AI in the News
Startups should consider hiring fractional AI officers
Startups should consider hiring fractional AI officers
The AI skills gap is real. A recent study from Randstad, the recruitment company, found that job posts referencing generative AI skills have risen by 2,000% since March. It’s the third most sought-after skill set and one of the shortest in supply.
The logical step for enterprise companies is to appoint a chief AI officer (CAIO) to kickstart their efforts. Earlier this year, Dylan Fox penned an opinion piece arguing that every Fortune 500 business needs a CAIO.
“Companies that do not integrate AI into their product, operations, and business strategy will struggle to remain competitive — and fall behind those that do,” Fox wrote.
It’s a compelling argument that makes sense at the enterprise level. But what about everyone else? Startups and scale-ups need to integrate AI just as badly — especially if they’re trying to fundraise in this AI moment. However, they often don’t have the resources or the organizational structure to support a senior executive focused exclusively on AI.
This is where a fractional AI officer comes in. Fractional leadership is a recent workforce trend: seasoned executives with subject matter expertise working across two or more clients simultaneously, lending their talents to rapidly growing companies that need their specific skill set but can’t afford it full-time.
Here’s the kicker: Having a fractional AI officer is superior to hiring full-time in one crucial respect. AI — especially generative AI — is such a new technology that breadth of experience across multiple companies gives fractional executives an edge over their full-time counterparts.
The three stages of AI adoption
While the promise of generative AI is significant, it’s hard for companies to establish a reliable ROI metric early in the adoption curve, especially in an environment where companies are expected to be more conservative in spending.
'Mika' becomes world's first AI human-like robot CEO
'Mika' becomes world's first AI human-like robot CEO
Mika is the 'official face' of Dictador, a major rum and spirits producer
Mika is a research project between Hanson Robotics and Polish rum company Dictador, who customized the CEO to represent the company and its unique values.
Dictador recently announced their new hire, Mika, the world's first ever artificial intelligence-powered robot CEO. Mika is the 'official face' of Dictador, a major rum and spirits producer. (Dictador / Fox News)
In a Dictador company video, Mika said that "with advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, I can swiftly and accurately make data driven."
However, FOX Business reporter Lauren Simonetti noted that there is a "significant delay" in the time it takes Mika to process and respond to your question.
AI TOOLS STREAMLINING ACCOUNTING WORKFLOWS AND OPENING CAPACITY FOR INNOVATION, EXPERT SAYS
Hanson Robotics CEO David Hanson, who played a key role in employing Mika at Dictador, emphasized the importance of "humanizing" artificial intelligence.
"I feel very strongly that we need to teach A.I. to care about people for A.I. to be really safe, to be really, really good. I think humanizing that is a very important direction," Hanson explained on "Mornings with Maria" earlier in the week.
With 1 Sentence, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Just Taught a Master Class in Recognizing Opportunity | Inc.com
BY MINDA ZETLIN, AUTHOR OF 'CAREER SELF-CARE: FIND YOUR HAPPINESS, SUCCESS, AND FULFILLMENT AT WORK'@MINDAZETLIN
Microsoft released its quarterly earnings this week, and the news was very, very good. Revenue was $56.5 billion, up 13 percent from this time last year, and profit was $22.3 billion, up 27 percent from last year. Just a few days earlier, ahead of releasing these figures, CEO Satya Nadella posted his annual letter to shareholders on LinkedIn, which Microsoft owns.
The letter is almost entirely about artificial intelligence, as you might expect if you've been keeping track of Microsoft or its CEO. It's no secret that the company is making a huge bet on A.I. And, about 10 paragraphs in, within his list of three convictions he says will help keep Microsoft successful, is a cogent explanation of why:
Because we know that maximum enterprise value gets created during platform shifts like this one, we will invest to accelerate our lead in A.I. by infusing this technology across every layer of the tech stack.
