Microsoft-backed OpenAI said on Tuesday that it will offer $5 million to the American Journalism Project (AJP) as part of a partnership to explore artificial intelligence’s potential to boost local news.
Additionally, the non-profit and associated organisations will receive up to $5 million in OpenAI credits as part of the agreement to utilise the technology made popular by ChatGPT.
The action is a part of OpenAI’s larger initiative to collaborate with media organisations. Last week, the firm reached an agreement with news organisation the Associated Press (AP) to research the application of generative AI in news and licence a portion of the AP’s database of stories.
The AJP financing will aid in building a studio where regional news organisations can test out OpenAI’s technology. Additionally, it will give funds to about ten of the organisations in its portfolio so they can test and pilot AI applications.
Sarabeth Berman, CEO of AJP, said, “With this alliance, we seek to encourage ways for AI to enrich, rather than harm journalism. In order to support the operations of regional nonprofit news organisations, AJP, a venture philanthropy, awards grants.
In order to address the local news crisis in the United States, it has so far gathered $139 million from regional and international donors and supported 41 nonprofit local news organisations around the nation.
According to Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI, coders, particularly those from India, will face employment loss in the coming two years.
In an interview, Mostaque predicted that as MNCs embrace AI tools to develop, read, and review codes over the next few years, nations like India, where many IT jobs are outsourced, may face difficulties. His concerns are also related to India’s continuing lack of strong labour legislation.
In a phone conversation with a UBS analyst, Mostaque said, “Outsourced coders up to level three programmers will be gone in the next year or two. This is due to the fact that new generative AI models are like really talented grads and will displace people who spend their entire lives in front of a computer.”
Mostaque’s current comments came a few days after he predicted that ChatGPT and other AI technologies will run offline on mobile devices by the end of the next year. Without the internet, a large number of users will be able to quickly create text or even images.
Sam Altman of OpenAI, along with several CEOs, has frequently called for rules to protect consumers’ jobs and privacy. Similar worries have been voiced by tech behemoths like Google and Microsoft, but they contend that AI will generate new employment opportunities and that people must coexist with the technology.
A multimodal model called “CM3leon” (pronounced like chameleon) has been released by Meta AI which performs both text-to-image and image-to-text creation. Meta has decided not to release the model code, similar to its past models, which has disappointed AI enthusiasts.
With its capacities for text-guided image creation and alteration, the AI model bridges the gap between text and image. The model has the power to fundamentally alter how consumers interact with and manipulate visual material today.
The model’s enhanced ability to generate coherent imagery that closely matches input prompts is one of Meta’s claims. When compared to earlier transformer-based techniques, CM3leon is more efficient and needs just five times as much processing power and training data.
Meta highlights CM3leon’s abilities in a range of vision-language tasks, such as visual question-answering and lengthy captioning. The diffusion method, which is frequently used in image production, is replaced by Meta’s innovative approach.
The company’s researchers decided to use the Transformer architecture instead, a neural network design well known for its successful application in substantial language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4. Although StyleSwin was the first transformer-based image generator, Meta claims that CM3leon outperforms its rivals in terms of efficiency.
Although the model is praised for being cutting-edge, the research community is miffed by the fact that it is closed source. Similar to this, the tech giant debuted Voicebox last month but withheld the model from the general public due to concerns over potential abuse.
“While we believe it is important to be open with the AI community and to share our research to advance AI, it’s also necessary to strike the right balance between openness with responsibility,” Meta had said upon releasing the paper.
Are you thinking about going solar but still contemplating whether it’s worth the investment? Have you heard of solar panel incentives but have no idea what they are?
Not sure if you should jump on the solar energy wagon or not? Once you get the facts, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to go green and make healthy profits from home.
Sign up for our newsletter and learn about solar panel incentives, how you can take advantage of incentive programs to save money, and much more.
What Are the Benefits of Having Solar Panel Incentives?
