AI funding rounds, acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes, plus regulation, copyright lawsuits and big compute deals.
Singapore just unveiled A.I. Verify, a governance testing framework and toolkit designed to let companies validate their AI systems through objective technical tests. Released as an MVP, the tool maps against international governance principles to boost transparency, and officials are now inviting global enterprises to join its international pilot.
A new analysis from the Substack One Useful Thing argues that generative AI might finally break decades of stagnation in science and productivity. By slashing the "burden of knowledge" through paper synthesis and cutting coding time in half with Copilot, early AI tools are directly targeting long-standing bottlenecks. Why it matters: If AI can absorb information overload and automate white-collar grind, it could restart the great engines of global progress.
BMW just brought out Arnold Schwarzenegger at CES to unveil the i Vision Dee, an electric sports sedan designed around next-level human-machine interaction. While "Dee" stands for digital emotional experience, the standout feature is its electronic ink exterior, which can shift between patterns across 32 different colors.
Adobe just faced backlash after users realized Creative Cloud turns on a "content analysis" program by default. The company clarified that it doesn't use customer cloud data to train experimental generative AI features, but it does train general feature algorithms—and privacy-conscious users should opt out.
OpenAI is reportedly in talks to sell shares at a staggering $29 billion valuation, while partner Microsoft prepares to inject ChatGPT directly into Bing search as early as March. By swapping lists of blue links for conversational, context-aware answers, Microsoft hopes to mount its first serious challenge in years against Google's search monopoly.
Kickstarter and Patreon just banned Unstable Diffusion, an online community dedicated to generating NSFW AI images, after it raised nearly $60,000. Social media erupted in protest over the project relying on copyrighted artist styles. Kickstarter's CEO made their stance clear, saying the platform will always side with human creative work.
NYC public schools just blocked ChatGPT across all department-owned networks and devices. Officials cited concerns over content accuracy and student learning, arguing the bot shortcuts critical thinking. Schools studying AI can still request special access, but the ban marks a major flashpoint for AI in education.
Founders Fund and Thrive Capital are in talks to buy OpenAI shares from existing holders in a tender offer valuing the startup at up to $29 billion. That would more than double its $14 billion valuation from 2021, driven by the massive viral boom of ChatGPT.
AMD just unveiled its Ryzen 7040 series mobile processors, marking the first time an x86 chip features a dedicated on-die AI engine called Ryzen AI. Built on the XDNA adaptive architecture, AMD claims it outperforms Apple's M2 in both AI speed and battery efficiency. The first laptops powered by the chip will ship this March.
Melanated AI just launched a dedicated online marketplace designed to champion and monetize work from AI artists and creators of color. The platform lets creators sell generative pieces as digital downloads, prints, canvas, or NFTs, aiming to bring much-needed representation and new revenue streams to emerging digital artists.
Samsung just announced the Bespoke AI Wall Oven at CES 2023, packing an internal camera that can livestream cooking sessions directly to online audiences. The smart appliance recognizes up to 80 dishes, optimizes cooking conditions, and pings your phone before food burns. It launches in North America later in 2023, though pricing is still under wraps.
Google is facing intense heat from ChatGPT, with reports confirming it launched a "Code Red operation" to accelerate rival AI launches by mid-2023. While Google possesses its own conversational engine LaMDA, rolling it out threatens its ad-driven search model, which accounted for 81% of its FY2021 revenue.
OpenAI president Greg Brockman just warned that 2023 will make 2022 look like a sleepy year for AI advancement. Between GPT-4 waiting in the wings, Microsoft hooking ChatGPT into Bing, and coding tools taking off, automation is accelerating across creative and technical work. Why it matters: If you thought artists were the only ones facing disruption, practically every desk job is next in line.
OpenAI is developing a statistical watermarking system to catch text generated by ChatGPT. The method subtly tweaks word choice to leave an invisible trace that can be detected in just a few hundred words. It targets academic plagiarism and mass propaganda, though it currently remains a working prototype.
Forbes explored how digital workers could theoretically decouple economic growth from human population constraints. If AI joins the workforce and operates around the clock, GDP limits could practically disappear. Why it matters: the ultimate economic boost will depend on how aggressively industries actually adopt and integrate these systems.
Rossum CTO Petr Baudis says enterprise AI adoption often stalls not because of weak models, but due to frustrating, cluttered interfaces. While organizations chase sleek looks, confusing workflows push workers away. For example, Morton Salt slashed document processing time by 95% simply by pairing smart AI with an intuitive, streamlined UI. Why it matters: The smartest AI is useless if your team dreads clicking into it.
AI tools like Flawless and Papercup are transforming film production by modifying actors' faces to match new dialogue and generating synthetic voiceovers. While studios look forward to cutting costly reshoots and localizing films globally, actors and ethicists are raising red flags over consent and digital likeness rights.
Eidos-Sherbrooke researchers just demonstrated a prototype combining Unreal Engine's Environment Query System with machine learning to drive enemy AI. Instead of wrestling with complex behavior trees, designers can easily tweak difficulty values. The goal isn't superhuman bots, but enemies that adapt to keep gameplay challenging and fun.
Enterprises are rapidly ditching expensive in-house builds in favor of AI-as-a-service (AIaaS) platforms to cut upfront infrastructure costs. ClearML CEO Moses Guttmann notes that AIaaS takes care of operational heavy lifting via simple APIs, letting internal data teams focus purely on high-impact, custom business logic.
Google is reportedly treating ChatGPT as a "Code Red" existential threat to its core business, signaling a massive shift in how we seek information online. The conversational bot answers queries directly, threatening the ad-click revenue model that built modern search. While hallucinated facts remain a hurdle, the monopoly over search is finally cracking open.
