🦎 The AI Revolution: Robots Rise

Welcome, humans.

Happy Easter Egg Hunt !  Want to know what's up with those crazy robots? Craving the inside scoop on all things AI? Cache Cookies delivers your weekly dose of news, cool apps to try, brain-boosting knowledge, AI job leads, and the lowdown on AI's wild side.

What You Need to Know About AI this week

• Figure's AI robots are getting scarily good at multitasking...👀

• Nvidia drops big news – we've got the breakdown for you.

• Gemini vs. ChatGPT: 3 prompts where Gemini shines. 🌟

Move Over Siri; Robots Want to Talk Too

Forget Chat GPT, now robots are learning to talk thanks to generative AI! Figure AI, the company behind that latte-making humanoid robot, just received a huge investment of $675M from Microsoft and Nvidia. This signals a major shift: robots aren't just for repetitive tasks anymore.

Why does it matter to me 🦎 ?

Generative AI lets robots analyse massive amounts of video, learning to predict and adapt to the real world – just like chatbots, e.g. Chat GPT do with text. This opens the door for robots capable of folding laundry, sorting items in warehouses, and maybe even assisting around the house. Would you like a full time cleaner and chef at home 24 / 7?

Where are the Cache 🦎 Cookies 🍪?

Anyone else getting major goosebumps? Maybe I've read too much sci-fi, but something feels off. Robot maids, robot gardeners, robot nannies... all working for free? Sounds too good to be true! But hey, when was the last time reality checked in before tech took over? Hallucinating chatbots (= chatbots that simply make things up) are unsettling, but what about hallucinating robots? Now that's entertainment. Though seriously, how are these things learning? If we don't pay authors fairly, will robots learn from stolen YouTube tutorials? Will they learn from us- watching us? Imagine a robot babysitter with all your worst habits...!

Nvidia CEO Rocks "AI Woodstock", Unveils Next-Gen Chips; Could Stock Outgrow the Global Economy?

Picture this: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, channelling rock star energy, welcomes a hyped-up crowd in the SAP Centre. This San Jose arena, where Justin Timberlake will soon perform and similar in scale to Zurich's Hallenstadion ;-) - is electric with AI anticipation. Huang unveils the company's next-gen Blackwell AI chips – a potential game-changer for the industry. Even Apple's massive events haven't filled venues this size!

What's behind the Nvidia hype? While still known for gaming graphics cards, they're dominating production of chips that can perform complex A.I. tasks like image, facial and speech recognition, as well as generating text for chatbots like ChatGPT. Blackwell promises huge leaps in speed and efficiency, but watch out for that price tag: it could be double previous models.

If you still don’t get all this hype, now picture this: in just 80 days into 2024, Nvidia (NVDA) has already added more than $1 trillion in market value – a figure nearly double Tesla's current total! Not surprising NY Times columnist teases : “The simple laws of compound arithmetic tell us that if the company’s share price keeps rising at its current rate, Nvidia will end up with a market cap in the quadrillions of dollars. This is an extraordinarily large number that seems implausible in reality, as it would make Nvidia larger than the entire global economy many times over.” Is it really?

One New AI App - GEMINI

Look out, OpenAI! Google's Gemini has arrived. While Google vice president Sissie Hsiao hailed it as their 'biggest launch yet,' that's saying something from the company that launched Google Search.

For Swiss users, Gemini is currently only available as a web application at https://gemini.google.com/. The mobile app version is not yet accessible in our region. To get started, all you need is a Gmail account. You can upgrade to Gemini Advanced and enjoy a two-month free trial, followed by $19.99/month. This will allow you to use Gemini seamlessly within Gmail, Docs, and more. There are three key situations when turning to Gemini instead of ChatGPT makes perfect sense.

• Video Summarizer: Too busy to watch that whole YouTube video? Need to find a specific moment? Gemini delivers a quick summary of any YouTube video, TED talk, or DIY tutorial.

• Your Personal Travel Agent: Want the perfect trip? Tell Gemini your dates and destination – it'll handle the rest with flights, hotels, and even exciting attractions.

• Excellent Voice Commands: Gemini understands your spoken instructions seamlessly, even if English isn't your first language (currently English only). Perfect your pronunciation later – get things done now!

While Gemini's photo generation tool is still on hold, its ability to 'read' photos remains a fascinating feature. Curious? I was too! I decided to test it out with a picture of my fridge and asked Gemini for breakfast inspiration. The results? Surprisingly good – I had a delicious bowl of granola this morning!

Why should I care 🦎 ?

Honestly, whether you embrace Gemini or steer clear is a personal choice. Generative AI models offer exciting potential – faster research, streamlined tasks, and creative inspiration. However, there are legitimate concerns, including hallucinations, misinformation, and the potential for misuse. Even if you choose not to use Gemini directly, this technology is evolving rapidly. It's likely to become embedded sooner than we thought in our iPhones, perhaps even without your explicit permission.

Where are the Cache 🦎 Cookies 🍪 hiding?

Gemini rollout hasn't been without hiccups. Gemini's unique selling point was supposed to be its image creation capabilities. However, in an attempt to avoid bias, the results backfired. For example, when asked to depict people of diverse backgrounds, it generated hallucinatory images, such as a female pope with Hindu features, an Asian Viking, or ancient Greek philosophers with Indian features. Google apologized and paused the feature. 

Gemini raises serious ethical concerns. It openly states that human reviewers may read your conversations to teach the AI identify our intentions, feelings etc. This common practice, as outlined in Kate Crawford's "Atlas of AI", is how these systems learn, yet it highlights the need for caution. Google's own privacy notice warns against sharing sensitive information – your chats could be stored for up to three years! This underscores the importance of thoughtful interaction with AI. Should we sacrifice privacy for the sake of technological advancement? You decide…

Job opportunities

That's it for now! Want more tasty AI insights? Visit our website and connect with us on LinkedIn @Mila and @Zeynep. While you're there, consider spreading the word – share Cache Cookies with all your friends and colleagues who also like to stay sharp!

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