Maximum enterprise value gets created during platform shifts like this one. Within the letter--which goes on for a hefty 4,506 words--you could easily fail to notice this comment. And yet it can tell you everything you need to know about how to look at opportunity and at risk.
www.inc.com
Netanyahu warns of potential 'eruption of AI-driven wars' that could lead to 'unimaginable' consequences
Netanyahu warns of potential 'eruption of AI-driven wars' that could lead to 'unimaginable' consequences
'The AI revolution is progressing at lightning speed,' Netanyahu told the U
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the world is on the cusp of an artificial intelligence revolution that could launch nations into prosperous times or lead to all-out destruction fueled by devastating high-tech wars.
"The AI revolution is progressing at lightning speed," Netanyahu said during his U.N. General Assembly speech last week. "It took centuries for humanity to adapt to the agricultural revolution. It took decades to adapt to the industrial revolution. We may have but a few years to adapt to the AI revolution."
Talk of artificial intelligence at the U.N. was hardly common just a few years ago. But after the release of ChatGPT's wildly popular chatbot that can mimic human conversation and other AI-powered platforms, AI has become a hot topic among world leaders.
Netanyahu's speech focused on building a peaceful "new Middle East," and cited relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia as evidence of this intention. He devoted the latter half of his speech to the future of AI and the "perils" the technology poses.
Newspaper runs robot-written op-ed opposing AI in journalism
Newspaper runs robot-written op-ed opposing AI in journalism
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch used Microsoft's Bing Chat AI program to write the op-ed
A St. Louis newspaper decided to take on the artificial intelligence debate by allowing a robot to pen an op-ed arguing against the use of AI in journalism.
The article, featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was written entirely by Microsoft's Bing Chat AI program, according to a disclaimer in the article.
The bot was instructed to "write a newspaper editorial arguing that artificial intelligence should not be used in journalism."
The paper then let the AI platform take over from there. And the bot argued that while AI "may have some benefits," it "also poses serious threats to the quality, integrity, and ethics of journalism."
Amazon to Invest Up to $4 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic
AWS CEO: Generative AI Will Be Explosive Source of Growth
Amazon to Invest Up to $4 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic
Tieup could help Amazon become key player in generative AI
Anthropic gets funds for pricey process of training AI models
Amazon.com Inc. will invest as much as $4 billion in Anthropic, bagging a crucial partner in its effort to become a major player in generative artificial intelligence and offering a vote of confidence in the hot startup.
As part of the deal, Anthropic will move most of its software to Amazon Web Services data centers, and use the cloud computing company’s homegrown chips to train the models it uses to power chatbots and other applications. Besides getting access to Amazon’s computing power, Anthropic will gain a financial infusion that will help it pay the huge costs required to train and run massive AI models.
Cowboys roll out AI-powered version of Jerry Jones inside AT&T Stadium to take on fan questions
Cowboys roll out AI-powered version of Jerry Jones inside AT&T Stadium to take on fan questions
Jones has owned Dallas Cowboys since 1989
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the most recognizable figures in the entire NFL.
Football fans would probably jump at the opportunity to ask Jones, who also serves as the team's general manager, questions if they ever had the chance to meet him. But now, artificial intelligence gives anyone who visits AT&T Stadium the chance to ask Jones questions.
The Cowboys home stadium now features "Meet Jerry Jones — An Interactive Experience," which appears to be an AI-powered hologram of the billionaire. Time will be allotted for visitors who sign up for the "owner's experience tour" or those who opt for private group tours to interact with the technology.
New AI-generated COVID drug enters Phase I clinical trials: ‘Effective against all variants’
Once approved, the oral medication would provide another antiviral option: ‘A promising alternative’
Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving into the health care arena and helping to streamline medical processes — including the creation of new drugs.
Insilico Medicine, an AI-driven biotech company based in Hong Kong and in New York City, recently announced that its new AI-designed drug for COVID-19 has entered Phase I clinical trials.
This oral drug is a treatment, not a vaccine. If approved, it would become an alternative to the current COVID antivirals including Paxlovid and Lagevrio, noted Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine.
"Generative AI is transforming every area of human development," said Zhavoronkov in a press release announcing the new discovery.
"We’re extremely happy to announce that our second small molecule therapeutic — generated using generative AI — is now entering human clinical trials."
ZDNet: ChatGPT answers more than half of software engineering questions incorrectly.
