AI @ Noon | June 12

Ukraine’s vision of robot assassins shows need for binding AI rules Bloomberg

There’s an AI candidate running for parliament in the UK: If it wins, “AI Steve” will be represented by businessman Steve Endacott in parliament. Endacott says he’ll merely be a conduit, and the AI will make the policy decisions. Wired

The Pope and Meloni join forces to warn G7 over the risks of AI: The pontiff will address world leaders this week about the ethical threats the technology may pose at the behest of the Italian prime minister. The Times

+ The chief executives of Microsoft Corp. and BlackRock Inc. will join Group of Seven leaders congregating at a summit in Italy this week to support Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s push to invest in developing countries.

AI's looming climate cost: Energy demand surges amid data center race: From Singapore to China, AI's appetite for electricity and water grows insatiable as models get larger. Nikkei

Bloomberg: US weighs more limits on China’s access to chips needed for AI

+ Restrictions would target novel ‘gate all-around’ technology

+ US officials are in early talks on high-bandwidth memory curbs

Axios: Congress wants Scarlett Johansson to testify on OpenAI dispute

+ In a letter released on Monday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), chair of the House oversight subcommittee on cybersecurity, invited Johansson to testify before the panel.

+ The hearing "will address the broader issues surrounding the uses and abuses of deepfake technology."

This is what it looks like when AI eats the world: The web itself is being shoved into a great unknown. Charlie Warzel

Fortune: Apple Intelligence solves one of Tim Cook’s biggest problems: finally giving customers a reason to upgrade their iPhones

Hey Siri! Help me get Apple out of an AI-shaped hole: Tim Cook’s prayer to the almighty. Economist

Apple Intelligence: iPhone maker takes control with its own AI vision: OpenAI’s Sam Altman stays in the background as Tim Cook reveals upgraded Siri with ChatGPT-powered features. FT

Only Apple would try to rebrand AI. Will it succeed? After a spectacular showcase comes the challenge of getting consumers to embrace ambitious new features that may be slow or buggy. Parmy Olson

Apple’s artificial intelligence makeover is not really about you: Companies are shoving AI at you, and a lot of it has been half-baked. Can Apple buck that trend? WP

Apple just unveiled the first rational theory of AI for the masses: A collaboration of Apple the geezer and OpenAI the chaos kid will benefit both companies. Josh Tyrangiel

How will Apple’s new AI change your phone? I asked Tim Cook. In an interview, Tim Cook explains how Apple’s new AI will enhance your work and life, with guardrails. Josh Tyrangiel

The iPhone is now an AI trojan horse: Generative AI has become truly inescapable. Matteo Wong + Charlie Warzel

Apple’s biggest AI challenge? Making it behave: Apple Intelligence will make apps and services smarter. But Apple’s most notable innovations focus on ensuring the technology doesn’t disappoint, annoy, or offend. Wired

How Siri made Apple cautious about AI John Herrman

What the Apple-OpenAI deal means for four tech titans: Deal strengthens OpenAI’s position, raises questions about startup’s relationship with Microsoft—and is a setback for Google. WSJ

Sam Altman’s OpenAI dilemma: Profit vs. ‘benefit of humanity’: When Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015, the AI industry was niche. Here’s how he built the company into an $86 billion giant, off the back of Chat-GPT and splashy new products like Sora and GPT-4o. WSJ

Elon Musk drops lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman: FT reports no reason given for dismissal of breach-of-contract claims against the ChatGPT maker that Tesla boss split from in 2018.

CNBC: Elon Musk drops suit against OpenAI and Sam Altman

+ Elon Musk on Tuesday withdrew his lawsuit against OpenAI and two of the company’s co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, in California state court.

+ A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday in San Francisco, in which the judge was going to consider whether the case should be dismissed as requested by the defendants — including Altman and Brockman, the current CEO and president of OpenAI, respectively.

+ Experts told CNBC in March that the case was built on a questionable legal foundation, because the contract at the heart of the suit was not a formal written agreement that was signed by all parties involved

Adobe says it won’t train AI on its customers’ work.

