TL;DR AI News
Australia proposes new regulatory guidelines for AI systems, potentially becoming mandatory for high-risk applications
Rising implementation costs and energy consumption of AI raise concerns for businesses and the environment
Major advancements in AI infrastructure and models push the boundaries of technological capabilities
Breakthroughs in AI image generation, particularly in text rendering, reshape visual content creation
Recent controversies highlight the challenges of maintaining neutrality and appropriate content moderation in AI systems
Written by Janey Treleaven, with help from Perplexity AI and Claude Sonnet 3.5, podcast version by NotebookLM.
NotebookLM, Google's experimental AI, has transformed this blog into an engaging two-person podcast, offering an alternative for those who prefer listening over reading. We're excited to incorporate these AI-generated audio versions across all our blog posts, providing a fresh way to experience our content.
The world of artificial intelligence continues to evolve at a breakneck pace as we step into early September 2024. This month's developments showcase a complex interplay of regulation, costs, technological breakthroughs, and infrastructure advancements. From Australia's steps towards AI governance to the latest leaps in image generation capabilities and powerful new AI systems, the AI landscape is as dynamic as ever. Let's dive into the key stories shaping the future of AI.
Australia Takes Steps in AI Regulation, Finally
Australia has taken a significant leap in AI regulation by proposing 10 new voluntary guidelines for AI systems. These guidelines, focusing on human oversight, transparency, and accountability, represent a move beyond the voluntary principles introduced in 2019. The government has opened a month-long consultation period to consider making these guidelines mandatory for high-risk AI applications in the future, signalling a proactive stance on AI governance.
This regulatory push aligns Australia more closely with global trends, while still maintaining a somewhat lighter touch compared to comprehensive frameworks like the EU's AI Act. The approach aims to balance innovation with responsible AI use, targeting only high-risk settings for potential mandatory rules. Additionally, the recent implementation of the Deepfake Sexual Material Bill, effective September 1, 2024, addresses specific concerns around AI-generated explicit content, further rounding out Australia's evolving AI regulation landscape.
Given the significance of these new guidelines and their potential impact on businesses, I will be writing a detailed blog post soon that breaks down each of the 10 guidelines and examines what they could mean for Australian businesses. This upcoming analysis will provide valuable insights to help companies prepare for and adapt to the evolving regulatory landscape in AI.
The Rising Cost of AI
The increasing costs associated with AI implementation are becoming more apparent, as exemplified by Canva's recent price hike. The popular graphic design platform is increasing prices for its Teams subscription by over 300% in some cases, with the annual cost for up to 5 users rising from $120 to $500. Canva attributes this significant increase primarily to new AI features like Visual Suite and Magic Studio, citing an "expanded product experience" as justification.
While the financial costs of AI are becoming evident through such price increases, there's another, less visible cost that's equally important: energy consumption. Recent research by Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University provides insights into the energy demands of AI tasks. For instance, generating a single image using the most energy-intensive AI model consumes about 50% of a full smartphone charge, while generating text 1,000 times uses approximately 16%.
These high energy requirements contribute to increased operational costs for companies implementing AI technologies and raise concerns about environmental impact. As AI technology continues to advance, companies and consumers alike will need to weigh the benefits of AI features against their financial and environmental costs, potentially driving a focus on developing more energy-efficient AI models.
Major AI Advancements and Infrastructure
The AI world has seen several significant advancements in infrastructure and models, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in artificial intelligence.
Elon Musk's xAI company has unveiled the Colossus supercomputer, setting a new benchmark in AI training infrastructure. Featuring 100,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, Colossus is now the world's most powerful AI training system. Built in just 122 days in Memphis, Tennessee, it represents a massive investment likely costing billions of dollars. Plans are already in place to double its capacity to 200,000 GPUs in the coming months. This unprecedented computing power is expected to be used for training xAI's Grok chatbot and other AI models, potentially giving xAI a significant edge in model development.
In the realm of open-source AI, HyperWrite has introduced Reflection 70B, a new model claiming to be the "world's top open-source AI model." Built on Meta's Llama 3.1-70B framework, Reflection 70B uses a novel "Reflection-Tuning" technique for self-error correction. It has outperformed other open-source models on benchmarks like MMLU and HumanEval, setting new standards for accuracy in open-source AI.
