🤑November startup seeks $2B valuation

ALSO: Google might paywall AI search results

Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes

Money’s getting thrown around left, right and center. And that extends to the crazy investing frenzy we’re in right now as seen by a $2B valuation in today’s news.

• AI company seeks $2B valuation and is less than 6 months old.

• Users immediately deepfake porn with new app.

• Google wants to paywall AI powered search results.

• Big tech is teaming up to stop job loss.

• AI use in the military increases.

🤑An AI company that started in November seeks $2B valuation

What happened: You hear that? That’s the sound of a bubble inflating with hot air. Cognition Labs, an AI company founded in November (so less than six months ago) is seeking a $2 billion valuation. AI’s been having an investing frenzy lately but this valuation is proof we might be in an AI bubble.

The details:

• Coders around the world had an existential crisis last month when Cognition Labs revealed Devin, an AI-powered fully autonomous software engineer. 

• A few months ago Cognition Labs raised $21 million in a deal valuing it at $350 million.

• Cognition then turned down an offer valuing it at $1B. 😅

• Now they seek a $2B valuation.

Additional Notes:

• AI companies are currently in an investing frenzy.

• Cognition isn’t the only one, Perplexity and Mistral are also worth billions despite being new companies.

• Investors speculate we may be in a bubble because prices are rising too high too quickly. Often without showing any profit.

• There’s a distinct fear of missing out for many tech companies and investors, which fuels the investing fire.

• The circumstances are reminiscent of the 1990’s tech crash.

Why it matters: These companies might be worth their salt. But these astronomical prices are too crazy. AI will change the future, that’s for sure. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t an AI bubble we’re in right now.

As of 04.04.2024.

A lottery app deepfaked a user’s face onto a topless body. An app by the Washington State Lottery allowed users to create personalized avatars and insert them into stock photos to generate fake lottery winner announcements. So of course someone made porn by deepfaking a user’s face onto a topless body. The lottery took down the app, but it’s shows the obvious direction deepfakes will take as the tech becomes more accessible. Imagine breaking up with a bad ex and they deepfake you onto something embarrassing. Deepfakes are asking for trouble.

Hailo startup hopes to challenge Nvidia with $120M funding round. The startup specializes in AI chips and hopes to challenge Nvidia at their own game. Their specialization in AI chips gives them a notable advantage. Most other AI chip startups have struggled to gain funding. And AI chips are desperately sought after. Still, Nvidia is huge. I don’t think this’ll be enough to dent Nvidia’s pocket, but more competition is always a good thing.

Steve Cohen claims AI has already saved his firm $25M. His company, Point72, manages over $19B in assets. He says the cost saving came from using AI to automate repetitive tasks (pretty typical). Some examples are reading legal documents and checking for employee compliance. Cohen insists that AI will create room for more jobs as others are replaced.

✋Google might paywall AI-powered search results

What happened: Google is reportedly planning to charge for search results that use AI. A pretty big shakeup if it’s true, and it highlights the increasing costs of training AI. Will AI features become a necessary but costly addition to our lives?

The details: 

• The normal search experience won’t change for better or worse.

• Google's AI search feature will answer questions similarly to ChatGPT and Gemini.

• People may have to join a premium service to get AI generated results but will still see ads like non-subscribers (can’t get away).

• Google has refused any comments and it’s unknown if Gemini subscribers will gain access to AI search results too.

Extra Notes:

• The price is unknown, but training AI is getting expensive and other companies will start charging for AI features soon.

• Websites and blogs have always complained about Google showing snippets of their site in the search result without users clicking on the site itself.

• Google is still reeling from their embarrassing AI generated images which were so politically correct that they made Nazis black. The image generation feature is still on hold.

Why it matters: Google is the number one search engine in the world. AI search results could make the experience that much better and show how deeply AI will affect our day to day.

But charging for AI services seems like a step toward recouping costs. AI has become very expensive to make (just look at the headlines). I just hope AI doesn’t become like phones, an extra thing society added that is mostly necessary but forces you into paying more bills.

🤔Big tech is teaming up to tackle AI job losses

What happened: Tech companies have been laying off employees and freezing their hiring, thanks partly to AI. So now big tech is creating a consortium, called the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium, to combat AI induced layoffs.

The details: 

• The consortium’s goal is to curb AI induced layoffs through re-skilling and evaluating which jobs AI will take over.

• Cisco is leading the charge, with Microsoft, Google, IBM and other big names following suite.

• They are currently looking at the impact AI will have on 56 jobs.

• It’s still not clear how many AI-skilled jobs will be there at the end.

Why this matters: AI scares a lot of people. The vast majority of the population does not trust AI. Much of this distrust comes from incoming job losses. If big tech wants people to trust AI, then a solution needs to be found to AI job losses other than the Utopia-dream of humans never working (very unrealistic).

📷Israel reportedly used AI to target bomb strikes 

What happened: (Don’t worry this isn’t political.) Well, it’s official. All that fancy AI tech we use day to day? It’ll be used in war. Reports say the Israeli military is using artificial intelligence to help identify and track potential threats in the Gaza Strip.

The details:

• The system, called Bluebird, uses cameras mounted on watchtowers along the border with Gaza to capture images of people and vehicles.

• These images are analyzed AI algorithms that can detect suspicious behavior or objects.

• Bluebird has been in use since at least 2018 (this is nothing new).

• The use of advanced AI in conflict zones is stirring up ethical concerns over AI use, a common theme lately. 

What this means: It’s important to keep the bigger picture of how AI will change the world in mind.

Let’s just be clear, AI has always been used by militaries since its earliest form. So why the interest?

Well look at this:

We talk often about job losses and how to use AI productively. But it’s important to keep in mind the military and economy are the two biggest categories that will be affected by AI.

The police can also use technology similar to this. China uses similar tech to watch its own civilians. So do casinos with facial recognition.

AI and robotics will change everything in the world. It’s bigger than ChatGPT.

Productivity

🛠️AI Tools

• Robofin - An AI investment analyst. The goal is to provide clear and actionable insights into the stocks.

• Archie - AI driven idea expansion. Helps you visualize and conceptualize ideas, as well as bypass writer’s block.

• Endorsed - Helps review job applications without bias. Big productivity boost.

My advice will always be: Use as few tools as possible to get the most work done. Don’t overcomplicate your life with fifty different AI tools.

🥷Teenage Mutant Ninja… Animals?

Ok, these aren’t Ninjas but I couldn’t help myself.

Source: @zoojitsu on Midjourney

We’re at your beck and call!

Got feedback? Rate today’s newsletter by clicking below! 

Got more personal feedback? Fill in the box when you rate us and give us your criticism and feedback.

Thank you for reading! 

❤️Share the (ARTIFICIAL) Love!

Got a friend who wants to appear as smart as you? An AI fanatic or someone shaking in their boots of getting replaced? Share us by clicking the link below and you’ll get our love ;)