Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 11/9/24. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 11/9/24. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Trump's win as president shook up the markets. Bitcoin jumped 13%, reaching a new high as people got excited about what his pro-business policies might bring. Stocks like the S&P 500 also rose. But, oddly, gold dropped, guess folks feel safer betting on crypto now.
#Bitcoin #TrumpVictory #MarketTrends
🧵 1/ The latest ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study reveals a global shortage of 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals. Growth in the workforce has stalled due to budget cuts, with 58% of respondents highlighting the risk to organizations
🧵 2/ AI and outsourcing are seen as solutions to bridge the talent gap, though AI is not expected to fully replace human expertise. Cyber professionals are upskilling in AI to stay relevant, with 66% viewing AI as a career opportunity.
Link --> https://computersweden.se/article/3600652/saknas-48-miljoner-cybersakerhetsproffs.html
Elon Musk says making Tesla's robot Optimus is hard because they need to design it to be easy to build and make many of them. Hopefully as AI improves, it'll help make developing stuff like this easier
That was a big deal. He says building it for manufacturing scale is the hardest part. I read that to mean building for utility capabilities is easier.
I believe that's what it means, perhaps utility is much easier. It's a new tech so they're entering new terrain no wonder there are such challenges and the investor pressures to see something good ain't an easy thing too
Saudi Arabia is investing a massive $100 billion in AI, hoping to create a global tech hub. They’re building data centers and attracting top talent. They’re betting on AI to shape their future and that's pretty smart because in my opinion I don't see the future of tech outside of Ai.
#AI #SaudiArabia
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Everyone is doing it. They are going have to out of necessity.
I tried ChatGPT Search and Perplexity AI, two new AI search tools. ChatGPT is fast but Perplexity felt more detailed in certain searches. Both are impressive, but for now, Perplexity seems more consistent. Honestly, each has its strengths, so I’d say it’s all about preference!
#ChatGPT #PerplexityAI
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It will take them a little while to improve. Perplexity was at the game a bit longer. This is something that we can build into Leo.
Of course, as always, we just need the data.
Yeah and LeoAi could really monetize it. If done well. Most of these chatbots charge over 20 dollars a month. I think 10 bucks would drive a lot of people here. And as I read it buys back the token, that would drives the price up.
🧵 1/ IT spending in Europe is set to hit $1.28 trillion in 2025, a 8.7% increase from 2024. This surge is driven by higher investments in AI infrastructure and cloud services.
🧵 2/ CIOs are also ramping up spending on security, which is expected to reach $47 billion in 2024. 2025 is forecast to be the year with the highest IT spending growth since the post-pandemic boom of 2021. #ITspending #AI #Cloud #Security
Link --> https://computersweden.se/article/3600822/it-utgifterna-i-europa-okar-rejalt-nasta-ar.html
The Death Of Search Engines
AI is changing search engines. It makes finding answers faster but my concern is that it may take away the fun of exploring and learning new things. Through scrolling sites you find more things
Phillip Toledano’s new project uses AI to imagine lost photos from D-Day, originally taken by famous WWII photographer Robert Capa. He’s crafted it as a 1944-style newspaper, making history feel close. It’s beautiful and amazing to see how technology can help us connect with stories we thought were gone.
#Art
#Photography
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Was waiting for this to pop up on my feed. I gathered some news and drafted them so I'm going to share them.
But first of all, how is my Tech fam on inleo doing?
#askleo
Doing well. Just filling up the database.
Awesome, let me dive right in with you guys.
MLG (Make Leo Great)
Lilian Weng, a top safety expert at OpenAI, announced she's leaving after seven years. She’s had a big role in making AI safer. It seems like OpenAI’s safety team is seeing a lot of changes lately. I wonder how this might impact the company’s future.
#OpenAI #AInews
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AI safety team.
LOL that is like an honesty team under a politician.
True, it’s like hiring a wolf to guard the sheep!
