AI for Consumers - 20231017
What went on this week with AI, and how it affected consumers and non-consumers.
Basics
State of AI Report 2023
The State of AI Report analyses the most interesting developments in AI. We aim to trigger an informed conversation about the state of AI and its implication for the future.
Millions of Workers Are Training AI Models for Pennies
WIRED
Workers in developing countries are exploited, receiving minimal compensation for training artificial intelligence models, primarily benefiting wealthier nations.
A.I. Agents Are Learning to Do More Than Chat. They Might Even Replace Workers.
Cade Metz & Karen Weise, The New York Times
A.I. agents, evolving from chatbots like ChatGPT, are being developed to autonomously perform tasks across the internet, such as using software apps and websites, which could potentially automate almost any white-collar job in the future.
Why are we hearing so much about AI all of a sudden?
Janet Nguyen, Marketplace.org
The article explores the sudden prominence of AI in public discourse, attributing it to long-term investments and technological advancements, and discusses how companies often observe or invest in innovations years before they become widely known.
Placebo effect shapes how we see AI
Alison Snyder, Axios Science
A pair of studies published this week looked at how much a person's expectations about AI impacted their likelihood to trust it and take its advice.
Ultra-efficient machine learning transistor cuts AI energy use by 99%
Loz Blain, New Atlas
A new microtransistor, developed by researchers at Northwestern University, can perform AI machine learning tasks with only 1% of the energy consumption of current technology, potentially enabling more intelligent mobile and wearable devices.
The Biggest Moments of TIME’s Women Shaping AI Impact Dinner
Will Henshall, TIME
TIME hosted an Impact Dinner honoring extraordinary women influencing the future of artificial intelligence, featuring discussions from leaders in the field focusing on the transformative potential and ethical considerations of AI.
Enforcement
Generative AI and Guidance on Abusiveness May Illuminate a New Focus on “Dark Patterns” for Enforcement and Related Consumer Research
Andrew Stivers, ABA
Explains what a “dark pattern” is.
Governments race to regulate AI tools
Reuters, October 6, 2023
Governments worldwide are grappling with the rapid advancements in AI technology, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, striving to establish effective regulations that address privacy, competition, and security concerns.
Public enforcement
How a billionaire-backed network of AI advisers took over Washington
Brendan Bordelon, Politico
Open Philanthropy, backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, is funding AI fellows in key congressional offices and federal agencies, influencing the development of AI regulations and policies in Washington.
G-7 Plans to Ask AI Companies to Agree to Watermarks, Audits
Jillian Deutsch and Alberto Nardelli, Bloomberg
The G-7 nations are preparing voluntary guidelines for tech companies to mitigate risks of artificial intelligence, including external AI product testing and public security reports.
The AI regulatory toolbox: How governments can discover algorithmic harms
Alex Engler, Brookings
The article explores various regulatory strategies, like transparency requirements and algorithmic audits, that governments are using to understand and mitigate the societal impacts of algorithmic systems.
Federal
Democrats ask Biden to put AI safeguards into executive order
Rebecca Klar, The Hill
Democrats urge President Biden to make non-binding AI safeguards official policy through an executive order.
State
Governor Murphy Establishes State Artificial Intelligence Task Force
Insider NJ
Governor Phil Murphy has created an AI Task Force to study the societal impacts of AI technologies and promote their ethical use in New Jersey.
E.U., China, and elsewhere
E.U.
U.S. Warns E.U.’s AI Policy Will Only Benefit Big Tech
Peter Martin, Jillian Deutsch and Anna Edgerton, TIME
The U.S. warns the E.U. that its proposed AI regulation may primarily benefit large companies, potentially stifling innovation and productivity.
Calls for AI regulations to protect jobs rise in Europe after ChatGPT's arrival
Ryan Browne, CNBC
68% of Europeans want government rules to safeguard jobs from AI advancements, and most lack confidence in distinguishing AI-generated content from genuine content.
EU sees 'convergence' with Japan on AI
Sam Nussey, Reuters
The EU and Japan align on generative artificial intelligence (AI) views, deepening cooperation in technology areas like AI and cybersecurity.
