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Daily Digest #276

Hello folks, here’s what we have today;

PICKS

1. Day 1 of the UK’s AI safety summit³⁰³ was completed yesterday. The next summit will be hosted by South Korea 6 months from now and then by France 1 year from now. Here’s all that you need to know: 🍿Our no BS Summary⁷⁶⁸ (also below)

2. Attenuating Innovation²⁷⁸ - Ben Thompson (Stratechery) discusses how big tech companies and AI researchers are lobbying the government to heavily regulate AI development, likely to lock in their market positions.🍿Our Summary²³⁴ (also below)

3. Product Studio by Google³⁹⁴ - Use AI to edit your product photos for Google stores. Available in Merchant Center Next and the Google & YouTube app on Shopify for US storeowners within this week.

TOP TOOLS

• Freeplay^531† - Transform how you build with LLMs.

• Dot by New Computer^580† - Intelligent guide designed to help you remember, organize, and navigate your life.

• Genie by Luma Labs³²⁸ - Text to 3D foundation model in research preview.

• Herbie by Broadn²⁹⁹ - Execute complex marketing and business jobs end-to-end.

• Docus AI⁴³⁶ - Diagnose fast with AI, verify with top human doctors. (Disclaimer: As a large language… XD)

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WHO’S HIRING IN AI

• Fixie¹⁴⁵ - The conversational AI app platform.

• Elicit¹¹⁵ - Speeding up research paper analysis.

• contextSDK⁸⁹ - Real-time user context to improve engagement.

• Rewind¹⁶¹ - Your AI meeting note taker that's not a bot.

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NEWS

• LinkedIn passes 1 billion members and launches new AI chatbot³⁸⁴ to help you get a job.

• Stability AI previews enhanced image offerings: APIs for business¹³⁰ & new product features.

• New AWS service lets customers rent Nvidia GPUs²¹⁵ for quick AI projects.

• Future House¹⁵⁰ - A new philanthropically-funded moonshot focused on building an AI Scientist.

• Anthropic CEO’s remarks²⁰⁸ from the AI Safety Summit.

• The false positive rate of AI detectors¹⁹² and its effect on freelance writers.

• Prepared 911 raises $16M²⁵³ series A led by a16z.

• Microsoft’s Project Silica¹⁵² aims to store data for thousands of years. (Not AI, but interesting)

• Box announces Vertex-powered generative AI tools¹⁴² to process and analyze documents faster.

• Pixel Perfect: How AI unlocks creativity.²³⁴

• Scarlett Johansson takes legal action²⁶³ against the use of her image for AI advertisement.

• Instagram spotted developing a customizable AI friend.¹⁶²

View more →⁷⁸

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QUICK BITES

Day 1 of the UK’s AI safety summit³⁰³ was completed yesterday. The next summit will be hosted by South Korea 6 months from now and then by France 1 year from now. Here’s all that you need to know:

Areas of Focus of different countries:

Highlights from the speaker’s remarks cutting aside the ”Oh! We should do something” fluff.

United States:

• Get companies to make voluntary commitments and adhere to reporting requirements.

• Launching an AI safety institute of its own under the Department of Commerce.

China:

• Equal rights for every country to develop and use AI.

• Global cooperation to share AI knowledge with the public on open-source terms.

EU:

• Innovation - Opening up EU’s supercomputers to train models free of charge (for EU startups only I guess)

• Guardrails - Finalization and agreement of the EU AI act by the end of the year. To release the chapter on generative AI by 6th December.

• Governance - G7 voluntary code for AI regulations with new signatories to be announced.

India:

• AI as an enabler of mass digital adoption.

• We can’t afford regulation to fall behind innovation.

UAE:

• Global first AI with multiple languages as the start.

• Govern the use cases of AI, not the tech based on prior evidence.

Nigeria:

• Socio-economic impact of AI is the biggest challenge to address.

• Still looking at AI as a beneficial force in education and healthcare.

Korea:

• Freedom, Fairness, Safety, Innovation and Solidarity are the 5 principles for aligned AI development.

• Focus on protecting the privacy of citizens.

Catch our full summary⁷⁶⁸ for takeaways from the roundtable discussions.

QUICK BITES

Ben Thompson (Stratechery) discusses how big tech companies and AI researchers are lobbying the government²⁷⁸ to heavily regulate AI development, likely to lock in their market positions.

What is going on here?

Large tech companies and AI labs are urging the government to regulate AI development in the name of safety. However, their calls for regulation align closely with their business interests, indicating an ulterior motive of stifling competition.

What does this mean?

The big tech companies and AI researchers warning about AI risks tend to be the current leaders in the field. OpenAI and Anthropic, smaller labs with popular models, lead the charge. Google, Microsoft and DeepMind have also jumped on board. Meanwhile, Apple, Amazon and Meta have been quiet.

The prominent voices calling for AI regulation are the companies benefiting most from the current hype around models like ChatGPT. The laggards have fewer representatives lobbying for restrictions. This suggests regulations could lock in the position of today's winners over up-and-coming rivals.

Why should I care?

These dynamics highlight the need for skepticism around AI policy. While risks exist, progress requires striking a balance between safety and innovation. However, tech giants may suggest precautionary restrictions serving their own interests, not the public's. Their warnings evoke past episodes where leaders proclaimed risks to justify limiting competition.

We should be wary of incumbents writing rules benefiting themselves as incumbents. Regulation could easily shift from protecting consumers to protecting concentrated market power. Before restricting new advances, policymakers should honestly discern between real dangers versus threats to current leaders. Prioritizing safety is crucial but must be balanced with enabling better futures through ongoing AI progress.

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