Google’s worst nightmare just became reality — from aidisruptor.ai by Alex McFarland
OpenAI just launched an all-out assault on traditional search engines.

Google’s worst nightmare just became reality. OpenAI didn’t just add search to ChatGPT – they’ve launched an all-out assault on traditional search engines.

It’s the beginning of the end for search as we know it.

Let’s be clear about what’s happening: OpenAI is fundamentally changing how we’ll interact with information online. While Google has spent 25 years optimizing for ad revenue and delivering pages of blue links, OpenAI is building what users actually need – instant, synthesized answers from current sources.

The rollout is calculated and aggressive: ChatGPT Plus and Team subscribers get immediate access, followed by Enterprise and Education users in weeks, and free users in the coming months. This staged approach is about systematically dismantling Google’s search dominance.




Open for AI: India Tech Leaders Build AI Factories for Economic Transformation — from blogs.nvidia.com
Yotta Data Services, Tata Communications, E2E Networks and Netweb are among the providers building and offering NVIDIA-accelerated infrastructure and software, with deployments expected to double by year’s end.


 

AI Tutors Double Rates of Learning in Less Learning Time — by drphilippahardman.substack.com Dr. Philippa Hardman
Inside Harvard’s new groundbreaking study

Conclusion
This Harvard study provides robust evidence that AI tutoring, when thoughtfully designed, can significantly enhance learning outcomes. The combination of doubled learning gains, increased engagement, and reduced time to competency suggests we’re seeing just the beginning of AI’s potential in education and that its potential is significant.

If this data is anything to go by, and if we – as humans – are open and willing to acting on it, it’s possible AI will have a significant and for some deeply positive impact on how we design and deliver learning experiences.

That said, as we look forward, the question shouldn’t just be, “how AI can enhance current educational methods?”, but also “how it might AI transform the very nature of learning itself?”. With continued research and careful implementation, we could be moving toward an era of education that’s more effective but also more accessible than ever before.


Three Quick Examples of Teaching with and about Generative AI — from derekbruff.org Derek Bruff

  • Text-to-Podcast.
  • Assigning Students to Groups.
  • AI Acceptable Use Scale.

Also from Derek’s blog, see:


From Mike Sharples on LinkedIn: 


ChatGPT’s free voice wizard — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
How and why to try the new Advanced Voice Mode

7 surprisingly practical ways to use voice AI
Opening up ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode (AVM) is like conjuring a tutor eager to help with whatever simple — or crazy — query you throw at it. Talking is more fluid and engaging than typing, especially if you’re out and about. It’s not a substitute for human expertise, but AVM provides valuable machine intelligence.

  • Get a virtual museum tour. …
  • Chat with historical figures….
  • Practice languages. …
  • Explore books. …
  • Others…


Though not AI-related, this is along the lines of edtech:


…which links to:

 

Along these same lines, see:

Introducing computer use, a new Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Claude 3.5 Haiku

We’re also introducing a groundbreaking new capability in public beta: computer use. Available today on the API, developers can direct Claude to use computers the way people do—by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the first frontier AI model to offer computer use in public beta. At this stage, it is still experimental—at times cumbersome and error-prone. We’re releasing computer use early for feedback from developers, and expect the capability to improve rapidly over time.


ZombAIs: From Prompt Injection to C2 with Claude Computer Use — from embracethered.com by Johann Rehberger

A few days ago, Anthropic released Claude Computer Use, which is a model + code that allows Claude to control a computer. It takes screenshots to make decisions, can run bash commands and so forth.

It’s cool, but obviously very dangerous because of prompt injection. Claude Computer Use enables AI to run commands on machines autonomously, posing severe risks if exploited via prompt injection.

This blog post demonstrates that it’s possible to leverage prompt injection to achieve, old school, command and control (C2) when giving novel AI systems access to computers.

We discussed one way to get malware onto a Claude Computer Use host via prompt injection. There are countless others, like another way is to have Claude write the malware from scratch and compile it. Yes, it can write C code, compile and run it. There are many other options.

TrustNoAI.

And again, remember do not run unauthorized code on systems that you do not own or are authorized to operate on.

