AI.mil - US Department of Defense's AI team

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US Department of Defense to host AI event

Bet you didn’t know that the US Department of Defense (DoD) has an entire office focused on the adoption of AI. Yep, they do and they have a pretty cool web address, ai.mil.

The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) is hosting an AI event in 2024 called the Advantage DoD 2024: Defense Data & AI Symposium where they will bring together leaders and developers from government, industry, and academia to shape the future of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) in support of the U.S. military's decision-making capabilities. It provides a platform to explore topics such as the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), data analytics, AI applications, talent management, policy challenges, and technical advancements within the Department of Defense.

ChatGPT is killing Stack Overflow

Coding assistance forum Stack Overflow is laying off 28 percent of its workforce as it strives to achieve profitability. While Stack Overflow did not provide specific reasons for the layoffs, the move follows a hiring surge that coincided with the rise of generative AI and chatbots in the tech industry, including coding assistance.

The increased adoption of AI-driven coding solutions poses challenges for a platform like Stack Overflow, which traditionally provided human-generated coding help. Below chart from a research paper “Are Large Language Models a Threat to Digital Public Goods Evidence from Activity on Stack Overflow” shows a signifcant reduction in traffic since the release of ChatGPT.

Additionally, AI-generated coding answers led to issues for the company, prompting a temporary ban on users using AI chatbots for generating answers. The ban faced controversy and enforcement issues, resulting in a strike among moderators that was resolved in August, but the ban remains in effect. Stack Overflow also announced plans to charge AI companies for training on its platform.

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Chinese firm claims Ernie now as good as ChatGPT

Baidu's, the dominant search engine in China, has announced that their large language model, Ernie 4.0, has caught up with OpenAI's advanced GPT-4, positioning Baidu as a leader in China's quest to develop AI that can compete with the United States. During a presentation in Beijing, Baidu showcased Ernie's capabilities by conducting a live Q&A session and demonstrating its ability to provide answers and solve complex problems on the fly.

While Ernie has reached sophistication and general capabilities similar to OpenAI's product, it currently boasts over 45 million users, trailing behind ChatGPT's estimated 180 million users, despite launching later. Baidu aims to leverage AI, particularly Ernie, to surpass competitors like Alibaba and Tencent in the Chinese internet landscape, although Baidu's shares were down approximately 1.5% on the day of the announcement.

Microsoft AI bug bounty program

Microsoft's newly introduced AI Bug Bounty Program offers substantial rewards of up to $15,000 and centers around securing the AI-powered Bing experience, encompassing various products and integrations. These include Bing Chat, Bing Chat for Enterprise, Bing Image Creator, Microsoft Edge (Windows) with Bing integration, Microsoft Start Application (iOS and Android) with AI-powered Bing, and Skype Mobile Application (iOS and Android) with AI-powered Bing integration.

This initiative underscores Microsoft's commitment to proactively address security challenges in emerging technologies, built on recent investments and insights gained from activities like the AI security research challenge and updates to vulnerability severity classifications for AI systems. They are actively seek collaboration with security researchers, inviting them to participate in this program to enhance AI system security further.