Genesis revolutionizes 4D physics simulation & DeepMind evaluates LLM factuality with FACTS Grounding

⚡️ Quick Hits

🤖 AI

Perplexity welcomes Carbon to its team, advancing AI-driven search innovation - The addition of Carbon technology is expected to enhance Perplexity’s AI-powered query responses. [Perplexity Blog].

GitHub Copilot now free for VS Code users - GitHub announces a significant expansion of Copilot's accessibility to all Visual Studio Code users. [GitHub Blog].

AI startup Perplexity raises $200M in funding round - Perplexity secures funding at a $1.5 billion valuation to accelerate its AI development. [Yahoo Finance].

China’s immigration policies restrict global AI talent - Immigration barriers impact the recruitment of top AI experts in both the U.S. and China. [Rest of World].

🎨 Creative

Millionaire AI artist Botto explores a personality upgrade - Botto, an AI artist known for selling digital works, is being reprogrammed with personality traits. [Wired].

Runway unveils AI-driven talent platform for creative projects - The platform helps connect creators with cutting-edge generative AI tools for content creation. [Runway].

Threads adds new reshare feature for images - Users can now reshare images without attaching the original post, shifting platform dynamics. [The Verge].

₿ Crypto

Investors sue over Memecoin losses tied to Hawk Tuah - Memecoin holders allege fraud in a New York lawsuit after a crash erased millions. [Newsweek].

Bitcoin flirts with $100,000 despite recent Fed-induced dip - Volatility marks Bitcoin's journey toward a new all-time high. [Bloomberg].

⚖ Legal

Supreme Court to hear TikTok ban case in January - The case focuses on national security concerns and freedom of expression. [Wall Street Journal].

Tencent exits Epic Games board over U.S. antitrust scrutiny - Regulatory pressures prompt Tencent to give up its stake in the Epic Games board. [The Information].

🧪 Research

MIT engineers develop high-rise 3D microchips - New technology allows for the vertical stacking of microchips, promising enhanced performance and density. [MIT News].

🎱 Random

Apple pushes back against Meta's interoperability demands - Apple criticizes Meta’s requests as overly burdensome in the ongoing battle over app integration. [Reuters].

Flipboard launches Surf, a new social aggregation app - Surf aims to provide users a personalized, curated feed of diverse web content. [Fast Company].

Reddit eyes sports discussions to dominate organic social media - The platform leverages fan engagement to strengthen its position in sports discourse. [Digiday].

🔌 Plug In To These Details

Meet Genesis: An Open-Source Universal Physics Engine That Generates 4D Worlds

Genesis is a groundbreaking open-source physics engine designed to simulate and generate dynamic 4D worlds, offering speeds up to 80 times faster than GPU-based simulators like Isaac Gym. It supports diverse robotics and AI applications, including character animation, robotic policy creation, and generative simulations.

• Developed through collaboration among leading institutions, Genesis leverages physics solvers to provide high-fidelity simulations with a Python-based, user-friendly API.

• It integrates generative simulation capabilities, allowing scene creation and data generation from natural language inputs.

• GPU acceleration enables Genesis to achieve unprecedented simulation speeds, such as 430,000 times faster than real-time physics in specific scenarios.

• Features include support for differentiable simulation, photo-realistic rendering, and auto-hibernation for static objects, enhancing both performance and resource efficiency.

• As open-source software, Genesis invites community contributions to expand its functionality and accessibility, aligning with its goal to democratize robotics research.

🌎 By merging speed, accuracy, and generative AI, Genesis not only accelerates robotics research but sets a new benchmark for accessible, scalable simulation tools, likely shaping future innovations in embodied AI and interactive virtual environments.

FACTS Grounding: A new benchmark for evaluating the factuality of large language models

DeepMind has introduced FACTS Grounding, a comprehensive benchmark designed to evaluate how effectively large language models (LLMs) ground their responses in provided source material. This initiative aims to reduce "hallucinations" in AI-generated content and promote factual accuracy, with a leaderboard hosted on Kaggle to encourage transparency and improvement.

• The FACTS Grounding dataset includes 1,719 examples that test LLMs on generating long-form, source-based responses across domains like medicine, law, and finance.

• Examples involve diverse tasks, such as summarization and Q&A generation, while excluding creativity and advanced reasoning challenges to focus on factual grounding.

• The benchmark evaluates responses using three top-performing LLMs (Gemini 1.5 Pro, GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet) to ensure objective scoring and mitigate model-specific biases.

• Public and private subsets ensure robust testing while safeguarding against benchmark contamination and leaderboard manipulation.

• The initiative seeks industry-wide adoption to improve trust in LLM outputs and expand their real-world applications.

✔️ This benchmark not only addresses factuality gaps in AI but aligns with broader efforts to standardize AI evaluations, signaling a shift toward accountability in model outputs amidst growing reliance on generative AI.

📸 Creator Corner

RunwayML’s New Talent Network

Runway ML has launched the Runway Talent Network, a new media platform designed to showcase and discover creative work in the AI-driven media landscape. This network serves multiple purposes:

Key Features

Talent Showcase: The platform allows creatives, including independent artists and production companies, to display their work and talent.

Job Opportunities: It connects professionals with brands, agencies, and studios looking to integrate AI into their workflows, from conceptualization to final production.

Diverse Talent Pool: The network includes independent artists, many of whom are part of Runway's Creative Partner Program, as well as leading production companies that are pioneering AI-driven workflows.

Notable Participants

The inaugural roster of production companies includes:

• EDGLRD: Founded by acclaimed director Harmony Korine, known for films like "Kids" and "Spring Breakers"

• TOOL of North America: A creative production partner that utilizes various media from broadcast advertising to AR and VR experience

Industry Impact

The Runway Talent Network addresses a growing need in the creative industry. With tens of millions of users and thousands of companies using Runway, there has been a consistent demand for finding professionals skilled in integrating AI into various creative workflows.

This platform aims to bridge that gap, fostering connections between talent and opportunities in the evolving landscape of AI-driven media production.

Accessibility

The Runway Talent Network is now live and can be accessed at talent.runwayml.com

This launch represents a significant step in Runway's efforts to support and advance the creative community leveraging AI technologies in their work.

🤔 Final Thoughts

The launch of Runway's Talent Network represents a significant validation for AI creatives. By providing a dedicated platform for showcasing AI-driven work, Runway is aiming to legitimize and professionalize the role of AI-using artists and technologists in the creative industry.

This network not only offers visibility but also creates tangible job opportunities, demonstrating that AI-enhanced creativity is becoming a sought-after skill in the mainstream media and entertainment sectors.

The inclusion of renowned production companies and directors further underscores the growing acceptance and demand for AI-augmented creative talent in high-profile projects.

~ JL