Across the tech and business world, artificial intelligence continues to be a major focus. Google is investing $5 million through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "Small Business B(AI)sics" program to provide basic AI skills to 40,000 small businesses, alongside its own "Make AI Work for You" online course and workshops. Meanwhile, nations are pouring billions into developing "sovereign AI" to compete with major players like OpenAI and Google, aiming to create models suited to their specific languages and cultural contexts. In the realm of customer service, Teleperformance is blending AI with human emotional intelligence to enhance customer interactions and employee well-being. The art world is also seeing AI integration, with artist Lu Yang using AI and ancient philosophy in new exhibits. On the financial front, Waton Financial has launched DePearl AI for blockchain trading, and a combination of FOMO and greed is driving a simultaneous rally in gold, cryptocurrencies, and AI stocks, with Nvidia notably boosting market performance. Cybersecurity is also leveraging AI, as Palo Alto Networks used its AI-driven platform to secure the Black Hat USA network, detecting and preventing numerous threats. However, the power of AI also presents challenges, as demonstrated by a fake AI-generated video falsely depicting an Indonesian school collapse. In application security, AI Security Crew offers a new approach using cooperating AI agents to mimic a human AppSec team.
Key Takeaways
- Google is providing $5 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for AI training aimed at 40,000 small businesses.
- Governments worldwide are investing billions in developing "sovereign AI" to compete with tech giants.
- Teleperformance is combining AI with emotional intelligence training for its call center agents.
- Artist Lu Yang is incorporating AI and ancient philosophy into new art exhibitions.
- Waton Financial has launched DePearl AI to create autonomous AI traders for blockchain.
- A market rally in gold, crypto, and AI stocks is being driven by FOMO and greed.
- Nvidia is a key driver of recent market gains, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs.
- AI Security Crew is an open-source framework using cooperating AI agents for application security.
- A fake AI-generated video falsely depicted an Indonesian school collapse, highlighting misinformation concerns.
- Google's "Make AI Work for You" program offers online courses and workshops for small businesses to learn AI.
Google offers AI training for small businesses
Google launched a new program called "Make AI Work for You" to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) understand and use artificial intelligence tools. The program includes online courses with real-life examples and workshops. Google is also providing $5 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "Small Business B(AI)sics" program to give 40,000 businesses basic AI skills. These initiatives aim to help SMBs keep up with AI advancements and use them to improve their operations.
Google and US Chamber partner on AI training for small businesses
Google is giving $5 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to create a national AI training program for 40,000 small businesses. The program, called "Small Business B(AI)sics," will offer foundational AI skills. Google also launched an online course, "Make AI Work for You," which uses case studies to teach business owners how to use AI for tasks like creating sales pitches or analyzing results. Workshops are also available nationwide through local chambers of commerce.
New funding and training to boost US small business AI growth
Google announced new investments and training programs to help U.S. small businesses use artificial intelligence. Through its AI Works initiative, Google is providing $5 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for a national AI training program called "Small Business B(AI)sics," aiming to equip 40,000 businesses with essential AI skills. Additionally, Google's "Make AI Work for You" course offers online learning and workshops to guide small business owners on using AI tools for tasks like creating sales decks and analyzing results.
Teleperformance blends AI with human touch in call centers
Teleperformance, the world's largest call center operator, is integrating AI into its operations while prioritizing emotional intelligence. The company uses AI for tasks like analyzing data and supporting human agents, allowing them to focus on complex customer interactions. Teleperformance also trains its staff in emotional intelligence to enhance customer service with empathy. This approach aims to improve employee well-being and customer satisfaction by combining technology with human connection.
Call center giant Teleperformance balances AI with emotional intelligence
Teleperformance, the world's largest call center operator, is merging artificial intelligence (AI) with emotional intelligence (EI) in its services. Since 2023, the company has adopted AI to boost efficiency and support agents, while emphasizing EI training for empathetic customer interactions. This strategy aims to enhance customer experience beyond what AI alone can offer. Teleperformance also uses AI to improve employee well-being through better scheduling and workload management, believing that happy employees lead to satisfied customers and clients.
Nations invest billions in 'sovereign AI' amid global race
Governments worldwide are investing billions in developing their own "sovereign AI" technologies to compete with tech giants like OpenAI and Google. Countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Switzerland are creating AI models tailored to their languages and needs, such as understanding regional dialects or specific cultural contexts. This trend is driven by concerns over reliance on foreign AI, national security, and the desire to have a place in the evolving AI ecosystem. While building advanced AI is costly, some nations are pooling resources or focusing on specialized talent to make meaningful gains.
