<div>
  <p>
  </p>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Microsoft has reportedly deployed GPT-4 LLM in an isolated, secured cloud called Azure Government Top Secret for Pentagon officials in the US Department of Defense.
      </p>
    </li>
    <li>
      <p>
        The use of GPT-4 deployed via Azure OpenAI Services reportedly helps the department to fine-tune it and add their own data without compromising on security.&nbsp; 
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://defensescoop.com/2024/05/07/gpt-4-pentagon-azure-top-secret-cloud-microsoft/">
      Defense Scoop
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Foundation Models

INCUMBENTS_PRESENT

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 
 <p>Reports suggest that Microsoft has implemented GPT-4 LLM in a secure, separate cloud named Azure Government Top Secret, specifically for Pentagon officials within the US Department of Defense. </p>
 
 <p>GPT-4's deployment through Azure OpenAI Services is beneficial to the department as it allows for addition and refined tuning of their data, without a breach in security.&nbsp;</p>
 
</div>

Microsoft reportedly deploys OpenAI's GPT-4 in isolated cloud for Department of Defense

Exploring the limitless possibilities of AI

Generative AI Applications

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 
 <p>Microsoft and OpenAI have established a USD 2 million fund with the objective of dealing with potential dangers posed by AI and deepfakes, primarily those threatening democratic processes.</p>
 <p>Initiatives envisaged under this fund primarily concentrate on AI and possible exploitation, including the augmentation of "deep fakes" detection, advocating for ethical AI usage and enhancing the public's AI comprehension. In addition, efforts are underway to limit certain AI features during campaign periods, which forms a component of the actions tech giants are taking to prevent AI abuse.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This initiative could improve societal resilience by promoting a better understanding and literacy of AI among citizens. This would help prevent deception and bolster genuine information, primarily aimed at voters and communities vulnerable to misinformation. Additionally, it intends to spur collaboration and partnerships with organizations that align with their mission.</p>

Microsoft and OpenAI launch USD 2 million fund to address deepfake threats

<div>
 
 <p>Microsoft has unveiled the amalgamation of Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Azure Firewall with Microsoft Copilot for Security. This integration enhances Azure network's security through AI-powered capabilities.</p>
 <p>Copilot's role is to automate security analysis. This automation provides analysts with actionable insights, cuts down the time required for manual investigations, and improves the accuracy of detection via natural language queries.</p>
 <p>Microsoft will release a public preview of these integrations on Microsoft Build on May 21, 2024. This launch comes after internal testing and early customer usage, with continuous refinements based on user feedback.</p>
 
</div>

Microsoft integrates Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Azure Firewall into Microsoft Copilot for Security

<div>
 
 <p>Microsoft is said to be developing a large language model named MAI-1. This model might compete with other developers in this field such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. </p>
 <p>MAI-1 is reported to be a large-scale model, with an estimated 500 billion parameters. This size makes it larger than some of Microsoft's other open-source models.&nbsp;</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
</b> While Microsoft has already partnered with OpenAI to leverage its models, the development of MAI-1 reflects a desire for more independent AI model capabilities. Reportedly, the goal is to have a balanced access system consisting of OpenAI's leading AI models, in-house developed MAI-1, and smaller models for on-device scenarios.</p>

Microsoft reportedly develops MAI-1, an in-house AI model

<div>
 <p>Microsoft has implemented a ban preventing US police departments from utilizing GenAI for facial recognition via the Azure OpenAI Service. This includes any integrations with OpenAI's existing and forthcoming image-analysis models.</p>
 <p>Important to note, this prohibition only applies to American police forces. International police departments are not included in this ban. Also, facial recognition that is carried out with fixed cameras in controlled environments is not covered by this ban.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The updated policy comes after Axon, a producer of tech and weapons products for military and law enforcement, launched a product that reportedly used OpenAI's GPT-4 generative text model to summarize audio from body cameras. Microsoft and OpenAI seem to be treading carefully in using AI technology in law enforcement and the military.</p>

Microsoft reaffirms ban on US Police’s use of Azure OpenAI Service

<div>
 
 <p>OpenAI has launched GPT-4 Turbo with Vision General Availability. This multimodal system, capable of image and text, is available on the Azure OpenAI Service. It replaces previous versions such as gpt-4-1106-preview, gpt-4-0125-preview, and gpt-4-vision-preview.</p>
 <p>The company states that GPT-4 Turbo with Vision has positively impacted its customers and partners. They can utilize this service to innovate, streamline processes, and increase organizational efficiencies. This solution can also be applied in digital asset management to gain insights from charts and diagrams.</p>
 <p>Moreover, existing Azure OpenAI Service customers located in Sweden Central and East US have the option to deploy this solution.</p>
 
</div>

OpenAI announces GPT-4 Turbo with Vision General Availability on Azure Service

<div>
 
 <p>Newspaper publisher Alden Global Capital has sued Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging they used copyrighted material to train AI systems. </p>
 <p>The lawsuit involves eight newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital: The New York Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, The Orlando Sentinel, The Sun Sentinel of Florida, The San Jose Mercury News, The Denver Post, The Orange County Register, and The St. Paul Pioneer Press.</p>
 <p>According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT used extensive data from various online sources, such as digital content, articles, and posts, for its AI system training. The system was trained to generate human-like conversations by directly imitating the sourced content.&nbsp;</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This is not the first time OpenAI and Microsoft have been sued for copywriting infringement. Last December, <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/25097"> The New York Times </a> filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement. In January, <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/25266"> non-fiction authors </a> filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for copyright infringement.</p>

Eight daily newspapers under Alden Global Capital sue OpenAI and Microsoft over publication data

The intersection of beauty and technology to deliver hyper-personalized products.

Beauty Tech

<div>
 <p>Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), a leading cosmetics and skincare brand, has broadened its global strategic partnership with technology giant Microsoft. The expanded partnership will see the establishment of an AI innovation lab, utilising Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service's GenAI capabilities. The goal of this collaboration is to apply artificial intelligence (AI) across multiple aspects of ELC's operations, allowing for quicker responses to market trends and consumer demands.</p>
 <p>In this joint endeavour, Microsoft and ELC have developed a GenAI tool. This tool will allow brands to roll-out locally relevant campaigns. It leverages advanced conversational AI and uses ELC’s comprehensive product and claim data database.</p>
 <p>Besides marketing, the AI innovation lab will focus on research and development applications of GenAI tools. Its use in this department can lead to quicker responses to new product and ingredient trends, a boon in the rapid-paced cosmetics industry.</p>
</div>

Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft expand partnership to launch AI innovation lab

<div>
 
 <p>Microsoft has reportedly limited its employees' use of external AI applications, like Azure's Perplexity AI and Google's Gemini chatbot. </p>
 <p>Perplexity AI, an AI chatbot, works as a conversation-driven search engine, employing natural language predictive text to more closely mimic human conversation. Similarly, Google's Gemini chatbot, also an AI tool, communicates with users through a chat interface to provide necessary information and assistance. </p>

</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> Microsoft has previously temporarily disabled AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT on employee devices, citing security and data concerns; however, later, it reported that it was a mistake. This decision stresses the company's stand on the importance of privacy and data security. It recommends employees utilize services like Bing Chat Enterprise and ChatGPT Enterprise, which claim to ensure better protection of sensitive information.</p>

Microsoft reportedly blocks employee access to Perplexity AI and other AI tools

<div>
 
 <p>The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is set to carry out investigations on the recent Artificial Intelligence (AI) takeovers by tech giants Microsoft and Amazon. The impending examination is the result of prevalent concerns about possible disruption of the competitive balance within the AI sector.</p>
 <p>Specifically, the probe will cast an eye into Microsoft's partnership with Mistral AI, an open-source originator of foundational models. It will also consider the software company's poaching of crucial staff from Inflection AI, which is the creator of the chatbot named Pi.&nbsp;</p>
 <p>The CMA will also delve into Amazon's mammoth investment, estimated to be around 4 billion dollars, in the AI newcomer, Anthropic. The decision regarding this inquisition is reliant on feedback from 'concerned third parties.' These pieces of input will dictate whether this preliminary examination will elevate into a full-scale antitrust investigation.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> This month, EU antitrust regulators also looked into <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/28613"> Microsoft's USD 13 billion investment in OpenAI </a> and concluded that it is not an acquisition and does not require a formal investigation. Moreover, earlier this year, the European Commission initiated a competition investigation into Microsoft's multibillion-dollar <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/25468"> investment in OpenAI </a> . <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/27024"> Microsoft's partnership with Mistral AI </a> was also under scrutiny from the EU in February and <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26068"> Italy's Data Protection Authority issued a warning to OpenAI </a> that its chatbot ChatGPT was supposedly breaching data protection rules in January.&nbsp;</p>

All Updates