Weekly bulletin from AIport, issue #52

Hello and welcome to the latest issue of the AI Bulletin! We hope you enjoy this week’s selection of global developments in machine learning and data science, arranged chronologically by region. Have a fabulous weekend, and we look forward to connecting with you again next Friday! 👋🏻

North America

• In contrast to other international fast food giants, Ohio-based Wendy’s is set to expand its AI drive-thru operations following the success of the company’s pilot project.

• Google announces a Gemini Advanced update: the AI chatbot can now recall and summarize past conversations across multiple threads. On the same day, YouTube introduces a new AI feature to assist users in creating shorts.

• Canada’s media conglomerate Thomson Reuters secures a win in a US lawsuit over the use of copyrighted content in AI training.

• Adobe rolls out Firefly: a versatile multimodal AI tool for video, image, and vector generation.

• Wired battle-tests Grindr’s AI Wingman. Take a look at this exclusive deep dive to learn more about AI-assisted dating.

Europe

• BBC claims its latest research demonstrates that AI chatbots cannot be trusted to provide accurate summaries of news stories.

• In Paris, both the US and the UK decline to sign the final AI Action Summit statement, which pledges a regulatory approach to “inclusive” AI development.

Asia

• In Malaysia, the National AI Office (NAIO) launches an open call to recruit participants with proposals and recommendations to establish AI working groups.

• Amid intensified AI competition in China, internet giant Baidu announces that it will make Ernie Bot free to use and grant access to the company’s AI models starting April 1. For more context, check out this Insider’s Corner interview that touches on the subject of AI wars in China.

Latin America

• In Paraguay, independent news outlet El Surtidor is reportedly gaining popularity thanks to its Eva AI chatbot, modeled on a real woman jailed for drug trafficking.

Africa

• VoA publishes an article examining the rise of AI-driven biometric fraud in African countries.

Australia

• ABC News posts a panel discussion video that unpacks the state of AI affairs in Australia.