Making AI Work, MIT Technology Review's new AI newsletter, is here Learn how to apply LLMs across industries in 7 weekly editions of our new free newsletter. For years, our newsroom has explored AI's limitations and potential dangers, as well as its growing energy needs . And our reporters have looked closely at how generative tools are being used for tasks such as coding and running scientific experiments . But how is AI being used in fields like health care, climate tech, education, and finance? How are small businesses using it? And what should you keep in mind if you use AI tools at work?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transitioned from a futuristic concept reserved for large corporations to a present-day, accessible, and essential growth lever for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). For entrepreneurs and business leaders, strategic AI adoption is no longer an option but an imperative for competitiveness, operational efficiency, and long-term survival. This report provides a comprehensive framework for SME leaders to navigate this technological shift, offering the foundational knowledge, business case, practical applications, and strategic guidance necessary to harness the power of AI. The quantitative evidence supporting AI adoption is compelling; 91% of SMEs using AI report that it directly boosts their revenue. Beyond top-line growth, AI drives profound operational efficiencies, with studies showing it can reduce operational costs by up to 30% and save businesses more than 20 hours of valuable time each month. This transformation is occurring within the context of a seismic economic shift; the global AI market is projected to surge from $233.46 Billion in 2024 to an astonishing $1.77 Trillion by 2032. This paper demystifies the core concepts of AI, presents a business case based on market data, details practical applications, and lays out a phased, actionable adoption strategy.

Large language model fine-tuning APIs enable widespread model customization, yet pose significant safety risks. Recent work shows that adversaries can exploit access to these APIs to bypass model safety mechanisms by encoding harmful content in seemingly harmless fine-tuning data, evading both human monitoring and standard content filters. We formalize the fine-tuning API defense problem, and introduce the Cipher Fine-tuning Robustness benchmark (CIFR), a benchmark for evaluating defense strategies' ability to retain model safety in the face of cipher-enabled attackers while achieving the desired level of fine-tuning functionality. We include diverse cipher encodings and families, with some kept exclusively in the test set to evaluate for generalization across unseen ciphers and cipher families. We then evaluate different defenses on the benchmark and train probe monitors on model internal activations from multiple fine-tunes. We show that probe monitors achieve over 99% detection accuracy, generalize to unseen cipher variants and families, and compare favorably to state-of-the-art monitoring approaches. We open-source CIFR and the code to reproduce our experiments to facilitate further research in this critical area. Code and data are available online https://github.com/JackYoustra/safe-finetuning-api

The Eufy Smart Display E10 is a fast, focused, and private way to manage your home security–provided you're living in Eufy's home security ecosystem. Smart displays aren't new, but Eufy's take on the category is a little different. Rather, it's a dedicated visual control panel for your Eufy-powered home security system, one that puts live video feeds, visitor alerts, and event summaries all in one place. Unlike an Echo Show or Nest Hub, it does it all without leaning on the cloud, serving up ads, or connecting to a server somewhere. The Eufy Smart Display E10 looks more like a small tablet than a security device.

From using motion capture tech to allow the Indian cricketing star Rahul Dravid to give personalised coaching tips for children to an algorithm trained on Shakespeare's handwriting powering a robotic arm to rewrite Romeo and Juliet, artificial intelligence is rapidly revolutionising the global advertising industry. Those AI-created adverts, for the Cadbury's drink brand Bournvita and the pen maker Bic, were produced by agency group WPP, which is spending 300m annually on data, tech and machine learning to remain competitive. Mark Read, the chief executive of the London-listed marketing services group, has said AI is "fundamental" to the future of its business, while admitting that it will drastically reshape the ad industry workforce. Now Read has announced he is to leave at the end of this year, after almost seven years as chief executive and more than 30 at WPP, as the company struggles to keep pace with its peers and also counter moves by big tech to muscle in to the AI-driven future of advertising. For ad agencies, the upheaval originates from a familiar source.

A majority of small businesses are using artificial intelligence and finding out it can save time and money. So, you want to start making money using AI but you're not trying to build Skynet or learn 15 coding languages first? Good, because neither am I. You don't need to become the next Sam Altman or have a Ph.D. in machine learning to turn artificial intelligence into real income. What you do need is curiosity, a dash of creativity, and the right prompts.

Small and medium sized businesses often struggle with data driven decision making do to a lack of advanced analytics tools, especially in African countries where they make up a majority of the workforce. Though many tools exist they are not designed to fit into the ways of working of SMB workers who are mobile first, have limited time to learn new workflows, and for whom social and business are tightly coupled. To address this, the Dukawalla prototype was created. This intelligent assistant bridges the gap between raw business data, and actionable insights by leveraging voice interaction and the power of generative AI. Dukawalla provides an intuitive way for business owners to interact with their data, aiding in informed decision making. This paper examines Dukawalla's deployment across SMBs in Nairobi, focusing on their experiences using this voice based assistant to streamline data collection and provide business insights

Energy Secretary Chris Wright discusses the economic impact of lowering energy prices, why energy is essential for artificial intelligence dominance, American LNG exports and possible U.S. operation of Ukrainian nuclear plants. Six House Democrats broke from their party on Thursday to pass a pair of bills blocking Biden administration-era green energy rules. One resolution, led by Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., seeks to overturn regulations imposed by former President Joe Biden's Department of Energy (DOE) for new clean energy standards targeting walk-in freezers and coolers. Biden speaks during the United Auto Workers union conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington on Jan. 24, 2024. "I have fought every step of the way to prevent egregious rules from taking effect. These regulations will impose significant financial burdens on small businesses, which will have to absorb major upgrade costs to meet these new, aggressive standards," Bice told Fox News Digital.

Running a small business is tough. There are so many tasks that need your attention; campaigns to plan, keeping up to date with your brand messaging, all while ensuring your data is secure. It can feel overwhelming at times, but Google Workspaces has a fully-featured set of tools that can take some of the burdens off your back and let your business flourish. Now, with the latest and improved integration and capabilities of Gemini AI available, there's never been a better time to upgrade your productivity by working smarter not harder. Three of the most important elements of a small business are productivity, communication and security.

TL;DR: Let AI help you generate content effortlessly when you grab AI MagicX's Rune Plan, now 99.99 (reg. You don't need to be a professional artist to create unique content--all you need is AI MagicX, an AI-powered content generator that's available for 99.99 (reg. You won't attract or keep your customers without impactful imagery. Whether you're starting an Etsy shop or a side hustle on another social media platform, you need imagery that's true to you and your business. This tool's MagicXX Art Generator can take your ideas and make them a reality by producing truly unique and highly personalized art, brand logos, and so much more.