🤯 OpenAI's drama continues..

Also: Apple x OpenAI partnership soon

Author

Evolving AI
May 20, 2024

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Welcome, AI enthusiasts

Following the announcement of GPT-4o last week, a lot has happened at OpenAI. Key safety executives have left, the "Superalignment" team has been disbanded, and gag clauses. Additionally, Apple and OpenAI are planning a major announcement at WWDC 2024, and Google is redesigning its search engine with AI. Let's dive in! 

In today’s insights:

  • The OpenAI Drama continues

  • Apple and OpenAI plan a Major Announcement at WWDC

  • Google is Redesigning its Search Engine with AI

Read time: 4 minutes

🗞️ LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Source: Getty Images

Evolving AI: Since last week’s announcement of GPT-4o, OpenAI has been constantly in the headlines—unfortunately, not always for positive reasons. Here’s a roundup of the latest developments.

Key Points:

  • Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist, has announced his departure. Sutskever is considered one of the brightest minds in AI and co-lead of the “Superalignment” team.

  • Following Sutskever’s departure, Jan Leike, the other co-lead of the “Superalignment” team, also resigned. Leike criticized OpenAI on X, stating that “safety has taken a backseat to shiny products.”

  • OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman and co-founder and president Greg Brockman both took to X to respond to Leike’s criticisms. You can read Sam Altman’s statement here and Greg Brockman’s here.

  • According to Bloomberg, OpenAI has disbanded its "Superalignment" team, which focused on ensuring the safety of future highly-advanced AI systems. Their work will now be integrated into general safety research.

  • A Vox journalist uncovered that OpenAI has clauses threatening employees with the potential loss of millions of dollars in stock if they speak critically about the company after leaving. In response, Sam Altman wrote on X that he “did not know this was happening and he should have,” adding, “this is on me and one of the few times I've been genuinely embarrassed running OpenAI.”

  • Today, OpenAI released a blog post titled “How the voices for ChatGPT were chosen” and announced they are pausing the use of the voice “Sky.” This came after criticism that “Sky” imitates Scarlett Johansson’s voice from the movie “Her.”

Why It Matters:

Ironically enough, this feels like this is the product of the race dynamics that OpenAI has started. With ChatGPT they kickstarted the AI boom, people becoming increasingly more interested in AI so more money is at play, with the ultimate goal to reach AGI. Are we seeing the rumblings of a startup that is making big moves, or are the more things at play here?

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Evolving AI: The companies are preparing a major announcement of their partnership at WWDC, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reports.

Key Points:

  • Despite an early start with Siri, Apple now trails OpenAI and Google in AI capabilities

  • Apple's privacy-focused approach has limited its AI development

  • Upcoming WWDC event to showcase Apple's new AI features and OpenAI partnership

Details:

As tech giants like OpenAI and Google make rapid strides in AI, Apple finds itself playing catch-up. The company's emphasis on privacy and on-device processing has hindered its AI progress. However, Apple is set to unveil new AI features at WWDC, including improved Siri capabilities and a partnership with OpenAI. To truly compete, Apple may need to develop its own chatbot, AI-powered search engine, and accelerate its release cycle.

Why It Matters:

Apple's success in the AI era is crucial for its future. As AI becomes increasingly integral to our daily lives, falling behind could have significant consequences for the tech giant. Will Tim Cook's strategic moves and partnerships be enough to close the gap? Only time will tell if Apple can regain its innovative edge in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Evolving AI: Google is infusing AI into every aspect of its search engine, transforming how billions of users interact with information online.

Key Points:

  • AI Overviews provide AI-generated summaries for search results.

  • New search features using video and images.

  • AI organizes results based on user intent, like date night or business meeting restaurants.

Details:

Google is rolling out “AI Overviews,” offering AI-generated summaries at the top of search results, simplifying complex queries. Using the Gemini AI model, Google’s search engine can now understand inputs like videos or images and organize results based on context, such as suggesting date-night restaurants or business meeting spots. New features include automated trip itineraries and meal plans. While AI enhances complex searches, simple tasks like navigating to a website remain straightforward.

Why It Matters:

As AI transforms search, it's changing how we interact with the internet. Less typing, fewer tabs, and more conversational queries could make information access more intuitive and efficient. However, balancing creativity and factuality in AI-generated content will be crucial to maintain user trust and direct traffic to valuable web sources.

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🎯 SNAPSHOTS

Direct links to relevant AI articles.

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