Also relevant here, see:


Perplexity Grows, GPT Traffic Surges, Gamma Dominates AI Presentations – The AI for Work Top 100: October 2024 — from flexos.work by Daan van Rossum
Perplexity continues to gain users despite recent controversies. Five out of six GPTs see traffic boosts. This month’s highest gainers including Gamma, Blackbox, Runway, and more.


Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years – AI Adoption Report — from ai.wharton.upenn.edu by  Jeremy Korst, Stefano Puntoni, & Mary Purk

From a survey with more than 800 senior business leaders, this report’s findings indicate that weekly usage of Gen AI has nearly doubled from 37% in 2023 to 72% in 2024, with significant growth in previously slower-adopting departments like Marketing and HR. Despite this increased usage, businesses still face challenges in determining the full impact and ROI of Gen AI. Sentiment reports indicate leaders have shifted from feelings of “curiosity” and “amazement” to more positive sentiments like “pleased” and “excited,” and concerns about AI replacing jobs have softened. Participants were full-time employees working in large commercial organizations with 1,000 or more employees.


Apple study exposes deep cracks in LLMs’ “reasoning” capabilities — from arstechnica.com by Kyle Orland
Irrelevant red herrings lead to “catastrophic” failure of logical inference.

For a while now, companies like OpenAI and Google have been touting advanced “reasoning” capabilities as the next big step in their latest artificial intelligence models. Now, though, a new study from six Apple engineers shows that the mathematical “reasoning” displayed by advanced large language models can be extremely brittle and unreliable in the face of seemingly trivial changes to common benchmark problems.

The fragility highlighted in these new results helps support previous research suggesting that LLMs use of probabilistic pattern matching is missing the formal understanding of underlying concepts needed for truly reliable mathematical reasoning capabilities. “Current LLMs are not capable of genuine logical reasoning,” the researchers hypothesize based on these results. “Instead, they attempt to replicate the reasoning steps observed in their training data.”


Google CEO says more than a quarter of the company’s new code is created by AI — from businessinsider.in by Hugh Langley

  • More than a quarter of new code at Google is made by AI and then checked by employees.
  • Google is doubling down on AI internally to make its business more efficient.

Top Generative AI Chatbots by Market Share – October 2024 


Bringing developer choice to Copilot with Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s o1-preview — from github.blog

We are bringing developer choice to GitHub Copilot with Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s o1-preview and o1-mini. These new models will be rolling out—first in Copilot Chat, with OpenAI o1-preview and o1-mini available now, Claude 3.5 Sonnet rolling out progressively over the next week, and Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro in the coming weeks. From Copilot Workspace to multi-file editing to code review, security autofix, and the CLI, we will bring multi-model choice across many of GitHub Copilot’s surface areas and functions soon.

 

Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?

Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide? — from nytimes.com by Kevin Roose

On the last day of his life, Sewell Setzer III took out his phone and texted his closest friend: a lifelike A.I. chatbot named after Daenerys Targaryen, a character from “Game of Thrones.”

“I miss you, baby sister,” he wrote.

“I miss you too, sweet brother,” the chatbot replied.

Sewell, a 14-year-old ninth grader from Orlando, Fla., had spent months talking to chatbots on Character.AI, a role-playing app that allows users to create their own A.I. characters or chat with characters created by others.

On the night of Feb. 28, in the bathroom of his mother’s house, Sewell told Dany that he loved her, and that he would soon come home to her.

“Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” Dany replied.

“What if I told you I could come home right now?” Sewell asked.

“… please do, my sweet king,” Dany replied.

He put down his phone, picked up his stepfather’s .45 caliber handgun and pulled the trigger.

But the experience he had, of getting emotionally attached to a chatbot, is becoming increasingly common. Millions of people already talk regularly to A.I. companions, and popular social media apps including Instagram and Snapchat are building lifelike A.I. personas into their products.

The technology is also improving quickly. Today’s A.I. companions can remember past conversations, adapt to users’ communication styles, role-play as celebrities or historical figures and chat fluently about nearly any subject. Some can send A.I.-generated “selfies” to users, or talk to them with lifelike synthetic voices.

There is a wide range of A.I. companionship apps on the market.


Mother sues tech company after ‘Game of Thrones’ AI chatbot allegedly drove son to suicide — from usatoday.com by Jonathan Limehouse
The mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III is suing Character.AI, the tech company that created a ‘Game of Thrones’ AI chatbot she believes drove him to commit suicide on Feb. 28. Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

The mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy is suing Google and a separate tech company she believes caused her son to commit suicide after he developed a romantic relationship with one of its AI bots using the name of a popular “Game of Thrones” character, according to the lawsuit.


