Why we shouldn't fear tech nationalism; copyright law will dominate the AI conversation in 2024; researchers develop AI tools that can evaluate college exams; everything you need to know about ChatGPT
AI hallucinations are a boon to creators; AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI now valued at over $500M; five early adopters explain how they're using generative AI
The Economist published an article this week signaling the start of a new era of tech nationalism. The premise of the piece is that countries around the world are in a race to control their own destinies when it comes to AI, investing in startups, creating technical universities, releasing open source large language models that outperform those from Silicon Valley, or building the computing infrastructure needed for research and development.
A headline containing the word nationalism is sure to create a feeling of slight unease. Still, I want to argue why we should actually embrace this global wave and why it will ultimately lead to a democratization of AI capabilities, even though it may seem like the center of gravity for artificial intelligence still rests in Silicon Valley.
First off, while Silicon Valley companies have used some of their resources to make progress on global societal issues, their priorities are undeniably influenced by a North American (and often, California-centric) point of view. Take the No Language Left Behind project from Meta: it was a laudable effort to ensure low resource languages like Asturian, Luganda, Urdu are included in models used for machine translation of content on the web. But the limitations of Meta’s ability to scale this program globally were obvious when its own systems mistranslated a phrase in the Palestinian dialect of Arabic, resulting in many Instagram bios incorrectly being labelled as containing the world “terrorist” when in fact they just had benign messages of support.
And so creating or growing more organizations across the globe (whether it’s large companies, startups or universities) that have resources to invest in AI programs not only accelerates innovation but fills critical gaps that Sillicon Valley just isn’t able to handle (despite some of their claims).
Different nations can bring unique localized datasets and have diverse use cases or approaches to testing and safety. Just look at ByteDance’s recent investments in scientific reasoning and drug discovery, Canada's Anthropic model emphasizing safety research, multilingual models from India, the United Arab Emirates investing in language models for climate intelligence, and Israel’s startups targeting medical applications.
Of course, appropriate ethics and governance guardrails will be critical - and perhaps it will be useful to even set up a UN-level body to coordinate regulatory approaches. But broadly proliferating AI research will lead to more breakthroughs and a richer exchange of best practices around mitigating risks.
Accelerating access to AI rather than centralizing capabilities in any one geography serves the greater good. Just like open-source fuels creativity, so too will a collaborative global pursuit to keep pushing the boundaries of generative AI.
And now, here are the week’s headlines:
❤️Computer loves
Our top news picks for the week - your essential reading from the world of AI
Welcome to the era of AI nationalism [The Economist]
What’s next for AI in 2024 [MIT Technology Review]
How Did Companies Use Generative AI in 2023? Here’s a Look at Five Early Adopters. [WSJ]
Inside the News Industry’s Uneasy Negotiations With OpenAI [New York Times]
Can AI read and rate college essays more fairly than humans do? [ZDNet]
ChatGPT: Everything you need to know about the AI-powered chatbot [TechCrunch]
Jeff Bezos Bets on a Google Challenger Using AI to Try to Upend Internet Search [WSJ]
Baidu’s bet on AI could make or break China’s fallen tech group [FT]
AI Hallucinations Are a Boon to Creatives [Bloomberg]
Beyond the generative AI hype [Fast Company]
The Man Who Made Robots Dance Now Wants Them to Think for Themselves [Wired]
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AI in the wild: how artificial intelligence is used across industry, from the internet, social media, and retail to transportation, healthcare, banking, and more
Robots are solving construction’s challenges, including a workforce shortage [Fortune]
New AI tools could help to eradicate blind spots on the oceans [The Economist]
What’s that rash? This app uses AI to diagnose your symptoms [Fortune]
I tried the new limited-edition Coke flavor made with AI. I was surprised by the taste. [Business Insider]
How technology and artificial intelligence are bolstering the battle against wildfires [Reuters]
