Google DeepMind and Harvard University researchers have developed a realistic virtual rat to study the neural circuits that control movement. The virtual rat’s brain, made up of artificial neural networks, was trained using hours of neural recordings from real rats.
This digital brain could predict and replicate the behaviour of actual rats, such as running or rearing up. The study identified key brain regions involved in movement and demonstrated that AI can simulate neural signals more accurately than older models.
Bridging the gap between AI and neuroscience, the project offers new ways to study brain functions and movements. However, this method allows researchers to tweak neural connections in the virtual rat to observe how changes affect behaviour, providing insights that are challenging to obtain through traditional lab experiments. By understanding how the brain commands muscle movements, the research could lead to advancements in both robotics and neuroscience.
Offering a platform to test hypotheses about brain function and behaviour quickly and efficiently, the virtual rat enables researchers to explore more complex tasks. The team plans to use these virtual rats to understand further how real brains generate intricate behaviours. Combining AI with biological data, the collaboration highlights the potential to uncover the mechanisms of brain function and movement.
A recent report indicates that China’s major venture capital investments increasingly focus on technology sectors that are aligned with government policies, such as AI and semiconductors. Despite an overall decline in funding, China accounted for 90% of global venture capital (VC) in the chip sector last year, investing $22.2 billion, more than double the $9.5 billion from 2022.
According to Preqin, a private investment data company, three significant deals, primarily involving partnerships between municipal authorities and Sino IC Capital, accounted for half of the semiconductor venture investments. Sino IC Capital manages the state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the Big Fund.
Overall, the report highlights three key takeaways. Firstly, China’s clean technology VC deals have surpassed those in the US in both value and volume for 2022 and 2023, especially in electric vehicles. Secondly, overall venture capital in Greater China has dropped sharply, a 42% decrease from the previous quarter, due to geopolitical tensions and fewer exit opportunities. Thirdly, foreign VC investments in Chinese firms have plummeted from $67 billion in 2021 to $19 billion in 2023, while domestic investments have remained stable.
Why does it matter?
The trend is clear evidence of the ongoing US-China tech supremacy war and the effect of US sanctions. With the US trade tariffs and restrictions on American venture capital firms prompting foreign investors to withdraw from the region, this report reveals how the Chinese government, in response, has stepped up and is backing state-funded entities to fill the void, with significant investments also coming from domestic tech companies.
WhatsApp is developing a new AI feature to create user avatars, following in the footsteps of Meta AI. According to WABetaInfo, this ‘Imagine Me’ feature will allow users to generate AI-based avatars by typing prompts in their chats. The feature was discovered in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.14.13, available through the Google Play Beta programme.
Users can generate avatars by typing ‘Imagine me’ in the Meta AI chat or ‘@Meta AI imagine me’ in other chats. A screenshot from WABetaInfo shows how this feature might look. Once enabled, users must take setup photos, and the AI will create images based on the provided prompts. The resulting images are automatically shared in the conversation, with user privacy preserved.
The feature is optional and requires users to opt in through their settings. While currently available only in limited countries, it is still under development and cannot yet be tested by all users. WhatsApp aims to make Meta AI a more integral part of daily user interactions with this innovative avatar creation tool.
For the past two years, many unprofitable tech startups have faced significant challenges, leading to cost-cutting, mergers, or closures. However, startups focused on AI have been an exception, thriving amidst this broader downturn. The AI boom, which began in late 2022, has now become a strong counterpoint to the struggling startup landscape.
In the second quarter of this year, investors poured $27.1 billion into AI startups in the United States, nearly half of all US startup funding during that period. This surge in investment has driven overall startup funding to $56 billion, marking a 57% increase from the previous year and the highest three-month total in two years. AI companies are attracting significant funding, reminiscent of the tech investment frenzy of 2021.
Large financing rounds have bolstered the AI sector’s overall deal-making activity. Notable examples include CoreWeave raising $1.1 billion and later $7.5 billion in debt, Scale AI securing $1 billion, and xAI, founded by Elon Musk, obtaining $6 billion. Furthermore, this influx of capital has prompted venture capital investors to shift their focus, encouraging startups to aggressively pursue growth, particularly in AI.
Despite the excitement, building AI technology is expensive, requiring substantial investment in powerful computer chips and cloud storage. A recent analysis showed that AI startups spend an average of 22% of their computing costs, more than double that of non-AI software companies. As AI’s potential continues to generate significant hype, competition from big tech firms like Microsoft and Amazon may impact the ability of AI startups to secure such large sums in the future.
According to a European Commission report, the EU must catch up to its 2030 AI targets. The investigation into the EU’s Digital Decade project revealed that only 11% of the EU enterprises currently use designated AI technologies, far short of the 75% target set for 2030. At this rate, the Commission estimates it would take almost a century to achieve this goal.
The report also highlighted other areas for improvement, such as the EU being over a decade behind in producing the desired number of tech unicorns and spreading basic tech skills among the general public. Despite these setbacks, European Commission leaders remain optimistic, pointing out that the report offers a clear path forward. Margrethe Vestager, the EC’s competition commissioner, stressed the need for increased State-level investments to reach the digital transformation targets.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s digital chief, echoed these sentiments, emphasising the importance of investments, cross-border cooperation, and the completion of the Digital Single Market to boost the adoption of key technologies like AI. The findings come amid concerns that the EU’s stringent AI regulations could hinder its global competitiveness, especially compared to less regulated regions like the US and China.
A senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei dismissed concerns that a shortage of advanced AI chips would hinder China’s leadership in AI. Zhang Ping’an, CEO of Huawei Cloud, acknowledged China’s computing power limitations but emphasised the need for innovation over-reliance on the most advanced AI chips. His comments come amid tighter US restrictions on AI chip shipments to China, including bans on sales from companies like Nvidia.
