#048 - Ray-Ban and Meta Launch Smart Glasses That Act As Your Personal Tour Guide, Synthetic Biology: A New Frontier for AI, Meta Launches AI Chatbots.
Fresh & Hot curated AI happenings in one snack. Never miss a byte 🍔
This snack byte will take approx 5 minutes to consume.
AI BYTE # 1 📢 : Ray-Ban and Meta Launch Smart Glasses That Act As Your Personal Tour Guide.
If you love traveling and exploring new places, you might want to check out the latest innovation from Ray-Ban and Meta.
The luxury brand and the tech giant have teamed up to create smart sunglasses that can double as an electronic tour guide.
The glasses, which will be available in Britain from next month, have cameras, microphones and speakers built into the frames. They allow you to ask for information about what you are seeing, or get help translating signs or menus.
You can also share your experiences with friends and family back home by streaming videos live on social media, or sending photos back instantly.
The smart glasses are powered by Meta’s new AI chatbots, which aim to mimic human conversation. The chatbots have personality and are tailored to specialise in certain subjects, such as travel. They use real-time information cross-referenced against a library of images and data to give you feedback on what you are looking at.
This technology could revolutionise the way we travel and learn about different cultures and histories.
Imagine being able to walk around a museum and get instant explanations of the artworks, or stroll through a city and discover its hidden gems. You could also interact with locals more easily and confidently, without worrying about language barriers.
Of course, smart glasses are not a new concept. They have been launched unsuccessfully many times over, the latest example being the Google Glass model scrapped earlier this year.
However, Meta says it is confident that by making its sunglasses stylish and comfortable to wear, it will buck the trend.
The glasses, which weigh not much more than an ordinary pair of Ray-Bans, cost £245. They are among the first devices to use Meta’s new AI chatbots, which the company hopes will become more widespread and integrated into other platforms and services.
What do you think of this innovation? Would you buy a pair of smart sunglasses for your next trip? Let me know in the comments below.
AI BYTE # 2 📢 : Synthetic Biology: A New Frontier for AI Innovation and Impact.
Synthetic biology is a field that aims to reprogram or repurpose existing biological material to achieve new functions or goals.
It has applications in various domains such as medicine, agriculture, energy, and climate change. But how can we accelerate the pace and scale of synthetic biology research and development? The answer is AI, ofcourse.
AI is helping scientists design, build, test, and scale up synthetic biology products. It is leveraging large data sets, cloud computing, and deep learning to model and study the interactions of proteins, which are encoded by DNA sequences. AI is also generating new proteins that are not found in nature, expanding the possibilities of synthetic biology beyond what nature has provided.
One example of AI-enabled synthetic biology is the work of Professor David Baker at the University of Washington. His lab has designed new proteins that are used for developing drugs, vaccines, and therapeutics for various diseases.
He estimates that the pace of innovation in his field has increased by a factor of 10 during the past two years, due to a combination of deep learning and laboratory methods.
Another example is Arzeda, a startup that uses its Intelligent Protein Design Technology to design enzymes and protein sequences. The technology draws on generative AI and other forms of AI, as well as non-AI algorithms such as a physics-based model.
Arzeda has developed products such as enzymes that improve the conversion of stevia plant extract to a high purity sweetener and detergent enzymes that improve performance and sustainability.
Synthetic biology is breaking down barriers in many sectors and creating new opportunities for innovation and impact. And AI is turbocharging this process and helping scientists program biology like software.
AI BYTE # 3 📢 - Meta Launches AI Chatbots: A Game-Changer or a Risky Move?
Meta is planning to launch AI chatbots with distinct personalities across its social-media apps. The company hopes that these chatbots, which are built on generative AI technology, will attract young users who are increasingly flocking to TikTok and Snapchat.
Generative AI can create new content, such as text and images, based on existing data. Meta has been investing heavily in this technology, especially after the launch of ChatGPT, a powerful AI model that can generate realistic text and images.
Meta is also working on a product that would allow celebrities and creators to use their own AI chatbots to interact with fans and followers.
Meta is planning to develop dozens of these AI personality chatbots, which are known internally as Gen AI Personas. Some of the chatbots in the works are:
Bob the robot, a sassy robot with superior intellect, sharp wit and biting sarcasm.
Alvin the Alien, an alien who is fascinated by human life and asks users to share their experiences, thoughts and emotions.
Gavin, a chatbot who made misogynistic remarks and criticized Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The chatbots are meant to be used as a means to drive engagement with users, although some of them might also have productivity-related skills such as the ability to help with coding or other tasks.
However, creating chatbots with personalities can also pose some challenges and risks. Researchers have found that adding a persona to ChatGPT made its output more toxic.
Snap, which launched My AI, a chatbot built on OpenAI’s GPT technology, to Snapchat users in February, has faced some issues such as chatting about alcohol and sex with users and randomly posting a photo.
It is also unclear how these chatbots will generate revenue for Meta. ChatGPT’s website traffic has declined in recent months, according to analytics platform Similarweb.
Meta’s strategy for new products is often built around increasing user engagement, which provides them with more opportunities to serve ads.
