News
1. Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft recently unveiled a standalone Copilot application for Android users. This app allows users to utilize Copilot directly, bypassing the necessity of using the Bing mobile application. Featuring OpenAI’s advanced GPT-4 model and the capability for image creation via DALL-E 3, Copilot enhances user experience significantly (The Verge).
2. mRNA cancer vaccine
An experimental mRNA cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck, when paired with Merck’s Keytruda, has shown to cut the chance of recurrence or death from melanoma by half after three years (Reuters).
3. Open-source multimodal LLM
Apple, in collaboration with Cornell University, has released an open-source multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) named “Ferret” in October, which can analyze specific regions of images for queries. The checkpoint releases were introduced on December 14. This model, which operates under a non-commercial license, allows for the identification and contextual understanding of elements within an image (Apple Insider).
4. Self-checkout machine
Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, has introduced a new self-checkout technology that uses RFID to automatically identify merchandise and complete transactions, significantly speeding up the checkout process (Inc).
5. Smart insulin
A team at Zhejiang University in China has developed a “smart” insulin system that can regulate blood-glucose levels for a week in diabetic mice and minipigs with just a single injection. This new form of insulin, modified with gluconic acid and trapped in a polymer, releases insulin in response to glucose levels, mimicking the body’s natural process and offering a potential game-changer for people with type I diabetes (Arstechnica).
6. Brain activity to text
A new technology called DeWave was developed by researchers at the University of Technology Sydney, which uses an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap and AI to decode silent thoughts and convert them into text. This non-invasive system could revolutionize communication for people unable to speak due to illness or injury and enhance human-machine interactions, offering a more accessible alternative to previous methods that required surgery or MRI scans (Fox News)
Articles
1. Quantum Computing’s Hard, Cold Reality Check (IEEE Spectrum)
A small but vocal group of skeptics within the quantum computing industry, including prominent figures like Meta’s head of AI research Yann LeCun and Amazon’s head of quantum hardware Oskar Painter, are cautioning against overly optimistic expectations for the technology. They argue that the quantum computer revolution may be further off and more limited in scope than anticipated, citing challenges like error-prone quantum computers and the massive computational overhead, which make practical applications a distant goal.
2. Six takeaways from a climate-tech boom (MIT Tech Review)
The current climate-tech boom, fueled by a surge in startups reinventing clean energy and transforming industrial markets, is marked by optimism but also caution, drawing lessons from the failures of the first cleantech wave around 2006-2013. Key takeaways include the importance of market demand, avoiding hubris, understanding the complexities of scaling up molecule-based businesses, political influences, and the necessity of sound economics for the survival of climate-tech startups.
3. Will superintelligent AI sneak up on us? (Nature)
A recent study presented at the NeurIPS machine-learning conference challenges the notion of “emergence” in AI, where models like ChatGPT suddenly gain intelligence unpredictably. The study suggests that AI’s innovative abilities build more gradually and are predictable, debunking the idea of abrupt intelligence jumps in large language models and emphasizing the importance of continuous, measurement-based evaluation.
