AI in Social Media

"Last Week in AI" including OpenAI, Stack Overflow, Apple's new Photos app, YouTube Premium, Microsoft MAI-1, Eli Lilly, Audible, Apple's M4 chip, Google's Pixel 8a, machine learning in whale communication, and more.

Last Week in AI: Episode 31

Hey everyone, welcome to this week’s edition of “Last Week in AI.” This week’s stories provide a glimpse into how AI is reshaping industries and our daily lives. Let’s dive in and explore these fascinating developments together.

OpenAI and Stack Overflow Partnership

Partnership Announcement: OpenAI and Stack Overflow have formed a new API partnership to leverage their collective strengths—Stack Overflow’s technical knowledge platform and OpenAI’s language models.

Impact and Controversy: This partnership aims to empower developers by combining high-quality technical content with advanced AI models. However, some Stack Overflow users have protested, arguing it exploits their contributed labor without consent, leading to bans and post reverts by staff. This raises questions about content creator attribution and future model training, despite the potential for improved AI models. Read more

Apple’s New Photos App Feature

Feature Introduction: Apple is set to introduce a “Clean Up” feature in its Photos app update, leveraging generative AI for advanced image editing. This tool will allow users to remove objects from photos using a brush tool, similar to Adobe’s Content-Aware Fill.

Preview and Positioning: Currently in testing on macOS 15, Apple may preview this feature during the “Let Loose” iPad event on March 18, 2023. This positions the new iPads as AI-equipped devices, showcasing practical AI applications beyond chatbots and entertainment. Read more

YouTube Premium’s AI “Jump Ahead” Feature

Feature Testing: YouTube Premium subscribers can now test an AI-powered “Jump ahead” feature, allowing them to skip commonly skipped video sections. By double-tapping to skip, users can jump to the point where most viewers typically resume watching.

Availability and Aim: This feature is currently available on the YouTube Android app in the US for English videos and requires a Premium subscription. It complements YouTube’s “Ask” feature and aims to enhance the viewing experience by leveraging AI and user data. Read more

Microsoft’s MAI-1 Language Model Development

Model Development: Microsoft is developing a new large-scale AI language model, MAI-1, led by Mustafa Suleyman, the former CEO of Inflection AI. MAI-1 will have approximately 500 billion parameters, significantly larger than Microsoft’s previous models.

Strategic Significance: This development signifies Microsoft’s dual approach to AI, focusing on both small and large models. Despite its investment in OpenAI, Microsoft is independently advancing its AI capabilities, with plans to unveil MAI-1 at their Build conference. Read more

AI in Drug Discovery at Eli Lilly

Innovative Discovery: The pharmaceutical industry is integrating AI into drug discovery, with Eli Lilly scientists noting innovative molecular designs generated by AI. This marks a precedent in AI-driven biology breakthroughs.

Industry Impact: AI is expected to propose new drugs and generate designs beyond human capability. This integration promises faster development times, higher success rates, and exploration of new targets, reshaping drug discovery. Read more

AI-Narrated Audiobooks on Audible

Audiobook Trends: Over 40,000 AI-voiced titles have been added to Audible since Amazon launched a tool for self-published authors to generate AI narrations. This makes audiobook creation more accessible but has sparked controversy.

Industry Reaction: Some listeners dislike the lack of filters to exclude AI narrations, and human narrators fear job losses. Major publishers are embracing AI for cost savings, highlighting tensions between creative integrity and commercial incentives. Read more

Apple’s M4 Chip for iPad Pro

Processor Introduction: Apple’s M4 chip, the latest and most powerful processor for the new iPad Pro, offers groundbreaking performance and efficiency.

Key Innovations: The M4 chip features a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, advanced AI capabilities, and power efficiency gains. These innovations enable superior graphics, real-time AI features, and all-day battery life. Read more

Google’s Pixel 8a Smartphone

Affordable Innovation: The Pixel 8a, Google’s latest affordable smartphone, is priced at $499 and packed with AI-powered features and impressive camera capabilities.

Key Highlights: The Pixel 8a features a refined design, dual rear camera, AI tools, and enhanced security. It also offers family-friendly features and 7 years of software support. Read more

OpenAI’s Media Manager Tool

Tool Development: OpenAI is building a Media Manager tool to help creators manage how their works are included in AI training data. This system aims to identify copyrighted material across sources.

