This week’s news roundup includes OpenAI’s search for cash and release of more AI products, Meta’s continued distribution of free cutting-edge AI tools, and the potential negative impact of US politics on AI development.
OpenAI is struggling with profitability as it continually innovates and unveils new technologies. Its latest product is “SearchGPT,” which is designed to rival Google’s search engine. However, with increasing difficulty in crawling the web and climbing costs paired with free open models, OpenAI is quickly burning through its cash. There are also discussions around charging for new products such as the voice assistant, Sora, with Skye’s voice to generate revenue.
Meanwhile, Meta has launched SAM 2, an AI model aimed at enhancing video segmentation quality. Meta’s offering is made accessible for free and comes with the training dataset. However, the crucial issue of the scarcity of training data is surfacing as larger AI models have already finished most of the human-generated online content.
Meanwhile, video game artists from the SAG-AFTRA have gone on strike against companies utilizing AI to create games. This strike could potentially slow down new game releases and push these companies to expedite their adoption of AI in game development.
However, AI is becoming a significant issue in US politics. Funny misuse of AI, such as the deepfake video of Kamala Harris shared by Elon Musk, is starting to create controversy. Policymakers are struggling to catch up with emerging technologies, which can potentially lead to disastrous AI policies. An example is California’s proposed AI bills with potentially damaging requirements for AI development. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Commerce favors a more open model for AI instead of closed ones.
Across the ocean, the EU AI Act was implemented, creating a divide between those who support societal protections versus the AI industry’s tendency to develop freely. Big companies like Meta may need to find ways to comply or risk losing their market.
Other AI news includes silver medal achievements in International Mathematical Olympiad problems by Google’s AI, neurological voice restoration by AI, backlash on AI security used in the Olympics, and accusations of a data scraping against AI startup Anthropic.
In summary, this week showcased continued growth and challenges in the AI industry, including struggles in profitability, strikes over AI usage, and political discussions over AI policies. Despite challenges, AI developments concerning video segmentation, improved search functionality, and assistance in various sectors, such as healthcare, continue to advance.
