5 things about AI you may have missed today: AI tool that helps cure brain cancer, China’s new AI products and more

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a highly debated topic in recent times with people making arguments for and against its use in various fields. The introduction of ChatGPT has spurred further controversy as there have been instances of students using it for completing their assignments and writing exams. However, this hasn’t put a stop to the rapid development that is happening in the field of AI. New research has shed light on an AI tool that is helping doctors cure brain cancer, while China’s top tech companies, Huawei and Alibaba, have recently introduced their AI tools.

All this, and more in our roundup of the 5 big things in AI that you may have missed today.

1. AI tool helping doctors cure brain cancer

While the downsides of AI have been recently highlighted by several prominent personalities such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, AI in medicine is helping doctors fight an important battle. A new Bloomberg report has shed light on a new AI tool that is helping doctors fight aggressive brain tumors. Cryosection Histopathology Assessment and Review Machine, or CHARM, is an AI tool that can quickly study images and identify the genetic profile of a tumor known as glioma, a process that currently takes days or weeks, as per Kun-Hsing Yu, senior author of the research study that was published in the journal Med. Surgeons.

2. Alibaba and Huawei introduce new AI products

China’s ambition to become of the top global players in artificial intelligence has received another boost as two of the country’s top companies have unveiled new AI products. As per a Reuters report, Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group Holdings on Friday introduced an AI image generator and an upgraded AI model at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Alibaba introduced the Tongyi Wanxiang AI image editor that will initially be available to beta testers, while Huawei announced the third generation of its Panggu AI model.

3. UNESCO’s new AI comic strip to commemorate World Kiswahili Language Day

To commemorate the importance of Africa’s Swahili language, UNESCO declared 7th July as the World Kiswahili Language Day, it announced in a press release. The organization announced a graphic novel called Inside AI – An Algorithmic Adventure, aimed at “making the digital world more accessible to the youth and enabling them to understand the impact of Artificial Intelligence on humankind and the ethics therein.

4. Retail sector gets AI boost

Chennai’s Pathfinder Enterprise Solutions Pvt. Ltd has signed an MoU with Spacenet Enterprises India Ltd, an alliance that could bring generative AI to the retail sector in India. One of the highlights of this agreement is the integration of RETAILGPT, Pathfinder’s proprietary generative AI platform, according to a report by EquityBulls. RETAILGPT will bring an AI-enabled e-commerce interface at airports, shopping malls as well as e-commerce platforms in a move that is expected to bridge the gap between digital and physical commerce.

5. Microsoft boss says “AI doesn't have capability to take over”

In a conversation with Sky News, Eric Boyd, the head of artificial intelligence (AI) at Microsoft said, “People talk about how the AI takes over, but it doesn't have the capability to take over. These are models that produce text as output.” Boyd highlighted that the main issue is not AI taking over humanity, but its safe use to solve societal problems, while not exacerbating the issues. He also argued that the current capabilities of generative AI models like ChatGPT are being overstated.