This Week's Top AI & Tech Highlights from Around the Globe (Through March 17, 2024)

Hello AI Citizens,

This week in AI and tech, Figure and OpenAI Unveil Advanced Conversational Humanoid Robot, Cognition Unveils AI Software Engineer “Devin”, Interlune Aims to Harvest Helium-3 from the Moon, IBM Announces Strategic Job Cuts and Plans to Automate 8,000 Roles, India Advises Tech Giants to Regulate AI Deployments, Copilot4D: Generative AI for Predictive Traffic Modeling, and more!

Figure and OpenAI Unveil Advanced Conversational Humanoid Robot

Figure, in collaboration with OpenAI, has showcased the Figure 01 humanoid robot, capable of real-time conversation and responding to requests. This development represents a significant milestone in humanoid robotics, fueled by expertise from industry giants like Boston Dynamics, Tesla, and Google DeepMind. The robot, which began performing autonomous tasks and learning from its environment last year, now integrates OpenAI's large vision-language models and Figure's neural networks to process visual data and comprehend spoken language, enabling it to execute complex, dexterous actions without teleoperation. This progress points towards the ambitious goal of developing humanoid robots for widespread commercial use. Source: Newatlas 

Cognition Unveils AI Software Engineer Devin

Cognition has launched Devin, an AI software engineer, which operates through a chatbot interface where users input natural language prompts. Devin autonomously generates a comprehensive plan and executes it using developer tools, handling coding, debugging, and testing. It offers real-time progress updates, enabling users to monitor the project’s development closely. Source: Venturebeat.

IBM Announces Strategic Job Cuts and Plans to Automate 8,000 Roles Amid AI Upskilling Initiative

IBM has announced job cuts in its marketing and communications department, aligning with its strategic shift towards AI and technology innovation. CEO Arvind Krishna emphasized upskilling employees in AI, following plans to automate 8,000 jobs with AI processes. Competing in the enterprise AI market against giants like Microsoft and Google, IBM aims to enhance its AI offerings, like WatsonX, despite challenges in monetization and market competition. This move reflects broader industry trends towards technology-driven employment and the growing importance of AI in business strategy and operations. Source: CNBC.

Interlune Aims to Harvest Helium-3 from the Moon

Former Blue Origin executives Rob Meyerson and Gary Lai have founded Interlune, a company focused on extracting helium-3 from the moon's surface and selling it on Earth. Helium-3, scarce on our planet, holds significant value for various applications. This venture into lunar mining is likened to a modern gold rush, aiming to capitalize on the moon's resources, although the feasibility and methodology of this ambitious project still pose numerous questions. Source: Arstechnica.

India Advises Tech Giants to Regulate AI Deployments

The Indian government has issued an advisory to major tech companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI, urging them to obtain government approval before launching AI models deemed unreliable or experimental. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) emphasizes the need for clear labeling of AI-generated content and precautions against bias, discrimination, and electoral interference. This guidance primarily targets large platforms, with unclear definitions of significance and legal enforceability. The move reflects India's cautious approach to regulating AI, especially in the context of misinformation and the upcoming elections, signaling a potential shift towards stricter AI regulation in the country. Source: Reuters.

Cerebras Launches Groundbreaking Waferscale AI Chip

Cerebras has announced the release of its Wafer Scale Engine 3 (WSE-3), boasting double the performance of its predecessor while maintaining the same power efficiency. Featuring 4 trillion transistors, a 50% increase enabled by advanced chipmaking technologies, the WSE-3 is set to power a new generation of AI supercomputers. The first of these is currently being installed in a Dallas data center, aiming for a computational capacity of 8 exaflops. Source: Spectrum IEEE.

Copilot4D: Generative AI for Predictive Traffic Modeling

The startup's Copilot4D system leverages generative AI, trained with extensive lidar sensor data, to forecast traffic scenarios. When given specific driving situations, such as a high-speed highway merge, it can predict nearby vehicle movements and create a lidar-based projection of the traffic conditions 5 to 10 seconds ahead, potentially anticipating incidents like pileups. Source: TechnologyReview

Anthropic Launches Claude 3: A New Suite of Multimodal Models

Anthropic has released Claude 3, featuring three advanced language-and-vision models: Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku, each designed for different scales of use and cost-efficiency. These models, which are trained on a diverse data set, demonstrate exceptional capabilities in language processing, reasoning, and specialized tasks like science diagram interpretation and chart analysis. Opus stands out for its top performance across several benchmarks, surpassing competitors like OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini in specific areas. With competitive pricing and cutting-edge technology, Claude 3 positions Anthropic at the forefront of AI development, offering a potent toolset for developers and researchers. Source: Anthropic

Finance Sector Faces Cybersecurity Underinvestment Amid Tech Adoption

A report from McKinsey and the Institute of International Finance highlights that while financial institutions are keenly integrating technologies like cloud computing and AI, 70% acknowledge underinvestment in cybersecurity. This shortfall is evident in areas like third-party risk management, identified as a primary concern by 65% of these institutions. The report emphasizes the need for strategic investment in cybersecurity to match the pace of technology adoption, ensuring that the transformative benefits of these technologies can be realized safely. Source: McKinsey.

Russia and China Plan Nuclear Power Plant on the Moon

Russia and China are collaborating on an ambitious project to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by the mid-2030s, aiming to support future lunar settlements and exploration activities. This initiative reflects a broader resurgence in lunar exploration, with various nations and private entities proposing advanced lunar projects. Despite challenges in the space industry and questions about the viability of such a project, this plan underscores the growing interest in sustainable, long-term energy solutions for space exploration. Alongside, NASA and other agencies are exploring similar nuclear power technologies, indicating a shift towards nuclear energy as a practical power source for extraterrestrial endeavors. Source: Reuters.

Do you find these insights valuable? Are there other topics you think we should cover? Share your thoughts with us.  

Email us at [email protected].

This Week's AI Tool Highlights

• Eightify: Summarizes YouTube videos.

• Gamma: Assists in creating presentations.

• Pixelcut: Generates product photographs using AI.

• Phind: Provides coding assistance and search functionality.

• Murf.ai: Converts text to lifelike AI voices for videos, podcasts, and presentations.

Not Sure Where to Start in the AI Journey? Kickstart Your Learning with Our Free “AI Basics in 60 Minutes” Online Course!

Are you ready to take the first step towards understanding the world of AI? Don't miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge with our FREE 'AI Basics in 60 Minutes' course. Whether you're a beginner or just looking to refresh your skills, this course is the perfect starting point.

About The AI Citizen Weekly - by World AI University (WAIU)

The AI Citizen Weekly News stands as the premier source for domain-specific AI tools, articles, trends, and news, meticulously curated for over 50,000 professionals spanning top companies and government organizations globally, including the Canadian Government, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Facebook, Adidas, and many more. Regardless of your industry – whether it's medicine, law, education, finance, engineering, consultancy, or beyond – The AI Citizen is your essential gateway to staying informed and exploring the latest advancements in AI, emerging technologies, and the cutting-edge frontiers of Web 3.0. Join the ranks of informed professionals from leading sectors around the world who trust The AI Citizen Weekly for their updates on the transformative world of artificial intelligence.

For advertising inquiries, feedback, or suggestions, please reach out to us at [email protected].