Windows 11 Gets a Facelift, Driving with AI Chatbots, and More: Your Monthly AI Fix!
FoF Specials – Generative AI News Nexus | Edition #1 (Jan 1st-31st)
Greetings, carbon-based lifeforms! Welcome to the Byte-sized Wonders of our Generative AI Newsletter 2.0! 🤖
We’ve tweaked things up a bit from our last endeavour, and you've just touched down at the Gen AI News Nexus—your go-to monthly fix of ‘AI’mazing insights! Get ready for an AI extravaganza! Whitesight is back with your very own AI scoop. What's on the agenda? A meticulously assembled menu packed with insights, innovations, and revelations. Before you rocket into the digital universe, here’s a specially designed invite daring you to hop on our newsletter spaceship. Say yes, and brace yourself for a monthly blast of the latest AI happenings – every month, right into your inbox. Don't let the cosmic scoop slip away—get on the ride because:
Today’s ‘ÀI’ la carte:
AlphaGeometry Squared: AI Cracks the Code on Complex Math!
Algorithm A-List: 10 Must-Know AI Headlines This Month!
Code-undrum decoded, sorted by segment!
AI Alchemy: AI Resources for the Curious Minds
AlphaGeometry’s Triumph in the 'AI-thlon' of Math
In the thrilling world of mathematical showdowns, Google DeepMind unveiled AlphaGeometry – an AI dynamo that set new standards in solving complex math problems. AlphaGeometry just rocked the math world! It nailed 25 out of 30 tricky geometry problems from the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2000-2022. The previous top AI could only crack 10 of them. And guess what? Even the gold medalist scored 25.9 on these brain-busters. So pretty close to the best of human intelligence.
AlphaGeometry achieved perfect scores in problems from the 2000 and 2015 IMOs. It also demonstrated creative reasoning by rediscovering known theorems and finding novel generalisations. Talk about a math whiz! 🧠
Edition #1 is here to bring you the Gen AI fusion across different slices of the tech world. Let’s dive in!
Top 10 AI Updates from January 2024
OpenAI launched GPT Store that features a range of GPTs developed both by OpenAI’s partners and the wider dev community. Additionally, TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, launched four new generative AI apps for users outside of China, dubbed Cici AI, Coze, ChitChop, and BagelBell in the past three months.
AI in the creative industry gained prominence as voice cloning startup ElevenLabs closed an $80M Series B round co-led by prominent investors, including Andreessen Horowitz. Subsequently, Runway added a new tool, ‘multi motion brush’, to allow creators to add multiple directions and types of motion to their AI video creations.
AI for businesses was a focus – Vodafone and Microsoft announced a 10-year strategic partnership to bring generative AI, digital services and the cloud to more than 300 million businesses, public sector organisations, and consumers across Europe and Africa. Similarly, Mastercard announced that it is piloting ‘Small Business AI’, an inclusive AI tool that incorporates cutting-edge generative AI features to deliver customised assistance for all small business owners.
Microsoft also made headlines for introducing a new Copilot key to Windows 11 PCs, marking the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades. Meanwhile, Volkswagen announced at CES 2024 in Las Vegas its plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen models equipped with its IDA voice assistant.
Precision was key, with Google DeepMind introducing AlphaGeometry, an AI system that solves complex geometry problems at a level comparable to a human Olympiad gold medalist, and Perplexity AI partnering with Rabbit to introduce real-time, precise answers to R1, powered by PPLX online LLM API.
Now, let's decode the ‘code’-undrum –
OpenAI has been at the forefront of advancing the capabilities and adoption of GenAI, and for that, we’re giving it its own special spot where we're spilling the tea (or should we say, the terabytes?) on all its big moves!
OpenAI made headlines throughout the month – it launched a new subscription plan for ChatGPT, called ChatGPT Team, to provide a dedicated workspace for teams of up to 149 people, as well as admin tools for team management. At the same time, OpenAI revised its usage policy, removing the prohibition against use for 'military and warfare' purposes. The removal indicates OpenAI's openness to accommodate approved military customers and projects.
Arizona State University (ASU) became OpenAI’s first higher education customer. ASU announced plans to organise an open challenge to invite faculty and staff to submit ideas for ways to use ChatGPT, focusing on student success, new avenues for research, and streamlining organisational processes.
Check out the Startup Showcase vibes from last week—where AI startups were straight-up cashing in on those funding rounds!
Krutrim, an AI startup founded by Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal, closed a $50M funding round led by Matrix Partners India that valued it at $1B – thereby being one of the fastest Indian AI startups to become a unicorn.
Generative AI search engine startup Perplexity AI raised $73.6M in a Series B funding round that placed the company at a valuation of $520M.
Luma, a company that lets people capture objects in 3D using their smartphones, raised $43M in a Series B round with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, valuing the startup between $200M and $300M.
BigTechs have been betting big on generative AI for a hot minute, and we've got the inside scoop! Curious much? Let’s unravel the AI marvels!
