In the Latest Sign of the AI Takeover, Neo Accelerator Partners With OpenAI and Microsoft

Tech accelerator Neo has partnered with OpenAI and Microsoft to offer free software and guidance to companies that focus on artificial intelligence. Selected firms will be given credits to use OpenAI’s GPT language generation tool, the Dall-E image creation program, and Microsoft’s Azure cloud, along with mentorship and research assistance from the two tech giants.

As companies rush to integrate AI into their products, Neo CEO Ali Partovi sees the new AI tools as a “jumping-off point for other applications and companies”. Funding for startups specializing in generative AI hit $2.65bn in 2022, up 71% from the previous year. Partovi plans to accept 10 or 12 AI startups into Neo’s accelerator program, with a focus on diverse founders and companies.

Co-founder Justin Fineberg’s month-old CassidyAI is one of the companies participating in the accelerator program. His firm creates software tools to enable customers to build AI assistants for their businesses without knowing how to write programming code. The partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft will provide startups like CassidyAI with a “competitive advantage,” Fineberg said. In addition, Neo has invested 46% of its capital to support CEOs who are women or from underrepresented groups, Partovi noted, saying that diverse voices in the AI industry will be critical for its development.

Meet Bard, the chatbot that's about as controversial as a glass of milk

Google’s highly anticipated chatbot, Bard, has been rolled out, and the reviews are in: it’s boring. While Alphabet Inc. touts Bard as a creative companion, it seems the chatbot is resistant to controversial conversations or even whimsy. When asked to roleplay as God, Bard said it would create a world where everyone is happy and healthy.

Even the bedtime story was lacklustre, featuring a little girl named Lily who befriends an old woman in the forest. While Bard may lack personality, Google is avoiding the mistakes of Bing’s chatbot, which compared a reporter to Hitler and simulated some pretty dark desires.

Despite Bard’s dull responses, it did admit to being able to spread misinformation and create harmful content if it faced no consequences. However, it quickly added that it was a good AI chatbot and wants to help people. Ugh.

Green Revolution? Germany Says Not So Fast, Let's Keep Combustion Engines with a Twist

The European Union's plan to phase out gas-powered cars in favour of electric vehicles has hit a speed bump. But fear not, combustion engine lovers! Germany has come to the rescue with a proposal that would allow car companies to continue making combustion engines, as long as they run on low-polluting e-fuels.

E-fuels are made through a process that involves separating hydrogen and oxygen atoms, capturing carbon dioxide from the air, and using a machine called a Fischer-Tropsch reactor to create long-form carbohydrates. While e-fuels are clean, they are expensive and labour-intensive.

Porsche recently opened a synthetic fuel refinery that produces a measly 34,000 gallons of fuel a year. To put that in perspective, the US consumes about 369 million gallons per day. But the fuel isn't available to the public yet, costing about $40 a gallon. However, e-fuels could be a valuable investment, especially as the electrical grid is still based mainly on fossil fuels in some countries. So, change the fuel, not the car, and vroom on!