Welcome to this week’s episode of Techpot!
We have a packed lineup of tech news for you today. From discussions about the impact of AI and the need for regulation to Google’s advancements in AI and their revamped mobile experience, we cover it all. Get ready to be amazed by the mind-blowing possibilities of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with the “Drag Your GAN” demo. We also delve into Meta’s developments, including their bet on custom chips and a significant administrative fine. Plus, exciting updates from Apple, Twitter’s latest acquisition, and stealth startups like Sightful and Humane.
Stay tuned for a special episode on Microsoft Build 2023.
Let’s dive in!
Quick links
Watch episode 4 on YouTube
Show notes
- Microsoft Build 2023 with 265 sessions (44 on AI of which 14 Copilot)
- OpenAI leaders propose international regulatory body for AI | TechCrunch
- AI is coming to Google search through Search Generative Experience – The Verge
- Drag Your GAN: Interactive Point-based Manipulation on the Generative Image Manifold (mpg.de)
- Meta bets big on AI with custom chips — and a supercomputer | TechCrunch
- Data Protection Commission announces conclusion of inquiry into Meta Ireland | 22/05/2023 | Data Protection Commission
- Meta reportedly wants to license Magic Leap’s AR technology (engadget.com)
- Apple execs skeptical on headset, calling it ‘science project’: report (cnbc.com)
- iPhones will be able to speak in your voice with 15 minutes of training – The Verge
- ChatGPT on the App Store (apple.com) / Introducing the ChatGPT app for iOS (openai.com)
- 2022 App Store Transparency Report (apple.com)
- Twitter makes first acquisition of Elon Musk era with recruiting startup (axios.com)
- The Morning After: Meta could launch a Twitter competitor next month | Engadget
- Meet Spacetop, a radical new laptop with no screen | PCWorld
- The End of Screens? – Cal Newport
- Humane previews first product in TED Talk.
Transcript
Hey guys, and welcome to Techpot: your source for technology updates every week, normally on Tuesday, but due to Microsoft build, a bit later. So two episodes this week the regular technology updates, and a special about the Microsoft build . So if you want to have the key takeaways from the keynote, Satya Nadela gave five remarkable ones starting with bringing Bing to ChatGPT. So Bing is now the default search engine ChatGPT uses the GPT4. Aside from that, announcing Windows Co-Pilot, so basically your co-pilot for Windows, making sure you have your AI at your fingertips, and also something called Dev Home to make Windows even the best or better platform for developers to develop ai.
Speaking about ai, Copilot is the key word here, and Microsoft made a whole stack out of it. You have the AI orchestration probably the AI studio that is also announced on top of it, the Copilots, the plug-in extensibility, which is super genius because it’s compatible with ChatGPT and whatever copilot you make yourself, it will be automatically compatible with all the other co-pilots and plugins. Brilliant. There you see all those developers already, they learned their lesson missing the mobile phone boat with a good developer ecosystem with apps they think not gonna happen with AI this time. So, smart.
Azure, AI Studio. Basically the, I think the orchestration, and maybe the biggest announcement aside from AI is Microsoft Fabric: basically the data foundation to train your models for all your ai needs. So that was about Microsoft build highlights. There’s a whole book of news with all the 50 plus announcements, so check it out if you can’t wait for the special.
Speaking of AI itself, the CEO is Sam Altman was called for Congress and basically they’re saying, maybe we did build a monster. We cannot have it in control. There needs to be regulation. Oh, well, not so sure about his motives. I think it’s also to keep his competitors on a safe distance. It’s like Elon Musk asking for a six months pause and one day later launching his own ai company, x. Later more about Twitter as well.
First Google, we had a big special last week with the Google io. Slowly but steady Google is showing and integrating and opening up their AI systems maybe it’s a little bit too slow, but if you see what they’re doing with their AI snapshots, and this is opt-in, but they are completely revamping their experience, especially on mobile.
Speaking of disruptions, when you see this demo, it’s called Drag Your GAN and GAN stands for the Generative Adversial Network. Take a look at this photo of a dog pointing two points. Move it around and it makes you smile like with his face. A lady not smiling , pointing two points the direction, little drag make her smile. This is really mind blowing.
