🗞️ AI News Recap

Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Monday! Ever wondered what happens when you say "Hey Siri" or "Okay Google"? These voice-activated assistants use advanced AI algorithms to understand your commands. Now, imagine those AI algorithms scaling up to entire industries. Fasten your seatbelt because we're about to explore AI's latest wonders that are doing just that.

🐇 QUICK BITES — THE PAST WEEK

iPhone 15 Pro Announces "Spatial Video"

Apple's newest iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are set to change the way we capture moments. These devices will allow users to record "spatial video," a three-dimensional video experience designed to be viewed on Apple's forthcoming Vision Pro headset, set for release in early 2024.

Superorder Gets $10M to Help Restaurants Go Digital

Superorder, founded by Columbia University computer science student Raghav Poddar, has recently raised $10 million to help restaurants establish and manage their online presence using generative AI. With a reported 77% of diners visiting a restaurant's website before dining in or ordering out, Superorder aims to make sure restaurants aren't leaving money on the table.

Adobe Firefly Flies out of Beta

Adobe's Firefly generative AI tools are now commercially available, bringing advanced features like Photoshop's Generative Fill and Illustrator's vector recoloring to a wider audience. Adobe's also rewarding its stock contributors for helping train these AI models.

LastMile AI Lands $10M to Democratize Generative AI

LastMile AI, aiming to simplify AI development for software engineers, has secured $10 million in seed funding led by Gradient, Google's AI-focused venture fund. The startup plans to "democratize generative AI" by streamlining workflows and reducing the technical expertise needed to implement AI models into applications.

Microsoft's EvoDiff Simplifies Protein Design

Microsoft has open-sourced a new AI framework named EvoDiff. Unlike traditional methods that require understanding a protein's structure, EvoDiff focuses only on the sequence of amino acids. This could make protein-based research faster and less resource-intensive.

OpenAI Lands in Dublin Amid Regulatory Winds

OpenAI is preparing for Europe's regulatory landscape by opening its first EU office in Dublin, Ireland. The move follows scrutiny from European authorities on data protection and privacy. With hiring focused on legal, policy and privacy roles, OpenAI aims to navigate the forthcoming EU AI Act and show it's serious about privacy in the region.

Stable Audio Adds Length to AI Music

Stability AI has unveiled Stable Audio, a groundbreaking text-to-audio generative platform that gives users control over song length. The platform is powered by a diffusion model trained on a dataset of over 800,000 audio files, giving creative freedom to music producers and content creators alike.

AI-Generated Product Listings Hit Amazon

Amazon has launched AI tools to automatically craft product descriptions and titles, aiming to save sellers time and improve listing quality. However, there are concerns about the tools generating incorrect or misleading information, for which Amazon could potentially be held liable.

Big Companies Make AI Safety Promise to White House 

Adobe, IBM, Nvidia, and more have made a deal with the U.S. government to make safer and more reliable AI. While laws are slow to catch up, this deal sets some guidelines like outside checks and labeling AI-created content.

Character.ai Gains Ground

In just a few months since its May 2023 launch, Character.ai has surged in mobile app usage, collecting 4.2 million monthly active users in the U.S. The start-up, backed by venture firm a16z, is quickly closing the gap with ChatGPT, which boasts nearly 6 million monthly active users on its mobile apps in the U.S.

Salesforce Releases Einstein Copilot Studio

Salesforce just announced Einstein Copilot Studio, a game-changing addition to their Einstein platform. This new tool enables businesses to customize AI prompts, add specific actions to prompts, and even integrate third-party machine learning models, giving companies unprecedented control over their AI capabilities.

🧰 AI TOOLBOX — RECAP 

👋 GET READY

Wow, what a journey through AI's latest breakthroughs this week! From transforming restaurants to reimagining how we capture memories, the possibilities seem endless. But how do we balance this rapid innovation with safety? That's the million-dollar question for the future. Stay curious and stay tuned for our next issue.