March 7, 2023

integration

Microsoft’s latest AI CoPilot could be the voice behind a deluge of work emails

The Verge, 03/07/23. Microsoft is adding AI features to its enterprise apps for customer relationship management and resource planning. These enhancements will help create ideas and content faster, complete time-consuming tasks, and generate insights and next best actions.

CoPilot can write customizable emails to customers, generate meeting summaries, write a response to customer service chats and emails, and help marketers delve into their data without writing SQL.

The system will help create virtual agents for customer support using OpenAI’s tech to search Bing and internal knowledge bases.

Microsoft is pitching this as a set of tools for humans rather than a way to replace employees. Reports suggest that Microsoft also is planning to integrate ChatGPT into apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. READ MORE

investing

Sceptical investors worry whether advances in AI will make money

FINANCIAL TIMES, 03/07/23. VCs are caught between excitement over AI and a broader tech downturn. Many express caution about eye-watering valuations the amount of capital required to build foundation models.

Recent progress in generative AI has been well beyond expectations but inaccuracies are unacceptable in sensitive sectors such as health and defense. So, fundamentally disruptive applications could be a long way off.

Some investors warn that those pivoting from crypto deals to AI investments may be swapping one flashy technology with few commercial applications with another. READ MORE

environment

Here’s how AI is helping Africa’s endangered elephants

The European Sting, 03/07/23. British scientists and a Dutch start-up have created an AI-powered camera that connects to satellites and sends real-time information to remote forest rangers.

The camera detected 217 elephants during a pilot study in Gabon with 82% accuracy. It can detect humans, other animal species, and monitor conflicts and illegal activities. The software also builds models to predict poaching hotspots by building predictive based on past activity. READ MORE

models

TechScape: Will Meta’s massive leak democratize AI – and at what cost?

The Guardian, 03/07/23. Meta has announced LLaMA, a smaller and more efficient language model than GPT-3. It is also open-source allowing researchers to better understand large language models and work towards mitigating issues like bias and misinformation.

The complete model has been leaked but is unusable without technical expertise and a powerful computer.

The future of AI models is divided between gatekeepers like OpenAI who control access and infrastructure providers who make models available to everyone. Gatekeepers will provide guardrails to ensure responsible use. Open-source models like LLaMA and Stable Diffusion lack these safeguards. READ MORE

tools

AI tools SMEs need to know about

TECHCENTRAL, 03/07/23. AI is increasingly becoming a part of mainstream life. AI tools are beneficial to small and medium enterprises saving them time and effort and generating revenue.

Writing AI tools like Neuroflash, Quillbot, and Grammarly help with content creation. CRM apps like Hubspot and Salesforce use AI-powered analytics to manage sales data. Sales chatbots can qualify leads and book meetings. ChatGPT can be used for research and information gathering.

Many AI tools are available for free or at affordable prices making them a viable option for smaller businesses. READ MORE