Google unveiled its war chest of AI-powered features including
Generative AI products designed to help retailers personalise their online shopping experiences.
Bard Advanced powered by Gemini Ultra.
3 new generative AI features in Chrome, including Tab Organizer, generative AI wallpapers, and an experimental AI-powered writing help tool.
an AI-powered question creation for teachers.
an AI-powered addition to its visual search capabilities in Google Lens.
Microsoft unveiled complimentary access to Reading Coach, its AI-powered tool that provides learners with personalised reading practice. Microsoft launched Reading Coach in 2022 as a part of Teams for Education and Immersive Reader, the company’s cross-platform assistive service for language and reading comprehension.
Step into the world of Financial AI marvels, where Fin’AI’nce is turning heads and becoming the hottest trend in town!
BBVA ran a generative AI tool called 'DataRally' with over 440 in-house employees to spot and train talent in the use of large language models (LLMs). During the trials, the participating staff handled tasks such as processing quantitative information, detecting anomalies in financial reports, and evaluating the satisfaction level of a fictitious customer by scoring and classifying their comments.
PayPal announced the launch of AI-driven products to enable merchants to reach new customers based on their previous shopping history. The fintech also unveiled a separate AI-based tool named "smart receipts" for merchants, allowing them to recommend personalised items to shoppers through email receipts, accompanied by a cashback reward.
Gear up for the AI devices! Time to unpack the AI gear goodies, where the headlines spill the beans on the latest moves in the world of AI Hardware.
During CES 2024, Santa Monica-based AI startup Rabbit introduced R1, a handheld and touchscreen AI device that works like a walkie-talkie with camera functionality. The device is mainly powered by two settings, Rabbit’s in-house OS and the Large Action Model (LAM), which is designed to make AI see and perform apps in the same way humans do.
Samsung unveiled its latest flagship line, including the AI-powered Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung partnered with Google Cloud to deploy Gemini Pro on Vertex AI in its S24 series in the West, while in China it leveraged Baidu’s Ernie AI.
Delve into the evolving Legal Landscape shaping the responsible development and deployment of AI, ensuring technology stays on the right side of the ethical code.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) launched a consultation series on generative AI. The consultation series is aimed towards examining how aspects of data protection law should apply to the development and use of the technology, with the first consultation examining when it is lawful to train generative AI models on personal data scraped from the web.
The White House called for legislation to address fake explicit content made using advanced technology after explicit AI-generated images of American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift went viral online on social media sites. We’re glad they didn’t just Shake It Off.
AI has been pulling in players from all walks of life to join its super cool abilities club. We've got robots diagnosing coughs, drones delivering pizza, and enough artificial intelligence to make you seriously question who needs humans anyway. We didn’t want to miss out on this Cross-Industry saga, so here are all the deets:
Walmart launched a new generative AI search feature on iOS to allow customers to search for products by use cases, instead of by product or brand names. Walmart will initially test this use case with Walmart InHome Replenishment, which will use AI and its existing replenishment expertise combined to create automated online shopping carts for customers with items they regularly order.
Oracle announced the general availability of the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure generative AI service to enable enterprises to take advantage of the latest advancements in generative AI. OCI Generative AI service is a fully managed service that seamlessly integrates LLMs from Cohere and Meta Llama 2 to address a wide range of business use cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released comprehensive guidance on the ethical use and governance of LMM in healthcare. The guiding document identified five broad applications of LMMs in healthcare, including:
diagnosis and clinical care
patient-guided use for investigating symptoms and treatments
clerical and administrative tasks in electronic health records
medical and nursing education with simulated patient encounters
scientific research and drug development
The world of tech talk and gadget galore – it might seem like a maze, but fear not! We’re here to ensure the jargon doesn’t jumble your brain.
Join us in each edition as we decode some AI terms:
And that's a wrap 👋
We hope this AI expedition has sparked your circuits, filled you with wonder, and ignited a hunger for more! Keep your data lines active with our Generative AI News Nexus, because we're committed to serving up a monthly feast of AI marvels!
As thanks for cruising with us through the AI journey together, grab these awesome resources to supercharge your AI engine and keep the momentum going:
As gen AI advances, regulators—and risk functions—rush to keep pace - McKinsey
Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work - IMF
Generative AI Framework for HM Government - UK Government
How Generative AI is Transforming Business and Society - Oliver Wyman
2024 IT Priorities and Adoption of Gen AI - Mayfield
Beyond AI Exposure: Which Tasks are Cost-Effective to Automate with Computer Vision? - MIT
The AI Revolution in Financial Services - Vital Briefing
Lumiere: A Space-Time Diffusion Model for Video Generation - Google
If you're hungry for more fintech insights, check out some of our other work at WhiteSight.
If you're someone who likes to read think pieces, you will likely love our monthly blog, Fintersections, where our team members analyse the convergence of fintech with the world.
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