UK's unexpected AI struggle

October 31, 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes  

Today we will discuss-

  • 🤝France, Germany, Italy join forces to shape AI in EU

  • 😓UK's Frontier AI Taskforce struggles with recruitment 

  • 🏆Singapore claims top spot in AI readiness

  • 😱 11 fantastic AI tools you might not have heard of

All this and more - Let's dive in!

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👩‍🍳What’s cooking in the newsroom?

France, Germany,  Italy unite to shape AI regulation, and boost competitiveness in EU

♨️News - Amid the global push to regulate AI, France, Germany, and Italy are working together to take a leading role in shaping AI regulations within the EU. Ministers from these countries met in Rome on 30 October to discuss their cooperation on digital affairs and AI.

The meeting was attended by Italy's Enterprise Minister Adolfo Urso, as well as his counterparts - Bruno Le Maire from France, and Robert Habeck from Germany. The trio highlighted the significant impact AI can have on the EU's industrial strength and stressed the need to make it a central part of the EU's industrial policy to boost competitiveness and benefit from the latest AI advancements.

🤔How do they plan to boost industrial competitiveness in the AI sector? Their efforts involve cutting taxes, streamlining processes for international projects, backing startups and small businesses and establishing a robust European venture capital system to provide essential funding for firms. This, in addition to advocating for AI regulations that are not overly strict, and promote innovation and growth. 

They also discussed the creation of a pan-Europe knowledge and innovation network by connecting the various national centers of excellence, possibly through the formation of a specialized association focused on AI.

UK's Frontier AI Taskforce faces challenge in attracting top AI researchers

☕News - Ian Hogarth, the chair of the UK's Frontier AI Taskforce, has issued the second update on the taskforce's progress. The latest report highlights that their main challenge lies in convincing top-tier AI researchers to work for the government. 

This is because compensation for machine learning researchers has significantly grown in recent years. Additionally, working at top AI companies is appealing to them not just because of the money but also because of the reputation and opportunities to learn.

🙄Is there a solution to this? The report notes that while the taskforce may not be able to compete in terms of compensation, it distinguishes itself through its mission. The taskforce is the first team within a G7 government to assess the risks of advanced AI models, which is an important step in ensuring responsible governance informed by science and public interest.

🫣What's more? Recently, the taskforce announced two new partnerships. One with Apollo, which will assist them in understanding the risks of humans losing control over AI systems, and another with the global non-profit OpenMinded. 

Their team has also welcomed Jade Leung from OpenAI, a specialist in AI safety and governance, and Rumman Chowdhury from Humane Intelligence, who previously led Twitter's META team for ML ethics and transparency. 

Singapore secures top spot in AI readiness among other Asia Pacific countries 

🤓News - Singapore has claimed the top position for overall AI readiness with a score of 70.1 in the 2023 Asia Pacific AI Readiness Index by Salesforce, outperforming 11 other economies. This simply means that among other APAC countries, Singapore is best prepared to effectively adopt, and benefit from AI technologies.

Five out of the 12 surveyed countries (Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand) saw an improvement in their overall AI readiness from their 2021 scores. This improvement directly reflects the AI-related initiatives these economies have launched between 2021 and 2023.

🕵️‍♂️What were other key findings? 

  • Japan and China closely follow Singapore in the overall AI readiness rankings within the APAC region, scoring 59.8 and 59.7, respectively. Both countries have been prioritizing AI innovation as a central part of their strategies.

  • Singapore took the lead in government AI readiness too, scoring 86.5, followed by Australia at 77.7 and Japan at 77.5. 

  • Moreover, Indonesia and Thailand saw the most significant improvement in government AI readiness following the introduction of their national AI strategies in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

  • In terms of business AI readiness, Singapore leads with a score of 53.6, followed by China at 43.1 and South Korea at 42.7. 

👩🏼‍💻What else is happening?

👻Unusual AI use cases

  • Ghostwriting - AI-powered ghostwriting helps create written content, such as poetry, stories, and even speeches, based on user input. Brands like Snazzy AI use it to enhance content creation and messaging for the purposes of marketing and entertainment.

  • AI-generated faces - Utilizing advanced technology, AI tools can create human faces that seem genuine. "This Person Does Not Exist" is a notable brand in this space, displaying lifelike AI-generated faces on their website. This technology has a wide range of applications, from creating realistic avatars for video games to generating diverse characters for marketing purposes.

  • Baby names - AI-generated baby names merge linguistic patterns, tech, and preferences for unique monikers. BabyNameWizard proposes names through AI, bridging technology with tradition. However, the adoption varies due to traditional and cultural influences.

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

  1. Altersnap - A mobile application that allows users to take selfies and create altered photos

  2. LogoPicture AI - An online tool that allows users to create optical illusion art with their logos

  3. FinWise - A financial management tool that helps users manage their profiles and money effectively

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

  5. Levytation - An AI and data consultancy service for small businesses

  6. AI Pricing Optimizer - A tool that uses artificial intelligence to analyze and improve pricing strategies

  7. Viroll - An AI-powered video editing tool that helps users create highlight clips from their videos

  8.  Chekable - An AI-powered platform that provides services for checking the patentability of inventions

  9. Book Witch - A Software as a Service platform that allows users to generate e-books from a simple description

  10. AI Perfect Assistant - A tool designed to enhance Microsoft Word by automating various writing tasks

  11. Religo - A platform that allows users to explore their religion's teachings, interact with the community, and access resources

🍿AI-based movies

  • Westworld (1973) - A sci-fi film set in a futuristic amusement park where guests can live out their wildest fantasies in a world populated by androids. When two guests, Peter Martin and John Blane, visit Westworld, they soon discover that the park is not all it seems. The androids begin to malfunction, and the guests find themselves in a deadly game of survival. It is a thought-provoking and suspenseful story that remains relevant even today.

  • Robot & Frank (2012) - It is a science fiction comedy-drama film where Frank, an aging ex-jewel thief, receives a robot companion from his son. The robot is programmed to provide Frank with therapeutic care, but Frank soon realizes that the robot can be used for other purposes. Frank teaches the robot how to lock-pick and safecrack, and the two of them begin to commit burglaries together. The movie is fun-filled and a bit emotional towards the end.

  • Moon (2009) - It's a thriller film set on the moon. A lone astronaut goes out on a three-year long mission to mine Helium-3 where he only communicates with his boss. One day, the protagonist meets an accident and wakes up in the medical bay with no memory of what happened. It is a thought-provoking film that explores themes of identity, memory, and the nature of reality. The unexpected ending makes the movie all the more interesting. 

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