The Week in NextTech: Round-Up 30/06/23

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In today’s news:

  • On This Day
  • 2 AI Truths and a Lie
  • OpenAI plans to launch the app store of AI
  • Midjourney 5.2 released
  • Bitcoin hit its highest price in a year
  • More NextTech stories
  • Graph of the Week
  • NextTech Mergers, Funding, and Acquisitions
  • The Latest NextTech reads from LXA

This week's NextTech news is protesting. 

Pause AI, a grassroots protest group, calls for a halt to the development of AI across the world. 

Now, AI probably won't wipe out humanity. But it's not just the grassroots that are worried.

Top figures in the industry, including the CEOs of prominent AI laboratories such as Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic, came together to endorse a letter recognizing the grave "risk of extinction" associated with artificial intelligence.

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Adding to this, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, made a groundbreaking admission by publicly acknowledging his belief that AI poses an existential threat to humanity.

But the emergence of smaller groups like this shows a growing worry surrounding the effect of the tech. It's time to figure out how to fight a robot. 

🤫 One AI Project and Two Lies

Play along at home. Out of these three wacky AI projects, two are fake, and one is real. So, which of these new AI projects is unreal, and which is ugh, for real?! (Check at the bottom of the newsletter for the reveal!)

Art Attack.

This AI can analyse paintings and other artworks and provide feedback on their composition, style, and meaning. It can also be used to generate art recommendations.
 

Psst...Meow.

This AI can communicate with your pets and understand their needs. So, if your cat is meowing at you all night, you can just ask the AI what it wants and it will tell you. It's probably more food.
 

I See a Future...in Your Future

This AI will predict your future, but for some unknown reason, it will only tell you the bad things that are going to happen. Lovely.

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📰 OpenAI plans to launch the ‘app store' of AI

OpenAI is reportedly considering launching an app store for AI models. This would allow developers to sell their AI models built on top of OpenAI's own AI technology. The app store would be similar to the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, but instead of selling apps, it would sell AI models.

OpenAI has not yet announced any specific details about the app store, such as when it will launch or what kind of models will be available. However, the company has said that it is "exploring the possibility" of creating an app store for AI models.

If OpenAI does launch an app store for AI models, it could have a significant impact on the AI industry. It would make it easier for developers to create and sell AI models, and it would also make it easier for businesses to find and use AI models.

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It is still too early to say what the impact of an AI app store would be. However, it is clear that OpenAI is serious about making AI more accessible to businesses and developers. An AI app store could be a major step towards that goal.

Here are some of the potential benefits of an AI app store:

  • It would make it easier for developers to create and sell AI models. Currently, there is no centralised marketplace for AI models. This makes it difficult for developers to find buyers for their models, and it also makes it difficult for businesses to find the models they need. An AI app store would solve this problem by providing a central marketplace where developers and businesses can connect.
  • It would make it easier for businesses to use AI models. Currently, businesses that want to use AI models have to go through a complex process of finding, evaluating, and integrating the models. An AI app store would simplify this process by providing a curated selection of models that have been vetted by OpenAI.
  • It would help to promote the adoption of AI. By making AI models more accessible, an AI app store could help to accelerate the adoption of AI by businesses. This would have a positive impact on the economy and society as a whole.

Of course, there are also some potential risks associated with an AI app store. For example, there is a risk that the app store could be used to spread harmful or malicious AI models. However, OpenAI has said that it will take steps to mitigate these risks, such as by requiring developers to submit their models for review before they can be listed on the app store.

Overall, the potential benefits of an AI app store seem to outweigh the risks. If OpenAI is able to successfully launch an AI app store, it could have a major impact on the AI industry and society as a whole.

But they're not the only ones thinking this way. Amazon's also competing on the AI app front.

In contrast to Microsoft and Google, Amazon has taken a different approach by not rushing to develop the next ChatGPT.

Instead, it aims to curate the finest "ChatGPT" models and bring them together in a single convenient location, leveraging its expertise as a marketplace platform.

According to Semafor, Amazon has already started providing access to numerous foundational models from Stability, Falcon, and Anthropic through its "SageMaker JumpStart" marketplace.

The best selections will be accessible within Bedrock, Amazon's enterprise AI solution. Here's what they are offering to AWS's extensive client base of over 100,000:

  1. Choose from a wide range of  AI models.
  2. Customise and optimise them using your proprietary data and intellectual property.
  3. Efficiently search your data, receive assistance in decision-making, and automate problem-solving tasks.

📰 Midjourney 5.2 released

Midjourney 5.2 was released on June 21, 2023. This new version of Midjourney includes a number of new features and improvements, including:

  • A new Zoom Out feature that allows users to expand an original image, broadening its scope while maintaining the details of the original image.
  • A new Make Square tool which allows users to create square images from rectangular images.
  • An enhanced Stylize command that allows users to more precisely control the style of their images.
  • A number of bug fixes and performance improvements.

Midjourney 5.2 is available to all users who have an active subscription.

📰 Bitcoin hit its highest price in a year

Bitcoin hit its highest price in a year on June 23, 2023, when it reached $31,410. This is a significant increase from its price of around $20,000 at the beginning of the year.

There are a number of factors that could be contributing to Bitcoin's recent surge in price. These include:

  • Increased institutional investment. More and more institutional investors are starting to invest in Bitcoin, which is helping to drive up the price.
  • Rising inflation. As inflation continues to rise, investors are looking for assets that can protect their wealth from inflation. Bitcoin is seen as a good hedge against inflation because it is a limited asset with a fixed supply.
  • Growing adoption. Bitcoin is becoming more widely adopted as a form of payment and investment. This is helping to increase demand for the cryptocurrency and drive up the price.

