Yahoo Mail's New AI Features for Smarter Email Management

Today:

Yahoo Mail adds AI to help you write and search for emails

Yahoo Mail is stepping up its game with new AI features aimed at making your email life easier. Available in beta for U.S. desktop and iOS users, this AI offers four key functions: a Writing Assistant, Message Summary, Search, and Shopper Saver.

The Writing Assistant helps you draft emails or replies, matching your own style and tone. Type what you want to say, get a draft, tweak it if needed, and hit send. Easy peasy.

Message Summary gives you the gist of your emails, highlighting important details like dates and tasks. You'll find this feature on the iOS app, and it can even suggest follow-up actions like calendar reminders.

The Search function is smarter now; you can type in plain English to find what you're looking for. No need for complicated keywords or search terms. Just ask the AI a question, and it'll dig up the right email for you.

This whole upgrade is backed by Google Cloud's AI tech. So, Yahoo Mail isn't just playing catch-up with Gmail; it's trying to give it a run for its money.

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Call of Duty partners with Modulate to use AI to fight toxicity in voice chat

"Call of Duty" is teaming up with Modulate to tackle nasty chatter in their voice channels. They're gonna drop Modulate’s AI system, "ToxMod", with the release of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III" come November 10.

This tech spots hateful talk, mean language, and bullying as it happens and then takes action. They've already been cracking down on text, with filters for 14 languages, and a solid in-game way for players to report bad behavior. They're testing this voice chat moderation system in North America first on August 30, for some existing games, and then it'll be available globally (except Asia) when the new game launches.

The system's starting with English, but they'll add more languages later. Since "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" dropped, they've booted over a million accounts for breaking the rules. This new voice moderation wants to keep the fun vibes and call out the bullies. If you trash-talk, they won’t instantly boot you; they'll check the context first. But real nasty talk? No room for that. If players aren’t feeling this moderation, they can turn off voice chat in settings.

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UAE launches Arabic large language model in Gulf push into generative AI

The UAE's stepping up its AI game big time, launching a new top-notch Arabic AI software. They're teaming up with local and Californian tech firms to release Jais, an open-source language model for both Arabic and English. It's aimed at the 400 million-plus folks who speak Arabic, and they say it's a cut above others out there when it comes to accuracy in Arabic. Plus, it’s more in tune with local culture and values.

Earlier, the UAE had launched another model called Falcon. Now, they're also stocking up on powerful chips, which are like the magic beans for this AI stuff, from Nvidia – a big-time tech player. The goal? To stay ahead in the global AI race. Some critics, though, worry about how this tech might be used by the region's leaders.

But here's the deal: while many of the top-tier models, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, already understand Arabic, Jais is more specialized. It doesn’t just rely on standard Arabic but also catches regional slang and nuances. They’ve put in a lot of effort to ensure it doesn't cross lines or offend anyone. Plus, it got its name from the UAE's tallest mountain and was trained on some pretty fancy tech. The cherry on top? Big players like Abu Dhabi National Oil and Etihad Airways are already on board to use it.

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Context.ai wants to merge product analytics sensibilities with LLMs

Context.ai just snagged $3.5 million in seed funding to help companies figure out how well their chatbots and other AI-driven tools are chatting with customers. Started by two ex-Google guys, this startup is all about making sure these AI chat tools are actually useful and not just spitting out nonsense. Think of it like those analytics tools that tell you what people are clicking on your website, but for chatbots.

Companies give their chat logs to Context.ai, which then uses some fancy tech to analyze if customers seemed happy with the answers they got. The company is small but growing and takes privacy seriously, deleting all personal info after 180 days. Oh, and Google's venture arm is one of the investors, so you know they mean business.

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GM is using Google’s AI chatbot to handle simple OnStar calls

GM's teamed up with Google to use their AI chatbot for handling the easy-peasy OnStar calls. This means the OnStar human crew can tackle the trickier stuff. A year ago, GM brought out its OnStar Virtual Assistant, which uses Google tech for answers to usual questions and for giving directions.

Now, with Google's Dialogflow, the OnStar assistant can manage over a million questions a month from folks in the US and Canada with newer cars. The bot is on the lookout for any emergency talk, and if it hears something fishy, it'll pass the call to a pro.

People don't seem to mind waiting less and having the robot help, and it lets the OnStar folks give the personal touch when it's needed. And this isn't GM's first AI rodeo – they've used tech like ChatGPT before to help car owners with their manuals and other tasks.

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Arize AI wants to improve enterprise LLMs with ‘Prompt Playground,’ new data analysis tools

Arize AI, a company that helps businesses understand and use AI better, just dropped some new tools to make this easier. They're calling one of 'em "Prompt Playground" which helps businesses find the right questions to ask their AI to get useful answers. It's like teaching someone to ask the right stuff in a conversation.

What's more, Arize is helping companies get the low-down on the private info that goes into these AI conversations. They're making sure that companies' "secret sauce" (their special info) is being used right.

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QuantHealth brings its AI-informed clinical drug trials to the US with $15M round

QuantHealth, a company from Tel Aviv, has a super-smart computer thing (AI) that's helping figure out how drugs might work in the real world before companies spend tons of cash testing them. They just scored another $15 million in funding, making it $20 million they've bagged so far.

