AI Weekly Digest - April 1 2024

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New report: Worst case scenario could see 8m UK jobs at risk from AI

A new report on the impact of artificial intelligence suggests as many as eight million jobs in the UK could be at risk from AI in a “worst case scenario”. The Institute for Public Policy Research urged the government to ensure that a fair industrial strategy was in place as it said the UK was facing a?“sliding doors” moment around its implementation of generative AI. Carsten Jung, senior economist at the IPPR, said: “Already existing generative AI could lead to big labour market disruption or it could hugely boost economic growth, either way it is set to be a game changer for millions of us." He added: “The question now is less whether AI can be useful, but rather how fast and in what manner employers will use it. History shows that technological transition can be a boon if well managed, or can end in disruption if left to unfold without controls."

Reports: Apple set to use Baidu AI tech in iPhones

Apple is reported to be holding "exploratory" discussions over the use of its generative AI technology in iPhones and other devices with Chinese search engine Baidu. Baidu shares soared 5.4% after the report. The Chinese search giant and Apple both declined to comment.

'Enormous talent war' for AI engineers

Radical Ventures managing partner Jordan Jacobs said there is "an enormous talent war" for AI engineers, after?Microsoft?poached 70 staff from?Inflection, including co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan. He said: "At the top of the pyramid are the people who can build foundation models and make them sing. There are very few people who can do that effectively and there are organisations that will pay them an absolute fortune to do so."

Microsoft will pay Inflection AI $650m to license its software

Sources said?Microsoft?will pay?Inflection AI?$650m to license its artificial intelligence software, days after it poached the majority of its staff, including co-founders Mustafa Suleyman and Karén Simonyan. Observers said the deal was akin to a conventional 'acquihire', without a formal acquisition which would trigger regulatory scrutiny.

Stability AI founder exits, says 'concentration of power in AI bad for us all'

UK artificial intelligence start-up?Stability AI, which is being sued by?Getty Images?for allegedly using copyrighted pictures to train its models without permission, said founder Emad Mostaque has left. He said in a post on X: "The concentration of power in AI is bad for us all... I decided to step down to fix this at Stability & elsewhere."

FT launches first AI feature for readers

The Financial Times has beta launched its first generative AI feature. A select number of FT Professional subscribers will get the chance to ask any question and receive a curated response using content published over the past two decades. The trial feature is the latest addition to the FT Professional offering, serving nearly 8,000 businesses. Lindsey Jayne, FT chief product officer, said: “The FT has a strong track record of embracing the disruption of technology, from the arrival of the internet to the mobile revolution, and now AI. As one of the most trusted media brands in the world, we are in a unique position to mindfully engage with AI to bring value to our audience in new ways.”

Nvidia CEO: 'AI chip plans on track'

Nvidia's share price was up 2% after the US chipmaker's CEO said its flagship AI processor is set to ship later this year. Jensen Huang said he is chasing a data centre market worth potentially more than $250bn. Huang and CFO Colette Kress spoke at the group's annual developer conference, reassuring investors that the AI chip plans were on track after shares were down nearly 4% earlier in the day.

Intel and AMD could lose billions under China chip curbs

Shares in Intel and Advanced Micro Devices fell following a Financial Times report that China will limit the use of their AI grade high-end chips and servers in government computers, potentially threatening billions of dollars in sales. Bernstein analyst Stacy?Rasgon, who predicted a hit of up to $1.5bn for Intel and a few hundred million dollars for AMD, said: "A total cessation of China governmental purchases of Intel and AMD CPUs might impact revenue by low-single digits." But Rasgon said Intel could face a higher hit to its profit "given higher exposure and the vagaries of a worse cost structure".

Tennessee law 'protects musicians from AI'

Tennessee has become the first US state to pass legislation protecting musicians from AI. Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill into law - the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act. This is designed to protect artists including musicians from unauthorised use by artificial intelligence.

Intel plans $100bn spending spree across four states

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the US chip giant is planning a $100bn spending spree across four US states. The move to build and expand factories came after Intel secured $19.5bn in federal grants and loans, with?expectations to gain another $25bn via tax breaks. Gelsinger said empty fields near Columbus, Ohio, would become "the largest AI chip manufacturing site in the world", starting as early as 2027. Sites will be revamped in New Mexico and Oregon, with operations expanded in Arizona.

Oracle to roll out gen AI features across corporate software line-up

Oracle?said it will add generative artificial intelligence features across its corporate software line-up, a move reports said would intensify competition with?Microsoft?over delivering the technology to business customers. The Texas based group said the new AI features are designed to save time, and include generating reports, summarising complicated data and drafting job descriptions.

First PC with dedicated Copilot AI button

Microsoft has shown off its Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business, its first PCs with a dedicated Copilot AI button.

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