It is important to note that Bitcoin is a volatile asset, and its price can fluctuate wildly. It is possible that the price of Bitcoin could fall back down in the future. However, the long-term trend for Bitcoin is upwards, and it is likely to continue to appreciate in value over time.

As Bitcoin's price has risen, investors have been looking for other cryptocurrencies to invest in. This has led to an increase in demand for altcoins, which has driven up their prices.

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Some of the altcoins that have seen the biggest gains in recent weeks include Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana. These altcoins all have strong fundamentals and are seen as having the potential to disrupt traditional industries.

Of course, it is important to remember that altcoins are still a very risky investment. Their prices can fluctuate wildly, and there is always the risk that they could lose all of their value. However, if you are willing to take on the risk, altcoins could be a good way to diversify your cryptocurrency portfolio.

📰 Artificial Intelligence May Create More Jobs Than It Kills

Hey, we've got some positive AI updates for you. Now, that is breaking news. 

A research paper published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research is giving a little bit of hope to all stressed marketers out there. 

The findings? Well, AI is helping, not harming jobs.

The researchers examined the relationship between labour market developments and the emergence of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and software, across 16 European countries from 2011 to 2019.

Analysing occupation data at the 3-digit level in Europe, they discovered that, on average, occupations more exposed to AI experienced an increase in employment shares.

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This trend was particularly noticeable in occupations with a higher proportion of younger and skilled workers, aligning with the Skill Biased Technological Change theory.

While there were variations among countries, only a small number of them exhibited a decline in employment shares for occupations more susceptible to AI-enabled automation.

These differences among countries appeared to be associated with the pace of technology diffusion, educational levels, as well as product market regulation (competition) and employment protection laws.

Conversely, when examining wages, the researchers found limited evidence to suggest a significant relationship between wages and potential exposure to new technologies.

The study reveals that the surge in "deep learning" over the past decade resulted in a favourable connection between job expansion and occupations heavily influenced by artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, high-skilled jobs, like office positions involving data-related tasks, experienced a substantial increase in the labour market. According to one measure, the growth in the labour pool for high-skilled jobs reached nearly 7%.

On the other hand, the study found that lower-skilled jobs with limited exposure to AI and software automation were not significantly affected, either positively or negatively. These occupations maintained their stability without experiencing notable changes.

👉Here's a summary:

  • AI is not as harmful to jobs as some people have feared.
  • In fact, AI can actually help to create jobs, especially in high-skilled occupations.
  • The impact of AI on jobs will vary depending on the country and the specific industry.
  • It is important to invest in education and training to prepare for the future of work.

📰WinGPT is ChatGPT for Ancient Windows PCs

An individual has developed an app called WinGPT specifically for Windows 3.1 PCs, bringing a basic version of OpenAI's ChatGPT responses to these ancient machines running on a 386 chip. Interestingly, the same enigmatic developer behind Windle, a Wordle clone for Microsoft's Windows 3.1 operating system, is responsible for creating WinGPT.

A screenshot of a new WinGPT app running on Windows 3.1

In a Hacker News thread, the developer shares, "I didn't want my Gateway 4DX2-66 from 1993 to miss out on the AI revolution, so I created an AI Assistant for Windows 3.1 using the OpenAI API."

WinGPT is programmed in C using Microsoft's standard Windows API and establishes a connection to OpenAI's API server using TLS 1.3, eliminating the need for a separate modern PC. This presented an intriguing challenge in getting the app to run on Windows 3.1, particularly in managing the memory segmentation architecture of 16-bit Windows versions and constructing the app's user interface.

WinGPT is a new ChatGPT app for your ancient Windows 3.1 PC - The Verge

The icon file for WinGPT was crafted using Borland's Image Editor, which, according to Neowin, is a Microsoft Paint clone capable of creating ICO files. It should be noted that due to limited memory support, the ChatGPT responses in WinGPT are concise and cannot handle the context of conversations.

This Week in Numbers 

10%

Meta only needs 10% of their users to download Barcelona (their Twitter alternative) to beat Twitter. 

200M

WhatsApp revealed that its small business-focused app has quadrupled in monthly active users, to more than 200 million, over the past three years.

$243M

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly misused commingled customer funds to purchase over $243 million in luxury Bahamian properties for employees and their families.

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💰Graph Of The Week

The global generative AI market size was estimated at USD 10.79 billion in 2022 and is projected to hit around USD 118.06 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 27.02% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032. U.S. generative AI market was valued at USD 2.7 billion in 2022.

Generative-AI-Market-Size

✍️ NextTech Mergers, Funding, and Acquisitions

Who's making dough, who's laying low, and who's in a constant state of "Oh, God, no"? It's time to find out, with LXA's NextTech News Round. 

✍️Databricks acquired MosaicML (a platform to train models on your data) for $1.3B

✍️ Fintech startup Ramp is buying Cohere.io, an AI-powered customer support startup.

💰Captions, a service to help creators streamline video production, raised a $25 million Series B.
 
💰CalypsoAI, which validates AI apps before they launch, raised $23 million.
 
💰WAVS AI, an AI music platform, raised $20 million.

💰 Thomson Reuters is shelling out $650 million in cash for Casetext (a legal AI company

✍️Databricks acquires MosaicML for $1B

💰Workflow automation startup Parabola raises $24M

✍️Silo AI acquires Amsterdam’s Machine2Learn

🤫 One AI Project and Two Lie Reveal:

 

This ain't no paint by numbers. The Art Attack AI is real!

✒️ The Latest NextTech Reads from LXA

Is AI Killing SEO?

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Best AI Tools To Use In 2023 For B2B

We've put together a list of the top tools you need to be the best AI-drive B2B company out there. Just for you. 😘 Yes, that's right, it's the best AI tools to use in 2023! From AI copywriting tools...Read more




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