Microsoft’s GPT-4 shows signs of human reasoning

Hello there, welcome to another round of global roundup, where we help you stay up-to-date with happenings in the tech space globally.

Fears about artificial intelligence coming alive received more fuel last week as a new study finds OpenAI’s latest version of ChatGPT shows human-like reasoning. Microsoft confirms that ChatGPT-4 shows signs of human reasoning in a research paper.

During the week, Apple iOS users and fans of generative AI were treated to a welcome development when OpenAI took a significant step in consolidating its conversational AI technology with the launch of its highly anticipated ChatGPT app for Apple iOS.

After dominating conversations these recent weeks, in a moment of truth, Tesla founder Elon Musk has warned shareholders to expect a challenging year because of an unsteady global economy and high-interest rates.

Google also disclosed it plans to delete accounts that have remained inactive for two years. It said it is part of a strategy to strengthen security measures for its vast user base.

If you missed these major news items during the week, stay put and enjoy this roundup.

Here is a summary of the bulletin

• OpenAI launches its ChatGPT app for Apple iOS
• Musk warns Tesla shareholders to expect a difficult year
• Microsoft says its AI is showing signs of human reasoning
• Google set to delete inactive accounts
• China orders Tesla to recall 1.1 million malfunctioning vehicles

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Microsoft says its AI is showing signs of human reasoning

According to a recent study, the latest version of ChatGPT from OpenAI exhibits human-like reasoning, which may soon confirm concerns about artificial intelligence coming to life. Researchers are improving large language models (LLMs) to make them smart enough to compete with the human brain. Microsoft now claims in a study article that the new AI exhibits indications of reasoning.

Supporting the findings, Sébastien Bubeck, lead author on the paper about artificial general intelligence (AGI), will run one of the reorganized research labs at Microsoft to explore humanlike answers and ideas not programmed into the LLM using GPT-4, The New York Times reported.

He has documented complex behaviours exhibited by the system during the past several months.

“All of the things I thought it wouldn’t be able to do? It was certainly able to do many of them — if not most of them,” Bubeck

When asked by a query on how to stack a book, nine eggs, a laptop, a bottle and a nail in a stable manner so they don’t fall, the model provided a rather lengthy conclusion, as stated in the research paper.

The system arranged the items so the eggs would not break, detailing how each should be placed on the other – starting with the book and ending with the nail.

It also commented on arranging the items so the eggs do not crack – something only humans could fully understand. 

OpenAI launches ChatGPT app for Apple iOS

OpenAI is revolutionizing conversational AI, and Apple device users would love the latest news.

The leading artificial intelligence research organization has taken another significant step in advancing conversational AI technology with the launch of its highly anticipated ChatGPT app for Apple iOS.

“Since the release of ChatGPT, we’ve heard from users that they love using ChatGPT on the go,” the announcement says. “Today, we’re launching the ChatGPT app for iOS.”

It says

The release of this app brings OpenAI’s cutting-edge language model directly to iPhone and iPad users, empowering them to engage in natural and dynamic conversations with an AI assistant.

However, the company stated that it would make the program available on Android soon. “Android users, you’re next! ChatGPT will be coming to your devices soon”, it further stated.

The new ChatGPT app is free to download on the App Store. It incorporates Open AI’s  Whisper, their open-source speech-recognition system, enabling voice input for the app. In addition, current ChatGPT Plus subscribers get “exclusive access to GPT-4’s capabilities,” early access to iOS features and faster response times. Read more here

Expect a difficult year, Musk says to shareholders

According to New York Times, Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, warned shareholders Tuesday to expect a difficult year because of an unsteady global economy and high-interest rates.

“This is going to be a challenging 12 months,” Elon Musk said at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting. He added, “Tesla is not immune to the global economic environment.”

Musk’s pessimistic forecast came in an otherwise upbeat presentation to a friendly crowd at Tesla’s factory in Austin, Texas. He largely ignored criticism by activist investors on various issues, including allegations of racial discrimination at its California factory and whether the company was hostile to labour unions or its board was doing a good job overseeing management.

He did, however, respond to activists by promising that Tesla would investigate whether any suppliers of cobalt, a battery raw material, were using child labour.

“We will do a third-party audit,” he said, shortly after Courtney Wicks, the executive director of Investor Advocates for Social Justice, asked shareholders to vote in favour of an inquiry into cobalt mining.

“In fact,” he said, “we’ll put a webcam on the mine. If anybody sees any children, please let us know.”

Shareholders confirmed the company’s nomination of J.B. Straubel to its board despite criticism from activist investors that he was too close to the billionaire founder.

Google set to delete inactive accounts

Google, which hosts billions of user accounts, said on Tuesday that it plans to delete accounts that have remained inactive for two years. The company said the decision is part of the internet giant’s ongoing efforts to strengthen security measures for its vast user base.

Starting in December this year, Google may delete an account if it has not accessed any of its variety of services for two years, the company wrote in a blog post. As part of the account deletion, Google will also remove content the user has stored in Google Workspace, YouTube and, Google Photos, TechCrunch reports.

According to Google, it will send “several notifications” in the months before deleting an account and will begin the purge with accounts that were created but were never used. According to Google, the new inactivity rules will also not apply to corporate and educational accounts.

It said that Google is taking this step to assuage security concerns that arise due to dormant accounts. “Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up. Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” the company wrote in the blog post.

China orders Tesla to recall 1.1 million vehicles

Tesla has been asked to recall more than 1.1 million cars in China due to potential safety risks, according to the country’s top market regulator.

The action is described as a product recall under Chinese regulations, the regulator said. Still, it was not immediately clear if drivers might need or would be eligible to return vehicles to Tesla for refunds.

From May 29, the U.S. automaker will issue over-the-air software updates to 1.1 million units of its Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y cars, both imported and China-made, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.

The regulator said the vehicles concerned did not allow drivers to turn off regenerative braking or provide enough warnings when drivers stepped on the accelerator pedal hard, which could increase the risk of collision.

It added that the update will restore the option of switching off regenerative braking and warn drivers when they step hard on the accelerator pedal.

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