AI Edition - It's AI Time - 90 [13-07-2024]

AI Edition - It's AI Time - 90

Softbank expands AI empire

Both parties remain tight-lipped on the commercials of the acquisition and “have agreed not to go into the details,” but reports suggest that Graphcore was acquired for somewhere in the region of $500-$600M.

The acquisition closed after national security and regulatory approval were given from relevant bodies in the UK and US, which was unusually quick, given acquisition talks began in February.

Graphcore will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Softbank but will continue to operate as ‘Graphcore’, with co-founders Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles remaining the CEO and CTO, respectively.

New bill stops content theft 

The bill is designed to prevent AI companies from using content creators' work to train AI models without consent or compensation, and (if passed) will make removing digital watermarks illegal.

It requires tech companies that develop AI models to allow content creators to attach machine-readable information, documenting the origin and history of a piece of digital content, to their work.

This will give artists, creators, and publishers the right to sue companies if their watermarks have been altered or removed, or if their work was used without permission or compensation.

Google robots take over office

DeepMind employees ask the robots to complete tasks, starting with “Ok, Robot” and the robots respond with “Ok, give me a minute. Thinking with Gemini…” before completing the task.

Tasks they can complete include guiding employees to a power outlet after being shown a mobile and asked “Where can I charge this”, and following directions on a simple map.

The robots have been trained on hours of video footage and tours of the 9,000+ ft office space, where landmarks are pointed out, verbally, so they can respond to written, drawn, and gesture commands.