Tech Biz

After dinner last night, three generations of my family were sitting in the living room discussing the possibility of finding a movie we could all watch together. While this passionate debate about which movies won an Oscar and which were just fan favorites was heating up and heading nowhere, I asked ChatGPT to, "list some great movies that would be appropriate for kids 12-14, parents 32-46, and grandparents." In just under 30 seconds, it helped us find our movie. Amazing! Except… we didn't visit any websites to accomplish our search. As someone who writes and publishes 5,000-7,500 original words each week, the ramifications of this new workflow are profound. Continue Reading →

According to The Verge, Elon Musk on Tuesday gathered a group of engineers and advisors asking why his engagement numbers have been tanking. He fired the engineer (one of his top two) who delivered the news that only a tiny fraction of your followers ever see your tweets. The view counter he forced the company to place on every tweet proves it. According to those in the room, Elon was shocked – and really mad. Continue Reading →

Microsoft is going to incorporate OpenAI tools into everything they make, leaving Google no choice but to respond. Calling AI "the most profound technology we're working with today," Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, introduced Bard, which seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence, and creativity of Google's large language models. Bard is Google's answer to ChatGPT. As Yoda would say, "Begun, the AI wars have." Continue Reading →

Yes. This is another article about ChatGPT. But it is also career advice for those of you who love ChatGPT, hate it, fear it, think it's a fad, and wish everyone would stop writing about it and those who are simply not paying attention. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, I want you to think about the following. Continue Reading →

Is artificial intelligence here to help me... or take my job? Shelly Palmer speaks with Vanessa Yurkevich on CNN about whether you should be worried, where artificial intelligence is already being used in the workforce, and lessons we can learn from I, Robot. Continue Reading →

Everyone is talking about generative AI products like ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Stable Diffusion (among dozens more), so it's clear that we're on the cusp of something exciting and new. What no one knows is where value will accrue. Continue Reading →

My Sunday essay was about Generative Synthetic Media. If you don't know what that is, have a quick look at the post, then go play around (pun intended) with some examples you'll find in this Google Research paper: MusicLM: Generating Music From Text. Continue Reading →

Synthetic media, sometimes referred to as "deepfake" technology, is the use of AI and machine learning to generate realistic, digital media such as images, videos, and audio. This technology is already revolutionizing the creative process as both artists and artisans conscript AI-coworkers for production assistance. But in the coming months, we are likely to see this technology evolve into Generative Synthetic Media (GSM) which we will define (for this essay) as data-driven synthetic media (created in near real time and surfaced in place of traditional media). When fully achieved, GSM will revolutionize human communication. This is a bold claim, so it requires bold evidence. Let's review. Continue Reading →

YouTube has partnered with Arizona State University (ASU) and Crash Course to create Study Hall, an affordable onramp to earning college credit. Starting today, students can sign up for four “College Foundations” courses that start on March 7, 2023, and offer eligibility for transfer credit. Continue Reading →

We know that OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) is working on a pricing plan, and some users are reporting that they’ve been granted access to a pro tier that costs $42 a month. Fans of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" know this number well. In the book, the answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything" is 42, which makes me wonder if the final pricing will be announced on May 25. More importantly, I have been wondering if ChatGPT is, in fact, a pseudonym for Deep Thought. (Apologies to non-Douglas Adams fans.) Continue Reading →