🗞️ AI News Recap

Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Monday! What a week it's been for AI! The news did not stop coming. Let's dive right in so you can save your reading energy for the actual news!

We have partnered with GrowthSchool to bring you today’s newsletter. Check out their ChatGPT workshop → here

🐇 QUICK BITES — THE PAST WEEK

Advertisers Slam Meta's AI-Powered Ads for Failed Promises

Advertisers are dissatisfied with Meta's AI-powered advertisement platform, Advantage Plus, citing cost spikes and underperformance. Initial promises of efficiency and trust in Meta's AI fell short, leaving advertisers feeling like they overspent on disappointing results. Despite recent improvements, issues persist, including fluctuating performance and inadequate support. Meta insists the tool works fine, contrasting with advertisers' ongoing frustrations. Amid rising costs, Meta's ad revenue soars, highlighting the gap between platform performance and advertiser satisfaction. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, The Verge has nicely covered it (check it out here).

Introducing Apple’s Small Language Model — A Gateway to Pocket-Sized AI

Apple has launched OpenELM, a suite of "small" AI models, diverging from the trend of bulky, data-intensive models. These smaller models, ranging from 270 million to 3 billion parameters, promise efficiency and power at a lower cost, accessible directly on iPhones and iPads. This move could democratize AI, eliminating the need for constant internet connectivity or large cloud data servers. Apple's OpenELM release also includes open access to a range of training frameworks and model conversion tools to bolster open research on Apple products. Apple's transition to Small Language Models (SLMs), in contrast to Large Language Models (LLMs), reflects a broader trend among AI companies. Microsoft recently introduced SLM Phi-3, and Google unveiled SLM Gemma 2B, aligning with this shift towards smaller, more efficient models (see OpenELM on Hugging Face and GitHub).

Elon Musk's AI Startup is Close to Securing $6 Billion in Funding + New AI Model Release

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, XAI, is on the verge of finalizing a deal to raise $6 billion in funding, with the company's valuation expected to reach $18 billion, according to a Bloomberg report (read more). Meanwhile, the company has released its newest multimodal AI model, Grok-1.5, with vision capabilities (see more).

Pope Francis Will Be Joining the G7 Summit to Discuss AI!

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that Pope Francis plans to attend this year's G7 summit to address global issues, including the "greatest anthropological challenge of our time" — artificial intelligence. They aim to discuss governance mechanisms to ensure AI remains both "human-centered and human-controlled". The Pope has previously cautioned against the negative impacts of AI and advocated for global regulations to ensure its responsible use. The G7 meeting, scheduled for June 13-15 in Puglia, Italy, will gather leaders from the US, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan, along with select invitees (see official announcement).

Coca-Cola Company Makes Significant Investment in AI

The Coca-Cola Company has committed a whopping $1.1 billion to Microsoft in an AI partnership aimed at catalyzing system-wide AI transformation across The Coca-Cola Company and its global network of independent bottlers. This collaboration is set to revolutionize business functions and boost productivity through cutting-edge technology such as Azure OpenAI Service (read announcement).

Adobe Lights Up the Web with the Launch of Firefly Image 3

Adobe's journey with its Firefly AI suite faced hurdles. Initially, its image-generation model fell short, struggling with distorted outputs and less-than-ideal interpretations of prompts. Competitors like Midjourney and OpenAI's DALL-E 3 set high standards, exposing Firefly's limitations. However, the release of Firefly Image 3 marks a turning point. Integrated into Photoshop(beta) and on firefly.adobe.com, this third-generation model excels in understanding complex scenes and creating realistic imagery, with improvements in lighting, crowd depictions, and emotional expressions. Early tests show a significant leap in image quality, bolstered by new features like the style engine and editing tools in Photoshop, meeting creatives' expectations (see Firefly Image 3’s capabilities here and Adobe’s announcement here).

Synthesia Releases New Expressive ‘Lifelike’ AI Avatars

In a notable advancement in generative AI, Synthesia introduces its latest version of AI video avatars, now equipped to display nuanced emotional expressions and improved lip tracking. This update aims to provide more natural and human-like interactions in video content, specifically tailored for business applications like training and marketing. These avatars are designed to mimic human speech and reactions more closely, making enterprise videos more engaging and relatable (see Synthesia’s announcement).

