Microsoft's AI Tool Copilot, Now at a Premium Price

Today:

Microsoft puts a steep price on Copilot, its AI-powered future of Office documents

Microsoft has slapped a hefty $30/month/user tag on its AI-powered Office tool, Copilot, which could almost triple the current price for some businesses. This new add-on can smartly summarize documents, craft emails, and boost Excel work. Despite being a cool addition, some businesses might backpedal due to the price.

Copilot has been trial run by 600 businesses like KPMG, Lumen, and Emirates NBD. They seem to be falling head over heels with it, according to Yusuf Mehdi, a big wig at Microsoft. However, Microsoft is holding their cards close to their chest about when Copilot will hit the market.

Microsoft's move comes hot on the heels of Google revealing similar AI features. Zoom and Salesforce have been dabbling in AI too, and all eyes are now on how they'll handle the price game.

Microsoft's pricing may seem high, but they've been pouring billions into AI, even partnering with OpenAI. They're also racing to nab Nvidia GPUs to power these features. To cut down on the cost, Microsoft is rumored to be cooking up their own AI chips.

They're also adding the Copilot experience to Teams, enhancing the calling and chat experience. Alongside the pricing news, Microsoft is unveiling Bing Chat Enterprise, a consumer-grade chat tool with beefed-up data protection. This feature is included at no extra cost in certain Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

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Microsoft’s Bing Chat A.I. bot now lets you search using images

Microsoft has just beefed up Bing Chat, its AI chatbot, letting folks use photos to fish for info. Snap or upload a pic, ask Bing Chat about it, and it'll spit back details from the web. Imagine being on vacation and curious about a building's design - Bing Chat can lend a hand. Or, unsure what to whip up for lunch with what's in your fridge? Bing Chat's got your back.

This new feature is part of a bigger tug-of-war in AI tech between bigwigs like Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. They're all hustling to make the snazziest, smartest AI, using text and now images to stay ahead. While chatbots are now responding with pictures, none of the big text-based ones are creating their own images yet. Google's hinted this is coming soon to its own chatbot, Bard.

Microsoft's move follows Google, which recently rolled out an image search feature for Bard. You can feed Bard a photo and ask for info, a caption, or even jazz up its responses with relevant pics. As of now, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude 2 are still sticking to the written word only, no photos allowed.

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Midjourney AI: Text To Image Supercharged!

The latest Midjourney AI, a text-to-image software, has been the buzz lately for its quality improvements and ease of use. Compared to Stable Diffusion, a free and similar tool, Midjourney, which requires a subscription, has seen incredible advancements over the past year.

For instance, if you ask it to illustrate a desert scene with camels in front of the Great Sphinx, the latest version of Midjourney outperforms previous iterations, generating more realistic and less repetitive imagery. It also offers more convenience, like the ability to zoom out of an image or pan around it.

Moreover, Midjourney supports permutation prompts - a feature where you can explore different options in the same prompt. For example, if you want a painting of a bird but aren't sure which bird, you can list multiple bird types in the same prompt, and Midjourney will generate images for all the options.

While Midjourney offers loads of features, it has some competition with Stable Diffusion, which provides a broader range of use and customization options. So, it's a toss-up between the user-friendliness and quick results of Midjourney, and the more tailored outcomes and complexity of Stable Diffusion.

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Tractable snaps up $65M led by SoftBank for car and property damage appraisals using AI

Tractable, a leader in applying artificial intelligence (AI) for car and property damage assessments, is getting a cash boost of $65 million. Leading the charge in this round of fundraising is SoftBank Vision Fund 2, along with old buddies Insight Partners and Georgian.

Right now, Tractable is handling about $7 billion in claims every year through its platform. It's partnered with some big fish in the insurance pond like Geico, Aviva, and Admiral. With this new funding, the plan is to grow the business further and dive deeper into the Japanese market, one of its largest. They're also planning to bring more of the latest AI advancements into the mix, not just for damage assessments but also for repairs, maintenance, and sales.

Tractable's CEO and founder, Alex Dalyac, mentioned that their AI could potentially not only look over your car and home for damage but also give advice on the best ways to repair, protect, or sell your belongings. He also pointed out that property appraisals for natural disaster recovery in Japan are becoming increasingly popular, with an expected growth of tenfold this year.

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Will.i.am talks AI, the future of creativity, and his new AI app to ‘co-pilot’ creation

Jack-of-all-trades will.i.am is back at it, this time with his latest brainchild called FYI. Designed to be a one-stop-shop, FYI is all about making collaboration a breeze. Chat with your teammates, share files, or rely on its smart AI to help steer your creative process. Plus, it's got top-notch encryption to keep your ideas under lock and key.

As will.i.am sees it, FYI streamlines the whole creative process by bundling seven separate tools into one handy platform. It's all about enabling creatives, especially those working in small teams, to punch above their weight.

FYI isn't just about messaging and file storage; it's also about organizing your music, calendar, and even using AI to help your team flow. Also in the works is a collaboration with IBM and WatsonX to let users protect their ideas without needing a lawyer.

