Hard Numbers: Professor ChatGPT, SoftBank’s search engine play, Nokia goes shopping, Voice actors are worried

10: Generative AI is sweeping academic research. According to one estimate, about 10% of all academic articles published this year will contain some artificial intelligence-generated text. That’s about 150,000 papers per year.

3 billion: The AI startup Perplexity is getting a cash infusion. The Japanese investment company SoftBank is investing $10-20 million based on a $3 billion valuation. The company, which styles its product as a search engine, has recently come under fire for allegations of ripping off news articles without permission.

2.3 billion: Finnish telecommunications company Nokia has bought into the AI race with a $2.3 billion purchase of California-based Infinera, whose technology helps power data centers crucial for running and training AI applications.

5,000: The Australian Association of Voice Actors told a parliamentary committee that AI could put more than 5,000 voice actors in the country out of work. The group called for fair rules and protections for its members. In the US, voice actors have already sued AI firms for improperly using their voices.