Google Agrees To Invest Upto $2 Billion In AI Startup + Qualcomm Plans To Take On Apple Macbooks + UK PM Rishi Sunak Warns About AI
Good evening!
Welcome to the 54th edition of the Quantumics Weekly Roundup.
In this edition, we’ll take a deep dive into the latest trends as Google to invest in AI, Qualcomm’s AI chip, and UK PM’s Rishi Sunak view on AI.
And as usual, we’ll explore the latest news and information in data and AI, business, and tech.
Let’s go!
After Amazon, Google To Invest $2 Billion Dollars In OpenAI’s Rival Anthropic
Google has recently announced a $2 billion investment in Anthropic, an AI startup that competes with OpenAI. This investment is separate from the $550 million Google had previously invested in Anthropic earlier this year. The new investment from Google is in the form of a convertible note, which can be converted into equity in the next funding round. Google has already put $500 million into Anthropic and has committed to investing an additional $1.5 billion in the future. It's worth noting that before this latest investment, Google had also entered into a Google Cloud deal with Anthropic valued at over $3 billion, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
In addition to Google's recent investment, Anthropic has also entered into a multi-year agreement with Google Cloud, valued at over $3 billion, according to an insider. This deal was finalized a few months before the new investment from Google.
Furthermore, Amazon had previously committed to investing up to $4 billion in Anthropic as part of its strategy to compete with other cloud companies in the field of AI. In a recent quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as reported by Reuters, Amazon disclosed that it had already invested $1.25 billion in Anthropic through a convertible note, with the option to convert it into equity. Amazon also has the potential to invest an additional $2.75 billion in a second note, but this option is set to expire in the first quarter of 2024.
Qualcomm Comes Up With AI-Powered Chips To Take On Apple MacBooks
Qualcomm has unveiled a new chip designed for Microsoft Windows-based laptops, emphasizing its advantages in specific tasks compared to Apple's Mac computer chips, as reported by Reuters. During the announcement, Qualcomm executives showcased the improved capabilities of the upcoming Snapdragon Elite X chip, which is scheduled for release next year.
Reportedly, the Snapdragon Elite X chip has undergone a redesign aimed at enhancing its performance in artificial intelligence tasks, including email summarization, text generation, and image rendering.
Furthermore, the AI capabilities developed for this chip will also be integrated into Qualcomm's smartphone chips. Both Alphabet's Google and Meta have expressed their intentions to leverage these advancements, as reported by the agency.
This announcement comes on the heels of a recent Reuters report, which stated that Microsoft has been encouraging companies like Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices to develop new chips capable of accommodating a range of innovative AI features for Windows, which is the world's most widely used PC operating system.
During a video presentation at Qualcomm's event, Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, highlighted that these chips would enable the emergence of a new era of "AI PCs" designed for both business and consumer use.
Nadella stressed that their collaborative efforts would enable the combination of experiences that were previously unattainable due to the need for a novel system architecture.
According to reports, Qualcomm claimed that its X Elite chip surpasses Apple's M2 Max chip in specific tasks and demonstrates superior energy efficiency compared to both Apple and Intel PC chips. What stands out as the most significant feature, as emphasized by Qualcomm Senior Vice President Alex Katouzian, is the chip's ability to effectively process artificial intelligence models with 13 billion parameters. This parameter count serves as a proxy metric for assessing the sophistication of AI systems responsible for generating text or images.
UK Prime Minister Highlights AI Dangers Ahead Of Global Summit
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a warning about the potential consequences of mishandling artificial intelligence (AI). He cautioned that if AI is not properly managed, it could facilitate the development of chemical or biological weapons and empower terrorist groups to spread fear and destruction more effectively. Sunak also raised concerns about criminals using AI for cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, fraud, and child sexual abuse.
Furthermore, he mentioned even the "most unlikely and extreme" scenarios, where society could lose control over AI, making it impossible to switch off, which represents a worst-case scenario. These remarks highlight the importance of responsible and ethical AI development and governance.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that addressing the risk of human extinction posed by AI should be a global priority. However, he also emphasized that people should not be overly alarmed or lose sleep over this issue at present. He acknowledged that there is a legitimate debate on this topic, with some experts believing it may never occur. Nevertheless, Sunak highlighted that even if these risks are uncertain and unlikely, their potential consequences would be extremely grave if they were to materialize.
In the announcement of the new AI Safety Institute, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak explained its objectives, stating that it will play a crucial role in advancing the global understanding of AI safety. The institute will focus on in-depth examinations, evaluations, and testing of new AI models to comprehensively understand their capabilities. This approach encompasses assessing risks ranging from societal issues like bias and misinformation to the most extreme and potentially catastrophic risks associated with AI.
Additionally, Prime Minister Sunak unveiled a substantial investment of nearly one billion pounds in a supercomputer, which will be thousands of times faster than the typical home computer. This investment is a significant step toward enhancing the computational power available for various research and technological advancements.