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The 10 biggest AI events of 2023
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Today is our last newsletter of 2023. It’s been one heck of a ride.
We’re signing off with the top 10 biggest developments this year to end the most significant year in AI history. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
In today’s AI rundown:
The 10 biggest AI events of 2023
Google restricting election AI queries in 2024
How to leverage the best free alternative to ChatGPT
Research: AI beats humans at identifying photo locations
9 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
AI RECAP
The 10 biggest AI events of 2023
Image source: The Rundown
The Rundown: From multimodal LLMs, to world leaders trying to pause AI, to Sam Altman getting fired and rehired within a week, the developments in AI in 2023 will be remembered in the history books.
The top 10 biggest AI events of 2023:
March 17: OpenAI launches GPT-4
March 30: Elon Musk and AI experts call for a 6-month pause in developing AI systems more powerful than GPT-4
May 26: Swiss scientists rebuild spinal cord with AI
June 27: Breakthrough AI research can understand and decode whale language
September 26: ChatGPT goes multimodal with voice and images
September 29: Mistral AI unveils open-sourced 7B language model
November 6: Elon Musk's xAI launches Grok
November 7: OpenAI reveals GPT Builder, GPT-4 Turbo, Assistants API and more at DevDay
November 22: Sam Altman fired and rehired as CEO of OpenAI
December 6: Google DeepMind reveals Gemini
Our thoughts: While we look back at the most significant year in the history of AI, it’s hard not to think that the developments this year were the start of the most transformative period in the history of humankind. With GPT-5, autonomous agents, and major medical breakthroughs on the horizon — we’re truly just getting started.
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Google restricting election AI queries in 2024
Image source: Google
The Rundown: Ahead of high-profile 2024 elections, Google announced it will be restricting the types of election-related queries its AI systems like Bard and Search Generative Experience can respond to starting early next year.
The details:
The policy will start in early 2023 out of "abundance of caution" on the sensitive topic.
The move builds on other transparency efforts like requiring content creators and advertisers to disclose use of altered or synthetic media.
Part of Google's wider plan of safeguarding AI platforms for the polarizing campaign cycle, which includes providing high-quality election info and partnering with campaigns on security.
Why it matters: The first election season in the AI era could get weird — and while it’s positive that Google is being proactive in aiming to prevent AI misinformation and manipulation, bad actors will likely leverage the tech to sow confusion regardless.
AI TRAINING
How to access the best free alternative to ChatGPT
Image: Microsoft Copilot’s video understanding capabilities
The Rundown: While ChatGPT grabs headlines, Microsoft has quietly built an impressive alternative — and it’s 100% free. Copilot matches ChatGPT's capabilities while exceeding in some areas.
Here are some of the best features:
Multi-Modal Capabilities: By combining text, images, and web data, Copilot’s search grounding develops a deeper understanding of queries.
Coding & Calculation Strengths: Via its Code Interpreter, Copilot also compares to ChatGPT at complex coding, math, data analysis, and visualization tasks.
Music Creativity: Through a new partnership with Suno AI , Copilot can now generate music tracks and even summarize/answer questions about videos.
Video Understanding: Copilot can summarize or answer questions about videos watched in Edge — something not even ChatGPT offers.
Access Copilot here and try it out for yourself, or try out the new Copilot for Android app.
AI RESEARCH
AI beats humans at identifying photo locations
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: Stanford students created an AI called PIGEON that can pinpoint the location of a photo faster and more accurately than even expert humans by picking up on subtle visual clues within images.
The details:
PIGEON was trained on 500,000 Google Street View images to play the online location-guessing game GeoGuessr.
The AI previously went up against influencer GeoGuessr Trevor Rainbolt, beating him in multiple head-to-head rounds.
The AI guesses the country right 92% of the time and within 25 miles over 90% of the time — and located personal photos to within blocks or miles of where they were taken.
The system leverages foliage, weather patterns, soil etc. that humans would likely miss.
Why it matters: While an impressive feat, the practical applications for extracting locations lean much more towards surveillance — and likely won’t bring much comfort to those already fearing the technology.
NEW TOOLS & JOBS
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QUICK HITS
Microsoft's upcoming Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will reportedly be its first "AI PCs," featuring new AI capabilities and next-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon and Intel chips.