AI Training Approach: OpenAI uses diverse public datasets and proprietary data to train its models, collaborating with creators, publishers, and regulators to support healthy ecosystems and respect intellectual property. Read more

Machine Learning in Sperm Whale Communication

Breakthrough Discovery: MIT CSAIL and Project CETI researchers have discovered a combinatorial coding system in sperm whale vocalizations, akin to a phonetic alphabet, using machine learning techniques.

Communication Insights: By analyzing a large dataset of whale codas, researchers identified patterns and structures, suggesting a complex communication system previously thought unique to humans. This finding opens new avenues for studying cetacean communication. Read more

Sam Altman’s Concerns About AI’s Economic Impact

CEO’s Warning: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has expressed significant concerns about AI’s potential impact on the labor market and economy, particularly job disruptions and economic changes.

Economic Threat: Studies suggest AI could automate up to 60% of jobs in advanced economies, leading to job losses and lower wages. Altman emphasizes the need to address these concerns proactively. Read more

AI Lecturers at Hong Kong University

Educational Innovation: HKUST is testing AI-generated virtual lecturers, including an AI version of Albert Einstein, to transform teaching methods and engage students.

Teaching Enhancement: AI lecturers aim to address teacher shortages and enhance learning experiences. While students find them approachable, some prefer human teachers for unique experiences. Read more

OpenAI’s NSFW Content Proposal

Content Policy Debate: OpenAI is considering allowing users to generate NSFW content, including erotica and explicit images, using its AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E. This proposal has sparked controversy.

Ethical Concerns: Critics argue it contradicts OpenAI’s mission of developing “safe and beneficial” AI. OpenAI acknowledges potential valid use cases but emphasizes responsible generation within appropriate contexts. Read more

Bumble’s Vision for AI in Dating

Future of Dating: Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd envisions AI “dating concierges” streamlining the matching process by essentially going on dates to find compatible matches for users.

AI Assistance: These AI assistants could also provide dating coaching and advice. Despite concerns about AI companions forming unhealthy bonds, Bumble’s focus remains on fostering healthy relationships. Read more

Final Thoughts

This week’s updates showcase AI’s transformative power in areas like education, healthcare, and digital content creation. However, they also raise critical questions about ethics, job displacement, and intellectual property. As we look to the future, it’s essential to balance innovation with responsibility, ensuring AI advancements benefit society as a whole. Thanks for joining us, and stay tuned for more insights and updates in next week’s edition of “Last Week in AI.”

Last Week in AI: Episode 31 Read More »

Latest advancements in AI from Google's Gemini and DeepMind, OpenAI's memory and Sora, to SoftBank's ambitious chip venture and Reddit's smart licensing.

Last Week in AI: Episode 19

Welcome to this week’s Last Week in AI! We’ve got a bunch of cool AI stuff to talk about. From Google making moves with its file-identifying wizard Magika, to SoftBank getting ready to shake up the AI chip game, and even Reddit making a smart play with a new licensing deal. It’s been a busy week, and we’re here to break it all down for you.

Google

Gemini

Google’s latest AI, Gemini 1.5 Pro, outperforms its predecessor with improved efficiency and advanced capabilities. Here’s what stands out:

  1. More Efficient: Uses less compute power for the same quality.
  2. Longer Context: Handles up to 1 million tokens for deep understanding.
  3. Superior Performance: Beats the previous model on 87% of benchmarks.
Why It Matters

Gemini 1.5 Pro offers faster, deeper analysis of massive data. It enables complex problem-solving and innovation in AI applications, making advanced AI tools more accessible to developers and enterprises.

Deepmind

Google DeepMind and USC have developed SELF-DISCOVER, a new framework enhancing LLM reasoning abilities. Key points:

  1. Significant Performance Boost: Up to 32% better than traditional Chain of Thought methods (a technique that guides LLMs to follow a reasoning process when dealing with hard problems).
  2. Autonomous Reasoning: LLMs self-discover reasoning structures for complex problem-solving.
  3. Broad Implications: Marks progress towards general intelligence and advanced AI capabilities.
Why It Matters

SELF-DISCOVER represents a major advancement in AI, offering a more sophisticated approach to reasoning tasks. This framework could revolutionize how AI understands and interacts with the world, pushing closer to achieving general intelligence.

Magika

Google has released Magika, an AI-driven system for identifying file types, to the open-source community. Highlights include:

  1. High Performance: Utilizes a deep-learning model for rapid, accurate file-type identification on a CPU.
  2. Superior Accuracy: Achieves a 20% improvement over current tools on a diverse 1M files benchmark.
  3. Community Contribution: Available on GitHub under Apache2 License, enhancing file identification for software and cybersecurity.
Why It Matters

Magika’s open-sourcing represents a significant advancement in file identification, crucial for cybersecurity and data management. By offering a more precise tool freely, Google fosters innovation and security enhancements across the tech ecosystem.

