🤖 Practical AI - Kaparthy's Exit, Derby's AI Efficiency, and the Next Wave with GPT-5
Key departures from OpenAI, City council demonstrates budget savings with AI and more
Hi! I’m Mike and welcome to this free edition of the 'Practical AI’ newsletter. Each week, I’ll cover what’s happened, what’s happening and how that applies to you.
This week's 'Practical AI' is packed with AI twists and turns: Kaparthy's farewell to OpenAI, Derby City Councils's AI plan, Google's Bard becomes Gemini, Altman's eye-popping $7 trillion AI chip chase, and whispers of a supercharged GPT-5.
AI News Roundup
OpenAI's Security Efforts: OpenAI, with Microsoft's assistance, has disrupted malicious uses of AI by state-affiliated threat actors, emphasizing the limited incremental capabilities their models offer for cybersecurity tasks.
ElevenLab's Expansion: ElevenLab is broadening its AI voice-generating technology to support 30 languages, marking a significant advancement in accessible AI-driven voice synthesis.
AI Safety Consortium: The Biden-Harris Administration has announced the formation of the first-ever consortium dedicated to AI safety, a significant step towards ensuring responsible development and use of AI technologies.
Andrej Karpathy Leaves OpenAI
Andrej Karpathy, a prominent figure in the AI field, has confirmed his departure from OpenAI through his Twitter account. He mentioned that he has no immediate plans to join another company and intends to focus on personal projects for the time being. His departure is seen as significant given his reputation as one of the brightest minds in AI, especially with his last project on an AI agent for OpenAI. The industry views his next move with great anticipation, recognising the impact he could have wherever he chooses to contribute next.
For OpenAI, this offers an opportunity to invigorate its projects with new talent. Karpathy's departure underscores the importance of nurturing a diverse pool of thinkers who can bring novel ideas and approaches to AI research and development. As the field continues to evolve rapidly, the infusion of new perspectives is crucial for sustaining innovation and addressing complex challenges. This dynamic also highlights the fluid nature of the AI community, where the movement of top talent can catalyse growth and exploration across the ecosystem.
Derby City Council Embraces AI for Savings
Derby City Council is leveraging AI technology with the goal of saving £12 million in the coming years, attributing nearly £4 million in savings for the 2024-25 budget to AI implementation. By introducing AI-powered digital assistants named Darcie and Ali, the council has been able to shift more work in-house that was previously outsourced, achieving significant cost savings without impacting existing council jobs. This strategic use of AI comes at a time when UK council funding is under severe pressure, with several councils facing financial difficulties. Derby's approach may inspire other councils to explore AI for operational efficiency and financial sustainability​​​.
You can find more information relating to the usage and performance of the AI assistants in a real-world environment here
Bard Becomes Gemini
Google has re-branded its Bard AI model and service to Gemini, alongside announcing the launch of a new Gemini app for Android. This re-branding comes with a promise to maintain the functionality users expect from Google Assistant within the Gemini app, including voice commands for various tasks. Additionally, Google is introducing a paid subscription tier called Google One AI Premium Plan, priced at $19.99 per month, offering access to Gemini Advanced, 2TB of storage, and the latest Google advancements. This move highlights Google's ongoing efforts to integrate and enhance AI capabilities within its ecosystem, as well as catch up with the other market offerings.
Sam Altman's Ambitious Funding Endeavor
Sam Altman's ambitious endeavor to secure up to $7 trillion for an AI hardware venture reflects a critical juncture in AI development. Amidst a global GPU shortage that has underscored the intense demand for computational resources, this initiative seeks to expand the hardware infrastructure essential for AI's growth. The venture, aiming to partner with the UAE government for new chip facilities, is set against a backdrop of soaring Nvidia stock prices, driven by AI's increasing appetite for GPUs.
This shortage not only highlights the challenges in meeting AI's computational demands but also raises concerns about the impact on global energy supplies. As AI technologies become more integrated across sectors, the need for efficient, high-capacity computing resources becomes paramount. Whilst GPUs remain the current bottleneck, in quite frankly a race, how long until we move onto the next bottleneck? Altman's plan to construct numerous chip fabrication factories addresses these challenges head-on, ensuring that AI's advancement is supported by a robust, sustainable hardware ecosystem capable of meeting the future demands of AI technologies.
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