Baidu says its ChatGPT rival Ernie Bot now has amassed over 100M users since its public launch in August, though it still trails ChatGPT in quality according to benchmarking.
Intuition Robotics' AI companion ‘ElliQ' shows promise in reducing loneliness for seniors by providing personalized conversations, entertainment, and health reminders.
Domo AI released two new model updates for the platform’s video-to-video tool alongside increased stability and optimized outputs.
LG announced new laptops featuring Intel's latest chips and AI capabilities, including LG Gram Pro Models with Intel Core Ultra processors and boosted on-device AI power.
The UK's Berrow's Worcester Journal, claiming to be the world's oldest newspaper, is using an AI-assisted reporter to free up human journalists to do more in-depth reporting.
Korean researchers are using AI to investigate how microplastics are impacting global soil and agriculture.
THAT’S A WRAP
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Chinese competitor challenges Tesla
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
Move over Tesla — a Chinese smartphone titan just shifted into the electric lane.
Can this automotive newcomer shake up the EV market? Let’s investigate…
In today’s tech rundown:
Xiaomi reveals first hi-tech EV
Amazon expands into green hydrogen production
8 new products
Samsung brings AI into your fridge
Apple faces scrutiny in India over hacking alerts
Tesla plans 2024 Model Y redesign
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
XIAOMI
🚗 Xiaomi reveals first hi-tech EV
Image source: Xiaomi
The Rundown: Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi took the wraps off its much-anticipated first electric vehicle called the SU7 sports sedan, boasting ultra-fast acceleration and long range — aiming to compete on tech with Tesla and hailing performance levels of Porsche.
The details:
Xiaomi claims its EV’s acceleration times best the Porsche Taycan and Tesla — thanks to a custom "super electric motor" with a blistering 21,000 RPM.
The SU7 runs Xiaomi's Android-based HyperOS operating system used across its electronics product ecosystem for a unified, seamless experience.
The SU7 targets the premium electric vehicle segment with pricing expected between $40-60k.
The smartphone maker faces intense competition in China's maturing EV market from pioneers like XPeng, BYD and Tesla itself.
Why it matters: Combining the tech of a Tesla with the performance of a Porsche is a powerful statement — especially for a newcomer to the automobile space. But Xiaomi’s ‘smartphone on wheels’ is a potential look into the future of truly hi-tech vehicles.
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AMAZON
📦 Amazon expands into green hydrogen production
Image source: Plug Power
The Rundown: Amazon just installed an electrolyzer at its Colorado fulfillment center to produce hydrogen on-site — marking the retail giant’s first foray into replacing batteries and fuel with green energy to power equipment.
The details:
Amazon is partnering with hydrogen company Plug Power, who designed, built and will maintain the full system.
The on-site production is more energy efficient than trucking in hydrogen, while also providing an opportunity to use surplus renewable electricity.
Amazon aims to eventually pair the system with renewable energy generation at the site to produce zero-emissions "green" hydrogen.
The move comes as part of Amazon's efforts to decarbonize its operations by 2040 and eliminate fossil fuel use, though its emissions have increased 39% since setting that goal.
Why it matters: Amazon's investment in on-site hydrogen production shows the potential for the technology to reduce emissions from material handling — and hopefully the tech giant can provide proof of concept for others to explore greener energy alternatives.
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🧠 Humata- Ask questions and chat with any file instantly using AI (link)
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SNIPPETS
Tesla is planning a major redesign of the Model Y, slated for mid-2024 production at its Shanghai factory, potentially featuring significant interior and exterior updates.
Samsung announces new AI fridge with food identification and recipe suggestions, to be showcased at the upcoming CES.
Apple faces scrutiny in India over its alerting of potential state-sponsored hacking attempts.
Raymond Wong's overview at Inverse highlights Apple's commitment to enhance Mac gaming through its shift to Apple silicon.
Google is prepared to settle a 2020 lawsuit alleging that it tracked users' data in Chrome's Incognito mode without their explicit consent.
Chinese automaker JAC and its Yiwei brand will launch China's first mass-produced EV using sodium-ion batteries in January, touting cheaper materials and cold weather performance versus lithium.
Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast, and Paramount may consider downsizing, selling assets, or merging due to significant financial losses in their streaming ventures.
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LG's smart home AI robot revolution
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
LG just teased a new AI-powered robot that can tackle everything from managing appliances, security, pets and daily tasks while intelligently navigating rooms.