Mistral secures €600mn funding as valuation soars to almost €6bn: FT reports the price tag has tripled since December for Microsoft-backed AI start-up launched one year ago to challenge OpenAI.

Google to test AI phone theft features in Brazil: AFP reports Google said Tuesday it has chosen Brazil, a country where nearly two cellphones are pilfered every minute, to test a new Artificial Intelligence system to automatically block stolen Android smartphones.

AI tools are secretly training on real images of children: A popular AI training dataset is “stealing and weaponizing” the faces of Brazilian children without their knowledge or consent, human rights activists claim. Wired

Meetings in the metaverse: new tech draws workers to virtual offices: AI assistants, training simulations and data tracking boost developers. WSJ

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 11

From China to Singapore, Asia's AI policy 'gaps' pose headaches for business: Governments shy from common rules, creating uncertainty for business. Nikkei

AI legislation: According to MultiState, there are 643 bills in 45 states (plus another 113 congressional bills) related to AI this year, 54 of which have been enacted into law.

Apple jumps into AI fray with Apple Intelligence: The iPhone maker, which has been slow to embrace artificial intelligence, will weave it into the technology that runs on billions of devices. NYT

Apple partners with OpenAI as it rolls out new artificial intelligence system: FT reports the iPhone maker touts suite of ‘Apple Intelligence’ features as it aims to catch up with Big Tech rivals.

Apple introduces ‘Apple Intelligence,’ new OpenAI partnership as AI takes center stage: Under pressure to deliver new features, Apple showed off an AI system that can assist users in myriad ways, emphasizing privacy at WWDC event. WSJ

Apple jumps into the AI arms race with OpenAI deal: The iPhone maker has mostly stayed on the sidelines as the tech industry goes wild for AI. Not anymore. WP

Tim Cook controls the iPhone, So he’s the new AI kingmaker: Apple’s deal with OpenAI acknowledges the company is behind on artificial intelligence, but make no mistake, it’s temporary outsourcing. David Lee

Apple Intelligence: A guide to Apple’s AI-in-everything strategy: A bunch of AI features are coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia in the fall. Meaningful upgrade or marketing glitz? Joanna Stern

The biggest announcements from Apple’s most important event of the year—and quite possibly ever Fortune

Bloomberg: Musk to ban Apple devices if OpenAI is integrated into OS

+ Apple announced partnership with OpenAI earlier Monday

+ Billionaire says the move would be a ‘security violation’

Musk to ban Apple devices from his companies over OpenAI deal: The Times reports the partnership will bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology to Apple devices, in a bid to make its apps increasingly personalised and useful for customers.

OpenAI hires former Nextdoor boss as CFO, taps new product chief: Bloomberg reports the artificial intelligence startup hired two execs with experience managing large social media platforms.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 10

AI safety bill driven by fears Trump would reverse efforts to rein in technology: California’s latest AI safety bill is driven by fears that another Donald Trump presidency would overturn federal efforts to rein in the technology — and it’s backed by people connected to a potential Trump ally: Elon Musk. Semafor

+ “If [Trump] does take a very strong anti-AI safety stance, it will obviously make things difficult and it maybe makes sense not to ally with [him].” -- Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety

AI is a green curse as well as a blessing: The amount of energy used by data centres is staggering. John Thornhill

+ Goldman Sachs estimates that AI investment could reach as high as $200 billion globally by 2025.

Here’s why AI probably isn’t coming for your job anytime soon: A chief data officer explains why AI still has a long way to go before it can compete with human creativity or judgment. FC

The war for AI talent is heating up: Big tech firms scramble to fill gaps as brain drain sets in. Economist

Hollywood’s take on AI: Either AI will serve the creative class, or it will serve AI. Noema

Instagram is training AI on your data. It’s nearly impossible to opt out: FC reports creators are training Instagram’s AI against their will, because Meta is using deceptive UX to keep them doing it.