Solar panel incentives are an excellent way to encourage people to install solar panels in their homes and businesses. Solar panel incentives offer financial benefits to those who choose to install solar panels, such as:
tax credits
reduced energy bills
reduced subsidies
Financial incentives are a great way to make solar energy more accessible to people who couldn’t otherwise afford to. Solar panel incentives also reduce costs to the government and taxpayers.
Solar panel incentives have been proven to be effective in driving investment in solar energy. They have helped to create an advantageous economic environment for the industry.
Solar panel incentives help the environment too. They provide a renewable source of energy and reduce the use of non-renewable energy sources.
Solar panel incentives make solar energy more affordable and accessible to everyone. They are an important tool for helping communities and businesses move towards renewable energy sources. If you want to take advantage of the benefits of solar panels, you can see page about solar panel installation and its costs.
Am I Eligible for a Solar Panel Tax Credit?
Solar panel incentives are available for residential and commercial properties in many countries. Solar panel tax credits are available for homeowners and businesses to reduce the cost of installing solar energy systems.
Tax credits are often provided for purchases of systems or services related to solar energy, including the following:
installation
equipment
storage
maintenance
Some states also offer a rebate program for solar-energy systems on commercial and residential properties. Eligibility for these tax credits varies from state to state but may include:
income limits
restrictions on the size of the system
a cap on the amount of savings available
To determine eligibility for a solar energy tax credit, consult with your local government or utility provider.
What Solar Incentives I Can Receive?
As the world becomes more aware of the importance of renewable energy and sustainability, governments have begun offering incentives to go green.
This is true for solar power as well. No longer is it expensive and difficult to go green. Thanks to government incentives, you can start your path to being more sustainable for as low as free!
The question is, what kind of solar incentives are available, and how can you qualify? That is what we are going to explore in this article–different kinds of government financial incentives for building (or upgrading) your solar power system.
Here are some solar incentives that you can take advantage of:
Federal Solar Tax Credit
The Federal Solar Tax Credit is a great incentive to invest in solar energy. By going solar and meeting certain requirements, homeowners can receive a tax credit for their solar installation that can total up to 30% of the total cost.
This means you can significantly lower your out-of-pocket expenses for the solar energy system. The credit is allowed for both residential and commercial properties.
It’s important to note that the solar energy system must be used for your primary residence or business in order for you to receive the credit. You may also be able to take advantage of state and local tax credits on top of the Federal Solar Tax Credit.
Net Metering Program
Net metering is a solar incentive program that allows homeowners to offset their electricity costs by connecting their solar panels to their utility meters. Customers will be credited for any solar energy their system produces that is fed back to the grid.
This allows homeowners to receive credit for any excess electricity that their system produces. Every utility has its own program and incentive rates, but net metering is generally offered at the retail rate or the amount you pay for electricity each month.
Solar incentives can pay a portion of the cost of your system. It can also provide discounted electricity for the remainder of your system’s life.
Solar Feed-in Tariff
A solar Feed-in Tariff is a payment you receive for the electricity you generate from your solar panels and feed into the main electricity grid. Depending on your location, the amount of incentive you may be able to receive from your local government could vary.
However, it generally will be a set amount for each kilowatt-hour of power generated. In some cases, your utility company may also be required to offer you an incentive such as a net bill credit or even a rebate or direct payment.
The amount of incentivization you may be eligible for will depend on the type of solar system you have installed, the size of it, and the amount of electricity you feed into the grid. The incentive you receive may also depend on any state or local incentives applicable in your area.
Programs for Solar Panel Rebates
Programs for Solar Rebates offer incentives for individuals and businesses that install solar energy systems. These incentives can come in the form of:
state or local rebates
federal investment tax credits
It can be a combination of the two listed above. States typically offer the most attractive incentives, which vary by location. Depending on the size of the system and the state in which it is installed, people may be eligible for a one-time rebate or an annual tax credit.
To be eligible for a rebate, participants must meet state qualifications and provide proof of purchase of the solar system. Federal investment tax credits are available for the installation of solar panel systems, and they can reduce taxes paid by a homeowner or business owner.
