Deepfakes and Job Cuts: Uncovering the Latest AI Developments

Today, November 18, brought surprising developments in the field of artificial intelligence. Firstly, Sam Altman, the cofounder of OpenAI, was removed from his role as CEO by the company’s board of directors. This decision led to the resignation of Greg Brockman, the company’s president. Additionally, Amazon revealed plans to reduce the workforce in its Alexa voice assistant unit, as it shifts its focus towards generative artificial intelligence and adjusts its business priorities. These stories and more are covered in today’s AI roundup. Let’s delve deeper into the details.

Amazon cuts jobs to focus on artificial intelligence

Amazon is cutting jobs from its Alexa voice assistant unit, citing changes in business priorities and the rise of generative artificial intelligence, according to a Reuters report. The job cuts will affect several hundred employees at Alexa, and the company has shown a shift in its efforts to align with business priorities and customer preferences, particularly in the area of generative artificial intelligence, the report said. Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Fire TV, made the announcement via email, citing the suspension of some initiatives as a result of these strategic changes. The exact number of employees was not disclosed.

Billionaire group to create artificial intelligence research laboratories

According to a Forbes report, billionaires Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel and Rodolphe Saade have revealed their plans to establish Kyutai, a non-profit artificial intelligence research laboratory in Paris. The aim of the laboratory is to promote Europe’s efforts to compete with Silicon Valley in artificial intelligence development. Based on OpenAI’s model, Kyutai operates as a non-profit and adopts an open source approach. The lab has hired researchers with backgrounds from Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and Metal, a testament to the collaboration between former Silicon Valley executives and established European business leaders.

BJP MLA urges Law Minister to introduce stricter regulations against deep fakes

Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Rajeshwar Singh has called for a robust legal framework and strict regulations to eliminate the menace of deep fakes and fake videos, reported PTI. In a letter to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Singh, a former Enforcement Directorate official and lawyer, highlighted the potential of such manipulated content to cause social, political and economic unrest in India. He referred to cases where the abuse of artificial intelligence tools and intelligent software threatened basic rights, women’s dignity, political stability, freedom of the press and social well-being.

The government convenes the best social media platforms

Expressing serious concern over “deepfake” videos, the government is ready to meet social media platforms to address the issue. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized that the safe harbor exemption clause will not apply if the platforms do not take adequate steps to remove deep counterfeiting. Notifications have been made to the companies, and although responses have been received, the government urges the platforms to adopt a more proactive approach to handling such content, the minister said.

“Perhaps in the next 3-4 days, we will call them to brainstorm the issue and ensure that the platforms are making adequate efforts to prevent it (deepfake) and clean their platforms,” PTI quoted Vaishnaw as saying.

Sam Altman was fired from OpenAI

In a shocking turn of events, Sam Altman has been fired as CEO of OpenAI, according to the company’s announcement today, November 18. The reason given for his dismissal was that it was not “consistently forthright in its communications with the board.” According to the announcement, the decision was made after careful consideration, but the board concluded that it had lost confidence in him to lead the company. When the news of Altman’s dismissal came out, the company’s CEO and founder Greg Brockman also resigned from his position. Altman was one of the company’s earliest backers when it launched in 2015.

OpenAI’s official announcement said: “The Board of Directors of OpenAI, Inc., a 501(c)(3), which serves as the overall governing body for all OpenAI operations, announced today that Sam Altman will step down as CEO and leave the company’s board.”