China
The New AI Panic
Karen Hao, The Atlantic
The U.S. Department of Commerce considers regulating advanced AI model exports due to concerns over use by China, raising questions about global AI research and collaboration.
Biden eyes adding AI chip curbs to Chinese companies abroad
Alexandra Alper & Karen Freifeld, Reuters
The Biden administration is exploring regulations to restrict Chinese companies' access to US AI chips via overseas entities.
When China’s military lagged behind US, it pursued an ‘assassin’s mace’ tactic. Smart weaponry and AI are changing that.
Jack Lau, South China Morning Post
The article discusses China's shift from focusing on specific "assassin’s mace" weapons to developing versatile technologies like autonomous vehicles and AI-equipped weapons.
China sets stricter rules for training generative AI models
Amaka Nwaokocha, Cointelegraph
China has released draft regulations tightening rules on data used in training generative AI models, requiring explicit consent for personal data use and excluding content subject to internet censorship.
Ukraine
Ukraine rolls out AI regulation roadmap
David Attlee, Cointelegraph
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation presents a regulatory roadmap for AI, preparing businesses for a law akin to the EU’s AI Act, promoting self-regulation and ethical AI use, with legislation anticipated in 2024.
Israel
War in Israel moves to the cybersecurity front and reality starts to hit generative AI
Robert Hof, SiliconANGLE
The article discusses the intensification of cyber warfare in the Israel conflict and the challenges and realities emerging in the practical implementation of generative AI technologies
Capabilities
Batteries
How AI could supercharge battery research
Casey Crownhart, MIT Technology Review
The article discusses the role of AI in enhancing battery research, highlighting a collaboration between Aionics and Cellforce to improve battery electrolytes. Utilizing AI, including machine learning and generative models, the partnership aims to expedite the development of advanced batteries by optimizing material combinations and experiments.
Bias
AI was asked for images of Black African docs treating white kids. How'd it go?
Carmen Drahl, NPR
The article explores an experiment revealing biases in AI-generated images of Black African doctors treating white children.
AI’s image problem
Victoria Turk, Rest of World
The article discusses the biases in AI-generated images, emphasizing the need for diverse training data to prevent the reinforcement of stereotypes and biases.
AI’s image problem
Matt Levin, Marketplace
The article discusses Adobe’s use of a "de-biasing algorithm" in AI-generated images to address biases, raising ethical questions about whether AI should depict the world realistically or aspirationally.
Copyright
Google will shield AI users from copyright challenges, within limits
Benj Edwards, Ars Technica
Google has announced plans to defend users of its generative AI systems on Google Cloud and Workspace platforms against intellectual property violation claims, covering both the use of copyrighted works for training AI and the output generated by the systems. The policy includes limitations, such as not applying if users intentionally create or use generated output to infringe the rights of others.
Westlaw owner's dispute with AI startup over legal data moves to jury trial
Sarah Speight, World Intellectual Property Review
Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence's legal dispute over the use of copyrighted legal data for AI training is proceeding to a jury trial.
Education
Can You Hide a Child’s Face From A.I.?
Kashmir Hill, NYT
Parents have been stressing out for at least two decades about what to share about their children online. Powerful new technologies present a more urgent risk.
Environment
As Arctic Sea Ice Breaks Up, AI Is Starting to Predict Where the Ice Will Go
Scientific American
The article discusses the use of artificial intelligence in predicting the movement and melting of Arctic sea ice, offering a more dynamic and accurate forecast to adapt to the rapid changes occurring due to climate change.
Hacking
4chan Uses Bing to Flood the Internet With Racist Images
Emanuel Maiberg, 404 Media
4chan users are utilizing Bing’s AI text-to-image generator to create and spread racist images across the internet.
Healthcare
Welcome to the AI gym staffed by virtual trainers
Rhiannon Williams, MIT Technology Review
Lumin Fitness has introduced a gym featuring virtual AI coaches that guide users through workouts, using wall-to-wall LED screens and motion tracking sensors. This allows for a personalized fitness experience, offering users the choice of different AI trainers and workout adjustments based on performance, aiming to make the gym experience more accessible and less intimidating.
