AI4Future: Top AI News (28 October-3 November)
Kate Shcheglova-Goldfinch, MSc MBA
Research Affiliate at CJBS, regulatory innovations consultant and Freeman of the WCIB
This week marked several significant events that signal the AI market’s transition towards a phase of maturity, including regulatory aspects.
The first trend is the recognition and acknowledgment of AI’s environmental impact. A team of urban ecologists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Urban Environment, in collaboration with colleagues from Reichman University in Israel, assessed the scale of waste generated by AI development (particularly equipment that will eventually require disposal). They estimate that the expansion of generative AI could produce millions of tonnes of electronic waste by the end of the decade. Thus, the topic of ESG in AI is becoming highly relevant.
The second critical trend is the identification of AI-generated content. Amid concerns over potential misuse of AI-produced content, Google has made its SynthID tool available, allowing watermarks to be added to AI-generated text. This means that it will now be possible to detect AI-generated text, even if it has been saved numerous times in various applications and programs.
The third notable trend is the advancement of search functionalities within open AI systems. Meta is developing an AI-based search engine to reduce reliance on Google and Bing, while ChatGPT has enhanced its ability to process internet search queries. Now, users can receive fast, up-to-date answers with links to relevant sources, a task previously dependent on traditional search engines. To enable this, OpenAI is building connections with content owners.
Additionally, a major highlight was the Biden-Harris administration’s review of its progress over the past year. A year ago, President Biden signed a historic Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, aimed at ensuring U.S. leadership in AI development and oversight. Since then, over 100 actions have been implemented to manage AI risks, protect the security and privacy of Americans, and support innovation and competition, signalling the beginning of a mature phase for AI regulation.
A round-up of the key developments.
Open access to Google’s AI text watermarking tool may help advertisers win audience trust
As concerns about AI content misuse abound, Google is opening up access to its AI text watermarking technology. It will be a welcome change for advertisers and publishers, who stand to benefit from improved transparency. With the tool, SynthID Text, developers can embed invisible watermarks into AI-generated text – watermarks that remain effective even after additional modifications or paraphrasing have been made to the content.
Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
Tech behemoth OpenAI has touted its artificial intelligence-powered transcription tool Whisper as having near “human level robustness and accuracy.” But Whisper has a major flaw: It is prone to making up chunks of text or even entire sentences, according to interviews with more than a dozen software engineers, developers and academic researchers. Those experts said some of the invented text — known in the industry as hallucinations — can include racial commentary, violent rhetoric and even imagined medical treatments. More concerning, they said, is a rush by medical centers to utilize Whisper-based tools to transcribe patients’ consultations with doctors, despite OpenAI’ s warnings that the tool should not be used in “high-risk domains.”
NHS to roll out radiology AI across 10 health trusts
A new partnership will provide access to more than 75 regulatory-approved artificial intelligence solutions within a single platform and speed up the development of the health system's AI-accelerated learning initiatives, say its leaders. A collaboration between the Artificial Intelligence Centre for Value-Based Healthcare, King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trusts aimed at accelerating the adoption and deployment of radiology AI has partnered with Deepc to provide access to six NHS trusts.
Meta builds AI search engine to cut Google, Bing reliance
Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab is working on an artificial intelligence-based search engine as it looks to reduce dependence on Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google and Microsoft's (MSFT.O), opens new tab Bing. Meta's web crawler will provide conversational answers to users about current events on Meta AI, the company's chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, according to the report, which cited a person involved with the strategy.
Generative AI could generate millions of tons of e-waste by decade's end, study finds
A team of urban environmentalists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Urban Environment, working with a colleague from Reichman University in Israel, has attempted to estimate the amount of e-waste that will be generated over the next several years due to the implementation of generative AI applications.
As generative AI applications like ChatGPT have taken the world by storm, one overlooked aspect of their rise is the hardware used to run them. Such applications are typically run on specialized GPUs plugged into specialized computers. They are typically housed together in data centers and server farms and there are a lot of them. Unfortunately, all such equipment has a shelf life. As it ages or becomes obsolete, it is replaced. The old hardware then becomes e-waste. The model showed that the AI industry could produce somewhere between 1.2 to 5.0 million metric tons of e-waste by the end of the decade.
A year ago, President Biden signed a historic Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence (AI), aimed at securing U.S. leadership in AI development and oversight
Since then, the Biden-Harris administration has implemented over 100 actions to manage AI risks, protect the security and privacy of Americans, and support innovation and competition. Key achievements include establishing the National AI Safety Institute, developing AI risk management guidelines, and launching the National AI Research Resource project to support AI research. In addition, federal agencies have strengthened protections for critical infrastructure and workers’ rights against potential adverse AI impacts. Principles of fairness, safety, and accountability in AI use have also been approved for application in healthcare and education.
Microsoft Stock Slips To Worst Day In Years Despite Record Earnings
In its earnings report released Wednesday afternoon, Microsoft reported record $3.30 earnings per share and net income of $24.7 billion, beating average analyst forecasts of $3.10 EPS and $23.2 billion net profit, according to FactSet. The firm brought in $65.6 billion in revenue for the three-month period ending Sept. 30, besting estimates of $64.6 billion and the prior quarter’s record $64.7 billion. But Microsoft shares dipped about 6% by Thursday’s market close, reversing an initial gain after hours and suffering its worst day on Wall Street since Oct. 2022.
AI News: EU To Scrutinize Nvidia’s $700M Purchase of Run Labs
The European Commission has decided to review Nvidia Corporation’s planned $700 million acquisition of Run Labs Ltd, an AI workload management startup based in Tel Aviv. This decision came after Italy’s competition authority flagged the deal, utilizing its national powers to request an EU-level examination. According to EU law, even if a transaction does not meet standard notification thresholds, a member state can trigger a review if it believes the deal could disrupt local competition and affect trade within the Single Market.
ChatGPT can now search the web in a much better way than before
You can get fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for. This blends the benefits of a natural language interface with the value of up-to-date sports scores, news, stock quotes, and more. ChatGPT will choose to search the web based on what you ask, or you can manually choose to search by clicking the web search icon.
@Kate Shcheglova-Goldfinch, great update framing, especially the importance of the ESG scoring. Thank you!