Musk's Grok Rivals ChatGPT, Altman Returns
March 12, 2024: Musk vs. OpenAI, Altman Returns, US AI Security Plan, Funding Waves, Pulitzer AI Shift, Princess Kate Controversy, Bezos' AI Boom, AI in Health
Good Morning,
Today’s latest in AI includes Musk's challenge to OpenAI, Altman's reinstatement, OpenAI's board overhaul, strategic insights for AI security, and critical investments driving AI forward across various sectors.
1-Minute Roundup
Musk's xAI open-sources Grok, challenging OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Sam Altman rejoins OpenAI's board amidst governance overhaul.
The state department has outlined an AI safety and security action plan.
SuperAGI lands a $10 million investment for AGI platform development.
Ai Palette secures $4 million for AI-driven trend identification.
Abu Dhabi launches MGX, an AI-focused $100 billion investment firm.
Pulitzer and Polk Awards finalists disclose AI use in journalism.
Thomson Reuters earmarks $8 billion for AI-driven service enhancement.
Occiglot's initiative for multilingual European AI models takes off.
Princess Kate addresses AI-manipulated photo controversy.
Answer.AI unveils a system for training 70b AI models on consumer GPUs.
Economic crisis predictions by Dimon and Dalio were unfulfilled.
Bezos' investment in Perplexity AI is poised to double in value.
TSMC secures a $5 billion US government deal for Arizona expansion.
Jackson Lab partners with LG AI for healthcare research.
AI study reveals genetic insights into heart structure.
The study finds that 61% can't differentiate real from AI-generated faces.
Mayo Clinic's new AI approach aims to revolutionise cancer research.
Spotlight
Musk's xAI Takes on OpenAI with Open-Source Grok Chatbot.
Elon Musk's xAI is set to open-source its Grok chatbot, positioning it as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. This move intensifies the rivalry between Musk and OpenAI, especially after Musk's recent lawsuit alleging OpenAI's deviation from its non-profit origins. Grok, which offers services like information retrieval and coding assistance, will now be accessible to developers, potentially speeding up its development and adoption.
Open-Source Strategy: By making Grok open-source, xAI aims to foster rapid development and community engagement, mirroring strategies used by companies like Meta.
Commercial and Ideological Motives: Musk's decision is seen as both a challenge to OpenAI's commercial trajectory and a push for an alternative AI that eschews political correctness.
Data and Development: Access to vast data sets is crucial for developing AI models. Musk's ventures, including the social media platform X, play a vital role in this aspect, with Musk highlighting concerns over competitors' data scraping.
How do you think AI development and competition dynamics will evolve, especially considering the tensions between Musk and OpenAI?
Sam Altman Rejoins OpenAI Board with Governance Overhaul & New Directors
Sam Altman is back on OpenAI's board after an investigation by WilmerHale into his November ousting, leading to governance reforms and the addition of three new board members. The probe highlighted a breakdown in trust, not misconduct, as the cause of the dispute. The board's expansion and policy enhancements reflect a unified commitment to Altman's leadership and OpenAI's future.
Investigation Findings: The review clarified that Altman's firing was due to trust issues with the previous board, not financial or safety concerns.
New Governance Measures: OpenAI introduces new governance guidelines, a whistleblower hotline, and a strengthened conflict-of-interest policy.
Board Expansion: Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Nicole Seligman, and Fidji Simo will join Altman, bolstering the board's diversity and expertise.
How might these developments influence the company's strategic direction and role in the AI industry?
State Department Report Proposes Action Plan for AI Safety and Security
A State Department-commissioned report by Gladstone AI outlines critical strategies to address the national security risks of advanced AI technologies. Focusing on preventing AI weaponisation and loss of control, the report recommends establishing safeguards, enhancing AI incident response, and promoting AI safety research, among other measures.
Emerging Threats: The report emphasises the urgent need for U.S. intervention to mitigate risks associated with AI weaponisation and the potential loss of control over advanced AI systems.
Policy Proposals: Suggested actions include creating an AI observatory for threat assessment, interim safeguards for AI development, and frameworks for responding to AI incidents.
Focus on Safety Research: The plan advocates for government-funded AI alignment research and encourages regulations to ensure the safety of AI systems developed by frontier labs.
International Cooperation: The report also calls for diplomatic efforts and long-term measures to establish an adequate AI safeguards regime in international law.
Given the rapid advancement of AI technologies, how effective do you think these proposed measures will be in mitigating the associated national security risks?
