Weekly bulletin from AIport, issue #12

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of our weekly AI bulletin. We hope you enjoy our hand-picked selection of this week’s happenings. Don’t forget to subscribe and give us a thumbs-up! 

North America:

• Meta releases Llama 3 and introduces Meta AI, adding instantaneous AI image generation for WhatsApp users in the US.

• San Francisco-based Casetext, a subsidiary of the Canadian information powerhouse Thomson Reuters, launches CoCounsel — an AI platform for lawyers to carry out research and analyze legal documents.

• The much anticipated Humane AI Pin, created by former Apple employees, is labeled a total failure by virtually all industry experts and high-profile reviewers, including Marques Brownlee.

• DARPA, a development agency of the US Department of Defense, announces the first successful combat mission test with an autonomous AI pilot.

Europe:

• In the UK, the newly released “disruption index” by IFOW highlights alarmingly uneven investments in AI across England. Meanwhile, the nation’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology is drafting new legislation to regulate AI. 

• Logitech, a well-known Swiss company specializing in computer electronics, unveils a novel tool — Logi AI Prompt Builder — which is accompanied by a matching mouse equipped with an AI prompt button. 

Asia:

• After a two-year silence, Israel-based Mentee Robotics unveils Menteebot — an “AI First” humanoid robot.

• South Korean giant Samsung gets $6.4 billion from the Biden administration to build an advanced AI semiconductor factory in Texas.

• G42, an AI company based in Abu Dhabi, receives $1.5 billion from Microsoft to enhance and distribute digital infrastructure solutions within the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

• AI-enabled technology known as “deathbots” is gaining popularity in China for assisting families with the loss of their loved ones — a process that’s becoming increasingly known as “digital mourning.”

Australia:

• AI-generated likenesses of the famous Australian presenter and science communicator known as “Dr Karl” are being used to sell quack medicines across the country.