Artificial intelligence

Japan to launch new international AI dialogue framework

Japan is considering creating a new framework for dialogue involving like-minded nations to discuss international regulations on the appropriate use of generative AI technology. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to make the announcement at the upcoming OECD ministerial council meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Paris from 2 May to 3 May, revealed a government source.  

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to introduce the concept of a ‘Friends’ meeting specifically focused on AI issues,  which aims to extend the discussions initiated by last year’s Hiroshima AI Process. This initiative, launched at the G7 summit chaired by Japan in Hiroshima, seeks to develop global regulations to guide the development and application of AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, and to mitigate risks such as the spread of misinformation which could threaten political stability and democracy.

The Hiroshima AI process includes a comprehensive policy framework comprising guiding principles and a code of conduct for both developers and users of advanced AI systems. These guidelines are designed to ensure safety, security and trustworthiness in AI deployment.

Given the urgency of setting universal standards, Japan views the OECD gathering as a strategic platform to draw attention to the significance of the Hiroshima AI Process and securing broad support from the public and private sectors, according to the source. 

OpenAI hires first employee in India for AI policy

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has appointed Pragya Misra, its first employee in India, to lead government relations and public policy affairs. This move comes as India prepares for a new administration to influence AI regulations in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing tech markets. Previously with Truecaller AB and Meta Platforms Inc., Misra brings a wealth of experience navigating policy issues and partnerships within the tech industry.

The hiring reflects OpenAI’s strategic efforts to advocate for favourable regulations amid the global push for AI governance. Given its vast population and expanding economy, India presents a significant growth opportunity for tech giants. However, regulatory complexities in India have posed challenges, with authorities aiming to protect local industries while embracing technological advancements.

Why does it matter?

OpenAI’s engagement in India mirrors competition from other tech giants like Google, which is developing AI models tailored for the Indian market to address linguistic diversity and expand internet access beyond English-speaking urban populations. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, emphasised the need for AI research to enhance government services like healthcare, underscoring the importance of integrating emerging technologies into public sectors.

During Altman’s visit to India last year, he highlighted the country’s early adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Altman has advocated for responsible AI development, calling for regulations to mitigate potential harms from AI technologies. While current AI versions may not require major regulatory changes, Altman believes that evolving AI capabilities will soon necessitate comprehensive governance.

UK union proposes bill to protect workers from AI risks

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the UK has proposed a bill to safeguard workers from the potential risks posed by AI-powered decision-making in the workplace. The government has maintained a relatively light-touch approach to regulating AI, preferring to rely on existing laws and regulatory bodies. The TUC’s proposal seeks to prompt the government to adopt a firmer stance on regulating AI and ensuring worker protection.

According to the TUC, the bill addresses the risks associated with AI deployment and advocates for trade union rights concerning employers’ use of AI systems. Mary Towers, a TUC policy officer, emphasised the urgency of action, stating that while AI rapidly transforms society and work, there are currently no specific AI-related laws in the UK. The proposed bill aims to fill this legislative gap and ensure everyone benefits from AI opportunities while being shielded from potential harm.

Why does it matter?

While the UK government has outlined an approach to AI regulation based on harms rather than risks, the TUC argues for more comprehensive legislation akin to the EU’s AI Act, which is the world’s first legislation to address AI risks. The TUC’s efforts, including forming an AI task force and the proposed AI bill, underscore the pressing need for legislation to protect workers’ rights and ensure that AI advancements benefit all members of society, not just a few.

Meta launches Llama 3 to challenge OpenAI

Meta Platforms launched its latest large language model, Llama 3, and a real-time image generator designed to update pictures as users type prompts. The development aims to catch up with the generative AI market leader, OpenAI. The models are set to be integrated into Meta’s virtual assistant, Meta AI, which the company claims to be the most advanced among its free-to-use counterparts. Performance comparisons highlight its reasoning, coding, and creative writing capabilities against competitors like Google and Mistral AI.

Meta is giving prominence to its updated Meta AI assistant within its various platforms, positioning it to compete more directly with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The assistant will feature prominently in Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger apps, along with a standalone website offering various functionalities, from creating vacation packing lists to providing homework help.

The development of Llama 3 is part of Meta’s efforts to challenge OpenAI’s leading position in generative AI. The company has openly released its Llama models for developers, aiming to disrupt rivals’ revenue plans with powerful free options. However, critics have raised safety concerns about unscrupulous actors’ potential misuse of such models.

