What Happened This Week in AI? May 22, 2024

In today's episode of The Daily AI Show, Brian, Beth, Jyunmi, Andy, and Robert jumped into the major AI news from the past week. The discussion kicked off with the buzz around Microsoft's latest announcements at their Build event, the surprising news about Humane's AI Pin, and other significant updates from the AI landscape.

Key Points Discussed:

Microsoft’s Build Event:

• Co-Pilot and AI PCs: Microsoft introduced several new features, including more integrations for Co-Pilot in Teams and the introduction of AI-first PCs with new NPU ARM chips, designed to enhance AI performance and integration on desktops.
• Vision Capabilities: Demonstrations included AI’s ability to analyze screen content, recognize multiple languages, and translate in real-time, similar to functionalities seen in OpenAI’s latest models.
• Recall Feature: Discussion around Microsoft's new Recall feature, similar to Rewind, which logs and analyzes on-screen activities, raising both interest and concerns regarding privacy and data management.
• AI Hardware Collaboration: Mention of partnerships with major PC manufacturers like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and others to create AI-enhanced laptops.

Humane’s AI Pin Struggles:

• Search for Buyer: Humane is reportedly seeking a buyer after the underwhelming debut of its AI Pin, with potential buyers being tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

Other Significant AI Updates:

• Anthropic’s Mapping of AI Minds: Anthropic’s breakthrough in mapping and manipulating the “mind” of large language models, potentially allowing for more controlled and understandable AI outputs.
• Inflection AI's Pivot: Inflection AI, creators of Pi, are shifting focus to B2B applications, aiming to bring their AI technology to organizations.
• Scale AI’s Funding: Scale AI raised $1 billion to continue providing essential data for training large language models, underscoring the growing demand for high-quality training data.
• Meta’s Chameleon Model: Meta introduced Chameleon, a new multimodal model similar to Google’s Gemini, designed from the ground up for various AI applications.

Industry Movements:

• Autodesk Acquires Wonder Dynamics: Enhancing capabilities in live motion capture without suits, potentially revolutionizing special effects in film.
• CAA’s Digital Vault Expansion: CAA is expanding its virtual media storage system to include more comprehensive rights management for their talent.
• Pixar Layoffs: Pixar laid off 175 employees, reflecting broader industry trends influenced by AI advancements in animation and cost-cutting measures by Disney.

Miscellaneous:

• Adobe’s Firefly Integration: Adobe added generative removal features to Lightroom, allowing for easy background edits in photos.
• Apple’s Eye-Tracking Technology: Apple announced upcoming eye-tracking features for iPhone and iPad, enhancing accessibility and user interface interactions.

Future AI Trends:

• Learning Languages with AI: Praktika raised $35 million to use AI avatars for more natural language learning, highlighting a trend towards interactive and immersive educational tools.