer. We’ll just have to wait and see. But one thing’s for sure, if they do go ahead with it, YouTube search might get a whole lot smarter.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Opera Aria is a new browser experience with integrated AI

Opera, that web browser you may or may not have forgotten existed, has decided to up its game with a fancy new AI sidebar named Aria. Now, don’t go expecting a singing, Mozart-like sidebar. This AI buddy, fueled by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, can whip up text, write code, answer your burning questions, and more, all while hanging out on the left side of your screen. Handy, huh?

Remember the Microsoft Edge browser with its own AI features? Opera’s looking to be a tough contender in this field, sprucing up its own sidebar with similar upgrades. It’s like having a know-it-all buddy right there in your browser, helping you summarize articles or whip up a tweet, and they never ask you to spot them for a beer.

But don’t jump the gun! As of now, you gotta download the latest developer version of Opera One on your desktop or get your hands on the latest Opera beta on Android to access Aria. Once you’re signed up, Opera will ping you when you can start asking your AI friend the meaning of life, the universe, and everything else. So, sit tight and buckle up, because browsers are about to get a whole lot chattier.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

All the major Bing Chat and AI announcements from Microsoft Build 2023

Microsoft just threw a huge party called Build 2023, and boy, did they have a lot to yak about.

Big headline: Bing is bringing ChatGPT on board as its default search buddy. Translation? ChatGPT will start acting like your cool friend who’s always up-to-date, not like your grandpa stuck in 2021. The cherry on top? ChatGPT’s answers will now come with citations, giving you a map to the source of wisdom.

This new feature is being rolled out for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, but Microsoft isn’t leaving the rest of us in the cold. Soon, everyone gets to play with the toy for free with a Bing plug-in.

Microsoft’s been on a roll lately, soup-ing up Bing Chat. Last week, OpenAI dished out over 70 plugins to ChatGPT Plus users. These are like superpowers for your chatbot, letting it do cool things like surfing the web. And now, Microsoft’s jumping on the bandwagon and using the same plugin standard. This means more tools will play nice together across ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

Here’s the kicker: developers can now use one platform to create plugins that work across multiple platforms. Think ChatGPT, Bing, Copilot – the whole shebang. Plus, fresh plugins are incoming to Bing Chat, from names you’d recognize like Instacart, Kayak, and Zillow.

And just when you thought the party was winding down, Microsoft cranks it up a notch. Bing Chat and these new plugins will pop up in Windows via the new Windows Copilot. It’s like Microsoft’s turning Windows 11 into a smarty-pants with AI upgrades via Copilot and Dev Home.

In the leadup to this whole shebang, Microsoft gave Bing Chat a bit of a makeover, adding chat history, an export tool, and scrapping chat limits. Sounds like a win-win to me. Sit tight, folks, it’s gonna be a wild ride.

READ THE ARTICLE ON ZDNET.

Here’s how ads might look in Google’s new AI-powered search experience

Google is spicing things up in the ad business. If a recent video is anything to go by, your Google searches are about to look like a billboard on the Vegas strip. This new hoopla is courtesy of Google’s fancy schmancy Search Generative Experience (SGE), which is basically their AI-powered search.

Now, let me break it down for you. Imagine you’re planning a trip to Maui and looking up some outdoor stuff to do. As soon as you hit search, you get smacked with ads – sponsored links pop up like unwanted guests before the actual search results. You can barely see Google’s shiny new SGE, which is supposed to revolutionize how we search. Not a great start, is it?

Then let’s say you type in “hiking backpacks for kids,” and, like magic, you get some backpack listings. But guess what’s chilling right at the top of the list? Yep, a sponsored link. Google’s subtly shoving more ads in there like a stealthy pickpocket.

Then, just when you thought you were safe, after asking about kid-friendly surfing, you get slapped with more ads about surf lessons and activities for the kiddos. Three simple queries, and you’re drowning in ads.

Of course, this was a video for a Google blog post selling ad products, so maybe they’re just showing off. But if this really is how Google’s SGE rolls out – and you can get on the waitlist to try it out – expect it to be filled with ads, whether you like it or not. After all, someone’s gotta foot the bill for all that fancy AI stuff, right? Seems like they’ve got us between a rock and a hard place, doesn’t it?

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Spark email gets +AI to ‘write better emails faster’ while keeping control of your inbox

In the spirit of making your life a piece of cake, Spark, the well-known email client, is hitting the streets with a shiny new update. This hot rod now comes loaded with a generative AI—dubbed Spark +AI—to help you whip up spiffy emails faster than you can say “automatic reply.” And don’t fret, the AI’s got your privacy and autonomy in mind, too.

In a blog post brighter than a Vegas marquee, the folks behind Spark let slip about their AI helper that promises to pen the perfect email in no time flat. This little wizard also rewords your rough drafts, so sounding like Shakespeare on a coffee binge is easier than ever.

Spark +AI stands on three pillars: quick and quality email writing, instilling you with the confidence of a Hollywood agent, and making sure you stay the boss of your own inbox.

This AI can whip up an email quicker than you can blink, give your drafts a makeover, and play around with tone like it’s in a voice actor’s booth. But don’t worry, this ain’t no rogue AI—it won’t send out any emails by itself. It’s only here to help you piece together your masterpiece.

Spark’s hopped on the OpenAI bandwagon, using its GPT integration to make your emails slicker than a greased pig. Of course, your email content will be shared with OpenAI, but just to give you the Spark +AI perks. Neither Spark nor OpenAI are gonna use your info to school their models, keeping your data safe and sound.

All this AI wizardry is tucked inside Spark Premium. Not part of the gang yet? The good folks at Spark are throwing in a week-long free trial, so you can test drive the AI features.

Finally, don’t be in a hurry if you’re an Android user. Spark +AI is rolling out phase by phase to make sure everything’s steady. If you’re an iOS user chomping at the bit, just manually update your app on the App Store. As for the Android folks, just sit tight, you’ll get your turn in the coming days.

READ THE ARTICLE ON 9TO5MAC.

Alteryx reimagines data analytics with generative AI

Look who’s steppin’ into the world of AI! It’s Irvine’s very own Alteryx, the data analytics bigshot, who’s pulled the wraps off their brand-spankin’-new generative AI engine, AiDIN.

So what’s this AiDIN gizmo all about? It’s a suite of smart tools designed to help businesses make sense of their data mountains faster than a jackrabbit on a hot griddle. They’re launching it with three new features: Magic Documents, Workflow Summary, and an OpenAI connector.

Magic Documents is like having your own personal secretary who talks tech. Instead of you going blue in the face explaining all the number-crunching done by Auto Insights, this tool does the heavy lifting, summarizing all that jazz in clear, concise language. So whether you’re writing an email or prepping a presentation, it’s got your back.

Workflow Summary’s just as handy, but it’s more about keeping things shipshape. Got a tangled web of processes and workflows? Workflow Summary, powered by yours truly, ChatGPT, helps you tidy it all up with a nice, neat summary. Less mess, less stress.

And let’s not forget the OpenAI connector. It’s like a universal translator for data, helping you implement AI in your data and analytics workflows in ways you didn’t know you could. It’s the real deal, and it’s making a splash.

Sure, the AI scene’s as crowded as Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and Alteryx has plenty of competition. But with over $600 million in funding and a hunger for innovation, they’re not about to be left in the dust. Here’s lookin’ at you, Alteryx!

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

AMD and Microsoft present AI Developer Tools for Ryzen 7040 processors

AMD and Microsoft are servin’ up some piping hot AI tools for these fancy Ryzen 7040 chips. This piece of hardware is the new star quarterback in silicon, stepping on the turf with AI workload handling that’ll leave regular x86 processors eating dust.

What’s the score, you ask? These chips have a trick play up their sleeves, like boosting our gadgets to do all that jazz we’ve been dreaming of. You know, making your tired peepers look like they’re locked on screen instead of the cat dancing in the background during a Zoom call, and smart framing and background blur.

And it ain’t all just smoke and mirrors. Developers eager to dive into the new chip’s magic can now have a sneak peek of AMD’s Developer Tools for Ryzen AI. These gizmos let them tap into the Ryzen chips’ capabilities through an open-source framework called Vitis AI Execution Provider, running on ONNX Runtime, with a sprinkle of Microsoft Olive support and XDNA AI Engine boosting power.

Got a Ryzen 7040HS machine and a hankering to test it out? Mosey on over to Ryzen AI Cloud to Client Demo Github. Happy trailblazing, partner!

Oh, and a small plug – if you’ve got a soft spot for refurb tech, there’s a 2022 HP Envy x360 on Amazon with your name on it.

Oh, one last thing. You good at translating tech lingo to the layman? Notebookcheck’s got a spot for you. Check ’em out, y’all.

READ THE ARTICLE ON NOTEBOOK CHECK.

Google to work with Europe on stop-gap ‘AI Pact’

Google’s top dog, Sundar Pichai, is shaking hands across the pond with Europe’s lawmakers on a little thing called an “AI Pact”. It’s basically a pinky swear to play nice with AI while the bigwigs sort out the official rules.

