We’ve known Meta’s rival to Twitter has been on the horizon, but it looks like the new tool made an unexpected appearance earlier today.

The web interface went live for a few brief hours this morning, which was just enough time for some users to explore what will be available.

The full Threads app is expected to launch on iOS and Android tomorrow. Here’s how to be one of the first involved.

A Low-Down on Threads

Threads – formally known as Instagram Threads – appears to be the most credible competitor to Twitter. With Elon Musk frustrating users and advertisers in equal measure, the appearance of a platform that can rival its experience and infrastructure has been anticipated for some time.

It’s been touted as a “text-based conversation app where communities come together”. In other words, it’s a way for users to craft and curate posts in the same way they would a tweet. But, unlike other competitor platforms such as Bluesky, users won’t be subject to invite-only access.

Meta Is the Giant to Take on Twitter

If anyone can deliver a platform like this, it’s Meta. Just take a look at the monthly active users: Facebook with 2.95bn, WhatsApp with 2.78bn, and Instagram with 1bn. Not only does the social media giant have the stability to deliver such a platform, but it has a vast amount of engaged audiences ready to test it out.

In fact, it’s been reported that users will be allowed to roll their Instagram followers over to Threads, as well as being shown suggestions on who else to follow.

Threads being available for a few hours today meant those eagle-eyed enough could get access to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s first post. A simple message that stated: ‘Let’s do this. Welcome to Threads. 🔥’. Alongside him, accounts of entrepreneur Gary Vee and Netflix were also visible.

“Let’s do this. Welcome to Threads. 🔥” – CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s first post on Threads

Getting Hold of the New Platform

For iOS users who are already on Instagram, registration for Threads is simple. Just type ‘saymore’ into the search bar, tap the ticket that appears and then ‘Get Threads’. You’ll be directed to the App Store where you can pre-register.

For non-Instagram users, head straight to the App Store on 6th July and tap ‘Get App’. It will automatically install once the platform goes live. 

Android users may have to wait a little longer, although actual timelines are not yet known. While a Google Play store listing is live, you can’t yet pre-register for it. Android users are able to see the invite Easter Egg (type ‘threads’ into Instagram search to show a ticket icon and a personalized invitation), so perhaps it won’t be too delayed.

Similarly, a desktop app is expected, although nothing official has been confirmed yet, other than it’s brief appearance earlier today. It’s likely account management will work in the same way as the Facebook and Instagram integrations have done.

Today’s teaser has given us a glimpse of Threads capabilities, and with Twitter haemorrhaging disenchanted users, the odds are stacking in Thread’s favor as a viable competitor. For now though, we can only sit and wait (one more day) to see if it rings true.

But for those tired of scrolling the social media app, read our guide to deleting Instagram here.

Google has recently updated its Privacy Policy to retain anything posted publicly by users, so it can train its AI models for products such as Bard.  

While Google isn’t doing anything unique in laying claim to user data, this latest update could be yet another reason for you wanting to remove your information from the search engine’s reach.

Your Data Could Help Build the Likes of Bard

The original Privacy Policy stated that public data would be used for business purposes, research and to improve its Google Translate service. In the past week, this has since been updated to explain that it may also be used to build and operate AI products and more:

“Google uses information to improve our services and to develop new products, features and technologies that benefit our users and the public. For example, we use publicly available information to help train Google’s AI models and build products and features like Google Translate, Bard, and Cloud AI capabilities.”

Further down Google clarifies that it may collect publicly available information to help train its AI models and enhance their capabilities. In other words, this could mean if your businesses’ information sits on a website, it could now be indexed and displayed as part of a Google service.

When Does the Change Come Into Effect?

This change to how Google may use your data is well and truly here, having come into effect immediately, on July 1st 2023, and it doesn’t just include anything you’ve searched from that date onwards.

The update will encompass huge amounts of public information – data from decades-worth of interactions. Just think about how long you’ve had your Gmail or YouTube account.

However, it remains unclear whether users with an active Google account have to formally agree to the policy change or if simply having contact with the search engine is enough to allow it to data scrape.

For now, the jury’s out on this, as language training models such as ChatGPT have similarly undertaken public data scraping for training purposes.

It should be made clear that private data (for example, files in your Google Drive or Google Photos app) has not yet been mentioned as a source for AI learning. So users can tentatively consider that safe.

Who Else Is Collecting Your Data and Why?

While it’s common knowledge that most tech companies and AI models are in the habit of saving user data, it’s worth knowing to what extent. 

Meta is understandably top of the data-collectors list, gathering 79% of data that a business can legally collect. The more it knows about you, the more it can advertise to you and with a forecasted $148bn advertising revenue, it pays for Meta to be clued up.

Back to Google apps, and Maps is the product that’s likely to know most about you. It tracks 23% of your available data, including image recognition of your location. YouTube collects a similar volume but is more attuned to your hobbies and interests, thanks to knowledge of your viewing history. 

Other applications such as Gmail, Sheets and Docs are valuable to Google, but not as much, with data scrapes only able to really determine the languages you speak. 

While you can go about your online business using Google search as usual, it’s really a case of ‘time will tell’ as to where the data scraping – and subsequent learning – will take Google, its AI models, and – ultimately – us. 

Twitter has this week announced a new version of its TweetDeck tool to help mitigate some of the issues it’s been experiencing lately. However, users will need to be sure they hold a verified account as the latest update is for those with blue ticks only.

TweetDeck is a popular – and previously free – tool that gives users the ability to organize and monitor content from the accounts they follow. It’s historically been favored by social media managers, brands and news organizations.

The annoucement comes alongside recent reports that Meta are planning their own Twitter rival, Instagram Threads. This latest update under Elon Musk’s leadership could well be the final nail in the coffin for Twitter users on a free account, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the platform’s changes.

