AI roundup #8 👩‍💻

🤯 Hinton quits Google, talks AI perils

Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent figure in the field of artificial intelligence, often referred to as the "Godfather of AI" has resigned from Google after more than a decade with the company.

In a recent interview, Hinton expressed concerns about the potential dangers of AI technology and his desire to speak freely about the issue.

Hinton was a key figure in developing the technology behind generative AI, which has since been used in systems like ChatGPT.

While acknowledging the benefits of AI, Hinton warned that its capacity to generate vast amounts of content could be used for disinformation campaigns and may even pose a risk to humanity.

“The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people — a few people believed that. But most people thought it was way off. And I thought it was way off. I thought it was 30 to 50 years or even longer away. Obviously, I no longer think that.”
- Geoffrey Hinton

He expressed regret for his life’s work but said he consoled himself with the idea that if he hadn't done it, someone else would have.

Sources: New York Times, The Verge

🤖 IBM's latest hire: AI algorithms

On 1st May, in an interview with Bloomberg, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna announced a plan to pause or slow hiring for back-office functions that can be replaced by AI, potentially resulting in a loss of around 7,800 jobs.

Mundane HR tasks are likely to be fully automated, but workforce evaluation functions may not be replaced over the next decade.

The company is focusing on software and services and is considering selling its weather unit.

IBM currently employs 260,000 workers and continues to hire for software development and customer-facing roles.

Sources: Mint, Business Today

🇷🇺 Move over ChatGPT, GigaChat speaks Russian

In a bid to foster domestic innovation and reduce reliance on foreign markets, Sberbank, Russia's most dominant bank, has developed GigaChat, a chatbot tech said to rival Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.

GigaChat's standout feature is its ability to communicate intelligently in Russian, setting it apart from foreign neural networks.

The development of AI chatbots has sparked a global race, with China's Baidu and Alibaba already launching their versions, and Elon Musk working on his own.

Sources: Moscow Times, Wion News

🎥 Gen-1 AI powers video-to-video app

Runway, an AI startup, has launched its first mobile app for iOS, which showcases its Gen-1 video-to-video generative AI model.

The app allows users to create unique videos by recording or transforming existing videos with the help of text prompts, images, or style presets.

Users can preview four generated versions of their video, with the final product being produced within minutes.

Runway's mobile app comes with two premium plans, Standard and Pro, offering 625 credits/month and 2,250 credits/month, respectively.

The app also ensures that all videos generated are free of nudity and copyright-protected content.

Sources: TechCrunch, TheVerge

🇮🇹 ChatGPT Italy ban lifted after changes

OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, has been restored in Italy after being temporarily banned by the data-protection authority over privacy concerns.

The maker has addressed the issues raised, including verifying users' ages in Italy and offering a new form for European Union users to object to its use of personal data.

Garante welcomed the measures but called for more compliance.

Millions of people have used ChatGPT since its launch, and it was added to Bing last month.

Sources: Wall Street Journal, The Verge

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AI Roundup #7: Last week in AI