Could this multi-modal bot represent the next generation of in-home tech? Let’s explore…
In today’s tech rundown:
LG teases AI robot smart home manager
Flying robot dragon fighting fires in Japan
9 new products
Sales ban temporarily lifted on Apple Watches
Ads are coming to Amazon Prime Video
SpaceX booster damaged in transit
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
LG
🏠 LG teases AI robot smart home manager
Image source: LG
The Rundown: LG just announced a new AI-powered robot assistant referred to as the ‘smart home AI agent,’ featuring autonomous mobility to help manage smart homes — and is set to debut at the company’s CES Conference in January.
The details:
The robot has a unique two-legged wheel design to independently navigate rooms, and can express emotion and learn via multi-modal AI tech.
The device uses cameras, sensors, and a Qualcomm AI chip to analyze home data
The robot has the ability to recognize human faces, pets, household objects, and gather data like temperature and air quality.
In-home capabilities extend to controlling appliances, acting as a security guard, and monitoring pets — while also taking on user’s daily tasks like medication reminders or providing schedule updates.
Why it matters: This adorable bot sounds like quite the upgrade from dated Alexas, Google Homes, etc. — and could be the first smart device to take advantage of the advances in AI tech. Is this the beginning of a new in-home AI revolution?
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ROBOTICS
🐉 Flying robot dragon fighting fires in Japan
Image source: Akita Prefectual University
The Rundown: Researchers in Japan have developed a dragon-shaped flying robot called the Dragon Firefighter that can extinguish fires from the air — aiming to help combat heated situations too dangerous for humans.
The details:
The Dragon Firefighter is a 4-meter long remotely controlled flying firehose robot designed to directly approach fire sources.
The firehose can change shape and be directed by a control unit connected to a 14,000-liter water supply.
Improvements are underway, including enhanced waterproofing, wider force handling, and better water flow.
Researchers estimate it will be about 10 more years before real-world deployment due to the robot’s currently limited reach.
Why it matters: The Dragon is another example of highly-specialized robots taking dangerous tasks on in place of humans — and as the plans were openly published, collective development could soon make the technology a lifesaving reality.
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SNIPPETS
Apple resumes sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 after a federal court temporarily lifted an import and sales ban related to a patent dispute.
Swedish researchers have created an electronic soil that increases plant growth in hydroponic systems by 50 percent using electrical stimulation.
A study documents a new "smart" insulin system that can effectively regulate blood sugar in diabetic mice and minipigs for a week with a single injection.
Debate persists over the existence of exomoons in light of recent research challenging previous detections made by the Kepler telescope.
Amazon Prime Video will introduce "limited advertisements" for subscribers unless they pay an additional fee, starting January 29.
Paramount and CBS confirmed a significant data breach from December 2022 that compromised sensitive information of over 82,000 individuals.
Rough seas and winds caused major damage to the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster B1058 after it tipped over during transport back to Cape Canaveral.
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OpenAI's $100B+ valuation
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Over the holidays, we read thousands of suggestions from readers and made some subtle upgrades to the newsletter.
Today, you’ll notice a new section dedicated to breakthroughs in AI research, more AI tools, fewer emojis, and ‘quicker' stories in our Quick Hits section. Let’s get into it.
In today’s AI rundown:
OpenAI in talks to raise at $100 billion+ valuation
The top 50 most visited AI tools
How to train a SD model for consistent characters
Research: AI discovers new class of antibiotics
9 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
OPENAI
OpenAI in talks to raise at $100 Billion+ Valuation
Image source: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images
The Rundown: OpenAI is in early discussions to raise a new round at a valuation at or above $100 Billion, even though its tender offer at a $86 billion valuation isn’t yet completed. Sam Altman is so back.
The details:
OpenAI has yet to complete a separate tender offer that would allow employees to sell shares at a valuation of $86 billion.
The new deal valuing OpenAI at $100 Billion would make the ChatGPT maker the second-most valuable startup in the US, behind SpaceX.
The company has also discussed raising funding for a new chip venture with Abu Dhabi-based G42, per Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Just weeks ago in one of the most thrilling tech dramas of the year, OpenAI’s future looked shaky in the eyes of investors. However, it seems that where Sam Altman goes, the money flows — with the rehiring of Sam Altman coming with a fresh wave of confidence from potential backers.
