Plus, a new site gives bounties for deepfakes.
AI Predicts Heart Attack Risk 10 Years in Advance
Researchers at the University of Oxford discovered that AI technology can be used to predict the risk of a heart attack up to 10 years in advance. By analyzing data from over 40,000 patients who underwent routine cardiac CT scans, the AI tool accurately identified patients at high risk, even if their heart arteries showed no signs of disease. This discovery has the potential to save thousands of lives and improve treatment for nearly half of all patients. The British Heart Foundation funded the study and hopes to implement the AI tool across the NHS, thereby preventing countless avoidable deaths from heart attacks each year.
AI Deals in Hollywood: An Early Blow in Labor’s Fight Against Exploitation
The recent SAG-AFTRA deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has shed light on the growing concern of AI threatening workers’ rights. While all three major Hollywood unions have secured AI protections in their deals, SAG has gone further to demand safeguards for actors regardless of their status. The agreements acknowledge AI’s immediate existential threat to actors and other creative workers. However, they also highlight the lack of ironclad legal language to fully protect artists from AI exploitation, necessitating ongoing efforts to regulate the power of Big Tech.
Civitai’s Bounty Bonanza: AI Marketplace Encourages Creation of Disturbing Deepfakes
Civitai, a popular online AI marketplace, has recently introduced “bounties” to incentivize users to develop convincing deepfake models of real individuals. These bounties typically target celebrities, influencers, and even private individuals, with a focus on recreating their likenesses. Unfortunately, this has led to the creation and proliferation of non-consensual sexual images across the internet, facilitated by AI technology. Civitai claims to forbid the creation of non-consensual AI-generated sexual images but allows both sexual and non-sexual images of public figures or regular people separately. The ease and speed with which these deepfakes can be generated raise concerns about the potential misuse and consequences of such technology.
AI Robot Chemist Makes Oxygen-Making Molecule on Mars
In a groundbreaking development, an AI-powered robot chemist has successfully synthesized compounds that could generate oxygen from water on Mars. This discovery could significantly impact future crewed missions to the Red Planet by providing a cost-effective solution for producing oxygen locally, eliminating the need to transport it from Earth. Using meteorites from Mars, the AI chemist identified the best catalyst that can split water molecules and produce oxygen in Mars-like temperatures. The remarkable efficiency of the AI chemist allowed it to experiment and test millions of molecules within six weeks, a task that would have taken a human scientist thousands of years. The researchers are now planning to explore further possibilities for the AI chemist on Mars.
Silo AI Launches Poro: A Revolutionary Open-Source AI-Language Model
Helsinki-based startup Silo AI has introduced Poro, an open-source large language model designed to advance the capabilities of multilingual AI for European languages. Named after the Finnish word for “reindeer,” Poro is the first model in a series that aims to cover all 24 official languages of the European Union. Silo AI, in collaboration with the University of Turku, developed Poro using a cross-lingual training approach to address the challenge of training natural language models for lower-resourced languages.
Google Takes Legal Action Against Scammers Impersonating AI Chatbot
Google is suing five unidentified scammers who deceived individuals searching for Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, into downloading malware onto their computers. The scammers created fake social media accounts to promote a counterfeit version of Bard, which, upon downloading, installed malicious software that allowed the scammers to gain access to users’ social media accounts.
YouTube Vs. AI Musicians: The Battle for Authenticity
YouTube has announced its plan to crack down on AI clones of musicians, giving music labels the ability to take down content that mimics an artist’s unique voice. Starting next year, YouTube will require creators to label “realistic” AI-generated content when uploading videos. Failure to do so may result in penalties such as takedowns and demonetization. There will be two sets of content guidelines for AI-generated deepfakes: one for music industry partners and another for everyone else.
Robots Revolutionize Japanese Agriculture as Artificial Intelligence Leads the Way
With severe labor shortages in Japanese agriculture, AI-equipped robots are increasingly being used to handle labor-intensive tasks. Large-scale greenhouse farmers are at the forefront of this smart agriculture revolution, leasing AI robots developed by venture businesses. The robots are equipped with cameras and AI technology that analyze images to determine the optimal time to harvest crops. One robot used by a cucumber farm accurately cuts ripe cucumbers every two minutes, alleviating labor shortages and boosting efficiency. Another company has developed an AI-equipped robot that harvests cherry tomatoes, further demonstrating the potential of AI in agriculture. This robotic revolution is just the beginning, with experts predicting increased adoption and advancements in AI technology.