Daily AI Newsletter: Stop using the Humane charging case—fire risk alert!

In today’s email:

🍎 Apple Made Once-Unlikely Deal With Sam Altman to Catch Up in AI
👨🏻‍💻 Asana’s new ‘AI teammate’ can tell people what to do at work
🏆 Craft Ventures hosted a major SF hackathon with $20,000+ in prizes. Theme: Agents.
🧰 6 new AI-powered tools and resources. Make sure to check the online version for the full list of tools.

Humane urges customers to stop using the charging case, citing battery fire concerns

Humane has issued an urgent warning to AI Pin owners, advising them to stop using the charging case due to a potential fire safety risk associated with certain battery cells supplied by a third-party vendor. The company identified this issue after receiving a report of a charging problem with a third-party USB-C cable and power source. As a result, Humane has disqualified the battery vendor and is currently seeking a new supplier to ensure quality standards are met. Importantly, the AI Pin itself, along with its Battery Booster and charging pad, are unaffected by this issue.

To compensate for the inconvenience, Humane is offering customers two free months of its subscription service, which is necessary for most of the AI Pin's functions. While the company has not yet confirmed whether a replacement charging case will be provided, it has assured users that additional information will be shared once the investigation is complete. Humane emphasized that the safety and satisfaction of its customers are paramount and that the AI Pin and its related accessories are designed and tested to meet stringent safety standards.

Despite the seriousness of the issue, Humane has not yet communicated this problem on its website or social media accounts. The company's email to customers stressed the importance of immediately discontinuing the use of the affected charging case and reassured users that the rest of their products remain safe to use. The Verge's David Pierce, who reviewed the AI Pin, was among the recipients of this warning.

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Apple Made Once-Unlikely Deal With Sam Altman to Catch Up in AI

Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate the ChatGPT chatbot into the iPhone's operating system, a significant move to catch up in the generative artificial intelligence space. This collaboration, set to be a highlight of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, will allow OpenAI to access millions of Apple users while providing Apple with advanced AI technology to enhance its services. Despite this, the partnership is expected to be a short- to medium-term solution as Apple continues to develop its own AI capabilities.

Apple's venture into AI began with the release of Siri in 2011, but it has since lagged behind competitors like Google and Amazon. The launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022 intensified the race, prompting Apple to accelerate its AI efforts. The company's internal teams have been working on an AI framework named Ajax and integrating AI features into various Apple services. However, recognizing the gap in its chatbot technology, Apple decided to collaborate with OpenAI to meet consumer expectations and mitigate potential reputational risks.

While the OpenAI partnership will provide Apple with a temporary boost, the company is also exploring other AI advancements, including robotic devices and enhanced features for Siri. This move underscores Apple’s strategic approach to AI, balancing immediate needs with long-term goals of developing proprietary technology. The integration of OpenAI’s chatbot is an opt-in service, addressing privacy concerns, and is part of Apple’s broader effort to position itself as a leader in the AI era.

Stability AI releases a sound generator

Stability AI, the company behind the AI art generator Stable Diffusion, has launched an open AI model for generating sounds and music called Stable Audio Open. This model, trained on around 486,000 royalty-free samples from FreeSound and the Free Music Archive, can create recordings up to 47 seconds long based on text descriptions such as “Rock beat played in a treated studio, session drumming on an acoustic kit.” It is designed for generating drum beats, instrument riffs, ambient noises, and production elements for media, as well as for editing existing songs or applying one song's style to another.

However, Stable Audio Open has limitations. It cannot produce full songs, melodies, or high-quality vocals and is not optimized for these tasks. Additionally, it is restricted to non-commercial use and performs inconsistently across different musical styles and cultures, with descriptions in languages other than English posing a challenge. Stability AI acknowledges these biases, attributing them to the training data's lack of diversity.

The release of Stable Audio Open comes amid controversy for Stability AI, particularly after the resignation of its VP of generative audio, Ed Newton-Rex, over disagreements regarding the use of copyrighted works for training AI models. This move appears to be an effort to shift the narrative and promote Stability AI’s premium products. As AI music generators grow in popularity, copyright issues have become a focal point, with major entities like Sony Music warning against the unauthorized use of content for training such models.