Google’s Veo 2 Cost? 50 Cents Per Second

⚡️ Headlines

🤖 AI

Apple plans $500 billion in US investment, 20,000 research jobs in next four years - Apple announces a $500 billion investment in the U.S., including a Texas factory for AI servers and 20,000 new R&D jobs over the next four years. [Reuters].

Alibaba to Spend $53 Billion on Cloud and AI Over Next Three Years - Alibaba commits to investing $53 billion in cloud computing and AI technologies over the next three years. [The Information].

Grok 3 appears to have briefly censored unflattering mentions of Trump and Musk - xAI's chatbot, Grok 3, temporarily censored negative mentions of Elon Musk and Donald Trump due to unauthorized system prompt changes by a former employee. [TechCrunch].

Grok blocked results saying Musk and Trump 'spread misinformation' - Grok, xAI's chatbot, blocked search results suggesting Elon Musk or Donald Trump spread misinformation, leading to internal reviews and system prompt adjustments. [The Verge].

Vertex AI Pricing | Generative AI - Google Cloud - Google Cloud introduces flexible pricing for training, deployment, and prediction of generative AI models with Vertex AI. [Google Cloud].

OpenAI Bans Accounts Appearing to Work on a Surveillance Tool - OpenAI suspends accounts potentially linked to the development of surveillance tools, likely associated with entities in China. [Bloomberg].

Nvidia confirms 'rare' RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti manufacturing issue - Nvidia acknowledges a manufacturing defect affecting less than 0.5% of RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti GPUs, resulting in a slight performance decrease; replacements are offered. [The Verge].

Amazon's investments in Anthropic are now worth a cool $14 billion - Amazon's stake in AI startup Anthropic has appreciated to $14 billion, reflecting a 75% increase since its initial investment in 2023. [Business Insider].

Meet the journalists training AI models for Meta and OpenAI - Journalists are being recruited by companies like Outlier to train large language models for tech giants such as Meta and OpenAI. [Nieman Lab].

The Humane Ai Pin Will Become E-Waste Next Week - Existing Ai Pins from Humane will cease functioning after February 28, rendering them obsolete. [Wired].

🦾 Emerging Tech

Introducing NEO Gamma - 1X Technologies unveils NEO Gamma, an advanced home humanoid robot featuring improved autonomy, safety, and a design tailored for domestic environments. [1X Technologies].

Bybit Sees Over $4 Billion 'Bank Run' After Crypto's Biggest Hack - Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit experiences a $1.5 billion hack, leading to over $4 billion in withdrawals as users react to the security breach. [CoinDesk].

⚖ Legal

Coinbase Says SEC is Set to Dismiss Lawsuit - Coinbase announces that the SEC is expected to dismiss its lawsuit, allowing the company to continue operations without penalties or changes. [The Information].

Elton John calls for UK copyright rules rethink to protect creators from AI - Elton John urges the UK government to revise copyright laws to safeguard artists' rights against unregulated AI usage of their work. [The Guardian].

🎱 Random

Apple Abandons Budget Smartphone Market With the iPhone 16e - Apple discontinues its budget smartphone line with the iPhone 16e, focusing on premium devices and confirming plans for an M4 MacBook Air launch. [Bloomberg].

Warren Buffett touts Berkshire's record tax payments, urges government to spend wisely - Warren Buffett highlights Berkshire Hathaway's record tax contributions and advises prudent government spending of the funds. [Fox Business].

The Humane Ai Pin Will Become E-Waste Next Week - Existing Ai Pins from Humane will cease functioning after February 28, rendering them obsolete. [Wired].

🔌 Plug-Into-This

Google's New AI Video Model Veo 2 Priced at 50 Cents Per Second

Google has unveiled the pricing for its AI video generation model, Veo 2, at $0.50 per second of generated video. This translates to $30 per minute or $1,800 per hour, positioning Veo 2 as a premium tool for high-quality video content creation.

• Cost Comparison: While Veo 2's pricing is significant, it's substantially lower than traditional film production costs. For instance, "Avengers: Endgame" had a production budget of approximately $356 million, equating to about $32,000 per second of footage.

• Content Utilization: Users may not utilize every second of the generated footage, especially since Veo 2 typically creates videos around two minutes in length. This could result in paying for content that isn't used in final projects.

• Market Positioning: Veo 2's per-second pricing model contrasts with competitors like OpenAI's Sora model, which offers access through a $200 monthly subscription as part of the ChatGPT Pro service.

• Credit Packages: Google offers various credit packages for Veo 2 users, including a Small Pack of 200 credits for $29.90, allowing the generation of up to 8-second videos. Credits are valid for one year from the purchase date.

🎥 The pricing strategy suggests that Veo 2 is aimed at professionals and enterprises seeking efficient and flexible video production solutions, potentially reducing overall production expenses and timelines, despite a scary initial pricetag.

SmolVLM2: Bringing Video Understanding to Every Device

Recently introduced on Hugging Face, SmolVLM2, is a series of compact AI models designed to enhance video understanding across various devices. These models, available in 2.2 billion, 500 million, and 256 million parameter configurations, aim to make advanced video analysis accessible without the need for extensive computing resources.

• Model Efficiency: The 2.2B model balances performance and resource usage, capable of running on platforms like free Google Colab.

• Benchmark Performance: SmolVLM2 models excel in the Video-MME benchmark, which evaluates diverse video types and durations, indicating robust video understanding capabilities.

• Versatility Across Devices: The 500M and 256M models, being the smallest video language models released, are optimized for devices with limited computational power, such as smartphones and edge devices.

• Enhanced Visual Understanding: Improvements in the 2.2B model include better handling of mathematical problems in images, text recognition in photos, and comprehension of complex diagrams.

• Developer Integration: SmolVLM2 models are compatible with MLX, offering Python and Swift APIs, and are integrated into the Transformers library, facilitating seamless adoption by developers.

👁️ The release of SmolVLM2 is interesting from the perspective of enabling applications on edge devices with less compute power (which is still related to size) without compromising performance.

AI Chatbots Supplement Student Mental Health Services Amid Counselor Shortages

Schools across the United States are implementing AI-driven chatbots to address the growing demand for student mental health support, especially in areas with limited access to counselors. These tools aim to provide immediate assistance and bridge the gap in mental health services for students.

• Sonny's Hybrid Approach: Developed by Sonar Mental Health, Sonny combines AI technology with human oversight. Professionals in psychology and crisis intervention review AI-generated responses to ensure accuracy and empathy. This model is currently accessible to over 4,500 students across nine school districts, primarily in low-income and rural regions.

• Operational Hours and Monitoring: Sonny is available from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern Time, with a dedicated team monitoring multiple chats simultaneously. In cases where students express intentions of self-harm or harm to others, immediate notifications are sent to parents, school officials, and, if necessary, law enforcement.

• Data-Driven Support: The system aggregates anonymized data on student interactions, enabling schools to identify prevalent issues and tailor support services accordingly. For instance, increased stress-related messages during exam periods can prompt schools to offer additional resources.

• Cost and Accessibility: Schools typically invest between $20,000 to $30,000 annually for services like Sonny, often funded through mental health grants. This investment is seen as a proactive measure to support student well-being in the face of counselor shortages.

🤖 While AI chatbots like Sonny provide valuable support, experts emphasize they are not replacements for human therapists. Instead, they serve as supplementary resources, offering immediate assistance and helping to identify students in need of professional intervention.

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