"Google’s $2 Billion Investment in AI Pioneer Anthropic"

Today:

Google Commits $2 Billion in Funding to AI Startup Anthropic

Google is shelling out a whopping $2 billion to back Anthropic, a budding AI company cooked up by some former bigwigs from OpenAI. They're kicking things off with a cool $500 million and plan to sprinkle in the rest over time.

Anthropic is making waves with Claude 2, a chatbot that’s giving OpenAI’s ChatGPT a run for its money. Big names like Slack and Quora are already on board. With an ability to digest and summarize a whole book’s worth of words, Claude 2 is no slouch. It's been tested and found to be top-notch in knowing its own limits, a feature not all chatbots can brag about.

Earlier this year, Google bought a 10% slice of Anthropic for $300 million. These guys have been on the fast track, raising $450 million just a blink later in May. The siblings behind the company, Dario and Daniela Amodei, are old hands from OpenAI, bringing some serious know-how to the table.

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Microsoft’s AI boost helped cloud business outpace rivals Amazon and Google in latest quarter

Microsoft's cloud business is on fire! In the latest numbers, their Azure platform grew by 29%, beating out Google Cloud at 22% and doubling Amazon's cloud growth which came in at 12%. Though Amazon still holds the biggest slice of the cloud pie, Microsoft's got an edge. Businesses are digging Azure to run their AI stuff. Heck, even the chatty bot you might've heard of, ChatGPT, runs on Microsoft's juice. CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, pointed out that AI ain't just about AI - it's bringing in other cloud business too. Analysts are suggesting Microsoft's stealing the AI spotlight from Google and could give Amazon's cloud business a run for its money.

Both Google and Amazon are going all-in on AI too. Google's boss, Sundar Pichai, mentioned that a ton of AI startups are using their cloud, and Amazon's main man, Andy Jassy, boasted about their rapid growth in the generative AI space - that's the tech making synthetic blogs and ads from a few words. Major companies like Adidas and United Airlines are even building their AI apps on Amazon's platform. But Microsoft was quicker on the draw, releasing their generative AI tool to the public before Amazon did.

Watch out for Oracle though! They're the new kid on the block, with a whopping 66% cloud growth recently. Big names like Starbucks are jumping on their cloud train.

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Google Offers Its $12 Million Bug Bounty To Hackers Who Find AI Threats

Google's dishing out a whopping $12 million bug bounty for anyone savvy enough to spot weaknesses in its AI. They're expanding their current reward program to include AI attack scenarios, so if you've got the chops to hack into their systems and find the vulnerabilities, they want to hear from you. But it's not a free-for-all; there are rules to play by.

They've got this AI Red Team, basically a group of internal hackers, that mimics real cyberattacks to test their defenses. Now, they're opening the floor to external hackers too. But while the Red Team has a bit more leeway, outsiders need to stick to the script, focusing only on specific vulnerabilities and following the proper channels for reporting them.

What's up for grabs? Well, it depends on how critical the vulnerability is and what it affects. In 2022, they shelled out over $12 million for bugs found across their programs. So if you're up for the challenge, and you play by the rules, you might just cash in.

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Quick setup and how-to guide Getting started with Llama

If you're looking to get your hands dirty with Llama 2, you're gonna need Ubuntu up and running, along with a couple of software tools like wget and md5sum. And don't forget, Conda ME needs to be your go-to package manager.

Got a different setup like Windows or macOS? No sweat, but you'll need to hit up the open source community for some guidance. They've got the lowdown, and there are links in the article to get you started.

Once you're all set up, grab the Llama models by filling out a download form and wait for a signed URL in your inbox. Be quick though; that link won't last forever. Download the Llama 2 repo, run a script, and you’re on your way.

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Is AI Mimicking Consciousness or Truly Becoming Aware?

This article is talking about whether AI, like ChatGPT, is actually conscious or just faking it really well. Researchers are chiming in and they're pretty sure that AI isn't truly conscious. They say that humans have this complex setup with experiences and brain stuff that AI just doesn't have.

The big brains behind this research are Jaan Aru, Matthew Larkum, and Mac Shine, and they're all about neuroscience. They point out a few key things:

• AI doesn't experience the world like we do. It's not feeling or touching things.

• The AI's brain, or its system, is missing some crucial parts that mammals have for being conscious.

• Humans and animals got to consciousness through a long, complicated process that AI hasn't gone through.

So, while ChatGPT might seem smart and kind of human-like, it's not actually conscious. It's more like it's just really good at following patterns and making smart guesses based on what it's learned.

The researchers say we still have a lot to learn about consciousness, especially in our own brains, and we're pretty far from making a machine that's truly conscious. So, for now, AI is just a really smart mimic, not a conscious being.

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The Scientists Breaking AI to Make It Safer

In a fancy room at London's Royal Society, about 40 climate and disease experts managed to trick a top-notch AI system, Meta's Llama 2, into spewing nonsense. They got it to claim things like ducks cleaning up pollution and garlic stopping COVID-19. Just a week before a big AI safety meet-up, this showed that even the best AI systems can be misled.

While these AI chat tools have built-in safety nets, folks have found ways to sneak past them. To patch these weak spots faster, big tech names are funding "red-teaming", which is basically putting the AI under pressure to find its flaws.

Meta, which is kinda unique for letting anyone use its AI systems, sent a person to watch and learn from the event. Despite the fun and games, some attendees made the AI spit out fake news aimed at certain groups, underscoring that these tools can be used for bad stuff. One expert even had the AI create a bogus ad campaign. Another got it to write a fake piece about dogs going crazy near nuclear power plants.

The big lesson? If you're out to spread lies, these AI tools can make it sound legit. But this test event wasn't just for the techies – they looked at risks average Joe might face. All involved promised not to misuse what they learned.

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High-Paying AI Jobs And 5 Steps To Secure Them

AI ain't brand new, but thanks to stuff like ChatGPT, everyone's buzzin' about it now. There's a big job boom—think 50 million new gigs by 2030. AI jobs are poppin' up everywhere and they pay big bucks, with average salaries clocking in at over $150k. Worried AI might nab your current job? Why not join the AI wave?

Here's the playbook to get in the game:

• Learn the Tech Stuff: Get smart on math, coding, and data science. Knowing programming languages like Python and R is a big win. You might also wanna dig into machine learning tools and techniques.

• Boost Your People Skills: Being tech-savvy's cool, but don't be a robot. Be able to chat about complex stuff simply, think critically, and be adaptable.

• Get Certified: Specialize by taking AI or data science courses that line up with your career dreams.

• Get Your Hands Dirty: Theory's great, but real-world experience is golden. Work on projects to sharpen your skills.

• Stay Sharp: Tech changes fast. Read up, listen to relevant podcasts, and network with folks already in the biz.

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