“Robots are great specialists, but poor generalists,” according to Google DeepMind, which says models are typically trained for individual tasks, and changing a single variable can mean starting again from scratch. Now the London-based Alphabet subsidiary thinks it’s come up with a way to combine knowledge across robotics for a general purpose machine helper. In conjunction with 33 academic labs, Google DeepMind has pooled data from 22 different robot types to create the Open X-Embodiment dataset. Simultaneously, the group releases the RT-1-X robotics transformer (RT) model derived from RT-1. Continue reading DeepMind and Academics Advance General Purpose Robots

Zoom Communications kicked off its Zoomtopia 2023 confab with innovations underpinned by artificial intelligence. It’s showpiece, Zoom Docs, is a collaboration tool built from the ground up around AI. The modular workspace integrates with Zoom and third-party apps as a way to streamline teamwork, manage projects and stay organized. Scheduled for general release in 2024, Zoom Docs combines traditional document functionality with AI assists for things like adding content generated from Zoom Meetings to docs, summarization and search. Zoom Docs leverages the power of the previously announced Zoom AI Companion, a GenAI assistant that just got whiteboard capability. Continue reading Zoom Reveals Upcoming Collaboration Tools Powered by AI

New devices to make life easier and more stylish in the home and on the go debuted at yesterday’s Made by Google event. The AI-powered Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones took center stage, packed with a Tensor G3 chipset. Event co-stars included the Pixel Watch 2, also with a processor upgrade — in this case, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5. Google’s Pixel Buds Pro got a makeover with two new colors: light blue and porcelain. The Pixel Fold and talk of the upcoming experimental launch of Google Home AI and Google Assistant with Bard were other highlights. Continue reading Google Unveils Creative AI Features for Its Pixel 8 Phone Line

Google is introducing the Chromebook Plus, a new category of its popular laptops and tablets that the company says offers AI capabilities and “double the performance” of existing Chromebooks. The new category also provides access to Google Photos Magic Eraser and Adobe Photoshop on the web, starting at $399. Google says it drew on user feedback and worked with partners at Acer, Asus, HP and Lenovo to optimize performance and add productivity. The initial eight models all feature processors that are 12th Generation Intel Core i3 or above or AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series or above. Continue reading Google Claims New Chromebook Plus Doubles Performance

In a move to put “generative AI at the fingertips of every business, from startups to enterprises,” Amazon Web Services is commercially rolling out the Bedrock service it announced in April. Bedrock offers a wide range of foundation models from Amazon’s own Titan to products from Anthropic, Stability AI and soon Meta Platforms. The fully managed Bedrock service makes its generative FMs operable through a single, simple API. This means customers can experiment with various leading FMs and customize simple apps in-house, without the need for a third-party diving into their proprietary data. Continue reading AWS Rolls Out Bedrock Generative AI Service, Adds Llama 2

Some of the nation’s biggest streaming services have banded together to form a trade group, the Streaming Innovation Alliance, that will lobby at federal and state levels for policies that support their goals. Early members include Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, The Walt Disney Company, TelevisaUnivision, ViX, BET+ and the MPA. Signing on as advisors are Washington D.C. veterans Fred Upton, who headed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Mignon Clyburn, once acting chair of the FCC. The creation of the trade group comes as new online regulations loom. Continue reading Streaming Giants Form Trade Group as New Regulations Loom

OpenAI is experimenting with new voice and image capabilities in ChatGPT. According to the company, users can now “speak with ChatGPT and have it talk back,” thanks to an intuitive new interface that, in addition to facilitating voice conversations, will allow users to show ChatGPT an image to discuss. “Snap a picture of a landmark while traveling and have a live conversation about what’s interesting about it,” OpenAI explains, alternatively suggesting you “snap pictures of your fridge and pantry to figure out what’s for dinner” or have it help with homework based on pictures of a math problem. Continue reading OpenAI’s ChatGPT Upgraded with ‘Talk’ Tech, Image Search

