💣Chinese AI spreads disinformation

ALSO: Sam Altman’s making a $1B AI device

Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes

Corporate espionage is about to kick off in a big way this year. With elections around the corner, governments everywhere suddenly care about deepfakes (shocking) and are hurriedly creating laws to counter them. But without proper implementation to regulate a new tech, outside governments have a chance to create massive disinformation. That’s what’s happening now.

• Chinese AI attacks elections.

• Sam Altman’s $1B device.

• Robotaxis without drivers.

• AI can be even smarter (LLMs hate this one trick).

🤫China’s using AI disinformation to influence elections

What happened: China is using AI agents to create disinformation in order to nudge elections in their favor, according to Microsoft’s threat team. Keep in mind these reports are from Microsoft.

The details: 

• Chinese-backed groups are using AI agents to spread disinformation during Western (not just US) elections.

• The AI generated content aims generate disinformation on candidates that would oppose Chinese interests.

• The disinformation’s impact is low now but could grow.

• A Beijing-backed group used AI to create fake endorsements and accusations in Taiwan's election.

• (I’m positive this is going both ways.)

Why it matters: I believe this is true, even if it’s an old trope to pin espionage on China and North Korea. It was only a matter of time before AI was used for disinformation on purpose. Now’s the real challenge: how do we stop this? Not just from China, but any disinformation. Even with laws in place, how do you tell what is real and what isn’t? And who gets to decide? There’s a lot in the air about AI disinformation right now.

In a few years many of these issues will (hopefully) be resolved. So now is the time for outside governments to strike while regulation and implementation is weak. In fact, there’s been reports of Russian bots as well. Geez.

As of market close Aril 09, 2024.

Roku is investigating ways to integrate ads into video feeds from third-party devices connected to its TVs, as revealed by a patent filing. This would enable Roku to display ads during breaks in activities such as gaming on an Xbox or streaming via an Apple TV connected to a Roku TV (seriously, screw this idea). Now don’t panic (yet). This is just a patent. Companies file these all the time even for things they never use. But I’m not alone when saying I never want this feature… ever.

The EU can fine social media companies like X/Twitter and Meta for not taking down deepfakes and AI generated disinformation. There’s a ton of fear over deepfakes affecting elections or hurting politician’s reputations. The fee can be as much as 6% of their annual global revenue. That’s a hefty fee. Now we have to see how these companies comply.

Insurers look to AI to cut costs. According to a report by Bain & Company, insurance companies leveraging generative AI have the potential to yield more than $50 billion in annual economic benefits. That’s a lot of money, and insurance companies have already been itching to cut costs. The question is what jobs will be removed first?

💰Sam Altman and Jony Ive seek $1B investment for new company

What happened: Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are collaborating on a new venture to create an AI-powered personal device. They aim to secure at least $1 billion in funding.

The details:

• The personal device will be AI powered and likely use OpenAI’s voice technology.

• No, it’s not a phone, and it will not look like a phone either.

• Ive and Altman wants $1B in funding.

• Notable investors include Thrive Capital and Emerson Collective.

• Sam Altman is an investor in Humane AI, which is creating an AI “pin” device.

Why it matters: The wombo-combo of Altman and Ive could create the perfect recipe of AI and hardware to compete with big players like Apple. A good device could also shift the public’s mindset about AI in their personal lives.

🚗Robotaxis are coming this August

What happened: Elon Musk announced Tesla's unveiling of a new 'robotaxi', a self-driving vehicle without pedals or a steering wheel. The taxi will be shown to the world on August 8th.

The details: 

• Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, shared that the new self-driving robotaxi will be revealed on August 8th.

• The vehicle is designed to work without any drivers, steering wheel, or pedals.

• Earlier, Musk talked about turning all Tesla cars into robotaxis with just software updates.

• Concerns are raised about Tesla's approach to legal and safety regulations for this new technology.

Why this matters: This could be the future of driving. Well, riding at least. There won’t be drivers (guess Uber drivers will need another job). But I’m… skeptical. The tech isn’t perfect. Roads aren’t perfect. Tesla’s own cars aren’t perfect. And without a human driver that means the AI needs to react exactly as needed. These are neat… but too early to be practical.

A friendly reminder of Tesla’s immaculate driving…

🧠There’s a simple way to make AI smarter 

What happened: Cornell researchers have discovered a new way to make AI more intelligent. You’ll never guess what it is… just add more water AI.

The details:

• A new study shows you can make LLMs smarter by simply asking more agents for answers and choosing the best one.

• This method can be combined with other techniques for a drastic boost in performance.

• The more complicated the task, the better this method works.

• A smaller LLM could match or outperform a larger one by scaling up the number of agents.

What this means: Let’s be blunt, the best way to make AI smarter is brute force. Just add more. It’s incredible this is considered a “discovery”, but just having more AI agents makes AI smarter. Unlimited agents could lead to unlimited brainpower for tasks. Who knows what could happen.

Although this brings up the energy concern again. How will these AI centers add even more agents when energy demands are so high?

🎃Monster Mash

Source: Midjourney

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