This Week In AI: New White House Regs, Better Chatbots, Apple AI, Smarter Pharmacies and the Battle for the Future of GenAI

This week in artificial intelligence news, the White House unveiled regulations to promote safe and ethical AI use by the government. Meanwhile, Amazon teamed up with Dashbot to ease chatbot creation for businesses, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT success sparked a race to craft cutting-edge language models.

White House Calls for Responsible Use of AI

The White House announced new rules to ensure the government uses AI safely and responsibly. The mandate said federal agencies must check and reduce any risks from using AI, showing the government’s serious approach to using AI carefully.

Every federal agency must pick a chief AI officer within 60 days. This person will oversee how the agency uses AI and ensure it follows the new rules. Agencies must also openly list and share details about their AI systems. They will point out any AI uses that might affect people’s safety or rights, like in healthcare or policing.

This step adds to President Joe Biden’s earlier order from October on AI, which aimed to encourage safe and thoughtful AI use in different areas. Vice President Kamala Harris said during the announcement, “When government agencies use AI tools, we will now require them to verify that those tools do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people.”

Dashbot Debuts Amazon Lex Integration for Enhanced Analytics

Amazon’s new collaboration with Dashbot could simplify the creation of chatbots for business purposes.

Dashbot, known for its advanced conversational analytics solutions, integrated with Amazon Lex, Amazon’s service for building natural language chatbots. The partnership is designed to enhance the tools available for developers creating chatbots with Lex, which uses the technology behind Amazon Alexa to enable the development of complex conversational agents across various platforms.

The integration with Dashbot opens new possibilities for developers to delve deeper into the analytics of interactions with their Lex-based chatbots. By processing conversational data, Dashbot’s analytics can uncover trends, pinpoint areas where users may encounter difficulties, and gauge overall user sentiment. The insight allows developers to fine-tune their chatbots for better engagement, making interactions more personalized and effective.

Rivals Battle for the Future of Generative AI

OpenAI’s success with ChatGPT ignited a rush to develop the future’s advanced large language models. Numerous companies are vying to overtake OpenAI’s pioneering position, with the winner poised to capture market share in the AI-driven commerce and payments sphere.

Cohere, a Canadian startup, is emerging as a competitor in the race. Backed by a funding round that could value it at $5 billion, Cohere’s financial support reflects the high stakes involved in surpassing OpenAI. Led by ex-Google researcher Aidan Gomez, Cohere has increased its revenue and broadened its market presence by partnering with Oracle, enhancing its suite of AI solutions for businesses.

However, the battle isn’t limited to newcomers. Industry behemoths are actively developing their own models. The race also includes open-source initiatives, collaborative efforts and a commitment to ethical standards and accessibility, highlighting the diverse approaches to unseating OpenAI. Progress in AI demands investments in computational resources, research expertise and a vision for its application.

Apple Conference May Spotlight AI

Apple is set to reveal its AI strategy in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference. While the company has kept specifics under wraps, insiders suggest the focus of its announcement will be on AI.

The anticipation around Apple’s AI direction is linked to the expected details of the iOS 18 upgrade, highlighting the role of AI in Apple’s plans. Adding to the intrigue, Apple’s marketing chief, Greg Joswiak, hinted at the AI theme of the conference in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, teasing” “It’s going to be Absolutely Incredible!” with deliberate emphasis on the initials “A” and “I.”

AI Reshapes Online Pharmacy With Speed, Accuracy, Convenience

AI is revolutionizing the online pharmacy sector by automating tasks such as prescription management, inventory control and customer interactions.

Amazon Pharmacy is using AI to fast-track its same-day delivery offerings in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Employing advanced AI and machine learning techniques, it aims to speed up prescription processing, potentially reducing wait times for treatments to hours. The initiative showcases the broader pharmacy industry’s move toward using AI to enhance operational efficiency and improve patient care.

“AI is significantly reshaping pharmacy work, making intricate tasks more straightforward and increasing precision, especially in managing prescriptions,” Sahily Paoline, chief clinical officer at Xevant, which incorporates AI in pharmaceutical analytics, told PYMNTS.

One of AI’s advantages is ensuring patients receive the correct prescriptions. Disparities in medication terminology between doctors and pharmacies, as well as variations in medication brands, often require pharmacy staff to decode and input data into their systems manually.

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