If you’ve ever wanted to land your dream job at Google, an internship is the perfect way to get your foot in the door. Better still, Google pays many of its interns generous salaries, with compensation equivalent to over $100k not uncommon for these roles at the tech giant. If angling for a low stress job just isn’t your style, read on as we explain how to apply for Google’s 2024 internships and highlight some of the best ones starting next summer.

One thing you need to know right away is that there’s a mid-December application deadline for many of Google’s most coveted internships that start next year. The exact specification of each program differs, but in general you’re looking at working for Google for 12 weeks over summer 2024.

Beyond that, you’ll need certain pre-existing qualifications if you want to get a gig at Google – we’ll explain more below. For now, here’s a look at the best Google internships starting summer 2024 with potential salaries equivalent to $100k or more.

Google Internships 2024: Summer Listings and Pay

If you want to get an internship at Google, chances are it’s not all about the money – but it certainly doesn’t hurt to see six-figure salaries attached to most of the internet titan’s placements.

Note that the salaries listed are the upper end of the pay range and interns are paid the monthly equivalent of the full-time salary they agree, for the duration of the internship (normally 12 weeks, or three months).

In other words, if you agreed a $100,000 salary, you’d be taking home approximately $8,333 a month, depending on any local taxes that might apply. This is reflected on Glassdoor, where Google intern monthly pay is listed as $6k up to $11k.

Some offer placements for different levels of study, with PhD students earning higher salaries than those studying for a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

• Technical Program Manager Intern (BS/MS) – up to $103,000
• Hardware Engineering Intern (PhD) – up to $127,000
• Hardware Engineering Intern (BS/MS) – up to $105,000
• User Experience Research Intern (PhD) – up to $125,000
• User Experience Research Intern (MS) – up to $106,000
• Silicon Engineering Intern (BS/MS) – up to $109,000
• Security Engineering Inter (BS/MS) – up to $116,000
• Data Scientist, Research Intern (PhD) – up to $132,000
• Data Scientist, Product Intern (MS) – up to $106,000
• Security Consultant Intern (BS/MS) – up to $116,000
• Software Engineering Intern (PhD) – up to $141,000

You can search even more Google internships, including global programs, at the company’s careers website.

Google Internships 2024: Last Date to Apply Deadline

The last date to apply for a summer 2024 internship at Google in the US is fast approaching, with a December 15, 2023 deadline set for most placements. 

If you miss that date, all is not lost however.

Google has one internship program, for a PhD Student Researcher, that is accepting applications until June 7, 2024. That role pays up to $141,000 and requires you to be enrolled in a PhD program such as computer science, applied mathematics, or biostatistics.

Is a Google Internship Right for Me?

If there’s a common thread that unifies the different internships Google is offering for summer 2024, it’s that they’re all quite technical roles that require a very specific skillset. Most are related to the field of engineering, whether it’s hardware, silicon, software or security. You could be working on any number of projects, from new Google Maps AI features to Google Passkeys.

This means you’ll need to be studying in a relevant field, most likely at one of the top universities for your subject (though Google doesn’t explicitly state this). It might sound harsh, but with thousands applying for these highly sought after placements, you’re probably best investing your time applying elsewhere if you don’t tick all of the boxes specified.

For all of the roles listed below, you’re able to share your preferred working location. The options include a number of major cities where Google has a presence, from its Mountain View HQ to outposts in Los Angeles, Boston (Cambridge, MA), Portland, Boulder, Pittsburg, Raleigh, Washington, D.C., and New York City. The positions are physical jobs, not remote ones, due to the high level of mentorship that hands-on work that they entail.

How to Apply for a Google Internship

If you think you’ve got what it takes, then go for it: as well as navigating via one of the listings above, you can also get started applying for a Google internship by creating your profile on its jobs website.

It thinks your whole application will be done and dusted in less than 15 minutes, which obviously doesn’t account for agonizing over every last word choice.

Equally, if a Google internship doesn’t feel right for you, don’t worry: there are loads of great companies offering remote work out there. Focus on finishing your education now and the world can still be your oyster.

Ever wondered if you’re getting the most out of WhatsApp? The popular messaging app is used by billions around the world every day, but with dozens of unique features and new launches coming out all the time, it’s safe to assume that one or two comprehensive features might have evaded you.

For example, WhatsApp recently launched a secret codes feature, which allows users to hide chats from their message list. The messaging app has also added passwordless functionality and is regularly updating the platform in response to customer feedback.

In this guide, you’ll learn about a few WhatsApp tips and tricks that can help you stay in touch with your friends and family better than ever.

What Is WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is a popular messaging app that works for both iOS and Android devices. The platform is one of the many services owned by Meta, including Facebook and Instagram.

While usage is not as widespread in the US, the app is one of the most popular in the world for text communication, with more than 2.7 billion users across the world.

WhatsApp Tips and Tricks for 2023

As one of the most popular messaging apps in the world for years, there is virtually no end to the interesting features and functionalities of WhatsApp. Still, even if you’ve been using it since it launched in 2009, you likely don’t know everything you can do with WhatsApp.

Here are some tips, tricks, and secret codes that can help you to utilize WhatsApp to its full potential.

1. Secret codes

Let’s start with the newest feature from WhatsApp launched this week: secret codes. This feature will allow users to lock chats behind an additional password for better security. Even better, you can hide the Locked Chats folder from the list view, only unlocking it if you input the secret code into the search bar.

To utilize secret codes, just click on the chat you want to hide, click the three-dot icon, tap Group info, and select Chat lock. Then, in your Locked Chats folder, click on Settings, tap Secret Code, and you’ll be able to create your secret code to access these hidden chats.

2. Mark as unread

There’s nothing worse than opening a message that you can’t reply to now but want to reply to later. After all, how could you possibly remember to the message in the future without some kind of obvious reminder? With the “Mark as unread” feature, you can keep that chat bold, even if you’ve read the most recent message.

Simply head to your chats list and long click the chat you want to mark as unread. Then, click the three-dot icon in the corner and select Mark as unread, and you’re all set. Now you have no excuse for forgetting to message your friend back!

3. WhatsApp Web

On the rare occasion that you don’t have your phone with you and still need to send a WhatsApp message, you’re in luck. The messaging app has a desktop website that allows you to access your app without your phone, as long as you set it up beforehand.

Simply head on over to the WhatsApp Web site and you’ll be prompted to download the app, pull up the camera function in the app, and scan a QR code. This will connect the website with your app, so you can message from the comfort of your computer.

WhatsApp Web in action
Source: Tech.co testing

4. Swipe to reply

If you want to reply to a particular message that’s fallen down the chat thread, you can do so by long clicking the message and clicking the reply button at the top of the screen. But who has time for all that, particularly when you can simply swipe to the right for the same effect!

This one is pretty simple. Just open up a chat and find the specific message that you want to reply to. Then, like you’re on Tinder looking for love, swipe to the right, and the reply will populate in your message bar immediately. Sure, it only saves you a single click, but think of all that time you’ll save in the long run.

5. Change your wallpaper

There’s nothing better than adding a little bit of flair to your everyday life, and WhatsApp gives you that opportunity with customizable wallpapers. You can change the background of different chat conversations to get you in the right frame of mind before you jump into the group chat.

To customize your background, just head to the chat you want to change, click your trusty three-dot icon in the upper right corner, and click on Wallpaper. Then, simply select an image from the gallery or upload your own to have a custom background for your chat.

6. Disappearing messages

Whether you’re a private person or planning a surprise, disappearing messages can be a helpful tool in any messaging app. While Snapchat made this kind of communication popular, WhatsApp has, of course, adopted the feature for its platform as well, and it’s very easy to use.

For starters, click on the chat that you want to employ disappearing messages with. Then head on over to the handy-dandy three-dot icon and click on Disappearing messages. You’ll then select the amount of time you want before messages disappear, either 24 hours, 7 days, or 90 days.

7. Pin a chat

Everyone has that favorite person they need to chat with at all times, and it’s frustrating to scroll down and have to find them every time. With the ability to pin a chat in WhatsApp, you can keep your favorite chats at the top of the list no matter what, so you’ll never have to scroll again.

To pin a chat, just head on over to your chat list and long click the chat that you want to pin. Then, click the push pin icon at the top of the screen. A push pin icon will appear to the right of your pinned chat, which will now stay at the top of your list no matter what.

8. View messaging data

Ever been curious about who you message the most? Or maybe you just want to see how many pictures you’ve sent on the app? WhatsApp is all about making data transparent while keeping you safe with end-to-end encryption, which is why you can securely check out your message data and learn a little about yourself in the process.

From the main chat list page, just click the three-dot icon in the upper right corner and click Settings. Scroll down on the Settings menu until you get to Storage and data and click on that. There, you’ll find a wide range of options to check out, including Manage storage and Network usage, which will give you some interesting insights into how you use the app.

9. Message privately in group chat

We’ll admit, this is a risky one. If you’ve ever wanted to talk privately in a group chat, this feature should be able to help you out. It allows you to stay within a group chat, but only communicate with a particular person in that group chat, so other members won’t see what you write.

To do so, simply head to the group chat in question and click on the message that you want to reply to. Instead of swiping right or clicking the Reply icon, head over to the three-dot icon and click Respond privately. This will take you to the private message with that user, but will still allow you to reply to the group chat message.

10. Turn off read receipts

If you’re tired of your friends and family calling you out for not responding to messages that you’ve clearly read, we have good news for you. WhatsApp allows you to turn off read receipts, so that no one will know if you’ve actually seen what they sent you or not.

Just click the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the home interface and select Settings. Scroll down and click on Privacy and you’ll see a toggle switch to turn off Read receipts. Turn it off, and you’ll be safe to ignore all the messages you want.

11. Mute a group chat

Group chats are great, but let’s be honest, they can be a bit much sometimes. If your friends are in a particularly heated argument or if dinner plans are taking too long to get right, you can mute the group chat so that you won’t be inundated with notifications until everything gets settled.

To take advantage of this feature, just select the group chat that you want to mute and click on the ever-useful three-dot icon in the upper right corner. You’ll see the Mute notifications button is immediately available, and a simple click will give you a bit of peace and quiet for the time being.

Artificial intelligence isn’t going to take over the world just yet, with the president of Microsoft insisting that the risk of a super-intelligent AI breakthrough is “years” or even “decades” away from being a reality.

For the last year, the meteoric rise of generative AI technology like ChatGPT has rocked the business world, leading to a wide range of advancements that have some users worried about a dystopian future of robot overlords.

However, many experts of the technology have noted that this kind of dystopian future is not nearly as close as the average user might think, no matter how many times you’ve seen The Terminator.

Artificial General Intelligence Still a Ways Off, According to Microsoft President

According to a Reuters report, the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, assuaged reporters on Thursday that a dangerous AI breakthrough was unlikely in the near future.

“There’s absolutely no probability that you’re going to see this so-called AGI, where computers are more powerful than people, in the next 12 months. It’s going to take years, if not many decades, but I still think the time to focus on safety is now.” – Brad Smith, Microsoft president

The potentially dangerous breakthrough in question relates to artificial general intelligence (AGI), an evolution of AI technology that could have some dire impacts on the world as a whole without the proper safeguards in place.

