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| Here's a look at today's AI briefing: - Trump accuses Democrats of using AI to generate gaffe videos.
- Apple acquires DarwinAI.
- Figure robot performs tasks, speaks with OpenAI's tech.
- Voters sue over robocalls featuring AI-generated Biden voice.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Former President Donald Trump falsely accused Congressional Democrats of using AI to fabricate videos of him fumbling or misremembering words during speeches and interviews. The videos were shown during this week's congressional testimony of Robert Hur, the former Special Counsel who investigated President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents. More: - In his report, Hur recommended against charging Biden, describing him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
- Hur's comments on Biden's memory led Democrats to show videos of Trump's own missteps, including mispronouncing "United States" as "Shates" and confusing Former President Obama for Biden.
- After the videos were shown in Hur's testimony, Trump claimed on Truth Social that "Artificial Intelligence was used by them against me in their videos of me."
- Gizmodo verified that the videos were real, and The Washington Post wrote there is "no evidence" to suggest they were AI-generated.
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| 2 | | Apple acquired DarwinAI, an Ontario-based AI startup, and incorporated its team into Apple's AI division, according to Bloomberg. The deal adds another AI company to Apple's growing portfolio. In the tech race for AI, Apple leads in the number of AI acquisitions as of 2023, securing over 30 AI startups. 
What happened: Apple purchased DarwinAI earlier this year for an undisclosed sum. The Canadian company has developed AI technology for visually inspecting components during manufacturing, and it is also known for its tech to make AI systems faster and smaller. Since the acquisition, dozens of former DarwinAI companies have now joined Apple, including co-founder Alexander Wong, who is now a director in Apple's AI group. Why it matters: While Apple has been slow to launch GenAI features, the company has been the top buyer of AI startups since 2010, buying nearly twice as many as Microsoft and three times as many as Amazon. The acquisitions could help Apple further incorporate AI into products and services, including the next operating systems for the iPhone and Macs. Apple could benefit from DarwinAI's work on compact AI systems as it seeks to run AI features on-device. | | | |
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| 3 | | Robotics startup Figure AI showcased its first humanoid robot holding a real-time conversation using OpenAI's generative AI. The video comes shortly after Figure signed a deal with OpenAI to develop next-generation AI models for its robotics systems. More: - Figure AI developed Figure 01, a human-like general-purpose robot that could eventually help with labor shortages in shipping, logistics, warehousing, retail, and manufacturing.
- In the video, Figure 01 successfully identifies kitchen items and performs tasks like collecting trash while conversing and multitasking.
- According to Senior AI Engineer Corey Lynch, the robot can now hold "full conversations" thanks to its partnership with OpenAI.
- In a post on X, Lynch said the robot can describe its visual experience, plan future actions, reflect on its memory, and explain its reasoning verbally.
- Lynch explains that images from the robot's cameras and speech transcriptions from its microphones are fed into a large multimodal model created by OpenAI.
- Figrue has said the OpenAI deal would speed up its commercial timeline.
Zoom out: - Last month, California-based Figure also announced a $675M venture capital boost from investors like Jeff Bezos, Microsoft, Nvidia, and others, valuing the company at $2.6B.
- Figure said it would use the fresh capital to hire more employees, ramp up manufacturing, and create more large language models for robotics.
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| 4 | | A nonprofit and several voters sued companies and a consultant that were behind a robocall featuring an AI-generated version of President Joe Biden's voice. The plaintiffs seek damages up to $7,500 for each recipient of the call, which was sent to between 5,000 and 25,000 people, dissuading them from voting in New Hampshire's primary election. More: - In their lawsuit, the League of Women Voters and three New Hampshire voters claim that the robocall was an illegal voter suppression attempt, violating federal and state laws like the Voting Rights Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
- The lawsuit targets two Texas companies, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, and political operative Steve Kramer, who admitted to orchestrating the robocall.
- According to Kramer, he sent out the call featuring "an automated version of President Joe Biden's voice" to thousands of Democrats two days before the New Hampshire primary in January.
- A New Orleans magician, Paul Carpenter, also said he "created the audio used in the robocall" after Kramer hired him.
Zoom out: - After the calls were made, the FCC voted in February to ban the use of AI-generated voices in scam robocalls.
- The new rule allows the FCC to fine companies using AI voices in calls and block their service providers. It also allows recipients of the calls to sue and gives states a new tool to target violators.
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| 5 | | Amazon has launched a generative AI tool that creates product pages for sellers. U.S. sellers provide a link their external website, and the GenAI feature will automatically generate product listings for Amazon's marketplace. More: - The AI creates a product page for each item, including images and a written description.
- According to an Amazon blog post, the goal is to speed up the time it takes to bring products from a seller's website onto Amazon.
- Sellers who paste a URL in the AI system must own or are licensed to use the content, Amazon said, noting that it could take legal action if sellers mispresent ownership.
- The feature will be available to all U.S. sellers in the coming weeks.
Zoom out: - Amazon already launched a generative AI tool for sellers that generates product listing content based on a few words or sentences.
- That tool, called Generative Listing Content, can provide a title, product description, bullet points, and other content.
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| 6 | | Craig Martell, the Pentagon's first AI chief, will exit his position next month, roughly two years after assuming the role. Martell left Lyft, where he served as the rideshare company's head of machine learning, to become the Pentagon's first chief digital and artificial intelligence officer (CDAO). More: - Martell will now be replaced by Radha Iyengar Plumb, the current deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
- Martell, hired last April as the Defense Department's first CDAO, was the Pentagon's top official responsible for accelerating AI, digital solutions, and data integration in the department.
- In a statement, Martell said he achieved the goals of the position, including "developing a strategy for the organization and the DOD as a whole, developing the right roadmaps to deliver on that strategy, and creating the right organizational structure to support those roadmaps."
- No reason for his departure was given. Martell did not say what his future plans are.
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- Nvidia is expected to unveil its next-gen AI processor, the B100, during its annual GTC developer conference on Monday, March 18.
- Microsoft is expanding its Copilot Pro AI subscription to 222 markets. The $20 monthly premium subscription includes access to Copilot in Office apps, Copilot GPT builds, and priority access to GPT-4 Turbo.
- Morgan Stanley has promoted veteran executive Jeff McMillan to lead the bank's AI efforts.
- Massachusetts-based Pi Health, a startup helping researchers recruit cancer patients for trials using AI, secured over $30M in a Series A funding round led by AlleyCorp and Obvious Ventures.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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