Innovation Snapshot

”The future is experts + AI”

— Matt Leta, Founder & CEO of Future Works

Welcome to your Lighthouse!

In case you missed it last week, we unveiled a new Lighthouse! Our newsletter now features three sections:

• People: Highlighting remarkable achievements and insights.

• Robots: Diving into the latest in tech and AI.

• Love: Exploring personal growth and learning.

We hope these updates enhance your reading experience and keep you at the forefront of innovation.

— Redesigned by our team, Ari & JC.

In today's lineup:

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 People

• Innovation Champion: Stephanie Dinkins explores AI's cultural gaps.

• AI study on butterfly evolution supports Darwin and Wallace.

• Apple's Schiller joins OpenAI's board.

🤖 Robots

• AI drives nearly 50% rise in Google’s emissions.

• FinalSpark combines human brains with silicon chips for greener computing.

• One Process & Tool: Simplifying contract management with fynk AI.

❤️ Love

• Hero’s Journey: Ryan Popple’s path from military to Proterra's clean tech leader.

• Personal Development: Learn Generative AI with NVIDIA’s DLI course.

• Personal Growth: Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement.

Reading time: 7 min.

Innovation Champion 🏆

Stephanie Dinkins, Artist

Introducing Stephanie Dinkins, a multimedia artist deeply exploring AI's shortcomings in recognizing diverse populations. Dinkins programs AIs to depict Black women, revealing significant gaps in AI's cultural understanding. Her project Not the Only One trains AI on three generations of Black women, aiming to instill cultural roots and perspectives. This groundbreaking work earned her a $100,000 Guggenheim award.

AI Unveils Evolutionary Patterns Predicted by Darwin and Wallace

A University of Essex study used AI to analyze 16,000 birdwing butterfly specimens, finding that males show more variation, supporting Darwin's sexual selection, while subtle variations in females align with Wallace's natural selection. This research demonstrates how AI can enhance our understanding of biodiversity by integrating machine learning with biological data.

Why This Matters

This study highlights AI's potential to advance evolutionary science, offering new insights into long-standing theories and emphasizing AI's role in interdisciplinary research.

Apple’s Phil Schiller Joins OpenAI’s Board

Phil Schiller, Apple's App Store chief, joins OpenAI’s nonprofit board as a non-voting observer. This move will help Apple integrate ChatGPT into iOS and macOS, enhancing Siri's capabilities. Schiller’s role allows Apple to gain deeper insights into OpenAI’s operations without financial exchange initially.

Why This Matters 

This partnership signals a significant step in AI integration within Apple products, highlighting the strategic importance of AI advancements in consumer technology.

Brain power: Swiss startup powers computers with mini human brains

Swiss startup FinalSpark introduces the Neuroplatform, combining mini lab-grown human brains with silicon chips for efficient computing. This platform, adopted by nine institutions, aims to reduce energy use significantly compared to traditional setups.

Why This Matters 

This innovative technology offers a greener alternative to conventional computing, aligning with the increasing need for sustainable tech solutions.

Google’s emissions climb nearly 50% in five years due to AI energy demand

Google's climate goals are jeopardized as its data centers, crucial for AI products, have caused a 48% rise in emissions over five years. In 2023 alone, emissions increased by 13%, reaching 14.3 million metric tons. This growth threatens Google's ambitious net-zero target by 2030.

Why This Matters 

As AI demands more energy, balancing innovation with sustainability becomes critical, highlighting the environmental challenges tech companies face.

One Process 💡

Simplifying Contract Management in 5 Easy Steps

fynk AI makes managing contracts smooth and efficient, helping you spot risks early and generate insightful reports.

1. Plan Your Integration
Evaluate your current contract management process and set goals for using fynk AI, like reducing risks and saving time.

2. Set Up the Software
Install fynk AI, connect it to your contract data, and input your digital contract guidelines.

3. Automate and Analyze
fynk AI will automatically analyze contracts, create summaries, and flag deviations, giving you a quick overview.

4. Monitor and Compare
Use fynk’s analytics to monitor performance, compare new contracts to old ones, and spot risks and opportunities early.

5. Review and Improve
Review the insights from fynk AI to make informed decisions and continuously improve your contract processes.

Tool Spotlight 🔧

Braintrust

A comprehensive platform that revolutionizes hiring with AI, enabling businesses to efficiently find, hire, and manage global talent.

Key Features:

• AI Job Description Generator: Automatically create compelling job postings.

• AI Candidate Matching: Instantly match with top candidates from a global pool of 800,000+ members.

• Async AI Interviews & Grading: Conduct and grade video interviews with AI, providing detailed scorecards.

• Global Hiring & Onboarding: Simplify hiring and compliance across 150+ countries.

• Efficient Workforce Management: Manage your entire external workforce with organized reporting and seamless global payments.

Nerd Corner 🤓

Sentient AI

Sentient AI is an advanced form of AI that exhibits curiosity and uses experiences to continuously refine its beliefs about the world, updating its understanding in real-time.

In active inference, Sentient AI is the next stage beyond Systemic AI, actively seeking new information to improve accuracy and reduce uncertainty.

Key Characteristics:

• Curiosity-Driven Learning: Seeks new information to refine understanding.

• Experience-Based Updates: Continuously updates beliefs based on experiences.

• Dynamic Knowledge: Adapts and evolves knowledge in real-time.

Hero’s Journey ☄️

Ryan Popple

Ryan Popple's journey from a military career to leading Proterra Inc. in the clean tech sector exemplifies heroic determination. As the co-founder and former CEO, he guided Proterra to become a leader in electric buses, overcoming significant financial challenges and competition.

Popple's disciplined background from the military enabled him to navigate and overcome industry hurdles. His visionary leadership resulted in innovative, sustainable electric buses that set new industry standards.

Ryan Popple's story underscores resilience, vision, and commitment to sustainability, highlighting his transformative impact in the clean tech industry.

Introduction to Generative AI:

A Comprehensive Course for Understanding and Applying Generative AI

Offered by NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute (DLI), this course equips you with the essential knowledge of Generative AI, focusing on its concepts, applications, and the challenges it presents.

By the end of this course, you'll:

• Understand Generative AI and how it works.

• Learn about various applications of Generative AI.

• Identify the challenges and opportunities in the field.

Join this course for free.

Personal Growth 🌱

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, emphasizing small, incremental changes for significant growth. It promotes:

1. Continuous Improvement: Small, consistent changes for steady progress.

2. Employee Involvement: Encourages everyone to contribute improvement ideas.

3. Standardization: Best practices ensure quality and efficiency.

4. Simplicity: Streamline processes to reduce waste.

5. Measurement: Track progress to identify improvements and celebrate successes.

Kaizen fosters a culture of growth and efficiency, enhancing productivity and driving innovation.

In Culture 🤌

THAT’S A WRAP! 🚀

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