Amazon's new foundation models

Amazon launches new foundation models (link)

Amazon Nova, a new suite of advanced foundation models on Amazon Bedrock, offers state-of-the-art capabilities for multimodal understanding and creative content generation, enabling enterprises to process complex data, create content, and build AI agents efficiently and responsibly.

OpenAI’s AGI plans also involve a new $200/mo plan (link)

Sam Altman downplayed AGI’s transformative impact, saying it will “matter much less” than expected, as OpenAI launched a $200 monthly subscription for its latest model during its “12 days of shipmas” campaign.

UK government’s AI is biased (link)

The UK government’s AI system for detecting welfare fraud has shown biases based on age, disability, marital status, and nationality, raising concerns over discrimination. Despite assurances of human oversight, campaigners criticize the DWP for using the system without fully addressing potential harms, calling it a “hurt first, fix later” approach.

Romania cancels election after cyberattacks on its systems (link)

Romania canceled its presidential election following over 85,000 cyberattacks, including a Russian-backed influence campaign promoting a pro-Moscow candidate. Authorities plan a re-run with tighter system oversight amid ongoing vulnerabilities.

More smart LLM aggregators are rising (link)

JigsawStack’s Prompt Engine optimizes LLM usage by enhancing prompts, running the best models, and combining top results for consistency and quality. Some pros are reduced costs, improved speed, and seamless adaptation to newer LLMs.

Uber launches robotaxis Abu Dhabi with China’s WeRide (link)

Uber and WeRide launched a robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, allowing users to book autonomous vehicles via the Uber app, with plans for driverless rides by 2025. WeRide, operating in multiple countries, adds to Uber’s growing network of autonomous vehicle partners.