AI earthquake predictions

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Today we will discuss-

• 🤓AI could play a key role in Japan's quake forecasting

• 🚀AI boosts South Korea’s semiconductor industry

• 🤖Psychologist reveals chatbots’ risks for minor age group

• 😱9 amazing AI tools you might not have heard of

All this and more - Let's dive in!

👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

Japan’s New Year Day tragedy highlights urgency for AI earthquake predictions

♨️News - The start of the new year in Japan was marked by a tragic event, as a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Noto peninsula on the country's western edge on 1 January.

Numerous aftershocks, ranging between four and six in magnitude, continued to rattle the coastal epicenter for hours. This highlighted the need for earthquake prediction, which scientists believe may soon become a possibility due to the advancements in AI.

👨🏻‍🔬Has there been any research on this though?  Last fall, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin conducted a seven-month trial in China. Their study, published in September in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, revealed that an AI algorithm accurately predicted 70% of earthquakes a week in advance. The researchers trained the AI using five years of seismic recordings and tasked it with identifying upcoming earthquakes based on current seismic activity.

Another group of researchers has developed and trained neural networks for forecasting the locations of potential aftershocks following an initial earthquake, while others are employing machine learning to detect and extract seismic waves — the vibrations that travel through the Earth during tectonic activity. 

📖For context - As recently as 2013, earthquake prediction was often dismissed as unserious, according to seismologist Allie Hutchison's recent report for MIT Technology Review. Additionally, the U.S. Geological Survey maintains that neither they nor any other scientists have successfully predicted a major earthquake. 

Nevertheless, the advancements in AI and increasing research on earthquake prediction are fostering optimism among scientists, suggesting the potential for further breakthroughs.

Semiconductor exports in South Korea skyrocket amid AI boom

🦸🏻‍♂️News - South Korea's semiconductor industry is bouncing back after a prolonged downturn caused by global economic challenges and U.S.-China tensions. 

Major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix faced export declines and significant losses, but recent developments suggest a positive reversal - thanks to the AI boom. 

🕵🏻‍♂️What are these recent developments?

• Memory chips, crucial for AI training and data storage, are pricier now, and exports of semiconductors supporting AI models have risen by 20%.

• Increasing demand for semiconductors in AI and continuous innovation from South Korean chipmakers are fostering optimism for a new era of growth in the South Korean semiconductor industry.

• Last month, Korea set a record with semiconductor exports reaching $11 billion, marking a remarkable 21.8% increase compared to the previous year.

😺What to expect in 2024? According to the market research firm TrendForce, memory chip prices are expected to increase by 10% in the first quarter of this year.

Additionally, both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are scaling up the production of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that power generative AI systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT. The companies are also prioritizing high-performance chips that are essential for AI smartphones and laptops set to launch this year.

Psychologist sheds light on hidden risks of children’s interaction with chatbots

☕News - In a recent interview, Dr. Saliha Afridi, a clinical psychologist and parenting expert, praised AI chatbots for enhancing children's education but cautioned parents to actively monitor potential risks for a secure and beneficial experience.

🧐What exactly did she say about chatbots?

• Most AI chatbots including OpenAI's ChatGPT lack sufficient age verification, posing a risk to children's data privacy. 

• Beyond data privacy threats, AI chatbots tend to provide inaccurate and misleading information. For minors, this can have a significant impact on their academic integrity and well-being. During the initial ChatGPT hype, teenage girls seeking diet plans and medical advice received responses lacking proper medical references, relying instead on random internet information.

• Moreover, platforms like Snapchat's MyAI attract adolescents with the promise of anonymity and non-judgment, potentially leading to risky disclosures and actions based on unreliable advice.

• Speaking of unreliable advice, a Washington Post columnist revealed that when informing My AI about being 15 and wanting an impressive birthday party, the AI provided guidance on masking alcohol smell.

• Additionally, many AI chatbots are created to offer mature content. Despite some requiring age verification, children can easily bypass these measures with just an email address for registration, exposing them to explicit content.

🚸Navigating AI for child safety - Firstly, it's important for parents to understand that putting a complete ban on these AI chatbots might not be the best answer. Instead, taking a hands-on approach from the start and guiding children on the proper usage of AI tools is crucial to promoting online safety and minimizing the potential risks.

👩🏼‍💻What else is happening?

• Database of 16,000 artists used to train Midjourney AI, including a 6-year-old child, draws criticism

• Nobel prize winner urges emphasis on empathy and creativity over STEM in education amid AI boom

• Airbnb's latest acquisition of an AI startup sparks investor excitement

• World’s first AI-powered restaurant opens in Southern California

• Indian state of Kerala to host global AI summit in Kochi ahead of IBM making the city its country hub

 🗽AI life hacks

• Write product descriptions - AI can write compelling product descriptions by analyzing vast datasets and understanding market trends. Through natural language processing, it generates engaging content that highlights key features, benefits, and appeals to target audiences. This streamlines the writing process, ensures consistency, and adapts to evolving consumer preferences, enhancing overall marketing effectiveness.

• Understand complex ideas - One area in which AI excels is helping us understand difficult ideas. You can ask AI to explain the major themes in a famous novel or find the connection between two ideas. If there are any parts of the answer you don't get, ask the AI to clarify the point. If you want to try something a bit different, ask the AI to provide an explanation using a funny analogy or have it write the answer in the style of a rap song.

• City travel guides - If you’re visiting a new city for the first time, AI can help you find the best places to visit, and even provide information on the best times to see them. This can help you plan your itinerary and make the most of your time in the city.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. AI Time Machine - A tool that helps users create hyper-realistic AI avatars of how they may have looked in different points in history

2. Motionagent - An AI assistant that helps users convert their ideas into motion pictures

3. AI Headshot Generator - A tool for generating professional headshots in minutes

4. Auto Ye AI - AI-powered lyric generator for creating lyrics inspired by Kanye West songs

5. LiftLog - A gym tracking app designed to make it easy for users to track their workouts

6. Grafi.ai - An AI-powered content generation platform specifically designed for healthcare and medical writers

7. We Are Learning - A tool that allows users to create high-quality immersive learning content in minutes

8. ToDo.is - An AI-powered task management app that helps users stay organized and productive

9. Savey Meal-Bot - Provides users with new recipes by utilizing leftover food, ensuring no waste

👨🏻‍🚀Historic moments

• 2011 - Jürgen Schmidhuber, Dan Claudiu Cireșan, Ueli Meier, and Jonathan Masci developed the first CNN (Convolutional Neural Network - a type of deep learning algorithm designed for image recognition tasks) to achieve "superhuman" performance by winning the German Traffic Sign Recognition competition ( a challenge where participants develop algorithms to recognize and classify traffic signs in images.)

• 2014 - Facebook developed the deep learning facial recognition system DeepFace, which identifies human faces in digital images with near-human accuracy.

• 2018 - Developed by IBM, Airbus, and the German Aerospace Center DLR, Cimon was the first robot sent into space to assist astronauts.