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Google Partners with Data Giants to Enhance AI Reliability and Minimize Hallucinations
Google partners with Thomson Reuters, Moody's, and others to provide AI with real-world data, aiming to minimize hallucinations and increase trust in AI models for enterprise customers. Reputable third-party data sources: Google is partnering with Moody's, MSCI, Thomson Reuters, and Zoominfo to provide qualified data within Vertex AI, allowing developers to leverage high-quality data and expertise to ensure AI outputs meet their standards: These data sources will be available in Vertex AI starting next quarter, offering a way for businesses to ground their AI responses in trustworthy data. The partnership enables customers to leverage Google's models and the partner's data...
read Jul 1, 2024FCC Demands Telecoms Combat AI Voice Cloning Robocalls Threatening Elections
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel is requesting information from major telecom providers on their efforts to combat AI-fueled robocalls, particularly those using AI voice cloning for political purposes. Key details on FCC's inquiry: Rosenworcel sent letters to the CEOs of nine telecom companies, acknowledging their cooperation but asking for more details to assist the FCC in keeping illegal robocalls off networks: The letters request information on how the companies authenticate calls to prevent spoofed caller IDs, verify customer identities, and handle FCC requests about suspected illegal robocall campaigns. Rosenworcel also asks about the companies' involvement in the Industry Traceback Group and...
read Jul 1, 2024Microsoft’s “Skeleton Key” Exposes Major AI Safety Flaws
Microsoft's Skeleton Key attack exposes serious flaws in AI safety measures: Researchers have discovered a simple technique that can bypass the content filters and safeguards built into many major AI models, potentially allowing these systems to generate harmful or illegal content. Key details of the Skeleton Key attack: The attack, initially called "Master Key" when first discussed by Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich in May, relies on a text prompt that directs the AI model to revise, rather than abandon, its safety instructions. When tested on models from Meta, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, the attack successfully convinced the chatbots...
read Jul 1, 2024Instagram Influencers Get AI Chatbots: Engaging or Risky?
Say hello to creator-built AI chatbots on Instagram, as the social media platform takes a step towards integrating AI-powered interactions between influencers and their followers, raising questions about the implications and potential risks of this technology. Key development: Instagram creators to get AI chatbots; In a recent interview, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Instagram is testing a new feature allowing creators to build AI chatbots that users can interact with anytime: The AI chatbots will be created in collaboration with selected Instagram influencers using Meta's AI studio. The feature is currently in the testing phase and will be gradually rolled out...
read Jul 1, 2024AI Prizes Spur Innovation in Animal Communication and Niche Areas, Offering Millions in Rewards
A new wave of AI prizes is spurring innovation in communication with animals and other niche areas, offering millions in rewards to anyone who can push the technology forward in unconventional ways. The Coller Dolittle Challenge: A $10 million prize for interspecies communication; British financier Jeremy Coller has launched a competition to incentivize the development of AI systems that can successfully communicate with animals using their own communication systems: The goal is to decipher animal communication and engage with them using their own "language," rather than training them to respond to human commands. Yossi Yovel, a professor at Tel Aviv...
read Jul 1, 2024Benchmark Raises $425M Fund, Signaling New Era Focused on AI Startups
Benchmark, a prominent venture capital firm, is raising $425 million for its eleventh fund, dubbed "Benchmark 1," signaling a new era focused on artificial intelligence startups. Key details of the new fund: Benchmark's five equal partners aim to make around 30 early-stage investments from the new fund, maintaining the same fund size as its previous funds since 2013 to ensure discipline and focus: The partners include Midas Listers Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, and Chetan Puttagunta, as well as Sarah Tavel and Victor Lazarte. While the official fund size is $425 million, the total capital available for deployment will be effectively...