TweetDeck 2.0 Has Been in the Works for Almost 2 Years

It appears that Twitter has been testing a new version of TweetDeck for a while now. For those paying the $84 a year for their Twitter Blue subscription, the updated version can be accessed by selecting ‘Try the new TweetDeck’ in the platform’s menu.

From there, users can carry over their lists, columns, saved searches and workflows. However, the ability to do this is a one-time option only and if it’s not undertaken, users will have to rebuild everything manually.

New features to the platform include full Tweet composer functionality and video docking. The feature Teams, which allows users to share Twitter account access without the need to share passwords, won’t be available off the bat though. This is “temporarily unavailable” with aims for it to be restored in the next few weeks. 

Users will be forced to make the switch in 30 days (before the first week of August) and for those on the fence about paying for verification, they can undertake a free 30-day trial. 

Users Don’t Seem To Be Thrilled

It’s safe to say Twitter Blue hasn’t gone down a storm as a whole, and with TweetDeck being the victim of breakages recently (with notifications and columns failing to load), this latest update looks like it could cause more upset than interest.

The recent platform inaccessibility is said to have been caused by Musk’s limitations on the number of tweets a user can read in one day – 1,000 for unverified users and 10,000 for verified users. He said this was to prevent data scraping and “system manipulation” by accounts looking to train AI models.

According to Musk, this “temporary emergency measure” was to combat any negative effects to the user experience. However, users – both free and paid – shared reports of quickly hitting rate limits, impacting their experience anyway.

What’s Next on the Horizon for Twitter?

In order to conduct damage control, there are a few things which are likely high on Musk and new CEO Lina Yaccarino’s to-do list. 

Before Yaccarino can realize her transformation mission to make Twitter the “global town square for communication”, she first needs to work on winning back advertisers to the platform.

In 2021, advertising accounted for over 90% of Twitter’s $5.1bn revenue. From March this year however, it’s expected turnover fell to less than $3bn, highlighting the repercussions of a mass exodus of advertisers. 

Subscriber numbers have similarly dwindled, with just 150,000 users out of a global user base of nearly 400 million signing up to the Twitter Blue service. This has since fallen to around 68,000. It’s likely then that this latest Twitter Blue-exclusive feature will further alienate and frustrate users.

Clearly not content with confining his rivalry with Elon Musk to their hotly anticipated cage match, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has announced plans to roll out a Twitter rival called Instagram Threads.

Twitter has been in dire straits since Musk’s 2022 takeover. This is the first time a Big Tech company has directly tried to muscle in on the social media platform’s deeply dissatisfied user base, who were further incensed this week by Musk’s new cap on the number of tweets they’re able to view each day.

Threads is not the only Twitter alternative available, of course, but it’ll be able to lean on the experience, data, and technical infrastructure of a company that already owns a slew of huge social media applications, including Facebook and WhatsApp.

Meet Threads: Meta’s Latest Project

Threads is set to be released on Thursday, July 6. Perhaps most interestingly, users will reportedly be allowed to roll over their followers from Instagram and will be prompted into following similar pages on the new platform. The app will be formally called Instagram Threads, further indicating indicating its close Insta ties.

Threads – which will be a completely free service – is a space where users can “come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow,” according to its App Store listing.

“Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions, and creativity with the world,” the description continues.

Threads will join Facebook (~2.95 billion monthly users), WhatsApp (~2.78 billion monthly users), Messenger (~1 billion monthly users), and Instagram (over 1 billion monthly users) as the newest addition to Meta’s huge social media empire.

Can Meta Capitalize on Musk’s Twitter Posts Cap?

Crucially, Threads will not be enforcing viewing limits on posts like Elon Musk recently rolled out at Twitter. Musk said the controversial move was a reaction necessary to address “extreme levels of “data scraping & system manipulation”. The new measures appear doubly divisive given the fact that Twitter just appointed a new CEO in Linda Yaccarino, yet Musk still appears to be holding sway.

One unique thing about Elon Musk – which sets him apart from almost – is his tendency to taunt those voicing their discontent over his decisions shortly after they’re made. This time was no different.

“Oh the irony of hitting view limits due to complaining about view limits,” he tweeted after the change came into force.

Along with Meta, his rash decision may have inadvertently helped his predecessor out. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s new app, Bluesky Social, received “record-high traffic” over the weekend.

Is Threads the Twitter Rival We’ve Been Waiting For?

A myriad of Twitter alternatives has come out of the woodwork since Musk’s tumultuous takeover of Twitter in late 2022. Mastodon was initially touted as a viable replacement, but interest in the app has cooled since the new year began. The number of active users declined sharply during January.

At the time, it was difficult to see Twitter ever being replaced, so long as the world’s most influential public figures stayed put and Musk didn’t run the social media platform into the ground with apparent impunity.

But an effort from a Big Tech company like Meta – with its technical infrastructure and a lot of existing skin in the game – coupled with a proverbial step too far from Musk in the shape of a post cap, could well tip an already disgruntled, disenfranchised userbase over the edge.

Google has finally fixed a Bard bug that was persistently labeling the chatbot’s activity as generated via its original LaMDA language model, despite announcing it was switching to the more advanced PaLM 2 LLM (Large Language Model) back at May’s Google I/O 2023 conference.

Speaking to Tech.co, a Google spokesperson said that the chatbot’s activity page was mistakenly referencing “LaMDA” instead of just “Bard” on prior chats, contributing to some confusion around what LLM was actually being used to generate responses.

When asked directly, the popular ChatGPT alternative continues to hallucinate around the question of which language model it is using. What exactly has happened and what do we now think is going on? Let’s take a look at Bard bug bewilderment more closely.