Google’s AI overview search results copied my original work: Google’s AI feature bumped my article down on the results page, but the new AI Overview at the top still referenced it. What gives? Wired

Bloomberg: Apple’s AI push sets stage for everything from glasses to robots

Hey, Siri! Let’s talk about how Apple is giving you an AI makeover. Apple, a latecomer to artificial intelligence, has struck a deal with OpenAI and developed tools to improve its Siri voice assistant, which it is set to showcase on Monday. NYT

Mapping AI’s rapid advance: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt weighs in on where AI is headed, when to “pull the plug” and how to cope with China. Noema

Nvidia’s new sales booster: The global push for national AI champions: To control their artificial-intelligence destinies amid US and Chinese tech dominance, countries are building their own computing infrastructure. WSJ

AI used to predict potential new antibiotics in groundbreaking study: Scientists used an algorithm to mine ‘the entirety of the microbial diversity’ on Earth, speeding up antibiotic resistance research. Guardian

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 7

Reuters: Meta faces call in EU not to use personal data for AI models

+ "Most international efforts to mitigate AI risk are currently directed toward concerns around security, privacy, ethics, and disinformation. But we also need a serious international effort to AI-proof the economy." -- Gita Gopinath - Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund

The new CEO trapped in the US-China chip battle: An opera lover wary of politics, Christophe Fouquet must balance Western demands to curb China’s access to ASML’s most sophisticated machines while still supplying a key market. WSJ

Bloomberg: Microsoft, Nvidia to face US antitrust probes over AI moves

+ Inquiries take aim at two of world’s most valuable companies

+ Microsoft’s OpenAI partnership already facing probes in UK, EU

Big Tech’s AI dealmaking needs ‘urgent’ scrutiny, says US antitrust enforcer: Jonathan Kanter pushes for ‘meaningful intervention’ over concentration of power in artificial intelligence sector. FT

Regulators set the stage for AI antitrust battles: The FTC and DOJ reached a deal that could increase antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. WP

Reuters: US Treasury seeks public comments on AI use in financial services sector

The AI election is here. Regulators can’t decide whose problem it is. A federal turf war and congressional inaction could leave voters largely unprotected ahead of the 2024 election. WP

AI state legislation: State lawmakers across the US have introduced 745 AI-related bills—10 times as many as were proposed in all of 2023.

Silicon Valley is on alert over a proposed AI bill in California: Critics worry the bill could place an impossible burden on developers to guarantee their services aren’t misused by bad actors. Bloomberg

It looked like a reliable news site. It was an AI chop shop. BNN Breaking had millions of readers, an international team of journalists and a publishing deal with Microsoft. But it was full of error-ridden content. NYT

Salesforce will open its first flagship AI center in London’s Blue Fin Building on June 18 as part of a $4 billion, five-year investment in the UK.

Google announced AI academy: American Infrastructure, a program for startups using AI to improve infrastructure, such as agriculture and broadband.

Cisco created a $1 billion fund to invest in AI.

‘Most exciting moment’ since birth of WiFi: Chipmakers hail arrival of AI PCs: FT reports Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia battle to get their processors into next wave of artificial intelligence-enabled computers.

Meta is bringing chatbots to WhatsApp in test of AI strategy: Facebook parent plans to use new artificial intelligence features to amplify its efforts to generate revenue in messaging services. WSJ

‘This is going to be painful’: How a bold AI device flopped: Humane’s Ai Pin was supposed to free people from smartphones, but sales have been slow. Now Humane is talking to HP and others about a potential sale. NYT

+ Humane told customers to stop using Ai Pin case over fire risk.

