Humans and AI to work side-by-side

Good morning! We are here to provide you with AI updates that will make you feel like you found a bonus fry at the bottom of the bag. 🍟

🤯 MYSTERY AI LINK 🤯

(The mystery link can lead to ANYTHING AI-related: tools, memes, articles, videos, and more…)

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SLACK BRINGS HUMANS AND AI AGENTS TOGETHER 🦾

Slack is not slacking off when it comes to AI. 😬

What’s new? Slack is enhancing its platform with new AI capabilities, including the integration of AI-powered agents from its parent company Salesforce and others.

Want more details? Ahead of Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference, Slack announced support for agents from Salesforce, Adobe, Anthropic, Cohere, Perplexity, Writer, and others. Slack is also expanding its AI capabilities to include transcripts of informal video chats, known as huddles. These updates align with Salesforce’s push for generative AI to power autonomous agents, moving beyond tools that merely assist humans.

DARTH VADER LIVES ON THROUGH AI 🗣️

“Luke, AI is your father!” 💫

What’s up? The recent death of legendary actor James Earl Jones at 93 marks the end of an era, but his iconic role as Darth Vader will live on—through AI.

Want the details? In a pivotal move, Jones signed over the rights to his voice to Lucasfilm and Ukrainian AI startup Respeecher in 2022. This decision allows the companies to recreate his voice using AI technology and sell the outputs to Hollywood producers. This is in line with the California state Senate bills passed last month: AB 1836, which restricts the usage of AI to create digital replicas of dead performers without the consent of their estates, and AB 2602, which increases consent requirements for living performers for AI replicas.

Why is this important? Though this means Darth Vader will live on through AI, it raises concerns within the acting community. While some view Jones’ decision as a positive step toward preserving the originality of beloved characters, others worry about its impact on the future of actors. The use of AI in voice replication is particularly contentious when it comes to job losses for voice actors who rely on roles like voice matching. This has led to various strikes and protests. However, given the current direction, AI will likely prevail, for better or worse.

TECH GIANTS BATTLE AGAINST OHIO POWER COMPANY 🤺

I planted a battery this morning. I’m hoping it grows into a power plant. 🌱

What’s going on? Tech giants Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are pushing back against a proposal from AEP Ohio, a power company, to significantly raise energy costs for their data centers.

What’s the proposal? As data centers’ energy demands rise dramatically, central Ohio has seen a sixfold increase from 2020 to 2024. As a result, AEP Ohio is concerned about overbuilding costly infrastructure if energy projections fall short. The power company has requested an increase in upfront payments from the tech companies, from 60% to 90% of projected electricity use, to prevent the financial burden of new infrastructure from falling on other customers if data centers do not fully utilize their anticipated energy consumption.

What’s the issue? The tech firms argue that this plan is unfair and discriminatory, potentially setting a national precedent. While the power company questions the economic impact of data centers compared to other industries, tech companies emphasize their significant local contributions beyond job creation. Should the Ohio tariff be approved, Microsoft and Google both threatened in their testimony to leave Ohio. The case’s outcome could influence how other states approach energy costs for tech infrastructure going forward.

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