Newsletter
Highlights:
Elon Musk’s recent deepfake video of Kamala Harris prompts further advocacy for artificial intelligence regulation and guardrails.
Instagram now lets you make AI avatars to interact with followers on your behalf.
Google Olympics “Dear Sydney” ad receives backlash for its use of generative AI.
Credits to Taco Bell
Business
Taco Bell is expanding its drive-thru voice AI test (NRN)
Yum Brands announced that it is expanding its voice artificial intelligence technology to “hundreds” of Taco Bell drive-thru locations in the U.S. throughout the year. They also expressed an interest in expanding the technology to its other franchises, including KFC and Pizza Hut. The technology has been in test for about two years and has yielded improved order accuracy, speedier service, and profitable growth.
Microsoft sinks, Nvidia soars as AI rally faces divide (Reuters)
Microsoft shares fell 2% on Wednesday after a reported massive increase in artificial intelligence expenditures, stock market value falling by $60 billion. In contrast, Nvidia shares surged 11% after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) released an updated 2024 forecast for its AI chip sales. Nvidia’s stock market value is up by almost $300 billion. The gains in chipmakers and losses in Microsoft are due to investors divided faith in whether Wall Street can maintain momentum with AI.
Perplexity AI revenue share model appeases publishers (TechTarget)
Perplexity AI has introduced a revenue-sharing model after allegations that its generative AI system was infringing on news articles and illegally scraping content from the web. The startup’s AI search engine provides links to sources, and now, publishers can earn a revenue from interactions when their content is referenced. However, "the rev share goes to the media companies, but those media companies aren't necessarily going to be sharing that revenue with their writers," says our own Juliette Powell. "No matter how you slice it, the actual human creators are the ones that are getting the short stick… that's the piece of the story that the creators themselves are aware of but don't know what to do about."
Credits to Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
Politics
Barbara Lee: Musk sharing fake Harris video shows need for AI guardrails (The Hill)
Last Friday, Elon Musk shared a deepfake video on social platform X impersonating Vice President Harris to mock her current campaign ads, calling Biden “senile” and Harris the “ultimate diversity hire.” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) commented Monday, calling the video “dangerous” and advocating for the regulation of AI moving forward. “Otherwise, we’re going to see all kinds of unfortunate things happen, which are fake, which shows that anyone can say anything about anyone or do anything and not have any accountability,” says Lee. Other politicians have spoken out with similar concerns.
Marines get the green light to be ‘Phantoms’ at Air Force’s AI accelerator (DefenseScoop)
An artificial intelligence hub led by the Department of the Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is welcoming two Marines into the next cohort of “Phantoms.” Over five months, the marines will conduct research on using artificial intelligence and produce a paper detailing their work. This is “an opportunity to rapidly upskill our Marines to support the Marine Corps’ acceleration of AI adoption,” says Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy.
Credits to Friend
Technology
AI-Powered Necklace Will Be Your Friend for $99 (CNET)
In the latest trend of wearable tech, an AI-powered necklace called “friend” is on pre-order for $99. Friend works by being tapped, listening to your question, and then responding via text to your phone. However, the FAQ also mentions that when it’s connected via Bluetooth, friend is “always listening and forming their own internal thoughts,” so that it can respond autonomously. The “always on” element can be concerning, but the FAQ reassures that no audio or transcripts are stored past the context window and memories can always be deleted within the app.
Instagram starts letting people create AI versions of themselves (The Verge)
Meta is giving Instagram users the ability to create AI avatars, through a new tool called AI Studio, that will be able to talk to their followers on their behalf. The AI will talk in chat threads and respond to comments with settings to restrict which accounts it interacts with. AI Studio also allows the creation of AI characters that can be deployed across Meta’s apps, in the same vein as startups like Character.AI and Replika. Meta says AI profiles are clearly labeled.
Credits to Google
Entertainment
Google Olympics ad sparks new ire over generative AI (Axios)
At the Olympics, Google debuted their new ad for Gemini to a divisive reception. The ad, titled “Dear Sydney”, portrays a dad using Gemini chatbot to help his daughter write a fan letter to Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Some viewers thought the ad was tone-deaf and that it sucked the humanity out of fan letters, an action that is supposed to be heartfelt and handwritten. Others note that Gemini helps with merely “drafting” and that it can be a useful tool to brainstorm or overcome writer’s block.
