Microsoft's $10B Clean Energy Deal 💰

Welcome to another edition of Horizon AI,

Microsoft has just made the biggest renewable energy agreement ever, driven by AI power demand. The company has also made headlines for banning police departments from using some of its AI technology.

Let's get into it!

Read Time: 3.0 min

Here's what's new today in the Horizon AI

• Microsoft Inks $10 Billion Deal to Power AI with Renewables 💰

• Microsoft Bans Police Use of AI Service for Facial Recognition

• AI Tutorial: Convert a script into a speech in seconds.

• AI Tools to check out

• The Latest in AI and Tech 💡

AI News

MICROSOFT

Microsoft Inks $10 Billion Deal to Power AI with Renewables 💰

Microsoft has just agreed to the largest single corporate power-purchase agreement ever signed. The deal is nearly 8 times larger than the largest single corporate PPA ever signed.

Details:

• Microsoft has committed to supporting the development of 10.5 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity worldwide.

• The deal is valued at an estimated $11.5 to $17 billion and involves the construction of new renewable energy projects across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific region.

• The renewable energy capacity is expected to come online between 2026 and 2030, providing Microsoft with a clean energy supply to power its energy-hungry AI operations and data centers.

• Microsoft's investment aligns with its commitment to achieving carbon negativity by 2030.

According to the International Energy Agency, AI could burn through 10 times as much electricity in 2026 as it did in 2023. Thus, this is a significant step by Microsoft to ensure it can fulfill its AI ambitions.

Source

MICROSOFT

Microsoft Bans Police Use of AI Service for Facial Recognition

Microsoft has banned police departments from using its Azure OpenAI Service for facial recognition purposes..

Details:

• The Azure OpenAI Service enables users to build their own copilots and generative AI applications.

• Microsoft has updated its code of conduct, explicitly prohibiting the use of the Azure OpenAI Service "for facial recognition purposes by or for police departments in the United States."

• This policy change comes in the wake of Axon, a leading provider of technology solutions for law enforcement, announcing a new product that leverages OpenAI's GPT-4 model to summarize audio from body cameras.

There are numerous concerns about the potential risks associated with such applications, including hallucinations, racial biases, and other unintended consequences. These concerns are likely the reason for this move.

Source

AI Tutorial

Convert a script into a speech in seconds.

We'll be using Parler-TTS, a free text-to-speech model that can generate high-quality, natural-sounding speech in the style of a given speaker.

1. The Parler-TTS model is available on the Hugging Face website

2. Write your text prompt and the description of the voice you'd like

You can find examples if you scroll down

3. You can also find tips on the same page to ensure you get exactly what you want

4. Once you are done just click on the "Generate Audio" button and wait for the audio to be generated.

5. Listen to the generated audio, and if necessary, make changes to the prompt or voice descriptions. You can then download or share it

AI Tools to check out

🎵 Soundry AI: Use AI to generate one-shot and loop samples, perfect for music projects.

📝 Turbolearn: Upload and convert audio, video, websites, or PDFs into well-organized notes.

🤖 Kin: Personal AI designed to support and assist individuals in their daily lives.

🚀 Rankify: Instant AI SEO keyword research generator.

✨ Mindtrip: AI platform for travel, personalized to you.

The latest in AI and Tech

US official urges China, Russia to declare only humans, not AI, control nuclear weapons

A senior U.S. official on Thursday urged China and Russia to match declarations by the United States and others that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons.

OpenAI’s first Sora-generated music video released

Writer/director Paul Trillo, an early access user of OpenAI's unreleased Sora model, has created what is being hailed as the first official music video generated using this innovative AI technology. The video was made for indie chillwave musician Washed Out and his new single “The Hardest Part.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook boasts of future AI plans

In Apple's Q2 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook outlined the tech giant's generative AI aspirations. Cook stated Apple is optimistic about generative AI's potential and is allocating substantial resources toward developing new offerings.

Japan PM unveils international framework for generative AI governance

Addressing the OECD, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida introduced an international framework for the regulation and use of generative AI technology. This initiative aligns with mounting global efforts to establish oversight for the rapidly evolving generative AI field.

Microsoft releases inaugural AI transparency report

Microsoft's inaugural Responsible AI Transparency Report details the company's efforts toward safely deploying AI platforms in 2023. The report, fulfilling a White House commitment, covers the company’s responsible AI achievements but critics say it fails to mention some of the controversies related to this it had in the same year.

That’s a wrap!

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Gina 👩🏻‍💻