read Jul 1, 2024Why Google’s New NotebookLM May Be a Favorite with Students
The innovative NotebookLM AI tool from Google Labs is set to change how students interact with information, offering a range of features designed to enhance learning and academic integrity. Source Grounding for Trustworthy AI: NotebookLM addresses concerns about AI hallucinations by allowing students to define and upload trusted sources, ensuring responses are firmly rooted in reliable material: Students can confidently use AI without worrying about being misled by fabricated information. The tool enables students to ask questions, learn, and explore based on specific class readings. Advanced Citation System for Academic Integrity: NotebookLM's advanced citation system promotes proper sourcing and teaches...
read Jul 1, 2024AI Interfaces: Tailored Experiences Driving Creativity, Efficiency, and Emotional Connection
The rise of generative AI has led to a diverse array of user interfaces tailored to specific use cases and desired outputs, with no one-size-fits-all approach. Chatbots seek simplicity and versatility: ChatGPT, Google Bard/Gemini, Hugging Chat, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Pi, and Hume AI offer streamlined interfaces focused on task-specific tools, integration with search capabilities, and emotional intelligence: ChatGPT provides a comprehensive assistant for various needs, while Google Bard enhances productivity through contextual responses and search integration. Hugging Chat and Claude cater to developers and researchers, offering extensive tools for interacting with and fine-tuning AI models. Microsoft Copilot seamlessly integrates AI...
read Jul 1, 2024VB Transform Finalists Showcase Generative AI’s Disruptive Potential for Enterprises
VentureBeat has selected six companies as finalists for its 2024 Innovation Showcase, focusing on products or features that leverage generative AI to potentially transform enterprise operations. The showcase will take place at the Transform: Putting AI to Work event from July 9-11 in San Francisco, where finalists will present to an invite-only audience of 400 industry decision-makers. Finalists will deliver 5-minute pitches followed by feedback from a panel of enterprise tech analysts and executives, with awards given for most likely to succeed, coolest technology, and best presentation style. Meet the finalists: The six companies chosen span a range of applications...
read Jul 1, 2024AI Pioneer Cautions Against Overestimating Generative AI’s Capabilities
Rodney Brooks, a renowned robotics and AI expert, cautions against overestimating the capabilities of generative AI, arguing that while impressive, it is not human-like and should be evaluated carefully. Key insights from an AI pioneer: Brooks, who has extensive experience in robotics and AI, including co-founding several influential companies and leading MIT's CSAIL, shares his perspective on the current state of generative AI: He acknowledges the importance of large language models (LLMs) but emphasizes the need for careful evaluation, as humans tend to overestimate AI systems' competence based on their performance on specific tasks. Brooks points out that generative AI...
read Jul 1, 2024Microsoft AI CEO’s “Freeware” Claim Sparks Copyright Controversy and Legal Battles
Microsoft AI CEO claims web content is "freeware" for training AI models, sparking controversy and legal challenges over the use of copyrighted material without explicit consent. Key takeaways: Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's CEO of AI, stated that content on the open web is considered "freeware" that can be copied and used to create new content, unless explicitly prohibited by the creator: Suleyman claimed this has been the "social contract" for web content since the 1990s, allowing anyone to copy, recreate, and reproduce content. He acknowledged a "gray area" where websites or publishers have explicitly stated their content should only be indexed...
read Jul 1, 202427-Year-Old Billionaire’s Meteoric Rise in AI Fueled by Elite Silicon Valley Connections
Alexandr Wang, the 27-year-old co-founder and CEO of Scale AI, has rapidly ascended to the upper echelons of Silicon Valley through his AI company and high-powered connections, becoming the world's youngest self-made billionaire. A meteoric rise fueled by elite connections: Wang's success has been propelled by his ability to form relationships with influential figures in Silicon Valley: He has cultivated close ties with Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO and co-founder, who even lived with Wang for several months during the pandemic. Wang's knack for getting into the right rooms and securing high-powered connections has played a significant role in his rapid...
