AI innovations at CES 2024

Reading time: 5 minutes  

 Newsletter | Tools 

Today we will discuss-

• 🧐AI innovations at CES 2024 surprise the developers’ community

• 👨‍🏫 Authors Guild considers new ways to license their works to AI

• 🤶OpenAI CEO, House Speaker Mike Johnson discuss AI-based risks

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

All this and more - Let's dive in!

👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

CES 2024: From AI helping hands to invisible TVs, tech show dazzles with surprises

🎃News - Las Vegas' annual CES tech extravaganza concluded this week, showcasing a spectrum of AI innovations aimed at solving real-world problems, enhancing entertainment, and even pushing the boundaries of our living spaces.

While some gadgets appeared amusing, others focused majorly on improving customer experiences through the use of AI. Regardless, a strong theme emerged: technology striving to improve lives and AI playing a key role in it.

🤖Let’s discuss the accessibility products first - Accessibility champions stole the spotlight, with companies like GyroGear unveiling hand-stabilizing gloves for tremor control and Whispp utilizing AI to grant voice to those with vocal impairments. OrCam’s hearing loss solutions and Sony's accessible PlayStation controller further underscored the commitment to inclusivity.

🤩What about smart home integration? Samsung's "AI for all" vision saw smart devices working in concert, from pre-heating ovens based on chosen recipes to collaborating with Hyundai on "home-to-car" convenience features. Google and Amazon joined the interoperability bandwagon, expanding capabilities and promoting the Matter casting standard. Mercedes-Benz even introduced a personalized AI assistant for smoother driver-car communication.

Lastly, from the kitchen to the living room, CES embraced automation. GE's indoor smoke-food solution and Brisk's generative AI-powered smart grill promised culinary ease, while ColdSnap's ice cream machine dished out frozen treats in minutes and Bartesian's cocktail appliance took the guesswork out of mixology.

Authors Guild explores blanket licensing model for AI companies

💁‍♀️News - Authors Guild, an organization representing and advocating for authors, is currently considering a new way for its members to license their works to artificial intelligence companies. Instead of individual agreements for each use, they are exploring a blanket license, which would be a pre-defined set of terms and conditions for using any of the Guild's members' works in AI applications.

😎How would the system work? The proposed system revolves around fees. Companies would pay for both "ingesting" works as training material and for any outputs directly referencing them. Restrictions are being discussed to prevent chatbots from regurgitating existing material, like mimicking an author's style or copying characters from their books. Summaries of works would also be restricted.

"The control part is as important as the compensation," emphasizes Mary Rasenberger, the Guild's chief executive. The opt-in system respects author autonomy, with only 38% of surveyed members expressing interest so far.

🕵️‍♀️In conclusion - Whether this model finds widespread adoption among authors and proves effective in regulating AI use remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the Authors Guild is determined to protect its members' rights and navigate the uncharted waters of AI in a way that benefits both creators and consumers.

Sam Altman and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson discuss the risks of AI

📰News - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson met on Capitol Hill to engage in discussions about the risks associated with artificial intelligence.

The meeting, held on Thursday, focused on exploring both the potential and risks posed by AI and other emerging technologies. Johnson's office released a statement indicating that the Speaker advocates for Congress to support innovation, maintain a competitive edge, and remain vigilant about potential risks in the rapidly advancing field of AI.

🧚What’s more? Sam Altman, representing OpenAI, shared insights with reporters after the meeting, highlighting the importance of finding a balance between the immense benefits of AI and mitigating its associated risks. He expressed anticipation for the legislative process to play a role in shaping the future trajectory of AI governance.

🤶Why was this meeting important though? The administration of Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden has been pressing lawmakers to regulate AI for quite some time now. But, in the U.S. Congress, things are a bit tricky. Republicans are in charge of the House, while Democrats have control of the Senate. This split makes it hard to create strong and useful AI regulations. They're having a tough time making big steps in this area.

👩🏼‍💻What else is happening?

• I didn’t expect ChatGPT to get so good, says Bill Gates in a chat with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

• Experts tell Congress how AI can help agencies improve service delivery

• Google Cloud launches new generative AI tools for retailers

• U.S. Navy exploring AI for contested logistics, mission planning

• George Carlin's daughter slams AI imitation of late father, decries 'rape & pillage' of his art

 📚AI-based books

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick - It is a Sci-fi book set in a post-apocalyptic future where Earth has been devastated by a nuclear war. Adapted into the iconic film Blade Runner, the story follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter whose job is to "retire" or destroy rogue androids that have escaped to Earth from the off-world colonies where they were manufactured.

• Neuromancer by William Gibson - It is a science fiction novel set in a dystopian future. The story's protagonist, Case, is a washed-up computer hacker who is hired to pull off a complex hack that exposes him to a powerful AI entity. Throughout the novel, Gibson explores the concept of artificial intelligence and its potential to achieve self-awareness and consciousness.

• Queen of Angels by Greg Bear - It is a Sci-fi novel set in the year 2047. The plot revolves around the use of advanced technology in the future which allows for the examination and manipulation of human thoughts and emotions. The book is known for its intricate plot, complex characters, and exploration of the potential consequences of merging human minds with technology.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. Automagine - An AI tool that uses the power of the diffusion AI model to generate artwork and images

2. Copilot2trip - A personal travel assistant that helps users plan their trips

3. MyMap.ai - An AI-native app designed to streamline the process of brainstorming, organizing, and presenting ideas

4. Speechify - Helps you understand and remember more of what you read by turning text into natural sounding voice

5. AI Face Swapper - An AI-powered tool that allows users to make production-quality face swaps

6. TalkToVid - A web application that allows users to have conversations with people in videos

7. Nvidia Launchpad AI - A platform that provides a collection of AI tools and frameworks for developers to build

8. Summify - An AI-powered tool for summarizing YouTube videos

9. IMAI - An influencer marketing platform that empowers brands to discover and manage influencers

10. Wonder Dynamics - An AI tool that automatically animates, lights, and composes CG characters into a live-action scene

11. InVideo - A video creation tool that enables users to create professional-quality videos with ease

12. DeepL Translate - A professional translation service powered by artificial intelligence and neural networks

13. Ghostwriter - A tool that provides AI-powered assistance for coding tasks

🤖Technical jargon simplified

• Test data - It is a set of inputs or information that is used to assess the performance and accuracy of a machine learning model and verify that it can perform its assigned tasks and produce the expected outputs.

• Predictive analytics - This is the method of using historical data and statistical algorithms to make predictions about future events or outcomes. It involves analyzing patterns and trends in existing data to create models that can forecast what might happen in the future.

• Supervised learning - It is like teaching a computer using labeled examples. It's akin to showing a friend pictures of apples and oranges, saying what each is. The computer learns patterns from labeled data, enabling it to predict labels for new data. It's a way to teach machines by providing clear examples and associated correct answers.