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Top stories today:1) Elon Musk's AI may be called TruthGPT2) Apple launches Savings account paying 4.15%3) AutoGPT is the fastest-growing Github project in history4) AI poll: most popular models are BERT, GPT-3, and Stable Diffusion

0. Data and calendar

1. Elon Musk's LLM, third option to OpenAI and Google, may be called TruthGPT

• "Starting very late in the game, of course."

• Against wokeness: "Maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe."

• "Might be the best path to safety in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe, it is unlikely to annihilate humans, because we are an interesting part of the universe. Hopefully, they would think that."

OpenAI was created as a counter to Google's quasi-monopoly

• In 2015, Google had 75% of the AI talent (they own Deepmind), according to Musk, who thought Google CEO Larry Page (his then-friend) didn't take AI safety seriously.

• Open-source and non-profit: OpenAI was supposed to be the counter to Google. Of course, OpenAI later became closed-source and partially for-profit (for many valid reasons, in our view -- AI safety and fundraising, respectively).

• When pressed about AI safety, Larry Page called Musk a "speciesist", leading him to co-found OpenAI.

Elon suggests he might sue OpenAI

Elon supports AI regulation

• "You don't want companies cutting corners on safety, and then having people suffer as a result. So, that's why I have actually for a long time, been an advocate of AI regulation. It's not fun to be regulated."

Governments had access to DMs; optional encrypted DMs are coming

• "The degree to which various government agencies effectively had full access to everything that was going on at Twitter blew my mind. [Yes, it would include DMs], because DMs are not encrypted. So one of the things we are about to release is the ability to encrypt your DMs. Hopefully, it's coming out later this month, but no later than next month, is the ability to toggle encryption on or off."

Twitter at 20% of original staff "clearly working"

Higher responsiveness, more features launches:

2. Apple launches Savings account paying 4.15%

That 4.15% yield is 11x higher than average, but comparable to fintechs such as Mercury

Read more: Bloomberg, Apple.

Our view: banking will continue to get more efficient and competitive, but many customers are still OK with making 0%

• Fintechs have greatly improved customer experience: higher yields (closer to Treasury rates), better apps, and faster customer service, with no need to go to the physical bank.

• But most Americans still leave deposits earning close to 0, likely caused by information asymmetry and laziness.

• The fast rate hikes have benefited banks that don't suffer a bank run, as it has increased the gap between deposit rates and Treasury rates. Banks that do suffer a bank run, in contrast, have to sell their assets at higher rates, meaning lower asset values.

3. AutoGPT is the fastest-growing Github project in history

According to Logan Kilpatrick, member of OpenAI's Developer Advocacy Staff:

Read more: Ars Technica, All In podcast.

Our view: autonomous AI agents are cool, but today they lack usefulness

• These agents, today, are at the level of a high-school intern. Will GPT-5 change that? Or will we have to wait until AGI?

• Our test for AGI: can the AI invent a new drug or prove a new math or physics theorem? Today, we are very far away. And we are skeptical just better LLMs will give us that -- newer base technology is needed.

4. AI poll: most popular models with developers are BERT, GPT-3, and Stable Diffusion

(The poll was done in December and January, before the launch of GPT-4).

Developers are split between open-source and API

Read more: 2023 Scale AI Readiness Report page, report in PDF.

5. Investor poll: best careers for high school grads are tech, health care, and finance

For children in kindergarten, investors prefer health care over tech, when prompted about AI risk

Twitter to include label when a tweet is shadow-banned

Read more: The Verge, Twitter.

Our view: corporate transparency is always good

And we like Twitter's principle of "Freedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach", which is more aligned with Constitutional principles: everyone can say what they want (and Twitter is voluntarily including tweeting as a form of ordinary speech), but no one else has to give their platform for you to say what you want. Pre-internet, this would mean: you can protest on public streets, but the NY Times doesn't have to publish your opinion piece.

Elon also trolled the CBC, changing their label to "69% Government-funded Media"

6. Other headlines

AI

• OpenAI finishing $300M tender offer of employee stock, at $27B valuation.

• OpenAI CEO suggests future AI models will need new breakthroughs.

• Meta announces DINOv2, AI model for visual tasks (mainly backend).

• Multi-on web copilot promises to be the super-app browser for GPT Plugins.

• Management consulting: new startups seek to provide AI-powered alternatives.

• Superchat AI offers characters similar to Character.AI.

• AI-generated image wins Sony World Photo Awards, prize winner rejects it.

Tech

• Meta asking ad agencies to keep spending levels steady, offering discounts; previously, they asked for 20% yearly increases.

• Apple India sales were $6B in 2022, according to new source (rather than $7B).

• Apple Mumbai store opened; $999 U.S. iPhone cost $1,550 in India.

• Spotify to drop paywall for Gimlet podcasts, which it acquired for $230M in 2019.

Biotech

• Omisirge, allogeneic cell therapy, approved for some hematologic malignancies.

Business

• China grew 4.5% YoY in Q1, higher than 4.0% expected.

• Schwab rises, State Street falls, after both banks lose deposits in Q1.

• McKinsey, Bain delaying start date for some MBA hires.

• Only American brands will qualify for $7.5K EV tax credit.

• Writers Guild of America West: 98% vote to authorize a strike.

• ChatGPT can understand implication of financial news, studies find (of course it can).

Crypto

• SEC charges Bittrex with operating an unregistered securities exchange.

• Nike to sell virtual shoe boxes NFTs for $19.82.

• Joey Krug, who left Pantera as fund fell 88% in 2022, joins Founders Fund.

• Grayscale's Solana Trust (GSOL) is trading OTC.

• FTX professional fees are running at a $1.3M runrate.

U.S. politics

• McCarthy proposes 2022 spending level, 1% growth cap for 10 years.

• Senate Dems weighing inviting Justice Thomas to ethics hearing, potentially a violation of the separation of powers.

• Covid Senate GOP report: virus likely was leaked from the Wuhan lab.

• ICE agents unlawfully searched databases, stalked, harassed: Wire investigation.

• 49% of Americans identify as independents, a record.

• Poll (potentially biased): DeSantis beats Biden, Trump loses, in battleground states.

• DeSantis threatens to create a state prison next to Disney -- this is the "pro-business", "rule of law" candidate?

• Fetterman returns to Senate after depression treatment.

• The Case for Nukes: a review by Reason.

World

• Egypt nearly supplied rockets to Russia, agreed to arm Ukraine instead: leaked docs.

• Sudan: U.S. convoy attacked by Sudanese RSF militia: Blinken.

• U.S. charges 34 Chinese with foreign harassment; all are at large and likely overseas.

• Putin visits Kherson and Luhansk regions.

• WSJ reporter: Moscow court to hear appeal, could in theory grant bail.

7. Interesting tweets, memes, and images

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