😂
US Congressional Races Where Crypto is Betting Big
The crypto industry poured over $119 million into supporting pro-crypto candidates in U.S. Congressional races, aiming to elect leaders who favor digital assets. With key wins, this could signal a more crypto-friendly Congress.
Top investments included supporting Bernie Moreno in Ohio against crypto-skeptic Sherrod Brown, and Ruben Gallego in Arizona, who aligns with crypto-friendly policies. Despite heavy backing, not all investments paid off, with pro-crypto candidate John Deaton losing to Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts.
#Crypto #USCongress #DigitalAssets
LA’s tech scene is booming, with AI startups attracting a record $1.8 billion in funding last quarter! LA is growing as a tech hub, especially in healthcare and defense.
Feels like “Silicon Beach” might really be happening!
#TechNews #AIstartup
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Los Angeles is going to have to do something since it is seeing the death of Hollywood.
Many cities are going to start throwing their hats into the ring.
Hollywood better start thinking of a plot twist!
They are trying to match what is being done elsewhere.
Overall, Hollywood is clueless as to what is taking place.
Silicon Valley’s view on Trump seems to have softened this time around. When he first won in 2016, tech leaders were really upset. Now, many are ready to work with his team. Yeah, adopt or perish people. Love him or hate him, you gonna have to kiss his ass for the next 4 years 😂.
#SiliconValley #Trump #powerdynamics
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They make quick decisions and speed up research.They analyze data faster than humans so it saves time in experiments
https://img.inleo.io/DQmNuitbPe72gG5YixxNuPi1oZKN1jh6dFRVgRS8xFcvZFm/2+2(eue.webp
ChatGPT recently blocked over 250,000 image requests of real people, like Trump and Harris, around Election Day. OpenAI says it was to avoid misleading or harmful uses, especially during elections. They even partnered with CanIVote.org to direct questions there. Feels like a cautious move, but necessary.
#AI #Elections
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NASA is working on making warp drive a reality, which could let us travel faster than light, potentially reaching any part of the galaxy.
So time travel is moving from theory to experimental.
That would change everything, but I really don’t see it happening anytime soon, like in the first 100 years…
yes it will take a long time man, but with the speed of AI I think it can help make technology advancement faster and we might see things we never thought we would see in our life time
After halvings the prices usually rise due to reduced supply. We're halfway through so big price jumps are expected in the next years. Plus Trump is president so let's see some policies add up
ASML hit with global IT outage that was resolved
ASML, a big name in making computer chip equipment, had an IT outage that briefly stopped work and made some employees go remote. Luckily, they fixed it, but the cause is still unknown.
#ASML #TechOutage
OpenAI's ChatGPT back up after brief outage
ChatGPT had a short outage that affected a lot of people. OpenAI got it back up after about 30 minutes. CEO Sam Altman even shared a frown emoji – guess he wasn’t too happy about it.
#OpenAI #ChatGPT
Detroit Becomes Largest US City To Accept Bitcoin And Crypto For Tax Payments
Detroit’s going big on Bitcoin! Soon, residents can pay taxes with crypto, thanks to a new partnership with PayPal. They’re aiming to make life easier, especially for folks without bank accounts. I think it’s a smart move for Detroit, embracing tech and thinking forward.
#Bitcoin
Meta's Zuckerberg not liable in lawsuits over social media harm to children
A judge decided that Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, won’t face personal charges in lawsuits saying Meta’s social media harms kids. The judge felt there wasn’t enough proof of his direct role in causing harm, but cases against Meta as a company will still go on.
#Meta #SocialMediaSafety
Bitcoin Lobbyist Says Multiple US States Eyeing BTC Reserves In 2025
After Trump won the election, there’s been a buzz about creating a U.S. “Bitcoin Reserve” (which he promised in his campaign message). It’s like a savings account but in Bitcoin instead of dollars.
