OpenAI had a turbulent start to last week. Co-founder John Schulman left the company to join rival AI startup Anthropic, seeking to focus more on AI alignment research. 

Then came the news that Greg Brockman, OpenAI's president and another co-founder, would be taking a sabbatical until the end of the year to "relax and recharge."

Also, they hired veteran AI professor and AI safety expert Zico Kolter who has joined as a board member. He is a professor and director of the Machine Learning Department at Carnegie Mellon University.

It seems OpenAI is showing that it is taking the concerns around AI safety and security very seriously. Kolter’s appointment comes after OpenAI brought on board former NSA director and retired US Army general Paul M Nakasone to the Board of Directors in June.

But, with Schulman’s exit, only three of OpenAI's original 11 founders remain, with Brockman’s return hanging in balance. It looks like the company is (cue gasp) breaking apart? But the company's woes weren’t limited to leadership departures.

It seems that Elon Musk’s legal fight with OpenAI’s creators has been renewed, with no expiry date this time. Months after taking back the case in which Musk alleged that OpenAI puts profits and commercial interests ahead of benefiting humanity, he has reignited his legal battle with the company.

The revived lawsuit, filed in Northern California, claims OpenAI shifted focus to profit by partnering with Microsoft, breaking their founding agreement. Musk had previously dropped the suit just before a judge was set to dismiss it, but the feud is now back in full swing.

More OpenAI-related news…

It might feel like we’re turning into an OpenAI newsletter, but just too much has happened this week. OpenAI has revamped its ChatGPT app for Mac, making multitasking smoother. 

Previously, pressing Option + Space brought up a text entry box similar to Apple Spotlight, but now, the update opens a mini ChatGPT window that stays alongside your current app, reducing the need for constant window switching. 

This change makes it easier to access ChatGPT without disrupting your workflow, especially on smaller screens. Be sure to update your ChatGPT app on Mac to enjoy the new features.

On the policy and safety front, the European Union’s AI Act took effect earlier this month. Though it’s not the first AI law in the world (looking at you, China), it will be the first of its kind to reshape how AI technologies are regulated across the EU. 

The act is about ensuring that AI systems are ethical and transparent and protect fundamental rights. For US businesses, this means following strict guidelines when working with EU companies. If your company uses AI in any professional way within the EU, compliance with this new law is a must.

Musk’s AI service, GrokAI, is now in hot water in Europe over alleged violations of the EU’s data privacy law–GDPR. The European Centre for Digital Rights (NOYB) has filed nine complaints across various EU countries, accusing Musk’s platform, X (formerly Twitter), of unlawfully collecting data from over 60 million users to train GrokAI. 

The controversy began when X users noticed a change in their data settings, allowing their posts to be used for AI training without proper consent. NOYB argues that X violated the GDPR by failing to inform users and not proving a legitimate need for such extensive data collection. 

Despite X agreeing to stop using European data for GrokAI, NOYB is pushing for stronger action, which could set a precedent for AI companies operating in the EU.

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NEWS

• US, UK, Australia test first AI-enabled drones for precision strikes
  AI and autonomous systems were used to reduce the time it takes to identify enemy targets and operate with reduced risk to life.

• China’s Kylinsoft launches first AI-powered PC operating system
  The operating system is the fundamental software that connects higher-level software with the underlying hardware.

• US Army tests rifle-toting robot dog to bite intruder drones with bullets
  In Operation Hard Kill, the Vision 60 Q-UGV features a front-mounted turret with an AR-15-type rifle, enhancing its counter-drone capabilities.

• AI predicts diseases with 98% accuracy in real-time using tongue color
  AI-powered computer model to analyze patients’ tongue colors for real-time disease diagnoses such as anemia, COVID-19, vascular and gastrointestinal issues, or asthma.

MUST-READ

China: ‘World’s 1st’ light-based AI chip beats NVIDIA H100 in energy efficiency

A team of scientists from Beijing claimed a groundbreaking advancement in artificial intelligence (AI) technology with the development of the ‘world’s first’ fully optical AI chip.

This innovative chip, known as Taichi-II, represents a significant leap forward in both efficiency and performance, surpassing even the renowned NVIDIA Corp. NVDA H100 GPU in energy efficiency.

AI PICTURE OF THE WEEK

A lot of folks on Twitter were shocked after a user posted the above AI-generated picture. It was apparently created using FLUX Realism LoRA. One needs credits to use this model, so sadly, I couldn’t.

X user @Kyrannio said, “First time an AI image really struck me as uncanny.”

The buzz didn’t stop there—another user even turned the image into a video, taking the eeriness to the next level.

AI TOOL OF THE WEEK

It might seem like we’re turning into a tutorial hub for content creators, but we promise that's not the case. However, this week we do have another game-changing tool for you.

Today, we will discuss Content Studio, an AI-powered tool that claims to allow you to create a faceless video in just four steps, with no tech skills required. We’ll let you know below whether it’s really four steps or not.

First. Benefits. Many YouTubers or TikTok users don’t want the hassle of making videos or showing their faces. For videos on education, tutorials, product reviews, or animation, faceless content allows creators to focus entirely on the content itself rather than their appearance or personality. This can make the content more universal and relatable, appealing to a broader audience.

So, let’s get into it. Here’s the tutorial:

You’ll have to create an account to use the tool. You can do that on their website.

1. Choose your type of video

• Once you’re logged in, click on ‘Create a Video’.

• For the free version, you can select the length of the video between Short (less than 60 seconds) or Medium (over 60 seconds).

• Then the Studio has a list of categories you can choose from. It will decide the main theme of your video.

• Then comes the prompt. You can describe what the video should be about.

2. Pick a language and voiceover

This is easy enough. There are 10 languages to choose from–English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. 

You can also choose between a selection of voiceovers. There’s echo, basic, and a few other kinds.

3. Rendering the video

• The video will take about a minute or two to process and create. It will have captions, and you will have the option to edit it scene by scene.

• If you’re happy and want to download the video, you can render it. That will take about one minute, which is really impressive.

There are also Basic, Pro and Premium versions priced at $19, $55 and $199 a month respectively, with variations in how many videos one can create and how many people you can share the account with.