Singularintel #20
The Rabbit R1, a device powered by Perplexity's AI, is designed to provide up-to-date answers to users. The AI provider, Perplexity, is a San Francisco-based startup aiming to compete with Google in the AI space. The Rabbit R1, priced at $199, does not require a subscription to access Perplexity's search results. However, the first 100,000 buyers will receive a one-year Perplexity Pro subscription, usually costing $200, for free. This advanced service includes file upload support, a daily quota of over 300 complex queries, and the ability to switch to other AI models. The Rabbit R1, designed by Teenage Engineering, features a 2.88-inch touchscreen, a scroll wheel, two mics, a speaker, a rotational camera, and a "Push-to-Talk" button. It can perform tasks like booking rides, finding recipes based on available ingredients, identifying people and objects, or fact-checking, all powered by Perplexity's real-time search engine
Amazon is testing an AI tool that allows shoppers to ask questions about specific products. This feature aims to prevent shoppers from having to scroll through pages of reviews or read through a listing to find information about an item. The tool, part of Amazon's mobile app, prompts users to ask questions about a specific item and returns an answer within a few seconds, primarily by summarizing information collected from product reviews and the listing itself. The tool is not designed for conversation but can respond to creative prompts, such as writing a haiku about a product or describing the item in the style of Yoda from Star Wars
Adobe is introducing new AI-powered audio editing features to Premiere Pro, aiming to eliminate some of the tedious tasks involved in editing, such as manually locating specific tools or cleaning up poor-quality dialogue. New workflows will be available in the Premiere Pro public beta, including interactive fade handles that enable users to quickly create custom audio transitions by dragging them directly across their main editing timeline. The Enhanced Speech beta feature, which automatically cleans up poorly recorded dialogue by removing unwanted background noise and improving overall clarity, will become generally available to all Premiere Pro users in the coming weeks
Microsoft announced new features for its AI companion, Copilot, aimed at empowering more people and businesses. The company introduced Copilot Pro, a premium subscription that provides a higher tier of AI capabilities, including priority access to the latest models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo. This subscription also offers enhanced AI image creation with Image Creator from Designer, which is faster and provides more detailed image quality. Microsoft also announced the general availability of the Copilot app for iOS and Android phones
Microsoft Copilot is designed to be an everyday AI companion for work and life. It can be accessed in Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It offers premium AI features like accelerated AI image creation with DALL-E 3 and priority access during peak times for faster answers and content creation
OpenAI launched the GPT Store, a platform where users can find and share custom versions of ChatGPT. Since its announcement, users have created over 3 million custom versions of ChatGPT. OpenAI also plans to launch a GPT builder revenue program, where US builders will be paid based on user engagement with their GPTs
Samsung has also integrated AI into its latest premium S24 Android phones. The Galaxy S24 series includes features like instant phone call translation, new Google search, and advanced image and video-editing features. The phone's video and photo editing features are packed with generative AI tech, which can produce instant slow-mo videos from regular videos by generating additional frames. Samsung's image editor will add a watermark and metadata to any AI-altered content
Microsoft and Vodafone have announced a 10-year strategic partnership, which includes the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Vodafone will invest $1.5 billion over the next decade in cloud and customer-focused AI services developed with Microsoft. Microsoft will leverage Vodafone's fixed and mobile connectivity services. The generative AI component of the deal aims to transform Vodafone's customer experience through Microsoft's generative AI tools. Microsoft Azure's OpenAI Service will be implemented across all Vodafone customer touchpoints, including TOBi, the digital assistant available in 13 of its service countries. Employees of the telecom giant will also have access to Microsoft's AI tool Copilot to boost productivity and improve digital efficiency
FDA has granted clearance to DermaSensor's AI-powered tool for evaluating skin cancer, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. The device demonstrated a 96% sensitivity when detecting 224 skin cancers in a study involving over 1000 patients. The AI-based tool can generate an immediate result, and a negative reading conferred a 97% possibility of a benign skin condition
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new focus on building artificial general intelligence (AGI). As part of this initiative, Meta's AI research group, FAIR, will be moved to the same part of the company as the team building generative AI products across Meta's apps. The goal is for Meta's AI breakthroughs to more directly reach its billions of users. However, there is no clear definition for AGI or an idea of when it will arrive
TikTok is testing a new feature called "AI Song" that uses generative AI to create original music based on text prompts. This feature is currently being offered to some users to generate music to accompany their video clips. The music is generated through a basic text command process within the app. The lyrics generated by the tool are powered by Bloom, a company that specializes in AI-generated content.