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- Baltimore teacher arrested over AI controversy
Baltimore teacher arrested over AI controversy
Spotlight: Apple renews negotiations with OpenAI
Jack Shields
April 30, 2024
Welcome back!
Today’s top story was in yesterday’s quick hits but I think it deserves a closer look. Pretty wild stuff that we haven’t seen before. We’ll also circle back to the latest news on iPhone AI.
Let’s dive in.
In today’s Daily Update:
🗞️ Baltimore teacher charged with using AI in attempt to get principal fired
🤖 GitHub Copilot can now help start coding projects
📸 Apple renews talks with OpenAI for iPhone AI
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
Read time: 2.5 minutes
TOP STORY
🗞️ Baltimore teacher charged with using AI in attempt to get principal fired
DALL-E 3
Baltimore County Police arrested a former high school athletic director for using AI to replicate the voice of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert.
What you should know:
Dazhon Darien allegedly shared a synthetic audio clip of Eiswert’s voice making racist and antisemitic comments.
The AI-generated voice mentioned “ungrateful Black kids who can’t test their way out of a paper bag” and threatened to “join the other side” if “I have to get one more complaint from one more Jew in this community.”
Darien allegedly hoped to retaliate against his boss after Eiswert launched an investigation into the mishandling of $1,916 in school funds.
The audio clip led to Eiswert’s temporary removal from the school. He has not returned to work since.
Why it matters: The Baltimore County Police Department confirmed that this recording was AI-generated on Thursday. Experts have repeatedly warned that AI-generated deepfakes are a rising threat, but this is the first time I’ve seen the technology used to target a regular person. More cases will follow unless the tech becomes less accessible to the public.
AI TOOL OF THE DAY
🤖 GitHub Copilot can now help start coding projects
GitHub’s GPT-powered code completion assistant is getting an upgrade that enables it to suggest how to start a coding project from scratch.
Key points:
GitHub says customers shared that Copilot is very helpful in the middle of a project but not so much at the start.
In response, the company announced GitHub Copilot Workspace, a new service that cuts down the time developers spend planning a new project.
Developers can describe what they want through text prompts, and Workspace will suggest a step-by-step process to begin the project.
Why it matters: GitHub Copilot is already considered to be one of the best AI coding assistants available today. This upgrade will make it even more useful for developers who integrate it into their workflow.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
📸 Apple renews talks with OpenAI for iPhone AI
Source: Apple
Apple has reportedly reentered negotiations to use OpenAI’s technology to power new iPhone features later this year.
The details:
The two companies are discussing how OpenAI features could be integrated into iOS 18 (reportedly set to launch later this year).
OpenAI is one of several partners that Apple is considering for an on-device chatbot feature similar to ChatGPT.
The company is still in talks with Google about licensing its Gemini chatbot.
Apple is expected to unveil its new AI software and services at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
Why it matters: Apple has trailed behind in the AI race to this point, but it aims to seamlessly integrate new features into its devices with better privacy protections than rivals. When iPhone AI launches, it will bring generative AI to the everyday lives of almost 1.5 billion users around the world.
MORE TRENDING NEWS
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
DALL-E 3
Abu Dhabi’s Autonomous Racing League gets off to a rough start after a lackluster first race.
OpenAI rolls out “Memory” feature for ChatGPT Plus users.
The Financial Times partners with OpenAI. The deal will compensate FT for training AI models on its articles, and bring new AI tools to readers. The paper says it remains “committed to human journalism.”
Elon Musk’s xAI is closing in on $6 billion in funding.
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY