Meta Platforms has unveiled a new generative artificial intelligence language system called LLaMA, which doesn’t chat, but is designed as a research tool the company hopes will help “democratizing access in this important, fast-changing field.” The LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI) ranges in size from 7B to 65B parameters. Touted as a “smaller, more performant model,” LLaMA enables those members of the research community that do not “have access to large amounts of infrastructure to study these models,” Meta explains. Training smaller foundation models requires less computing power and resources for testing and validation. Continue reading Meta Says Its LLaMA AI for Researchers Does More with Less

Artificial intelligence clearly is modeled after humans in that it has revealed itself to be imperfect. In the past week, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has mesmerized the public even as The New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose famously labeled it “unhinged.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is using the moment to clarify the company’s priorities, posting on Friday an apologia-cum-mission statement. If the company is successful at mass deployment of artificial general intelligence (AGI), it “could help us elevate humanity by increasing abundance, turbocharging the global economy, and aiding in the discovery of new scientific knowledge,” Altman wrote. Continue reading OpenAI CEO Details the Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence

Snapchat is launching My AI, a new chatbot running a customized version of the latest GPT technology from OpenAI. Available as an experimental feature to subscribers with a $3.99 per month Snapchat+ account, My AI rolls out starting this week, offering everything from birthday gift recommendations to weekend recreational plans, recipes and auto-generated poetry and prose. “As with all AI-powered chatbots, My AI is prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything,” Snapchat cautions, explaining that “all conversations with My AI will be stored and may be reviewed to improve the product experience.” Continue reading Snapchat’s New AI Chatbot Is Powered by OpenAI GPT Tech

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has declared OpenAI’s ChatGPT as creating an “iPhone moment for artificial intelligence.” Speaking at the Haas School of Business at Berkeley, Huang suggested that ChatGPT is revolutionary for engaging the imagination of millions and opening their eyes to the possibilities the technology holds, much as Apple’s iPhone did for mobile computing, ushering in a new era. ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, and it is the diversity of use that Huang feels makes it special — with some putting it to work to create code, while others use it to write fiction or plan meals and much more. Continue reading Nvidia Chief Suggests ChatGPT Marks an AI Inflection Point

Microsoft has signed agreements giving Nintendo and Nvidia access to Activision Blizzard titles including from the popular “Call of Duty” franchise in a bid to advance its proposed $75 billion purchase of the game firm. The acquisition is opposed by some regulators in the U.S. and Europe on antitrust grounds. Microsoft’s offer to provide valuable IP to platforms that compete with its Xbox aims to quell such concerns. While Nvidia and Nintendo appear to have capitulated as a result of the new contingency, guaranteed for at least 10 years, Sony Interactive Entertainment remains a holdout. Continue reading Microsoft Elevates Activision Deal with ‘Call of Duty’ Promise

With language models like ChatGPT dominating recent tech news, Meta Platforms has unveiled a new artificial intelligence platform of its own called Toolformer that breaks new ground in that it can teach itself to use external apps and APIs. The result, Meta says, is that Toolformer combines the conversational aptitude and other things large language models are good at while shoring up those areas in which it typically does not excel — like math and fact-checking — by figuring out how to use external tools like  search engines, calculators and calendars. Continue reading Meta Toolformer Sidesteps AI Language Limits with API Calls

Neeva is promising a more intelligent form of AI-powered search. The company — which says it has amassed more than 2 million subscribers since it began globally launching its ad-free, subscription-based Neeva engine in 2020 — is now going global with NeevaAI, which became commercially available in the U.S. in January following a monthlong beta test. Positioned as a direct competitor to ChatGPT, NeevaAI is styling itself as a smarter, more accurate form of artificial intelligence, one that “combines the best of large language models such as ChatGPT with the authority and timeliness of search.” Continue reading NeevaAI Takes on ChatGPT in the Generative AI Search War