How Apple fell behind in the AI arms race: After years of playing it safe with generative artificial intelligence, Apple is set to unveil new features next week. WSJ

Artists are fleeing Instagram to keep their work out of Meta’s AI: Meta is training its AI on artists’ creations. They’re flocking to AI-skeptical app Cara to protect themselves. WP

Big Tech launches campaign to defend AI use: Chamber of Progress, in a campaign called "Generate and Create," says it will showcase "how AI lowers barriers for producing art." THR

Three reasons why it’s good news that robots are getting smarter: They are becoming more capable, easier to program, and better at explaining themselves. Economist

How calls for AI safety could wind up helping heavyweights like OpenAI: Abstract notions of super-dangerous AI may only feed the hype that current models are more impactful than they really are. FC

Sam Altman was bending the world to his will long before OpenAI: From founding a startup at 19 to running Y Combinator at 29, the CEO behind ChatGPT is the most Silicon Valley man alive. Bloomberg

The aging US power grid is about to get a jolt: Bracing for an expected surge in demand for electricity, utilities adopt new tech to boost transmission capacity. WSJ

LinkedIn has toppled Twitter as the most useful social media platform for public relations professionals, according to Muck Rack's latest State of PR report.

In April, the main YouTube app accounted for 9.6% of all TV watch time in the US, according to measurement firm Nielsen.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 6

AI anime flood: An infringement investigation of 90,000 images: AI-generated Pokemon characters, Luffy and Mario images tarnish Japan's soft power. Nikkei

CNN: Janet Yellen warns AI in finance poses ‘significant risks’

+ “The world isn’t ready, and we aren’t ready.” -- Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher, explains to the New York Times why he lost confidence in the company’s ability to behave responsibly as it creates ever more capable AI systems.

WSJ: Nvidia’s market cap passes $3 trillion

Reuters: Hewlett Packard Enterprise surges as AI-server demand powers strong results

Reuters: Cisco launches $1 billion AI fund and makes first investments

Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and 'writes fiction' using AI: Reuters reports Newsbreak launched in the US in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app. Both companies were founded by Jeff Zheng, the CEO of Newsbreak, and the companies share a US patent registered in 2015 for an "Interest Engine" algorithm, which recommends news content based on a user's interests and location.

Bloomberg: Snowden says attempts to regulate AI may stifle its potential

+ ‘They will build a dam around us,’ Snowden tells tech event

+ But AI is advancing too fast for it to be suppressed, he says

Fortune: Microsoft’s chief scientist: Step aside, prompt engineers—AI will start prompting you instead

Asana is rolling out an initial version of its "AI teammates" — an artificial intelligence-based feature that aims to assist users by doing some of their tasks.

Satya Nadella has made Microsoft 10 times more valuable in his decade as CEO. Can he stay ahead in the AI age? Fortune

Apple faces pressure to deliver on AI at developer conference: AFP reports Apple is expected to make the case next week that it is not being left behind as tech world rivals blaze ahead with artificial intelligence.

Apple made once-unlikely deal with Sam Altman to catch up in AI: An OpenAI agreement is due to be announced at the Apple’s developer conference next week. Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s xAI plans to build supercomputer in Memphis: WSJ reports the investment’s size hasn’t been finalized, and it still requires local officials’ approval—but it represents Musk’s latest step to supercharge his entry into the artificial-intelligence race.

Bloomberg: AI’s insatiable data-center demand makes crypto miners targets

+ Takeover bid for Core shows rising value of company’s assets

+ Miners have gone on a shopping spree for Nvidia equipment

'Amelie' director to judge first AI film festival: AFP reports the director of French classic "Amelie" said he was fascinated but occasionally scared by artificial intelligence as he launched a first-ever festival for AI-generated movies on Wednesday.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 5

India’s election wasn’t the deepfake doomsday many feared: So far, AI-generated content has been more about trolling than information warfare. ROW

As China’s internet disappears, ‘we lose parts of our collective memory’: The number of Chinese websites is shrinking and posts are being removed and censored, stoking fears about what happens when history is erased. NYT

The goal for China’s chip giant: Cut out the US: Hit by Washington’s export controls, China’s domestic chip industry strives for self-sufficiency. WSJ

ASEAN is laying the foundation to effectively govern AI use: New guide should help member states to develop domestic regulations. Eunice Lim

WSJ: Intel and Apollo in $11 billion joint venture for chip manufacturing plant in Ireland

UAE seeks ‘marriage’ with US over artificial intelligence deals: Gulf state’s AI minister says recent investment deal between Microsoft and G42 is part of strategy to reshape its economy. FT

AI’s power needs means new nuclear power tech can’t fail, US energy official says Bloomberg

AI on the campaign trail: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) wants to assert its control over AI in elections. The FEC sees a conflict ahead with the Federal Communications Commission, which intends to issue its own regulations.

