DeepMind

A pair of scientists at Google DeepMind, the Alphabet Inc. artificial intelligence division, have been talking with investors about forming an AI startup in Paris, according to people familiar with the conversations. The team has held discussions with potential investors about a financing round that may exceed €200 million ($220 million) — a large sum, even for the buzzy field of AI, the people said. Laurent Sifre, who has been working as a scientist at DeepMind, is in talks to form the company, known at the moment as…

Welcome to AI This Week, Gizmodo’s weekly deep dive on what’s been happening in artificial intelligence.Why is Everyone Suing AI Companies? | Future TechFor months, I’ve been harping on a particular point, which is that artificial intelligence tools—as they’re currently being deployed—are mostly good at one thing: Replacing human employees. The “AI revolution” has mostly been a corporate one, an insurrection against the rank-and-file that leverages new technologies to reduce a company’s overall headcount. The biggest…

Would you get a robot that can cook, clean, and imitate almost everything you do for less than $20,000?Researchers at Google DeepMind and Stanford University on Wednesday announced Mobile ALOHA, a low-cost open-source hardware system for bimanual teleoperation.Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill CoursesOffering CollegeCourseWebsiteMITMIT Technology Leadership and InnovationVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitIIT DelhiIITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisitIt…

2024 is going to be a huge year for the cross-section of generative AI/large foundational models and robotics. There’s a lot of excitement swirling around the potential for various applications, ranging from learning to product design. Google’s DeepMind Robotics researchers are one of a number of teams exploring the space’s potential. In a blog post today, the team is highlighting ongoing research designed to give robotics a better understanding of precisely what it is we humans want out of them. Traditionally,…

Today is Christmas and, as expected, most businesses and governments have shut down for the day and people are enjoying a holiday. Yet artificial intelligence developments have found a way to emerge even today. In a shocking development, the parent company of Paytm, One97 Communication, has fired more than 1000 employees. The underlying reason behind the Paytm layoff is reported to be the AI advancement of the company that has caused a few positions to be surplus to requirements. This and more in today's AI roundup. Let…

FunSearch (so called because it searches for mathematical functions, not because it’s fun) continues a streak of discoveries in fundamental math and computer science that DeepMind has made using AI. First AlphaTensor found a way to speed up a calculation at the heart of many different kinds of code, beating a 50-year record. Then AlphaDev found ways to make key algorithms used trillions of times a day run faster. Yet those tools did not use large language models. Built on top of DeepMind’s game-playing AI AlphaZero,…

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is seeking comments about who controls Microsoft and OpenAI and possible risk of a merger. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is looking into whether the connections between Microsoft and OpenAI open up the possibility of a merger, which could impact competition. On Dec. 8, the CMA announced it is seeking comments from Microsoft, OpenAI and interested third parties. This is not a formal investigation, the CMA noted, but is rather a standard,…

Human intelligence has long relied on cultural evolution and social learning, where knowledge is passed down through imitation of actions and behaviors down through the ages. The question arises: Can artificial intelligence (AI) replicate these social learning skills in real time? Traditionally, AI has employed imitation learning, observing humans and attempting to mimic their actions. However, this method often requires numerous examples and extensive exposure to data. In a groundbreaking study, DeepMind researchers…

 With global regulators examining Microsoft Corp.'s $13 billion investment in OpenAI, the software giant has a simple argument it hopes will resonate with antitrust officials: It doesn't own a traditional stake in the buzzy startup so can't be said to control it.When Microsoft negotiated an additional $10 billion investment in OpenAI in January, it opted for an unusual arrangement, people familiar with the matter said at the time. Rather than buy a chunk of the cutting-edge artificial intelligence lab, it cut a deal to…

Every passing month in 2023, we have seen new breakthroughs being made by artificial intelligence (AI). While the tech revolution was started by OpenAI with its ChatGPT in November 2022, in the last year we have seen all kinds of AI tools. Some can help us draft an email, while others can analyze large amounts of data and provide actionable insights. But there is a separate class of AI chatbots that have emerged that focus entirely on entertainment and fun. One name that has risen to prominence in this space is…