Rabbit Exposed, Safari AI, Amazon Q
01 May 2024: US Newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft; Rabbit AI R1 Device is an Android app; Apple's AI Safari; Amazon's Q chatbot; $1.7B Indonesia investment
Good Morning,
Latest in AI,
1. 1-Minute Roundup
2. Headlines
3. AI Investment Deals
4. Other AI News
1-Minute Roundup
Tech giants pour billions into AI infrastructure as costs soar
US newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft over copyright infringement
AI investment deals: Invent Analytics, Wisdomise, Inhabitr, Trovo Health, Yoneda Labs
Apple tests AI-powered Safari 18 with intelligent search and web eraser
Rabbit R1 AI device exposed as an Android app, raising doubts
Amazon's Q1 sales hit record high, driven by AI-fueled cloud growth
Microsoft invests $1.7B in AI infrastructure in Indonesia over four years
Amazon launches AI chatbot Q for enterprise use, adds new features
Headlines
The Rising Cost of AI: Bigger Models, More Chips, and Data Centers
As tech giants like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta ramp up their AI investments, the costs of developing and deploying AI are skyrocketing. The push for larger language models, specialised chips, and expanded data centre infrastructure drives up expenses, forcing companies to spend billions to stay competitive in the AI race.
Why it Matters: The ballooning costs of AI development highlight the intense competition among tech giants and the high stakes involved in securing a leading position in the AI market, which could have far-reaching implications for the future of technology and business.
Zoom In:
AI models are getting more extensive and more expensive to train, with costs expected to reach $5-10 billion by 2025-2026
Specialised AI chips, like Nvidia's H100, can cost tens of thousands of dollars each
Companies are spending billions on building and outfitting data centres to support AI workloads
Numbers:
Microsoft's capital expenditures increased 79% year-over-year, driven in part by AI infrastructure investments
Alphabet's capital expenditures increased 91% year-over-year, with a focus on AI opportunities
Meta raised its capital expenditure estimates to $35-40 billion, a potential 42% increase
Between the Lines: While some companies, like Microsoft, are exploring smaller, less computationally intensive AI models, the prevailing wisdom in the industry is that bigger is better, driving up costs.
Reality Check: Despite the high costs, companies are willing to invest heavily in AI, betting that the technology will become a significant revenue driver and competitive advantage.
US Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft for Copyright Infringement
A group of eight US newspapers, owned by Alden Global Capital's MediaNews Group, has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, accusing them of misusing reporters' work to train their generative AI systems, including Copilot and ChatGPT, without permission or payment.
Why it Matters: This case is one of several potential landmark lawsuits from copyright owners against tech companies over the data used to train generative AI systems, highlighting the growing tension between content creators and AI developers.
Zoom In:
The plaintiffs include the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and Orlando Sentinel.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order blocking further infringement.
Backstory: This lawsuit follows similar ongoing cases against Microsoft and OpenAI brought by the New York Times and other news outlets, such as The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet.
Between the Lines: The newspapers argue that the tech companies' use of their content violates copyright and harms their reputation by generating fake articles attributed to them.
Reality Check: As AI systems become more advanced and widely used, the question of how they are trained and whether content creators should be compensated for their contributions is becoming increasingly pressing.
AI Investment Deals
Invent Analytics secures $17M to enhance its AI-powered retail planning solutions and expand global operations.
Wisdomise, based in Zug, Switzerland, secures $9.5M to expand its AI-driven investment platform and enhance global community development.
Inhabitr secures $27M in Series B funding to expand its AI-powered commercial real estate furnishing platform into the UK and Middle East.
Trovo Health raises $15M in Seed funding to enhance its AI-powered platform for health providers, led by Oak HC/FT.
Yoneda Labs secures $4M in Seed funding to advance its AI-driven drug discovery efforts and expand robotic lab capabilities.
Others
Apple Tests AI-Powered Safari 18 with Intelligent Search and Web Eraser Features
Safari 18, expected in 2024, includes an AI-driven "Intelligent Search" for text summarisation and topic identification.
The "Web Eraser" feature allows users to persistently remove unwanted content like ads from webpages.
Rabbit R1 AI Device Exposed as an Android App, Raising Questions Its Value
The recently launched Rabbit R1, a $199 AI gadget, was revealed to be running on an Android app.
Early reviews of the R1 have been underwhelming, with critics questioning its usefulness compared to smartphones.
The revelation that the R1 is essentially an Android app further fuels doubts about its necessity and justification for its existence.
Amazon's Q1 Sales Hit Record High, Driven by AI-Fueled Cloud Growth
Amazon reported record Q1 sales of $143.3 billion, a 13% increase, and a profit surge to $10.4 billion.
AWS sales rose over 17% to $25 billion, with operating profit jumping nearly 84%, driven by AI capabilities.
Microsoft Invests $1.7B in AI Infrastructure in Indonesia Over Next Four Years.
Microsoft will invest $1.7 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure in Indonesia, its most significant single investment in Southeast Asia.
The investment aims to meet the growing demand for cloud services and train 2.5 million people in AI skills across the region.
Amazon Launches AI Chatbot Q for Enterprise Use, Adds New Features
Amazon made its AI chatbot Q generally available to AWS users to help businesses with various tasks.
New features include Amazon Q Developer for coding assistance and Amazon Q Apps for easy AI app creation.
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