Google Bard Bug: Does Bard Use LaMDA or PaLM 2?

Google initially announced that Bard was switching from its original language model LaMDA to a new “next generation” language model called PaLM 2 at Google I/O in May 2023, an event where other exciting AI projects like the new Help Me Write Gmail tool were also announced.

Shortly after the announcement, however, Bard was still telling some users that it was using LaMDA and that PaLM 2 was under development. Questions over whether this was simply a hallucination or an issue with the rollout began to arise.

Confusing matters further, up until last week, some users were still seeing their prior prompts stored in the “Bard Activity” menu labeled with “LaMDA”, as shown below:

Google Confirms LaMDA Label Error

When Tech.co raised this issue with the tech giant over email, a Google spokesperson said:

“We recently identified an issue affecting Bard’s activity page. In some locations, the page referenced “LaMDA” instead of “Bard.” This was an error, and we can confirm that Bard is running on PaLM 2. We have addressed the issue and the activity page should now be working as intended.”

From what we can see, the change has indeed been actioned, with the activity page now displaying the word “Bard” instead.

Bard Still Seeing Double on LLM Usage

When asked about Bard’s own responses that suggested it was still using LaMDA, the spokesperson said that LLMs, including Bard, will sometimes provide factually incorrect information, which is known as a “hallucination” in AI and tech circles.

This week, when we asked Bard which language model it was using, once again, it said “LaMDA”:

However, when queried again, it then changed its answer to PaLM 2, referencing the 2023 I/O event where the switch was announced:

We’ve asked Bard this question multiple times, and it’s responded with the “wrong” answer (according to Google) on the vast majority of occasions.

It’s odd that it doesn’t source the information to correctly answer us in the first instance when it so easily does this to answer our second question. Bard did admit, however, that it is still under development and learning to use PaLM 2.

Hopefully, the new language model will go some way to stopping Bard from generating consistently wrong answers – right now, it’s not giving us many reasons to trust it, even if it has so much potential.

Related: Does ChatGPT Save My Data?

There are robust passwords, and then there’s what you get before you’re even halfway through The Password Game. If you haven’t heard, it’s the internet sensation from coder Neal Agarwal and very possibly your undoing. To call it a game would be accurate, albeit one that wants to break you like an overzealous high school football coach. If challenges that end in tears, cussing at your pets, or both are what makes you tick, then here are some tips, tricks and answers to help you survive The Password Game and its craziest rules, which range from algebraic chess to keeping a chicken emoji alive. We’ll even tell you how to win The Password Game, if you think you’ve got what it takes – which is a whole lot of time, mostly, but also a more resilient spirit than most.

It looks innocent enough to start with. Just a box that asks you to a suggest a password, then reminds you of good password hygiene if you forget things like capital letters, numbers or special characters. Then you get to rule 5 and things start to get funky. It’s still pretty straightforward, sure, but when was the last time a website or password manager wanted you to brush up on your grade school math?

Having lulled you into a false sense of security, The Password Game is only just getting started and before you know it you’re being asked for today’s Wordle answer (rule 10), a symbol from the Periodic table (rule 12) and an emoji of the current moon phase (rule 13). All of which can be answered with a bit of help from Google, but when you’re asked to identify a country based on a random Street Maps image in rule 14? Read on for all The Password Game tips we learned spending way too much time trying to beat it.

Tips to Help You Beat the Password Game

• Know Your Roman Numerals (Rule 9)
• Moon Phases (Rule 13)
• Google Street View (Rule 14)
• Winning at Chess (Rule 16)
• Keeping Paul Alive (Rules 17, 20 & 23)
• The End Game (Rule 35)

Know Your Roman Numerals (Rule 9)

Roman numerals aren’t just reserved for boring class lessons and Rocky sequels. They are also an essential component of The Password Game, where you’ll be asked to add them to your ever-expanding password.

Rule 9 demands that players add roman numerals to the password that ‘multiply to 35.’

If you’re struggling, then the good news is that there aren’t many options of which numbers to use, and even better, we’ve listed them below for you:

• I – 1
• V – 5
• VII – 7
• XXXV – 35

There are only actually two ways to multiply to 35 for this rule – either XXXV (35) x I (1), or V (5) x VII (7).

By the way, make sure you use capital letters for your roman numerals, otherwise they won’t count.

Password Game Moon Phase Emoji List (Rule 13)

Before you reach the heady heights of rule 16, you’ll need to get past one of The Password Game’s earlier challenges, rule 13, which is perhaps better known as the moon phase emoji rule. Don’t yet know your waxing gibbous from your waning crescent? Fear not, neither did we before the Password Game took over our lives and we’re here to help.

To answer this Password Game rule correctly, it’s helpful to gave a list of all the moon phase emoji handy for cutting and pasting purposes. Here’s what you need:

• New Moon: 🌑
• Waxing Crescent Moon: 🌒
• First Quarter Moon: 🌓
• Waxing Gibbous Moon: 🌔
• Full Moon: 🌕
• Waning Gibbous Moon: 🌖
• Last Quarter Moon: 🌗
• Waning Crescent Moon: 🌘

Other than that, it’s simply a matter of identifying the current moon phase by Googling it or consulting a website such as Moon Giant, then adding it to your password.

Our bonus tip here is that you can paste them all into your password, saving you the precious few seconds it takes to Google today’s moon phase. Just slap in 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘 and our tests suggest you’ll be moving on to rule 14 in no time.

Password Game Rule 14 Tips

Rule 14 is the first point you’re likely to think beating The Password Game is impossible and just quit. But there are ways to get the right answer. Unfortunately, none of these are as easy as just asking Google, at least not initially. Each image in rule 14 that’s generated is unique to the session, rather than being a daily rotating image, similar to how Wordle works.