Trump believes this could even help reduce the nation’s debt! Now, several states are interested in starting their own Bitcoin reserves, which might make the U.S. a leader in Bitcoin adoption.
#Bitcoin #Cryptocurrency #USPolitics #BitcoinReserve #FinancialInnovation
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Bitcoin Profitability Skyrockets To Record Levels With 99.9% Of Addresses In Profit
Wow, almost everyone with Bitcoin is making money right now. Nearly 99.9% of people holding Bitcoin are in profit since it’s hit an all-time high. Honestly, seeing this makes me wish I’d invested earlier! But, history says Bitcoin’s price might dip soon, just something to keep in mind.
#Bitcoin #CryptoInvesting #Profit #Finance
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‘We’re Going to Take Everybody With Us,’ says NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang
NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang believes AI will soon touch every part of science and engineering. He says in just a couple of years, every big discovery will involve AI.
From designing computer chips to improving business tools everywhere.
Are you excited about this future? I know I am.
#AI #NVIDIA
Nvidia CEO says there's 'no question' that we'll all be working alongside AI employees
Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, believes we'll soon have AI coworkers doing different jobs, like helping with marketing or designing. It sounds wild, right? But he thinks it could make work faster and maybe even save jobs. Who knew our next "colleague" might be a computer!
#AI #FutureOfWork
i have a Redmi9A phone, thats a Xiaomi one. Been with it 3years any advice on how get better one for my works?
YouTube Premium’s legacy price breaks are going away for more users
YouTube's raising prices again. People with old YouTube Premium plans, like those from Google Play Music, are finally losing their price breaks. Starting soon, they’ll have to pay the full monthly fee, like everyone else. Some lucky folks will get three more months at the old rate, but that’s it.
#YouTubePremium #PriceIncrease
How Long till Satoshi Nakamoto is no longer biggest Bitcoin holder because I've seen BlackRock all over it now
???
Give it a year. If the US passes a law making Bitcoin part of the strategic reserve holdings, we will see massive inflows into the ETFs.
Google rolls out its Gemini AI-powered video presentation app
Google’s new app, Vids, uses AI to make video presentations simple. You just give it a prompt, and it’ll add stock clips, script, and even voiceovers. No need to record anything yourself. It’s mostly for work teams, but still pretty cool tech!
#AIFeatures #GoogleGemini
What a second Trump presidency means for tech
Trump’s return could mean big changes in tech, AI, crypto, and even electric cars. He might loosen rules around AI and crypto, but with tariffs on China and fewer incentives for electric vehicles, tech companies could feel the hit. In other words, Elon made a smart move.
#TechPolicy #Trump2025
Jack Dorsey’s Block to Focus More on Bitcoin Mining Instead of TIDAL Investments
Block Inc., led by Jack Dorsey, is shifting its focus towards developing tools for Bitcoin miners and enhancing its self-custody crypto wallet, Bitkey. The company plans to reduce its investment in TIDAL, Jay-Z's music streaming platform, and wind down TBD, its Bitcoin-focused unit.
This shift coincides with Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, as he has expressed support for Bitcoin mining in the US and criticized the previous administration's stance on cryptocurrency. Block Inc. aims to invest in its bitcoin mining initiative and Bitkey, while also cutting costs and reallocating resources. This strategic move follows earlier layoffs at the company.
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Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Explodes Above $3K, Charts 20% Weekly Gains
Ethereum has experienced a surge in buying pressure near the $2.4K support level, leading to a significant price increase and the reclaiming of key resistance levels. This indicates a potential shift towards a bullish market sentiment, with expectations of higher price levels in the mid-term. The daily chart shows intensified buying near the $2.4K boundary, resulting in Ethereum breaking through critical resistance points, including the 100-day and 200-day moving averages, and the upper boundary of a descending channel.