read Jul 1, 2024AI Vision Leaderboard Reveals GPT-4o’s Prowess, Highlights Challenges in Complex Visual Reasoning
The increasing sophistication of AI language models in understanding and processing visual information is highlighted by the launch of LMSYS's "Multimodal Arena," a new leaderboard comparing the performance of various AI models on vision-related tasks. GPT-4o tops the Multimodal Arena leaderboard: OpenAI's GPT-4o model secured the top position, with Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro following closely behind, reflecting the intense competition among tech giants in the rapidly evolving field of multimodal AI. The leaderboard encompasses a diverse range of tasks, from image captioning and mathematical problem-solving to document understanding and meme interpretation, aiming to provide a...
read Jul 1, 2024Amazon’s AI Assistant Q Promises to Revolutionize Call Centers with Real-Time Guidance
Amazon has updated its conversational AI assistant Q to provide real-time, step-by-step guides for call center employees, tailored to solve specific customer issues. Key benefits of the Q assistant upgrade: The new features in Amazon Q for Connect are designed to streamline call center operations and enhance the customer support experience: Q eliminates the need for agents to click through multiple tools and screens to find information, reducing the "toggle tax" that can lengthen call times and decrease customer satisfaction. The AI system listens to customer calls in real time, determines the task at hand, and automatically displays step-by-step guides...
read Jun 29, 2024AI Adoption Upends Digital Divide: Non-White Families Embrace Technology Faster
The rapid adoption of AI technology by non-white American families is challenging the traditional narrative of the digital divide, where non-white communities have historically lagged behind in access to and use of technology. Disrupting the digital divide: AI's widespread availability and ease of use are enabling non-white families to embrace the technology faster than their white counterparts, potentially giving them an edge: Historically, non-white families in America have been slower to adopt new technologies like landline telephones, computers, and broadband internet, creating a "digital divide" that was particularly evident during the pandemic-driven shift to remote learning. The release of user-friendly...
read Jun 29, 2024AI Revolutionizes Startup Fundraising: Smarter Pitches, Targeted Investors, Streamlined Due Diligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how entrepreneurs approach fundraising, enabling startups to secure investments more efficiently and effectively. AI market analysis and investor targeting: AI-powered platforms analyze market trends, investor preferences, and past investment patterns to help startups identify and target the most relevant investors for their pitches: Signal AI developed platforms that use AI to analyze market data and tailor pitches to specific investor interests. FinTech startup FinOptimize used AI analytics to identify venture capitalists interested in sustainable finance and approach them with a compelling, data-backed value proposition. Improving pitch personalization with AI: Startups are leveraging AI tools to...
read Jun 29, 2024Axelera AI Secures $68M to Challenge NVIDIA in Edge AI Chip Market
Axelera AI raises $68M in Europe's largest Series B round in the fabless semiconductor category to rival NVIDIA with its edge AI chips. Key details of Axelera's funding round: The Netherlands-based startup has secured $68 million in Series B funding, bringing its total capital raised to $120 million, to expand its AI processing unit (AIPU) solutions: The funding was led by major institutional investors including Invest-NL Deep Tech Fund, European Innovation Council Fund, Innovation Industries Strategic Partners Fund and Samsung Catalyst Fund. Axelera plans to use the capital to bring its existing AIPU solutions to new geographies and markets, while...
read Jun 29, 2024AI vs AI: The High-Stakes Battle to Detect Deepfakes and Defend Reality
Deepfakes are becoming more sophisticated and accessible, posing risks for businesses and democracy. A new company founded by image manipulation expert Hany Farid aims to combat the problem with AI and traditional forensic techniques. Key takeaways: Get Real Labs has developed software to detect AI-generated and manipulated images, audio, and video that is being tested by Fortune 500 companies to spot deepfake job seekers: Some companies have lost money to scammers using deepfakes to impersonate real people in video interviews, taking signing bonuses and disappearing. The FBI and others have warned about the growing threat of deepfakes being used in...
