Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

AI may be the future — but it’s also helping us unlock the past.

A charred, 2,000-year-old ancient scroll was just deciphered using new AI algorithms, a triumph that could rewrite history as we know it. Let’s get into it.

In today’s AI rundown:

• AI helps reveal ancient Herculean texts

• Meta takes on AI image labeling

• How to generate HTML from screenshots using GPTs

• Research enables more agile, safe robot movement

• 8 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

AI & HISTORY

📜 AI helps reveal ancient texts in Vesuvius Challenge

Image source: Vesuivius Challenge

The Rundown: AI algorithms just unlocked text from a charred, 2,000-year-old scroll from Herculaneum's vast Roman library, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius' in 79 A.D.

The details:

• A $1M contest sponsored by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman challenged teams to extract Greek text from scans of damaged scrolls called the ‘Herculaneum papyri’.

• Hundreds of the scrolls were excavated in the 18th century but were previously undecipherable due to damage from the eruption.

• The winning software used AI to detect patterns missed by humans, revealing over 2,000 readable letters.

Why it matters: While AI is being hailed as the future — don’t underestimate its ability to uncover the past. The newfound ability to decipher texts and artifacts previously lost to time could completely rewrite our knowledge of history.

TOGETHER WITH CHIMA

😊 Get immediate support for any product or service

The Rundown: One place to get immediate intelligent support and recommendations for any product or service.

• Instant Solutions: Get immediate personalized support for any product or service issue.

• Expert Access: Access specialized support in engineering, legal, tax, healthcare, etc.

• Product Wisdom: Track support metrics, peer reviews, and insights for companies and their offering.

Try it out for free - built for the people.

META

♾️ Meta takes on AI image labeling

Image source: Meta

The Rundown: Meta just published a blog outlining new efforts to label AI-created images and media across its platforms while pushing for common standards around identifying synthetic content.

The details:

• Meta plans to add labels to photorealistic AI images posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads over the next year using invisible watermarks and metadata.

• The company co-founded technical standards for AI markers and is currently building tools to detect the metadata at scale.

• Meta is adding user disclosure requirements for realistic images, videos, and audio posts that lack identifiers, with potential penalties for violations.

Why it matters: While AI deepfakes and deceptive media are clearly a massive problem — it feels like an issue that is going to be near impossible to regulate. Meta’s solutions are a step in the right direction, but workarounds will likely pop up that turn enforcement into a game of whack-a-mole.

AI TRAINING

💻 How to generate HTML from screenshots using GPTs

The Rundown: With ChatGPT’s vision capabilities and custom GPTs, you can now generate code for a website by simply providing a screenshot.

Step-by-step:

1. Head over to the GPT store and search for the Screenshot To Code GPT.

2. Upload a screenshot of a website or application.

3. The GPT will generate the HTML code using Tailwind CSS to replicate the layout and style of the webpage in the screenshot you have provided.

4. You can now use this code to create your version of the website and even get ChatGPT to help you with the rest of the setup or any potential changes/configurations — just ask!

AI RESEARCH

💨 Research enables more agile, safe robot movement

Image source: Carnegie Melon University and ETH Zurich

The Rundown: Researchers at Carnegie Melon University and ETH Zurich just developed a framework allowing four-legged robots to navigate cluttered spaces at high speeds of nearly 7 MPH without collisions.

The details:

• An agile program enables the robot to move rapidly around obstacles, while another program stops it if dangerous situations arise.

• A special prediction function decides when to switch between fast and safe, helping better guide the robot’s motion.

• A perception system predicts where obstacles are from camera angles to allow the robot to react in real time.

• The complete system was tested on a Unitree Go1 robot moving through tight and crowded real-world spaces.

Why it matters: As robots are deployed into more complex situations, the ability to perform quick, agile, and safe movements will be absolutely necessary. This research could help unlock new models for building more dynamic robots to better navigate the chaos of the real-world.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

AI tools powered by Supertools

• 🗣️ Deepgram- Introducing Aura, a powerful text-to-speech (TTS) API built for real-time conversations. Be the first to try Aura (link)*

• 🤖 CoachVox- Create an AI version of yourself to engage with your audience (link)

• 📝 GrammarBot- Write flawless English with AI-powered grammar and spelling correction (link)

• 👨🏻‍💻 code GPT- Assists with coding by providing real-time suggestions and guidance (link)

• 📅 BeforeSunset AI- Focus on completing your tasks effortlessly with automated daily planning (link)

• 📚 Physics GPT- Expert insights in advanced physics (link)

• 📄 Theodore AI- Transform complex text into simple content with real-world examples (link)

• 🔭 Galileo AI- Generate UI designs at lightning speed with AI, now open to the public (link)

AI jobs powered by The Rundown Jobs

• 🧱 Anyscale- Solutions Architect (link)

• 👨‍💻 Cohere- Data Annotator/ AI Data Trainer (link)

• 🧠 Anthropic- Machine Learning Systems Engineer (link)

• 🔧 Cohere- Engineering Program Manager Intern (link)

PS — we're hiring at The Rundown.

*Sponsored listing

QUICK HITS

Stanford University and Stability AI introduced CheXagent, a new model for automated Chest X-Ray interpretation that outperforms existing models in clinical tasks.

