Welcome to AI Future - your weekly one-stop shop for all things AI.

From the UK's ambitious strides in the AI chip market to the digital workforce behind the scenes, the world is unmistakably pivoting towards an AI-centric future. Dive into "AI Future" this week and witness the transformative ways AI is redefining our global landscape.

In the news this week:

• 🇬🇧 UK Starting To Buy Up Chips AI Operations

• 🎭 AI Projects Are Leveraging Human Labor

• 📈 Media Giants Are Upping their AI Investments

• 👮 AI Catching 300 Traffic Violations in 72 Hours

📰 AI in the News

UK's Ambitious Push into the AI Chip Market

The UK government is setting its sights on the global AI chip industry, committing £100 million to establish a foothold in this competitive sector. This investment aims to build a national AI resource in Britain, mirroring efforts seen in the US and other countries. The funds are expected to be used for ordering essential components from leading chipmakers, including Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.

The UK government is reportedly in the final stages of ordering up to 5,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia. These GPUs, vital for AI operations, can efficiently run advanced language learning models.

Important context: The UK's investment pales in comparison to the funds allocated by the EU, US, and China. The UK currently accounts for a mere 0.5% of global semiconductor sales. While the UK plans to invest £1 billion over a decade in semiconductor research and production, the US and EU have committed to $52 billion and €43 billion, respectively.

While the UK's ambition in the AI chip sector is commendable, it faces stiff competition and challenges. The nation's strategy and subsequent actions will determine its standing in this global race. (full story)

The Hidden Workforce Behind AI: Cloudwork Platforms and Their Challenges

In the rapidly evolving world of technology, AI companies are increasingly relying on online remote work, often termed "cloudwork." Platforms like Scale AI, Freelancer.com, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and Fiverr have become essential for training AI systems and ensuring they function properly. For instance, OpenAI uses platforms like Scale AI and Remotasks to label data for their applications.

While these platforms offer a vast pool of talent available 24/7, the reality for the workers on these platforms can be challenging. Many spend hours searching for jobs, often without guaranteed minimum wages. And if disputes arise, there's not always a clear resolution process, leaving workers vulnerable.

The international nature of these platforms allows them to bypass national labor regulations, creating a virtual environment where workers' rights can be overlooked. A study by the Fairwork project at the University of Oxford evaluated 15 cloudwork platforms, including popular ones like Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Shockingly, none of these platforms met more than half of the basic standards for decent work. On average, workers earned a mere $2.15 USD for their time.

Cloudwork platforms offer immense potential for AI development and other sectors, but the human cost behind them cannot be ignored. As technology advances, it's crucial to ensure that the rights and well-being of the digital workforce are prioritized. (full story)

More Stories

• While Hollywood's on strike, a whopping 96% of entertainment giants are upping their bets on generative AI (link)

• OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 is revolutionizing content moderation, slashing the process from months to hours (link

• LinkedIn reports a 21-fold surge in ChatGPT-related job postings since last November (link)

• Adobe Express, now powered by generative AI, steps out of beta and is ready for the spotlight (link)

• McKinsey's new AI chatbot 'Lilli' offers instant access to the firm's vast insights (link)

• Index Ventures secures a GPU edge for its AI startups through a strategic Oracle partnership (link)

• CEO of HeyGen Joshua Xu created an AI generated virtual clone of himself that is going viral on twitter (link)

• In a single year, AI has crafted more images that 150 years of human photography (link)

• Scientists reconstructed a Pink Floyd song with brain waves (link)

• Google's DeepMind is exploring AI's potential as a life coach (link)
  

💡 Industry Insights

🏥 Healthcare

Biological Age Estimation: Osaka Metropolitan University scientists unveil an AI model that uses chest radiographs to accurately determine a patient's biological age. Disparities between the AI-estimated age and chronological age can indicate the presence of chronic diseases, offering a novel approach to early disease detection. (link)

