7 min read · 25 May 2023
Dmitri Cherniak, Ringers #194 (2021). Courtesy of Sotheby’s
OpenAI warns over split with Europe as AI regulation advances. OpenAI chief Sam Altman has warned that Brussels’ efforts to regulate artificial intelligence could lead the maker of ChatGPT to pull its services from the EU, in the starkest sign yet of a growing transatlantic rift over how to control the technology. (FT)
Microsoft calls for a new US agency and licensing for AI. Microsoft Corp. is calling for a new US agency to regulate AI and licensing requirements to operate the most powerful AI tools. Company President Brad Smith compared AI to the printing press, elevators and food safety to argue both the transformative power of a new technology and the necessity of regualtion to protect against potential harms. (Bloomberg)
UK crypto fraud losses jump 40%. Data from national reporting agency for cyber crime shows £300mn in losses over the past year. Law firms said the data, provided by Action Fraud, reflected the scale of cyber crime and the high-profile collapse of crypto exchange FTX last year that triggered a wave of losses among retail investors. (FT)
Philippine and Japanese college students earn crypto by hunting for broken manholes. A Pokemon Go-like game called Tekkon, rewards users with cryptocurrency for collecting information that helps cities maintain aging public infrastructure. (Bloomberg)
Bankrupt crypto hedge fund 3AC’s NFT auction fetches $2.5 million. The auction of the NFT collection previously held by bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) fetched $2.5 million. The sale was facilitated by Sotheby’s and included several high-end assets like Tyler Hobbs Fidenza #725, which was sold for $1 million. (Artnet)
Sam Altman’s Crypto Project Worldcoin Raises $115M. Currently in beta, Worldcoin is being built around the decentralized World ID and the Worldcoin token. The project uses a device to scan irises to confirm a person's identity, after which the person is given tokens for free. (CoinDesk)
Adobe is adding AI image generator Firefly to photoshop. The new AI tool, called Generative Fill, will allow users to quickly extend images and add or remove objects using text prompts. (The Verge)
A Google DeepMind AI language model is now making descriptions for YouTube Shorts. The Flamingo visual language model is being put to work to generate descriptions, which can help with discoverability. (TheVerge)
A deepfake of an explosion at the Pentagon went viral on Twitter. The photo caused the stock market to dip slightly after an account impersonating Bloomberg tweeted the image. (Mashable)
AI reconstructs 'High-Quality' video directly from brain readings in study. Researchers from the National University of Singapore and The Chinese University of Hong Kong used fMRI data and the text-to-image AI model Stable Diffusion to create a model called MinD-Video that generates video from brain readings. (Vice)