What's new in AI this week? Amazon releases new ChatBot, Open AI drama winds down ... for now

Welcome to the third edition of What’s New in AI, our weekly update where we bring you all the latest AI news, tools, and tips to help you excel in this new AI-driven future. 

AI in the news: The biggest AI developments and news

The biggest news of the week revolved around Amazon and its announcement of new AI tools for AWS, including a new AI chatbot. We’re also starting to see OpenAI return mostly to normal it seems. Let’s jump in and look at the biggest headlines from last week:

• Previously, there were rumors that Amazon was developing its own alternative to ChatGPT, code-named Olympus. Although this rumored generative AI engine has not yet surfaced, it turns out that Amazon has introduced a new chatbot called Q. Amazon’s Q is not designed as a direct competitor to GPT; instead, its core focus is on enhancing the Amazon Web Services (AWS) experience for clients. The new bot enables users to ask questions about various AWS tools and functions, and it can also generate or summarize content, including blog posts, press releases, emails, and more.
• The OpenAI situation has calmed down somewhat as we already mentioned, but many are still curious about what transpired behind the scenes. Given that this is a non-profit organization, board overturns are typically rooted in more profound issues rather than corporate greed. Some speculated that a major AI breakthrough had occurred, raising safety concerns. The reassuring news is that an increasing number of individuals are disputing this claim. Not only has Elon Musk expressed his lack of concern about the situation, but even Microsoft’s Brad Smith has weighed in and made it clear the firing had nothing to do with some secret rumored breakthrough. Smith goes further by stating he says there’s no chance of true super-intelligent AI anytime soon. 
• Moving past Amazon’s news and the aftermath of Open AI’s drama, Eric Schmidt also weighed in on the need for better AI guardrails in the industry as a whole. As he states, it took over 18 years to put together a treaty with clear rules around nuclear bombs after the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the United States. As AI ramps up, Schmidt sees the need for clearer rules to prevent future misuse and tragedy. Although not everyone agrees it’s as big of a threat as others, nearly everyone can admit AI has the potential to change the world in ways we can’t fully predict. 
• Schmidt isn’t the only one concerned with AI and now California’s Privacy Protection Agency is preparing guardrails of its own. The state regular has created a new draft of regulations for how people’s data can be used for automated decision-making technology, aka AI. This would include adding provisions like the ability to opt-out of data collection and it also would require clear disclosures from companies that intend to use your data for AI-related purposes. The scope of the regulation could also extend to areas like AI-based profiling and more. You can read the draft for yourself, but be aware it’s not exactly light reading material. 
• A new AI startup is hoping to bring AI intelligence to your garbage. In short, the tech in question would be able to gather real-time data about wast stream compositions for businesses, which would allow them to better track their waste and find ways to improve their waste consumption as a business.
• AI has the power to transcend industries and affect nearly everything, including biotechnology. Cradle hopes to lead this change with a new AI-powered platform that could let an AI model program proteins for use in medical industries like drug development. The technology is fairly new but it has now managed to land another $24 million in investments.

What’s new in AI? This week’s spotlight on AI tools and apps

While we try to focus this segment on apps that are widely available, that’s not always the case. Sometimes this segment will instead focus on cool new tools that just have a lot of future potential, even if they are quite niche. This week will lean heavily into the latter, as several of these week’s spotlights are for tools that are niche projects that aren’t easily available just yet.

Solve Intelligence AI Patent Writing Tool

• Platform: Web

Solve Intelligence is a tool specifically crafted to assist attorneys in drafting patents, simplifying and streamlining the often labor-intensive process. While the tool is not openly accessible to everyone, interested parties can request a demo of the technology for their business if they find it beneficial.

Gen-2 Motion Brush

• Platform: Web

The Gen-2 Motion Brush is a recent addition to Runway’s Gen-2 Suite. This tool enables users to create brief videos from a single image, including images generated by other AI tools. While there is a free trial available for experimentation with the tool and the entire suite, a subscription plan is required for full access and utilization.

AWS new tools

• Platform: Web

While we’ll consider this a single entry, it’s worth noting that Amazon’s Re:Invent showcase unveiled multiple new AWS serverless tools for its latest AWS preview. Notable mentions include the Amazon Aurora Limitless Database, Amazon ElastiCache, and Amazon Redshift. These tools serve various functions, such as predicting workloads for employers and optimizing resources.

GE HealthCare MyBreastAI

• Platform: Win/MacOS

The latest AI suite from GE HealthCare is designed to make a radiologist’s job easier, processing huge amounts of data to detect breast cancer and other issues sooner. MyBreastAI incorporates three AI applications to enhance efficiency: ProFound AI for DBT, 3D Mammography, and PowerLook Density. For a detailed overview of each tool’s specific functionalities, you can explore further by clicking the button below. While this toolset may not be directly applicable to mainstream AI users, it represents a significant breakthrough and underscores the innovative tools and use cases that AI is advancing.

Cheerful

• Platform: iOS

How-to & tips: Spotlight

Looking to learn more about AI, how to make better use of AI tools, or how to protect your privacy from AI? Each week we share a different how-to guide or tip we feel is worth sharing. 

Don’t use the ChatGPT app on your phone yet? You should!

It’s hard to believe that ChatGPT is now a year old. In that time it has made more than $30 million in revenue and has had more than 110 million mobile installs. If you subscribe to this newsletter you are very likely already rocking the app, but I know plenty who have avoided it — myself included.

I had previously tried the ChatGPT early on and found it was easier to just use the web portal and place a Chrome web app for it onto my Android desktop. With the recent update that finally adds voice support for free users, the official app has finally become a must-have item. Although it can’t do everything Google Assistant can, I’ve found that its responses and voice sound so much more natural that I have fallen in love. 

Don’t already have it? You can grab the official ChatGPT app from either Google Play or the Apple App Store, depending on your phone’s platform. 

More tips and advice:

Looking for more great tips and how tos? We have plenty of great content to check out. This week we’re highlighting our guides for the best AI logo generators and best tools for graphic design. Probably the most interesting new guide this week teaches you how to use Character.AI to talk to unique AI personas including AI versions of Shakespeare, Elon Musk, and many others. It also has a practical purpose such as using an AI tutor to get ahead in a foreign lagnague.