Gm. Fed head honcho Jerome Powell is scheduled to make his annual speech at Jackson Hole today. Will he finally signal the end to interest rate hikes that people have been predicting since last year’s Jackson Hole address? Or will he continue to attack inflation like it owes him money? Tune in at 10 AM to find out.
🏠 AI
Meta’s New AI Models
When it comes to AI contenders, nobody pumps out more open-source models than Meta. It’s kind of their whole schtick.
And Team Zuck did it again this week with two fresh models.
SeamlessM4T
The first model is known as SeamlessM4T, and it’s been imbued with the ability to translate and transcribe almost 100 different languages via text and speech.
It sounds a bit gimmicky, but it’s a huge breakthrough for AI-powered translation services.
With SeamlessM4T, it is possible to put a headphone in and converse with somebody speaking a totally different language. The model will simply translate for you in real time.
But the model isn’t perfect. It still overuses the masculine form, is a bit toxic about translations involving sexual orientation and religion, and isn’t quite consumer-use-ready for long-form translations.
However, with some improvements, SeamlessM4T might one day act as people’s personal Rosetta Stone.
Code Llama
The second model is none other than Code Llama, which is basically Meta’s version of GitHub’s Copilot.
In English, Code Llama has the ability to write code in Python, C++, Java, PHP, Typescript, C#, and Bash.
Now, when I say writing code, I’m really saying that it will help coders write code. In other words, it’s great at debugging and finishing code, not writing an entire codebase.
It’s a copilot, not the pilot.
And tools like this are extremely popular among devs, with 70% of coders now using or thinking about using AI tools, which makes sense considering AI tools are helping devs code 55% faster.
That’s a lot of potential users for Code Llama.
The Bottom Line: Meta is on an AI tear right now. Real-time translation and devs shipping code faster? Sign me up.
🏠 SCIENCE
A Mind-Blowing Achievement
Welcome to the coolest story of the week.
Ann was a normal 30-year-old woman with two kids and a husband. But then she suffered a severe brainstem stroke that left her so paralyzed she couldn’t even breathe at first.
Even after five years of physical therapy, Ann couldn’t move her facial muscles enough to speak.
So researchers tried something new out on her.
First, they implanted a paper-thin rectangle of 235 electrodes on the sections of her brain critical for speech. These electrodes would then intercept the brain signals that would have normally fired up had Ann been able to speak. Then, a cable was plugged into Ann’s head that transports the signals to a bank of computers.
This computer then uses AI to translate Ann’s brain signals into words and project them onto a digital avatar that literally talks in Ann’s voice.
In essence, this brain chip, AI, and digital avatar combo is giving Ann the ability to speak again.
Told you this was the coolest story of the week.
The Big Picture: Brain chips have already given paralyzed people the ability to walk again, and now it’s giving people the gift of speech. There’s a reason companies like Neuralink are able to raise so much money.
🏃♀️ QUICKIES
What else is going on?
TikTok is banning links to outside e-commerce sites like Amazon.
Surprise surprise, Apple now supports the right to repair.
The DOJ is suing SpaceX for discriminatory hiring practices.
Threads is officially on the web.
Stat: 10%: How much Nvidia’s stock is up following their absolutely breathtaking earnings.
Rabbit hole: Toward AGI (Mark Riedl)
🤑 FUNDING FRIDAY
If you want a boring list of startup raises, look away now. If you want the 3 coolest raises of the week, then you’ve come to the right place.
🎁 FINAL JEOPARDY!
This Final Jeopardy! question stumped every contestant. Can you get it right?
Category: The Oscars
Clue: This Brit is the only actor to get Oscar nominations for playing two real-life US presidents, both for 1990s films.
🛠️ FOUNDERS CORNER
The best resources we recently came across that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.
🧱 Use Bloc to create a chatbot that assists you with sales, customer support, or skimming through long content.
👨💻 OpenCoPilot is an open-source AI copilot for your SaaS product.
💰 Here’s what consumers are spending their money on.
💉 DOPAMINE HIT
How???
@slaying1npain hilary girl u ate #hurricane #hurricanehillary
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FINAL JEOPARDY! ANSWER
Anthony Hopkins.