Anthropic has launched Claude Enterprise, a new version of their AI assistant tailored for business needs. It features a 500,000 token context window for handling vast amounts of information, direct GitHub integration for coding assistance, and a new "artifacts" feature for real-time formatted results. These features demonstrate the growing sophistication of AI assistants and their increasing integration into professional workflows.
Addressing the challenges posed by AI misuse, YouTube has introduced new AI tools to detect deepfakes and protect creators' likenesses. These tools aim to prevent unauthorized use of creators' images and voices in AI-generated content, addressing growing concerns about identity misuse in the AI era.
Breakthroughs in AI Image Generation
Recent advancements in AI-powered image generation are reshaping the landscape of visual content creation. Midjourney has enhanced accessibility by launching a web-based application with free trials. Meanwhile, the rapid development of HotShot by a small team of four in just four months demonstrates the potential for agile innovation in this space. Luma has also entered the fray with an upgraded AI-to-Video tool, offering advanced capabilities in video generation from still images or text prompts.
Perhaps most notably, Ideogram has unveiled its latest update, marking a significant leap forward in text rendering for AI-generated images. This breakthrough has substantial implications for businesses looking to create professional-quality visuals quickly and efficiently.
To explore Ideogram's capabilities, I tested the platform by creating social media graphics for Intelligence Assist. I provided the following prompt:
My business is called Intelligence Assist and we help businesses adopt AI. Produce a social media graphic in dark blues and teal greens with the company name and our tagline - Your AI Journey, Simplified & Supported.The results were noteworthy, especially in terms of text rendering. Unlike previous iterations of AI image generation tools where text often appeared distorted or illegible, Ideogram produced images with crisp, clear text that was properly integrated into the designs.
Ideogram's approach of creating four "magic prompts" from the user's initial input adds an extra layer of creativity and variation. The four images generated were perfectly usable for their intended purpose, incorporating the requested elements in a clear, readable format.
Image credit: Ideogram prompted by Janey
This improvement in text rendering represents a significant step towards making AI-generated images more practical for business use. While these tools may not yet replace professional graphic designers for complex branding needs, they offer an efficient solution for creating simple, effective visuals. As AI continues to advance in this area, we can expect even more sophisticated and business-ready outputs in the future.
AI Ethics and Content Moderation: A Balancing Act
The recent controversy surrounding Amazon's Alexa, where the AI assistant provided biased responses favoring Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, highlights the challenges of maintaining neutrality in AI systems. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Elon Musk's xAI takes a radically different approach, with no filters or parental controls, allowing users to generate even outlandish content like images of a pregnant Kamala Harris kissing Donald Trump. These contrasting approaches present a conundrum: where should the line be drawn between censorship and unrestricted content generation, and who should be responsible for defining and enforcing these boundaries?
While some argue that end users should bear the responsibility for their own decision-making and content consumption, as exemplified by xAI's approach, others contend that this freedom can be abused for malicious purposes. The ideal solution likely lies somewhere between these two extremes, balancing the need for user autonomy with safeguards against harmful content.
Ultimately, the incident with Alexa serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges in developing AI systems that can navigate complex political and social issues without bias. It's worth noting that Amazon has since addressed the discrepancy in Alexa's responses, demonstrating the importance of swift action and transparency in maintaining public trust in AI technologies.
As we've seen, the AI landscape is evolving rapidly, bringing both exciting opportunities and complex challenges. From regulatory developments and cost considerations to groundbreaking advancements and ethical dilemmas, the world of AI is more dynamic than ever.
Navigating this landscape can be daunting, but it's crucial for businesses to stay informed and adapt. Whether you're looking to implement AI solutions, optimise your current AI strategy, or simply understand how these developments might impact your business, expert guidance can be invaluable.
Ready to explore how AI can transform your business? Book a chat with us at Intelligence Assist today. Our team of AI experts can help you navigate the complexities of AI adoption, ensure compliance with emerging regulations, and leverage the latest advancements to drive your business forward. Don't let the AI revolution pass you by – take the first step on your AI journey with Intelligence Assist.
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