A scientist used machine learning to generate a list of potentially lethal compounds with high toxicity. These included molecules related to potent nerve agents like VX, a chemical warfare agent. More: - The scientist, Fabio Urbina, works for Collaboration Pharmaceuticals, a North Carlina startup specializing in AI for drug discovery.
- The company has a machine-learning system, called MegaSyn, that can churn out molecules for therapeutic drugs to treat diseases like Alzheimer's.
- In an experiment, Urbina tweaked the model to instead generate potentially lethal compounds, ranked from high-to-low toxicity.
- Six hours later, the AI had come up with a list of 40,000 molecules. Some, if not all of the compounds, were lethal, and could even be more toxic than existing chemical agents.
- A paper on the findings was published in Nature Machine Intelligence for a biological arms control conference. It refers to the AI's potential for "dual-use" — or misusing a potentially beneficial system for harmful purposes.
THE VERGE 
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 MIT's mini robotic cheetah achieved its fastest run yet using AI simulation. The cheetah improved its abilities on its own, using a model-free reinforcement learning system, which is based on trial-and-error. More: - The system comes from MIT’s Improbable AI Lab, part of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
- The cheetah relied on a simulator to learn the best way to run, using a neural network as the controller.
- The quadruped robot was then able to break its personal speed record, reaching 8.72 mph.
- The robot's engineers produced a video showing off the cheetah's skills, which include navigating different terrains like grass and ice.
POPULAR SCIENCE
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AI startup V7 Labs developed software that it says can detect fake AI-generated images of people at more than 99% accuracy. The AI software is available as a Google Chrome extension. More: - The aim is to crack down on misinformation and misleading content online, which is often propagated by fake profiles that use AI-generated photos.
- The software can detect "whether a profile picture is a genuinely real person or an AI-generated portrait," said V7 Lab co-founder Alberto Rizzoli.
- Many of the fake photos come from the publicly available site This Person Does Not Exist, which uses Nvidia's neural network StyleGAN.
- The extension works only on images created by GANs, or Generative Adversarial Networks, a type of machine-learning model used for image, video, and voice generation.
Zoom-out: - In 2020, Facebook took down more than 150 China-based fake accounts that used AI-generated faces.
- The company later took down a disinformation campaign that used fake AI-generated photos and profiles to spread falsehoods about Ukraine.
- This week, Google reported that a ransomware hacking group used AI to generate fake images to appear as legitimate employees so it could gain access to corporate computer networks.
PETAPIXEL
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Smartphone maker Xiaomi led a ~$100M funding round for Aibee, a China-based startup developing "AI total solutions." The company says it specializes in computer vision, speech recognition, natural language understanding, and more tech to help organizations improve their efficiency, productivity, and value. More: - With the fundraising round, Aibee is the latest AI unicorn, or startup valued at more than $1B.
- China Merchants Capital Management Co. also joined the fundraising.
- Aibee could potentially pursue an IPO, though that hasn't been confirmed, sources told Bloomberg.
- Aibee's partners include the main airports in Beijing and Shanghai.
BLOOMBERG
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Cresta, a startup offering AI-driven customer service for call centers, raised an $80M funding round at a $1.6B valuation. Tiger Global led the round, with participation from Genesys, Five9, J.P. Morgan Chase, CarMax, Zoom, and others. More: - Cresta's AI-powered software platform coaches customer service agents as conversations happen in real-time.
- Its platform "continuously learns" from top-performing service behaviors to offer feedback and help resolve issues, according to the company.
- Cresta said it tripled its revenue and had a Net Revenue Retention (NRR) of 210% in the past year.
- CarMax, Blue Nile, Earthlink, Intuit, and Porsche all use Cresta's software.
- The company was on Forbes' AI 50 list of promising AI startups in 2021.
- Last year it hired Ping Wu, who co-founded Google Contact Center AI, as its VP of engineering and product.
FORBES
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M&A Roundup: - Microsoft completed its acquisition of conversational AI platform Nuance Communications for an undisclosed sum.
- US.-based company Astute Imaging acquired Egyptian firm DilenyTech, which specializes in AI-assisted solutions for breast cancer screenings.
- AI cybersecurity company SentinelOne purchased Attivo Networks to expand its AI-enabled capabilities against identity-based threats.
- Customer service platform Dixa announced a $43M deal to buy AI customer service solution Miuros and conversational AI brand Solvemate.
- EdTech platform ENTITY Academy acquired ENTITY Academy, developer of AI-enabled speech analytics software for job interviews.
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Quick Hits - Connect with racing fans, car enthusiasts, and real racing legends.*
- Argentine startup Intuitivo raised $7.8M for its smart refrigerator and vending machines, which use AI and cameras to process transactions.
- Montreal's Concordia University has new co-directors leading its new Applied AI Institute.
- U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he expects to see "meaningful developments" this decade regarding federal policies that govern self-driving vehicles.
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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