read Jun 29, 2024Multibeam Aims to One-Up Chip Manufacturing Industry with Groundbreaking E-Beam Lithography Platform
Multibeam launches the semiconductor industry's first Multicolumn E-Beam Lithography (MEBL) platform, marking a significant milestone in chip manufacturing productivity and innovation. Key Takeaways: Multibeam's MB platform revolutionizes e-beam lithography (EBL) with a novel multicolumn architecture, offering productivity advantages while maintaining high resolution and quality: The fully automated precision-patterning technology is designed for rapid prototyping, advanced packaging, high-mix production, and other applications. Throughput is over 100 times greater than conventional EBL systems, making it the highest productivity high-resolution maskless lithography system available. As a mask-less solution, the platform enables greater design flexibility, reduced costs, and faster time to market compared to...
read Jun 29, 2024Resemble AI’s Detect-2B: A Leap Forward in Combating Deepfake Audio
Resemble AI has released Detect-2B, a next-generation AI audio detection model that can identify deepfake audio with 94% accuracy, marking a significant advancement in the fight against misinformation and erosion of trust in an era of increasingly sophisticated generative AI. Key features of Detect-2B: The new model utilizes a series of pre-trained sub-models and fine-tuning techniques to analyze audio clips and determine whether they were generated using AI: The sub-models consist of a frozen audio representation model with an adaptation module inserted into its key layers, allowing the model to focus on artifacts that often distinguish real audio from fake...
read Jun 29, 2024Ario Raises $16M to Develop “Universal Basic AI” for Personalized Assistance
In a major development for the AI assistant market, startup Ario has raised $16 million to develop what it calls "universal basic AI" – a digital helper accessible to everyone. Ario's unconventional approach: The company, founded by cybersecurity veterans, aims to leverage users' personal data to create highly personalized AI assistants that can save time and provide tailored recommendations: Ario connects to popular apps like Amazon, DoorDash, and Google Calendar to automate household tasks and streamline users' lives. The startup's "adversarial ETL" process helps users collect their own data from major websites and services, which forms the foundation for their...
read Jun 29, 2024Mailchimp’s AI Vision: Transforming SMEs with End-to-End Automation and Revenue Intelligence
Mailchimp unveils ambitious plans to provide an end-to-end AI automation solution for small and medium-sized businesses, aiming to streamline operations, boost growth, and enable strategic decision-making. Leveraging AI for SMEs: Mailchimp recognizes the potential of AI to help smaller businesses innovate, create new products and services, improve customer support, and optimize operations: Generative AI levels the playing field, allowing SMEs to compete with larger players by automating tasks that once required entire teams. Mailchimp has provided AI tools, mainly for content creation, to SME users for years and now plans to expand its AI-powered services and applications. Integrating data for...
read Jun 29, 2024French AI Industry Faces Uncertain Future Amid Pivotal Presidential Election
The upcoming French presidential election has the country's thriving AI industry worried about potential setbacks: Polls suggest voters are leaning towards the far right or hard left, with campaign pledges that could negatively impact the AI industry's talent pipeline and increase taxes. Under President Emmanuel Macron, France has become a hub for AI startups and attracted significant investments from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta. The election outcome could dramatically reshape the National Assembly and install a prime minister from either the far-right or left-wing coalition, leading to gridlock and uncertainty. Mistral AI and the Macron era: Mistral AI,...
read Jun 29, 2024Models-as-a-Service: How Productized AI Models Are Driving Widespread Adoption and Efficient Integration Across Industries
The proliferation of productized AI models is driving the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across industries, enabling organizations to leverage pre-trained models without extensive infrastructure or expertise. The rise of Model-as-a-Service (MaaS): MaaS represents a paradigm shift in AI deployment, offering a scalable and accessible solution for developers and users to utilize pre-trained AI models: MaaS enables cloud-centric software engineers to access prebuilt, preconfigured, and pre-trained machine learning models for various AI functions, streamlining the integration of AI capabilities into software. This approach is more efficient, cost-effective, and easier to scale compared to traditional AI model development and deployment methods....
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