Take Advantage of These Solar Panel Incentives
Solar panel incentives are an extremely effective way to help reduce the upfront cost of installing solar. Overall, incentives can often reduce the financial burden associated with installing solar and make it much more accessible to many people.
If you’re considering installing solar, research what incentives your area offers and take advantage of them!
In a letter to AI companies, thousands of authors have signed on to demand that they cease using copyrighted works without permission. The letter to the CEOs of OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, IBM, and Stability AI has the support of renowned authors including Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Franzen, James Patterson, Suzanne Collins, and Viet Thanh Nguyen.
The largest professional writers’ organisation in the United States, the Authors Guild, organised the letter, in which the signatories draw attention to the “inherent injustice in using our works as part of your AI systems without our consent, credit, or compensation.”
“These technologies mimic and regurgitate our language, stories, style, and ideas. Millions of copyrighted books, articles, essays, and poetry provide the ‘food’ for AI systems, endless meals for which there has been no bill,” the letter says.
“You’re spending billions of dollars to develop AI technology. It is only fair that you compensate us for using our writings, without which AI would be banal and extremely limited,” the letter reads further.
According to the letter, referring in particular to young writers and voices from underrepresented areas, the introduction of AI threatens to tip the scale to make it even more difficult, if not impossible, for writers to earn a living from their profession.
In order to create material that mimics human speech, generative AI models like ChatGPT need enormous amounts of internet data. The letter from the Authors Guild is the newest attack on companies researching AI from the artists community. Numerous issues, including the use of AI in filmmaking, have thousands of Hollywood actors and writers on strike.
In an effort to offer startups and other companies a low-cost opportunity to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is making a commercial version of its artificial intelligence model freely available.
Microsoft will distribute a new version of a Meta large language model (LLM), dubbed Llama 2, over its Azure cloud service and it will work with the Windows operating system, according to Meta, which termed Microsoft “our preferred partner” for the release. Although the proprietor of ChatGPT has not made its LLM, GPT-4, open-sourced or publicly accessible to others, LLMs are the foundation of generative AI products like the ChatGPT chatbot.
The model, which Meta has previously made available to a restricted group of academics for research, will also be made accessible through direct download, Amazon Web Services, Hugging Face, and other service providers. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg stated that open source drives innovation because it enables many more developers to build with new technology. If the ecosystem were more open, I think more progress would be made, he said.
Executives at Meta claim that by using the wisdom of the community to uncover issues and strengthen system resilience, public releases of technology actually lower safety concerns. Additionally, the business claims to have established an “acceptable use” policy for commercial Llama that forbids certain use cases, such as acts of violence, terrorism, child exploitation, and other illegal activities.
Making a model as complex as Llama widely accessible and free for companies to build on poses a threat to the early market dominance achieved by players like OpenAI, whose models Microsoft supports and which it already makes available to business customers via Azure.
Wix, a template-based website builder, recently revealed that users would soon be able to create full websites by entering a description into a box and responding to a few follow-up questions. Everything will be created automatically and should be rather quick, including the design, content, and images.
Users could make websites in the past using templates from providers like Wix and WordPress that could be customized. The new AI Site Generator function from Wix, however, claims to go beyond templates by utilizing AI and algorithms to produce a “unique” website.
Currently, the business combines its own tools with ChatGPT to carry out all of these tasks. ChatGPT will manage text creation, while the rest will be handled by the company’s own AI models. Website creation might become easier than ever if Wix’s new AI site generator performs as expected.
The new function is demonstrated in a video that opens with “Wix AI” enquiring as to the purpose of the website. The user requests a fitness website and provides some information about what they have to offer. The chatbot then inquires as to whether it should consider any additional information before asking the user to select the image of a fitness trainer that best represents your desired outcome from a selection of example images.
Afterward, a number of whooshing visuals indicate that the site is being generated, and a short while later, it appears to be finished. To edit, the user first opens a prompt box to inquire about various layouts and styles, for example, and then selects one of the offered options.
The final website is impressive. Even while it might seem a little generic, it looks much more polished than websites created with WordPress or Squarespace. It is a completely different experience than anything users could have produced with Wix ten years ago.
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship, unveiled AI for India 2.0. This new programme is a free online training course with a strong AI component. The programme is accredited by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) and IIT Madras and was created jointly by Skill India and GUVI.
GUVI is an education technology business founded by IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad with an emphasis on individualized learning. It provides online training, skill development, and employment opportunities. It imparts technical knowledge in many regional tongues.
Notably learners can access the new course in nine different Indian languages. To join up for the free course, people need only visit GUVI’s official website. Learners will be questioned on their understanding of Java, coding, cyber security, and other topics when they sign for the same. However, individuals who are interested in learning might enroll in this course to have a deeper understanding of AI programming.
An IIT Madras-incubated firm called GUVI has launched this course with the aim of educating rural youngsters about cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence. Leading academic institutions and business leaders will provide their experience as a part of the programme as a result of the partnership between Skill India and GUVI.
Pradhan said during the inaugural event that technology shouldn’t be restricted to one language and called for courses to be offered in more Indian languages. He saw this programme as an effort to break down the language barrier in technology education and prepare the nation’s children, particularly those in rural areas, for the future.
The government intends to increase the course’s appeal by making it a free online resource. The NCVET and IIT Madras accreditations will be used to ensure the course’s quality and applicability.
A man from Kerala was defrauded with ₹40,000 in a newly reported incident of a scam using artificial intelligence-based deepfaking. Radhakrishnan, the victim and a Kozhikode resident, reportedly received a video call from an unknown number.
When he answered the call, he recognised one of his former coworkers from Andhra Pradesh in the video caller’s appearance. The caller even offered the names of a few of those they knew in an effort to win his trust.
The victim continued the video call since she believed it to be a legitimate call. A few minutes into the call, though, the caller asked the victim for ₹40,000 in order to provide immediate support for a relative who was hospitalized.
The victim agreed to assist since he wanted to aid his friend and sent the money online. A short while later, the same guy requested ₹35,000, nevertheless. The victim, however, developed suspicion this time. He then got in touch with his old friend to double-check. He knew at that point that the call had been a scam and was not genuine. The fraud was then reported to the police by the victim.
The police launched an inquiry after receiving the complaint, and they were able to trace the transaction to a private bank in Maharashtra. Later, the account was frozen by the bank authorities.
The Kerala Police Cyber Cell claims that this is the first instance of cheating in Kerala where scammers have faked films using artificial intelligence. The scammers use images from social media to make bogus videos. They can use social media to find other information, such as names of friends in common.
Police have also issued a warning against the use of deep fakes powered by AI in online fraud. People have been advised to confirm the legitimacy of such inquiries. In order to prevent fraud, the police have also requested that citizens immediately report any instances of cheating to them by calling the helpline number 1930.
A new fundraising round for Hugging Face is projected to value the thriving AI company at $4 billion, according to numerous sources with knowledge of the situation.
According to two sources, the Series D investment round should bring in at least $200 million, with Ashton Kutcher’s venture capital firm, Sound Ventures, presently in charge of the investor scrum. However, co-founder and CEO Clément Delangue is looking around as the business has received several proposals this week, according to four additional sources.
Another source stated that Delangue would likely select a preferred offer by Friday but cautioned that the situation was still in flux and that the specific figures might change.
Other sources claimed that Hugging Face might try to raise additional funds, up to $300 million, while current investors might yet make a last-minute offer to acquire the round. One source also mentioned that DFJ and GV, the venture capital group funded by Alphabet, were reportedly considering the financing.
Hugging Face raised $100 million in a Series C investment headed by Lux Capital a little more than a year ago. Coatue and Sequoia were new investors in that round and joined A.Capital Ventures and Addition. The company had reached a $2 billion valuation in that round despite having lessthan $10 million in revenue in 2021.
