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AI PC sales lag as global market slumps in Q3
AI PCs fail to boost market in Q3: Despite industry hype, the introduction of AI-powered personal computers did not prevent a decline in overall PC shipments during the third quarter of 2024. IDC reports a 2.4% year-over-year decrease in PC shipments, with only 68.8 million units shipped between July and September. Gartner estimates a similar decline of 1.3% year-over-year for the same period. The lackluster performance comes as a surprise to analysts who had anticipated a market rebound following the post-pandemic slump. Challenges for AI PC adoption: The slow start for AI PCs highlights the difficulties in convincing consumers and...
read Oct 9, 2024High-performing businesses not only master AI but also do these things
AI adoption and human-centered innovation drive high-performing businesses: A recent Upwork survey reveals that leading organizations are leveraging artificial intelligence while focusing on workforce development and cultural transformation to outpace their competitors. Key findings on high-performing companies: The Upwork Research Institute identified a subset of businesses consistently outperforming their peers, exhibiting greater confidence in their future and higher satisfaction with financial performance. 27% of surveyed companies were classified as high performers, showing twice the confidence in their organization's future compared to others. These companies averaged a 32-point higher satisfaction rate in their financial performance. High performers reported 30% lower operating...
read Oct 9, 2024Caltech makes breakthrough that enables AI models to learn and retain knowledge
Breakthrough in continuous learning for neural networks: Researchers at Caltech have developed a new algorithm that enables artificial neural networks to learn continuously without losing previously acquired knowledge, mimicking the flexibility of biological brains. The challenge of catastrophic forgetting: Neural networks, while proficient at learning specific tasks, often struggle with retaining previously learned information when taught new tasks. This phenomenon, known as "catastrophic forgetting," has been a significant limitation in the field of artificial intelligence. Current neural networks, such as those used in self-driving cars, typically require complete reprogramming to learn additional tasks. In contrast, biological brains can easily adapt...
read Oct 9, 2024How San Jose is pioneering responsible AI in city services
AI leadership in local government: San Jose, California, under the guidance of CIO Khaled Tawfik, is spearheading efforts to implement safe and responsible artificial intelligence in municipal services. The city council has approved the first budget allocation specifically dedicated to advancing AI use in improving city services. Tawfik leads the GovAI Coalition, a collaborative effort to help cities implement safe and responsible AI solutions based on robust policies. San Jose is focusing on testing AI to enhance micromobility safety, including detecting potholes, trash, and road safety conditions. The ultimate goal is to use AI for detecting and mitigating obstacles for...
read Oct 9, 2024Vinod Khosla on OpenAI, national security and AI’s climate impact
The AI pioneer's perspective: In a recent interview, Vinod Khosla, a prominent entrepreneur and investor, shared his insights on the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and its implications for technology, energy, and global affairs. Khosla, an early investor in OpenAI, believes the current wave of generative AI technology could have the most significant impact on humanity yet, despite challenges from various sectors and global issues. The scale of AI and energy demands: The growing computational requirements for AI models are raising questions about the feasibility of private sector development and the need for public sector involvement. Khosla argues that...
read Oct 9, 2024Amazon’s new AI Shopping Guides help shoppers find what they need
AI-Powered Shopping Guides: Amazon's Latest Innovation: Amazon has rolled out a new AI-powered feature called "Shopping Guides" to enhance the user experience for customers browsing products on its platform. Key features and functionality: The AI Shopping Guides are designed to provide more tailored product information and recommendations to users as they browse Amazon's extensive catalog. The feature is currently available for over 100 product types, including popular categories such as TVs, headphones, running shoes, and skincare products. Shopping Guides offer educational content about products and incorporate customer insights to help users make more informed purchase decisions. The system presents recommended...
read Oct 9, 20242 Nobel Prizes, 2 paths forward
AI's Nobel recognition: Honoring pioneers and shaping future directions: The Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry for 2023 have been awarded to researchers in the field of artificial intelligence, highlighting the growing importance and impact of AI across scientific disciplines. Physics Nobel Prize: Controversy and historical debate: The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield has sparked discussions about the attribution of key innovations in machine learning. Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent figure in machine learning, received the award for his contributions to the field, but questions have been raised about the specific achievements cited in the...
read Oct 9, 2024‘Open-source’ has an updated definition — here’s what it is for now
Open Source AI Definition reaches release candidate stage: The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has released a Release Candidate (RC1) version of the Open Source AI Definition, marking a significant milestone in defining open-source standards for artificial intelligence systems. The RC1 version incorporates extensive community feedback gathered through town hall meetings, forum discussions, and in-person conversations across multiple countries. This release focuses on refining the definition of the "preferred form to make modifications to a machine learning system," addressing key aspects of data sharing, code completeness, and legal considerations. Key updates in the Release Candidate: Data Information requirements: The definition now...
read Oct 9, 2024Google brings AI image generation to Chromecast devices
AI-Powered Wallpapers Come to Google TV: Google has officially launched AI-generated wallpapers for Google TV devices, expanding the creative capabilities of smart home entertainment systems. The feature, announced last month, is now rolling out to Chromecast and other Google TV-enabled devices, as reported by 9to5Google. Users can access this new functionality through the device settings, specifically under Settings > System > Ambient Mode > Custom AI Art. How it works: The AI wallpaper generator offers users multiple ways to create unique, personalized backgrounds for their Google TV devices. Users can describe the image they want, utilizing the AI's text-to-image capabilities...
read Oct 9, 2024Hugging Face’s newest tool simplifies building AI-powered web apps
Hugging Face unveils Gradio 5: The AI startup has launched a major update to its open-source tool for creating machine learning applications, aiming to simplify AI development and accelerate enterprise adoption. Key features and improvements: Gradio 5 focuses on bridging the gap between machine learning expertise and web development skills, offering enhanced security and an AI-assisted app creation feature. The new version allows developers to build performant, scalable apps with best practices in security and accessibility using just a few lines of Python code. Hugging Face hired cybersecurity company Trail of Bits to conduct an independent audit of Gradio, incorporating...
read Oct 9, 2024Princeton’s new AI Lab aims to foster interdisciplinary research
Princeton launches AI Lab to advance interdisciplinary research: The Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence (AI Lab) is set to launch this fall, aiming to support AI research across various disciplines and integrate insights from natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities into AI technology initiatives. Leadership and vision: Tom Griffiths, Princeton's Henry R. Luce Professor of Information Technology, Consciousness, and Culture, will lead the AI Lab as its inaugural director, with Olga Russakovsky serving as associate director. Griffiths emphasized the lab's goal of translating new AI developments into impactful research projects that can accelerate research across the campus. The executive...
read Oct 9, 2024Kirkland Capital CEO gives AI 2 years to prove productivity gains
AI productivity in focus: Kirk Yang, Chairman and CEO of Kirkland Capital, emphasizes the critical importance of demonstrating artificial intelligence's productivity gains within the next two years. Yang's statement comes amid the ongoing race in semiconductor development for AI applications, highlighting the urgency for tangible results in the AI sector. The two-year timeframe suggested by Yang indicates a relatively short window for AI to prove its worth in terms of measurable productivity improvements. Kirkland Capital, as an investment firm, likely has a vested interest in the success and rapid advancement of AI technologies. Semiconductor industry implications: The AI race in...
read Oct 9, 2024Google Photos may soon flag AI-generated images
AI-generated image detection coming to Google Photos: Google Photos is preparing to implement a feature that will help users identify AI-generated images by displaying IPTC metadata, potentially changing how users interact with and understand digital imagery. The upcoming feature, discovered through an APK teardown of Google Photos version 7.3, is not yet live but is expected to roll out in the near future. This development comes as a response to the rapid proliferation of AI-generated images and the growing need for transparency in digital media. Key metadata elements: The new feature will likely showcase specific IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council)...
read Oct 9, 2024London aims to become global digital art hub
Digital art's growing prominence in London: The city's diverse art ecosystem is positioning itself as a global hub for digital art, catalyzed by recent technological advancements and increased public interest. Frieze London art fair and Tate Modern's "Electric Dreams" exhibition are showcasing a range of digital artworks, from immersive environments to AI-generated pieces, highlighting the medium's evolution and current relevance. The Victoria and Albert Museum's first Digital Art Season and the upcoming SXSW London in 2025 further underscore the city's commitment to embracing and promoting digital art forms. Historical context and academic foundations: London's journey as a digital art center...
read Oct 9, 2024How Domino Data Lab plans to eliminate AI governance concerns
AI governance emerges as critical focus: As artificial intelligence continues to rapidly advance and proliferate, the tech industry is shifting attention towards establishing robust governance frameworks to ensure responsible AI development and deployment. The growing emphasis on AI governance parallels early concerns around cloud computing security, with stakeholders now recognizing the need for guardrails and ethical guidelines. There is an increasing push to address issues like bias in AI models, compliance with regulations, and appropriate use cases across different industries and regions. Domino Data Lab introduces AI governance solution: The company has launched Domino Governance, a software platform designed to...
read Oct 9, 2024Why you shouldn’t over-rely on AI content detectors — and what to do instead
AI content detectors: A flawed approach to distinguishing human-written text: Recent experiments and real-world experiences have highlighted the unreliability of AI content detectors in accurately differentiating between human-generated and AI-generated text. Kiran Shahid, a writer, conducted an experiment testing four different pieces of content through three popular AI content detectors: ZeroGPT, Copyleaks, and TraceGPT. The experiment included poorly-written and well-written samples of both AI-generated and human-generated content. Results showed varying accuracy rates among the detectors: ZeroGPT and TraceGPT achieved only 25% accuracy, while Copyleaks performed better with 75% accuracy. Limitations of AI content detectors: Several factors contribute to the inconsistent...
