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- OpenAI fires researchers over leaks
OpenAI fires researchers over leaks
PLUS: Apple's AI overhaul is coming...
Rowan Cheung
April 12, 2024
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
The world of AI is no stranger to drama, but few companies have seen as much of it as OpenAI.
With the firing of two researchers for allegedly leaking information, the company finds itself once again in the spotlight — and not for the reasons it would like. Let’s explore…
In today’s AI rundown:
OpenAI fires two researchers for leaking info
Apple Macs getting AI overhaul
Amazon adds AI expert to board
Transcribe videos and audio fast with Whisper Web
6 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
OPENAI
Image source: The Information
The Rundown: According to a new report from The Information, OpenAI has terminated researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov for allegedly leaking information outside of the company.
The details:
Leopold Aschenbrenner was part of OpenAI's "superalignment" team and an ally of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, with Pavel Izmailov also spending time on the AI safety team.
The nature of the leaked information is unknown, though rumors of an AI breakthrough called Q* surfaced in November during OpenAI’s board turmoil.
Sutskever was one of the primary figures in the 2023 firing of Sam Altman, and his role has been unclear since Altman’s reinstatement.
Why it matters: Although the OpenAI internal tensions have been quieter in 2024, these firings indicate there is still plenty of drama left to unfold. While the famous question of ‘What did Ilya see?’ has been refuted by Altman, firing a reported ally of Sutskever will only add more fuel to the fire.
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APPLE
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: Apple is reportedly gearing up to overhaul its entire lineup of Macs with an upcoming M4 chip family — which will place a heavy emphasis on AI capabilities.
The details:
The M4 chips are nearing production and will come in at least three main varieties: entry-level Donan, high-performance Brava, and top-end Hidra.
Apple plans to update every Mac model with M4 chips, with releases starting in late 2024 and extending into early 2025.
Initial M4 refreshes will include new iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Mac Minis, followed by MacBook Airs, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.
More details and features are expected at the company’s developer conference on June 10.
Why it matters: With slumping Mac sales and Apple seen as lagging behind in AI, a rapid M4 transition with next-gen capabilities could inject some serious energy into the device lines. Expect some fireworks in June — with Apple likely itching to publicly announce its entrance into the AI frenzy.
AI TRAINING
The Rundown: In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use Whisper Web, a tool that allows you to transcribe videos or audio directly in your browser for free in seconds.
Step-by-step:
Open Whisper Web in your browser. It is completely free, and no sign-ups are required.
Choose your video or audio source: URL, upload, or real-time.
Click "Transcribe Audio" to generate a text transcript.
Receive a plain text file with your video or audio’s full transcript.
Hot tip: You can now take your content analysis to the next level by feeding it into other AI tools like Claude 3 or ChatGPT.
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AMAZON
Image source: Amazon
The Rundown: Amazon just added AI expert Andrew Ng to its board of directors, with CEO Andy Jassy speaking on the ‘world-changing’ technology as the company ramps up generative AI efforts.
The details:
Andrew Ng, a prominent computer scientist, has led AI projects at Google and Baidu and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Stanford University.
Jassy said in a letter to shareholders this week that generative AI may be the largest technology transformation ‘since the internet’.
Amazon's AWS cloud unit faces pressure from Microsoft, with its Alexa assistant also competing with genAI tools from OpenAI and Google.
Why it matters: Adding a respected voice like Andrew Ng is a strong move from a giant looking to gain an edge. Jassy’s comments on AI echo those from Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — with yet another industry leader visualizing the world-altering wave that is currently underway.
NEW TOOLS & JOBS
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🎩 Synthesia - Head of Enterprise Sales
QUICK HITS
Humane's $699 AI Pin wearable device is now officially available for purchase, marking one of the first personal AI devices to hit the market.
Sanctuary AI announced a partnership with Magna to deploy general-purpose robots in the European automaker’s manufacturing process.
OpenAI has reportedly extended a tender offer to some former employees, allowing them to sell shares at $150 each — valuing the company at $86B.
California Rep Adam Schiff introduced the Generative AI Copyright Disclosure Act, which would require AI firms to disclose copyrighted works used in training their models.
TikTok is developing an AI-powered feature that would generate avatars to star in advertising videos, potentially competing with human creators for ad deals.
Cohere released Rerank 3, a new foundation model designed to enhance enterprise search and RAG systems.
Meta published OpenEQA, a benchmark that measures vision language model’s understanding of physical environments.
THAT’S A WRAP
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