Google’s Lookout App released a new feature called ‘Image Question and Answer’, using AI to provide audio responses describing an uploaded image to help blind and partially-sighted people better perceive the world.

OpenAI also released new AI image labeling efforts, with generations from ChatGPT and GPT APIs now including C2PA metadata — though the company notes the metadata can still be removed.

Tencent released a new version of its DynamiCrafter video generation model, showcasing enhanced capabilities and upgraded resolution.

Britain announced a $125M investment to educate regulators on AI and establish nine new AI research hubs, focusing on areas including healthcare, chemistry, mathematics, and responsible AI.

New research found that a ChatGPT-like system with minimal adjustments showed impressive capabilities in predicting chemical properties and reactions.

Life Corporation, a Texas firm already caught in past illegal call schemes, was found to be behind recent AI-generated robocalls of President Biden telling New Hampshire primary voters to skip the election.

THAT’S A WRAP

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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

NASA just discovered a new ‘super-Earth‘ that has the potential to sustain human life.

Sitting at only 137 lightyears away, the new finding opens up further possibilities for human civilization to expand beyond Earth. Let’s get into it.

In today’s tech rundown:

• NASA discovers a new ‘super-Earth’

• Woman has a robotic limb merged with bone

• 10 new products

• Bluesky opens public sign-ups

• Apple Vision Pro heads to China

• Mozilla opens up a new subscription-based service

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

SUPER EARTH

🌍 NASA discovers a new ‘super-Earth’

Image source: earth.com

The Rundown: Scientists have discovered a super-Earth called TOI-715 b, in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star, sparking excitement about potential life-supporting conditions 137 light-years away.

The details::

• TOI-715 b is 1.5 times wider than Earth.

• It resides in the star's "conservative" habitable zone, with a second Earth-sized planet also possibly existing in the same zone.

• Advanced instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope could probe its atmosphere.

Why it matters: TOI-715 b's discovery within a habitable zone may advance our search for extraterrestrial life, as it's a prime candidate for detailed atmospheric study, potentially revealing conditions for life.

TOGETHER WITH TWEETHUNTER

🐦 Build and monetize your Twitter Audience

The Rundown: Supercharge your X (Twitter) growth with Tweet Hunter - the ultimate tool for scaling and monetization.

TweetHunter helps you:

• Generate up to 100 high-quality tweets in one hour with personalized suggestions

• Find the best-performing Tweets to apply to your own content

• Schedule a month’s worth of Tweets in one sitting

Whatever your current growth strategy is, TweetHunter is faster. Try it here.

BIONIC WOMAN

🦾 Woman has a robotic limb merged with bone

Image source: Anna-Lena Lundqvist / Ortiz-Cata SWNS

The Rundown: Karin, dubbed "the real bionic woman," is the first to receive a robotic limb that integrates with her nervous and skeletal systems, offering new hope for amputees

The details:

• Karin lost her right hand in a farming accident over 20 years ago.

• The bionic limb allows her to perform 80% of tasks she could do with both hands.

• The limb, developed by a team from Sweden, Australia, and Italy, uses osseointegration and AI.

Why it matters: This breakthrough represents a significant advancement in prosthetic technology, potentially transforming the quality of life for amputees worldwide by offering more natural and intuitive control over artificial limbs.

NEW PRODUCTS

🗣️ Deepgram- Introducing Aura, a powerful text-to-speech (TTS) API built for real-time conversations. Be the first to try Aura (link)*

🤖 Syncly- Discover genuine customer issues through AI-powered feedback analysis (link)

🖼️ GEMIX- Craft your ideal avatar in a variety of styles (link)

🔔 Rupert- Create no-code Slack alerts with Rupert’s intuitive builder (link)

🎙️ Podcaster Tools by Podurama- Streamline your podcasting process with automation for show notes, transcripts, and social media content (link)

⏰ GReminders- Figure out appointment management and reduce no-shows with automated scheduling and SMS reminders (link)

🛍️ Algomo- Enhance your shopping with tailor-made AI recommendations (link)

⚡️ Notion AI- Your notes, on steroids. Access the limitless power of AI, right inside Notion (link)

📱 Synthesia- Create professional videos without mics, cameras, or actors using an AI-generated character (link)

📝 Writesonic- ChatGPT alternative that addresses the limitations of ChatGPT (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

*Sponsored listing

SNIPPETS

Bluesky, the decentralized social platform, is now open for public sign-ups and is preparing to let developers host their services on its AT Protocol.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a warning against using Apple Vision Pro headsets while driving due to the distraction they pose.

YouTube is experimenting with color-filtered video recommendations for a tailored visual browsing experience.

Dell is revising its remote work policy by requiring hybrid employees to spend more time in the office.

Spotify's Q4 2023 financial report reflects growth in subscribers and monthly users despite layoffs and a loss.

Apple's Vision Pro headset is slated for release in China by May, with ongoing trademark negotiations with Huawei for the name.

Mozilla introduces a new subscription service that proactively removes users' leaked personal information from numerous data broker websites.

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

In today’s surprising twist of events, Microsoft is teaming up with news outlets to bring AI-assisted stories, amid a lawsuit with the NYT.

The new partnerships are set to integrate AI into the news research process — though journalists will still write the actual articles. Let’s get into it.