read Oct 9, 2024The 12 greatest dangers of AI, according to Gary Marcus
The AI revolution's dark side: Gary Marcus, an AI expert, outlines 12 immediate dangers of artificial intelligence in his new book "Taming Silicon Valley," highlighting the potential risks and societal impacts of this rapidly evolving technology. Marcus identifies automatically generated disinformation and deepfakes as the most pressing short-term concern, particularly in their potential to influence elections and manipulate public opinion. In the long term, Marcus expresses worry about the lack of knowledge on how to create safe and reliable AI systems, which could lead to unforeseen consequences. Economic implications and regulatory needs: The widespread adoption of AI technologies may necessitate...
read Oct 9, 2024How AI is transforming mental health care
AI's growing influence in mental health: Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the landscape of mental healthcare, offering both promising benefits and significant challenges for patients and practitioners alike. The integration of AI into mental health services mirrors previous technological advancements like the internet and telehealth, which expanded access to care for underserved populations. AI-powered tools such as chatbots and search engines are providing 24/7 support, breaking down barriers related to time, location, and availability of mental health resources. However, the increased availability of information through AI raises concerns about potential risks, particularly due to the lack of oversight on the...
read Oct 9, 2024AI breakthrough earns Google DeepMind researchers Nobel Prize in Chemistry
AI breakthroughs in protein structure prediction honored with Nobel Prize: The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognizes groundbreaking advancements in using artificial intelligence to predict and design protein structures, a fundamental challenge in biochemistry with far-reaching implications for scientific research and drug development. Key recipients and their contributions: The award is shared between researchers from Google DeepMind and the University of Washington, acknowledging their pioneering work in computational protein analysis. Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind receive half the prize for their development of AlphaFold, an AI system that accurately predicts protein structures from amino acid sequences....
read Oct 9, 2024Why generative AI may not actually cause a compute crunch
The AI computing power landscape: Debunking scarcity concerns: Despite widespread worries about generative AI (genAI) causing a shortage of computing power, a detailed analysis suggests that the long-standing regime of affordable and widely available computing resources is likely to persist. Even under aggressive assumptions, genAI workloads are projected to account for only about 34% of global data centre-based AI computing supply by 2028. This forecast challenges the notion of an impending scarcity crisis in AI computing resources. Breaking down genAI computational demands: GenAI computational requirements into three distinct areas, each with varying resource intensities and usage patterns. Model Training: This...
read Oct 9, 2024Meta expands AI assistant to new global markets
Meta expands AI capabilities globally: Meta's AI assistant is set to broaden its reach, with plans to introduce the technology to 21 new countries and support additional languages by the end of the year. The rollout begins immediately in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay, and the Philippines. Meta AI currently boasts nearly 500 million active monthly users, indicating its significant popularity and widespread adoption. The expansion underscores Meta's commitment to making its AI technology accessible to a broader, more diverse user base. Smart glasses integration: Meta is extending the AI assistant's functionality to its Ray-Ban smart glasses in...
read Oct 9, 2024AI shopping agents could transform how you buy on Amazon
Amazon's AI ambitions in e-commerce: The tech giant is developing advanced AI agents aimed at revolutionizing the online shopping experience, with potential implications for both consumers and the broader retail industry. Amazon recently introduced Rufus, a chatbot powered by a large language model (LLM) trained on internet text and Amazon's proprietary data, capable of answering questions about products on the platform. The company's current LLM boasts "hundreds of billions of parameters," with an even larger model in development. Future AI agents may have the ability to perform complex tasks like navigating websites or operating a PC to complete various actions....
read Oct 9, 2024Wimbledon embraces AI, ditches line judges after 147 years
AI Takes Center Court at Wimbledon: The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has announced a significant technological shift for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, replacing human line judges with artificial intelligence across all 18 courts. After 147 years of tradition, Wimbledon will implement electronic line calling (ELC) technology to make "out" and "fault" calls, marking the end of an era for the iconic cream berets and navy blazers of human line judges. The decision aligns Wimbledon with other major tennis tournaments, such as the US Open and Australian Open, which have already adopted similar AI-powered officiating systems. This move reflects...
read Oct 9, 2024AI pioneer predicts seismic shift for tech startups
AI's impact on lean startup methodology: Steve Blank, a pioneering Silicon Valley entrepreneur and creator of the customer development model that underpins the lean startup movement, foresees artificial intelligence dramatically accelerating and transforming his approach to building businesses. Blank believes AI tools will significantly speed up the process of testing hypotheses, developing products, and creating new ventures by automating many tasks currently performed by humans. The lean startup method, which emphasizes rapid experimentation and iterative product development based on customer feedback, could be supercharged by AI's ability to quickly analyze data and generate insights. AI has the potential to automate...
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