Welcome to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 😩 First batch of AI hardware devices a flop?

• 🤺 Microsoft MAI-1 vs OpenAI GPT-4

• 🎼 Randy Travis sings again, courtesy of AI

• 🎨 Web version of Midjourney

Let’s get right into it!

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STARTUPS

First batch of AI hardware a flop?

Recent reviews and developments in AI devices have highlighted some challenges. The Humane AI Pin, criticized by YouTuber Marques Brownlee as the worst product he's ever reviewed, and the Rabbit R1 as barely reviewable, known for its short battery life and misleading claims about AI usage. Meanwhile, the company Rewind, originally making a pendant for recording conversations, has shifted to focus on business applications like meeting summaries under its new name, "Limitless."

• Humane - Wearable Pin - $230M funding

• Limitless - Pendant - $33M funding

• Rabbit - R1 Handheld - $30M funding

• Brilliant Labs - Glasses - $6M funding

• Tab - Pendant $1.9M funding

These examples show the difficulties AI wearable developers face even with large sums of funding.

BIG TECH

Microsoft MAI-1 vs OpenAI GPT-4

Microsoft, having invested over $10 billion in OpenAI, is now developing its own AI model named MAI-1, potentially rivaling the likes of Google and OpenAI's advanced AI models. MAI-1, overseen by former Google AI leader Mustafa Suleyman, is distinguished by its vast scale, boasting around 500 billion parameters, compared to OpenAI's GPT-4 which has over 1 trillion.

This model represents a shift for Microsoft as it explores a dual approach in AI—continuing smaller models for mobile and apps while pushing into larger, more complex systems. The development is fueled by significant resources, including a large cluster of Nvidia GPUs and a rich training dataset incorporating elements from OpenAI's GPT-4 and extensive public internet data.

While the exact role of MAI-1 is yet to be defined, depending on its performance in the upcoming weeks, Microsoft may showcase this model at its Build developer conference later this month.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Randy Travis sings again, courtesy of AI

Randy Travis, a country music icon known for his rich baritone voice, had a remarkable career until a massive stroke in 2013 dramatically impacted his ability to speak and sing. Despite these challenges, Travis and his team have ventured into innovative territory to restore his singing voice using AI technology.

With the assistance of James DuPre’s donated vocals, they created a hybrid voice that captures the essence of Travis’s sound, resulting in his first new song in over a decade, "Where That Came From". This effort not only marks a significant comeback but also poses questions about the future use of AI in music and the possibilities it holds for artists facing similar challenges.

STARTUPS

How to access the web version of Midjourney

Previously, to access the web-based version of Midjourney and participate in alpha-testing for image creation on their website, users needed to have generated over 1000 images. However, this requirement has recently been lowered to just over 100 images. Additionally, Midjourney has introduced a new 'rooms' feature that allows users to create images in real-time with people from around the world.

To begin:

• You must have an active subscription with Midjourney.

• Use the /info command in Discord, where you generate your images, to check the number of images you have created; if the number is over 100, you are good to go.

• Navigate to alpha.midjourney.com and log in using your Discord account credentials.