News from the AI & ML world
DeeperML - #innovation
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Joey Snow@Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft Security Blog
, www.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is significantly expanding its AI capabilities across various sectors, with innovations impacting cloud services, business applications, and even education. CEO Satya Nadella revealed that Microsoft's AI model performance is "doubling every six months," driven by advancements in pre-training, inference, and system design. Microsoft is also betting on Musk’s Grok AI to Challenge OpenAI’s Dominance by planning to host Grok AI on Azure, potentially providing developers with more options for building AI applications. These advancements are designed to accelerate AI innovation and business transformation for organizations.
The company's Dynamics 365 and Power Platform are receiving substantial updates with the 2025 release wave 1, integrating AI-driven Copilot and agent capabilities to enhance business processes and customer engagement. These new features will empower the workforce to automate tasks across sales, service, finance, and supply chain functions. Microsoft is also launching pre-built agents for Dynamics 365, accelerating time to value for businesses looking to leverage AI in their operations. Microsoft 365 Copilot is being implemented into education to enhance learning. Copilot Chat is being used for personalized student support and instructor assistance. Security remains a key priority, with Microsoft sharing secure coding tips from experts at Microsoft Build. These tips, including securing AI from the start and locking down data with Purview APIs, are designed to help developers build safer applications. With AI playing a bigger role, secure coding is now a necessity. Microsoft is releasing a set of Purview APIs (+SDK) that will allow partners and customers to integrate their custom AI apps with the Microsoft Purview ecosystem for enterprise grade Data Security and Compliance outcomes. Recommended read:
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@about.fb.com
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about.fb.com
, techxplore.com
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Meta has launched the Meta AI app, a standalone AI assistant designed to compete with ChatGPT. This marks Meta's initial step in building a more personalized AI experience for its users. The app is built with Llama 4, a model Meta touts as more cost-efficient than its competitors. Users can access Meta AI through voice conversations and interactions will be personalized over time as the AI learns user preferences and contexts across Meta's various apps.
The Meta AI app includes a Discover feed, enabling users to share and explore how others are utilizing AI. It also replaces Meta View as the companion app for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, allowing for seamless conversations across glasses, mobile app, and desktop interfaces. According to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the app is designed to be a personal AI, starting with basic context about user interests and evolving to incorporate more comprehensive knowledge from across Meta's platforms. With the introduction of the Meta AI app, Meta aims to provide a direct path to its generative AI models for its users, similar to the approach taken by OpenAI with ChatGPT. The release comes as OpenAI stands as a leader of straight-to-user AI through its ChatGPT assistant that is regularly updated with new capabilities. Zuckerberg noted that a billion people are already using Meta AI across Meta's apps. Recommended read:
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@blogs.microsoft.com
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Microsoft is aggressively promoting agentic AI as a key driver for business transformation, emphasizing its potential to unlock greater value for customers. Agentic AI, with its autonomous capabilities, combined with copilots and human ambition, is believed to offer real AI differentiation. Microsoft's vision involves embedding AI directly into business processes, enabling organizations to achieve more by leveraging the power of intelligent agents acting on their behalf. Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft, highlighted the rapid growth of agentic AI and its crucial role in accelerating AI transformation for businesses. The recent introduction of Microsoft 365 Copilot further underscores this commitment to making AI accessible and beneficial to all.
Recent updates include the release of a comprehensive guide to failure modes in agentic AI systems by Microsoft's AI Red Team (AIRT). This guide aims to help practitioners design and maintain resilient agentic systems by addressing potential security and safety challenges. The guide categorizes failure modes across two dimensions: security and safety, each comprising both novel and existing types. Novel security failures include agent compromise, agent injection, and agent flow manipulation, while novel safety failures cover intra-agent Responsible AI concerns and biases in resource allocation. By providing a structured analysis of these failure modes, Microsoft seeks to foster the responsible development and deployment of agentic AI technologies. In addition to agentic AI, Microsoft is also urging the U.S. and its allies to double down on quantum computing investments to maintain technological leadership amid growing global competition. Microsoft President Brad Smith warned that the U.S. risks falling behind China in the quantum race unless it strengthens investment, workforce development, and supply chain security. Smith advocates for expanding federal research funding, boosting quantum talent development, and shoring up domestic quantum manufacturing. He emphasized that quantum computing is transitioning from theory to practice, with transformative potential for science, medicine, energy, and national security. Recommended read:
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@developer.nvidia.com
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NVIDIA Technical Blog
, Dremio
AI is rapidly transforming industries and professions, emerging as a key driver of innovation across various sectors. From inspiring artists to revolutionizing industrial processes, AI's influence is undeniable. This technology is not just about automation; it's about fostering creativity, enabling new forms of expression, and streamlining complex operations. The integration of AI into different mediums is shortening the distance between imagination and reality.