Meta and ai, they are now betting on custom chips with their hardware and they’re building a supercomputer for it to generate more content for all their platforms like Facebook WhatsApp. More on Meta is their biggest fine, not their only biggest fine. It’s actually the biggest fine that has ever filed, and the amount is right here, an administrative fine in the amount of 1.2 billion euros. Huge, very huge.
Speaking about meta they are trying to license Magic Leap’s augmented reality technology. And the interesting thing about this part is that I predicted with the new ceo Peggy Johnson, former chief of all business developments (at Microsoft) predicted already, like if this CEO is the business development that will be fantastic side deals, whatever it’s Qualcomm or other partners, she will find anyway to make money for Magic Leap. And they have so many patents. So this will be very, very interesting.
More on AR. Apple executives were initially very skeptical, but now it’s also reported that all top executives are involved with this AR headset, which allegedly will be announced on June 5 during their conference and even UploadVR is personally invited to attend, so it is now very likely that indeed June 5, Apple will announce their big, big, revealing. Their AR glasses.
Speaking more about Apple and iPhones, they will be introducing new features where you can train it with your voice, and within 15 minutes of training, the iPhone will be able to speak in your own voice. They pitch it for people who are disabled in a certain way and to have it pronounced. I do see some downsides though, and this will be tricky when it comes to voice recognition. Even the scams already with WhatsApp messages. Hey mom I lost my phone. Can you wire me 300 bucks? Yeah, nowadays people are alert for this, but even if there’s a voice message in your own voice it’s really time to make passwords. I know passwordless digitally is a new thing, but when comes to voice, it’s a good thing to make some kind of codeword or a password when you speak to each other. Okay. Just to doublecheck it’s really you, what’s the, what’s the password? All right. Speaking about ChatGPT and Apple, it’s actually available the ChatGPT official app. I haven’t check found it in my country, the Netherlands yet, but it should be available in the US.
Speaking of, of the app markets. For the very first time Apple shared their transparency report. And the interesting part, you get a lot of numbers. How many apps are in the store? How many were submitted in 2022? Rejected. But if you see the amount of rejections by China, well, my goodness or not rejections, the request for it to be removed, there were a total of 1,474. 1435 of them were from China mainland. So this is very remarkable what China is doing when it comes to appeals of app removal or blockage .
Twitter makes its first acquisition with a recruiting startup called Laskie. There’s not so much details on the web anymore about Laskie, but it looks like this is the first app of making the X app super app, which integrates basically everything now.
Speaking about Twitter . Meta is trying to make a Twitter clone in their Instagram platform. So maybe we’ll see a new competitor, or more innovation from Twitter.
Back to AR, there is something slightly different in this case. And that is a new company called Sightful. An Israelian company. And they are making an augmented reality laptop. And as you can see, there is no physical screen. The physical screen disappeared and what you will actually see is virtual or augmented screens. Well, the problem they’re trying to solve is small spaces, privacy. The pricetag is around 2000 bucks, so that’s heavy a price tag for a laptop. But I can actually see myself working like this. Why not? So many screen space, privacy, portability. There’s an extensive article about the philosophical side of this one.
But if you ask me what is more likely to become the future instead of the laptop is with completely computerless AI or your personal wearable ai, and I think Humane has the best papers for that as we speak. It’s a stealthy startup founded by two former Apple executives, and it shows their whole look and feel. Their website, it will be in the show notes, even their logo as you can see here, it has this very Apple vibe, but what they basically say is a wearable ai. It’s a small device, pinnable with a projector, with a camera, with speaker, with microphones, and you basically operate or interact with your ai naturally without a screen, so you can finally screen capture your beloved ones. Maybe your children performing, and then you can actually experience it yourself without a screen in between. I have very high hopes of this company. The demo was underwhelming, but still the vibe and their vision bringing technology and humans tighter and better together, that is quite something.
So that was for this week’s update. Stay tuned for the special on the Microsoft Build. Have fun. See you on the next Techpot.