⚙️ Another AI Victory

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July 26, 2023

Good morning. As we dive into the world of AI, let's take a moment to grieve for the former owner of Twitter, or rather X.com, handle @X, who probably lost a million-dollar deal faster than an AI could’ve written this sentence. Just like Hollywood actors fearing their digital twins taking over, our friend @X learned the hard way that in the age of tech transformations, even your username isn't safe.

In today’s newsletter:

  • 💡 Microsoft's AI Success: A Boost for the Tech Industry

  • 🎬 Hollywood's AI Dilemma: Big Bets Amidst Wage and Regulation Strikes

  • 🔎 OpenAI Discontinues AI Classifier Over Accuracy Concerns

  • 🌐 Worldcoin Launches: A Step Towards AI-Proof Digital Identity

  • 🧩 AI Struggles with Simple Visual Logic Puzzles

  • 🏠 Wayfair's Decorify: Transforming Home Design with Generative AI

 NEWS

Microsoft's AI Revolution: A Glimpse into the Future of Tech

Midjourney

Microsoft is making it rain with record-breaking sales and profits this fiscal quarter, and it's all thanks to their new best friend: AI. The tech giant's sales have shot up by 8% from last year, hitting a whopping $56.2 billion in revenue, and profits have soared by 20% to $20.1 billion. These figures have left both analysts and Microsoft's own estimates in the dust.

So, what's the secret sauce? Microsoft has been cozying up to generative AI, integrating it across its products, from a chatty bot in its Bing search engine (which has just started to roll out on Safari and Chrome) to an AI assistant in its office software. Microsoft is leading a parade, and AI is the grand marshal.

Why should we care?

Microsoft's record-breaking quarter is a billboard-sized sign of AI's growing clout in the tech industry. Businesses and consumers are starting to realize that AI isn't just a shiny new toy—it's a game-changer. Take Microsoft's AI-powered assistant, Microsoft 365 Copilot, for example, priced at a hefty $30 per user per month, but that didn't stop Microsoft’s market cap from crossing the 2.6 trillion dollar finish line for the first time. It seems like the market has a serious craving for AI solutions.

Microsoft's Success isn't Just a Win for Microsoft

It's a win for the entire AI ecosystem. Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging other tech companies to step up their AI game, and as more companies take up the challenge, we can expect to see a surge in AI-driven products and services, sparking a race to the top in terms of competition, pricing, and quality. Then again… don't expect to wake up tomorrow in a world run by AI. Microsoft's CFO, Amy Hood, has said that the growth of the company's AI services will be a "gradual" process. So, while we're starting to see the ripple effects of AI, the tidal wave is still on the horizon.

NEWS

Hollywood is Ready to Bet Big on AI

Midjourney

As actors and writers strike for better wages and AI regulations, Netflix is making headlines by offering a cool $900,000 for an AI product manager position. While Hollywood is ready to break the bank for AI, it's playing hardball with the very people who breathe life into its stories. Actors are up in arms over studios using their scanned likenesses without fair compensation - being paid for a day's work, only to have their digital twin owned by the company forever, with no further pay or say.

The strikes seem to be justified…

Writers are worried about being upstaged by AI programs like ChatGPT, which can whip up text faster than you can say 'plot twist'. They're calling for labor protections against their silicon rivals; it’s a high-stakes game of man versus machine, with the writer's room as the battlefield.

In the grand scheme of things, it seems Hollywood is ready to bet big on AI, offering not just a hefty paycheck but also a golden ticket to their treasure trove of intellectual property. It's like they're asking, "Why hire a Shakespeare when a silicon scribe will do?" But let's not forget, every good story needs a hero. And in this saga, the heroes are the writers and actors standing their ground for fair pay and creative control. Because while AI might be able to churn out a script, it sure can't strut down the red carpet.

🔎 OpenAI Shuts Down AI Classifier Amidst Accuracy Concerns

OpenAI has decommissioned its AI classifier due to criticism over its low accuracy rate in distinguishing AI-generated text. Many trusted the tool for detecting AI-written passages, despite the classifier's well-documented limitations. OpenAI's move coincides with a broader industry initiative led by the White House for ethical and transparent AI development, highlighting the need for reliable watermarking or detection methods.

🌐 Worldcoin's Launch: A Step Towards AI-Proof Digital Identity

Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has officially launched, introducing its unique World ID system. The World ID, verified through an in-person iris scan, serves as a digital passport to confirm the holder's humanity, distinguishing them from AI bots. Altman envisions the World ID system as a potential tool for implementing universal basic income (UBI), as it could help reduce fraud and address economic changes brought about by AI advancements.

🧩 AI's Achilles Heel: Simple Visual Logic Puzzles

Despite AI systems like GPT-4 excelling in tasks such as passing exams and generating human-like text, they struggle with simple visual logic puzzles, according to a recent report. Researchers are using these puzzles to better understand the capabilities and limitations of AI systems, revealing that while they can perform impressively on certain tasks, they exhibit significant blind spots and struggle with abstract reasoning. This dichotomy has sparked debate among researchers about the nature of AI's "understanding" and has highlighted the need for more comprehensive testing methods to assess AI's real-world applicability.

🏠 Wayfair's Decorify: Generative AI Revolutionizes Home Design

Wayfair introduces Decorify, an app using generative AI to create photorealistic, shoppable images of rooms styled according to customer preference. The AI platform allows users to transform their living spaces into different styles like "Modern Farmhouse" or "Bohemian". Although still in its early phase with scope for improvements, the tool aligns with the growing trend of e-commerce platforms leveraging generative AI to enhance customer experience and boost sales.

  • Afforai: Summarizes, translates, and answers your questions about documents, spreadsheets, and websites (link)

  • Vimcal: Your calendar, on steroids (link)

  • SumUp: Automatically summarize and provide references for any article (link)

  • Codeium: Helps developers understand, change, and test unfamiliar codebases through natural language (link)

  • Midjourney for Slack: Unofficial community-created port of Midjourney for Slack (link)

  • Superwhisper: A better, more accurate version of Apple’s Dictation (voice-to-text) (link)

  • FYI: Productivity tool for creatives (link)

  • Eesel: ChatGPT fine-tuned on your company knowledgebase to create custom oracles (link)

  • Tweet Hunter: Build & monetize your Twitter audience (link)

Our database of all the best AI tools mentioned in our newsletter is coming soon!

Have cool resources or tools to share? Submit a tool or reach out by replying to this email or by DMing us on Twitter.

Prompt: a vacant motel room drenched in the soft blue glow from a muted television late at night. Feelings of dislocation, uncanny quietude, exploration of transitional spaces --ar 16:9 --q 2 --s 750

Prompt: a hyperrealism Disney cartoon style caricature of Pope Francis --ar 16:9 --q 2 --s 750

That's a wrap for now!

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We appreciate your continued support, and we'll catch you in the next edition.