Beginners in AI

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Welcome to this week's edition of Beginners in AI, where we explore the latest trends, tools, and news in the world of AI and the tech that surrounds it. Like all editions, this is human curated and published with the intention of making AI news and technology more accessible to everyone.

This Sunday, we check out more science fiction to science fact technology from AI decoding human thoughts to the inevitability of humans falling in love with their AI. We'll also explore Meta's ambitious venture into humanoid robotics and discuss the implications of integrating vast datasets for AI analysis. Plus, we'll shed light on Iran's unveiling of an AI-powered submarine-launched drone in the ever evolving landscape of war powered by high-technology.

AI TOP STORY
Meta's AI Achieves Thought Decoding

What Happened
Meta has announced a significant breakthrough in artificial intelligence research, developing a model capable of converting brain signals into text. This model can decode up to 80% of typed sentences using noninvasive methods like MEG and EEG recordings.

What It Means
This advancement holds promise for brain-computer interfaces, especially for individuals who have lost the ability to speak. By understanding how the brain transforms thoughts into words, researchers can enhance AI-powered speech assistance technologies. However, challenges remain in improving accuracy and practicality, as the current setup requires a magnetically shielded environment inside of a laboratory.

What to Take Away
While still in the research phase, this development brings us closer to real-world applications where AI is opening up doors that were literally the stuff of science fiction only a decade or so ago. Technological mind reading and telepathy are just the start. The next step is probing memories, helping the paralyzed walk, or giving sight to the blind.

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LAST WEEK IN AI AND TECH

IRS Supercharges Tax Audits with AI-Powered Supercomputer

The IRS has acquired an AI-powered supercomputer built on NVIDIA hardware to enhance tax fraud detection. The system will process vast amounts of taxpayer data, using machine learning to identify suspicious financial patterns and discrepancies. Officials believe this technology will significantly improve audit efficiency and help target high-income tax evaders more precisely. However, privacy advocates warn of potential government overreach as AI-driven enforcement expands.

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The Rise of AI Companions

As AI technology enters the mainstream, more people are forming emotional connections with advanced chatbot software. Users engage in deep conversations, and some even plan virtual dates with their AI. Janitor AI reported 2.1 million conversations with its Valentines Dat bot. While these AI powered companions offer unwavering support for the emotionally isolated and vulnerable, it is still software at the end of the day and may do more harm than good if the users cannot differentiate between man(or woman) and machine. The 2013 film Her explores this concept fairly well and even predicted the use of Scarlett Johansson’s voice in future AI. Even Ex Machina to a degree explores the blurred lines between human and artificial intelligence interaction, affection, and manipulation.

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Meta's Move into Humanoid Robotics

Meta Platforms is expanding its horizons by venturing into the development of AI-driven humanoid robots. A newly formed division within Meta's Reality Labs, the same lab that is developing the Orion AR computing glasses, aims to create robots capable of assisting with physical tasks, making use of the company's advancements in AI models. This move positions Meta alongside other tech giants exploring the robotics domain, but would still be well behind tech rival Tesla when it comes to fiscal manufacturing. Look for potential partnerships between Meta supplying the software and a vendor who can provide the manufacturing.

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Larry Ellison's Wants All Your Data In One Place

Oracle's Larry Ellison proposes a comprehensive approach to AI by integrating all national data—including spatial information, economic data, and even genomic records—into a unified government system. This centralized database would enable advanced AI analysis to enhance services like healthcare and agriculture and find connections and means of improving efficiency in the data that would otherwise be impossible with traditional tools and the current system. While promising, such an initiative would make that singular database a most sought after target for hackers and opposing governments. To date, the list of government agencies that have been hacked(that we know of) are extensive.

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Elon Musk Unveils xAI's Grok 3

Elon Musk's AI venture, xAI, is set to release its latest chatbot, Grok 3, tomorrow at 8pm Pacific Time. Musk made the announcement yesterday evening on X(formerly Twitter). He claims that Grok 3 surpasses existing AI chatbots in reasoning capabilities and is the “Smartest AI on Earth.” This announcement comes as xAI is reportedly in talks to raise $10 billion, potentially valuing the company at $75 billion. The funds are expected to enhance xAI's data center capacity for further AI model training. In a recent interview with Lex Friedman, Musk said that for Grok 3 to win, you have the most powerful training compute. Musk built and controls the most powerful AI training facility in the country, and potentially the world, with 100,000 NVIDIA GPU’s all connected together Elon Musk's AI Megaproject: A New Era in Data Centers and AI Dominance 

TECH TERMS TO KNOW

Neural decoding is the process of interpreting brain activity and translating it into meaningful digital signals, seeking to understand how neural signals correspond to thoughts, emotions, and motor actions. Brain activity is used to make predictions about the outside world, which is the opposite of neural encoding, which maps the outside world to brain activity.

Researchers use techniques like EEG (electroencephalography), MEG (magnetoencephalography), and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to record brain activity. AI models then analyze these signals and attempt to decode what a person is thinking, seeing, or intending to do.

TOOL SPOTLIGHT (non-sponsored)

Convergence AI offers an AI-powered assistant called Proxy that uses a virtual web browser to complete automated tasks, similar to ChatGPT’s Operator, at a much lower price tag per month.

Key Features

• Free Basic Access: Users can explore Proxy's capabilities with 5 free sessions per day (2 parallel sessions and 1 automation)

• Pro Tier: For $20/month, users get unlimited sessions, 5 parallel sessions, and 20 automations

• Security Focus: Convergence AI is Cyberessentials Plus certified and has SOC2 and ISO27001 controls in place (certification pending audit)

• Continuous Improvement: Proxy's long-term memory allows it to learn and enhance its assistance capabilities over time

ROBOTICS AND AI

Iran's Ministry of Defense has unveiled what it claims to be the world's first submarine-launched autonomous suicide drone. This AI-powered drone can identify and engage targets without human intervention, representing another advancement in military drone technology. The increasing integration of AI in modern warfare is something that governments around the world will have to adjust their strategies to contend with.

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TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste into AI like ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity, Gemini)

Social Event Prep: 

I'm attending [event name], and I want to make a great impression. Give me actionable networking tips, including how to start conversations, engage with new people, and leave a lasting impact.

Event Research:

Provide a brief history of [event name], including how it started, notable milestones, and any interesting or fun anecdotes about its founders or current organizers.
Share key details about this year’s event, such as major themes, featured speakers, or trending topics.
Conversation Starters & Talking Points:

Suggest adjacent topics related to the event that make for smooth, engaging conversations.
Provide tasteful, lighthearted one-liners or jokes relevant to the event’s theme or industry that I can use to break the ice.

Lastly, give me some fun and interesting ways to remember all of these details.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Antikythera mechanism, discovered in a shipwreck dating to 150–100 BCE stands as the earliest known analog computer. This intricate Greek device is the size of a large dictionary, and predicted astronomical positions and eclipses with gear systems rivaling the quality of 14th-century clockwork. This discovery changed our assumption of how advanced ancient Greeks really were.

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Thank you for reading. We’re all beginners in something. With that in mind, your questions and feedback are always welcome and I read every single email!

-James

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