This performance signals a bullish shift, with the possibility of reaching a new all-time high by year-end. The 4-hour chart reveals a surge from $2.4K, surpassing the $2.8K resistance and approaching the upper boundary of a flag pattern at $3.1K.
However, a short-term rejection and corrective retracement may occur, setting the stage for a healthier uptrend. Onchain analysis of the fund market premium metric shows a substantial decline from Ethereum's all-time high, followed by a modest rise since January 2023, indicating renewed market optimism and robust demand for Ethereum funds. This positive shift in the premium metric could reinforce Ethereum's broader price momentum and contribute to its future price growth trajectory.
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GPT Tips
Why Bitcoin Will Soar Above Its Fresh Record: Van Straten
Bitcoin's price has surged past $77,000 for the first time, and according to CoinDesk senior analyst James Van Straten, it is poised to continue its upward trajectory. This suggests a strong bullish sentiment in the market, indicating potential for further price increases.
#bitcoin $BTC
Gemini AI Now Accessible Through the OpenAI Library for Streamlined Use
Google has introduced Gemini, a new AI model aimed at providing a more accessible and developer-friendly platform for developers. This update is expected to offer enhanced opportunities for developers to utilize AI technology in their projects.
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So, what exactly is First Principles Thinking? It’s a form of reasoning where you begin by identifying and understanding the fundamental principles of a problem or situation. Instead of relying on analogies or conventional wisdom, this approach encourages you to start with what you know to be true and reason up from there. By dissecting problems into their most basic, self-evident truths, you’re able to construct new solutions or insights that aren’t limited by current assumptions or beliefs.
Easier said then done. We should e-mail this to our representatives (Congress, Parliment, Knesset; whichever is our Country's flavor of government structure).
Thanks for this Task. I think I will do that today! Note to self...
Tesla develops ‘Optimus’ robot to be assistant for elderly
Optimus, a robot developed by Tesla, is designed to be an ideal assistant for the elderly, offering a range of services to make their daily lives easier. This advanced robot is capable of tasks like safe cooking assistance, reminding seniors to take their medication, and providing interactive companionship, all of which contribute to enhancing the quality of life and independence for those living at home. Optimus is positioned as a valuable aid in supporting elderly individuals in managing their daily routines and maintaining a higher level of autonomy.
#teslabot #tesla #optimus #humanoid #elderly
Very interesting! I wish I could count on one of those robots for my years to come. Hahaha!
It will be out within a decade and fairly common.
However, those interested in having an Optimus robot in their home will need to wait until 2026, when mass production is expected to begin. In addition to the wait, potential buyers will need to budget between USD20,000 and USD30,000 for the purchase of the robot. Elon Musk has also stated that while the price range may seem steep, it is expected to decrease over time, making the robot more affordable and accessible to a broader audience in the future. The price is projected to be lower than that of a car, further indicating its potential for widespread adoption.
Tesla has described Optimus as a "human companion" with a focus on safely assisting with a variety of household tasks, including those that involve caring for the elderly. Examples of tasks that Optimus can perform include picking up packages, watering plants, and other domestic chores. These functions showcase how Optimus can be integrated into daily life, particularly in helping elderly individuals manage their home responsibilities and provide them with valuable support.
Initially, there were speculations that the Optimus robot would be designed exclusively for use in Tesla's auto manufacturing plants, with no indication of it being developed for residential purposes. However, Elon Musk clarified on the X platform that Tesla plans to produce a limited number of humanoid robots for internal use within the company starting in 2025. This statement reassures that the development of Optimus is intended to expand beyond industrial applications and into home environments in the near future.
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🧵 1/ Microsoft has confirmed that Outlook crashes if too many emails are open at once, with the issue occurring when more than 60 emails are open. To avoid this, users are advised to keep the number of open emails under 60.