In today’s AI rundown:

• Microsoft partners with news orgs for AI research

• Roblox bridges language barriers with AI chat translator

• How to create coloring book images with AI

• Apple boosts AI speech recognition with new method

• 8 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

MICROSOFT

📰 Microsoft partners with news orgs for AI research

Image source: Midjourney

The Rundown: Microsoft just announced a series of new partnerships with media organizations to provide AI tools and guidance on using generative models for news gathering and operations.

The details:

• Semafor’s 'Signals’ feed will be sponsored by Microsoft and leverage AI to research and curate insights, with the stories still written entirely by journalists.

• Semafor’s writers will also use AI to sift through info across global news sources and various languages to enhance research capabilities.

• Other Microsoft partnerships include CUNY’s journalism school, The Online News Association, The GroundTruth Project, and Nota.

• The announcement comes on the heels of the NYT’s lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging the company trained ChatGPT on its news articles.

Why it matters: AI still produces occasional hallucinations in text (AKA it makes things up) — which is why we, ironically as an AI newsletter, still write every newsletter by hand. Media organizations are making the right move here by leveraging AI to streamline work across everything other than the writing.

TOGETHER WITH OCTOAI

🦙 Try Code Llama 70B in three lines of code

The Rundown: Open source LLMs such as Mixtral and Meta’s Code Llama 70B are rapidly catching up to GPT-4. With OctoAI, you can swap the latest open-source models into your app in just three lines of code.

OctoAI lets you:

• Test Mixtral-8-7B or Code Llama 70B in minutes

• Find a faster and cheaper LLM

• Stay ahead as open-source progresses

Don’t get locked into closed AI if there’s a better option.

Sign up for OctoAI and put open-source to the test for free with a $10 credit.

ROBLOX

💬 Roblox bridges language barriers with AI chat translator

Image source: Roblox

The Rundown: Roblox just unveiled a real-time AI chat translator that enables players speaking different languages to seamlessly communicate in-game, supporting 16 languages and achieving near-instantaneous translation.

The details:

• The system translates text between any combination of supported languages, bridging communication barriers between its diverse 70M daily active users.

• Roblox trained an LLM on in-game terminology and public and internal datasets, helping it recognize internet slang and other platform-specific language.

• The company also plans to expand translations across the platform, including text on images, 3D models, and voice chat.

Why it matters: We’ve posted often about AI’s ability to break down language barriers, and Roblox just provided a perfect real-world implementation. Pretty soon, every platform will likely have an AI system of its own — ending communication barriers as we know them.

AI TRAINING

🖍️ How to create coloring book images with AI 

Image source: Chase Lean (@chaseleantj on X)

The Rundown: With a good prompt, you can generate a coloring book version of any images for free using Microsoft Image Creator.

Thank you to Chase Lean for sharing this creative idea and prompt with us.

Step-by-step:

1. Head to Microsoft Image Creator or Midjourney.

2. Describe the image you want to generate using the following prompt:

   • “On the left, a black and white simple children's coloring book illustration featuring a [insert description of image] with no shading, with a white background. On the right, the same illustration with color. --ar 2:1 --style raw --sref [see image below] --stylize 250 --v 6

3. After a few minutes you will receive a set of images you can choose from.

PRESENTED BY SECTION SCHOOL

🧠 10-day AI crash course

The Rundown: The “AI class” is forming – don’t be left behind with the luddites. In 10 days, Section’s AI Crash Course will teach you to:

• Build effective prompts, so you don’t get garbage back from ChatGPT

• Use AI to take rote tasks off your to-do list

• Harness AI’s three personas: assistant, strategist, and creator

Plus dedicated office hours with an AI expert and a library of AI resources. Enroll here.

AI RESEARCH

🗣️ Apple boosts AI speech recognition with new method

Image source: Apple

The Rundown: Apple researchers just introduced a new technique called "acoustic model fusion" that integrates an additional model into speech recognition systems, helping better recognize unfamiliar words and names.

The details:

• End-to-end models (which complete speech-to-text processes in a single step) can often struggle with rare words not seen much during training.

• The researchers found that fusing a secondary acoustic model to the end-to-end model during recognition provided useful additional pronunciation and audio data.

• For some test sets, the approach cut word error rates by over 14%, with higher gains for less common words.

Why it matters: Apple providing new research on enhancing speech recognition is notable given Siri’s… comically lackluster capabilities in the area. But given the paper’s focus (and other rumored Apple AI developments), everyone’s least favorite voice assistant may get a serious upgrade soon.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

AI tools powered by Supertools

• 🎥 Typeframes- Create videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok with simple text prompts (link)

• 🤖 AI Form Roast- Grade your online forms with AI (link)

• 👩🏼‍🦰 User Persona Generator GPT- Simulate an ideal customer without extensive interviews (link)

• 📝 Flipner- Create masterful content faster than ever with this AI assist (link)

• 📸 Product Descriptions GPT- Craft engaging e-commerce product listings (link)

• 👥 Hearth- An AI agent that manages your contacts and relationships (link)

• ✈️ Trip Planner GPT- Plan your trips effortlessly with a custom itinerary and expert advice (link)

AI jobs powered by The Rundown Jobs

• 🛠️ Cohere- Engineering Program Manager, Generative ML (link)

• 🧠 Robust Intelligence- Head of Operations (link)

• ✨ OpenAI- User Operations Generalist (link)

• 🔍 Anthropic- Research Engineer, Model Evaluations (link)

QUICK HITS

Bumble launched a new AI-powered tool called Deception Detector, which automatically identifies and blocks 95% of spam and fake profiles on its dating platform.