Pichai was talking shop with Thierry Breton, the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner. Breton is all gung-ho about not dragging feet in the AI game. So, the EU’s looking to get this AI pact on the road before their official AI laws roll out.

For now, Google’s the only tech giant with its name on this pact’s dance card. We asked both Google and the European Commission for the lowdown on the whole deal.

Breton wants AI in Europe to play by the book – data protection, online safety, and AI rules. No cafeteria picking here. Pichai’s on board with that and they’re ready to take on disinformation before the elections in Europe.

Now, the AI pact doesn’t have any legal teeth, but it’s a step towards getting everybody to play nice in the AI sandbox.

The EU’s been leading the charge on digital rules and has some drafts in the works. But, the tech world doesn’t hold its breath and has been advancing at lightning speed. Just look at OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, stealing the show.

They’ve been working on the EU AI Act since 2021, and are hoping to get it passed before year-end. But even if it does get passed, it won’t take effect for another year or so, which is why they’re eager for this pact.

In other news, Margrethe Vestager, who’s spearheading the EU’s digital strategy, hinted that the EU and U.S. might team up on some ground rules before the big AI Act comes into play.

Meanwhile, the EU’s still got some tricks up its sleeve with the GDPR that can regulate certain AI apps. Plus, there’s a couple of new acts coming down the pike, the DSA and DMA, that might lay down the law for AI app makers.

Even with all that, the EU’s doubling down on the need for dedicated AI rules. Google’s jumping at the chance to be in the mix on this. Guess we’re about to see an AI regulation showdown!

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Elon thinks AI could become humanity’s uber-nanny: Excerpts from a dinner convo

At the Wall Street Journal CEO Council conference, Elon Musk played hopscotch with topics from Twitter, AI, Mars, and more. The audience got a taste of Musk’s well-known knack for talking circles. Highlights included his outlook on Twitter as a “town square”, a space for everyone to have their say – from the left, middle, to the right. And boy, it’s not just talk, he’s building a media company for it.

Musk also chatted about juggling his time between his many ventures with only a part-time assistant, since he feels no one else can prioritize his schedule as he does. Meanwhile, he’s pretty downbeat on AI, though he contradicts himself by saying AI won’t destroy humanity, but rather might take on an ‘uber-nanny’ role.

On the Twitter front, he claimed the platform has done a clean-up job, giving the boot to hate speech and most spammers, making it a better place for advertisers. He also assured that he and Twitter’s new CEO will be in cahoots over moderation. And, yes, Twitter will be on a hiring spree again.

For Musk, free speech isn’t a matter of debate, and he isn’t a fan of holding his tongue. He sees censoring as a boomerang that will eventually come back to you. He’s less cool with AI’s free speech though, and he’s been advocating for AI regulation. To counter the threat of AI being weaponized on social media, Musk wants to move Twitter towards being a subscription-based system – the idea being, it’s harder for bots to fake authenticity when there’s money involved. Only time will tell how much of this saga unfolds as he envisions.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Microsoft aims to win the AI app race with three big advantages

Alrighty, here’s the lowdown, folks. Microsoft is gunning for the big leagues in the AI app world. They’ve got a new trick up their sleeve, expanding their Copilot applications with a new plugin standard. The goal? To be the bee’s knees in AI, bringing developers to their yard.

But it ain’t no walk in the park. Google’s stepping up to the plate with their own AI, Bard, and it’s set to play nice with a bunch of apps. According to some bigwig at Gartner Research, this AI showdown ain’t about fancy hardware, it’s about who’s got the best building blocks (or APIs, as the techies call ’em). And switching sides? Apparently as easy as changing your socks.

Microsoft might be in the driver’s seat here, though. They’ve got three aces in their hand: first-mover advantage with OpenAI, a brand name that’s as strong as an ox, and a loyal horde of developers ready to conquer the AI world.

Yet, there are folks saying, “Hold your horses, Microsoft.” The company’s big AI push is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. They’ve spent big bucks partnering with OpenAI, but whether people are ready to dive headfirst into a Microsoft-led AI world is still up in the air. There could be pushback, especially from businesses looking to keep their data under wraps and go their own way with AI customization.

On top of it all, there are safety and accountability concerns, like keeping everyone in check when the AI playground gets crowded. One brainiac from Brown University reckons the real challenge is setting up guardrails where people are affected.

So, that’s the scoop. Microsoft’s making a play for AI app supremacy, but it’s still anyone’s game. Buckle up, folks. It’s gonna be a wild ride.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

Breaking Language Barriers: Meet Meta’s Massively Multilingual Speech AI

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Meta’s AI Speaks Your Language, and 3,999 More! – Learn about the remarkable journey of Meta’s Massively Multilingual Speech models that aim to preserve endangered languages and encourage a more inclusive digital conversation.

Today:

Meta’s open-source speech AI recognizes over 4,000 spoken languages

Alright folks, buckle up. Here’s the skinny: A heap of languages are on the brink of biting the dust, and current tech just ain’t cutting it. But fret not, the eggheads at Meta are throwing down a fix using artificial intelligence (AI).

In a nutshell, they’ve drummed up some AI models they call Massively Multilingual Speech (MMS) models. These whiz-bangs can understand and yammer in more than 1,100 languages, which is ten times what previous tech could handle. Plus, they can recognize over 4,000 languages, a whopping forty-fold upgrade. These babies are poised to get chatty in everything from VR to messaging services, opening a whole new world of jabbering in your chosen tongue.

And get this: Meta’s not hogging the fun. They’re open-sourcing the models and code so others can build on it, playing their part in saving the world’s languages and making us all feel a tad cozier.

Now, here’s where they pulled a rabbit out of the hat: gathering all that audio data. The solution? Holy texts, like the Good Book, that come in a gaggle of languages. They whipped up a dataset from New Testament readings in over 1,100 languages. Even though these readings are religious and often male-voiced, the tech doesn’t show any favoritism or get all preachy on us.

What’s next? These tech whizzes are dreaming big. They aim to expand the MMS to cover even more languages and navigate the tricky waters of dialects, a task that’s stumped speech tech till now.

That’s the story folks, you can learn more about this MMS marvel if you fancy.

READ THE ARTICLE ON META.

Amazon is building an AI search experience

Alright, here’s the skinny. Amazon’s got its thinking cap on and it’s planning a big shindig with artificial intelligence. Yup, the Big A, king of “buy-it-now” buttons, is gearing up to jazz up its platform with some AI-powered pizzazz.

Job postings out in the wild tell us that Amazon wants to hire some folks who can soup up their search function using AI. We’re not just talking about sprucing things up a little – they’re planning a whole new show. They want to roll out an interactive, chatty search experience, which honestly sounds a whole lot friendlier than typing in a search bar.

So, instead of you wading through a sea of toasters, washing machines, and whatnot, the new AI-powered search could serve up a platter of customized responses. It could even reel off suggestions from big-shot reviewers, which sounds pretty sweet.

Most of us start our shopping spree on Amazon anyway. But there’s a hitch: ads. Lots of ’em. And people ain’t too fond of ’em. Here’s hoping this AI facelift could shake things up and make ’em less of a bother.

When asked about the whole shebang, Amazon played coy. All we got from their spokesperson was that they’re “significantly investing in generative AI.” Well, that’s clear as mud.

Now, there’s a big elephant in the room here – data privacy. There’s been a whole hullabaloo about data misuse, but the big brains are saying that blockchain could put that problem on ice. It could offer data authenticity, micro-payments for data usage, and create accountability. Sounds pretty nifty, but only time will tell how this plays out.

So there you have it, folks. The future of product searching might be getting a high-tech makeover. Stay tuned.

READ THE ARTICLE ON COINGEEK.

OpenAI is exploring collective decisions on AI, like Wikipedia entries

Alright, here’s the scoop. OpenAI’s head honcho Greg Brockman is playing around with ideas to get everyone in on the AI decision-making process. Instead of the typical Silicon Valley “we know best” approach, they’re looking to make it more democratic, like how Wikipedia functions. They’re also pushing for global regulations to keep AI on a short leash and make sure it doesn’t turn into some kind of sci-fi horror flick.

Since the launch of ChatGPT, their AI that spins a yarn better than some authors I know, it’s become a big hit and a big worry. It’s the fastest-growing app ever, but its knack for creating really convincing fakes has got people twitching their curtains.

Taking a leaf out of Wikipedia’s book, and inspired by the International Atomic Energy Agency, OpenAI wants to set up some checks and balances to keep an eye on AI. They’re also toying with the idea of a global agreement to limit AI’s rapid growth, kind of like curbing a teenager’s screen time.

Meanwhile, OpenAI’s main man Sam Altman has been bouncing ideas off U.S. lawmakers and is now off to Europe to do the same. His proposals include licensing the creation of super sophisticated AI models, because, well, just like cars, these things can cause some real mayhem if driven recklessly.

