Zoom Introduces New AI Companion for Subscription Users

By

-

September 7, 2023

The generative AI digital assistant Zoom AI Companion, formerly known as Zoom IQ, has been made available to users of Zoom’s subscription services at no extra cost, according to a blog from Zoom Video Communications.

The introduction of AI Companion supports Zoom‘s mission to enable limitless human interaction on a single platform, enabling individuals to be more productive, develop new skills, and work more effectively in teams. Zoom’s federated AI method reduces costs while producing high-quality results by dynamically combining its own large language models with those from outside language models with those from outside sources like Meta Llama 2, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Based on this exclusive approach, Zoom AI Companion offers strong, real-time digital assistant capabilities to aid users. Customers of Zoom can anticipate the presence of AI Companion across the entire platform, including Meetings, Team Chat, Phone, Email, and Whiteboard.

Users of Zoom Meetings can review summaries and next steps more quickly, watch recordings faster through highlights and smart chapters, and catch up on missed meetings with AI companion. Users can also save time by composing responses in Zoom Team discussion by using AI Companion, which enables them to quickly write answers based on the context of a discussion thread and to alter tone and length.

Users of Zoom Whiteboard will be able to use their whiteboard content to make visuals and fill in blank whiteboard templates, and AI Companion will assist them in producing and categorizing ideas. Additionally, Zoom Mail users will have access to additional email ideas starting in the early fall. They also will be able to add meeting summaries to Zoom Notes and summarize meetings by the spring of 2024.

Intel Signs Foundry Deal with Tower Semiconductors After Failed Acquisition

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 7, 2023

Intel foundry deal Tower Semiconductors — Image Credits: Tower Semiconductors

Two weeks after withdrawing its bid to purchase Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion owing to regulatory opposition, Intel has announced a contract to provide foundry services and manufacturing capacity to the firm.

In accordance with the new agreement, Tower will invest up to $300 million to purchase and own machinery and other assets that will be put in the US state of New Mexico-based Intel Foundry Services’ manufacturing facility.

As part of the agreement, Intel has agreed to produce Tower’s 65-nanometer power management BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) flows. Tower operates its own manufacturing plants in Israel (150mm and 200mm), the United States (200mm), Japan (200mm and 300mm), and shortly Italy, thanks to a partnership with STMicroelectronics.

According to Intel, this agreement would enable Tower to provide complex analogue processing for 300mm and meet anticipated client demand while increasing its monthly capacity by approximately 600,000 photo layers.

Due to difficulties in getting crucial regulatory licenses, particularly in China, Intel had to abandon the plan to buy Israel’s Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 billion last month. According to the terms of the contract, Tower would get a $353 million termination fee from Intel.

“We started Intel Foundry Services with the long-term goal of offering the first open system foundry in the world, combining the best of Intel and our ecosystem with a safe, sustainable, and resilient supply chain. We’re happy that Tower recognizes the special value we offer and chose us to launch their 300mm U.S. capacity corridor,” said Stuart Pann, senior vice president of Intel and general manager of Intel Foundry Services.

Meta and Central Government Launch ‘Education to Entrepreneurship’ Initiative

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 6, 2023

Meta and Central Government Launch ‘Education to Entrepreneurship’ Initiative — Image Credits: Meta

Meta announced a three-year partnership with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to empower students, educators, and entrepreneurs across India. This partnership will bring together Meta’s work across education and skilling, mapping the journey of India’s students from the classroom to the workforce.

As part of the partnership, Meta signed three Letters of Intent (LoI), one with a national-level council for technical education; one with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE); and one with the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), which conducts training, consulting, and research to promote entrepreneurship and skill development in India.

One million entrepreneurs will have access to Meta’s digital marketing expertise over the course of the next three years as a part of collaboration with NIESBUD. Additionally, aspiring and established business owners will receive training in digital marketing techniques using Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram in 7 regional languages.

Moreover, 50 impact stories from regional languages will also be identified. The initiative’s implementation partners are Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, “Education to Entrepreneurship’ partnership is a game-changer, which will take Digital Skilling to the grassroots. This will build capacities of our talent pool, seamlessly connect students, youth, workforce & micro-entrepreneurs, with futuristic technologies and transform our Amrit Peedhi into new-age problem solvers and entrepreneurs.”

G20 Summit to Feature AI-Generated Avatar to Welcome World Leaders

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 6, 2023

Image Credits: NDTV

According to reports cited by Press Trust of India, the G20 Summit would include a “Mother of Democracy” exhibition at Bharat Mandapam, where Heads of State and other senior officials will be greeted by an “avatar” generated by artificial intelligence.

The textual content, along with its audio, is offered in 16 worldwide languages, including English, French, Mandarin, Italian, Korean, and Japanese, authorities told PTI. The exhibition will highlight India’s democratic traditions from the “Vedic period to the modern era.”

