🗞 OpenAI's 'Strawberry': New AI Model with Advanced Reasoning 🍓

🔎 The Latest on the AI Frontier:

• OpenAI's 'Strawberry': New AI Model with Advanced Reasoning 🍓

• Google Co-Founder Urges Engineers to Embrace AI in Coding 🧠

• Google Cloud's AI Dominance: 60% of Startups Choose Their Tech ☁️

• Adobe Firefly Expands: AI-Powered Video Creation on the Horizon 🎥

• Mistral's Pixtral 12B: Entering the Multimodal AI Arena 🖼️

• Microsoft Copilot Faces Security Scrutiny Amid Rapid Adoption 🔐

• Meta's AI Training Sparks Privacy Concerns in Australia 📸

• Google's Carbon Removal Milestone: $100 per Ton Deal 🌿

• AWS Leverages Partnerships for AI Market Advantage 🤝

• Amazon Brings AI Predictions to NFL Broadcasts 🏈

• AWS Commits £8 Billion to UK Cloud Infrastructure 💷

• Cerebras Claims AI Chip Breakthrough: 20x Faster Than Nvidia ⚡

• Invoke's AI Tool Revolutionizes Game Art Creation Process 🎨

• Expert: Chinese AI Models Trail US, but Apps May Surge Ahead 🐉

• ServiceNow Introduces AI Agents in Latest Platform Update 🤖

• Debate Heats Up Over AI's Role in Higher Education 📚

• Nvidia GPU Transformed into Luxury Handbag: Fashion Meets Tech 👜

• Exowatt's Solar Solution for Data Center Energy Needs 🔋

• Nevada Explores Google AI for Unemployment Appeals ⚖️

• Elon Musk's Bizarre Tweet to Taylor Swift Raises Eyebrows 🎤

• Perplexity AI: Promising Search Alternative, Not Quite Google-Ready 🔍

• Innovative Roboticist Creates Walking Table for Snack Delivery 🚶‍♂️

🍓 OpenAI to release new 'thinking' AI model Strawberry within 2 weeks. Link

• Strawberry can solve novel math problems and "thinks" before answering questions.

• The model aims to enhance AI's advanced reasoning and complex information processing capabilities.

• OpenAI now has over 1 million paying business users across its enterprise products.

🧑‍💻 Google co-founder: Engineers not using AI enough for coding. Link

• Sergey Brin says Google engineers are conservative in their approach to using AI for coding tasks.

• Brin praised AI's coding abilities, citing an experiment where it quickly generated Sudoku puzzles.

• He suggests Google was initially "timid" about releasing early language models due to potential errors and embarrassments.

☁️ Google Cloud CEO: 60% of AI startups use our technology. Link

• Google Cloud reports 10x year-over-year growth in AI cluster usage.

• CEO Thomas Kurian says the company has found multiple ways to monetize AI.

• Kurian emphasizes a solution-focused sales approach for AI, targeting specific departments rather than IT divisions.

🎨 Adobe previews upcoming Firefly Video Model with generative AI capabilities. Link

• New Text to Video and Image to Video features will be available on Firefly.Adobe.com later this year.

• Generative Extend tool will be integrated directly into Premiere Pro for professional video editors.

• Adobe Firefly has already been used to generate over 12 billion images globally.

🖼️ Mistral releases Pixtral 12B, its first multimodal AI model. Link

• The 12-billion-parameter model can process both text and images, similar to OpenAI's GPT-4 and Anthropic's Claude.

• Pixtral 12B is available for download and fine-tuning, with commercial use requiring a paid license.

• The model's release follows Mistral's recent $645 million funding round that valued the company at $6 billion.

🔐 Microsoft Copilot faces security concerns as adoption grows. Link

• Researchers warn of potential security gaps in Copilot for Microsoft 365, including risky default settings and insufficient reporting tools.

• Key issues include broad data access that could be exploited if user accounts are compromised.

• Some companies are reportedly pausing Copilot implementations due to these security fears, despite Microsoft reporting strong sales growth.

🖼️ Meta scraping users' public photos for AI training, Australians can't opt out. Link

• Meta is using public Facebook and Instagram posts to train AI models without explicit user consent.

• European users can opt out due to GDPR privacy rules, but Australians don't have this option.

• Meta's privacy director says the opt-out in Europe was "in response to a specific legal frame," declining to say if it will be offered in Australia.

🌿 Google strikes landmark carbon removal deal at $100 per ton. Link

• Google partners with startup Holocene to remove 100,000 tons of CO2 by 2032 at $100/ton.

• Holocene claims its technology is more efficient than competitors, using a continuous chemical process.

• The deal could be a game-changer, but experts caution carbon removal isn't a substitute for emissions reduction.

☁️ AWS leverages competitors to gain AI market advantage. Link

• AWS offers a diverse range of AI models and chips, positioning itself as a marketplace rather than competing directly.

• The company projects $105 billion in revenue this year, about 17% of Amazon's total revenue.