This means that everyone playing The Password Game is theoretically being shown a different, totally random place on earth to try to identify.

Look for clues

Many of the images served up will feature clues, however small, that you can use to find out what country is featured.

The easiest way is if you get dropped near or next to a road, in which case a quick drive around the map may yield you a street name. In the example below, we managed to figure out that we were looking at a road called “Karmelicka” by moving around and zooming in. Google then obligingly told us this was in Krakow, Poland and our march to Password Game glory continued!

It’s not always that easy, but use the 360-degree view offered by Street Maps to the full and look for something that gives you an idea of where you might be. Signs written in a certain language, website addresses, telephone numbers… literally anything that can help educate your guesses or be plugged in to Google for professional help.

Save Your Password, Then Refresh

A bit like CAPTCHA tests don’t always scan correctly for everyone, your final way to beat The Password Game rule 14 is to refresh it in the hope of getting a more friendly image. Before you do this, make sure you copy your existing Password Game password somewhere safe, as it’ll save you a whole lot of time getting back to rule 14. You’ll need to quickly change some of the math based on a new CAPTCHA, but other than that, you’ll be right back where you started, hopefully not just staring at a random desert this time.

If the game has got you thinking about the strength of your real word passwords, check out our Essential Password Guide.

The Password Game Rule 16, aka the Chess Rule

The next point The Password Game is likely to defeat you is in rule 16, otherwise known as the chess notation rule. It shows you a random in-play chess game and asks you not only for the best next move, but to add the algebraic chess notation for that move to your password. Suddenly Wordle seems like a walk in the park.

Rather than think you have to go out and become a Grandmaster, the rule 16 workaround is actually pretty simple once you know about it. If it wasn’t already one of the most popular sites on the internet, Next Chess Move certainly is now and all you have to do is tweak the board to match what’s being shown in The Password Game, then let its fancypants algorithm work its magic. We’ve tried this a couple of times and can confirm it’s worked perfectly.

Password Game Rules 17, 20 and 23: How To Keep Paul Alive

Rule 17 in the Password Game introduces you to Paul, a chicken who you must keep alive for the rest of the game in order to win. When we first meet Paul, he’s a simple egg emoji (🥚) that you must paste into your password. However, Paul soon hatches and requires your attention in order to survive.

First, in rule 20 your password catches fire. You have to put the fire out before it hurts Paul, which in this case involves deleting the fire emoji (🔥) from your password as quickly as possible. Paul is still in egg form at this stage, but if the fire reaches him, he’s fried and you’ll be informed by the game that “Paul is slain.” If you see this, unfortunately your bid for Password Game glory is over and you’ll have to start over.

This is why we suggest pasting the egg emoji, aka Paul, at the start of your password, as it hopefully gives you more time to react and put out the fire. If you can remember, saving your password somewhere is once again a great idea at this stage, as while there are parts of it that will be void when you start over, it will speed up getting back to where you were.

Put out the fire successfully and in rule 23 Paul will hatch. Now, he’ll need feeding in order to survive. In the Password Game, Paul’s diet is three caterpillar emoji (🐛) every minute. Forget to feed him and he’ll starve, but overfeed him and he’ll burst. In both cases, your game will be over, so this part of the Password Game is essential to beating it. The tough bit is remembering on top of trying to navigate the other remaining. We wish you luck!

How Many Rules are in the Password Game?

In total, there are 35 rules in the password game, each one fiendishly difficult and guaranteed to have to hammering away at the keyboard in a mixture of rage and frustration, turning to absolute joy when you crack a rule.

We’ve given you clues to some of the hardest puzzles here, but on your journey you’ll also need to know the chemical elements and their atomic numbers (or at least look them up on a periodic table), as well as do some firefighting – literally.

We won’t give away what happens at the end, but we do suggest that before you enter your final password, you make a note of it. Just trust us on this one.

So, Can You Actually Beat The Password Game?

Yes you can. Neal Agarwal tweeted confirmation of this fact, along with his surprise that people had persevered: “I can’t believe people are actually beating the password game, the human spirit is strong.”

Have we? That’s another matter entirely. We’ve stuttered out at rule 17 on multiple occasions, scrambled Paul on others, and gotten chewed out by our boss and told to get back to work on a near daily basis. In other words, no. However, we have done our research and can tell you what you need to do if you reach the ultimate stage of The Password Game.

How To Win The Password Game and Rule 35

You’ve added up your Periodic table elements to 200, changed font sizes, revisited your grade school knowledge of prime numbers and even kept that damn chicken alive. As your reward, you’ll eventually reach The Password Game’s final rule, number 35. At which point, if you’re not clever, the sadistic game will wipe your precious password off the face of the internet.

In rule 35, you’ll be asked if what you’ve now got is your final password. The obvious answer is: “YES! This is my final password, now take me to the promised land!” Except, instead of eternal glory, the game will delete your password and give you two minutes to retype it, exactly as it was before (emoji and all).

Copying and pasting is out, as the game as built-in a defense against this and you’ll lose if you try. Fail to put in the password and you’ll also fall at the final hurdle. The only thing you can do is, before clicking confirm, to write out manually the password and then put it back in as quickly and accurately as you can.

Then, and only then, will you achieve true Password Game immortality.

Think The Password Game was a headache and reluctantly gave up like us? At least you can use a password manager for your real-life passwords, removing all the pain of remembering complex series of letters and numbers. The top ones will even alert you if any of your online accounts suffer a breach, though sadly we don’t think they’ll help you with rule 35.

The AI hits just keeping coming from Microsoft, as the company has announced new AI-powered features that will improve the online shopping experience for users.

Microsoft has been swift in its adaption of AI tech into its many platforms. The Seattle-based tech giant has been partnered with OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — for years now and the benefits have been substantial.

