Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday released the code and model weights for several AI tools designed to create sound from text-based prompts.
Why it matters: The use of generative AI could make it easier for those looking to build video games or digital worlds to add background audio as well as visuals.
The serious people in crypto are building relationships in Washington.
Driving the news: New hire announcements for policy chiefs, corporate strategists, legal counsel and compliance directors have been coming in hot lately — folks who do facetime with government officials, regulators and policymakers.
North American banks are winning a global race to transform banking into an AI-first industry, according to a new report from banking data provider Evident.
J.P. Morgan Chase leads in AI research, Capital One in AI patents, and Wells Fargo in AI investments. Other top performers include Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Goldman Sachs, and First Citizens (successor to Silicon Valley Bank).
North American banks published 80% of all bank AI research and made 60% of all bank AI-related investments in 2022, while filing 99% of all the AI-related bank patents in 2021.
Why it matters: Banks and smaller fintech competitors that don't have a centralized AI innovation strategy are falling behind their big bank competitors.
AI research, patents and partnerships can all help a bank set itself apart with new products and processes.
What's happening: Top banks are using AI to be more competitive in markets such as high-frequency trading and payments and to improve performance in fields from fraud detection to marketing.
Many banks have developed AI labs or, in the case of BBVA, an "AI factory." But the report authors say only six banks — all in the U.S. or Canada — are pursuing patent registration strategically, including in unexpected areas such as marketing.
It's a huge challenge for a bank to use AI to harness its data, from sourcing computing resources to structuring data and choosing when to build and when to buy models, while ensuring these investments support new products.
By the numbers: The surveyed banks employ 650 AI researchers, making them players in the fight for AI talent. J.P. Morgan Chase hired more than 40 in 2022, per the report.
Some banks are actively investing in AI startups, from incubation to scaling — sometimes aiming to generate client returns, other times looking for their own direct access to AI innovations.
Smaller banks and credit unions, which often rely on premium customer service as a differentiator, are already behind in AI development and deployment. As those experiences become increasingly driven by AI, smaller players could struggle, per McKinsey.
Yes, but: Top U.S. banks have a large lead over global competitors, though it's shrinking in some areas.
European banks are better positioned on early-stage investments in AI companies, with six of the top 10 pre-seed and seed investors coming from Europe.
U.S. banks as a group published the most AI research papers compared to banks in other regions. But China-based Ant Financial has overtaken J.P. Morgan Chase as the financial institution publishing the most papers.
A May report from analytics firm LeadGenius and Punks & Pinstripes, a network of Fortune 500 executives, concluded that while big banks have ramped up AI recruitment, they're also often losing people to tech companies.
What they're saying: “Maintaining a ‘wait and see’ approach to AI innovation looks increasingly risky given the pace at which the leaders are accelerating away from the rest of the field,” Annabel Ayles, co-founder and COO of Evident, said by email.
"While AI innovation comes at a cost, it is cheap if measured as the cost for survival," Ayles said.
As every other big name in tech has jumped on the generative AI bandwagon, Apple — while not entirely ignoring the technology — has stayed largely aloof.
Driving the news: With Microsoft, Google, Meta and Amazon all staking out their turf, Apple's relative silence on the subject is likely to be challenged by analysts when the company reports earnings Thursday.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wants to remake the image of manufacturing for younger workers.
Why it matters: Raimondo has been instrumental in driving public and political support for the CHIPS Act, which is expected to create an explosion of new jobs in the semiconductor industry that will need to be filled.
U.S. officials are reportedly concerned about the possibility that China-backed hackers have snuck malware onto networks underpinning military and critical infrastructure operations.
Driving the news: That's according to a New York Times report that ran Saturday, which raises the question of whether China is already laying the groundwork for a potential Taiwan invasion.
NATO has raised more than €1 billion from certain member nations for a fund that will invest in deep tech startups, including those that developing technologies that could have military or defense applications.
Why it matters: This appears to be the first-ever "multi-sovereign" investment fund.
A group of presidential advisers is calling for limits on when federal investigators can tap into a controversial foreign surveillance database as Congress debates the program's future.
What's happening: The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) released its recommendations Monday on how lawmakers should reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
A first-of-its-kind government plan is hoping to do what employers, agencies and universities have struggled to accomplish: meet the growing demand for cybersecurity workers in the U.S.
Driving the news: The White House released its highly anticipated cybersecurity workforce and education strategy Monday, aimed at making cybersecurity careers more attainable and attractive to U.S. workers.
Purveyors of lab-grown meat — who prefer the term "cell-cultivated," to avoid the mad-scientist-with-a-test-tube image — foresee a world where our plates are full of steak but animal slaughter is largely a thing of the past.
Why it matters:Investors are pouring money into the sector and its promise of cruelty-free meals that are (maybe) better for the environment, but many unknowns remain.
Researchers continue to face roadblocks in trying to study how long-dominant social media platforms operate even as the tech industry is expanding its power into the new realm of artificial intelligence.
Why it matters:Tech giants — fearful of helping competitors, violating user privacy, triggering legal problems or earning bad publicity from negative findings — remain reluctant to share data with academic researchers who are trying to assess their impact.
Driving the news: The complaint accuses the hate speech watchdog of "using flawed methodologies to advance incorrect, misleading narratives." The CCDH said in an online post earlier Monday that "Musk's lawyers have threatened CCDH with baseless legal action over our work exposing the rise in hate & lies on Twitter."
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