Amazon’s Cloud Boss Likens Generative AI Hype to the Dotcom Bubble

Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon’s dominant cloud platform AWS, says generative AI is valuable but that the excitement around some AI companies is similar to when dotcom darlings were “dramatically overhyped.”

https://www.wired.com/story/amazons-cloud-boss-selipsky-generative-ai-hype/ 

 Confessions of an AI Clickbait Kingpin

Serbian DJ turned internet entrepreneur Nebojša Vujinović Vujo floods abandoned news sites with AI-generated articles. But he wants you to know he's a nice guy.

https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-of-an-ai-clickbait-kingpin/ 

 Mystery Company Linked to Biden Robocall Identified by New Hampshire Attorney General

The FCC has issued a cease and desist and is working on a new proposal banning AI-generated robocalls.

https://www.wired.com/story/new-hampshire-biden-ai-robocall/ 

 I Tested a Next-Gen AI Assistant. It Will Blow You Away

WIRED experimented with a new form of voice assistant that can browse the web and perform tasks online. Siri, Alexa, and other virtual helpers could soon be much more powerful.

https://www.wired.com/story/fast-forward-tested-next-gen-ai-assistant/ 

 US Lawmakers Tell DOJ to Quit Blindly Funding ‘Predictive’ Police Tools

Members of Congress say the DOJ is funding the use of AI tools that further discriminatory policing practices. They're demanding higher standards for federal grants.

https://www.wired.com/story/doj-predictive-policing-lawmakers-demand/ 

 The George Carlin ‘AI’ Standup Creators Now Say a Human Wrote the Jokes

A lawsuit filed by Carlin's manager will still move forward.

https://www.wired.com/story/george-carlin-ai-standup-written-by-humans/ 

 If Taylor Swift Can't Defeat Deepfake Porn, No One Can

Deepfake porn is prolific. The explicit, AI-generated images of Taylor Swift that circulated on X this week are taking the issue to new heights.

https://www.wired.com/story/taylor-swift-deepfake-porn-artificial-intelligence-pushback/ 

 Researchers Say the Deepfake Biden Robocall Was Likely Made With Tools From AI Startup ElevenLabs

Two fake-audio experts say that the deepfake robocall of President Biden received by some voters last week was likely created with technology from Silicon Valley’s favorite voice cloning startup.

https://www.wired.com/story/biden-robocall-deepfake-elevenlabs/ 

 AI Hits the Campaign Trail

This week, we discuss how generative artificial intelligence will affect the 2024 US elections. We also consider the ways regulators, social platforms, and the voting public are dealing with it.

https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-629/ 

 An AI Executive Turns AI Crusader to Stand Up for Artists

Ed Newton-Rex quit his job at startup Stability AI over ethical concerns about its collection of training data. His nonprofit Fairly Trained aims to deter startups from scraping the web.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-executive-ed-newton-rex-turns-crusader-stand-up-for-artists/ 

 Regulators Are Finally Catching Up With Big Tech

The lawless, Wild West era of AI and technology is almost at an end, as data protection authorities use new and existing legislation to get tough.

https://www.wired.com/story/regulators-are-finally-catching-up-with-big-tech/ 

 Congress Wants Tech Companies to Pay Up for AI Training Data

At a Senate hearing on AI’s impact on journalism, lawmakers backed media industry calls to make OpenAI and other tech companies pay to license news articles and other data used to train algorithms.

https://www.wired.com/story/congress-senate-tech-companies-pay-ai-training-data/ 

 Sex, Drugs, and AI Mickey Mouse

The Steamboat Willie version of Disney icon Mickey Mouse just entered the public domain, and there's already an explosion of related AI-generated art. We talked to some of the creators behind it.

https://www.wired.com/story/mickey-mouse-steamboat-willie-public-domain-artificial-intelligence/ 

 To Own the Future, Read Shakespeare

Tech and the liberal arts have always been at war. Don’t assume Silicon Valley will win.

https://www.wired.com/story/own-future-artificial-intelligence-read-shakespeare/ 

 CES 2024 Preview: Get Ready for a ‘Tsunami’ of AI

CES, which kicks off January 9 in Las Vegas, will feature the usual assortment of new consumer tech products. This year, even more of that stuff will be empowered by machine intelligence.

https://www.wired.com/story/ces-2024-preview-a-tsunami-of-ai/ 

 My Surprisingly Unbiased Week With Elon Musk's 'Politically Biased' Chatbot

Some Elon Musk fans are concerned that Grok, xAI's answer to ChatGPT, is too politically liberal. The nature of the underlying AI technology will make “fixing” its outlook difficult.

https://www.wired.com/story/fast-forward-elon-musk-grok-political-bias-chatbot/ 

 Europe to End Robo-Firing in Major Gig Economy Overhaul

Platforms will no longer be able to fire their workers automatically as part of new EU rules that will affect millions of people including Uber drivers and Deliveroo couriers.

https://www.wired.com/story/platform-work-eu-overhauls/ 

 Google’s NotebookLM Aims to Be the Ultimate Writing Assistant

Author Steven Johnson helped Google create an app that can analyze a writer’s research material and help them extract and explore the key themes. Maybe too well.

https://www.wired.com/story/googles-notebooklm-ai-ultimate-writing-assistant/ 

 Google’s Gemini Is the Real Start of the Generative AI Boom

A new AI model from Google—called Gemini—is fresh competition for OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The AI rivals are now working on even more radical ideas.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-generative-ai-boom/ 

 The Generative AI Copyright Fight Is Just Getting Started

The Authors Guild and other artists’ groups say that it's unfair to train AI algorithms on their work without permission. Tech companies generally argue that it counts as “fair use.”

https://www.wired.com/story/livewired-generative-ai-copyright/ 

 How to Use Google’s Gemini AI Right Now in Its Bard Chatbot

You can try out Gemini, Google's rival to ChatGPT, for free. It’s super easy to access right inside Bard.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-google-gemini-ai-bard-chatbot/ 

 Google Just Launched Gemini, Its Long-Awaited Answer to ChatGPT

Google says Gemini, launching today inside the Bard chatbot, is its “most capable” AI model ever. It was trained on video, images, and audio as well as text.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-gemini-ai-model-chatgpt/ 

 Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis Says Gemini Is a New Breed of AI

Google’s new AI model Gemini launched today inside the Bard chatbot. It could go on to advance robotics and other projects, says Demis Hassabis, the AI executive leading the project.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-deepmind-demis-hassabis-gemini-ai/ 

 How to Stop Another OpenAI Meltdown

OpenAI designed its governance structure to protect humanity—and it imploded. The company could take pointers from Mozilla and other projects combining lofty goals with for-profit ventures.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-stop-openai-governance-structure-meltdown/ 

 A New Trick Uses AI to Jailbreak AI Models—Including GPT-4

Adversarial algorithms can systematically probe large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 for weaknesses that can make them misbehave.

https://www.wired.com/story/automated-ai-attack-gpt-4/ 

 The Rise of AI in Alternative Browsers—and What’s Next

Developers at smaller companies have been adding new ways to experience the internet with AI assistance. Their visions for the future radically differ.

https://www.wired.com/story/alternative-browsers-built-in-ai-arc-sigmaos-brave-opera/ 

 Inside America's School Internet Censorship Machine

A WIRED investigation into internet censorship in US schools found widespread use of filters to censor health, identity, and other crucial information. Students say it makes the web entirely unusable.

https://www.wired.com/story/inside-americas-school-internet-censorship-machine/ 

 OpenAI Committed to Buying $51 Million of AI Chips From a Startup Backed by CEO Sam Altman

Documents show that OpenAI signed a letter of intent to spend $51 million on brain-inspired chips developed by startup Rain. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously made a personal investment in Rain.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-buy-ai-chips-startup-sam-altman/ 

 The Year of ChatGPT and Living Generatively

In November last year, OpenAI launched a “low key research preview” called ChatGPT. What happened next transformed the tech industry—and perhaps humanity’s future.

https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-chatgpt-year-of-living-generatively/ 

 ‘Authentic’ Is 2023’s Word of the Year. You Read That Right

In a year dominated by artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and disingenuity, “authentic” has somehow emerged as Merriam-Webster’s word for 2023.

https://www.wired.com/authentc-word-of-the-year-artificial-intelligence-pop-culture-politics/ 

 Anduril’s New Drone Killer Is Locked on to AI-Powered Warfare

Autonomous drones are rapidly changing combat. Anduril’s new one aims to gain an edge with jet power and AI.

https://www.wired.com/story/anduril-roadrunner-drone/ 

 Sam Altman Officially Returns to OpenAI—With New Board Seat for Microsoft

The CEO’s memo to staff announces a non-voting seat for Microsoft but leaves questions about the future of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.

https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-officially-returns-to-openai-board-seat-microsoft/ 

 Amazon’s Answer to ChatGPT Is a Workplace Assistant Called Q

Amazon has developed a generative AI helper that codes, manages cloud software, and powers business apps. The company has also developed new silicon for AI.

https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-q-ai-chatbot-aws/ 

 Prominent Women in Tech Say They Don't Want to Join OpenAI's All-Male Board

After internal chaos earlier this month, OpenAI replaced the women on its board with men. As it plans to add more seats, Timnit Gebru, Sasha Luccioni, and other AI luminaries tell WIRED why they wouldn't join.

https://www.wired.com/story/women-in-tech-openai-board/ 

 Nicolas Cage on Memes, Myths, and Why He Thinks AI Is a ‘Nightmare’

Nicolas Cage’s new movie Dream Scenario investigates the trappings of fame and what happens when someone’s notoriety is bigger than themselves—something Cage understands well.

https://www.wired.com/story/nicolas-cage-interview-artificial-intelligence-memes/ 

 Sam Altman’s Second Coming Sparks New Fears of the AI Apocalypse

Five days of chaos at OpenAI revealed weaknesses in the company’s self-governance. That worries people who believe AI poses an existential risk and proponents of AI regulation.

https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-second-coming-sparks-new-fears-ai-apocalypse/ 

 Mods Are Asleep. Quick, Everyone Release AI Products

In the five days between Sam Altman’s mysterious firing and rehiring as OpenAI’s CEO, multiple companies dropped new artificial intelligence tools.

https://www.wired.com/story/new-artificial-intelligence-products-openai-anthropic-stability-ai/ 

 The Rise of AI in Alternative Browsers—and What’s Next

Developers at smaller companies have been adding new ways to experience the internet with AI assistance. Their visions for the future radically differ.

https://www.wired.com/story/alternative-browsers-built-in-ai-arc-sigmaos-brave-opera/ 

 Meet the Lawyer Leading the Human Resistance Against AI

Matthew Butterick is leading a wave of lawsuits against major AI firms, from OpenAI to Meta. Win or lose, his work will shape the future of human creativity.

https://www.wired.com/story/matthew-butterick-ai-copyright-lawsuits-openai-meta/ 

 Sam Altman Reaches Agreement to Return to OpenAI

After days of chaos at ChatGPT creator OpenAI, the company says it has “in principle” reached an agreement for ousted CEO Sam Altman to return to his post.

https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-openai-back/ 

 OpenAI’s Boardroom Drama Could Mess Up Your Future

OpenAI’s board appears to have ejected Sam Altman in an attempt to preserve OpenAI’s mission of keeping AI development safe. The chaotic results have done the exact opposite.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-boardroom-drama-sam-altman-could-mess-up-your-future/ 

 Elon Musk Trolls His Way Into the OpenAI Drama

Elon Musk cofounded OpenAI but left after his own failed coup. Now he has shared an unsigned letter containing unverified accusations against the recently fired CEO Sam Altman.

https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-troll-openai-drama/ 

 The Mystery at the Heart of the OpenAI Chaos

Last week Sam Altman was sensationally fired from OpenAI, tipping the AI company into chaos. It remains unclear what made the board decide to act.

https://www.wired.com/story/mystery-at-the-heart-of-the-openai-chaos/ 

 OpenAI Staff Threaten to Quit Unless Board Resigns

More than 500 employees of OpenAI have signed a letter saying they may quit and join Sam Altman at Microsoft unless the startup's board resigns and reappoints the ousted CEO.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-staff-walk-protest-sam-altman/ 

 Microsoft Emerges as the Winner in OpenAI Chaos

Microsoft has hired OpenAI cofounders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to head a new advanced AI team, acquiring one of the most successful management groups in the AI industry.

https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-emerges-as-the-winner-in-openai-chaos/ 

 Sam Altman’s Attempt to Return as OpenAI CEO Fails as Board Turns to ex-Twitch CEO

Altman was ousted by OpenAI’s board Friday but by Sunday was back in the building to negotiate a return. The board chose ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as interim CEO instead.

https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-openai-return-fails-ceo-twitch-emmett-shear/ 

 How OpenAI’s Bizarre Structure Gave 4 People the Power to Fire Sam Altman

Chaos at OpenAI has its root in an unusual corporate structure designed to protect humanity against rogue AI—some investors had expressed fears it could weaken the company.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-bizarre-structure-4-people-the-power-to-fire-sam-altman/ 

 Sam Altman’s Sudden Exit Sends Shockwaves Through OpenAI and Beyond

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella reportedly “furious” following Altman's dramatic departure from OpenAI Friday. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s president and three senior researchers have resigned.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-sam-altman-ousted-what-happened/ 

 Who Is Mira Murati, OpenAI’s New Interim CEO?

