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China develops AI model for military using Meta’s Llama

Top Chinese research institutions linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have used Meta’s publicly available Llama model to develop an AI tool for potential military applications, according to academic papers and analysts. In a June paper reviewed by Reuters, six Chinese researchers from three institutions, including two under the PLA leading research body, the Academy of Military Science (AMS), detailed how they had used an early version of Meta’s Llama as a base for what it calls “ChatBIT”.

The researchers used the Llama 2 13B large language model (LLM) that Meta released in February 2023, incorporating their own parameters to construct a military-focused AI tool to gather and process intelligence, and offer accurate and reliable information for operational decision-making. ChatBIT was fine-tuned and “optimised for dialogue and question-answering tasks in the military field”, the paper said. Meta’s terms prohibit use of the models for “military, warfare, nuclear industries or applications, espionage”.

ChatGPT to work as search engine

OpenAI is launching a ChatGPT-powered search engine that could put the artificial intelligence company in direct competition with Google and affect the flow of internet traffic seeking news, sports scores and other timely information. San Francisco-based OpenAI said Thursday it is releasing a search feature to paid users of ChatGPT but will eventually expand it to all ChatGPT users. It released a preview version in July to a small group of users and publishers.

OpenAI said in a blog post that its new search engine was built with help from news partners, which include The Associated Press and News Corp. It will include links to sources, such as news and blog posts, the company said. It was not immediately clear whether the links would correspond to the original source of the information presented by the chatbot. Google has also upended its search engine in May with AI-generated written summaries.

Apple takes 22% value share in India

Apple captured 22% value share in the Q3 2024 (July-September), followed by Vivo with 15.5% as Samsung got the maximum share, 23%, Counterpoint Research noted. “Apple has aggressively expanded into smaller cities, driving significant value growth with an increased focus on newer iPhones.” Strong shipments of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 ahead of the festive season have further enhanced Apple’s performance, it said.

The research firm said that the value growth was due to premiumisation while the volume growth was driven by the earlier onset of the festive season when compared to 2023. “As consumers increasingly invest in premium smartphones, Apple has cemented its status as the top choice for premium buyers in India, supported by its aspirational image and expanding footprint.” In shipments, Vivo reclaimed the top spot with a 19% share, followed by Xiaomi with 17%. 5G smartphones captured their highest-ever share of 81% in the overall shipments.