What Is Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)?

Artificial General Intelligence, colloquially known as AGI, is the next step beyond the current AI standard, also known as Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI). Services like ChatGPT and Google Bard are ANI platforms, because they are designed to perform a single task, like write content or create images.

AGI, on the other hand, is more complex, learning like humans do to perform a wide range of different tasks better than any human could possibly hope to. Essentially, without the proper safeguards, AGI is the robot overlord in sci-fi movies that can control everything and make your life miserable in a connected world.

Fortunately, most experts note that this level of AI advancement is a ways off, and as long as safety is prioritized in the early stages, shouldn’t lead to the extinction of all humanity.

AI Safety vs Innovation

If you followed all the madness over at OpenAI last week, you know that AI safety versus innovation has been a big debate in the tech community over the past year. And while the technology has the potential to improve productivity across the business world, it’s worth noting that a bit of hesitance for the sake of safety could go a long way.

“What we really need are safety brakes. Just like you have a safety break in an elevator, a circuit breaker for electricity, an emergency brake for a bus – there ought to be safety breaks in AI systems that control critical infrastructure, so that they always remain under human control.” – Brad Smith, Microsoft president

As the exponential growth of technology over the last few decades has shown, there’s no telling what kind of breakthrough is right around the corner. And if you don’t prepare for the bad with the good, you could end up with a lot more problems than solutions.

Job-searching might be stressful, but the actual job doesn’t have to be.

With inflatation and price-gauging plaguing the average worker in these troubled times, stress is soaring across age groups in the US. The American Psychological Association found in 2023 that 24% of adults rate their average stress between 8 and 10, which marks a 19% increase since the pre-pandemic average in 2019.

Thanks to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Information Network and its online ranking of 873 different occupations, we can now tell you exactly which jobs demand the least stress — as measured by positions that require “accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.”

The lowest stress remote jobs are:

1. Actuary
2. Travel Agent
3. Search Marketing Strategist
4. Computer Systems Analyst
5. Proof-reader or Copy Marker
6. Statistician

1: Actuary

Median wage: $113,990 a year

As an actuary, you’ll analyze stats and data to weigh the rates of mortality, accidents, or retirements in order to forecast the risks and liabilities for companies that pay out benefits to workers. If you’re willing and able to gain the knowledge you’ll need in statistics or the correct software, you may be able to land the single least stressful work-from-home job possible.

Actuaries are rated a low 57 out of 100 on the Occupational Information Network stress scale, thanks in part to a dependable 40-hour work week. Median wages in 2022 were estimated to be $54.80 hourly and $113,990 annually. You will likely need a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or statistics (or the equivalent experience), and you’ll probably need to talk on the phone on a daily basis (52% of actuaries say they do).

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Financial Analyst (Actuarial Focus) at Humana – South Carolina, Remote
• Specialist, Financial Reporting at Nationwide – Ohio, Remote
• Assoc Actuarial Analyst at Molina Healthcare – Long Beach, CA, Remote

2: Travel Agent

Median wage: $46,400 per year

If statistics aren’t for you, travel might be. As an agent, you’d be planning and packages transportation and accommodations for your clients. Pick out a hot destination, the right travel dates, and deal with all the tricky details that many people would rather skip. It’s not just selling tour packages: You might be asked to help resolve travel-related problems in real time, too, keeping you on your toes.

You won’t need a ton of tech skills, but a few software options that you might find yourself using could include Zoom, scheduling software, online booking software, and database query software, as well as data analysis tools like DataSwell or Illusions Online.

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Corporate Travel Agent at Cain Travel – Remote
• Travel Agent at FlyTrips Travel – Remote
• Travel Consultant-Account Executive at Railbookers Group – Remote

Looking to have Fridays to yourself? Companies currently offering a 4-day work week.

3: Search Marketing Strategist

Median wage: $68,230 per year

Search engine optimization (SEO) tactics can dramatically boost company’s marketing efforts and revenue will follow along with effective marketing. By figuring out how to analyze all available research along with your company’s data on what its audience wants, a search marketing strategist can plan out all the most effective ad buys and all the best marketing investments.

And it’s a natural fit for a remote position, given that valuing the importance of the internet is key to success in this job.

Of course, there’s no end to the variety of technologies that can help you out, from business intelligence and data analysis tools likeBrightEdge, IBM Digital Analytics, Searchmetrics Suite, or Tableau to web page creation and editing software like Adobe Dreamweaver, LinkedIn, and WordPress. Coding skills aren’t needed, but wouldn’t hurt: A little AJAX or CSS know-how goes a long way.

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Digital Marketing Strategist at Saga Education – Remote
• SEO Strategist at Wallaroo Media – Provo, UT, Remote
• Content Marketing Strategist at Red Door Interactive – Remote

4: Computer Systems Analyst

Median wage: $102,240 per year

Systems analysis is a broad bucket, but it might cover figuring out solutions to “applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns,” according to the Occupational Information Network, where the gig is rated a 60 out of 100 for stressfulness. You’ll have deadlines, but a lot of downtime and (hopefully) very few crises.

This is among the most tech-heavy jobs in this guide, with a seemingly endless list of software and hardware knowledge that could prove useful depending on the situation. The top five software categories that you may need functioning knowledge of include database user interface and queries, development environment, object or component oriented development, program testing, and web platform development software.

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Teamcenter Developer at OPUSING STAFFING – Remote
• Computer Systems Analyst at B.E.A.T. LLC – Remote
• Programmer Analyst II at Public Health Institute – Remote

5: Proofreader or Copy Marker

Median wage: $45,410 per year

Love reading? This position challenges you to read through transcripts or proofread copy. This isn’t about editing; it’s for catching and correcting grammar, typographic, or composition errors. You’ll need to have an eye for the details, but it’s regular, low-stress work if you can get it.

Once again, working knowledge of the right software solutions can give you a foot up over your competitors. Your training software might include Adobe Captivate or InScribe, while you may find yourself working within the rest of the Adobe suite for everything from video editing to desktop publishing software like FrameMaker. And don’t forget the trusty Microsoft Word: Love it or hate it, Word has embedded itself in most companies.

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Medical Proofreader at IAS-USA – Remote
• Proofreader at Implico Communications Inc. – Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, Remote
• Copy Strategist at Coalition Technologies – Culver City, CA, Remote

6: Statistician

Median wage: $98,920 per year

Figure out the right theories and methods to parse your business’s data, and you could uncover hidden benefits that can guide future business decisions in the short term or long term. At the very least, a good statistician can filter information until it becomes a useful database for a business to refer to and build upon.

You’re unlikely to be caught up in a statistics emergency, which might have helped the job role when it scored a pretty-low 64 out of 100 for stressfulness. Your position might be solely for crafting and interpreting surveys, or you might have a focus within a more specific field like biostatistics, agriculture, business, or economics.

Analytical or scientific software that might prove useful includes IBM SPSS Statistics, Minitab or MathWorks, and you may work with C++, Python, or Java. Of course, Microsoft PowerPoint is a must. How else can you communicate all your beautiful data-crunching methods with your team?

Examples of open remote positions (from Indeed.com)

• Statistician at Jackson Lewis – New York, NY, Remote
• Data Analyst at Smartstart Education LLC – Remote
• Biostatistician at Talentech Consulting LLC – Remote

Following its no-expense-spared debut ad earlier this year, budget shopping app Temu looks set to make another Super Bowl appearance.

The Boston-based, Chinese-owned company is currently in talks to buy another ad spot, in an effort to take even more market share from Shein and Amazon. However, negotiations haven’t been finalized, according to a company spokesperson.

Despite ending 2023 having lost $3.56 billion, Temu still takes the top spot on the iOS App Store — a position it’s held for the majority of the year.

Will It Be Second Time Lucky?

Until recently, Temu was only really used and talked about among younger, more price-conscious generations interested in purchasing anything from beauty goods and apparel to household items and electronics at a seriously discounted price. This meant its initial spot was an introduction to the app for millions of Americans and caused a 45% surge in downloads after it had aired.

The playful 30–second commercial was split across two slots and featured a female adding multiple outfits to her shopping cart, which would suddenly appear on her once purchased. The campaign itself was built around the “shop like a billionaire” tagline that the brand has become famous for.

As well as the high price tag for the spot, the cost of producing the commercial didn’t come cheap. However, Super Bowl ad real estate is typically considered essential and one of the most important dates in a marketing team’s calendar.

However, judging by PDD Holdings (Temu’s owners) past approach to aggressive promotion — particularly when challenging competitors Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc. — its second stab at the Super Bowl should come as no surprise.

This Year’s Holiday Deals

As well as these all-out promotional efforts, Temu looked to capitalize on this year’s holiday demand by pushing some seriously heavy discounts. Take its recent Cyber Week Clearance campaign for example, where shoppers could get up to 90% off products, with some items starting at just $0.39. 

These prices, combined with the current cost-of-living crisis, are no doubt the reason for the app’s rise in popularity. But just how is the bargain basement retailer able to offer such deals, while retaining heavy sums of cash to pump into marketing?

How Is Temu Doing It?

Extreme brand exposure is largely behind Temu’s loss leader strategy when entering foreign markets. This, plus significant backing and direct connections to Chinese wholesalers via PDD Holdings, means Temu can significantly undercut its competition.

And it’s not just the online space that Temu is managing to hold its own in either. Aside from Shein and Amazon, the app’s growth has even superseded major retailers like Target.

While confirmation on 2024’s ad spot is still to be announced, when you pair the above success with the huge impact of its initial Super Bowl commercial, you can see why the company would come back for more. 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has this week unveiled a generative AI chatbot for the workplace that can be tailored specifically to your business’ needs.

AWS, the retail giant’s cloud division, has stated that Amazon Q will help workers draft emails, summarize reports, and write blog posts.

It was only a matter of time before Amazon launched yet another AI innovation to compete with existing chatbot tools, such as Microsoft’s chatbot Copilot.

What Does Amazon Q Do?

Not to be dismissive of course, but Amazon Q doesn’t appear offer anything too groundbreaking with this chatbot. Much like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard, Amazon Q users can talk to it like it’s a human. Through these conversations the platform will then solve problems, generate content, and take action based on business-specific data. 

This business-focused angle is where things start to get interesting, however. The business-specific data will be fed to Amazon Q through your company’s information repositories, code bases, and enterprise systems, giving the chatbot it’s ‘tailored to your business’ USP.

From here, Amazon Q claims to be able to “help streamline tasks, speed decision-making and problem-solving, and help spark creativity and innovation at work”.

It’s aimed at marketing professionals, project managers, and sales representatives, as well as IT professionals and developers who’ll be able to conduct research, code new features, and build applications on Amazon’s cloud servers. 

Amazon Q will connect to services such as Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Slack for even more data integration.

Amazon Q Capitalizes On AWS’ Expertise

Amazon has been testing and toying with a variety of AI tools and innovations for some time now. Back in April it announced Bedrock, a generative AI toolkit that allows text and image generation through access to foundational models from Amazon and third parties.

And again, in September, plans for a $4 billion investment into AI-startup Anthropic – best known for its ChatGPT competitor Claude – were similarly announced. 