Sam Altman posted that GPT-4’s performance should now be improved, saying the model had ‘a slow start on its new year’s resolutions’ to be less lazy.

Bayreuth University scientists are using AI to analyze galaxy structures and behaviors, a new method that efficiently tests astrophysical theories using Einstein’s principles of relativity.

Alibaba researchers released Qwen1.5, open-sourcing six model sizes with performance surpassing GPT 3.5 and Mistral-Medium, and competitive with GPT-4 on certain benchmarks.

A Hong Kong company lost $25.6M after scammers created a meeting with deepfake audio and video for multiple recreated coworkers, convincing a finance employee to transfer funds.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has reportedly had to slow its phone production despite leading the country in smartphone sales, prioritizing AI chips amid surging global demand.

THAT’S A WRAP

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FEEDBACK

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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

With droughts only worsening across the globe every year, there’s a desperate need for more water.

While many are resorting to wells, an associate professor at Arizona State University may have found a better solution — by extracting water from thin air. Let’s get into it…

In today’s tech rundown:

• New tech extracts drinking water from thin air

• Tech layoffs continue, Snap cuts 500 employees

• 7 new products

• Police departments are tapping AI

• US National Ignition Facility made a leap in nuclear fusion

• Roblox introduces a real-time AI translation

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

ARIZONA STATE

💧 New tech extracts drinking water from thin air

Source: Jesse Rieser

The Rundown: An associate professor at Arizona State University named Cody Freison has developed a solar-powered system that can extract water from thin air — which could provide significant relief for drought regions.

The details:

• Devices like hydro panels use materials science to absorb moisture from the air and convert it into clean, usable water.

• The concept builds on ancient techniques like fog-catching nets used in Peru dating back to the 1500s.

• The company, called Source Global, already operates in more than 50 countries and has a private valuation of more than $1 Billion.

Why it matters: As the number of droughts continues to expand globally, technology that literally taps into an abundant atmospheric source could be a lifeline. While still overcoming scaling hurdles, air-to-water devices show promise as a supplemental solution for the driest regions.

TOGETHER WITH OCTO AI

🦙 Try Code Llama 70B in three lines of code

The Rundown: Open source LLMs such as Mixtral and Meta’s Code Llama 70B are rapidly catching up to GPT-4. With OctoAI, you can swap the latest open-source models into your app in just three lines of code.

OctoAI lets you:

• Test Mixtral-8-7B or Code Llama 70B in minutes

• Find a faster and cheaper LLM

• Stay ahead as open-source progresses

Don’t get locked into closed AI if there’s a better option.

Sign up for OctoAI and put open-source to the test for free with a $10 credit.

SNAPCHAT

👻 Tech layoffs continue, Snap cuts 500 employees

Image source: Alex Castro / The Verge

The Rundown: The 2024 tech layoffs continue to worsen, with Snap to lay off 10% of its workforce worldwide (around 500 employees) to promote “in-person collaboration“.

The details:

• The layoffs add to the nearly 24,000 tech worker cuts in January 2024 alone.

• Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week alongside the CEO of Meta, X, TikTok, and Discord.

• The Snapchat maker’s previous round of layoffs was in 2022, with 20% of staff cut from the roster.

Why it matters: With profits and the economy holding strong, one has to wonder where these massive layoffs for tech workers have been coming from. Is it due to companies focusing on building on top of the costly AI? We’ll find out soon.

NEW PRODUCTS

🎥 Typeframes- Create videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok with simple text prompts (link)

🥗 Belly Buddy- Identify food you eat that are linked to digestive issues (link)

📝 Flipner- Create masterful content faster than ever with this AI assist (link)

📸 Product Descriptions GPT- Craft engaging e-commerce product listings (link)

👥 Hearth- An AI agent that manages your contacts and relationships (link)

✈️ Trip Planner GPT- Plan your trips effortlessly with a custom itinerary and expert advice (link)

🤖 AI Form Roast- Grade your online forms with AI (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

SNIPPETS

Police departments are tapping AI to analyze unreviewed body-cam footage, aiming to identify problematic officers and behavior patterns, moving towards greater accountability and transparency in law enforcement.

The US National Ignition Facility has made a leap in nuclear fusion, achieving reactions that release nearly double the input energy.

YouTube revealed plans to develop a Vision Pro app, responding to the device's rising popularity and user demand for enhanced VR video support.

OnlyFake leverages neural networks to produce realistic fake IDs for $15, posing significant threats to cybersecurity by potentially facilitating bank fraud and money laundering.

Roblox introduced a real-time AI translation feature, supporting 16 languages, to enable seamless communication among its global user base, potentially transforming the multiplayer gaming experience.

Reddit's revenue surged over 20% to $800 million in 2023, yet the company remains unprofitable as it eyes an IPO, with a suggested valuation of at least $5 billion.

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THAT’S A WRAP

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

A new leak just revealed a potential makeover for Google Bard – AND the launch of Google’s top-tier Gemini Ultra model.

