An AI "Resolutions Generator" powered by GPT-3 recommends whimsical (but somewhat realistic) ideas for New Year's resolutions. Developed by AI blogger Janelle Shane, the AI project is part of the Smithsonian's Futures exhibit that's available online and in-person in Washington, D.C. More: - Shane trained the AI system on some of the more unusual resolutions that people have shared online, setting its parameters wide.
- "We wanted the AI to come up with the kind of interesting resolutions we're not thinking of," Shane told the Washington Post.
- Some of the funnier ones, courtesy of WaPo journalist Steven Zeitchik, were "Change my name to one of my favorite shapes" and "Every Friday for a year I will wear a different hat."
Zoom-out: - The "Futures" exhibit opened last month at the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall as part of the Smithsonian's 175th anniversary this year.
- It also features an AWS AI-powered artwork — in the form of a two-story-tall interactive sculpture — that "translates" people's expressed feelings about the future into color and light patterns.
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An AI-guided exchange-traded fund has sold most of its FANG+ stocks, with only Apple left in its top 20 holdings, Bloomberg reports. The $170M fund, called AIEQ, sold Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, previously in its top five holdings, earlier this month. AMD and Palo Alto Networks are now in the top positions. More: - The only theme in its top 10 is cybersecurity, with the remainder ranging from cloud computing to medical devices, commercial real estate, and the chip industry, according to DataTrek Research co-founder Jessica Rabe.
- The model, powered by IBM's AI supercomputer Watson, goes through news stories, regulatory filings, management profiles, valuations, and other market data to make its assessments of ~6,000 U.S. publicly-traded companies daily.
- It's managed by a quantitative model developed by EquBot and run by ETF Managers Group LLC.
- After launching in 2017, the AIEQ fund has had a total return of ~87% compared to 101% for the S&P 500 Total Return Index.
BLOOMBERG 
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 Researchers developed a machine-learning program and brain-computer interface that enables patients to control a robotic arm's movements with their thoughts. The proof-of-concept could allow robots to perform tasks for quadriplegic patients and, eventually, be used to control wheelchairs. More: - The system uses inverse reinforcement learning, a type of AI framework based on extracting rewards from human behavior, to determine and learn what the patient wants the robot to do.
- An algorithm is connected to an EEG head cap that scans a person's brain activity. When the robot makes a mistake, the patient's brain sends out an "error signal" that's decoded in the scans.
- This tells the robot that the task was wrong. The error message is fed into the algorithm, and the robot goes through different actions, usually 3-5 new ones, in a trial-and-error process to determine which action is correct, learning over time.
- The research was led by Aude Billard, an EPFL Professor and Director of the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory, and José del R. Millán, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin.
- Their study was published in Communications Biology.
UNITE.AI
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 One of TuSimple's autonomous semi-trucks completed an 80-mile trip on public roads from Tucson to Phoenix, Arizona, without any human intervention. The truck was able to navigate on- and off-ramps, lane changes, and traffic signals without issue and also interact "naturally" with other motorists, the company said. More: - The Class 8 truck used TuSimple's Level 4 autonomous driving system to make the 1-hour and 20-minute-long trip on the night of Dec. 22.
- A scout vehicle drove ahead of the truck in case of unexpected obstacles, while law enforcement and a trailing vehicle followed just in case.
- TuSimple's 70 fully-autonomous trucks have undergone 2 million miles of testing. The company hopes to scale its tech into purpose-built trucks by 2024.
- DHL ordered 100 of its software-equipped vehicles earlier this month, bringing TuSimple total reservations to 6,875.
BARRON'S
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A bill to create AI "data libraries" for companies to access AI training data was signed into law as part of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced the bipartisan legislation to open up libraries of government datasets to the public, helping to spur AI advancements and leading to further public-private AI partnerships. More: - The Advancing American AI Innovation Act was included in the massive $768.2B NDAA that President Biden signed on Monday.
- It's based on a recommendation from the National Security Commission on AI, which encouraged access to software libraries and datasets to bolster AI technology and software advancements in the U.S.
- It directs the DoD to make the libraries of datasets available to the public. Startups and data companies, in particular, could use them to develop AI models that benefit the DoD.
- To maintain its AI leadership, the U.S. needs to "synchronize and develop" its AI capabilities in health care, manufacturing, transportation, and other fields, Portman has stated.
PORTMAN.SENATE.GOV
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🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - Hyperscience (New York, N.Y.), human-centered automation: $100M E from Global Founders Capital, Tiger, Stripes, Bessemer.
- Overjet (Boston, Mass.), dental AI software provider: $42.5M B led by General Catalyst, Insight Partners, participation from Crosslink Capital, et al.
- TandemAI (Suzhou and Shangai, China), computational platform to design and optimize drug candidates: $25M seed and pre-Series A led by OrbiMed and Chengwei Capital.
- Apella (San Francisco, Calif.), AI-based method for process improvement and quality control in surgery: $21M A led by Casdin Capital, participation from Vensana Capital, PFM Health Sciences, Twine Ventures, Upside Partnership, et al.
- Ocurate (San Francisco, Calif.), AI-based customer lifetime value prediction platform for e-commerce businesses: $3.5M from 8-Bit Capital, DCF Capital, Data Community Fund, AIX Ventures, Italmobiliare, Streamlined Ventures, et al.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our newsletter Inside Venture Capital.
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- China introduced a plan to boost its manufacturing robot density and tech innovation as it seeks to become a world leader in robotics innovation by 2025.
- Amazon said it updated Alexa after the voice assistant recommended the TikTok "penny challenge," or touching a coin to prongs of a half-inserted plug, to a 10-year-old in the U.S.
- Elon Musk said his Neuralink brain implant could place users fully in VR.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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