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- Microsoft's AI agents are here
Microsoft's AI agents are here
Plus: Haiper launches new video generation model
Rowan Cheung
October 22, 2024
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
AI agents are officially here and ready to be your new coworkers — without the human hand-holding.
Microsoft’s new autonomous Copilot agents took a major step into the spotlight and could forever revolutionize how we work. Let’s get into it…
In today’s AI rundown:
Microsoft reveals autonomous Copilot agents
xAI opens Grok API to developers
Build a self-improving AI agent with Zep
Haiper launches AI video generator
6 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
MICROSOFT
Image source: Microsoft
The Rundown: Microsoft just announced that new agentic capabilities are coming to Copilot and Dynamics 365, allowing users to create their own or utilize pre-built agents to enhance processes across the platforms.
The details:
Ten pre-built agents will be introduced to Dynamics 365, specializing in areas like sales, service, finance, supply chain, and more.
The agents can operate independently, initiating tasks and responding to business signals without constant human oversight.
Copilot Studio will also allow users to create their own autonomous agents, moving from private to public preview next month.
The agents utilize OpenAI’s o1 model series, with features like encryption, data loss prevention measures, and guardrails for enterprise safety.
Why it matters: The agent revolution has felt close for a while now, and this Copilot infusion might be the first major step over the line. Microsoft calls them “the new apps for an AI-powered world”, which feels like a sharp analogy — soon workflows may simply be a matter of choosing which agent a user wants to call on for a specific task.
TOGETHER WITH HUBSPOT
The Rundown: HubSpot’s free guide helps non-technical entrepreneurs leverage AI for substantial business growth, turning complex technologies into actionable business strategies without the need for coding skills.
You’ll learn how to:
Understand large language models without technical jargon
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XAI
Image source: xAI
The Rundown: Elon Musk's xAI just launched a public beta of its API, officially allowing third-party developers to integrate its Grok language model into their applications.
The details:
A ‘Grok-beta’ model is now accessible via the xAI API, priced at $5 / million input tokens and $15 / million output tokens.
Developers can use the API to generate text, create code, and call functions to connect with external tools and databases.
While it’s uncertain what the ‘Grok-beta’ model is (xAI’s current models are Grok 2 and Grok Mini), the two are mentioned in the doc as available via the API.
The launch follows xAI's recent $6B funding round that boosted the company’s value to $24B.
Future capabilities hinted in the documentation suggest upcoming vision model access that can analyze both text and images.
Why it matters: xAI's entry into the API market challenges established players like OpenAI and Anthropic, though the ‘rebellious’ model may be less appealing for more traditional applications. However, the API could be interesting for leveraging Grok’s less restrictive/censored capabilities and the impressive Flux image model.
AI TRAINING
The Rundown: Zep is a low-latency memory layer for AI agents and assistants that changes its world model over time using a temporal knowledge graph.
Step-by-step:
Sign up for a Zep Cloud account.
Install the required dependencies: pip install zep-cloud openai rich python-dotenv
Ensure your .env file includes your ZEP_API_KEY and OPENAI_API_KEY.
Check out the quickstart examples in the getzep/zep-python GitHub repo to start building agents that continuously learn with your users!
Pro tip: Developers, check out the getzip/zep repo on GitHub for the open-source community edition of Zep.
PRESENTED BY SECTION
The Rundown: Join Section COO Taylor Malmsheimer on Oct. 23rd for a free executive briefing on the latest findings from their AI Proficiency Report.
Attend to:
Learn the 3 building blocks of AI proficiency
Explore which industries are leading the AI charge
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HAIPER AI
Image source: Haiper
The Rundown: AI startup Haiper just launched version 2.0 of its video generation platform, which is officially available to use for free and capable of creating short clips, animating images, and repainting videos.
The details:
Haiper 2.0 lets users generate 1080p videos with smoother motion and enhanced video quality, with future upgrades promising 4K resolution.
The platform offers customizable video templates for quick customization, also allowing users to animate uploaded still images.
Haiper 2.0 is free-to-use and available now, but it has limitations on video length and quality filters.
The company was founded by two ex-Google DeepMind researchers and has raised over $19M in funding to date.
Why it matters: Another AI video generator goes public before Sora — albeit with very limited current capabilities on video length that could mute excitement compared to competitors. But with impressive quality and prompt adherence in provided examples, it’s clear that AI video is primed for a similar leap seen in images over the last year.
NEW TOOLS & JOBS
🚀 Averi - AI Marketing Manager that builds strategy, creates content, introduces you to perfect-fit talent, and streamlines operations, all for free*
👨💻 Trag - An AI code review companion with a twist, helping move knowledge into patterns and automate reviews
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🙋♂️ Duonut - AI conversational surveys with real-time follow-ups and response summaries
👰♀️ Wedding Speech Genie - Create personalized and unforgettable wedding speeches with AI
📊 Harvey - Accounting Analyst
🚀 Databricks - Senior Director, Enterprise
🤝 DeepL - Deal Desk Analyst
🤖 Superannotate - Partner ML Solutions Engineer
*Sponsored listing
QUICK HITS
News Corp became the latest organization to sue Perplexity, with the Wall Street Journal and NY Post parent company accusing the AI startup of massive copyright infringement for reproducing news content without permission.
IBM released Granite 3.0, a new suite of advanced open-source enterprise AI models that offers enhanced performance and safety features.
GE HealthCare unveiled CareIntellect for Oncology, an AI tool that consolidates patient data into a single view to help clinicians track cancer treatment journeys.
TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, fired an intern for reportedly sabotaging AI models by injecting malicious code, which caused millions of dollars in damages.
Alcon Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s Tesla and Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the unauthorized use of AI-generated images from the film Blade Runner 2049 in Tesla’s Robotaxi promotion.
Qualcomm introduced its new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip with enhanced on-device AI capabilities, promising improved performance and energy efficiency for next-generation smartphones.
THAT’S A WRAP
That's it for today!Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's newsletter to help us improve The Rundown experience for you. |
See you soon,
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