Meet "Jarvis": Your New Digital Butler

Hallucinating AI, Altman Shooting down Rumors, & more in today's read

October 30, 2024

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With Halloween just around the corner, you must be keeping yourself entertained with plenty of horror movies and scary stories.

Here’s one news from the AI frontier that’ll creep you out: Hallucinating AI!

‘Whisper’ an AI transcription tool used widely in healthcare settings reportedly hallucinated and conjured up text and narrative that was never in the original audio!

Leaving this bit here for some cinematic suspense…

As always, here are the top news and happenings from the realm of AI.

  • "Jarvis" Your New Digital Butler (Coming Soon-ish?)

  • Orion or Just Stars? OpenAI's Altman Shoots Down Rumors

  • White House Sets New Ground Rules for Government AI Use

  • Whisper’s Hallucinations Stir Alarm as AI Pushes Boundaries in Healthcare

Google’s brewing up a new AI assistant, codenamed “Project Jarvis,” designed to tackle everyday browser-based tasks, from travel bookings to online shopping—yes, like your own digital butler.

With a potential debut by December, Jarvis uses browser screenshots to find, click, and type, optimizing it for web use (no full computer takeover yet). While it may have a few-second delay between actions, it promises hands-free browsing at your service!

Source: The Information

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In true AI fashion, the internet lit up with reports of a new, powerful OpenAI model codenamed "Orion" expected in December… Only for Sam Altman to throw cold water on the hype, tweeting "fake news out of control." Despite Altman's dismissal, the rumor had details: a model so cutting-edge that Microsoft and other tech giants might get first dibs before the rest of us.

So, is this a case of too many stars in our eyes? Maybe! An OpenAI rep confirmed no "Orion" for 2024 but promised more tech treats on the way.

In a bold new move, the White House just dropped a national security memo urging federal agencies to fast-track AI adoption while setting strict boundaries for its use in sensitive sectors like defense.

No rogue AI taking over nuclear decisions or autonomous targeting—human oversight stays firmly in place. Plus, there’s a push to boost U.S. AI chip infrastructure and protect labs against foreign threats, all with national security in mind.

Source: Shutterstock

OpenAI’s Whisper, a widely used transcription tool, is under fire after researchers discovered it often "hallucinates" text—injecting phrases and details not present in the original audio. The issues are not minor: one study found fabricated content in 80% of transcriptions, with invented treatments, disturbing language, and racial commentary appearing in outputs.

Despite OpenAI’s warnings, over 30,000 healthcare professionals are using Whisper-based tools, according to an AP report, and downloads on Hugging Face hit 4.2 million last month alone.

Source: Associated Press

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