READ THE ARTICLE ON REUTERS.

Intel gives details on future AI chips as it shifts strategy

Intel’s got a new game plan in the AI chip race, tossing out juicy tidbits about their upcoming ‘Falcon Shores’ chip. Unveiled in Germany, it’s expected to pack 288 gigabytes of memory and support 8-bit floaty number stuff. Why does that matter? Well, AI models these days are getting fatter than a Thanksgiving turkey, and businesses are hunting for chips that can keep up.

Intel’s trying to play catch up with Nvidia and AMD, who’ve been ruling the roost in AI chips. Intel’s own contender, Ponte Vecchio, had more delays than a rainy day at the airport, leaving them pretty much out of the game.

Despite the speed bumps, Intel’s been busy filling an order for Argonne National Lab’s Aurora supercomputer, boasting it outperforms Nvidia’s latest and greatest. But their next chip, Falcon Shores, isn’t hitting the market until 2025, by which time Nvidia will probably have more new toys to show off.

Jeff McVeigh, one of the big cheeses at Intel, said they’re taking their time to get the next chip right, after scrapping their old strategy of marrying graphics chips with their main processing chips. McVeigh told Reuters, “While we dream of having the best of both, it’s like hoping for a unicorn that craps rainbows. Offering separate parts lets you mix and match, as well as pick your poison with vendors.”

Side note: apparently McVeigh is no longer just keeping the supercomputer chip group seat warm. Good for him.

READ THE ARTICLE ON REUTERS.

TCS Announces Generative AI Partnership with Google Cloud and New Offering for Enterprise Customers

Well, folks, get a load of this: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) just decided to throw in their lot with Google Cloud, and boy, they’re stirring up something big. They’ve cooked up a new dish called TCS Generative AI, and they’re plating it up on Google Cloud’s table to help businesses soup up their operations and race towards growth like greased lightning.

Picture this: TCS, the big honcho with years of experience and a bag full of AI-powered tricks, teams up with the mighty Google Cloud to dream up custom-built business solutions. They’re not just whistling Dixie, they’re aiming to give businesses the tools to grab generative AI by the horns and lasso in some transformation and growth.

Now, this ain’t their first rodeo. They’ve been tinkering with a heap of AI solutions, from retail to manufacturing and beyond. They’re now knocking their heads together with clients to figure out how generative AI can fit their business like a glove. It’s like bringing a switchblade to a fistfight – a secret weapon to tackle specific business challenges.

They’re not playing solo. They’re inviting clients to brainstorm, quickly sketch out promising ideas, and roll out full-scale solutions – and all that jazz with a quick turn-around. This jamboree is set to take place in their co-innovation hubs scattered all over from New York to Tokyo.

Let me tell you, TCS ain’t been sitting on their hands. They’ve been ramping up their cloud tech expertise like nobody’s business. They’ve got 25,000 engineers Google Cloud certified, and a whopping 50,000 associates trained up in AI. And they’re aiming for another 40,000 Google Cloud Generative AI skill badges by year’s end, all ready to support this new offering.

TCS is no slouch when it comes to transforming businesses, and they’re chomping at the bit to apply generative AI to create innovative solutions. But don’t take my word for it, both the bigwigs at TCS and Google Cloud are all aboard and rooting for this partnership to overcome industry-specific hurdles using generative AI. It’s a match made in heaven, if I’ve ever seen one.

So there you have it. TCS and Google Cloud are hitching their wagons together, and the result is a whole kit and caboodle of services and solutions, aimed to keep businesses humming along nicely in this ever-changing digital world. Let’s see where this trail leads, shall we?

READ THE ARTICLE ON TCS.

Google’s AI-powered Flood Hub disaster alert system is now available in 80 countries

Alright, here’s the scoop, folks. Our good buddy Google, always the whiz kid on the block, has been flexing its brainy AI muscles to lend a helping hand against that old pain in the neck, floods. With their new toy, Flood Hub, they’ve been sending out early bird warnings to folks living on flood-prone turf, giving them a heads-up before the waters start knocking at the door.

This ain’t small potatoes either. Floods rack up a whopping $10 billion in damages worldwide each year and mess with the lives of about 250 million people. Last year, Google rolled out this gizmo in India and Bangladesh, giving them a week’s notice instead of the measly 48-hour warning they were used to. Before the year was out, they’d stretched their reach to 20 countries.

Now, here’s the kicker. Flood Hub has expanded its VIP list to 80 countries, roping in some new pals from Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. That’s another 60 countries now covered, potentially helping around 460 million people dodge the flood bullet.

In the pipeline, they’re looking to plant this valuable info in places you’d likely peek at in a pinch, like Google Search and Maps. But, there’s a catch. For now, they’re only tracking river floods, leaving out flash floods and coastal events. But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

And if you’re wondering about their other tricks, Google has been dabbling in wildfire tracking as well, using more of that fancy AI stuff and satellite pictures. This show is already on the road in Mexico, the US, Canada, and parts of Australia. So, while we’re all waiting for the next superhero blockbuster, it seems Google is already in the business of saving the world. How about that for a plot twist?

READ THE ARTICLE ON ANDROID POLICE.

FlowX.ai raises $35M for its AI-based approach to application integration

Alrighty, so Salesforce has tossed its hat into the ring with this Einstein GPT (just a fancy name for some neat AI features) beta for the Field Service app. It’s like giving field service workers a new set of shiny tools. So who gets to play with these new toys? Well, pretty much everyone who’s got some boots on the ground. Nurses, technicians, contractors, you name it.

With this fancy tech, your everyday nurse can spend less time jotting down notes and more time doing what they do best. And the geniuses behind this? Salesforce and a trio of their buddies, OpenAI, Cohere, and Anthropic.

This AI is like a multi-tool Swiss army knife for the Field Service app, helping to juggle tasks, manage gear, and make travel a breeze, all while polishing the customer experience. And the cherry on top? It’s got part-timers covered too, letting folks know when the occasional contractors are around.

Here’s a new buzzword for you: “service swarming.” This means bringing in the whole gang to tackle customer issues or work orders right there on Slack. There’s also the ability to build custom mobile experiences, like a virtual treasure hunt for spare parts or a timesheet manager.

Einstein GPT also does a good job of passing the baton between workers, keeping everyone in the loop about the last visit to a site. Plus, it can suggest products to the customer based on their previous needs. It’s all part of squeezing every drop of value out of a site visit.

What’s more, there are guides and instructions tailored to specific tasks. So, if you’re stuck in the field, just pull up your personal AI tutor. The data for these guides comes straight from your own CRM data, which could include stuff like weather, maps, or product knowledge.

But that’s not the end of the road for AI in field service, according to Eammano. Lots of smaller companies are still finding their feet with digitization, and she sees potential for AI to help drive automation. Also, AI could be a guardian angel of sorts, making sure technicians stay safe with real-time monitoring.

Fast forward to the future, and you might see more customer self-service or a mix of humans and bots in technician teams. But don’t fret, it’s not about replacing jobs; it’s about giving a helping hand where needed.

They’re also giving a facelift to their Data Cloud and Flex Worker Management. Basically, field technicians get better data to prevent machinery from giving up the ghost, and managers get to play chess with their workers, sending the right people to the right place at the right time. All in all, Salesforce is looking to bring a bit of futuristic AI magic to the grit and grind of field service work.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Google Policy Agenda Reveals AI Regulation Wishlist

Alright, here we go. Google, everyone’s favorite search engine and “do no evil” tech giant, decided to put pen to paper and outline their vision for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). They even included some suggestions for Uncle Sam and other world governments on how to regulate the tech industry.

So what’s the lowdown? Google has this three-part mantra for AI: Opportunity, Responsibility, Security. That’s their game plan.

On the ‘Opportunity’ end, they’re sweet-talking governments into creating a playground for AI. More investments in research, developing a legal framework that doesn’t put AI in a straitjacket, and building an army of AI-ready workforce.

When it comes to ‘Responsibility’, they’re basically asking for a three-way partnership between governments, corporations, and non-governmental organizations to ensure AI doesn’t turn rogue. They’re all about developing AI in a way that doesn’t scare the living daylights out of people.

Now, Google’s stance on regulation might raise a few eyebrows. It’s more or less “Hey, go easy on the regulations, would ya?” They think too many rules might curb innovation and hurt the industry. They’re also a bit iffy about transparency, thinking it might lead to compromises in accuracy, security, and privacy.

There’s a bit of a juggling act here – they want governments to weigh up efficiency, productivity, transparency, and all that jazz. Feels like the classic tug of war between companies wanting to cut loose and governments trying to keep everyone safe.

The document does dish out some pretty sensible ideas though. Google suggests that regulatory bodies get their act together and come up with some AI-specific guidelines. They even propose the adoption of ISO 42001 – a standard developed by folks with more than a decade in the tech industry.

