Synthetic biology startup Cortical Labs, which is developing a new kind of artificial intelligence using human brain cells, has raised USD$10 million (A$15m). The Melbourne biotech rose to prominence in October last year when it combined 800,000 brain cells with a computer chip to learn to play the video gam Pong. The project was dubbed… Read more »
An Australian council mayor may become the first person in the world to sue AI platform ChatGPT for defamation over false claims he was imprisoned over a bribery scandal. The mayor of Hepburn Shire in Victoria, Brian Hood, discovered late last year that artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT was incorrectly claiming that he had pleaded guilty… Read more »
Researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) are shaking up the waste management game by deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in rubbish bins to keep tabs on public bin collections. The tech will be used to predict which spots generate more garbage so authorities can plan how frequently public bins should be emptied. UniSA PhD… Read more »
Last week, artificial intelligence pioneers and experts urged major AI labs to immediately pause the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months. An open letter penned by the Future of Life Institute cautioned that AI systems with “human-competitive intelligence” could become a major threat to humanity. Among the risks,… Read more »
Is it time to put the brakes on the development of artificial intelligence (AI)? If you’ve quietly asked yourself that question, you’re not alone. In the past week, a host of AI luminaries signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on the development of more powerful models than GPT-4; European researchers called for… Read more »
Recent public interest in tools like ChatGPT has raised an old question in the artificial intelligence community: is artificial general intelligence (in this case, AI that performs at human level) achievable? An online preprint this week has added to the hype, suggesting the latest advanced large language model, GPT-4, is at the early stages of… Read more »
Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and over 1300 academics, tech and business luminaries have signed a Future of Life Institute (FLI) open letter calling for a 6-month freeze on “out-of-control” AI development that, they say, poses “profound risks to society and humanity.” That development has accelerated at a furious rate since last November’s release of GPT-3… Read more »
The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and Telstra have launched a pilot program to see if they can improve protection from phone scams, via an API. They’ve call the Telstra API Scam Indicator. It’s currently at proof-of-concept stage and to be piloted over the next few months. Early simulation results suggest it can help detect and prevent… Read more »
You may have heard the buzz about ChatGPT, a type of chatbot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to write essays, turn computer novices into programmers and help people communicate. ChatGPT might also have a role in helping people make sense of medical information. Although ChatGPT won’t replace talking to your doctor any time soon, our… Read more »
From cryptocurrencies to ChatGPT, digital and tech were headline news in 2022. That’s unlikely to change in the year ahead, although inevitably we will see the hype fade on some innovations to be replaced by the latest shiny new thing. The one constant that transcends the news cycle is the relentless pace of technological change,… Read more »
Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services. On March 16, Microsoft announced an AI-powered system called Copilot will soon be introduced to its 365 suite apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. The news came about two days… Read more »
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gone mainstream, but implementing it is still a major challenge according to a new report by the government-funded National AI Centre (NAIC). The report, Australia’s AI Ecosystem Momentum report, spoke to more than 200 business decision-makers and AI service providers about how they were using the technology to grow their revenues… Read more »
A new study published in The Lancet by artificial intelligence ethicist Dr Stefan Harrer has argued for a strong and comprehensive ethical framework around the use, design, and governance of generative AI applications in healthcare and medicine, because it has the potential to go catastrophically wrong. The peer-reviewed study details how Large Language Models (LLMs) have… Read more »
Last week, I explained why, in my first few weeks working in deep-tech VC, I decided to scan the Australian AI ecosystem and talk to more than 50 founders building inspiring and impactful companies in the AI space. If you have not done so, have a read here. In today’s instalment, I will run through… Read more »
Most people are familiar with the deluge of artificial intelligence (AI) apps that seem designed to make us more efficient and creative. We’ve got apps that take text prompts and generate art, and the controversial ChatGPT, which raises serious questions about originality, misinformation and plagiarism. Despite these concerns, AI is becoming ever more pervasive and… Read more »
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