The Morning Download: OpenAI Tackles Fake Images; Apple's AI Chips

By Tom Loftus

Good morning, CIOs. As companies work to leverage the opportunities associated with generative AI, CEOs are looking toward those who bridge technology and business leadership to lead efforts.

CIOs typically play that role, but not always. Rocket Cos., whose portfolio includes Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes and Rocket Money, created a new C-level CTO role to unify its AI push.

Shawn Malhotra, former head of engineering and product development at Thomson Reuters, started Monday, reporting to Chief Executive Varun Krishna.

Krishna tells the WSJ’s Isabelle Bousquette that installing a companywide CTO will help the mortgage originator move faster on using AI. “It’s where we have allocated the majority of our engineering resources. It’s also where we expect to drive the most differentiation,” Krishna said.

CIO or CTO? Assigning primary technology responsibilities to a CTO could reflect a commitment to integrate technology further into core operations and product, Victor Janulaitis, CEO of consulting company Janco Associates, tells the WSJ. “CTOs tend to operate more at the board level and deal with the overall strategy of the business,” he said. Agree? Disagree? Let us know. Read the story.

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Apple is expected to introduce new AI products at its developer conference in June. SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES

Apple is developing AI chips for data centers. In the works for several years, Project ACDC is likely focused on running AI models—what’s known as inference—rather than on training AI models, the WSJ’s Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie report. It is uncertain when the new chip will be unveiled.

OpenAI says it can now detect images spawned by its software—most of the time. The AI company on Tuesday is launching a new tool that can detect whether an image was created using the company’s text-to-image generator, DALL-E 3. OpenAI on Tuesday also said it would join an industry group co-founded by Microsoft and Adobe trying to create content credentials for online images. The moves come as policymakers raise concerns about the potential impact of fake images on election campaigns in 2024.

Microsoft’s turn. The company is training a new model, MAI-1, that matches up with some of the largest models out there. People familiar with the matter tell the Information that MAI-1, will have roughly 500 billion parameters. Mustafa Suleyman, Google DeepMind co-founder who joined Microsoft in March to head consumer AI products, is overseeing the effort, the Information reports.

The Met’s annual spring Costume Institute exhibition will feature a custom chatbot installation associated with a wedding gown from the 1930s. ISABELLE BOUSQUETTE / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

OpenAI brings custom tech to this year’s Met Gala exhibition. CIO Journal didn’t attend Monday’s Met Gala—invite lost in the mail!—but the WSJ’s Isabelle Bousquette was still able to chat with one of the guests, OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, ahead of the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art fundraiser.

OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and the WSJ’s Isabelle Bousquette at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, May 6, 2024.

OpenAI worked with the museum on an installation for the Met’s Costume Institute exhibition, building a chatbot that takes on the persona of Natalie Potter, past owner of a dramatic, satin wedding gown from the 1930s featured in the exhibit.

“We haven’t done this kind of thing before,” said Murati. “This is interesting to figure out: How do you bring this technology to the arts in a way that’s actually helpful, elevating, it enhances the experience of the creator, of the participant, the visitor, and it’s not like an afterthought.” Read the story.

AWS is Amazon’s most profitable unit, with first-quarter results showing the segment’s bottom line rose 17% from a year earlier to $25 billion. NOAH BERGER/AWS/REUTERS

Amazon to invest $9 billion in Singapore cloud infrastructure. This adds to the $8.5 billion the Seattle-based company has already spent in recent years on cloud infrastructure in Singapore, the WSJ’s Sherry Qin and Ben Otto report. Since the start of 2024, AWS has unveiled plans to invest $15 billion in Japan and more than $5 billion each in Mexico and Saudi Arabia in the coming years.

Tech rivals also boosting investment in Southeast Asia. Microsoft last week said it would invest almost $4 billion into cloud-computing and AI infrastructure in Malaysia and Indonesia, and build its first data center in Thailand.

Pentagon needs to open up about Russia’s use of Musk’s Starlink, Sen. Warren says. In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Warren cited a WSJ investigation that illustrated how a black market of middlemen have funneled the compact satellite dishes into the hands of American adversaries and accused war criminals. “As a DoD contractor, SpaceX cannot allow its products or services to be used to undermine national security,” Warren wrote.

Chip makers, energy companies aren’t the only businesses to benefit from data center boom. The market for outfitting data centers with generators, batteries, transformers and other electrical gear is being supercharged by the build-out, the WSJ’s Bob Tita reports. Companies including electric equipment makers Eaton, ABB, Schneider Electric and generator manufacturers Caterpillar and Cummins attribute rising electrical equipment sales to data centers’ expansion.

Biden administration announces new $285 million funding opportunity tied to Chips Act. The Biden administration said it is taking applications from companies that want to create an “institute focused on digital twins for the semiconductor industry,” TechCrunch reports. Digital twins are virtual replicas of real-life objects used to study performance, run simulations and making predictions about the physical assets they mirror.

Self-driving startup Wayve raises more than $1 billion in funding led by SoftBank Group. The U.K. startup said the investment will support the company in developing AI products to enable carmakers to efficiently upgrade vehicles to higher levels of driving automation. Nvidia and Microsoft also contributing to the fundraising.

LISTEN | The Boeing Starliner’s big space test. Boeing’s Starliner is set to take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station this week. It’s the spacecraft’s first crewed mission, and a major test for Boeing’s much-delayed project.

Israel sent tanks into Rafah and took control of a key crossing linking the Gaza Strip to Egypt, securing a strategic corridor as it ramps up preparations for a military offensive in the border city. (WSJ)

Federal air-safety regulators have opened a new investigation into Boeing after the jet maker recently disclosed that its employees may have skipped some inspections on 787 Dreamliners, the latest quality issue at the manufacturer. (WSJ)

Donald Trump’s prized Manhattan office tower at 40 Wall St. is getting swept up by the worst storm to hit the office market since the global financial crisis. (WSJ)