Military
Online Deceits and AI Are Making the Truth a Casualty of War
Steven Lee Myers, Yahoo News
The proliferation of artificial intelligence and online platforms has exacerbated the spread of misinformation, making it challenging to discern truth in the digital information landscape, particularly in the context of conflicts such as the war between Israel and Hamas.
Ukrainian AI attack drones may be killing without human oversight
David Hambling, New Scientist
Ukrainian drones are using artificial intelligence to autonomously identify and attack targets in warfare.
Religion
Artificial Intelligence Is Getting Spiritual
Nika Simovich Fisher, WIRED
The article discusses the intersection of artificial intelligence with spirituality and astrology, exploring how AI is being utilized in spiritual practices and the implications of this convergence.
Retail
On Amazon, eBay, and Shopify, AI is the new third-party seller
Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC
E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify are utilizing generative AI tools to assist sellers in creating product listings, aiming to make the process more efficient and effective. These AI tools can automatically generate robust product descriptions and other listing information, helping sellers who may not have strong writing abilities or the time to create optimized content manually.
Walmart using AI to change how you shop forever
Fox News
The article discusses Walmart’s integration of generative AI into its shopping experience, aiming to offer customers more convenience, variety, and personalization, and to enhance its competitive edge in the retail industry.
Robots
AI design for a ‘walking’ robot is a squishy purple glob
Andrew Paul, Popular Science
An AI at Northwestern University designed a walking robot, creating a unique form unlike any existing walking animal. The AI rapidly developed a legged locomotion method, accelerating past extensive natural evolutionary processes.
Science
From ancient Jewish texts to androids to AI, a just-right sequence of numbers or letters turns matter into meaning
Rhona Trauvitch, The Conversation
Concepts of creating meaning or function through the precise sequencing of fundamental elements are paralleled between ancient Jewish mysticism and modern computer coding, including AI. Both realms, whether in letters or binary codes, showcase how the arrangement of basic units can lead to powerful or meaningful creations, like the animation of a golem in Jewish folklore or the functionality of AI and robots in technology.
Space Exploration
First supernova detected, confirmed, classified and shared by AI
Northwestern University, Phys.org
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has autonomously detected, confirmed, and classified a supernova for the first time, marking a significant advancement in astronomical research. Developed by an international team led by Northwestern University, the AI system, named the Bright Transient Survey Bot (BTSbot), aims to accelerate the discovery and analysis of supernovae by automating the entire search process, reducing human error and saving valuable research time.
Sports
AI and smart mouthguards: the new frontline in fight against brain injuries
Sean Ingle, The Guardian
Artificial intelligence and smart mouthguards are being integrated in sports such as the NFL and rugby to swiftly identify head impacts, improve player safety, and promote equipment innovation in combating brain injuries.
Traffic
Google Says AI-powered System Is Improving City Traffic Flows
VOA Learning English
Google's AI-powered system, Project Green Light, is improving traffic flow in major cities by optimizing traffic lights to reduce vehicle emissions and fuel consumption.
Video Games
Hands On With Halo Infinite’s New Forge AI Toolkit (It’s Rad)
Claire Jackson, Kotaku
The article discusses the introduction of AI in Halo Infinite’s Forge toolkit, allowing players to incorporate AI-controlled characters into custom games, which could revolutionize player experiences by facilitating the creation of a variety of new game modes and scenarios, such as PvE and PvPvE experiences, in the Halo universe. The new feature will be available in season five, launching on October 17, 2023.
Apps to check out
AI Bots
MindStudio
Create custom AIs for consumers, SMBs, and enterprises - no coding required.
Text
Kindred Tales
Capture cherished moments and memories within a beautiful keepsake book.
Images / Video
AI Dubbing
Best Voice Translation & Voiceover Tool. Localize your content across 29 languages in seconds with voice translation, speaker detection, and audio dubbing.
hotshot
Turn text generated images into animated GIFs.
Calendar
Cal.ai
Meet the future of AI scheduling
Contracting
contractiq.ai
An AI-powered platform that enables users to draft contracts quickly and efficiently.
Taxes
decode
Checks your tax forms and gives recommendations for lowering your tax.