- The Daily Update
- Posts
- Elon Musk plans to build world's biggest supercomputer
Elon Musk plans to build world's biggest supercomputer
Spotlight: Google cracks down on deepfake nudes
Jack Shields
June 07, 2024
Happy Friday!
We’re rolling into the weekend with another loaded menu. After a week filled with AI safety and security concerns, it looks like the U.S. is making its first real push toward regulation. Let’s dive in.
In today’s Daily Update:
🗞️ Elon Musk’s xAI plans to build the world’s biggest supercomputer
🤖 US regulators open antitrust probes into Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI
📸 Google cracks down on AI apps in the Play Store
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
Read time: 2 minutes
TOP STORY
🗞️ Elon Musk’s xAI plans to build the world’s biggest supercomputer
DALL-E 3
Elon Musk’s xAI reportedly hopes to build the world’s most powerful supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee.
What you should know:
xAI aims to complete the “Gigafactory of Compute” by fall 2025. The supercomputer will be at least four times bigger than the strongest clusters available today.
The company plans to repurpose an old factory to complete the project.
This news comes after Elon Musk redirected thousands of Tesla-reserved Nvidia chips to xAI.
The project is still awaiting approval from several governing bodies in Tennessee, but officials say it will start “a new era of growth and innovation for Memphis.”
Why it matters: As we’ve seen over the last few days, building the next generation of AI will require unprecedented levels of infrastructure and investment. The Gigafactory of Compute could help xAI build a flagship model that surpasses the capabilities of GPT-4, although fall 2025 is a long way away in the rapid AI race.
AI REGULATION
🤖 US regulators open antitrust probes into Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI
Apparently DALL-E 3 doesn’t know what the American flag looks like
The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are preparing to open antitrust investigations into Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.
Key points:
The investigations will examine the companies’ influence on the AI industry, with an emphasis on their conduct rather than mergers and acquisitions.
The FTC will lead the investigations into Microsoft and OpenAI, while the DOJ will focus on Nvidia.
This news comes days after 13 current and former AI employees published an open letter raising concerns over the lack of oversight in the AI sector.
All three companies in question have declined to comment to this point.
Why it matters: The open letter we looked at earlier this week raised several valid concerns about AI safety in the industry today. Tech Giants are pursuing advanced AI at unprecedented speeds, and have done so with loose regulations and little government oversight. This seems to be a good move by both agencies.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
📸 Google cracks down on AI apps in the Play Store
DALL-E 3
Google is issuing new guidelines for AI apps in the Play Store to reduce the spread of inappropriate content like deepfake nudes.
The details:
Apps offering AI features will be required to prevent the generation of restricted content, including sexual content and violence.
Users must also be allowed to report any offensive content they find on an app.
Google says developers must “rigorously test” their AI tools to ensure they meet Play Store guidelines.
The company is also cracking down on marketing materials that promote inappropriate use cases, such as apps that undress people to create nude images.
Why it matters: AI undressing apps have surged in popularity in recent months, and underage students (mostly girls aged 13-17) have felt all of the repercussions. This is a long overdue policy update from Google.
MORE TRENDING NEWS
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
DALL-E 3
Artists are fleeing Instagram to protest Meta’s AI training practices.
New study projects that tech companies will run out of human-written text to train AI models between 2026-2032.
Humane hopes to sell itself for $1 billion after selling just 10,000 units of its AI Pin.
American actor Ashton Kutcher says OpenAI’s Sora video generator could automate entire movies soon.
THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK