🤖 Microsoft's new AI upgrades

PLUS: Life-changing AI brain implants

Author

Rowan Cheung
August 24, 2023

Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

The innocent days of Microsoft Paint might be over thanks to Microsoft’s massive potential Windows 11 AI upgrades. Let’s dive in…

In today’s rundown:

  • ⚙️ Microsoft eyes AI upgrades for Windows

  • 🧠 Brain implant lets paralyzed speak with AI

  • 🛠️ 9 new AI tools

  • 📶 5 community AI hacks to boost productivity

  • 🤖 3 quick AI updates

Read time: 4 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

MICROSOFT

Image source: Windows Central

The Rundown: Microsoft is reportedly adding AI capabilities like object recognition and generative image creation to apps like Photos, Snipping Tool, and even Paint in Windows 11.

Key points:

  • ‘Photos’ could gain the ability to cut out people and objects using AI, while the Snipping Tool and Camera may get text recognition from screenshots.

  • ‘Paint’ is also potentially integrating AI features, based on the same tech that powers Bing Image Generator.

  • More details are expected at Microsoft’s upcoming event on Sept. 21, with the next Windows platform release in 2024 expected to significantly incorporate AI.

Our thoughts: Microsoft is smartly eyeing AI's potential to evolve familiar apps rather than reinventing the wheel — and like Google’s integrations, could speed up mass adoption by embedding tech into high-usage applications.

TOGETHER WITH INNOVATING WITH AI

The Rundown: Remember when hit songs by AI versions of Drake and The Weeknd topped the charts? You can now learn to make your very own with Innovating With AI’s free audio video lesson.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

  • How they made the fake Drake song (changing voice timbres, building audio tracks, and more)

  • How Meta’s new AudioCraft models will change music by generating high-quality audio and sound instantly

  • How artists are responding to the threat of AI-generated music

MEDICAL ADVANCES

Image source: UCSF

The Rundown: Researchers have created a brain implant that decodes thoughts into synthesized speech and facial expressions for paralyzed patients, allowing for communication through a digital avatar.

Details:

  • The implant converts brain signals into text at nearly 80 words per minute, focusing on phonemes vs. whole words to enhance speed.

  • The AI generates realistic vocals (mirroring a patient’s pre-injury voice) and facial animations that aim to enable more natural communication.

  • The breakthrough brings the tech closer to real-world use, with the next step being a wireless model that doesn’t require a physical connection to the interface.

Why it matters: Restoring communication for those with paralysis is an innovation that would change countless lives. And while it sounds crazy, mind-reading implants seem to be inching closer to reality.

TRENDING TOOLS ⭐️

📈 Danelfin- AI-powered stock-picking tool with up to a 94% win rate (link)*

👨‍💻 Kombai- Prompt with UI designs and get instant results (link)

🧱 Bloc- Chat with any knowledge base in 2 minutes (link)

📹 Pictory- Automatically create short, branded videos from long-form content (link)

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

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

🌖 MoonBeam- A long-form writing AI assistant to never write from scratch again (link)

🕵️‍♂️ GPT Zero- Detect whether an essay is ChatGPT or human-written (link)

🔮 Supertools- Organizes 100’s of AI tools for you in one spot (link)

* = This is sponsored content

AI TRAINING

Wondering how the rest of the world is using AI to ramp their productivity up?

We asked the AI community for their most effective hacks — and received some fantastic insights. Here are five responses we had to share:

Check out additional community suggestions and share your own AI workflows in the comments of this thread.

QUICK HITS

Banijay, the global TV production giant behind hit shows like ‘Survivor’ and ‘Big Brother’, is launching a creative fund to develop show formats that utilize AI. The world’s largest independent producer says it sees "endless possibilities" as AI shapes society, and follows other studios making similar pushes amid Hollywood strikes over the technology’s impact on the industry.

Google unveiled several upcoming AI-powered security boosts for Workspace on Wednesday, including data classification in Drive and enhanced protection for Gmail. Other features include context-aware sharing controls, log scanning, and client-side encryption for mobile.

Twilio announced significant updates to its CustomerAI capabilities at its annual Signal Conference. This includes new voice intelligence that extracts insights from conversations and ‘Generative Journeys’ that allow users to automatically build campaigns from natural language prompts. The company also unveiled ‘AI Nutrition Labels’, which aim for more transparent AI usage.

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

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