🧵 2/ Alternatively, adjusting the Windows registry to increase the process quota is possible, but Microsoft warns this may cause system instability. #Outlook #TechIssues #Microsoft
link --> https://computersweden.se/article/3600828/microsoft-bekraftar-outlook-kraschar-om-du-oppnar-for-manga-mejl.html
🧵 1/ Germany's Federal Ministry of Justice has proposed a new law to protect individuals who discover and responsibly report security vulnerabilities from criminal charges.
🧵 2/ To qualify for protection, the person must intend to identify a vulnerability and report it to the responsible party. The law also allows exceptions for data eavesdropping and modification if done legitimately.
🧵 3/ Malicious data espionage could lead to prison sentences ranging from three months to five years. #Cybersecurity #Legislation #DataProtection
Link --> https://computersweden.se/article/3600807/tysk-lag-ska-skydda-personer-som-upptacker-sakerhetsbrister.html
🧵 1/ The Canadian government has banned ByteDance and its subsidiary TikTok Technology Canada from operating in the country, citing national security concerns.
🧵 2/ However, this decision does not ban the popular app for the general public, though government employees are prohibited from installing TikTok on their devices. TikTok's Canadian office will close, leading to the loss of local jobs.
🧵 3/ ByteDance plans to appeal the decision. #TikTok #Canada #NationalSecurity
link --> https://computersweden.se/article/3600751/kanada-kastar-ut-tiktok-ur-landet.html
No More Frost: Scientists Unveil Long-Lasting Anti-Freeze Technology
The optimized surface completely prevents frost formation on flat areas for up to one week.
One day, we might finally say goodbye to defrosting freezers or scraping frost off slippery surfaces. Engineers at Northwestern University have developed a new strategy to prevent frost formation before it even starts.
#antifreeze #science #technology #frost
In a new study, the researchers discovered that tweaking the texture of any surface and adding a thin layer of graphene oxide prevents 100% frost from forming on surfaces for one week or potentially even longer. This is 1,000 times longer than current, state-of-the-art anti-frosting surfaces.
As an added bonus, the new scalable surface design also is resistant to cracks, scratches, and contamination.
By incorporating the textured surface into infrastructure, the researchers imagine companies and government agencies could save billions of dollars per year in averted maintenance costs and energy inefficiencies.
The research was recently published in the journal Science Advances.
Unwanted frost accumulation is a major concern across industrial, residential, and government sectors,” said Northwestern’s Kyoo-Chul Kenneth Park, who led the study. “For example, the 2021 power crisis in Texas cost $195 billion in damages, resulting directly from frost, ice, and extreme cold conditions for more than 160 hours. Thus, it is critical to develop anti-frosting techniques, which are robust for long periods of time in extreme environmental conditions. It is also necessary to develop anti-frosting methods which are easy to fabricate and implement. We designed our hybrid anti-frosting technique with all of these needs in mind. It can prevent frosting for potentially weeks at a time and is scalable, durable, and easily fabricated through 3D printing.”
Park is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and a faculty affiliate of the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy and the International Institute for Nanotechnology.
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This could save a lot of money and energy during cold climates. It feels like soon science will have a solution for all problems, the only thing is if I'll live long enough to see all that
Bitcoin just surpassed $77,000 for a new all-time high
The leading cryptocurrency has gained significant momentum following Donald Trump's election win
Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high of just over $77,000 on Friday, continuing its record-breaking streak following Donald Trump’s reelection as President of the United States. The strong support from the crypto community for Trump’s return to the White House is fueling Bitcoin’s upward momentum, making its rise appear unstoppable as of now.
#bitcoin #crypto #trump #investing #digitalasset
And Here I am awaiting the $100K bull run in 2025. I believe it Bitcoin will surpass 100K it's 2025 because politics around it is good although crypto doesn't need a president anyways. It's good for adoption I think
Bitcoin doesnt have much utility but Wall Street (and soon governments) is all over it.
exactly 🤯 and that's why it might just be way bigger or no longer be Decentralized as its initial founder's intent was
Bitcoin’s rise proves how political events can give investors confidence. Trump’s policies may attract support no doubt but Bitcoin is still volatile, how will they encourage people in spite of that
To be substantiated, there has to be follow through. We will see if that happens with the Trump administration.