Will.i.am argues that we need more diverse folks involved in training AI and creating algorithms. In fact, he's so passionate about this that he's already set up a school in East Los Angeles to teach computer science and programming to kids from his community.

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South Korea's Naver bets on generative AI as Google encroaches

South Korean tech giant Naver is gearing up to fight off Google with its new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, HyperCLOVA X. With Google taking a bite out of Naver's search engine pie, they're betting big on this AI, set to launch this summer.

HyperCLOVA X can handle voice and text, and can be paired with a variety of services like online shopping and travel reservations. Naver's ace in the hole? Their vast Korean-language content, more than 6,500 times larger than OpenAI's ChatGPT. The more data, the smarter the AI.

But for that, you need a data cruncher. Enter Naver's new data center in Sejong, South Korea, coming online this fall. It's six times larger than their previous one, with a price tag of over $395 million. The plan includes high-tech features like robot operations and generative AI processing.

Naver's also teamed up with Samsung to make a high-performance chip for their data center servers. The hope? Speedy, power-efficient processing, and maybe getting a leg up in advanced semiconductor design.

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Samsung could be testing ChatGPT integration for its own browser (APK teardown)

Samsung's Internet Browser app might get a brain-boost soon. Looks like the company's playin' around with adding in AI tool, ChatGPT. If you're not familiar, an APK teardown is like snooping around to find hints about what's coming next in an app's code.

Earlier, Samsung had folks at Google sweating bullets 'cause they thought about swappin' Google Search for Bing on their smartphones. Samsung backed down, but they're still keen on adding AI. This time, it might be through ChatGPT in their browser.

Found some lines of code that hint at the integration. This might let users ask questions straight to ChatGPT without having to leave the browser. But we're still not sure what that might look like exactly. Maybe you'll be able to pull up a quick summary of a webpage?

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Amazon’s in-van surveillance footage of delivery drivers is leaking online

Videos from Amazon's in-van cameras are popping up on Reddit, and people are none too happy about it. These aren't just any videos, but clips of delivery drivers going about their workday, every step of the way.

Amazon started putting cameras in their delivery vans back in 2021. They use these fancy "AI-enabled" cameras (made by a company called Netradyne Driveri) to watch drivers as they deliver packages. The point is to catch things like fast driving, possible traffic rules being broken, and other risky moves.

But lately, videos from these in-van cameras have been showing up on Reddit. In one clip, a driver is even seen interacting with a customer's dog. It seems innocent, but here's the kicker: this goes against Amazon's own privacy rules.

Now, here's the part that'll really bake your noodle: these videos seem to be coming from somewhere inside Amazon or its partners, not from the drivers themselves. It's not clear who's leaking them or why.

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Most outsourced coders in India will be gone in 2 years due to A.I., Stability AI boss predicts

Stability AI's boss, Emad Mostaque, predicts that a good chunk of outsourced programmers in India will be jobless in the next couple of years. According to him, smart software or AI is now smart enough to do a lot of the work that coders do, meaning fewer people are needed. However, this won't affect everyone equally. In countries like France, with stronger job protection laws, the blow won't be as severe. Mostaque specifically mentioned that up to 'level three' programmers in India might be out of work soon, but in France, it would be a different story.

India, with more than 5 million programmers, stands to feel the effects pretty heavily. Big companies like Silicon Valley tech firms, Wall Street banks, airlines, and retailers often hire Indian companies to handle their software work. One of these companies, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has embraced AI, training over 25,000 engineers to use AI technology in their work.

Mostaque stressed that in a few years, there might not be "programmers" as we know them today. He believes computers can do a lot of the work that coders currently do, and possibly even do it better. However, he clarified that humans will still have roles, just not the traditional coding roles they've had in the past. This shift will play out differently in different areas and industries.

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France and Britain are battling it out for Europe’s A.I. crown

The UK and France are neck and neck in the race to become Europe's AI hot spot. Both British PM Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron have been talking up their AI game recently. Macron says France is tops in AI in mainland Europe and wants to step on the gas, while Sunak boasts the UK is the epicenter for AI safety rules.

Macron's promising to splash out $562 million to make France an AI superstar. This is in addition to France's earlier promise to pump $1.78 billion into AI before 2022. Sunak, on the other hand, promised to throw $1.3 billion into AI research to make the UK a "science and tech superpower." He also hinted at building a UK version of OpenAI's chatbot.

But there's a rub: how to regulate AI. The European Union's got its AI Act, the first major set of AI laws in the West, and France will have to follow suit. The UK, post-Brexit, is taking a different route, leaning on existing laws and regulators, which some see as a more "pro-innovation" approach.

While some folks reckon France has a good shot at the top spot, it'll have to fend off stiff competition from Germany and the UK. Ultimately, the battle might come down to which nation can offer the most attractive environment for AI startups. Cooperation across Europe might be key to taking on the US giants, but whether it's a question of competition or collaboration, the AI landscape is set for a shake-up in the next 10-15 years.

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