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Big Tech is throwing its lot in with the defense industry
Meta opens Llama AI model for US national security use: Meta has announced that it will allow US government agencies and defense contractors to utilize its open-source Llama AI model for national security applications. The company is collaborating with major tech and defense firms including Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Oracle to make Llama accessible to the government. This decision marks a significant shift from Meta's previous "acceptable use policy," which prohibited the use of Llama 3 for military, warfare, nuclear industries, espionage, or related applications. Potential applications and ongoing projects: The expanded access enables the US military to...
read Nov 4, 2024Brookings asks: One year on, has the White House made good on its AI executive order?
The AI Executive Order one year later: The White House's Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, issued on October 30, 2023, marked a significant milestone in the U.S. government's approach to AI regulation and accountability. The order set ambitious goals to position the United States as a leader in safe, ethical, and responsible AI use across multiple sectors. Key focus areas included managing dual-use AI models, establishing testing protocols for high-risk AI systems, implementing accountability measures, safeguarding civil rights, and promoting transparency. White House highlights progress: The administration has pointed to several achievements in the year since the Executive Order was...
read Nov 4, 2024xAI offers API credits and frontier model compatibility to woo new developers
xAI enters the API race with developer incentives: Elon Musk's xAI has opened its API to the public, offering $25 in monthly credits through the end of 2024 to attract developers to its platform. The company is providing $50 total in free credits over the next two months, aiming to encourage developers to explore and build applications using xAI's Grok models. This move follows a beta release of the API three weeks ago, suggesting that initial uptake may have been lower than expected. Pricing and token limits: xAI's API pricing structure and token limits position it competitively within the AI...
read Nov 4, 2024UC Berkeley study uses AI to confirm rising Hollywood diversity
AI-powered study confirms Hollywood's increasing diversity: Researchers at UC Berkeley have used facial recognition technology to analyze on-screen representation in over 2,300 films, revealing a trend towards greater diversity in Hollywood since 2010. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined 4,412 hours of footage from both popular and prestige films released between 1980 and 2022. Researchers found increased representation for women, Black, Hispanic/Latino, East Asian, and South Asian actors, particularly after 2010. The diversity increase is not limited to a few films with all non-white casts but is evident across individual movies as well....
read Nov 4, 2024Central Connecticut State unveils AI corridor with holograms
Pioneering AI integration in higher education: Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) has established an innovative Artificial Intelligence Corridor, marking several firsts in the integration of advanced AI technologies within a university setting. CCSU is the first U.S. university to collaborate with AI companies in developing a holographic synthetic human and integrating it alongside students and faculty. The AI Corridor, located in the basement of Vance Academic Center, showcases various cutting-edge technologies, including holograms, robot dogs, and an AI-powered synthetic human. This 5,000-square-foot project represents an investment of nearly $1 million in equipment and technology. Key features of the AI Corridor:...
read Nov 4, 2024Amazon’s AI-powered Fire HD 8 tablet now available at a 45% discount
New Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet sees significant price drop: Amazon's recently launched Fire HD 8 tablet is now available at a 45% discount, offering consumers a budget-friendly option with improved features. Key details of the deal: The All-new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet is now priced at $54.99, down from its regular price of $100 This represents a 45% discount on the mid-range tablet The deal is part of a series of price drops across Amazon's new Fire tablet lineup Broader context of Amazon's tablet offerings: Amazon introduced a new series of Fire tablets last month with AI features...
read Nov 4, 2024New York AG warns of potential AI-generated election interference
Election integrity concerns: New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued a warning about the potential risks of relying on AI-powered chatbots for election-related information, urging voters to use only official sources. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) conducted tests on multiple AI chatbots, finding that they frequently provided inaccurate information in response to sample questions about voting. James emphasized the importance of accurate voting information, stating that all voters deserve to know where, when, and how to vote correctly. The warning comes as early voting is underway and Election Day approaches, highlighting the urgency of the issue. Key...
read Nov 4, 20242 new books issue fresh warnings about AI ahead of the US election
Technological threats to democracy: As the United States approaches its presidential election on November 5, concerns about technology's potential to disrupt the democratic process, particularly through AI-generated misinformation, are reaching new heights. Two recently published books, "Taming Silicon Valley: How We Can Ensure that AI Works for Us" by Gary Marcus and "The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley" by Marietje Schaake, offer critical perspectives on the increasing influence of technology companies on politics and society. Both authors warn about the outsized power of Silicon Valley and its potential to undermine democratic processes, albeit from different angles....
read Nov 4, 2024Perplexity’s AI election tracker: What is it and how does it work?
