Weekly bulletin from AIport, issue #32

A major film studio signs an AI deal, EU regulators receive open letters on AI, Australia unveils an AI app for public schools, and much more.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to issue #32 of the AI Bulletin. We hope you enjoy this week’s selection of the most interesting AI news and events, arranged chronologically for your convenience. See you next week!

North America

• Amazon introduces Amelia, a new GenAI chatbot designed to assist third-party vendors on its platform. 

• At the UN headquarters in New York City, the Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Body on AI publishes the long-awaited report titled Governing AI for Humanity.  

• California governor Gavin Newsom signs a series of new AI bills, including those combating sexually explicit deepfakes, election meddling, and unauthorized performer cloning. 

• Lionsgate, a major entertainment industry player, strikes a deal with Runway to allow the tech startup to train AI models using content from shows and films produced by Lionsgate and its subsidiaries.

• Popular messaging service Slack reveals a new AI-backed note-taking feature for audio calls, aka huddles, further expanding its AI suite. 

Europe

• Following Meta’s lead, Sweden’s Ericsson, Germany’s SAP, and another 50 companies send an open letter to the EU Commission, arguing that the EU AI Act is a “fragmented” law that does little but hinder progress.

• Another open letter, this time from adult content creators, is addressed to European regulators, urging the Commission to include sex industry professionals in discussions surrounding AI policies.

• In France, Mistral AI launches a free space on its platform, allowing developers to build, fine-tune, and test apps as API endpoints.

Asia

• In Singapore, Janil Puthucheary, the nation’s Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, visits the third Festival of Ideas at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), promising to take regulatory steps to maintain trust in elections amidst AI development.

• An AI robot by HarvestX is being tested in Japan for plant pollination, aiming to offset the impact of declining bee populations.

• Apsara Conference 2024, organized by Alibaba Cloud to bolster GenAI growth, opens in Hangzhou, China, with the host unveiling a new family of open-source models.

Africa

• A paper titled Why AI might be a game-changer for Africa comes out in Nature, with the authors assessing bespoke healthcare solutions across the continent.

• A new interview with InstaDeep’s CEO, Karim Beguir, delves into the story behind the Tunisian startup, considered the biggest AI firm in Africa today. 

Australia

• Prue Car, Education Minister of New South Wales, announces NSWEduChat, an AI app developed for public school teachers, which is scheduled to be integrated by Term 4 of the academic year.