Mira Murati was elevated from OpenAI’s CTO to its interim leader after CEO Sam Altman was ousted Friday. Like all the company’s leaders she believes that artificial general intelligence is within reach.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-new-ceo-who-is-mira-murati/ 

 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Is Out After Losing Confidence of Board

The board of ChatGPT's creator OpenAI says the company's board lost confidence in CEO Sam Altman. Mira Murati, previously CTO, will serve as the company's leader until it finds a permanent replacement.

https://www.wired.com/story/openai-ceo-sam-altman-is-out-after-losing-confidence-of-board/ 

 The Case for Using AI to Log Your Every Living Moment

Sam Liang, CEO of Otter, argues that life would be better if algorithms logged every spoken word so life events past can be lived and explored again.

https://www.wired.com/story/the-case-for-using-ai-to-log-your-every-living-moment/ 

 Google DeepMind’s AI Pop Star Clone Will Freak You Out

Two new tools using DeepMind’s music generation algorithm Lyria let anyone make YouTube shorts using the AI-generated vocals of Demi Lovato, T-Pain, Troye Sivan and others. It’s haunting.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-deepminds-ai-pop-star-clone-will-freak-you-out/ 

 Parental Advisory: This Chatbot May Talk to Your Child About Sex and Alcohol

Common Sense Media’s first ratings for chatbots and other AI services warn parents that AI image generators and Snapchat’s My AI chatbot may not be safe for kids.

https://www.wired.com/story/parental-advisory-chatbots-children-sex-and-alcohol/ 

 YouTube Shorts Challenges TikTok With Music-Making AI for Creators

YouTube creators will get to test a new AI tool that generates and remixes music in the style of several famous musicians, including Sia, Demi Lovato, and T-Pain.

https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-shorts-challenges-tiktok-with-music-making-ai-for-creators/ 

 The SAG Deal Sends a Clear Message About AI and Workers

The agreement between Hollywood actors, studios, and streamers isn’t perfect. But it could set the tone for how future labor movements confront changes brought about by artificial intelligence.

https://www.wired.com/story/hollywood-actors-sag-artificial-intelligence-contract/ 

 The US Wants China to Start Talking About AI Weapons

As the US and China meet for the APEC summit in San Francisco this week, American officials are pushing for talks on the risks posed by military use of AI.

https://www.wired.com/story/us-china-killer-ai-weapons-apec-talks/ 

 Tech Disrupted Hollywood. AI Almost Destroyed It

Streaming invigorated the film and TV industry and sent established studios scrambling. That was before AI sparked one of the biggest work stoppages in Hollywood history.

https://www.wired.com/story/hollywood-actors-strike-ai-future-distruption/ 

 Fei-Fei Li Started an AI Revolution By Seeing Like an Algorithm

Researcher Fei-Fei Li’s ImageNet project provided the feedstock for the deep learning boom that brought the world ChatGPT and other world-changing AI systems.

https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-fei-fei-li-ai-revolution-seeing-imagenet-algorithm/ 

 How to Use Google Bard to Find Your Stuff in Gmail and Docs

The new extensions released for Google’s chatbot are clunky, but they might be helpful with a hefty dose of patience.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-use-google-bard-gmail-docs-ai/ 

 Graphcore Was the UK's AI Champion—Now It’s Scrambling to Stay Afloat

The British chipmaker wanted to challenge the dominance of Nvidia, but having been left out of government AI projects, is urgently looking to raise money.

https://www.wired.com/story/graphcore-uk-ai-champion-scrambling-to-stay-afloat/ 

 Generative AI Has Ushered In the Next Phase of Digital Spirituality

From the astrology software of the 1970s to the Co-Star app, spirituality has proliferated online. Now, large language models can find overlooked ways to connect with a higher plane.

https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-spirituality-tarot/ 

 New Pixels, New Assistant, but the Same Old Google

This week, we recap all the hardware and GenAI announcements from Google, and square them with the company’s ongoing antitrust woes over its search products.