While Llama 3 currently outputs only text, future versions will incorporate multimodal capabilities, generating text and images. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasised the performance of Llama 3 versions against other free models, indicating a growing performance gap between free and proprietary models. The company aims to address previous issues with understanding context by leveraging high-quality data and significantly increasing the training data for Llama 3.

Baidu’s chatbot Ernie Bot surpasses 200 million users

Baidu, a leading Chinese technology company, announced that its AI chatbot, ‘Ernie Bot,’ has reached 200 million users. This announcement, made by CEO Robin Li, comes a few months after its introduction in March and subsequent public release in August. Ernie Bot’s application programming interface (API) is utilized 200 million times daily, indicating its widespread use. Moreover, Ernie Bot’s enterprise client base has reached 85,000. 

Facing competition from domestic rivals like Moonshot AI’s ‘Kimi’ chatbot, backed by Alibaba, Ernie Bot navigates a dynamic market. Last month, Ernie Bot recorded 14.9 million visits compared to Kimi’s 12.6 million, reflecting a tightly contested AI landscape. The regulatory environment in China, requiring government approval for public AI releases, adds a layer of complexity, affecting the speed at which new technologies can enter the market.

China hosts 130 large language models (LLMs), comprising 40% of the total global population and second only to the United States. Despite these figures, Chinese AI technologies, including Ernie Bot, fail to bridge the gap with global leaders like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which achieved 1.86 billion views last month. 

This development for Baidu’s Ernie Bot highlights the rapid adoption and potential of Chinese AI technologies, with China aiming to become a global leader in the AI industry by 2030, with an AI market projected to reach $104.70bn USD.

FDA approves new AI tool for sepsis detection

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Sepsis ImmunoScore, a diagnostic tool based on artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, developed by Prenosis. This is the first approval for an AI tool dedicated to the early detection and prediction of sepsis, a condition resulting from a harmful immune response to infection.

Created by the Chicago-based firm Prenosis, the Sepsis ImmunoScore integrates into hospital electronic health records to provide immediate diagnostic and predictive insights. The tool analyzes 22 biomarkers and clinical data to evaluate the risk of developing sepsis within 24 hours of a patient’s admission to an emergency or hospital setting.

With its capability to generate a risk score and categorize patients into four distinct levels of risk, the Sepsis ImmunoScore aids healthcare providers in making informed treatment decisions swiftly, which is crucial for high-risk patients.

The FDA’s De Novo pathway facilitated this approval, highlighting the tool’s novelty and the moderate risk it presents. This pathway is often used for innovative devices that also offer a new approach to medical treatment or diagnosis.

The urgency for advanced diagnostic tools like this stems from the substantial impact of sepsis, which affects over 1.7 million adults in the U.S. each year, with about 350,000 resulting fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prompt diagnosis and treatment are critical, as the mortality rate increases significantly with delays in sepsis detection.

Sepsis diagnosis has historically been complicated due to the non-specific nature of its early symptoms, such as fever and increased heart rate, which can resemble those of other conditions. The ImmunoScore addresses these challenges by providing a quantifiable assessment of a patient’s risk for sepsis, supporting more targeted and timely interventions.

To develop this tool, Prenosis utilized its extensive biobank and dataset comprising more than 100,000 blood samples from over 25,000 patients. This research was crucial in identifying the biomarkers and patient parameters that are predictive of sepsis, enhancing the tool’s accuracy.

The approval of the Sepsis ImmunoScore by the FDA is a notable development in the field of medical diagnostics and represents a significant step towards the application of AI technologies in healthcare.

Israeli startup Bridgewise raises $21 million for AI investment research

Bridgewise, a Tel Aviv-based startup harnessing AI for investment research, has secured $21 million in funding amidst a surge in technology adoption within the finance industry. Founded in 2019, the company employs machine-learning algorithms trained on historical data to offer tailored investment analysis to brokerages, wealth advisors, and major exchanges like Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange. Their robo-advisor, Bridget, can provide personalised financial insights akin to a conversational ChatGPT experience.

The latest funding round, led by SIX Group alongside Group 11 and L4 Venture Builder, aims to propel Bridgewise’s global expansion and the development of new AI tools. With 50 clients and a presence on 35 trading platforms, Bridgewise caters to users in 22 languages across 15 countries, including Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the US. Their research covers over 36,000 equities and 14,500 exchange-traded or mutual funds, continuously updated with real-time data sourced from news reports and social media.

Gaby Diamant, Bridgewise’s CEO, emphasised the company’s mission to simplify investment analysis, regardless of language barriers or financial jargon comprehension. Bridgewise’s innovative approach extends to its micro language model (MLM), which delivers conversational analysis in the user’s preferred language. While larger language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 boast trillion-parameter capabilities, Bridgewise’s MLM optimises efficiency and expertise by focusing on specific datasets, a strategy poised to evolve into larger language models tailored to specific markets and customer needs.

