AI @ Noon | September 13

United Arab Emirates fund in talks to invest in OpenAI: WSJ reports the ChatGPT creator has told potential backers its annualized revenue recently reached $4 billion.

Mr ChatGPT and other AI power players are going to the White House to discuss AI’s massive thirst for energy CNN

America has an innovation and incumbency problem: Politicians should be taking questions of R&D and corporate power much more seriously. Gillian Tett

The AI bill driving a wedge through Silicon Valley: California’s Gavin Newsom has until September 30 to decide whether to sign legislation that will reach far beyond the state. FT

Reuters:  Mastercard to buy threat intelligence company Recorded Future for $2.65 bln 

The $200bn man: Larry Ellison’s wealth rebounds as Oracle joins AI boom: Database software maker has undergone an unlikely Wall Street renaissance. Richard Waters

Palantir is joining the S&P 500.

Mistral released its first multimodal model.

OpenAI releases new AI model that answers more complex questions: Bloomberg reports the new model, known internally as Strawberry, can handle complicated math and coding problems. 

OpenAI unveils new ChatGPT that can reason through math and science: NYT reports driven by new technology called OpenAI o1, the chatbot can test various strategies and try to identify mistakes as it tackles complex tasks.

Sarah O'Brien has departed Rivian to join Jony Ive's LoveFrom, which is reportedly in talks with OpenAI to create consumer products. 

Meta says it scraped all Australian adult users' public photos and posts on Facebook to train its AI, without an option to opt out.

Chats with AI bots found to damp conspiracy theory beliefs: Research runs counter to idea that it is nigh impossible to change some minds over popular but unevidenced ideas. FT

Bloomberg: Microsoft, cyber firms pursue changes after CrowdStrike outage

Bloomberg: Two Chinese AI chipmakers seek IPOs to mount challenge to Nvidia

+ Enflame, Biren are prepping to float shares as soon as in 2024

+ Investors are bidding up shares in AI chipmakers like Nvidia

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 11

US curbs on China tech investments in final push as election looms: Nikkei reports new administration could throw wrench in rules that focus on chips and AI.

WP: Apple, Google must pay billions in back taxes and fines, EU court rules

Apple loses landmark tax case with the EU: The Times reports that the European Court of Justice finds that Ireland granted Apple €13 billion in unlawful state aid.

Apple must pay €13bn in back taxes, top EU court rules: FT reports the European Court of Justice confirms Ireland provided ‘unlawful aid’ via tax deal and overturns a lower court decision.

Who’s paying for Apple Intelligence in new iPhones? Probably you. WP

Apple’s strategy to stay on top: A large part of the company’s revenue now comes from digital services. That has radically reshaped the company’s culture — and its appetite for risk. Bloomberg

China’s Huawei shows the world its $2,800 ‘trifold’ phone: NYT reports the latest announcement from Apple’s China rival came just hours after the unveiling of iPhone 16.

Not everyone needs to have an opinion on AI: Too many organisations feel compelled to speak out on matters outside their control. Stephen Bush

Bloomberg: Amazon to invest £8 billion in UK, continuing AWS expansion

+ Move follows similar investments announced in Spain, Germany

+ Chancellor Reeves says decision is ‘start of economic revival’

Bloomberg: TSMC’s August revenue climbs 33% as AI chip demand holds up

+ Growth is robust though down slightly from July’s pace

+ Investors have been concerned about the pace of AI spending

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 10

Google faces blockbuster antitrust case—again: WSJ reports a federal judge heard opening statements in a case alleging Google has an unlawful grip on the market for software used to buy and sell digital ads.

US argues Google created ad tech monopoly: NYT reports the tech giant went to court on Monday in a second antitrust trial, this one focused on its dominance in advertising technology software. The case could reshape its business.

Apple unveils an AI iPhone: WSJ reports the company, which has faced slumping sales in its signature product, released the iPhone 16, with an upgraded Siri, AI text editing and photo-recognition tools.

Apple launches iPhone 16 as it bets on AI future: FT reports the tech giant seeks to put new tools at centre of its flagship smartphone in effort to entice customers.

Apple unveils new iPhones with built-in artificial intelligence: NYT reports the company also showcased a new Apple Watch and AirPods that can reduce noise at concerts or near construction sites.

