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Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Wednesday! You may have noticed our recent silence, and we're thrilled to share why! Over the past week, we've diligently updated and enhanced features across our newsletter, website, and community page to bring you a top-notch AI experience. This brief pause was essential to prepare for a wave of exciting changes rolling out in the coming weeks. We appreciate your patience and can't wait to dive into the latest AI news together. Let's get straight into it!

👀 SNEAK PEEK

🚨FEATURE STORY

A Bold Leap into the Future of Journalism

Imagine a newsroom where artificial intelligence works hand-in-hand with seasoned journalists. While many newsrooms have adopted this approach, The New York Times initially resisted. However, the renowned bastion of traditional journalism is now boldly stepping into this new era, integrating AI's cutting-edge capabilities with human insight and expertise.

Embracing the Future

The iconic New York Times is forging a new path, assembling a specialized team to integrate generative AI into its newsroom operations. Headed by Zach Seward, this initiative aims to prototype AI applications to enhance reporting and presentation to readers. With plans to hire a diverse mix of talent, including machine learning engineers, software engineers, designers, and editors, the Times is poised to redefine the intersection of technology and journalism (see posted job opportunities).

A Strategic Shift

This bold move comes amidst a complex backdrop, as the Times has previously had a contentious relationship with generative AI. Notably, it blocked OpenAI's web crawler and initiated a lawsuit against the company and Microsoft. The primary concern? AI's potential to replicate journalistic content, potentially undermining reader relationships and revenue streams (more details on the lawsuit here). This new venture, therefore, is not just innovative but also a strategic pivot in the Times' approach to AI.

The turning point was the hiring of Zach Seward and the subsequent announcement of the AI newsroom team. This decision marks a significant shift in strategy, turning from confrontation to embracing AI's potential in journalism. It represents a reconciliatory and forward-thinking approach, balancing the Times' commitment to traditional journalistic values with the innovative possibilities of AI (see announcement).

Redefining Journalism

The aim is to form a diverse and talented team, with a clear mandate to integrate AI into the fabric of the Times' journalistic process, while maintaining the integrity and quality of its reporting. This approach underlines the publication's belief that the core of its journalism – reporting, writing, and editing – will always be human-driven.

The integration of AI strategies into newsrooms has already taken place, opening up intriguing possibilities for the future of journalism. We are already witnessing the implementation of AI solutions in news writing, delivery, and information gathering, signaling a transformative era in journalism where the collaboration between AI and human expertise is increasingly becoming the norm.

🍕 QUICK BITES

Studio’s AI-Enhanced Online Music School

Studio's new online platform for musicians uses AI to create personalized learning experiences, harnessing the power of OpenAI's GPT-4 to tailor custom curriculums. This approach adapts to each student's schedule and skill level, offering a practical and flexible way to learn music. Additionally, Studio’s “music school of the future” boasts exclusive lessons from more than 110 renowned artists, featuring names like Charlie Puth and Kygo (see more).

Yelp Introduces AI-Summarized Reviews

Yelp has rolled out new AI-driven business summaries that analyze recent reviews to provide concise insights into what to expect from a business. This function uses large language models to highlight key information about businesses, such as atmosphere, popular dishes, and pricing, based on direct user feedback. The summaries appear prominently on a business's Yelp page, offering a quick overview derived from recent, reliable reviews. Currently on iOS, this feature will extend to Android and desktop later this year (read more).

Meta Advances AI Coding

Meta's Code Llama, a coding-focused variant of Llama 2, now offers four sizes: 7B, 13B, 34B, and 70B parameters. Trained on 500 billion tokens of code (except the 70B version, trained on 1 trillion tokens), these models cater to different needs. The 34B and 70B excel in coding assistance, while the smaller 7B and 13B are faster, ideal for low-latency tasks like real-time code completion. Notably, Code Llama 70B outperformed open-source, code-specific LLMs and matched OpenAI's GPT-4 performance. This represents a substantial leap in AI-assisted coding, excelling in generating and debugging intricate programming tasks. Available for both research and commercial use and proudly promoted by Mark Zuckerberg in a recent Facebook post, Code Llama 70B showcases the swift evolution of AI programming tools (read more).

🧰 AI TOOLBOX 

🤯 MIND SPARK

Sunny Future for AI in Energy: Deep learning techniques are proving to be a game-changer in predicting photovoltaic power generation, as evidenced by a case study in the Amazon and Galapagos that achieved high accuracy in power generation forecasting with minimal model training time (read more).

Have You Heard of Connected Wellness? Connected wellness is a growing trend where consumers utilize virtual experiences and smart products, such as at-home skin analysis, virtual try-on mirrors for makeup and hairstyles, and stress-tracking wearables, to enhance overall well-being and beauty. Leading the way in this transformative movement is Baracoda, a company at the forefront of connected wellness solutions (see more).

Revolutionizing Supply Chain with AI: In supply chain management, choosing suppliers and allocating orders are critical decisions complicated by uncertain factors like future demand. A groundbreaking deep learning forecasting technique has cut forecasting errors by over 50%, signaling a new era of efficiency (read more).

🎨 AI ART

Artificial Intelligence online short course from MIT

Study artificial intelligence and gain the knowledge to support its integration into your organization. If you're looking to gain a competitive edge in today's business world, then this artificial intelligence online course may be the perfect option for you.

On completion of the MIT Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy online short course, you’ll gain:

• Key AI management and leadership insights to support informed, strategic decision making.

• A practical grounding in AI and its business applications, helping you to transform your organization into a future-forward business.

• A road map for the strategic implementation of AI technologies in a business context.

Get More Information