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| 1 | | Google CEO Sundar Pichai has agreed to work with European lawmakers on an "AI Pact," which aims to establish voluntary rules on safe AI development ahead of official legislation. Under the plans, Google would collaborate with major AI actors on the regulations, which would be optional. More: - Pichai and EU industry chief Thierry Breton recently met in Brussels to discuss the pact, which would involve input from companies in Europe and beyond.
- European Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager also met with Pichai. In a tweet, she said that AI technology is evolving at a rapid pace and that a voluntary agreement on universal AI rules is needed now.
- The goal is to create the guidelines in advance of the EU's proposed AI Act, a draft AI law that would be the world's first rules governing AI.
- The law categorizes AI technologies as high-risk, unregulated, or banned, with certain technologies like emotion recognition and predictive policing falling into the banned category.
- Final approval is anticipated by spring 2024, with companies and stakeholders getting two years to comply.
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| 2 | | What happened: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is the latest to join a growing chorus of prominent people concerned about the risks of AI. Details: Speaking at The WSJ's CEO Council Summit, Schmidt said he believes AI represents an "existential risk" that could cause harm to many people. In the future, AI systems could uncover cyber vulnerabilities and new areas of biology, he said. "When that happens, we want to be ready to know how to make sure these things are not misused by evil people," according to the executive. Dig deeper: Schmidt, Google's CEO from 2001 to 2011 and a former chair of the National Security Commission on AI, did not propose a clear solution for regulating AI, which he said remains a "broader question for society." He was also doubtful that the U.S. would establish its own AI-specific regulator. The big picture: In March, industry leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, signed a letter urging a six-month pause in advanced AI development to review safety and ethics. Other leaders who have recently advocated caution with AI include "Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton, AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, and Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque, who argued that the AI labs themselves say the technology could pose an existential threat. What the numbers say: According to a Monmouth University Poll, a majority or 55% of Americans are now at least somewhat worried that AI machines could one day pose a threat to human existence. 73% believe autonomous machines would harm jobs and the economy, with 56% expressing concerns about the negative impact on quality of life. 
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| 3 | | A brain-reading device empowered by AI has successfully restored a paraplegic man's ability to walk. Using adaptive AI algorithms, the "digital bridge" device decodes a patient's real-time movement intentions from brain recordings. The device could help restore mobility and control in stroke patients and those with spinal cord injuries. More: - Swiss and French neuroscientists developed the brain-machine interface, which uses wireless signals to reconnect the brain with muscles that were paralyzed due to spinal cord damage.
- Electrodes are implanted in the patient's brain to detect neural activity when they attempt leg movements.
- An AI algorithm then translates the brain signals and sends pulses to electrodes in the spine, stimulating muscles and nerves to produce movement.
- Thanks to the device, Gert-Jan Oskam, who was paralyzed in a 2011 cycling accident, can now stand, walk short distances, and climb stairs.
- Despite not achieving smooth strides, Oskam can control standing and walking through his thoughts.
- The findings from EPFL researchers and Swiss hospitals were published in Nature on Wednesday.
Credit: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne | | | |
| 4 | | Elon Musk suggested that he could leverage technologies from Twitter and Tesla to use in his new AI business. Speaking at Tuesday's WSJ CEO Council Summit, Musk emphasized the need for a strong third player in the AI business to compete against Google and Microsoft. More: - Musk hinted at the involvement of Twitter and Tesla in his own AI venture, similar to Microsoft's and OpenAI's collaboration.
- He also said he believes there "should be a significant third horse in the [AI] race," after Microsoft/OpenAI and Google DeepMind.
- During the WSJ event, the CEO also said he believes there is "a small likelihood" that AI will destroy humanity, "but it's not zero."
- His remarks come after Musk formed a new AI company, called X.AI Corp., in March.
- The name reflects the new branding of Twitter, which was recently merged into Musk's new shell firm, X Corp.
Zoom out: - Musk was an early investor in Google-owned AI lab DeepMind, as well as a co-founder and financial backer of OpenAI.
- He severed ties shortly before OpenAI added its for-profit business segment in 2019.
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| 5 | | Meta Platforms began its final round of recent layoffs today, impacting an estimated 6,000 employees as part of its "Year of Efficiency" initiative. The Facebook parent company announced plans to cut 10,000 positions in April and May, alongside its increased investment in generative AI. The status of Meta's AI employees remains uncertain. More: - In announcing the layoffs in March, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta's single largest investment is advancing its artificial intelligence and building AI "into every one of our products."
- Meta also recently formed a "top-level product group" that's focused on generative AI technologies, specifically, building experiences around AI technology.
- Zuckerberg aims to make Meta a leader in generative AI by incorporating AI-generated content into consumer products.
Job reductions: - Despite its ongoing investment in AI, Meta continues to reduce its workforce, with the latest round primarily affecting its ad sales, marketing, user experience, recruiting, and partnership teams.
- The job cuts bring the total to around 21,000 since November, reducing Meta's global workforce by 25%.
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| 6 | | 🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - Anthropic, the startup behind the AI chatbot Claude, raised $450M in fresh funding led by Spark Capital, bringing its total funds raised to date to over $1B. Google, Salesforce Ventures, Sound Ventures, and Zoom Ventures participated in the funding round.
- British AI-powered mobile app development startup Builder.ai raised $250M in Series D funding led by Qatar Investment Authority, with participation from Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures, and Insight Partners.
- Turkish AI firm Insider secured $105M in fresh funding at a $2B valuation. Qatar Investment Authority and Esas Private Equity provided the funding.
- Sunnyvale, California-based humanoid robot startup Figure nabbed $70M capital led by Parkway Venture Capital with additional support from Adcock, Aliya Capital, Bold Ventures, Tamarack Global, and FJ Labs.
- Brain-computer interface maker Paradromics secured $33M through a Series A round led by Prime Movers Lab, with additional backing from Westcott Investment Group, Dolby Family Ventures, and Green Sands Equity.
- General Catalyst led a $17.3M Series A funding into Adonis, a provider of an AI-driven payment collection process for healthcare providers and insurance companies. Existing backers Bling Capital, Max Ventures, and Homebrew backed the current financing.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our Inside Venture Capital newsletter. | | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Hack your gut health with the top founder-endorsed probiotic. Get 40% off Seed's DS-01® — code INSIDE40.*
- Opera has opened up testing of its AI side panel, "Aria," powered by ChatGPT. The tool acts as a web and browser expert, assisting with information retrieval, text/code generation, and more.
- An AI visual language model from Google DeepMind can now analyze YouTube Shorts videos and automatically provide a description in the metadata, improving video search.
- U.K.-based VC firm Moonfire Ventures raised $115M in capital toward its second fund that aims to back AI, web3, AR/VR, and other startups.
- Forbes' Bernard Marr shared his picks for the 29 best free courses, guides, and tutorials covering ChatGPT.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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