🗞️ AI News Recap

Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Monday! Remember when memes were just an internet subculture? Fast-forward to today, and AI is reshaping even that! From comic-generating algorithms to humor-coded chatbots, the meme game is evolving, and the tech world is eagerly taking notes.

🐇 QUICK BITES — THE PAST WEEK

Musk Releases Grok AI

Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, recently launched its debut chatbot, Grok, designed with a sense of humor and a rebellious streak. Now, the tech mogul announces xAI's merger with his social platform X, just a day after Grok's release. This move comes as a challenge to prominent AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. Will Grok outwit them all? Only time will tell. (read more)

Battle Over Copyrighted Content 

The biggest AI giants, including Meta, Google, and Microsoft, weigh in on the US Copyright Office's potential rules around AI's use of copyrighted materials. Their stance? They shouldn't have to pay for training their AI models on copyrighted work. (read more)

ChatGPT's Next Big Update

Recent leaks suggest an imminent addition to OpenAI's ChatGPT subscription plan: the "GPT Builder." This advanced tool not only enables subscribers to craft custom chatbots but also equips them with features such as web browsing and data analysis. Furthermore, a novel marketplace feature is on the horizon, potentially allowing users to share and explore a diverse array of chatbots crafted by the community. (read more)

Microsoft's 365 Copilot

This new AI-driven assistant is designed for the Microsoft Office suite, aiming to improve document creation and editing. Forrester Research projects 6.9 million US knowledge workers will use Copilot by 2024. Access requires a $30-per-month premium per user with a minimum of 300 users. (read more)

Turning Stories into Comics with AI

Dashtoon leverages advanced AI to transform any storyteller into a comic artist, even without drawing skills. With its new suite of generative AI tools, you can turn your story ideas into digital comics in a fraction of the traditional time, making daily releases possible. This San Francisco and London-based startup has just secured $5 million in seed funding. (read more)

Scarlett's Voice Controversy

Scarlett Johansson has seemingly taken legal action against an AI app named Lisa AI: 90s Yearbook & Avatar for unauthorized use of her voice in their advertisement. The ad not only used an AI-generated replica of her voice but also misrepresented her association with the product. As AI continues to push boundaries, legal and ethical concerns surrounding voice and likeness cloning come to the forefront.

Introducing Leo from Brave

The privacy-centric Brave browser has recently rolled out "Leo", a novel AI assistant tailored for user confidentiality. Unlike many of its competitors, Leo is designed not to record user conversations or utilize them for subsequent AI model training. As of now, Leo is accessible to all Brave desktop users, with plans to extend support to mobile platforms in the coming months. Furthermore, for those seeking advanced features, Brave is set to offer a premium variant of Leo that integrates Anthropic’s advanced AI assistant. (read more)

UK’s AI Summit

The historic Bletchley Park hosted the much anticipated AI Safety Summit this week. However, the absence of key entities like Apple, Amazon, and Cambridge University from the guest list has sparked discussions on the event's inclusivity. With the UK aiming to strengthen its position in the AI sector, the summit's outcomes are eagerly awaited. (read more)

Redefining Drug Discovery

DeepMind's newest iteration of AlphaFold boasts the ability to predict structures of not only proteins but also “other key biomolecular classes” (read more). This advancement doesn't just represent an incremental improvement; it has the potential to revolutionize the drug discovery process. By outperforming traditional methods, the AI system offers a deeper and more comprehensive view into molecular interactions, paving the way for more efficient therapeutic designs and a better understanding of the intricate molecular machines in our bodies. (read more)

Monetizing Machine Minds

Quora's innovative AI chatbot platform, Poe, is breaking new ground by offering monetary rewards to bot creators. Venturing beyond the traditional realms of content creation for platforms like TikTok or YouTube, Poe is championing the bot creation realm. Developers can now benefit in two ways: a shared revenue cut when their bot leads to a Poe subscription, or an upcoming per-message fee system. This move not only enriches the AI community but sets a precedent for the value of bot creation in today's tech landscape. (read more)

Open-Source Debate

While Meta has made its "Llama 2" language model freely available, its licensing doesn't tick all the boxes of the Open Source Initiative's standards. This has ignited discussions in the tech community: Should the open-source definition evolve for AI models? As AI pushes technological boundaries, the licensing landscape struggles to keep pace. (read more)

🧰 AI TOOLBOX — RECAP 

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What a ride the AI world has taken us on this week! From the controversial use of copyrighted content and voice cloning to the promising strides in drug discovery and comic creation, it's evident that the line between science fiction and reality continues to blur. As we wrap up this edition, one can't help but ponder: As AI becomes an integral part of our daily lives, how will we define its boundaries? And more importantly, as it mimics and learns from us, how will we ensure it reflects the best of humanity? Until our next issue, keep pondering, keep questioning, and most importantly, keep dreaming.