SocialAI: Your Private, Bots-Only Twitter Clone
Plus: Snapchat's AI-powered new glasses, Runway's first-of-its-kind deal with Hollywood, and more.
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This newsletter brings you the latest AI updates in just 4 minutes! Dive in for a quick summary of everything important that happened in AI over the last week.
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In today’s edition:
🤖 SocialAI: Your private Twitter clone; no humans allowed
🎙️ Snapchat’s new AI-powered glasses, Spectacles 5
🚀 OpenAI’s o1 model achieves ‘level two’
💪 Runway inks a deal with Hollywood studio, Lionsgate
💻 Apple releases highly anticipated iOS 18.1 AI Update
📚 Knowledge Nugget: People are worried about Large Language Models by
Let’s go!
SocialAI: Your private Twitter clone where no humans are allowed
A new social network app called SocialAI gives each user their own private version of Twitter, in which everyone else is an AI-driven bot. It's up to the user whether the bots act like fans or trolls (and you have 0 human followers).
You choose followers like "supporters," "nerds," "skeptics," "visionaries,", “doomers”, or "ideators." Then, bots with those themes respond to your posts—similar to the bots on Elon Musk's social network, but now completely under your control.
Why does it matter?
SocialAI has sparked a debate about the role and value of online communication. While its creator sees it as a response to the toxicity of real social media, it could represent a significant shift in social media dynamics and human-AI interaction.
Snapchat’s new AI-powered glasses, Spectacles 5
Snapchat unveiled the fifth generation of its Spectacles AR headset with significant new improvements at SPS 2024. The glasses are powered by Snap OS, its brand-new, groundbreaking OS designed to enhance how people naturally interact with the world.
Snap also announced a new partnership with OpenAI to bring the power of cloud-hosted multimodal AI models to Spectacles. This will help developers add more context about what you see, say, or hear with the glasses. Spectacles are available as part of the Spectacles Developer Program.
Why does it matter?
Snap's partnership with OpenAI could integrate some form of ChatGPT, allowing for richer contextual experiences. As Snap continues to push tech boundaries, the impact of this collaboration on the future of AR will be exciting to watch.
OpenAI’s o1 model achieves ‘level two’
Speaking at a T-Mobile event in San Francisco last week, Sam Altman said that the company is only getting started with its new o1 model (or Strawberry, as the project was code-named).
According to OpenAI’s five-level approach to describing the capability of its systems, ChatGPT achieved the first level. o1 is talking OpenAI to the beginning of the second level. Altman also noted that level two “ enables level three relatively quickly.” So, massive improvements can be expected in the coming years, similar to the path from GPT-2 to the current GPT-4.
Why does it matter?
While we still make sense of chatbots, the tech industry is rapidly advancing AI. OpenAI's advancements in reasoning are one approach, while companies like Salesforce are pushing boundaries by transferring more decision-making power to AI agents.
Runway inks a deal with Hollywood studio, Lionsgate
Runway has partnered with Lionsgate, the studio behind the “John Wick”, “The Hunger Games”, and “Twilight” franchises, to train a custom video model on Lionsgate’s movie catalog. The studio’s “filmmakers, directors and other creative talent” will get access to the model to “augment their work.”
Why does it matter?
This is the first public collaboration between a generative AI startup and a major Hollywood studio.
However, the timing is notable as California tightens regulations on AI in entertainment and Runway faces legal challenges over copyright issues, highlighting the complex landscape of AI's future in creative industries.
Apple releases highly anticipated iOS 18.1 AI Update
Apple introduced new AI features, which are available in the public beta of iOS 18.1. Key updates include:
Summaries within e-mails and notifications,
An image Clean Up feature to remove unwanted objects from photos, and
Generative AI-powered writing tools for proofreading and improving text.
The updates also include improvements to AI-powered Siri. To try out Apple Intelligence, iPhone owners (iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, or any version of the iPhone 16) can install the public beta of iOS 18.1. In Settings, go to Apple Intelligence & Siri and select "Join the Apple Intelligence waitlist."
Why does it matter?
AI features are becoming a major factor in buying smartphones and computers now. Although Apple entered the consumer AI space later than others, it seems to have a strong chance to emerge as a leader.
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Knowledge Nugget: People are worried about Large Language Models
This article by
questions the value of current AI benchmarks, noting that while AI models often surpass human performance on tests like AIME or IQ, they haven't revolutionized productivity as expected. It suggests these benchmarks may not effectively measure AI's real-world capabilities.It also discusses California's proposed legislation (SB 1047) to regulate LLMs. Briefly, it discusses Israel's sophisticated attack on Hezbollah's communication network, using it as an example to reflect on cybersecurity threats and the challenges of protecting against highly advanced adversaries.
Why does it matter?
The article questions how we measure AI progress, suggesting that current benchmarks may not accurately reflect real-world AI capabilities. This impacts how we assess and prepare for AI advancements.
What Else Is Happening❗
📱Former Apple design chief Jony Ive is teaming up with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to develop an AI device that will offer a less socially disruptive computing experience than the iPhone.
🎥Snapchat announced an AI video-generation tool for creators, currently in beta. It allows video creation from text and, soon, image prompts.
✨AI was the main attraction of the Made On YouTube event, featuring significant updates, including integrating DeepMind's most capable video-generation model, Veo, into Shorts.
🌍The Biden administration will host an international AI safety meeting in San Francisco this November, gathering AI scientists and experts from at least 9 countries and the EU.
🔐LinkedIn may have used U.S. user data to train generative AI models before updating its privacy policy, automatically opting users in with an available opt-out option.
🤖Amazon introduced new generative AI tools for sellers, including a free Video Generator to create ads and Project Amelia, a personalized Amazon selling expert for every seller.
🛒Meta and other companies warned the EU in an open letter that its tech regulations risk limiting Europe's AI-driven economic growth and global competitiveness.
🏭Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy to reopen the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to fuel its data centers for AI.
🔍Cloudflare announced AI Audit, a set of tools to help websites of any size analyze and control how AI models use their content.
💻Rabbit's web-based 'large action model' agent will launch on r1 on October 1, enabling users to perform all kinds of online tasks using AI.
🚀In a recent post, OpenAI's Sam Altman suggested that superintelligence could emerge in a few thousand days while expressing optimism about AI's rapid advancement.
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