2024 AI Highlights: Key Developments and What’s Next

The following article complements a video available on the Beyond AI channel, which discusses the most important events in the world of artificial intelligence in 2024. We encourage you to visit the channel, where you will find even more interesting material about the dynamic world of AI.

Watch this video on YouTube:

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January: The debut of Rabbit R1 and the beginning of a year full of technological challenges

2024 began with the launch of Rabbit R1, a device created in collaboration with Teenage Engineering. Presented at CES, it was supposed to revolutionise the way we interact with technology, allowing us to perform many everyday tasks without the need for a phone. Unfortunately, the device quickly proved to be underdeveloped and sparked controversy over data security. Thus, it shared the fate of similar products, such as Humane AIPin.

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February: Google and problematic image generation in Gemini

Google had to withdraw the image generation feature in the Gemini model after a series of controversies related to inappropriate results. Models that were supposed to represent diversity often generated images that were inconsistent with the context, triggering a public backlash. This event drew attention to the challenges of ethical AI use.

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March: AI Act – regulations from Europe

The European Union has adopted the AI Act, which classifies AI systems according to their level of risk. Although the regulations are intended to increase transparency and safety, critics fear that they may stifle innovation in Europe. The AI Act will not come into full effect until 2026, but it is already sparking heated debate.

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April: The demise of Amazon's Just Walk Out service

Amazon withdrew its Just Walk Out service, which was supposed to enable shopping without traditional checkout, after discovering that thousands of human employees were behind the AI technology. This event highlighted how many companies rely on ‘human support’ in the process of implementing new technologies.

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May: Scarlett Johansson's voice and OpenAI controversy

OpenAI introduced a new voice in its applications, resembling Scarlett Johansson. The actress, known for her role in the film Her, did not consent to the use of her voice. After legal tensions, OpenAI withdrew this voice, sparking a debate about copyright in the context of AI.

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June: Apple Intelligence and implementation challenges

Apple announced the launch of Apple Intelligence, a new AI platform designed to provide greater privacy and better use of local user data. Despite ambitious promises, these features failed to meet user expectations, showing that the company still lags behind its competitors.

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July: Launch of Llama 3.1

Meta unveiled a new version of its AI model, Llama 3.1, with 405 billion parameters. The model gained recognition as a competitor to OpenAI and Google products, although its licence restricted its use by large companies.

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August: Safe Superintelligence and a new approach to AI

Ilya Sutskever, former leader at OpenAI, founded the start-up Safe Superintelligence, which raised $1 billion in funding. The company aims to develop safe AI models that are not subject to commercial pressure, which is a response to the controversy surrounding OpenAI.

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September: GPT O1 Preview – a new standard from OpenAI

OpenAI unveiled GPT O1 Preview, a next-generation model that introduces more advanced thinking mechanisms before generating responses. The model has become a symbol of a new approach to advanced reasoning in AI.

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October: Scandals involving the replacement of people by AI

Google Maps replaced Jarosław Juszkiewicz's voice with an AI-generated model, drawing criticism from users. At the same time, Radio Off Kraków experimented with bots replacing human presenters, which met with huge public opposition and ended with the project being withdrawn.

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November: Elon Musk versus OpenAI

Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of betraying its original non-profit mission. The conflict highlighted tensions between commercialisation and ethics in AI development, as well as the growing influence of tech giants.

FAQ

1. What is the AI Act?

These are European regulations classifying AI systems according to their level of risk, aimed at increasing safety and transparency in their use.

2. Can AI replace humans?

In some cases, such as Radio Off Kraków, attempts have been made to replace human presenters with AI. However, experiments of this kind have met with public resistance.

3. Which companies dominate the AI market?

The most important players in 2024 were OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Apple.

Glossary

• AI Act – regulations concerning artificial intelligence in the European Union
• GPT – Generative Pre-trained Transformer, a type of language model
• Superintelligence – a potential stage of AI development that surpasses human capabilities in every aspect
• Open source – open source code that can be freely used and modified by others

We encourage you to visit the Beyond AI channel, ‘Your guide to the dynamic world of AI,’ where you will find even more information about the latest trends in artificial intelligence!