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☆ Elon Musk dreams of Twitter's AI power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's personal AI ambitions. Elon Musk was one of the more prominent names on an open letter calling for a pause in AI development. My teammate Asia Martin points out that Musk's position on AI is contradicted by Twitter's investment in generative AI. Twitter's recent purchase of hardware normally used to develop generative AI products shows the extent of this ambition. Read more on Elon Musk's AI ambitions.

☆ Wall Street sees a semiconductor industry bottom coming. Here's how we're playing the stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

NVDA AMD YTD mountain Nvidia vs. AMD year to date So, the question now is: Can the rally in semis continue? To help us read the tea leaves, here's a look at what Wall Street analysts are saying about the underlying fundamentals of the industry. Evercore said a "fundamental bottom" for the semiconductor industry currently playing out in March and April "has only strengthened" recently. Analysts there believe the inventory correction that's plagued the industry in recent quarters will be largely complete by the second quarter. Bottom line While there's some variation on timing, Wall Street clearly believes a bottom is in the process of playing out in the semiconductor industry.

☆ ChatGPT may be able to predict stock movements, finance professor shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alejandro Lopez-Lira, a finance professor at the University of Florida, says that large language models may be useful when forecasting stock prices. If ChatGPT can display the emergent ability to understand headlines from financial news and how they might impact stock prices, it could could put high-paying jobs in the financial industry at risk. About 35% of financial jobs are at risk of being automated by AI, Goldman Sachs estimated in a March 26 note. But the specifics of the experiment also show how far so-called "large language models" are from being able to do many finance tasks. "On the regulation side, if we have computers just reading the headlines, headlines will matter more, and we can see if everyone should have access to machines such as GPT," said Lopez-Lira.

☆ Leaked Amazon memo shows plans to reduce employee stock awards in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leaked Amazon memo shows plans to reduce employee stock awards in 2025. The company is considering increasing the cash portion of compensation to help cushion employees against its stock price going down in the future. In other news:The late Cash App founder Bob Lee. Cash App creator Bob Lee died after a reported stabbing in San Francisco Tuesday. Silicon Valley is grieving the loss of the founder of Cash App and the former chief technology officer at Square.

☆ Google CEO says he used the company's Bard AI chatbot to plan his father's 80th birthday party
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he used Google Bard to help plan his father's 80th birthday. Pichai said Bard told him he should make a scrapbook for the event. "It's not that it's profound, but it says things and kind of sparks the imagination," Pichai told the Times. Pichai's experience echoes similar stories from early users of Google's competitor, Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot. Pichai told the Times he understands the concerns people have, but remains optimistic about AI technology.

☆ There are more generative AI startups that are launching out of Y Combinator than ever before. Here are 55 of them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The startup accelerator Y Combinator had the most generative AI startups ever in this cohort. These startups are set to reveal what they've been working on at Demo Day on April 5 and 6. Here are 55 generative AI startups in the startup accelerator's winter 2023 batch. This year, the hottest topic in startup and VC land is generative AI, and this cohort saw a jump in the number of generative AI startups that made the cut. The last cohort had only nine startups that described themselves as generative AI companies, but the current one has over 50 startups in the category.

☆ I've scoured Detroit's dumps, streets, and abandoned homes for wood and metal to make furniture. It's exciting to be part of a movement that redefines how society should use reclaimed materials.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

At first, I didn't even know that car design was an actual career or business. Woodward Throwbacks' Detroit showroom. It is a sustainable design studio that custom builds furniture and home goods with recycled materials found in the city. I was falling out of love with car design, and the possibility of being my own boss excited me. What Woodward Throwbacks is doing — redefining how society sees and uses reclaimed materials for everyday use — has never been done before.

☆ ABC News staffers were stunned at the departures of veteran colleagues and 'outraged' about how the exits were handled
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some ABC News staff were in tears on Thursday after layoffs of respected news veterans. Kim Godwin has made positive changes as ABC News president and has faced a string of complex situations. ABC News staffers are in shock over the departure of multiple senior-level colleagues, most notably Wendy Fisher, SVP news gathering. ABC News alone lost 50 staffers on Thursday as part of the slim-down and a leadership reorganization by division President Kim Godwin. A second ABC News insider said it was unprecedented to dismiss longtime veterans in such a manner.

☆ Investing in Space: Boeing's got to get going
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Starliner spacecraft for the Crew Flight Test is seen in the company's processing facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Even then, each company had faced its share of delays, but NASA estimated flight tests were months apart. I'm not advocating for anything akin to "go fever" for Boeing's upcoming Starliner crewed flight test (CFT), which just got delayed from mid-April to late July. Assuming the test flight goes according to plan, then there are the redesigns of Starliner's propulsion valves and module separation system – and potentially batteries – that are underway for missions after CFT.