OpenAI

Memory

OpenAI has introduced memory capabilities to ChatGPT for a select user group, enhancing personalization and context relevance. Key highlights include:

  1. User-Controlled Memory: Options to turn off, delete selectively, or clear all memories.
  2. Personalized Interactions: Memory evolves with user interactions, not tied to specific conversations.
  3. Selective Rollout: Available to a limited number of users, with plans for broader access.
Why It Matters

This feature marks a leap in AI conversational agents, promising more efficient, personalized interactions. It benefits enterprises, teams, and developers by retaining context and preferences, paving the way for advanced AI applications.

Credit: OpenAI

Sora

OpenAI’s Sora, an AI model, transforms prompts into realistic videos up to a minute long. Here’s the breakdown:

  1. Advanced Capabilities: Generates complex scenes with accurate motion and emotions.
  2. Language Understanding: Deeply interprets prompts for vivid character and scene creation.
  3. Safety Measures: Includes adversarial testing and tools to detect misleading content.
Why It Matters

Sora represents a major step towards AI that simulates real-world interactions, aiming for AGI. Its blend of visual quality and language understanding opens new possibilities for creative and problem-solving applications, despite challenges in physics simulation and cause-effect understanding.

Credit: OpenAI

Groq

Groq has teamed up with Samsung to create cutting-edge AI silicon. Here’s what you need to know:

  1. Advanced Manufacturing: Utilizing Samsung’s 4nm process for better performance and efficiency.
  2. Tensor Streaming Architecture: First-gen technology boosting power and memory capabilities.
  3. Scalability: Enables systems from 85,000 to over 600,000 chips without external switches.
Why It Matters

This collaboration pushes the envelope in AI and machine learning, promising revolutionary solutions for AI, HPC (High-Performance Computing), and data centers. It underscores Groq’s commitment to high-quality, fast-to-market innovations, leveraging Samsung’s manufacturing prowess.

Amazon

Amazon researchers have developed BASE TTS, the largest text-to-speech model to date, with 980 million parameters. Highlights include:

  1. Massive Training: Leveraged up to 100,000 hours of speech data for training.
  2. Optimal Size Insights: Found that a 400 million parameter model showed significant improvements without further gains at 980 million parameters.
  3. Efficiency: Designed for low-bandwidth streaming, separating emotional and prosodic data.
Why It Matters

BASE TTS aims to refine text-to-speech technology, focusing on natural sound and efficiency. Despite its size, the quest for the optimal model size for emergent abilities continues, offering a path toward more accessible and versatile speech synthesis applications.

Project Izanagi

Masayoshi Son of SoftBank is eyeing a $100 billion venture, Izanagi, to enter the AI chip market, challenging Nvidia. Here’s the scoop:

  1. Massive Funding: Aiming for $100 billion, with $70 billion from Middle East investors and $30 billion from SoftBank.
  2. Arm Collaboration: Plans to partner with Arm for chip design, leveraging its recent public spin-off.
  3. Strategic Shift: Reflects SoftBank’s pivot towards AI, fueled by divesting Alibaba stakes for AI investments.
Why It Matters

Son’s ambitious venture signals a significant shift in the AI landscape, aiming to offer an alternative to Nvidia’s dominance. With AI’s growing importance, Izanagi represents a strategic move to capitalize on this burgeoning market, amidst SoftBank’s broader focus on AI and its return to profitability.

Reddit

Reddit has inked a $60 million licensing deal with a major AI company for its content. Key details include:

  1. Valuable Partnership: The deal, worth $60 million annually, grants AI access to Reddit’s vast user-generated content.
  2. Strategic Move: Aims to navigate legalities of AI training with web content, reflecting Reddit’s assertive negotiation stance.
  3. Public Offering Plans: Coincides with Reddit’s IPO ambitions, seeking a $5 billion valuation despite a recent market downturn.
Why It Matters

This agreement underscores the growing importance of user-generated data in AI development, marking a pivotal move for Reddit amidst its financial and strategic repositioning. It also highlights the platform’s leverage in the evolving digital and AI landscapes.

Until Next Week

And just like that, we’re at the end of another week in the world of AI. Not bad, am I right? Every week, AI is getting smarter, faster, and a bit more into our daily lives. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Catch you in the next update!

Last Week in AI: Episode 19 Read More »