🤯 Mind-Bending AI News & Breakthroughs (Through Sept. 8) 📬

Hey folks,

Welcome to this week's edition of The AI Citizen newsletter! If you're not already subscribed, you're missing out on emails packed with mind-bending AI breakthroughs and trends—so fix that. It’s not too late. You won’t be able to escape the AI revolution anyway. Go here.

Here’s what we’ve got lined up for you this week:

• VCs just dropped $1 billion on a startup that claims it’s going to build SuperIntelligence. Yep, we're officially funding the future Skynet.

• Elon Musk's Neuralink? It’s now helping people play Counter-Strike with their minds (because thumbs are so last century).

• AI Agents are making life weirdly easy. From building entire apps to booking your flights—at this rate, we’ll soon be obsolete?

• Finance professionals are starting to sweat as AI tightens its grip on their jobs.

• And then there's Roblox—using GenAI to craft 3D worlds. Today, it's games... tomorrow, digital realities indistinguishable from our own. No big deal, right?

Scroll down to dive into the chaos. Also, don’t miss this week’s AI tools and demos—we’re handing you the keys to become an AI SuperHuman. If you’re not already, join our AI SuperHuman program to level up. Superhero capes not included (yet).

Let’s dive in!

#1 Top AI & Tech News and Trends
(Through August 18th, 2024)

New AI Model 'Reflection 70B' Beats the Competition with Self-Correction Capabilities

Matt Schumer's latest open-source AI model, Reflection 70B, is making waves by outperforming both open-source and closed-source models, including top-tier models like GPT-4 and Claude 3.5. Reflection 70B introduces a novel technique called "reflection tuning," enabling the model to identify and correct its own mistakes during inference. Early benchmarks show Reflection 70B achieving near-perfect scores across multiple AI evaluation tasks. Available now on Hugging Face, this breakthrough could redefine the standards for open-source AI models. Schumer hints at an even more powerful 405B model coming soon! Source: Venture Beat

Ilya Sutskever’s New AI Startup Raises $1B to Develop Safe Superintelligence

Ilya Sutskever, co-founder of OpenAI, has launched a new venture, Safe Superintelligence (SSI), securing $1 billion in funding with a valuation of $5 billion. Backed by major investors like Andreessen Horowitz, NFDG, and Sequoia Capital, SSI aims to build AI systems that surpass human capabilities while ensuring safety. The startup, with teams in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv, is set to make waves in the ongoing debate around AI safety. With Sutskever at the helm, SSI is a company to watch closely. Source: Reuters

Roblox to Introduce Generative AI for Instant 3D World Creation

Roblox has announced plans to introduce a generative AI tool that will enable creators to generate complete 3D environments using text prompts. With this new feature, developers on the platform will be able to input commands like "Create a racetrack in the desert," and the AI will automatically build the scene. Users can further customize or expand their creations, such as altering the time of day or switching the setting from a desert to a forest. Source: MIT Technology Review

The Hype Around AI's Influence on Elections May Be Overstated

There has been widespread concern that AI-generated deepfakes and personalized political ads could heavily influence voters. However, as a significant number of this year’s elections have already passed, the early evidence suggests that these fears may be exaggerated. Despite initial alarmist claims, AI's actual impact on elections appears to have been much less dramatic than predicted. Source: MIT Technology Review

AI’s “Tom Cruise Problem” and the Reversal Curse: A Limit to Its Potential?

Large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4 face a notable issue dubbed the "Tom Cruise problem," where they struggle with reversing relationships between facts. For example, while an LLM might identify "Tom Cruise’s mother as Mary Lee Pfeiffer," it often fails to answer "Who is Mary Lee Pfeiffer's son?" This limitation, known as the "Reversal Curse," highlights how LLMs learn token patterns rather than true reasoning. Coupled with their difficulty handling outliers and complex logic, some experts warn that AI may fall short of achieving its loftiest goals. Source: The Guardian

Amazon's AI Assistant Revolutionizes Software Development, Saving $260M and 4,500 Developer-Years

Amazon's AI assistant, Amazon Q, has transformed the software development process, saving the company $260 million and reducing 4,500 developer-years worth of work. What once took 50 developer days to upgrade applications to Java 17 can now be done in just a few hours. Additionally, 79% of AI-generated code reviews were shipped without any changes, according to CEO Andy Jassy. This is a glimpse into how AI is not only accelerating development but reshaping the entire role of software engineers.. Source: Yahoo Finance.

Neuralink Breakthrough: Playing Counter-Strike 2 with Your Mind

A Neuralink patient, Alex, is using his brain implant to play Counter-Strike 2, marking a significant breakthrough in brain-machine interfaces. After losing control of his limbs due to a spinal injury, Alex can now aim in the game using only his thoughts, while moving with a mouth-operated joystick. The Neuralink device, designed to assist quadriplegics, also allows Alex to work with 3D design software, showcasing its broader potential. This highlights Neuralink’s advancements in human-computer integration​. Source: Vice.

AI Threatens Finance Jobs: Who's Most at Risk?

A new study shows finance and insurance professionals are fully exposed to AI disruption, especially higher-educated workers. While AI complements some high-wage roles, it poses a greater replacement risk for low-wage jobs, increasing economic inequality. Source: Investment Executive.

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

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