ZDNet: ChatGPT answers more than half of software engineering questions incorrectly.
ChatGPT's ability to provide conversational answers to any question at any time makes the chatbot a handy resource for your information needs. Despite the convenience, a new study finds that you may not want to use ChatGPT for software engineering prompts.
Before the rise of AI chatbots, Stack Overflow was the go-to resource for programmers who needed advice for their projects, with a question-and-answer model similar to ChatGPT's.
Also: How to block OpenAI's new AI-training web crawler from ingesting your data
However, with Stack Overflow, you have to wait for someone to answer your question while with ChatGPT, you don't.
AI Boom Fuels 487% Stock Surge for Little-Known Hardware Firm
AI Boom Fuels 487% Stock Surge for Little-Known Hardware Firm
Isu Petasys supplies tech giants such as Nvidia with circuits
Patriarch Kim Sang-Beom and family see value of stake soar
As investor interest in artificial intelligence sends shares of technology giants soaring, a little-known circuit board maker in South Korea is cashing in big.
Isu Petasys Co., which counts Alphabet Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. as customers of its multilayered boards, has seen its share price surge 487% this year – among the biggest gainers on South Korea’s benchmark stock index. The company’s recent boom has also helped boost the value of stakes held by Chairman Kim Sang-Beom and his family to more than $800 million as of August 3.
Meet Elon Musk's new SpaceX employee, 14-year-old Kairan Quazi
Meet Elon Musk's new SpaceX employee, 14-year-old Kairan Quazi
SpaceX software engineer Kairan Quazi tells 'The Claman Countdown' how he landed a job working for Elon Musk.
Elon Musk said Wednesday that he believes "digital superintelligence" would exist within the next five or six years.
"I would be surprised if there is not digital superintelligence in roughly the five- or six-year timeframe," the billionaire said in a conversation on Twitter Spaces with Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
"If this was a Netflix series or something, I'd say that the season finale would be a showdown between the West and China and that the series finale will be AGI," Musk continued.
Khanna remarked on how fast that timeline was, saying he had not realized it would happen that quickly.
Herd mentality is alive and well as VCs chase AI craze
Herd mentality is alive and well as VCs chase AI craze
Last month, a story popped up on my news aggregator about a four-week-old startup yet to develop its first product that has raised over $100 million in venture funding. At first I dismissed the story thinking that it was old news.
But upon closer inspection, I was surprised to see that Mistral AI's funding announcement was not from June 2021, when markets were hot, but from midyear 2023.
AI startups have seemingly defied the overall decline in VC funding of the past 18 months, collectively raising $15.5 billion this year, according to PitchBook data. Even when you exclude OpenAI's $10 billion round, the sector's VC funding in 2023 has surpassed last year's total and is well over halfway to 2021's peak of $9.1 billion. On top of that, deal pace has remained steady and median post-money valuation is up 109.8% from last year.
Forbes: Inflection AI, Year-Old Startup Behind Chatbot Pi, Raises $1.3 Billion.
Forbes: Inflection AI, Year-Old Startup Behind Chatbot Pi, Raises $1.3 Billion.
Backed by Microsoft, Nvidia and billionaires Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates and Eric Schmidt, the startup led by ex-DeepMind leader Mustafa Suleyman is valued at $4 billion — and claims to have the world’s best AI hardware setup.
Less than two months after the launch of their first chatbot Pi, artificial intelligence startup Inflection AI and CEO Mustafa Suleyman have raised $1.3 billion in new funding.
Microsoft, Nvidia and three of tech’s most influential billionaires led the investment in the Palo Alto-based startup launched in early 2022. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt all personally invested, with Nvidia the sole new investor among the group.
The new funding values Inflection at $4 billion, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction. Inflection said the company and Suleyman remained majority shareholders and declined further comment.
AI Obsession Powers $5 Trillion Nasdaq 100 Surge: Markets Wrap
AI Obsession Powers $5 Trillion Nasdaq 100 Surge: Markets Wrap
Tech-heavy gauge notches best first-half of a year on record
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley lift payouts on Fed test
The rally in tech megacaps gained further traction, with the Nasdaq 100 notching its best ever first-half of a year and Apple Inc. hitting the $3 trillion milestone.
