OpenAI's five levels for AI to reach human-level intelligence; MIT Technology Review defines AI; small language models take center stage; AI startup funding up 2x in Q2

How AI can make teaching better; is ChatGPT good at coding? AI meets the creator economy; the K-pop industry experiments with AI

Jul 12, 2024

∙ Paid

There’s no editorial for me this week as I’ve been dealing with some health issues. I’m also considering switching things up a bit and alternating the in-depth writing I’ve done so far with more casual, short-form observations about the news stories dominating the week.

So with that in mind, if I were to pick one story that caught my eye this week, it was Bloomberg’s reporting about how OpenAI has created five levels to track its progress toward building AI capable of outperforming human intelligence.

OpenAI claims that its models are currently on the cusp of reaching the second level, corresponding to human-level problem solving.

Two things immediately stood out to me: first, that’s the same level that most autonomous cars have been stuck on for the past few years. Secondly, level three corresponds to agents which is where a significant amount of VC funding has been directed over the last six months. No word from OpenAI on when we should expect its models to reach level three but I’d be interested to hear from the founders of agentic AI startups reading this newsletter.

I’ll be back next Friday - until then, here are this week’s news:

❤️Computer loves

Our top news picks for the week - your essential reading from the world of AI

BBC: Will K-pop's AI experiment pay off?
The Information: The Creator Economy’s AI Tailwind
The Verge: Chum King Express
Bloomberg: OpenAI Develops System to Track Progress Toward Human-Level AI
WSJ: It’s Time for AI to Start Making Money for Businesses. Can It?
MIT Technology Review: What is AI?
WSJ: For AI Giants, Smaller Is Sometimes Better
Wired: AI-Powered Super Soldiers Are More Than Just a Pipe Dream
TechCrunch: Tokens are a big reason today’s generative AI falls short
Reuters: AI startup funding more than doubles in Q2, Crunchbase data shows
IEEE Spectrum: How Good Is ChatGPT at Coding, Really?
Wired: AI Can’t Replace Teaching, but It Can Make It Better

⚙️Computer does

AI in the wild: how artificial intelligence is used across industry, from the internet, social media, and retail to transportation, healthcare, banking, and more

The Verge: Google says Gemini AI is making its robots smarter
MIT Technology Review: AI is poised to automate today’s most mundane manual warehouse task
AP: Samsung brings tech’s latest fashion to wearable technology with AI twists in new watch and ring
MIT Technology Review: Can AI help me plan my honeymoon?
Business Insider: Job seekers are using controversial AI 'teleprompter' apps to 'crush' their interviews
MIT Technology Review: How to use AI to plan your next vacation
The Telegraph: Wimbledon using AI to protect players from online death threats
TechCrunch: Byway is using AI to help travelers slow down and take the scenic route

🧑‍🎓Computer learns

Interesting trends and developments from various AI fields, companies and people

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Computerspeak by Alexandru Voica to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.