CONVO OVER COFFEE ☕

Big topics to discuss with friends and colleagues

• Microsoft Reveals AI Copilot for Windows 🚩🚩
  On September 26, 2023, Microsoft is set to launch a new version of Windows 11, featuring an integrated AI companion, Copilot, designed to enhance user interaction and productivity. Announced at an event in New York City, this feature marks a significant advancement in Microsoft’s ongoing collaboration with OpenAI. Copilot will offer a range of advanced functionalities, including adapting to users’ writing styles and improving routine tasks across applications like Microsoft Outlook.

  My take: Don’t get me wrong here with 2 red flags above: all of this sounds absolutely amazing. I have seen demos, it is a game changer for so many professions. Yet, let me repeat that: a disruptive game changer for many professions. Plus, amount of data at the disposal of Microsoft is insane. Even more, number of smaller businesses affected by this? This is a monopoly-level move from Microsoft. Two red flags at minimum.

• Bard now connects with Your Gmail, Docs, and Drive 🚩

  Google did not want to be far behind with stealing the thunder for this week. Bard chatbot has been upgraded to sift through Gmail, Docs, and Drive to extract information and execute tasks. Google asserts that these fresh integrations, referred to as extensions, are intended to conserve user time by streamlining the search for particular information within documents and emails.

  My take: Red flag even if this is optional, because who knows how far it can go with preserving privacy of sensitive data we store there.

• DALL-E 3 from OpenAI 💚

  New DALL·E, this time a 3rd version from OpenAI, perceives a notably higher level of subtlety and intricacy compared to its predecessors. Enabling users to seamlessly convert their concepts into extraordinarily precise visuals. It is on the brink of being organically incorporated into ChatGPT.

  My take: Good thing it is engineered to reject requests seeking images in the style of a living artist. Additionally, creators have the option to exclude their images from being utilized in the training of our upcoming image generation models. Pity they have to in the first place.

• Writer bags $100M for their enterprise ready AI platform 💚

  Writer has garnered $100M in Series B financing for its enterprise-centric generative AI platform, with ICONIQ Growth leading the funding round. The investment will propel the development of its specialized text-generating AI models designed for specific industries.

  My take: Positioned uniquely in a saturated market, Writer emphasizes non-proprietary business writing, economical models, and transparency, with a commitment to abstaining from using customer data for training purposes - we like this!

• Welcome to new GenAI Alexa from Amazon 🟠

  Amazon is revitalizing Alexa with a new large language model (LLM), aimed at enhancing smart home automation by understanding conversational phrases, interpreting context more effectively, and processing multiple requests in one command. It integrates over 200 smart home APIs and offers more proactive and seamless management of smart homes.

  My Take: Amazon claims that developers can leverage Alexa's advanced cognitive functions, enabling more natural interaction and control of third-party products. The enhanced Alexa, which could eventually be subscription-based, will initially be available through a preview program in the US. Yet from experience I know that this is a move that can produce a false sense of security, opening ecosystem up and then scaling back from that decision - they did it in the past, may do it again.