🗞 Oracle's $10B Bet: Fueling Musk's xAI Vision in the Cloud ☁️

🔎 The Latest on the AI Frontier:

• Oracle's $10B Cloud Deal: Powering Musk's xAI Ambitions ☁️

• GPT-4o vs Gemini Live: The Battle of AI Assistants Begins 🤖

• Microsoft's AI Dilemma: Balancing Innovation and Climate Goals ⚖️

• Microsoft's China Conundrum: Relocating AI Talent Amid Tensions 🌍

• Apple's AI Catch-Up: Pressure Mounts for WWDC Revelations 🍏

• Hugging Face's $10M Boost: Empowering Open-Source AI Innovation 🤗

• Schumer's AI Road Map Backlash: Experts Cry Foul Over Industry Bias 🚨

☁️ Elon Musk's AI startup xAI is reportedly in talks with Oracle for a $10 billion cloud-computing deal spanning multiple years. Read More

• The potential deal would make xAI one of Oracle's largest customers as the startup aims to compete with OpenAI in developing large language models for generative AI tools.

• Oracle's stock jumped more than 3% to 119.89 on the news, as the deal could boost its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business, which saw a 49% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.9 billion in the February quarter.

• Oracle and xAI have collaborated before, with Oracle providing Nvidia chips to support xAI, and the startup is reportedly in talks to raise up to $6 billion in equity funding.

🤖 OpenAI and Google unveil supercharged AI assistants that can converse in real-time, analyze surroundings via live video, and translate conversations on the fly. Read More

• OpenAI's GPT-4o can respond with a delay of about 320 milliseconds, interpret smartphone camera input, assist with coding and translation, and will be accessible for free with usage caps or through paid plans starting at $20 per month.

• Google's Gemini Live, launching in the coming months via the $20/month Gemini Advanced plan, will offer real-time conversation and live video communication later this year.

• Google is also developing Project Astra, a do-everything AI agent to be released later this year, potentially embedded in smartphones, desktop computers, and smart glasses.

⚖️ Microsoft's greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 30% in fiscal year 2023, jeopardizing its bold climate pledge made in 2020 to become carbon negative by 2030. Read More

• The company's focus on AI, including its $13 billion investment in OpenAI and the development of AI features like Copilot for Microsoft 365, has significantly increased its energy consumption and carbon footprint.

• Microsoft president Brad Smith acknowledged that the explosion in artificial intelligence has made achieving the company's carbon reduction goals much more challenging, stating that "the moon is five times as far away as it was in 2020."

• Data centers used for training AI models are even more energy-intensive than traditional data centers, and Microsoft plans to spend over $50 billion to meet its AI ambitions, which is expected to further increase its carbon emissions.

🌍 Microsoft has offered relocation to approximately 700-800 China-based employees working in AI and cloud computing amid growing U.S.-China tech tensions. Read More

• The move comes as the U.S. government seeks to limit China's access to advanced AI and cloud computing technology, fearing it could be used for military purposes or cyber attacks.

• Microsoft, which employs around 7,000 engineers in its Asia-Pacific research-and-development group mostly based in China, confirmed the optional internal transfer opportunity without specifying the number of affected staff or impact on operations.

• The Biden administration is reportedly considering new restrictions on the export of advanced AI models, such as those powering ChatGPT, as there is currently little government oversight on selling or offering AI model services to foreign entities.

🍏 Apple appears to be lagging behind its Big Tech rivals in the AI race, with analysts calling for more clarity on its AI strategy at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Read More

• While OpenAI and Google unveiled impressive AI assistants this month, Apple's recent announcement focused on thinner iPads, leaving the company looking "ridiculous" in comparison.

• Analysts suggest Apple may need to partner with OpenAI or Google to catch up in the AI field, as closing the gap on its own would be nearly impossible.

• Despite the current perception, some analysts believe Apple's rumored integration of OpenAI or Google's Gemini into the next iPhone could still position the company well in the AI "Game of Thrones."

🤗 Hugging Face is donating $10 million worth of shared GPU resources through its new ZeroGPU program to help developers, academics, and startups create AI technologies without the burden of high computational costs. Read More

• The initiative aims to counter the centralization of AI advancements by tech giants like Google and OpenAI, which have a significant advantage due to their vast financial resources and proprietary models.

• ZeroGPU will be accessible via Hugging Face's Spaces platform, using Nvidia A100 GPUs to provide cost-effective and energy-efficient compute resources to multiple users concurrently, eliminating the need for long-term commitments or usage predictions.

• Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue believes that the open-source approach will lead to a more decentralized AI landscape, preventing the concentration of power in the hands of a few organizations and fostering collaboration and transparency in AI development.

🚨 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's long-awaited AI road map has been heavily criticized by watchdogs and experts for prioritizing industry interests over establishing necessary guardrails around the emerging technology. Read More

• Despite a yearlong series of "insight forums" with over 150 experts, including tech leaders and civil rights advocates, the road map is being called a disappointment by top AI ethicists who feel their concerns were not adequately addressed.

• The road map dedicates more than four pages to detailing how Congress should support U.S. innovation in AI with billions in funding, while sections on privacy, liability, and elections are significantly shorter, with civil rights mentioned only once.

• Critics worry that the U.S. is at risk of repeating the same mistakes made during the rise of social media, with the road map's focus on pumping money into AI research and development while neglecting broader rights and ethics issues.

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