☆ Leaked org chart shows the 15 most important leaders in Google's AI division as it races to catch Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Central to those efforts is its Research and AI group, led by senior vice president Jeff Dean. An internal org chart seen by Insider shows the 14 other leaders under Dean who drive Google's efforts to catch the sudden success of OpenAI. Jeff Dean, senior vice president, Google AI Thomas Samson/Getty ImagesReporting directly to Dean is Eli Collins, a VP leading work on Google's ChatGPT competitor, Bard. Collins also works on AI Test Kitchen, an app that gives select users access to some of Google's latest AI demos. Jay Yagnik, VP of research, oversees the biggest number of employees within Dean's organization.

☆ Elon Musk and other tech leaders call for pause in ‘out of control’ AI race
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The letter comes just two weeks after OpenAI announced GPT-4, an even more powerful version of the technology that underpins the viral AI chatbot tool, ChatGPT. The wave of attention around ChatGPT late last year helped renew an arms race among tech companies to develop and deploy similar AI tools in their products. Artificial intelligence experts have become increasingly concerned about AI tools’ potential for biased responses, the ability to spread misinformation and the impact on consumer privacy. The letter hints at the broader discomfort inside and outside the industry with the rapid pace of advancement in AI. Correction: An earlier version of this story said Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had signed the letter.

☆ Disney layoffs are expected to hit ABC News this week, sources say, with scores of roles to be eliminated following cuts from TV, engineering, and metaverse teams
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cuts at Disney's ABC News are coming before the end of the week, according to sources. Disney firings are expected to affect its ABC News division this week, according to two company insiders familiar with the situation. TV production and acquisition execs at Hulu, Freeform, and 20th Television were also impacted, according to a report in Deadline. Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days. I want to thank each of you again for all your many achievements here at The Walt Disney Company.

☆ Y Combinator's head of admissions is reviewing over 20,000 startups for its summer 2023 cohort. Here's what she's looking for.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For early-stage founders looking to grow their startups in an accelerator, few names spark as much excitement as Y Combinator. Several of Silicon Valley's marquee companies are Y Combinator graduates, including Airbnb, Stripe, and Dropbox. While the number of startups that were part of last year's summer cohort were down 40% from the previous batch, this winter batch had 17.5% more startups accepted, said a Y Combinator spokesperson. Now, Y Combinator is looking ahead to its next batch, accepting applications for the summer 2023 cohort, which are due by April 7th. Stephanie Simon, the head of Y Combinator's admissions team, wants founders to know she's still sifting through all those applications.

☆ Elon Musk, Bill Gates and other tech leaders call for pause in ‘out of control’ AI race
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The letter comes just two weeks after OpenAI announced GPT-4, an even more powerful version of the technology that underpins the viral AI chatbot tool, ChatGPT. The wave of attention around ChatGPT late last year helped renew an arms race among tech companies to develop and deploy similar AI tools in their products. Artificial intelligence experts have become increasingly concerned about AI tools’ potential for biased responses, the ability to spread misinformation and the impact on consumer privacy. Lian Jye Su, an analyst at ABI Research, said the letter shows legitimate concerns among tech leaders over the unregulated usage of AI technologies. But he called parts of the petition “ridiculous,” including the premise of asking for a hiatus in AI development beyond GPT-4.

☆ Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google Bard, the search firm's answer to ChatGPT, has underwhelmed early testers. Users in the US and UK trying out the AI chatbot find it pales in comparison to OpenAI's tech. The makers of the Twofer Goofer word puzzle found ChatGPT was much better at solving the brainteasers than Google's Bard. It's possible that the company does have a super impressive AI tool up its sleeve. Insider's Hugh Langley reported earlier in March that Google employees are testing a more intelligent version of Bard, nicknamed "Big Bard."

☆ Google CEO tells employees 'things will go wrong' as the public tests its ChatGPT rival Bard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Google's CEO told employees "things will go wrong" with the company's AI chatbot, Bard. Google began rolling out staggered access to its ChatGPT rival on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Google began rolling out staggered public access to its much-anticipated ChatGPT rival, Bard. A spokesperson for Google told Insider that "Bard can sometimes give inaccurate or inappropriate information that doesn't represent Google's views." In the email to employees on Tuesday, Pichai said that public feedback is "critical" to improving Bard's functionality.

☆ AI-generated DJs are coming to radio stations in the US and Canada next month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An AI-generated radio DJ could be coming soon to your local radio station. Radio GPT will launch at stations in the US and Canada in April, as reported by Axios Cleveland. RadioGPT, a GPT-4-powered radio content generator from media company Futuri, is set to debut next month in radio stations in the US and Canada, Axios Cleveland reported. Radio GPT uses AI to generate scripts and voices designed for radio stations. The news that the AI technology is coming to real radio stations might make existing radio DJs squirm and wonder if their jobs are now at-risk of being replaced.

