In artificial intelligence (AI) news this week, OpenAI inked a news-sharing deal with News Corp and was accused by actress Scarlett Johansson of cloning its voice; Nvidia saw a staggering 262% revenue growth due to the AI boom; meanwhile, as Amazon prepares to release a subscription version of its AI-powered assistant, Alexa, the company recognizes the need for a paid model to support the integration of generative AI capabilities.
OpenAI and News Corp sign news-sharing deal
Artificial intelligence company OpenAI and media giant News Corp announced a multi-year global partnership on Wednesday (May 22) that will enable OpenAI's ChatGPT AI chatbot to access and display content from more than a dozen of News Corp's publications. “We believe this historic agreement will establish new standards for truthfulness, virtue and value in the digital age,” News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said. Under the terms of the deal, OpenAI will gain access to current and archived content from News Corp publications across business, finance, politics and entertainment. News Corp journalists will also share their expertise with OpenAI to deepen AI's understanding of the news landscape.
While the partnership is an important step toward the convergence of AI and journalism, some believe it will do more than just improve ChatGPT's news and information capabilities. “Most people would look at the OpenAI-News Corp partnership and think it's about training data. It's not. It's about ChatGPT competing with Google Search,” said Nathaniel Whitmore, CEO of AI education company Superintelligent. Experts say the partnership could have a big impact on how people access and consume news.
Nvidia's AI revenue beats expectations
Chipmaker Nvidia on Wednesday reported revenue of $26 billion for the quarter ended April 28, up 18% from the previous quarter and 262% from a year ago, beating Wall Street expectations. “The computer industry is experiencing two simultaneous transitions: accelerated computing and generative AI,” Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said, attributing the company's growth to partnerships with companies and countries that are moving toward “AI factories” to boost productivity across industries.
According to Reuters, Nvidia's sales and profits beat analysts' average estimate of $24.65 billion and the company's own quarterly guidance of $24 billion. Nvidia Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress described the AI Factory as “the next-generation data center where data goes in and intelligence comes out.” Investors and analysts were closely watching Nvidia's earnings report as a bellwether for the fast-growing AI industry.
Amazon's Alexa may soon become a paid service
Amazon is preparing to charge subscription fees for its tiered Alexa service. The integration of generative AI makes the paid model even more necessary. “Before we charge customers, and I think we will, it has to be amazing,” said David Limp, a former Amazon executive in charge of Alexa, adding that the AI-powered assistant must prove useful enough to justify the cost. No specific price has been decided, but the company plans to talk to customers to assess what they value in an enhanced Alexa experience.
Recent reports suggest that the debut of Alexa Plus, an AI-powered subscription service, could happen before the end of the year. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed to PYMNTS that the company is developing generative AI capabilities for Alexa, which CEO Andy Jassy mentioned in his latest shareholder letter as part of “dozens” of potential applications that include an “even smarter and more capable Alexa.” Currently, the only Alexa application based on a subscription model is Alexa Together, designed for eldercare and family caregiver collaboration, but the company announced that it will end support for this service after June 25th.
Scarlett Johansson accuses OpenAI of imitating her voice
Actress Scarlett Johansson has sparked controversy by accusing OpenAI of duplicating her voice for the ChatGPT system without her consent. The allegations emerged after OpenAI removed the voice “Sky” from its AI platform. Johansson claimed that the voice was “eerie similar” to hers, despite her previous refusal to lend her voice to the chatbot. “The resemblance was especially striking given that I had previously decided not to participate in this project,” Johansson said in a recent press release.
In response to Johansson's accusations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly denied that the “Sky” voice was an imitation, saying it belonged to another professional actress who was cast before Johansson was signed. “Sky's voice is not Scarlett Johansson's, and we have never attempted to imitate her,” Altman said in an email to Reuters. Altman regretted the misunderstanding and announced the company's decision to stop using Sky's voice out of respect for Johansson, acknowledging that he had not communicated the company's intentions to the actress.