Google unveiled new search features during its “Live from Paris” event via a YouTube stream. The emphasis was on multisearch, which will go live globally to mobile platforms in more than 70 languages where Google Lens is used, according to the company. Introduced last year, the multisearch feature looks through images and text, driven by an AI technology the company has developed called MUM, for Multitask Unified Model. There were no new announcements regarding Bard, Google’s new conversational AI search tool, although media outlets reported that Bard responded incorrectly in a Twitter promo the same day. Continue reading Google Touts Search Plans During Its ‘Live from Paris’ Event

Pinterest grew Q4 year-over-year revenue by 4 percent, to $877 million, while full year sales jumped 9 percent in 2022 totaling $2.8 billion. The company said that global monthly active users also grew by 4 percent in the three month period ending December 31, to a total of 450 million. CEO Bill Ready emphasized on the earnings call the intent to eventually “make every pin shoppable.” Similar to how it is monetizing still images Pinterest is focusing on making videos “more actionable” by applying what it calls “our computer vision technology.” Continue reading Pinterest Grows Its Active Users, Focuses on Video Shopping

It appears 2023 will mark a critical inflection point for artificial intelligence, according to Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith, who calls AI “the most consequential technology advance of our lifetime” and says it will change “almost everything. Because, like no technology before it, these AI advances augment humanity’s ability to think, reason, learn and express ourselves.” One example is Microsoft’s infusion of AI in two common tools — the search engine and the web browser — with new versions of its Bing search engine and Edge browser, tools positioned “as an AI co-pilot for the web.” Continue reading AI ‘Inflection Point’ in 2023 Ushered in with Search, Browsing

Less than a week after UBS proclaimed ChatGPT a record-setter for the app with the fastest-growing user base, the popular AI chatbot has racked up accomplishments that include passing “a U.S. medical-licensing exam, a Wharton Business School MBA exam, and four major university law-school exams,” according to TIME, which couches it in the context of “a brilliant child.” Amidst the fusillade of publicity, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, who led the teams behind both DALL-E and ChatGPT, says it’s “time to move toward regulating AI,” which “can be misused, or used by bad actors,” raising questions about global governance. Continue reading OpenAI CTO Calls for Regulation as AI Tech Rapidly Expands

Microsoft unveiled a ChatGPT-powered version of its Bing search engine on Tuesday, following Google’s announcement it is testing a conversational artificial intelligence app called Bard, expected to launch publicly in the coming weeks with applications for products starting with Google Search. Google will next month begin onboarding developers, creators and enterprises for its generative language API (which will initially utilize a lightweight version of LaMDA and eventually offer “a range of models”). Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI and Google’s new plans may be putting pressure on Apple and Meta. “A race starts today,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. Continue reading Google and Microsoft Announce AI-Based Search Functions

Google has taken a 10 percent stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for about $300 million. The move follows reports that the Alphabet-owned company has prioritized an acceleration of AI efforts, so as not to get left behind by OpenAI and its increasingly popular ChatGPT app. The cash infusion gives Google a roughly 10 percent stake in the San Francisco-based Anthropic, which Financial Times described as among “a new generation of companies trying to claim a place in the booming field of ‘generative AI,’” a sector that has triggered a veritable “AI arm’s race,” according to FT. Continue reading Google’s Investment in Anthropic Heats Up the AI Arms Race

OpenAI is piloting a $20 per month subscription plan called ChatGPT Plus for its text-generating chatbot. The paid plan offers benefits over the free version that include faster response times, access to ChatGPT even during peak periods and early access to new features. OpenAI will soon begin inviting U.S. customers to subscribe and said it plans to offer the Plus plan in more territories. Since debuting ChatGPT, the company has received feedback from “millions of people” using the viral to draft prose, edit content, brainstorm ideas, educate and assist with programming. Continue reading ChatGPT, the Fastest Growing App, Intros Subscription Plan

Quantum computing promises future benefits, but also poses present-day cybersecurity risks that the federal government is urging commercial businesses to prepare for now. In fact, a law passed in December, the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, requires federal agencies to develop security plans addressing the vulnerability posed by the so-called “Y2Q” moment. Quantum computers are so quick and efficient as to be able to crack virtually any encryption. Although quantum computing is still in the development stage, the machines are expected to reach practical operability by 2030. Continue reading Feds Say Time to Prep for Y2Q Quantum Computer Hacking