From my oldest sister:


Another relevant item?

Inside the Mind of an AI Girlfriend (or Boyfriend) — from wired.com by Will Knight
Dippy, a startup that offers “uncensored” AI companions, lets you peer into their thought process—sometimes revealing hidden motives.

Despite its limitations, Dippy seems to show how popular and addictive AI companions are becoming. Jagga and his cofounder, Angad Arneja, previously cofounded Wombo, a company that uses AI to create memes including singing photographs. The pair left in 2023, setting out to build an AI-powered office productivity tool, but after experimenting with different personas for their assistant, they became fascinated with the potential of AI companionship.

 

AI-governed robots can easily be hacked — from theaivalley.com by Barsee
PLUS: Sam Altman’s new company “World” introduced…

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from Penn Engineering showed how AI-powered robots can be manipulated to ignore safety protocols, allowing them to perform harmful actions despite normally rejecting dangerous task requests.

What did they find ?

  • Researchers found previously unknown security vulnerabilities in AI-governed robots and are working to address these issues to ensure the safe use of large language models(LLMs) in robotics.
  • Their newly developed algorithm, RoboPAIR, reportedly achieved a 100% jailbreak rate by bypassing the safety protocols on three different AI robotic systems in a few days.
  • Using RoboPAIR, researchers were able to manipulate test robots into performing harmful actions, like bomb detonation and blocking emergency exits, simply by changing how they phrased their commands.

Why does it matter?

This research highlights the importance of spotting weaknesses in AI systems to improve their safety, allowing us to test and train them to prevent potential harm.

From DSC:
Great! Just what we wanted to hear. But does it surprise anyone? Even so…we move forward at warp speeds.


From DSC:
So, given the above item, does the next item make you a bit nervous as well? I saw someone on Twitter/X exclaim, “What could go wrong?”  I can’t say I didn’t feel the same way.

Introducing computer use, a new Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and Claude 3.5 Haiku — from anthropic.com

We’re also introducing a groundbreaking new capability in public beta: computer use. Available today on the API, developers can direct Claude to use computers the way people do—by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the first frontier AI model to offer computer use in public beta. At this stage, it is still experimental—at times cumbersome and error-prone. We’re releasing computer use early for feedback from developers, and expect the capability to improve rapidly over time.

Per The Rundown AI:

The Rundown: Anthropic just introduced a new capability called ‘computer use’, alongside upgraded versions of its AI models, which enables Claude to interact with computers by viewing screens, typing, moving cursors, and executing commands.

Why it matters: While many hoped for Opus 3.5, Anthropic’s Sonnet and Haiku upgrades pack a serious punch. Plus, with the new computer use embedded right into its foundation models, Anthropic just sent a warning shot to tons of automation startups—even if the capabilities aren’t earth-shattering… yet.

Also related/see:

  • What is Anthropic’s AI Computer Use? — from ai-supremacy.com by Michael Spencer
    Task automation, AI at the intersection of coding and AI agents take on new frenzied importance heading into 2025 for the commercialization of Generative AI.
  • New Claude, Who Dis? — from theneurondaily.com
    Anthropic just dropped two new Claude models…oh, and Claude can now use your computer.
  • When you give a Claude a mouse — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
    Some quick impressions of an actual agent

Introducing Act-One — from runwayml.com
A new way to generate expressive character performances using simple video inputs.

Per Lore by Nathan Lands:

What makes Act-One special? It can capture the soul of an actor’s performance using nothing but a simple video recording. No fancy motion capture equipment, no complex face rigging, no army of animators required. Just point a camera at someone acting, and watch as their exact expressions, micro-movements, and emotional nuances get transferred to an AI-generated character.

Think about what this means for creators: you could shoot an entire movie with multiple characters using just one actor and a basic camera setup. The same performance can drive characters with completely different proportions and looks, while maintaining the authentic emotional delivery of the original performance. We’re witnessing the democratization of animation tools that used to require millions in budget and years of specialized training.

