AI discovers a new material; Rabbit R1: a new AI-powered gadget

🤖 Duolingo lays off contractors as it starts relying more on AI. Link

• Duolingo reduced its contractor workforce by 10 percent, utilizing AI to perform tasks previously done by these contractors.

• The language-learning company is enhancing its app with AI-created content and interactive features like a chatbot and Roleplay scenarios.

• Despite job cuts among contractors, Duolingo clarifies that AI tools are used to assist rather than replace full-time employees.

🔋 AI discovers a new material in record time. Link

• Researchers used AI to create a new battery material, using 70% less lithium, which could alleviate environmental and cost issues associated with lithium mining.

• The AI system evaluated over 23.6 million candidate materials for the battery's electrolyte, ultimately identifying a promising new composition that replaces some lithium atoms with sodium, offering a novel approach to battery design.

• The project was completed in just nine months from initial concept to a working prototype.

🚗 Volkswagen is adding ChatGPT to its cars. Link

• Volkswagen plans to integrate ChatGPT into several car models including the ID. series and new Tiguan and Passat, beginning in the second quarter of the year.

• The AI-powered ChatGPT will assist drivers with car functions and answer questions while ensuring user privacy by not retaining data.

• This move makes Volkswagen the first automaker to standardize chatbot technology in their vehicles, with the potential for other brands to follow suit.

🐇 Rabbit R1: a new AI-powered gadget that can mimic human app usage. Link

• Rabbit introduces the r1, a "pocket AI companion" at CES 2024, offering a standalone device for natural language searches without needing a smartphone.

• The Rabbit r1 features an innovative Rabbit OS populated with personal AI agents called "rabbits" capable of performing a range of tasks, from simple to complex, with privacy-focused design elements.

• The hardware of the r1 includes a compact, 3-inch square design with a touch screen, LTE 4G connectivity, an octa-core processor, and does not require a subscription, priced at $199 for preorders.

🎥 Microsoft’s latest model pushes the bar in AI video. Link

• Microsoft has released DragNUWA, a new video generation model that combines text, image, and trajectory-based inputs to allow for highly controllable and detailed video production.

• With this model, users gain the ability to specify detailed aspects like camera movements and object motion in video content, utilizing a blend of images, text prompts, and defined trajectories for creating highly controlled outputs.

• The model has been released in its early version on Hugging Face.

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