Hey everyone!

We’re getting closer to the big announcement, but it’s not time to reveal just yet. Until then…

Here’s what we’ll cover today:

• A new AI can convert thoughts to text!

• Altman calls on China to help shape AI safety guidelines! 🏷️

• Blockchain-based AI computing protocol raises 43M!⚡

• MusicGen: Generate your own songs! 🎶

Reading time: 4min 30 seconds

News Reel:

Highlight 1: A new AI developed at the University of Texas can convert thoughts to text!

We thought a computer understanding simple language was amazing… Well, now AI doesn’t even need the words! 💭A new AI can now convert your thoughts to text by reading your brain waves! 🧠Here’s a summary of what we know:

• Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a semantic decoder AI system that can translate brain activity into a continuous text 💬.

• The system has the potential to revolutionize communication for individuals who are unable to physically speak, such as stroke patients 🗣️.

• The AI system is non-invasive and does not require surgical implants, making it more accessible.

• Brain activity is measured using an fMRI scanner after training the decoder with hours of podcast listening 🔊.

• The system captures the essence of a person's thoughts and generates corresponding text, although it is not a word-for-word transcript.

• The researchers have addressed concerns about potential misuse and emphasized the importance of consent and participant cooperation.

• The system has been successfully tested in decoding thoughts related to stories and events from silent videos 🤫.

• While currently reliant on an fMRI machine, the researchers believe the system could be adapted for use with more portable brain-imaging systems such as fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy).

Well… mind-reading is now a real possibility. That’s something I didn’t expect to say so soon 🔜.

Here’s the whole article from Neuroscience.com.

Highlight 2: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calls on China to help shape AI safety guidelines!

Sam Altman recently attended a conference, part of his global tour to promote AI governance (following a clash with European Union regulators in May), at the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence. He believes that China should play a significant role in shaping AI safety guidelines as “China has some of the best AI talents in the world and fundamentally 💥.” Here’s a summary of what happened:

• Altman emphasized the need for global cooperation in addressing the challenges of aligning advanced AI systems 🫂.

• OpenAI's ChatGPT is currently unavailable in China due to data and censorship regulations 🚫.

• The Chinese government is planning to discuss AI-related legislation later this year ⚖️.

• OpenAI intends to open-source more of its models in the future to promote AI safety.

• No time frame or particular AI models have been explicitly mentioned ⏳.

What do you think of this move? Was it genuine, strategic or publicity?

Here’s the complete article from Business Standard.

Highlight 3: Blockchain-Based, AI Computing Protocol Gensyn Closes $43M Series A Funding Round Led by a16z!

Gensyn, a provider of blockchain-based computing resources for AI platforms, has secured a $43 million Series A funding round led by a16z 🤑, aiming to revolutionize AI development by enabling developers to build AI systems on smaller hardware and promoting widespread accessibility🤖. Here’s a summary:

• The UK-based company's protocol allows developers to build AI systems on smaller data centres and personal gaming computers, paying on demand 💻.

• Gensyn utilizes a cryptographic verification network to ensure the correct completion of machine learning work shared over the protocol.

• The funding will be used to accelerate the protocol's introduction and expand the workforce, including hiring protocol and machine learning engineers🧑🏽‍💻.

• The accessibility of Gensyn's protocol aims to avoid biased technology and allow global contributions to AI development.

• Gensyn has raised over $50 million to date, with participation from prominent investment firms and AI/crypto venture capitalists 💰.

Maybe the development of AI apps is the new side hustle… Here’s the detailed article for all those interested! 📄

A.I. Showcase: MusicGen

Get ready for a musical adventure like no other with Music Gen 🎧! This exciting tool lets you create your own 12-second songs with just a 10-second melody and a sentence. Using MusicGen is a breeze. Simply input your melody and describe the mood or style you want, and let the magic happen 🪄.

Here is how you can do it! 😉

• First, you will need to have an mp3 file with the excerpt of the melody you would like to use as a reference. In our case, we chose the very famous piece by Beethoven “For Elise”. 🎹

• Go to MusicGen - a Hugging Face Space. You should be directed to a website that looks like this 💻:

• Enter both the text prompt and the file with the original melody in their respective input boxes. In our case, we wanted to give it some Spanish flavour and turn it into a flamenco song 💃🏽!

• Click on generate and that’s it! Here is our result: 🤯

To make sure the model was actually working, we also tried the same text prompt, but with a different melody prompt. This time it was the very famous Toccata and Fuga by Bach… check out the result below. They truly are amazing! 🤩

For those interested in the technical stuff, you can find the paper here, and the Google Collab here. The results are truly impressive for such an early prototype, and it is open source for research and the music community!

Ready? Set? GO! 🎵

AI Art of the Week:

We love how technology and storytelling are evolving every day. But, frankly, there’s no replacement for a traditional book. The stories that burst out of each page are incomparable by any form of media. Suri has created some fantastic images that bring this idea to life.

You can find Suri on their Instagram here.

Have a great week everyone!

-AI Bits