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Daily Digest #337

Hello folks, here’s what we have today;

PICKS

1. So, the New York Times is building an AI team⁵³⁹, but not for a lawsuit this time. It is assembling a fresh crew to explore how generative AI can jazz up their newsroom. They're on the lookout for some tech-savvy engineers and sharp editors to join the party. More in 🍿Our Summary²¹ (also below)

2. The promise and challenges of crypto + AI applications by Vitalik.⁵⁶² I’m neither an AI engineer nor a crypto expert. But I tried to highlight Vitalik’s points on what applications are possible, what are dangerous and general thoughts without going into the technical jargon.🍿Our Summary²⁵

3. Random Trivia: The Government of Antigua is making $3M a month⁴⁹⁸ from new AI domains. The number of AI domains went up 4x after ChatGPT came out.

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• Shortwave AI Assistant on iOS⁸²¹ - Write, search, and analyze your emails with AI on the go.

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NEWS

• More than just chatbots³⁷² - Using context to build in-app AI experiences.

• AI chip database²⁶⁷ by The Information - 18 companies are challenging Nvidia.

• Companies ditch metaverse experts²²¹ in favour of AI officers.

• Inside music labels’²⁰⁷ high stakes experiments with AI.

• How enterprises are using open source LLMs⁵⁶⁷: 16 examples.

• Large language models²³³, how to train them, and xAI’s Grok.

• Humanoid robot startup Figure AI in funding talks¹²⁵ with Microsoft, OpenAI.

• Codeium raises $65M²³⁴ at a reported $500M valuation.

• Kore AI raises $150M²³⁵ for building conversational AI for enterprises.

View more →¹⁰³

QUICK BITES

So, the New York Times is diving into AI⁵³⁹, but not with a lawsuit this time. It is assembling a fresh crew to explore how generative AI can jazz up their newsroom. They're on the lookout for some tech-savvy engineers and sharp editors to join the party.

What is going on here?

The New York Times is setting up a team to get AI into its journalism.

What does this mean?

Zach Seward (founding editor of Quartz—went on to lead the publication) is leading the charge of NYT’s AI plans. And he is now announcing his plans on Threads. Where? Yup, that mix-breed of Twitter and Instagram.

Anyway, he wants to recruit a mix of machine learning wizards, software engineers, designers, and editorial minds. Zach’s also gonna build out guidelines on where the NYT will use generative AI (and where it won’t). But the Times claims that reporting will always by humans.

Why should I care?

The Times has had its ups and downs with AI, blocking crawlers and even throwing down the legal punches against AI bigwigs like OpenAI and Microsoft. It's a bit hush-hush whether they'll buddy up with an AI firm or go DIY with their tools.

One thing is clear, even the Times can’t take an “anti-AI” standpoint to the whole. They can shout “OpenAI bad” all they want, but not “AI bad”.

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