LG's newest OLED TVs will use AI to look and sound better than ever [ZDNet]
Microsoft Copilot app is a stealthy AI launch that you should pay attention to [VentureBeat]
Cambridgeshire firms banking on AI for dementia care and drugs [BBC]
Samsung unveils its first robot vacuum-mop that uses AI to detect stains and can steam clean floors [Business Insider]
AI could improve your life by removing bottlenecks in decision-making [Fast Company]
Generative AI: Transforming education into a personalized, addictive learning experience [TechCrunch]
AI is saving sales professionals more than two hours of work each day [Business Insider]
Our win rate is up by 50% since we developed new AI solutions [The Times]
7 business leaders reveal how their companies are embracing AI in 2024 [Business Insider]
AI sparks revolution in how much supermarkets charge you for food [The Telegraph]
How machine learning might unlock earthquake prediction [MIT Technology Review]
Nikon, Sony and Canon fight AI fakes with new camera tech [Nikkei[
🧑🎓Computer learns
Interesting trends and developments from various AI fields, companies and people
ChatGPT could soon replace Google Assistant on your Android phone [Android Authority]
Have 10 hours? IBM will train you in AI fundamentals - for free [ZDNet]
AI should be used in exams to stretch the brightest pupils, says public school headmaster [The Telegraph]
AI to dominate this year's CES, even without OpenAI's Altman on hand [Reuters]
AI becomes a key audience [Axios]
Google appears to be working on an ‘advanced’ version of Bard that you have to pay for [The Verge]
The careers that will survive the AI revolution – and pay the highest salary [The Telegraph]
All Science journals will now do an AI-powered check for image fraud [Ars Technica]
Happy Puppies and Silly Geese: Pushing the Limits of A.I. Absurdity [New York Times]
OpenAI to Launch Online Store for Custom Versions of ChatGPT Next Week [Bloomberg]
AI learns to recognise objects with the efficiency of a newborn chick [New Scientist]
Databricks research confirms that Intel’s Gaudi bests Nvidia on price performance for AI accelerators [VentureBeat]
This AI company wants to solve food-related climate challenges [Fortune]
There Was Never Such a Thing as ‘Open’ AI [The Atlantic]
Cristiano Amon: generative AI is ‘evolving very, very fast’ into mobile devices [FT]
AI Elvis not the first hologram star to shake his moves on stage [The Guardian]
One global giant ‘will dominate each sector in AI’ [The Times]
Luton AI engineer wants more South Asian women in technology careers [BBC]
From the streaming ad wars to the generative AI boom — 5 big things that will continue to rock the ad industry in 2024 [Business Insider]
Intel spins out AI software firm with backing from DigitalBridge [Reuters]
20 things to consider before rolling out an AI chatbot to your customers [ZDNet]
Strikes, streaming and AI: Hollywood executives debate the issues that defined a wild 2023 [LA Times]
Generative AI's wild 2023 [Reuters]
Why Is TikTok Parent ByteDance Moving Into Biology, Chemistry And Drug Discovery? [Forbes]
The Architect of Microsoft’s Vaunted Cloud Bundle Turns His Gaze to AI [The Information]
Samsung to announce new phones ‘powered by AI’ on Jan. 17 [CNBC]
Open source AI voice cloning arrives with MyShell’s new OpenVoice model [VentureBeat]
Forrester identifies biggest barriers to generative AI success [VentureBeat]
The use cases for AI at companies are ‘exploding globally,’ says a Wedbush analyst [Fortune]
Human brain beats AI with nimble and flexible thinking, study finds [The Telegraph]
‘A piece of performance poetry’: an absurd, decade-old Twitter account can teach us a lot about AI [The Guardian]
Until now, only AI could beat Nintendo's Tetris. Enter this 13-year-old kid. [Business Insider]
Baidu’s move to cancel YY Live acquisition amid fierce market competition, tougher regulation a boon to firm’s AI business expansion, analysts say [South China Morning Post]
How LangChain turns GenAI into a genuinely useful assistant [ZDNet]
Square Enix boss sees value of films, comics, XR, AI and embracing change [VentureBeat]
Silicon Valley eyes reboot of Google Glass-style headsets [FT]
Ozempic drugmaker to open AI research hub in King’s Cross [The Telegraph]
How entrepreneurs use ChatGPT to build their personal brand online [The Times]
Why AI might make us have fewer friends at work [Business Insider]
British businesses ‘missing out on AI revolution’ [The Times]
GitHub makes Copilot Chat generally available, letting devs ask questions about code [TechCrunch]
Layoffs, pivots, and the ongoing race for AI supremacy: Inside Google's tumultuous 2023 [Business Insider]
Soon, every employee will be both AI builder and AI consumer [ZDNet]
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