Press Review - March 2024

‍Microsoft strikes deal with Mistral, a French AI start-up

What is behind the deal between Microsoft and Mistral, the French rival to OpenAI? 

Mistral, the highly successful French start-up with an open-source philosophy, traditionally freely providing its source code, specializes in large language models (LLMs). It has just launched its latest LLM, Mistral Large, which, unlike its previous models, is not open source. It is, however, fluent in five languages, its multilingual capacity contrasting with OpenAI's GPT-4. This more commercial approach is likely to be connected to its new partnership with Microsoft. Mistral has also presented its multi-lingual assistant, Le Chat, which aims to provide a friendly experience to its users. 

With this new distribution partnership, Mistral's AI models will be available to Microsoft's Azure Cloud customers while Mistral should see an increase in its customers. However, the deal which also includes a financial investment by Microsoft, has attracted the European Commission's attention. Expect to hear more on this story!

Read more about this new partnership in The Tech Portal and Tech crunch.

And just two weeks ago, Mistral AI's brand-new Large model was tested by fifty-five, revealing its power to convert natural language queries into SQL queries and graphical visualizations via our in-house platform. Discover in our demo how Gen AI is revolutionizing everyday business with tangible, practical benefits! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPG5s9Exee8.

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Google's latest AI-powered Android updates revealed

At this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), Google stole the spotlight when it revealed its latest AI-powered products to improve user experience.

As far as communication is concerned, Google's new AI assistant, Gemini, allows its users to combine human-to-human and human-to-AI interactions without switching applications, directly through their Android Messages app. Focusing on accessibility, their Lookout app for visually impaired users can now generate AI-powered captions for images while Google Maps has been updated with improved screen reader support. With safety in mind, Android Auto now produces text summaries to reduce driver distractions. Other Google updates, in Google Docs for instance, can enhance users' productivity while others aim to improve their entertainment experiences. The Fitbit app has also been redesigned to provide users with a more holistic picture of their wellbeing.

These are just some of the updates that Google wants to put forward to show its commitment to enhancing the Android user's experience. 

Read more about this in the tech portal.

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Several US news outlets file lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement

Once again OpenAI and Microsoft have had lawsuits filed against them, this time by news publishers accusing them of illegally using journalists' work for their generative AI products.

The three US news outlets - The Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet - are suing OpenAI , accusing the company of plagiarizing journalists' articles to develop ChatGPT while ignoring copyright laws. In December, the New York Times had also filed a lawsuit against OpenAI over alleged copyright infringement. 

These legal actions reflect the media industry's concern that internet users will use AI as their source of information. This could have a negative impact on the media industry's advertising revenues and the quality of online news. 

Are there any other options for news outlets? Some have chosen to partner with OpenAI rather than to pursue legal action against them. This is the case of the international publisher Axel Springer, for instance, who has struck a financial deal with OpenAI, providing them with access to their work. 

Read more in The Guardian.

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What will the impact be of the new Digital Market Act (DMA) on the Tech Giants?

Why is the new Digital Market Act (DMA) causing such a stir in the digital world? The DMA introduces new regulations aiming to break monopolies and encourage competition while offering ordinary users greater autonomy. As a consequence, tech companies such as GAFAM are having to rethink their business strategies as they will have to provide their users with equitable data access and interoperability between their platforms. While users should benefit from these changes, concerns around personal data and privacy remain. The success of the DMA will depend on the implementation of the new regulations and the ongoing adaptation to technological advances. Meanwhile, the financial markets are following the repercussions of this act very closely.

Read more about it in Cointribune. 

And stay up to date with all things related to post-cookie readiness, on our dedicated page where you can find helpful resources: https://resources.fifty-five.com/fifty-five-privacy.

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