Tag: AI

  • Krutrim's AI Mistakes Go Viral, Answers '2011 ODI World Cup Was Won By Australia, Not India'

    The series of errors made by Krutrim AI has caused a great deal of laughter on social networking platform X, where screenshots of the chatbot’s replies have gone viral.

  • Bezos And Nvidia Team Up With OpenAI To Invest In Humanoid Robot Startup: Report |

    New Delhi: Prominent figures in the technology industry including Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com and Nvidia, are making investments in the startup Figure AI. This startup specializes in the development of human-like robots, as per Bloomberg News report.

    According to the report, Figure AI, supported by OpenAI and Microsoft along with other investors, is in the process of raising approximately $675 million in a funding round. This funding round values the company at around $2 billion before the investment. (Also Read: Google Announces Shutdown Of Google Pay In US; Find Out The Reason Here)

    Bezos had committed $100 million through his company Explore Investments LLC, while Microsoft is contributing $95 million. Nvidia and an Amazon-related fund are each offering $50 million in investment, as per report. (Also Read: Former Google Employee Makes Shocking Allegations, Says ‘Did Not Get Promotion Due To Skin Colour’)

    Investments in startups focused on artificial intelligence have surged following the release of OpenAI’s widely popular chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022. Investors see potential in these startups, betting that they could surpass larger competitors in the field.

    According to the report, OpenAI, which had previously considered acquiring Figure is now investing $5 million in the startup. Backers include Intel’s venture capital arm, LG Innotek, Samsung’s investment group, as well as venture firms Parkway Venture Capital and Align Ventures.

    Other investors in the startup include ARK Venture Fund, Aliya Capital Partners, and Tamarack, as mentioned in the report. When approached for comment, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Intel chose not to respond, while Figure AI and other mentioned entities did not immediately reply to requests for comment from Reuters.

    Figure, a company located in Sunnyvale, California, raised $70 million from investors in its first external funding round. This company specializes in creating humanoid robots with broad capabilities, suitable for diverse environments such as warehouses and retail settings. The investment was spearheaded by Parkway Venture Capital. (With Input From Reuters )

  • Google Pauses Gemini’s People Image Feature After Anti-‘Woke’ Backlash |

    New Delhi: Google has paused the image-generation function of its Gemini AI chatbot following a string of controversies. The company, acknowledged that Gemini had provided “incorrect representations in certain historical contexts” and assured users that an enhanced version of the feature would be released shortly.

    In a statement on the X platform regarding Gemini’s text-to-image abilities, Google stated “We’re working to improve these kinds of depictions immediately. Gemini’s AI image generation does generate a wide range of people. And that’s generally a good thing because people around the world use it. But it’s missing the mark here.” 

    Images produced by Gemini spread across social media recently, leading to widespread ridicule and anger. Some users criticized Google, claiming that the company prioritizes being “woke” over truth or accuracy.

    Some of the images that drew criticism included a portrayal of four Swedish women, none of whom were depicted as white, as well as scenes featuring Black and Asian soldiers dressed as Nazis.

    “It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist,” Debarghya Das, the engineer who founded the enterprise search startup Glean, shared on X platform a post containing several images created by Gemini.

    It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist pic.twitter.com/4lkhD7p5nR
    — Deedy (@debarghya_das) February 20, 2024

    The challenges faced by AI models, such as overlooking people of color and perpetuating stereotypes underscore the need for continual improvement and ethical considerations in AI development. 

    Google’s efforts to keep pace with competitors like OpenAI since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 have been accompanied by setbacks in the rollout of its AI products. Instances like the apology issued last year for inaccuracies in its AI chatbot Bard’s demonstration highlight the ongoing complexities in AI technology. 

  • Are You Facing Issues With Creating AI Images From Gemini? Google Explain The Reason |

    New Delhi: Google has officially recognized issues with its Gemini model’s AI image generation, particularly concerning specific prompts. The tech giant stated that users requesting various images related to a particular culture or historical period should receive accurate responses. However, this hasn’t been the case, with Google attributing the problems to its “tuning” measures.

    Explanation Of Shortcomings

    In a recent blog post, Google delved into the factors contributing to problems with its Gemini model’s AI image generation. The company highlighted two main factors. (Also Read: From Investment To Income: A Rs 5-7 Lakh Investment In This Business Idea Could Yield Rs 1.5 Lakh Monthly Returns)

    Firstly, their tuning process, aimed at ensuring Gemini could display a diverse range of people, overlooked scenarios where a varied representation wasn’t appropriate. Secondly, over time, the model became overly cautious and started declining certain prompts altogether. (Also Read: User Receives Fake iPhone 15 From Amazon; Company Responds)

    Temporary Pause On Image Generation

    Google admitted that their recently launched news image generation feature for the Gemini conversational app, which included creating images of people, missed the mark.

    Some generated images were inaccurate or even offensive. In response, Google temporarily paused the image generation of people in Gemini while they worked on an improved version.

    The company emphasized that this outcome wasn’t their intention and reiterated their stance against deliberately creating inaccuracies, especially with historical content.