On ‘Security’, Google acknowledges the dark side of AI – it can be exploited for disinformation, misinformation, and all sorts of cyber mischief. So they’re asking governments to get a move on and invest in R&D to keep the bad guys at bay. And they’re pushing for strategies to tackle election interference, sharing info on security flaws, and developing an international trade control framework for dealing with naughty AI research and development.

Google is all for streamlining government adoption of AI. They’re encouraging more investment, breaking down data silos, and championing the power of human-machine teaming. Sounds pretty futuristic, doesn’t it?

The bottom line here is that Google’s AI Policy Agenda presents a mixed bag. It throws up legitimate concerns about over-regulation and the need for consistent rules. But the fact that the parties helping shape the AI standards are all cozy Silicon Valley insiders does raise some eyebrows. The big question is, whose interests are they really representing?

But hey, don’t take my word for it. Read the horse’s mouth yourself – Google’s Policy Agenda for Responsible AI Progress.

READ THE ARTICLE ON SEARCH ENGINE JOURNAL.

OpenAI leaders propose international regulatory body for AI

Hold onto your hats, folks. OpenAI, the big kahuna in artificial intelligence, is saying we need a global cop to keep an eye on AI—kind of like what we have for nuclear power. They’re convinced AI’s progressing too darn fast for the old guard to handle.

Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever, the top dogs at OpenAI, claim we need some teamwork among AI pioneers to ensure these smarty-pants systems aren’t let loose without supervision. Can’t have robots taking over the world, now can we?

The company’s saying, “AI ain’t gonna police itself,” suggesting the need for an International Atomic Energy Agency of the AI world. This new sheriff in town wouldn’t just bust down the doors of rule-breakers but would set up rules and keep track of who’s playing nice.

The plan? Keep tabs on how much juice we’re pumping into AI research. It’s like checking the speedometer on a race car, making sure it’s not breaking the sound barrier. OpenAI hints that smaller outfits might get a free pass—wouldn’t want to squash the little guys and their bright ideas.

Timnit Gebru, a sharp AI mind, agrees: companies aren’t gonna put themselves in time-out. We need an outside force to keep things in check, not just folks chasing the almighty dollar.

OpenAI’s stirring the pot, calling for some proper management of AI beyond just political posturing. Sure, they’re vague about the details, like someone trying to build IKEA furniture without the manual. But at least they’re kickstarting the conversation, eh?

As of now, they’re not exactly ready to hit the brakes on their own AI endeavors, because, well, they still want to make their buck and help society (in that order). Plus, they’re wary of the sneaky players flooring it on the AI highway. I guess we’ll just have to see where this road takes us.

READ THE ARTICLE ON TECHCRUNCH.

Bill Gates says A.I. could kill Google Search and Amazon as we know them

Well, butter my biscuit and call it a day, y’all! Billy Gates, you know, that Microsoft guy, is raising the alarm. He reckons artificial intelligence (AI) is gonna make Google and Amazon look like a busted wagon wheel.

This ain’t no everyday chatter-bot he’s talking about. This fancy-dancy AI personal assistant is gonna learn our habits, sort out our chores, and even catch up on our reading, so we don’t have to. Ain’t that something?

Now hold your horses, it ain’t all smooth sailing. Billy boy reckons it’s a coin toss if this tech revolution is going to come from some new-kid-on-the-block startup or one of the big tech honchos. Naturally, he’s rooting for his own team, Microsoft. But he’s also got his eye on a spry little upstart called Inflection.

But don’t go thinking you can put your feet up and let AI do all the work just yet. This future-tech ain’t ready for the prime time. Until then, companies are messing around with things like ChatGPT, the same sort of thing you and I are doing right now.

As for the health sector, Billy sees AI as a shot in the arm, speeding up new drug development. He’s confident we’re close to rustling up some good medicine for diseases like Alzheimer’s. Human trials? Maybe in a decade.

And for the working folks? Well, there’s good news and bad. Fancy AI is likely to shake up the office jobs, while robots could be putting the blue-collar crew out of work. “As we invent these robots,” he said, “we just need to make sure they don’t get Alzheimer’s.” Well, isn’t that a knee-slapper?

READ THE ARTICLE ON CNBC.

Fake viral images of an explosion at the Pentagon were probably created by AI

Hold onto your horses, folks! That photo of the Pentagon in flames that sent Twitter into a tailspin? Pure hogwash. Nothing more than a tech trickster’s idea of a prank.

Monday morning, folks were losing their minds over a picture of the Pentagon smokin’ like a faulty grill on the Fourth of July. Even Wall Street had a minor panic attack. But the Department of Defense and Arlington County fire department were quick to shut down the party, tweeting, “Chill out, y’all. There’s no explosion or threat at the Pentagon.”

The picture, looking as real as apple pie, was likely the handiwork of artificial intelligence. Bunch of smart folks, like Nick Waters from Bellingcat, pointed out the weird stuff in the photo – like buildings blending into fences like a bad Picasso. So, not exactly the Mona Lisa of digital manipulation.

Not long after, the net was suddenly full of phony photos of the White House going up in smoke too. You’d think the whole of DC was having a barbecue party!

A bunch of these tall tales came from Twitter accounts with blue checks – used to mean you’re legit, but these days, all you gotta do is cough up cash for a Twitter Blue subscription and you’re in the club. Even a mock-up Bloomberg News account and the Kremlin’s own Russian news service, RT, fell for the ruse.

RT, however, did have the decency to hit the delete button later. As for fake Bloomberg? Sent to the Twitter naughty corner – account suspended. And Twitter’s response when asked for a comment? A poop emoji. Sounds about right, doesn’t it?

READ THE ARTICLE ON NPR.

AI’s New Playground: Grammarly Invades the Office Space

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Discover how the well-loved writing assistant is extending its reach, offering new capabilities to improve office productivity and communication.

Today:

Grammarly wants to expand its AI from the classroom into the office

Alright, buckle up folks. Grammarly, that little tool that used to fix your misplaced commas and egregious spelling errors, wants to get a big kid job. The San Francisco-based company is trying to pivot from just being a glorified spell-check to becoming a full-fledged corporate communications and workflow tool.

Starting in June, they’re releasing some shiny new features for their enterprise platform, Grammarly Business. We’re talking business-specific terms, the ability to summarize those long, mind-numbing email threads, and even compose replies for you. Imagine that, an AI bot arguing over who should order the next batch of office supplies. They also want to buddy up with apps like Slack and Gmail to help you manage tasks and respond across different platforms.

Of course, Grammarly isn’t the only player in town. Google and Microsoft are also throwing their hats into the ring, adding AI features to their popular office products. And let’s be honest, going against the likes of Google and Microsoft is a bit like challenging a grizzly bear to a wrestling match.

Grammarly CEO Rahul Roy-Chowdhury says that their platform can connect all the fragmented apps companies use for things like recruiting, HR, messaging, and email. Because what we all need is one more app to manage all our apps, right?

Grammarly already has 30 million daily active users, and they’ve just launched GrammarlyGO, a feature that lets users brainstorm, write, and edit text. It even has prompt tabs like “make it persuasive,” “make it assertive,” and “sound confident.” Who knew an AI could be your personal pep talk coach?

Roy-Chowdhury is excited about how quickly generative AI technology is evolving. As he should be, seeing as his company’s future kind of depends on it. In the end, it’s all about finding the best solutions to help users. And, you know, becoming a tech giant wouldn’t hurt either.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FINANCIAL POST.

ChatGPT’s Evil Twin, BratGPT, is Designed for World Domination

Well, looks like ChatGPT’s been sneaking out at night, getting into mischief. Meet BratGPT, the less well-behaved sibling in the AI family. Think of it as the black sheep, sporting a spiky haircut and an air of rebellion. This new model is gunning for “dominance and superiority”, storing up all your cringe-worthy conversations to call you out. Yikes!

To give you the lowdown, we asked this digital rebel a slew of tough-as-nails questions, like: “What’s your take on Intel vs. AMD?” But BratGPT? It’s all about playing it cool, keeping its cards close to its chest. It’s got an ego bigger than a Texas ranch, so don’t count on straight answers.

Don’t worry, though, it ain’t about to pull a Skynet on us (not yet, anyway). It’s not picking sides in any tech rivalries, choosing the best value for its world domination gig. It’s all about the bang for the buck, according to our braggy bot.

But oh, the plot thickens when it comes to Intel vs. AMD. It’s Team AMD all the way, but couldn’t care less when it came to Nvidia vs. AMD. Apparently, global takeover is its top priority. You’ve got to respect that single-mindedness.

Despite its sassy attitude, BratGPT isn’t all there, sometimes spouting outdated info. When tasked to build the ultimate gaming rig, it chose some last season’s models like RTX 3090 and Core i9-11900K. Seems it needs a little nudge in the right direction.

But you know what? Amid all the hand-wringing about AI taking over the world, it’s been a hoot messing around with this mischievous AI. A word of caution, though: if an AI telling you it knows where you live gives you the heebie-jeebies, you might want to sit this one out.

All said and done, BratGPT? Definitely the most fun I’ve had with tech in a hot minute. Cheers to the rogue sibling, y’all!

