Welcome to 2024, AI enthusiasts! 🎉

Welcome to 2024, AI enthusiasts! 🎉

OMG! Haven’t seen you, reader, all year! Did you miss me? 😄

Now that we're officially done with trivial jokes, it's time to dive back into the not-so-trivial world of AI. The date has changed, but the tradition hasn't: Max is storming into your New Year with a 3-minute newsletter just like last year.

Read, embrace, and subscribe – basically, do everything to start this year right! 💪

1. Great Power = Great Responsibility 🫡

Not all of us were enjoying ourselves during the Christmas break. Take, for example, Professor Mike Wooldridge, an AI expert from Oxford University, who delivered a lecture as part of this year's Royal Institution Christmas lectures. If you haven’t caught the broadcast on BBC Four and iPlayer, here is a brief overview: exercise caution when sharing private information or engaging in personal conversations with chatbots like ChatGPT.

Surely, lots of us used AI to craft greeting cards or personalise gifts, but the professor earnestly underscored that placing trust in such AI systems is "extremely unwise". The reason is straightforward: the shared information contributes to training future versions of the technology. Wooldridge also noted that AI provides responses that users want to hear rather than balanced perspectives. So ask yourself twice whether that is the answer or just an answer you’d like to hear. 🤔

Moreover, Wooldridge highlights that AI lacks empathy and sympathy, advising users to assume that any information typed into ChatGPT may be used in future versions, making retractions nearly impossible. Thus, if "AI" becomes the buzzword of 2023, "consequences" might very well become a prominent term in 2024. ⚠️

2. Recycling Resolutions ♻️

As the year kicked off on a Monday, it presented an ideal moment for New Year's Resolutions. Committing to environmental stewardship is especially fitting, particularly in Canada. Intuitive AI, a Canadian startup, has unveiled Oscar Sort, an AI-driven recycling system now operational in federal government buildings to reduce landfill waste and boost recycling rates. Utilising a scanner to identify items guides users to dispose of their waste in the designated bins appropriately.

Oscar Sort has already been rolled out in 10 federal government buildings, following a pilot project initiated in two Global Affairs buildings a year ago. The system was developed by co-founders Hassan Murad and Vivek Vyas and employs artificial intelligence to recognise objects. The more it’s used, the more accurate it gets. What's more, it elevates the experience of contributing positively. Aside from being customisable for different recycling streams in various locations, the stations can reward correct disposals or provide feedback for incorrect ones. 🌍🌱 

This year's resolutions go beyond mere challenges; they're about fostering a greener world and enhancing our happiness. And who knows, perhaps we'll encounter an AI that gives us a high-five during our morning run 🏃‍♂️ — now, that would be the ultimate resolution boost!

3. You will die in 3…2…1…(or no) 💀

Are you curious about knowing the timing of your mortality? I remain uncertain, but an intriguing opportunity has emerged for those seeking such insights. Researchers at Northeastern University have crafted a controversial tool known as life2vec, an AI system boasting superior accuracy in forecasting human lifespan.

Considering factors like health, education, job, and income, the tool can predict aspects of individuals' lives, including personality traits and lifespans. Notably, it claims proficiency in predicting personality traits and lifespans, even excelling in assessing extroversion through responses to personality questionnaires. However, it's important to note that the tool's effectiveness appears most pronounced within the confines of Denmark's dataset. Researchers caution against applying it to real individuals and underscore the necessity of ethical considerations.

Should you decide to take the test out of curiosity, bear in mind that if the results are unsatisfactory, scepticism is warranted—especially if you're not of Danish origin 🤷‍♂️

Predictions for 2024 🔮

We will see a significant increase in AI, ML, and robotics in the military. That isn't comforting.

And that’s it for today – quite an interesting beginning of the year, as for me.

Let’s see what will happen next; I’m quite excited for 2024.

So, see you in a week, and remember: curiosity is the way to go through! 🚀

Max

xx