Speaking at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, Zhang urged a shift in perspective, stating that the absence of cutting-edge AI chips shouldn’t be seen as a barrier to leading in AI. He highlighted Huawei’s development of its AI chip, Ascend, which is widely used in China for training AI models despite being less powerful than Nvidia’s offerings.
Zhang advocated for innovative approaches leveraging the cloud to overcome the lack of advanced chips, suggesting that combining cloud, edge, and network technologies can enhance efficiency and reduce energy consumption. He also positioned Huawei Cloud as a leader in providing these innovative solutions.
China leads the world in generative AI patent requests, significantly outpacing the United States, according to the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The technology, which has surged in public awareness since late 2022, was linked to approximately 54,000 inventions over the past decade. More than a quarter of these were filed just last year, highlighting the rapid growth and interest in generative AI.
WIPO’s report, the first of its kind, aims to track trends in generative AI development through patent applications. Over 38,200 generative AI inventions originated from China in the past decade, far surpassing the nearly 6,300 from the USA. South Korea, Japan, and India followed with significantly fewer patents. Generative AI, which includes tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Baidu’s Ernie, is utilised across various industries, including life sciences, manufacturing, and telecommunications.
Despite the many patents, WIPO cautions that quantity does not equate to quality. It remains uncertain which patents will hold market value or have a transformative impact on society. While the US and China are often seen as rivals in AI development, US tech companies currently lead the production of cutting-edge AI systems. In 2023, US-based institutions produced 61 notable machine-learning models, compared to 21 from the EU and 15 from China. The US also leads in AI foundation models and private AI investments.
Although Judy Garland never recorded herself reading ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ fans will soon be able to hear her rendition thanks to a new app by ElevenLabs. The AI company has launched the Reader app, which can convert text into voice-overs using digitally produced voices of deceased celebrities, including Garland, James Dean, and Burt Reynolds. The app can transform articles, e-books, and other text formats into audio.
Dustin Blank, head of partnerships at ElevenLabs, emphasised the company’s respect for the legacies of these celebrities. The company has made agreements with the estates of the actors, though compensation details remain undisclosed. That initiative highlights AI’s potential in Hollywood, especially for creating content using synthetic voices, but it also raises important questions about the licensing and ethical use of AI.
The use of AI-generated celebrity voices comes amid growing concerns about authenticity and copyright in creative industries. ElevenLabs had previously faced scrutiny when its tool was reportedly used to create a fake robocall from President Joe Biden. Similar controversies have arisen, such as OpenAI’s introduction of a voice similar to Scarlett Johansson’s, which she publicly criticised.
As AI technology advances, media companies are increasingly utilising it for voiceovers. NBC recently announced the use of an AI version of sportscaster Al Michaels for Olympics recaps on its Peacock streaming platform, with Michaels receiving compensation. While the market for AI-generated voices remains uncertain, the demand for audiobooks narrated by recognisable voices suggests a promising future for this technology.
Meta is set to integrate more generative AI technology into its virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality games, aiming to boost its struggling metaverse strategy. According to a recent job listing, the company plans to create new gaming experiences that change with each playthrough and follow unpredictable paths. The initiative will initially focus on Horizon, Meta’s suite of metaverse games and applications, but could extend to other platforms like smartphones and PCs.
These developments are part of Meta’s broader effort to enhance its metaverse offerings and address the financial challenges faced by Reality Labs, the division responsible for its metaverse projects. Despite selling millions of Quest headsets, Meta has struggled to attract users to its Horizon platform and mitigate substantial operating losses. Recently, the company began allowing third-party manufacturers to license Quest software features and increased investment in metaverse gaming, spurred by CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s growing interest in the field.
Meta’s interest in generative AI is not new. In 2022, Zuckerberg demonstrated a prototype called Builder Bot, which allows users to create virtual worlds with simple prompts. Additionally, Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, has highlighted the potential of generative AI tools to democratise content creation within the metaverse, likening their impact to that of Instagram on personal content creation.
Generative AI is already making waves in game development, with companies like Disney-backed Inworld using the technology to enhance game dialogues and narratives. While some game creators are concerned about the impact on their jobs, Meta is committed to significant investments in generative AI, even though CEO Zuckerberg cautioned that it might take years for these investments to become profitable.
Google’s annual sustainability report reveals a nearly 50% increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2024, primarily due to its data centres and supply chain. The 2024 Environmental Report indicates that Google emitted 14.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent last year, raising concerns about its goal to be net zero by 2030. The company expects emissions to rise further before declining, attributing this trend to the growing energy demands of AI integration and increased investment in technical infrastructure.
Efforts to make data centres more efficient, such as using a new generation of tensor processing units (TPUs), have been offset by the rising energy consumption required for AI. Scope 2 emissions, mainly from data centre electricity use, increased by 37% compared to 2022. The rise outpaced the company’s ability to implement carbon-free energy projects, particularly in the United States and Asia-Pacific region. Differences between Google’s global approach to carbon-free energy and the regional guidelines of the GHG Protocol have also contributed to this mismatch.
Scope 3 emissions, which account for 75% of Google’s overall emissions, rose by 8% year-on-year. These indirect emissions from the supply chain are expected to continue increasing due to capital expenditures and investments in AI-related infrastructure. A single generative AI query consumes nearly ten times the power of a regular Google search, highlighting the significant energy demands of AI technology.
Why does it matter?
Additionally, Google’s data centres consume more than three times the amount of water that Microsoft does to remain cool, underscoring the environmental challenges posed by the tech giant’s operations. The report suggests that while Google is making strides in efficiency, the rapid growth of AI and its associated infrastructure presents significant sustainability challenges.