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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
The top 50 most visited AI tools
Image source: Writerbuddy
The Rundown: A new report by Writerbuddy showcased shocking data of the top 50 most visited AI tools between September 2022 and August 2023 from scraped data using AI tool directories and SEMrush.
Key takeaways:
ChatGPT led the list with 14 billion visits and 60% of the total.
The top 50 AI tools experienced a 10.7x growth rate, with an average monthly increase of 236.3 million visits.
The US contributed 5.5 billion visits, equating to 22.62% of the total.
Over 63% of AI tool users accessed via mobile devices.
69.5% of the top 50 AI tools were male users, with 30.5% being female users.
Why it matters: AI is developing at an exponential rate not only in research but also significantly within the consumer industry. The trend will only rise as AI tools such as Google Bard continue to open up to users outside of the US.
AI TRAINING
How to train a SD model for consistent characters
The Rundown: LensGo is a web-based Stable Diffusion AI app that allows users to train custom models using their own photos to create consistent characters when generating AI images.
Thank you to Chase Lean for sharing this tutorial with us.
Step-by-step:
Go to LensGo, which lets you train 3 custom models free every month.
Click “Train Custom Model“
Upload 10-20 images of yourself or a character you want to train the model on and click “Start“
After giving the app 20 minutes to train on your photos, come back and type simple prompts to generate consistent AI characters in any setting.
AI RESEARCH
AI discovers new class of antibiotics
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: A groundbreaking AI application has led to the discovery of a new class of antibiotics that can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
The details:
Researchers used graph neural networks to predict the toxicity of over 12M compounds (impossible to do in a wet lab).
The AI successfully identified compounds capable of killing drug-resistant strains, leading to a new class of antibiotics.
The new antibiotics have shown promising results in mouse models, effectively treating infections from these hard-to-combat bacteria.
Why it matters: As the death toll from antibiotic resistance continues to grow (claiming over 1.2 million lives in 2019 alone), this advancement shows promising real-world results of combining AI with drug discovery.
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QUICK HITS
Apple researchers quietly revealed ‘Ferret’ — a new open-source multimodal LLM that can use regions of images for queries.
Nat Friedman reveals a new demo of AI that is beginning to read ancient text that experts long thought were unreadable.
Microsoft released a free Android version of Copilot with no further details for an iOS app (though it’s likely to be released soon).
Salesforce posts their new AI-enabled commercial promoting ‘Data is the new Gold,‘ featuring Matthew McConaughey.
HD Hyundai teams up with Google Cloud to introduce generative AI across Hyundai’s core businesses.
Australian Judicial Administration reveals new guidelines encouraging the use of AI in Australian courtrooms.
JAMA Network Open published a new study by Korean researchers accurately demonstrating the use of AI to diagnose autism in children.
Sony’s PlayStation Pro or next-gen PlayStation 6 may use an AI processor for real-time predictive gaming.
THAT’S A WRAP
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AI Antibiotic breakthrough
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
A new class of antibiotics discovered with the help of artificial intelligence can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
This could save more than 10 million lives by 2050. Let’s dive in…
In today’s tech rundown:
AI combats drug-resistant bacteria
Scooter unicorn Bird files for bankruptcy
8 new products
Branson-backed Hyperloop One is shutting down
X experiences major global outages
Worldcoin shuts down ID verification in Brazil, France, India
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
🦠 AI combats drug-resistant bacteria
The Rundown: A groundbreaking AI application has led to the discovery of a new class of antibiotics, offering hope in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, a major health threat globally.
The details:
The AI system was instrumental in screening millions of chemical compounds, successfully identifying those capable of killing drug-resistant strains like MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.
This discovery is particularly significant given the rising death toll from antibiotic resistance, which claimed over 1.2 million lives in 2019 alone.
The new antibiotics have shown promising results in mouse models, effectively treating infections from these hard-to-combat bacteria.
Our thoughts: This advancement marks a significant leap in both AI applications and antibiotic development. By harnessing AI for drug discovery, researchers are opening new frontiers in the battle against some of the most challenging medical threats of our time.
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BIRD
🛴 Scooter unicorn Bird files for bankruptcy
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: Electric scooter startup Bird (once valued as high as $2.5B) — just plunged into bankruptcy, putting a cap on a monumental downfall for the company amid inflated growth claims and financial instability.
