🗞️ AI News Recap

Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Monday! Just as the Easter Bunny hides its precious eggs, tech giants strategically conceal their innovations, awaiting the perfect moment to unveil them. In their relentless pursuit of AI leadership, these giants persistently seek to uncover each other's hidden treasures to stay a step ahead. But what about our hunt? Let's also embark on a quest not just for eggs, but for the cutting-edge innovations transforming our world — and it all starts with this AI recap!

🐇 QUICK BITES — THE PAST WEEK

After Much Anticipation, OpenAI Has Carefully Introduced Their Voice Cloning Tool

OpenAI has unveiled Voice Engine, a model capable of generating natural-sounding speech from text input and a 15-second audio sample. Despite its compact size, the model produces emotive and realistic voices, already powering preset voices in the text-to-speech API, ChatGPT Voice, and Read Aloud features. However, OpenAI proceeds cautiously due to concerns about potential misuse of synthetic voices. The organization seeks to foster a dialogue on responsible deployment and societal adaptation to these capabilities, with decisions on broader deployment informed by ongoing tests and discussions (see OpenAI’s announcement).

Amazon Completes $4 Billion Investment in Anthropic’s AI

Amazon has recently completed a $4 billion investment in Anthropic, further solidifying the company's position in the AI market. Anthropic's AI models, alongside OpenAI's GPT series and Google's Gemini, are now regarded as top-tier options for enterprises seeking high-capability AI models for internal or user-facing applications (see Amazon's announcement here).

Google is Offering $20M in AI Grants for Nonprofits

In a groundbreaking move, Google.org is bridging the gap between AI and nonprofits with its transformative initiative. The 'Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI' earmarks $20 million in grants for 21 nonprofits, empowering them to tackle global and local challenges such as climate, economic opportunity, health, education, and crisis response. Recognizing the barriers nonprofits face in adopting AI, Google.org offers comprehensive support, including technical training, workshops, mentorship, and direct collaboration with Google employees for up to six months (see Google’s announcement and list of nonprofits).

Microsoft Restructures Company to Drive AI-Powered PCs Forward

In a bold move to leverage artificial intelligence in personal computing, Microsoft has restructured by merging its Windows and Surface divisions under a unified command. Led by Pavan Davuluri for hardware and Mustafa Suleyman for AI, this realignment aims to reshape the AI PC market. To demonstrate this initiative, Microsoft has introduced new AI PCs equipped with the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra processors and integrated NPU, alongside the Copilot key. By consolidating leadership, Microsoft aims to accelerate the development of AI-driven hardware and software, marking a pivotal chapter in its quest to lead in the era of intelligent computing (see Microsoft’s new AI PCs here and learn about AI PC development here).

Adobe Unveils Latest AI Marketing Tools

Adobe's GenStudio, unveiled at Adobe Summit 2024, offers marketers a pioneering AI-driven platform for swift content planning, creation, and management (see demo). Integrated with Adobe's enterprise services, GenStudio ensures seamless operation while human oversight safeguards against AI unpredictability. Alongside GenStudio, Adobe introduced a suite of innovative tools, promising unparalleled precision in campaign analysis and real-time strategy adjustments (see Adobe’s full announcement). You can explore what Adobe is calling 'The future of digital marketing in the era of generative AI' with the company’s latest offerings on the Adobe Summit 2024 webpage. See more details here.

Skyflow Raises $30M for AI in Data Privacy

In the wake of increasing demand for AI technologies, Skyflow, at the forefront of data privacy innovation, has successfully bagged a $30 million Series B extension, spearheaded by Khosla Ventures. This funding milestone underscores the vital role Skyflow plays in the AI ecosystem, with its AI-related software services rapidly emerging as a key driver of its business growth. This comes as large language models (LLMs) intensify the need for robust data-management services, spotlighting Skyflow's pivotal contribution to securing personal and sensitive information in the AI-driven landscape (see more).

Samsung’s Galaxy AI Expands to More Devices

Previously exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy AI will now be available on more devices starting March 28 with the One UI 6.1 update. This expansion includes the Galaxy S23 series, S23 FE, Z Fold5, Z Flip55, as well as the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, S9+, and S9 WiFi (see Samsung’s announcement).

Canva Acquires the Firm Affinity to Compete with Adobe

Canva, the web-based design platform, has acquired the Affinity suite, including Designer, Photo, and Publisher applications. This move aims to fill gaps in Canva's offerings for creative professionals and positions the company as a direct competitor to Adobe’s suite of design software. The acquisition, valued at several hundred million dollars, marks a significant step for Canva in attracting a broader user base and challenging Adobe’s industry dominance (see Canva’s announcement).

First Neuralink Patient Plays Mario Kart with His Mind!

In January 2024, Noland Arbaugh made history as the first human to receive Neuralink's brain-to-computer implant. He has now demonstrated his remarkable ability to play Mario Kart live on stage using only his mind! (see footage)

Apple Has Plans to Dive Deep into AI at WWDC 2024

At the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starting June 10th, Apple is expected to detail its approach and strategic investments in generative artificial intelligence. Apple has been allocating significant resources to train proprietary AI models and exploring strategic partnerships for both content generation and cloud-based AI services, signaling a new era of innovation at the company. Further details about the conference will be available through the Apple Developer app and website. Requests to attend the event are already open and will remain so until Wednesday, April 3rd (see Apple’s announcement).

Microsoft Teams Gets AI Upgrades

Microsoft has announced smarter AI-powered features within Teams, enhancing meeting recaps, chats, call summaries, and even improving visual clarity to help you better connect with others (see Microsoft’s announcement).

Airtable Boosts Work Productivity with AI Enhancements

In a significant update, Airtable introduces AI-powered tools that allow users to efficiently summarize vast amounts of information, intelligently categorize data, and accurately translate content across multiple languages within their workspaces. These advancements aim to bolster productivity in businesses by offering streamlined methods for managing and understanding workspace data, positioning Airtable as a leader in the integration of AI technologies for enhanced workplace efficiency (see Airtable’s announcement).

Elon Musk Announces Broader Access to Grok AI

Last week, Elon Musk announced that later in the week, Grok would become accessible to all premium subscribers, not just those with premium+. As it stands now, this change has not yet been implemented, but we anticipate it will come soon (see Elon Musk’s announcement).

AI Integration is Arriving for Meta Smart Glasses in April!

Meta is enhancing Ray-Ban Smart Glasses with AI, enabling features such as precise object and animal identification, landmark recognition, and text translation across multiple languages. These advancements aim to offer users a seamless and interactive experience, blending the physical and digital worlds. These upcoming AI features are scheduled for release in April for U.S. users, with early access available through the following link (get early access).

U.K. Knighthood Awarded to Demis Hassabis for Outstanding Services to AI

Dr. Demis Hassabis, the co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, has been awarded a Knighthood for his contributions to the field of AI. Hassabis expressed his delight and honor at receiving this recognition, highlighting the incredible journey of building Google DeepMind over the past 15 years (see Hassabis’ post). Through DeepMind's work, Hassabis has played a pivotal role in accelerating the advancement of AI and fostering growth in both the UK and global AI ecosystems. While the Knighthood does not confer substantial privileges, it does bestow cultural and social recognition, allowing recipients to use the title "Sir" before their name (check out Demis Hassabis' interview for more details).

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👋 UNTIL NEXT TIME

As we conclude yet another week of AI breakthroughs, let's keep the spirit of exploration alive. With each new discovery, we inch closer to unlocking the full potential of AI. Join our next newsletter for more exciting updates — Happy hunting!

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