How not to use AI, Heinz wants your data, and North Korean karaoke
Keep up to date on curated AI, security, tips, tricks and more with The Digital Life!
Welcome to another month of curated bits of technology, selected with care just for you. This month, we’re updating you again on AI developments as well as security and privacy. Read about new developments from Google, AI-related scams, and how NOT to use AI. Also, see why Heinz wants your data and why you can get a free TV this summer.
We’ve also included a couple of interesting things to know. The Surgeon General's report on social media is a recommended read, and you can now dial an 800 number for an Uber.
Finally, and a North Korean karaoke hit you’ll be sure to break out at your summer bash. 🙂
Thanks for your continued support of Lökwest!
My copilot
My copilot for the next two weeks will be my colleague Diana’s boy Sam. So, if you try to reach me by phone or e-mail and I don’t get back to you immediately, we’re out for a walk! 😉🐕
This month in AI
With any big technology boom, the big scams follow. While we encourage our clients to play with the latest AI tools, it’s also important to make sure you’re getting the REAL tools. If you need any pointers on where to start with AI, give us a call. It’s great fun if you use it with a bit of cautious optimism.
We’re finding ourselves using AI more and more on a daily basis to answer complex queries vs. going to the search engine. Soon, you’ll see AI results integrated right into the search results on Google - no additional tools needed. Google’s results are powered by their version of the large language model (LLM) called “Bard”.
Google previewed this technology in a research paper and it’s absolutely incredible. If you think about it, music is extremely structured and mathematical. It makes sense that a computer should be able to figure out the basics. This will be a big tool for generating “filler” tracks, but it could grow into something more. As a musician, I wonder if AI will ever capture the emotion a composer puts into a piece. 😮
In the “it’s not quite there yet” category, you may want to think twice before filing your legal claim based on ChatGPT’s advice. It’s pretty humorous to see how convincing the AI output was even to the filing lawyer. It didn’t fool the court’s databases though!
Interesting things to know
Whether you’re a parent, know someone with kids, or just grew into the world of social media, you need to read this report from the Surgeon General. As most of us know, social media is NOT the healthy way to develop a healthy, vibrant, and independent identity. The numbers don’t lie.
Uber is adding a bunch of improvements to their service to make it easier to use. Read all about the family-friendly announcements here. For those of you who have a SENIOR or SMART PHONE AVERSE person in your life, they’ve also added a new phone number. Just call 1-833-USE-UBER, or 1-833-873-8237 to book a ride - NO APP REQUIRED!
A GREAT idea, and one that makes sense and could save a lot of time and lives. Imagine driving down the road and the light is always green for you - as long as you’re obeying the speed limit. Watch the short video to see it in action.
Security and Privacy Updates
At first, we thought “Wow, that’s awesome!” - an infinite mix of sauces, who wouldn’t want that? Then we read this article and got it. The only reason to build a several thousand dollar machines to replace the ketchup pump? A massive data mining operation on consumer tastes and preferences.
And speaking of data mining - free, free, free! Get a free TV, for the price of….free. Well, free, AND agreeing to the privacy (er surveillance) terms. The kicker behind the free price is the dedicated screen where a sound bar would normally be. The TV can use various sensors as well as your watching habit to constantly serve you ads. Hey - at least they’re honest about the intent?!
That’s Interesting
It’s been a few months since we hit you with a bit of technology history. Check out this 15-minute clip on “The amazing machine”. Pointing at a screen with a pen and moving this was cutting-edge stuff”.
In Closing
Normally, I wouldn’t share a hardware teardown with this audience. What makes this one interesting is that it’s a teardown of a North Korean karaoke machine. It’s interesting to see what kind of parts are cobbled together under sanctions. It’s even more interesting to see the karaoke selection, with killer hooks and graphics on tracks like “CNC”. We’ll let you sing along here: 😂😂😂