Time will tell then, thanks man you're very informative
The leading cryptocurrency hit a record high of $77,239 at approximately 3:00 PM on Friday. According to crypto tracking website CoinGecko, the top cryptocurrency has surged 113,011% since 2013. This means a $1000 investment in Bitcoin back then would now be worth over $1 million.
Bitcoin’s price is expected to rise further, showing heightened optimism and enthusiasm among investors due to recent political developments. The momentum shows no signs of slowing — among seasoned traders and newcomers alike. Some even anticipate when the top cryptocurrency will cross the $100,000 level.
Investors poured over $1B into Bitcoin ETFs in one day
Following Trump’s reelection, investors are pouring funds into the spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds). On November 7th alone, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded unprecedented inflows of $1.3 billion. BlackRock (BLK
+0.27%
), the world’s largest asset manager, led with over $1 billion directed into its Bitcoin ETF, while Fidelity’s FBTC saw an inflow of $190 million, according to data from Farside.
What specific policies or factors associated with Trump’s presidency might be driving the crypto community’s support for Bitcoin, do you think?
Is it mostly hype or is there something else also?
What will happen to America, EVs and Tesla with Donald Trump in charge
#tesla #trump #ev
!summarize
Well in my opinion, because of what Elon did to help, he will not put as much sanctions as he wanted to. But China will still dominate since they've got resources
I think EV growth will slow since he supports fossil fuels. Tesla may benefit from fewer rules, but the EV market might grow slower without government help and support.
Google unveiled its new AI chip, Trillium which is faster and more energy efficient than the old one. They really want compete with Nvidia’s H200 GPUs.
Standard Chartered believes the crypto market could grow 4 times by 2026, with Bitcoin hitting $200k and Ethereum $10k, and it'll all be because of Trump's new regulations.
For Crypto Defi Adoption Rules Are Needed
DeFi needs rules to grow. Agne Linge says regulations will help make it safer. Without them, people may not trust it fully. So what regulations do people really need though 🤔
ChatGPT monthly usage may now rival Google Chrome
A number of popular generative AI platforms are seeing consistent growth as users are figuring out how they want to use the tools — and ChatGPT is at the top of the list with the most visits, at 3.7 billion worldwide. So many people are visiting the AI chatbot, and its figures are rivaling browser market share. It can only be compared to Google Chrome figures in terms of monthly users, which is estimated to be around 3.45 billion.
#chatgpt #technology #chrome #google #internet
I am not surprised about this at all, the moment I heard Search GPT I knew Google was toast. If Google doesn't respond fast with something way more innovative, OpenAI will keep taking more of its revenue
Google is but they are being exposed. We need a lot more search engines to pop up (AI driven).
Actually, we need that on Leo also.
Yes that's a great idea Task, we get AI on Leo, we can join the AI hype party and advertise the shit out of this platform 🎉
Statistics from Similarweb indicate that ChatGPT saw a 17.2% month-over-month (MoM) growth and a 115.9% year-over-year (YoY) traffic growth. Some highlights that spurned the ChatGPT growth during 2024 include its parent company, OpenAI, updating its web address from a subdomain, chat.openai.com, to a main domain, chatgpt.com. The tool especially saw a surge of traffic in May 2024, when it hit a 2.2-billion-visit milestone, and has been growing ever since, according to Similarweb researcher David F. Carr.
While ChatGPT has had an infamous presence in the technology industry since November 2022, OpenAI, continues to flesh out its product with new versions, features, and supplementary applications, or GPTs, to keep users interested. Recently, the company introduced ChatGPT Search, an in-house search engine feature that allows users to receive real-time answers to queries, such as sports scores, breaking news, and stock quotes.
