In the past few years, it seemed that wealthy tech companies would be able to monopolize the growing market for large language models (LLM). And recent earnings calls from big tech companies suggested they are in control. Microsoft’s announcements, in particular, show that the company has created a billion-dollar business from its AI services, including through Azure OpenAI Services and the workloads OpenAI runs on its cloud infrastructure.
However, a recently leaked internal document from Google indicates that the market share of big tech is not as secure as it seems thanks to advances in open-source LLMs. In short, the document says “We have no moat, and neither does OpenAI.” The dynamics of the market are gradually shifting from “bigger is better” to “cheaper is better,” “more efficient is better,” and “customizable is better.” And while there will always be a market for cloud-based LLM and generative AI products, customers now have open-source options to explore as well. — Read More
Daily Archives: June 8, 2023
Google DeepMind’s game-playing AI just found another way to make code faster
The AI-generated algorithms are already being used by millions of developers.
DeepMind’s run of discoveries in fundamental computer science continues. Last year the company used a version of its game-playing AI AlphaZero to find new ways to speed up the calculation of a crucial piece of math at the heart of many different kinds of code, beating a 50-year-old record.
Now it has pulled the same trick again—twice. Using a new version of AlphaZero called AlphaDev, the UK-based firm (recently renamed Google DeepMind after a merge with its sister company’s AI lab in April) has discovered a way to sort items in a list up to 70% faster than the best existing method.
It has also found a way to speed up a key algorithm used in cryptography by 30%. These algorithms are among the most common building blocks in software. Small speed-ups can make a huge difference, cutting costs and saving energy. — Read More
Google Cloud partners with Mayo Clinic on new AI tool to improve patient care
Google Cloud has announced a new partnership with Mayo Clinic that will introduce a new Artificial Intelligence tool that aims to improve the efficiency of healthcare throughout the United States.
The initial focus of the collaboration will establish a new search tool powered by Google Cloud’s Generative AI software that would improve clinical workflows by making it easier for doctors and researchers to quickly track down patient information, the tech giant said. — Read More
Existential Risk? I Don’t Get It! (by Andrew Ng)
Prominent computer scientists fear that AI could trigger human extinction. It’s time to have a real conversation about the realistic risks.
Last week, safe.org asserted that “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” This statement was signed by AI scientists who I really respect including Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton. It received widespread media coverage.
I have to admit that I struggle to see how AI could pose any meaningful risk for our extinction. AI has risks like bias, fairness, inaccurate outputs, job displacement, and concentration of power. But I see AI’s net impact as a massive contribution to society. It’s saving lives by improving healthcare and making cars safer, improving education, making healthy food and numerous other goods and services more affordable, and democratizing access to information. I don’t understand how it can lead to human extinction. — Read More
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