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☆ Sam Altman's firing at OpenAI reflects schism over future of AI development
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

To many, he was considered the human face of generative AI. Those worries over generative AI came to a head with the surprise ousting of Altman, who was also OpenAI's cofounder. “Does the future then belong to the machines?”Sutskever reportedly felt Altman was pushing OpenAI’s software too quickly into users’ hands, potentially compromising safety. The fate of OpenAI is viewed by many technologists as critical to the development of AI. He advocated on social media in September for a "slowing down" of AI development.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Ilya Sutskever, –, ”, Connor Leahy, Sutskever, OpenAI, Biden, Emmett Shear, Greg Bensinger, Kenneth Li, Matthew Lewis Organizations: FRANCISCO, Microsoft, European Union, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, San Francisco

☆ Google DeepMind is reportedly testing an AI that can give users life advice, like how to tell your best friend you can't afford to go their wedding
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google DeepMind is working on new tools that could function as a personal life coach, per the NYT. DeepMind, Google's AI arm, is working on ambitious new tools that could function as a personal life coach, The New York Times reported. That includes the ability to give users life advice, ideas, planning instructions, and tutoring tips. Such AI would naturally involve users exploring tense or complicated situations in their personal lives, and implementing the advice of a chatbot. Over 100 experts with doctorates have been contracted in by ScaleAI to help test the capabilities of the life coach tool, the NYT reported.

Persons: ScaleAI, DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman —, Replika Organizations: Google, The New York Times, The Times

☆ Investors shut out of traditional funding rounds are scouring secondary markets to snap up shares in buzzy AI startups like Dataminr, Hugging Face, and Anthropic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Leena Rao | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As the AI craze continues, investors are eager to buy shares of these startups on secondary markets. AI startup shares have been the top in demand sector every month this year, according to EquityZen. It seems that every week there's a new hot AI startup that's raising a big round. ForgeGlobal, a marketplace for secondary transactions of startup shares, is seeing similar excitement from investors in AI startups. Sequoia, General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz and many others have been aggressively investing in AI startups.

Persons: Phil Haslett, Haslett, Avlok Kohli, Howe Ng, Ng, Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Javier Avelos, OpenAI, Anthropic, Avelos Organizations: sixfold, SamBaNova Systems, Microsoft, Google Locations: secondaries, Sequoia, Caplight

☆ Lawmakers meet with Apple, Disney CEOs as part of talks on competition with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

High-profile tech and media executives shared their experiences of working in and competing with China with lawmakers who visited California this week. Over the three-day trip that kicked off on Wednesday, lawmakers were scheduled to meet with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Apple CEO Tim Cook, as well as high-level executives from Google , Microsoft , Palantir and Scale AI. The trip highlights the key role tech and media industries play in America's increasingly complex relationship with China. In Hollywood, the group of lawmakers from the select committee learned about a range of topics related to competition with China. The group was also slated to meet with venture capitalists on Thursday, including Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and SV Angel.

☆ Apple's Tim Cook, Disney's Bob Iger to discuss China with lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A group of lawmakers will travel to California to meet with tech and media executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Disney CEO Bob Iger, to discuss China-related topics, CNBC has confirmed. Around a dozen lawmakers representing both parties on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are set to make the three-day trip, led by Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., a spokesperson for the committee told CNBC. Just last week, Cook, whose company relies on China's massive workforce for phone production, met with China's minister of commerce about supply chain issues. Gallagher has previously said he wants Iger and Big Tech executives to testify before the panel. Companies named in this report either did not immediately respond or did not provide a comment.

☆ Google's most cutting-edge moonshot lab is refocusing on actually making money
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Matt Weinberger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I'm Matt Weinberger, deputy editor of Insider's tech analysis team, filling in for my colleague Diamond Naga Siu for the next few days. It's yet another sign that the tech industry is very different than it was even a year ago. A moonshot in the foot for Google: Insider's Hugh Langley reports that Google's X Development is scaling back from its pioneering, famously envelope-pushing roots as a tech research lab. Instead, it'll focus on initiatives that actually make money for Google and its parent company Alphabet. Read Insider's in-depth review of the newest model of the iPad Pro, released in late 2022.

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