This week in AI news, tech giants are making waves with innovative AI models, but controversy arises with AI-generated robocalls and deepfakes. From new partnerships to the debut of advanced AI solutions, the industry is buzzing with excitement and concern over the potential implications of these advancements.
FTC Investigates Big Tech’s Generative AI Investments and Partnerships
The Federal Trade Commission has launched inquiries into top creators of generative AI technology, including Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The FTC aims to scrutinize recent multi-billion-dollar investments and partnerships to better understand their competitive impact. This move comes after the agency raised concerns about gen AI competition last June. The companies have 45 days to reply to the orders issued by the FTC.
Google Unveils Lumiere: A Groundbreaking AI Model for Realistic Video Generation
Google has unveiled Lumiere, a space-time diffusion model for realistic AI videos. Trained on a dataset of 30 million videos, Lumiere can generate 80 frames at 16 fps. The model allows users to generate realistic and stylized videos, edit them on command, and perform tasks such as image-to-video generation, video inpainting, and stylized generation. However, it is important to note that the source of the training data remains unclear at this stage.
AI-Generated Robocall Impersonating President Biden Urges Democrats to Skip Primary, Prompts Calls for Prosecution
An AI-generated robocall impersonating President Joe Biden has urged Democratic Party members not to vote in the upcoming primary on Tuesday. Kathy Sullivan, a prominent New Hampshire Democrat, is calling for the prosecution of those responsible, describing the incident as “an attack on democracy.” The call began with a dismissive “What a bunch of malarkey,” a phrase associated with the president, and then discouraged voting in the primary, suggesting that Democrats should save their votes for the November election. Sullivan believes the call may violate several laws and is determined to uncover the individuals behind it.
IBM Unveils AI-Powered Solution for Enhanced Digital Fan Experience at 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards
IBM has unveiled AI Stories with watsonx to enhance the digital fan experience for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards. This new AI-powered solution will accelerate and scale the Recording Academy’s editorial content capabilities around Music’s Biggest Night. Through this, the Recording Academy will be able to expand its coverage of GRAMMY-nominated artists, creating a more personalized digital experience for millions of music fans. The AI-generated content will consist of social-ready assets and longer-form coverage, engaging fans during GRAMMY livestream events.
NIST Chief AI Advisor Discusses Challenges and Importance of Setting Standards for AI Safety
The Biden administration has tasked The National Institute of Standards and Technology with setting testing parameters for ensuring generative AI systems are safe, secure, trustworthy and socially responsible. NIST’s chief AI advisor, Elham Tabassi, discusses the challenges and importance of creating standards for AI safety. The agency faces a tight deadline but is committed to the task, aiming to develop tools for guaranteeing AI safety and trustworthiness by July. NIST emphasizes the need for openness, transparency, and scientific independence throughout the process.
Nvidia Unveils “Super” GPUs and Emphasizes AI Capabilities at CES 2024
Nvidia presented its new “Super” line of GPUs and emphasized the AI capabilities of personal computers at CES 2024. The company revealed a series of RTX graphics cards that can generate video and images faster, along with a wave of “AI-ready” laptops from partners. Nvidia also announced new services for in-game avatars and highlighted customer wins in the automotive market. These developments showcase Nvidia’s push to position the PC as a powerful AI workstation for both consumer and enterprise applications.
Google Chrome introduces three new AI features in latest release, sparking privacy concerns
Google Chrome is set to enhance user experience with the introduction of three new generative AI features in the latest release of Chrome M121. These features aim to streamline browsing, offering automated tab organization, custom theme generation, and AI-powered text drafting. While the AI tools have been lauded for their convenience and creativity, concerns about privacy and accuracy have been raised. Users can access the experimental options by signing into Chrome and navigating to the “Experimental AI” page in settings.
Typeface Launches Multi-Modal AI Content Hub for Enterprises
Typeface has publicly launched its multimodal AI content hub for enterprises, joining the race to provide the latest generative AI content creation tools. This move comes as the competition intensifies with startups like Jasper and Writer, as well as offerings from Big Tech giants such as Google and Microsoft. The hub offers a range of text, image, audio, and video capabilities, setting Typeface apart from competitors by providing a single solution for all modalities of content. CEO Abhay Parasnis emphasized the focus on each customer’s specific data, content, and behavior, as well as the emphasis on safety, security, and copyright control. As enterprises shift from experimenting with gen AI to focusing on ROI, Typeface aims to meet the growing demand for efficiency and revenue growth through AI content tools.
Hugging Face and Google Partner to Advance Open AI Development
Hugging Face has teamed up with Google to accelerate open AI development. This collaboration will allow Hugging Face users to access Google Cloud services, including TPUs and GPUs, to train and serve open-source models. The partnership aims to advance developers’ ability to build their own AI models and is expected to be available in the first half of 2024.
AI Deepfakes of Taylor Swift Prompt Renewed Calls for Regulation
Explicit AI deepfakes of Taylor Swift have sparked outrage among fans and lawmakers, leading to renewed calls for regulation of AI technology. The nonconsensual imagery has prompted concern over the misuse of generative AI creation tools, prompting lawmakers to introduce bills aimed at combatting the alarming trend. Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. has proposed the AI Labeling Act and the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act to address the issue. The incident has raised questions about the need for proper oversight and regulation in the rapidly evolving technological landscape.
