Welcome to the latest edition of FindBiometrics’ AI update. Here’s the latest big news on the shifting landscape of AI and identity technology:
Celebrities are now warning their followers about deepfake-driven scams. Tom Hanks told his Instagram followers about a deepfake video that appears to depict him pitching a dental plan. The YouTuber Mr. Beast warned about a deepfake video of him that invites people to pay two dollars for a new iPhone.
A pair of members of Congress sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino asking them to explain how they’re going to tackle deepfake disinformation ahead of elections. “They are two of the largest platforms and voters deserve to know what guardrails are being put in place,” said U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Věra Jourová, the European Commission’s vice-president for values and transparency, is warning against “paranoia” among lawmakers as they grapple with how to regulate artificial intelligence. She said that there’s a risk that excessively strict regulation could hamper innovation.
The VC firm Andreessen Horowitz recently entertained talks about a potential investment in Ideogram, a Toronto-based startup focused on image generation. The negotiations would reportedly bring the Midjourney competitor, which does not generate revenues, to a pre-money valuation of $500 million.
OpenAI rival Anthropic has been negotiating to raise $2 billion in a funding round that is expected to feature Google. The company recently got a $1.25 billion commitment from Amazon, and is now pursuing a valuation in the range of $20 billion to $30 billion.
OpenAI is in talks with Jony Ive and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son about working together to build the “iPhone of artificial intelligence”. Ive was a key player in the design of multiple Apple products including the iPhone. SoftBank is reportedly willing to provide $1 billion in funding for the venture.
Major AI leaders are investing in nuclear energy to help meet the energy demands of their technologies. Microsoft is hiring for a program to build small nuclear reactors (“Small Modular Reactors” or “SMRs”) to power its data centers, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently became the chairman of Oklo, a company focused on SMRs.
Google’s newest Pixel smartphone features advanced “Class 3” facial recognition technology, according to the tech giant’s classification system. While the Pixel 8 doesn’t use the sophisticated 3D imaging featured in the Pixel 4, Google says its latest facial recognition tech was enhanced using Machine Learning and AI.
The chatbot’s take: This week, we turned to ChatGPT for some high-level analysis.
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October 6, 2023 – by Alex Perala
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