😟Saudi AI Plans Worry US

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Today we will discuss-

• 🏃🏻‍♂️Saudi Arabia's role in the global AI race

• 🔐MIT's AI chip improves user security

• 🗣️WEF President discusses 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?

Saudi Arabia's strategy to become an AI superpower raises concerns

🏰News - Tech companies are increasingly eager to collaborate with Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom is investing heavily in AI and other technologies. However, access to this funding requires international firms to establish a presence in the kingdom.

🏁How this could shape the global AI race -

• If Crown Prince Mohammed's plan succeeds, Saudi Arabia will become a significant player in the global competition for AI dominance, joining countries like China, the United States, and France. 

• In addition, with the support of the neighboring United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia's AI initiative has the potential to establish a new powerhouse in the global tech industry.

🕵🏻‍♂️What's more? Many in Washington are also concerned that Saudi Arabia's ambitious goals, combined with its authoritarian tendencies, may not align with US interests, particularly if Saudi Arabia ends up providing computing power to Chinese researchers and companies.

To put this into perspective, Saudi Arabia's leading research university, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), has become a focal point in the technological rivalry between the US and China. Modeled after institutions like the California Institute of Technology, KAUST is Saudi Arabia's leading scientific research university, attracting foreign AI experts and providing computing resources to establish an AI research hub. However, in pursuit of this goal, KAUST has frequently collaborated with China, recruiting students and professors and forming research partnerships, which has raised concerns among US officials.

Furthermore, there are concerns that students and professors from Chinese military-affiliated universities could use KAUST to circumvent US sanctions, potentially giving China an advantage in the race for AI dominance, according to analysts and US officials.

MIT's new AI chip enhances health app efficiency, protects user data

👨🏻‍🔬News - Researchers from MIT and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab have developed a machine-learning accelerator chip designed to improve the efficiency of health-monitoring and fitness apps on smartphones. 

These apps often rely on large machine-learning models, which can be slow and energy-inefficient. The new chip not only speeds up computation but also protects sensitive user data, such as health records and financial information, from common types of attacks, making it safer to use these apps on personal devices.

🧬The science behind it - This machine-learning accelerator, known as a digital in-memory compute (IMC) chip, operates within a device's memory, where portions of a machine-learning model are stored after being transferred from a central server.

IMC chips enhance efficiency by breaking the model into pieces and reusing them, reducing the need for data transfer. However, they are vulnerable to side-channel and bus-probing attacks, where hackers exploit power consumption and communication between the chip and off-chip memory.

To combat these vulnerabilities, the researchers implemented a three-pronged security approach:

• They fragmented the data in the IMC into random pieces, making it impossible for a side-channel attack to reconstruct the original information.

• They employed a lightweight cipher to encrypt the model stored in off-chip memory, preventing bus-probing attacks. The cipher only requires simple computations, and the model is decrypted on the chip only when needed.

• They enhanced security by generating the decryption key directly on the chip using a physically unclonable function, which uses random variations introduced during manufacturing.

🤓Testing results - To validate the effectiveness of their chip's security features, the researchers conducted simulated side-channel and bus-probing attacks, attempting to steal confidential information. Despite making millions of attempts, they were unable to reconstruct any real data or extract parts of the model or dataset. In comparison, it only took about 5,000 samples to successfully steal information from an unprotected chip. 

WEF President Borge Brende speaks on AI's potential and pitfalls

🎤News - In a recent interview, Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, discussed the potential of AI to increase global productivity by up to 30% in the next decade.

☯️The Yin and Yang of AI - Brende also discussed the mixed impact AI could have on the job market, stating that while it could significantly affect economies, its effects on employment would be varied.

Brende emphasized that AI is a powerful tool for enhancing productivity and, consequently, prosperity. He also highlighted the importance of upskilling and reskilling individuals who may lose their jobs to AI, helping them transition into other sectors where they can earn higher wages. 

He added that while considering AI's potential benefits, it is also important to acknowledge its dangers and, by extension, the importance of regulating the technology to ensure that it serves humanity's interests rather than controlling humans. He likened this necessity to something as fundamental as having traffic rules. 

However, he expressed concerns about the current fragmented global landscape, which could make establishing universal regulations for AI challenging.

🙆🏻‍♀️What else is happening?

• Zuckerberg says it will take Meta years to make money from generative AI

• UK probes Amazon and Microsoft over AI partnerships with Mistral, Anthropic and Inflection

• Toyota and Nissan pair up with Tencent and Baidu for China AI arms race

• Nvidia acquires AI workload management startup Run:ai for $700M, sources say

• Apple releases OpenELM: small, open source AI models designed to run on-device

🎙️AI-based podcasts

• The ChatGPT Report by Ryan Collier and Ben Meyerhoeffer. Ideal for people who have a keen interest in ChatGPT, this podcast offers concise 10-minute episodes that delve into the various aspects of ChatGPT and the latest developments in the field. Previous conversations have revolved around subjects such as utilizing ChatGPT for resumes, and the gradual integration of AI into platforms like WordPress, among other subjects.

• AI Today by Kathleen Walch and Ronald Schmelzer. The podcast explores the relevance of AI in today's world. Previous discussions feature topics like AI system transparency, safety, security, and the fairness and bias associated with AI and data.

• Practical AI by Chris Benson and Daniel Whitenack. The podcast brings together technology professionals, business individuals, students, enthusiasts, and expert guests to engage in discussions that center around the productive and practical implementation of AI in real-world situations, making it understandable for all.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. Viroll - An AI-powered video editing tool that helps users create highlight clips from their videos (Free)

2. Chekable - An AI-powered platform that provides services for checking the patentability of inventions ($47/ full patent text search)

3. Book Witch - A Software as a Service platform that allows users to generate e-books from a simple description ($5/month) 

4. AI Perfect Assistant - A tool designed to enhance Microsoft Word by automating various writing tasks ($9.99/month)

5. Mindie - Allows users to have conversations with anything they encounter on the web, such as YouTube videos, blog posts (Free)

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

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

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

9. WordMe - An AI-powered SEO writing tool that helps users create high-quality content optimized for search engines ($19/month)

📸AI-generated influencers

• Aitana Lopez was designed and brought to life by the Spanish agency, The Clueless. She is a 25-year-old virtual model with vibrant pink hair and a gamer aesthetic. She has amassed over 300,000 followers on Instagram. Her persona revolves around gaming, fitness, and cosplay. Her photos, created through AI tools and enhanced with Photoshop, display a striking realism. 

• Leya is a virtual ambassador on a mission to inspire and touch hearts worldwide. She is a supporter of the World Awareness Movement and uses her platform to share breathtaking images of the planet’s natural beauty, including landscapes, wildlife, and people.

• Kyra is a virtual influencer who emerged onto the scene in January 2022 as India’s very first digital sensation. Since her debut, Kyra, also known as Kyraonig, has quickly become a digital icon, with notable appearances on the digital cover of Travel and Leisure, India, and a growing list of brand endorsements that include Amazon Prime Video, boAt, and John Jacobs.