If the rumors are true, we could be in for a wild week! Let’s investigate…

In today’s AI rundown:

• Leaked doc reveals Bard rebrand and Gemini Ultra launch

• Hugging Face launches open source assistant creator

• How to generate 3D assets from text with Meshy

• AI model learns human language from baby

• 6 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

GOOGLE

😱 Leaked doc reveals Bard rebrand and Gemini Ultra launch

Image source: Dylan Roussel (@evowizz on X)

The Rundown: A leaked changelog circulating on social media suggests Google is preparing a major revamp of its Bard chatbot under the new name Gemini, alongside the launch of its highly anticipated Gemini Ultra model.

The details:

• The leaked changelog shows Bard being rebranded as Gemini on Feb. 7th in an effort to better align the brand with its underlying generative models.

• A paid ‘Gemini Advanced’ tier, built on the more powerful Ultra model, is also listed for a Feb. 7 launch.

• Gemini will introduce its first Android app on select Pixel and Galaxy devices, expanding globally over time.

• Canada also (finally) gets Gemini access on the web, with App access coming soon.

Why it matters: Given previous rumblings of phasing Bard out for Gemini, the rebranding news isn’t shocking to hear. More exciting is the launch of Ultra — and if its capabilities live up to the hype, the model could re-ignite the LLM acceleration race and push OpenAI for a faster GPT-5 rollout.

TOGETHER WITH ARTISAN

🤖 Hire Ava: Your AI sales assistant

The Rundown: Meet Ava – your dedicated AI sales assistant. Onboard Ava with a simple 10-minute chat, after which she will start finding leads & writing emails 24/7.

Ava is the first Artisan, able to:

• Find targeted sales prospects’ information from a database of 270M+

• Write & send hyper-personalized emails

• Autonomously schedule meetings in your calendar

Hire Ava today to get more sales meetings, without hiring a human BDR.

HUGGING FACE

🤗 Hugging Face launches open source assistant creator

Image source: Hugging Face

The Rundown: Hugging Face just launched a free tool for easily building customizable AI assistants powered by open source models, positioning it as an alternative to OpenAI’s GPT Store offerings.

The details:

• Users can create assistants in ‘2 clicks’, with the ability to choose between various open source models like Claude, LLaMA 2, and Mixtral.

• Assistants are free to create, shareable and browsable via a central repository, similar to OpenAI's GPT Store.

• Unlike GPTs, assistants do not support RAG, web search, actions, and image generation, though the features are on the roadmap for future integration.

Why it matters: While still missing some key features, HF’s assistants are a huge step for open source AI — and the ability to utilize different LLMs will enable even more creative applications. The tool is also yet another example of open source tech quickly catching up to industry leaders.

AI TRAINING

🤯 How to generate 3D assets from text with Meshy

The Rundown: Meshy has recently unveiled its new Text to 3D tool, Meshy-2. It enables users to create high-quality 3D models quickly.

Here is a quick step-by-step:

1. Sign up: Head to Meshy to create an account for free.

2. Create: Opt for Text to 3D BETA, describe your model, and pick an art style.

3. Refine: Meshy generates 4 preview models; choose one or more to refine for more detail.

4. Download: Click the right-side download button to save your 3D assets in various file formats.

AI RESEARCH

👶 AI model learns human language from baby

Image source: Wai Keen Vong

The Rundown: An AI model learned to recognize words like "crib" and "ball" by training on first-person video and audio captures from a baby's life, offering insights into human language development in a new study from researchers at New York University.

The details:

• Researchers gathered 61 hours of helmet cam footage from an Australian baby to show the infant's perspective.

• The AI neural network was exposed to 250,000 word-image pairs from the baby's activities to learn associations.

• In evaluations, the AI successfully matched words to images 62% of the time, comparable to other models trained on vastly more data.

• The approach challenges theories that innate knowledge is needed to learn language, showing general learning skills may be just as valuable.

Why it matters: This fascinating research could challenge traditional theories on how we acquire and learn language — as well as help to adapt AI models for understanding the physical world more intuitively rather than relying on huge datasets.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

AI tools powered by Supertools

• 📸 Kondor for iOS- ChatGPT for your phone camera (link)*

• 🎥 Pictory GPT- Effortlessly create captivating videos (link)

• 📊 Matrices- Simplify data analysis and automate tasks for better insights (link)

• 📚 Books GPT- Your personal AI guide for discovering and recommending books (link)

• 🛠️ Promptly- Build generative AI applications without coding experience (link)

• 🌐 TereraAI Learn Language GPT- Learn a new language interactively with adaptive scenarios (link)

AI jobs powered by The Rundown Jobs

• 🔧 Open AI- Reliability Engineer, Research Platform (link)

• 🤗 Hugging Face- Machine Learning Engineer Internship (link)

• 👨‍💼 Anthropic- Payroll Manager (link)

• 🔍 Cohere- Engineering Program Manager, Search & Embedding ML (link)

*Sponsored listing

QUICK HITS

A new study revealed that AI agents, including advanced LLMs like GPT-4, can potentially escalate military and diplomatic tensions in simulated war games.

A mysterious ‘DeluxeChat’ model is making waves on Imsys Arena, with impressive performance expected to be in line with top available models.

