Your weekly round-up; here are the headlines:

• Elon Musk highlights AI risks to humanity

• AI achieves human-like language abilities

• Perplexity AI startup secures $500M funding

• Google invests $2B in Anthropic

• AI enhances teacher support in England

• G7 adopts voluntary AI code for governance

Elon Musk says AI one of the ‘biggest threats’ to humanity

Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind SpaceX and Tesla, reiterated concerns about the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) at a recent summit, acknowledging its potential threat to civilisation. Global collaboration on AI dangers gained traction as the US, China, and 26 other nations endorsed the UK's Bletchley Declaration, emphasising the need for international cooperation to harness AI benefits while ensuring human safety. Full article via Sky News.

Study: AI achieves human-like language abilities

Scientists have crafted a neural network mirroring human-like language generalisation, excelling in folding new words into existing vocabulary—a key cognitive trait. In contrast, ChatGPT's AI model, known for human-like conversation, performed notably worse on similar tests. Published in Nature on October 25, this research hints at the prospect of machines interacting more naturally with humans, surpassing current AI capabilities.

Perplexity, an AI Startup, Attains $500 Million Valuation in Latest Funding Round 

Perplexity, an AI search startup focusing on a conversational search engine, has successfully secured funding led by IVP, as per an exclusive report from The Information. While the exact amount remains undisclosed, insiders suggest that this investment elevates the one-year-old startup's valuation to around $500 million. This valuation marks a substantial increase from the $150 million reported after a previous financing round in March, reflecting the impact of the newly injected capital. Discover more here.

Google bets $2B on OpenAI competitor Anthropic

Google is set to invest up to $2 billion in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, with an initial $500 million and an additional $1.5 billion over time. This move signals Google's intensified competition with Microsoft, a major supporter of OpenAI. The broader trend sees Big Tech companies racing to incorporate AI into their applications. Amazon, in its recent SEC filing, revealed a $1.25 billion investment in an Anthropic note convertible to equity, with potential for an additional $2.75 billion investment by Q1 2024. Full story via Reuters.

Artificial Intelligence Enhances Teacher Support

Every teacher in England will benefit from AI-driven resources, supported by a £2 million investment in Oak National Academy. These tools aim to streamline lesson planning and quiz creation, reducing teacher workloads. The move is a step toward providing each teacher with a personalised AI lesson-planning assistant, following a successful pilot of an AI-powered quiz builder and lesson planner. Read the full report here.

G7 unites on voluntary AI code

The G7 nations are poised to adopt a voluntary code of conduct for companies engaged in advanced artificial intelligence systems, Reuters reports. This landmark agreement, initiated during the "Hiroshima AI process" ministerial forum in May, aims to establish governance standards for major countries in addressing privacy and security concerns related to AI. The G7 document states that the 11-point code aims to globally promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI, offering voluntary guidance for organisations developing advanced AI systems, including foundation models and generative AI systems.

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