In the fast-paced realm of artificial intelligence (AI), the past week has witnessed a crescendo of innovation that's set to redefine the AI landscape. From OpenAI's game-changing overhaul of ChatGPT to Meta's bold foray into AI-powered smart glasses, the boundaries of what AI can achieve have been pushed to the limits, marking an exhilarating chapter in the tech world.
ChatGPT: A Chatbot's Resurgence
OpenAI, backed by tech juggernaut Microsoft, is back in the spotlight with groundbreaking updates to its renowned AI chatbot, ChatGPT. In a revelatory announcement, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared, "ChatGPT is so back." What's the buzz all about? ChatGPT is no longer bound by historical data; it can now browse the internet for current and authoritative information, keeping users in the loop with real-time knowledge.
But that's not all. OpenAI also dropped a bombshell by revealing that ChatGPT is gradually incorporating support for processing images, video, voice, and text. Now that is truly terrifying.
Meta's Ray-Ban Stories
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has taken a bold stride into the future with the launch of Ray-Ban Stories, a pair of smart glasses seamlessly integrated with Meta's AI capabilities. In a video presentation, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the glasses' AI-driven features, including their ability to recognize objects the user gazes at and provide step-by-step audio instructions. Imagine asking your glasses for help with a leaky faucet and having them guide you through the repair process—hands-free.
Watch the robot-led presentation here:
These $META Smart Glasses look insane! They can essentially let you Google anything you are looking at. pic.twitter.com/vM4HzcMJjL
— Stocktwits (@Stocktwits) September 27, 2023
These futuristic glasses also possess real-time text translation abilities, allowing wearers to decipher text seen through the lenses effortlessly. A forthcoming software update will equip the glasses with multimodal skills, enabling them to comprehend visual information when users pose questions. Additionally, Ray-Ban Stories come equipped with live streaming capabilities, enabling users to share their experiences with friends and followers without lifting a finger.
Amazon Invests $4 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic
In a strategic move to bolster its position in the competitive AI arena, Amazon has committed to investing up to a staggering $4 billion in the burgeoning artificial intelligence startup , Anthropic. Founded by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic has garnered attention with its AI chatbot, Claude, which promises a unique conversational experience.
Amazon's initial investment of $1.25 billion secures a minority stake in the startup, signaling the tech giant's ambitious plans in the AI space. The partnership extends cloud infrastructure support to Anthropic, enabling the advancement of its "frontier model," Claude-Next. This model is projected to be ten times more powerful than the current leading AI systems, setting the stage for groundbreaking AI capabilities.
In return, Amazon Web Services customers will enjoy early access to Anthropic's cutting-edge AI models, putting Amazon in direct competition with tech heavyweights like Microsoft and Google in the generative AI field. Anthropic's mission goes beyond ChatGPT's limitations, as Claude can process up to 100,000 tokens of information, paving the way for nuanced and sophisticated conversations.
Back Down with a Bump
The week’s left us a little breathless. But, let’s come back down gradually with the news that startup-focused fintech Brex has unveiled “Brex Assistant” which is designed to tackle the problem of employee expenses. I know. Expenses. Perfect reading for a Friday afternoon. The Assistant knows when an employee embarks on a work-related trip, all thanks to their trusty calendar. When flight bookings are made, the Assistant automatically allocates the correct travel budget, drafts a memo, and conjures up the itemized receipt. And here's the kicker—it's all in strict compliance with the company's policies.
But that's not all. The Assistant employs language processing wizardry, a trick up its digital sleeve borrowed from Brex's other smart solutions. This means employees can toss questions and prompts its way in conversational language, as if they were having one of those wonderful chats with their finance team. It's user interaction elevated to an art form.
Now, let's take a look at a fintech called Tipalti. They've released yet another product that aims to deal with expense management in the form of Tipalti Expenses. The system promises to turn the tide in how businesses navigate employee spending and reimbursements. Not only does this nifty innovation blend seamlessly with Tipalti's existing platform, but it also boasts the remarkable feat of a unified funding flow. The result? An estimated 80% reduction in the drudgery of manual tasks.
But wait, there's more! The Tipalti mobile app enters the scene, ensuring flexibility par excellence. Businesses can now oversee expenses on the fly, complete with features like instant receipt uploads for prompt approvals.
Now, you’ll have to pardon our tone. But expenses? Fine. We’ll admit it’s important, and that it’s a headache. But, it just brings you down to earth with a bit of a bump.