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- AI in 2024 | The Great and The Horrific
AI in 2024 | The Great and The Horrific
Recap of 2023's AI journey, highlighting major developments such as GPT-4’s impact, advancements in generative AI, and the critical role of AI in cybersecurity
Wes Roth
December 26, 2023
Today:
AI in 2024 | The Great and The Horrific
In 2023, Google and DeepMind made big strides in AI, robotics, and more. This year, we saw mind-blowing advances, but what's next? Will the pace keep up or slow down in 2024? The focus is on AI, especially humanoid robots, and how open-source AI might evolve.
Predictions for 2024 include more groundbreaking open-source AI models, possibly outdoing today's best. There's hope for AI in cybersecurity, potentially rebalancing the offense-defense scale. AI-generated content might hit mainstream, with small teams creating high-quality media. Robotics will likely advance, but consumer-ready humanoid robots are not expected just yet. As for AI in warfare, the hope is for defensive technologies to gain an upper hand, fostering a safer world.
OpenAI in talks to raise new funding at $100 bln valuation
OpenAI, known for sparking the AI buzz with ChatGPT, is eyeing a massive cash boost. They're chatting up investors for a cool $100 billion valuation. Word is, they might rake in between $8 to $10 billion from a chip deal with G42, a big player from Abu Dhabi. Plus, they're wrapping up a separate deal in January, letting their crew cash out shares at an $86 billion valuation.
Microsoft's already all-in, pledging over $10 billion. This all comes after some drama with their CEO, Sam Altman, who got the boot in November but snagged his spot back days later. Big moves for the San Francisco AI hotshot!
AI companies would be required to disclose copyrighted training data under new bill
Two U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill making AI companies fess up about where they get their training data. This move aims to let copyright holders know if their stuff's being used. The bill, cooked up by Reps. Anna Eshoo and Don Beyer, tells the FTC and NIST to set rules on sharing data sources. AI bigwigs would have to spill the beans on data sources, model risks, and how they match up with federal standards. They also gotta report on their efforts to test their AI for any screw-ups, especially in sensitive areas like health and elections.
The push for openness comes as more lawsuits pop up against AI firms for copyright issues, with artists and Getty Images taking a stand. This bill isn't just about legal stuff; it's about making sure the public gets the straight scoop from AI. It's still up in the air if Congress will tackle this before they hit the campaign trail.
This bill's in line with Biden's AI game plan but goes a step further. If it passes, it'll turn these transparency rules into a must-follow federal law.
Infosys loses $1.5 billion AI contract from global customer
Infosys just lost a big deal, worth $1.5 billion, with an unnamed global company. This deal, signed in September 2023, was supposed to last 15 years and focus on artificial intelligence solutions. The cancellation is a surprise, especially since it happened soon after Infosys' CFO, Nilanjan Roy, quit out of the blue less than two weeks ago.
Infosys didn't say why the deal got canned. They've had other big contracts though, like a $2 billion and a $1.5 billion deal with different companies, and just landed a new 5-year deal with LKQ Europe. Despite this setback, Infosys had a record $7.7 billion in large deals as of September 30.
Arkon Energy raises $110M to grow US bitcoin mining capacity, launch AI cloud service in Norway
Arkon Energy, a data center company, just got $110 million to grow big time. They're focusing on beefing up their Bitcoin mining in the U.S. and launching a new AI cloud service in Norway. Founded in 2021 in Australia with a small setup, they're now a big player with over 130 megawatts of power, reaching into the U.S. and Europe.
Their game plan? Use $80 million to set up shop in Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas, aiming to boost their power by 130% by mid-2024. They already have a big facility in Ohio. They're digging the U.S. market for its huge demand, stable politics, and cheap, often green, energy. Their U.S. sites are mostly rented out to big Bitcoin miners.
The other $30 million? That's for kicking off an AI cloud service in Norway, targeting the booming demand for AI and big data crunching. Arkon's filling a big gap here – they're the folks behind the scenes making sure all this tech has the juice it needs to run. With AI and Bitcoin getting hotter by the day, Arkon's expecting to grow like crazy.
Propelled by ‘science for humanity,’ this Chinese AI startup sets sight on US
DP Technology, a Chinese AI startup, is shaking up the scene by combining AI with molecular simulations, eyeing the US market. Founded in 2018, they're using artificial intelligence to speed up and sharpen the accuracy of simulating real-world products, a game-changer in fields like drug discovery and car design. Unlike others focusing on AI for creating texts or images, DP's niche is in scientific computing - think making better batteries or semiconductors, fast and cheap.
They're not just offering software; they're also tailoring services to customer needs, doing the heavy lifting in R&D for them. This approach is paying off in China, with their earnings set to hit around $14 million in 2023. Now, they're setting their sights on the US, aiming to compete with big players like DeepMind.
Google To Let Go Of 30,000 Employees Due To New AI Innovation?
Google's shaking things up, planning to rework their 30,000-member ad team because of some fancy new AI tricks they've got up their sleeve. Earlier this year, they already cut loose 12,000 folks, a record for them. Turns out, their AI can now whip up ads that hit the mark without needing much human help.
They started beefing up their ad tool, Performance Max, with this AI goodness back in 2021, and it's gotten so good that a bunch of advertisers are all in. This means fewer folks are needed to push ads for specific Google services like YouTube or Gmail. The big cheese at Google, Sundar Pichai, admitted axing 12,000 jobs was tough but needed. He reckons not doing it would've been worse in the long haul.
OPENAI'S SAM ALTMAN SAID HE'S 'FEELING GOOD' ABOUT A 2021 PREDICTION
Sam Altman, the big cheese at OpenAI, is patting himself on the back for a hunch he had back in 2021. He figured AI would shake things up, making stuff like brainpower and energy cheaper. Fast forward to now, and his guess doesn't seem too far off. With ChatGPT (that's OpenAI's brainy AI tool) making waves, folks are seeing how AI could cut costs in all kinds of businesses.
Meanwhile, Sam had a wild ride last month, getting kicked out as CEO then bouncing back in just five days, thanks to some heavy hitters like Microsoft. And word is, OpenAI might be eyeing a deal that could crank its worth up to a whopping $100 billion. Not too shabby, huh?
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