The details:
Demand for Bird’s rentable electric scooters surged in 2019, with the startup reaching unicorn status and seemingly unlocking a new sector of micro-mobility.
The pandemic and regulatory pushback stalled progress, but the company still went public with an IPO in 2021 — quickly losing 90% of its value just six months later.
The company also encountered safety issues amid cost-cutting efforts, and admitted inflated financial reporting.
Bird will reportedly continue to operate as normal during the bankruptcy proceedings.
The relevance: Despite being one of the fastest startups to Unicorn status and pioneering a new sector of rentable city transportation, Bird’s rise and fall from a VC darling to bankruptcy is a cautionary tale of how quickly startups can implode.
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SNIPPETS
Beeper is giving up on bringing iMessage to Android after Apple repeatedly thwarted its workarounds, concluding it can't win a "cat-and-mouse game" against the tech giant.
Hyperloop One, the Richard Branson-backed futuristic transportation startup, is reportedly shutting down at the end of 2023 after over $300 million in funding and nearly a decade in operation.
X experienced a major global outage on Wednesday, preventing access and causing errors with loading feeds.
Microsoft is discontinuing its Windows Mixed Reality platform as part of a removal of deprecated Windows features after over 5 years.
Worldcoin is no longer offering its Orb eye-scanning biometric ID verification device in India, Brazil and France, shutting down just months after expanding to those markets.
Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S24 lineup specs have reportedly leaked, featuring new colors and iterative hardware like Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips.
The UK Supreme Court ruled that AI systems cannot be inventors eligible for patents, rejecting Stephen Thaler's bid to have his AI system named an inventor of container and light inventions.
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❤️ Rundown review of the day
Gemini gets schooled by... GPT 3.5?
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Google's prized AI asset Gemini just got a lump of coal in a new third-party study — achieving subpar results versus free OpenAI models like GPT-3.5.
With expectations sky-high, the tech giant looks to have some serious work to do to deliver on its massively hyped promises. Let’s investigate…
In today’s AI rundown:
Google’s Gemini lags behind GPT 3.5 Turbo
‘Hallucinate’ named Word of the Year
9 new AI tools to try
How to generate full music tracks with Copilot
LongAnimateDiff lengthens AI video outputs
Users trick ChatGPT in car dealership negotiations
Read time: 3 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
🐢 Google’s Gemini lags behind GPT 3.5 Turbo
Image source: Gemini
The Rundown: Fresh third-party testing just found that Google's new (and polarizing) Gemini Pro LLM lags slightly behind free OpenAI models like GPT-3.5 on most benchmarks, despite the hype around its launch.
The details:
On questions across academics, reasoning, math, and other tasks, Gemini solved slightly fewer problems than GPT-3.5.
Flaws seemingly responsible included struggling on longer queries, aggressive content blocking, and bias towards end choices.
One area where Gemini excelled was in non-English language generations — but content filtering resulted in responses being blocked in 10 language pairs.
A Google representative disputed the paper’s claims, pointing to the company’s own research and calling attention to Gemini Ultra’s release in early 2024.
Our thoughts: Is Gemini getting coal in its stocking this holiday season? With all eyes on Google’s flagship AI launch, the numbers in this study certainly seem to show that the tech giant is lagging behind. If Gemini Ultra doesn’t show significant upgrades early next year, things could get ugly for Google.
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🧠 Bring custom AIs to your team in 2024
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Integrations with current tools (Mailchimp, Slack, Salesforce)
Learn today with MindStudio’s video tutorials, and have a new AI within 24 hours. Start learning now!
AI TERMINOLOGY
💬 ‘Hallucinate’ named Word of the Year
Image source: Dictionary
The Rundown: Dictionary.com selected "Hallucinate" as its 2023 Word of the Year, pointing to its emergent AI context meaning "to produce false information and present it as fact."
The details:
Lexicographers noted lookups jumped 46% this year as articles mentioned "hallucinate" 85% more in reference to AI outputs.
The site added the novel definition in 2022, with experts drawing comparisons to past tech metaphorical extensions like "virus."
Other AI words like LLM, chatbot, generative AI, and GPT also saw upticks in searches — with AI-related words increasing by an average of 62% on the platform.
