👩‍💻 Metaproof AI

Hey frens, this is Sophia from 👩‍💻 Metaproof AI, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking things up across industries.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your AI news every Thursday.

📲 By the numbers

Investors are going nuts for ChatGPT-ish AI. Here are some numbers around the current craze (Source):

• ChatGPT may now have more than 100 million users.

• In January, Microsoft reportedly poured another $10B in OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, on top of an earlier investment of $1B.

• There are now 539 generative-AI startups, according to a spreadsheet maintained by VC firm NFX, and not counting OpenAI, they have so far collectively raised more than $11B in capital.

• The share price of Nvidia, which designs chips useful for AI apps, is up by 60% so far this year.

📫 News & trends

🦾 Elon Musk is hiring artificial intelligence researchers to develop ChatGPT rival

Is Elon Musk feeling the heat? The billionaire’s recent efforts to recruit AI researchers to form a new research lab and develop an alternative to the chatbot ChatGPT is now in the spotlight. Musk has been in talks to hire Igor Babuschkin, a researcher who recently left Alphabet's DeepMind AI unit, to lead the development of the competition to the high-profile chatbot produced by startup OpenAI. 

It can be noted that Musk has been critical of ChatGPT, calling it “scary good” and has warned of the dangers of AI by dubbing it “one of the biggest risks to the future of civilization.” He has also cut ties with OpenAI and suggested regulating AI safety. We’ll keep posted on where Musk and Babuschkin’s discussions will lead in the pursuit of AI research. 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 After losing billions of dollars on the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg's launching a 'top-level' team at Meta to develop AI products for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram

Mark Zuckerberg’s attention is currently on AI as his company Meta forms a new "top-level product group" focused on generative AI. In a Facebook post, the Meta CEO highlighted their focus on "building delightful experiences around this technology” across their different products, saying they will drive, over the longer term, the development of AI personas to help people in a variety of ways. Meta is exploring AI experiences with text in WhatsApp and Messenger, along with images in Instagram. Meta's foray into generative AI follows its $13.7B bid for the metaverse in 2022. Its big tech rivals Google, Microsoft, and Snapchat all launched their versions of AI bots.

📱 Snapchat launches an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology

In the continuing frenzy around all things AI, Snapchat is the latest company to get on board. It just launched My AI, a new chatbot that runs OpenAI’s GPT technology in its latest version and with customizations for its user base. Some details we know so far:

• My AI is now available as an experimental feature for Snapchat+, the social network’s $3.99 a month subscription service.

• You’ll find the new chatbot pinned to the top of the Chat tab, assisting with things like answering a trivia question, planning a weekend hiking trip, or writing a haiku. 

• It’s trained to have a unique voice and personality that plays into its values about “friendship, learning and fun,” as well as to adhere to the app’s trust and safety guidelines.

• Snapchat caters to a largely young user base, thus the emphasis on safety and the chatbot designed to avoid harmful or misleading topics. The app claims to reach 750 million people monthly, with 75% of 13 to 34-year-olds in over 20 countries.

✍️ Meet the first-ever artificial intelligence editor at the Financial Times

Madhumita Murgia, a self-described accidental tech journalist who studied non-human intelligence in a gray parrot when she was a biology student, is now the Financial Times’ first-ever artificial intelligence editor. The herculean task ahead of her: lead the coverage on the rapidly evolving AI field and provide advice and expertise to other FT reporters in their increasing encounters of “stories about how AI is upending industries around the world.” The job of breaking news and diving deep into how AI technologies work may appear simple, but Murgia’s new role reflects the complicated, extremely transformative nature of AI and how it’s changing entire industries, from the creative world to medicine to the moral conundrum it causes. 

🏬 Artificial intelligence is transforming the function of finance—and turning accountants into innovators, according to Microsoft

Finance teams have long played a critical role in organizations, ensuring that budgets are managed efficiently and relevant risks are minimized. However, in recent years, their role has expanded to include a more strategic focus on innovation and growth. Insights from Microsoft’s Economic Guardians of the Future report reflect the following:

• 80% of finance leaders believe that they and their teams are being challenged more than ever to add value beyond their standard roles and responsibilities, a shift partly driven by the uncertain economic climate

• 82% of finance leaders found AI and automation very important in helping evolve their team’s role to support their organization’s strategic goals. Per Microsoft: “As finance professionals seek more ways to work smarter, not harder, low-code automation tools remove IT barriers. Empowered with automation and AI, people are more connected, collaborative, and ready to tackle strategic work.”

📷 The impact of artificial intelligence on modern photography

The well-established field of photography isn’t spared from the far-reaching effects of AI. From automated editing to image recognition, AI is changing the way photographers work and creating new possibilities for the industry. In this space, AI can be used to automate 3D reconstruction, enhance images, detect objects, and enable automated editing - meaning photographers can spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time focusing on creative work.

AI can also be leveraged for image classification, personalization, facial recognition, and creative assistance. Photographers organize their work and find specific images quickly, as well as tailor their work to specific audiences. The end goal: develop a competitive edge that will take their practice to new heights. 

🧠 Companies use artificial intelligence to make business decisions, but experts say bad data equals bad decisions

AI has been aiding companies in big decisions such as hiring or laying off workers, yet a professor advises caution in using this tool in the decision-making process. Pontikes Center for Advanced Analytical and Artificial Intelligence Director Jim Nelson says that while AI is great at processing repetitive mundane tasks analyzing data at an extremely high rate, there’s a disadvantage to it as well depending on the data being processed. He explains: “If you give it incomplete data, if you give it incorrect data, then the suggestions, the recommendations that it will give will be as good as the bad data that was given to it.” At the end of the day, human touch is still likely the key: ensure the important details aren’t left out in decision-making.

🏃‍♂️Quick hits 

• Google is building on its long history of leveraging AI to improve search, harnessing AI-powered features that distill complex information and various perspectives into simple-to-digest information.

• Cheers! A Michigan brewery used AI to create a new beer - a blend of Centennial, Citra and Amarillo hops, producing tropical and citrus flavors and aromas.

• Scientists have developed open-source, AI-driven software LabGym to analyze animal behavior and potentially help develop more drugs and scientific breakthroughs.

• Publisher Axel Springer, while on a mission to boost revenue at German newspapers Bild and Die Welt and transition to pure digital media, says journalists could be replaced by AI and that job cuts lay ahead. 

• Bad news for the environment? AI training is powered mostly by fossil fuels, where it relies on electrical grids primarily powered by coal and gas rather than low-carbon sources.

💸 Finance buzz

• AI crypto assets continue to surge despite a brief downturn in mid-February, with the net value of 74 listed AI-focused cryptocurrencies rising to more than $4B, which accounts for 0.37% of the entire crypto economy’s value. (Source)

• Lemonade (LMND 2.45%) is using AI to reshape the insurance industry, and it could be one AI stock to soar this year. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your AI news every Thursday.