Apple looks to entice iPhone 16 shoppers with not-quite-ready AI: Bloomberg reports the company also debuts a new version of its lower-end AirPods.

iPhone 16 is all about Apple Intelligence. Previews show it can be kind of dumb. Testing a prerelease version of the software, I’ve found it sometimes helpful — and sometimes laugh-out-loud weird. Geoffrey A. Fowler

Nikkei: Apple unveils iPhone 16, but AI unavailable in Japanese, Chinese till 2025

AI exuberance masks broad weakness in tech sector, say investors: Many companies unconnected to artificial intelligence boom are yet to recover from post-pandemic downturn. FT

AI: too much information? Yuval Noah Harari and Parmy Olson on how the race for superintelligence may amplify the worst of human nature. FT

AI started as a dream to save humanity. Then, Big Tech took over. A new book, Supremacy, delves into the drama behind the technological revolution and how visionaries like Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis helped consolidate power among corporate giants. Parmy Olson

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 9

Military AI summit in Seoul: South Korea co-hosts Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) summit in Seoul along with the Netherlands, Singapore, Kenya and the United Kingdom. Government and military officials as well as business leaders from more than 90 countries are set to discuss responsible development and use of AI in the military sector and how to establish international norms for the matter. 

Tuesday: Global AI summit in Riyadh: Industry experts gather in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to "balance theory and reality" on the potential of artificial intelligence. 

Musk’s xAI has discussed deal for share of future Tesla revenue: WSJ reports under a proposed arrangement, the startup would give Tesla access to its artificial-intelligence technology in exchange for a slice of the carmaker’s software revenue.

Nvidia draws antitrust scrutiny as enforcers signal early interest in AI: WSJ reports the Justice Department probe of chip company highlights interest in being more aggressive than in years past.

Alibaba is expected to be added to the Stock Connect system linking Hong Kong with mainland China.

Today: Apple will unveil its latest iPhone series in Cupertino, California.

Apple’s new iPhone will use Arm’s next-generation chip technology for AI: Tech giant pushing to bring generative artificial intelligence features to its smartphones. FT

How Apple rules the world: How Apple went from underdog to $3.4 trillion global force. Bloomberg

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 6

US, Britain, EU to sign first international AI treaty: The first legally binding international AI treaty will be open for signing on Thursday by the countries that negotiated it, including European Union members, the United States and Britain, the Council of Europe human rights organisation said. Reuters

Australia proposes mandatory guardrails for AI TechRepublic

Reuters:  Snap sued by New Mexico over failure to protect children from sexual exploitation 

States are busy with new legislation regulating AI, protecting consumer privacy and promoting kids' safety online.

The 100 most influential people in AI 2024 Time

 Anthropic announced an enterprise version of its Claude chatbot.

Bloomberg: OpenAI hits 1 million paid users for business versions of ChatGPT
 
OpenAI considers pricier subscriptions to its Chatbot AI, The Information reports.

AI start-up hopes contrast with pullback in hype for listed stocks: Volatility looks like becoming the new reality in the sector on public markets. Richard Waters

Artificial intelligence could hurt oil prices over the next decade by boosting supply by potentially reducing costs via improved logistics and increasing the amount of profitably recoverable resources, according to Goldman Sachs.

The entire PC industry is counting on AI to boost the upgrade cycle and maybe even sway some Mac users over to the Windows camp.

The Internet Archive loses its appeal of a major copyright case: Hachette v. Internet Archive was brought by book publishers objecting to the archive’s digital lending library. Wired

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 5

Oprah’s upcoming AI television special sparks outrage among tech critics: AI opponents say Gates, Altman, and others will guide Oprah through an AI "sales pitch." ARS Tech

Sutskever strikes AI gold with billion-dollar backing for superintelligent AI: ARS Tech reports top venture firms back SSI to develop "safe" AI with teams in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv.

Apple needs time to be on its side for AI iPhones: WSJ reports that Wall Street is seeing moderate iPhone sales gains over the next two years, as AI features will roll out slowly.

Few have tried OpenAI’s Google killer. Here’s what they think. WP

Generative AI backlash hits annual writing event, prompting resignations: ARS Tech reports that NaNoWriMo refuses to condemn AI as accessibility tool, faces criticism from writers.

Australian government trial finds AI is much worse than humans at summarizing: Llama2-70B failed to capture "complex context," but updated models might do better. ARS Tech

AI data boom mints Australia’s latest billionaire after $16bn Blackstone deal: FT reports cricket fan Robin Khuda came to country from Bangladesh and built AirTrunk into pan-Asian business.

Nvidia and other investors back applied digital with $160 million in funding: WSJ reports the fresh capital is expected to help the data-center and AI cloud-computing company grow.

New AI standards group wants to make data scraping opt-in: The Dataset Providers Alliance wants to make AI data licensing ethical. ARS Tech

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 4

Bloomberg: Intel’s money woes throw Biden team’s chip strategy into turmoil

+ Chipmaker is actively reevaluating global manufacturing plans

+ Intel faces unclear path to biggest award from subsidy program

Texas lawmakers plan in August to unveil sweeping legislation ahead of the 2025 session that would have the Lone Star State join a growing list of states confronting potential threats from the use of artificial intelligence in the absence of congressional action.