So what makes Amazon Q standout and, more importantly, better than the current crop of chatbots on offer? Well, aside from the business approach, it appears to be capitalizing on AWS’ name and expertise. In a statement on its website, AWS explains:

“We have trained Amazon Q on 17 years’ worth of AWS expertise, so it can transform the way that you build, deploy, and operate applications and workloads on AWS”. This essentially means it’ll suggest the best AWS services a solution to a project need or query, keeping you firmly within its suite of tools.

How To Get Hold Of Amazon Q

Amazon Q is currently only available to AWS users in select parts of the US, with a pricing structure that is split into two tiers: Amazon Q Business and Amazon Q Builder.

Amazon Q Business will set you back $20 a month per user and offers all the standard generative AI tool features you’d expect – functionality to solve problems, generate content, and take action based on your company’s information.

Amazon Q Builder will be $25 per month and is aimed at developers and IT professionals who want to build, optimize, and operate applications using the platform.

To get started, users need to log into their existing AWS account or sign up.

Despite what you may have seen or heard, Apple’s new NameDrop feature, that allows for easy sharing of contact details, is not a security risk.

Now that’s out the way, we’re going to take you through the simple steps needed to turn it off and find out what sparked the privacy concerns. 

Spoiler alert: the scaremongering started (and ran wild) on social media. 

Turn Apple NameDrop Off In Three Quick Steps

It’s difficult to accidentally initiate a NameDrop transfer however, if you’re worried or would rather have the feature disabled, allow us to help:

1. Head to your ‘Settings’ app.
2. Tap ‘General’ and then ‘Airdrop’.
3. Scroll to ‘Bringing Devices Together’ and toggle the switch off.

And NameDrop is no more.

How Does NameDrop Actually Work?

Fortunately, it’s not as simple as placing two iOS 17-updated iPhones near each other and letting them take over your contact list with zero control. After all, NameDrop requires explicit permission from both parties to work. Plus, there are a few intentional steps each user needs to take.

To share contact details via NameDrop:

1. The tops of both iPhones need to be pretty much touching – and remain so – in order to establish a connection.
2. Once the connection has started, both iPhones will glow and the NameDrop screen will pop up.
3. This screen will give users two options: tap to receive a contact card or hit ‘Share’ to share your contact details.

The functionality means it would be pretty difficult for anyone to initiate a NameDrop transfer without your knowledge. After all, the phones would have to be practically touching and you’d need to accept the request before any transfer started.

It’s also worth knowing that pulling your phone away at any time will immediately cancel a NameDrop transfer.

Where Did NameDrop Rumours Come From?

As with most scaremongering stories, we have social media ‘Share’ button to thank. 

Across the US, police departments had been posting warnings that iPhone users with iOS 17 installed would have the NameDrop feature turned on by default. This had then been misconstrued as putting users and their children’s contact details at risk, with the idea that anyone could tap an iPhone without the user’s knowledge and get hold of sensitive information.

A Connecticut Police Department’s Facebook post claimed that the feature could “automatically receive [a user’s] contact information to include their picture, phone number, email address and more, with a tap of your unlocked screen.”

While it’s true that NameDrop is turned on by default, the rest of the information shared was an exaggeration of the truth. Cybersafety experts have since spoken out to say that the technology is safe to use, and could even serve as a reminder for parents to discuss digital safety and safeguarding private information with their children.

Liz Repking, owner and founder of Cyber Safety Consulting, explained: “I wouldn’t say they should be hyper concerned about NameDrop more so than any other feature that their kids are exposed to when they use the devices”. 

The Microsoft 365 browser extension is officially being put into retirement, despite the add-on being downloaded at least 10 million times throughout its eight-year lifespan.

Microsoft is planning to discontinue support for the web extension in January 2024, and will also be removing it from Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome web stores at this time.

The software provider hasn’t revealed why it’s putting the free extension, which gives users access to Microsoft 365 documents on the web, but here’s what its untimely departure will mean for users.

Microsoft 365 Web Extension to Retire in January

Microsoft is ending support for its well-loved 365 web extension on 15 January 2024, despite the tool boasting six million downloads on Google Chrome and four million on Microsoft Edge.

The extension gives users quick access to Microsoft apps like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Teams on the web, and has been a popular function among users since it was first launched in 2015.

“The Microsoft 365 browser extension will also be removed from Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome web stores as an extension add-on,” – Microsoft announced

As outlined in a recently released support document, Microsoft recommends removing the extension by selecting the Microsoft 365 browser  extension icon next to the address bar in your browser, clicking on settings, and selecting ‘Remove from Microsoft Edge.’ You can also uninstall the add-on under ‘Manage extensions.’

What Does This Mean for Microsoft 365 Web Users?

Once the January 15th deadline has passed, users will still be able to use Microsoft’s 365 browser extension, but the tool will no longer receive security updates, general updates, technical support, or vulnerability fixes.

This, unfortunately, will make the extension more prone to errors and lags, and will also make it a ticking time bomb for cyber breaches as threats detected on the platform won’t be able to get resolved.

With the extension also disappearing from the Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge stores, new users will also be unable to download the function after its cut off date.

The Microsoft Edge 365 sidebar. Source: supportmicrosoft.com

Instead of accessing Microsoft’s suite of apps through the extension, however, users are able to use the apps for free at www.microsoft365.com. For greater ease of use, you can also access the tools and app within your current tab using the Microsoft Edge sidebar (pictured above).

The US, the UK, and 16 other countries have announced new guidelines for the development of artificial intelligence (AI), based on the principle that these systems need to be secure by design.

The international agreement, which is the first of its kind, represents a leap forward in AI safety, by prioritizing the well being of consumers over the rapid development of commercial AI products.

However, with OpenAI already developing an artificial general intelligence (AGI) system that researchers fear may be a “threat to humanity” and other companies playing catch-up with their own AI models, it’s unclear whether the non-binding guidelines go far enough.

Global Push to Make AI Systems ‘Secure By Design’

The US, the UK, and dozens other countries including Germany, Italy, Australia and Singapore have released new guidelines for the development of AI technology.

The 20-page agreement which was published by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) emphasizes that the systems should be “secure by design”, and is broken down into four main areas: secure design, secure development, secure deployment, and secure operational and maintenance.

“The approach prioritizes ownership of security outcomes for customers, embraces radical transparency and accountability, and establishes organizational structures where secure design is a top priority,” – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

The directive encompasses each stage of the AI development lifecycle, and intends to protect the public from misuse by ensuring “the technology is designed, developed, and deployed in a secure manner” according to CISA.

Aside from advocating for safe AI development, the agreement also requires companies to report vulnerabilities in the technology through a bug bounty program, so exploits can be identified and stamped out quickly.

Biden Takes Europe’s Lead on AI Safety

This agreement is the first time in history that countries from across the globe have banded together to create recommendations for secure AI development. However, they’re the latest in a string of actions the US government has been taking to manage risks associated with the technology on home soil.

At the end of October, the White House launched its first-ever executive order on AI development, addressing a number of concerns like algorithmic bias, data privacy, and job displacement.

The crackdown represented a hardened stance the government is taking towards AI. But while White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed claimed these were the “strongest set of actions” any government has taken to safeguard AI, the US’s pace of change still lags behind its European neighbors.

First proposed in 2021, the EU passed its AI Act in June of this year, which classifies different AI systems by the potential risk they could pose to users. The framework aims to turn Europe into a global hub for trustworthy AI, and unlike the recent agreement, mandates changes through legislature, instead of non-binding guidelines.

Do these Guidelines Go Far Enough?

With AI creating lucrative opportunities for Silicon Valley’s top dogs – exemplified in OpenAI’s pending AGI model ‘Project Q*’ – it’s unclear whether these non-binding recommendations will convincing enough to generate real change.

What’s more, with research revealing that there are “virtually unlimited” ways to evade ChatGPTs and Google Bard’s security features, the new guardrails also fail to address the security concerns of AI models already in the wild.

However, any global effort to ramp up safeguards in the AI wild-wild west undoubtedly marks a step in the right direction.

Google is conducting a massive cull of inactive accounts on December 1st, giving users three days to act if they want to prevent their historical data from being deleted forever.

The purge, which extends to Gmail, Docs, Drive, Photos, Calendar, and YouTube accounts, aims to prevent data from being phished by bad actors, but risks countless memories being lost by users who fail to act fast enough.

If you want to protect your Google data ahead of the looming deadline and safeguard your data against future closures, we show you how this can be done.

Google is Deleting Inactive Accounts From December 1st

On Friday, Google will be terminating all Google Accounts that have been inactive for two years, according to a March update to their inactive account policy.

The cybersecurity measure aims to lower instances of cyberattacks, as forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that are more likely to be breached, Google explained in a company blog post.

This policy concerns the data of inactive personal Google accounts, including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar),Google Photos, and YouTube. Google Business and School accounts will not be affected.

How to Prevent Your Google Account From Being Deleted

Fortunately, saving your old account from being wiped from existence is very straightforward – as long as you remember your old password.

All you need to do is sign into your account. This will deem your account as ‘active’ and therefore will prevent it from being deleted. Then, sign-in to your account at least once every two years to save it from being discarded in the future.

In the likely case that you’ve forgotten your password, follow Google’s account recovery steps to verify your identity. Then, if successful, reset your password to something easier to remember and store it in a password manager.

According to Google’s blog post, after you’ve signed in there are a number of ways to display activity on your account, including:

• Reading or sending an email
• Using Google Drive
• Watching a YouTube video
• Downloading an app on the Google Play Store
• Using Google Search
• Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service

All existing subscriptions set up through your Google Account count as account activity too, so if you’ve subscribed to a service your account will be protected from Google’s pending actions.

If you’re ready to let your account go, but you want to protect sensitive or sentimental information from future wipes, we’d also recommend backing your Google data up. We break down how this can be done next.

How to Back Up Your Google Data

To back your Google account data up, simply visit this Google Site for a blow by blow on how to download and archive account data. You’ll be able to select which format your data will be archived in, and even learn about what happens to your detected account information.

After you’ve clued yourself up, use the company’s Google Takeout service to save your data. The tool gives you agency over which account data you protect, be it from email, photo or OneDrive accounts, and it also lets you chose it’s export destination.

A report that includes an analysis of more than 100 million passwords leaked over four years via data breaches has revealed the weakest passwords currently in use – and almost all of them are really easy to guess. In fact, it would take a cyber criminal with the right technology and information just seconds.

A separate NordVPN study carried out before this report was published revealed that the average person has over 100 passwords, and if you’re re-using your own name, favorite sports team, or a simple sequence of numbers, newly published data suggests your account credentials could be easily compromised by cybercriminals.

In this article, we’ll be covering the most-used passwords revealed in the report, as well as some password ideas you can use as inspiration for the passwords you make in 2024. We’ll also run through exactly how long and complex secure passwords should be – and why passkeys might just be around the corner.

• The Most-Used Passwords: Study Results
• Strong Password Examples: A List for 2024
• Examples of Bad Passwords
• Password Ideas You Can Try Yourself
• How Long/Complex Should My Password Be?
• Why You Should Use Passkeys, Not Passwords

The Most-Used Passwords: Study Results

Data released by online security platform mymxdata.com — which has scraped over 100 million different passwords leaked in data breaches since 2019 — shows exactly what names, phrases, and numbers you should avoid when making a password.

