Meta Ignites AI Community with Llama 2 Announcement

Plus 1300 experts say AI is a force for good

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
July 19, 2023

The AI Breakdown First Five - Wednesday July 19, 2023

Today on the First Five:

  • 5. A US Bill to Regulate How the Gov’t Uses AI

  • 4. OpenAI’s Grant To Local Journalism

  • 3. 1300 Sign Letter Saying AI Is A Force for Good

  • 2. Microsoft Stock Hits All Time High

  • 1. Meta Launches Llama 2

5. A US Bill to Regulate How the Gov’t Uses AI

While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer works on comprehensive legislation, some elected officials are working on much more specific AI bills. Mich Senator Gary Peters has introduced the AI LEAD Act to set rules for transparency around how the US gov’t buys AI systems.

One senator’s big idea for AI

With other lawmaking thin on the ground, Sen. Gary Peters is quietly pushing an idea: On AI, the government should start by regulating itself.

www.politico.com/news/2023/07/19/gary-peters-ai-laws-washington-00106922

4. OpenAI’s Grant To Local Journalism

To many, AI appears to be a threat to journalism as its traditionally constituted. The American Journalism Project however is teaming up with OpenAI, who are committing $5M in cash and $5M in OpenAI API credits to help local journalism organizations take advantage of and help shape the generative AI revolution.

3. 1300 Sign Letter Saying AI Is A Force for Good

World War 3 will be fought not with tanks and guns, but with open letters no one really listens to. The latest comes from the UK’s Chartered Institute for IT, who have organized 1300 experts to sign a letter saying that we need to focus on the opportunities of AI as much as the risks.

More than 1,300 experts call AI a force for good

An open letter organised by the UK professional body for IT says AI is not a threat to humanity.

www.bbc.com/news/technology-66218709

2. Microsoft Stock Hits All Time High

Alongside their participation in Meta’s Llama 2 announcement, Microsoft also revealed a $30 monthly subscription price tag for their AI assistant Copilot. Whether buyers like it remains to be seen, but markets certainly did, sending Microsoft’s share price to a new all-time high.

1. Meta Launches Llama 2

Welp, there’s your big news for the week. Meta has announced its Llama 2 model. As planned, it is a commercially available open source model. Meta is making it free (and will charge for hosted service with partners like Microsoft). The performance is somewhere between GPT3 and GPT3.5, lagging behind apparently in coding tasks. Keep an eye out for today’s AI Breakdown all about the announcement.

BONUS: The text-to-South-Park-episode generator taking over the internet

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Signing off from the future’s past - NLW