In the wake of the generative AI (GenAI) revolution, UK businesses find themselves at a crossroads between unprecedented opportunities and inherent challenges.

Paul O’Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Solution Engineering (UKI) at Salesforce, sheds light on the complexities of this transformative landscape, urging businesses to tread cautiously while embracing the potential of artificial intelligence.

Unprecedented opportunities

Generative AI has stormed the scene with remarkable speed. ChatGPT, for example, amassed 100 million users in a mere two months.

“If you put that into context, it took 10 years to reach 100 million users on Netflix,” says O’Sullivan.

This rapid adoption signals a seismic shift, promising substantial economic growth. O’Sullivan estimates that generative AI has the potential to contribute a staggering £3.5 trillion ($4.4 trillion) to the global economy.

“Again, if you put that into context, that’s about as much tax as the entire US takes in,” adds O’Sullivan.

One of its key advantages lies in driving automation, with the prospect of automating up to 40 percent of the average workday—leading to significant productivity gains for businesses.

The AI trust gap

However, amid the excitement, there looms a significant challenge: the AI trust gap. 

O’Sullivan acknowledges that despite being a top priority for C-suite executives, over half of customers remain sceptical about the safety and security of AI applications.

Addressing this gap will require a multi-faceted approach including grappling with issues related to data quality and ensuring that AI systems are built on reliable, unbiased, and representative datasets. 

“Companies have struggled with data quality and data hygiene. So that’s a key area of focus,” explains O’Sullivan.

Safeguarding data privacy is also paramount, with stringent measures needed to prevent the misuse of sensitive customer information.

“Both customers and businesses are worried about data privacy—we can’t let large language models store and learn from sensitive customer data,” says O’Sullivan. “Over half of customers and their customers don’t believe AI is safe and secure today.”

Ethical considerations

AI also prompts ethical considerations. Concerns about hallucinations – where AI systems generate inaccurate or misleading information – must be addressed meticulously.

Businesses must confront biases and toxicities embedded in AI algorithms, ensuring fairness and inclusivity. Striking a balance between innovation and ethical responsibility is pivotal to gaining customer trust.

“A trustworthy AI should consistently meet expectations, adhere to commitments, and create a sense of dependability within the organisation,” explains O’Sullivan. “It’s crucial to address the limitations and the potential risks. We’ve got to be open here and lead with integrity.”

As businesses embrace AI, upskilling the workforce will also be imperative.

O’Sullivan advocates for a proactive approach, encouraging employees to master the art of prompt writing. Crafting effective prompts is vital, enabling faster and more accurate interactions with AI systems and enhancing productivity across various tasks.

Moreover, understanding AI lingo is essential to foster open conversations and enable informed decision-making within organisations.

A collaborative future

Crucially, O’Sullivan emphasises a collaborative future where AI serves as a co-pilot rather than a replacement for human expertise.

“AI, for now, lacks cognitive capability like empathy, reasoning, emotional intelligence, and ethics—and these are absolutely critical business skills that humans need to bring to the table,” says O’Sullivan.

This collaboration fosters a sense of trust, as humans act as a check and balance to ensure the responsible use of AI technology.

By addressing the AI trust gap, upskilling the workforce, and fostering a harmonious collaboration between humans and AI, businesses can harness the full potential of generative AI while building trust and confidence among customers.

You can watch our full interview with Paul O’Sullivan below:

Paul O’Sullivan and the Salesforce team will be sharing their invaluable insights at this year’s AI & Big Data Expo Global. O’Sullivan will feature on a day one panel titled ‘Converging Technologies – We Work Better Together’.

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AI experts don’t stay jobless for long, as evidenced by Microsoft’s quick recruitment of former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Co-Founder Greg Brockman.

Altman, who was recently ousted by OpenAI’s board for reasons that have had no shortage of speculation, has found a new home at Microsoft. The announcement came after unsuccessful negotiations with OpenAI’s board to reinstate Altman.

I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.

— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella – who has long expressed confidence in Altman’s vision and leadership – revealed that Altman and Brockman will lead Microsoft’s newly established advanced AI research team.

Nadella expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating, “We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.”

I’m super excited to have you join as CEO of this new group, Sam, setting a new pace for innovation. We’ve learned a lot over the years about how to give founders and innovators space to build independent identities and cultures within Microsoft, including GitHub, Mojang Studios,…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 20, 2023

The move follows Altman’s abrupt departure from OpenAI. Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has been appointed as interim CEO at OpenAI.

Today I got a call inviting me to consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to become the interim CEO of @OpenAI. After consulting with my family and reflecting on it for just a few hours, I accepted. I had recently resigned from my role as CEO of Twitch due to the birth of my…

— Emmett Shear (@eshear) November 20, 2023

Altman’s role at Microsoft is anticipated to build on the company’s strategy of allowing founders and innovators space to create independent identities, similar to Microsoft’s approach with GitHub, Mojang Studios, and LinkedIn.

Microsoft’s decision to bring Altman and Brockman on board coincides with the development of its custom AI chip. The Maia AI chip, designed to train large language models, aims to reduce dependence on Nvidia.

While Microsoft reassures its commitment to the OpenAI partnership, valued at approximately $10 billion, it emphasises ongoing innovation and support for customers and partners.

As Altman and Brockman embark on leading Microsoft’s advanced AI research team, the industry will be watching closely to see what the high-profile figures can do with Microsoft’s resources at their disposal. The industry will also be observing whether OpenAI can maintain its success under different leadership.