https://www.wired.com/story/gadget-lab-podcast-615/ 

 Generative AI Is Coming for Sales Execs’ Jobs—and They’re Celebrating

ChatGPT-style AI can tackle the drudge work of responding to RFPs faster than humans. Sales teams at Google, Twilio, and others say productivity is spiking.

https://www.wired.com/story/generative-ai-chatgpt-is-coming-for-sales-jobs/ 

 Google Assistant Finally Gets a Generative AI Glow-Up

Google is adding AI capabilities from its chatbot Bard to the humble Google Assistant, allowing the virtual helper to make sense of images and draw on data in documents and emails.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-assistant-multi-modal-upgrade-bard-generative-ai/ 

 The New AI Photo Tricks on the Pixel 8 Are Blowing My Mind

Magic Editor and Audio Magic Eraser give you exciting (and kind of scary) new powers over your photos and videos.

https://www.wired.com/story/google-pixel-8-magic-editor-audio-magic-eraser-best-take/ 

 AI Chatbots Are Learning to Spout Authoritarian Propaganda

Regimes in China and Russia are rushing to repress what chatbots can say. It's an early warning about a new frontier of online censorship.

https://www.wired.com/story/chatbot-censorship-china-freedom-house/ 

 How to Be Extremely Online and Influence People

Journalist Taylor Lorenz talks about her new book, Extremely Online, and what the rise of internet creators means for all of our increasingly digital lives.

https://www.wired.com/story/have-a-nice-future-podcast-23/ 

 AI Algorithms Are Biased Against Skin With Yellow Hues

Google, Meta, and others test their algorithms for bias using standardized skin tone scales. Sony says those tools ignore the yellow and red hues at work in human skin color.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-algorithms-are-biased-against-skin-with-yellow-hues/ 

 Voice Actors Are Bracing to Compete With Talking AI

Advances in artificial intelligence are making it easier to clone and generate voices. It has huge implications for voice actors.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-voice-actors-jobs-threat/ 

 How to Use ChatGPT’s New Image Features

OpenAI’s new image analysis update for its chatbot is both impressive and frightening. Here’s how to use it, and some advice for your experiments.

https://www.wired.com/story/chatgpt-plus-image-feature-openai/ 

 FedEx’s New Robot Loads Delivery Vans Like It’s Playing 3D Tetris

FedEx handles over 15 million packages daily. A two-armed, AI-infused robot is now helping pack some of them into delivery vans with expert care.

https://www.wired.com/story/fedexs-new-robot-loads-delivery-vans-like-its-playing-3d-tetris/ 

 The Meta AI Chatbot Is Mark Zuckerberg's Answer to ChatGPT

Meta's AI assistant can do things like suggest travel plans in a group chat. The company also announced a string of chatbots modeled on celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton.

https://www.wired.com/story/meta-ai-chatbot-is-mark-zuckerbergs-answer-to-chatgpt/ 

 This New Autonomous Drone for Cops Can Track You In the Dark

Startup Skydio says its powerful new drone for public safety can reduce the need for high-speed chases. Civil liberties groups warn that few rules govern police use of drones.

https://www.wired.com/story/new-autonomous-drone-for-cops-can-track-you-in-the-dark/ 

 Getty Images Plunges Into the Generative AI Pool

Stock-photo giant Getty Images has partnered with Nvidia to build an image generator. Just like with other tools of its ilk, questions remain about who should get credit for the pictures it dreams up.

https://www.wired.com/story/getty-images-generative-ai-photo-tool/ 

 FBI Agents Are Using Face Recognition Without Proper Training

The FBI makes heavy use of face recognition services like that of controversial startup Clearview AI, but 95 percent of the agents using them haven’t completed training on the technology.

https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-agents-face-recognition-without-proper-training/ 

 Inside the Senate's Private AI Meeting With Tech's Billionaire Elites

Dozens of US senators listened quietly as tech titans and AI ethicists schooled them on the “civilizational risks” of generative AI.

https://www.wired.com/story/senate-ai-forum-musk-zuckerberg/ 

 The AI Detection Arms Race Is On

Gen Alpha is quickly developing tools that identify AI-generated text—and tools to evade detection.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-detection-chat-gpt-college-students/ 

 The AI Hype Train Has Stalled in China

Chinese artificial intelligence startups say uncertain regulation, chip shortages, and a slowing economy will make it tough to compete.

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-hype-train-stalled-in-china/