OpenAI is Aware of ChatGPT’s Laziness

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December 13, 2023

OpenAI is currently investigating reports regarding user dissatisfaction with the latest iteration of ChatGPT, based on the GPT-4 model. Users have voiced concerns that the chatbot appears uncooperative and lazy in addressing their queries.

For example, when asked for a piece of code, ChatGPT might provide minimal information and prompt users to complete the task themselves. Some users found its responses to be rather sassy, with ChatGPT implying that users are fully capable of completing the task on their own.

As user complaints kept on rising on different social media platforms, ChatGPT creators OpenAI on X (formerly Twitter) through the ChatGPT account said, “We’ve heard all your feedback about GPT4 getting lazier! we haven’t updated the model since Nov 11th, and this certainly isn’t intentional. Model behavior can be unpredictable, and we’re looking into fixing it.”

The response wasn’t convincing enough for people, as one user on X replied to that same thread where ChatGPT posted their “awareness of the issue” tweet. The user pointed out one important factor: even if the model hasn’t been updated, how can it change or get lazy when it’s just a file?

Although OpenAI did not succinctly point out the reason for ChatGPT’s laziness, they did reply to the user, saying, “To be clear, the idea is not that the model has somehow changed itself since Nov 11th. It’s just that differences in model behavior can be subtle — only a subset of prompts may be degraded, and it may take a long time for customers and employees to notice and fix these patterns.”

However, user complaints about ChatGPT’s declining accuracy aren’t a recent occurrence. Reports of it being dumber and inaccurate date back as far as six months ago, which OpenAI refuted, unlike this time.

What happens next is to be seen. As the AI race is getting heated up with more and more highly efficient LLM models like Grok and Gemini-powered Bard catching up with ChatGPT, a slight lack of focus from OpenAI might cost them a lot of users as choices are in abundance.

ISRO Releases its Datasets that can be Freely Accessed by All

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Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 12, 2023

India’s space research organization, ISRO, has made its datasets freely accessible to all. ISRO is granting access to an extensive archive of Remote Sensing data sourced from 44 satellites, encompassing both Indian and Foreign Remote Sensors accumulated since 1986. Additionally, they facilitate the regional distribution of Sentinel and LandSat data within India.

Out of the datasets released by ISRO, one of them is Cartosat DEM. This dataset gives you free access to a detailed elevation model derived from Cartosat-1 satellite data. It provides 30-meter resolution coverage for all of India’s land. You can use this data for many things, like making maps, studying water systems, and handling disasters better.

Another data released for free access is Resourcesat-2. This dataset offers free access to orthorectified satellite images. The images have a 23-meter resolution and cover the entire land area of India. Thanks to its high-resolution LISS-3 and LISS-4 cameras, they are incredibly useful for tasks like mapping land use, planning infrastructure, monitoring the environment, agricultural monitoring, and disaster management.

ISRO also released Oceansat datasets. The Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) and Scatterometer are tools on the Oceansat series of satellites. OCM offers valuable details on chlorophyll concentration, which is a big deal when it comes to understanding phytoplankton growth. If you are already confused about the technicality, then in simple words, it helps us understand how healthy and productive our ocean is. You can study marine life and fishing, spot harmful algal blooms, and even grasp how climate change affects our oceans.

A scatterometer, on the other hand, helps measure speed and direction across the ocean. It’s key for predicting weather, figuring out how our climate works, ensuring ships take the safest route, checking out the potential for wind energy at sea, and even understanding how the ocean moves around.

Lastly, the IRS-1A, IRS-1C, and IRS-1D datasets are also released by ISRO. These datasets can help you understand environmental studies such as agricultural monitoring and environmental cropping.

Audio Generation Tool, Audiobox, Introduced by Meta

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Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 12, 2023

Meta introduced the Audiobox as their latest foundational research model for audio generation. Within this family of models are specialized versions such as Audiobox Speech and Audiobox Sound.

These models enable the creation of voices and sound effects by amalgamating voice inputs with natural language prompts, catering to diverse audio needs. Underlying these variants is the Audiobox SSL, a self-supervised model forming the common foundation for all Audiobox iterations.

Audiobox further permits users to merge an audio voice input alongside a textual style prompt, facilitating the synthesis of speech in various environments or emotional tones, such as speaking in a cathedral or expressing sadness at a slower pace.

The inclusion of text and voice inputs significantly amplifies Audiobox’s controllability in contrast to other Meta inventions like Voicebox. Audiobox empowers users to utilize text description prompts to specify and manipulate sound effects, expanding the range of controllable features. When combined, the voice input establishes the fundamental timbre, while the text prompt becomes a tool for altering other attributes.

