A new artificial intelligence research lab aims to solve the field’s most pressing problems by drawing inspiration from the animal kingdom – like the movements of a school of fish or the co-ordination of a colony of bees.
As many of the top companies in the field seek to outdo each other by building ever-larger AI systems, Sakana, which takes its name from the Japanese word for fish, thinks it may be able to do more with less data.
The start-up plans to make several smaller AI models, the kind of technology that powers products like ChatGPT, and have them work together. The idea is that a “swarm” of programmes could be as smart as the massive undertakings from larger organisations.
Founded by two prominent industry researchers, former Google employees David Ha and Llion Jones, Sakana’s approach could potentially lead to AI that’s cheaper to train and use than existing technology. That includes generative AI, which has captivated Silicon Valley with its ability to spit out text and images in response to prompts.
The new venture’s approach contrasts with that of companies like OpenAI, which might feed all its data into one large AI programme, rather than a series of littler ones.
“Ants move around and dynamically form a bridge by themselves, which might not be the strongest bridge, but they can do it right away and adapt to the environments,” Mr Ha said.
“I think this sort of adaptation is one of the very powerful concepts that we see in natural algorithms.”
Mr Ha and Mr Jones are marquee names in the world of AI research.
Mr Jones, a Tokyo-based AI researcher, co-authored one of Google’s most influential papers in the field, “Attention Is All You Need”, which underpins many of today’s most popular AI products.
Mr Ha, also based in Tokyo, was previously Stability AI’s head of research. Before that, he focused on generative AI while working as a scientist at Alphabet's Google Brain in Japan.
Sakana is still in the early stages: It has not yet built an AI model and does not have an office. The plan is to open one in Tokyo soon, Mr Ha said.
The company declined to comment about its fundraising status.
But the ideas Sakana is working with are more established. Near the end of his time at Google, Mr Ha and a colleague launched a project called “sensory neurone as a transformer”, and had a fleet of small AI models to work together to play a game, rather than using one large model.
Other researchers have also taken inspiration from the workings of the human brain. The term “artificial neural networks”, for example, refers to AI models programmed to process information in a way that is roughly analogous to how people do, by using trial and error.
“The human brain still works better than our best AI,” Mr Jones said. “So, clearly the human brain is doing something right that we haven't quite caught on to yet.”
Mr Jones and Mr Ha sat near each other in Google’s Tokyo offices, and the pair stayed in touch after Mr Ha left the company. Following their years at the internet behemoth, they eventually gravitated towards start-ups.
Mr Ha’s role at Stability AI meant he was spending a lot of time building research teams, he said, and he longed to return to conducting research. And Mr Jones felt fenced in at Google.
“It’s unfortunately true to say I have so much more velocity outside of Google,” he said, noting that the need to secure approvals and resources could slow the process of working on innovative technology at a large company.
When Mr Ha suggested that they found a start-up, he said: “It just made a lot of sense to me.”
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The five pillars of Islam
GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD
The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns
Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev
Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy
United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
Singles match
Triple H v John Cena
To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
Company%20Profile
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CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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