GenAI 'poster boy' Sam Altman courted by world leaders
'Post-ChatGPT' The World is a different place
Happy Friday, everyone!
When we write the history of this epoch, we may as well divide it into the Pre-ChatGPT and Post-ChatGPT Era. A tectonic shift has occurred since the Chatbot came out six months ago.
The GenAI revolution continues to advance rapidly, bringing forth an array of exciting developments. Last week, I had the privilege of chairing the world's inaugural GenAI Conference for Enterprise. The event showcased many emerging use cases for GenAI, ranging from NASA engineers leveraging generative design to enhance spaceship components to lingerie brands employing language models trained in their brand voice to generate product descriptions for intimate apparel.
The impact of AI on human creativity and intelligence is transforming at an astonishing pace. With countless noteworthy advancements occurring daily(keeping AI newsletters busy), listing them is all but futile. So today, I'd like to highlight some overarching themes that have emerged and are continuously shaping the GenAI landscape.
Enterprise GenAI is already a reality. The business use cases for GenAI are no longer a distant future; they are here and now. The technology has reached a level of maturity that allows its practical application. Any business serious about optimizing outcomes and gaining a long-term competitive edge must prioritize the development of a GenAI working group. Long-term strategic thinking is imperative (feel free to reach out if you need assistance getting started).
GenAI is existential for Big Tech. No surprise here… but don’t underestimate what a big deal this is. The sentiment expressed by Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, at their recent Build conference, can be summarized as "AI everything." The sheer momentum to productise and commercialise the applications of Generative AI is genuinely dizzying. I estimated billions of people would be interfacing with Generative AI by 2023 …. Big Tech’s push has already made that a reality — within six months!
Market hype is reaching new heights. Have you been keeping an eye on NVIDIA's stock? It has surged by 160% since the beginning of this year, edging closer to joining the exclusive trillion-dollar club of companies by riding the AI boom. Consider the colossal amounts of funding being invested as well. Antrophic, a Generative AI start-up founded by former OpenAI employees to compete with OpenAI itself, secured an additional $450 million of funding this week. That brings funding secured in 2023 close to 1 billion… not bad, right? Keep an eye on this, I think markets will ride high on AI for a while.
Don’t overlook open-source development in Generative AI. Open-source initiatives are potentially outpacing or, at the very least, flanking advancements made by private companies. A notable trend contributing to this phenomenon is the recognition that "bigger is not always better." While foundational models developed by the likes of OpenAI and Meta have been game-changers, the next evolutionary phase seems to prioritize inference and fine-tuning of smaller models. This approach results in models that are faster, easier, and cheaper to run, providing formidable competition to big tech.
To Regulate or Innovate? Striking a balance between regulating existential risks, addressing market monopolies, and capitalizing on the immense benefits of the GenAI revolution presents a significant quandary for governments worldwide. Most of the big players have already talked a good game about regulating Generative AI, with the EU leading the way by actively ratifying legislation through the EU’s AI Act. However, there is also a realization that nation-states need to tap into the economic revolution ignited by Generative AI. That is perhaps the reason why Sam Altman — or ‘God’ as I jokingly like to call him — has been become the poster boy of the AI revolution. One that everyone is desperate to court.
When he testified at the Senate last week, he was breathlessly thanked for ‘calling for regulation.’ This week, on his world tour he was wined and dined by Emmanuel Macron of France and his counterpart across the Channel, Rishi Sunak. Two G7 leaders in less than 24 hours …. and all for a guy who was relatively outside the Valley before November last year. His ascent symbolizes the growing recognition of ‘Generative AI’ as an issue of national, economic, and global importance. No wonder it was a huge topic of conversation at the recent G7 Summit too.
A knowledge gap looms ahead. The aforementioned developments give rise to an emerging and significant knowledge gap. This gap encompasses the enterprise applications of Generative AI and its market, regulatory, and societal implications. The EU faces a daunting task in drafting and enforcing an AI Act capable of keeping pace with this rapidly evolving field. Acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills to do so poses a formidable challenge. However, this knowledge gap extends beyond regulatory bodies and permeates every level of society. While debates surrounding job automation via AI continue to dominate public discourse, there is a pressing need for experts and practitioners across all industries and societal spheres to engage with AI and decipher its applications. If you haven’t already started leaning into AI — whatever your walk of life is — I recommend you do. It will be hugely important for you (and us) going forward.
Now for the best of the rest,
Microsoft is still in the game (BIG Build 2023 announcements)
Microsoft's Build 2023 event showcased their continued dominance in the AI race – the dream of universal access to AI language models is becoming a tangible reality.
Has Microsoft solidified their position as the unrivalled powerhouse of the AI landscape? The pendulum seems to be ever-swinging back and forth.
‘Generative Fill’ on Photoshop
Adobe, also not one to miss out on the GenAI train, is introducing Generative Fill to Photoshop. This Firefly-powered feature lets you add, remove, and extend visual content based on simple text prompts.
“Adobe Firefly is a ‘co-pilot’ to graphic design rather than a replacement for humans.”
While Firefly's text-to-image quality may be slightly lower than its rival Midjourney, its user-friendly interface might more than compensate.
Meta’s £1.3B fine
Ireland's Data Protection Commission has slapped Meta with a whopping $1.3 billion fine and ordered them to halt the transfer of Facebook data belonging to EU citizens to the US. Unsurprisingly, EU courts have concerns about privacy violations stemming from US mass surveillance programs of the past (courtesy of Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013).
This fine is a record-breaker and comes with the directive to cease data transfers to the US…Meta's threat to shut down Facebook and Instagram in the EU if data transfer wasn't permitted didn't go over well with EU politicians, who saw it as an attempt to strong-arm the region into compromising on data protection standards.
Deepfaked Pentagon explosion causes market disruption
A fake AI-generated image of an explosion near the Pentagon caused a frenzy on Twitter and led to a temporary decline in US markets.
The image was shared by various online accounts, including the Russian-state media RT.
While the creator of the fake image remains unknown, it’s another clear example of deepfakes’ potential to cause chaos.
Sam Altman Testifies Before Senate
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testified before a Senate Committee meeting and agreed with lawmakers on the need to regulate AI technology.
While there was unanimous agreement that AI requires regulation, the complexity of the issue still leaves everyone scratching their heads…but in fairness to them, they did discuss options, including the establishment of an independent agency, disclosure requirements for AI models, and antitrust rules to prevent market monopolisation.
Altman faced tough questions from Dr. Gary Marcus, who criticised OpenAI's lack of transparency and expressed doubt about the replacement of jobs lost to AI. (I will be interviewing Gary soon, so watch out for out conversation!.)
Open-Source AI Models Gain Momentum in the AI Community
AI takes the spotlight at G7
World leaders are advocating for caution and control, wanting national regulators to take charge and eventually achieve international cooperation for a unified approach.
G7 digital ministers join the conversation, emphasising the need for AI policies and regulations that prioritise human values and democratic principles. Human rights, privacy, and data protection are key concerns.
The consensus among parties is to adopt a principles and risk-based approach, ensuring a balance between the advantages and risks of AI. The goal is to create an environment that maximises the benefits while minimising potential harm. A mantra we’ve heard repeatedly….
That’s all for today…
Enjoy the weekend… ( especially if you are in the UK…we finally have sun after what seems like a 9-month long winter… I’ll never get over the British weather!)
Namaste,
Nina