#18 The Hare & the Tortoise

With reports on “the state of AI” from world-leading research institutes lagging behind by two years, it’s no wonder experts are calling for AI development to slow down.

This Hare isn’t stopping anytime soon, though.

In today’s newsletter:

• The Hare and the Tortoise: An AI parable - but it’s real

• The rundown: Biden weighs in on AI, Bill Gates wants more responsible decisions, and Daft Punk are afraid of AI

• Tips, tricks & tools: Text to data (!), premium logo creator, and AI-video translation

• AI increasing the profitability of recycling: Twice as fast as human pickers 

• AI funding be like…

THE HARE & THE TORTOISE

“A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.
“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.
“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think.”

AESOP

We’re all familiar with The Hare & the Tortoise - Aesop’s fable in which the rapid Hare takes a nap, and the steady Tortoise wins the race.

For much of humanity, this has been the case; those who persevere triumph over those who work in sprints.

AI, and in particular AI’s regulation, is changing all that.

Stanford University, widely considered to be one of the most prestigious and forward-looking research universities in the world, has just released its 368-page report on the state of AI: “The AI Index Report”.

The 2023 report includes:

• New analysis on foundation models

• Geopolitical and training costs of AI systems

• Environmental impact of AI systems

• K-12 AI education

• Public opinion trends in AI

Of note, one particular metric the report highlights is “AI incidents and controversies”, which has increased by 26X since 2012.

The issue here is, for a 2023 report from one of the leading research institutes in the world, their data only goes to 2021.

The blaring problem here is that an authoritative Standford University report on the state of AI, released in 2023, doesn’t even take into account developments in 2022 - missing the launch of ChatGPT, and the last 6 months of rapid and unregulated AI development.

This highlights how much of a lag there is between technological development in AI, and institutional and regulatory monitoring and observation of the industry.

AI experts are calling for a halt to all major AI projects for this very reason - so policymakers have a chance to catch up and assess how we can at least try and gauge the impact AI is having on society at large.

Aesop reminded us: “The race is not always to the swift.”
 
But, given the circumstances, at least in this case, the Tortoise seems to have no chance of catching up to the Hare - with untold consequences for you and me.

THE RUNDOWN 🐂

• Biden says; “It remains to be seen whether AI is dangerous or not”, but emphasizes the responsibility of tech companies to ensure their products are safe before releasing them to the public. (link)

• Google claims that its new AI supercomputer is faster and more environmentally friendly than NVIDIA's products. (link)

• Amazon launches generative AI accelerator for startups. (link) 

• Bill Gates argues that simply pausing AI development won't solve anything, and stresses the need for ongoing conversation and thoughtful policy implementation. (link)

• ChatGPT’s unauthorized SpongeBob SquarePants script is raising concerns over intellectual property rights in Hollywood. (link)

• U.S. Navy sets up unmanned AI operations hub within the U.S. Southern Command, reflecting the growing integration of AI technologies into defense strategies. (link)

• C3.ai, a leading enterprise AI software provider, sees shares plummet 26% amid accusations of misrepresenting its financial position. (link)

• Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter expresses his fear and discomfort with the rapid advancements in AI technology, stating, “AI's capabilities in music production could lead to a loss of human touch and creativity in the industry”. (link)

• AI chatbots being used to resurrect the dead through digital means, raising ethical concerns about their use. (link)

• As Levi's plan to use AI-generated models, critics argue these AI-generated images contribute to unrealistic beauty standards and erase the uniqueness of individual models. (link)

TIPS, TRICKS & TOOLS ⚒️

• usechannel.com - Ask any question in plain English and get an automatically generated answer in data form - a personal data analyst. (link)

• stockkimg.ai - Easily generate a logo, book cover, banner, and more, in minutes without ANY design experience. (link)

• papercup.com - Translate any video using AI. Translate into 70+ languages, and reach millions of users from different countries. (link)

• clipdrop.co - The ultimate resource of apps, plugins and resources for any content creator. Upscale images, remove people or objects from pictures. (link) 

• booth.ai - Quickly generate premium quality images for brands with simple text inputs or sample images. (link)

AI INCREASING THE PROFITABILITY OF RECYCLING

The U.S. currently recycles 32% of municipal solid waste, which is sold to buyers wanting to create new packaging out of recyclable material.

However, at current efficiency rates using human pickers and separators, buyers are unable to get the amount of usable recycled material they need.

This comes down to waste sorting plants being understaffed (hardly surprising), and inefficient.

AI startups are focusing on the recycling issue, building “purpose-built, designed-from-scratch robots that can use that AI information to identify items, pick them up off of a moving conveyor belt, and sort them into the correct location.”

These new AI systems can do 80 picks a minute, twice as much as a single human worker.

And in this case, there’s no concern over people losing their jobs - because there are not enough people willing to do this work nowadays anyhow.

AI FUNDING BE LIKE…

The hype around AI is real.

So is the money,

But so is the concern.

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