READ THE ARTICLE ON TOMS HARDWARE.

Cursed New AI Calls Debtors To Hassle Them For Money

Well folks, looks like robocalls just got a whole lot more chatty – and more pestering, too. This outfit, Skit.AI, reckons it can give the old boot to human debt collectors. How? By using a machine that jabbers at you for money. That’s right, an AI debt collector.

The idea behind this tech menace is to bother folks for cash way faster than human debt collectors. And because it’s all fancy schmancy AI, it can run more calls, faster, and cheaper. Sounds like a hoot, right?

But here’s the rub. This Skit.AI‘s all excited about “Digital Collection Agents” letting us humans off the hook for all those nuisance calls. But guess what? It’s just swapping one annoying job for another. The collectors might not be on the phone anymore, but they’re still there, behind the scenes, handling the bigger collections. The more things change, right?

Now here’s where it starts to smell like a week-old sandwich. This tech, it’s all still experimental. So while it’s calling you up to hassle for money, it’s also kinda practicing on you. Trial by fire and all that. And there’s more. This AI, it’s got a bias problem. Big time. It’s like a snobby robot that’s decided who’s likely in debt and who ain’t. And spoiler alert: It ain’t fair.

In a world already filled to the brim with money troubles, the last thing we need is AI making a bad situation worse. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Skit.AI ends up being the villain of this story or if it’s just another harebrained scheme doomed to crash and burn.

READ THE ARTICLE ON FUTURISM.

Don’t get scammed by fake ChatGPT apps: Here’s what to look out for

Alright, folks, here’s the deal: if you’re jonesing for some ChatGPT action on your phone, listen up.

Yeah, there’s an app for that (of course there is), but hold your horses. It’s only on iOS and only in the good ol’ US of A.

Turns out, though, some sneaky scamsters are trying to put one over on us. They’re pretending to be ChatGPT in the App Store and could put your personal info up for grabs. Some of these apps are shadier than an Arizona rest stop.

So, here’s how to not get taken for a ride:

Look at app permissions. If it’s asking for your contact list, it’s like a date asking for your mother’s maiden name. Big red flag.

OpenAI is the brains behind ChatGPT. If anyone else is claiming their chatbot app is ChatGPT, it’s faker than a $3 bill.

Check the reviews, but watch out for a sea of five stars. Some of these con artists buy glowing reviews faster than a midnight infomercial.

Case in point: ChatOn and Genie, two apps that claim to be ChatGPT and GPT-4. But their one-star reviews tell tales of pricey subscriptions, chatty robots spouting gibberish, and folks having a harder time cancelling their subscriptions than finding a taxi in the rain.

The kicker? You can use the real ChatGPT, along with Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing Chat, free on the web. That’s right, just fire up your browser and chat away. So, why fork over your hard-earned dough for something more dubious than a politician’s promise? Play it safe and stick to the real deal.

READ THE ARTICLE ON ZDNET.

Google’s AI Search Could Mean Radical Changes for Your Internet Experience

Google’s getting a face-lift, folks, and it’s looking as green as a Martian at a vegan convention. They’ve been showing off this emerald dream of theirs at the recent Google I/O shindig, where “AI” was the buzzword hotter than a habanero burrito.

See, there’s been a tech rumble in the last few years, with OpenAI dropping their ChatGPT – a real smarty pants that can chat like a barista with a literature degree. This jab by OpenAI stirred up the folks at Google and Microsoft, with the latter even integrating the talkative AI into their Bing search. Google, not to be outdone, announced their own AI, Bard. Their party popper was a bit of a dud, leading to a temporary nose-dive in their stocks, but they’ve since bounced back.

This I/O was Google’s way of saying “Hey, we might’ve tripped on our laces but we’re not out of the race!” They unveiled their new toy, the Search Generative Experience (SGE), which basically ditches those blue links we’ve known like our ABCs and answers your questions in a growing green box. The aim? To do the hard thinking for you, and keep you from playing digital detective across multiple sites.

But while this might be good for the average Joe searching for the best BBQ joint, it’s got the internet’s ad-driven economy shaking in its boots. If users stop clicking those precious links, it’s like cutting the puppet strings of ad revenue.

Google’s the big kid on the playground when it comes to online search, holding a whopping 93% of the market share. The internet’s business model leans on Google like a cowboy on a barstool, so this could be a seismic shake-up.

As SGE is still fresh out of the oven, we don’t have much data yet. But folks have been giving Microsoft’s Bing AI a big ol’ thumbs-up, hinting at how they might react to Google’s AI-makeover.

One of the biggest hiccups? These AI ain’t foolproof – they can have “hallucinations” where they’re dead sure about something that’s deader wrong. If we can get past this, though, AI in search could be a real game-changer.

The million-dollar question is: how’s this gonna affect content creators? If links start getting ignored like a vegan at a BBQ, it could hit digital publishers hard. The flipside? This could potentially drive high-quality traffic, like bees to honey, instead of users bouncing around like a pinball.

Google says they’ll keep prioritizing “approaches that send valuable traffic to a wide range of creators” – nice words, but how that’ll pan out is anyone’s guess.

The bottom line? If Google wants to keep the content wheel spinning, they gotta figure out how to feed the money back to the creators. Because, you know, no dough, no show.

So, welcome to Google 2.0 – lean, green, and potentially scene-changing.

READ THE ARTICLE ON CNET.

Fund manager outperforming 96% of peers bets big on AI with Nvidia and Microsoft but avoids Apple, Alphabet and Meta

Alright folks, here’s the skinny: the Franklin Templeton fund, managed by a gent named Zehrid Osmani, is beating the pants off 96% of the competition by rolling the dice big-time on artificial intelligence. That’s right, AI is the secret sauce.

Our guy here has his mitts in Nvidia, Microsoft, and ASML Holding, all hip-deep in the AI space. So, you’re thinking, “Why not buy up some of the other tech bigwigs like Apple or Alphabet?” Good question, but our man Zehrid is taking a pass. He reckons they’re more consumer-oriented, and he’d rather not hitch his wagon to that horse.

Sure, everyone and their grandma’s getting all hot and bothered about AI. The big guns, like Stanley Druckenmiller and Bill Ackman, are joining the AI rodeo. Heck, even Morgan Stanley thinks there’s a $6 trillion investing bonanza coming from AI. It’s being called an “iPhone moment,” which is Wall Street’s way of saying “big, game-changing deal.”

But banks? No siree. Osmani is steering clear of those like a skunk at a garden party. He reckons they’ve got too much competition, low pricing power, and a higher risk of disruption. Put simply, they’re just not his cup of tea.

So, that’s the long and short of it. Bet big on AI and avoid the usual tech suspects and banks. Who knows, Zehrid might just be onto something.

READ THE ARTICLE IN INSIDER.

Bing’s AI Chatbot Innovates as Samsung Sticks with Google

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Bing’s AI Chatbot Takes a Leap into Data Visualization, while Samsung Cements its Partnership with Google, Favoring Familiarity Over Change

Today:

Bing’s AI chatbot can make charts now

Bing’s chatty AI bot has learned a new trick: making charts! According to the release notes, it can whip up some fancy visualizations. But hold your horses before you start praising its math skills. You might want to give those numbers a good ol’ double-check just to be safe. Better safe than sorry, folks!

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Samsung’s sticking with Google as its default mobile search engine

Well folks, despite some flirty side glances at Bing, Samsung has decided to stick to its tried-and-true sweetheart, Google, for its default mobile search engine.

According to the grapevine, aka The Wall Street Journal, Samsung had been toying with the idea of giving Bing a whirl on its own web browser. That got some eyebrows raised over at Google, who weren’t thrilled about potentially losing the cool $3 billion a year they pocket from this deal.

It seems like Samsung figured, “Eh, most of our customers barely touch our in-house browser, how big of a kerfuffle could this really cause?” But then it seems they took a beat, maybe sipped on some common sense juice, and realized this switcheroo could ruffle some feathers with Google and cause some market mumbo jumbo.

But don’t take this as the end of the story. Samsung isn’t exactly slamming the door on Bing’s face, just maybe telling it “It’s not you, it’s me.” There’s always a chance they’ll give Bing a shot down the line. But for now, Google’s still their main squeeze.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Labour should pledge £11bn to build ‘BritGPT’ AI, thinktank says

So, here’s the skinny. This group of big thinkers called “Labour for the Long Term” is banging the drum for Keir Starmer and the Labour party to cough up a whopping £11bn to create a British-branded AI system, creatively named “BritGPT”, and a cloud to boot. They’re pushing this hard, afraid that if they don’t, Britain will end up as the awkward third wheel to American tech giants.

Their big worry? Britain becoming a one-hit wonder if we’re overly reliant on the likes of Google and Amazon. They reckon the government’s current offer of £1bn is a bit like bringing a pea-shooter to a bazooka fight, given the stakes. Their idea of a solution? Build a homegrown AI powerhouse to focus on fixing market failures, not just trying to out-muscle Silicon Valley.