Election tech innovation: Perplexity.ai, an AI-powered search engine, has launched an Election Information Hub to provide live updates, answer voter queries, and offer AI-generated summaries on candidates and ballot measures for the upcoming U.S. elections. The hub aims to assist voters in understanding key issues, finding polling information, and tracking live election results for presidential, Senate, and House races at both state and national levels. Users can input an address, city, or postal code to receive personalized information about what's on the ballot for their area, including AI-generated summaries of candidates' platforms and backgrounds. The platform will function as an...
read Nov 4, 2024How AI and advanced tech may shape human sexuality
The evolving landscape of sex tech: Artificial intelligence and advanced technologies are reshaping human sexuality, offering new experiences while raising important questions about their long-term impacts on intimate relationships and sexual development. Sex tech innovations like chatbots, sex doll brothels, and VR porn are already available, representing the early stages of a technological revolution in human sexuality. These advancements are likely to have profound effects on sexual desires, behaviors, and expectations, particularly for younger generations exposed to them during formative years. Adolescent vulnerability and neuroplasticity: The adolescent brain's unique neuroplasticity makes young people particularly susceptible to the influences of sex...
read Nov 4, 2024Inside the war between Nvidia and Cerebras to own the AI inference market
AI hardware evolution: The race between Nvidia and Cerebras to supply large chips for AI inference activities signifies a significant shift in the artificial intelligence landscape, moving beyond traditional training methods to more advanced, real-time learning capabilities. The AI revolution initially saw GPUs replacing CPUs for machine learning tasks, as they were better suited for handling the massive workloads required for processing training data. The industry is now pivoting towards inference, a more specialized task that demands even more advanced hardware solutions. Understanding AI inference: Inference represents the AI's ability to apply its training to real-world scenarios, effectively learning on...
read Nov 4, 2024Amazon spent $75B in 2024 to meet AI demand — next year it will spend more
Cloud computing expansion fuels Amazon's massive capital expenditure: Amazon plans to spend $75 billion on capital expenditure in 2024, with an even higher amount expected in 2025, primarily driven by the growth of its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS). The surge in spending is attributed to rising demand for generative AI services and an increasing number of customers migrating their workloads from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud. AWS reported impressive Q3 2023 results, with net sales of $27.45 billion (up 19% year-on-year) and operating profit jumping almost 50% to $10.45 billion. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted recent customer...
read Nov 4, 2024Meta expands Llama AI access to US government for security
Meta's strategic move in AI for national security: Meta has announced the availability of its open-source Llama models to U.S. government agencies in defense and national security, as well as their private-sector partners. This decision comes as China makes significant investments in developing its own open-source AI models, highlighting the importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in advanced technologies. Meta's initiative aims to promote both U.S. technological leadership and the development of a global open-source standard for AI models, comparable to Linux and Android. The rise of Llama in enterprise AI: Llama has emerged as a significant player in the enterprise...
read Nov 4, 2024Monica Code lets developers chat with AI without leaving IDE
Innovative AI integration for developers: Monica Code brings advanced AI models like Claude and ChatGPT directly into the Visual Studio Code (VSCode) integrated development environment, revolutionizing the coding workflow for developers. The tool allows developers to interact with powerful AI assistants without leaving their familiar coding environment, potentially increasing productivity and reducing context-switching. Monica Code provides in-depth project understanding, suggesting that the AI can analyze and comprehend the codebase to offer more relevant and contextual assistance. A standout feature is the multimodal chat capability, enabling developers to communicate with the AI using various forms of input, which could include text,...
read Nov 4, 2024Netflix pivots to AI gaming after closing internal studio
Netflix pivots to AI-driven game development: The streaming giant has appointed Mike Verdu as VP of GenAI for Games, signaling a significant shift in its gaming strategy. Netflix is embracing generative AI technology to accelerate game development and create novel gaming experiences. This move comes shortly after the company shut down its internal studio focused on creating "AAA" games. Verdu emphasizes that human creative talent will remain central to the game development process, with AI serving as a catalyst and accelerant. Potential impact on game development: Verdu envisions AI as a transformative force that could revolutionize the gaming industry's productivity...
read Nov 4, 2024AI startup Notion secures major downtown lease in San Francisco
AI startup Notion expands in downtown San Francisco: The productivity and collaboration platform has signed a major lease for office space, signaling a shift in its fortunes and contributing to the city's evolving tech landscape. Notion has secured a 105,000-square-foot lease at the Monadnock Building at 685 Market St., owned by Brookfield Properties. The company will occupy five floors for the next decade, with options to expand within the building. This new lease replaces Notion's previous 65,000-square-foot office in the Mission District, which it had subleased in 2021. Notion's journey and growth: The company has experienced a remarkable turnaround since...