Our thoughts: While AI enthusiasts probably laugh, AI hallucinations are an important thing for the broader world to understand. The blind trust new users may put into the tech (especially young students) is a massive risk as AI continues to become more mainstream.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TRENDING TOOLS
🤖 GPT-Engineer App- Making practical, easy-to-deploy web apps in minutes (link)
🪄 InMagic- Uncover your personality based on your Instagram profile (link)
🏟️ Chatbot Arena- Compare and rank the output of 25+ LLMs (link)
🎨 LogoFast- Create stunning logos quickly & effortlessly with AI for free (link)
🤖 Knowlee AI- Integrate AI agents with various apps (link)
📘 Linnk.AI- Enhance your reading experience with AI-powered insights and efficiency (link)
🎨 Shader- Elevate your personal expression through AI (link)
❄️ Snowball- Simplify your content creation with AI assistance (link)
👩🏽🍳 ChefGPT - AI digital chef & kitchen companion (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
AI TRAINING
🎼 How to generate full music tracks with Copilot
Ready to tap into your musical talent? Thanks to a new integration with Suno, Microsoft Copilot can now create full AI-generated tracks from simple text prompts — complete with lyrics, instruments, and vocals.
Create one yourself below:
Enable Suno: Navigate to Microsoft Copilot → Plugins tab. Make sure ‘Search’ is enabled, and then activate the new Suno integration.
Start Prompting: Type the details of the song you’d like to generate into the Copilot chat. Don’t overthink it — simple prompts work well. The prompt used for our example: “Make a groovy rap jazz song about AI advancing society”.
Get Your Song: After about a minute, Copilot will provide an external link to listen to your song. Re-prompt and tweak as needed!
Check out the results of our example song (it has a bit of a Kayne West vibe to it 🤣)
QUICK HITS
🤖 RSVP for free event: Can AI Be Contained? (sponsor)
Join Inflection AI co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and NYU Stern professor Scott Galloway for a discussion on whether humanity can contain the next wave of AI. Sign up for the event today!
🎥 LongAnimateDiff lengthens AI video outputs
Lightricks just introduced LongAnimateDiff, extending its AnimateDiff video diffusion model to handle 16-64 frames. Also launching a 32-frame specialist variant, the labs' updated model expands AI-generated video clips for longer and more flexible generations.
🤝 Users trick ChatGPT in car dealership negotiations
After discovering a car dealership’s chatbot was powered by ChatGPT, hilarity ensued — with users deploying prompt injections and various tricks to persuade the bot to offer cars for $1, throw in vacation packages, and complete other unrelated tasks.
💼 New jobs in the world of AI
Senior Director, Digital Marketing at C3 AI
Engineering Manager, Systems at Anthropic
Browse all available AI job positions with our job board.
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THAT’S A WRAP
That’s it for today’s news in the world of AI!
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundownai
❤️ Rundown review of the day
Is the Apple Vision Pro coming sooner?
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
Apple’s potential next big product launch may be rolling out sooner rather than later — with new rumors swirling that the $3,500 Vision Pro headsets.
Will the tech giant’s next sector-defining moment be here in just a few weeks? Let’s dig in…
In today’s tech rundown:
Rumor: Vision Pro set for February launch
'ECG Vest' images heart’s electrical activity to assess risk
8 new products
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick resigns
Sony’s Playstation 5 sales cross 50M
TikTok under fire for underage ‘parental supervision’ access
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
APPLE
🥽 Rumor: Vision Pro set for February launch
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: The hotly anticipated launch of Apple’s potential sector-altering Vision Pro headset could come as soon as February, with production and launch preparations reportedly already underway.
The details:
Apple announced the product in hyped fashion at the company’s developer conference in June, coming in at a $3,500 price point.
Analyst Mark Gurman reported factories in China have kicked into high gear — aiming to have consumer units boxed by January to ship for a potential Q1 debut.
Developers just got a "get ready" notice on Wednesday to prep apps using the latest tools and APIs in preparation for the rollout.
The device marks Apple's first brand new hardware category launch in 8 years — with staff training kicking off in January to handle sales, fitting demos, and accessories.
The relevance: After years of somewhat stagnant new development from Apple, the Vision Pro has a chance to be another iPod / iPhone / iPad moment — potentially bringing the VR/AR sector into the mainstream and creating a massive new category for the tech leader.
