Chaos & Amazement 2304: iPhones on Wheels, AI Whisperers, and the Number 42

Welcome to our latest edition of the newsletter where we bring you the weirdest and most interesting tech news from around the web. High five!

This week in tech news:

• Software was a big theme for automakers attending CES 2023 in January. BMW, Stellantis, Volkswagen & Honda showed off vehicles that are significantly reliant on computers and code. More and more vehicles will be run top to bottom by software, not hardware. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-pros-cons-software-car.html - It's exciting to see how technology is advancing in the automotive industry and how cars gradually turn into iPhones on wheels.

• Content production? There’s an AI for that.

  • https://theresanaiforthat.com/ This website sounds like a useful tool for businesses and individuals looking to stay up-to-date on the latest AI developments and find the right AI for their specific needs.

  • "In short, a close examination of the work produced by CNET's AI makes it seem less like a sophisticated text generator and more like an automated plagiarism machine, casually pumping out pilfered work that would get a human journalist fired." https://futurism.com/cnet-ai-plagiarism It's important for companies to ensure that their AI systems are producing original content, as plagiarism can have serious consequences for journalists and media outlets.

  • BuzzFeed soars on reports of Meta deal, plans to use OpenAI | ⁦@Reuters⁩ BuzzFeed will help generate content for Meta's platforms and train creators to grow their presence online. https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/battered-buzzfeed-shares-rally-after-report-multi-million-dollar-meta-deal-2023-01-26/ The article discusses how BuzzFeed plans to use OpenAI to generate content for Meta's platforms and train creators to grow their presence online.

• Flawless is the company behind the tech that replaced the expletives in Fall. It is co-founded by the film’s director & specializes in what is now being called visual dubbing. https://nofilmschool.com/2023/01/fall-shows-us-why-ai-powered-tools-are-crucial-film-industry The article highlights the use of AI in the film industry and how it is being used to enhance the film-making process.

• Why AI and creativity are not at war https://venturebeat.com/ai/why-ai-and-creativity-are-not-at-war/ via @VentureBeat “People mistakenly believe AI is going to steal their job. It won’t. But someone who uses it better than they do will.” It's important to understand that AI can enhance and augment human creativity, rather than replace it. I call them AI whisperers.

  • Fiverr Launches New Categories as Searches for AI-related Services Increased over 1400% Book your AI whisperers here: https://www.fiverr.com/cp/ai-services - It's interesting to see how Fiverr is responding to the increasing demand for AI-related services.

  • OpenAI Cookbook ⁦@github⁩. If your task involves logical reasoning or complexity, consider trying the techniques in this article to build more reliable, high-performing prompts. https://github.com/openai/openai-cookbook/blob/main/techniques_to_improve_reliability.md My personal comment: The article provides tips and techniques for building more reliable and high-performing AI prompts.

• TIL: enshittification An excellent essay by ⁦@doctorow⁩ that explains how all large internet platforms inevitably become «a useless pile of shit» https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/

  • Is social media bad for teens' developing brains? Study shows teens who check social media more frequently showed greater activity in regions of the brain related to motivation, control, and salience. https://www.statnews.com/2023/01/19/social-media-teen-brains/

  • TikTok claims that only around 0.002% of videos in For You feeds are heated, but an external report claims that heated videos make up around 1-2% of total daily video views. (https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/20/23564242/tiktok-heating-view-boosts-creators-businesses) This report highlights the discrepancy between TikTok's official numbers and the actual percentage of heated videos on the platform, indicating a potential issue with the platform's content moderation.

• TikTok or YouTube Singer, Influencers Are Becoming Artists: "Influencers should be allowed to build music careers if they want to, but their musical talent should be the metric of success, not their massive follower counts." https://blog.chartmetric.com/tiktok-youtube-singer/

From my blog:

• The Number 42: From Deep Thought to ChatGPT https://www.bnox.be/2023/01/the-number-42-from-deep-thought-to.html The concept of 42 is a significant number in technology and science fiction, including its role in the classic book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and its use in the name of OpenAI's language model, ChatGPT.

• Amazon Enters the Market for Affordable Prescriptions https://www.bnox.be/2023/01/amazon-enters-fight-for-affordable.html Amazon's entry into the market for affordable prescriptions could potentially make it easier for people to access the medication they need.

• Acting Circularly to Fight Environmental Degradation: Dung Dung's Hair Recycling Initiative. (https://www.bnox.be/2023/01/acting-circularly-to-fight.html) - This is an interesting initiative that aims to find a sustainable solution for hair waste by recycling it.

• Facial Recognition-Proofing Our Lives: The Dazzle Club and Cap_able https://www.bnox.be/2023/01/facial-recognition-proofing-our-lives.html

  • Italian start-up Cap_able is offering its first collection of knitted garments that shields the wearer from the facial recognition software in AI cameras without the need to cover their face. https://www.capable.design/

• Do AIs Dream About Electric Sheep? https://www.bnox.be/2023/01/do-ais-dream-about-electric-sheep.html

Amazing stuff from around the web:

• More dancey, less happy: a deep dive on the evolution of music since the 1950s.

How Has Music Changed Since the 1950s? A Statistical Analysis.

• This #snailfluencer (I know…) called Velveeta was filmed circling a built-to-scale imitation of Burberry’s Frances bag… hashtagged #ad. So a snail got a sponsorship deal and you didn’t.

  

  @slimetownusaFor @burberry A snail and their Frances Bag, on a little journey home #burberry # ad #thefrancesbag 🚃🐌👛

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