According to PTI, the history of India’s democratic ethos will be summed up and retold through 26 interactive screens set up in various kiosks. The source added that the AI-generated avatar will give a brief synopsis of the display to the heads of state, delegates, and other guests that arrive in the exhibition area.

The exhibition will cover India’s election customs from their earliest times to the present. According to reports cited by PTI, it will span the period from the first general elections held after Independence in 1951–1952 up till the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In the display area, a replica sculpture of the Harappan female will also be positioned in the middle of a revolving elevated podium, apart from the screens with AI-generated avatars. The bronze replica will be 5 feet tall and 120 kg in weight, however the actual item is only 10.5 cm in height.

Harvard Publishes Guidelines for Use of AI in Classroom

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 5, 2023

Harvard Guidelines for Use of AI in Classroom — Image Credits: Harvard

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the largest academic division at Harvard, published its first set of guidelines for instructors on using generative AI in their classes. The Office of Undergraduate Education’s instructions are extensive and provide general knowledge on how generative AI operates and its potential academic uses.

A fully-encouraging policy, a maximally restrictive policy, and a mixed approach are the three methods that professors can use towards using AI in their courses, respectively. The guideline does not impose one AI policy across the FAS, instead, it offers specific terminology for these three options.

One grounding basis underlying the recommendations, according to Christopher W. Stubbs, dean of science, is that faculty have ownership over their courses. He said, ” I don’t think there is a one-size-fits-all course policy here. What we are requesting of the faculty is that they become informed, that they comprehend the impact this has on the learning objectives for their courses, and then, crucially, that they communicate to students clearly and frequently what their course policy is.”

The FAS guidelines also expand on university-wide AI policies that were released in July and put a strong emphasis on safeguarding private information. Faculty are not to enter student work into AI systems, according to FAS guidance. Stubbs pointed out that third-party AI platforms own both user-generated prompts and computer-generated responses.

Early last month, the school held two informational meetings for professors on the effects of generative AI in STEM and writing courses. The sessions cover potential uses of AI as an aid for learning, including real-time information synthesis, code generation, and argument evaluation.

Helm.ai Raises $55m in Series C Funding Round for Self-driving Technology

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 5, 2023

Helm.ai raises $55m in Series C funding roun — Image Credits: Helm.ai

Helm.ai, a provider of cutting-edge AI software for robotics automation and autonomous driving, has raised $55 million in its Series C fundraising round. The venture capital firm Freeman Group served as the lead investor in the round, which also includes strategic contributions from Honda Motor, Goodyear Ventures, and Sungwoo Hitech.

With this financing, Helm.ai has now raised a total of $102M. Helm.ai will utilize the funding for research and development, the commercialization of its self-driving technology, and to carry out its commercial pacts with partners and clients in the automotive and robotics industries.

According to Helm.ai CEO Vlad Voroninski, their Deep Teaching technology enables to swiftly deliver top-notch AI software to Tier 1s and OEMs in a hardware-agnostic manner, accelerating the time to market and enabling the path to software differentiation with high-end ADAS and L4 systems.

While speaking about the funding, he said, “With this additional funding, we will be able to offer more advanced artificial intelligence solutions for robotics and autonomous vehicle applications and to accelerate the commercialization of our software stack.”

The announcement of Helm.ai’s latest funding round and its recognition from the industry come at a time when the autonomous vehicle industry is undergoing a major shift. According to the CEO, Helm.ai has continued to experience record acceptance and is well-positioned to gain a growing list of customers in the months and years to come, thanks to its generalized, hardware agnostic approach to AI for autonomous systems.

NVIDIA CEO Meets with PM Modi to Discuss Potential of AI in India

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 5, 2023

NVIDIA CEO Meets with PM Modi India — Image Credits: FT

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, underscoring the company’s expanding ties to the world’s budding technological superpower India.

The meeting took place at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, the official house of the Indian Prime Minister in New Delhi, as Modi gets ready to host a meeting of the G20 group of the world’s major countries, including U.S. President Joe Biden, later this week. The occasion, which marks Modi and Huang’s second meeting, highlights NVIDIA’s part in the nation’s quickly expanding technological sector.

“Had an excellent meeting with Mr. Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA. We talked at length about the rich potential India offers in the world of AI,” Modi said in a Twitter post.

Had an excellent meeting with Mr. Jensen Huang, the CEO of @nvidia. We talked at length about the rich potential India offers in the world of AI. Mr. Jensen Huang was appreciative of the strides India has made in this sector and was equally upbeat about the talented youth of… pic.twitter.com/zT6Cyrmk5z
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2023

After his meeting with Modi, Huang had a casual dinner with a large group of scholars from renowned institutions of science and technology throughout the world, including the Indian Institute of Science and several campuses of the Indian Institute of Technology.

Some of the brightest minds in a wide range of disciplines, including astronomy, medicine, quantum computing, massive language models, and natural language processing, were among the guests.