+ The FCC wants to mandate AI disclosures for on-air broadcasts, including AI-generated content in political ads for both issues and candidate advertising.

+ The FEC is currently in its own rulemaking process to determine whether new regulations on AI in political communications should be issued.

Boom or doom: Inside the Silicon Valley influence battle for AI’s future: Billionaire investors of the internet era are now locked in a war of words and influence to determine whether AI’s future will be one of concentrated safety, or of unfettered advancement. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Alex Konrad @ Forbes

How news coverage, often uncritical, helps build up the AI hype: “Research suggests that reporting tends to be led by industry sources, and often takes claims at face value,” our Director Rasmus Nielsen writes. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

What I learned from the UN’s “AI for Good” summit: OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was the star speaker of the summit. Melissa Heikkilä

ChatGPT users: Almost 50% are from the US.

The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) recently began adding AI-generated summaries to many articles published on its website as a way to appeal to younger audiences. 

Roman Yampolskiy, an AI safety researcher, believes that the chance of AGI eventually destroying human civilization is 99.9999%. He spoke with Lex Fridman.

OpenAI insiders warn of a ‘reckless’ race for dominance: A group of current and former employees are calling for sweeping changes to the artificial intelligence industry, including greater transparency and protections for whistle-blowers. NYT

OpenAI employees want protections to speak out on ‘serious risks’ of AI: Current and former staffers of OpenAI and Google DeepMind say “broad confidentiality agreements block us from voicing our concerns.” Bloomberg

AI employees fear they aren’t free to voice their concerns: A group of current and former OpenAI and DeepMind employees want more whistleblower protections and fear retaliation. WSJ

AI employees warn of technology’s dangers, call for sweeping company changes: A letter signed by current and former OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind employees asked firms to provide greater transparency and whistleblower protections. WP

OpenAI insiders’ latest open letter is a warning against AI. Will anyone listen?  Yet another open letter was released warning about the risks of artificial intelligence. But are we seeing diminishing returns with these calls to action? FC

The CEO of Zoom wants AI clones in meetings: The Verge reports Zoom founder Eric Yuan has big ambitions in enterprise software, including letting your AI-powered ‘digital twins’ attend meetings for you.

Touchcast, a startup that caches frequently asked generative artificial intelligence queries to make AI systems more efficient, is raising $100 million from venture backers, including OpenAI investor Microsoft.

Cohere has raised $450 million in funding from returning investors such as Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures, as well as new investors including Cisco and Canadian pension fund PSP Investments, according to a source familiar the matter.

Bloomberg: Shutterstock’s AI-licensing business generated $104 million last year

FC: Musk reportedly orders Nvidia to ship AI chips slated for Tesla to X and xAI

No physics? No problem. AI weather forecasting is already making huge strides. New model that predicts global weather can run on a single desktop computer. Ars Tech

AFP: AI could help with bereavement, but technology is fraught with risks, researcher says

AI apocalypse? ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity all went down at the same time TC

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 4

Bloomberg: Poland unveils plan to spend $760 million on cybersecurity boost

Democrats wanted an agreement on using artificial intelligence. It went nowhere: The Democratic National Committee was watching earlier this year as campaigns nationwide were experimenting with artificial intelligence. So the organization approached a handful of influential party campaign committees with a request: Sign onto guidelines that would commit them to use the technology in a “responsible” way. AP

US cites AI deepfakes as reason to keep Biden recording with Robert Hur secret: Guardian reports a DOJ filing says president’s interview with special counsel about handling of classified documents could be ‘improperly altered.’

