MIT study finds it doesn’t make sense for AI to replace most jobs

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1. MIT study finds it doesn’t make sense for AI to replace most jobs

A study from MIT CSAIL, MIT Sloan, The Productivity Institute, and IBM’s Institute for Business Value has revealed that only about 23% of wages paid for tasks involving vision are economically viable for AI automation. This indicates a more gradual integration of AI into various sectors, contrasting with the often hypothesized rapid AI-driven job displacement. The research departs from the conventional broad-brush approach to AI's potential impact by offering a meticulous examination of AI's feasibility in automating specific tasks.

The study also examines the ramifications of potential reductions in AI system costs and how such changes could influence the pace of automation. The implications extend beyond immediate economic considerations, touching on broader societal impacts such as workforce retraining and policy development. The study opens up avenues for further research into AI's scalability, cost-effectiveness, and its potential to create new job categories.

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2. Kin.art launches to defend artists’ entire portfolios from AI scraping

Kin.art, a platform for AI-powered art, has been developed to address the issue of infringements on artists' rights in the training process of generative models. The platform disrupts both inputs, rather than just targeting the image or label independently. The segmentation and fuzzing process takes only a few hundred milliseconds and is done on the platform as soon as the image is uploaded.

Users can opt out of the protection through a simple toggle when uploading art to the platform. Kin.art is free of charge for artists and does not intend to monetize these features. The platform allows AI artists to upload their works to the platform and benefit from the new AI defense tools, but it does not allow AI artists to upload their work when it is labeled as such. Kin.art is a neutral stance on AI and allows generative artists to share their work when it is labeled as such. The team at uChicago encourages anyone to help tackle this problem and believes prevention is always the most important thing to strive for.

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3. Google Chrome gains AI features, including a writing helper, theme creator, and tab organizer

Google Chrome is introducing three new AI-powered features for Mac and Windows, including a writing helper, theme creator, and tab organizer. The writing helper will be accessible in the next month's Chrome release by right-clicking on a text box or field on the web. The new Tab Organizer will automatically suggest and create groups based on the tabs users have open, making them easier to find. 

The new generative AI wallpaper experience will allow users to generate custom themes for their Chrome browser by subject, mood, visual style, and color. These features join other AI-powered and machine learning tools already available in Chrome.

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4. eBay is laying off 9 percent of its workforce

eBay has announced a reduction in its workforce by around 1,000 full-time roles, affecting approximately 9% of its employees. US employees will be asked to work from home on January 24, and those affected will be notified shortly. eBay's impact scale matches that of Unity and Google earlier this month, which doesn't look good for the tech scene at the beginning of 2024.

The company blames the layoffs on hiring too many people in recent years. President and CEO Jamie Iannone said that while they are making progress against their strategy, their overall headcount and expenses have outpaced the growth of their business.

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5. AI will make scam emails look genuine, UK cybersecurity agency warns

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that AI tools will make it difficult to identify genuine emails and phishing messages. Generative AI, which can produce convincing text, voice, and images from simple prompts, will complicate efforts to identify different types of attacks such as spoof messages and social engineering. 

The NCSC also warned that generative AI tools will make it difficult for everyone, regardless of their level of cybersecurity understanding, to assess whether an email or password reset request is genuine or to identify phishing, spoofing, or social engineering attempts.

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