Now, Microsoft is bringing some of those AI advancements to the online shopping world in hopes of making retail therapy even more relaxing.

AI-Powered Shopping Tools on Edge and Bing

Microsoft announced this week that it would be adding AI-powered tools to the Microsoft Shopping platform in hopes of improving the experience for users.

“We’re excited to announce new Microsoft Shopping tools in Bing and Edge that help you shop and save with confidence, harnessing the power of AI to make it easier to discover, research, and complete your purchase, all in one place with information you need from expert sources.”

The goal of the improvements is to “bring more joy to shopping—from the initial spark of inspiration to the exciting unboxing experience—by making the process easier.”

What AI-Powered Tools Are Being Added?

Microsoft has announced three different AI-powered shopping tools that will be added to its Bing and Edge platforms. Here they are:

Buying Guide

There’s nothing worse than trying to find a wide range of products that fit your particular needs while online shopping. With millions of options at billions of price points, it can feel overwhelming trying to narrow it down.

The new Buying Guide feature should be able to help. By simply inputting a category of purchases, like “college supplies,” you’ll get a tailored list of options to choose from. Not only that, but you’ll also get a comprehensive comparison table of similar objects, comparing everything from price to measurements.

Summarized reviews and insights

There’s no denying that reviews are a helpful way to figure out if a product is right for you before you buy it. However, with so many people out there reviewing products, it can be hard to tell exactly which reviews are insightful and which ones are just noise.

Now, you’ll be able to ask Bing Chat in the Edge browser to summarize reviews of a product and provide insights and actionable feedback, so you don’t get too bogged down by those vengeful one-star reviews.

Price match

Trying to make sure you got the right price while online shopping is virtually impossible in 2023. With so many retailers on so many websites, there’s no telling if a better deal will pop up somewhere you might’ve missed.

That’s where the new Price Match feature from Microsoft will come in. The tool will help “by monitoring the item’s price and assisting you in requesting a match if it drops.” You’ll also get price comparison and price history features, which are designed to give shoppers as much information as possible to make the right decision.

The real reason behind mass tech layoffs is becoming more and more obvious, as Accenture has announced a significant investment in AI tech after cutting a substantial percentage of its workforce.

It’s no secret that the two big tech stories right now are the explosion of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and the sweeping layoffs that have hit employees across the industry. The connection is fairly obvious, but few companies have leaned into that causation as an actual reason, citing the “looming recession” as the main driver of their cost cutting measures.

Now, however, Accenture is making it pretty clear that AI is the future and they’re willing to put their money where they mouth is.

Accenture Announces $3 Billion AI Investment

Announced in a company blog post, Accenture is going big on AI with a $3 billion investment over the next three years to “accelerate clients’ reinvention.”

“There is unprecedented interest in all areas of AI, and the substantial investment we are making in our Data & AI practice will help our clients move from interest to action to value, and in a responsible way with clear business cases.” – Julie Sweet, chair and CEO at Accenture

The AI push will take many forms, including investing in “assets, industry solutions, ventures, acquisitions, talent and ecosystem partnerships.” Primarily, though, this investment will go towards doubling the company’s AI workforce, raising the total from 40,000 to a whopping 80,000 employees in that time period.

While Accenture is one of the tech companies banning employee use of AI, this investment should represent a big step for a company trying to compete with the likes of Microsoft and Google.

Accenture Layoffs This Year

All this new investment money must’ve come from somewhere, right? After all, businesses in a recession rarely have $3 million just lying around. So, where did all this extra capital come from?

Well, Accenture is one of the many tech companies that participated in the mass culling of employees over the last year, cutting more than 19,000 jobs in March 2023. Those cuts have continued since then, with Accenture laying off 200 Austin employees just this week.

Suffice it to say, these two actions are almost assuredly linked, with the popularity of ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms turning the tech industry on its head and leading to a paradigm shift that many employees may not survive.

The Future of Work With AI

It’s safe to assume that this trend of layoffs followed by big AI investment is not going to change in the modern era. With generative AI platforms like ChatGPT performing so many tasks so well and so fast, there’s a good chance that many jobs will fall by the wayside.

In fact, recent studies have found that as many as 80% of all jobs will be substantially impacted by generative AI at some level, which could spell disaster for the global economy.

So, what does the future of work with AI look like? Honestly, without a dramatic shift in how we imagine the societal infrastructure around work and pay, it looks pretty bleak.

A new study has revealed that people find AI-generated tweets more convincing than those written by humans, even when they contain information that isn’t true.

Researchers studied the responses of nearly 700 people to a range of tweets on hot button issues like COVID-19, evolution, 5G, and vaccines. Some of the 220 total tweets were accurate, while others featured misinformation. The purpose of the analysis was to see the impact AI had on people’s ability to spot so-called “fake news.”

The survey found that not only were tweets generated by OpenAI’s GPT-3 large language model (LLM) easier to identify when they presented the correct information, but they were also better at duping people into believing them when they were false.

Related: Does ChatGPT Save My Data?

The “Double-Edged Sword” of GPT-3

Releasing their report in the journal Scientific Advances, the researchers dubbed GPT-3 a “double-edge sword” capable of producing “accurate information that is easier to understand, but also more compelling disinformation.”

The findings are all the more worrying, as they show that education is not always a sufficient defense against AI misinformation. Not only were the chosen subjects commonly associated with fake news, but most of the 697 people taking part in the study possessed a bachelor’s degree in the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, or medical sciences.

In general, the respondents couldn’t tell the difference between AI tweets and those composed by humans, regardless of if they were true or false. The test group were drawn from a range of English language countries including the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Australia.

The Bad Side of Generative AI

Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT have been used for a wide range of business purposes since its inception in November last year. From emails to coding, these tools are productivity machines, helping workers complete tasks in record speed across the business landscape.