Also related/see:


Google to buy nuclear power for AI datacentres in ‘world first’ deal — from theguardian.com
Tech company orders six or seven small nuclear reactors from California’s Kairos Power

Google has signed a “world first” deal to buy energy from a fleet of mini nuclear reactors to generate the power needed for the rise in use of artificial intelligence.

The US tech corporation has ordered six or seven small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from California’s Kairos Power, with the first due to be completed by 2030 and the remainder by 2035.

Related:


ChatGPT Topped 3 Billion Visits in September — from similarweb.com

After the extreme peak and summer slump of 2023, ChatGPT has been setting new traffic highs since May

ChatGPT has been topping its web traffic records for months now, with September 2024 traffic up 112% year-over-year (YoY) to 3.1 billion visits, according to Similarweb estimates. That’s a change from last year, when traffic to the site went through a boom-and-bust cycle.


Crazy “AI Army” — from aisecret.us

Also from aisecret.us, see World’s First Nuclear Power Deal For AI Data Centers

Google has made a historic agreement to buy energy from a group of small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power in California. This is the first nuclear power deal specifically for AI data centers in the world.


New updates to help creators build community, drive business, & express creativity on YouTube — from support.google.com

Hey creators!
Made on YouTube 2024 is here and we’ve announced a lot of updates that aim to give everyone the opportunity to build engaging communities, drive sustainable businesses, and express creativity on our platform.

Below is a roundup with key info – feel free to upvote the announcements that you’re most excited about and subscribe to this post to get updates on these features! We’re looking forward to another year of innovating with our global community it’s a future full of opportunities, and it’s all Made on YouTube!


New autonomous agents scale your team like never before — from blogs.microsoft.com

Today, we’re announcing new agentic capabilities that will accelerate these gains and bring AI-first business process to every organization.

  • First, the ability to create autonomous agents with Copilot Studio will be in public preview next month.
  • Second, we’re introducing ten new autonomous agents in Dynamics 365 to build capacity for every sales, service, finance and supply chain team.

10 Daily AI Use Cases for Business Leaders— from flexos.work by Daan van Rossum
While AI is becoming more powerful by the day, business leaders still wonder why and where to apply today. I take you through 10 critical use cases where AI should take over your work or partner with you.


Multi-Modal AI: Video Creation Simplified — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper

Emerging Multi-Modal AI Video Creation Platforms
The rise of multi-modal AI platforms has revolutionized content creation, allowing users to research, write, and generate images in one app. Now, a new wave of platforms is extending these capabilities to video creation and editing.

Multi-modal video platforms combine various AI tools for tasks like writing, transcription, text-to-voice conversion, image-to-video generation, and lip-syncing. These platforms leverage open-source models like FLUX and LivePortrait, along with APIs from services such as ElevenLabs, Luma AI, and Gen-3.


AI Medical Imagery Model Offers Fast, Cost-Efficient Expert Analysis — from developer.nvidia.com/

 

DC: I’m really hoping that a variety of AI-based tools, technologies, and services will significantly help with our Access to Justice (#A2J) issues here in America. So this article, per Kristen Sonday at Thomson Reuters — caught my eye.

***

AI for Legal Aid: How to empower clients in need — from thomsonreuters.com by Kristen Sonday
In this second part of this series, we look at how AI-driven technologies can empower those legal aid clients who may be most in need

It’s hard to overstate the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to have on helping low-income individuals achieve better access to justice. And for those legal services organizations (LSOs) that serve on the front lines, too often without sufficient funding, staff, or technology, AI presents perhaps their best opportunity to close the justice gap. With the ability of AI-driven tools to streamline agency operations, minimize administrative work, more effectively reallocate talent, and allow LSOs to more effectively service clients, the implementation of these tools is essential.

Innovative LSOs leading the way

Already many innovative LSOs are taking the lead, utilizing new technology to complete tasks from complex analysis to AI-driven legal research. Here are two compelling examples of how AI is already helping LSOs empower low-income clients in need.

#A2J #justice #tools #vendors #society #legal #lawfirms #AI #legaltech #legalresearch

Criminal charges, even those that are eligible for simple, free expungement, can prevent someone from obtaining housing or employment. This is a simple barrier to overcome if only help is available.