It goes (almost) without saying that you should avoid all of these passwords at all costs, even if they’re extremely convenient to use and very easy to remember.

Passwords as simple as these should be nowhere near accounts that hold valuable personal and confidential information, such as your online banking or social media accounts.

The most-used names in passwords

According to mymxdata.com’s report, the most frequently used name in passwords is “Michael,” which was used 107,678 times as a password. Daniel came a distant second after being used 99,399 times.

Other names that appear most regularly in passwords include Ashley (91,977), Jessica (86,410), Charlie (82,348), and Jordan (74,310).

Michelle appeared in 71,816 passwords and Thomas was used in 70,024. Nicole was the ninth most-used name after appearing 69,223 times, and rounding off the top 10 is Andrew, which was included in 65,509 passwords.

The most-used sports and soccer teams in passwords

It’s tempting to use your favorite sport in your passwords, as it’s going to be super easy to remember – but unfortunately, popular sports are among the most widely-used words in passwords, and should therefore be avoided at all costs when you’re making an account.

• Football: 107,169
• Baseball: 82,574
• Soccer: 79,735
• Basketball: 62,667
• Hockey: 41,220
• Tennis: 24,189

Mymxdata.com also looked at the most-used soccer team names in passwords. The top five most-used clubs in its 100 million-strong password dataset were:

• Liverpool: 70,317
• Chelsea: 55,834
• Barcelona: 46,273
• Arsenal: 45,321
• Juventus: 38,169

The most-used numbers and phrases in passwords

Unsurprisingly, the most-used number sequence is “123456”, which was used by password creators 6,621,933 times. “111111” (six consecutive 1s) was used 968,155 times, while “12345678” and “abc123” were both used more than eight hundred thousand times each.

“Qwerty” – the first five letters to appear on the keyboard – was used as a standalone password 878,496 times, despite its obvious weaknesses. “Password” (946,935) and “Password1” (740,680), on the other hand, were among the most widely-used phrases in passwords.

The most-used years in passwords

Strangely, the most-used year in passwords compiled by mymxdata.com was “2013,” which was chosen 129,745 times. “2010” was the second most popular year to use as a password and was utilized 79,274 times. The other most widely used years were:

• 1986: 78,709 uses
• 1987: 73,067 uses
• 1989: 61,405 uses
• 1985: 58,627 uses
• 1988: 57,945 uses
• 1990: 56,947 uses
• 1984: 54,333 uses
• 2020: 51,269 uses
• 1982: 50,833 uses
• 2012: 47,283 uses
• 1983: 45,789 uses
• 1992: 44,952 uses
• 1995: 43,558 uses
• 1980: 43,255 uses

Remember that dates of birth are regularly used in passwords, and threat actors know this is the case. What’s more, this sort of information is often available online too, if someone is looking hard enough.

The most-used fictional characters in passwords

Leaving Marvel in its dust, DC comics dominate the fictional characters category. The most regularly featured fictional character in the passwords mymxdata.com scraped was Superman, which was used 86,937 times, while fellow DC hero Batman came second with 52,388.

Wall-E makes a surprise entry in third with 48,288 uses, while Hello Kitty (35,381) SpongeBob (35,349), and Marvel’s Spider-Man (35,078) make up a somewhat surprising top five, which includes no Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or Star Wars characters.

The most-used famous figures in passwords

Just like your favorite sport, you might think the name of your favorite famous person is worth sneaking into a password. However, for the most part, that’s a bad idea – the likelihood is that your favorite famous person is going to be the same as loads of other people’s favorite famous person. Here’s the top nine:

• Blink-182: 84,545
• 50 Cent: 55,897
• Eminem: 43,344
• Slipknot: 39,630
• Metallica: 38,608
• Nirvana: 35,436
• Justin Bieber: 34,296
• Ronaldo: 34,137
• Messi: 495

Surprisingly, this list is exclusively dominated by musical artists who made their names during the 1990s and early 2000s – precisely the time when internet usage went mainstream. However, world-renowned footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo unsurprisingly round off the list.

Strong Password Examples: A List for 2024

Warning: These passwords listed in this article have been created as examples to showcase what a secure password may look like. Please do not use these passwords for your own accounts.

Now you know what the most commonly-used, regularly-cracked passwords are, it’s time to look at some examples of good passwords and passphrases that you can use as inspiration.

• bur3=iMePHI549ZiClBr – This password uses a wide variety of characters, letters, and symbols – but might be a little difficult to remember
• 3ButterFlies:)+4Sharks:(=7Animals – This passphrase utilizes numbers and mathematical symbols to ensure it is sufficiently varied and complex without being overly complicated to remember.
• (NEWSFLASH…TayloRSwifTReallYSuckS!!!) – This password uses a memorable phrase and a code for capitalization (first and last letter of every word) to make it easy to remember. It’s also very, very long.
• September:The10thAnnualBoatingTr1pPrankonDarryl’sWife – This password references a private in-joke from a specific life event, and although there are not many letters and numbers, it’s 53 characters long.
• WaTcmFAwKoFtTe! 1. Elegant 2. Hedgehog $4510 – This password is an acronym for the first lines of the chorus in Queen’s “We are the Champions,” plus two words suggested by a random word generator and a meaningless price. It also has spaces and different special characters.

We can also see how a password can be turned from a weak one into a strong one with just a few simple modifications:

• Extremely weak password: Crocodile
• Weak Password: Crocodile111
• Moderate password: Cr0c0D1le135
• Strong password: Cr0c0d1l3-1358007!
• Really strong password: ?!Cr0c0D1l3-$1358007!?

There are now loads of safe, secure ways to test the strength of your passwords – so make sure you try them before you use them to secure your email or social media accounts.

Examples of Bad Passwords

There are some really clear and simple rules to follow when it comes to avoiding bad passwords. For example, avoid genericism and lean into uniqueness, such as private jokes or niche references (more on this in the next section).

Sometimes, the quickest way to learn is to just look at some bad password examples. So, we’ve put together a short list of weak passwords. We’ve bolded the password each time, and included an explanation of precisely what makes it unsafe in parentheses:

• WestVirginia (No numbers or special characters, simple phrase)
• bacon454 (less than 12 characters, no upper case letters)
• Johnbonjovi (less than 12 characters, no symbols or characters)
• Password2024 (less than 12 characters, references current year)
• Pa$$w0rd (a variation on a common word used in weak passwords)
• BigHockeyFan (no symbols, unoriginal, reference to popular sport)
• USA07/04/1776 (well-known date, no special characters)
• SantiagoBrooklyn99 (full name of TV show + character with little deviation)
• B3nn£y (way less than 12 characters long, dangerously short)
• Arnold1976 (Simple name and date, not complex enough)
• BloombergSubcriptionPassword (too descriptive of password purpose)
• 123456789 (no letters or characters, sequential numbers)

Firstly, under no circumstances should any of your passwords incorporate personal information — including your name, house address, date of birth, the city you live in, or pet names. If you’re being specifically targeted by someone and any of this data is publicly available, it’ll be among the first things that they try.

Password Ideas You Can Try Yourself

There are good password ideas and bad password ideas — and it’s always advised to consider best practices when you’re creating passwords for your most treasured accounts.

If you’d like an in-depth look into password best practices and the factors that impact how strong your account credentials are, have a look at our password security guide – but if you don’t have time, here are some password ideas you can use for inspiration.

Use a multi-character passphrase

It’s quite common to hear the phrase “passphrase” instead of “passcode” or “password” in 2024, and many people believe passphrases are now more secure than passwords.

The advantage of a passphrase is that they’re longer than passwords but easier to remember. It can be an easy first step to a more secure online existence for people with poor password hygiene re-using the same password over and over again.

However, remember that using a passphrase is not a silver bullet, nor is it foolproof. It certainly should not be used instead of special characters and numbers. You can incorporate numbers into a passphrase by simply swapping out words for the numbers themselves.

Whip out the private jokes

Languages are vast – there are approximately 170,000 English words in use. This means there is an almost unthinkable amount of different combinations of words and phrases.  For instance, there are 50 billion websites indexed by Google – and not a single one contains the meaningless two-word phrase “Hedgehog Asinine” we created to provide this point.

The chances are, you probably have at least one in-joke with your family, friends, or colleagues that includes two or more words that just don’t ever appear alongside each other in your language.  Using one of these unique in-jokes as a basis for your password or phrase will be a lot safer — and much harder to crack — than a phrase like “FootballFan”or “LetsGoYankees.”

Start using acronyms

Rather than thinking about entire words or phrases, creating a password that is effectively a long acronym will make a complex sequence of what look like unrelated or randomly–placed words, but make them relatively easy to remember.

For example, (WtNhCaTlidaTmItOlWs2691) is a 20+ character password that includes upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters.

Impossible to remember, right? Well, what If I told you that it was simply the first letter of every word from the first verse of Ben E. King’s hit song Stand By Me, simply with alternating capitals, plus the year that the song was written reversed and a pair of parentheses?

If you can easily recite even singular verses of songs, you’ll have a goldmine of acronym-based codes you can use to complicate and lengthen your passwords, and you might even be able to learn them quickly off-by-heart.

Embrace special characters

Often, when people create passwords, they’re fine using letters and numbers – but they avoid special characters because they’re harder to remember.

A good password idea to follow is to embrace special characters. As you can see from the lists of bad password examples above, many don’t have any special characters icnluded within them at all.

For example, why not put your entire password in parentheses like the example password referenced above, or use a dollar sign before the sequence of numbers you’re including? After you do it once, it’ll come a lot more naturally.

Create a secret keyboard code

An easy way to remember a really complicated password is to create a keyboard code for yourself. This sounds complicated at first, but it’s actually really easy to do.

For example, you could take a weak password or memorable phrase – such as ILoveTheChicagoCubs1876 – but instead use the letter that is a key below each character in your initial, simple password/phrase, and numbers that are one to the right of any number

In this example, the simplistic ILoveTheChicagoCubs1876 becomes the much more secure K.l dGnk zbl j x2987, which is naturally harder to crack thanks to its use of spaces and a random number rather than a connected one (1876 is the year the Cubs were founded).

We’d still recommend inserting some special characters into the password example we’ve used above to make it more secure, but you see what we’re getting at here.

Be original

Along with following password best practices, one of the easiest ways to make your password secure is to think creatively. Chances are, you’ve seen a fair few passwords in your life (and probably read several articles like this one), so you’ll have some sort of idea of sequences of characters commonly used in passwords (e.g. “123”) and those that aren’t (e.g. “@;)@”).

For example, how many weak passwords have you seen that have spaces in them? Underscores and asterisks are similarly underused, as are other seldom-used punctuation/character options.

How Complex and Long Should My Password Be?