All the news about SB 1047, California’s bid to govern AI The Verge

Companies’ AI bets are reaching astronomical heights. Why the C-Suite likes its odds anyway. The costs of adopting artificial intelligence are soaring, but so are some executives’ expectations. Steven Rosenbush

These new AI bots will do just about anything for you: Artificial intelligence-based assistants are here to take orders and book trips; they don’t need any help from humans. WSJ

Bloomberg: Long-time bull bails on ASML, warning AI potential overhyped

+ UBS analysts drop buy rating for first time since 2022

+ ASML shares slump Wednesday amid misgivings over tech hype

Nvidia’s share price slumped by 9.5% on Tuesday as part of a broader decline in American stock markets. The AI chipmaker shed nearly $300bn in market value in the biggest-ever single-day decline for an American firm.

Bloomberg: Nvidia joins $100 million funding for year-old Japan AI startup

+ New Enterprise, Khosla Ventures among those leading this round

+ Sakana AI has grown rapidly since its founding in 2023

Bloomberg: Nvidia, DuckDuckGo back AI search startup You dot com in new round

Bloomberg: Altman infrastructure plan aims to spend tens of billions in US

+ Global plan for AI would start with major push in the US

+ OpenAI’s CEO and deputies have been pitching global investors

Bloomberg: Andreessen Horowitz ditches Miami two years after opening office

Where art meets AI: The most beautiful human creations — art, music, poetry — are now in the hands of machines. Is it creative collaboration or an automated takeover. Tom Whipple

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | August 30

Russia’s military fears for its secrets after Telegram founder’s arrest: WSJ reports the platform has become a critical communications tool for Russian forces during the war in Ukraine.

Pressure on Macron over links to Telegram founder: The Times reports Pavel Durov has been charged with aiding and abetting crimes from child pornography to drug trafficking and money laundering.

Macron defends move to give Telegram's Pavel Durov a French passport: Le Monde reports speaking to reporters during a visit to Serbia on Thursday, the French president said he did not know that Durov would be coming to France.

Tech barons were untouchable. Then France came for Telegram: The prosecution of Pavel Durov reflects a growing divide between Europe and the US on free speech —  and freedom from crime. The Times

Telegram founder’s indictment thrusts encryption into the spotlight: The criminal charges against Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder, raised concerns in Silicon Valley about encryption and the app’s approach to privacy and security. NYT

Pavel Durov and the limits of free speech: Telegram has failed to distinguish between the demands of autocratic regimes and legitimate democratic requests. John Thornhill

Dubai sets global standard for ethical use of AI: Guidelines highlight importance of moral considerations in evolving landscape. Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori

Nations building their own AI models add to Nvidia's growing chip demand: Reuters reports nations building artificial intelligence models in their own languages are turning to Nvidia's adding to already booming demand as generative AI takes center stage for businesses and governments.

Elon Musk’s X braced for ban in Brazil amid fight with judge over accounts: FT reports the social media platform faced a deadline to comply with court order or be suspended in the Latin American country.

Bloomberg: Trump says he’ll announce a plan to make US the ‘crypto capital’

California AI bill passes State Assembly, pushing AI fight to Newsom: The bill, which seeks to make companies liable if their artificial intelligence harms people, is at the center of a debate over how to regulate the technology. WP

Contentious California AI bill passes legislature, awaits governor's signature Reuters

California’s divisive AI safety bill sets up tough decision for governor Gavin Newsom: State’s attempt to impose a regulatory framework on the fast-emerging technology has split opinion in Silicon Valley. FT

DC policy advisors engage in AI roundtable with DSU faculty: It’s likely that no matter what field you work in, AI is a huge part of the conversation as far as how your business is going to go forward. That’s why two senior advisors from the Center for AI Policy (CAIP) came to Madison to talk with researchers and faculty about how it can be used not only in academia but in government and business as well. Dakota News Now

+ Brian Waldrip, Government Relations Director for the Center of AI Policy, emphasized that the group wanted to learn from experts in South Dakota to address the needs particular to the region.

NYT: OpenAI in talks for deal that would value company at $100 billion

Apple, Nvidia are in talks to invest in OpenAI: WSJ reports the tech giants would join a multibillion-dollar funding round alongside Microsoft and Thrive Capital.

Apple in talks to invest in OpenAI: The Times reports the investment would be part of a new fundraising that would value the ChatGPT maker at more than $100 billion.

Google’s custom AI chatbots have arrived: The Verge you can create your own Gems — or chatbots — to help you plan gardens, edit your writing, create workout routines, and more.

WSJ: Nvidia can’t escape shadow of AI spending fears

Nvidia faces looming test on use of chips: When AI models go into widespread use in applications for consumers and businesses, demand may change. Richard Waters

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc