Good afternoon!
Welcome to the 31st edition of the Quantumics Weekly Roundup. In this edition, we’ll have a look at OpenAI’s recently released API’s - GPT 3.5 Turbo!
Also in this edition - low-earth orbit space station? Read on for what Jed McCaleb, a US software developer who made his fortune in blockchain development and cryptocurrency, is doing with his recent acquisition of a small space company named Launcher.
And as usual, we’ll explore the latest news and information in data and AI, business and tech.
Let’s go! 👇
🤖 More API’s to play with!
OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence research laboratory, has announced that it will offer APIs for its popular ChatGPT and Whisper AI models to developers. APIs, or application programming interfaces, are a set of protocols that allow different computer programs to communicate with each other. With this offering, app developers will be able to integrate OpenAI technology into their apps for an ongoing fee based on usage. The new ChatGPT API model is called "gpt-3.5-turbo" and is priced at $0.002 per 1,000 tokens, which is about 10 times cheaper than OpenAI's existing GPT-3.5 models. Whisper, a speech-to-text model that can transcribe spoken audio into text, is available at a price of $0.006 per minute.
Early adopters of the ChatGPT API include Snapchat, Instacart and Quizlet. The latter is an educational platform that helps students study. OpenAI has also created dedicated cloud instances running on Azure for users who want deeper control over the specific model version and system performance. To use the APIs, an OpenAI account and a payment method are required.
To address privacy concerns about collecting data from customers, OpenAI has modified its terms of service to no longer use data submitted for service improvements, including future model training. The TOS emphasizes that users own the input and output of the AI models. Furthermore, OpenAI's Compute for the APIs will happen off-device and in the cloud. The availability of these APIs is a positive development for app developers who want to incorporate AI into their products but lack the resources to develop their own AI capabilities from scratch.
OpenAI's new offering is timely as AI continues to be an area of significant interest and investment. Developers who use OpenAI's APIs will have access to cutting-edge AI technology, which they can use to create intelligent applications across a range of industries. With ChatGPT and Whisper, OpenAI is making it easier for app developers to leverage AI's vast potential in their products.
🚀 Would you live in Space?
Jed McCaleb, the blockchain developer and cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has announced his intent to build a space station in low-Earth orbit through his company Vast Space. In an effort to advance the field of long-term human habitation in space, Vast plans to introduce artificial gravity to its space stations, a feature that most space agencies, including NASA, have not developed. This lack of focus on artificial gravity is due to the severe deleterious effects of microgravity experienced by astronauts on the International Space Station.
McCaleb, who is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion, has vowed to invest at least $300 million into Vast Space to develop its space stations. McCaleb sees an opportunity for Vast Space to take advantage of the commercial launch options that are currently available, given the availability of low-cost access to space created by companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. He believes that it is time for a new generation of space companies to make use of this access and invest in the future.
Vast Space's recent space investment was the acquisition of Launcher, a space startup based in Los Angeles. Launcher was developing a small rocket engine and an orbital tug named Orbiter that launched for the first time in January on a Falcon 9 rideshare mission. The mission ultimately failed due to an orientation-control issue caused by a fault in the Orbiter SN1's GPS antenna system. McCaleb was impressed with the technology and workforce at Launcher and decided to purchase the company outright.
With the acquisition of Launcher, Vast Space has added 80 employees to its current staff of 40. McCaleb said he is not ready to talk about timelines yet or about the architecture for Vast's proposed line of space stations. The company is still in the engineering phase, conducting trade studies that will factor into the final design. However, he is committed to having some form of artificial gravity, which he views as essential for healthy long-term human habitation in space. While Vast Space's initial plans will exist in low-Earth orbit, the company aims to compete for funding from NASA, which is currently funding the development of commercial space stations in low-Earth orbit.
News Bites 📰
Meta’s AR / VR hardware roadmap for the next four years has been revealed.
Boring Company CEO who slept at Twitter's headquarters with his newborn baby is rumored to be Twitter's next CEO.
TikTok's parent ByteDance is developing a new 'AI-based' learning platform.
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That’s everything for now, catch you next week…
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