AI Deals
SuperAGI, which aims to develop a full-stack AGI platform, secured a $10 million investment led by Jan Koum's Newlands VC.
Ai Palette secures a $4 million investment from Tin Men Capital, enhancing its AI-driven platform for real-time trend identification and product idea generation in the CPG industry. The platform leverages 61 billion data points across 18 languages.
Abu Dhabi launched MGX, an AI investment firm that will manage $100 billion in assets. The firm will focus on the AI and semiconductor sectors, with Mubadala and G42 as foundational partners.
Others
Five Finalists of the Pulitzer and Polk Awards Used AI.
For the first time, Pulitzer Prize entrants disclosed AI usage, with five of this year's finalists incorporating AI in their journalistic work.
The Pulitzers and Polk Awards are exploring how to adapt their guidelines to accommodate AI's growing influence in the industry.
Thomson Reuters Sets Sights on AI Expansion with $8 Billion Fund
Thomson Reuters plans to invest $8 billion in AI to evolve its professional services with AI technologies while allocating $100 million annually to develop in-house AI solutions for legal and accounting sectors.
Amid the AI revolution, the company focuses on enhancing legal research and workflow.
Occiglot Launches to Boost European AI with Multilingual Open Source Models
Occiglot introduces an initiative to develop open-source large language models that embrace Europe's linguistic diversity and cultural richness—starting with models for five major European languages.
Aimed at promoting digital language equality and AI sovereignty in Europe, Occiglot seeks collaborations to expand into all EU official languages and regional dialects.
Princess Kate Apologizes for Altered Photo Amid AI Manipulation Concerns
Princess Kate Middleton apologises for an AI-manipulated Mother's Day photo that has sparked rumours and concerns about royal image authenticity.
The controversy arises amid King Charles's absence from cancer treatment, highlighting the potential impact of AI-altered images on public perception.
Answer.AI Introduces Groundbreaking System to Train 70b AI Models on Consumer GPUs.
Answer.AI releases a revolutionary open-source system, combining FSDP and QLoRA, enabling the training of 70b AI models on standard desktops with consumer GPUs.
This breakthrough aims to democratise AI, allowing even small labs to access and innovate with large-scale models, enhancing creative and academic pursuits.
Economic Crisis Predicted by Dimon and Dalio Fails to Materialize
Despite high-profile predictions of economic turmoil from figures like Jamie Dimon and Ray Dalio, the U.S. economy has remained strong, with steady growth and inflation nearing target levels.
Predictions missed the mark as government stimulus, consumer resilience, and effective Federal Reserve policies helped avoid a recession, challenging the gloomy forecasts.
Bezos Strikes Gold: AI Investment Doubles Up in Few Months
Jeff Bezos' stake in Perplexity AI, an AI-driven search engine startup, is set to double in value to $1 billion in just a few months, a formidable contender to Google's throne.
With a unique blend of conversational AI and personalised search experiences, Perplexity AI has quickly grown to over 10 million users, challenging the status quo of internet search engines.
TSMC Secures $5 Billion Boost from US Government
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) collaborates with the US government in a $5 billion deal to expand production and move operations to Arizona.
This strategic move, backed by the CHIPS Act, could redefine TSMC's market position and influence future stock evaluations.
Jackson Lab & LG AI Unite for Alzheimer's and Cancer Research Breakthroughs
The Jackson Laboratory partners with LG AI Research, blending biomedical expertise and AI innovation to focus on Alzheimer's and cancer research.
The collaboration aims to leverage vast genetic data and AI technologies to propel advances in personalised medicine.
AI Revolutionizes Heart Genetics Research
A groundbreaking study employs AI to reveal the genetic secrets of the heart's structure, offering new avenues for precision medicine and targeted heart disease therapies.
International collaboration harnesses deep learning and vast image data to identify genes influencing heart structure, promising advancements in cardiology and patient-specific treatments.
61% Fooled: AI Faces Blur Reality Lines
A University of Waterloo study reveals a 61% accuracy rate in distinguishing natural from AI-generated faces, challenging our trust in visual content and underscoring the urgency of detection tools.
As AI rapidly advances, the study highlights the difficulty in spotting fakes, raising alarms over the potential for AI-generated disinformation in politics and culture.
Mayo's New AI Boosts Cancer Fight
Mayo Clinic develops hypothesis-driven AI, blending scientific knowledge with algorithms to advance cancer research.
This new AI class promises more targeted insights and improved treatment strategies in oncology.
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