☆ Google begins opening access to its ChatGPT competitor Bard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Starting in the U.S. and UK, consumers can join a waiting list for English-language access to Bard, a program previously open to approved testers only. Google describes Bard as an experiment allowing collaboration with generative AI, technology that relies on past data to create rather than identify content. Asked whether competitive dynamics were behind Bard's rollout, Jack Krawczyk, a senior product director, said Google was focused on users. Unlike ChatGPT, Bard is not proficient in generating computer code, Google said on its website. "Bard will not always get it right," a Google pop-up notice warned during the demo.

☆ Adobe launches Firefly generative A.I., which lets users type to edit images
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

By highlighting an element in a multilayer work of art — a lighthouse, in the demo video — Adobe Firefly uses AI to generate different versions of the lighthouse. Adobe on Tuesday launched an artificial intelligence tool called Firefly that will let users type commands to quickly modify images. Adobe's new product comes at a key inflection point both for Adobe and AI more broadly. OpenAI and Stable Diffusion, another AI organization, both offer generative AI image products. Adobe said Firefly will place an emphasis on giving creators "opportunities to benefit from your skills and creativity and protect your work."

☆ Google begins rolling out its ChatGPT rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Google is opening up access to Bard, its new AI chatbot tool that directly competes with ChatGPT. A company representative told CNN it will be a separate, complementary experience to Google Search, and users can also visit Search to check its responses or sources. Google said in a blog post it plans to “thoughtfully” add large language models to search “in a deeper way” at a later time. Like ChatGPT, which was released publicly in late November by AI research company OpenAI, Bard is built on a large language model. Google's ChatGPT rival Bard GoogleBut Bard’s blunder highlighted the challenge Google and other companies face with integrating the technology into their core products.

☆ AI and the future of work: Everything is about to change
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Suddenly, AI tools, which have long operated in the background of many services, are now more powerful and more visible across a wide and growing range of workplace tools. Google’s new features, for example, promise to help “brainstorm” and “proofread” written work in Docs. A long list of startups are also developing AI writing assistants and image generators. The pitch from tech companies is clear: AI can make you more productive and eliminate the grunt work. Curran said just how much these AI-powered tools will change work depends on the application.

☆ SVB collapse is double-whammy for tech startups already navigating brutal market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

He'd started the process six months earlier during a brutal period for tech stocks and a plunge in venture funding. Investors were just pulling in their horns, the SPAC market had fallen apart, valuations for tech companies were collapsing." In the absence of venture funding, money-losing startups have had to cut their burn rates in order to extend their cash runway. Since the beginning of 2022, roughly 1,500 tech companies have laid off a total of close to 300,000 people, according to the website Layoffs.fyi. Kruze Consulting provides accounting and other back-end services to hundreds of tech startups.

☆ The tech boss at a global PR firm says using AI tools like ChatGPT can inspire creativity and transform businesses — if you do it right
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nicholas Fearn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Kevin Dulaney leads tech innovation at Hotwire Global, a marketing and communications consultancy. "The pandemic highlighted the importance of this technology," Dulaney said. Recently, Hotwire Global's IT team developed a language library powered by AI chatbot ChatGPT. The AI-based language library — which is ChatGPT's colloquial rendering of Hotwire Global's original language library — is underpinned by Hotwire Global's existing processes, documents, information, and internal communications. To ensure employees use tools like ChatGPT ethically, Hotwire Global's IT team has created AI guidelines and best practices.

☆ Baidu stock rebounds after falling sharply in wake of demo of ERNIE chatbot, its ChatGPT-style service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —Shares in Chinese search giant Baidu rebounded sharply a day after it unveiled ERNIE Bot, its answer to the ChatGPT craze. Its Hong Kong shares fell 6.4% after a public demonstration of its bot failed to impress investors. The reversal came after the company said more than 30,000 businesses had signed up to test out its chatbot service within two hours of its demonstration. Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li presenting the company's AI chatbot, ERNIE Bot, in Beijing on March 16. But its stock slumped on Thursday because the demo was “pre-recorded, and not live, which makes investors skeptical about the robustness of the ERNIE Bot,” according to Pau.

☆ Google nixes paying out remainder of maternity and medical leave for laid-off employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

The group includes people who were approved for or are currently on maternity leave, baby bonding leave, caregiver's leave, medical leave and personal leave. Early last year, Google announced it would be increasing parental leave for full-time employees to 18 weeks for all parents and 24 weeks for birth parents. Pichai said U.S.-based employees would receive 16 weeks of severance pay plus two weeks for each additional year they worked at Google. The Laid off on Leave group sent its first email to executives in January, and shared specific examples of Google employees impacted by the job cuts while on their previously approved leave. The company didn't address whether it would cover full medical leave on top of the severance payout.

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