Hi there. This is Brainyacts, the daily newsletter that checks up on all your AI mishaps and misgivings while motivating you to keep going. Rub some dirt on it and get back out there.

Let’s keep goin’.

A special welcome 👋 to my NEW SUBSCRIBERS! 

To read previous posts, go here.

In this edition we will

1. talk about the value of referrals

2. give thanks to many people

3. get up to speed on all things Google AI

4. give you the deck I used for a firm executive briefing

5. learn of another BigLaw firm getting into GenAI

6. ponder if an AI product is real or not

Thank Yous! For Referrals

At the bottom of every newsletter is a unique link to you the reader. This is a link you can use to share Brainyacts out to your networks and people you think would get value by subscribing.

Frequently I will give shout-outs here and on social media to folks who have referred others here.

Why refer people? What do you get out of it?

1. Get Seen and Heard: A shout-out means visibility. It puts your name in the spotlight, potentially boosting your reputation within your networks.

2. Feel the Love from Our Community: My shout-outs celebrate you as an important part of the Brainyacts family. It's my way of saying I appreciate your contribution.

3. Enjoy the Warm Fuzzies: Being acknowledged feels good, doesn't it? My shout-outs are a virtual high-five to you for helping this grow.

4. Catch the Eye of Opportunity: Our community is diverse and influential. A shout-out could just grab the attention of someone who opens new opportunities for you.

5. Open the Door to New Connections: A shout-out might pique the curiosity of fellow Brainyacts readers, leading to new networking or collaboration opportunities.

6. Boost Your Social Circle: If your social handles are in our shout-out, you might gain new followers and make connections with like-minded people.

So, sharing Brainyacts with your network is a win-win. We're excited to celebrate you and grow our community together!

Shout-outs!

• Alicia Navarro: Associate Director of Research Services at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP - NYC

• Andrea Peters: Senior Counsel at Interface - Atlanta, GA

• April Brousseau: Dir., Research & Development, Clifford Chance - London UK

• Bontle Litheko: Commercial and Corporate Lawyer, Thomson Wilks - Johannesburg, South Africa

• Christiane Müller-Haye: Global & Continental Europe Technology Director, Clifford Chance - Frankfurt, Germany

• Corey Shefman: Associate at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP - Toronto, Canada

• Ed Rimmell: Partner at law firm VWV specialising in Commercial Law - Bristol, UK

• Emma Haywood: Director and Principal Consultant at Bloomworks Legal - London, UK

• Fiona McLay: Principal Lawyer & Consultant at McLay Legal - Melbourne, Australia

• Gordon Braun: Woodbury: Operational Excellence Consultant, Caibrate - Toronto, Canada

• Kate Price: Senior Manager Business Enablement (Legal & Regulatory), nbn™ - Melbourne, Australia

• Mark Dodd: Head of Market Insights a LOD (Lawyers On Demand) - Perth, Australia

• María de la O Martínez: Head of Innovation, Lefebvre Sarrut Group - Madrid, Spain

• Richard Burcher: Chairman, Validatum® & Virtual Pricing Director® - Bath, UK

• Stephen Goldstein: Global Dir. of Practice Support, Squire Patton Boggs - Cleveland, Ohio

• Trevor Goh: Head Of Legal, APAC/META at Ferring Pharmaceuticals - Singapore

Just Wow! Look at the global reach here. I am stunned and humbled.

New GPT-4 Discovery

While putting this together, I THOUGHT I stumbled on a discovery inside OpenAI’s GPT-4. I made a video of it but keen readers helps me realize I was being a bonehead. So not discovery at all.

Google Updates: From the I/O Developer Conference today

Bard

Great news from Google I/O today! Google has decided to make its generative AI chatbot, Bard, more accessible to the public.

No More Waitlist: Previously, access to Bard was mostly restricted by a waitlist, but that's now a thing of the past. This move is aimed at enabling a broader user base to experience Bard and provide valuable feedback, assisting Google in further improvements and feature introductions. Starting today, Bard will be available in English in over 180 countries and territories, with more regions to be added soon.

Languages: It was also revealed the company's plans to release Korean and Japanese versions of Bard, with even more languages lined up for future releases.

Image Generation: What's more, Bard is not just about text anymore. Google has plans to make the AI chatbot more visual in its responses, meaning it will soon be able to deliver answers complemented by rich visuals, such as pictures.

Direct Import to Docs or Gmail: This is a great new feature - directly export your Bard chat responses - no more copy-n-pasting things!

Eventually, Bard will be running on Google’s PaLM2 model. This is the most recent version of the large language model (LLM) developed by Google AI.