A lot of people think that you can get away with passwords that are 8 characters long and that passwords of this length are secure. However, it wouldn’t take long for a cyber crimimal to crack a password of this length. Here are the four golden rules you must implement:

• Passwords should be a minimum of 12 characters (not words) long
• Passwords should include letters, numbers, and special characters/symbols
• Passwords should include upper and lowercase letters
• Passwords must not be re-used across different websites

At present, making use of a reliable password manager like OnePass is one of the best ways to store long, complex passwords for your accounts. However, the rise of Passkeys — which are more secure than passwords — may spell the end for password managers and passwords themselves.

Why You Should Use Passkeys, Not Passwords

Passwords have been around for decades now – but times are changing. Passkeys are now considered much safer than passwords, because they harness biometric data and PIN codes to ensure you’ll need either a target’s device or the person themselves to log into any given account, rather than a simple phrase that can be guessed from the other side of the world.

Passkeys are now the default sign-in option on Google and the company has launched a hardware key called “Titan”, Apple is also rolling them out across their products, and Amazon also made the move to launch passkeys last year.

Passkeys don’t put as much onus on the account holder to remember long, complex passwords, and they make the entire sign-in process more seamless. Overall, passkeys are an extremely promising alternative to passwords – and one day, they might replace them altogether. Although this is unlikely to happen in the next five years – we are creatures of habit, after all – expect to see some significant shifts sooner than that.

That being said, passwords aren’t going to vanish overnight, so being aware of and implementing the best practices is still incredibly important. Remember to avoid the passwords found to be the most commonly used by mymxdata.com — using them is a one-way ticket to getting compromised.

Since Facebook settled a multi-million dollar privacy lawsuit this year, millions of the users applied for a proportion of the money the social media platform agreed to pay out as part of the court deal.

Since the application deadline, more than 500,000 Americans who applied have had their settlement claims rejected – and more rejection letters may still be on their way as claims are sorted through.

Here’s everything you need to know if you applied, including how to tell if your application has been rejected, where you can check the status of your application, and why it’s hard to predict the date you might get your payment.

How to Tell If Your Facebook Settlement Claim Has Been Rejected

After settling a privacy lawsuit, Tech giant Meta – owner of Facebook – agreed to pay a huge $725 million back to users of its platform who were impacted by its sub-par practices. A notification was sent to Facebook users in April to inform them that they were eligible to apply.

Applications were opened over the summer, and users were given until August 25th to apply – and, by September 7th, over 17 million claims had been preliminarily validated.

On October 11th, the judge gave the final approval for the settlement to be actioned – but only after multiple objections. Now, we’re in the appeals period – and two objectors have already filed appeals.

According to The Hill, 28 million Americans have applied for a settlement through Angeion, the company managing the case. This makes it the most filed-for claim in US history. As we’ve already covered, 500,000 of those claims have been rejected.

If your claim is one of the unlucky ones to be rejected, you may have already been notified by email. Ensure you check your inbox as well as the spam folder of the email address you handed over in order to apply for the claim. If you have been rejected, you have up to 10 days to appeal the decision.

It might be worth getting Angeion to double-check your claim. When companies are processing this many applications, errors sometimes happen – and this is the biggest single claim in American history.

How to Check the Status of Your Facebook Settlement Claim Application

The latest updates relating to the Facebook privacy settlement are available on the claims portal that Angeion has set up to manage the claims.

You can contact Angeion by phone if you have any questions with the number provided on the site, and browse the FAQs section to find the answers to common queries your fellow applicants are asking.

Bear in mind that the Facebook privacy settlement discussed in this article is separate from the location-tracking settlement that Facebook has been fighting alongside it, and has a separate claims process.

What is the Facebook Settlement Payout Date?

Unfortunately, there’s still no hard date that successful claimants can expect to be paid on – the legal battle continues on, even though the claim has been granted final approval.

Currently, the Angeion claims portal linked above in this article explains that “despite the Court’s Order granting both Motions and overruling the Objections filed, two Objectors have filed Notices of Appeals”.

In continues, adding that “settlement payments cannot be distributed to eligible claimants until the appeals are resolved. The time frame for resolving an appeal can vary widely, and we will know more as the appeals proceed.”

It’s now thought that when the payments are made, the median payout will be around $30 per claimant.

Amazon is the undisputed retail champion of the US, welcoming an average of 200 billion site visits each month, and raking in more profits last year than Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, combined. At least part of its success is down to it winning key shopping periods like Black Friday and the holiday shopping season in general.

Despite its position at the top of the retail food chain, the online retailer has been facing growing competition from Chinese challenger Temu, since the budget retailer first entered the US market last September.

Encouraging users to “shop like a billionaire”, with heavily marked-down prices and a similar product offering to Amazon, Temu continues to up the ante and is rolling out more deals than ever as the holidays loom large.

However, as concerns over its product quality and logistical limitations mount, we explore which ecommerce giant should be the top choice for buyers and sellers in 2023 and beyond. Here’s how the Amazon vs Temu shopping showdown breaks down right now so you know who to rely on for the holiday shopping this year.

Amazon vs Temu: Prices, Fees and Delivery Times 2023

With almost one in three American’s owning an Amazon Prime membership, chances are you’ve purchased something from Amazon or at least spotted it’s distinctive parcels on your neighbors doorsteps.

Temu, on the other hand, is yet to achieve the same level of name recognition as Amazon in the US, despite entering the mainstream after it’s Super Bowl ad last year, and securing #1 position in the App Store for most of 2023.

Owned by major Chinese commerce group PDD Holdings, Temu is another online marketplace with a seemingly infinite product catalogue, ranging from staples like tech accessories to novel items like edible insects (yes really). Basically, both retailers sell just about any product you could find on the high-street.

But while the marketplaces draw lots of comparisons, most of Temu’s products are stored and shipped from factories and warehouses in China, contributing to variances in product cost, delivery time and quality standards.

Temu also offers a selection of features not available on Amazon, such as group buying, gamification, and a referral program. Read on to learn more about how the ecommerce giants differ for buyers and sellers, and which one has the edge in certain areas.

Temu’s prices are lower

While Amazon operates a competitive pricing strategy – especially on Black Friday – Temu’s products are 60% to 80% cheaper on average. This price different extends across both site’s core product categories, including electronics, beauty and appliances.

After investigating the price discrepancies ourselves, we found Temu to be particularly cheaper when it came to clothing essentials, with Amazon retailing six pairs of plain white ankle socks for $8.49 as part of a Prime Day Deal, compared to Temu’s rock bottom price of $4.

On top of it’s tiny prices, Temu also offers additional pricing perks like free shipping on most orders and no minimum spending limit – helping users knock even more off the cost of their basket. 

Temu has lower seller fees 

Temu offers better rates for sellers than Amazon too, enabling them to keep a bigger slice of each sale they make. Temu’s competitive pricing strategy can benefit sellers too, by luring in more bargain-hunting buyers from competitor sites.

In comparison, Amazon charges various seller fees, including referral and fulfilment fees. And with certain Amazon product categories charging as much as 45% in referral fees, for many businesses choosing to sell on Temu will be a no-brainer.

Amazon has better product quality 

Unfortunately for its customers, the reason why Temu is so cheap is that its rock bottom pricing and seller fee strategy often comes at the expense of the buyer. Temu’s quality is inferior to Amazon’s across-the-board, with the company regularly coming under scrutiny for producing goods that are cheap and poorly made, and receiving poor customer reviews.

By manufacturing products in China, Temu is able to keep prices low while bypassing the US’s manufacturing safeguards and product regulations. However, this means that products aren’t held up to the same standards as those sold on Amazon, resulting in higher levels of buyer disappointment.

Amazon also has the edge when it comes to branded goods. Compared to Temu, which has access to limited Chinese manufacturers, Amazon is the go-to site for buyers looking for verified name-brand products, especially from all-American companies like Apple, Disney and Nike.

Amazon has faster delivery times

One area that Amazon remains undefeated, is product delivery. Amazon’s vast and efficient logistic network guarantees that products will be arrive at any US destination within four to five days of purchasing with Standard Shipping, and within one day with Amazon Prime.

In contrast, Temu’s shipping time’s ranges between five and 25 days, given the US’s distance from many of the companies factories and main distribution canters. What’s more, while Temu does offer free shipping and a generous 90-day return window – compared to Amazon’s more stringent 30-day period – it’s also much easier to return items for Amazon, making it more convenient to shop for clothes.

When we ordered from Temu, we found that not only did it deliver, it kept to its projected date range. There’s just no getting away from the fact that it’s a matter of weeks, rather than days or even hours in the case of Amazon.

Temu has limited warehouse capacity 

According to business news site 36kr, as demand for Temu’s goods skyrocket, the company’s infrastructure is struggling to keep up, with sellers claiming that the company is currently running out of warehouse space.

The site revealed that Temu’s warehouse capacity was first maxed out in March of this year after the success of the companies Super Bowl commercial. Now, as sales continue to pick up month-after-month, and demand surges amid a busy Black Friday period, the bottleneck has continued, creating real problems for sellers.

Many retailers simply haven’t been able to ship products, with one Temu seller telling 36kr ‘that when he tries to shop products, “the website either shows ‘there are too many people who want to send products over now, please try again later’.

Temu’s business model is being questioned

Aside from Temu’s embarrassing logistical limitations, the longevity company’s ‘loss-leader’ strategy – which sees it making a loss of around 30-35% on each US order – is also being put into question. Temu recently extended it’s net loss budget from 20 billion to 23 billion, ringing alarm bells about whether the company will be able to turn a profit, and continue operating in the US.

Despite attracting millions of shoppers to its site this holiday season, Temu is also struggling more than it’s competitors to convert window shoppers into paying customers, with only 4.5% of monthly views resulting in purchases in October 2023. This is in comparison to Amazon’s 10% conversion rate, according to website data tracking firm Similar Web.

If Temu isn’t able to increase it’s conversions and overcome it’s logistical challenges, it’s likely the retailer won’t be profitable enough to continue trading in the US, much to the delight of competitors like Amazon. But all things considered, which retailer do we think is stronger overall?

Amazon vs Temu: Amazon the Clear Winner for Black Friday Deals

If you’re looking to secure a great deal this holiday season, we’d recommend playing it safe with Amazon. Not only does the US retailer feature a greater selection of trusted, branded goods, its speedy delivery times also allow for last minute orders – providing a lifeline to last minute shoppers.

Amazon products also have to adhere to stricter quality guidelines, granting buyers extra piece of mind that their product will show up as advertised.

Temu shouldn’t be disregarded, though. With smaller price tags than Amazon and a generous return policy, the marketplace will be a better fit to consumers looking to make major savings and buyers that want to shirk steep fees.

At the very least, it’s a worthy option for bolstering your holiday sweater arsenal – just make sure to get those orders in sooner rather than later to give them a good amount of time to arrive.

As the dust still settles on OpenAI’s latest drama, a letter has surfaced from several staff researchers citing concerns about an AI superintelligence model under development that could potentially pose a threat to humanity, according to those close to the source. The previously undisclosed letter is understood to be the real reason behind why Sam Altman was fired from the company.

The model, known internally as Project Q*, could represent a major breakthrough in the company’s pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) – a highly autonomous branch of AI superintelligence capable of cumulative learning and outperforming humans in most tasks. And you were worried about ChatGPT taking all our jobs?