TOGETHER WITH YOU.AI
🧠 Bring custom AIs to your team in 2024
The Rundown: You know your business needs AI. You might already have some ideas of where AI could increase performance - or, you’ve got a list of tedious work that might be improved with AI but haven’t seen a tool that can do exactly what you need.
Using MindStudio, you can build custom, no-code AIs to solve any problem with:
Personalized, flexible workflows
Branching Automations
Multiple AI models (GPT, Claude, Llama, Mistral, and more)
Custom data sources
Integrations with current tools (Mailchimp, Slack, Salesforce)
Learn today with MindStudio’s video tutorials, and have a new AI within 24 hours. Start learning now!
MEDICAL TECH
❤️ 'ECG Vest' images heart electrical activity to assess risk
Image source: University College London
The Rundown: Researchers at University College London (UCL) just developed a fast, reusable vest covered in sensors that combine with MRI scans to map cardiac electrical signals in high resolution.
The details:
The vest uses non-invasive reusable sensors slipped into a breathable fabric shell that slides over the torso, combining data with MRI shots.
The vest's intricate inner activity imaging may reveal hidden hotspots prone to cause deadly chaotic heart rhythms.
Having scanned over 800 patients already, researchers believe it has significant potential as a widely available, scalable screening tool.
Why it matters: With every second counting when it comes to treating heart issues, advancements like this have an opportunity to help better identify threats and save countless lives if the tech can scale.
NEW PRODUCTS
💬 Findly- Interact with your Google Analytics through conversation (link)
🤖 GPT-Engineer App- Making practical, easy-to-deploy web apps in minutes (link)
🎵 Korus- Create music with an AI platform from Deadmau5 (link)
🪄 InMagic- Uncover your personality based on your Instagram profile (link)
🏟️ Chatbot Arena- Compare and rank the output of 25+ LLMs (link)
🛠 AI Enhanced UI Kits- Revolutionize your design process with AI-assisted UI tools (link)
🐦 Postwise- Craft viral Tweets in seconds (link)
🌖 MoonBeam- A long-form writing AI assistant to never write from scratch again (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
SNIPPETS
The UK Supreme Court has ruled against recognizing AI as an inventor on patents, upholding the notion that only humans or companies can be creators.
Bobby Kotick is set to resign as CEO of Activision Blizzard, following leadership changes after Microsoft acquired the company.
A six-month operation led by Interpol and 34 countries resulted in the arrest of 3,500 cybercriminals and the seizure of $300 million.
Sony's PlayStation 5 console sales have reached the 50 million mark, showing a significant increase with 10 million units sold since a prior milestone.
Tesla often blames customers for vehicle part failures, including steering and suspension issues, despite internal knowledge of the parts' high failure rates.
TikTok faces criticism for reportedly allowing users below the age of 13 on the platform by accepting claims of parental supervision.
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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
❤️ Rundown review of the day
Bill Gates makes bold predictions for AI
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
According to Bill Gates, this year has given humanity an idea of how AI will shape the future.
The Microsoft founder predicts major healthcare, education, climate, and other advances unlocked by AI. Let’s get into it.
In today’s AI rundown:
Bill Gates shares his AI predictions for 2024
Microsoft Copilot can now generate full AI songs
9 new AI tools to try
How to try on anything with AI
Airbnb using AI to predict + prevent NYE mayhem
TomTom & Microsoft build conversational car bot
Pika Labs debuts ‘Modify Region’ video feature
Read time: 3 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
BILL GATES
🔮 Bill Gates shares his AI predictions for 2024
Image source: Gates Notes
The Rundown: Bill Gates laid out an optimistic vision for AI's growing impact in 2024, sharing his thoughts in a new blog with predictions on how the tech will impact healthcare, education, work, and the broader innovation pipeline.
The details:
Gates believes AI will start reaching significant mainstream adoption in advanced economies like the U.S. within 18-24 months.
He highlighted ambitious medical AI projects underway, from combatting antibiotic resistance to treating high-risk pregnancies.
Gates believes AI will transform learning through individualized tutoring, and applauded innovations like localized chatbots already turning educational content to specific student needs.
The Microsoft founder foresees AI broadly augmenting roles and boosting productivity rather than replacing jobs.
The relevance: Gates had previously seemed less excited about the tech than other major figures (notably saying ChatGPT had likely peaked just recently) — but his predictions offer an optimistic and transformative outlook for the upcoming year of AI.