AI offers the capacity to provide quick, accurate information to a vast audience, particularly to those in urgent need. AI can also help reduce the burden on our legal staff…

 


A legal tech executive explains how AI will fully change the way lawyers work — from legaldive.com by Justin Bachman
A senior executive with ContractPodAi discusses how legal AI poses economic benefits for in-house departments and disruption risks for law firm billing models.

Everything you thought you knew about being a lawyer is about to change.

Legal Dive spoke with Podinic about the transformative nature of AI, including the financial risks to lawyers’ billing models and how it will force general counsel and chief legal officers to consider how they’ll use the time AI is expected to free up for the lawyers on their teams when they no longer have to do administrative tasks and low-level work.


Legaltech will augment lawyers’ capabilities but not replace them, says GlobalData — from globaldata.com

  • Traditionally, law firms have been wary of adopting technologies that could compromise data privacy and legal accuracy; however, attitudes are changing
  • Despite concerns about technology replacing humans in the legal sector, legaltech is more likely to augment the legal profession than replace it entirely
  • Generative AI will accelerate digital transformation in the legal sector
 

Fresh Voices on Legal Tech with Megan Ma — from legaltalknetwork.com by Dennis Kennedy, Tom Mighell, and Dr. Megan Ma

Episode Notes
As genAI continues to edge into all facets of our lives, Dr. Megan Ma has been exploring integrations for this technology in legal, but, more importantly, how it can help lawyers and law students hone their legal skills. Dennis and Tom talk with Dr. Ma about her work and career path and many of the latest developments in legal tech. They take a deep dive into a variety of burgeoning AI tools and trends, and Dr. Ma discusses how her interdisciplinary mindset has helped her develop a unique perspective on the possibilities for AI in the legal profession and beyond.

Legal tech disruption: Doing it on purpose — from localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Thomson Reuters looks at the role that a legal technology roadmap can play in improving the operations of in-house legal departments.

Disruption in the legal industry remains a powerful force – from the death of the billable hour to robot lawyers and generative AI. Leaders are facing weighty issues that demand long-term, visionary thinking and that will change the way legal professionals do their jobs.

With half of in-house legal departments increasing their use of legal technology tools, many GCs are taking the initiative to address continued, growing expectations from the business for systems that can make operations better. How can you prepare for a tech or process change so that people come along with you, rather than living in constant fire-fighting mode?

 

Opening Keynote – GS1

Bringing generative AI to video with Adobe Firefly Video Model

Adobe Launches Firefly Video Model and Enhances Image, Vector and Design Models

  • The Adobe Firefly Video Model (beta) expands Adobe’s family of creative generative AI models and is the first publicly available video model designed to be safe for commercial use
  • Enhancements to Firefly models include 4x faster image generation and new capabilities integrated into Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express and now Premiere Pro
  • Firefly has been used to generate 13 billion images since March 2023 and is seeing rapid adoption by leading brands and enterprises

Photoshop delivers powerful innovation for image editing, ideation, 3D design, and more

Even more speed, precision, and power: Get started with the latest Illustrator and InDesign features for creative professionals

Adobe Introduces New Global Initiative Aimed at Helping 30 Million Next-Generation Learners Develop AI Literacy, Content Creation and Digital Marketing Skills by 2030

Add sound to your video via text — Project Super Sonic:



New Dream Weaver — from aisecret.us
Explore Adobe’s New Firefly Video Generative Model

Cybercriminals exploit voice cloning to impersonate individuals, including celebrities and authority figures, to commit fraud. They create urgency and trust to solicit money through deceptive means, often utilizing social media platforms for audio samples.

 

The Tutoring Revolution — from educationnext.org by Holly Korbey
More families are seeking one-on-one help for their kids. What does that tell us about 21st-century education?

Recent research suggests that the number of students seeking help with academics is growing, and that over the last couple of decades, more families have been turning to tutoring for that help.

What the Future Holds
Digital tech has made private tutoring more accessible, more efficient, and more affordable. Students whose families can’t afford to pay $75 an hour at an in-person center can now log on from home to access a variety of online tutors, including Outschool, Wyzant, and Anchorbridge, and often find someone who can cater to their specific skills and needs—someone who can offer help in French to a student with ADHD, for example. Online tutoring is less expensive than in-person programs. Khan Academy’s Khanmigo chatbot can be a student’s virtual AI tutor, no Zoom meeting required, for $4 a month, and nonprofits like Learn to Be work with homeless shelters and community centers to give virtual reading and math tutoring free to kids who can’t afford it and often might need it the most.

