Tag: chatgpt

Google to Launch ChatGPT Rival Bard, Releases AI Service to Early Testers

Google-parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, marking a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology.

In a blog post on Monday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is opening a conversational AI service called Bard to test users for feedback, followed by a public release in the coming weeks.

As per the blog, experimental conversational AI service Bard is being powered by LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), which was unveiled by Google two years ago. The CEO also added about the abilities of Bard, which will be combination of “power, intelligence and creativity of the company’s large language models.”

Bard will seek knowledge based on the responses provided by the users, as well the information available on web. The company is initially rolling out the AI system for testers along with lightweight model version of LaMDA. The focus for now is diverted towards collecting feedback to make the AI system better for future application. 

Bard from Google is Alphabet’s competition to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, headed by Microsoft. ChatGPT has been in news for becoming the fastest-growing consumer application in history, beating TikTok and Instagram. ChatGPT is estimated to have reached 100 million monthly active users in January, just two months after launch.

ChatGPT can generate articles, essays, jokes and even poetry in response to prompts. OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft, made it available to the public for free in late November.

Apart from Bard, Google is also focused on supporting other reliable AI systems through the Google Cloud partnerships. These AI systems include Cohere, C3.ai and Anthropic. It was recently reported that Google has invested almost $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,299 crore) in Anthropic. 

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series of smartphones was launched earlier this week and the South Korean firm’s high-end handsets have seen a few upgrades across all three models. What about the increase in pricing? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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EU Lawmakers Plan to Finalise Draft AI Rules by March Amid Concerns About ChatGPT

EU lawmakers hope to agree on draft artificial intelligence rules next month, with the aim of clinching a deal with EU countries by the end of the year, one of the legislators steering the AI Act said.

The European Commission proposed the AI rules in 2021 in an attempt to foster innovation and set a global standard for a technology, used in everything from self-driving cars and chatbots to automated factories, currently led by China and the United States.

“We are still in good time to fulfil the overall target and calendar that we assumed in the very beginning, which is to wrap it up during this mandate,” Dragos Tudorache, member of the European Parliament and co-rapporteur of the EU AI Act, told Reuters.

“It took slightly longer than I initially thought,” he said. “This text has seen a level of complexity that is even higher than the typical Brussels complex machinery.”

The proposed legislation has drawn criticism from lawmakers and consumer groups for not fully addressing risks from AI systems, but the companies involved have warned that stricter rules could stifle innovation.

Intense debate over how AI should be governed led several experts to predict that the draft legislation might hit a bottleneck and get delayed.

“There are a few loose ends for all the political families. I told them in the last meeting that you know you have success in a compromise when everyone is equally unhappy,” he said. “Some people will say this is optimistic… I am hoping it will happen.”

One of the areas of contention is the definition of “General Purpose AI”, which some believe should be considered as high risk while others point to the risks posed by popular chatbot ChatGPT as an area that needs more regulatory scrutiny.

“During this year alone, we are going to see some exponential leaps forward not only for ChatGPT but for a lot of other general purpose machines,” he said, adding that the lawmakers were trying to write some basic principles on what makes general purpose such a distinct type of AI.

ChatGPT can generate articles, essays, jokes and even poetry in response to prompts. OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft, made it available to the public for free in November.

EU industry chief Thierry Breton has said new proposed artificial intelligence rules will aim to tackle concerns about the risks around ChatGPT.

Critics of regulatory over-reach however said such a move could lead to increased costs and more compliance pressure for companies, throttling innovation. 

“I think if that will be the effect of this Act, then we will be severely missing our objective. And we haven’t done our jobs if that’s what’s going to happen,” Tudorache said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023
 

 

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Google Said to Have Invested $400 Million in OpenAI’s ChatGPT Rival Anthropic

Alphabet’s Google has invested almost $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,299 crore) in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, which is testing a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Google and Anthropic declined to comment on the investment, but separately announced a partnership in which Anthropic will use Google’s cloud computing services. The deal marks the latest alliance between a tech giant and an AI startup as the field of generative AI — technology that can generate text and art in seconds — heats up.

The deal gives Google a stake in Anthropic, but doesn’t require the startup to spend the funds buying cloud services from Google, said the person who asked not to be identified because the terms were confidential.