    Actions To Address Issues

    To resolve the problems, Google plans to subject Gemini’s AI image generation to more testing. However, the company mentioned that they can’t guarantee Gemini won’t make mistakes or produce embarrassing, wrong, or offensive results even after fixing the issues. Nonetheless, they promised to take action whenever problems arise.

    Recommendation To Users

    While the Gemini AI model undergoes improvements, Google suggests users utilize Search’s AI image generation, which gathers “fresh, high-quality information” from the web.

    Temporary Halt On Generating Images Of People

    Following a backlash over inaccurate results, Google temporarily suspended its Gemini AI model from generating images of people.

    This decision came after users shared images created by the model, primarily featuring people of color, including scenes from history that only involved white people.

  • Artificial Intelligence To Save More Time For Chartered Accountants, says ICAI Prez |

    New Delhi: Artificial intelligence will provide a helping hand and free up a lot of time for chartered accountants to focus on analytical work, ICAI President Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal said on Wednesday and highlighted that there is a huge demand for chartered accountants.

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) expects there will be a need for around 30 lakh chartered accountants in the next 20 to 25 years and last year, around 22,000 students cleared the chartered accountants examination.

    At a briefing in the national capital, Agarwal, who took charge as the president on February 12, said a committee will be coming out with a roadmap in the next two months on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). (Also Read: Govt Plans For Simplification, Digitalisation Of KYC Process)

    He emphasised that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a tool and is saving a lot of time. “This will give you (chartered accountants) more time for application of mind, analytics… I believe AI is going to be a helping hand for the profession of chartered accountants so that they can focus more on other analytical areas”.

    Adding further, ICAI President said that “AI taking away the compliance part from the chartered accountants and giving them more scope to work on bigger areas… AI cannot overtake human intelligence,” 

    In the audit profession, for instance, to check a 700-page annual report of a listed company, one can make a PDF and put it in Chat GPT. Now, one doesn’t have to read the 700 pages as an auditor. “You have to ask the questions like what is the profitability, what is the adverse comment… Whatever you ask, Chat GPT will answer,” Agarwal said.

    Amid instances of chartered accountants coming under the regulatory scanner, Agarwal said the institute has self-developed “so many checks and balances”. The target is to have “lesser anomalies”, he said, adding that efforts are made to continuously enhance the skills of the chartered accountants. For non-compliances, ICAI is also taking action against members, he added. (Also Read: Salaries In India To Increase By 9.5% In 2024; Infra, Manufacturing Sectors Lead)

    The institute will also provide suggestions to the government on increasing the tax-to-GDP ratio as well as on green finance. The tax-to-GDP ratio, which is less than 3 per cent now, should improve for the country to become a developed economy by 2047. In the developed countries, the ratio is around 22 per cent, he noted.

    Besides, a committee will identify irrelevant laws and make suggestions in this regard to the government.

  • Microsoft To Expand AI And Cloud Infrastructure In Spain, Says Vice Chair Brad Smith

    This announcement follows closely after Microsoft’s recent commitment of 3.45 billion dollars towards AI-centric investments in Germany.

  • NITI Aayog Calls For Prioritising Tech, AI For Senior Care In India |

    New Delhi: It is important to prioritise technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for senior care, the NITI Aayog said on Monday, in a report on senior care reforms in India.
    The NITI Aayog released a position paper titled “Senior Care Reforms in India: Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm,” on Friday.

    “The release of this report is one of the stepping stones toward India’s commitment to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047,” said NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery at the occasion. (Also Read: GenAI To Boost Indian Financial Services, Add 80 Billion Dollars By 2030: Report)

    “It is important to extensively prioritise the application of technology and Artificial Intelligence for senior care. It is time to start thinking about the special dimensions of senior care in addition to the medical and social dimensions,” he added. (Also Read: Google Offers 300% Salary Hike To Retain Employee; Read More)

    The recommendations in the position paper categorise the specific interventions needed in terms of empowerment, service delivery, and their inclusions under four core areas: Health, Social, Economic/ Financial, and Digital.

    “This is the time when serious discussions should emerge on making ageing dignity driven, safe, and productive. We need to ensure the social security of the elderly and add more emphasis to wellbeing and care,” said Member (Health) NITI Aayog Dr. V.K. Paul in his address.

    The report strives to push the frontiers of senior care by recognising the evolving medical and non-medical needs of seniors, thus envisioning a multi-pronged strategy for designing an effective and synergised senior care policy.

    “The report is a call for action on what needs to be done to bring a greater focus on senior care,” said Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE), Ministry of Social Justice
    He added that the broad focus of DoSJE is on ageing with dignity, ageing at home, and productive ageing, which will encompass social, economic, and health aspects.

  • Google Offers 300% Salary Hike To Retain Employee; Read More |

    New Delhi: During a recent episode of the Big Technology Podcast, Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, revealed that Google once offered an employee a staggering 300 percent hike in salary to dissuade them from switching jobs to Perplexity AI. This anecdote sheds light on the lengths to which big tech companies go to retain their employees.

