👨🏻‍🔬AI Revolutionizes Drug Testing

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Today we will discuss-

• 🧐Will AI avatars take our place in meetings?

• 😼Meta's AI data practices challenged

• 🐁AI may end animal testing

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

All this and more - Let's dive in!

👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

Zoom CEO envisions a future where AI avatars take our place in meetings... but not everyone agrees

👨🏻‍💻News - In a recent interview, Zoom's CEO, Eric Yuan, suggested that within the next five or six years, AI avatars might attend meetings on behalf of users. Yuan also noted that Zoom is currently developing technologies that could make this concept achievable sooner.

Yuan explained that by training these avatars with users' own content, they could delegate the tedious tasks of corporate life to the system. He added that this could also lead to shorter workweeks, affording people more time for non-career activities and increasing time spent with family.

🔮A look ahead - Yuan suggested that ultimately, every user would have their personalized "large language model" (LLM), similar to services like ChatGPT. These models would be trained on the user's speech and behavior patterns, allowing for highly tailored responses to  queries and requests.

This idea builds on existing AI tools like Gmail's email summarization and suggested replies, and Microsoft Teams' transcription and summarization of video conferences. Additionally, there are services capable of generating realistic video avatars and plausible speech from text transcripts. When combined together, these create the illusion that AI avatars are almost within reach.

🥸Counterargument - AI expert Simon Willison, dismissed Yuan's idea as impractical and unrealistic, labeling it as "pure AI science fiction thinking."  He argued that although large language models (LLMs) can imitate individuals to some extent, they lack the capability to perform meaningful tasks on behalf of someone else. 

Willison further emphasized that while LLMs are useful for generating ideas, they are not suitable for decision-making. "That's my threshold for their use: relying on an opaque random number generator for decision-making is a recipe for disaster," he said.

European advocacy group challenges Meta's use of personal data for AI training

☕Context of the news - Meta's plan to use personal data for training its AI models without consent has been criticized by the advocacy group NOYB (none of your business). 

👨🏻‍⚖️News - NOYB has called on European privacy enforcers to intervene, highlighting that Meta's updated privacy policy, effective June 26, permits the use of personal posts, private images, and online tracking data for its AI technology.

The advocacy group has filed 11 complaints against Meta, urging data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Spain to urgently address the upcoming changes in Meta's privacy policy.

🤥Meta's justification - Meta dismissed NOYB's criticism, citing a May 22 blog post where it stated that it uses publicly available and licensed information, as well as publicly shared user data, to train its AI. 

However, a message to Facebook users noted that Meta might still process information about non-users if they appear in images or are mentioned in posts or captions shared by others.

🫣What's more? Meta has previously claimed a legitimate interest in using user data to train and develop its AI models, which can be shared with third parties. 

NOYB founder Max Schrems noted that the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled in 2021 that Meta cannot override users' right to data protection for advertising. Schrems criticized Meta for attempting to apply the same argument again and accused the company of ignoring CJEU rulings, adding that opting out of data use is very complicated.

AI could help end animal testing by analyzing data and preventing redundant experiments

🐇News - In a significant development, AI is aiding efforts to reduce animal testing worldwide. How? Well, by analyzing existing global animal testing data, AI is helping prevent unnecessary, redundant new tests. 

This is a big win for both researchers and animal lovers, as it moves us closer to finding non-animal alternatives while ensuring the safety of drugs and other substances for human use.

🎙️Experts' opinions - Insiders like Joseph Manuppello from the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine and Thomas Hartung from Johns Hopkins University are optimistic about AI's impact on reducing animal testing. They believe AI models such as ChatGPT, can efficiently analyze decades of data, providing valuable insights for researchers. 

Hartung specifically praised AI's effectiveness in assessing new chemicals' toxicity, offering a faster and more accurate approach compared to traditional methods. 

🤔Are there any limitations though? Yes. While AI systems are valuable, they're not flawless in assessing chemical safety. Another noteworthy limitation is data bias, where AI trained on predominantly one ethnic group's health data may yield calculations unsuitable for other ethnic backgrounds.

🙆🏻‍♀️What else is happening?

• Nvidia is now more valuable than Apple at $3.01 trillion, thanks to the AI boom

• Stability AI releases a sound generator

• Mistral launches fine-tuning tools to make customizing its models easier and faster

• Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and 'writes fiction' using AI

• Tencent’s WeChat requires disclosure of AI-generated content to combat misinformation

📚AI-based books

• AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan - This book combines science fiction and science fact to explore how AI will transform our world over the next two decades.

• The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian Christian - Christian examines the challenge of aligning AI systems with human values and the ethical implications of AI decision-making.

• Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani - The book explores how AI is transforming business strategies and organizational structures.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. OpenTools AI Tools Expert GPT - Find the perfect AI Tool to solve supercharge your workflow. This GPT is connected to our database, so you can ask in depth questions on any AI tool directly in ChatGPT (free w/ ChatGPT)

2. Taskade - A collaborative productivity tool for teams to plan, organize, and execute projects ($8/month)

3. AutoThread AI - A tool that generates Twitter threads from podcasts and YouTube videos in one click ($0.5/video)

4. MagicStock - Uses artificial intelligence to create unlimited photos, icons, illustrations, and logos in PNG format ($12/month)

5. Resume Trick - Helps users create their perfect resume quickly (Free)

6. Surfer - Helps with SEO content creation and optimization; offers features like generating article outlines, providing keyword suggestions ($89/month)

7. Tactic - Helps users automate research, analysis, and action by generating insights from any document ($20/month)

8. Lyro - An AI Chatbot that automatically answers common questions and perform recurring tasks so your team can focus on growing your business ($29/month)

9. Contentinator - A Figma plugin that helps  generate text, images, and provides copywriting assistance ($5/month) 

⏰AI life hacks

• Smart Alarm Clocks: Apps like Sleep Cycle use AI to analyze your sleep patterns and wake you up during the lightest sleep phase, helping you feel more refreshed.

• AI-Powered Cleaning Robots: Devices like Roomba use AI to navigate and clean your home efficiently, saving you time and effort.

• Weather Forecasting: Apps like Dark Sky and Carrot Weather use AI to provide hyper-local weather forecasts, helping you plan your day more accurately.