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| Here's your daily AI briefing: - IBM researchers debut brain-inspired AI chip.
- OpenAI in talks to sell employee shares at an $80B+ valuation.
- Apple cancels Jon Stewart show over disagreement on "China and AI" topic.
Also, don't miss this week's AI Talk with guest Saroop Bharwani, an entrepreneurship expert who discusses AI agents for knowledge workers and the financial services industry. Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | IBM researchers have created a brain-inspired AI chip that speeds up image recognition 22-fold compared to existing chips. The "NorthPole" chip operates faster and consumes less power than similar commercial chips, according to IBM. However, it can only run pre-programmed neural networks, not training or large language models like ChatGPT. More: - Developed over eight years at IBM's California research lab, the chip combines computation with embedded memory blocks that store information.
- It comprises 256 computing units, each equipped with its own memory.
- This allows the chip to perform tasks like image recognition more efficiently and with vastly reduced power consumption, overcoming the "von Neumann bottleneck" that slows down computer applications.
Zoom out: - Despite limited RAM and a restriction to pre-programmed neural networks, NorthPole could prove valuable in speed-critical situations like self-driving cars.
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| 2 | | OpenAI is in talks to sell employee shares in a move that would boost its valuation above $80B, nearly triple what it was six months ago. Thrive Capital is leading the tender offer to buy the existing shares from OpenAI employees. If the valuation holds, Microsoft-backed OpenAI could rank among the world's most valuable privately held companies, surpassing Stripe and Shein. 
Details: The tender offer would allow OpenAI employees to sell up to $1B worth of shares, though the final amount could be lower as some employees decide to keep their stock. The new secondary deal could boost OpenAI's valuation by at least 175% since its $300M raise in the spring. This translates to a 2.75x increase in value within six months, valuing the startup at roughly 60x its annualized revenue. Zoom out: Previously, the WSJ reported that OpenAI was considering a share sale valuing the startup at $80B to $90B. Microsoft, a 49% owner in OpenAI, made a $10B investment in the company in January, followed by the March tender offer that placed OpenAI's valuation at $29B. Why it matters: OpenAI's offer of employee stock could help it compete for AI and engineering talent and stay competitive against rivals like Google and Amazon. | | | |
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| 3 | "The Problem With Jon Stewart" on Apple TV+ has been scrapped for its third season due to disputes over the show's content, particularly the topic of China and AI, the NY Times reported. Reports speculated that ending Jon Stewart's show could be in line with Apple's goal to preserve its strong ties with China, its third-largest market. More: - According to The New York Times, creative differences between Stewart and Apple have led to the show's cancellation just before the start of its third season.
- Apple executives reportedly expressed concerns about specific topics, such as China and AI, to the production staff.
- When Apple insisted that Stewart be "aligned" on the show's topics and threatened cancellation, Stewart opted to walk away as he wanted to retain full creative control, according to THR.
Zoom out: - Apple has previously taken measures to protect its ties with the country, including directing show creators not to portray China negatively.
- Apple recently reported an 8% rise in its revenue from China. Earlier this week, CEO Tim Cook made his second visit to China this year, meeting with the country's commerce minister.
Q: Do you think it's fair for companies like Apple to influence the content of their shows? Join the conversation here. | | | |
| 4 | Chinese AI developer Zhipu has secured $342M in funding this year from investors, including Alibaba, Tencent, Ant Group, Xiaomi, HongShan, Meituan, and more. Based in Beijing, Zhipu specializes in building foundation AI models and is viewed as China's counterpart to U.S.-based OpenAI. More: - Founded in 2019 as a spin-off from Tsinghua University, Zhipu specializes in large language models similar to ChatGPT.
- So far, Zhipu has released ChatGLM-6B, a bilingual conversational AI model trained on 6 billion parameters.
- ChatGLM-6B can perform inferences using only a single consumer-grade GPU.
- Zhipu also offers GLM-130B, an open-source foundation model with 130 billion parameters, and a chatbot called Qingyan.
Zoom out: - Competing Chinese AI startup Baichuan recently secured $300M in funding from investors like Alibaba and Tencent, reaching a valuation of over $1B.
- The wave of new capital shows a surging interest in China's generative AI sector and the escalating competition between the U.S. and China in the field.
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| 5 | | The Philippine defense chief has banned the military from using AI apps that generate personal photos due to security risks. The order was issued by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. in an Oct. 14 memo. More: - Teodoro cautioned against an AI app that uses at least 10 user-submitted photos to create a lifelike digital persona, stating it poses "significant privacy and security risks."
- According to Teodoro, the AI app can be used maliciously to create fake profiles, leading to identity theft, social engineering, phishing, and other attacks.
- He ordered all defense and military personnel in the Philippines to avoid AI photo generator apps and exercise caution when sharing information online.
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| 6 | | Weekly roundup — The top AI stories you might have missed this week: - The U.S. Commerce Department announced it is tightening restrictions on the sale of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China. The new rules are part of efforts to prevent Beijing from acquiring advanced semiconductors and developing cutting-edge AI, particularly for its military.
- Nvidia and Foxconn are collaborating to build "AI factories," or advanced data centers that will support the development of self-driving cars, autonomous machines, and other cutting-edge technologies. Nvidia will supply its AI chips and software at the factories, which will process vast amounts of data.
- Universal Music Group and other publishers are suing AI company Anthropic over copyrighted song lyrics via its chatbot Claude 2. The lawsuit, filed yesterday in Tennessee federal court, claims Anthropic scraped and misused a vast number of copyrighted songs to train its AI model.
- Gary Gensler, the chairman of the SEC, warned that AI could trigger a future financial crisis without adequate regulation. In a Financial Times interview, Gensler expressed concerns that a crisis could emerge in the late 2020s or early 2030s, driven by the centralization of AI models and cloud service providers.
- A 21-year-old computer science student used a machine-learning algorithm to identify the first text in an ancient Roman scroll. The 2,000-year-old Herculaneum scroll was carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D.
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INSIDE AI LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is an editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters, with a career spanning journalism since 2007. She has written for publications including The Arizona Republic and USA Today and authored a book on the solar industry in 2016. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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