The Wovenware Monthly AI Index March 2024

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

Mistral AI Provides Alternative to OpenAI
Paris-based AI startup Mistral AI is developing an alternative large language model to OpenAI and Anthropic. Mistral Large is designed to rival other top-tier models, such as GPT-4 and Claude 2. In addition to Mistral Large, the startup is also launching its own alternative to ChatGPT with a new service called Le Chat.

Microsoft announced that it is including the Mistral Large model as an option for developers on its Azure cloud service. As part of the multiyear deal, Microsoft will receive a small stake in the company. Founded by former Google DeepMind and Meta employee, the company has attracted interest from corporate clients and investors in addition to Microsoft, such as Salesforce and Nvidia.

The Value of GenAI is Becoming Clearer for Business Leaders
In the year since ChatGPT’s debut, business leaders still don’t have an easy answer to how generative AI can deliver value. According to research from Fast Company, nine in ten business leaders believe a wide range of roles will be enhanced by generative AI, meaning nearly everyone and every function can benefit from the technology. Further, a recent MIT study found that the use of chatbot assistants decreased the time it took workers to complete certain tasks—like writing cover letters, sensitive emails, and cost-benefit analyses—by 40 percent.

Google’s Gemini is Not Off to a Great Start
Google is working to fix its Gemini AI tool, (previously known as Bard) since some of the text and image responses generated by the model were “biased” and “completely unacceptable,” according to the company’s CEO. Google now plans to relaunch Gemini AI in March. Since the launch of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, Google has been racing to create a competing solution.

U.S. AND EU REGULATIONS

California lawmakers unveiled a landmark AI bill that will require companies to test their AI models before releasing them. AI companies would have to reveal their testing protocols and what guardrails they put in place to the California Department of Technology. If the tech causes “critical harm,” the state’s attorney general will be able to sue the company. The bill comes at a time when a deluge of states create bills to address AI, in response to growing concerns that Congress has not been active enough in establishing regulation..

Pending formal adoption by the European Parliament this coming April, the final EU AI Act is expected to affect any provider, deployer, or distributor of AI whose services or products reach the EU market, in much the same way that the EU’s Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does. The EU AI act will be the first-ever comprehensive legal framework on AI worldwide. The aim of the new rules is to foster trustworthy AI in Europe and beyond, by ensuring that AI systems respect fundamental rights, safety, and ethical principles.