UAE Uses AI to Demonstrate Ancient Civilization Data in Digital Art

General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
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UAE Uses AI to Demonstrate Ancient Civilization Data in Digital Art

General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
General view of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

ICD Brookfield Place proudly unveiled DATAMONOLITH_AI, an innovative, digital artwork conceived by the new media studio, Ouchhh. The piece is seen as a creative collaboration between machines and humans.

DATAMONOLITH_AI is a representation of some of the world's oldest available data from the Middle East in the form of a digital sculpture hosted by Dubai. It is a cultural convergence of ancient and contemporary cultures, and it was exhibited across the globe in major metropolitan cities such as New York, London, Taipei, Tokyo and Barcelona.

To create this piece, the studio used data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (9600–7000 BC) processed through a series of algorithms and powered by artificial intelligence.

This data is represented on four LED panels comprised of three billion pixels. Images collected from one of the world's oldest archaeological sites, located in Göbekli Tepe in south-eastern Anatolia, are translated into illuminations on a monumental obelisk, creating an ever-changing display that translates still images into a living sculpture.

The public art installation will be on display at ICD Brookfield Place until 23rd March 2021.

"Ouchhh discovers the hybrid spaces of the virtual and physical worlds as a combined environment that redefines the future of art in 21st century with DATAMONOLITH_AI. Ouchhh's main goal is not just to create an iconic landmark but also to create a data-driven public artwork to inspire and create a sense of marvel to everyone who experiences it. Data as paint, algorithm as a brush," said Ferdi Alici of Ouchhh.



OpenAI to Raise $40 Billion to Boost AI Efforts

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
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OpenAI to Raise $40 Billion to Boost AI Efforts

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. (Reuters)

OpenAI said on Monday it would raise $40 billion in a new funding round led by SoftBank Group at a $300 billion valuation to advance AI research, expand computational infrastructure and enhance its tools.

SoftBank would provide 75% of the funding, according to a person familiar with the matter, with the remainder coming from Microsoft, Coatue Management, Altimeter Capital and Thrive Capital.

OpenAI said it looks to deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week.

Investor enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence sector has surged significantly in recent years, driven by widespread adoption of chatbots and the emergence of sophisticated AI agents.

Enterprises have integrated AI solutions to streamline their operations and enhance customer experiences, while venture capital firms compete to back promising AI startups.

San Francisco-based OpenAI had closed a $6.6 billion funding round in October, which valued the company at $157 billion. The new funding round would nearly double the valuation of the AI startup.

"OpenAI has very ambitious plans on many fronts and needs a lot of capital to achieve these goals," D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Gil Luria said.

"The list of investors wanting to support that scope has shrunk and may be largely limited to SoftBank, which itself may not have the necessary capital."

OpenAI is partnering with SoftBank and Oracle to establish a network of data centers under the $500-billion Stargate project, aimed at powering artificial intelligence workloads in the United States.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI also plans to revamp its structure, saying it would create a public benefit corporation to attract more investment and resources while balancing shareholder interests with public benefits.

OpenAI must transition to a for-profit company by the end of the year to secure the full $40 billion funding led by SoftBank, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

With the latest funding, OpenAI will join the ranks of the most valuable private companies, such as SpaceX, China's ByteDance and Stripe.