👶Beta Babies Are Here: How Will AI Shape Their Intelligence?

Happy Thursday, AI & Data Enthusiasts! 2025 is a game-changer with the arrival of Beta Babies! This new generation is entering a world where AI and automation are everywhere. These little ones are going to grow up in a time of crazy tech advancements. Let’s dive into all of that and more in today’s edition!

In today’s edition: 

👶 Beta Babies Are Here

💬 OpenAI’s Missed Promise: Media Manager Delayed

💻 Nvidia's AI Chip Supremacy Chokes Startup Funding

⚡ Data Centers and AI Growth Spark Concerns Over Power Stability

- Naseema Perveen

WHAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION MOST

👶Beta Babies Are Here

The world welcomes beta babies on January 1, 2025. This cohort encompasses individuals born between 2025 and 2039 and is anticipated to constitute 16% of the global population by 2035.

Generation Beta is poised to navigate a rapidly evolving world, characterized by unprecedented technological advancements and complex challenges such as climate change and urbanization. Their adaptability and collaborative spirit will be essential in fostering a sustainable and innovative future. 

• Technological Immersion: Generation Beta will be immersed in an era where artificial intelligence and automation are seamlessly integrated into daily life, influencing sectors from education and workplaces to healthcare and entertainment.

• Advanced Mobility: The prevalence of autonomous transportation will redefine mobility, making self-driving vehicles a standard mode of travel for this generation.

• Health Innovations: Wearable health technologies will become commonplace, enabling real-time health monitoring and personalized medical interventions.

• Virtual Environments: Immersive virtual realities will offer new avenues for learning, social interaction, and entertainment, blurring the lines between physical and digital experiences.

Understanding and supporting the development of Generation Beta will be crucial in shaping a society that meets the needs of tomorrow.

TECH TALK

Gain exclusive insights into "The Future of AI" with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. In this compelling talk, Schmidt discusses AI’s transformative potential, the challenges of regulation, and its role in driving global innovation. Don’t miss his expert take on how AI will shape industries and societies alike.

Watch the full discussion here and share your thoughts—what excites you most about AI’s future?

KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT

OpenAI’s Missed Promise: Media Manager Delayed

In May 2024, OpenAI pledged to deliver "Media Manager," a tool that empowers creators to control how their works are included in AI training datasets. However, as of January 2025, the promised feature remains absent, leaving creators and critics frustrated.

• Delayed Launch: Media Manager, intended to help creators manage their copyrighted works, was announced as a cutting-edge solution but has yet to materialize. OpenAI missed its self-imposed deadline of "by 2025."

• Legal Challenges: OpenAI faces lawsuits from artists, writers, and organizations claiming their work was used without permission. While OpenAI introduced basic opt-out options, creators criticized these as inadequate and cumbersome.

• Expert Concerns: IP experts question whether Media Manager, even if launched, can address challenges like large-scale content identification, third-party hosting, or jurisdictional complexities.

• Current Strategy: OpenAI relies on imperfect filters to prevent AI from reproducing copyrighted materials verbatim and defends its actions under "fair use" in ongoing legal disputes.

The delay of Media Manager underscores the complexities of addressing IP concerns in AI training. While OpenAI battles legal challenges, creators continue to demand clearer, more accessible tools to protect their rights in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Nvidia's AI Chip Dominance Limits Startup Funding

Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market has created significant barriers for startups aiming to compete in this space, causing venture capital investments in U.S. AI chip companies to plummet by 80% in 2023 compared to the previous year. Here's a breakdown:

• Market Challenges: Nvidia's leadership in AI training chips makes rival startups risky investments. The cost of developing a functional chip prototype exceeds $500 million, deterring investors.

• Funding Decline: U.S. AI chip startups raised $881.4 million by August 2023, a stark drop from $1.79 billion in the first three quarters of 2022. Deals also fell from 23 to 4.

• Startup Struggles: Mythic, an AI chip startup, narrowly avoided collapse with a modest $13 million funding round after running out of cash. Meanwhile, Rivos, a startup in server chip design, faces compounded challenges due to litigation with Apple.

Opportunities Beyond Nvidia

• Competition Rising: AMD and Intel are preparing to challenge Nvidia with rival chips.

• Emerging Niches: Areas like data-intensive computing for prediction algorithms remain open for investment, as Nvidia has yet to dominate them.

Despite Nvidia's stronghold, its dominance isn't absolute, leaving room for strategic innovation and competition.

Data Centers and AI Growth Spark Concerns Over Power Stability

The rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is straining America’s power grid, creating “bad harmonics” that distort electricity flow. This issue could escalate into dangerous outcomes, including house fires and blackouts, as revealed by recent Bloomberg research.

• Rising Power Distortions Near Data Centers: Over half of U.S. homes with severe power distortions are within 20 miles of data centers. “Bad harmonics” lead to unstable electricity flow, increasing risks of sparks, fires, and blackouts.

• 2. AI and Data Centers Outpacing Grid Growth: AI data centers could consume 9% of U.S. electricity by 2030, straining outdated grids. These centers, built rapidly, outpace the grid’s ability to adapt to increased energy demand.

• 3. Environmental and Policy Implications: Data centers’ reliance on fossil fuels contrasts with Big Tech's push for green energy. Potential policy changes under a Trump presidency could reduce support for renewables, complicating sustainable infrastructure investments.

The expansion of data centers for AI growth presents significant challenges for America’s power stability and environmental goals. Without updated grids and robust policies, the risks of energy distortion could jeopardize both homes and future sustainability efforts.

TERM OF THE DAY

Eigenvalue

An Eigenvalue in data science is a special number that tells us how much a certain direction or feature in data "stretches" or "shrinks" during transformations like rotations or scaling. Imagine you push a rubber ball, and instead of changing shape everywhere, it only stretches along one line—this line is related to the eigenvalue. For example, if a transformation makes a line stretch by 3 times, the eigenvalue is 3. It helps in tools like PCA (Principal Component Analysis) to find the most important directions in data.

Read more terms like this in our Glossary. 

ICYMI

• OpenAI’s GPT-5 reportedly falls short of expectations.

• Nvidia completes acquisition of AI infrastructure startup Run:ai.

• Google is expanding Gemini’s in-depth research mode to 40 languages.

• Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition.

• Perplexity has reportedly closed a $500M funding round.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

This week we feature, “Deep Learning (Adaptive Computation and Machine Learning series)” by Ian Goodfellow.

$$$ MONEY MATTERS

• Quantum AI startup SandboxAQ valued at $5.3 billion after $300 million in fundraising.

• NeuBird secured $22.5 million, an AI agent for IT problem resolution.

• eSelf raised $4.5 million for building video AI assistants.

• Databricks is raising $9.5 billion equity and $4.5 billion debt raise.

• Google joins $90M investment into Cassava

LINKS WE’RE LOVIN’

✅ Podcast: Dangers of AI and the End of Human Civilization | Lex Fridman Podcast #368.

✅Cheat sheet: MATLAB Cheat Sheet.

✅Course: AI Foundations for Everyone Specialization. 

✅Whitepaper: Most Common Mistakes In Data Labeling (And How To Avoid Them).

✅Watch: Apple Watch Series 10 Review.

A Quick Question before you go…

SHARE THE NEWSLETTER & GET REWARDS

Your referral count: 0

Or copy & paste your referral link to others: https://aijournal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

That’s all for now. And, thanks for staying with us. If you have specific feedback, please let us know by leaving a comment or emailing us. We are here to serve you!

Join 130k+ AI and Data enthusiasts by subscribing to our LinkedIn page.

Become a sponsor of our next newsletter and connect with industry leaders and innovators.