Still, it’s not all peaches and cream when it comes to generative AI. In fact, there are a growing number of studies that have shown the dark side of the technology. For starters, one study found that Google Bard could be used to spread misinformation. Even worse, some reports have found that one lawyer attempted to fake a citation with ChatGPT.

This bad side of generative AI has led to some companies opting to ban the tech for employees, including Apple and Samsung. Heck, even Congress has limited the use of ChatGPT for fear of security breaches that could lead to cybersecurity gaps.

All this to say, ChatGPT and generative AI platforms are nothing more than technology, and how people use them will ultimately decide their impact on the world. But if meaningful regulations aren’t handed down soon, the flood of disinformation could be beyond our ability to fight back.

Does ChatGPT save data? The short answer is yes – and quite a lot of it. In fact, ChatGPT saves all of the prompts, questions, and queries users enter into it, regardless of the topic or subject being discussed. As a result, hundreds of millions of conversations are likely stored by ChatGPT owner OpenAI at present.

Just as you can review your previous conversations with ChatGPT, so can the chatbot. You can delete specific conversations with ChatGPT, but your data may have already been extracted by OpenAI to improve the chatbot’s language model and make its responses more accurate.

In this guide, we take a closer look at the kinds of user information that ChatGPT and creators OpenAI store and whether it’s safe for businesses to use the generative AI tool. We also run through some of the main concerns around the ChatGPT privacy policy and discuss the precautions you should take while using it.

• What Data Does ChatGPT Collect About Me?
• What User Data Does OpenAI Collect?
• How To Delete Your ChatGPT Data
• What Does ChatGPT Do With My Data?
• ChatGPT Privacy Concerns
• Is It Safe for My Company To Use ChatGPT?

What Data Does ChatGPT Collect About Me?

In a nutshell, ChatGPT will save all of the conversations you have with it and store them as chat history. It then uses this data to improve its language model. There’s every chance that your conversations and queries will be seen by some of the human trainers working behind the scenes at OpenAI.

OpenAI states in its FAQs that, “for non-API consumer products like ChatGPT and DALL-E, we may use content such as prompts, responses, uploaded images, and generated images to improve our services.” The company will store your data as long as your account is open.

OpenAI’s Privacy Policy: What User Data Does OpenAI Collect?

Conversations aren’t the only data you’re handing over when you use ChatGPT. When you sign up, for instance, OpenAI collects your email address and phone number. Other information OpenAI gathers includes:

• Geolocation data
• Network activity information
• Commercial information e.g. transaction history
• Identifiers e.g. contact details
• Device and browser cookies
• Log data (IP address etc.)

OpenAI says in its privacy policy that the company discloses the types of information listed above to its “affiliates, vendors and service providers, law enforcement, and parties involved in Transactions.”

OpenAI will also collect “device information”, which includes “the name of the device, operating system, and browser you are using”, as well as any conversations you have with the company’s customer support services.

In addition, the company can extract information about you if you interact with its social media pages, based on the aggregated user analytics made available to businesses by the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Some people suggest using a VPN to enhance your privacy when using ChatGPT, though this has its limits. Granted, using one of the best VPNs can reduce your digital footprint elsewhere on the internet, but you hand so much other data over to OpenAI (like your phone number) that it’ll have very little impact on your overall privacy.

What Does ChatGPT Do With My Data?

ChatGPT uses the data included in prompts and questions to improve its ability to answer future user queries. However, OpenAI says that it “take steps to reduce the amount of personal information in our training datasets before they are used to improve our models”.

Your data is also used to enrich ChatGPT’s contextual memory and improve future conversations with you specifically.

In theory, this means that if you tell ChatGPT that you didn’t enjoy a vacation you took to Mexico and that you don’t want to go again, then you ask it to plan a vacation for you, it shouldn’t pick Mexico as a location.

Humans working for OpenAI could very well analyze your data when they’re training the chatbot. This is one of the reasons why it’s really important to manage and control what information you’re inputting into the chatbot.

ChatGPT Privacy Concerns

There are a number of legitimate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT and how it’s used. For one, there’s very little information about precisely what ChatGPT does with your prompts and inputs when you start using the chatbot. We know they’re used for training purposes, but precisely what this entails isn’t laid out by OpenAI.

What’s more, by some estimations around 11% of data inputted into ChatGPT can be considered “sensitive”, even though users may not realize it. There’s also the risk of inputting sensitive data about other people, such as a lawyer drafting an adoption agreement.

Other privacy concerns relating to ChatGPT include:

• The collection of data used to train ChatGPT: There was no oversight over the data that was collected to use ChatGPT, nor was anyone asked if their data could be used to train the chatbot when it was being built and taught.
• Phone number collection: Although phone numbers help verify that users are in fact humans, it means every question you ask ChatGPT is linked to a piece of personal information that’s quite difficult to “make up” for the signup process if you wanted to, like a name or an email address. 
• Questionable aspects of OpenAI’s privacy policy: In one part of OpenAI’s privacy policy, it says that the company may “provide your Personal Information to third parties without further notice to you” unless they’re legally required to do so.

Is it Safe for My Company To Use ChatGPT?

Yes and no. It’s probably fine for your staff to use ChatGPT to generate Excel queries, paraphrase text for presentations, and complete other mundane day-to-day tasks (unless you consider ChatGPT to constitute plagiarism). Just ensure they’re protecting their individual accounts with sufficiently strong, unique passwords. Equipping them with a quality password manager is one easy way to encourage this.

Employees shouldn’t be entering sensitive company data, or personally identifiable information, into ChatGPT.

