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LMArena tightens rules after Llama 4 incident

Meta has come under scrutiny after submitting a specially tuned version of its Llama 4 AI model to the LMArena leaderboard, sparking concerns about fair competition.

The ‘experimental’ version, dubbed Llama-4-Maverick-03-26-Experimental, ranked second in popularity, trailing only Google’s Gemini-2.5-Pro.

While Meta openly labelled the model as experimental, many users assumed it reflected the public release. Once the official version became available, users quickly noticed it lacked the expressive, emoji-filled responses seen in the leaderboard battles.

LMArena, a crowdsourced platform where users vote on chatbot responses, said Meta’s custom variant appeared optimised for human approval, possibly skewing the results.

The group released over 2,000 head-to-head matchups to back its claims, showing the experimental Llama 4 consistently offered longer, more engaging answers than the more concise public build.

In response, LMArena updated its policies to ensure greater transparency and stated that Meta’s use of the experimental model did not align with expectations for leaderboard submissions.

Meta defended its approach, stating the experimental model was designed to explore chat optimisation and was never hidden. While company executives denied any misconduct, including speculation around training on test data, they acknowledged inconsistent performance across platforms.

Meta’s GenAI chief Ahmad Al-Dahle said it would take time for all public implementations to stabilise and improve. Meanwhile, LMArena plans to upload the official Llama 4 release to its leaderboard for more accurate evaluation going forward.

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Minister urges Indian start-ups to shift focus from ice cream to semiconductors

India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has sparked controversy by questioning whether Indian start-ups should focus on semiconductor chips instead of gluten-free ice creams and food delivery apps.

Speaking at a start-up conference, he compared India’s consumer internet boom unfavourably with China’s advances in robotics and AI, urging entrepreneurs to pursue more ambitious tech innovations instead of safe lifestyle products.

While acknowledging the position of India as the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem, Goyal faced pushback from founders who argued consumer apps often evolve into tech pioneers.

Quick-commerce CEO Aadit Palicha noted that companies like Amazon began as consumer platforms before revolutionising cloud computing. However, investors admitted deep-tech struggles for funding, with most capital chasing quick-return ventures instead of long-term hardware or AI projects.

The debate highlights India’s innovation crossroads. Despite having 4,000 deep-tech start-ups, projected to reach 10,000 by 2030, they attracted just 5% of 2023 funding instead of China’s 35%.

Experts suggest the government could help by offering tax incentives instead of criticism, and building research bridges between academia and start-ups to compete globally in advanced technologies

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Trump moves to prop up struggling coal industry

President Trump is set to sign an executive order designating coal as a critical mineral instead of allowing its continued decline in the energy sector.

The order will force some coal-fired power plants slated for closure to remain operational, with the administration citing rising electricity demand from data centres instead of acknowledging coal’s dwindling competitiveness.

Currently, coal generates just 15% of US electricity instead of its 51% share in 2001, having been overtaken by cheaper natural gas and renewables.

Environmental experts warn coal remains the dirtiest energy source instead of cleaner alternatives, releasing harmful pollutants linked to health issues like heart disease and mercury poisoning. While the order may temporarily slow plant closures, analysts note it won’t reverse coal’s decline.

Solar and wind power now undercut operating costs at nearly all US coal plants instead of being more expensive, as was once the case.

The move could have more impact in steelmaking, where coal is still used instead of newer green steel techniques in most production. However, for power generation, renewables can be deployed faster than new coal plants instead of struggling to meet demand.

The order appears to prioritise political symbolism instead of addressing energy market realities, as even existing coal plants struggle to compete with increasingly affordable clean energy alternatives.

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New AI firm Deep Cogito launches versatile open models

A new San Francisco-based startup, Deep Cogito, has unveiled its first family of AI models, Cogito 1, which can switch between fast-response and deep-reasoning modes instead of being limited to just one approach.

These hybrid models combine the efficiency of standard AI with the step-by-step problem-solving abilities seen in advanced systems like OpenAI’s o1. While reasoning models excel in fields like maths and physics, they often require more computing power, a trade-off Deep Cogito aims to balance.

The Cogito 1 series, built on Meta’s Llama and Alibaba’s Qwen models instead of starting from scratch, ranges from 3 billion to 70 billion parameters, with larger versions planned.

Early tests suggest the top-tier Cogito 70B outperforms rivals like DeepSeek’s reasoning model and Meta’s Llama 4 Scout in some tasks. The models are available for download or through cloud APIs, offering flexibility for developers.

Founded in June 2024 by ex-Google DeepMind product manager Dhruv Malhotra and former Google engineer Drishan Arora, Deep Cogito is backed by investors like South Park Commons.

The company’s ambitious goal is to develop ‘general superintelligence,’ AI that surpasses human capabilities, rather than merely matching them. For now, the team says they’ve only scratched the surface of their scaling potential.

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Amazon’s Nova Reel can now generate two-minute AI videos

Amazon has enhanced its generative AI video tool, Nova Reel, with an update that allows for the creation of videos up to two minutes long.

The updated model, Nova Reel 1.1, supports multi-shot video generation with a consistent style and accepts detailed prompts of up to 4,000 characters.