With Sam Altman now firmly back at the company and a new OpenAI board in place, here are all of the details of Project Q*, as well as the potential implications of AGI in the bigger picture.

What is Project Q* AGI?

Project Q* – pronounced ‘Q-Star’ – refers to a new AI model being developed by AI powerhouse and ChatGPT owner OpenAI.

According to people close to the source, Q* could mark a major leap forward in the field of artificial intelligence by radically improving AI reasoning, and inching the company closer to a major breakthrough in the development of AGI.

Unlike current generative AI models, which are able to create responses based on information it’s previously learnt, AGI is an autonomous system that can apply reason to decisions, granting it human-level problem solving capabilities.

While AGI is still yet to be fully realized, many experts believe the technology will also be capable of cumulative learning, another trait of human cognition that could give it the power to improve upon itself exponentially.

Several sources claim that Q*’s has been able to demonstrate these attributes when solving mathematical problems. Thanks to the model’s vast computing power, Q* was able to outperform grade-school students, implying that it’s reasoning skills and cognitive capabilities supersede the functions of current AI technology.

It’s unclear how long Project Q* has been under development for, and what it’s applications may be, but OpenAI notified staff members and board members about project Q* before the events of last weekend.

OpenAI Researchers Express Ethical Concerns About Project Q*

While OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman feels confident AGI technology will drive innovation forward, several researchers were quick to cite the potential dangers of Project Q*.

After the researchers discovered the project, they wrote a letter to OpenAI’s board of directors, warning them about the powerful algorithm’s potential danger to humanity. Specific concerns around AI ethics noted in the letter weren’t revealed, but the warnings were foreboding enough for the board to dismiss Altman from his position as Chief Executive last Friday.

Following Altman’s shock departure, which was originally thought to be on the grounds of “poor communication”, he found a new position at Microsoft. This action prompted 700 out of OpenAI’s 770 staff members to threaten to do the same if the CEO wasn’t reinstated as the start-ups commander in chief.

With the company at risk of crumbling, OpenAI’s board was forced to reappoint Altman to the top position – resulting in a massive overhaul of the company’s committee and highlighting deep divisions among its leadership.

Now with Altman back in the helm, and Project Q* likely to get the green light, what does this mean for those at the bottom of the AI food chain?

Should We Be Concerned About AGI and Project Q*?

While this is the closest OpenAI has ever got to bringing the concept of AGI to existence, it isn’t the first time that Altman has hit headlines when talking about the technology.

In September, the Silicon Valley king pin landed himself in hot water after comparing AGI to a “median human you could hire as a co-worker”, chiming with comments he made last year about how this AI could “do anything that you’d be happy with a remote co-worker doing” including learning how to go be a doctor and a very competent coder.

“For me, AGI…is the equivalent of a median human that you could hire as a co-worker.” – Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

While comparing AGI to the intelligence of a ‘median human’ isn’t anything new, Altman’s use of the term was deemed “icky” by AI ethicists and professor at the University of Cambridge Henry Shevlin, as concerns around AI’s impact on job security escalate.

Potential breakthroughs into AGI are also ringing alarm bells for other AI researchers that claim the technology is being developed faster than it’s full impact is able to be realised.

OpenAI believes that the positive upshots of AGI make the potential minefield of risks worth it. However, as the disruptive startup continues to push forward with its development, many fear the Altman’s company is prioritizing commercial success over the good of it’s users, and broader society.

Apple has landed itself in hot water once again over union-busting claims alleged by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A fresh complaint has been filed against Apple this week, following a series of three prior convictions for illegal union-busting by the consumer tech firm.

Apple is accused of deliberately withholding employee benefits in an attempt to influence a unionization vote.

It’s not the first time Apple has clashed with union-organizing attempts, having fallen foul of the NLRB before.

Apple Workers are Unionizing

A unionization movement at Apple, the world’s most valuable company, is being blocked. After the Towson, Maryland store, the first branch to unionize globally, other stores started to follow suit.

The complaint, filed on Tuesday, details that new employee benefits were not extended to unionized workers in the Maryland store in what was a failed attempt to influence a unionization vote at another Apple branch.

A chairperson for the National Labor Relations Board, Wilma Liebman, told Bloomberg that blocking benefits that were extended to all non-union workers could be in violation of labor law, saying it was “hard to see how they could come up with a legitimate reason for the timing other than to influence the outcome of the election.”

The attempts at union-busting failed however, as Penn Square store employees voted in favor of unionizing anyway.

Apple has until December 5 of this year to respond to the claims, a hearing is due to take place on February 20 2024.

Past Apple Union-Busting Attempts

According to the aforementioned Bloomberg report, the tech company also instructed its store managers to disseminate anti-union sentiment, such as using scare tactics to warn them of the negative consequences in relation to their wages, career opportunities and time off.

Back in June a NLRB judge ruled that Apple “coercively interrogated” employees about their feelings towards unionizing and that they did interfere with workers attempting to form a union at the World Trade Center store in New York City.

Reports claim that the union-busting tactics used included managers removing pro-union flyers from the break room and attempting to influence employees not to join unions, which led to employees giving up on their plans to form a union.

A judge ordered Apple to “cease and desist from coercively interrogating employees regarding their protected concerning activities and Union sympathies,” marking a landmark victory for Apple employees.

Earlier this year, Apple said that it is appealing this decision and have not yet made comment on the latest complaint filed this week.

Google has added a neat new feature to Google Meet that means you’ll no longer have to click the ‘raise hand’ button ever again.

Now, callers can simply raise their actual hand to activate the feature, and make their point. The feature had previously been in preview, but is now being rolled out to users.

You’ll need to enable the feature before you can use it, we’ll explain how.

Google Adds AI Hand Recognition Feature

The hands-free feature that was announced earlier this year, and rolled out this week. On a Google Workspaces Updates blog, the company explained “Until now, raising your hand to ask a question in Google Meet is done by clicking the hand-raise icon. Starting today, you can also raise your physical hand and Meet will recognize it with gesture detection.”

Users must ensure their camera is enabled for their gesture to be detected, raise it away from the face and body and hold it up until the hand-raise detection circle turns green. No need to click the hand raise button anymore.

This latest update is just another way in which Google has integrated AI into its products lately. Including the ‘Help me write’ tool for Gmail, the Immersive View and Google Lens for Google Maps, and the image generator for Google Search.

Is Google’s Hand Recognition Feature Useful?

Let’s be honest, it’s not the most life changing feature although it is quite cool. The level of effort required to raise your hand is not much less than what was previously required of meeting participants to click the hand raise button.

However, there are various scenarios in which this feature could come in handy. For example, if you’re standing up away from your computer or mouse – perhaps even walking on a treadmill or cycling on a static bike.

Another instance when it could come in useful is if your hands are dirty, from eating lunch or if your job is particularly messy.

Perhaps a more useful Google Meet feature, for those who work from home in particular, is the Portrait Touch-Up mode, introduced last month. This tool allows you to apply subtle beauty effects like filters to your face to reduce undereye bags, hide a nasty cold or the beads of sweat from your lunchtime run.

How to Enable Google Hand Recognition Feature

Gesture detection is off by default and can be turned on by selecting More options > Reactions > Hand Raise Gesture.

The feature is automatically turned off for active speakers to avoid the feature confusing gesticulation whilst speaking with raising a hand. Once a speaker stops talking the feature will automatically turn back on.

The phased rollout started with the rapid release domains receiving access this week, with scheduled release domains gradually receiving access to the new tool between November 28 and December 12.

The gesture detection tool will be available to the following enterprise account types: Google Workspace Business Plus, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Starter, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers, and Google Workspace Individual subscribers.

The dust has started to settle after Sam Altman’s dramatic ousting and equally sensational return as OpenAI CEO, but there’s still plenty of commotion as the new board of the ChatGPT owner becomes official with the blockbuster news that Microsoft will get a non-voting seat in AI’s room where it happens. Here’s all the other key changes, new OpenAI board members, and a quick look at who’s hit the road.

A new OpenAI board was almost certainly apre-conditions for Altman’s return as CEO. After all, Altman was fired by the old group of directors, ostensibly for failing to be “…consistently candid in his communications with the board.” However, it increasingly looks like the real reason for the attempted coup was concerns over OpenAI Q*, the company’s reported AGI superintelligence breakthrough.

Whatever the case, three OpenAI board members have moved on to pastures new, while fresh faces have been brought in to replace them in the form of Bret Taylor and Larry Summers. Who are they and what else is happening with the OpenAI board right now? Read on to find out.

OpenAI Board Confirmed with Final Addition of Microsoft

In a new blog post, OpenAI and Sam Altman have confirmed its new look “initial” board comprised of chair Bret Taylor, Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo.

That much we already knew, but the big news is that in his first public act for the company, Taylor announced the OpenAI board would include Microsoft as a “non-voting observer.”

Microsoft, of course, now famously hired both Sam Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman for roughly 24 hours after Altman was deposed – and was understood to be ready to welcome hundreds more defectors from OpenAI, in the event of a mass resignation resulting from Altman’s firing.

Altman also addressed the elephant in the room regarding the new OpenAI’s board glaring lack of diversity. With all of its former female board members now engaged elsewhere, the returned CEO’s blog referenced the “important task of building out a board of diverse perspectives,” again highlighting that the current setup is only the initial group of individuals, with further additions to the company’s boardroom expected.

Who is Bret Taylor? New OpenAI Board Member is Former Salesforce CEO

Bret Taylor is a 43-year-old American computer programmer, entrepreneur and the new chair of the OpenAI board. 

Taylor is perhaps best known as the former co-CEO of Salesforce. He shared the prestigious post with Marc Benioff between November 2021 and January 2023, having previously served as the CRM giant’s president and COO. Among other things, he spearheaded the company’s acquisition of Slack.

The Stanford University graduate is no one-hit wonder, however. He served as chairman of Twitter alongside his 9-to-5 at Salesforce, but left the microblogging platform in 2022 when a certain Elon Musk bought the company – and promptly culled its entire board to make himself feel at home. 

Taylor also played a pivotal role in the development of two products you’ve probably used before. Launching his career as an Associate Product Manager at Google, he was part of a team of 50 Googlers who helped integrate Where 2 Technologies into the search giant’s portfolio. The product would go on become Google Maps.

After Google, he helped co-found and served as CEO of one of America’s OG social networks, FriendFeed, which was acquired by Facebook in 2009 and brought with it a feature now synonymous with the social media giant: the Like button.

Taylor replaces Altman ally Greg Brockman as OpenAI chairman, with both Altman and Brockman deciding against returning to their former seats on the board.

Image credit: Brian Solis via Flickr (shared under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license)

Who is Larry Summers? OpenAI Board Adds Outspoken Economist

Lawrence “Larry” Summers is a 68-year-old American economist who has previously held a number of prestigious posts in the world of economics. 

These include being the US Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton between 1999 and 2001 and then president of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama from 2009-2011.

In between holding this high-ranking governmental posts, Summers served as president of his alma mater, Harvard University, from 2001-2006. Earlier in his career, he was Chief Economist at the World Bank (1991 to 1993), where he counted future Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg among his mentees.

Away from his distinguished resume, Sanders is a man known for his strong opinions on all things economic, famously calling the Biden administration’s flagship $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan “the least responsible policy we’ve had in the last 40 years.”

