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Today’s Cache | OpenAI denies search engine launch speculation
| Photo Credit: AP
(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)
OpenAI debunks search engine speculation
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has denied reports that OpenAI is launching a search product this week. Media reports had earlier cited sources who claimed that OpenAI was building a search engine that could rival Google’s own offering. In an X post, Altman said that a popular announcement would be coming, but denied that it was related to a search engine or GPT-5. OpenAI’s official post noted that the launch will cover updates related to ChatGPT and its latest model, GPT-4. OpenAI will stream the event live via openai.com at 10:30 PM IST on May 13.
In recent days, the ChatGPT-maker has signed deals and announced partnerships with several media companies and news publishers, in order to access their archives for AI model training whilst providing AI-powered services in exchange for the same.
DigiLocker allows students to see board marks
More school students who took their board exams will be able to access their 2024 verified marksheets through the Indian government’s DigiLocker platform, which is part of the Digital India initiative to enable paperless access to services. While a rising number of essential documents such as marksheets, Aadhar cards, PAN cards, driving licenses, etc. are now being virtually fetched through the app in real time through users’ devices, there are also concerns about how secure the platform is and how Indians’ data will be protected from malicious actors or profiteers.
As DigiLocker grows in popularity, a major issue is the lack of uniformity when it comes to whether officials across the country demand to see physical originals of documents or DigiLocker hosted documents. While both are equal under Indian law, various government bodies are yet to come to a consensus regarding this.
U.S. military uses AI in mock plane fight
In a recent dogfight between two fighter jets, one craft was piloted by a human while the other one was controlled by AI technology with a civilian coming along for the ride. While the U.S. has confirmed that it is working on exploring the use of AI in military operations and tools, experts and activists fear this will soon lead to automated attacks on civilian targets or unmanned operations, without any humans being held accountable.
U.S. officials have countered these claims, and pointed out that China is also working to bring AI into its military, insisting Americans will have to do the same in order not to be left behind. In fact, there are hundreds of such ongoing AI projects in the U.S. Pentagon currently, reported AP.