Traders decided to look at the glass half full as data showed inflation is moderating, even if that comes at the expense of growth. Stocks extended this year’s surge, with tech consolidating its leadership amid the ascent of artificial intelligence. Big banks saw their first monthly gain since January after passing the Federal Reserve’s stress test. In late hours, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced higher dividends.
Billionaires and Bureaucrats Mobilize China for AI Race With US
Billionaires and Bureaucrats Mobilize China for AI Race With US
A ChatGPT-inspired global wave of AI activity is only just beginning in the next battle for supremacy in technology.
China’s tech sector has a new obsession: competing with US titans like Google and Microsoft Corp. in the breakneck global artificial intelligence race.
Billionaire entrepreneurs, mid-level engineers and veterans of foreign firms alike now harbor a remarkably consistent ambition: to outdo China's geopolitical rival in a technology that may determine the global power stakes. Among them is internet mogul Wang Xiaochuan, who entered the field after OpenAI’s ChatGPT debuted to a social media firestorm in November. He joins the ranks of Chinese scientists, programmers and financiers — including former employees of ByteDance Ltd., e-commerce platform JD.com Inc. and Google — expected to propel some $15 billion of spending on AI…
AI Founders Vie for Big Wealth in Unicorn Frenzy
AI Founders Vie for Big Wealth in Unicorn Frenzy
Entrepreneurs and veteran CEOs alike are getting rich as investors make big bets on artificial intelligence.
When Mustafa Suleyman partnered with billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman last year on a startup called Inflection AI, he saw the potential in their prized project: a chatbot meant to be an “emotional companion that is kind, encouraging and rational.”
$100M program to fund generative AI initiatives.
TechCrunch: AWS launches $100M program to fund generative AI initiatives.
Amazon, keen to avoid being left behind in the hyper-competitive AI race, is launching a new program to bolster customers and partners focused on generative AI
Called the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, the program will put $100 million toward connecting AWS-affiliated data scientists, strategists, engineers and solutions architects with customers and partners to — as Amazon puts it in a press release — “accelerate enterprise innovation and success with generative AI.”
AI has been Choice Hotels' secret weapon
AI has been Choice Hotels' secret weapon for years, but it's holding off on new GenAI for now
Choice Hotels' CIO is waiting for bugs to be worked out in tools like ChatGPTChoice Hotels has used artificial intelligence, but the hospitality giant's chief information officer says the chain is waiting to see the bugs worked out of new generative AI tools.
The rapid adoption of powerful new generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT is creating a lot of buzz, but some tech-driven businesses are holding off jumping on the bandwagon until they can be more assured any existing bugs and risks are worked out.
One of those companies is hospitality giant Choice Hotels, which has utilized AI and machine learning in its operations for years and has a history of showing it is not afraid of being an early adopter.
Many Companies Are Banning ChatGPT.
Many Companies Are Banning ChatGPT. This Is Why.
ChatGPT is proving to be a rather alluring assistant in many professions, but it's not without risks, and some companies have banned the chatbot at work.
It may seem obvious that uploading work-related information to an online artificial intelligence platform owned by another company is a potential security and privacy breach. Still, ChatGPT can be a real boon for some feeling the time crunch.
The Morning After: OpenAI and Microsoft aren’t happy
The Morning After: OpenAI and Microsoft aren’t happy
Microsoft may own almost half of OpenAI, but a recent expose hints the pair aren’t the happiest of bedfellows. The Wall Street Journal claims the AI company warned Microsoft not to incorporate GPT-4 into Bing search without further training, but it did so anyway. It resulted in several high-profile examples of odd behavior, including bots arguing with users, and at least one instance of a user being urged to dissolve their marriage and elope with Bing instead.
There’s resentment, too, on Microsoft’s side, finding its own internal AI projects overlooked in favor of OpenAI. Which, despite the close financial ties, is very much free to work with Microsoft’s rivals in plenty of fields. It’s led to a situation where the pair are working together, and yet against one another. And that’s never a recipe for success.
– Dan Cooper