In a similar vein, he referred to the UK’s “Brexit” withdrawal from the EU “the worst self-inflicted policy wound that a country has done since the Second World War”.

While his economic pedigree can’t be doubted, there’s also no shying away from the fact that he’s a more polarizing figure than Taylor, with some of his comments and views being judged controversial in the past.

Who is Adam D’Angelo? The OpenAI Board Member Who Survived

The third and currently final member of the new OpenAI board is 39-year-old American Adam D’Angelo, best known as the co-founder and current CEO of Quora.

A graduate of the California Institute of Technology, his career started in the social media world, with D’Angelo joining Facebook shortly after its launch in 2004. He rose to be its Chief Technology Officer between 2006 and 2008, whilst also serving as its VP of Engineering.

He is the lone OpenAI board member to have survived the recent chaos surround Sam Altman’s firing and rehiring, for reasons that remain unclear. That said, he’s widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s brightest minds and won a silver medal in the 2002 Olympiad in Infomatics, the Olympics of the computer science world.

Away from OpenAI, D’Angelo has his own AI startup called Poe, and was a notable investor in both Instagram and the project management platform Asana.

His leadership style at Quora has come into the spotlight as a result of his role in Altman saga, with The Information reporting that he has never once been known to change his stance on a position or issue.

Image Credit: Philip Neustrom via Flickr (shared under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

Is Sam Altman on the OpenAI Board?

While Sam Altman was previously on the OpenAI board, it is understood that the newly returned CEO of the ChatGPT developer will no longer be occupying a board seat.

Nor will OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who followed Altman out of the revolving OpenAI door but has now also returned. Prior to the attempted coup, Altman and Brockman were two of the six board members.

It will be a major change for Altman, who has been part of the OpenAI board since back in 2015 when the company was born. The initial board then consisted of just two members: Altman and Elon Musk.

Who Was on the OpenAI Board?

Prior to the situation surrounding Sam Altman’s leadership, there were six OpenAI board members.

In addition to Altman, co-founder and president Greg Brockman, and the retained Adam D’Angelo, a trio of big names have now left their roles in the OpenAI boardroom after the ultimately failed coup.

These are:

• Ilya Sutskever
• Tasha McCauley
• Helen Toner

Of these, Sutskever is perhaps the most noteworthy – or at least played the biggest part in briefly overthrowing Altman.

An OpenAI co-founder and still (for now) listing himself as its Chief Scientist, Sutskever quickly reversed course and said he regretted ousting Altman.

I deeply regret my participation in the board's actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we've built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.

— Ilya Sutskever (@ilyasut) November 20, 2023

For their part, McCauley is a robotics engineer and the CEO of GeoSim Systems, while Helen Toner is a Research Associate with the Centre for the Governance of AI, as well as Director of Strategy at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

What the Heck Happened at OpenAI?

Chaos, in a word. Late last week, the OpenAI board fired CEO Sam Altman, prompting mass employee protests and the resignation of another leading face at ChatGPT, Greg Brockman.

In almost the same breath as Altman was fired, speculation emerged linking him with a swift return to the company, though by Monday morning it looked like water under the bridge.

Altman had accepted a new job at Microsoft, while former Twitch boss Emmett Shear had been appointed as new interim CEO at OpenAI.

However, the saga wasn’t over yet. Eventually, the weight of more than 700 of OpenAI’s roughly 770 employees calling for the board’s resignation and Altman’s reinstatement was too much and on Wednesday, November 22 it was confirmed that Altman would return.

This, in turn, meant the departure of Ilya Sutskever, Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley from the OpenAI board, with Bret Taylor and Larry Summers brought in as part of the new line-up.

In the end, it’s thought that as many as six additional new OpenAI board members could be brought in over the coming weeks, though there’s no indication as yet who they might be.

Watch this space, as we’ll update this guide to feature any and all new OpenAI board members that get announced.

Ad blocker usage is up 11% since 2021, according to a newly published report, and the blame is being pinned on remote workers.

It’s bad news for the likes of Google, as it currently battles with ad blockers on services such as YouTube, where it has taken the decision to penalise users who attempt to circumvent adverts on the platform.

With a sharp U-turn in ad-blocker usage since the pandemic, users could see even stricter methods of getting them to disable ad blocking software.

WFH Movement Caused Uptick in Ad Blockers

The report, from Eyeo, draws a possible link between the work-from-home movement, which has decreased slightly this year but is still fairly common, and the rise in ad-blockers.

Eyeo references a Gartner report which found that PC sales in the U.S. and Europe were experiencing a 10-year high in early 2021, driven by the work-from-home trend that was at its peak in 2020-2021.

Adding to this rationale is the fact that Eyeo found the increase in ad-blocker users was higher on desktop (27%) than on mobile phones (22%) by the end of the second quarter this year, indicating a shift in user behaviour due to changing work environments.

The Fight Back Against Ad Blockers

Prior to 2021, rates of ad blockers had plateaued following efforts from publishers encouraging people to deactivate ad blockers in exchange for access to content, as well as adopting Acceptable Ads standards, which aim to regulate and improve the quality of ads for users. The main criteria advertisers must comply with relate to the ability to distinguish ads as what they are – ads – and their size.

In attempting to tackle ad blockers, platforms such as YouTube, are taking a strong stand against the rise of ad-blockers in order to protect its core revenue driver. YouTube confirmed it has ‘launched a global effort’ to crack down on ad blockers by putting in place its own blocks. When a user with an ad-blocker activated device tries to watch content on the YouTube platform, they will be prompted to either allow ads or try YouTube Premium for no ads in order to see the video.

Google’s Chrome has shown reluctance to join other browsers such as Apple’s Safari and Firefox in phasing out third-party cookies. The tech giant first intended to eliminate third-party cookies in 2022, before it pushed that deadline back to 2023, and now again to late 2024, buying advertisers time to plan for alternatives.

Google’s Chrome made up 63.14% of the global browser market share in 2023, therefore this change -whenever it finally takes effect- will change the digital advertising landscape immeasurably.

Ad-blocker users are expected to exceed 1 billion in 2024. It’s bad news for publishers, which the report forecasts are set to lose $54 billion in ad revenue, representing an approximate 8% loss in total ad spend.

Privacy and Control Matter Most to Users

The main takeaways from the Eyeo report for both publishers and advertisers is that consumers are taking more control over the type of ads they are exposed to. According to a survey by KPMG about bridging consumer trust and corporate data responsibility, 86% of respondents say data privacy is a growing concern for them.

The reason for using ad blockers is not necessarily synonymous with a disdain for all advertisements. According to the report, 58% were open or neutral towards seeing non intrusive ads and were more open to sharing personal data in exchange for premium content.

65% of respondents want to have control of ad relevance and 70% want control over which personal information is shared with advertisers.

Amid the chaos that has engulfed ChatGPT creators OpenAI over the last few days – which has led to CEO Sam Altman being fired and then quickly reinstated to his position – one of its direct competitors, Anthropic, has upgraded the language model powering its chatbot, Claude AI.

Claude 2.1 delivers “advancements in key capabilities for enterprises” and now includes a 200K context window, which is bigger than the context window offered by GPT-4 Turbo and the largest context window offered by a publicly available AI tool. Adjustments have also been made to ensure Claude 2.1 doesn’t hallucinate as much as its sister models.

Here’s what you really need to know about Antrophic’s Claude 2.1 AI release, including the latest features, pricing and how to start using it today.

Claude 2.1: A New AI Industry Leader?

Anthropic has launched Claude 2.1, its latest and most advanced language model. By far the biggest and most noteworthy difference between Claude 2, which launched earlier this year, and Claude 2.1 is the amount of information that can be relayed to Claude via its message box.

Previously 128,000 tokens, Claude’s context window has now been enlarged to 200,000 tokens.

That’s around 150,000 words, or 500 pages of material – roughly equivalent to one cover-to-cover copy of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

Anthropic says that Claude 2.1 will be able to “summarize, perform Q&A, forecast trends, compare and contrast multiple documents, and much more” and expects the latency to “decrease substantially” as the technology develops.

Claude 2.1 New Features and How to Use It Right Now

The other big change to Claude is a decrease in hallucinations – Anthropic says that Claude 2.1 is half as likely to serve users false statements as its predecessor, Claude 2.0.

Image: Anthropic

Significant improvements have also been made to the chatbot’s ability to respond with correct answers to queries related to long-form documents, such as legal filings and financial reports.

Anthropic says that, when tasked with analyzing large documents and files “Claude 2.1 demonstrated a 30% reduction in incorrect answers and a 3-4x lower rate of mistakenly concluding a document supports a particular claim.”

Other changes include the introduction of system prompts – users can now specify instructions about how they want Claude to act, similar to how you can currently prompt ChatGPT. With system prompts, Claude is less likely to break out of character.

You can sign up and use Claude for free via Anthropic’s website, where you can also view the price of token bundles you can use to talk to the chatbot. Claude Pro, like ChatGPT Plus, costs $20 per month and is geared toward power users with business use cases. Claude 2.1 powers all of Anthropic’s options.

Claude Swoops as Chaos Continues at OpenAI

Claude 2.1 was launched this week amid major chaos at OpenAI, the company who owns ChatGPT that’s been bankrolled by Microsoft for the last few years.

First, CEO Sam Altman was sacked by OpenAI for failing to be “consistently candid” with the board. He was then hired by Microsoft to head up their AI team, only to be rehired by Open AI around 48 hours later.

It’s probably just a coincidence that Anthropic decided to launch a new version of Claude this week, but the latest installment in the generative AI arms race comes at an interesting time for its frontrunner.

Recently, OpenAI launched a new service, called GPTs, which will let you create a chatbot from scratch that can help you with specific tasks. Since then, thousands of GPTs have been created for both work and personal purposes. 

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to create a GPT by building one ourselves from scratch. It’s actually a very simple process that doesn’t require any coding knowledge – and what’s more, you’re guided through it by ChatGPT. However, we brought in an expert who’s already built several GPTs to show you the quickest way to do it.

How to Create a GPT in 9 Steps (~15 mins)

Here, we’ll show you exactly how to create a GPT with ChatGPT’s GPT creator. However, it’s worth noting that this feature is currently only available to ChatGPT Plus customers who’ve paid the $20 per month subscription fee.  

Don’t worry – although there are nine steps, the process doesn’t take long at all from start to finish. After we came up with an idea, it only took around 15 minutes to actually build a working GPT.

1. Log in to ChatGPT Plus

First things first, you’ll have to log in to your ChatGPT Plus account with your email address, password, or the single sign-on function – just like you’d do if you were logging into your regular ChatGPT account. You may need to go through a second verification step if you’ve enabled two-factor authentication on your account.

2. Click on “Create a GPT” at the top of the page

Once you’re logged in, select the “Create a GPT” option at the top of the page. This will take you through to the main building area where you can bring your GPT to life. ChatGPT will also provide you with a selection of public GPTs you can peruse for inspiration.

