🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAI says it could ‘cease operating’ in the EU if it can’t comply with future regulation (quick read)

• 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.

Why Nvidia is suddenly one of the most valuable companies in the world (medium read)

• 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 tops 500K downloads in just 6 days (quick read)

• 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

US wind and solar combined produced more electricity than coal in Q1 2023 (quick read)

• 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 is installing a 100 MW wind farm on its test track (quick read)

• 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.

DeSantis dismisses climate change, calling it ‘politicisation of weather’ (medium read)

• 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 EVs will use Tesla’s charging plug starting next year (medium read)

• 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 opens electric school bus factory to build 5,000 buses per year (quick read)

• 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 Can Connect To Tesla App, Offer Drivers Rides That Fit In EV’s Range (medium read)

• 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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-Marc 👋

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