A new feature called Multishot Manual gives users more creative control, combining images and short prompts to guide video composition. However, this mode supports up to 20 shots from a single 1280 x 720 image and a 512-character prompt, offering finer-tuned outputs.

Nova Reel is currently accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS), including its Bedrock AI development suite, although developers must request access, which is automatically granted.

The model enters a competitive field dominated by OpenAI, Google, and others racing to lead in generative video AI.

Despite its growing capabilities, Amazon has not disclosed how the model was trained or the sources of its training data. Questions around intellectual property remain, but Amazon says it will shield customers from copyright claims through its indemnification policy.

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DeepMind blocks staff from joining AI rivals

Google DeepMind is enforcing strict non-compete agreements in the United Kingdom, preventing employees from joining rival AI companies for up to a year. The length of the restriction depends on an employee’s seniority and involvement in key projects.

Some DeepMind staff, including those working on Google’s Gemini AI, are reportedly being paid not to work while their non-competes run. The policy comes as competition for AI talent intensifies worldwide.

Employees have voiced concern that these agreements could stall their careers in a rapidly evolving industry. Some are seeking ways around the restrictions, such as moving to countries with less rigid employment laws.

While DeepMind claims the contracts are standard for sensitive work, critics say they may stifle innovation and mobility. The practice remains legal in the UK, even though similar agreements have been banned in the US.

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IBM unveils AI-powered mainframe z17

IBM has announced the launch of its most advanced mainframe yet, the z17, powered by the new Telum II processor. Designed to handle more AI operations, the system delivers up to 50% more daily inference tasks than its predecessor.

The z17 features a second-generation on-chip AI accelerator and introduces new tools for managing and securing enterprise data. A Spyre Accelerator add-on, expected later this year, will enable generative AI features such as large language models.

More than 100 clients contributed to the development of the z17, which also supports a forthcoming operating system, z/OS 3.2. The OS update is set to enable hybrid cloud data processing and enhanced NoSQL support.

IBM says the z17 brings AI to the core of enterprise infrastructure, enabling organisations to tap into large data sets securely and efficiently, with strong performance across both traditional and AI workloads.

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Bank appoints head of AI enablement

Standard Chartered has appointed David Hardoon as its global head of AI enablement, further embedding AI across its operations.

Based in Singapore, he will report to group chief data officer Mohammed Rahim.

Hardoon will lead AI governance and identify areas where AI can enhance productivity, efficiency, and client experiences. His appointment follows the bank’s recent rollout of a generative AI tool to over 70,000 employees across 41 markets.

The bank has been steadily introducing AI-driven tools, including a smart video column to provide insights for clients in Asia. It plans further expansion of its internal AI systems across additional regions.

With more than 20 years of experience in data and AI, including with Singapore’s central bank, Hardoon is expected to guide the responsible and strategic use of AI technologies across Standard Chartered’s global footprint.

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DeepSeek teases next big AI model

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has introduced a new reasoning method aimed at enhancing the performance of large language models (LLMs).

The approach, developed in partnership with researchers from Tsinghua University, combines generative reward modelling (GRM) and self-principled tuning to improve the speed and quality of LLM outputs.

According to a recently published paper, the resulting DeepSeek-GRM models achieved competitive results, even outperforming public reward models in some instances. Although DeepSeek has expressed plans to open-source the GRM models, no release date has been confirmed.

The announcement comes amid growing speculation about DeepSeek’s next major release. The company gained global recognition earlier this year with its R1 reasoning model, which outperformed some older models like the original ChatGPT.

The R1’s success was notable not just for its performance but also for being open source and developed on a relatively modest budget. Industry observers believe DeepSeek is preparing to unveil the R2 model soon, possibly by the end of the month, though the company has declined to comment officially.

Founded in Hangzhou in 2023 by entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek has prioritised research over public relations, quietly building momentum in the AI sector.

The company recently showcased DeepSeek-V3-0324, an upgraded model with improved reasoning, better web development capabilities and enhanced Chinese writing. DeepSeek has also made parts of its codebase available to the public, signalling a commitment to open development.

Backed by High-Flyer Quant, Liang’s hedge fund, the startup is emerging as a serious contender in the global AI race, drawing praise from the president of China, Xi Jinping, for its innovation and strategic significance.

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OpenAI’s Sam Altman responds to Miyazaki’s AI animation concerns

The recent viral trend of AI-generated Ghibli-style images has taken the internet by storm. Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o image generator, users have been transforming photos, from historic moments to everyday scenes, into Studio Ghibli-style renditions.

A trend like this has caught the attention of notable figures, including celebrities and political personalities, sparking both excitement and controversy.

While some praise the trend for democratising art, others argue that it infringes on copyright and undermines the efforts of traditional artists. The debate intensified when Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, became a focal point.

In a 2016 documentary, Miyazaki expressed his disdain for AI in animation, calling it ‘an insult to life itself’ and warning that humanity is losing faith in its creativity.

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, recently addressed these concerns, acknowledging the challenges posed by AI in art but defending its role in broadening access to creative tools. Altman believes that technology empowers more people to contribute, benefiting society as a whole, even if it complicates the art world.

Miyazaki’s comments and Altman’s response highlight a growing divide in the conversation about AI and creativity. As the debate continues, the future of AI in art remains a contentious issue, balancing innovation with respect for traditional artistic practices.

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