Artists like Alexander Reben are leveraging AI and robotics to create novel forms of art. Reben's work, involving large metallic sculptures, is brought to life by robotic arms from Machina Labs, a startup in the NVIDIA Inception program. These AI-powered robotic arms can quickly iterate and create customized prototype parts. The same robots used to sculpt art are also used by Machina Labs' customers to carve bespoke parts for various industries, showcasing the versatility of AI in both creative and industrial applications. The integration of AI into industrial processes, like those at Machina Labs, involves advanced AI and accelerated computing. Sensors constantly scan materials, creating 3D models that are fed into simulation frameworks like NVIDIA Warp. This allows robotic arms to make precise, real-time adjustments, ensuring the final product meets the customer's exact specifications. This process dramatically reduces the cost and time associated with creating precisely tooled parts. Recommended read:
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@news.microsoft.com
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news.microsoft.com
, The Microsoft Cloud Blog
Microsoft is aggressively expanding its AI capabilities across various sectors, introducing new AI agents designed to enhance productivity and security. Recently unveiled AI agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot, such as Researcher and Analyst, are designed to help users with complex research tasks and data analysis. Researcher can build detailed strategies, identify opportunities, and create comprehensive reports by integrating data from internal and external sources. Analyst can forecast demand and visualize customer purchasing patterns, functioning like a virtual data scientist.
Microsoft is also focused on defending against AI-enhanced cyber threats and enhancing cybersecurity measures. New AI agents within Microsoft Security Copilot and Microsoft Purview are designed to automate tasks related to phishing, data security, and identity management. For instance, a phishing triage agent can handle routine phishing alerts, allowing human cybersecurity teams to focus on more complex threats. These advancements come at a time when AI is lowering the barrier for cybercrime, with threat actors using AI tools to create convincing social engineering lures and fraudulent websites. In addition to AI advancements, Microsoft is also making strides in quantum computing, moving it from a futuristic concept to practical applications. Quantum computing is currently being used to optimize finance, discover new drugs, secure networks, and build better batteries. Furthering its AI capabilities, Microsoft has launched "Computer Use" for Copilot Studio as an early research preview, which allows AI agents to interact directly with websites and desktop applications, enabling automation even when there is no API available. Microsoft also recently introduced "Draft with Copilot" for Copilot Studio, which will help users write or rewrite prompts using Copilot to produce better outcomes, with Copilot also able to generate sample test data. Recommended read:
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Ryan Daws@AI News
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OpenAI has secured a monumental $40 billion funding round, spearheaded by SoftBank, elevating the company's valuation to $300 billion. This substantial financial backing marks one of the most significant capital infusions in the tech industry, underscoring the robust investor confidence in OpenAI's vision and strategic direction. The funding is expected to fuel expanded research and development efforts, upgrades to computational infrastructure, and the accelerated rollout of next-generation AI models. This investment also solidifies OpenAI's position as the world’s second-most valuable private company, trailing only Elon Musk’s SpaceX Corp.
As part of this major announcement, OpenAI revealed plans to release its first "open-weight" language model since 2019. This move signifies a dramatic strategic shift for the company, which has largely built its business on proprietary AI systems. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the development on X, stating that the new model would have enhanced reasoning capabilities and be made available in the coming months. This decision comes amid increasing pressure from competitors in the open-source AI space and is driven by the evolving economics of the AI landscape. Recommended read:
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Michael Nuñez@AI News | VentureBeat
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OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has announced a significant strategic shift by planning to release its first open-weight AI model since 2019. This move comes amidst mounting economic pressures from competitors like DeepSeek and Meta, whose open-source models are increasingly gaining traction. CEO Sam Altman revealed the plans on X, stating that the new model will have reasoning capabilities and allow developers to run it on their own hardware, departing from OpenAI's cloud-based subscription model.
