AI Insider: The Weekly Top 5 in AI and Data - Friday July 21

Welcome to AI Insider! We're back with another exciting round of developments in AI and Data, shedding light on the latest innovations across the industry. From Meta's introduction of Llama 2 for commercial use, Apple's venture into AI chatbot development, to new findings on OpenAI's GPT-4 performance. We're also taking a closer look at the success story of Unstructured.io, MongoDB's data platform for the public sector, and as a bonus, Oracle's launch of MySQL Heatwave Lakehouse. Join us as we navigate the thrilling currents of innovation in the AI and Data landscape.

1. Meta's Llama 2 Enters the Commercial Stage: Meta, previously Facebook, has launched its generative AI model, Llama 2, freely for commercial use, carving out a space amidst competitors like OpenAI. With Microsoft as the front-runner, Meta aims to leverage its product via paid, hosted services through cloud computing partnerships.

2. Apple's AI Chatbot on the Horizon: Apple is making strides in AI chatbot development with "Apple GPT". Built on Google Cloud using the Ajax framework, it's designed to compete with established AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard. Still under wraps, the tool is currently only accessible to a select few Apple employees.

3. GPT-4's Performance Decline Confirmed: User reports of GPT-4, OpenAI's language model, suffering from performance decline have been corroborated by a recent study. There's been a significant drop in GPT-4's code generation performance from March to June 2023, highlighting the imperative for consistent performance monitoring of LLMs.

4. Unstructured.io Secures Funding: Unstructured.io, a startup that's honing enterprise data for large language models, has successfully procured $25M in funding. With strong ties to U.S. defense agencies, they're planning to launch a commercial API for data transformation in 25 file formats.

5. MongoDB Unveils Public Sector Data Platform: MongoDB has rolled out MongoDB Atlas for Public Sector, a dedicated platform to aid government and public sector organizations in building superior digital applications. Enhanced with architectural design reviews, custom training programs, real-time data processing, and top-notch security features, this platform promises a boost in digital and data-driven endeavors.

Bonus: Oracle's MySQL Heatwave Lakehouse: Oracle's managed Database-as-a-Service, MySQL Heatwave Lakehouse, seeks to bridge the gap between traditional databases and data warehouse technologies. This service, soon to be available on OCI, Microsoft Azure, and AWS, leverages in-memory query acceleration for advanced analytics and data warehouse capabilities and supports machine learning workflows via Oracle's AutoML features.

As we wrap up this week's edition, we want to thank you for diving into these pivotal developments with us. They not only reflect the quick pace of technological advancements but also the transformative potential of AI and data-driven solutions. Join us again next week for more intriguing updates, trend discovery, and exploration of the riveting AI and Data landscape. Until then, remain curious, informed, and keep the spark of inspiration alive.