AI takeover at CES 2024

PLUS: Amazon Alexa gets an AI makeover

Author

Rowan Cheung
January 10, 2024

Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

CES 2024, the world’s largest consumer tech event, has taken over Las Vegas. As expected — AI is dominating the conversation.

Ready for a glimpse at all the coolest announcements from some of the biggest names in tech? Let’s get into it…

In today’s AI rundown:

  • The best AI announcements from CES 2024 so far

  • Alexa gets new generative AI experiences

  • How to try Meta’s AudioBox with your own voice

  • AI speeds discovery of battery material to cut lithium

  • 11 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs

  • More AI & tech news

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

CES 2024

Image source: CES 2024

The Rundown: CES 2024 is currently underway in Las Vegas, featuring countless new AI products and features on display at the world’s largest consumer tech show.

Here are some of our favorite announcements so far through two days:

  • Holoconnects had its AI-powered Holobox on display, giving a mind-blowing look into the potential future of digital communication.

  • Baracuda’s smart mirror uses AI and natural language processing to analyze expressions — adapting to a user’s mood with light therapy, guided meditations, and affirmations.

  • Samsung added AI into its smart robot vacuum, with the ability to detect stains and tell the difference between surfaces.

  • Rabbit introduced its Tamagotchi-style r1 AI companion device, which uses AI agents to simplify digital tasks.

  • Samsung also showed off Ballie, a round robot home assistant that can perform tasks around the house, and includes a projector to display videos, calls, and more.

  • Invoxia unveiled an AI-powered pet wearable called the Minitailz, which monitors vitals and alerts owners of potential health issues.

  • LG demoed Rosie, a cute new home robot AI agent, a home assistant to help with chores and integrate with LG’s smart home appliances.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates over the next few days of CES 2024!

TOGETHER WITH TAPLIO

The Rundown: Taplio helps 6200+ LinkedIn pros build a strong personal brand that attracts clients and opportunities.

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  • High-Performing Content: leverage AI to create top posts and carousels in seconds

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  • Find Leads and Expand Your Network: access millions of leads with relevant filters

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AMAZON

Image source: Amazon

The Rundown: Amazon just unveiled several new third-party experiences for its Alexa devices leveraging generative AI, including new AI chatbots, song creation, a "20 Questions" game, and new partnerships.

The details:

  • Character AI added various conversational personas to the device, like Librarian Linda, Elon Musk, and game characters to chat with.

  • An experience from Splash taps AI to generate 10-20 second songs of genres/lyrics that users can select by voice.

  • Volley's "20 Questions" game uses AI to dynamically respond to questions and provide hints.

  • Amazon also announced a partnership with BMW, pairing Alexa with the carmaker’s driver manuals to access info and perform tasks.

Why it matters: With smart assistants like Alexa lagging behind some of the new, cutting-edge AI capabilities, Amazon is spurring developer creativity to quickly expand its catalog of next-gen experiences.

AI TRAINING

The Rundown: Meta’s AudioBox allows users to create sound effects, voices, and more straight from text prompts, and now, your voice.

Step-by-step:

  1. Head to the AudioBox demo (for U.S. users, you may need a VPN or VPN-enabled browser like Arc to access) and click on ‘Try demos’.

  2. Click “Your Voice“ to use your own audio sample, or use text descriptions or pre-loaded voices instead.

  3. Click ‘Record your voice’. AudioBox will then prompt you to read a short sentence to upload your vocals to the model.

  4. After recording (or using a sample recording), type the text you’d like to generate. AudioBox will then generate two recordings in your vocal style!

AI RESEARCH

Image source: Midjourney

The Rundown: Microsoft and scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory just used AI to discover a promising new battery material in just weeks that could reduce lithium use by up to 70%.

The details:

  • An initial AI screening narrowed 32M inorganic candidates down to just 18 in under a week, a process that previously would’ve taken years.

  • Further verification then produced a final list of 23 viable materials, with 5 already known to science.

  • Researchers highlight that the significance of the testing is the speed — with the AI approach potentially accelerating innovations across scientific fields by decades.

Why it matters: By exponentially accelerating discovery, unleashing AI tools on the science world could unlock solutions to pressing energy, climate, and health challenges faster than ever possible — with the tech’s capabilities only set to improve as computing power increases.

NEW TOOLS & JOBS

  • Luma Genie 1.0- Text-to-3D model generator with HD materials (link)

  • Cognosys 2.0- Your intelligent AI assistant that integrates with any tool stack (link)

  • PolyAI Pheme- Generate conversational voices for phone-call apps (link)

  • Magnific- Reimagined hi-res AI image upscaling (link)

  • Neuralhub- AI architecture design platform (link)

  • PocketAI- ChatGPT-based AI for WhatsApp (link)

  • Spawn- AI-powered D&D character sheet creation (link)

  • Kippy- AI-powered language practice (link)

  • HN Jobs- Transforms hiring comments into structured job listings (link)

  • Auto Wiki- High-quality, public GitHub repo documents (link)

  • Sama AI- AI-powered self-improvement wearable (link)

  • OpenAI- Manager, Enterprise Platform Sales (link)

  • Synthesia- Senior Research Engineer (link)

  • Sanctuary AI- Systems Administrator (link)

  • Shield AI- Director of Mechanical Engineering (link)

*Sponsored listing (delete if no tool sponsors)

QUICK HITS

Google is facing a multibillion-dollar lawsuit over allegations that its AI technology infringes on patents held by Singular Computing.

Intuition Robotics announced enhancements to its eldercare robot ElliQ 3, with powerful hardware upgrades that elevate conversational capabilities and creative interactions for seniors.

X outlined new ambitious plans for AI integration, peer-to-peer payments, and enhanced user experiences in 2024, aiming to transform into an all-encompassing 'everything app'.

Luma secured $43M in Series B funding to develop advanced AI-driven 3D modeling technology, promising greater realism and overcoming current generative tech limitations.

Sony showed off its electric car on stage at CES, controlling it with a Playstation 5 DualSense controller in a wild demo.

McAfee announced an AI-powered Deepfake Audio Detection tool, reportedly achieving a 90% success rate in identifying fraudulent audio to protect users from sophisticated online scams.

WeHead put a face to ChatGPT with its talking head product designed to visually represent AI while talking conversationally.

THAT’S A WRAP

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