Phi-3 — Microsoft’s Small Yet Efficient AI Model

Microsoft's Phi-3 Mini redefines AI efficiency, packing capabilities akin to larger models despite its modest 3.8 billion parameters. Now available on platforms like Azure and Hugging Face, Phi-3 Mini showcases the potential of compact AI models. While large language models (LLMs) handle complex tasks like advanced reasoning and data analysis, small language models (SLMs) excel at simpler tasks. They're accessible, cost-effective, easily customizable, and allow data to remain on-premises (see Microsoft’s announcement).

Major AI Companies Unite to Combat Child Abuse Imagery

Demonstrating a significant collective effort, leading figures in AI, such as Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Stability AI, have publicly pledged to uphold principles aimed at preventing the creation and dissemination of AI-generated child sexual abuse content and other forms of sexual harm against minors (learn more about the pledge).

AWS Introduces 'Custom Model Import', Making it Easier for Companies to Transfer Their AI to AWS' Platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, has announced the introduction of Custom Model Import in preview, a significant new feature within its Bedrock suite. This tool allows companies to import their proprietary generative AI models, providing them with a fully managed Application Programming Interface (API) environment. This integration not only simplifies access to powerful AI capabilities but also offers extensive tools for model expansion, fine-tuning, and implementing safeguards aligned with responsible AI policies (see AWS’ announcement).

Ray-Ban Glasses Now Have Meta AI with Vision

The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses now feature multimodal AI, empowering you to simply ask about your surroundings and receive helpful insights — all through speech, without lifting a finger (see Meta’s announcement).

AI Startup Perplexity Sees Valuation Skyrocket

AI search engine startup Perplexity is on a steep upward trajectory, currently raising more than $62.7 million at a valuation of 1.04 billion, according to the company’s CEO Aravind Srinivas. This surge represents a dramatic increase from a $540 million valuation just four months ago. With significant investments from major players like NEA and IVP, Perplexity is rapidly becoming a formidable player in the generative AI search platform market, with other sources predicting even higher valuations (see announcement by Perplexity’s CEO).

Meta Announces Long-Term AI Profitability Outlook to Investors

Alongside positive profitability insights for the first quarter of 2024, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has laid the groundwork for a long-term investment strategy in generative AI for Meta, emphasizing the extensive and expensive process of turning these technologies into profitable ventures for investors. Despite integrating AI features across major platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, Zuckerberg highlights the substantial investments and time required before these innovations begin yielding financial returns (get the full details here).

UK's Competition and Markets Authority Scrutinizes Big Tech Firms

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has initiated inquiries into whether recent collaborations and talent acquisitions between tech behemoths like Microsoft and Amazon and various AI startups, such as Mistral AI and Anthropic, might actually be circumventing traditional merger regulations. These partnerships are under scrutiny to determine if they unfairly restrict competition within the UK's rapidly growing AI market (see the CMA’s official announcement).

OpenAI Startup Fund Raises $15 Million to Support Early-Stage Startups

The OpenAI Startup Fund has recently received a $15 million investment from two undisclosed investors, as disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This funding is expected to supplement the existing $175 million allocated to support early-stage startups in sectors where artificial intelligence can drive transformation, including healthcare, law, education, energy & infrastructure, the sciences, and beyond (see SEC filing).

Apple Removes AI Image Generation Apps Due to Concerns of Alarming Nude Content

Apple recently removed three AI image generation apps from the App Store following a discovery by 404 Media. These apps were found to promote the creation of nonconsensual nude images, automatically removing the clothes of individuals without their consent. While Apple's actions were diligent, they were initiated only after 404 Media provided the company with links to the specific apps and their related advertisements, suggesting that Apple may not have independently identified the policy-violating apps (read 404 Media's report for more details).

🧰 AI TOOLBOX — RECAP

Learn 20+ AI Tools, ChatGPT & Prompting techniques for FREE

This 3-hour ChatGPT & AI Workshop will help you automate tasks & simplify your life using AI at no cost. (+ you get a bonus worth $500 on registering) 🎁

Click to Register ($0 for the First 100 people) 

With AI & Chatgpt, you will be able to:

✅ Make smarter decisions based on data in seconds using AI 

✅ Automate daily tasks and increase productivity & creativity

✅ Solve complex business problem to using the power of AI

✅ Build stunning presentations & create content in seconds

👉 Hurry! Click here to register (Limited seats: FREE for First 100 people only)🎁

👋 UNTIL NEXT TIME

What a week! That was quite a whirlwind of AI developments. We hope you found these highlights both informative and inspiring. Keep an eye out for more exciting updates in the world of artificial intelligence, and until next time, stay curious!

Sponsored by