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- Jeff Bezos Backs AI-Powered Google Rival 💸
Jeff Bezos Backs AI-Powered Google Rival 💸
+ The era of the AI PC begins today, according to Microsoft
Gina Acosta
January 04, 2024
Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,
Perplexity AI keeps gaining support from influential tech figures, including Jeff Bezos, despite the daunting task of competing against a giant rival with billions of users.
Microsoft claims "The era of the AI PC" begins today…
Let's jump into it!
Read Time: 3.0 min
Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI
Jeff Bezos Backs AI-Powered Google Rival 💸
Microsoft's New Copilot Button on PC Keyboards Marks the Beginning of the AI PC Era
AI Tutorial: Animate an image with Runway
Trending AI Tool of the day: Turn into a video pro with RecordOnce
AI Image of The Day🎨: Elon Musk’s trip to Uzbekistan
The Latest in AI and Tech 💡
AI News
PERPLEXITY
Jeff Bezos Backs AI-Powered Google Rival 💸
Source: Perplexity AI
Perplexity AI, a San Francisco startup aiming to disrupt internet search, raised $74 million this week from high-profile backers. The generously funded "answer engine" leverages advanced AI to offer a chatbot-style search experience.
Details:
Investors include Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Institutional Venture Partners, and former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, among others
Perplexity AI lets users ask questions in plain English and provides direct answers citing online sources
Perplexity currently has around 10 million monthly active users
The latest funding values the company at $520 million despite being less than 2 years old
With strong momentum and financial firepower, Perplexity aims to challenge Google's search dominance through an AI-powered paradigm shift. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen, but it is certainly carving a niche for individuals seeking a superior experience.
MICROSFT
Microsoft's New Copilot Button on PC Keyboards Marks the Beginning of the AI PC Era
Microsoft has announced a small but symbolically important change coming to Windows PCs - the addition of a new Copilot button next to the Alt key. This key will give users direct access to Microsoft's AI assistant technology, Copilot, marking what Microsoft calls "the era of the AI PC."
Details:
The new Copilot button on PC keyboards will launch Microsoft's AI assistant to help users with coding, writing, and more tasks.
Microsoft sees this as a milestone moment, comparing it to when the Windows key was first introduced in the 1990s.
The announcement comes ahead of CES 2024, where PC makers like Dell and HP will show off new Windows 11 machines with the Copilot key.
Microsoft is also reportedly working on specialized "AI PCs" powered by Intel or Qualcomm chips optimized for AI. Few details are available but this shows AI being embedded deeper into PCs.
The era of AI transforming how we use computers has begun. The Copilot button may start small, but it symbolizes the central role AI will likely play in the future of personal computing.
AI Tutorial
Animate an image with Runway
Animating an image with Runway is surprisingly easy; just follow these simple steps
Prompt the image
We will use the image of a volcano in this example.
Upload to Runway
Once the image is uploaded, add some Motion Brush to the magma area
Add a description
Download your video
Source: @okcasts on X
Trending AI Tool
Turn into a video pro with RecordOnce
Record as quickly as you can demo your product. This AI-powered tool edits the video and removes any mistakes. No need for retakes; you’re done in minutes.
Main Features:
Super fast, no video skills required.
Comes with everything you need to create, host, share, and publish videos.
You can try it for free (with some limitations).
Check this AI tool here
AI Image of The Day
Elon Musk’s trip to Uzbekistan
Send your AI-generated images for a chance to get published here: [email protected]
Source: u/KhikmatPulatov on Reddit
The latest in AI and Tech
AI Spots Suicide Risk Factors in Teens
Source: University of Copenhagen
Norwegian and Danish scientists leveraged machine learning to pinpoint key suicide attempt risk factors in 173,664 adolescents, including self-harm, mental health issues, sleep/eating disorders, pessimism, and victimization. Their model boasted 90.1% accuracy, outperforming past algorithms. Early identification of at-risk youth remains critical for intervention and prevention.
Samsung and Google Plan to Use Qualcomm's Latest VR Chip
Source: Qualcomm
Qualcomm's new Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip will power upcoming mixed reality headsets from tech giants Samsung and Google. Packing enough performance to handle camera feeds from a dozen sensors, the chip enables advanced augmented and virtual reality experiences. As hype builds for Apple's own high-end mixed reality Vision Pro headset, Qualcomm is making sure other manufacturers can match or exceed Apple's offering.
California Sets Sights on AI Ethics
A new California bill aims to establish ethical AI guidelines for state agencies. Senator Steve Padilla introduced legislation prohibiting California from working with AI companies that don't meet safety and non-discrimination standards. The bill also seeks to create a public AI research hub providing academics with computing resources and data. The bill follows an earlier one introduced last September that proposed transparency standards for “frontier” models.
That’s a wrap!