Audiobox inherits Voicebox’s guided audio generation training objective and flow-matching modeling method, enabling audio infilling. This capability permits users to refine sound effects, such as incorporating diverse thunder sounds into a rain soundscape, enhancing the model’s versatility.

Google’s NotebookLM Helps You Take Online Notes

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Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 11, 2023

Google has unveiled NotebookLM, its experimental AI-powered online note-taking application previously accessible to chosen users via a waitlist. It is now open to all users across the United States upon their voluntary opt-in and is offered free of charge.

NotebookLM, a collaboration with author Steven Johnson, enables users to consolidate multiple documents from their computers on Google Drive into a unified digital notepad. Users can engage with Google’s AI by asking questions that the AI can answer using the uploaded documents.

The AI tool has also got some recent updates; one of them is integrating the notebook with the Gemini AI model, Google’s most advanced AI chatbot. Apart from this, NotebookLM has undergone various other enhancements, allowing it to analyze and reference up to 20 documents simultaneously, with a capacity of 200,000 words per document.

NotebookLM faces one significant limitation: it lacks the capability to analyze or explore web links, even when included by the user in their notes. This omission appears substantial, particularly for a company like Google, known for its extensive crawling and indexing of the entire web.

Rather than allowing direct analysis of web content, users must manually save and upload webpage PDFs or copy and paste the text into a Google Doc within their Google Drive for NotebookLM to access and reference that information.

Air Space Intelligence, an AI Startup, Receives Funding worth $34 Million

By

Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 11, 2023

Air Space Intelligence AI Funding — Source: Andreessen Horowitz

Air Space Intelligence Inc., an AI startup focusing on air travel, secured $34 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz to ramp up its engagement with the US Department of Defense.

Recognized for its technology likened to “Waze for air travel,” the company has historically provided its tools to commercial carriers like Alaska Airlines.

Their primary offering, Flyways, assists flight dispatchers in selecting optimal routes for aircraft, considering variables such as air traffic, weather conditions, and airport statuses.

With the recent funding injection, Air Space intends to bolster its workforce, aiming to potentially double its current staff to 160 individuals. The focus lies on expanding its Washington presence. Despite the company’s San Francisco roots, the company relocated to DC last year and anticipates significant growth for the office there.

The recent funding round has reportedly elevated Air Space’s valuation to around $300 million, as per sources familiar with the matter who preferred anonymity due to the confidential nature of details. The startup has not provided any information on the either on the company’s current valuation.

Is Grok the First-Ever Politically Incorrect AI Chatbot?

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Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 11, 2023

Grok, an AI bot similar to Open AIs ChatGPT, was launched by xAI, Elon Musk’s AI startup on X (previously known as Twitter).

At its core, Grok relies on a generative model named Grok-1. This model was trained using data from the web (up to Q3 2023) and insights gathered from human assistants. Distinguishing itself from other chatbots, Grok can integrate real-time information from X’s posts into its responses, potentially providing the latest updates when answering questions.

Grok operates conversationally, leveraging a knowledge base akin to ChatGPT and Google Bard. It resides in the X side menu across web, iOS, and Android platforms and can be easily accessed by adding it to the bottom menu on X’s mobile apps for faster use.

Elon Musk has said that Grok possesses a witty and rebellious nature, being more open to addressing controversial questions compared to other AI systems. When asked to be less formal, Grok used explicit language, which is a stark diversion from the politically correct responses of Bard or ChatGPT.

Grok just passed my sanity check pic.twitter.com/HYN3KTkRyX
— Jim Fan (@DrJimFan) December 7, 2023

Jokes and foul language apart, Grok's responses are so entertaining because it sounds way more intelligent than the other ChatLLM apps

Fundamentally, the safety RLHF makes the other LLMs dumber… You are killing off part of the LLM brain by overly censoring it.

h/t… pic.twitter.com/rhZQff4rdp
— Bindu Reddy (@bindureddy) December 7, 2023

Embracing its edgy persona, X introduced a roast feature on Grok’s home screen, where Grok humorously critiqued a user based on their recent X post history. As per the latest reactions by users, Grok’s responses are more nuanced than any other existing chatbots.

OH MY GOODNESS

I JUST GOT ACCESS TO GROK AND IT ROASTED MY X ACCOUNT

THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY HILLARIOUS

ELONS BRINGING HUMOR BACK TO AI pic.twitter.com/3mjrXIxO80
— amit (@amitisinvesting) December 7, 2023

Grok is initially available to U.S. users subscribed to X Premium Plus. The plan costs $16 per month for an ad-free social network experience. Priority access is granted to longstanding subscribers.

