US Marines strap missiles to “robot goats”

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US Marines strap missiles to “robot goats”

Marines tested a robotic quadruped, colloquially termed a "robotic goat," for its potential in battle situations. The test involved strapping a rocket launcher to the robot, which allowed Marines to remotely trigger the weapon system from a safe distance. The video of the test showcased the robot's maneuverability and adaptability, even maintaining balance when gently kicked.

The robotic platform appears to be the Go1 robot dog made by Chinese robotics company, Unitree. This robot was primarily used as a firing platform for a Kairos remote trigger mechanism that was fixed to an M72AS light anti-tank weapon trainer. The Marine Corps has been focusing on robot utilization as part of their Force Design 2030 modernization initiative, preparing for potential conflicts with major powers like China.

Artist’s copyright vs. AI art generators

Artists have taken legal action against generative artificial intelligence (AI) art generators for allegedly using their copyrighted images without permission to train AI models. However, U.S. District Judge William Orrick recently dismissed most of the claims against companies Midjourney and DeviantArt, stating that the copyright infringement accusations were “defective in numerous respects.” Central issues include determining if AI systems store copies of copyrighted images and whether artists can claim infringement if no identical material was produced by the AI tools.

The core of the dispute revolves around Stability’s AI image generator DreamStudio and its component Stable Diffusion. Artists argue that DeviantArt’s DreamUp and Midjourney, which allegedly utilize Stable Diffusion, have used their artworks in training datasets. This legal battle underscores the complexities of copyright claims in the AI realm, especially as technology advances and boundaries blur.

ChatGPT update killing GPT wrappers?

The term "wrapper startups" refers to companies that integrate their services with an existing API like ChatGPT to provide functionalities not directly available from the core technology.

OpenAI has introduced a new beta feature to ChatGPT that allows users to upload and interact with PDFs. This update aims to simplify the process of extracting and synthesizing information from lengthy PDFs, making it a valuable tool for ChatGPT Plus users.

However, this advancement poses a significant challenge for some startups that have built their businesses around the platform's previous inability to engage with PDFs. Sam Altman's company's move raises questions about what these startups can now offer that distinguishes them from ChatGPT's new capabilities.

Another billionaire buys AI chips

Jed McCaleb, co-founder of blockchain startups Stellar, Ripple, and Mt Gox, has established a nonprofit, the Navigation Fund, which has acquired 24,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs for data centers that will lease computing capacity to AI projects. This massive GPU cluster, among the world's largest and valued at approximately half a billion dollars, aims to provide startups, scale-ups, and research organizations with the resources they need, especially given the scarcity of GPUs and the high demand from companies reliant on GPU-based hardware for training AI models.

Managed by the newly-formed organization Voltage Park, the data centers are a response to significant chip shortages that have been limiting AI innovation. Currently, the complete cluster at Voltage Park is not fully operational, but it's anticipated to go live across Texas, Virginia, and Washington by the end of the year.

The aim is to reserve a significant portion of its capacity for early-stage startups and developers, offering them both short-term leases and hourly billing. This initiative is designed to democratize access to cutting-edge AI training infrastructure, enabling a broader range of entities to participate in the evolving AI landscape.