“AI has evolved from academic research to become one of the biggest drivers of technological change, creating new opportunities for growth and improved services across all industries,” Thomas Kurian, chief executive officer of Google Cloud, said in a statement. “Google Cloud is providing open infrastructure for the next generation of AI startups, and our partnership with Anthropic is a great example of how we’re helping users and businesses tap into the power of reliable and responsible AI.”

Founded in 2021 by former leaders of OpenAI, including siblings Daniela and Dario Amodei, Anthropic AI in January released a limited test of a new chatbot named Claude to rival to OpenAI’s wildly popular ChatGPT.

The Google-Anthropic partnership follows a high-profile $10 billion investment by Microsoft in OpenAI, which built on the $1 billion the software giant had poured into the AI startup in 2019, plus another round in 2021.

Such alliances give more established companies such as Microsoft and Google access to some of the most popular and advanced AI systems. Startups like Anthropic, in turn, need funding and cloud-computing resources that a tech giant like Google can provide. In announcing the deal, Google said its cloud division would lend computing power and advanced AI chips that Anthropic plans to use to train and deploy its future AI products.

Anthropic’s language model assistant, Claude, hasn’t yet been released to the public, but the startup said it planned to expand access to the chatbot “in the coming months.”

The deal underscores Google’s commitment to AI, particularly in ways that may be expanded beyond the company’s core search business. “I’m excited by the AI-driven leaps we’re about to unveil in Search and beyond,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said Thursday as the company reported fourth-quarter earnings. He said Google intended to release chatbots “in the coming weeks and months” and allow consumers to use such products “as a companion to search.”

Google’s investment in Anthropic was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series of smartphones was launched earlier this week and the South Korean firm’s high-end handsets have seen a few upgrades across all three models. What about the increase in pricing? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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ChatGPT Faces Another Issue as EU Chief Suggests New AI Rules to Tackle Risks

EU industry chief Thierry Breton has said new proposed artificial intelligence rules will aim to tackle concerns about the risks around the ChatGPT chatbot and AI technology, in the first comments on the app by a senior Brussels official.

Just two months after its launch, ChatGPT — which can generate articles, essays, jokes and even poetry in response to prompts — has been rated the fastest-growing consumer app in history.

Some experts have raised fears that systems used by such apps could be misused for plagiarism, fraud and spreading misinformation, even as champions of artificial intelligence hail it as a technological leap.

Breton said the risks posed by ChatGPT — the brainchild of OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft — and AI systems underscored the urgent need for rules which he proposed last year in a bid to set the global standard for the technology. The rules are currently under discussion in Brussels.

“As showcased by ChatGPT, AI solutions can offer great opportunities for businesses and citizens, but can also pose risks. This is why we need a solid regulatory framework to ensure trustworthy AI based on high-quality data,” he told Reuters in written comments.

Microsoft declined to comment on Breton’s statement. OpenAI — whose app uses a technology called generative AI — did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OpenAI has said on its website it aims to produce artificial intelligence that “benefits all of humanity” as it attempts to build safe and beneficial AI.

Under the EU draft rules, ChatGPT is considered a general purpose AI system which can be used for multiple purposes including high-risk ones such as the selection of candidates for jobs and credit scoring.

Breton wants OpenAI to cooperate closely with downstream developers of high-risk AI systems to enable their compliance with the proposed AI Act. 

“Just the fact that generative AI has been newly included in the definition shows the speed at which technology develops and that regulators are struggling to keep up with this pace,” a partner at a US law firm, said.

‘HIGH RISK’ WORRIES

Companies are worried about getting their technology classified under the “high risk” AI category which would lead to tougher compliance requirements and higher costs, according to executives of several companies involved in developing artificial intelligence.

A survey by industry body appliedAI showed that 51 percent of the respondents expect a slowdown of their AI development activities as a result of the AI Act.

Effective AI regulations should centre on the highest risk applications, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

“There are days when I’m optimistic and moments when I’m pessimistic about how humanity will put AI to use,” he said.

Breton said the European Commission is working closely with the EU Council and European Parliament to further clarify the rules in the AI Act for general purpose AI systems.

