Welcome, AI enthusiasts

US whistleblower Edward Snowden heavily criticizes OpenAI for adding a former NSA chief to its board, saying: “They've gone full mask-off.” In other news, Nvidia has released open-source models and weight models that are showing strong numbers in benchmarks against other AI models, and a recent study shows a 21% decline in digital freelancing jobs. Let’s dive in!

In today’s insights:

• Edward Snowden Heavily Criticizes OpenAI's new Board Member

• Nvidia’s new Model Revolutionizes Synthetic Data and Rivals GPT-4

• AI Impact on Freelancers

Read time: 4 minutes

🗞️ LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

EDWARD SNOWDEN
🚨 Edward Snowden Heavily Criticizes OpenAI's new Board Member

Evolving AI: Whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks out on Twitter/X and issues a stark warning following a controversial board appointment at OpenAI.

Key Points:

• Edward Snowden expresses distrust in OpenAI after the appointment of former NSA director, Paul Nakasone, to the board.

• Snowden argues that integrating AI with mass surveillance could lead to unprecedented, unaccountable power.

• Nakasone's role focuses on AI and cybersecurity, amidst internal critiques of OpenAI's safety culture.

Details:

Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor and whistleblower, has criticized OpenAI for appointing former NSA director Paul Nakasone to its board, viewing it as a betrayal of public trust. Snowden fears the merging of AI with extensive surveillance data could dangerously empower a select few. The critique comes as OpenAI faces internal concerns about AI safety and its collaborations on cybersecurity with the U.S. military. Meanwhile, Snowden also challenges the broader AI community, accusing some projects of manipulating political biases.

Why It Matters:

Edward Snowden's warning highlights the growing tension between technological advancement, privacy rights, and the increasing influence of governments in this space. Is OpenAI's appointment of a former NSA chief to its board solely focused on the company's safety, or is there really more at play here?

NVIDIA
🚀 Nvidia’s new Model Revolutionizes Synthetic Data and Rivals GPT-4

Evolving AI: Nvidia launches a powerful new model for synthetic data generation, setting a new industry standard.

Key Points:

• The Nemotron-4 340B, previously known as "june-chatbot," officially debuts with capabilities that promise to transform synthetic data use across industries.

• With training on 9 trillion tokens and support for 50+ languages, Nemotron-4 340B rivals other leading models like GPT-4 and Meta’s Llama3-70B.

• The model’s licensing opens the door for wide-ranging commercial applications, from healthcare to advanced financial services.

Details:

Nvidia’s recent unveiling of the Nemotron-4 340B model has sparked significant excitement within the AI community. This model, part of a broader family including base, instruct, and reward models, stands out for its impressive training on 9 trillion tokens and support for multiple languages and programming languages. Its performance on the RewardBench leaderboard highlights its potential. The model's commercial-friendly licensing is set to democratize AI technology, enabling companies of all sizes to leverage advanced synthetic data for domain-specific needs. With the introduction of the HelpSteer2 dataset, Nvidia continues to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve in practical applications.

Why It Matters:

Nvidia's Nemotron-4 340B could redefine how industries like healthcare and finance use AI, making sophisticated, data-driven decision-making more accessible and impactful. In benchmarks, the instruction model typically outperforms other open-source and -weights models, and in some cases outperforms GPT-4. Nvidia also makes the models available for commercial use under an open model license.

JOB MARKET
🔄 AI Impact on Freelancers

Evolving AI: Freelancers face AI competition as digital job market shifts.

Key Points:

• Recent research highlights a 21% decline in digital freelancing jobs in automation-prone areas due to ChatGPT.

• Sectors like writing, software development, and image generation are most affected.

• Opportunities for freelancers who adapt and specialize in areas requiring human creativity and emotional intelligence.

Details:

A collaborative study by Imperial College Business School, Harvard Business School, and the German Institute for Economic Research has documented significant declines in freelance job postings since ChatGPT's inception in November 2022. Particularly impacted are fields prone to automation such as writing, software, app development, and graphic design. However, it's not all doom and gloom. The research suggests that while some jobs are disappearing, new roles are emerging that require nuanced human skills. To stay relevant, freelancers are advised to diversify their skill sets and embrace AI to enhance productivity and the quality of their work. Building a strong personal brand and networking are also essential to overcoming AI challenges.

Why It Matters:

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: adaptation and innovation are key as AI reshapes the freelancing landscape, presenting both challenges and new opportunities. If you want to stay competitive in both the current and future job markets, the best time to act is now. Begin integrating tools like ChatGPT into your workflow to familiarize yourself with AI. As the technology advances, you’ll already have significant experience on how to leverage AI effectively for your needs.

🔎 AI in Research

2024 is the year AI at work gets real.

Microsoft and LinkedIn's latest Work Trend Index Annual Report highlights a significant rise in AI integration in the workplace, dubbing 2024 as the 'year AI at work gets real.'

Key findings include:

• AI usage among knowledge workers has doubled over the past six months, with 75% now engaging with the technology in some form.

• About 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools to work, yet 52% hesitate to disclose this.

• Sixty-six percent of leaders wouldn’t hire a candidate lacking AI skills, and 71% would choose a less experienced individual with AI proficiency over one with more experience but no AI skills.

• AI power users experience increased productivity, creativity, and job satisfaction than those skeptical of the technology.

You can read the full report here →

💰️ OpenAI: OpenAI CEO says company could become for-profit corporation.

🍔 McDonalds: McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now.

🍎 Apple: Tim Cook admits Apple may never be able to make its AI stop lying.

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