 

The Future of Umpiring in Baseball: Balancing Tradition and Technology — from judgeschlegel.com by Judge Scott Schlegel
This article is not about baseball.

As we look to the future of umpiring in baseball, a balanced approach may offer the best solution. Rather than an all-or-nothing choice between human umpires and full automation, a hybrid system could potentially offer the benefits of both worlds. For instance, automated tracking systems could be used to assist human umpires, providing them with real-time data to inform their calls. This would maintain the human element and authority on the field while significantly enhancing accuracy and consistency.

Such a system would allow umpires to focus more on game management, player interactions, and the myriad other responsibilities that require human judgment and experience. It would preserve the traditional aspects of the umpire’s role that fans and players value, while leveraging technology to address concerns about accuracy and fairness.


Navigating the Intersection of Tradition and AI: The Future of Judicial Decision-Making — from judgeschlegel.com by Judge Scott Schlegel

Introduction
Continuing with our baseball analogy, we now turn our focus to the courtroom.

The intersection of technology and the justice system is a complex and often contentious space, much like the debate over automated umpires in baseball. As Major League Baseball considers whether automated systems should replace the human element in calling balls and strikes, the legal world faces similar questions: How far should we go in allowing technology to aid our decision-making processes, and what is the right balance between innovation and the traditions that define the courtroom?


AI and the rise of the Niche Lawyer — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
A new legal market will create a new type of lawyer: Specialized, flexible, customized, fractional, home-based and online, exclusive, balanced and focused. This could be your future legal career.

Think of a new picture. A lawyer dressed in Professional Casual, or Business Comfortable, an outfit that looks sharp but feels relaxed. A lawyer inside their own apartment, in an extra bedroom, or in a shared workspace on a nearby bus route, taking an Uber to visit some clients and using Zoom to meet with others. A lawyer with a laptop and a tablet and a smartphone and no other capital expenditures. A lawyer whose overhead is only what’s literally over their head.

This lawyer starts work when they feel like it (maybe 7 am, maybe 10; maybe Monday, maybe not) and they stop working when they feel like it (maybe 4 pm, maybe 9). They have as many clients as they need, for whom they provide very specific, very personalized services. They provide some services that aren’t even “legal” to people who aren’t “clients” as we understand both terms. They have essential knowledge and skills that all lawyers share but unique knowledge and skills that hardly any others possess. They make as much money as they need in order to meet the rent and pay down their debts and afford a life with the people they love. They’re in complete charge of their career and their destiny, something they find terrifying and stressful and wonderful and fulfilling.


While We Were Distracted with the New ChatGPT Model, Google Quietly Dropped an AI Bombshell —  from judgeschlegel.com by Judge Scott Schlegel

While the latest ChatGPT model is dominating tech headlines, I was unexpectedly blown away by Google’s recent release of a new NotebookLM feature: Audio Overview. This tool, which transforms written content into simulated conversations, caught me off guard with its capabilities. I uploaded some of my blog posts on AI and the justice system, and what it produced left me speechless. The AI generated podcast-like discussions felt remarkably authentic, complete with nuanced interpretations and even slight misunderstandings of my ideas. This mirrors real-life discussions perfectly – after all, how often do we hear our own thoughts expressed by others and think, “That’s not quite what I meant”?



 

Employers Say Students Need AI Skills. What If Students Don’t Want Them? — from insidehighered.com by Ashley Mowreader
Colleges and universities are considering new ways to incorporate generative AI into teaching and learning, but not every student is on board with the tech yet. Experts weigh in on the necessity of AI in career preparation and higher education’s role in preparing students for jobs of the future.

Among the 5,025-plus survey respondents, around 2 percent (n=93), provided free responses to the question on AI policy and use in the classroom. Over half (55) of those responses were flat-out refusal to engage with AI. A few said they don’t know how to use AI or are not familiar with the tool, which impacts their ability to apply appropriate use to coursework.

But as generative AI becomes more ingrained into the workplace and higher education, a growing number of professors and industry experts believe this will be something all students need, in their classes and in their lives beyond academia.