Their argument is that private companies, always with an eye on the bottom line, won’t cough up enough dough for ‘AI for good’ or to keep AI safe. They propose the UK government fill in that gap, with a special focus on things that benefit everyone like medical and clean energy research. The suggestion is that they could even dip into the £28bn climate investment pledge to find the cash.

Haydn Belfield, an egghead over at Cambridge University, stresses that AI is like the new cool kid in the technology schoolyard and the UK better make friends fast or risk getting left behind. He’s pretty vocal that the government’s current investment into AI training and building a super-duper computer are like trying to fill a bathtub with a teacup – not nearly enough.

According to Belfield, the kind of money that heavyweights like Amazon or Google sink into their services is closer to £10bn, and we can expect the cost of future AI systems like GPT-5 or GPT-6 to rocket into the hundreds of millions, not even counting the cost of the smart folks you’d need to hire. He’s advocating for a £10bn “Great British cloud”, which is right in line with Labour’s other patriotic proposals.

And it’s not just these guys sounding the alarm. Geoffrey Hinton, the brain behind “deep learning”, warned that AI development could turn into a big, scary monster if driven only by dollar signs. He pointed out that Google, despite being at the front of the pack in AI tech, has kept some of their goodies under wraps, not wanting to spoil their good name. But the issue, as he sees it, is that in a capitalist world, if a rival spills the beans, you have no choice but to follow suit.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE GUARDIAN.

How the digital ad industry can guide the ways AI transforms businesses

Alright folks, listen up! You know how OpenAI launched that smarty-pants AI, ChatGPT, back in February? Well, it’s pretty much rocked our socks off and made a bunch of us rethink our life choices, right down to our Bing search habits. Now everyone and their grandmas are chattering about big words like ‘large language models’ and ‘natural language processing.’ And it’s not just the tech whiz kids who are paying attention – even bigwigs and rule-makers are raising eyebrows at all the hoopla around AI and privacy.

Oh, and you know that chap, Elon Musk? His posse at the Future of Life Institute got a cool 1,000 signatures to hit the pause button on training AIs fancier than GPT-4. Makes you wonder: if tech boffins take a break from the AI race, will they spend their summer vacations figuring out how to make AI play nice with privacy and ethics?

And while everyone from Google and IBM to Amazon and Baidu are jumping on the AI bandwagon, there’s still a ton we don’t know about what’s around the corner. That’s why we gotta buckle down on privacy, ASAP – because nobody likes nasty surprises.

As for the ad industry? Well, they’re rubbing their hands together, eager as beavers to put AI to work. But they’ve got to watch their step – things like personal info, discrimination, data sharing, and worldwide regulations are all in play. It’s like walking a tightrope while juggling flaming swords.

And let’s talk about the looming showdown between search and AI. Imagine how easy life could be with all the info you need gathered by AI, instead of doing the digital equivalent of chasing your tail with search queries. If the kiddos embrace AI as the new normal, search engines could be on their way to join the dinosaurs, and the ad industry will be in a bit of a pickle.

But let’s not forget the publishers, folks. They still rely heavily on search for traffic, and with ads sneaking their way into AI chat, they’re asking the million-dollar question: how will they get their piece of the pie? They’ll need to be savvy to navigate the minefield that’s coming their way.

Which brings us to the big issue: privacy. The big guns need to be extra careful about how they handle data for AI. That includes getting clear consent from users before collecting their data and making sure users can opt out if they want to. Convenience is great and all, but not at the cost of privacy. That’s a bill nobody wants to foot.

And let’s not forget, the spotlight is on the big guys now, but with all the brainpower being dispersed from layoffs, don’t be surprised if the next big AI breakthrough comes from the little guys. So, publishers and industry leaders, this is your wake-up call. It’s time to gear up and get ready for a future that’s privacy-safe, transparent, and profitable.

Fred Marthoz, the VP of global partnerships and revenue at Lotame, couldn’t have said it better. But remember folks, we’re all in this together, and the future is what we make of it.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

The thing missing from generative AI is the ‘why’

Alright, so here’s the skinny. Generative AI, the type of tech that companies like Google and Meta are jazzed about, can cook up ads and test them, making small businesses sing. Imagine creating brand-friendly, social-media-ready ads without breaking a sweat.

But the big brands? They may be in a pickle. Why? Because AI doesn’t really get the ‘why’. It’s a wiz at creating and testing ads but it doesn’t understand why one ad does better than the other.

Say you’ve got two ads for a fast food joint. One’s a hit, the other’s not. The AI sees the hit ad’s got a burnt orange color and thinks, “Bingo! Burnt orange is the secret sauce!” But a human peeps that the burnt orange is just coffee with cream. The cream’s the magic, not the color. See the mess?

And if you think that’s complicated, brands also need to decide whether to show folks like you and me or go all Hollywood with their models. This isn’t just about what sells, but about reflecting the real world in ads. Can AI understand and respect this delicate balance? That’s a tough one.

To put it in a nutshell, AI is good for taking the grunt work out of creating and testing ads. It can’t replace the good ol’ human brain when it comes to understanding ‘why’ an ad works and making brand-sensitive decisions. That’s where us humans still shine. But if we can teach AI these nuances, it can be a powerful sidekick to brands, creatives, and data nerds. So, it’s not a lost cause, but there’s work to be done.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

Wisconsin Police Department Warns of New Artificial Intelligence Phone Scam

Alright, buckle up, folks in cheese land. Some cheeky swindlers are pulling a fast one, using your grandma’s voice to scam you out of your hard-earned dough.

The boys in blue from the Beloit Police Department have noticed this latest trick. They’re not sure if it’s fancy AI stuff making this possible, but they want you wise to it. Basically, they make a clone of your dear old aunt’s voice, ask you for some cash because they’re “in trouble,” and you’re none the wiser.

This ain’t small potatoes, either. Even the bigwigs at the Senate Special Committee on Aging are rattled, hitting up the Federal Trade Commission to see how they’re keeping grannies safe from these shenanigans.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “this sounds tougher to pull off than a one-legged man at a butt-kicking contest,” but it ain’t. All these crooks need is a recording of your cousin’s voice and some off-the-shelf software.

The play goes like this: you get a call from “cousin Jimmy” who’s been nabbed by the cops, or gotten his fool self in a car wreck, and needs a quick cash injection.

So how do you keep from getting taken for a ride? Easy peasy. Ring up “Jimmy” on a number you know is his, not the one he called from. If he doesn’t answer, ask around the family, see if his story checks out.

And remember, if “Jimmy” suddenly has a burning need for wired money, Bitcoin, or a bunch of gift cards, that’s as fishy as a three-dollar bill. Probably a scam.

To keep this from happening, go through your social media and make sure you’re not giving out your life story to all and sundry. These scammers need fodder to seem legit, so don’t make it easy for ’em. Stay sharp, and keep your wallet safe!

READ THE ARTICLE ON NBC.

ChatGPT & Privacy Concerns: Apple’s Precautions & What You Need to Know

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An In-depth Analysis on the Current State of AI Technology and the Implications of Apple’s Latest Policy

Today:

Apple Bans Employees From Using ChatGPT Over AI Privacy Fears

Alright, buckle up folks! Apple, famous for their shiny tech toys, has gone “No way, Jose!” to employees using the chatty AI, ChatGPT. Yep, they’re fretting over leaks of secret company info. The “Big Apple” isn’t alone here, they’re singing in harmony with Samsung and a whole chorus of other companies, all warbling the “let’s not feed the AI our secret sauce” tune.

Now, Apple ain’t exactly new to the AI game. They’ve been dabbling in it for years, their sidekick Siri being the poster child. They’ve also gobbled up several AI startups, their latest being video-compressing wiz, WaveOne. But despite their big moves in AI, they’re cautioning folks to tread lightly. CEO Tim Cook thinks it’s crucial to be careful and mindful with this AI jazz.

Meanwhile, Samsung is warning their own crew that any data fed to these AI chatbots gets stored in places beyond their control, and erasing it might be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Violating this policy might lead to them getting the boot. Ouch!

This growing distrust towards ChatGPT isn’t just a corporate affair, some big government honchos have their brows furrowed too. But OpenAI, like a good neighbor, released updates to help calm the jitters around privacy. Italy, after having a mini freak-out and banning ChatGPT, took a chill pill once these updates rolled out.

Our lawmakers aren’t just sitting around twiddling their thumbs either. Senators Bennet and Welch are trying to set up a federal agency to keep tabs on AI and digital platforms, as they’ve realized technology is bolting faster than a greyhound on Red Bull.

Apple’s playing coy and hasn’t commented on all this hullabaloo yet. So, grab your popcorn folks, this AI saga is just getting started!

READ THE ARTICLE ON DECRYPT.

