The SEC Newgate AI Weekly

The AI landscape remains ablaze with activity as another action-packed week unveils a series of momentous announcements from retrieving and reconstructing images from brain activity to the AI apocalypse.  

Doomsday by Design? 

A statement posted on the Centre for AI Safety's website, supported by numerous experts including Sam Altman of Open AI, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, and Dario Amodei of Anthropic, emphasises the need to prioritize mitigating the risk of AI-induced extinction on a global scale. They argue that AI's potential threat is comparable to other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war. However, as Rishi Sunak reminded reporters, there are a multitude of benefits AI offers, “You've seen that recently it was helping paralysed people to walk, discovering new antibiotics, but we need to make sure this is done in a way that is safe and secure”.  

ChatGPT Wins Hearts, But Not Wallets 

GenZ consumers, aged 16-34, have voiced a preference for ChatGPT over Google search, indicating a potential expansion in the tool's adoption, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence survey. However, the survey also reveals that the majority of this demographic is unwilling to pay more than $10 per month for a subscription to ChatGPT. The study further highlights that younger individuals are leading the way in embracing generative AI tools, with a particular focus on utilising them for studies and conversational interfaces. This trend suggests a transformative shift in online search behaviour, likely to fuel increased demand for personalised digital assistants. 

AI Rides the Bull: Wall Street Banks Reshape Finance with Technological Force 

Major banks, led by JPMorgan, are embracing AI as they advertise thousands of AI-related roles and witness increased inquiries from other financial institutions. The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has raised awareness about the game-changing potential of AI, leading to an "AI arms race" for talent and advancements. While the adoption of AI promises more efficient tasks and improved risk modelling in finance, concerns remain over transparency, effectiveness, and the need for cautious implementation in areas such as compliance and regulatory considerations. 

Painting Pictures with Brainwaves 

Researchers have developed MindEye, a novel fMRI-to-image approach that retrieves and reconstructs images from brain activity. This innovative method utilizes specialized modules for retrieval and reconstruction, achieving state-of-the-art performance in both tasks. By preserving fine-grained image-specific information, MindEye can accurately retrieve images from large databases and maintain low-level image features in the reconstructions. 

An Exclusive Stay 

Joining the ranks of trillion-dollar US companies, Nvidia experienced a stock surge fuelled by the promise of AI advancements. The chip maker, known for its graphics processing units (GPUs) and AI hardware, has seen its value skyrocket over the past year. However, challenges lie ahead in maintaining growth, including competition from rivals and ethical considerations around AI impact. 

And lastly… 

The quote of the week comes from Dan Hendrycks, Director of the Center for AI Safety:  

"Humans have been the dominant species on Earth because of our intelligence. But now, as AI is becoming more powerful and more intelligent, we won't occupy that same position in the future. That could put us in a more fragile position, and we could possibly go the way of the Neanderthals.”