This decision marks a notable change for OpenAI, which has historically defended closed, proprietary models. The company is now looking to gather developer feedback to make the new model as useful as possible, planning events in San Francisco, Europe and Asia-Pacific. As models improve, startups and developers increasingly want more tunable latency, and want to use on-prem deplouments requiring full data control, according to OpenAI. The shift comes alongside a monumental $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, which has catapulted OpenAI's valuation to $300 billion. SoftBank will initially invest $10 billion, with the remaining $30 billion contingent on OpenAI transitioning to a for-profit structure by the end of the year. This funding will help OpenAI continue building AI systems that drive scientific discovery, enable personalized education, enhance human creativity, and pave the way toward artificial general intelligence. The release of the open-weight model is expected to help OpenAI compete with the growing number of efficient open-source alternatives and counter the criticisms that have come from remaining a closed model. Recommended read:
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Matt Marshall@AI News | VentureBeat
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Microsoft Security Blog
, www.zdnet.com
Microsoft is enhancing its Copilot Studio platform with AI-driven improvements, introducing deep reasoning capabilities that enable agents to tackle intricate problems through methodical thinking and combining AI flexibility with deterministic business process automation. The company has also unveiled specialized deep reasoning agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot, named Researcher and Analyst, to help users achieve tasks more efficiently. These agents are designed to function like personal data scientists, processing diverse data sources and generating insights through code execution and visualization.
Microsoft's focus includes securing AI and using it to bolster security measures, as demonstrated by the upcoming Microsoft Security Copilot agents and new security features. Microsoft aims to provide an AI-first, end-to-end security platform that helps organizations secure their future, one example being the AI agents designed to autonomously assist with phishing, data security, and identity management. The Security Copilot tool will automate routine tasks, allowing IT and security staff to focus on more complex issues, aiding in defense against cyberattacks. Recommended read:
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Vasu Jakkal@Microsoft Security Blog
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Microsoft has unveiled a significant expansion of its Security Copilot platform, integrating AI agents designed to automate security operations tasks and alleviate the workload on cybersecurity professionals. This move aims to address the increasing volume and complexity of cyberattacks, which are overwhelming security teams that rely on manual processes. The AI-powered agents will handle routine tasks, freeing up IT and security staff to tackle more complex issues and proactive security measures. Microsoft detected over 30 billion phishing emails targeting customers between January and December 2024 highlighting the urgent need for automated solutions.
The expansion includes eleven AI agents, six developed by Microsoft and five by security partners, set for preview in April 2025. Microsoft's agents include the Phishing Triage Agent in Microsoft Defender, Alert Triage Agents in Microsoft Purview, Conditional Access Optimization Agent in Microsoft Entra, Vulnerability Remediation Agent in Microsoft Intune, and Threat Intelligence Briefing Agent in Security Copilot. These agents are purpose-built for security, designed to learn from feedback, adapt to workflows, and operate securely within Microsoft’s Zero Trust framework, ensuring that security teams retain full control over their actions and responses. Recommended read:
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c.cale.hunt@gmail.com (Cale@windowscentral.com
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Microsoft 365 Blog
, www.techrepublic.com
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Microsoft is pushing forward on multiple fronts, enhancing both its AI capabilities and graphics technology. A significant collaboration with NVIDIA is underway, aiming to create more efficient AI systems. This partnership leverages the strengths of both companies to deliver what they're calling a "Significant Leap Forward" in AI. NVIDIA’s GTC 2025 event put this collaboration in the spotlight, focusing on integrating Blackwell with Azure to further boost AI performance and accessibility.
Microsoft also recently introduced DirectX Raytracing 1.2 (DXR 1.2), promising substantial improvements in gaming visuals and performance. The DXR 1.2 update aims to change the face of gaming, with claims of up to 2.3x performance gains in path-traced games. Microsoft Principal Program Manager Cassie Hoef stated that the update promises "groundbreaking performance improvements and breathtaking visual fidelity." This update will affect partners like NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, who utilize Microsoft's tools to integrate the latest tech into their hardware and games. Recommended read:
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Matt G.@Search Engine Journal
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David Phelan
, Search Engine Journal
Google is expanding its AI initiatives in both search functionality and health-related technology. AI Overviews are now available for thousands more health topics in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. This expansion uses Google's AI and ranking systems, aiming to provide more relevant and comprehensive information that meets high standards for clinical accuracy. These advancements incorporate health-focused refinements to Google's Gemini models, improving the summarization of health-related content.
New features like "What People Suggest" have been introduced to offer users insights from online discussions and the experiences of others with similar health conditions. This feature, currently available on mobile in the U.S., uses AI to analyze perspectives from online forums, aiding users in discovering helpful advice. In addition to the AI enhancements, Google has launched the sleek new Pixel 9a smartphone with improved battery life, available for $499. The Pixel 9a comes in four colors: obsidian, porcelain, peony and iris. Recommended read:
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Louis Columbus@AI News | VentureBeat
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The Cloudflare Blog
, venturebeat.com
Cloudflare is addressing the growing need for robust cyber security in the face of emerging technologies and cyber threats, particularly concerning quantum computing. They've announced that organizations can now protect their sensitive corporate network traffic against potential quantum threats through their Zero Trust platform. This allows customers to tunnel corporate network traffic through Cloudflare's Zero Trust platform using post-quantum cryptography, effectively upgrading network security without requiring customers to manage the complex cryptographic updates themselves.
