OpenAI’s Recent ‘Canvas’ Tool

OpenAI’s latest “canvas” interface adds a brand new dimension to ChatGPT, designed for hands-on writing and coding tasks. This feature pops open a dedicated workspace next to the same old chat window, letting users generate and tweak content without the effort of re-prompting.

Rolling out first to Plus and Teams users, it’s a transparent response to rivals like Anthropic’s Artifacts, which have embraced editable AI workspaces. In “canvas,” users can refine emails, adjust text length, or switch languages with easy commands. For coders, it’s much more seamless—inline comments, explanations, and code reviews make debugging less of a chore.

OpenAI is positioning “canvas” as a practical tool for tackling larger projects in pieces, moderately than forcing all the things through one prompt. After beta, free users can even get a taste, underscoring OpenAI’s aim to maintain pace with competitors while enhancing the creative workflow. Read more.

OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in recent funding, boosting its valuation to $157 billion. Thrive Capital led the round, with participation from Microsoft, Nvidia, and SoftBank, indicating strong confidence within the AI leader. This funding, which follows a previous valuation of $80 billion, will support frontier AI research and enhance computational capabilities.

A big aspect of this funding is a $4 billion revolving credit line, providing OpenAI with financial flexibility because it pursues growth. Despite reporting losses exceeding $5 billion this 12 months, projections suggest revenues could rise to $11.6 billion by 2025, reflecting strong investor confidence. Read more.

An illustration by two Harvard students reveals the risks related to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, showcasing their potential for real-time doxxing. The project, named I-XRAY, utilizes the glasses’ livestreaming feature on Instagram to capture faces, that are then matched with public databases to acquire personal information similar to names, addresses, and phone numbers.

The demo illustrated how the scholars identified classmates and engaged strangers based on this data. While the creators stress that I-XRAY isn’t meant for misuse and won’t be released, it highlights significant privacy concerns surrounding facial recognition technology in consumer devices. The discreet design of those glasses complicates public awareness of filming, raising echoes of the backlash that Google Glass faced. Read more.

Google brings ads to its AI Overviews, Lens search tools: For mobile users within the U.S., relevant ads now appear beneath the Google AI-generated content. Moreover, Google’s image recognition tool, Lens, has been upgraded to reinforce shopping-related queries. Users can now access product reviews, pricing, and store information alongside ads. Voice commands also allow users to refine their searches, while Lens can now explain objects in videos. Read more.

A co-lead on Sora, OpenAI’s video generator, has left for Google: Tim Brooks, a co-lead on OpenAI’s video generator Sora, has joined Google DeepMind to work on video generation technologies and “world simulators.” In a post on 𝕏, he expressed gratitude for his tenure at OpenAI, where he was instrumental in launching Sora in January 2023, overseeing its research direction and huge model training.

Google’s lightweight Gemini 1.5 Flash-8B hits general availability: The model contains a substantial 1 million-token context window and operates at 40% faster speeds than OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 Turbo, while providing a token input price that appeals to developers. Following initial access for select users and a free trial via the Gemini mobile app, the model is now accessible through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. Enhancements were made based on developer feedback, with the 8B version nearly matching the unique in performance across critical benchmarks.