AIR#126 - July 11, 2024

Good morning, AI aficionados! As you sip your morning coffee, get ready to dive into today's edition of AIR: The AI Recon. Leading the headlines is AMD's ambitious move to acquire Finnish AI start-up Silo AI for a staggering $665 million. This bold step is a clear bid to rival Nvidia's dominance in the AI technology space, making it a must-read for anyone keen on the latest business maneuvers in the tech world. If you're fascinated by corporate strategies and market shifts, this story will definitely pique your interest.

But that's not all! The OpenAI board is undergoing a significant shakeup as Microsoft and Apple step back amid increasing regulatory scrutiny. This development has sparked discussions about the future of AI governance and the intricate dance between big tech and regulatory bodies. Meanwhile, RouteLLM is turning heads with its promise to slash LLM costs by up to 85% while maintaining 95% of GPT-4 performance. This could be a game-changer for developers looking to optimize their AI applications without breaking the bank.

And for a touch of the uncanny, the US has disrupted a Russian AI-driven disinformation campaign, seizing nearly 1,000 fake social media accounts. This alarming yet intriguing story underscores the growing role of AI in geopolitical strategies and the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures. Whether you're here for groundbreaking tech updates, ethical debates, or the latest industry buzz, today's edition is packed with stories that will both intrigue and challenge you. So, sit back, sip your coffee, and let's delve into the dynamic world of artificial intelligence together!

Business

πŸ”₯ AMD to Acquire Finnish AI Start-up Silo AI for $665M to Rival Nvidia
AMD buys Finnish AI start-up Silo AI for $665M in a bid to compete with Nvidia's dominance in AI technology.

OpenAI Board Shakeup: Microsoft and Apple Step Back Amid AI Scrutiny
Microsoft and Apple step back from OpenAI board amid regulatory scrutiny, opting for regular meetings instead.

US Disrupts Russian AI-Driven Disinformation Campaign
US disrupts Russian AI-driven disinformation campaign, seizes nearly 1,000 fake social media accounts spreading propaganda.

US Takes Down AI-Powered Russian Bot Farm
US officials dismantle AI-powered Russian bot farm spreading disinformation on X; nearly 1,000 accounts involved, linked to RT and FSB.

Microsoft, Apple Drop Plans to Join OpenAI Board Amid Scrutiny
Microsoft and Apple withdraw plans to join OpenAI's board amid increasing regulatory scrutiny on Big Tech's AI influence.

DOJ Seizes Russian Government 'Bot Farm' Operated by RT Editor
DOJ seizes Russian 'bot farm' run by RT editor, using AI to spread disinformation on Russia-Ukraine war via 968 fake social media accounts.

FranzAI – Your Free Intelligent Email Assistant
FranzAI: Free AI email assistant automates replies, sets reminders, and manages tasks. No signup needed. Email gpt@franzai.com to try!

Intuit to Lay Off 1,800 in AI-Driven Reorg
Intuit to lay off 1,800 employees in an AI-driven reorganization, aiming to refocus on AI advancements.

NATO's Revised AI Strategy: Key Highlights
NATO updates AI strategy to accelerate adoption, enhance interoperability, and ensure responsible use for defense and security.

L.A. Schools’ $6M AI Chatbot Misused Student Data, Whistleblower Claims
L.A. Schools' $6M AI chatbot "Ed" misused student data, whistleblower claims. Inquiry launched after tech firm's collapse.

Engineering

πŸ”₯ ML Code Challenges: From Easy to Hard
Tackle ML code challenges from easy to hard across linear algebra, machine learning, and deep learning. Unsolved problems await! πŸš€

πŸ”₯ [GitHub] RouteLLM: Save LLM Costs Without Compromising Quality!
RouteLLM: Cut LLM costs by up to 85% while maintaining 95% of GPT-4 performance with this new framework from LMSys and Anyscale! πŸš€

Microsoft's AI Speech Generator 'Too Dangerous to Release'
Microsoft's VALL-E 2 AI speech generator is too realistic to release, posing risks of misuse like voice cloning and deepfakes.

The Illustrated AlphaFold 3
Stanford's visual guide to AlphaFold 3 simplifies its complex architecture, detailing protein structure prediction from sequences with enhanced visuals and diagrams.

[GitHub] Vectorlite: Fast Vector Search Extension for SQLite
Vectorlite: A new SQLite extension for fast, tunable vector search using hnswlib, compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

Developers Suing GitHub Copilot Face Major Setback in Court
Developers' lawsuit against GitHub Copilot faces a major setback as a judge dismisses most claims, leaving only two standing.

Automate Links in Release Notes with AI
Automate your release notes by using AI to link code elements to reference pages, ensuring accuracy and reducing duplication.

RAG Trick: Embeddings Are Spheres
Normalize embeddings to 1.0, use dot product for simplicity, and prefer logistic regression for cleaner, efficient AI models.

Academic

[Paper] Training of Physical Neural Networks by Leading Researchers
Leading researchers explore training Physical Neural Networks, potentially revolutionizing AI with unprecedented scalability and efficiency.

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From GPT-4 to AGI: Counting the Orders of Magnitude
AGI by 2027? Extrapolating current AI trends, from GPT-2 to GPT-4, another massive leap in capabilities is expected soon.

Could AIs Become Conscious? We Have No Way to Tell
We can't yet tell if AIs will become conscious, posing moral and legal dilemmas if they do, or if they'll just outthink us without empathy.

The most cited NLP papers each year
Discover the top NLP papers of 2024, featuring Mixtral 8x7B, Gemini 1.5, DeepSeek-Coder, and more. Advancements in efficiency and multimodal understanding.

Why Wondering If We Are In An AI/ML Bubble Is Missing The Point
Focusing on ROI in AI/ML misses the transformative tech shift merging qualitative and quantitative data, reshaping our world.

OpenAI Partners with Los Alamos to Test AI in Scientific Research
OpenAI teams with Los Alamos to test GPT-4o in scientific research, exploring AI's potential and risks in lab tasks.

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