Taylor Swift's AI mishap

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Today we will discuss-

• 🧐FTC investigates big tech’s relations with leading AI startups

• 🤖OpenAI addresses GPT-4’s 'Lazy' behavior; reduces prices

• 👩‍💻Taylor Swift deepfake incident elevates AI concerns

• 🤴🏼13 fantastic AI tools you might not have heard of

All this and more - Let's dive in!

👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

US antitrust inquiry targets OpenAI and Anthropic's deals with big tech companies

🤖News - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued orders to tech giants OpenAI, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Anthropic, demanding information on recent investments and partnerships involving generative AI companies and cloud service providers.

Concerns over antitrust issues have arisen due to deals among these powerful players and major tech firms. The FTC's orders aim to delve into the intricacies of agreements between Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and AI providers, examining their impact on competition.

🤔What’s the intent behind this move? The comprehensive document request seeks insights into how partnerships with Big Tech influence strategic decisions, pricing strategies, access provision, and personnel decisions. Exclusivity agreements are also under scrutiny. The companies have been given a 45-day deadline to respond to the orders.

Former FTC chair William Kovacic highlighted that the move signals the agency's vigilance, readiness, and commitment to observe industry dynamics closely. Microsoft expressed its cooperation with the FTC, emphasizing that collaborations between companies like Microsoft and OpenAI foster competition and innovation, positioning the U.S. at the forefront of AI development. Google, in response, expressed hope that the inquiry would shed light on companies with a history of customer lock-ins.

OpenAI slashes prices and resolves 'Lazy' GPT-4 issues in swift action

👵News - OpenAI, the leading name in large language models, has delivered a double dose of news for developers and AI enthusiasts. On 25 January, the company announced new models, price cuts, and a fix for "lazy" GPT-4.

Perhaps the most exciting news for everyday users is the price drop for GPT-3.5 Turbo, the model behind popular tools like ChatGPT. Input costs have halved to $0.0005 per thousand tokens, and output is 25% cheaper at $0.0015 per thousand tokens. This might seem like jargon, but it significantly reduces the cost of text-intensive tasks like analyzing long documents. As open-source rivals inch closer, OpenAI knows affordability is key to retaining users.

👨‍🏫What about performance? OpenAI has addressed a curious issue with GPT-4. The new preview model, also dubbed 0125, tackles tasks like code generation more comprehensively, hopefully alleviating the problem of the model "giving up" halfway through. This fix paves the way for the general release of GPT-4 Turbo with vision (GPT-4 V) in the coming months.

The company has also unveiled a batch of improved text embedding models, and released version 007 of its free moderation API, a valuable tool for anyone concerned about harmful content.

Refinements, price cuts, and ambitious release plans solidify OpenAI's position at the forefront of AI development.

Taylor Swift deepfake spurs Bipartisan call for action, Democratic lawmaker urges unity on AI concerns

📻News - The recent spread of AI-generated graphic images of pop star Taylor Swift has ignited a bipartisan firestorm, with two leading Democratic lawmakers calling for action against deepfakes.

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke took to the platform formerly known as Twitter, stating that the incident against Swift "is nothing new," highlighting the longstanding vulnerability of women to pornographic deepfakes. Clarke emphasized the urgency of finding solutions, stating that "This is an issue both sides of the aisle & even Swifties should be able to come together to solve."

💁‍♀️What’s more? This call echoes the efforts of fellow New York Democrat Congressman Joseph Morelle, who introduced a bill last May criminalizing the sharing of deepfake pornography. Recognizing the detrimental impact of these manipulated images, Morelle called for proactive measures to "combat the spread of disinformation and protect individuals from compromising situations online."

This bipartisan outcry reflects growing concerns over the weaponization of deepfakes. The Swift incident serves as a stark reminder of the potential for harm, particularly towards vulnerable groups like women.

👨‍🎨What is this Taylor Swift incident though? Pictures of Taylor Swift generated by a computer were shared online after she attended a Kansas City Chiefs game. These inappropriate images came from a website that uses artificial intelligence to create fake celebrity porn, and it all happened on January 15. Many people on the internet were upset and disgusted by these pictures.

👩🏼‍💻What else is happening?

• Pope's Communications Day message: AI can never replace the wisdom of human heart

• Application of artificial intelligence in radiology will help in earlier detection of cancer, says expert

• Google Cloud, Hugging Face partner on AI development

• George Carlin estate sues over fake comedy special purportedly generated by AI

• Tech companies are slashing thousands of jobs as they pivot toward AI

🎶AI-based songs

• Bored With This Desire To Get Ripped by Botnik feat. Morrissey. The track is unique for its blend of Morrissey's lyrics with Amazon reviews of a home workout DVD, which resulted in a mix of melancholic and humorous lines that added a new layer of depth and creativity to the song.

• Deliverance Rides by MetallicAI. This song is popular for its dark and intense AI-generated lyrics that fit the metal musical genre well and sound like they could have been written by a human artist, making it stand out among other songs.

• World is mine by Japanese music group Supercell is a J-pop song that features vocals by Hatsune Miku, a virtual singer created by the company Crypton Future Media. The song's catchy melody and Miku's synthesized vocals contributed to its widespread recognition and popularity within the Vocaloid community.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. TurboScribe - An AI-powered transcription service that offers unlimited audio and video transcription

2. SongR - Simplifies the process of creating custom songs by generating fully-produced tunes tailored to user preferences

3. PromptScaper - A tool that can be used to create training data for language models

4. PodcastAI - An AI-driven platform that aims to revolutionize podcast production by automating the process and reducing time and cost

5. Botrush - A user-friendly interface and advanced tool that enhances the experience of using ChatGPT

6. Auro - Allows users to record voice memos, organize them, and easily recall their thoughts

7. Langley AI - An AI language learning platform that offers personalized language learning assistance

8. Tripbot - A tool that helps users plan their trips easily and efficiently

9. Artiphoria - An AI-powered software tool that allows artists, designers, and creators to generate unique images in just one click

10. CharmedAI - An AI-powered tool that assists in game development by generating UV-unwrapped textures for 3D objects

11. MagicStock - Uses artificial intelligence to create unlimited photos, icons, illustrations, and logos in PNG format

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

13. Chat With Data - An AI tool that allows users to upload various types of documents and interact with them using natural language

📚AI-based books

• 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.

• A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers - The story follows the journey of Sidra, an AI residing within a synthetic body as she aims to discover herself with the help of her human friend Pepper. The story questions if AI beings can truly ever achieve consciousness.

• I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - The story is set in a post-apocalyptic future where an omnipotent and sadistic artificial intelligence called AM (short for "Allied Mastercomputer") has taken control of the world and subjected five humans to endless suffering.