The US gave chip makers billions. Now comes the hard part. WSJ reports the Chips Act is supposed to supercharge US chip making, but the program’s early stages have been challenged by rivals overseas as well as the sheer expense of manufacturing chips.

Bloomberg: ACLU asks for US probe into bias of consultant's AI hiring tools

Bloomberg: TikTok parent hires new general counsel as app fights US government

New York set to restrict social-media algorithms for teens: A state law would ban serving automated feeds and late-night notifications to minors without parental consent. WSJ

What AI thinks a beautiful woman looks like WP

TC: People are using AI music generators to create hateful songs

Bloomberg: Apple plans AI-based Siri overhaul to control individual app functions

+ Only 4% of young Americans use generative AI every day or almost daily, while over 40% said they have never used GenAI tools at all, according to a recent NORC survey.

Adobe scolded for selling ‘Ansel Adams-style’ images generated by AI: The Verge reports the late photographer’s estate has been contacting Adobe since August and finally got a response.

The opaque investment empire making OpenAI’s Sam Altman rich: WSJ reports many companies backed by the CEO do business with the ChatGPT maker and benefit from the AI boom driven by the blockbuster startup, raising questions of conflicts.

Microsoft said it will invest $3.2 billion to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in Sweden, its largest-ever investment in the country. As part of the plan, Microsoft will install 20,000 advanced GPUs at its data centers in Sandviken, Gävle, and Staffanstorp.

The transformative potential of computerised brain implants: Radical advances in neurotechnology are helping disabled people walk and could provide the link between human and artificial intelligence. FT

AMD unveils new AI chips to compete with Nvidia: FC reports AMD has been vying to compete against Nvidia, which currently dominates the lucrative market for AI semiconductors and commands about 80% of its share.

Russia is trying to disrupt 2024 Paris Olympics, Microsoft says: WP reports French President Emmanuel Macron had previously accused Russia of targeting the Olympic Games, drawing a denial from the Kremlin.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | June 3

Le Monde: Trump joins TikTok, app he once tried to ban

‘Little Tech’ sets its sights on Washington: Venture capital firms are bringing San Francisco’s startup culture to Washington as they try to tip the regulatory scales away from giants in the sector. They’re finding some strange bedfellows in the process. Politico

WTF is AI? TC

The AI revolution is already losing steam: The pace of innovation in AI is slowing, its usefulness is limited, and the cost of running it remains exorbitant. Christopher Mims

AI fake nudes are now a frightening reality for teens: Girls portrayed in AI-generated nude images can still face bullying and judgment, even when everyone knows the pics are fake, teens say. WSJ

You think you know how misinformation spreads? Welcome to the hellhole of programmatic advertising: The internet is a cesspool of misinformation, and the biggest blue-chip brands and their ad agencies are the ones funding it—by stuffing money into a Rube Goldberg machine no one really understands. Wired

Google scales back AI search answers after it told users to eat glue: WP reports the tech giant put AI-generated answers at the top of search results for most people in the United States two weeks ago.

Sam Altman says OpenAI doesn’t fully understand how GPT works despite rapid progress: "We don’t understand what’s happening in your brain at a neuron-by-neuron level, and yet we know you can follow some rules and can ask you to explain why you think something," Altman said at an A.I. conference today. Observer

Sam Altman was down and out at OpenAI. Now he’s taking on Google: The king of AI was sacked by his start-up – only to retake power and strike deals that could end in an all-conquering partnership with Apple. The Times

The new ChatGPT offers a lesson in AI hype: OpenAI released GPT-4o, its latest chatbot technology, in a partly finished state. It has much to prove. NYT

Klarna marketing chief says AI is helping it become ‘brutally efficient’: WSJ reports David Sandstrom explains how artificial intelligence is helping the Sweden-based financial technology company do more in less time.

Nikkei: Jensen Huang hints Nvidia is aiming for new AI chip every year

Nvidia unveils next generation of AI chips in bid to entrench market lead: FT reports the Silicon Valley chipmaker seeks to accelerate pace of development with new ‘Rubin’ processors.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc