Microsoft's Recall AI: Efficiency Upgrade or Privacy Nightmare?
Plus: AI-powered headphones let you listen to one person in a crowd, xAI’s supercomputer that’s 4x larger than existing GPU clusters
Hello Engineering Leaders and AI Enthusiasts!
Welcome to the 283rd edition of The AI Edge newsletter. This edition discusses Microsoft’s latest Recall feature.
And a huge shoutout to our amazing readers. We appreciate you😊
In today’s edition:
🕵️ Microsoft's Recall AI: Efficiency upgrade or privacy nightmare?
🎧 AI-powered headphones let you listen to one person in a crowd
⚡ xAI’s supercomputer that’s 4x larger than existing GPU clusters
📚 Knowledge Nugget: How Google Profits from AI-Powered Search, While Killing SEO by
Let’s go!
Microsoft's Recall AI: Efficiency upgrade or privacy nightmare?
Microsoft has recently released Recall, a controversial AI-powered tool that logs everything you see and do on your computer, including app usage, live meeting communications, websites visited, and more. By simply performing a "Recall" action, users can retrieve any information they've interacted with on their device, presented in the context of a specific time period.
Microsoft assures users that the Recall index remains local and private on-device. Users can pause, stop, or delete captured content and can choose to exclude specific apps or websites. And Recall automatically excludes InPrivate web browsing sessions in Microsoft Edge and DRM-protected content.
Currently, Recall is exclusively compatible with new "Copilot Plus PCs" equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chips, which feature the necessary neural processing unit (NPU).
Why does this matter?
The Recall feature has sparked concern among cybersecurity experts and government authorities due to its extensive data collection and privacy risks. Recall continuously captures screenshots of users' PC activities and creates a searchable index using AI, which may accidentally expose sensitive information to unauthorized users.
AI-powered headphones let you listen to one person in a crowd
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a groundbreaking artificial intelligence system called "Target Speech Hearing" that allows headphone wearers to isolate and listen to a single speaker in a noisy environment. By simply looking at the desired speaker for three to five seconds, the user can "enroll" them, and the system will cancel out all other sounds, playing only the enrolled speaker's voice in real-time, even as the listener moves around.
The proof-of-concept device, which uses off-the-shelf headphones fitted with microphones and an on-board embedded computer, builds upon the team's previous "semantic hearing" research. The system's ability to focus on the enrolled voice improves as the speaker continues talking, providing more training data. While currently limited to enrolling one speaker at a time and requiring a clear line of sight, the researchers are working to expand the system to earbuds and hearing aids in the future.
Why does this matter?
The Target Speech Hearing system may have applications in various settings, like business meetings, conferences, noisy public spaces, or for people with hearing difficulties. While the current system is a proof-of-concept, the researchers' plan to expand it to earbuds and hearing aids indicates the potential for commercialization, which could lead to a new-age consumer product that enhances our sensory experiences in previously unimaginable ways.
xAI’s supercomputer that’s 4x larger than existing GPU clusters
Elon Musk has recently disclosed plans to build a groundbreaking supercomputer to power the next iteration of xAI’s chatbot, Grok. According to a presentation made to investors in May, as reported by The Information, Musk aims to have this computing system operational by the fall of 2025. The ambitious project may involve a collaboration between xAI and Oracle to develop this massive computing infrastructure.
The proposed supercomputer will consist of interconnected clusters of Nvidia's state-of-the-art H100 graphics processing units (GPUs). Musk revealed that upon completion, the scale of this system will surpass the largest existing GPU clusters by at least fourfold!
Why does it matter?
As major tech giants and startups compete for dominance in the AI space, Musk's proposed "gigafactory of compute" could potentially set new benchmarks for AI computing power. Also, Musk's financial resources and personal commitment to the project position him as a formidable challenger to established AI powerhouses like OpenAI, Google, and Meta.
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Knowledge Nugget: How Google Profits from AI-Powered Search, While Killing SEO
In this insightful piece,
shares his thoughts on Google's integration of generative AI into its search engine, known as Search Generative Experience (SGE). Google plans to roll out SGE to all U.S. users soon and internationally later this year.Hwang explains that SGE will boost Google's revenues in the short term, even though it may make life difficult for small publishers. With AI-generated overviews, there will be fewer slots for traditional search results and the competition among advertisers will intensify. To maintain visibility, advertisers may pay more for the limited slots, driving up Google's ad revenues.
He notes that Google will likely deploy AI overviews strategically, initially targeting long-tail keywords and research-oriented queries while preserving its most profitable commercial keywords.
Why does it matter?
As the dominant search engine, Google's move will expose billions of users to AI-powered search, setting the stage for widespread adoption and familiarity with generative AI. This shift could also significantly impact the SEO industry, as AI-generated overviews may reduce the visibility of traditional search results.
What Else Is Happening❗
🎵 YouTube Music introduces hum-to-search AI feature
YouTube Music has introduced a new AI feature that lets users search for songs by humming or singing a melody. This feature, similar to the "Hum to Search" functionality in Google Search, uses machine learning to match the user's audio input to the original song recording. The feature is currently available in its Android app version 7.02 and is being gradually rolled out to users. (Link)
🤩 iOS 18 may introduce AI-powered custom emoji tool and smart recaps
Apple is reportedly working on a gen AI-powered custom emoji tool for iOS 18 that lets users create personalized emojis. They’re also developing a smart recaps feature that will provide users with summaries of missed notifications, messages, and documents. (Link)
🎼 Suno.ai's music generator now offers 4-minute songs
AI music model Suno.ai has released its version 3.5 which lets users create songs up to four minutes long with improved structure. The update also introduces a sound-to-song feature, combining audio and text prompts to generate music. (Link)
🔍 Meta to use EU user data for AI training, offers opt-out
Meta is notifying Facebook and Instagram users in Europe about changes to its privacy policy, effective June 26, which allows the company to use user data for training AI models under a "legitimate interest" claim. Users can opt out of this data usage, but they must provide an explanation of how it personally affects them, with a reference to the GDPR being sufficient. (Link)
📱 Google launches Gemini AI assistant in Messages app
Google has started rolling out its Gemini AI assistant feature in Google Messages to help users with tasks like drafting messages, brainstorming, event planning, and engaging in conversations. Gemini supports extensions like Workspace, YouTube, and Google Maps, and also lets users provide feedback on responses. (Link)
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