read Nov 4, 2024Meta’s nuclear plans thwarted by unexpected discovery of rare bees
Meta's nuclear AI ambitions thwarted: Meta's plans to construct a nuclear-powered AI data center in the United States were derailed by an unexpected discovery of a rare bee species at the proposed site. The Financial Times reported on Meta's abandoned project, highlighting the intersection of technology, energy, and environmental concerns. The presence of the rare bee species at the intended location effectively halted Meta's plans, underscoring the importance of environmental considerations in tech infrastructure projects. This setback comes at a time when tech giants are increasingly looking towards nuclear energy to meet the growing electricity demands of AI data centers....
read Nov 4, 2024Prime Video’s new AI tool will recap your favorite shows and movies
New AI feature for Prime Video: Amazon is introducing X-Ray Recaps, a generative AI-powered tool designed to provide summaries of TV content on its Prime Video platform. X-Ray Recaps can generate text summaries for full seasons, individual episodes, or specific segments of TV shows. The feature will be accessible from a show's detail page or within the X-Ray interface while watching content. Amazon's AI analyzes video segments, subtitles, and dialogue to create detailed descriptions of key events, locations, timelines, and conversations. Technical implementation and safeguards: Amazon has implemented measures to ensure the AI-generated recaps are both useful and appropriate for...
read Nov 4, 2024Apple’s next major AI upgrade set for first week of December
Apple's AI push continues: Apple is set to release its next major intelligence upgrade, iOS 18.2, in early December, marking a significant step in the company's AI integration efforts. Bloomberg reports that the update is expected to arrive around the week of December 2, slightly earlier than typical for Apple's December releases. This update follows the initial rollout of Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.1, which included improvements to writing tools, smart replies, and photo search capabilities. Key features of iOS 18.2: The upcoming update will introduce several AI-powered tools and integrations, enhancing the user experience across Apple devices. ChatGPT...
read Nov 4, 2024Claude AI can now analyze and interpret PDFs — here’s how to try it
Anthropic enhances Claude AI with PDF analysis capabilities: Anthropic has introduced a new Visual PDFs feature in beta for its Claude 3.5 Sonnet AI model, allowing users to analyze and interpret content from PDF files, including text, images, charts, and graphs. The Visual PDFs feature is currently available only through a paid professional subscription or API access, potentially incentivizing users to upgrade their plans. Claude can now process standard PDFs up to 32MB in size and 100 pages long, as long as they are not encrypted or password-protected. For optimal results, PDFs should have clear and legible text, standard fonts,...
read Nov 4, 2024New Salesforce survey shows consumers increasingly receptivity to AI agents for service
The rise of AI agents in customer service: As companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence, a new survey reveals consumer attitudes towards AI-powered customer interactions and highlights the critical role of trust in this evolving landscape. Gartner predicts that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be taken autonomously through agentic AI, up from 0% in 2024. Salesforce's State of the AI Connected Customer survey, involving 15,015 people across 18 countries, provides insights into consumer perspectives on AI in customer service. Trust deficit and heightened expectations: The survey reveals a concerning trend of declining consumer trust in...
read Nov 4, 2024How AI will allow museums to track visitors and offer personalized experiences
A new deep learning-based system for tracking museum visitors is transforming how cultural institutions engage with their audience and optimize their exhibitions. The technology behind the innovation: The system employs Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and commercially available RGB cameras to track visitors wearing simple badges, offering a cost-effective and non-intrusive solution for behavior analysis. The technology identifies visitors' movement patterns and interactions with specific exhibits, providing valuable data on engagement levels. By leveraging machine learning, the system can integrate collected data to create personalized recommendations for visitors, addressing psychological needs for autonomy and competence. This approach allows for real-time, unobtrusive...
read Nov 4, 2024OpenAI’s latest AI model ‘o1’ just got leaked
OpenAI's o1 model: A breakthrough in AI reasoning: OpenAI's upcoming o1 model, a significant advancement in AI technology, was unexpectedly leaked, revealing capabilities that surpass initial expectations. The full version of o1, set for release later this year, was briefly accessible due to a URL parameter change, allowing users a glimpse of its enhanced features. This model represents a departure from traditional GPT-style models, focusing on improved reasoning capabilities and problem-solving skills. Key features of the leaked o1 model: The leaked version demonstrated impressive abilities in image analysis and complex problem-solving, showcasing the model's potential impact on various AI applications....
read Nov 4, 2024How CIOs are sharpening AI governance policies in an uncertain market
The AI governance imperative: As generative AI projects increasingly move into production environments, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are facing mounting pressure to establish robust AI governance policies to safeguard their enterprises. The rapid advancement of AI technology has outpaced the development of formal standards, forcing CIOs to craft internal policies to address the unique challenges posed by AI implementation. While government and research institutions have proposed some frameworks, these are often insufficient to address the complex and evolving nature of AI applications in enterprise settings. US organizations are notably behind their European counterparts in establishing multidisciplinary governance committees, a key...
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