AI Industry Updates, November 24: Practical AI Implementations

Published 21 November 2024

Author
Adam Speight
2 min read

Tech companies are unveiling new ways to implement artificial intelligence (AI) in practical, real-life settings, with developments in physical computing hardware, computer automation tools and development platforms reshaping how organisations can use the technology.

  • Anthropic’s Claude AI Adds ‘Computer Use’: San Francisco-based Anthropic has introduced ‘computer use’ into public beta for its Claude 3.5 Sonnet language model. The feature enables the AI to interact with computers like humans do: by viewing screens, moving cursors and typing. Early adopters, including American project management software company Asana, Australian online design firm Canva and US-based food delivery brand DoorDash, report successfully automating multi-step processes.
  • Microsoft’s & MIT’s AI Development Democratisation: New initiatives are reflecting growing efforts to transform AI from a specialised technology into a widely accessible tool.

    From November 2024, Microsoft’s Copilot Studio will introduce new features that enable organisations with minimal coding knowledge to build autonomous AI agents, as well as offering 10 ready-to-use agents for routine tasks, such as customer queries and inventory management.

    Meanwhile, a research laboratory based out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the MIT Media Lab, has unveiled Little Language Models, a tool aimed at familiarising children with modern AI. The educational microworld allows kids to create their own small-scale language models and provides visualisations to make complex concepts simpler to understand.
  • OpenAI’s Robotics Push: US-based OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) is now aiming to “bring AI into the physical world” through robotics work and partnerships. It has appointed Caitlin Kalinowski, the former hardware chief at virtual reality firm Oculus (now part of Meta), to lead its robotics and consumer hardware team. There have also been reports of OpenAI’s collaboration with legendary product designer (formerly of Apple) Jony Ive on an AI hardware project, suggesting a broader strategy that would extend AI capabilities beyond software applications.