By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
The new frontier in AI is in multimodal models such as CLIP and Stable Diffusion. Because humans interact with the world through both vision and language, AI researchers believe machines, too, need multimodal channels.  Can something like LLaVA foster a “general-purpose assistant” that effectively follows multimodal vision-and-language instructions aligned with human intent? If so, at what cost?

We live in a tumultuous time.

Business reporters are often pressed to investigate commercial and technological advancements almost immediately after the scientific community breaks new ground. This is particularly true in the field of artificial intelligence.

With little time either for reflection or examination, reporters take scientists’ word on the Next Big Thing, reducing AI journalism to little better than stenography.  Remember when its promoters kept saying the autonomous vehicle is “just around the corner.”

Corporations, obliged to become AI prospectors, now face a similar dilemma. Like the 49ers of the Gold Rush, the first priority for a company hoping to strike it rich, is to stake a claim, only worrying afterward whether its particular AI investment is the mother lode or a dry hole.

Clouding our judgement further is the exponential growth of Nvidia. Money talks.

Read More »It’s a Multimodal World, After All

By Peter Clarke

What’s at stake:
Arm, founded in 1990, more or less invented the business model of licensing circuits and computing architectures as intellectual property. It achieved success in what were then new, embedded markets, such as mobile phones, industrial and automotive electronics. The Arm architecture is now penetrating servers, AI, PCs and high-performance computing. But all is at risk if SoftBank insists on using Arm to compete with customers such as Nvidia. That is unless you consider Arm’s licensing business model will soon be on the wane due to a flight to RISC-V.

Nikkei reported last week that Arm Holdings plc is planning to set up an AI chip division and have an AI processor on sale in the Fall of 2025. And that this would be the behest of majority shareholder SoftBank Group and its CEO Masayoshi Son.

Arm has not previously sought to compete with its licensees and its independence was always seen as a strength. If SoftBank insists on indulging in vision-driven tinkering with the Arm business model, it could hasten the rise of the open-source, extensible RISC-V ISA as the go-to alternative to Arm.

Read More »Could SoftBank’s Son Kill Arm with His AI Vision?

By Junko Yoshida

What’s at stake:
Automation sits at a pivotal intersection between men and machines. Developing automated systems that don’t aggravate consumers is an art not yet perfected. Since the debacle of Amazon’s cashierless checkout systems, the new entrant in this game is Grabango, a startup with different technologies. 

Automation has always been a double-edged sword.

On one hand, automation is a priority for most corporations who strive to lower their operational costs, efforts for which they expect to be richly rewarded by Wall Street.

Some consumers who want to associate with the “cool factor” of autonomous vehicles, smart homes, or barcode checkout systems at the supermarket also welcome automation.  

On the other hand, automation also makes people suspicious.  

Read More »Can Machines Outsmart Human Mischief?

By George Leopold

Taking a page from Bitcoin miners constantly seeking cheaper power sources, Microsoft Corp.’s planned $3.3 billion investment in Wisconsin represents the next wave of data center expansion driven by generative AI.

The massive project, which is also being promoted as a jobs creator, is nevertheless bound to strain power grids already groaning under the weight of surging electricity demand.

With data center hubs like Northern Virginia approaching full capacity, and quickly running short of power, Microsoft and other hyperscale cloud providers are eyeing new locations away from the coasts as electricity demand soars. The rise of generative AI and the resulting explosion of new server farms required to handle large-language models are expected to drive demand for electricity through the roof.

Read More »Microsoft, Data Centers and the AI Paradox