| Welcome to your latest AI newsletter! Here's a glance at today's top stories: - The Biden administration is targeting a loophole in Chinese access to U.S. AI chips.
- AI tool from Harvard and Oxford predicts virus variants.
- China proposes rules for generative AI service providers, including data source blacklist.
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | The Biden administration is exploring new measures to restrict Chinese access to U.S.-made AI chips through third-party channels. According to Reuters, the move targets a loophole that allows Chinese companies to acquire chips from Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei electronics area. More: - The U.S. unveiled new restrictions last year on the export of AI chips and chip manufacturing equipment to China.
- However, the limits have failed to stop overseas Chinese subsidiaries from accessing the chips, which are smuggled into the country or accessed remotely by China-based users.
- The U.S. government is now considering ways to close the loophole. A new rule that could add that and more restrictions is now undergoing final review.
Zoom out: - Citing national security risks, the U.S. government first unveiled the export restrictions in October 2022.
- They aim to cut off China's access to tools, chips, and software used in AI calculations, preventing them from ending up in the hands of China's military and surveillance network.
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| 2 | | EVEscape, an AI tool developed at Harvard Medical School and the University of Oxford, has the potential to predict dangerous virus mutations, which could help scientists develop better vaccines and therapies. The tool accurately forecasted new COVID-19 variants that occurred during the pandemic, according to a new study published in Nature. More: - The tool combines evolutionary sequence modeling with data about a virus's biology and structure.
- This allows EVEscape to predict the most likely variants to emerge as the virus evolves.
- In the study, researchers showed how the tool would have accurately predicted frequent mutations and concerning variants for SARS-CoV. It also made successful predictions for viruses like HIV and influenza.
- The researchers are now turning to EVEscape to forecast future variants of concern for SARS-CoV-2, which could help with developing medicines that can withstand the virus' evolving resistance.
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| 3 | China has proposed rules for generative AI service providers, which include a blacklist of prohibited data sources for AI model training. The guidelines, published by China's National Information Security Standardization Committee, also recommend security reviews for datasets and other content used to train public-facing genAI models. More: - Under the proposal, datasets containing "more than 5% of illegal and harmful information" would be blacklisted.
- This includes data that promotes terrorism or violence, seeks to overthrow the socialist system, harms China's image, or undermines its national unity and social stability.
- Censored Chinese internet data would also be barred from AI model training.
Zoom out: - The proposal comes after China finalized its broader generative AI rules this summer.
- Those rules require Chinese platform providers offering Gen AI services to the public to obtain licenses to operate.
- AI-created content is also required to "reflect core socialist values."
Q: Do you think the U.S. should follow China and create its own rules for generative AI? Share your thoughts here. | | | |
| 4 | Only 14% of decision-makers report that their business is currently using AI solutions, as revealed in Verizon Business' fourth annual State of Small Business Survey. Meanwhile, 40% of businesses remain unaware of AI's potential benefits, the poll found. 
Details: Morning Consult carried out the survey, which included responses from 681 small and midsize businesses throughout the U.S. What the numbers show: A higher percentage of respondents report using AI in the entertainment and recreation sector compared to other industries. Meanwhile, AI is seen as a solution to address labor challenges, with 35% of small and midsize businesses believing it can help offset pain points caused by labor shortages. Around 46% of businesses report seeing value in or are already using AI to streamline order processing, while an equal number recognize AI's potential to manage inventory and optimize supply chain operations. 
Still: Despite the growing interest in AI solutions, a significant number of businesses are still cautious about its adoption. Almost half, or 45%, expressed concerns about the challenges of integrating AI solutions, while 43% harbor worries that AI tools could pose cybersecurity risks. | | | |
| 5 | Captions, which specializes in AI-powered video editing tools, has introduced a new video dubbing feature. "Lipdub" translates into 28 languages, preserving the user's voice and synchronizing their lips with the translated audio. More: - Lipdub prompts users to record a video featuring only their face, then uploads and returns the video with the new language overdub in minutes.
- The app also removes filler words and reduces background noise from recordings.
- Captions boasts over 3 million app users and 100,000 daily active users.
- Founder Gaurav Misra, the former head of design engineering at Snap, believes generative AI will eventually enable real-time translation for broadcasts and video conferences.
Zoom out: - New York-based Captions recently secured a $25M Series B funding round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.
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| 6 | | Weekly roundup — The top AI stories you might have missed this week: - Google's AI-powered search feature can now generate images using text prompts directly in the search bar. The image-generating feature is a part of Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), which is currently being tested among users who sign up.
- Adobe announced new AI models and features for its Firefly generative AI image creation service. Adobe says Firefly users have already generated 3 billion images using its tools, including a billion last month.
- Nvidia canceled its AI summit in Tel Aviv, Israel, citing safety concerns amid the escalating Israel-Hamas war. The conference, planned for Oct. 15-16, would have showcased Nvidia's advancements in generative AI, with a keynote speech from CEO Jensen Huang.
- A bipartisan U.S. bill seeks to protect actors and recording artists from any unauthorized use of their AI likeness. Four Senators released a discussion draft of their Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, which bans people and companies from copying the "image, voice, and visual likeness of individuals" without the artists' permission.
- Microsoft is losing money on its GitHub Copilot AI code-generating service, according to The Wall Street Journal. The news was part of a larger story covering how tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, are grappling with the challenge of making a profit from their generative AI tools.
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| 8 | | Quick Hits: - Discover ideal customers with data segmentation with BiglySales.com's data segmentation and AI-powered Outreach.*
- Kleiner Perkins is leading a funding round in Together, a startup providing specialized semiconductors for AI. The $50M+ in equity financing would give the company a valuation above $300M before the investment.
- CD Projekt SA, a game developer, used an AI algorithm to digitally replicate an actor's voice for an expansion of "Cyberpunk 2077."
- Chinese AI-powered big data solutions startup DataCanvas bagged $41M in Series D funding from investors, including China Electronics Smart Fund and People Capital.
- The Cord SDK saved product teams at monday.com, BILL, and ThoughtSpot 12 months of developer time and $100,000s.*
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 | 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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