Beginners in AI

Thank you for joining us again!

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.

In this issue, we spotlight Runway’s partnership with Lionsgate, marking a new chapter in AI-generated video content and traditional production companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s announcement about Level-3 AI Agents also makes headlines, signaling a significant leap in autonomous decision-making and AI capabilities. Meanwhile, the ambitious Humanity's Last Exam project is raising the bar for measuring AI intelligence by testing advanced models on expert-level questions across various fields. Amazon's Project Amelia is transforming how AI handles customer service with a human-like touch, while robots are pushing their boundaries thanks to new AI models. Slack’s AI agents promise to make team collaboration smarter than ever.

Let’s do it!

AI TOP STORY
RUNWAY PARTNERS WITH LIONSGATE IN 1ST OF ITS KIND AI MOVIE DEAL

Runway, a leader in AI-driven content creation, has announced a partnership with Lionsgate (American Psycho, The Blair Witch Project, Hunger Games, John Wick, Sicario, Knives Out, etc.) to integrate AI tools into the entertainment giant and train models from the vast content library owned by the studio. The collaboration aims to revolutionize how visual content is created, distributed, and repurposed by leveraging Lionsgate’s cinematic assets with Runway’s powerful generative AI technology.

Industry-Changing Partnership

This union opens up Lionsgate's rich library—spanning blockbuster films and TV shows—for Runway’s AI tools. With access to this extensive media archive, Runway plans to use AI to generate new creative materials, develop enhanced video editing processes, and even produce promotional content based on beloved franchises.

AI Meets Hollywood

By merging AI with Lionsgate’s content, Runway will be able to advance its capabilities in film and TV production, automating tasks like editing, visual effects, and content customization. This initiative could significantly speed up production timelines while offering fresh ways to reimagine existing media. Just last month, the SAG-AFTRA union secured a deal with AI startup Narrativ that allows actors to license their voices for use in AI-generated advertisements. Read more 

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re a content creator, filmmaker, or just a fan, this partnership signals the dawn of a new era where AI reshapes entertainment. However, it's worth noting that ongoing legal battles over AI image generation could impact this initiative. Lawsuits like the one involving Stability AI and artists, which challenges the ethical use of copyrighted materials for AI training, could set legal precedents affecting how Runway and other companies utilize media content. The outcome of such cases could impose new restrictions or guidelines on AI-driven content creation moving forward. Read more

WEEKLY RECAP AI AND GENERAL TECH

• Humanity’s Last Exam: Raising the Bar for AI Intelligence
  The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) and Scale AI have launched an ambitious new benchmark project called "Humanity’s Last Exam." This initiative responds to the rapid progress in AI, where models like OpenAI’s o1 have surpassed existing reasoning benchmarks with ease. Instead of simply tricking humans into thinking the AI is human(which has proven to be too easy in many cases using simple chatbots), the exam aims to challenge AI systems with expert-level questions across various fields. Its goal is to set a higher bar for AI assessment, measuring deeper cognitive abilities like abstract reasoning and advanced problem-solving. The project invites experts to contribute, with co-authorship opportunities and prizes for the most challenging questions.
  Read more.

• Slack Attack: AI Agents to the Rescue
  Slack has recently introduced new AI agents, transforming workplace productivity by automating routine tasks and enhancing collaboration. These AI agents, developed in partnership with companies like Perplexity, Anthropic, Cohere, and Adobe, can be found in the Slack Marketplace. Users can interact with these agents as if they were teammates, making it easier to handle tasks like drafting emails, summarizing meetings, and retrieving key insights from documents.

  Key Features will include AI-powered automation, chatbot interface that allows users to automate workflows, meeting summaries with transcripts, enhanced search to retrieves information from additional sources like documents, clips, and canvases. Read more

• Amelia’s AI Empathy: Customer Service Reimagined
  Amazon’s Project Amelia is designed to revolutionize customer service with AI that understands emotions and context through sentiment analysis. Unlike traditional bots, Amelia can detect the mood and intent of users, enabling more natural and empathetic conversations. It is set to be a boon for sales driven companies looking to enhance customer experience through AI-led interactions. AWS is something to keep an eye on in the AI world, with approximately 96% of all AI/ML unicorns utilizing Amazon Web Services(according to estimates) as of this publication.
  Read more.
  

• AI Agents 3.0: The Next Frontier
  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that Level-3 AI Agents are on the way, marking a significant leap in AI capabilities. These agents will go beyond the current "Reasoners" (Level 2), which are designed for advanced problem-solving. Level-3 Agents promise a new era of autonomy, with AI systems able to make more complex decisions and operate in environments with minimal human intervention. Altman hinted that the transition from Level 2 to Level 3 is happening quickly due to the progress with OpenAI’s o1 model, further accelerating the path toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

  Read more 

BEGINNER’S HOW TO
HOW TO START USING POWERFUL SECOND BRAIN SOFTWARE OBSIDIAN IN 5 STEPS

1. Download and Install Obsidian:

- Visit Obsidian’s official website and download the app for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

2. Create a Vault(a vault is essentially a folder on your computer where all your notes and files are stored):

- After installing, launch Obsidian and create your first "vault" (a vault is stored locally on your device, meaning it’s not cloud-based by default, giving you full control over your data).

- Name your vault and choose a location on your computer where you want the notes saved.

3. Start Taking Notes:

- In your new vault, click "New Note" to create your first note.

- Use Markdown formatting to style your notes. For example:

- Use # for headers

- **bold** for bold text

- - for bullet points

4. Link Notes Together:

- One of Obsidian’s key features is creating a network of linked notes. To link to another note, use double brackets like this: [[Note Title]].

- This will create a connection between notes, allowing you to build a "knowledge graph" of interconnected ideas.

5. Explore Plugins:

- Obsidian supports community and core plugins to extend functionality. It can even be connected to ChatGPT through a plugin.

- Go to Settings > Plugins, and explore features like the Graph View, Backlinks, or even Calendar plugins for enhanced note-taking experiences.

TECH TERMS TO KNOW

Deepfake: AI-generated replicas of real-world images or sounds. In film, deepfakes could allow actors to appear in scenes they never filmed, or recreate their voices for future projects. An example is voice cloning from the SAG-AFTRA deal. According to researchers at MIT, fears of AI-generated content swaying elections in Europe are not supported by the data. Read more

TOOL SPOTLIGHT (non-sponsored)

Obsidian is a free, powerful note-taking tool that gives you full control over your data without relying on cloud providers. With its unique vault system, you can organize and link your notes locally, creating a personal knowledge base on your own device. Perfect for users who value privacy and flexibility, Obsidian lets you customize your workspace while keeping your information offline and secure. Whether you're a beginner or a power user, Obsidian’s rich features make it easy to boost your creativity and productivity.

COURSE
Join the growing community of AI enthusiasts starting from the ground up right here

ROBOTICS AND AI

ROBOTS BREAK NEW GROUND WITH AI-POWERED FLEXIBILITY

Robots are now performing tasks in unfamiliar environments, thanks to advanced AI models that enable greater adaptability. These systems allow robots to navigate complex, real-world situations without needing pre-programmed instructions, making them invaluable in industries like logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing. If this technology can be scaled, it could significantly reduce the time and data typically required for training. Traditionally, robots need large amounts of data specific to their environment, with any change in surroundings requiring a full adjustment of the data.
Read more

TRY THIS PROMPT (copy and paste, adding in your own research topic and parameters)

This prompt is geared toward ChatGPT’s o-1 preview, which is designed for complex reasoning tasks across various domains. Some prompting rules are different with this model. Unlike 4o, it’s best not to ask for chain-of-thought prompts. The full advice can be found on OpenAI’s website here

Generate three novel hypotheses for an experiment investigating [RESEARCH TOPIC]. 

Consider various aspects such as [ASPECT 1], [ASPECT 2], and [ASPECT 3]. For each hypothesis, provide a brief rationale.

Experiment context:

Study location: [LOCATION]

Duration: [TIME PERIOD]

Available resources: [RESOURCE 1], [RESOURCE 2], [RESOURCE 3]

Your response should include the hypotheses and their rationales without explaining your thought process.

DID YOU KNOW?

AI Helps Animate Disney’s Magic
In Disney’s Frozen II, AI-powered algorithms were used to simulate the movement of snowflakes and the textures of ice, giving the movie’s wintery scenes a more realistic look. The AI helped generate thousands of unique snowflake patterns and ice formations that would have been too complex to animate manually.

AI-ASSISTED ART OF THE WEEK

Video created by Neural Viz for Runway’s 2024 Gen:48 Competition

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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