Latest Trends in AI, Microsoft Bing, Twitter Revenue Sharing, and More Tech Updates

Table of Contents

• Google Invests $300 Million in AI Startup Anthropic
• Microsoft Integrating ChatGPT into Bing Search Engine
• Twitter Ad Revenue Sharing for Blue Subscribers
• January NFT Trading Volumes Hit 7-Month High
• OpenSea Launches New NFT Creator Tools
• Advancements in AI Image Understanding and Video Editing

Google Invests $300 Million in AI Startup Anthropic

Google has invested $300 million into AI firm Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 by former researchers from OpenAI. Anthropic conducts research into AI language models and has developed a general purpose chatbot called Claude, which is currently in private beta testing.

Screenshots of Claude in action show it is advanced enough to impress Google, resulting in their massive investment for a 10% stake in the company. There is an ongoing arms race in the chatbot AI space, with ChatGPT from OpenAI gaining over 100 million users in just two months. Google is looking to get in on the action, especially with Microsoft expected to announce integration of ChatGPT into Bing on February 8th.

Claude Chatbot Shows Promise

Anthropic's Claude chatbot is still in private beta testing, but screenshots shared online indicate it can hold knowledgeable conversations and respond appropriately. Its capabilities appear on par with the viral popularity of ChatGPT, which explains why Google sees its potential and invested heavily in Anthropic. There are rumors Claude is based on the GPT-3.5 or GPT-4 architecture, representing an upgrade over ChatGPT's GPT-3 foundation. Given Claude's promising abilities and Google's vote of confidence, Anthropic is positioned as a rising star in conversational AI.

Race to Lead Conversational AI

With OpenAI's ChatGPT taking the world by storm, tech giants like Google and Microsoft are racing to stake their claim as leaders in conversational AI. Microsoft is integrating ChatGPT into Bing search in an announcement expected soon, aiming to evolve search from keyword matching to natural language conversations. Google is making big investments in Anthropic and will likely showcase its own chatbot developments later this year. Whichever company can perfect AI assistants that feel more human and can carry on thoughtful dialog may capture the public's imagination and dominate the field going forward.

Microsoft Integrating ChatGPT into Bing Search Engine

Screenshots leaked online reveal Microsoft is working on integrating aspects of ChatGPT into Bing search. Some users have seen a new chatbot interface within Bing, asking questions in a conversational way and getting detailed answers citing sources.

Microsoft has an event planned for February 8th where they are expected to officially announce details on ChatGPT integration into Bing. This would evolved search from keyword matching to query interactions more like natural language conversations with an AI assistant.

Twitter Ad Revenue Sharing for Blue Subscribers

Twitter has announced a new potential revenue stream for creators who subscribe to its $8/month Twitter Blue service. These users may soon start earning a share of ad revenue from tweets and threads that drive high engagement.

While details are still minimal, this could attract more influencers and creators to Twitter from other platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Along with the option for longer videos and view counts on tweets introduced for Blue members, Twitter is adding more incentives for premium content.

January NFT Trading Volumes Hit 7-Month High

The NFT market has shown signs of recovery as trading volumes in January 2022 hit their highest levels in 7 months. While still far below the euphoric peak in early 2021, the steady growth this past month provides hope the downward trend may be reversing.

NFT lending platforms have also seen increased activity. Ethereum remains the dominant blockchain for NFTs, but all chains are participating in renewed interest for digital collectibles.

OpenSea Launches New NFT Creator Tools

Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea has introduced a suite of new features aimed at empowering creators. This includes multi-stage minting, support for rich narrative components, and more.

OpenSea is responding to creator-focused NFT platforms like Manifold that have enabled makers to easily launch projects with custom smart contracts. The new OpenSea tools lower barriers for creators of all skill levels to mint and sell NFT collections.

Advancements in AI Image Understanding and Video Editing

New AI models like BLIP 2.0 from Hugging Face demonstrate incredible progress in image understanding. The model can caption photos and answer natural language questions about the contents.

Meanwhile, video diffusion models can edit videos based on text prompts, such as adding a party hat to a puppy or placing a cake next to a pie. The rapid evolution of generative AI points to a future where text and multimedia can be manipulated and remixed with ease.

FAQ

Q: What is the latest AI investment by Google?
A: Google invested $300 million into AI firm Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI researchers and creators of Claude chatbot.

Q: How will Microsoft change Bing search?
A: Microsoft is integrating conversational AI chatbot features into Bing powered by ChatGPT, as seen in leaked preview images.

Q: What is Twitter's new monetization feature?
A: Twitter is allowing Blue subscribers who create viral tweet content to share in advertising revenue.

Q: What is the state of the NFT market?
A: NFT trading volumes in January 2023 hit a 7-month high, showing signs of recovery.

Q: What tools did OpenSea launch for NFT creators?
A: OpenSea launched new features like customizable minting, phases, and narrative components to improve the NFT creation process.

Q: What AI advancements were revealed recently?
A: New AI models can understand images to edit videos and answer questions, representing major progress in computer vision and language understanding.