The evening’s conversations covered a wide range of subjects, including how to use technology to overcome language barriers, increase agricultural yields, close gaps in healthcare services, restructure digital economies, and take on some of the biggest contemporary scientific problems.

NVIDIA started doing business in 2004 in Bangalore, India, which was almost over two decades ago. There are now more than 3,800 NVIDIANs in India, and there are four engineering development centers in the country, one each in Gurugram, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bangalore.

Hyderabad’s Grene Robotic Unveils AI-Powered Anti-Drone System Indrajaal

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 5, 2023

Grene Robotic AI-Powered Anti-Drone System Indrajaal — Image Credits: Shutterstock

Grene Robotics, a well-known deep-tech business with headquarters in Hyderabad, has unveiled “Indrajaal,” which it claims is India’s first AI-powered anti-drone system. This cutting-edge device is intended to protect vital infrastructure, the private sector, and important installations from the growing drone threats.

With its extensive features and real-time threat neutralization, Indrajaal represents a significant advancement in India’s hunt for cutting-edge security solutions. With 12 different layers of artificial intelligence technology integrated, Indrajaal stands out as a ground-breaking development in drone security. It is powered by an inventive LEGO-like combination mechanism.

The technology offers 360-degree protection and is capable of detecting, identifying, classifying, tracking, and neutralizing threats in real-time, Kiran Raju, the company’s founder explained. With the help of this quick reaction mechanism, the threat can only exist for a short time, between 30 and 60 seconds, before countermeasures are taken.

The company claims that the Indrajaal Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) is the only one of its kind in the world. Due to its extensive capabilities, it can defend a 4,000 square kilometer region from threats with low radar cross-section (RCS) to medium and high-altitude long-endurance (MALE and HALE) UAVs. It can tackle threats such as loitering weapons, smart bombs, rocket showers, and nano and micro drones.

The governor of Uttarakhand and former deputy chief of the army staff, Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh, emphasized the growing significance of Indrajaal in addressing India’s security issues. He discussed the Galwan event and previous drone attacks on the Jammu airport, emphasizing the necessity for efficient drone and swarm defenses.

Indrajaal has emerged as the solution to these security issues, showcasing its capacity to defend India’s private, public, and defense sector, he said.

UAE’s G42 Conglomerate Announces Open Source Arabic Large Language Model Jais

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 3, 2023

UAE's G42 open source Arabic large language model Jais — Image Credits: NDTV

A team of engineers, scientists, and a semiconductor manufacturer from the Bay Area worked together to create a powerful Arabic language model Jais that can power applications for generative AI.

With 13 billion parameters, the new large language model Jais was created from a large collection of data mixing Arabic and English, some of which came via computer code. There are not many bilingual large language models, according to the group of academics and engineers who started the research, and this served as the purpose for the model.

The new language model was developed using supercomputers made by Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems, which makes chips the size of dinner plates that compete with Nvidia’s potent AI hardware. Businesses all around the world are looking for alternatives because Nvidia’s processors are in short supply due to China restrictions.

An open source license will be used to make Jais accessible. The group trained the Jais model on a Condor Galaxy supercomputer owned by Cerebras. Cerebras stated this year that it had sold three of these units to G42, the first of which is due this year and the remaining two in 2024.

According to Timothy Baldwin, a professor at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, there isn’t enough Arabic data to train a model the size of Jais, thus the computer code found in the English language data helped train the model’s reasoning capabilities.

Jais, which takes its name from the highest mountain in the UAE, is the result of a partnership between the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Cerebras, and the AI-focused subsidiary Inception of the G42 technology conglomerate, based in Abu Dhabi.

NPCI Launches Blockchain-based Open-Source Project Falcon

By

Sahil Pawar

-

September 2, 2023

NPCI Launches Blockchain-based Open-Source Project Falcon — Image Credits: NPCI

On August 29, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced the release of Falcon, an open-source project designed to manage and use blockchains. It is based on Hyperledger Fabric and powered by Kubernetes clusters. In essence, Falcon is anticipated to support developers working on blockchain-based payment solutions.

According to the official post from NPCI, Falcon is a go-to option for efficient, dependable, and automated Fabric network deployment blockchain enthusiast, developer, or organization seeking to leverage the power of distributed ledger technology using Hyperledger Fabric.

With the support of the distributed ledger technology made available by this NPCI offering, blockchain developers should be able to create network and Web3 solutions quickly and reliably.

A deliberate combination of Kubernetes and Hyperledger components, Falcon ushers in a new era of efficient blockchain solution creation and maintenance. It successfully combines their unique strengths.

The integration of Hyperledger’s solid blockchain foundation and Kubernetes’ automated operational processes should provide developers with an effective and comprehensive environment to create high-end blockchain solutions.

Industry professionals applaud NPCI for launching Falcon and predict broad advantages, theorizing that this project has the ability to speed up the adoption of blockchain-based solutions and improve the overall developer experience.