Microsoft teams up with G42 in bid to ditch China

Microsoft Corporation is set to inject $1.5 billion into G42, a leading AI firm based in the UAE, following intricate negotiations with the US government. G42’s agreement to sever ties with China and embrace American technology underpins this landmark investment, positioning it strategically amidst global technological realignments. The deal underscores Washington’s efforts to constrain Chinese access to AI and amplifies the partnership between Microsoft and G42, with Microsoft President Brad Smith slated to join G42’s board.

Behind closed doors, G42 engaged in talks with the US Commerce Department‘s Bureau of Industry and Security, committing to scale back its operations in China or risk punitive measures from Washington. With influential backing from Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, G42 aims to establish itself as a regional AI powerhouse.

This move of US Commerce Department, part of the broader Biden administration’s agenda, reflects a concerted push to counter China’s technological dominance and bolster alliances worldwide.

G42’s agreement with Microsoft secures a substantial investment and paves the way for enhanced collaboration in AI applications, leveraging Microsoft’s Azure cloud infrastructure. Amidst scrutiny over alleged ties to blacklisted Chinese firms, G42 denies any affiliations with Beijing’s government or its military-industrial complex. The deal’s culmination signals a pivotal moment in the tech landscape, driven by strategic realignments and a concerted effort to navigate geopolitical complexities.

OpenAI inaugurates its office in Tokyo

OpenAI, supported by Microsoft, has set its sights on Japan, inaugurating its first Asia office in Tokyo. CEO Sam Altman expressed enthusiasm for a long-term collaboration with Japan, envisioning partnerships with government bodies, businesses, and research institutions. With the success of its ChatGPT AI chatbot, OpenAI seeks to expand its revenue streams globally.

Altman and COO Brad Lightcap have been actively engaging Fortune 500 executives in the US and UK, signalling a concerted effort to attract business. Last year’s meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida laid the groundwork for OpenAI’s expansion into Japan, joining its offices in London and Dublin. Japan, aiming to bolster its competitiveness against China, sees AI as pivotal in its digital transformation and addressing labour shortages.

OpenAI is strategically positioned with a tailored model for the Japanese language, led by Tadao Nagasaki, former president of Amazon Web Services in Japan. Despite Japan’s reputation as a technology follower, companies like SoftBank and NTT are investing in large language models. Notable Japanese clients of OpenAI include Toyota Motor, Daikin Industries, and local government entities.

The move aligns with Microsoft’s recent commitment of $2.9 billion over two years to bolster cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan. The investment surge from US tech giants underscores Japan’s growing importance in the global AI landscape and its alignment to maintain a solid place in the race for cutting-edge technology development.

US-China tensions rise as Biden adds more entities to blacklist

President Biden’s administration has escalated tensions with China by adding more Chinese entities to an export blacklist than any previous US government. This latest move by the Commerce Department brings the total number of entities targeted under Biden to 319, surpassing the count during Trump’s tenure. The decision underscores the increasing use of economic tools to achieve foreign policy objectives, particularly as Biden seeks to limit China’s access to advanced technology, citing national security concerns.

The heightened scrutiny on China comes amidst growing apprehensions in Washington over President Xi Jinping’s assertiveness towards Taiwan, fueling fears of Beijing leveraging American technology to bolster its military capabilities. Both Democrats and Republicans have rallied behind the tough stance on China, reflecting bipartisan consensus on the issue, especially with the upcoming elections looming. Biden has maintained Trump’s tariffs while expanding restrictions on Beijing’s access to cutting-edge innovations, notably in critical sectors like AI.

The entity list serves as a primary mechanism for sanctioning entities on national security grounds and has increasingly become a focal point in US-China relations. Beijing has denounced Washington’s actions as economic coercion and unilateral bullying, vowing to defend the rights and interests of Chinese companies. In a retaliatory move, China imposed sanctions on two US companies, signalling a tit-for-tat escalation in tensions. However, such measures are largely symbolic, with minimal impact on the targeted firms.

Despite the Biden administration’s firm stance, there have been occasional concessions, such as withdrawing a Chinese government laboratory from the entity list to address the fentanyl crisis. Nonetheless, the recent additions to the list signal a continuation of the US strategy to maintain its technological edge, particularly in dual-use technologies. As Washington tightens controls on exports to Chinese firms involved in military modernisation efforts, the stage is set for further friction in the already strained US-China relationship.