Kleiner Perkins VCs Mamoon Hamid and Ilya Fushman estimated that ‘more than 80 percent’ of pitches they hear now involve AI in an interview with TechCrunch.

Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted at a significant AI announcement coming from the company later this year during an analyst call following earnings reports.

Google released MobileDiffusion, a new approach that allows for near-instantaneous text-to-image generation on mobile devices.

Alibaba’s Quen-VL-Plus is quietly gaining ground on the top multimodal LLMs, with its vision capabilities reportedly matching or exceeding GPT-4.

AI lobbying has reportedly surged over the last year, skyrocketing by 185% in 2023 with over 450 organizations engaging in response to increasing calls for AI regulation.

THAT’S A WRAP

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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

If you’re feeling FOMO over the Apple Vision Pro, you’re not alone. But one person who probably isn’t? Mark Zuckerberg.

While his competitor may have captured the headlines, Zuck just found himself $28B (!) richer after a Meta stock surge and the company’s first-ever dividend. Let’s get into it…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Meta’s stock surges with first-ever dividend

• Oxford PV sets world record for most efficient solar panel

• 8 new products

• Joe Rogan inks $250M agreement with Spotify

• Jeff Bezos selling $8B in Amazon shares

• Japan’s lander goes dark on the moon

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

META

📈 Meta’s stock surges with first-ever dividend

Image source: Getty Images

The Rundown: Meta shares surged over 20% after strong earnings and the company’s first-ever dividend, adding over $200B in value — and raising Mark Zuckerberg's net worth rose by more than $28B (!) in a single day.

The details:

• Meta's profit tripled year-over-year to $14B as revenue climbed 25%, its fastest growth since mid-2021.

• Meta achieved higher margins and reduced expenses, signs its "year of efficiency" which included major layoffs, has paid dividends.

• The company announced its first-ever dividend of $0.50 per share, rewarding investors and adding additional fuel to the stock rally.

• Zuckerberg's roughly 350M shares means he stands to gain about $700M per year from the dividends.

Why it matters: The Vision Pro may have gotten all the hype this weekend — but Zuck’s probably feeling just fine with his $28B windfall. Add these positive trends in with the company’s vast AI compute power and endless data, and Meta looks extremely well-positioned for a tech-driven future.

TOGETHER WITH CASTMAGIC

⚡️ Get more done with less manual work via Castmagic

The Rundown: What if we told you that your entire content plan could come from one podcast? With Castmagic, it can:

• Transform any podcast into ready-to-post content with a single click

• Perfectly accurate transcript with timestamped show notes, key topics, and summaries

• Work with any audio - sales calls, YouTube videos and more

Click here to try Castmagic, the fastest way to automate your content workflow.

ENERGY TECH

🌞 Oxford PV sets world record for most efficient solar panel

Image source: Fraunhofer

The Rundown: Oxford PV, a solar tech spinout of Oxford University, just created the world's most efficient solar panel — with 25% efficiency in converting sunlight to electricity.

The details:

• Their tandem solar cells combine the mineral perovskite with silicon to achieve 43% theoretical maximum efficiency, much higher than the sub-30 % efficiency of typical panels.

• The panels were produced in Germany in collaboration with Fraunhofer and are already equipped for volume manufacturing.

• Oxford PV’s CTO said the record-breaking panels show the world is ‘on the cusp of the next solar revolution’.

Why it matters: By creating more efficient solar panels, breakthroughs like these can continue to bring down the cost of solar power and increase adoption — meaningfully accelerating the global transition to renewable and cleaner energy.

NEW PRODUCTS

📸 Kondor for iOS- ChatGPT for your phone camera (link)*

🤖 MindOS Memory Twin- Memorize, organize, and categorize your thoughts instantly with AI (link)

🤔 Theodore AI- Clarify complex topics into straightforward notes with just 3 clicks (link)

📹 Pictory GPT for Videos- Effortlessly produce eye-catching videos via ChatGPT (link)

📝 Flipner AI- Ideate & enhance your writing with the help of artificial intelligence (link)

💘 Longshot- ChatGPT for enterprises. Upload your docs, fact check, ensure zero hallucinations and integrate anywhere (link)

🧠 AI-suggests- Generate tons of ready-to-use content and new ideas for your business instantly (link)

🎬 HeyGen- Create videos from text in minutes with AI-generated avatars and voices (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

*= Sponsored listing

SNIPPETS

Podcast icon Joe Rogan enters a new $250 million agreement with Spotify for 'The Joe Rogan Experience.’

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is planning to sell up to $50M shares (valued at $8.6B) over the next year, according to the company’s regulatory filing.

Repair website iFixit posted an inside look at the Apple Vision Pro, giving a detailed breakdown of the headset’s hardware.

Mark Zuckerberg's original creation, Facebook, now plays a secondary role in Meta's portfolio of apps, having evolved from a college network into a controversial yet financially foundational element of his broader ambitions.

JAXA's SLIM lander has entered a dormant state during the lunar night after sending one last image from the moon's surface.

Samsung states the Galaxy S24's less vivid display mode is deliberate, designed for a more natural viewing experience.

Google Bard is set to be rebranded as Gemini and integrated into a wider range of apps, along with plans for a dedicated Android app.

SPONSOR US

⚡️ Get your product in front of over 75k+ tech enthusiasts

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.

