Safe Superintelligence and AI Training Programs

Quantious Team

Published in

Quantious

4 min readJun 21, 2024

Emerging Tech Roundup — June 21

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: Runway introduced a video-generating AI model, a WhatsApp ad reunited cast members from ABC’s Modern Family, Apple Developer Academy added AI fundamentals training for students and mentors, researchers developed a humanoid robot that can imitate and learn human actions like playing piano, an AI-powered blood test can predict Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear, Nvidia’s Deep Learning Institute (DLI) is offering free credits to enhance AI skills for startups, and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever launched a startup focused on building safe superintelligence.

Runway’s New Video-Generating AI, Gen-3, Offers Improved Controls

(Tech Crunch, June 17)

Runway has introduced Gen-3 Alpha, an advanced AI model that generates video clips from text descriptions and still images — promising significant improvements in speed and fidelity over its predecessor, Gen-2. The model offers fine-grained control over video structure, style, and motion, and will be available soon to Runway subscribers. Although limited to 10-second clips, Runway’s co-founder, Anastasis Germanidis, indicates that Gen-3 Alpha is the first in a series of upcoming models built on enhanced infrastructure.

WhatsApp Reunites Modern Family for Ad About Green Bubble Friends

(The Verge, June 18)

Four cast members of ABC’s Modern Family reunited for a new WhatsApp commercial promoting the app to families using both iPhones and Android devices. The ad addresses the common issue of green bubbles and MMS limitations, with Julie Bowen’s character explaining to Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s character that his Android phone’s “blurry photos” and “weird likes” are why he’s excluded from the group chat. The tagline, “Don’t make this family’s mistake — switch to WhatsApp for seamless and private messaging across all phones,” highlights WhatsApp’s benefits — though the ad’s impact may be short-lived as Apple plans to introduce Rich Communication Services (RCS) support in iOS 18.

Apple Developer Academy Adds AI Training for Students and Alumni

(Tech Crunch, June 18)

Apple is expanding its AI initiatives to its education sector by training all Apple Developer Academy students and mentors in AI fundamentals, with alumni also eligible for the training. Starting this fall, students will learn to build, train, and deploy machine learning models across Apple devices, covering AI technologies, Core ML, and model development. The new curriculum will be available to thousands of students and alumni across 18 academies globally, and the introduction of new tools and APIs from WWDC will provide additional resources for app development.

HumanPlus: Robot That Learns Boxing, Playing Piano by Watching People

(Interesting Engineering, June 18)

Researchers have developed a humanoid robot named HumanPlus that can imitate and learn human actions by shadowing movements using a single RGB camera and a whole-body policy for cloning motion. The robot — built on Unitree’s H1 base with additional parts from various companies — can learn tasks like playing the piano or returning a ping-pong ball after 40 hours of observing human movements. HumanPlus, standing at five feet nine inches, is open-source, with an estimated cost of around $107,945.

AI Helps Detect Parkinson’s with 100% Accuracy 7 Years Before Symptoms

(Interesting Engineering, June 18)

Researchers have developed an AI-powered blood test that can predict Parkinson’s disease up to seven years before symptoms appear. This groundbreaking test analyzes eight blood-based biomarkers and has shown 100% accuracy in diagnosing Parkinson’s in clinical trials. The study found that the test could identify 79% of patients with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder who would later develop Parkinson’s, offering the potential for early intervention and improved treatment outcomes.

Nvidia’s Deep Learning Institute has Released Free Credits to Help You Hone Your AI Skills

(Venture Beat, June 18)

Nvidia’s Deep Learning Institute (DLI) is offering free credits to enhance AI skills for startups, provided the company has been established within the last ten years, employs at least one developer, and has a company email and website. This initiative is part of Nvidia’s Inception program, aimed at nurturing startups by offering technical training, co-marketing opportunities, engineering guidance, and venture capital exposure. Members gain access to a vast repository of tools, training, and on-demand resources tailored to various industries and expertise levels — promoting the development of GPU-accelerated applications.

OpenAI Co-Founder Ilya Sutskever Announces New Startup to Tackle Safe Superintelligence

(Venture Beat, June 19)

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, along with colleagues Daniel Levy and Daniel Gross, has launched a new startup, Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), focused on building safe superintelligence. The founders of SSI emphasize the importance of addressing both safety and capabilities as interconnected technical challenges, aiming for rapid advancements in AI while ensuring safety remains a priority. This initiative continues Sutskever’s previous work on AI alignment at OpenAI, which was halted after his departure and met with criticism from former team leads.