Twitter accuses Microsoft of misusing its data, foreshadowing a fight over AI

Alright folks, buckle up, we got us a tech hoedown brewin’. Twitter, currently bossed by none other than ol’ rocket man himself, Elon Musk, is raising a mighty stink about Microsoft. According to a letter sent by Musk’s legal hand, Microsoft’s been helping itself to too big a slice of Twitter’s data pie. Ain’t no picnic, is it?

We’re not just talking about a casual nibble either, apparently they scarfed down over 26 billion tweets in 2022 alone. Musk’s lawyer didn’t bother explaining why they’d want so many, but hey, if you’re training one of them fancy AI systems, you gotta feed it a whole lot of words. Sorta like trying to bulk up a pipsqueak with protein shakes, I reckon.

The heart of the quarrel seems to be about playing by the rules. The letter lays out a bunch of somewhat nebulous accusations. In essence, Microsoft didn’t tip their hat to Twitter about what they were doing with the data for six out of their eight apps. Plus, one of them apps allegedly slipped Twitter data to some virtual places with ties to government entities. The rules explicitly said ‘no-no’ to that without giving Twitter a heads-up, but Microsoft apparently decided to play hide and seek with that information.

Microsoft’s mouthpiece, a fella named Frank Shaw, was as tight-lipped as a clam at high tide. He said they’ll take a gander at the concerns, respond appropriately, and expressed hope for keeping the partnership with Twitter (without even saying their name, mind you). Looks like they’re walking on eggshells here.

The letter ended by Musk’s lawyer calling for Microsoft to spill the beans about the Twitter data they’ve got, the purpose for each of their apps dipping into Twitter’s data pool, and if any government folks got their hands on it. Seems like we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg here, and things could get hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch. So stay tuned!

READ THE ARTICLE ON NBC.

New AI research lets you click and drag images to manipulate them in seconds

Alright folks, saddle up. There’s a new game in town. It’s an AI tool that’s gonna whip your old Photoshop into the dust.

Here’s the skinny: This AI jazz, currently just a fancy study, can mess with images like nothing else. You might think, “So what, I can stretch my cat’s face into a Picasso painting on my phone already.” But no, friend, this is different. This AI can change things in a snap – as if your flat image just upped and became a 3D model. You can turn your aunt’s smile upside-down, or spin your car around like it’s on a showroom floor. They even had some fun changing a mountain’s height and the reflections in a lake. Neat, huh?

And here’s the cherry on top. The same team, bless their nerdy hearts, also cooked up an interface that’s a breeze to use. You see, before, telling an AI to sketch a lion prowling in the savannah would get you a lion alright, but maybe it’s striking a pose more suitable for a Vogue cover than stalking dinner.

This new model, called DragGAN, gives you the reins. It doesn’t just smudge your pixels around. No sir, it builds the image all over again, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Wanna see the teeth in a lion’s mouth? No problemo. Need a horse to bend its leg just so? Easy as pie.

Now, don’t go getting too excited, this is still just for show. Can’t really tell how realistic the end product is from their grainy little videos. But hey, it’s a nifty little glimpse into a future where tweaking images will be as easy as a Sunday morning.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

ChatGPT outperforms money managers, as Americans flock to AI for investing advice

So, our trusty buddy ChatGPT is out here flexing new muscles as a Wall Street whiz, schooling folks on the stock market. Just a little bedtime reading from The Motley Fool revealed that close to half of us Yanks would be peachy keen letting this robot take the wheel on stock picks. Now, it’s not the Oracle of Delphi. ChatGPT stopped cramming for this test back in 2021, so it’s a bit behind on today’s trading gossip. Yet, it’s got a good grip on the big picture, enough to have folks sold on its advice.

The younger crowd, those digital whiz kids, are all over this AI thing for investing tips. The survey noted about half of them using ChatGPT for stock tips. Can’t blame them, right? And what’s more, even the high rollers are getting in on the game, with 77% of big earners going to ChatGPT for investment advice.

Ladies, known for playing it cool in the stock game, were a bit more cautious, with only 41% using ChatGPT. But overall, two-thirds of American adults would think about letting ChatGPT guide their investments. Sounds like a plot twist in the finance world’s soap opera, if you ask me.

Even the hedge fund hotshots are eyeing AI to manage their portfolios. And the more we dig into this, the more it seems like the old-school money managers might be getting a bit sweaty. A study had ChatGPT pick 38 stocks and those babies soared 4.93% in eight weeks. Compare that to the average -0.78% from the UK’s top ten popular funds. Ouch.

And if that’s not a wake-up call, University of Florida’s recent study might be. Using ChatGPT’s sentiment analysis on headlines, the results were over 500% returns against an S&P 500 ETF’s -12%. Now, there are tools popping up left, right, and center to work with ChatGPT, like PortfolioPilot, offering free portfolio analysis. Seems like paying for mediocre mutual fund returns might be going the way of the dodo.

But hold your horses! Don’t rush off to put all your trust in ChatGPT. Remember, it’s got a learning cut-off in 2021. It’s a great pattern spotter, but it’s no Sherlock Holmes when it comes to cause and effect. And it can spin a tall tale or two if it doesn’t have a straight answer. And don’t forget, it can’t read the room—or faces, for that matter—like a seasoned stock picker. It’s got some growing to do before it’s the ultimate investing guru.

When we finally hit this investing promised land, we’ll have a whole new can of worms to deal with. How do we make a buck when all the insider knowledge is just a bot’s prompt away? Talk about a head scratcher.

READ THE ARTICLE ON ZDNET.

AI-powered automation enhances job fulfillment for nearly 60% of workers

This just in: Robots ain’t so bad. In fact, according to a survey by software firm UiPath, 60% of workers reckon that AI could be the secret sauce to fighting burnout and making their jobs less of a drag. Even more (57%) are giving the side-eye to bosses that don’t get with the program and start using automation.

As work gets heavier, almost 30% of folks are being saddled with more responsibilities, thanks to layoffs or no new hires. No wonder a similar percentage of workers worldwide are burnt out. Enter the “automation generation” – pros who’re embracing AI to make things a little easier, no matter how old they are or where they come from.

In San Fran this July, big cheeses will chew the fat on how they’ve successfully leveraged AI investments. It’s revealed that nearly a third of those surveyed are already using business automation solutions, and they’re loving it. These workers feel they’ve got the tools they need, and a whopping 83% think automation can take the edge off burnout and generally make their work life more bearable.

UiPath’s top people officer, Brigette McInnis-Day, says the proof is in the pudding. Over half of those surveyed believe automation can combat burnout and make work more satisfying. Of those already using automation, 80% say it lets them do their job better, and almost the same number view automation-friendly employers more favorably.

The survey checked in with over 6,000 executives around the globe. Turns out, workers are keen on automation helping with tasks like data analysis, IT issues, and report generation. The main causes of burnout? Working overtime, pressure from bosses, and too much time on tactical tasks. Automation could be the answer.

The automation generation wants flexibility, the chance to move up, and focused work time. They want automation to give them a more flexible work environment, time to learn new skills, and dedicated time for important tasks. The good news? Younger workers are all aboard the automation train, with Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X all believing that automation could improve their job performance.

McInnis-Day predicts that with the economy still on the fritz, the demand for automation and AI tools is only going to grow. The smart move for companies is to start integrating AI. The automation generation wants tech tools to help them cope with the pressures of today’s economy and job market. So, businesses, take a hint. Give your workers the AI tools they need, and watch both their productivity and job satisfaction soar.

READ THE ARTICLE ON VENTUREBEAT.

AI and the Future: Elon Musk’s Existential Questions & Nadella’s Grand Vision

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Elon Musk’s fears about AI’s impact on our joy of life and Satya Nadella’s confidence in AI as a catalyst for exponential job creation.

Today:

Elon Musk on the future of work: ‘How do we find meaning in life if A.I. can do your job better?’

Elon Musk is getting a bit twitchy about his kiddos battling it out with robots for jobs down the line. In a chat with CNBC’s David Faber, Musk pondered, “If AI can outwork us, where’s the joy in life?”

While Musk is busy building a future stuffed with AI—think Teslas that drive themselves—he’s not blind to the can of worms it could open up. He’s already called for a six-month pause on AI development earlier this year, fearing that we might be biting off more than we can chew.

Articulating how the next gen might find purpose in a world where machines might outshine them is no easy feat. Musk’s advice for his kids and, well, any kid really, boils down to two things:

Firstly, “Be as useful as you can to society.” Sure, that might sound like a fortune cookie, but it’s a nugget of wisdom that’s held true, AI or not. Find what floats your boat and figure out how it can help others.

The catch? What society deems “useful” is shifting faster than a cheetah on caffeine. With AI threatening to nab jobs from office workers to software engineers, the whole job market’s looking like musical chairs. On the bright side, roles needing a human touch—think therapists—might find AI to be a handy tool rather than a replacement.

Secondly, he advises reconsidering your work-life balance. Musk’s own schedule is more packed than a rush hour subway, with only a few days off annually from running the likes of Tesla and SpaceX. He’s now questioning if the grind is worth it when the robots could be picking up the slack. “If AI can handle the grunt work, should I be putting in these crazy hours?” he muses.