• AWS's strategy of partnering over competing has helped its stock gain 18% year-to-date, outperforming other tech giants.

🏈 Amazon integrates AI prediction technology into NFL broadcasts. Link

• AWS's new Tackle Probability model will predict the likelihood of defenders making tackles in real-time.

• The NFL collects over 500 million data points each season using AWS's Next Gen Stats platform.

• Amazon's first "Thursday Night Football" broadcast with this technology will debut this week for the Dolphins vs. Bills game.

💻 Amazon Web Services to invest £8 billion in UK cloud infrastructure. Link

• AWS plans to build and operate data centers in the UK over the next 5 years.

• The investment aims to support growing demand for cloud computing and AI technologies from British businesses.

• AWS is competing with Microsoft and Google in the UK cloud market, while also facing regulatory scrutiny.

🖥️ New AI chip from Cerebras claims 20x faster speeds than Nvidia GPUs. Link

• Cerebras Systems launches Cerebras Inference, featuring a massive chip with 4 trillion transistors and 44GB on-chip memory.

• The new chip eliminates external memory bottlenecks, enabling significantly faster AI processing speeds.

• While Cerebras excels at specific high-end AI tasks, Nvidia's GPUs remain versatile across a wide range of applications.

🎨 Invoke launches AI-powered image generation tool for game developers. Link

• Invoke's tool allows artists to sketch ideas and have AI assist in finishing the artwork, focusing on controllability and customization.

• The company is working with major game studios and emphasizes ethical AI adoption with artist-first tools and open-source models.

• Invoke claims its technology can reduce artist workload from 5-7 days to 4-6 hours while maintaining creative control.

🤖 Chinese AI models lag US by 6-9 months, but apps may proliferate faster, says expert. Link

• Former Google China head Kai-Fu Lee estimates top Chinese AI models are 6-9 months behind US counterparts.

• Lee predicts AI apps will proliferate much faster in China by early next year due to falling training costs.

• He believes it's "inevitable" China will build the world's best AI apps, though it's unclear if big or small companies will lead.

🗣 ServiceNow unveils AI agents in latest 'Xanadu' platform release. Link

• New ServiceNow AI Agents for customer service and IT management aim to boost productivity and issue resolution.

• Platform enhancements include 350+ generative AI capabilities and a new high-performance database for improved throughput.

• First AI agents will be available in November, with plans to expand across IT, HR, procurement and more.

📕 AI in education: Potential benefits and concerns debated. Link

• New book by Alexander Sidorkin argues AI chatbots can enhance student success and reduce administrative costs in higher education.

• Sidorkin suggests AI can save time on writing tasks that don't require originality.

• However, concerns remain about students using AI to avoid critical thinking and engagement with course material.

👜 Old $20 Nvidia GPU transformed into $1,024 luxury handbag. Link

• Website "GPU Purses" selling clear plastic handbag featuring a 2014 Nvidia GT 730 graphics card for $1,024.

• Handbag includes the GPU encased in resin and a decorative fan on the exterior.

• Critics question the high price and craftsmanship, but seller claims it's a limited edition of only 10 pieces.

🔋 Sam Altman-backed Exowatt aims to power data centers with solar energy. Link

• Exowatt raised $20 million to develop ceramic batteries that can store solar energy "for weeks."

• The startup claims its technology can provide energy at $0.04 per kilowatt hour, comparable to coal.

• With data center electricity usage expected to double by 2026, Exowatt reports a 1.2 gigawatt backlog of orders from U.S. data centers.

🤖 Nevada to use Google AI for unemployment appeals decisions. Link

• Nevada plans to implement a Google-powered AI system to analyze unemployment appeals hearings and recommend decisions.

• Officials say it will speed up the process, potentially cutting decision time from hours to minutes.

• Critics worry about accuracy, privacy, and the risk of human reviewers relying too heavily on AI recommendations.

🎤 Elon Musk tweets bizarre response to Taylor Swift's Harris endorsement. Link

• Swift endorsed VP Kamala Harris for president, addressing AI-generated images that falsely showed her supporting Trump.

• Musk replied on X: "Fine Taylor, you win ... I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life."

• The Tesla CEO has previously promoted concerns about "population collapse" and fathered at least 12 children.

🔍 Perplexity AI shows promise but can't fully replace Google search yet. Link

• Perplexity offers AI-powered results with citations, but struggles with real-time info and website-specific searches.

• The AI search engine excels as a research tool for complex queries, but lacks Google's convenience for quick lookups.

• While innovative, Perplexity faces challenges in user adoption and competition from tech giants investing heavily in AI.

🚶‍♀️ Innovative roboticist creates walking table that brings snacks to you. Link

• Giliam de Carpentier's "Carpentopod" combines a 2008 walking algorithm with 12 CNC-cut bamboo legs for smooth movement.

• The remote-controlled table uses two 24VDC brushless motors, an Arduino Nano, and a custom Wii Nunchuk interface for operation.

• This fusion of robotics and furniture showcases how diverse skills accumulated over 15 years can result in groundbreaking designs.

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