The week's developments in AI, quantum, and biotech, explained | 07.02.24

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This week, researchers proved that AI can learn just like a human can, by hooking one up to a baby via headcam. The AI was able to grasp basic objects and words from ‘real-life’ experience, indicating a new and natural way of training autonomous systems. 

Meanwhile, over 6 million deliveries have been completed by ‘sidewalk’ drones, earning the startup Starship Technologies $90M in funding to increase rollout… would you trust a robot to deliver your pizza?

Plus, researchers have 3D printed real, functioning brain-tissue, with some very exciting applications in drug discovery, and understanding complex neurological activity. 

Keep reading for the latest updates on decoding microbes, The UK’s £145M AI & quantum investment and ‘Hybrid’ RAG — plus the coolest AI tools to build, search, and integrate.

— Charlie and the Research & Intelligence Team 

P.S. You can now register your interest for CogX Festival LA 6-9 May, where we’ll be talking all things AI, Impact, and Transformational Tech!

Innovation and Releases

👶AI trained on a baby's experiences through headcam video footage offers insight into child language learning, demonstrating its ability to grasp basic objects and words from real-world inputs. This indicates a path towards developing AI that can learn like humans. 

🕶️How to buy, or test, the Apple Vision Pro headset. Priced at $3,500, this futuristic tech, hailed the future of spatial computing, is now accessible for those who pre ordered and available for others who wish to experience it through in-person demos. 

💰UK pledges £145M for AI and quantum research and regulation. £100M of the budget is allocated toward AI research, and to developing a flexible regulatory framework. £45M is dedicated to advancing quantum tech, with a focus on healthcare and transport.

🤖Starship Technologies’s drone fleet secures $90M funding, as sidewalk delivery robots surpass 6 million deliveries. This investment is a significant boost for the company, aiming to scale up to meet growing market demand for autonomous delivery solutions. 

🚀LDV Capital is hosting the 10th Annual LDV Vision Summit on March 21, 2024, a free virtual event celebrating a decade of innovation in computer vision, machine learning, and AI. Featuring speakers from Sequoia Capital, Princeton University, Meta, Synthesia, and others. RSVP now to secure your spot, and connect with over 1,000 global attendees.

AI Tools of the Week

🚀Build: StarterBuild is an AI platform for entrepreneurs to develop and refine business ideas, offering automated market analysis, roadmaps, branding advice, and user personas. 

🕵️‍♂️Search: Arc Search is a speedy, private AI mobile browser that actively searches and organises information from the web into a single tab — and it’s ad-free.

🗣️Integrate: OpenAssistantGPT is an open-source platform that enables users to build their own chatbots using OpenAI's assistants, and integrate it into their website.

Latest Research

🧠Researchers have developed the first 3D-printed brain tissue. It can grow and function akin to natural brain tissue, opening up a new way to study complex brain networks and to test drug candidates for neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

⚛️Researchers have built a qubit with built-in error correction, using a single light pulse to create a logical qubit that inherently corrects its errors. It offers a simpler path to creating efficient photonic quantum computers by minimising the need for physical qubits.

🦠Microbe chatter unscrambled: Scientists have developed a tool to decode the complex language of microbes, identifying the specific chemicals they produce. The tool will offer new insights into microbial behaviour and their critical role in ecosystems and human well-being.

🌐V-IRL is a platform for AI agents to interact with reality in virtual yet realistic environments, using geospatial data and street view imagery. The platform paves the way for developing autonomous agents capable of perceiving and interacting with the real world.

In case you missed it

Checkout this Advanced RAG tutorial that takes chatting with your documents to the next level, through Hybrid Search..

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