We’d strongly advise that you set some company guidelines about what employees should and shouldn’t be inputting into ChatGPT. Sensitive company information falling into the wrong hands is often catastrophic for businesses, and at times even financially fatal. Data breaches are a regular occurrence in 2023 and sensitive company data is a valuable asset for cyber criminals – the average cost of a data breach in the US is thought to be around $10 million.

Some companies are so worried about the privacy risks posed by ChatGPT that they’ve banned it altogether. These include multi-national banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Wells & Fargo, and Deutsche Bank. Elsewhere, Apple and Samsung are among the many big tech companies to ban ChatGPT.

If your company is planning on using ChatGPT in the near future, stick to these four, golden rules, which should be shared with staff:

• Never enter sensitive company data or information into ChatGPT
• Provide staff with clear guidelines on what they can use ChatGPT for
• Demand oversight over the tasks staff are using chatbots for
• Instruct staff to secure their OpenAI accounts with strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication

There are still a lot of uncomfortable questions to be asked regarding the privacy and safety of ChatGPT. Despite its seemingly endless utility, it comes with a number of risks and you should take appropriate precautions when using it.

OpenAI, the company behind wildly popular generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, is being sued for $3 billion by a group of people who allege it stole “vast amounts” of personal data to help train its artificial intelligence models.

In a 157-page lawsuit that is seeking class action status in San Francisco District Court, the anonymous individuals claim that OpenAI violated privacy laws by using “personal information obtained without content” as part of a trawl of 300 billion words of internet content that has informed ChatGPT’s knowledge base and responses.

The group adds that it is filing suit for potential damages on behalf of millions of individuals who have had their data used by the company without permission, including children. All in all, the lawsuit is a dramatic one that accuses ChatGPT owner OpenAI of nothing than less than risking “civilizational collapse” in its pursuit of profit.

OpenAI Accused of “Secret Scraping”

At the heart of the lawsuit is the accusation that OpenAI has been running a far-reaching web scraping program in secret as it looks to turn ChatGPT into not only the most advanced AI chatbot around, but the future of technology as a whole.

As first reported by Bloomberg, the plaintiffs claim that the company has violated numerous terms of service agreements, as well as as state and federal privacy and property laws, in running the operation to train ChatGPT. Two of the laws specifically mentioned as being breached are the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as well as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. The suit is unflinching in the language it uses to describe OpenAI’s practices, saying they amount to nothing less than “theft.”

Related: Does ChatGPT Save Data?

Even more specifically, it says that OpenAI has illegally accessed and misused personal data via its third-party integrations. This is said to include things like image and location data from Snapchat; Spotify music preferences; financial details from Stripe; and even private conversations taking place on Slack and Microsoft Teams. It doesn’t stop there, though, adding that the personal hobbies, religious beliefs, political views, gender identity, and sexual preferences of millions have been integrated into ChatGPT without them knowing it.

The “AI Arms Race” Turns Nasty

As well as its fierce allegations of privacy-related crimes, the document levels what can only be described as personal accusations against OpenAI and its founders. It claims that the organization has torn up its original principles of developing AI in a way that will “likely benefit humanity as a whole” in favor of “winning the AI arms race” and the brazen pursuit of profit, contending that the firm is expected to make around $200 million this year.

The no-holds-barred lawsuit even goes as far as to name new OpenAI investor Microsoft – reportedly ploughing $10 billion in the AI company – as a co-defendant in the case. It’s the latest piece of drama to engulf the ChatGPT maker, which finds itself the subject of intense regulatory debates stretching from Capitol Hill all the way to the European Union.

While generally light on specific instances of harm caused to individuals, one interesting thing that the lawsuit does make plain is that the extent of OpenAI’s data usage meant it should have been formally registered as a data broker, as required by law. This is just one example of the company ignoring the legal obligations surrounding the acquisition and use of personal data, the suit adds.

Read More: Best ChatGPT Alternatives

What Could Happen to OpenAI in the ChatGPT Lawsuit?

Meta has given more details about how it’s using AI to rank content on user’s Feeds and how we will gain more control over them 

Today, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, published a Newsroom post giving greater visibility on how the social giant is using AI to rank content on user’s feeds, reels, stories and other surfaces, across Facebook and Instagram. 

The company, which has historically been opaque regarding its use of technology in its algorithms, has presented a new, more open version of Meta, in order to challenge the perception that users are “powerless over the content they see”. 

How Meta Uses AI in Social Media Feeds

Meta has shared how it uses AI in to dictate what content is seen and by who.

Meta uses AI systems to decide what content appears, informed by user interactions such as post shares, signals, survey responses and other types of inputs they’re calling system cards. There are 22 system cards which Meta have released to the public and help them to deeply understand user preferences. 

These system cards work to understand the value of a piece of content to an individual, predict the content that is most relevant to them, and most likely to foster a meaningful interaction.

The worry with AI recommended content systems is that it can turn social platforms into an echo-chamber, with detrimental effects. However, the system cards also recommend content from accounts which are not in the user’s existing network. 

These unconnected content recommendations help users discover new interests, new accounts and evolve with them as their interests evolve over time. 

For each post a user sees in their feed the signals include: 

• Who posted it
• How they have previously interacted with that person
• Whether it’s a photo, a video or a link
• How popular the post is based on things such as how many of their Friends liked it and Pages that re-shared it. 

How will Users get Greater Control over their Feeds?

As with all AI, the output is only as good as the input and the more data is input over time the more accurate the output becomes. 

President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, added that Meta is testing new controls and making others more accessible so it is clearer to users how they can customize their experience and what they see in their feeds. 

As such they’re expanding the ‘Why Am I Seeing This?’ feature in the coming weeks, as well as other similar features to feedback to the platform whether users are interested or not in what they see in one tap.

