From DOOM's Rebirth to California's Digital Leash

Welcome to edition #22 of The Leading Edge, your weekly dose of AI insights and tech shenanigans. This week, we're diving into a smorgasbord of topics that'll make your neurons dance. From retro gaming getting an AI makeover to search engines playing ad roulette, we've got it all.

Buckle up, buttercup ?? – it's going to be a wild ride.

Perplexity's Ad Venture: Search Engine or Cash Machine?

Hold onto your keyboards, folks. Perplexity, the new kid on the search engine block, is about to join the ad game. But wait, there's a twist.

Perplexity burst onto the scene in 2023, positioning itself as the cool, real-time internet capable alternative to ChatGPT. And boy, has it been on a growth spurt. We're talking revenue multiplication that'd make rabbits blush – a sevenfold increase since the start of 2024.

They've even snagged a cool $250M in funding, valuing the company at a whopping $3Bn. Not too shabby for the new kid, eh?

But here's where it gets juicy. Perplexity's web traffic has been on a rocket ship, soaring from 42M visitors in February to 74M in July. That's a lot of curious minds asking questions.

Image and Data Credit: Semrush

Now, you might remember the little plagiarism kerfuffle Perplexity found itself in earlier this year. Oops. But they've bounced back with a clever move – the "Publishers Program." They're cozying up to big names like Fortune, Time, and Entrepreneur, promising to share the wealth. Sounds nice, right?

But here's the million-dollar question (or should we say, the $50 CPM question): Where's this revenue coming from?

Ads, my friends. Ads.

Perplexity is gearing up to introduce ads in its search results, following a CPM model with initial rates over $50. That's not just high – it's stratospheric. For context, current CPM prices usually dance between $2.5 and $11.1.

Image and Data Credit: Semrush

So why the premium price tag?

Well, Perplexity's got some impressive user demographics up its sleeve. We're talking about an audience where 8 in 10 users have a college degree, 3 in 10 are in "senior leadership positions" and 65% are rolling in the dough in high-income professions. Doctors, lawyers, software engineers – you know, the folks advertisers drool over.

So, is Perplexity selling out or smartly cashing in? Only time will tell. But one thing's for sure – the line between "answer engine" and "ad platform" is getting blurrier by the day.

DOOM's AI Resurrection: Nostalgia Meets Neural Networks

Alright, fellow gamers, brace yourselves for a blast from the past with a futuristic twist. Remember DOOM? That pixelated paradise of demon-slaying goodness from the '90s? Well, it's back, baby (excuse me, when did it leave?) – and it's powered by AI!

A team of brainiacs from Google Research and Tel Aviv University have cooked up an AI-generated version of our beloved DOOM. And let me tell you, it's... interesting?

Now, before you get too excited, let's manage expectations.

This isn't going to dethrone the latest AAA titles or even compete with DOOM Eternal. In fact, it looks like DOOM's scrappy, low-res cousin who's had a few too many pixels to drink. But that's not the point.

This little experiment, dubbed GameNGen, is all about pushing the boundaries of what AI can do. It's generating a playable version of classic DOOM at a semi-decent 20 fps using a single TPU.

Is it pretty? Nope. Is it mind-blowing? You bet your BFG 9000 it is.

Here's how this madness works:

1. An RL agent learns to play DOOM, and its gaming sessions are recorded. (Imagine an AI pulling all-nighters to git gud.)

2. A diffusion model (Stable Diffusion v1.4, for you tech nerds out there) predicts the next frames based on past frames and actions.

The result?

A janky, glitchy, but undeniably DOOM-like experience generated in real-time by AI.

Now, why should we care about this pixelated fever dream? Because it's the next step in the generative AI evolution, folks. We've seen AI generate text, images, and videos. But this? This is AI creating an interactive, real-time video game by predicting what comes next. It's like if a crystal ball decided to become a game developer.

So, next time you're fragging demons in DOOM Eternal, spare a thought for its AI-generated cousin. It might look like it was rendered on a potato, but it's carrying the torch of innovation into gaming's AI-powered future.

California's SB1047: The Golden State's AI Balancing Act

Alright, tech enthusiasts and policy wonks, gather 'round. California is taking a page out of Europe's book and cooking up their own AI regulation stew. Enter Senate Bill 1047, or as I like to call it, "The 'Let's Not Let AI Take Over the World' Act."

SB 1047, officially known as the "Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act" (try saying that five times fast), is California's attempt to wrangle the wild west of large AI models.

Let's break down this legislative rodeo, shall we?

1. Size Matters: This bill is all about the big boys (or protecting them ??). We're talking AI models that cost at least $100 million to develop and guzzle computational power like it's going out of style. Small startups, you can breathe easy – for now.

2. The Emergency Brake: Developers need to implement comprehensive safety measures, including an "emergency stop" feature. Because nothing says "we've got this under control" like a big red button labeled "In Case of AI Uprising, Push Here." ??

3. Meet the New Boss: Say hello to the Board of Frontier Models, a new regulatory body that'll be keeping an eye on these AI behemoths. Because what we really needed was some bureaucrats telling the tech world what to do, right? right?

4. Whistleblower's Paradise: The bill includes protections for employees who report non-compliance or potential risks. Needed, in my opinion, considering the antics of OpenAI.

Now, let's talk turkey. This bill has already passed both the California State Senate (32-1) and Assembly (48-16). It's now up to Governor Gavin Newsom to give it the final nod.

So, what's the verdict? Well, it's complicated.

On one hand, regulation isn't inherently bad.

But here's the rub: the real risk isn't AI suddenly deciding to cosplay as Skynet. It's about falling behind in the global AI arms race. California, the silicon-paved promised land of innovation and VC money, might just be shooting itself in the foot here.

The bill seems to be fighting yesterday's war, worrying about AI overlords when we should be concerned about staying competitive on the global stage. It's like bringing a rulebook to a drag race – sure, it might make things safer, but you might also find yourself eating dust.

Don't get me wrong, some parts of this bill are spot-on. Whistleblower protections? Absolutely necessary, especially after the OpenAI drama. But an emergency stop button? That's some serious sci-fi thinking right there. This ain't 2001: A Space Odyssey. ??

Regulation is a delicate dance. Too little, and we risk unchecked AI development. Too much, and we might find ourselves waving goodbye as other countries zoom past us in the AI fast lane. So, California, here's some free advice: Keep innovating, keep pushing boundaries, but maybe ease up on the doomsday prepping. ????

Keep the AI Conversation Rolling

And there you have it, folks – another week in the wild world of AI. From DOOM's pixelated resurrection to California's legislative juggling act, we've covered a lot of ground.

We're 22 editions deep, and we're still growing strong. But hey, this newsletter isn't a monologue – it's a dialogue. So, hit that reply button and let me know what you think! Got a burning topic you want to see covered next week? A hot take on AI regulation? Or maybe you just want to share your high score in AI-generated DOOM? Whatever it is, I'm all ears.

And remember, if you found this newsletter as enlightening as a well-trained neural network, spread the love! Share it with your colleagues, your tech-savvy grandma, or that guy at the coffee shop who won't stop talking about blockchain. Let's grow this community of AI enthusiasts together.

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