🥟 Chao-Down #5: Google set to release new Generative AI APIs, ChatGPT built with Kenyan Labor, Layoffs continue in Big Tech

Doing more with less. It’s a common mantra embraced by many in tech and the underpinning for much of software development. Generative models for both language and vision have shown unprecedented ability to do “magic.” However, it is jarring to see such progress juxtaposed with the painful reality of layoffs in today’s new macroeconomic environment. Today we saw Google announce layoffs of 12,000 people following similar announcements from Microsoft, Amazon, and a whole host of other companies, several of whom are building the future with next generation AI.

While technology races ahead, let’s remember to find ways we can help our neighbor especially in times like these. To readers of this newsletter, please reach out if you or someone you know has been affected by layoffs and need help finding their next role.

-Alex, your resident Chaos Coordinator.

What happened in AI? 📰

OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers on Less Than $2 Per Hour: Exclusive (Time)

Google Research, 2022 & Beyond: Language, Vision and Generative Models – Google AI Blog (googleblog.com)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on GPT-4: ‘people are begging to be disappointed and they will be’ (Wired)

Associate Professor at Wharton Ethan Mollick drafts up policy for the use of ChatGPT in his class

Always be Learnin’ 📕 📖

• Large Transformer Model Inference Optimization | Lil'Log

• What Are Word and Sentence Embeddings? (Cohere Blog)

• ‘Phase 3 ML Infrastructure’ and the Expanding Machine Learning Market (Link)

Projects to Keep an Eye On 🛠

Instruct Pix2Pix - Learning to Follow Image Editing Instructions (Github)

Adobe Podcast - Enhance your voice recordings and clean up spoken audio with AI (Link)

The Latest In AI Research 💡

ViNL: Visual Navigation and Locomotion Over Obstacles (Link)

How Close is ChatGPT to Human Experts? Comparison Corpus, Evaluation, and Detection (arxiv)

The World Outside of AI 🌎

Amazon discontinues AmazonSmile charity donation program amid cost cuts (CNBC)

Google to lay off 12,000 people, memo from CEO Sundar Pichai says (CNBC)

One Last Bite 😋