For Google’s update on all things Bard - click here.

Gmail

They announced a new feature for Gmail called "help me write." This feature will help you write emails by using AI. It's an improvement on the auto-replies and generative text that Gmail already uses.

For instance, if you want to ask for a refund for a flight, the AI feature will pull information from previous conversations you had with the airline and create an email for you. You can always make any changes you want to the message before sending it.

Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Different flavors of “help me write” are being embedded into the Google Workspace. Basically the need to write, know how to build spreadsheets, and design your own decks is no longer a thing as AI will take care of it for you.

Here is a view of Help me write in Docs:

Deepfake Generator (err, I mean Universal Translator)

Google is working on a new translation service called "Universal Translator" that can redub video in a different language and also synchronize the speaker's lips with words they never spoke. Although it has a lot of potential benefits, the company acknowledges the risk of possible abuse and is taking steps to prevent it.

While this technology is similar to deepfakes, which have been used for malicious purposes in the past, it has genuine potential for many practical applications, such as redubbing lines in post-production for various reasons.

Dark Mode

Yup, you now get to be super-cool in Dark Mode Bard.

No Bard App

No app right now. But you can still use it on your mobile via a web browser. I created a icon for it so I can instantly access it from my home screen - but I am a geek like that.

USE CASE Exec Briefing Deck Excerpts

Hi all. On Monday I gave Cozen O’Connor a 60 minute executive briefing on generative AI. There were roughly 50 people who participated including the firm CEO, the CEO for the firm’s ancillary businesses, Office managing partners, business and operations leaders, and others.

It was well received.

I shared some of this on LinkedIn but figured I would give you all the PDF to the deck itself. I removed some slides that were firm specific and ones that contain info not ready for broad distribution.

BTW - this contains a handful of prompts too!

You can download it here.

News you can Use: 

Troutman Pepper forms Generative AI Taskforce

News you can Lose: 

Human AI: Wonderful Demo or Real Product?

I want to put this in the category of “too damn cool to be real.” I am always skeptical when there is a bunch of “ooh and ahh” credentialing (ex-Apple) and really serious (almost self-important) talks with lots of hyperbole and little evidence. But okay, maybe this is real.

Humane, a stealth-mode AI start-up founded by Apple veterans Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, has unveiled a projector-based wearable AI assistant. The compact device, demonstrated by Chaudhri during a TED Talk (watch it below), can potentially replace smartphones by serving as an AI-powered personal assistant. The assistant can handle calls, translate languages, display emails and messages, and provide diet advice, all without needing to be paired with a device.

The device is designed to interact naturally with its environment, similar to how humans interact with the world, and prioritizes privacy and safety. It can also answer queries like OpenAI's ChatGPT, as demonstrated when the device provided a breakdown of a snack's ingredients. The device's release date and operational details are currently unknown.

Humane, founded in 2017, raised over $100 million in 2021 and an additional $250 million in March 2023, making it the only AI start-up to achieve such funding without a product announcement. Bongiorno, the CEO of Humane, was a software engineering director at Apple, and Chaudhri, the chairman and president, was Apple's director of design.

Key Insights:

1. Humane's wearable AI assistant offers an innovative approach to personal tech devices, potentially replacing smartphones by being a standalone AI assistant.

2. The device prioritizes natural interaction, privacy, and safety.

3. Humane has achieved considerable funding success, raising over $350 million without a product release.

4. The founders, veterans of Apple, have a track record of successful product design and have numerous patents to their credit.

Key Questions (raised by others and me):

1. How does the device work if you don't have a shirt or jacket with a breast pocket?

2. How does the device accept calls? We never see him use the projector buttons or a voice command.

3. During the translation demo, how did the device know what language to translate into?

4. How does the device get your digital information, like contacts or meeting info?

5. How much of the device's processing is done on-device, and how much is done in the cloud?

6. Chaudhri described the device as “privacy-first and safe” — does that include privacy for the people in front of your chest camera?

7. How bright is the projector, and how loud is the speaker?

8. Will the device work in bright daylight? Can I hear it in a crowded venue? How long am I expected to hold my hand up for? How far away do I have to hold it?

9. Are there third-party apps? Can I call an Uber? Can I listen to Spotify? How will Humane get developers on board a niche first-gen device that requires a new interface style?

10. How is a projector philosophically different from a screen? Why use a projector at all, when something like call controls can be handled with your voice?

Here is one of the founders walking through a slow-moving (I mean really slow) TED Talk on it.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is legal advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any legal decisions. Please /be careful and do your own research.