AI-Powered Rehabilitation: Stroke survivor Julie Lloyd is relearning to walk with the aid of "NeuroSkin," a high-tech AI-driven garment. Developed by Kurage, this "smart garment" uses electrical muscle stimulation controlled by AI to mirror the impulses from the brain to the healthy leg, recreating a natural stride. This innovative approach offers a promising avenue for stroke rehabilitation, potentially transforming the recovery journey for many. (link)

Medical Research Revolution: Harvard scientists tap into Google's cloud platform, replicating supercomputer capabilities for a groundbreaking heart disease study. This approach promises to overcome traditional computing limitations, heralding a new era of accelerated medical research and discoveries. (link)

👩‍⚖️ Legal

New York Times vs OpenAI: On an interview with NPR, 2 anonymous employees at the Times said that a lawsuit is not off the table to protect their intellectual property rights. It’s been reported that OpenAI could be fined up to $150,000 for each piece of infringing content. (link)

AI Art & Copyright: A Washington, D.C., federal judge rules that AI-generated artwork isn't eligible for copyright protection due to the absence of human authorship. The landmark decision came after computer scientist Stephen Thaler sought copyright for an art piece produced by his AI program "Creativity Machine." This ruling sets a pivotal precedent, emphasizing the necessity of human involvement in the creation process for copyright eligibility. (link)

AI Traffic Surveillance: In a bid to enhance road safety, police in Cornwall, England, deploy an AI camera system by tech company Acusensus along the A30 road. Within its initial 72 hours, the system identified nearly 300 driving offenses, including 180 seat belt violations and 117 mobile phone infractions. The AI's efficiency underscores the potential of technology in augmenting traditional traffic monitoring and enforcement. (link)

🔐 Cyber Security

AI's CAPTCHA Challenge: A recent study indicates that AI algorithms, emulating human cognitive processes, are surpassing human performance in CAPTCHA interpretation. With AI accuracy rates reaching up to 100%, compared to a human peak of 85%, the findings prompt a reevaluation of the efficacy and future of CAPTCHA as a security measure. (link)

AI in Cyber Campaigns: Google-owned cybersecurity firm Mandiant reports a rise in the use of artificial intelligence for manipulative online information campaigns. While AI-generated content, such as fabricated profile images, has been increasingly utilized in politically-driven online campaigns, its impact on other digital intrusions remains limited. Despite the surge in AI-driven campaigns, their overall effectiveness in altering the threat landscape is still in question. (link)

📈 Venture Deals

• Anthropic, an AI startup, collaborates with SK Telecom on a $100 million deal to develop a multilingual AI for global telecom services. (link)

• OneBlinc secures $100 million for AI-enhanced payroll loans, partnering with Clear Haven. (link)

• Elemental Cognition, founded by the scientist behind IBM Watson, attracts $60 million in funding in New York. (link)

• Persefoni raises $50 million to merge generative AI with environmental solutions. (link)

• Israeli AI startup specializing in smart water leak detection secures $35 million in funding. (link)

• Jada garners $25 million to integrate AI with blockchain technology. (link)

• HPC-AI Tech attracts $22 million to bolster team growth and business expansion. (link)

• US Dept. of Energy secures $16 million for groundbreaking AI research in nuclear physics. (link)

• DynamoFL receives $15.1 million to assist businesses in adopting AI-driven LLMs. (link)

• Caden AI raises $15 million, incentivizing users to share data with AI rewards. (link)

• Mercanis secures $10 million to enhance its AI-driven procurement platform. (link)

🛠️ Latest AI Tools

• Aidaptive.com: AI driven website personalization

• Zapt.ai: Discover & create amazing chatGPT apps

• Klapp.app: Remix long videos into content for Tiktok

• WaveL.ai: High fidelity voice cloning

• Saydata.tech: AI driven data visualization you can easily share

• Speechflow.io: Voice to Text API for multiple languages

• Hurd.ai: Level up your note taking with AI listening and summarization

• Vectorshift.ai: A No-Code platform for creating Generative AI apps

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