| Here are today's top AI stories: - AI-generated Biden robocall traced back to two Texas companies.
- Meta will start labeling images created with third-party AI tools.
- Palantir's stock surges amid record quarterly profit and demand for AI platform.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | An AI-generated robocall mimicking President Joe Biden has been traced back to two Texas-based telecommunications companies: Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, according to New Hampshire's attorney general. No charges have been filed over the AI calls, which featured a voice similar to Biden's encouraging New Hampshire voters not to cast ballots in the primary election. More: - New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella opened an investigation into the calls, which occurred days before the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23.
- On Tuesday, Formella identified Walter Monk as the owner of Life Corporation. The AG's office sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company ordering it to "immediately desist" any violations of state election laws, he said.
- The office is issuing preservation notices and subpoenas to Life Corporation, Lingo Telecom, and others, with Formella noting the ongoing investigation may involve more entities beyond those named.
- The Federal Communications Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter against Lingo.
Zoom out: - The fake message, mimicking Biden's voice, wrongly told New Hampshire residents that voting in the primary would prevent them from voting in the November general election.
- The AG's office said the robocalls appeared to be an illegal attempt to disrupt the primary and suppress voters.
- Biden won New Hampshire with nearly 64% of the vote as a write-in candidate despite not being on the primary ballot.
|     | |
| 2 | | Meta announced it will start labeling images created using third-party AI tools such as OpenAI, Midjourney, and Google. The move comes after Meta's own Oversight Board criticized the company's "incoherent" manipulated media policy in a decision regarding an altered video of U.S. President Joe Biden. More: - In a blog post today, Meta Global Affairs President Nick Clegg said Meta is working to identify and label AI-generated images on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
- The company already adds a watermark to images generated with its own Imagine AI generator, a policy that will be extended to AI photos created using outside tools.
- Meta is partnering with AI tool developers to establish common technical standards, such as invisible metadata or watermarks in images, to identify AI-generated images made with their tools.
- Clegg still warned that it's "not yet possible to identify all AI-generated content."
Zoom out: - Platforms like Meta are bracing for the first major elections this year since consumer AI tools have made it easier to produce convincing deepfake videos and audio.
- Meta is also requiring advertisers to disclose their use of AI in certain political or social issue ads.
| | | |
| 3 | | Shares of Palantir surged 30% on Tuesday after the data analytics company reported a record quarterly profit fueled by booming demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). Palantir CEO Alex Karp noted in a shareholder letter that there is "unrelenting" demand for AI platforms, including large-language models, across industries. More: - Palantir's latest earnings report highlighted a 20% rise in Q4 revenue to $608M. Its 2023 net income of $210M marks its first profitable year, surpassing analyst estimates of $194.5M.
- Karp noted in the shareholder letter that Palantir's generative AI-based platform is drawing new revenue and attracting customers.
- The platform is designed to incorporate large language models, like OpenAI's GPT-4, into privately operated networks.
- Palantir has said the AIP can be used by militaries to aid in battlefield decision-making and intelligence by tapping into AI models.
- A video demo shows an AI-powered chatbot used for tasks like drone reconnaissance, attack planning, and disrupting enemy communications.
| | | |
| 4 | | Three students won $700,000 for using AI to decode part of a Roman scroll buried by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD, which also destroyed Pompeii. The winning team, made up of Youssef Nader in Germany, Luke Farritor in the U.S., and Julian Schilliger in Switzerland, successfully deciphered over 2,000 previously unread Greek letters from the burned scroll. More: - Using an AI trained to read ink on surface and hidden layers, the team was able to decrypt about 5% of the scroll, according to contest organizer and tech entrepreneur Nat Friedman.
- The scroll, likely authored by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, discusses music, food, and the enjoyment of life's pleasures, focusing on how these elements contribute to happiness in Epicurean philosophy, Friedman wrote on X.
- The findings were part of the Vesuvius Challenge, an AI competition aimed at deciphering words in the Herculaneum papyri.
- Farritor, a 21-year-old computer science student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, previously used machine learning to decipher the first Greek letters on several lines of one of the unrolled scrolls. The word was "πορφυρας" (porphyras), meaning "purple dye" or "clothes of purple."
Zoom out: - University of California, Irvine data suggests that just 3% to 5% of ancient Greek texts have survived.
- Robert Fowler, emeritus professor of Greek at Bristol University and chair of the Herculaneum Society, said that hundreds of the scrolls are still waiting to be deciphered, calling the latest revelation "a complete game-changer."
| | | |
| 5 | | IBM had the most U.S. patent applications for AI technology over the last five years, beating out Google, Microsoft, and Samsung, according to an IFI Claims analysis. 
What the numbers show: As first reported by Axios, IBM had 1,591 AI-related patent applications, followed by Google with 1,037, Microsoft's 695, and Samsung's 608. Of those AI-related patents, generative AI accounted for 22%. Meanwhile, AI patent grants have grown by a 16% annual rate over five years, while applications — a key indicator of sought-after technologies — have shot up by 31%. Why it matters: Despite being more reserved about its AI initiatives compared to other Big Tech companies, IBM seems committed to its research in the field. Worth a mention: Surprisingly, OpenAI didn't even rank in the top 25 for AI patents, with IFI Claims finding fewer than five. This is unexpected for a knowledge-based organization, IFI says, suggesting possible non-public filings or a strategy of maintaining trade secrets to protect its technology. | | | |
| 6 | | AI Events and Conferences: - Generative AI for Marketing Summit: Feb. 27-28, London, U.K.
- AAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Feb. 20-27, Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Nvidia GTC AI Conference & Expo: March 18-21, San Jose, California, and virtual.
- World Summit AI Americas: April 24-25, Montreal, Canada.
- Data Innovation Summit: April 24-25, Stockholm, Sweden, and online.
- Enterprise Generative AI Summit West Coast: May 21-22, Silicon Valley, California.
- AI Expo Tokyo: May 22-24, Tokyo, Japan.
- Data Cloud Summit 2024: June 3-6, San Francisco.
- SuperAI: Jun. 5-6, Singapore.
- 2024 IEEE Conference on Artificial Intelligence: June 25-27, Singapore.
- The AI Conference: Sept 18-19, San Francisco.
| | | |
| 7 | | QUICK HITS - Diversify your portfolio like institutional investors. Access high-yield private credit deals with up to 20% APY.*
- EU officials have agreed on legislation to criminalize the sharing of explicit deepfakes, as well as revenge porn and online harassment, by mid-2027.
- Entrust is acquiring AI identity verification startup Onfido, with a deal value "well above" $400M, TechCrunch reports.
- The re-election campaign for Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal has confessed to the use of ChatGPT to create fictitious news articles about the sheriff, which have since been deleted from its website.
- H&R Block's AI Tax Assist, its AI tool to help with tax filing, is now using the latest models from Microsoft Azure OpenAI.
- Ikea's AI assistant has launched on OpenAI's GPT Store, detailing and visualizing Ikea products in rooms.
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | MAR
7 | | Portfolio Diversification - Learn from knowledgable experts on the latest trends in alternative investment assets like private equity, crypto, real estate, and the art market. | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
| |
| |
Comments
Post a Comment