SoftBank Group, the Japanese multinational investment holding company, has acquired Graphcore, a British AI chipmaker, in a strategic business move that ends speculation about Graphcore’s future amid financial struggles. Once positioned as a competitor to Nvidia, Graphcore has faced challenges securing sufficient investment despite its technology potential.
Graphcore, valued at $2.77 billion in 2020, had been grappling with financial viability, including layoffs and operational closures. CEO Nigel Toon acknowledged the company’s difficulties but expressed optimism about the deal with SoftBank, highlighting the substantial resources it brings.
Toon emphasised the significant investment from SoftBank, noting its transformative impact on Graphcore’s global competitiveness. However, he pointed out structural barriers in the UK tech industry, such as limited domestic investment from pension funds, hindering growth opportunities.
Regarding potential collaboration with SoftBank-owned Arm Holdings, a leading chip designer, Toon indicated Graphcore’s intention to leverage synergies within SoftBank’s portfolio, although specifics were not disclosed.
OpenAI has launched a five-tier system to measure its progress towards developing AI that can surpass human performance. The new classification aims to provide clearer insights into the company’s approach to AI safety and future goals. The system, unveiled to employees during an all-hands meeting, outlines stages from conversational AI to advanced AI that are capable of running an entire organisation.
Currently, OpenAI is at the first level but is approaching the second stage, called ‘Reasoners.’ That level represents AI systems that can perform basic problem-solving tasks comparable to a human with a doctorate but without additional tools. During the meeting, leadership showcased a research project involving the GPT-4 model, demonstrating new capabilities that exhibit human-like reasoning.
The five-tier framework is still a work in progress, with plans to gather feedback from employees, investors, and the board. OpenAI’s ultimate goal is to create artificial general intelligence (AGI), which involves developing AI that outperforms humans in most tasks. CEO Sam Altman remains optimistic that AGI could be achieved within this decade.
Japanese eSports gamer Mashiro, who is blind, is exploring how AI can help him navigate independently. The 26-year-old ‘Street Fighter’ player recently tested the AI chatbot ChatGPT on his way to a Para eSports meet-up, hoping it could provide personalised support. Using GPT-4o, Mashiro asked for detailed directions suited for his blindness, receiving responses through an earpiece while navigating Tokyo’s streets.
Mashiro’s journey, which would take sighted individuals 20 minutes, took him significantly longer, demonstrating AI assistance’s potential and current limitations. He found ChatGPT’s advice helpful but encountered challenges due to the bot’s limited recognition of Japanese words and locations. Despite the difficulties, Mashiro appreciated the experience and expressed optimism about AI’s future role in promoting independence for people with disabilities.
Experts acknowledge the promise of AI in making everyday services more accessible, though they also caution about its limitations. AI can offer tailored assistance better than generic tools, but improvements in accuracy and inclusivity are needed. Mashiro’s experiment highlights AI’s ongoing development and potential to enhance the lives of those with disabilities.
Republican lawmakers have requested an intelligence assessment from the Biden administration regarding Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in UAE-based AI firm G42. Concerns have been raised over the potential transfer of sensitive technology and G42’s historical ties to China. Representative Michael McCaul and John Moolenaar, leaders of key committees, have called for a briefing with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan before the deal progresses.
The lawmakers highlighted the need for clear regulations on exporting sensitive AI models, fearing that such technology might be shared with adversaries like China. They have requested an assessment of G42’s connections to China’s Communist Party and government. The probe follows a recent visit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Beijing, where AI cooperation was discussed.
Microsoft has stated that it works closely with the US government to prioritise national security. The White House National Security Council confirmed ongoing dialogue with lawmakers to address the risks associated with digital infrastructure. Meanwhile, G42 and the UAE embassy have not commented on the matter.
Why does this matter?
Concerns about China’s influence in the Middle East persist despite G42’s claim that it divested Chinese investments and accepted US constraints to collaborate with American firms. The New York Times reported that the Microsoft deal, influenced by the Biden administration, aimed to limit China’s technological reach. The Commerce Department is also considering rules to restrict the export of proprietary AI technology to ensure national security.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced AWS App Studio, a new generative AI service designed to enable financial institutions, fintech firms, and other organisations to create applications in minutes, a task that would typically take professional developers days.
Revealed at the AWS Summit New York, the service is intended for IT project managers, data engineers, and enterprise architects without software development skills, allowing them to quickly develop and manage internal apps using AWS.
Development resources for custom applications are often scarce, pushing users towards low-code tools, which can have a steep learning curve and may not meet security requirements. AWS App Studio addresses these issues by enabling users to describe the desired application, its functions, and the data sources it should integrate with. Users can make modifications through a point-and-click interface, guided by a generative AI-powered assistant.
AWS App Studio empowers individuals with some technical experience to build enterprise-grade applications without needing to write underlying code. The service generates an outline to verify the user’s intent, creating a multi-page UI, a data model, and business logic.
Dilip Kumar, vice president of applications at AWS, stated that AWS App Studio opens application development to a new set of builders, enhancing productivity for businesses of all sizes by allowing technical professionals to create custom applications tailored to their unique needs.
