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Early testers are buzzing about the new ChatGPT Voice Mode Alpha, showcasing its speech capabilities in viral posts. This feature hints at a near future where digital assistants sound remarkably human-like. Let’s unpack this…

Today’s Summary:

• 🗣️ ChatGPT Voice Mode amazes alpha testers

• 🏛️ Musk reignites OpenAI legal feud

• 🏥 MedSAM-2 boosts medical imaging

• 🏢 Microsoft now sees OpenAI as rival

• 🤖 Google acqui-hires Character.ai team

• 🦾 Figure AI teases new F.02 robot

• 🏛️ OpenAI to give US Government early access

• 📂 GitHub Models to compete with Hugging Face

• 2 new tools

TOP STORY

ChatGPT Voice Mode Alpha amazes early testers

The Summary: Early testers of ChatGPT Voice Mode Alpha are posting viral demos of remarkably human-like speech capabilities, including accents, storytelling, emotions and laughter. The new voice mode can teach languages, mimic animal sounds, adjust speaking speed, and handle interruptions.

Key details:

• Capable of reciting poems, doing impressions, mimicking regional accents, beatboxing

• Reproduces natural speaking patterns including breathing pauses

• Impressive in speaking multiple languages and translating

• Currently available in Alpha to a small number of users. Rollout to all ChatGPT Plus subscribers expected to complete by fall 2024

Why it matters: This new release will completely change human interaction with digital assistants and language learning tools. It also prompts discussions about the ethical implications of increasingly realistic AI voices, including their potential impact on human relationships and emotional attachment.

OPENAI

Musk reignites legal feud with OpenAI

The Summary: Elon Musk files new lawsuit against OpenAI, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman. The suit alleges that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission, accusing the defendants of manipulating Musk into co-founding the company under false pretenses. This legal action comes months after Musk withdrew a similar lawsuit without explanation. The case centers on OpenAI shift towards a for-profit model and its partnership with Microsoft.

Key details:

• Lawsuit filed in Northern California federal court on August 5, 2024

• Claims OpenAI violated federal racketeering laws and engaged in wire fraud

• Seeks to void OpenAI license agreement with Microsoft

• Alleges OpenAI contract with Microsoft terminates upon achieving AGI

Why it matters: The focus on OpenAI contract with Microsoft, which allegedly terminates upon achieving AGI, raises questions about the race to develop advanced AI. By asking the court to determine if OpenAI latest systems have already achieved AGI, the suit may force a legal definition of this contentious concept, impacting future AI research and regulation.

Full text of the lawsuit filings

HEALTH

MedSAM-2 enhances medical image review with Meta AI

The Summary: Oxford researchers have developed MedSAM-2, a medical AI model built on recent Meta SAM-2 computer vision model, that significantly enhances medical image segmentation for both 2D and 3D scans. By analyzing medical image series like video sequences, the model processes entire series with minimal manual input. MedSAM-2 demonstrated superior performance on 15 datasets, covering various medical imaging types. Its “one-prompt” capability allows for consistent segmentation across several images.

Key details:

• New state-of-the-art for multiple organ segmentation

• Outperforms previous models MedSegDiff and Med-SA

• Tested on 15 datasets, including tumors and skin lesions

• Uses a "Confidence Memory Bank" to store most reliable predictions for reference

Why it matters: MedSAM-2 ability to segment medical imagery with minimal input will speed up medical image analysis workflows. Its strong performance across diverse imaging modalities shows potential for clinical application, possibly reducing the need for multiple specialized AI models.

MedSAM-2 on GitHub

QUICK NEWS

Quick news

• Microsoft declares OpenAI is now a competitor

• OpenAI to give US Government early access to its next model

• Google acqui-hires Character.ai team

• Figure AI teases F.02 humanoid robot

• GitHub Models to rival Hugging Face

TOOLS

🥇 New tools

• Felo - Multilingual search engine

• Toby - Real-time speech translation for video calls