OpenAI, Anthropic Sign Deals with US Govt for AI Research and Testing

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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OpenAI, Anthropic Sign Deals with US Govt for AI Research and Testing

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic have signed deals with the United States government for research, testing and evaluation of their artificial intelligence models, the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute said on Thursday.

The first-of-their-kind agreements come at a time when the companies are facing regulatory scrutiny over safe and ethical use of AI technologies.

California legislators are set to vote on a bill as soon as this week to broadly regulate how AI is developed and deployed in the state.

Under the deals, the US AI Safety Institute will have access to major new models from both OpenAI and Anthropic prior to and following their public release.

The agreements will also enable collaborative research to evaluate capabilities of the AI models and risks associated with them, Reuters reported.

"We believe the institute has a critical role to play in defining US leadership in responsibly developing artificial intelligence and hope that our work together offers a framework that the rest of the world can build on," said Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Anthropic, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet , did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"These agreements are just the start, but they are an important milestone as we work to help responsibly steward the future of AI," said Elizabeth Kelly, director of the US AI Safety Institute.

The institute, a part of the US commerce department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will also collaborate with the U.K. AI Safety Institute and provide feedback to the companies on potential safety improvements.

The US AI Safety Institute was launched last year as part of an executive order by President Joe Biden's administration to evaluate known and emerging risks of artificial intelligence models.



Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Apple Launches New iPad Mini with AI Features

A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a signage outside an Apple store in London, Britain, October 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Apple on Tuesday launched its new generation of the iPad mini packed with AI features including writing tools and an improved Siri assistant, as the iPhone maker races to boost its devices with artificial-intelligence capabilities.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the US version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

The features will be available for iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later generations, Apple said, adding it will roll out additional features including image-generation tools, Genmoji and ChatGPT-powered capabilities over the next several months.

Apple in September unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 lineup, but with the AI features still in test mode, the company failed to excite some investors while early sales data raised some questions around demand.

Still, research firm Canalys on Monday said the iPhone 16 would help Apple's sales in the fourth quarter and drive momentum into the first half of 2025, after Apple reached a record high third-quarter shipments.

The iPad mini, starting at $499, is available for pre-orders starting on Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers and Apple store locations next week, Apple said.