🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has indicated that the company might withdraw its services from the European market due to developing EU AI regulation.

  • Altman expressed concerns about the EU AI Act, which has recently expanded to include obligations for creators of large-scale AI systems, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E.

  • The Act could designate systems like ChatGPT as "high risk," requiring OpenAI to meet safety and transparency standards. OpenAI may have to cease operations if it can't meet these requirements.

  • The EU AI Act also requires the disclosure of system design details, and summaries of copyrighted data used for training, which poses potential business and legal threats for OpenAI.

  • OpenAI has stopped sharing such details as its tools have become increasingly commercially valuable, and the disclosure of the use of copyrighted data could lead to lawsuits.

  • Nvidia has become one of the most valuable companies due to the AI boom.

  • The company's chips, which are designed for graphics-heavy applications, are also being used by AI researchers for running powerful algorithms, leading to a surge in demand.

  • Following its recent earnings report, Nvidia's stock rose by 24%, reaching a valuation of $939.3 billion, surpassing both Tesla and Facebook.

  • Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) are being increasingly sought after for their capability to handle large data volumes required to train advanced AI programs.

  • Nvidia's sales have been boosted significantly by a surge in interest and investment in AI over the past six months, with large tech companies and start-ups alike vying for the company's GPUs.

  • Despite efforts by big tech companies to develop their own chips, Nvidia's dominance is expected to continue.

  • OpenAI's ChatGPT app has surpassed half a million downloads within the first six days since its launch.

  • Despite other third-party apps calling themselves "ChatGPT" or "AI chatbot" already filling the App Store, OpenAI's ChatGPT app has managed to outperform most of its rivals.

  • Even Microsoft's Bing and Edge apps, which integrated OpenAI's GPT-4 technology, saw fewer downloads in their best five-day periods compared to ChatGPT's first five days.

  • Bing and Edge still had more total U.S. downloads in May across both app stores, but when comparing only iOS installs, ChatGPT leads.

  • OpenAI's ChatGPT ranked in the top five by downloads against other top AI chatbot apps' best five-day periods in 2023 across the App Store and Google Play.

  • In its first five days post-launch, ChatGPT generated 480,000 installs, making it one of the best new app debuts in both 2022 and 2023. Only Trump-backed Twitter clone, Truth Social, had a bigger launch.

🤖🔥🤯 COOL AI TOOLS, APPS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, LINKS, AND MORE!

  • Taskade: AI-powered productivity including generator, tasks & projects, notes & docs, mind maps, and video chat.

  • Revoldiv: AI-powered video/audio-to-text.

  • LogicLoop: AI SQL assistant.

🌡️ CLIMATE CHANGE & CLEAN ENERGY

  • In Q1 2023, wind and solar combined generated more electricity than coal in the US, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

  • Solar electricity generation, including small-scale systems, grew by 7.8% compared to the same period in 2022, with small-scale solar PV increasing output by 24.0%, accounting for nearly one-third of total solar production.

  • Combined utility-scale and small-scale solar PV, along with utility-scale solar thermal, provided 4.4% of US's electrical output in Q1 2023.

  • Wind energy generation increased by 5.3% from the same period a year ago, contributing to 12.5% of total US electrical generation.

  • However, coal's contribution to electricity generation dropped by 28.6%, representing only 15.6% of total US electrical generation in Q1 2023.

  • When considering all renewable energy sources, including biomass, geothermal, and hydropower, renewables accounted for 24.9% of total electricity generation in the first three months of 2023.

  • Mercedes-Benz has contracted German wind farm developer UKA to install a 20-turbine wind farm at its test track in Papenburg, Germany, by 2025, which will be operational by 2026.

  • The 100 MW wind farm will cover around 20% of Mercedes-Benz's annual electricity requirements in Germany.

  • The automaker is also exploring the installation of solar panels on its nearly 2,000-acre test track site and plans to install up to 140 MW of solar on its properties by 2025.

  • Mercedes-Benz aims to power its global production network entirely with renewables by 2039 and halve emissions per passenger car over the entire lifecycle by 2030, compared to 2020 levels.

  • Currently, 45% of Mercedes-Benz's total energy consumption in production is powered by renewables, with a plan to increase this to 70% by 2030, including the expansion of onsite generating capacity.

  • In addition to wind power, the automaker also plans to generate its own renewable energy on-site using solar power.

  • Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is launching a 2024 presidential campaign, dismissed the importance of climate change during an interview on Fox News, calling it the "politicisation of the weather."

  • DeSantis was in conversation with Trey Gowdy, a climate change denier, and asserted that Florida was not experiencing an increase in hurricane landfalls due to climate change.

  • While DeSantis is correct that the number of hurricanes hitting Florida has not increased, his comment misrepresents the overall impact of climate change.

  • The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that although hurricane frequency is decreasing globally, their average intensity is increasing due to warming temperatures.

  • Furthermore, Florida is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, which contributes to more frequent and severe coastal flooding, an issue directly linked to global warming.

  • Despite these considerations, DeSantis stated his belief in private sector innovation to reduce emissions and dismissed the effectiveness of government regulations.

🚗 AUTONOMOUS & ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  • Ford and Tesla CEOs announced that Ford's EVs will use Tesla's Superchargers starting 2024.

  • Tesla will develop an adapter for Ford EVs to use its Superchargers; next-generation Ford vehicles will come with Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) port.

  • Ford will continue to expand its own BlueOval charging network, planning to add 1,800 DC fast charging stations by 2024.

  • Tesla has started allowing non-Tesla EVs to use its Superchargers in the US, as a part of Biden's $7.5 billion plan to expand EV charging infrastructure.

  • Both companies are experiencing increasing competition in the EV market, with Ford holding the second spot in best-selling EVs, behind Tesla.

  • Tesla and Ford are part of the National Charging Experience Consortium, aimed at improving charging infrastructure reliability.

  • Blue Bird, the Georgia-based school bus manufacturer, has opened a new 40,000 sq ft "Electric Vehicle Build-Up Center" aimed at producing 5,000 electric school buses annually.

  • The factory will assemble electric versions of the company's "Vision" and "All American" model buses, each with a battery capacity of 155kWh and about 120 miles of range.

  • The company currently builds four electric school buses per day and plans to increase that number to 20 per day.

  • Financial incentives from the infrastructure plan passed under President Biden are expected to accelerate the growth of electric school bus sales.

  • According to new EPA emission rules, about a third of school bus sales will be electric by 2027 and half by 2032, predicting a potential $1 billion in orders over the next five years.

  • The factory will also help sustain 2,000 well-paying jobs, as Blue Bird recently unionized its workers.

  • Uber now allows drivers to connect the Uber app with the Tesla app to monitor the vehicle's state of charge.

  • This feature ensures drivers are only offered rides that can be completed with the current charge, reducing the need to reject fares due to low battery.

  • Working as an Uber driver in an electric vehicle (EV) can present challenges, particularly managing range while trying to stay available for rides as much as possible.

  • Traditionally, drivers would have to balance the need to charge their vehicle with the need to be available for rides, which could be of varying lengths.

  • While this new feature is a helpful tool, potential issues can still arise, such as the Uber app not being aware of the charging network, potentially leaving a driver with a low charge in an area without charging opportunities.

  • This update from Uber is part of a broader shift towards accommodating EVs in ridesharing services as the world transitions from gas to electric vehicles.

🎉 THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY!

See you next Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend!

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