“People would need to be informed that they are dealing with a chatbot and not with a human being. Transparency is also important with regard to the risk of bias and false information,” he said.

Generative AI models need to be trained on huge amount of text or images for creating a proper response leading to allegations of copyright violations.

Breton said forthcoming discussions with lawmakers about AI rules would cover these aspects.

Concerns about plagiarism by students have prompted some US public schools and French university Sciences Po to ban the use of ChatGPT.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

 

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Microsoft Says Q4 2022 Sales Slowed, Profits Slumped as Cloud Computing Revenue Sees Growth

Microsoft on Tuesday said sales slowed and profits slumped in the last quarter of 2022 as a darkening economic outlook pushed it to lay off 10,000 workers.

The Washington state-based tech giant — owner of LinkedIn, Xbox and Windows — said overall sales rose just two percent in the October-to-December period, to $52.7 billion (roughly Rs. 4,30,325 crore), the slowest rise in six years.

Net profit landed at $16.4 billion (roughly Rs. 1,33,915 crore) for the quarter, down 12 percent year-on-year, according to its earnings release.

The results however met, or in some segments exceeded, expectations and Microsoft’s share price was up by more than four percent in late trading after the results were announced.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella last week said he was laying off about five percent of the company’s workforce, just days before pumping several billion dollars into OpenAI, the company behind the controversial chatbot ChatGPT.

The job cuts matched similar culls at other tech giants as companies reversed a major hiring spree during the pandemic when demand for tech products exploded.

Nadella has said that ChatGPT, and other artificial intelligence breakthroughs by the OpenAI research company, would be integrated into Microsoft products that include the Windows operating system, Office and the Bing search engine.

Microsoft is also trying to overcome major regulatory hurdles to complete its buyout of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion (roughly Rs. 5,64,474 crore).

US and EU regulators are highly skeptical of the purchase and allege it would give an unfair advantage to Microsoft’s Xbox console over rivals like Sony’s PlayStation.

The group’s quarterly results were eagerly awaited by the market for the closer they offer at cloud computing, which is Microsoft’s biggest business and a bellwether for the larger economy.

The company’s “intelligent cloud” business, which brings together its servers and data analytics services, brought in $21.5 billion in the second quarter of its fiscal year, up 18 percent year-on-year.

The growth of its remote computing platform, Azure, slower than usual at 31 percent, carried the activity.

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Microsoft Announces Further Multibillion Dollar Investment in OpenAI as Competition Heats Up

Microsoft Corp on Monday announced a further multibillion dollar investment in OpenAI, deepening ties with the startup behind the chatbot sensation ChatGPT and setting the stage for more competition with rival Alphabet Inc’s Google.

Recently touting a revolution in artificial intelligence (AI), Microsoft is building on a bet it made on OpenAI nearly four years ago, when it dedicated $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,200 crore) for the startup co-founded by Elon Musk and investor Sam Altman.

It has since built a supercomputer to power OpenAI’s technology, among other forms of support.

Microsoft in a blog post has now announced “the third phase” of its partnership “through a multiyear, multibillion dollar investment” including additional supercomputer development and cloud-computing support for OpenAI.

Both companies will be able to commercialize the AI tech that results, the blog post said.

A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the terms of the latest investment, which some media outlets earlier reported would be $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,000 crore).

Microsoft is committing even more resources to keep the two companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence via so-called generative AI, technology that can learn from data how to create virtually any type of content simply from a text prompt.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which produces prose or poetry on command, is the prime example that last year gained widespread attention in Silicon Valley.

Microsoft last week said it aimed to imbue such AI into all its products, as OpenAI continues to pursue the creation of human-like intelligence for machines.

Microsoft has started adding OpenAI’s tech to its search engine Bing, which for the first time in years is being discussed as a potential rival to Google, the industry leader.

The widely anticipated investment shows how Microsoft is locked in competition with Google, the inventor of key AI research that is planning its own unveil for this spring, a person familiar with the matter previously told Reuters.

Microsoft’s bet comes days after it and Alphabet each announced layoffs of 10,000 or more workers. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft warned of a recession and growing scrutiny of digital spend by customers in its layoff announcement.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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