This is also where you’ll see GPTs you’ve already made once you’ve created more than one, as well as how many people have liked and/or had conversations with it:

3. Come up with an idea for a GPT

After you click on “create a GPT”, you’ll be taken to a page that looks like this. On the left side, you have an open chat with ChatGPT, as well as a “configurations” menu. On the right, you have a preview or “playground” version of your chatbot.

As you can see, ChatGPT will prompt you to describe the kind of GPT you’d like to create:

Next, you’re going to have to come up with an idea for a GPT you can make. This can be anything from a GPT that will generate vegan alternatives to recipes you provide it with to one that offers you legal advice.

I’m a big fan of David Attenborough’s nature documentaries – so we decided to create a David Attenborough chatbot designed to provide me with sagely advice and whimsical, nature-themed narrations of different aspects of my day. We decided to enrich my chatbot’s knowledge base with transcripts from his 2016 show, Planet Earth II.

4. Come up with a name and decide on an image

Next, ChatGPT will ask you what you’d like to call your chatbot. It will suggest a name, but you can always call it something else, like we did. After that, it’ll generate an image that represents your GPT that can be used as a sort of “profile” picture.

5. Refine the context of your GPT

Next, ChatGPT will prompt you to refine the context for your GPT. In simple terms, this means giving the chatbot more information (which could be a document to read or just plain-text instructions) on how you’d like it to answer your queries, and what you’d like it to do.

In our example, we instructed the chatbot to use nature-themed analogies when giving advice. We also informed it that we planned to upload transcripts from one of Attenborough’s for it to refer to when responding.

6. Upload files and create a knowledge base (if required)

Now, it’s time to upload the transcripts from David Attenborough’s shows that we just told ChatGPT about. You can do this by clicking the paperclip icon on the side of the message box.

Once you’ve uploaded your files, they will appear in the “configuration” menu, just underneath the “conversation starters” area you can see in the image below:

Although this will help you refine your chatbot, not all GPT ideas will require you to upload documents to a knowledge base. It still has a vast set of data to draw on from the information used to train the LLM that powers it, GPT-4.

In our case, there’s probably a good chance it could have given us adequate answers without our additional resources, but it’s unlikely they’d be as accurate, or as in line with what we wanted.

7. Test your chatbot in preview mode

Now that you’ve configured your knowledge base, you’ll be able to put your chatbot to the test in the “playground” to see if it fulfills its original purpose. You can do this by simply asking it a question in the “preview” tab on the right-hand side. We tested David Chattenborough by asking for advice on a workplace dispute:

As you can see, the chatbot’s answer is very much in line with our original instructions, and some of the analogies drawn seem to be influenced by the language used by David Attenborough that’s included in the transcripts. Your GPT will also be able to analyze images and comment on them, such as the one below:

8. Tweak your chatbot’s instructions

After you finish asking your chatbot a couple of test questions, you might find you want to tweak its instructions a little to refine the responses you get. This is really simple – all you have to do is add new instructions to the box containing your original prompt in the configuration menu:

As you can see in the image above, we instructed the chatbot to refuse to answer questions about mac n’ cheese, and to pretend it doesn’t know what it is. So, we then tested it again to see if it would obey this rule – and it did:

9. Share your chatbot or restrict it from public view

Next up, the only thing left to do is decide whether you want to make your chatbot public. You could of course keep it to yourself – but if it’s a good enough idea, other ChatGPT Plus users might just find it useful.

How Easy is it to Build Custom ChatGPTs?

“I’ve found GPTs to be really easy to build. I’ve been testing them personally and in a workflow sense to see how they’d fit in my day-to-day,” explains Caitlin Hathaway, an SEO manager who has already built several different GPTs and walked us through the steps explained above.

The most useful GPT she’s created to date – a product reviews analyzer that uses Google’s helpful content guidelines as a knowledge base – has been used hundreds of times since it was made available to ChatGPT Plus users.

Caitlin said she’d experienced “great success” when integrating her GPTs into her workflow and sees it as a “supporting resource” for the work she does.

However, she also admitted that the tool “needs to be a bit more sophisticated before it’s rolled out across businesses and different industries”, but much like ChatGPT itself, said it shows “great promise and potential”.

In theory, the possibilities are endless – you could even build a chatbot with a knowledge base that includes your own conversations, and ask it to mimic your behavior, tone, and opinions.

Other GPTs available with ChatGPT Plus

Along with being able to build their own GPTs, ChatGPT Plus users can also harness the power of GPTs made by other developers who have made their creations publicly available. For example, there’s one called Laundry Buddy, which will tell you how to get different types of stains out of your clothing:

At the moment, however, there is a significant security problem that will allow users to easily extract the instructions used to build public GPTs. This has left OpenAI with some significant questions to answer before they launch the GPT store and let developers monetize their GPTs.

If you have a great idea for one you’d like to make public, make sure you instruct it not to share its instructions. Also, we’d advise unchecking the box in the “Advanced Settings” at the bottom of the configuration tab if you don’t want OpenAI to use your conversations to train its models.

In today’s world, AI images can be created by anyone with access to a handful of AI engines including OpenAI’s DALL-E, Midjourney, Gencraft, or Stable Diffusion. They’re cropping up on social media and websites all over the place, frequently without any identification clearly explaining that they’re artificially generated.

And in fact, AI images have been used for dozens of hoaxes. They’ve tricked people into thinking Trump has been arrested in a huge public spectacle, or that the Pope has developed a radical new fashion sense.

Perhaps you think you can always spot an AI image. Or perhaps you’re scared that you never will. Whatever the case, we’re here to help. The truth is that AI-generated images can’t fully replace real life photographs — at least, not quite yet.

1: Weird Fingers

AI images are famously bad at hands. They’ll include a sixth finger, leave off a thumb, or add an extra joint. Some hands might have veiny palms, or some fingers might blend together.

To AI engines, hands are a fairly small part of an entire human, and don’t show up as consistently in images as a human face does. With more limited data, getting the ratio and number of digits correct is tough for an AI. But to humans, those errors jump out intuitively. This makes them a great way to spot a fake.

AI images have improved their hands since being released, with one Midjourney software update making headlines for its realistic hands in mid-March 2023. Still, a sixth finger remains a common giveaway.

2: Blurry or Abnormal Backgrounds

Many AI image generators will blur the background entirely, ensuring that any bizarre details don’t jump out quite as readily. As a result, a fully blurred background is already a little suspect. But you should look even deeper: Chances are pretty good that an AI image’s background will be messed up.

Architecture is one giveaway. Steps may be misaligned, walls might be oddly curved, and ceilings might be sloped with no rhyme or reason. An office chair may be off-puttingly large or a coffee table might have too few legs. Light fixtures are another common issue, so check them to see if you can spot any structural impossibilities or differences within a row of hanging lamps that are ostensibly the same.

In the case of a huge crowd, the blurry background might be hiding truly large mistakes, like missing limbs or three-eyed people.

3: Terrible Hair

Individual hairs are a big problem for AI. An image engine might generate sharp detail, gauzy whisps, blurred sections, and radical changes in texture — all on the same head. By checking for texture inconsistencies, you can flag AI images.

Looking for hair impossibilities may also help. Hair might hover too high off of a head or might weirdly loop around to connect itself to a head on both ends like a Dr. Seuss character. In the most extreme cases, hair can even transform into a scarf or piece of clothing. But in a lot of cases, the hair won’t be obviously wrong: It’ll just be a little too thick, or a little more blurred than you’d expect.

4: Sharp, Overly “Rendered” Appearance

AI images’ problems with texture don’t stop at hair. Many entire images come with a glossy, unrealistic sheen to them, reminicent of how a randered video game character can never fully replicate film.

This stands in contrast to the blurriness many AI images include, although images often include both: A blurry background, a crisp and smooth foreground, or a flucuating combination of the two. This odd appearance is most obvious when it comes to cartoon-like artworks created by artificial intelligence, but it has plenty into ostensibly photorealistic creations as well.

One day, we may be able to find the words to describe this unique “rendered” appearance beyond just “AI-looking.” But until then, it’s one way to spot a fake.

5: Accessory Mistakes

Shirt collars, necklaces, earrings, scarves, purse straps, and shirt buttons. In real life, all these little add-ons are the right size, make sense, and obey the laws of physics. In AI images, anything goes.

Check for jewelry that’s warped or one earring that isn’t the same size as another. A ring might not wrap around a finger, or a necklace might hang too high on a neck. And once again, blurs may magically appear to steer your eye away from a tough-to-create detail like a watch face.

Hand-held objects are a problem area for AI, partially due to its issues with hands: Check for elongated coffee mugs or hovering pens. Object perminance is an issue, as well: The top of a walking cane might be visible over a leg, while the entire bottom half fails to reappear under the leg.

6: Garbled Text

AI images are designed to make up new combinations of existing content. But when it comes to a written languages, we don’t really have a use for new “combinations” of letters, give or take a few terms like “rizz.”

Artificial images that try to create their own storefronts, bedroom posters, or street signs are far more likely to wind up looking like an alien language than anything a human would recognize. Check for any text hidden in a background, and you might uncover the final clue you need to determine that an image is a hoax.

7: Stereotypes

Artificial intelligence works off of existing data and ideas. It remixes. As a result, it replicates baises or factual errors that exist in that data. And unfortunately, there’s plenty of bias out there in the world. There’s racism, sexism, classism, fatphobia, and ablism — and that’s just to name five that the TikTok algorithm has been credibly accused of.

Ask an AI image generator to give you a “doctor” and it’ll produce a white man in a lab coat and stethoscope. You’ll have to give it more specifics in order to generate an example that reflects the diversity of the real world, and even then half the time you’ll just wind up with a more specific stereotype.

Prejudices aside, AI images even tend to reproduce common poses or lighting conditions, since their datasets have the most examples of these.

8: Flubbed Details

One theme you may have noticed by now? AI images tend to mess up the little things. We’ve mentioned architecture mistakes in backgrounds, jewelry on the wrong fingers, or fingers on the wrong hands, but these types of mistakes can ultimately turn up on anything that’s detailed enough.

Other common areas that AI still can’t handle replicating as perfectly as Mother Nature include:

• Teeth
• Eyes
• Ears
• Tools, like scissors or wrenches
• Knick-knacks and decorations

Treat an image like a spot-the-changes page, and you’ll probably find something that gives the game away.

9: Failing an AI Detection Tool

Developing an eye for detecting AI images is an incredibly useful superpower: It boosts your odds of avoiding misinformation in the moment, and it makes an artificial images jump out at you that much faster. But as generative AI tools continue to evolve, you may not be able to trust your own eyes as well as you once did. That’s where AI detection tools come in.

Downloading an app or browser extension allows you to judge the veracity of an image with a single click. One option is “Hive AI Detector,” a Chrome extension that will issue a score that ranks the odds of an image being real or not. It may tell you that one image is “85.9%” likely to be AI-generated, for example. It even suggests which AI engine likely created the image, and which areas of the image are the most clearly artificial.

You can also try a reverse image search tool: TinEye is one of the best.

One word of caution: AI detectors can be fallible, which is why we ranked them last on this list. Building up your own understanding of what to look for, from blurry background details to overly sleek and shiny renders, just might be the best approach to staying aware of what’s real and what’s not. And it’s definitely a lot quicker.