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This Week in AI: More capable AI is coming, but will its benefits be evenly distributed? | TechCrunch

Jan 08, 2025 - techcrunch.com
The TechCrunch AI newsletter highlights recent developments in AI, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's assertion that the company is on the path to building artificial general intelligence (AGI) and superintelligence. Altman believes these advancements could significantly enhance innovation, but concerns remain about their potential to exacerbate inequality. A study from the National University of Singapore and others found that while AI initially boosts freelancer earnings, it eventually replaces jobs, raising concerns about the broader impact of AI on employment. Despite Altman's optimism about AGI's benefits, there are fears that only corporations might profit, leading to increased inequality.

The newsletter also covers various news items, such as OpenAI losing money on its ChatGPT Pro plan, record investments in generative AI, and Microsoft's increased spending on data centers for AI workloads. Additionally, a research paper from the University of Chicago and MIT suggests that AI can enhance investor returns, and Prime Intellect has released METAGENE-1, an AI model for pathogen detection. In legal news, Anthropic has agreed to prevent its AI chatbot from sharing copyrighted song lyrics amid ongoing litigation with major music publishers.

Key takeaways:

  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes the company is on the path to developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) and is aiming for superintelligence, which could significantly accelerate innovation.
  • A study highlighted by Wharton professor Ethan Mollick suggests that AI initially boosts freelancer earnings but eventually replaces jobs, raising concerns about economic inequality.
  • Investors using OpenAI's GPT-4o to summarize earnings calls saw improved returns, demonstrating the potential benefits of AI-human collaboration.
  • Prime Intellect released METAGENE-1, an AI model designed for pathogen detection and biosurveillance, achieving state-of-the-art performance in genomic benchmarks.
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