Daily AI Newsletter: Sam Altman discussed chip-making with Congress

In today’s email:

📚 A comprehensive presentation on the state of AI investing — and predictions for AI in 2024!
👨🏻‍🏫 Google announces new AI-powered features for education
🤑 AI Prompt Engineers are Making $300k/y
🧰 10 new AI-powered tools and resources. Make sure to check the online version for the full list of tools.

OpenAI’s Altman discussed chip-making venture with members of Congress

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is engaging in discussions with U.S. Congress members about increasing the global supply of advanced semiconductor chips, which are crucial for AI development. Altman is considering launching a large-scale venture to build new chip factories, or "fabs." These chips are vital for AI programs like ChatGPT and are seen as essential for maintaining U.S. economic and military competitiveness.

The U.S. plans to spend billions to boost domestic chip production and restrict advanced AI chip exports to China. Altman's project may involve building new factories or partnering with existing manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. He has approached investors worldwide, including in the Middle East, for potentially trillions of dollars in funding.

The initiative aligns with the U.S. government's efforts, such as the $52 billion Chips for America program, to strengthen the tech industry and economy. However, creating advanced chips is expensive and complex, requiring specialized facilities and substantial investment.

While Nvidia currently leads in AI chip design, other companies like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are also investing in this area. There's debate in the tech community about the future demand for AI chips, with some expecting advancements in AI to reduce the need for such high computing power.

This Chinese Startup Is Winning the Open Source AI Race

01.AI, a Beijing-based startup, has been making significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence with the release of its AI models, notably Yi-34B and Yi-VL-34B. Yi-34B is a language model that quickly gained prominence on AI leaderboards, surpassing other models in performance. Yi-VL-34B is a multimodal model capable of processing images and discussing their contents. 01-AI, founded in 2023 and led by CEO Kai-Fu Lee, has adopted an open-source approach, contrasting with the more controlled distribution strategies of companies like OpenAI and Google. This strategy aims to build a loyal developer base and foster the creation of innovative AI applications.

Kai-Fu Lee is a prominent figure in AI, with a career spanning roles at Apple, Microsoft, and Google, and later as an investor through his firm Sinovation Ventures. He has been a champion of Chinese AI, advocating for collaboration between the US and China, despite the challenges in recent years due to geopolitical tensions.

01-AI's open-source model has been well-received globally, with modified versions appearing from Western developers that further enhance its capabilities. The model is proficient in both Mandarin and English, making it valuable for international use. The company’s approach is seen as a significant contribution to the global AI ecosystem, fostering innovation and potential leadership in AI development.

A comprehensive 110+ slide presentation on the state of AI investing — and predictions for AI in 2024!

$50 billion was funneled by investors into AI startups in 2023. 5000 AI companies received venture funding in 2023, but nearly half of that capital went to just 11 companies. And 60% of jobs will be exposed to AI in the next decade.

So, what happened with AI investing in 2023? Where are AI startups getting funding? Is it going to grow in 2024? And what are the AI trends investors and founders should be watching in 2024?

In his AI investor trends keynote, Ben shared dozens of stats and graphs that tell the story of the modern AI investment landscape. It’s chock-full of useful and relevant information on the AI market, AI valuations, the economic impact of AI, and key AI trends.

Google announces new AI-powered features for education

Google announced several new features for classroom management, accessibility, and AI-powered tools at the Bett ed-tech event in the UK. Key updates include:

AI-Powered Features for Google Classroom:
- AI will soon assist in suggesting questions at different timestamps in YouTube videos used in Classroom assignments.
- The Practice sets feature, powered by AI to create answers and hints, is now available in over 50 languages. Educators can also convert a Google Form into a practice set.
- A new Resources tab will manage practice sets and interactive questions in videos.
- Duet AI, a generative AI tool for Google Workspace, will help teachers with lesson planning.
Classroom Management Improvements:
- Teachers can form different groups in the Classroom and assign various tasks to these groups.
- The speaker spotlight feature in Google Slides allows for narrated lessons.
- eSignature capability in Google Workspace for collecting signatures for approvals or contracts.
- Updated Classroom analytics to monitor assignment completion and grade trends.
Accessibility Enhancements:
- Screen readers on ChromeOS can now extract text from PDFs.
- Chrome browser users can highlight text and have it read aloud.
- Google Meet will include closed captions in 30 languages and the ability to pin multiple hosts.
Chromebooks:
- 15 new Chromebook models exhibited at Bett, are set to launch this year.
- An update for Chromebooks will enable students to view upcoming assignments directly from the home screen.

Other stuff

Adept presents Fuyu-Heavy - a new multimodal model designed specifically for digital agents.
Embedding English Wikipedia in under 15 minutes
Meta released Prompt Engineering with Llama 2, an interactive guide covering prompt engineering & best practices
Apple boosts plans to bring generative AI to iPhones
AI Prompt Engineers are Making $300k/y
OpenAI Quietly Scrapped a Promise to Disclose Key Documents to the Public
Etsy launches ‘Gift Mode,’ a new AI-powered feature that generates 200+ gift guides