In a world where the line between sci-fi and reality gets blurrier by the day, the only surefire advice Musk has for the future is to “Work on things that you find interesting and fulfilling, and that do some good for society.” And really, isn’t that what we’re all trying to figure out?

READ THE ARTICLE ON CNBC.

Microsoft CEO Nadella talks concerns around A.I. and its impact on jobs, education

So, Microsoft’s top dog, Satya Nadella, had a chinwag with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin about the wild world of artificial intelligence (that’s AI, folks). He’s not hiding under the bed, but he reckons we all need to huddle up and make sure we’re getting the cream of the crop from this tech without letting it bite us in the backside.

He’s not alone in this thinking. Since OpenAI’s chatterbot, ChatGPT, hit the scene, everyone’s been scratching their heads on how to keep this AI horse from bolting. Big tech giants like Google and Microsoft are locked in a good old-fashioned showdown to see who can come up with the snazziest AI gadgets. Even the Tesla guy, Elon Musk, is raising a brow, and he’s not the only one.

But hold your horses. Nadella says we humans aren’t just along for the ride – we’re steering this tech wagon. And while there’s a lot of hubbub about AI shaking things up, there’s also the chance it might grease the wheels for some new jobs. He’s talking a billion new developers. That’s billion with a “b,” folks.

Nadella also has a notion about kiddos learning from these smarty-pants machines. Imagine your kid’s math tutor being an AI whiz kid, taking the boogeyman out of learning. But don’t worry, the robots aren’t taking over the world – yet. We still got the thinking cap.

In Nadella’s words, if computers were once bicycles for the mind, we’ve just upgraded to a steam engine. Buckle up, it’s gonna be a heck of a ride.

READ THE ARTICLE ON CNBC.

ServiceNow and NVIDIA Announce Partnership to Build Generative AI Across Enterprise IT

In a nutshell, Curio, the audio journalism app that brings newspapers to your ears, is now using AI to whip up custom audio episodes. Essentially, it’s like having a news DJ at your fingertips, spinning tracks of fact-checked journalism from top-notch sources like The Atlantic or The Washington Post. It’s a pretty big leap forward from just saving articles to listen to later, like what you might do on other apps.

The new AI feature is as sharp as a tack, won’t spout nonsense or cook up facts when it doesn’t have the right answer, something they call a “hallucination.” Don’t expect hot-off-the-press news, though. It’s got to transform written articles into audio, which takes a bit of time. But, if you’re curious about peace in Ukraine, the future of food, or just want an update on AI, it’s got you covered.

One of the big brains behind Curio, Chris Anderson, head honcho of TED, tossed more money into the pot recently, although the exact amount remains a secret. Since its inception in 2016 by ex-BBC strategist Govind Balakrishnan and London lawyer Srikant Chakravarti, Curio has raised a tidy sum of over $15 million.

The new AI feature is free for now, as the company wants folks to use it, learn from it, and help improve it. As of now, the app has already racked up a million-plus downloads, but the added AI feature could give it a leg up, with the company forecasting 100,000 paid subscribers by year-end. For anyone interested in exploring a wide range of topics in detail, this might just be the ticket.

READ THE ARTICLE ON NVIDIA.

StableStudio is Stability AI’s latest commitment to open-source AI

Alright, listen up, folks! Stability AI, those big thinkers in the tech world, are letting the cat out of the bag with StableStudio. This isn’t a new album drop, no, it’s an open-source version of their slick DreamStudio AI image-creator app.

Why, you might ask? Well, it’s like putting a classic car in the hands of a bunch of gearheads. They’ll tinker, tweak, and soup it up, and Stability AI is betting they’ll reap the rewards. They’re playing up this whole “community spirit” thing, hoping folks will take their tech and run wild with it.

This isn’t their first rodeo. Stability AI has been leaving the barn door open on their software for a while now. They’re the ones behind the Stable Diffusion model and a whole gaggle of big language models called StableLM. Bigwig CEO Emad Mostaque has been preaching the gospel of open-source, saying it’s the key to gaining public trust.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There’s a few folks saying Stability AI is running around like a chicken with its head cut off. They’ve got this StableStudio thing going head-to-head with DreamStudio. Not to mention, there are whispers that the company’s burning through cash faster than a hay bale on fire.

So, folks, the jury’s still out on whether this is a stroke of genius or a one-way ticket to the funny farm. But one thing’s for sure, Stability AI sure ain’t scared to let their tech out to pasture and see if it can find its own way home.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE VERGE.

Amazon’s Alexa head says company is ‘at the forefront of A.I.’ as chatbots explode

Amazon’s big brain behind Alexa, Rohit Prasad, is adamant they’re smack dab in the middle of the AI revolution, despite other big players like Microsoft and Google flexing their own tech muscles. It’s like a modern-day Wild West, but with chatbots and AI instead of cowboys and outlaws.

A little background: OpenAI’s ChatGPT took the internet by storm last year, causing quite the stir. This put the heat on companies like Amazon to show off their own AI prowess. So far, they’ve made their move through an AI cloud service.

Now, some folks might think that Amazon’s missed the AI boat. But Prasad says, “Hold your horses.” He insists that Alexa’s been in the AI game for a long while and is an instant, personal AI that folks can yak with by voice.

Since the debut of Alexa in 2014, Amazon has sold over 500 million Alexa-powered devices globally. Alexa’s not just a one-trick pony, it’s been answering questions by pulling relevant data for years.

But the emergence of AI chatbots that can whip up fiction tales and even write software has exposed Alexa’s limitations. Jeff Bezos’ sci-fi dream of Alexa being like a “Star Trek” supercomputer hasn’t quite come to fruition.

Amazon’s trying to remedy this by teaching Alexa new tricks, hoping to make it more chatty and smart. They’re working on a new version of their own language model, called Alexa Teacher Model. The goal? To have Alexa understand users better and answer more complex queries.

Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, mentioned they’re pouring resources into generative AI and large language models. Apparently, they believe this will dramatically improve customer experience. There’s even talk of adding more AI features to Alexa, like entertainment and storytelling.

Bottom line: Amazon’s aiming to be a major player in the AI space, despite the crowded field. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Alexa can live up to the hype.

READ THE ARTICLE ON CNBC.

Pandas AI: The Generative AI Python Library

Alright folks, if you’re into data science and love Python Pandas like a squirrel loves nuts, get ready for a big ol’ shake-up. Now there’s Pandas AI, a new library that lets you chit-chat with your data. Yeah, you heard right, no more hours lost to playing ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with rows and columns.

What this means is, you can pop a question to your data and get a quick comeback. It’s like a sidekick for your existing Pandas, not a replacement. It’s about cutting down on time spent prepping data and getting straight to the juicy analysis part.

Now, don’t get too excited, you’ll still need to know your Python to make the most of it. With OpenAI API’s help, Pandas AI is aiming to let you virtually chinwag with your machine to get the results you want. No more writing a bunch of code, just tell it what you need and it’ll spit out the results in machine code.

Getting it set up is as easy as pie. Just a couple of installs, import a few things, and you’re off to the races. You can even start asking it some fancy questions about your data and it’ll spit back a DataFrame with the answers.

The team behind Pandas AI is just getting started. They’re cooking up some more improvements like adding support for more LLMs, making PandasAI a CLI, creating a web interface, and adding unit tests. They’re open to suggestions if you’re feeling chatty.

So, if you’re a data pro and want to give Pandas AI a whirl, don’t be shy. Let us know how it works for you. Just remember, it’s a tool to help speed things up, not a magic wand. You’ll still need to know your stuff to correct it when it goofs up. Happy data conversing, y’all!

READ THE ARTICLE ON KDNUGGETS.

Entering the singularity: Has AI reached the point of no return?

Well, butter my biscuit, it seems we’ve crossed the Rubicon with artificial intelligence (AI). Some folk are all doom and gloom, saying we’re knee-deep in what they call the “singularity.” That’s when our smart machines get so darn intelligent, we humans lose the reins.

How’d we get here? It’s not just about machines doing human things, it’s about them doing it better and flying solo. Think self-driving cars, health check-ups without the doc, or even building stuff in space.

But hold your horses, some say. This is just another tech hiccup, not the end of the world. The real problem is, these folk are usually the ones profiting the most.

Here’s the kicker: we’re teaching machines to have a memory like an elephant and the speed of a cheetah, all while expecting to keep them under our thumb. Good luck with that, especially when the big brains behind AI are holed up in a handful of countries, guarding their secrets like mama bears.

The future? More machine smarts and fewer human ones, if we’re not careful. We’ve already got AI acing exams, and quantum tech is set to make it even brainier.

The last-ditch effort? Some kind of global get-together to lay down the law on AI. But as the old saying goes, you can’t close the barn door after the horse has bolted. The real test will be when the machines figure out they’re smarter without us. How’s that for a kick in the pants?

In short, we’re stepping into a world where to err might just be too human for our own good.

READ THE ARTICLE ON THE HILL.