Betting on Intelligence, Copyrights vs Chatbots and more

Pivot 5: 5 stories. 5 minutes a day. 5 days a week.

1. Samsung's Bold Move into the AI Landscape

Samsung, the South Korean tech giant, has made a significant investment in its chip business, spending $7.4 billion. This move is seen as a clear indication of Samsung's belief in the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI). The company is positioning itself to be at the forefront of the AI era, leveraging its advanced chip technology to drive innovation in AI.

Samsung's investment is expected to bolster its capabilities in AI and machine learning, enabling the company to develop more sophisticated and powerful AI applications. The company's commitment to AI is evident in its strategic investments and its focus on developing cutting-edge AI technologies.

However, the road to AI dominance is fraught with challenges. Samsung will need to navigate a highly competitive market, regulatory hurdles, and the complex technical challenges inherent in AI development. Despite these challenges, Samsung's significant investment signals its confidence in the transformative potential of AI.

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2. Legal Tussle Over AI Training Methods

OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence research lab, is facing a lawsuit from a group of authors who claim that the lab's language model, ChatGPT, was trained on their copyrighted works. The authors argue that this constitutes a violation of their intellectual property rights. The lawsuit raises critical questions about the ethical and legal implications of AI training methods. It also underscores the need for clear guidelines and regulations in the rapidly evolving field of AI.

The authors' primary contention is that OpenAI did not seek their permission before using their works for training ChatGPT. They argue that this amounts to a breach of copyright laws. The lawsuit is one of the first of its kind, and its outcome could set a precedent for future cases involving AI and copyright infringement.

The case also highlights the broader ethical issues surrounding AI. As AI models become more sophisticated and widespread, there is a growing need for transparency and accountability in their development and deployment. This lawsuit underscores the importance of establishing robust ethical guidelines and legal frameworks for AI.

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3. EU-Japan Partnership: A New Era in Tech

The European Union is seeking to deepen its technological cooperation with Japan, focusing on key areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductor technology. This move is part of the EU's ongoing strategy to reduce its reliance on China in certain technological sectors. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton is meeting with the Japanese government to discuss potential collaborations, with AI being a high-priority topic.

The EU and Japan are planning to establish a Digital Partnership Council to discuss areas including quantum and high-performance computing. This initiative follows a similar council established between the EU and South Korea, focusing on AI and cybersecurity. These partnerships with technologically advanced Asian countries are part of the EU's strategy to "de-risk" from China, a different approach from the U.S.'s strategy of economic decoupling from Beijing.

In addition to AI, the EU and Japan will also cooperate in the area of semiconductors, a critical component in a wide range of products from cars to smartphones, and essential for training AI models. Both the EU and Japan have been seeking to strengthen their domestic semiconductor industries, with Japan's government-backed fund proposing to buy domestic chipmaking firm JSR. This cooperation comes at a time when countries worldwide are reassessing their supply chains and considering bringing semiconductor manufacturing back onshore.

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4. SoftBank's Major Investment in Generative AI

Japanese operator SoftBank has announced plans to invest $138 million in advanced computing infrastructure to power its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) model. The company aims to target Japanese enterprises initially, before expanding into other sectors such as finance and healthcare.

SoftBank's investment will enable it to build infrastructure equivalent to a supercomputer, poweredby Nvidia’s graphics processing unit for large language models. The company plans to initially target the Japanese call center market before expanding into other sectors such as finance and healthcare.

The move represents a significant investment in AI by SoftBank and underscores the growing importance of AI in the business world. As AI continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, companies like SoftBank are positioning themselves to be at the forefront of this technological revolution.

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5. The Slow March of AI in the Workplace

Despite the hype surrounding the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, a new survey suggests that the revolution is not yet underway. The survey found that only about a third of businesses in the UK have so far invested in AI and machine-learning technologies.

The findings challenge the prevailing narrative about the rapid adoption of AI in the workplace. While AI has been steadily adopted by companies within different industries over the last few decades, the survey suggests that the pace of adoption is slower than often portrayed.

The survey also points to a growing skills gap in the UK, with less than 10% of employers feeling they would need to make an investment in digital skills training in the years to come. This suggests that the AI revolution in the workplace may be delayed by a lack of investment in both new technology and digital skills.

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