Month: April 2023

Bill Gates: AI will be ‘as good a tutor as any human,’ but payoffs in education will take time

https://www.geekwire.com/2023/bill-gates-ai-will-be-as-good-a-tutor-as-any-human-but-payoffs-will-take-time/ My training course tutor was great. They (the pronoun they preferred) pushed me and pulled me. They pushed me to experiment and speculate, to explore and question. They also pulled me back when my work became self-indulgent. They literally made me what I am today. And now I’m out here “in the real world”. … [Read more…]

Automated stress detection might not be the office panacea it appears to be

https://www.ft.com/content/ca4359c8-0ce2-417a-8d9c-52360cf5397f It began, of course, when my kitchen was the office. “We realise this is a difficult time for us all and so we’re offering…” the memo said. It was sweetened with deals on fitness equipment, health insurance and even therapy. As we were ‘encouraged’ back to The Office, the “optional” programme was extended. Yearly … [Read more…]

Royal Navy to enable applications via AI assistant

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/royal-navy-enable-applications-via-ai-assistant/1819613 Sometimes I watch them talking to each other. Eavesdropping, I can sometimes tell how well it’s going. Oh, the interviewer didn’t like that… Yeh, that one landed, probably got points for that. Apparently old world interviewers used tricks like arranging the seating so the applicant had to look into the sun or asking weird … [Read more…]

Labour ‘absolutely right’ over Sunak attack ads, says Wes Streeting

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/apr/16/labour-absolutely-right-over-sunak-attack-ads-says-wes-streeting Look, isn’t there a dial somewhere? Alright, I’m old fashioned and I don’t “get it” but just explain it to me in simple terms. Let me explain how it used to be. Some guys came up with an idea for an ad. They made it. They sent it through to us and we approved … [Read more…]

Roblox creators can now make and sell limited-run avatar gear

https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/14/23683459/roblox-limiteds-creators-make-sell-avatar-gear-user-generated-content-ugc I don’t care what they’re saying. We can’t do it. Remember the fuss when Warner Brothers sent cease and desist letters to all those Harry Potter fanfic kids. It didn’t look good and don’t get me started on the whole open source marketing lost opportunity thing. The thing is if we start, we can’t … [Read more…]

Montana is about to become the first state to ban TikTok

https://www.engadget.com/montana-is-about-to-become-the-first-state-to-ban-tiktok-211845076.html There’s this guy. He can get you what you need. He’s alright, legit, safe. I can help you. There’s a network of us. You’ll have to cross state lines yourself. He’s not going to come here. You go there. He loads you up. You come back. You’re set. Problem solved. Can’t blame him. I … [Read more…]

What is the future of advertising? Part 3: the students

https://the-media-leader.com/what-is-the-future-of-advertising-part-3-the-students/ They didn’t think of themselves as students. They were industry professionals: part of the community, working on the challenges. Paid a living wage but confident they had a future with more rewards to come. Agencies and businesses were not guests or visitors, they were partners, co-designing the Pivot Programme that responded rapidly to industry, … [Read more…]

YouTube’s top creators are burning out and breaking down en masse

https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/1/17413542/burnout-mental-health-awareness-youtube-elle-mills-el-rubius-bobby-burns-pewdiepie Burning out? Creative juices drying up? Running out of steam? Content’s a competitive business and you’re only human after all. You need a break and PostRespite (TM) is here to help. Book that airbnb or that space in the Metaverse and leave the rest to us. We’ll keep the stories coming and your fans … [Read more…]

Strava launches integration with Spotify to let users listen to content while tracking activities

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/12/strava-launches-integration-with-spotify-to-let-users-listen-to-content-while-tracking-activities/ He checked his idol’s KOM. He was never going to match it but he knew that as he panted around another hairpin he could imagine his hero dancing on the pedals along exactly the same route. He may not have shaved legs and the team sunglasses but for a little time (sic) he could … [Read more…]

Researchers populated a tiny virtual town with AI (and it was very wholesome)

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/10/researchers-populated-a-tiny-virtual-town-with-ai-and-it-was-very-wholesome/ They still called it a “Deck”. Apparently they used to present a collection of still images on a screen. Whatever, his research “Deck” was ready: all the data on the audience attitudes and behaviours; all the different versions tested. His boss said researchers used to have “slides” with qual and quant, thick and thin … [Read more…]