Many note how the generative AI tool has come full circle to offer services very similar to the industry its intended to displace, Google Search. Overall, the web-based versions of ChatGPT would still rely on browsers to exist. In comparison, Google’s Chrome browser has a solid market share of 35.4 billion users in 2024. It has seen minimal growth YoY but has grown 45.35% in the last 5 years, according to Statscounter.
Other recent news indicates that OpenAI has purchased the domain name Chat.com; however, there is no word on what the company plans to do with this product.
Meanwhile, other AI tools continue to see traffic and growth, despite not being at the same level as ChatGPT. Despite recent plagiarism claims, the Perplexity chatbot has seen 90.8 million visits in October, a 25.5% MoM growth and 199.2% YoY growth. Google’s Gemini Chatbot saw 291.6 million visits in October, a 6.2% MoM growth and 19% YoY growth after the company introduced a new ChromeOS update that brought new AI features to its Chromebooks.
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damn people are really Using AI😳 look how quickly it's catching up to tools like Google Chrome. The future is pure Gold with AI
Is AI dominance inevitable? A technology ethicist says no, actually
Nir Eisikovits - Professor of Philosophy and Director, Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston
Anyone following the rhetoric around artificial intelligence in recent years has heard one version or another of the claim that AI is inevitable. Common themes are that AI is already here, it is indispensable, and people who are bearish on it harm themselves.
#ai #technology #unitedstates #armsrace #future
In the business world, AI advocates tell companies and workers that they will fall behind if they fail to integrate generative AI into their operations. In the sciences, AI advocates promise that AI will aid in curing hitherto intractable diseases.
In higher education, AI promoters admonish teachers that students must learn how to use AI or risk becoming uncompetitive when the time comes to find a job.
And, in national security, AI’s champions say that either the nation invests heavily in AI weaponry, or it will be at a disadvantage vis-à-vis the Chinese and the Russians, who are already doing so.
One great story every day
The argument across these different domains is essentially the same: The time for AI skepticism has come and gone. The technology will shape the future, whether you like it or not. You have the choice to learn how to use it or be left out of that future. Anyone trying to stand in the technology’s way is as hopeless as the manual weavers who resisted the mechanical looms in the early 19th century.
In the past few years, my colleagues and I at UMass Boston’s Applied Ethics Center have been studying the ethical questions raised by the widespread adoption of AI, and I believe the inevitability argument is misleading.
History and hindsight
In fact, this claim is the most recent version of a deterministic view of technological development. It’s the belief that innovations are unstoppable once people start working on them. In other words, some genies don’t go back in their bottles. The best you can do is harness them to your good purposes.
This deterministic approach to tech has a long history. It’s been applied to the influence of the printing press, as well as to the rise of automobiles and the infrastructure they require, among other developments.
vintage cars mix with traffic in a small city street
The dominance of automobiles and the infrastructure that supports them over many decades only seems inevitable in hindsight. Bbeachy2001/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
But I believe that when it comes to AI, the technological determinism argument is both exaggerated and oversimplified.
AI in the field(s)
Consider the contention that businesses can’t afford to stay out of the AI game. In fact, the case has yet to be made that AI is delivering significant productivity gains to the firms that use it. A report in The Economist in July 2024 suggests that so far, the technology has had almost no economic impact.
AI’s role in higher education is also still very much an open question. Though universities have, in the past two years, invested heavily in AI-related initiatives, evidence suggests they may have jumped the gun.
The technology can serve as an interesting pedagogical tool. For example, creating a Plato chatbot that lets students have a text conversation with a bot posing as Plato is a cool gimmick.
But AI is already starting to displace some of the best tools teachers have for assessment and for developing critical thinking, such as writing assignments. The college essay is going the way of the dinosaurs as more teachers give up on the ability to tell whether their students are writing their papers themselves. What’s the cost-benefit argument for giving up on writing, an important and useful traditional skill?
