UK details ‘pro-innovation’ approach to AI regulation

The UK government has unveiled a new regulatory framework for AI, aimed at promoting innovation while maintaining public trust.

Michelle Donelan, Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary, said: “AI has the potential to make Britain a smarter, healthier and happier place to live and work. Artificial intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction, and the pace of AI development is staggering, so we need to have rules to make sure it is developed...

29 March 2023 | Applications

Clearview AI used by US police for almost 1M searches

Facial recognition firm Clearview AI has revealed that it has run almost a million searches for US police.

Facial recognition technology is a controversial topic, and for good reason. Clearview AI's technology allows law enforcement to upload a photo of a suspect's face and find matches in a database of billions of images it has collected.

Clearview AI CEO Hoan Ton-That disclosed in an interview with the BBC that the firm has scraped 30 billion images from platforms such...

28 March 2023 | Applications

Mozilla.ai picks up OpenAI’s founding mission

Mozilla's new startup will build "trustworthy" AI that benefits humanity. If that sounds familiar, it was OpenAI’s founding mission.

The startup, Mozilla.ai, aims to create an independent and open-source AI ecosystem that addresses society’s most pressing concerns about the rapidly-advancing technology.

Mark Surman, President of the Mozilla Foundation, wrote in a blog post:

“This new wave of AI has generated excitement, but also significant apprehension....

23 March 2023 | AGI

Google plays it safe with initial Bard rollout

Google has begun rolling out early access to its Bard chatbot in the US and UK.

The ChatGPT rival was announced via a blog post in February, seemingly to get ahead of Microsoft’s own big reveal event the next day.

Microsoft’s plans to integrate a new version of ChatGPT into its Bing search engine set off alarm bells at Google. In response, Google CEO Sundar Pichai invited the company’s founders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – to return for a series of meetings...

21 March 2023 | Applications

AI professionals seek job flexibility and stability over exciting perks

Research suggests that AI professionals looking for a new job prioritise flexibility and stability over exciting perks.

Despite recent high-profile layoffs, the wider talent shortage is ongoing. Organisations looking to attract, or retain, the best candidates are offering numerous unique benefits.

However, research from BenchSci finds that AI, machine learning, and data professionals are mostly looking for flexibility and stability in their future...

20 March 2023 | Enterprise

Editorial: UK puts AI at the centre of its Budget

British Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the country’s Spring Budget this week and supporting the AI industry was at the centre.

The UK is Europe’s AI leader. Indeed, behind the US and China, the country’s tech sector overall has the third-highest amount of VC investment in the world – more than Germany and France combined – and has produced more than double the number of $1 billion tech firms than any other European country.

Gerard Grech, CEO of Tech Nation,...

16 March 2023 | Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft lays off AI ethics team 

Microsoft has laid off a team dedicated to ensuring the responsible development and deployment of AI.

Platformer reports the ethics and society team were laid off as part of wider cuts to Microsoft’s workforce. However, the decision leaves Microsoft with fewer experts working to ensure solutions are safe and have a net positive impact.

The perception of Microsoft as an AI leader has deepened following its exclusive partnership with OpenAI. The duo continue to deliver...

14 March 2023 | Artificial Intelligence

Developers believe AI will have a positive world impact

AI is among the “next” technologies that developers believe will have a positive world impact.

Some artists, developers, writers, and other creators have expressed concern that generative AIs may pose a threat to their livelihoods. However, an increasing number view such AIs as assistive tools that will help creators rather than replace them.

Stack Overflow surveyed its developer community to find out how developers feel about technologies currently making the...

13 March 2023 | Applications

Omdia: AI chip startups to have a tough year

Analysts from Omdia expect AI chip startups to have a difficult year.

Omdia’s Top AI Hardware Startups Market Radar finds that over 100 venture capitalists invested over $6 billion into the top 25 AI chip startups since 2018. However, it seems the good times weren’t to last.

The global chip shortage is becoming an inventory crisis. Meanwhile, the economic downturn and difficult monetary policies have made it difficult to raise funding.

“The best-funded AI...

21 February 2023 | Artificial Intelligence

Apple shies from the spotlight with staff-only AI summit

Apple seems happy to stay out of the spotlight when it comes to the “AI race” going by its latest summit.

Microsoft, Google, Baidu, and others have all raced to make very public AI announcements over the past month. Apple held its own AI event earlier this month but it was a staff-only affair.

Apple’s low-key AI event was notable as being the first to be held in-person at the Steve Jobs Theatre since the pandemic began. Other than that, it wasn’t particularly...

20 February 2023 | Apple