OpenAI's New Voice Assistant, Ilya Sutskever's Departure, Google I/O, and Bitcoin ETFs; Ep 43

Tech-Mex

Hey, Welcome to the Tech-Mex Podcast!
We’re your hosts Eric & Mando, and this is Episode Cuarenta y tres. Today, we're bringing you the top stories in Bitcoin, Tech, and Wealth, so you too can carry your best friend in your pocket. ~ Dale
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As you know, Houston has been in the news a lot for our scary weather. Just a couple of weeks ago, we had flooding, and now we've been hit with tornadoes and a derecho with Category 2 hurricane winds up to 128mph. We’re ok, but many Houstonians are still without power—up to 1 million people at one point.
In this episode, we cover:
“HER” - GPT-4o “Omni” OpenAI’s Voice Assistant Upgrade
OpenAI has introduced a new voice assistant feature inspired by the movie Her. This feature can read facial expressions and translate spoken language in real-time, aiming to provide a more responsive AI assistant experience.
During a livestream, OpenAI engineers showcased the assistant’s ability to be more expressive, switch between different voice tones, and respond to visual cues from the phone’s camera.
The advanced voice mode will initially be available in an “alpha” release to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, with plans for a wider rollout. There are also reports of a potential deal with Apple to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone, potentially enhancing or replacing Siri.
Ilya Leaving OpenAI
OpenAI’s chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, announced his departure from the company to pursue a “personally meaningful” project.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised Sutskever for his contributions. Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI’s director of research, is set to become the new chief scientist.
The internet has been rife with speculations and memes about Sutskever’s departure, particularly concerning his initial support for Altman’s ousting and subsequent regret.
Despite the internal turmoil, OpenAI continues to advance, having launched its most powerful AI model, GPT-4o.
Google’s Response
At Google I/O, Google introduced updates to Gemini, its ChatGPT competitor, and announced Project Astra for enhancing AI assistants.
Android 15 brings live voice conversations with AI and camera integration for query responses.
AI-assisted results are now available in Google Search in the US, and Workspace and Gmail have new enhancements with Gemini 1.5 Pro.
Bitcoin News
Over 600 firms have unveiled substantial investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs, totaling $3.5 billion.
The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has purchased over $160 million in Bitcoin ETFs, marking a significant move for institutional investment in cryptocurrency.
Elon Musk’s Lawsuit
Tesla is facing a lawsuit over self-driving claims, alleging false advertising of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technology.
The lawsuit seeks damages for those who bought or leased Tesla vehicles with these features since 2016.
Eric’s Notes on Tesla:
Changes lanes a lot, slow reaction time, doesn’t commit, speeds up/down too fast, waits until the last minute to change lanes.
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