Amazon has entered into a strategic investment in San Francisco-based Anthropic, founded by former members of OpenAI. The AI startup will train and deploy future models using AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips to train and deploy future foundation models with AWS as its primary cloud provider. In turn, Amazon says it will invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, as it strives to compete with other technology firms in the race to develop generative AI, seeding growth for what is shaping up to be an entirely new economic and social landscape. Continue reading Amazon Plans to Invest Up to $4 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic

Passkeys — a secure way to login to accounts without passwords — are back in the news as a bevy of companies lend their support to the cryptographic technology. Windows 11, GitHub and Nintendo are among the latest to go passwordless. The standard, which began gaining momentum last year, has also been embraced by companies including Apple, Google, the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. Each passkey involves two keys — one public and registered with an online service or app, and one private and stored on individual devices, like smartphones or computers. Continue reading Windows 11, GitHub, Nintendo Are Latest to Support Passkeys

During its Surface and AI event in New York City on Thursday, Microsoft introduced a pair of new Surface laptops and an array of generative AI upgrades to Bing Chat, Windows Copilot and more. Taking center stage in hardware was the company’s more powerful Surface Laptop Studio 2 and the ultra-portable Surface Laptop Go 3. Also unveiled was the Surface Go 4 for Business, the latest miniature version of its Surface Pro tablet, and the company’s large touchscreen Surface Hub, designed for office use. Beginning this month, Microsoft rolls out Copilot — “your everyday AI companion” — in a free Windows 11 update, followed by Bing, Edge, and Microsoft 365 this fall. Continue reading Microsoft Unveils Next-Gen Surface Devices, New AI Features

YouTube announced a new AI-powered creator tool called Dream Screen and hinted at things to come at its annual Made on YouTube event last week. Rolling out on a test basis to select YouTube Shorts creators later this year, Dream Screen will generate “fantastic settings” for video backgrounds. YouTube says it will “eventually” allow creators to “instantly reimagine” their videos by typing an idea prompt that results in new content created with AI tools. The company also announced it will have AI-generated recommendations for video ideas and machine learning assistance with music track search. Continue reading YouTube Debuts AI Creator Tools for Shorts and Mobile Video

Google is implementing a plan to help its Bard AI become more competitive with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Bard Extensions will allow English-language users to expand the chatbot’s knowledge repository to data from various Google apps, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Flights and hotels, or even information stored “across multiple apps and services,” Google says. The update boosts search engine capabilities with the travel features, while providing some functionalities of a personal assistant by letting it identify missed emails or summarize the relevant points in a document. Continue reading Google Links Bard AI to Apps Including YouTube, Docs, Drive

California lawmakers have put data brokers on notice. A bill known as the Delete Act would allow consumers to require all such information peddlers to delete their personal information with a single request. The bill defines “data brokers” as any number of businesses that collect and sell people’s personal information, including residential address, marital status and purchases. Both houses last week passed the proposed legislation — Senate Bill 362 — and it now heads to Governor Newsom’s desk. If he signs it, the new law will go into effect in January 2026. Continue reading California Plans to Protect Consumer Privacy with Delete Act

Stability AI is launching Stable Audio, a music generation AI tool that uses latent diffusion to deliver what the company says is high-quality 44.1 kHz music for commercial use. Stable Audio uses a web-based interface to generate music from text prompts and duration. Because its latent diffusion model architecture has been conditioned on text metadata as well as audio file duration and start time, it defeats a problem common to diffusion for generative audio — producing cohesive musical segments as opposed to arbitrary sections of a song that start or end in the middle of a phrase. Continue reading Stability AI Develops ‘Stable Audio’ Generative Text-to-Music

The first U.S. Senate AI Insight Forum was a lively event, with xAI’s Elon Musk calling for a federal department of artificial intelligence while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg emphasized a need for transparency and Google’s Sundar Pichai stressed AI’s potential to improve the human condition with regard to things like health and energy. The three-hour meeting was organized by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) who said the crash course would address both how AI “enriches our world and opens the door to new prosperity” and how society can “minimize the very real risks.” Continue reading Tech Titans Convene in Washington for First AI Insight Forum