🤝Microsoft x Intel $15 BILLION Deal

Hey TEDchats Fam!

Happy Friday! Think back to when laptops were like portable offices, giving us the freedom to work from anywhere. Now, we're about to embark on an even more astonishing journey. Imagine a future where your laptop doesn't just respond to your commands but anticipates your needs, all thanks to a tiny chip.

👀 SNEAK PEEK

🚨FEATURE STORY

Microsoft and Intel Forge a Billion-Dollar Bond

Imagine a world where two technology giants, known for shaping the digital era, join forces. Microsoft and Intel, long-standing titans of the tech industry, have embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration, creating a buzz across the tech world. What could this mean for the future of technology and innovation?

The $15 Billion Deal

In a stunning announcement this week at the Intel Foundry Direct Connect event, Intel revealed its latest strategic move: producing the world’s first custom chips exclusively designed for the AI era, with Microsoft now on board as its largest customer. This deal with Microsoft, valued at over $15 billion, marks a significant milestone for both companies. Intel, once the unrivaled leader in chip manufacturing, has been strategizing to reclaim its top position, while Microsoft continues to expand its technological prowess, delving into in-house designs for processors and AI accelerators.

Strategic Moves in a Competitive Landscape

The tech landscape is fiercely competitive, with companies constantly vying for dominance. Major players in the tech industry, such as Nvidia and Apple, depend on the Taiwanese company TSMC for the manufacturing of their carefully designed chips. Faced with such strong competition and having encountered setbacks and delays, including the postponement of a $20 billion Ohio chip plant, Intel found itself in need of a game-changer. Similarly, Microsoft's venture into custom chip design represents uncharted territory, fraught with potential challenges and the need to innovate continually (more on Microsoft’s recent venture here).

The Impact of the Microsoft-Intel Alliance

Intel’s decision to produce chips based on another company's design, a strategy that has proven successful for competitors like TSMC, is a bold shift in direction. Utilizing Intel's cutting-edge 18A process, this collaboration could mark the resurgence of Intel as a chipmaking powerhouse, with Microsoft steering the design helm.

This collaboration sets the stage for a new era in the semiconductor industry. It could prompt other tech companies to pursue similar partnerships, reshaping the landscape of chip design and production. The long-term effects of this alliance could be far-reaching, influencing technological innovation, market trends, and even global tech leadership. As the story unfolds, all eyes will be on Microsoft and Intel, eagerly anticipating the next chapter in this high-stakes tech saga (read Intel’s announcement or see Intel’s announcement).

🧑‍💻 DAILY PROMPT

🍕 QUICK BITES

Google's AI Faces Criticism for Rewriting Historical Figures

Google's Gemini AI faced backlash for generating historically inaccurate images of prominent figures, portraying the U.S. Founding Fathers and 1943 Nazi German soldiers as people of color. This controversial situation led Google to temporarily pause Gemini's image generation of people as the company works to refine its AI's understanding of historical accuracy (see Google’s full post).

Sony Expands Its Virtual Reality (VR) Experiences

Sony is actively testing the PlayStation VR2 headset for use with PC gaming systems, a significant step beyond its current PS5 exclusivity. This development could enable PlayStation VR2 users to enjoy a wider variety of games on PC, potentially revolutionizing the VR gaming experience. Official support, along with additional game releases, is anticipated to be announced later in 2024 (see Sony’s announcement).

Chrome's New AI Tool for U.S. Users

With the launch of Chrome M122, users now have access to the "Help me write" feature on both Mac and Windows PCs in the United States. Powered by Gemini models, this feature aids in the creation and improvement of written content, whether for submitting a restaurant review, selling furniture, or making hotel reservation inquiries. According to Google, "the tool will understand the context of the webpage you’re on to suggest relevant content". For example, when drafting a review for garden shears, the tool can extract relevant information from a webpage, assisting in the writing process (see Google’s announcement and user guide).

🧰 AI TOOLBOX 

🤯 MIND SPARK

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Has Finally Been Defined! Recently, the term AGI has been discussed by top tech companies, including figures like Zuckerberg from Meta; however, the exact definition has not been clarified. Now, AWS, one of the largest internet-based companies globally, has stepped forward to define this hyped term. They describe AGI as a field of theoretical AI research aiming to create software with human-like intelligence and the ability to self-teach (see AWS’s full definition).

Want to Learn How Different Countries Are Regulating AI? Earlier this year, a team from MIT Technology Review compiled a document detailing the diverse policies across the U.S, EU, China, and other countries (see their findings here).

AI Research — Industry vs. Academia: For many years, research in artificial intelligence has taken place in both academic and industrial settings. However, dominance is now shifting towards the industry, driven by substantial investments reaching billions of dollars that academia simply cannot match. The linked paper provides an in-depth exploration of this subject (read the paper here).

🎨 AI ART