    Details Of Salary Hike

    Srinivas disclosed that the employee who received the substantial salary increase was a member of Google’s ‘search team’ and had no direct involvement with its AI division. Despite this, Google deemed it necessary to offer such a significant raise to prevent the employee from leaving. (Also Read: Nothing CEO Carl Pie Became ‘Carl Bhai’ In Twitter Bio, But Why So?)

    Google’s Internal Memo On Job Cuts

    The revelation of the extraordinary salary hike comes amidst recent job cuts at Google, with CEO Sundar Pichai warning employees of more impending layoffs. (Also Read: Google Opens New Office In Pune; Employee Shares Video Of Interiors: Watch)

    In an internal memo addressed to all Google employees, Pichai emphasized the need for “tough choices” to create capacity for future investments.

    Pichai’s Statement On Job Reductions

    Pichai’s memo acknowledged the company’s ambitious goals and reiterated its commitment to investing in key priorities. However, he stressed that creating capacity for these investments requires difficult decisions, including workforce reductions.

    Scope Of Job Cuts

    Since January 10, Google has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees across various departments. Earlier announcements by Pichai indicated plans to cut approximately 12,000 jobs globally, which accounts for about 6 percent of Google’s workforce.

    Pichai’s Announcement To Employees

    In a previous communication to employees, Pichai had informed them of the decision to reduce the workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. While employees in the US received immediate notifications, the process in other countries may take longer due to local laws and regulations.

  • OpenAI, Meta And Other Tech Giants Sign Effort To Fight AI Election Interference |

    New Delhi: A group of 20 tech companies announced on Friday they have agreed to work together to prevent deceptive artificial-intelligence content from interfering with elections across the globe this year.

    The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which can create text, images and video in seconds in response to prompts, has heightened fears that the new technology could be used to sway major elections this year, as more than half of the world’s population is set to head to the polls. (Also Read: OpenAI Can’t Register GPT As Trademark, Rules US Patent Office)

    Signatories of the tech accord, which was announced at the Munich Security Conference, include companies that are building generative AI models used to create content, including OpenAI, Microsoft and Adobe. Other signatories include social media platforms that will face the challenge of keeping harmful content off their sites, such as Meta Platforms, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter. (Also Read: You Can Now Remix YouTube Music Videos In Shorts – Here’s How!)

    The agreement includes commitments to collaborate on developing tools for detecting misleading AI-generated images, video and audio, creating public awareness campaigns to educate voters on deceptive content and taking action on such content on their services.

    Technology to identify AI-generated content or certify its origin could include watermarking or embedding metadata, the companies said. The accord did not specify a timeline for meeting the commitments or how each company would implement them.

    “I think the utility of this (accord) is the breadth of the companies signing up to it,” said Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta Platforms. “It’s all good and well if individual platforms develop new policies of detection, provenance, labeling, watermarking and so on, but unless there is a wider commitment to do so in a shared interoperable way, we’re going to be stuck with a hodgepodge of different commitments,” Clegg said.

    Generative AI is already being used to influence politics and even convince people not to vote. In January, a robocall using fake audio of U.S. President Joe Biden circulated to New Hampshire voters, urging them to stay home during the state’s presidential primary election.

    Despite the popularity of text-generation tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the tech companies will focus on preventing harmful effects of AI photos, videos and audio, partly because people tend to have more skepticism with text, said Dana Rao, Adobe’s chief trust officer, in an interview.

    “There’s an emotional connection to audio, video and images,” he said. “Your brain is wired to believe that kind of media.”

  • Google To Help Map Global Methane Emissions From Space |

    New Delhi: Google has announced a partnership with the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to map methane pollution and oil and gas infrastructure from space.

    The Environmental Defense Fund’s satellite, MethaneSAT, will soon orbit the Earth to collect satellite data. This data, combined with Google’s AI and infrastructure mapping, will create a better understanding of how to mitigate methane emissions, the tech giant said in a statement.

    The year 2023 was the hottest year on record, and the last 10 years have been the hottest years since 1850. “We are announcing a partnership with EDF that combines our science and technology to reduce methane emissions. This is one of the most powerful, short-term actions we can take to reduce warming,” said Yael Maguire, VP and General Manager, Geo Developer & Sustainability, Google. (Also Read: Redmi A3 Budget Smartphone Launched In India, Check Price, Camera, And Battery)

    Methane from human sources is responsible for about 30 percent of global warming today, and a big contributor of methane in the atmosphere comes from extracting fossil fuels, like oil and gas, from the Earth.

    By powering methane detection algorithms with cloud computing and applying AI to satellite imagery to identify oil and gas infrastructure around the world, the goal is to help EDF quantify and trace methane emissions to their source.

    “With this information, energy companies, researchers, and the public sector can take action to reduce emissions from oil and gas infrastructure faster and more effectively,” said Google. (Also Read: Google CEO: Do You Know How Many Phones Sundar Pichai Uses? Here’s What Report Claims)

    Launching in early March on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, MethaneSAT will orbit the Earth 15 times a day at an altitude of over 350 miles. It will measure methane levels in the top oil and gas regions in the world for regular analysis. To help researchers and organizations, the insights will be available later this year on MethaneSAT’s website and accessible through Google Earth Engine.