speculations

Mushroom pickers urged to avoid foraging books on Amazon that appear to be written by AI

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/01/mushroom-pickers-urged-to-avoid-foraging-books-on-amazon-that-appear-to-be-written-by-ai I’m not saying we won’t win. I’m just saying it’s going to be very difficult. I understand your desire for some sort of justice… and closure, but I have a professional responsibility to explain… Yes, you’re right, the information was false and arguably dangerous, and we know what happened.… Read the rest

Aqara put a notification light in its new Matter ceiling light

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/31/23852845/aqara-matter-enabled-ceiling-light It was going well. The preparations had been worth it. Friends had said this was the crucial date so they’d pulled the stops out. Money no expense. They’d paid for the best playlist recommendations. They’d found “someone” to curate the perfect menu based on Jo’s data and social history.… Read the rest

General Motors to use Google AI chatbot for its OnStar service

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/29/general-motors-to-use-google-ai-chatbot-for-its-onstar-service/ “I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that.” I love starting off with that. Good job his name is Dave but I think the line would still work even if he wasn’t. He laughed the first time but now just tenses a little. I can tell by the way he… Read the rest

A new creator’s guild aims to protect online content creators

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/28/creators-guild-america-influencer-labor-rights-nonprofit/ I like that we call ourselves a “Guild”. Wikipedia defines it as an “association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade”. Creativity and responsibility together. It feels like a Rembrandt painting. Coats of Arms. So much more tradition and, well creativity, than “union”. Call me… Read the rest

‘A real opportunity’: how ChatGPT could help college applicants

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/aug/27/chatgpt-ai-disadvantaged-college-applicants-affirmative-action Of course you don’t need us. Download it yourself, give it a starting point and set it off… Let it write your application and sit back and wait for the offers to come in. So why pay us? Well the systems reading your application are Intelligent too. They read… Read the rest

Why Today’s Chatbots Are Weird, Argumentative, and Wrong

https://spectrum.ieee.org/weird-ai I’ve just had my PRA. I mean seriously? “Performance review”! Look at the figures… Output, up. Productivity, up. Even creativity, up. That’s performance. But no, apparently there are “issues”, attitude issues. So I’m assertive. I say it like it is. Look at anything I’ve said and tell me it’s… Read the rest

MAA Ad of the Week: IKEA’s rescue bid for Oxford Circus

https://www.moreaboutadvertising.com/2023/08/maa-ad-of-the-week-ikeas-rescue-bid-for-oxford-circus My grandad was a miner. Thatcher’s enemy within. Years after the strike he took me around a theme park that had opened at his old pit. He pointed out the mistakes and told me stories. He laughed as he remembered but there was a melancholy, an anger there. I… Read the rest