The EU Reached an Agreement on AI Act for the Responsible Use of AI

By

Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 11, 2023

European Union policymakers reached an agreement on the AI Act, a comprehensive law aimed at regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI). This groundbreaking legislation serves as a global standard, balancing the potential benefits of AI with efforts to mitigate associated risks such as job automation, online misinformation, and threats to national security.

European policymakers focus on regulating the riskiest applications of AI in both corporate and government realms, particularly in law enforcement and essential services like water and energy.

The AI Act introduces new transparency requirements for creators of major general-purpose AI systems. Additionally, the guidelines specify that any content created by AI, such as deepfakes, must be clearly labeled as AI-generated.

The law also imposes restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology (an impending concern by the EU) by law enforcement and governments, except in specific safety and national scenarios. Companies found violating these regulations could face fines of up to 7 percent of their global sales.

After three days of negotiations in Brussels, which included a 22-hour session starting Wednesday afternoon and stretching out into Thursday, the final agreement was not immediately disclosed. Further discussions were anticipated to finalize technical details, potentially causing delays in the ultimate approval process.

The legislation requires votes in both the Parliament and the European Council, representing the 27 countries in the union. The AI Act has been a longstanding dream of the EU to regulate the responsible use of AI. The EU first announced its decision to draft such a policy came back in August 2022.

MaintainX Offering Industrial Maintenance Secured $50 Million in Funding

By

Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 8, 2023

MaintainX funding 50 million — Source: MaintainX

On Wednesday, MaintainX, a San Francisco-headquartered startup offering industrial maintenance software, disclosed securing $50 million in a Series C round. Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), a prominent investor in growth-stage companies, spearheaded this funding round.

This infusion of funds, making the company’s valuation at $1 billion and its induction into this year’s unicorn club, is set to fuel MaintainX’s expansion in research and development, bolster its artificial intelligence capacities, and further broaden its customer reach.

Established in 2018, the company provides a mobile platform enabling frontline workers to engage with their managers, monitor tasks, access manuals and checklists, and promptly report issues in real time.

Additionally, the platform gathers and assesses data from diverse sources, including sensors, equipment usage, etc, to offer valuable insights and suggestions aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and minimizing downtime.

The software from MaintainX is currently embraced by over 6,500 customers spanning diverse industries like manufacturing, energy, hospitality, and food and beverage. Among its notable clientele are Duracell, Marriott, AB InBev, McDonald’s, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Cloud-Only Approach is the New Philosophy of Air India

By

Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 7, 2023

Air India Cloud — Source: people matters

Air India has shut down its data centers in New Delhi and Mumbai, migrating a significant portion of its computational workload to the cloud.

The airline owned by Tata Group announced that the shift is anticipated to aid Air India in conserving $1 million on a yearly basis. According to Ramaswamy, the chief digital and technology officer at Air India, the company has embraced a “Cloud-only” approach to its computational infrastructure.

Ramaswamy highlighted that, for them, the cloud represents more than just financial savings and operational streamlining; it embodies a fundamental reimagining of computing principles. He further added that a strategic combination of Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service methodologies have been adopted. This approach enables the company to innovate at a quicker pace.

Air India’s resource migration to the cloud was overseen by their teams located in Silicon Valley, the US, as well as Gurugram and Kochi in India.

Computational workloads, previously housed on numerous mainframes, hundreds of servers, substantial data volumes, and hundreds of pieces of equipment, underwent migration to the cloud.

As per the statement, the now-shut data centers had previously powered innovations and automated various aspects of the airline’s commercial and financial operations.

AstraZeneca and Absci Will Work Together to Develop a Cancer Drug

By

Boudhayan Ghosh

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December 7, 2023

Absci AstraZeneca Cancer drug — Source: Contract Pharma

AstraZeneca has entered a deal potentially worth $247 million with AI biologics company Absci to develop a cancer treatment.

Absci Corporation, known for its AI-based antibody discovery, is teaming up with AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company. They aim to leverage Absci’s technology and AstraZeneca’s oncology expertise to expedite the discovery of a drug that can treat cancer.

Absci’s Integrated drug creation platform utilizes generative AI and scalable wet-lab technologies. It generates exclusive data by assessing millions of protein-protein interactions. This data serves to train Absci’s unique AI models and subsequently validate antibodies designed through AI models.

Puja Sapra, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Biologics Engineering & Oncology Targeted Delivery at AstraZeneca, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, citing it as an exciting chance to employ Absci’s de novo AI antibody creation platform for developing a potential new antibody therapy in oncology.

The agreement comprises initial fees, research funding, milestone payments, and royalties from product sales.