Welcome to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 🥝 Autocado - Chipotle’s avocado-peeling robot

• 🤺 AI chip game of thrones

• 🤝 Intel + Amazon AI chip deal

• 🤖 Altman leaves OpenAI board's safety and security committee

Let’s get right into it!

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FOOD

Chipotle’s avocado-peeling robot

Chipotle is testing two new robots in select California locations. The "autocado" cuts, cores, and peels avocados, while the "augmented makeline" assembles burrito bowls and salads. These robots aim to improve efficiency and free up employees for other tasks.

Chipotle's previous experience with the "Chippy" robot highlighted the importance of considering cleaning challenges in robot design. Other restaurant chains, like Sweetgreen, are also exploring robotics and automation to address labor shortages and increase productivity.

BIG TECH

Can anyone unseat Nvidia?

Nvidia's AI dominance is rooted in its decades-long focus on GPUs as general computing hardware. Its GPUs, optimized for AI tasks, have become indispensable for researchers and tech giants. Nvidia's software platform, CUDA, further solidifies its position.

However, competitors like AMD and Intel are challenging Nvidia's supremacy with their own GPUs and software platforms. Additionally, startups like Cerebras, SambaNova, and Groq are exploring novel chip architectures to compete in the AI hardware market. While Nvidia's current dominance is undeniable, the market is evolving, and future competitors could emerge to challenge its position.

BIG TECH

Intel + Amazon AI chip deal

Intel reaffirms its commitment to its $28 billion project in New Albany, Ohio and announces a new partnership with Amazon to develop AI-powered chips using Intel's advanced technology. The partnership aligns with Amazon's recent investment in data center operations in Ohio and strengthens Intel's position in the US semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company also received additional federal aid to support its chip production for the US military.

STARTUPS

Sam Altman leaves OpenAI board's safety and security committee

OpenAI has restructured its safety and security committee to consist entirely of independent board members, excluding CEO Sam Altman. This move addresses concerns about potential conflicts of interest and aims to strengthen the committee's oversight role. The newly formed committee, chaired by Zico Kolter, will review major models and have the authority to delay their release.

OpenAI has also committed to greater transparency and collaboration with external groups and is working to unify its security practices across its product teams. This restructuring comes in response to employee departures over safety concerns and reflects OpenAI's efforts to enhance its safety practices and governance.