Fake AI video falsely claims Indonesian school collapse
A video created using artificial intelligence falsely claimed to show the moment an Indonesian school collapsed. The clip, which had its AI watermark removed, was widely shared on social media. It does not match real photos of the disaster's aftermath at an Islamic boarding school where students were praying. Authorities have confirmed the video is fake and warned against sharing misinformation. The real collapse caused casualties, and an investigation is underway.
Artist Lu Yang blends AI with ancient philosophy in new exhibits
Artist Lu Yang uses artificial intelligence and ancient philosophy, particularly Buddhist and Indian concepts, in two new exhibitions in Brooklyn and Queens. The works explore themes of life, death, and enlightenment through animated and AI-generated imagery. Lu Yang, who uses they/them pronouns, integrates AI and gaming aesthetics into their art, similar to other contemporary artists. AI is becoming a significant, sometimes controversial, medium in the art world, much like photography was in the 19th century.
Waton Financial launches DePearl AI for blockchain trading
Waton Financial Limited has launched DePearlā¢, an AI agent core designed to create and manage autonomous AI traders called DeTraders on a blockchain. This new system blends traditional finance with digital assets, allowing users to customize and train AI traders that learn and operate independently. Inspired by HBO's Westworld, DePearl aims to create a secure, transparent, and scalable financial ecosystem by connecting conventional markets with Web3 infrastructure.
Palo Alto Networks uses AI to secure Black Hat USA network
Palo Alto Networks utilized its AI-driven security platform, Cortex XSIAM, to protect the Network Operations Center (NOC) at Black Hat USA. The system processed 4.5 billion events and 5 terabytes of data, detecting and preventing 120,000 threats. Cortex XSIAM's automation playbooks saved 881 hours by handling tasks like threat triage, reducing the average time to detect threats to 3.9 minutes. This demonstration highlighted how AI-powered defenses can manage complex cybersecurity challenges in real-time.
FOMO and greed drive rally in gold, crypto, and AI stocks
Kotak Institutional Equities reports that a combination of 'Fear Of Missing Out' (FOMO) and greed is causing an unusual simultaneous rally in gold, cryptocurrencies, and AI stocks. Typically, investors choose between safe-haven assets like gold or riskier assets like crypto and tech stocks during different market conditions. However, the current trend shows investors pursuing gains across all these asset classes at once. This behavior might indicate market exuberance and could be unsustainable long-term.
AI drives market gains despite Fed news
Artificial intelligence stocks, particularly Nvidia, are significantly influencing market performance, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs, overshadowing news about Federal Reserve rate cuts and government shutdowns. Despite concerns that AI stock valuations may be stretched, Wall Street remains optimistic, fueled by AI's potential and hopes for further rate reductions. Analysts are watching closely to see if this AI-driven rally is sustainable or if market expectations might shift.
AI Security Crew offers new approach to app security
Srajan Gupta developed AI Security Crew, an open-source framework that uses multiple cooperating AI agents to act as a virtual application security (AppSec) team. This system moves beyond traditional rule-based tools by allowing agents to reason, correlate findings, and communicate in real-time, mimicking human collaboration. The framework challenges the idea that security automation must be reactive, enabling proactive threat detection and architectural analysis. AI Security Crew's design has influenced commercial security platforms and advanced theoretical research in agent-based AI for system security.
Sources
- Google Announces AI Training Programs for SMBs
- Google and US Chamber Partner on AI Training for Small Businesses
- New funding and training to support U.S. small business growth and innovation with AI
- How the worldās largest call center operator is blending artificial intelligence with emotional intelligenceĀ
- How the worldās largest call center operator is blending artificial intelligence with emotional intelligence
- Governments are spending billions on their own āsovereignā AI technologies ā is it a big waste of money?
- Posts falsely claim AI video shows moment Indonesian school collapsed
- A.I. Meets Ancient Philosophy
- Waton Financial Limited Launches DePearlā¢: A New AI-Driven Financial Ecosystem for Autonomous Trading on Blockchain
- Leveraging AI-powered defense to secure the NOC at Black Hat USA
- FOMO or greed? Both driving unusual rally across gold, crypto and AI stocks, says Kotak Institutional Equities
- CNBC Daily Open: The Fed spoke, but AI roared
- Revolutionizing AppSec: The AI Security Crew Paradigm Shift
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