Welcome back!

We’re kicking off another week with an update from the global AI race and a new survey from KPMG.

In today’s Daily Update:

• 🗞️ China targets 50% increase in computing power

• 🤖 Adobe previews AI photo editor

• 📸 KPMG survey: AI is a ‘top investment priority’ for CEOs

• 🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

Read time: 2 minutes

🗞️ China targets 50% increase in computing power

China plans to increase its computing power by 50% by 2025 as it aims to keep pace with the U.S. in AI and supercomputing applications.

What you need to know:

• China wants to have computing capacity equal to 300 exaflops (one exaflop is equivalent to the computing power of two million mainstream laptops).

• The country’s ministries say the increased computing power will be necessary to support applications in industries like finance and education.

• China also plans to strengthen its technology supply chain. The U.S. previously leveraged export controls and sanctions to attempt to cut China off from key technologies like chips.

• As part of its computing push, China wants to focus on key areas like memory storage and networks for transmitting data. It also plans to build more data centers.

Crucial quote: “The investments echo China’s plans to drive economic output through leadership in technology prowess and integrating AI with existing technologies and solutions across all industries and domains,” said Akshara Bassi, senior research analyst at Counterpoint.

🤖 Adobe previews AI photo editor

Adobe just previewed a new AI photo editing tool that will likely be officially announced at this week’s Adobe Max event. The company hopes that Project Stardust will “revolutionize” its products.

Key points:

• Project Stardust’s new “object-aware editing engine” can automatically identify and manipulate individual objects in images.

• This means users can easily move, delete or alter objects without manual separation.

• Stardust can also fill in missing backgrounds and generate new objects viz text prompts.

• Adobe said these teases are “a fraction” of Stardust’s capabilities. More news is expected at the Adobe Max event tomorrow.

The bottom line: Companies are racing to roll out creative AI tools. We’ll circle back to this one when more information is available.

📸 KPMG survey: AI is a ‘top investment priority’ for CEOs

According to a new KPMG survey, more than two-thirds of U.S. CEOs rank investment in generative AI as a primary priority for their company.

Key points:

• KPMG surveyed 400 U.S. chief executives.

• 62% of CEOs expect to see a return on their AI investments within three to five years, while 23% expect returns in one to three years.

• Goldman Sachs predicts that AI investments will reach $200 billion globally by 2025.

• “This is not hype,” KPMG U.S. chair Paul Knopp said. “It will be disruptive, and CEOs are paying close attention.”

The bottom line: Nothing new here, but it’s always interesting to see how business leaders around the world are thinking about artificial intelligence.

🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

• Self Supply: OpenAI is reportedly considering developing its own AI chips.

• Medical AI: Google announces new generative AI search capabilities for doctors.

• Squad Up: Artists across industries are strategizing together around AI concerns.

• Spotlight: Disney’s Loki faces backlash over reported use of generative AI.

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Jack

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