Newsletter


Highlights:

  • Microsoft departs OpenAI’s board amid scrutiny from antitrust regulators.

  • Trump pledges to ax Biden’s AI executive order.

  • Russia impersonated Americans using 1,000 AI-generated X accounts.


Credits to REUTERS/Aly Song

Business

China leads the world in adoption of generative AI, survey shows (Reuters)

In a survey of 1,600 decision-makers in industries worldwide by U.S. AI and analytics software company SAS and Coleman Parkes Research, 83% of Chinese respondents said they used generative AI. The global average was 54% out of 16 other countries and regions surveyed. After OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, China has seen rapid development as companies compete to launch their own versions.

Microsoft quits OpenAI board seat as antitrust scrutiny of AI pacts intensifies (ABC News)

Microsoft has relinquished its seat on the board of OpenAI, citing that they’re participation is no longer needed because OpenAI has improved its self-governance since last year’s boardroom chaos. The departure comes amid scrutiny from antitrust regulators of the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI and the $13 billion Microsoft has reportedly invested. European Union regulators said last month they intend to take a fresh look at the partnership under the 27-nation bloc’s antitrust rules.

Credits to Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Politics

Trump pledges to ax Biden’s AI executive order (NextGov)

The 2024 Republican platform, spearheaded by Donald Trump, called Biden’s AI executive order “dangerous” and intend to repeal it if Trump is reelected. The executive order, signed last fall with bipartisan support, included requirements for developers of dual-use foundation models to share safety test results and other information with the government in order to establish guardrails in high-risk systems. The Republican platform believes that the order “hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.”

Russia Impersonated Americans Using Nearly 1,000 Fake AI-Generated X Accounts, Feds Allege (Forbes)

The Justice Department alleged Tuesday to have found hundreds of Russian bots on X posing as Americans in support of the invasion on Ukraine. The bots were created by affiliates of Russia’s state-controlled news network Russia Today and backed by Russia’s Federal Security Service. “Russia intended to use this bot farm to disseminate AI-generated foreign disinformation, scaling their work with the assistance of AI to undermine our partners in Ukraine and influence geopolitical narratives favorable to the Russian government,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in the statement.

NATO releases revised AI strategy (NATO)

On Wednesday, NATO released its revised artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, aiming to accelerate the use of AI in a safe and responsible way. Building on the one published in 2021, and taking into account recent advances in AI technologies, the strategy identifies several priorities like the expansion of their AI ecosystem through cooperation with other organizations. For the first time, the strategy also identifies concerns around disinformation, information operations and gender-based violence.

Credits to Varunyu via Getty Images

Technology

AI speech generator 'reaches human parity' — but it's too dangerous to release, scientists say (LiveScience)

Microsoft has recently developed VALL-E 2, a text-to-speech (TTS) generator that is so convincing they can not release it to the public. Microsoft researchers said that VALL-E 2 was capable of generating “accurate, natural speech in the exact voice of the original speaker, comparable to human performance,” using just a few seconds of audio. “VALL-E 2 is purely a research project,” Microsoft states, and they currently have “no plans to incorporate VALL-E 2 into a product or expand access to the public.”

Samsung launches first-of-a kind smart ring, watch with AI features to help monitor your health (NYPost)

Samsung recently unveiled its first-ever premium smartwatch and a smart ring, both including AI features designed to help people monitor and manage their health. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is priced at $650 and the Galaxy Ring at $400. Both devices lean on AI to do a better job of analyzing biometric data to provide custom assessments of the user’s well-being and make recommendations. The Galaxy Ring requires less frequent charging than other wearable devices, lasting six to seven days.

Scientists Create Mind-Reading Helmet: It Translates Brain Waves! (MSN)

A team of scientists at the University of Technology Sydney have created a sensor-covered helmet that uses AI to translate brain waves into text. This technology could tranform care for patients who are unable to speak due to conditions like stroke or paralysis. In a demonstration video, a participant was prompted to think “Good afternoon! I hope you’re doing well. I’ll start with a cappuccino, please, with an extra shot of espresso.” The AI responded on screen with “Afternoon! You well? Cappuccino, Xtra shot. Espresso.”

Credits to Strelciuc – stock.adobe.com

Life

Artificial intelligence scientists developing tools to decode what your dog’s barks mean (NYPost)

Researchers at the University of Michigan are studying how speech processing models can be leveraged to “understand the nuances of dog barks,” according to Rada Mihalcea, director of U-M’s AI labratory. Models originally trained on human speech can be used as a starting point to understand animal communication according to the study which used vocalizations from 74 dogs. They hope that the tool can distinguish between playfulness and aggression in barks, as well as give insight into the dog’s age, breed, and sex.


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