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is set to bolster its AI sovereignty with the launch of the AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure 3.0 (ABCI 3.0) supercomputer. This state-of-the-art system, featuring thousands of NVIDIA H200 Tensor Core GPUs and Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking by HPE Cray XD, aims to propel Japan’s research and development capabilities in artificial intelligence.
ABCI 3.0 builds on Japan’s pioneering efforts in AI infrastructure, following the world’s first ABCI launch in 2018. AIST Executive Officer Yoshio Tanaka highlighted the upgrade’s strategic importance, aiming to advance research in generative AI and strengthen domestic technological independence.
The project, supported by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), is part of a broader $1 billion initiative to enhance computing resources and cloud AI capabilities. NVIDIA, pivotal in this collaboration, is committed to advancing AI research and education in Japan, as articulated by founder and CEO Jensen Huang during his recent visit.
Huang underscored the transformative potential of AI factories, which are critical for processing vast data sets efficiently. ABCI 3.0, located near Tokyo, promises unmatched computing performance with 6 AI exaflops and 410 double-precision petaflops, setting new standards in AI-specific and general computing capabilities.
The integration of NVIDIA’s advanced H200 GPUs with Quantum-2 InfiniBand technology enhances computational efficiency, making ABCI 3.0 a cornerstone for accelerating AI research and development in Japan and beyond.
Cloudflare has revealed that the most active AI web crawler over the past year is Bytespider, operated by Bytedance, which uses it to gather training data for its AI models, including the ChatGPT rival Doubao. Amazonbot, which indexes content for Alexa, and ClaudeBot, training the Claude chatbot, rank second and third, respectively. OpenAI’s GPTBot comes in fourth place.
Interestingly, while Bytespider leads in requests and blocking frequency, GPTBot ranks second in both areas. Despite this, many website operators remain unaware of these popular AI crawlers visiting their sites.
Cloudflare’s analysis shows that only a small percentage of websites, around 2.98% of the top one million, take measures to block or challenge AI bot requests. The despite the fact that more popular websites are both more frequently targeted by and more likely to block such crawlers.
The study also highlights that although many sites reference GPTBot, CCBot, and Google in their robots.txt files, they do not specifically disallow popular AI crawlers like Bytespider and ClaudeBot. The effectiveness of blocking relies on bot operators respecting these instructions.
The UAE’s AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office, alongside the Mastercard Centre for Advanced AI and Cyber Technology in Dubai and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), have unveiled their inaugural ‘AI Challenge’. Aligned with the UAE Strategy for AI, this initiative aims to invigorate the country’s burgeoning AI sector and cultivate opportunities for AI-focused businesses and talent.
Saqr Binghalib, Executive Director of the AI Office in UAE, emphasised the government’s commitment to fostering partnerships with technology leaders and innovators. This collaboration aims to propel technological advancement, shape the future of AI, and reinforce the UAE’s global leadership in emerging fields.
J.K. Khalil, Division President, East Arabia at Mastercard, highlighted AI’s transformative potential across finance, business operations, and global interactions. The AI Challenge underscores Mastercard’s dedication to leveraging AI for positive impact and supporting the UAE’s vision to pioneer innovation in this domain.
The AI Challenge invites seed and Series A startups to propose innovative AI-driven solutions in areas such as cybersecurity, fintech, and productivity enhancement. Finalists will compete for a US$150,000 cash prize, access to Mastercard’s global resources, and enrolment in its acclaimed Start Path programme, aimed at accelerating startup growth through mentoring and global networking opportunities. Interested participants can register online by 25th August 2024 to participate in this groundbreaking initiative.
Serbia’s Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic emphasised the significance of the newly unveiled 2024-2030 AI Development Strategy as a pivotal document for the nation. Highlighting its broad impact across sectors such as education, energy, and healthcare, Brnabic underscored AI’s critical role in Serbia’s societal advancement.
Brnabic noted Serbia’s pioneering move in 2019 by adopting its first AI strategy, positioning the country at the forefront of AI development in Southeastern Europe.
She highlighted Serbia’s membership in the Global Partnership for AI, currently chaired by the nation, and announced plans to host a global AI conference in December.
Under the previous strategy, Serbia established the Institute for AI in Novi Sad in 2021 and introduced its first national AI platform. The supercomputer, available free of charge to universities, scientific institutes, and local startups, aims to foster innovation and technological growth in Serbia’s science and technology parks.
Samsung showcased its commitment to AI amidst internal challenges in South Korea, where workers are on an indefinite strike. Despite these issues, the tech giant presented AI integration across its consumer electronics at a Paris event, aiming to reinforce its global smartphone sales leadership.
At the presentation, Samsung executives focused on the deployment of AI applications, including Galaxy AI featured in their flagship S24 smartphone. They also announced plans to extend AI capabilities across all consumer products, from headphones to smartwatches and even connected rings.
TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile unit, highlighted their accelerated progress, aiming to bring Galaxy AI to 200 million devices by year-end, double their initial target. Samsung has invested heavily in AI, with more than a billion dollars allocated to its mobile unit alone.
Despite these advancements, analysts note AI’s current role in smartphones remains more about showcasing innovation than being a decisive factor in consumer choice. Samsung’s strategy includes focusing on premium markets with AI-driven innovations like their sixth-generation folding phones and health-related products, such as the Galaxy Ring set to launch later this month.
