My parents raised me to remember my please-and-thank yous. When I started getting used to using a chatbot, I became convinced early on that it made the system work better too.

Well, it turns out I’m not alone. Intentional politeness toward AI is a real thing. And that’s even though every word you type into a chatbot takes energy, and the more words mean higher costs.

It’s so prevalent, in fact, that one social media user wondered aloud how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity to people saying “please” and “thank you.”

According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a lot. “Tens of millions of dollars well spent,” he said in response. “You never know.”

Read more

• Saying ‘Thank you’ To Chat GPT uses energy. Should you do it anyway? (NYTimes)
• “Tens of Millions of dollars well spent” (@SamAltman – Archive)

Smartphones have been great, but most technologists believe we’re ready for the next big thing. What we don’t know yet is what that thing is.

Cue the many startups experimenting with artificial intelligence in a device that’s small enough to carry around, but isn’t our phones. The process so far has not been smooth.

That leads us to the $200 Rabbit R1 AI-in-a-box, which promises to effectively do away with apps by allowing you to just ask it to call you an Uber ride or order lunch on DoorDash. The device sadly isn’t very reliable, and so was broadly panned by critics. One that went particularly viral came from YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), who said it was “barely reviewable” (He’d earlier said the Humane AI pin was the worst product he’d ever reviewed… for now).

Now, tech enthusiasts have begun hacking the Rabbit R1 to figure out whatever secret sauce is inside, and Android Authority reported that some people were able to get Rabbit’s software running on an Android-powered phone. Worse, the device appears to be running an older version of Android, which suggests it doesn’t benefit from the latest security patches.

Rabbit’s founder, Jesse Lyu, has hit back saying that what makes its Rabbit R1 special is in the cloud, and that it is not merely an app. Since then, hackers and Rabbit appear engaged in a game of cat-and-mouse as Rabbit attempts to shut down their unauthorized devices running the Rabbit app.

Read more

• No, you don’t need a ‘very bespoke AOSP’ to turn your phone into a Rabbit R1 — here’s proof (Android Authority)
• Twitter post/analysis thread with relevant comment links from reporters, hackers and developers (@EmilyLShepherd)

Flashback

• Don’t blame MKBHD for the fate of Humane AI and Fisker (TechCrunch)
• Will AI hardware prove to be anything more than a novelty? (9to5Google)
• AI Start-Ups Face a Rough Financial Reality Check (The New York Times)
• Different Twitter post about Rabbit founder’s history in cryptocurrency (@EmilyLShepherd)

Eight US Newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, accusing the companies of illegally using news stories to train their popular AI technologies.

The suit, filed April 30 in the Southern District of New York, accuses of OpenAI and Microsoft of, “purloining millions of the Publishers’ copyrighted articles without permission and without payment.”

The suit is filed on behalf of newspapers including The Chicago Tribune, The New York Daily News, Orlando Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Denver Post and Orange County Register.

Read more

• Major U.S. newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft for copyright infringement (Axios)
• Eight newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft for copyright infringement (NPR)

Flashback

• The Times sues OpenAI and Microsoft over A.I. use of copyrighted work (NYT)
• OpenAI claims New York Times copyright lawsuit is without merit (TechCrunch)
• Does ChatGPT violate New York Times’ copyrights? (Harvard Law School)

Case details

Case number: 1:24-cv-03285
Filed: April 30
Where: Southern District of New York
Read: At CourtListener

The Department of Homeland Security said it has created a new federal Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, with 22 representatives including tech leaders such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

The board will be “focused on practical guidelines and best practices for safe, secure and responsible AI: Not a board focused on theory,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on a press briefing call, reported by Axios.

Read more:

• Over 20 technology and critical infrastructure executives, civil rights leaders, academics, and policymakers join mew DHS Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board to advance AI’s responsible development and deployment (DHS)
• Biden-Harris Administration Announces Key AI Actions 180 days following President Biden’s landmark executive order (The White House)
• Altman handpicked for Homeland Security’s AI safety board (Axios)

Flashback:

• Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence (The White House, Oct 2023)

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