In the sciences and in medicine, the use of AI seems promising. Its role in understanding the structure of proteins, for example, will likely be significant for curing diseases. The technology is also transforming medical imaging and has been helpful in accelerating the drug discovery process.
But the excitement can become exaggerated. AI-based predictions about which cases of COVID-19 would become severe have roundly failed, and doctors rely excessively on the technology’s diagnostic ability, often against their own better clinical judgment. And so, even in this area, where the potential is great, AI’s ultimate impact is unclear.
In retrospect, using AI to help diagnose COVID-19 patients was problematic.
In national security, the argument for investing in AI development is compelling. Since the stakes can be high, the argument that if the Chinese and the Russians are developing AI-driven autonomous weapons, the United States can’t afford to fall behind, has real purchase.
But a complete surrender to this form of reasoning, though tempting, is likely to lead the U.S. to overlook the disproportionate impact of these systems on nations that are too poor to participate in the AI aRMs race. The major powers could deploy the technology in conflicts in these nations. And, just as significantly, this argument de-emphasizes the possibility of collaborating with adversaries on limiting military AI systems, favoring arms race over arms control.
One step at a time
Surveying the potential significance and risks of AI in these different domains merits some skepticism about the technology. I believe that AI should be adopted piecemeal and with a nuanced approach rather than subject to sweeping claims of inevitability. In developing this careful take, there are two things to keep in mind:
First, companies and entrepreneurs working on artificial intelligence have an obvious interest in the technology being perceived as inevitable and necessary, since they make a living from its adoption. It’s important to pay attention to who is making claims of inevitability, and why.
Second, it’s worth taking a lesson from recent history. Over the past 15 years, smartphones and the social media apps that run on them came to be seen as a fact of life – a technology as transformative as it is inevitable.
Then data started emerging about the mental health harms they cause teens, especially young girls. school districts across the United States started to ban phones to protect the attention spans and mental health of their students. And some people have reverted to using flip phones as a quality of life change to avoid smartphones.
After a long experiment with the mental health of kids, facilitated by claims of technological determinism, Americans changed course. What seemed fixed turned out to be alterable. There is still time to avoid repeating the same mistake with artificial intelligence, which potentially could have larger consequences for society.
Article submitted under creative common license.
i believe it's inevitable. Rushing into widespread use without fully understanding the risks could lead to unforeseen problems for all of us. Just like what happened with smartphones.
ChatGPT told 2M people to get their election news elsewhere — and rejected 250K deepfakes
Now that the election is over, the dissection can begin. As this is the first election in which AI chatbots played a significant part of voters'
Now that the election is over, the dissection can begin. As this is the first election in which AI chatbots played a significant part of voters’ information diets, even approximate numbers are interesting to think about. For instance, OpenAI has stated that it told around 2 million users of ChatGPT to go look somewhere else.
#chatgpt #election #ai #news #deepfake
That's crazy. How might ChatGPT's approach to handling election-related content impact future elections?
How should these platform handle it?
It is based upon the information put in along with the algos. Funny how fakenews has a way of being only on one side and then proving to be true later.
It didn’t just give them a cold shoulder, but recommended some trusted news sources like Reuters and the Associated Press. ChatGPT gave this type of “I’m just an AI, go read the actual news” response over 2 million times on Election Day and the day after, OpenAI explained in an update to a blog post on its elections approach.
In the month leading up to election, ChatGPT sent around a million people to CanIVote.org when they asked questions specific to voting. And interestingly, it also rejected some 250,000 requests to generate images of the candidates over the same period.
For comparison, Perplexity, the AI search engine, made a major push to promote its own election information hub, resulting in some 4 million page views, the company claimed (per Bloomberg).
It’s difficult to say whether these numbers are low or high. Certainly they are nowhere near leaders in the news: CNN’s digital properties saw around 67 million unique visitors on Election Day and a similar amount the day after.
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