The first half of September 2023 brought remarkable developments in AI and technology. Apple quietly introduced new AI features, Coca-Cola unveiled an AI-created flavor, Finnish prisoners are training AI models, Meta is working on a GPT-4 competitor, and Tesla continues to dominate the self-driving sector, among other notable events.

In a bid to stay relevant, Coca-Cola harnessed AI to create a new Coke flavor that embodies the taste of the future. They gathered human insights on futuristic flavor associations and used AI to refine the flavor profile. This illustrates AI’s expanding role in our daily lives, a trend we’ll explore further in upcoming stories.

At Apple’s “Wonderlust” event, they introduced the iPhone 15, focusing on their unique AI integration strategy. Apple subtly enhances their hardware with AI capabilities, unlike rivals like Microsoft and Google. The new iPhone features an action button for quick AI assistant access, hinting at an enhanced, on-device Siri powered by Ajax, Apple’s LLM. Apple Silicon already excels in AI model execution and promises further improvements. They are also delving into spatial video with the iPhone 15 Pro, offering 3D capture and Object Capture for immersive experiences via Apple Vision.

In Finland, prisoners are assisting in training AI models by reading and answering questions about real estate content during three-hour shifts, earning $1.67 per hour. This initiative, led by Finnish startup Mitra, aims to create a search engine for construction companies. The choice of prison workers provides affordable Finnish-speaking labor and prepares inmates for a digital future upon release. While participation is optional and an alternative to physical labor, it raises ethical considerations.

(The material is translated, summarized and adapted from Matthew Berman’s YouTube channel)