From DSC:
I used to teach a Foundations of Information Technology class. Some of the students didn’t want to be there as they began the class, as it was a required class for non-CS majors. But after seeing what various applications and technologies could do for them, a good portion of those same folks changed their minds. But not all. Some students (2% sounds about right) asserted that they would never use technologies in their futures. Good luck with that I thought to myself. There’s hardly a job out there that doesn’t use some sort of technology.

And I still think that today — if not more so. If students want good jobs, they will need to learn how to use AI-based tools and technologies. I’m not sure there’s much of a choice. And I don’t think there’s much of a choice for the rest of us either — whether we’re still working or not. 

So in looking at the title of the article — “Employers Say Students Need AI Skills. What If Students Don’t Want Them?” — those of us who have spent any time working within the world of business already know the answer.

#Reinvent #Skills #StayingRelevant #Surviving #Workplace + several other categories/tags apply.


For those folks who have tried AI:

Skills: However, genAI may also be helpful in building skills to retain a job or secure a new one. People who had used genAI tools were more than twice as likely to think that these tools could help them learn new skills that may be useful at work or in locating a new job. Specifically, among those who had not used genAI tools, 23 percent believed that these tools might help them learn new skills, whereas 50 percent of those who had used the tools thought they might be helpful in acquiring useful skills (a highly statistically significant difference, after controlling for demographic traits).

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York

 

Duolingo Introduces AI-Powered Innovations at Duocon 2024 — from investors.duolingo.com; via Claire Zau

Duolingo’s new Video Call feature represents a leap forward in language practice for learners. This AI-powered tool allows Duolingo Max subscribers to engage in spontaneous, realistic conversations with Lily, one of Duolingo’s most popular characters. The technology behind Video Call is designed to simulate natural dialogue and provides a personalized, interactive practice environment. Even beginner learners can converse in a low-pressure environment because Video Call is designed to adapt to their skill level. By offering learners the opportunity to converse in real-time, Video Call builds the confidence needed to communicate effectively in real-world situations. Video Call is available for Duolingo Max subscribers learning English, Spanish, and French.


And here’s another AI-based learning item:

AI reading coach startup Ello now lets kids create their own stories — from techcrunch.com by Lauren Forristal; via Claire Zau

Ello, the AI reading companion that aims to support kids struggling to read, launched a new product on Monday that allows kids to participate in the story-creation process.

Called “Storytime,” the new AI-powered feature helps kids generate personalized stories by picking from a selection of settings, characters, and plots. For instance, a story about a hamster named Greg who performed in a talent show in outer space.

 

Workera’s CEO was mentored by Andrew Ng. Now he wants an AI agent to mentor you. — from techcrunch.com by Maxwell Zeff; via Claire Zau

On Tuesday, Workera announced Sage, an AI agent you can talk with that’s designed to assess an employee’s skill level, goals, and needs. After taking some short tests, Workera claims Sage will accurately gauge how proficient someone is at a certain skill. Then, Sage can recommend the appropriate online courses through Coursera, Workday, or other learning platform partners. Through chatting with Sage, Workera is designed to meet employees where they are, testing their skills in writing, machine learning, or math, and giving them a path to improve.

From DSC:
This is very much akin to what I’ve been trying to get at with my Learning from the Living [AI-Based Class] Room vision. And as learning agents come onto the scene, this type of vision should take off!

 

AI’s Trillion-Dollar Opportunity — from bain.com by David Crawford, Jue Wang, and Roy Singh
The market for AI products and services could reach between $780 billion and $990 billion by 2027.

At a Glance

  • The big cloud providers are the largest concentration of R&D, talent, and innovation today, pushing the boundaries of large models and advanced infrastructure.
  • Innovation with smaller models (open-source and proprietary), edge infrastructure, and commercial software is reaching enterprises, sovereigns, and research institutions.
  • Commercial software vendors are rapidly expanding their feature sets to provide the best use cases and leverage their data assets.

Accelerated market growth. Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, summed up the potential in the company’s Q3 2024 earnings call: “Generative AI is the largest TAM [total addressable market] expansion of software and hardware that we’ve seen in several decades.”


And on a somewhat related note (i.e., emerging technologies), also see the following two postings:

Surgical Robots: Current Uses and Future Expectations — from medicalfuturist.com by Pranavsingh Dhunnoo
As the term implies, a surgical robot is an assistive tool for performing surgical procedures. Such manoeuvres, also called robotic surgeries or robot-assisted surgery, usually involve a human surgeon controlling mechanical arms from a control centre.