THAT’S A WRAP

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

Google just leveled up Bard big time, infusing its Gemini Pro model into the chatbot alongside a slew of new AI releases.

With an army of products to integrate and an advanced Gemini Ultra model lurking — is Bard coming for ChatGPT’s throne? Let’s get into it…

In today’s AI rundown:

• Google unleashes Gemini Pro in Bard and new AI

• Altman: AI will enable a billion dollar solopreneur

• How to create images with Google Bard

• AI aids in early detection of ovarian cancer

• 9 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs

• More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

GOOGLE

✨ Google unleashes Gemini Pro in Bard and new AI

Image source: Google

The Rundown: Google just rolled out a significant upgrade to Bard, now powering the chatbot with its Gemini Pro AI model — alongside the launch of a new image generator, AI maps upgrades, and an updated music generation tool.

The details:

• Bard is now running on Gemini Pro instead of the previous LaMDA and PaLM models, improving reasoning and language abilities.

• Bard can now generate images through its Imagen 2 model, which allows users to prompt conversationally, similar to ChatGPT/DALL-E 3.

• A standalone ImageFX text-to-image tool is also now available in Labs, which features “expressive chips" for easier prompting and creation.

• Conversational search comes to maps, with AI-powered results providing detailed information to help users discover new locations.

• A new MusicFX text-to-music tool builds on MusicLM, with generations expanded up to 70 seconds and enhanced capabilities.

Why it matters: Giving Bard a significant upgrade puts it as a real contender to ChatGPT’s capabilities — and if the upcoming Gemini Ultra eventually gets integrated along with the other impressive standalone tools, OpenAI might have a real battle for the coveted top chatbot honor.

TOGETHER WITH HEIGHT

🏗️ Take the project management out of product building

The Rundown: When you started building a product, you didn’t dream of endless admin and organization tasks. You wanted to make something people would love.

Enter Height:

• An AI project tool to manage the work for you

• Works invisibly, automatically, and autonomously

• Focus your energy on building a successful product

Build a successful product + offload manual upkeep for good ⬇️

Click here to be the first to access Height 2.0.

AI & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

🔮 Altman: AI will enable a billion dollar solopreneur

Image source: Alexis Ohanian (@alexohanian) on X

The Rundown: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said during a fireside chat at the 2023 Robin Hood Investors Conference that a ‘one person, billion dollar company’ will happen thanks to AI in the near future.

The details:

• Altman revealed he has a betting pool in his tech CEO group chat on what year the milestone will be achieved.

• The sentiment comes amid job concerns surrounding automation and a brutal stretch of tech layoffs, with nearly 30,000 employees cut already in 2024.

• Altman just posted about ‘being nostalgic for the time period you’re living through at the time you’re living it,’ which… sure sounds like someone who has seen the future.

AI TRAINING

🎨 NEW: How to create images with Google Bard

The Rundown: Google just announced several major upgrades to Google Bard — including the ability to generate images by prompting conversationally directly in a chat.

Step-by-step:

1. Head over to Bard.

   • Note: Bard's image generation is accessible in most countries, excluding the EU, and Canada.

2. In the chat, ask Bard to “Generate an image of [describe your image].”

   • EX: “Generate a high resolution, awe-inspiring image of a humpback whale mid-breach, water spray reflecting sunlight at sunset, wispy clouds, and realistic water reflections.” You can also ask Bard to write a prompt to help get started.

3. Bard will return two images based on your prompt. You can download the images, generate more, or edit your prompt to improve the images!

PRESENTED BY IMAGINE AI LIVE

⚡️ Businesses that use AI will replace those that don’t…

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The Imagine AI Live 24 conference, happening March 27-28 at the luxurious Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, will become the nexus of AI innovation and business transformation.

Join like-minded AI leaders, thinkers, and disruptors in a quest to redefine business and the future of work with AI.

Secure your spot now to get 15% off, offer ends February 15th.

AI RESEARCH

🏥 AI aids in early detection of ovarian cancer

Image source: ImageFX

The Rundown: Researchers at Georgia Tech just developed a new diagnostic blood test for ovarian cancer using AI and metabolic data that achieved 93% accuracy in detecting the disease.

The details:

• The test analyzes compounds in the blood and feeds this data to AI models to predict if ovarian cancer is present.

• The model calculates a personalized probability score for each patient based on their unique blood compound profile.

• Tested on over 500 women with and without ovarian cancer, it significantly improved on past diagnostic approaches, especially for early detection.

Why it matters: Known as the ‘silent killer’, ovarian cancer has previously been notoriously difficult to detect in early stages. With the help of this new test, doctors may finally have a promising way to enable early diagnosis and lifesaving treatment.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

AI tools powered by Supertools

• ⚖️ Legal+ GPT- Your personal AI assistant for all your legal needs (link)

• 🖼️ Mocky- Generate high-quality mock-ups for your products (link)

• 🌎 GPT Workspace- Create and share your GPT without an OpenAI subscription (link)

• 🎥 Nero AI Video Upscaler- AI motion tracking editor for blurring faces, logos, or license plates (link)

• 🤖 Sune AI- Collaborate, automate, and streamline workflows for your team (link)

• 🔒 GPT Guard- Unlock and freely use your data for AI and data analytics while safeguarding security and meeting privacy regulations (link)

AI jobs powered by The Rundown Jobs

• 🎥 Synthesia- Senior Machine Learning Engineer - Video Perception (link)

• 📢 Anthropic- Internal Communications Lead (link)

• 🌍 Cohere- Global Head, AWS Partnership (link)

• 👩‍💻 Open AI- Front End Engineer, Review & Training Platform (link)

QUICK HITS

Section is hosting a free fireside chat on "Where's the Money in AI?" with Exponential View's Azeem Azhar. Sign up to join the free, 1-hour event on Feb. 22.*

Mastercard revealed its own AI model that allows banks to detect fraud in real-time, claiming over 300% improvement in detection rates.