Recent breakthroughs in quantum computing highlight the vulnerability of conventional cryptography, and Cloudflare has been at the forefront of developing and implementing post-quantum cryptography since 2017. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has also set a timeline to phase out RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) by 2035, emphasizing the urgency of this transition. Cloudflare reports that over 35% of the non-bot HTTPS traffic that touches Cloudflare today is post-quantum secure, and users of major browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox already benefit from this enhanced security. Recommended read:
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Ryan Daws@AI News
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OpenAI is pushing for policies that promote AI innovation and maintain America's leadership in the AI landscape. In a proposal submitted to the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, OpenAI advocates for policies ensuring AI innovation remains unfettered, warning of threats from Chinese AI models and urging the US government to support the AI industry. They emphasize the importance of the "freedom to innovate," cautioning that overregulation could hinder American AI leadership, potentially benefiting competitors like China.
OpenAI stresses the significance of fair use under U.S. copyright law, viewing it as an advantage in facilitating AI development and innovation. Specifically, it urges the U.S. government to codify the right to train AI models on publicly available data, including copyrighted material, without undue restriction. They argue that limiting access to copyrighted data for AI training would disadvantage American firms against China, where AI developers have unfettered access to data. Recommended read:
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archanarani@Verdict
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Analytics India Magazine
, TechCrunch
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Turing, a coding provider for OpenAI and other LLM producers, has secured $111 million in Series E funding, boosting its valuation to $2.2 billion. This latest round, led by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Berhad, brings the company's total funding to $225 million. Turing, originally an HR tech startup focused on vetting and hiring remote coders, has become a key partner to AI companies.
This funding will be used to expand Turing's business, attracting more customers and exploring new use cases, CEO Jonathan Siddharth said. With approximately $300 million in annualized revenue run rate, the company has also been profitable for around a year. Turing currently engages with around 4 million coders globally, with a much smaller number of direct employees. Recommended read:
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Chris McKay@Maginative
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Google is currently navigating the "innovator’s dilemma" by experimenting with AI-driven search solutions to disrupt its core search business before competitors do. The company is testing and developing AI versions of Google Search, including a new experimental "AI Mode" powered by Gemini 2.0. This new mode transforms the search engine into a chatbot-like interface, providing more nuanced and multi-step answers to user queries. It allows users to interact with the AI, ask follow-up questions, and even compare products directly within the search page.
AI Mode delivers a full-page AI-generated response. Users can interact with the AI, ask follow-up questions, and even compare products. This mode runs on a custom Gemini 2.0 version and is currently available to Google One AI Premium subscribers. This move comes as Google faces increasing competition from other AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Perplexity AI, who are rethinking the search experience. The goal is to provide immediate, conversational answers and a more comprehensive search experience, though some experts caution that the traditional link-based search may eventually disappear as a result. Recommended read:
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@techstrong.ai
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Microsoft has been making significant strides in the realm of artificial intelligence, with developments ranging from new Copilot features to breakthroughs in quantum computing and large language models. The company recently released a native Copilot application for macOS, bringing the AI assistant to Mac users with features similar to the Windows version, including image uploading and text generation. The macOS version includes dark mode and a shortcut command for easy activation. Microsoft also removed limits to Copilot Voice and Think Deeper, allowing Copilot users to have extended conversations with the AI assistant.
Microsoft AI has also released LongRoPE2, a near-lossless method designed to extend the context window of Large Language Models (LLMs) to 128K tokens while retaining a high degree of short-context accuracy. This addresses a key limitation in LLMs, which often struggle to process long-context sequences effectively. In the quantum computing space, Microsoft researchers announced the creation of the first “topological qubits” in a device, representing a potential leap forward in the field. Recommended read:
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Matthias Bastian@THE DECODER
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Anthropic has successfully closed a Series E funding round, securing $3.5 billion and elevating the company's valuation to an impressive $61.5 billion. This substantial financial injection will be channeled towards accelerating Anthropic's research efforts, expanding its compute capacity and infrastructure, and driving the company's international growth strategy. Lightspeed Venture Partners spearheaded the funding round with a $1 billion contribution, underscoring strong investor confidence in Anthropic’s mission.
The financing round also attracted participation from several prominent investors including Salesforce Ventures, Cisco Investments, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, D1 Capital Partners, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners. The company's annualized revenue reached $1 billion by December 2024, representing a tenfold increase year-over-year and the company plans to further enhance its AI systems with the new funding. Anthropic aims to advance the development of next-generation AI systems and expand what humans can achieve. Recommended read:
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