Welcome to Your TOP 5 NEWS on AI! [#7]

Welcome to another edition of 'You Top 5 Weekly AI News', where I bring you the most important, exciting, and impactful AI stories from the past week. In today's edition you will learn the following:

• ?? AI: The Productivity Savior We've Been Waiting For?
• ?? GM's AI Gamble: 1,000 Jobs Cut, But Is It Worth the Risk?
• ?? The Great AI Takeover: Are IT Pros Becoming Obsolete?
• ?? AI: The New Boogeyman of Fortune 500 Companies?
• ?? Authors vs. AI: The Battle for Intellectual Property Begins!

My weekly comment: AI Arms Race: Will it Unite or Divide the World?

I've been immersed in AI agents and procurement processes for a long time. It's a lot of fun, it's not easy but it gives you a lot of motivation and forces you to look ahead. And this "looking ahead" has got me thinking over the last few days.

Because it's all well and good - we're dabbling with our AI apps and are happy when we achieve success in the tests. And that's a good thing, that's how it should work. But sometimes it makes sense to take a step, or maybe two, backwards and look at how the framework conditions for our AI activities have actually changed.

With the help of some great newsletters, articles and also AI Search, I have done a relatively rough and high level analysis on the topic of "Global AI regulations". This activity has resulted in this simple overview, which is intended to show where the focus of the individual countries and regions lies in terms of regulation.

I don't want to discuss and analyse the whole overview here. Others can certainly do that better and more skilfully. I would like to focus our attention on the criteria "Main Focus" and "Goal". What do we see there?

In my view, we are seeing more and more of a clear picture - the USA and China, as the biggest competitors, want to get the biggest slice of the cake. Both are doing this by different means. China with a top-down approach focussing on supremacy. The USA is focussing more on the market and its free mechanisms, which will give the strongest players an advantage. The USA currently also has an advantage over other global regions, which is why this approach is understandable. And we know the activities of the US government to keep as much of the AI value chain as possible within its sphere of influence.

It's probably not really news that I described above either. The question I have is: where is Europe / EU in the whole race? Will we be able to keep up with the pace of AI application development? Because when it comes to the technology itself (development of LLMs, etc.), I don't think Europe plays a role anyway.

From some conversations with AI companies from the EU, I gather that they are increasingly looking for their customers outside the EU, as the framework conditions elsewhere allow for easier further development. Is this a development that we want?

The question that arises is rather: what should we do in order to be able to play a part in the global competition? What do you think?

Here is the link to my article from 2023 on “AI and geopolitics”:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/lukasz-julian-ostrowski_ai-technology-geopolitics-activity-7069389457694597120-bVig?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Articles

TOP ARTICLE! How to fine-tune AI for prosperity

The article discusses the potential of artificial intelligence to boost economic productivity, examining its current impact, challenges, and future prospects across various sectors. It emphasizes the need for AI to be more broadly applicable and tailored to specific industries to achieve significant economic growth.

Key Takeaways

• Productivity growth has been sluggish in recent decades, and AI is seen as a potential solution to reverse this trend.
• Current generative AI models have shown promise in boosting productivity in certain areas, but their overall economic impact remains limited.
• For AI to have a transformative effect on the economy, it needs to be applicable to a broader range of industries, particularly manufacturing and scientific research.
• The development of AI models tailored to specific sectors and tasks is crucial for widespread adoption and economic impact.
• Collaboration between AI companies, industry experts, and researchers is necessary to create more effective and relevant AI solutions.
• The timeline for AI's significant impact on overall economic productivity is uncertain and may take years or even decades to fully materialize.
• Big Tech companies dominating AI development have a responsibility to focus on creating broadly applicable AI solutions that can benefit the entire economy.

GM cuts 1,000 software jobs as it prioritizes quality and AI

GM is cutting 1,000 software jobs globally to prioritize high-impact initiatives like improving Super Cruise, enhancing infotainment quality, and exploring AI applications, aiming to streamline operations and compete more effectively in the software-defined vehicle market.

Key Takeaways

• GM is cutting approximately 1,000 software jobs worldwide
• The cuts are aimed at focusing on high-priority initiatives, not cost-cutting
• Key focus areas include improving Super Cruise, enhancing infotainment quality, and exploring AI applications
• The move follows recent software issues, including glitches in the Blazer EV
• GM recently underwent leadership changes in its software and services division
• The majority of job cuts will be in Michigan
• The company aims to simplify operations for speed and excellence in the software-defined vehicle market

74% of IT pros see AI making their skills obsolete

A Pluralsight survey reveals widespread concern among IT professionals about AI's impact on their careers, with 74% fearing skill obsolescence and 69% worried about job replacement. Despite this, most IT workers feel confident about adapting to AI, while executives acknowledge the need for AI-skilled staff for successful implementation.

Key Takeaways

• 74% of IT professionals worry AI will make their daily skills obsolete
• 69% of IT pros believe they're at risk of being replaced by AI
• 35% of executives plan to use AI to eliminate unnecessary positions
• 96% of IT workers prioritize updating their AI skills for job security
• 90% of executives don't fully understand their teams' AI proficiency
• 81% of IT professionals feel confident about integrating AI into their roles
• Both IT pros (94%) and executives (95%) believe AI initiatives will fail without staff who can effectively use these tools

The number of Fortune 500 companies flagging AI risks has soared 473.5%

Fortune 500 companies increasingly cite AI as a risk factor in annual reports, with a 473.5% increase from the previous year. The media and entertainment industry leads in AI risk mentions, while automotive companies show the least concern. Companies highlight various AI-related risks, including competition, intellectual property, cybersecurity, and consumer perception.

Key Takeaways

• 281 Fortune 500 companies (56.2%) cited AI as a risk in their annual reports, a 473.5% increase from the previous year.
• Media and entertainment industry shows the highest concern, with 91.7% of companies in this sector mentioning AI risks.
• Key AI-related risks include competitive disadvantages, intellectual property issues, cybersecurity threats, and potential negative impacts on business reputation.
• Companies incorporating AI into their products also warn about potential risks and unintended consequences.
• Consumer perception of AI-labeled products may be negative, requiring companies to demonstrate clear benefits.
• The surge in AI risk mentions coincides with increased awareness following ChatGPT's release in late 2022.
• AI risk concerns vary significantly across industries, with automotive, energy, and manufacturing sectors showing less concern.

Authors sue Anthropic for training AI using pirated books

Authors sue Anthropic for allegedly training AI models on pirated books from the Books3 dataset within The Pile, accusing the company of copyright infringement and seeking damages and prevention of future unauthorized use of copyrighted material.

Key Takeaways

• A group of authors filed a class action lawsuit against Anthropic for alleged copyright infringement
• Anthropic is accused of using The Pile dataset, which includes Books3, a collection of pirated ebooks, to train its Claude AI chatbots.
• The lawsuit seeks damages and aims to prevent Anthropic from using copyrighted material in the future.
• Similar lawsuits have been filed against other tech companies, including Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
• The case highlights ongoing concerns about AI companies' use of copyrighted material for model training.

?? Would you like to receive my TOP 5 AI news at regular intervals? Please subscribe! Here is the LINK

?? If you want to read my other articles cyclically, you can do so on my Substack

?? If you would like to learn more about what you can do with AI in Procurement, arrange a call with me!