[[AUDIO TRANSCRIPT AI.Nexus Weekly Roundup for July 02]]

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[Ben:]

Hi, I'm Ben, and today is Sunday, July 2nd. This is your Weekly Roundup from AI.Nexus, the best source for fun and up to date news, analysis, and discussions about artificial intelligence.

In the next five minutes we'll deep-dive into the nexus of AI and geopolitics, followed by the latest news in learning and development, and cap it off with the buzz on recent fundraising news.

I'm here today with my colleague, Charlotte.

[Charlotte;]

Great to be here, Ben. Today, we’re dissecting the intricate landscape of American companies’ collaborations with China in AI development. A recent Fox News article by Patrick Murphy, the 32nd under secretary of the Army and the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress has ignited discussion on this topic.

China’s AI progression, especially in military applications, has been substantial, and astonishingly, American companies have had a hand in this.

[Ben:]

That’s right. Patrick Murphy emphasizes the necessity for a National AI Strategy in the US. This strategy would be a guiding framework that amalgamates security, ethics, and innovation.

And what’s surprising is that these American companies, lured by China’s massive market, may not fully grasp the repercussions of how their technology could be exploited. There’s a thin line between healthy global collaboration and jeopardizing national security. Microsoft, for instance, is in the spotlight for their active collaboration with China in computer vision, a crucial component of AI technology.

[Charlotte:]

No wonder the US is worried about Nvidia. As a juggernaut in the semiconductor world, Nvidia’s chips are indispensable in AI systems. The US Commerce Department is now contemplating restrictions on exporting these chips to China.

Interestingly, Nvidia attempted to comply with earlier restrictions by developing an alternative AI chip, the A800. But now, the Biden administration is weighing up even stricter controls.

[Ben:]

This has already sent ripples through the market. On June 28th, Nvidia’s stock took a hit, and the CFO indicated that long-term repercussions could be in store.

[Charlotte:]

To add to this discussion, let me tell you about an interesting development in Israel. On June 27th, Reuters reported that Israel's Shin Bet security service has incorporated artificial intelligence into its operations. According to the director, Ronen Bar, Shin Bet has developed a generative AI platform similar to ChatGPT. AI is utilized to detect anomalies in surveillance data and sift through an abundance of intelligence, functioning as a collaborative co-pilot.

[Ben:]

I also took note that Bar stressed the importance of cooperation between the commercial tech sector and government agencies. He emphasized that Israel must review Shin Bet-related laws and redefine official secrecy in light of AI capabilities.

Bar believes it’s essential for AI’s progression to be evolutionary and not revolutionary, which reminded me of the prime principle from the handbook released by the Pope and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics: actions should serve the Common Good of Humanity and the Environment.

[Charlotte:]

That was surprising and exciting to hear that the Vatican has decided to delve into the world of AI ethics. What stands out to me is the practicality of their handbook. Titled "Ethics in the Age of Disruptive Technologies: An Operational Roadmap", it doesn’t just stop at outlining broad principles. Instead, the handbook gets into the nitty-gritty with seven specific guidelines and forty-six actionable steps, even delving into contemporary issues like data collection and privacy.

[Ben:]

Absolutely, Charlotte! Plus, the fact that the handbook focusing on practicality means that this isn't just an academic exercise. The Pope and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics are genuinely trying to guide real-world decisions and actions.

[Charlotte:]

Speaking of real world actions, Microsoft has launched the AI Skills Initiative, offering free coursework in collaboration with LinkedIn, and an open grant program with data dot org, to encourage organizations to develop training in generative AI.

Meanwhile, Google has announced the first Machine Unlearning Challenge, aimed at advancing the emergent subfield of machine unlearning, which focuses on removing the influence of specific data from trained AI models. The competition, hosted on Kaggle, will evaluate algorithms based on their effectiveness in forgetting selected data and maintaining model utility, fostering the development of efficient and ethical unlearning methods.

And in less positive news, OpenAI and Microsoft face a class-action lawsuit, accused of collecting personal information without consent through OpenAI's scraping of 300 billion words from the internet. This lawsuit is seeking $3 billion in damages and demanding stricter AI safeguards.

[Ben:]

Before we wrap up, we wanted to congratulate Inflection AI, a startup founded just over a year ago, for raising a staggering $1.3 billion! They've introduced Pi, a chatbot rivaling ChatGPT.
Also, kudos to AI startup Runway, which secured an additional $141 million and is making waves in generative AI with its video-creating model Gen-2 and an AI Film Festival.

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And that does it for this week! Thanks for joining us at AI dot Nexus, where every Sunday our Weekly Roundup summarizes all the AI news you may have missed. Point your browser to AI.Nexus for the latest expert articles, product news, discussions, technical resources, and experiments in art, music, and creativity! Be kind to yourself, take care of someone if you can, and have a great week! See you on the web….

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