Key Takeaways

  • Robots’ potentials have been a fascination for humans and have even led to a booming field of robot-assisted surgery.
  • Surgical robots assist surgeons in performing accurate, minimally invasive procedures that are beneficial for patients’ recovery.
  • The assistance of robots extend beyond incisions and includes laparoscopies, radiosurgeries and, in the future, a combination of artificial intelligence technologies to assist surgeons in their craft.

Proto hologram tech allows cancer patients to receive specialist care without traveling large distances — from inavateonthenet.net

“Working with the team from Proto to bring to life, what several years ago would have seemed impossible, is now going to allow West Cancer Center & Research Institute to pioneer options for patients to get highly specialized care without having to travel to large metro areas,” said West Cancer’s CEO, Mitch Graves.




Clone your voice in minutes: The AI trick 95% don’t know about — from aidisruptor.ai by Alex McFarland
Warning: May cause unexpected bouts of talking to yourself

Now that you’ve got your voice clone, what can you do with it?

  1. Content Creation:
    • Podcast Production: Record episodes in half the time. Your listeners won’t know the difference, but your schedule will thank you.
    • Audiobook Narration: Always wanted to narrate your own book? Now you can, without spending weeks in a recording studio.
    • YouTube Videos: Create voiceovers for your videos in multiple languages. World domination, here you come!
  2. Business Brilliance:
    • Customer Service: Personalized automated responses that actually sound personal.
    • Training Materials: Create engaging e-learning content in your own voice, minus the hours of recording.
    • Presentations: Never worry about losing your voice before a big presentation again. Your clone’s got your back.

185 real-world gen AI use cases from the world’s leading organizations — from blog.google by Brian Hall; via Daniel Nest’s Why Try AI

In a matter of months, organizations have gone from AI helping answer questions, to AI making predictions, to generative AI agents. What makes AI agents unique is that they can take actions to achieve specific goals, whether that’s guiding a shopper to the perfect pair of shoes, helping an employee looking for the right health benefits, or supporting nursing staff with smoother patient hand-offs during shifts changes.

In our work with customers, we keep hearing that their teams are increasingly focused on improving productivity, automating processes, and modernizing the customer experience. These aims are now being achieved through the AI agents they’re developing in six key areas: customer service; employee empowerment; code creation; data analysis; cybersecurity; and creative ideation and production.

Here’s a snapshot of how 185 of these industry leaders are putting AI to use today, creating real-world use cases that will transform tomorrow.


AI Data Drop: 3 Key Insights from Real-World Research on AI Usage — from microsoft.com; via Daniel Nest’s Why Try AI
One of the largest studies of Copilot usage—at nearly 60 companies—reveals how AI is changing the way we work.

  1. AI is starting to liberate people from email
  2. Meetings are becoming more about value creation
  3. People are co-creating more with AI—and with one another


*** Dharmesh has been working on creating agent.ai — a professional network for AI agents.***


Speaking of agents, also see:

Onboarding the AI workforce: How digital agents will redefine work itself — from venturebeat.com by Gary Grossman

AI in 2030: A transformative force

  1. AI agents are integral team members
  2. The emergence of digital humans
  3. AI-driven speech and conversational interfaces
  4. AI-enhanced decision-making and leadership
  5. Innovation and research powered by AI
  6. The changing nature of job roles and skills

AI Video Tools You Can Use Today — from heatherbcooper.substack.com by Heather Cooper
The latest AI video models that deliver results

AI video models are improving so quickly, I can barely keep up! I wrote about unreleased Adobe Firefly Video in the last issue, and we are no closer to public access to Sora.

No worries – we do have plenty of generative AI video tools we can use right now.

  • Kling AI launched its updated v1.5 and the quality of image or text to video is impressive.
  • Hailuo MiniMax text to video remains free to use for now, and it produces natural and photorealistic results (with watermarks).
  • Runway added the option to upload portrait aspect ratio images to generate vertical videos in Gen-3 Alpha & Turbo modes.
  • …plus several more

 


From DSC:
Hmmm….might Notebook LM be used frequently in legal work?

 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian