Can AI help you win the lottery? Nvidia releases new open source software to prevent ChatGPT from spitting nonsense and the UK moves to block the Microsoft-Activision deal.
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These stories and more on Hashtag Trending, for Thursday, April 27th. I’m your guest host, James Roy.
One lucky man went viral on social media after he demonstrated how he managed to use ChatGPT to win the lottery.
He revealed on TikTok that he put in a few hypothetical questions as well as some winning numbers from previous years, and received the numbers 57, 27, 29, and 99 from the chatbot.
However, he only took home the modest sum of THB (Thai Baht) 2000 or US$59.
Yet, the fact that one man was able to strike it lucky, by simply using AI, got many expressing hope at being able to make easy money.
This was not the first time that this man tinkered with ChatGPT to generate winning lottery numbers.
The viral chatbot even expressed concern, advising him “to not be obsessed” and “go out an exercise”
But he is not backing down and has dedicated his TikTok to show himself using ChatGPT to try and win the lottery.
If he strikes gold, lottery companies might have some thinking to do.
Source: Mashable
Companies are also looking to strike gold with AI, accelerating investments and innovation.
PwC US is dedicating $1 billion over the next three years to AI projects for both its clients and its own operations.
Part of its plans also includes a partnership with Microsoft to use its Azure OpenAI platform to build products and technologies.
PwC’s chief products and technology officer, Joe Atkinson tells Axios that the partnership, “will allow us to teach models in our controlled environment, not in the public space.”
Being private-owned, the company does not need to showcase its AI developments to impress investors, but it likely wants to indicate that it is serious about AI, as competition and expertise heats up across the industry.
In fact, Atkinson even said PwC is focused on building AI tools with greater data and decision transparency to ensure technology “properly considers human factors”
PwC also announced plans to upskill 65,000 of its own workers.
Source: Axios
Salesforce is also ramping up its AI efforts, making Einstein GPT and Data Cloud available in beta in the Field Service app.
This gives field service workers access to AI features such as real-time data, automation and summarization.
Field service workers may include nurses, technicians, contractors, workers in the public sector and more. A home nurse, for example, can automate the process of writing up notes after a home visit, using Einstein GPT.
The AI functionality also has part-time contractors in mind, allowing contact centers to see when contractors who only do certain tasks or work limited hours are available.
Einstein GPT on the Field Service app can also be used for on-the-job training, communication between workers and to access tutorials or step-by-step instructions related to a specific task.
Salesforce eventually seeks to unify the Field Service mobile app and Salesforce mobile app’s functionalities so that some AI features can cross over between both.
For its AI projects, Salesforce partnered with large language models partners, including OpenAI, Cohere and Anthropic.
Source: Tech Republic
But Nvidia got a different plan with LLMs like ChatGPT, one it promises could stop the chatbot from ‘hallucinating.’
Yesterday, the GPU giant issued an open source software, called NeMo Guardrails, which it claims can keep LLMs on topic, ensure accurate information and prevent them from connecting to unsafe apps.
Nvidia said, “”Virtually every software developer can use NeMo Guardrails – no need to be a machine learning expert or data scientist. They can create new rules quickly with a few lines of code.
The software works in a way that intercepts questions before the chatbot can come up with some nonsense and force it to even respond with “I don’t know”
We’ve seen a series of gaffes from Bard claiming in a demo that “JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) took the very first pictures of a planet outside of our own solar system to Microsoft’s Bing divulging company’s secrets.
But Nvidia has ridden the AI wave with great financial success. And there’s no doubt that this offering and its promises will be a new cash cow.
The software is currently available on GitHub. It will also be offered as a supported package via the Nvidia AI Enterprise platform and Nvidia AI Foundations cloud services.
Source: The Register
According to a new research by SemiAnalysis, ChatGPT costs a walloping $700,000 per day to operate.
The firm estimates that the system includes around 3,617 HGX A100 servers, including over 28,000 GPUs, with the cost per query said to be around 0.36 cents.
Dylan Patel, chief analyst at SemiAnalysis, suggests that the cost could be higher, as the new, more powerful GPT-4 possibly costs more to run than GPT-3.
The power-hungry specialized chips that the system needs are the number one reason as to why it costs so much to run.
The viral chatbot capable of writing essays, codes, poems, or even passing medical exams is, now we know, also very very expensive.
But for what? For all the nonsense it is capable of spitting? The inaccurate information or the unsecure codes?
A recent research by computer scientists states that ChatGPT generates code falling “well below minimal security standards applicable in most contexts.” Even ChatGPT recognizes that when asked if its code was secure.
However, we know fully well that LLMs developers are not turning the off button on their technology.
Microsoft, one of the biggest shareholders of OpenAI, is already working to combat the issue by developing its own AI chip called ‘Athena’ that could replace the Nvidia GPUs, and radically reduce ChatGPT’s operating costs.
Source: TechSpot
Yesterday, the Ontario Provincial Police revealed that it saw a significant increase in 911 calls being hung up.
This could be due to Android’s recent inclusion of Emergency SOS, which allows Android users to contact emergency services when they press the power button five times.
But now, the OPP is asking Android users to turn the feature off, stating people “could easily dial 911 without knowing.”
This is not the first time that we saw a smartphone accidentally call 911 services. Apple’s crash detection feature has also led to false calls to emergency services, sometimes at the gym or while riding roller coasters.
Android users can turn Emergency SOS off by going to Settings> Safety & emergency> turn off the toggle next to Emergency SOS.
Source: Mobile Syrup
Yesterday, the biggest acquisition of all time suffered an unexpected blow. The UK moved to block Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover of gaming giant Activision.
The country’s antitrust regulator said on Wednesday that the acquisition would hinder competition in cloud gaming and that Microsoft’s commitment to offer access to multi-billion dollar “Call of Duty” franchise to leading cloud gaming platforms, will not remedy these concerns.
Microsoft’s President Brad Smith said the company will appeal the decision, which he says “reflect a flawed understanding of this market and the way the relevant cloud technology works”
Activision, which also makes “Overwatch”, “ Candy Crush” and “World of Warcraft” said in a statement, “We will reassess our growth plans for the UK. Global innovators large and small will take note that – despite all its rhetoric – the UK is clearly closed for business.”
The company shares fell nearly 12 per cent to $76, moving further from Microsoft’s offer price of $95 per share.
Europe will decide on the Activision deal by May 22, while the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also seeking to block it.
Source: Reuters
That’s the top tech news stories for today. Hashtag Trending goes to air daily newscast five days a week as well as a special weekend interview with an expert on topics relevant in today’s tech news.
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