🧨AI warfare gets real

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Today we will discuss-

• 😳U.S. military confirms use of AI for airstrikes

• 👩🏻‍⚖️More news outlets sue OpenAI, Microsoft

• 💰Hong Kong government commits $383M to AI

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

All this and more - Let's dive in!

👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

U.S. Department of Defense is already using AI for airstrikes

🤯Context of the news - In 2017, the Pentagon launched Project Maven with the aim of applying machine learning (ML) technology to identify targets in real-time combat situations. Reportedly, the program has now been developed into a practical tool for war, although members of the U.S. military claim that a human ultimately makes the decision to engage targets.

💥News - Since early February, the U.S. Department of Defense has been using machine learning algorithms to identify targets for over 85 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

🤔Why now? According to Schuyler Moore, CTO for the United States Central Command (CentCom), the Pentagon started using AI technology in real battle scenarios after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. She said that the surprise attack prompted the deployment of AI algorithms from Project Maven, leading the U.S. military to use AI in ways it hadn't before. 

🥸What's more? Since 2 February, CentCom has been using Maven AI to spot and destroy enemy rockets, missiles, drones, and militia bases. They also used an AI recommendation system to suggest attack plans and weapon choices during operations. 

On this note, Moore clarified that the new object recognition algorithms can't "kill" and need human approval at every step.

Nevertheless, Moore's remarks regarding AI-enhanced airstrikes suggest that the Department of Defense is advancing the use of "intelligent" technology in military operations. It is also rumored that the Pentagon is actively exploring the integration of large-language models (LLM) into combat decision-making processes.

The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet file lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft

⚖️News - The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet have sued OpenAI in a New York federal court, accusing the Microsoft-backed company of misusing their articles to train the artificial intelligence system behind its popular chatbot ChatGPT.

🤓What we know so far - 

• The lawsuits allege that ChatGPT was trained using thousands of articles from the outlets, resulting in the chatbot reproducing their copyrighted material almost word-for-word when responding to human prompts.

• The lawsuits claim that OpenAI violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by removing copyright-identifying information, such as authors and titles, from the articles, making it easier to infringe upon copyright. The plaintiffs further argue that if ChatGPT had been trained on material with copyright information intact, it would have incorporated that information into its responses.

• The organizations have requested monetary compensation of at least $2,500 per violation from the court and seek an injunction to prohibit OpenAI from further misusing their work.

• The lawsuit from The Intercept also targets Microsoft, OpenAI's main financial supporter, as a defendant. It alleges that Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI, infringes on The Intercept's rights.

• The lawsuits assert that OpenAI and Microsoft were aware of the potential for copyright infringement. Interestingly, both companies provide legal protection to paying customers in case they face copyright violation lawsuits related to the use of Copilot or ChatGPT Enterprise, suggesting awareness of the potential legal risks involved.

Hong Kong pledges $383M to propel AI initiatives at Cyberport Business Hub

🏦News - Hong Kong's government plans to invest $383 million in its Cyberport business hub over three years to support artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. The investment was announced by Paul Chan, the financial secretary, as part of the 2024 budget on 28 February.

This funding aims to assist local universities, research institutes, and businesses in leveraging the computing power of the city's new AI Supercomputing Centre.

😎Additional details - The Hong Kong government aims to launch the scheme and the centre in 2024.  By early 2026, the centre is expected to have a computing power of 3,000 petaflops, capable of processing almost 10 billion images per hour.

Besides aiding local entities, the subsidy will boost cybersecurity and data protection at the center, aiming to attract global AI experts, enterprises, and research projects to Hong Kong. Subsidy amounts will vary based on applicant categories, following a user-pays principle with no total subsidies provided.

According to Chan, AI will play a pivotal role in driving technological and industrial transformation, thereby boosting Hong Kong’s digital economy. 

🙆🏻‍♀️What else is happening?

• Adobe announces new AI tool for creating and editing music

• Apple to disclose AI plans later this year, CEO Tim Cook says

• Alibaba Group releases EMO Research for expressive audio-to-video face portraits

• Stability AI partners with Morph Studio for an improved AI video creation workflow

• Meta is planning a July release for a “looser” Llama 3

🤩Interesting AI facts

• Training a single large language AI generates as many carbon emissions as five cars throughout their lifetimes.

• ChatGPT incurs a daily operational cost of around $700,000, which is covered by Microsoft's investment.

• In 2016, the AI chatbot Norman, named after "Psycho" character Norman Bates, was trained with disturbing content, resulting in unsettling responses. This training aimed to illustrate how AI can develop biased or negative behaviors based on the data it's exposed to.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. Arcwise - An AI-first data analytics platform in your Google Sheet. Instant insights, zero CSV imports, one-click reports (Free Trial)**

2. PlatePose - A tool that uses AI to create professional food photos for delivery listings, marketing and social media profiles ($46 one-time payment)

3. GRRO - A tool designed to help podcasters grow their audience through cross promotions ($240/ 5000 impressions) 

4. Taption - An AI-powered platform that offers automated transcription, translation, and subtitling services for audio and video content ($12/month) 

5. Readshark - A subscription-based platform that provides busy professionals with access to a comprehensive library of book summaries ($29.97/month)

6. Bot Butcher - An anti-spam tool designed to protect your inbox from unwanted messages (Free, $1.99/month) 

7. Fantoons - A tool that allows users to create fan comics and stories based on popular characters from the Harry Potter universe (Free)

8. Piggy Quiz maker - Allows users to create quizzes on any topic by entering a URL, text, or topic (Free)

9. Fornax - A tool that offers instant slide-by-slide feedback on pitch decks ($18/month)

📚AI comic books

• Stargazer Episode Zero (2022) - A short sci-fi comic book that was illustrated using Midjourney, an online image generator. The story retells the experiences of American soldiers in Vietnam when an extraordinary cosmic anomaly emerges on their path.

• Goats (2022) - A comic book by filmmaker Elvis Deane, created using Midjourney. The story follows Julia, a young financial analyst who finds herself drawn into the mysterious world of the supernatural after moving to London.

• Cyberpunk: Peach John (2023) - A Japanese manga comic book that was illustrated using Midjourney, an online image generator. The story follows a young woman named Peach John who is trying to survive in a cyberpunk world.

[The tool marked with ** is a sponsored feature.]

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