Amazon unveiled “Rufus" an AI shopping assistant that can answer shopping questions, recommend products, and compare items.

Anthropic rolled out a new ‘dark mode’ visual option for its Claude chatbot.

Meta plans to deploy its 2nd-gen custom AI chip, codenamed "Artemis", into data centers this year to reduce reliance on costly Nvidia GPUs.

Arc browser introduced new AI-powered features, including Instant Links to instantly visit top search results and an Explore tool that leverages LLMs to provide an integrated browsing and searching experience.

A ChatGPT user found love with the help of AI, training a model to swipe Tinder based on his preferences — messaging with over 5,200 women and proposing after a year.

*Sponsored listing

THAT’S A WRAP

SPONSOR US

Get your product in front of over 450k+ AI enthusiasts

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FEEDBACK

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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

Elon just dropped some new advice for business founders — “don’t incorporate your company in Delaware”.

After the state’s court ruled against his $56B Tesla pay package, Musk is wasting no time in pushing to take the company’s talents to Texas. Let’s dive deeper…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Musk pushes for Tesla incorporation pivot

• Google expands passkeys towards password-less future

• 9 new products

• NASA pushes for commercial Mars exploration

• Hulu slams door on account sharing

• Tesla faces more lawsuits

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

TESLA

🤠 Musk pushes for Tesla incorporation pivot

Image source: New York Times

The Rundown: After a Delaware judge voided his $56 billion pay package, Elon Musk just proposed holding a shareholder vote to move Tesla's state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas.

The details:

• A Delaware judge ruled the $56B incentive package, agreed on in 2018, was unfair to shareholders — saying most board members were "beholden to Musk."

• Musk completed all 12 goals required to earn the package, but a group of shareholders challenged the payout of what they saw as overly excessive compensation.

• Musk polled X users on where Tesla should move its incorporation, with 87% voting for Texas.

Why it matters: The courts have not been kind to Elon over the years — and this judgement, in the wake of Musk’s recent demands for additional stake to continue building robotics and AI at Tesla, likely cloud his future even more.

GOOGLE

🔐 Google expands passkeys towards password-less future 

Image source: 9to5Google

The Rundown: Google is expanding its passkeys to more Pixel devices and partnering with major brands like Uber, TikTok, and PayPal to replace passwords with secure biometric login.

The details:

• Passkeys use fingerprints, face authentication, or PINs instead of passwords to log into online accounts.

• The login system better eliminates phishing and attack risks, while also eliminating the need for users to remember tons of different passwords.

• Support was added to all recent Pixel phones and the Pixel tablet via a Feature Drop.

• Major companies like Adobe, eBay, PayPal, Uber, Nintendo have adopted passkeys, with more set to come as Google drops its Pixel exclusivity.

Why it matters: The days of traditional passwords being the Internet’s primary safeguard are almost up — which is a positive for both security measures and the collective memories of users everywhere.

NEW PRODUCTS

🤖 Flipner AI- Shape your writing with a pocket-sized AI writing assistant (link)

🧠 Promptly AI- Create generative AI applications and automate workflows without any coding (link)

🖼️ Fotor AI- Your go-to AI-powered photo editing solution at no cost (link)

📅 BeforeSunset AI- Manage calendars with an AI assistant that plans your day for you (link)

🚀 BoilerBay- Accelerate your project launch by 10 times (link)

🔗 Share GPT- Share conversational AI models easily without an OpenAI subscription (link)

💼 Taplio- All-in-one AI-powered tool for creating, managing, and growing your personal brand on LinkedIn (link)

📧 Superhuman- The fastest email experience ever made, with AI-powered features (link)

🧠 Taskade- Five AI-powered tools in one to supercharge your team productivity (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

SNIPPETS

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, faces scrutiny from senators including Elizabeth Warren over its handling of $94 million in research-related tax credits.

NASA initiates a groundbreaking commercial approach to Mars exploration, encouraging U.S. space industry proposals for various private missions.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is pushing to classify AI-generated voice robocalls as illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Google has signed agreements to buy offshore wind energy in Europe to power its data centers, working towards its goal of matching electricity use with 100% clean energy by 2030.

Apple has renewed its licensing agreement with Qualcomm for modem chips until March 2027 due to delays in developing its own 5G modem.

Tesla is being sued by 25 counties in California for alleged mishandling of hazardous waste at various facilities in the state.

Hulu updates its terms to prohibit subscribers from sharing passwords outside their primary residence.

SPONSOR US

⚡️ Get your product in front of over 75k+ tech enthusiasts

Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.

THAT’S A WRAP

If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundowntech