Happy Friday!

Hope you’ve had a productive week. Let’s get right into today’s news (which is kind of all over the place).

In today’s Daily Update:

• 🗞️ Neuralink implants brain chip in first human subject

• 🤖 Shopify rolls out AI-powered image editor for products 

• 📸 OpenAI studies LLM-aided biological threat creation    

• 🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

Read time: 2 minutes

TOP STORY

🗞️ Neuralink implants brain chip in first human subject

Elon Musk’s Neuralink has successfully implanted its advanced brain chip in a human for the first time. 

The details:

• Musk said the unidentified patient “is recovering well” and that initial results show “promising neuron spike detection” in a post on X. 

• Neuralink’s first product will enable paralyzed patients to control computers and mobile devices by thought. 

• The company’s ultimate objective is to create “a full brain-machine interface where we can achieve a sort of symbiosis with AI.”

Why it matters: Neuralink is at the forefront of developing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that allow for direct communication between the brain and computers. This is a particularly life-changing breakthrough for individuals with disabilities, and could be used to treat neurological diseases. 

AI TOOL OF THE DAY

🤖 Shopify rolls out AI-powered image editor for products

E-commerce platform Shopify just launched a free AI image editor to help merchants create professional product photos. 

How it works:

• Media Editor lets merchants edit their product images’ backgrounds and scenes. 

• Merchants can select from seven styles — Minimal, Vibrant, Natural, Urban, Rugged, Refined and Surreal — or generate a new background from a text prompt. 

• The tool can also match an image’s background style with an existing image, and remove unwanted backgrounds from images. 

The bigger picture: E-commerce platforms are starting to lean on generative AI features to create a more personalized and efficient online shopping experience. AI integrations will soon be unnoticeable to the average customer. 

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT

📸 OpenAI studies LLM-aided biological threat creation

A new OpenAI study found that GPT-4 can only minimally assist in the creation of biological threats such as new coronavirus strains. 

The rundown:

• OpenAI’s study included 50 biology experts with PhDs and 50 student-level participants. 

• Participants were asked to complete a set of tasks covering the end-to-end process of biological threat creation (pictured above). 

• Access to GPT-4 caused a “mild” uplift in accuracy and completeness on those tasks. 

• OpenAI says none of the study’s results are statistically significant. 

The relevance: Researchers have highlighted AI’s ability to create biological weapons as a leading concern about the technology. Based on these findings, that doesn’t seem to be an especially pressing threat as of right now. 

MORE TRENDING NEWS

🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

• Apple confirms it will show off its generative AI efforts “later this year.”

• Deepfake recording causes political chaos in New York. 

• Google upgrades Bard with new AI capabilities. 

• Google Maps introduces a new generative AI feature that helps users discover new places. 

THAT’S ALL FOR THIS WEEK

Want to continue the conversation? Connect with me on LinkedIn and I’m happy to discuss any of today’s news. Thanks for reading The Daily Update!

Jack

(P.S. A very small portion of today’s newsletter was written by ChatGPT. Did you notice the difference?)