(Photo by Turag Photography on Unsplash)

See also: Amdocs, NVIDIA and Microsoft Azure build custom LLMs for telcos

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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Ahead of this year’s AI & Big Data Expo Global, Umbar Shakir, Partner and AI Lead at Gate One, shared her insights into the diverse landscape of generative AI (GenAI) and its impact on businesses.

From addressing the spectrum of use cases to navigating digital transformation, Shakir shed light on the challenges, ethical considerations, and the promising future of this groundbreaking technology.

Wide spectrum of use cases

Shakir highlighted the wide array of GenAI applications, ranging from productivity enhancements and research support to high-stakes areas such as strategic data mining and knowledge bots. She emphasised the transformational power of AI in understanding customer data, moving beyond simple sentiment analysis to providing actionable insights, thus elevating customer engagement strategies.

“GenAI now can take your customer insights to another level. It doesn’t just tell you whether something’s a positive or negative sentiment like old AI would do, it now says it’s positive or negative. It’s negative because X, Y, Z, and here’s the root cause for X, Y, Z,” explains Shakir.

Powering digital transformation

Gate One adopts an adaptive strategy approach, abandoning traditional five-year strategies for more agile, adaptable frameworks.

“We have a framework – our 5P model – where it’s: identify your people, identify the problem statement that you’re trying to solve for, appoint some partnerships, think about what’s the right capability mix that you have, think about the pathway through which you’re going to deliver, be use case or risk-led, and then proof of concept,” says Shakir.

By solving specific challenges and aligning strategies with business objectives, Gate One aims to drive meaningful digital transformation for its clients.

Assessing client readiness

Shakir discussed Gate One’s diagnostic tools, which blend technology maturity and operating model innovation questions to assess a client’s readiness to adopt GenAI successfully.

“We have a proprietary tool that we’ve built, a diagnostic tool where we look at blending tech maturity capability type questions with operating model innovation questions,” explains Shakir.

By categorising clients as “vanguard” or “safe” players, Gate One tailors their approach to meet individual readiness levels—ensuring a seamless integration of GenAI into the client’s operations.

Key challenges and ethical considerations

Shakir acknowledged the challenges associated with GenAI, especially concerning the quality of model outputs. She stressed the importance of addressing biases, amplifications, and ethical concerns, calling for a more meaningful and sustainable implementation of AI.

“Poor quality data or poorly trained models can create biases, racism, sexism… those are the things that worry me about the technology,” says Shakir.

Gate One is actively working on refining models and data inputs to mitigate such problems.

The future of GenAI

Looking ahead, Shakir predicted a demand for more ethical AI practices from consumers and increased pressure on developers to create representative and unbiased models.

Shakir also envisioned a shift in work dynamics where AI liberates humans from mundane tasks to allow them to focus on solving significant global challenges, particularly in the realm of sustainability.

Later this month, Gate One will be attending and sponsoring this year’s AI & Big Data Expo Global. During the event, Gate One aims to share its ethos of meaningful AI and emphasise ethical and sustainable approaches.

Gate One will also be sharing with attendees GenAI’s impact on marketing and experience design, offering valuable insights into the changing landscape of customer interactions and brand experiences.

As businesses navigate the evolving landscape of GenAI, Gate One stands at the forefront, advocating for responsible, ethical, and sustainable practices and ensuring a brighter, more impactful future for businesses and society.

Umbar Shakir and the Gate One team will be sharing their invaluable insights at this year’s AI & Big Data Expo Global. Find out more about Umbar Shakir’s day one keynote presentation here.

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Amdocs has partnered with NVIDIA and Microsoft Azure to build custom Large Language Models (LLMs) for the $1.7 trillion global telecoms industry.

Leveraging the power of NVIDIA’s AI foundry service on Microsoft Azure, Amdocs aims to meet the escalating demand for data processing and analysis in the telecoms sector.

The telecoms industry processes hundreds of petabytes of data daily. With the anticipation of global data transactions surpassing 180 zettabytes by 2025, telcos are turning to generative AI to enhance efficiency and productivity.

NVIDIA’s AI foundry service – comprising the NVIDIA AI Foundation Models, NeMo framework, and DGX Cloud AI supercomputing – provides an end-to-end solution for creating and optimising custom generative AI models.

Amdocs will utilise the AI foundry service to develop enterprise-grade LLMs tailored for the telco and media industries, facilitating the deployment of generative AI use cases across various business domains.

This collaboration builds on the existing Amdocs-Microsoft partnership, ensuring the adoption of applications in secure, trusted environments, both on-premises and in the cloud.

Enterprises are increasingly focusing on developing custom models to perform industry-specific tasks. Amdocs serves over 350 of the world’s leading telecom and media companies across 90 countries. This partnership with NVIDIA opens avenues for exploring generative AI use cases, with initial applications focusing on customer care and network operations.

In customer care, the collaboration aims to accelerate the resolution of inquiries by leveraging information from across company data. In network operations, the companies are exploring solutions to address configuration, coverage, or performance issues in real-time.

This move by Amdocs positions the company at the forefront of ushering in a new era for the telecoms industry by harnessing the capabilities of custom generative AI models.

(Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash)

See also: Wolfram Research: Injecting reliability into generative AI

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

The post Amdocs, NVIDIA and Microsoft Azure build custom LLMs for telcos appeared first on AI News.

Kinetic Consulting, the leading boutique consulting company providing business growth consultancy, has released macky.ai, the first AI business consulting platform that offers any organisation an easy, non-prompt-based AI consulting solution for up to 55 different business categories. The platform is powered by OpenAI’s artificial intelligence technology.

What is Macky AI?

The Macky AI platform overcomes some of the key hurdles preventing the mass adoption of AI in a business environment. No training is required for employees to begin taking advantage of the consulting platform. No knowledge is required on how to prompt the AI to get the right output or determine if the output is suitable. The hard work of determining which prompt to use or if the output is suitable has already been determined by the software’s creator, Kinetic Consulting. Platform users are asked a maximum of three questions to generate the desired output.

The creators of the Macky AI software have curated the types of everyday requirements of key departments in a business and what type of suitable output can be generated from a generative AI solution. An example may be generating something as simple as a job description for a new employee or something more complex, such as creating a new business process or reengineering an existing one. These types of requests are often requested for consultants to perform. Macky AI aims to reduce the cost of everyday consulting needs for companies so they can empower their employees to complete these tasks without the need for costly consultants.

By freeing up the costs paid for these lower-level activities, companies can now divert effort and funds to develop higher-value business initiatives, such as business roadmaps and growth strategy plans. These higher value and more complex business requirements will remain better suited for traditional consulting. The Macky AI platform is unique because it also provides its users with traditional consultants for more complex needs. The ability for an organisation to have the best of both worlds, all on one platform, is made possible on Macky AI. The future of consulting will be the augmentation of AI and human consultants.

Macky AI provides new consulting options for SMEs

A 2023 report by the OECD[1] on the outlook of SMEs in OECD countries highlights that the majority are currently operating in highly challenging environments. The report cites that SMEs have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising geopolitical tensions, high inflation, tighter monetary and fiscal policy, and supply-chain disruptions. Retaining and attracting staff has also become a major issue for SMEs in OECD countries. According to a Future of Business Survey, it is reported to be the second most pressing challenge faced by SMEs that are older than two years in the first quarter of 2022[2]. Many SMEs have also depleted their cash reserves during the pandemic and now find it challenging to raise capital for their business to fuel the rising costs of goods and services and the capital required for digital transformation projects.

Outside of the OECD, we find the importance of a thriving SME ecosystem even more critical. In the Gulf region, SMEs contribute even more to the economy than their counterparts in OECD countries. Within the UAE, for example, SMEs represent 94% of the companies and institutions operating in the country, contributing more than 50% to the country’s GDP. SMEs account for 86% of the private sector’s workforce. Operating extensively throughout the rest of the GCC, SMEs employ 80% of Saudia Arabia, 43% of Oman’s workforce, 57% of Bahrain, 23% of Kuwait, and 20% of Qatar.

The importance of having healthy and thriving SMEs is recognised as the primary pillar of strength for any economy. The challenging environment and rising cost of capital make it difficult for SMEs to afford traditional consulting. Ironically, this is the time when consulting is most needed to help SMEs navigate, transform, and thrive again. Macky AI gives SMEs affordable access to consulting services using artificial intelligence. The AI business consulting platform provides an on-demand service for key business challenges, such as analysing a profit and loss statement to identify cost savings and developing a 12-month marketing plan to increase sales.

The future of consulting

Business consulting, like most industries, is undergoing a period of disruption. Technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, are accelerating the delivery of consulting in the future. Critics of the technology may highlight how AI is not 100% accurate in its outputs and is prone to error, so it should not be used. This argument is fundamentally flawed because even human-based consulting is prone to errors. All outputs delivered by human or AI consultants should be checked for accuracy. The advancement of generative AI technology has reached a point where it is now highly useful in a business or education environment.

AI technologies should be embraced rather than resisted if they are fit for purpose. Macky AI is designed to be specifically for business-related needs, and even in the open question section of the platform, the AI has been programmed not to answer questions that are not business-related. The objective of restricting it for business purposes only is to ensure that if employers give it to their employees, it will not be used for personal needs.

“As advancements in AI evolve, we need to accept that it will become a natural part of how we interact with things, get answers to our questions, and help solve complex problems. The future of consulting will be an augmentation between AI and human consultants. This is the inevitable evolutionary path. The percentages of AI usage versus human is unknown at this stage. However, I am 100% confident it will not be all traditional human consulting for much longer. Macky AI is the first step towards bringing AI into the workplace in a controlled environment for a specific business purpose. By empowering SMEs with affordable consulting outputs for business tasks, we are also helping SMEs overcome everyday business challenges and thrive in the future. Macky AI is designed to democratise consulting, making it accessible to all organisations regardless of size.” said Joe Tawfik, founder of Macky AI.

[1] OECD (2023), OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/342b8564-en.

[2] OECD-World Bank-Meta Future of Business Survey, Data for Good, (March 2022).

(Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Kinetic Consulting)

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NVIDIA has announced that its RAPIDS cuDF software can now accelerate the processing speed of the popular data analysis library, pandas, without requiring users to change their code. This update is aimed at helping data scientists who use pandas, which can struggle with processing speed as dataset sizes grow. RAPIDS is an open-source suite of GPU-accelerated Python libraries designed to improve data science and analytics pipelines. The latest release of RAPIDS v23.10 brings accelerated computing to pandas workflows through a unified CPU/GPU user experience. This feature is currently available in open beta and will be supported in NVIDIA AI Enterprise soon.

GitLab is empowering DevSecOps with new AI-powered capabilities as part of its latest releases.

The recent GitLab 16.6 November release includes the beta launch of GitLab Duo Chat, a natural-language AI assistant. Additionally, the GitLab 16.7 December release sees the general availability of GitLab Duo Code Suggestions.

David DeSanto, Chief Product Officer at GitLab, said: “To realise AI’s full potential, it needs to be embedded across the software development lifecycle, allowing DevSecOps teams to benefit from boosts to security, efficiency, and collaboration.”

GitLab Duo Chat – arguably the star of the show – provides users with invaluable insights, guidance, and suggestions. Beyond code analysis, it supports planning, security issue comprehension and resolution, troubleshooting CI/CD pipeline failures, aiding in merge requests, and more.

As part of GitLab’s commitment to providing a comprehensive AI-powered experience, Duo Chat joins Code Suggestions as the primary interface into GitLab’s AI suite within its DevSecOps platform.

GitLab Duo comprises a suite of 14 AI capabilities:

• Suggested Reviewers
• Code Suggestions
• Chat
• Vulnerability Summary
• Code Explanation
• Planning Discussions Summary
• Merge Request Summary
• Merge Request Template Population
• Code Review Summary
• Test Generation
• Git Suggestions
• Root Cause Analysis
• Planning Description Generation
• Value Stream Forecasting

In response to the evolving needs of development, security, and operations teams, Code Suggestions is now generally available. This feature assists in creating and updating code, reducing cognitive load, enhancing efficiency, and accelerating secure software development.

GitLab’s commitment to privacy and transparency stands out in the AI space. According to the GitLab report, 83 percent of DevSecOps professionals consider implementing AI in their processes essential, with 95 percent prioritising privacy and intellectual property protection in AI tool selection.

The State of AI in Software Development report by GitLab reveals that developers spend just 25 percent of their time writing code. The Duo suite aims to address this by reducing toolchain sprawl—enabling 7x faster cycle times, heightened developer productivity, and reduced software spend.

Kate Holterhoff, Industry Analyst at Redmonk, commented: “The developers we speak with at RedMonk are keenly interested in the productivity and efficiency gains that code assistants promise.

“GitLab’s Duo Code Suggestions is a welcome player in this space, expanding the available options for enabling an AI-enhanced software development lifecycle.”

(Photo by Pankaj Patel on Unsplash)

See also: OpenAI battles DDoS against its API and ChatGPT services

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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Quantum computing company IonQ reports Q3 2023 revenues of $6.1 million, a 122% increase from the previous year. The company also announced a $25.5 million sale of its Quantum Networking System to the US Air Force Research Lab. IonQ's CEO, Peter Chapman, highlighted the company's achievement of $100 million in cumulative bookings within three years of commercialization. The company also unveiled two new quantum computers, IonQ Forte Enterprise, and IonQ Tempo, and aims to achieve a 64-qubit system by the end of 2025.

OpenAI has announced a slew of new additions and improvements to its platform, alongside reduced pricing, aimed at empowering developers and enhancing user experience.

Following yesterday’s leak of a custom GPT-4 chatbot creator, OpenAI unveiled several other key features during its DevDay that promise a transformative impact on the landscape of AI applications:

• GPT-4 Turbo: OpenAI introduced the preview of GPT-4 Turbo, the next generation of its renowned language model. This new iteration boasts enhanced capabilities and an extensive knowledge base encompassing world events up until April 2023.
  • One of GPT-4 Turbo’s standout features is the impressive 128K context window, allowing it to process the equivalent of more than 300 pages of text in a single prompt.
  • Notably, OpenAI has optimised the pricing structure, making GPT-4 Turbo 3x cheaper for input tokens and 2x cheaper for output tokens compared to its predecessor.
• Assistants API: OpenAI also unveiled the Assistants API, a tool designed to simplify the process of building agent-like experiences within applications.
  • The API equips developers with the ability to create purpose-built AIs with specific instructions, leveraging additional knowledge and calling models and tools to perform tasks.
• Multimodal capabilities: OpenAI’s platform now supports a range of multimodal capabilities, including vision, image creation (DALL·E 3), and text-to-speech (TTS).
  • GPT-4 Turbo can process images, opening up possibilities such as generating captions, detailed image analysis, and reading documents with figures.
  • Additionally, DALL·E 3 integration allows developers to create images and designs programmatically, while the text-to-speech API enables the generation of human-quality speech from text.
• Pricing overhaul: OpenAI has significantly reduced prices across its platform, making it more accessible to developers.
  • GPT-4 Turbo input tokens are now 3x cheaper than its predecessor at $0.01, and output tokens are 2x cheaper at $0.03. Similar reductions apply to GPT-3.5 Turbo, catering to various user requirements and ensuring affordability.
• Copyright Shield: To bolster customer protection, OpenAI has introduced Copyright Shield.
  • This initiative sees OpenAI stepping in to defend customers and cover the associated legal costs if they face copyright infringement claims related to the generally available features of ChatGPT Enterprise and the developer platform.

OpenAI’s latest announcements mark a significant stride in the company’s mission to democratise AI technology, empowering developers to create innovative and intelligent applications across various domains.

See also: OpenAI set to unveil custom GPT-4 chatbot creator

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

The post OpenAI introduces GPT-4 Turbo, platform enhancements, and reduced pricing appeared first on AI News.

As OpenAI gears up for its inaugural developer conference, some major announcements appear to have leaked.

The leak includes screenshots and videos showcasing a custom chatbot creator utilising GPT-4. This advanced version of ChatGPT boasts features such as web browsing and data analysis, enhancing its capabilities significantly.

According to the leaked information, OpenAI will introduce a new marketplace where users can share their custom chatbots or explore creations made by others.

The leaker, a Twitter user named CHOI, provided a summary of the anticipated updates:

More than 90% rumors:
– Gizmo announcement.
– Features:
* Sandbox – Provides an environment to import, test, and modify existing chatbots.
* Custom Actions – Define additional functionality for your chatbot using OpenAPI specifications
* Knowledge… pic.twitter.com/XB1FYgliLE

— CHOI (@arrakis_ai) November 2, 2023

Additionally, SEO tools developer Tibor Blaho shared a video demonstrating the user interface of the new feature—revealing a GPT Builder option that enables users to input prompts and create bespoke chatbots.

The GPT Builder interface offers a user-friendly experience, allowing individuals to select a default language, tone, and writing style for their chatbot. Users can configure the bot by providing a name, description, and instructions, along with the ability to upload files for a personalised knowledgebase.

The tool also allows toggling of features such as web browsing and image generation; giving users unprecedented control over their chatbot’s capabilities. Custom actions can be added to enhance the bot’s functionality.

Here is a short video preview of the new ChatGPT Prototype – Gizmo V8.

The feature previously known as "Magic Maker" for creating new GPTs is now called "GPT Builder".

It seems that the "Welcome Message" has been removed, and GPT Builder can now also generate profile pictures… pic.twitter.com/Rfbl8dIXvX

— Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) November 5, 2023

Furthermore, the leaked information suggests that OpenAI plans to launch an enterprise-level “Team” subscription plan with both “Flexible” and “Annual” options.

The Team plan reportedly offers benefits such as unlimited high-speed GPT-4 usage and extended context capabilities, with a pricing structure of $25 per user, per month for the annual subscription and $30 per month for the non-annual option, requiring a minimum of three users.

OpenAI has recently rolled out several beta features for ChatGPT, including live web results, image generation, and voice chat.

The company is set to provide a preview of the new tools at the upcoming developer conference, offering the tech community a firsthand look at the future of conversational AI.

(Photo by Jem Sahagun on Unsplash)

See also: NIST announces AI consortium to shape US policies

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

The post OpenAI set to unveil custom GPT-4 chatbot creator appeared first on AI News.

Here’s a dash (5:24) through the latest in HPC-AI, including: new AI UK supercomputers, the White House Executive Order on AI and its national security implications, Pete Ungaro's appearance on the @HPCpodcast, interesting findings in Intersect360 Research's HPC-AI new market update.

The post HPC News Bytes 20231106: UK AI HPC Push, White House EO on AI, Ungaro Speaks, Market Update on HPC-AI appeared first on High-Performance Computing News Analysis | insideHPC.

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HPE will build an NVIDIA-powered £225 million supercomputer at the University of Bristol in the UK that is expected to deliver "well over" 200 petaFLOP/s using the Top500's LINPACK benchmark, and more than 21 ExaFLOP/s of AI performance, according to the university. The system, called Isambard-AI, will be built on HPE Cray EX supercomputer architecte and will consist of 5,448 NVIDIA....

The post HPE to Build NVIDIA-Powered 21 ExaFLOPS AI Supercomputer in UK appeared first on High-Performance Computing News Analysis | insideHPC.

Amperity, the leading AI-powered enterprise customer data platform (CDP) for consumer brands, today announced that more than 50% of its customer base has adopted Amperity for Paid Media. The rapid adoption of this new application of Amperity demonstrates the important role first-party data will play in informing paid media strategies.

Since its launch in May 2023, Amperity for Paid Media has used industry-leading ad connectors and first-party data to deliver more than 11 billion unified customer profiles each day. These are delivered to the ad platforms of Amperity customers, across a range of industries, including retail, quick-serve restaurants (QSR), consumer packaged goods (CPG), travel and hospitality, sports teams and leagues, and financial services.

Marketers and digital agencies continue to struggle to find a way to measure digital and in-store transactions to deliver highly personalized campaigns and optimize their budget spend – which is where Amperity excels. Brands using Amperity for paid media are experiencing the following results:

• 3X conversion rate using unified customer profile lookalike audiences over third-party audiences
• 85%+ match rate across major ad platforms
• 30% onboarding savings
• 5x increase in ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
• 94% savings in data management and stitch processing
• 70%+ reduction in marketing timelines

The elimination of third-party cookies and the ever-changing data privacy laws have ushered in a new era of challenges and opportunities. The days of relying solely on legacy methods to identify, retain, and acquire customers are gone. To stay ahead of the game and ensure brands are getting the most out of their largest spend channels, it’s critical that brands tap into their first-party customer data to maximize every campaign dollar, especially in this macroeconomic climate.

“Today, we find ourselves at the epicentre of a marketing revolution. The tides have shifted and the old ways of acquiring and retaining customers are giving way to a new era of data privacy and consumer-centricity,” said Barry Padgett, CEO at Amperity. “In Q1 of next year, Google is going to disable 1% of third-party cookies and fully remove them by Q3. This poses a massive challenge for brands across the board. But within this challenge lies immense opportunity. At Amperity, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to lead the charge and help brands and agencies navigate this shift.”

To quantify the impact Amperity is having on paid media, the company commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential ROI enterprises may realize by deploying its CDP. To construct the TEI study, Forrester interviewed five Amperity customers, identifying the benefits, risks, and outcomes experienced while using the company’s customer data platform for paid media and combined the results to form a single composite organization. According to the study, the composite organization not only experienced a 505% ROI but also experienced the following benefits over three years:

• $3.4 million incremental increase in net operating revenue from effective messaging
• $3.8 million incremental increase in net operating revenue due to targeted paid media spend
• 25% increase in productivity impact of more efficient campaign preparation and execution resulting in $1.3 million savings
• $4.5 million savings in paid media spend from deduplicating customer records

Amperity has become the customer data platform of choice for leading brands across numerous industries, most recently selected by First Hawaiian Bank, Forever 21, Palace Resorts, Shiseido America, and Virgin Atlantic. These brands join longtime users of Amperity including Alaska Airlines, Brooks, DICK’s Sporting Goods, Reckitt, Seattle Sounders, SPARC Group, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

To learn more about the ROI of Amperity for paid media, download the latest TEI study here.

(Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by Amperity)

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Microsoft and Siemens are joining forces to usher in a new era of human-machine collaboration.

The result of the collaboration is the Siemens Industrial Copilot, a powerful AI assistant designed to enhance collaboration between humans and machines in the manufacturing sector. The tool enables rapid generation, optimisation, and debugging of complex automation code, significantly reducing simulation times from weeks to minutes.

At the core of this collaboration is the integration of Siemens Industrial Copilot with Microsoft Teams, connecting design engineers, frontline workers, and various teams across business functions. This integration simplifies virtual collaboration, empowering professionals with new AI-powered tools and simplifying tasks that previously required extensive time and effort.

Empowering industries with Generative AI

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, expressed the immense potential of this collaboration, stating: “With this next generation of AI, we have a unique opportunity to accelerate innovation across the entire industrial sector.”

Siemens CEO Roland Busch echoed this sentiment; emphasising the revolutionary impact on design, development, manufacturing, and operations.

The companies envision AI copilots becoming integral in industries such as manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, and healthcare.

Schaeffler AG – a leading automotive supplier – is already embracing generative AI, enabling engineers to generate reliable code for industrial automation systems. Siemens Industrial Copilot will work to reduce downtimes.

Facilitating virtual collaboration

To facilitate virtual collaboration, Siemens and Microsoft are launching Teamcenter for Microsoft Teams; an application that utilises generative AI to connect functions across the product design and manufacturing lifecycle.

This integration will allow millions of workers who previously lacked access to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools to contribute seamlessly to the design and manufacturing processes.

The collaboration between Microsoft and Siemens looks set to be an excellent case study of how AI empowers industries and professionals, revolutionising traditional workflows and fostering global innovation.

(Photo by Sezer Arslan on Unsplash)

See also: Bob Briski, DEPT®:  A dive into the future of AI-powered experiences

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with IoT Tech Expo and Digital Transformation Week.

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President Biden has issued an executive order aimed at positioning the US at the forefront of AI while ensuring the technology’s safe and responsible use.

The order establishes stringent standards for AI safety and security, safeguards Americans’ privacy, promotes equity and civil rights, protects consumers and workers, fosters innovation and competition, and enhances American leadership on the global stage.

Key actions outlined in the order:

1. New standards for AI safety and security: The order mandates that developers of powerful AI systems share safety test results and critical information with the U.S. government. Rigorous standards, tools, and tests will be developed to ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before public release. Additionally, measures will be taken to protect against the risks of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials and combat AI-enabled fraud and deception.
2. Protecting citizens’ privacy: The President calls on Congress to pass bipartisan data privacy legislation, prioritizing federal support for privacy-preserving techniques, especially those using AI. Guidelines will be developed for federal agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of privacy-preserving techniques, including those used in AI systems.
3. Advancing equity and civil rights: Clear guidance will be provided to prevent AI algorithms from exacerbating discrimination, especially in areas like housing and federal benefit programs. Best practices will be established for the use of AI in the criminal justice system to ensure fairness.
4. Standing up for consumers, patients, and students: Responsible use of AI in healthcare and education will be promoted, ensuring that consumers are protected from harmful AI applications while benefiting from its advancements in these sectors.
5. Supporting workers: Principles and best practices will be developed to mitigate the harms and maximise the benefits of AI for workers, addressing issues such as job displacement, workplace equity, and health and safety. A report on AI’s potential labour-market impacts will be produced, identifying options for strengthening federal support for workers facing labour disruptions due to AI.
6. Promoting innovation and competition: The order aims to catalyse AI research across the US, promote a fair and competitive AI ecosystem, and expand the ability of highly skilled immigrants and non-immigrants to study, stay, and work in the US to foster innovation in the field.
7. Advancing leadership abroad: The US will collaborate with other nations to establish international frameworks for safe and trustworthy AI deployment. Efforts will be made to accelerate the development and implementation of vital AI standards with international partners and promote the responsible development and deployment of AI abroad to address global challenges.
8. Ensuring responsible and effective government adoption: Clear standards and guidelines will be issued for government agencies’ use of AI to protect rights and safety. Efforts will be made to help agencies acquire AI products and services more rapidly and efficiently, and an AI talent surge will be initiated to enhance government capacity in AI-related fields.

The executive order signifies a major step forward in the US towards harnessing the potential of AI while safeguarding individuals’ rights and security.

“As we advance this agenda at home, the Administration will work with allies and partners abroad on a strong international framework to govern the development and use of AI,” wrote the White House in a statement.

“The actions that President Biden directed today are vital steps forward in the US’ approach on safe, secure, and trustworthy AI. More action will be required, and the Administration will continue to work with Congress to pursue bipartisan legislation to help America lead the way in responsible innovation.”

The administration’s commitment to responsible innovation is paramount and sets the stage for continued collaboration with international partners to shape the future of AI globally.

(Photo by David Everett Strickler on Unsplash)

See also: UK paper highlights AI risks ahead of global Safety Summit

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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The UK Government has unveiled a comprehensive paper addressing the capabilities and risks associated with frontier AI.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken today on the global responsibility to confront the risks highlighted in the report and harness AI’s potential. Sunak emphasised the need for honest dialogue about the dual nature of AI: offering unprecedented opportunities, while also posing significant dangers.

“AI will bring new knowledge, new opportunities for economic growth, new advances in human capability, and the chance to solve problems we once thought beyond us. But it also brings new dangers and new fears,” said Sunak.

“So, the responsible thing for me to do is to address those fears head-on, giving you the peace of mind that we will keep you safe while making sure you and your children have all the opportunities for a better future that AI can bring.

“Doing the right thing, not the easy thing, means being honest with people about the risks from these technologies.”

The report delves into the rapid advancements of frontier AI, drawing on numerous sources. It highlights the diverse perspectives within scientific, expert, and global communities regarding the risks associated with the swift evolution of AI technology. 

The publication comprises three key sections:

1. Capabilities and risks from frontier AI: This section presents a discussion paper advocating further research into AI risk. It delineates the current state of frontier AI capabilities, potential future improvements, and associated risks, including societal harms, misuse, and loss of control.
2. Safety and security risks of generative AI to 2025: Drawing on intelligence assessments, this report outlines the potential global benefits of generative AI while highlighting the increased safety and security risks. It underscores the enhancement of threat actor capabilities and the effectiveness of attacks due to generative AI development.
3. Future risks of frontier AI: Prepared by the Government Office for Science, this report explores uncertainties in frontier AI development, future system risks, and potential scenarios for AI up to 2030.

The report – based on declassified information from intelligence agencies – focuses on generative AI, the technology underpinning popular chatbots and image generation software. It foresees a future where AI might be exploited by terrorists to plan biological or chemical attacks, raising serious concerns about global security.

Sjuul van der Leeuw, CEO of Deployteq, commented: “It is good to see the government take a serious approach, offering a report ahead of the Safety Summit next week however more must be done.

“An ongoing effort to address AI risks is needed and we hope that the summit brings much-needed clarity, allowing businesses and marketers to enjoy the benefits this emerging piece of technology offers, without the worry of backlash.”

The report highlights that generative AI could be utilised to gather knowledge on physical attacks by non-state violent actors, including creating chemical, biological, and radiological weapons.

Although companies are working to implement safeguards, the report emphasises the varying effectiveness of these measures. Obstacles to obtaining the necessary knowledge, raw materials, and equipment for such attacks are decreasing, with AI potentially accelerating this process.

Additionally, the report warns of the likelihood of AI-driven cyber-attacks becoming faster-paced, more effective, and on a larger scale by 2025. AI could aid hackers in mimicking official language, and overcome previous challenges faced in this area.

However, some experts have questioned the UK Government’s approach.

Rashik Parmar MBE, CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “Over 1,300 technologists and leaders signed our open letter calling AI a force for good rather than an existential threat to humanity.

“AI won’t grow up like The Terminator. If we take the proper steps, it will be a trusted co-pilot from our earliest school days to our retirement.

The AI Safety Summit will aim to foster healthy discussion around how to address frontier AI risks, encompassing misuse by non-state actors for cyberattacks or bioweapon design and concerns related to AI systems acting autonomously contrary to human intentions. Discussions at the summit will also extend to broader societal impacts, such as election disruption, bias, crime, and online safety.

Claire Trachet, CEO of Trachet, commented: “The fast-growing nature of AI has made it difficult for governments to balance creating effective regulation which safeguards the interest of businesses and consumers without stifling investment opportunities. Even though there are some forms of risk management and different reports coming out now, none of them are true coordinated approaches.

“The UK Government’s commitment to AI safety is commendable, but the criticism surrounding the summit serves as a reminder of the importance of a balanced, constructive, and forward-thinking approach to AI regulation.”

If the UK Government’s report is anything to go by, the need for collaboration around proportionate but rigorous measures to manage the risks posed by AI is more imperative than ever.

The global AI Safety Summit is set to take place at the historic Bletchley Park on 1 – 2 November 2023.

(Image Credit: GOV.UK)

See also: BSI: Closing ‘AI confidence gap’ key to unlocking benefits

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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AI News caught up with Bob Briski, CTO of DEPT®, to discuss the intricate fusion of creativity and technology that promises a new era in digital experiences.

At the core of DEPT®’s approach is the strategic utilisation of large language models. Briski articulated the delicate balance between the ‘pioneering’ and ’boutique’ ethos encapsulated in their tagline, “pioneering work on a global scale with a boutique culture.”

While ‘pioneering’ and ’boutique’ evokes innovation and personalised attention, ‘global scale’ signifies the broad outreach. DEPT® harnesses large language models to disseminate highly targeted, personalised messages to expansive audiences. These models, Briski pointed out, enable DEPT® to comprehend individuals at a massive scale and foster meaningful and individualised interactions.

“The way that we have been using a lot of these large language models is really to deliver really small and targeted messages to a large audience,” says Briski.

However, the integration of AI into various domains – such as retail, sports, education, and healthcare – poses both opportunities and challenges. DEPT® navigates this complexity by leveraging generative AI and large language models trained on diverse datasets, including vast repositories like Wikipedia and the Library of Congress.

Briski emphasised the importance of marrying pre-trained data with DEPT®’s domain expertise to ensure precise contextual responses. This approach guarantees that clients receive accurate and relevant information tailored to their specific sectors.

“The pre-training of these models allows them to really expound upon a bunch of different domains,” explains Briski. “We can be pretty sure that the answer is correct and that we want to either send it back to the client or the consumer or some other system that is sitting in front of the consumer.”

One of DEPT®’s standout achievements lies in its foray into the web3 space and the metaverse. Briski shared the company’s collaboration with Roblox, a platform synonymous with interactive user experiences. DEPT®’s collaboration with Roblox revolves around empowering users to create and enjoy user-generated content at an unprecedented scale. 

DEPT®’s internal project, Prepare to Pioneer, epitomises its commitment to innovation by nurturing embryonic ideas within its ‘Greenhouse’. DEPT® hones concepts to withstand the rigours of the external world, ensuring only the most robust ideas reach their clients.

“We have this internal project called The Greenhouse where we take these seeds of ideas and try to grow them into something that’s tough enough to handle the external world,” says Briski. “The ones that do survive are much more ready to use with our clients.”

While the allure of AI-driven solutions is undeniable, Briski underscored the need for caution. He warns that AI is not inherently transparent and trustworthy and emphasises the imperative of constructing robust foundations for quality assurance.

DEPT® employs automated testing to ensure responses align with expectations. Briski also stressed the importance of setting stringent parameters to guide AI conversations, ensuring alignment with the company’s ethos and desired consumer interactions.

“It’s important to really keep focused on the exact conversation you want to have with your consumer or your customer and put really strict guardrails around how you would like the model to answer those questions,” explains Briski.

In December, DEPT® is sponsoring AI & Big Data Expo Global and will be in attendance to share its unique insights. Briski is a speaker at the event and will be providing a deep dive into business intelligence (BI), illuminating strategies to enhance responsiveness through large language models.

“I’ll be diving into how we can transform BI to be much more responsive to the business, especially with the help of large language models,” says Briski.

As DEPT® continues to redefine digital paradigms, we look forward to observing how the company’s innovations deliver a new era in AI-powered experiences.

DEPT® is a key sponsor of this year’s AI & Big Data Expo Global on 30 Nov – 1 Dec 2023. Swing by DEPT®’s booth to hear more about AI and LLMs from the company’s experts and watch Briski’s day one presentation.

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SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have officially inked a Letter of Intent (LOI) to collaborate on developing a specialised LLM (Large Language Model) tailored for telecommunication companies.

This momentous agreement – signed in a ceremony at SK Seorin Building, Seoul – marks the culmination of discussions initiated by the Global Telco AI Alliance, a consortium launched in July 2023 by SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, E&, and Singtel.

This innovative partnership aims to create a telco-specific LLM that empowers global telcos to effortlessly and rapidly construct generative AI models. With a focus on multilingual capabilities (including German, English, and Korean), this LLM is designed to enhance customer services—particularly in areas like AI-powered contact centres.

Claudia Nemat, Member of the Board of Management for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom, said:

“AI shows impressive potential to significantly enhance human problem-solving capabilities.

To maximise its use, especially in customer service, we need to adapt existing large language models and train them with our unique data. This will elevate our generative AI tools.”

The collaboration also involves key AI industry players, such as Anthropic (Claude 2) and Meta (Llama2), enabling the co-development of a sophisticated LLM.

Anticipated to debut in the first quarter of 2024, the new telco-focused LLM will offer a deeper understanding of telecommunication service-related areas and customer intentions that surpass the capabilities of general LLMs.

One of the primary objectives of this collaboration is to assist telcos worldwide in developing flexible generative AI services, including AI agents. By streamlining the process of building AI-driven solutions like contact centres, telcos can save time and costs and open new avenues for business growth and innovation.

Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, commented:

“Through our partnership with Deutsche Telekom, we have secured a strong opportunity and momentum to gain global AI leadership and drive new growth.

By combining the strengths and capabilities of the two companies in AI technology, platform, and infrastructure, we expect to empower enterprises in many different industries to deliver new and higher value to their customers.”

This collaboration signifies a proactive response to the escalating demand for AI solutions within the telco industry, promising a paradigm shift in the traditional telecommunications landscape. The announcement follows SK Telecom’s $100 million investment in Anthropic in August.

See also: UMG files landmark lawsuit against AI developer Anthropic

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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In a recent study, cloud-native network detection and response firm ExtraHop unveiled a concerning trend: enterprises are struggling with the security implications of employee generative AI use.

Their new research report, The Generative AI Tipping Point, sheds light on the challenges faced by organisations as generative AI technology becomes more prevalent in the workplace.

The report delves into how organisations are dealing with the use of generative AI tools, revealing a significant cognitive dissonance among IT and security leaders. Astonishingly, 73 percent of these leaders confessed that their employees frequently use generative AI tools or Large Language Models (LLM) at work. Despite this, a staggering majority admitted to being uncertain about how to effectively address the associated security risks.

When questioned about their concerns, IT and security leaders expressed more worry about the possibility of inaccurate or nonsensical responses (40%) than critical security issues such as exposure of customer and employee personal identifiable information (PII) (36%) or financial loss (25%).

Raja Mukerji, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at ExtraHop, said: “By blending innovation with strong safeguards, generative AI will continue to be a force that will uplevel entire industries in the years to come.”

One of the startling revelations from the study was the ineffectiveness of generative AI bans. About 32 percent of respondents stated that their organisations had prohibited the use of these tools. However, only five percent reported that employees never used these tools—indicating that bans alone are not enough to curb their usage.

The study also highlighted a clear desire for guidance, particularly from government bodies. A significant 90 percent of respondents expressed the need for government involvement, with 60 percent advocating for mandatory regulations and 30 percent supporting government standards for businesses to adopt voluntarily.

Despite a sense of confidence in their current security infrastructure, the study revealed gaps in basic security practices.

While 82 percent felt confident in their security stack’s ability to protect against generative AI threats, less than half had invested in technology to monitor generative AI use. Alarmingly, only 46 percent had established policies governing acceptable use and merely 42 percent provided training to users on the safe use of these tools.

The findings come in the wake of the rapid adoption of technologies like ChatGPT, which have become an integral part of modern businesses. Business leaders are urged to understand their employees’ generative AI usage to identify potential security vulnerabilities.

You can find a full copy of the report here.

(Photo by Hennie Stander on Unsplash)

See also: BSI: Closing ‘AI confidence gap’ key to unlocking benefits

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with Digital Transformation Week.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

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