8 | OpenAI Drama Shakes the AI World

What a shocking week in the AI world!! The recent OpenAI events truly shone a light on the value of OpenSource models, with France emerging as a leader in this exciting shift.

In a bold move, Anthropic is captivating users' attention, tempting them to switch from ChatGPT to Claude v2.1. Meanwhile, Nvidia positioned itself as the silent true champion of the AI race.

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WEEKLY DIGEST
The Rise of Open-Source AI.
🇫🇷Made in France🇫🇷

There's an emerging trend towards open-source AI models, as seen in the increased investments in startups like Hugging Face and Mistral AI. This shift emphasizes the importance of diversified AI development, beyond closed models.

What’s New: 

  • Hugging Face's Leap: This French-American AI startup has become a hotbed for AI tool sharing and testing. A whopping $235 million investment from tech behemoths catapulted its valuation to a staggering $4.5 billion.

  • Mistral AI's Rapid Ascent: Spearheaded by ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, this French venture, stemming from Deep Mind and Meta alumni, has made a splash with $113 million in initial funding, eyeing an ambitious $400 million raise. 

  • Meanwhile, another French startup, Poolside AI, attracted $126 million in funding, co-led by Xavier Niel and U.S. VC firm Felicis Ventures

Why Does It Matter?

Hugging Face offers a practical example of successful open-source AI development. With over 2 million users, 400,000 models, and 77,000 datasets, the platform showcases the potential of collaborative AI, with major clients like IBM and AWS integrating its tools into their offerings.

Why are tech leaders increasingly drawn to open-source AI?

Mike Gualtieri of Forrester captures the mood: “The drama over OpenAI reinforces the need for open source models outside a single company.”

It's a blend of access to diverse talent, cost-effective development, and a hotbed for accelerated innovation. This is more than just an investment; it's a strategic move towards a more collaborative, faster-evolving AI landscape.

Is Paris the new capital of open-source AI?

Yann LeCun, Chief of AI at Meta, has been a vocal advocate for open AI models, emphasizing the importance of transparency and ethical considerations in AI development. His influence within Meta is driving the company's commitment to open-source initiatives, aligning with the broader goals of the French AI ecosystem.

By embracing open-source principles and prioritizing ethical considerations, France is well-positioned to become a global leader in the development and deployment of AI technologies.

The French government has demonstrated its commitment to fostering the AI sector through various strategic initiatives. The "Make it iconic. Choose France" campaign exemplifies this shift, highlighting France's transformation from a traditional powerhouse of art and history into a modern tech hub.

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WEEKLY DIGEST
💰 NVIDIA made 18 Billion in Q3 2024, Highlight AI Chip Demand Surge

NVIDIA's latest earnings report has created a buzz in the tech world, reflecting a surge in demand for GPU chips driven by the global enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI technologies. The company's revenue tripled, surpassing analysts' projections and signaling a new era in AI-driven innovation.

What’s New:

The company's revenue skyrocketed to an impressive $18.12 billion in Q3 2024, showcasing a 206% increase from the previous year​.

Why Does It Matter?

The surge in AI chip demand reflects the growing adoption of AI technologies across various industries. NVIDIA's market capitalization now stands at a colossal $1.2 trillion, surpassing giants like Meta and Tesla, underscoring its dominance in the AI GPU market. However, the company anticipates a potential impact in the next quarter due to export restrictions affecting sales in China and other countries.

Exploring NVIDIA's Broader Impact:

Despite emerging competition, particularly from AMD in the generative AI market, NVIDIA's strong performance and continued innovation, like the announcement of the GH200 GPU, place it at the forefront of AI technology. Their influence extends beyond financial success to shaping future technologies, from smart cities to autonomous vehicles.

ARTICLE
🍲 Inside the Storm: The OpenAI Drama Explained

This weekend, OpenAI generated significant upheaval in the tech industry and revealed a harsh reality, but before drawing any conclusions, let's get updated.

Who is Sam Altman?

Sam Altman is a Stanford dropout who first gained prominence in the tech world with his startup, Loopt, which was sold for $43.4 million. He is a key figure at OpenAI.

He is well-known for his role as the president of the influential startup accelerator, Y Combinator, where he played a pivotal role in nurturing numerous successful startups.

His path led him to co-found OpenAI in 2015 with Elon Musk and other entrepreneurs, with the goal of developing AI in a manner that benefits humanity.

Who were the former members of OpenAI’s board?

OpenAI is uniquely structured as a partnership between a nonprofit research entity and a for-profit subsidiary. The board supervises both, prioritizing the pursuit of artificial intelligence that is safe and beneficial to all of humanity over investor interests.

  • Greg Brockman: Co-founder of OpenAI and former CTO of Stripe

  • Ilya Sutskever: OpenAI co-founder and co-author of the seminal paper initiating the deep-learning era

  • Helen Toner: Director at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technologies

  • Adam D’Angelo: Former CTO of Facebook and CEO of Quora

  • Tasha McCauley: Technology entrepreneur; co-founder, Fellow Robots.

If you're interested in learning more about this topic, you might want to check out a specific article from TechCrunch that features a brief story of the board. HERE

TimeLine of events

  • November 16: OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever schedules a call with Sam Altman (Using Google Meet**).

  • November 17:

    • OpenAI fires Altman; co-founder Greg Brockman was removed from the board but requested to stay in the company.

    • Chief technology officer Mira Murati was appointed as interim CEO.

    • Brockman announces his resignation from the company.

    • Elite OpenAI researchers resign.

  • November 18:

    • Altman eyes new AI venture

    • Investors push the board to bring back Altman.

    • The board agrees in principle to reinstate Altman.

  • November 19

    • Attempts to bring back Altman hit a roadblock. Altman requested the board to state publically that he did nothing wrong, and they refused.

    • OpenAI's board of directors approached Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, to discuss the possibility of him replacing Sam Altman as chief and potentially merging the two AI startups. He refused both.

    • OpenAI appoints former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as interim CEO.

  • November 20:

    • Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announces new advanced AI research team led by Altman, Brockman.

    • Sutskever says he ‘deeply regrets’ the board’s actions and calls on the board to resign.

    • Close to 700 employees (around 90% of the company) threaten to quit unless the board resigns and reinstates Altman as CEO. LETTER HERE

    • Emmett Shear threatened the board to step down if they did not provide a clear explanation and evidence for why Altman was fired.

  • November 22:

    • OpenAI says Sam Altman will return as CEO. As well as Greg Brockman.

Why Was Altman Fired? It is still unclear.

Official Stance: The board cited a lack of candor in communications as the primary reason.

“...deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with them, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities“

Given the absence of official statements or communication from the board members, the situation is largely speculative.

The most prominent theory posits a deep-seated misalignment between Sam Altman and OpenAI's original vision, emphasizing product development at the expense of research safety.

Sources imply that Ilya Sutskever may have played a key role in initiating these developments.

The New Board:

The composition of the new 9-member board is still uncertain. Altman and Microsoft are expected to seek representation, with Altman likely favoring allies to secure his position and prevent future dismissals.

The initial reasons behind the board's decision to dismiss Altman remain unclear. While the motives might have been justifiable, the handling of the situation was notably mismanaged.

🧙🧙 Some Sources: include Open Statement, TechCrunch, The Financial Times, The Verge blog, Reuters, and the Twitter accounts of the people in question, in addition of the reporter Kara Swisher

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ACTIONABLE TIP
Anthropic's Latest Breakthrough: Introducing Claude 2.1

AI pioneer Anthropic has just unveiled Claude 2.1. Yes, the same company that was intended to merge with OpenAI during Sam Altman’s crisis.

if you are a person reading a high volume of documents on a daily basis this chatbot could be handy as it can upload documents the equivalent to the length of the bible and then you can ask questions.

Key Upgrades:

  • The 200K token context window enables users to provide docs up to ~150K words for analysis.

  • New improvements reduced incorrect answers by 30%, with a 3-4x lower rate of mistakenly concluding a document supports a claim.

  • The new ‘tool use’ beta feature allows Claude to directly leverage developer APIs, knowledge bases, and datasets.

NOTE: If you are in Europe you will need to use VPN to get access to it.

TRAINING
📖 Microsoft’s Course on Generative AI, hosted on GitHub

Microsoft has released an impressive free course on Generative AI, hosted on GitHub, spanning 12 comprehensive lessons. This course is designed to equip learners with the skills needed to create Generative AI applications. Each lesson is structured to enhance understanding and practical application, featuring:

  • A brief video introduction to outline key concepts.

  • A written lesson is detailed in the README file.

  • A Jupyter Notebook containing code examples, particularly for project-based lessons.

  • A challenge or assignment to reinforce the learning.

  • Additional resource links for extended learning.

This format ensures a well-rounded educational experience, combining theory with hands-on practice.

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