TOGETHER WITH KALENDAR
🔥 AI-powered personal ads
The Rundown: Experience the future of personalized ads with KalendarAI, your new AI-powered sales agent.
KalendarAI helps you:
Reach 200+ million potential customers with personalized ads and budgets optimized for conversions
Seamless setup with AI-generated distribution network, personalized ad content with interactive decks, and calendar slots.
Generate meetings, waitlists, and revenue on autopilot
MICROSOFT
🎶 Microsoft Copilot can now generate full AI songs
Image source: Microsoft
The Rundown: Microsoft just integrated music creation app Suno into its Copilot conversational AI, letting users turn text prompts into AI-generated tracks — complete with lyrics, instruments, and vocals.
The details:
Suno leverages Copilot's language mastery to synthesize songs encompassing lyrics, instruments, and vocals based on text prompts.
The new feature is currently rolling out to Microsoft Edge users and is accessible in Copilot via the plugins tab.
Suno says its models don't recognize artists by name and claim to block certain prompts, though users report getting genre-matching requests through.
The partnership comes on the heels of major competition in the AI audio space, with Google/YouTube’s Lyria and Meta’s Audiobox also gaining traction.
Our thoughts: We’ve seen some serious innovation in AI audio this year, but this feels like the first to combine elements for a full song. With continuing battles between artists over AI, this innovation will likely raise even more questions about the future of the traditional music industry.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TRENDING TOOLS
📊 Openlayer- Get real-time alerts when things go sideways with your AI model (link)*
🦸 Superbooking- Book your favorite services quickly & easily with AI (link)
🎬 AI Clips- Transform extensive videos into engaging viral clips with AI assistance (link)
📹 Creatify AI- Turn a product URL into a video ad instantly (link)
🍽️ MealByMeal- Track your calories and macros easily through AI-powered text messages (link)
📅 Agenda Hero Magic- Create AI-generated calendar events effortlessly (link)
🤖 Forefront- Your AI assistant for work (link)
📕 DeepFiction- An AI platform for creating and sharing stories (link)
⌨️ Quicky AI- Use AI on any website instantly just by selecting text (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
* = This is sponsored content
AI TRAINING
👗 How to try on anything with AI
Ready to be able to try on any piece of clothing while online shopping, and get a perfect representation of how the outfit will look on you? We’re almost there — especially with the new viral Outfit Anyone demo from Alibaba this week.
Give it a try on HuggingFace and test out the future of online shopping:
Step 1: Navigate to the Outfit Anyone demo here.
Step 2: Choose which model from the list you’d like to outfit (the demo only allows the pre-selected options for now).
Step 3: Upload an image of the clothing item you’d like to have the model try on. For outfits that only have one piece (like a dress), upload the image to the ‘top garment’ section and leave the lower one blank.
As shown in the example with a pineapple, you can also upload an image of non-clothing items – the model will do its best to create a similar outfit!
Step 4: Hit ‘run’ and wait for your image to generate!
Here’s our example using the iconic outfit from Austin Powers:
QUICK HITS
🎆 Airbnb using AI to predict + prevent NYE mayhem
Trying to book a rental for your holiday parties? Think again! Airbnb is deploying an AI system to identify and block high-risk New Year's Eve bookings that could lead to parties — analyzing factors like trip duration and last-minute reservations to avoid destructive NYE rentals.
🚘 TomTom & Microsoft build conversational car bot
Digital mapmaker TomTom is teaming with Microsoft to launch an AI-powered voice assistant for vehicles. Leveraging Azure OpenAI to enable natural dialogue with infotainment systems, the bot hints at the future of next-gen in-car experiences.
🎥 Pika Labs debuts ‘Modify Region’ video feature
AI video startup Pika Labs just shipped another wild new feature, bringing a new ‘Modify Region’ tool that allows users to alter specific areas within the frame generation via text prompts. Check out the impressive demo here.
💼 New jobs in the world of AI
Technical Program Manager, Responsible Scaling Policy at Anthropic
AI/ML Program Manager - EMEA at Hugging Face
Browse all available AI job positions with our job board.
SPONSOR US
🦾 Get your product in front of over 400k+ AI 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
That’s it for today’s news in the world of AI!
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundownai
❤️ Rundown review of the day
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