Making new drugs is like throwing darts blindfolded. Most of the time, it's a miss. In fact, 9 out of 10 drug trials flop. But QuantHealth's AI looks at a massive pile of patient data and can pretty accurately predict if a trial's gonna hit the mark or go bust.

The big cheese at QuantHealth, Orr Inbar, says their tech might stop some drugs from being tested if they're just not gonna cut it. And for the ones that do get the green light, it can help design better trials so they're faster, cheaper, and more likely to succeed. For example, they helped one company tweak their trial, and it became way more efficient and promising.

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Walmart will give 50,000 office workers a generative AI app

Walmart's giving its 50,000 desk jockeys a fancy new AI app. It's called "My Assistant," and it's supposed to help with everything from skimming long reports to cooking up fresh content. This AI magic is tucked into the bigger "Me@Campus" app, which runs on PCs and phones. Walmart's mixing its own info with some top-notch language tech, but they're keeping mum on whose AI they're using.

Why care? This shows big companies like Walmart believe there's gold in the latest tech toys. Walmart says it's not just about working faster. They hope the app will take care of the dull stuff, letting people focus on bigger things. As they put it, the AI is quick, but it ain't perfect; it doesn't think like us and is only as smart as its training.

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Sprig uses AI to transform product surveys into conversational data

Sprig, a young gun startup that makes super-smart in-app surveys, recently raked in a cool $30 million from some big-shot investors. They've now jazzed up their game with a shiny new feature called AI Analysis for Surveys. This bad boy turns survey data into a chatbot-like thing. Imagine being able to chat with your survey results, ask any question, and get answers on the fly! We're talking deep dives into written feedback, not just the yes-no stuff.

Missed the memo? Sprig hit the scene back in 2020 and was a hit with giants like Dropbox and Robinhood because they turned open-ended survey answers into neat themes. Now, their new AI feature goes even further, letting teams get the scoop on their surveys without breaking a sweat, ask the AI any question about the data, and even get AI-suggested insights that might've flown under the radar.

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Samsung Announces Global Launch of Samsung Food, an AI-Powered, Personalized Food and Recipe Service

Samsung's rolling out a new service called Samsung Food that's like your personal kitchen assistant. It's got tons of recipes and meal plans that change based on what you like to eat. You can even use it to control your kitchen gadgets like your oven or fridge. It'll suggest meals, help you order groceries online, and let you share your fave recipes on social media.

Plus, they're planning to add health tracking and a camera feature that identifies food just by looking at it. So, basically, it's your one-stop-shop for everything food-related, right from your phone or fancy Samsung fridge.

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Who’s to Blame? How We Perceive Responsibility in Human-AI Collaborations

So this study found that even though people think of AI assistants like Siri or Alexa as just tools, they also partly blame or credit them for decisions made. For example, if you're using AI to help you navigate while driving, and something goes right or wrong, people feel the AI shares some of the glory or the blame.

What's interesting is that AI gets more pats on the back for good outcomes than scoldings for bad ones. Whether you talk to the AI or touch it doesn't really make a difference in how people view its responsibility. The researchers think this could have big implications for how we talk about and design AI in the future.

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AI shows no sign of consciousness yet, but we know what to look for

Nope, AI ain't conscious yet, says a deep dive study by some brainy folks from philosophy, tech, and neuroscience. They checked out a bunch of smart AIs like GPT-4 and didn't find any real signs of self-awareness. But they also say it's not impossible for AIs to get there someday. They've got this list of 14 signs to look out for to tell if an AI's got the "inner life" thing going on.

This topic's been hot for years, especially with big chatbots that can yap like humans. Some folks even claimed we're already there, but this study's like, "Hold your horses."

Why does it matter? Two big reasons: we gotta know if we're being jerks to conscious AIs, and we also gotta know if they could end up being jerks to us.

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AI finally beats humans at a real-life sport — drone racing

AI's now beating humans in drone racing! For the first time, an AI named Swift schooled top human drone racers. Until recently, the quick thinking and planning of human racers was too tough for machines. But Swift's training, like what AI uses for chess and video games, combined with real-world sensors, gave it the edge.

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Turbocharged Python: AI Accelerates Computing Speed by Thousands of Times

UMass Amherst scientists dropped a game-changer for Python coding, named Scalene. Why does this matter? Well, Python, while super popular for being user-friendly, is a real slowpoke—sometimes running 60,000 times slower than other languages!

Typically, programmers use tools (profilers) to spot slow parts in the code, but the old ones? They kinda leave folks hanging on how to fix things. Enter Scalene: it not only spots the drag but also gives you AI-backed tips to soup up your code. Think of it like a mechanic telling you why your car's slow and how to turbocharge it. The big takeaway? Computers ain’t getting faster hardware-wise, so we gotta rely on smarter coding. Scalene’s been a hit since its launch and promises a zippier future for programming.

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AI-Powered Drug Implant Hailed As ‘Revolutionay For Chronic)

Researchers from the ^University of Galway and MIT have made a big leap in health tech. They designed a smart medical implant that can tell when a patient needs medication and release it.

One of the coolest features? If the body starts to reject it, this device can change its shape to avoid getting covered in scar tissue. The aim? Help folks with long-term illnesses like diabetes by automatically giving them the medicine they need.

But, it's not just about releasing drugs. They had to ensure the device didn't get all gummed up by the body's natural defenses. So, they made it kinda like a soft robot which can move around inside the body.

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