A Commitment to Transparency

As AI plays an increasingly central role in our online experiences, the conversation around AI regulation recently has become louder among politicians and tech industry experts. 

It seems like a tactical choice for Meta to be more open around their use of AI: “With rapid advances taking place with powerful technologies like generative AI, it’s understandable that people are both excited by the possibilities and concerned about the risks,” said Nick Clegg. 

It’s wise for companies making use of the tech to get ahead by offering insights and clarity ahead of any regulation coming in so they won’t have to make any major adjustments when that day does come in the not too distant future. 

Employee expectations have grown over recent years and companies have had to up their game in terms of benefits packages in order to attract and retain top talent. 

A recent survey has uncovered the most wanted perks at work, and it’s not free breakfasts or longer lunch hours, but more of an emphasis on mental health and wellbeing.

This comes in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which was thought to have instigated The Great Resignation, when employees quit their jobs en masse starting in early 2021. It’s thought that due to the pandemic people became more alert to work-life-balance, mental health issues and the growing cost of living paired with wage stagnation, and quit in search of more favorable conditions.

10 Most Wanted Work Benefits

Online job search platform Lensa analyzed Google search data to research the top demands employees are expecting from their workplaces. The results are in, and this year it’s not all about “hybrid working”.

1.Menopause Leave

Increase in annual searches: 336%

Breaking down barriers around female health has given way to benefits which are much more inclusive.  

2. Mental Health Support

Increase in annual searches: 150%

Employees are increasingly concerned about keeping their mental health in check and so should employers. Happy workers have been found to be more productive than their less content counterparts.

3. 4-day Workweek 

Increase in annual searches: 82%

The 4-day work week movement has been gaining momentum with trials underway. Early results found that talent retention improved with a 57% reduction in attrition, and revenue improved by 1.4% on average. 

4. Office Socials

Increase in annual searches: 50% 

The work from home heyday is now behind us and was met with resistance from many. However, it has reminded us that human connection is key to building a happy and productive work culture and social events are high up the agenda for employees and managers alike. 

5. Quick Hiring Process

Increase in annual searches: 40%

Employees appreciate a quick hiring and onboarding process. HR managers can look to integrate technology to automate certain steps and speed up the entire process. This will prevent losing talent to competitors which have a quicker hiring process. 

6. Workplace Boundaries

Increase in annual searches: 39% 

Employees are keen to establish boundaries such as not sending or receiving emails on the weekends so companies that already have boundaries in place are going to look much more attractive to job seekers. 

7. Modern Tech

Increase in annual searches: 24%

Workers want to be using technology in new smart ways in order to help them be more efficient at work.  

8. Sustainability

Increase in annual searches: 24%

People are increasingly looking for jobs with purpose and that align with their personal values. Many are already trying to reduce their impact on the environment in their personal lives so why wouldn’t expect the same in their employer. Sustainability in the workplace is a business philosophy that requires an organization to undertake environmentally-conscious practices.

9. Pet-friendly Workplaces

Increase in annual searches: 23%

Many households got a ‘pandemic puppy’ when they were working from home and are now forced back into the offices. Pet-friendly workplaces are not only kind to dogs and their owners but pets also make people feel less stressed. 

10. Ergonomic Furniture

Increase in annual searches: 22%

Perhaps the recent viral depiction by a U.S. furniture company of what remote workers will look like in 70 years is a tad far fetched but it’s no secret that sitting all day is not good for our posture or health. Ergonomic furniture is a big plus so companies should point it out to candidates when they come in for interview. 

Employment Trends Landscape

From “quiet quitting” and “acting your wage” to the latest trend of “loud quitting” a new phenomena sweeping the workforce where employees leave their jobs whilst making as much fuss as possible, the work landscape is changing rapidly. 

Loud quitters make their feelings of dissatisfaction known and burn all bridges on their way out. A recent Gallup survey found that more than half (51%) of global employees working for an employer are actively looking for another job or watching for openings.

Many emerging employment trends are due to shifting dynamics between the employers and their employees. Global economic instability, rising inflation, mass lay-offs and a determined push from CEOs for employees to get back to the physical office have led to workers keeping an eye out for companies which will support a lifestyle that is in line with their values. 

With fewer jobs available, employers are back in the driver’s seat but if they want to attract the best people for their businesses they still need to create a desirable place to work. If the last couple of years are anything to go by, it won’t be long until the pendulum swings back the other way around.

The PayPal-owned point of sale systems Venmo and Zettle are increasing functionality, helping customers with Android devices to purchase items just as quickly and easily as Apple users.

The two systems are adding “Tap to Pay” functionality, making it available to merchants who use either one of these software and hardware packages to process orders from store customers.

The Tap to Pay feature has been sweeping the payments business since Apple first announced it in February of last year, and can help restaurants and retailers everywhere cut down on surplus hardware while further streamlining their customers’ shopping experience.

When Is Tap to Pay Available?

Zettle is Paypal’s mobile-first POS system, and it already offers Tap to Pay on Android for all US merchants. Users of the Venmo for Business mobile payment service will have longer to wait: For that system, Tap to Pay is set to roll out across the next several months.

If you use Venmo for business purchases, you do have the option to request early access to the Tap to Pay functionality.

How Much Does It Cost?

Once equipped, you’ll be able to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, or card payments without any additional card readers or other hardware.

A charge is still applied, though: 2.29% + 9¢ for every Tap to Pay transaction. Paypal is still rolling out support for the function on iPhone for both Zettle and Venmo.

Interestingly, Venmo currently uses Zettle’s technology to power this new feature. According to TechCrunch, Paypal “didn’t explicitly say that they are looking to merge both products, but said they see a lot of ‘synergies’ between Venmo for Business and Zettle.”

Is Tap to Pay for You?

The “Tap to Pay” functionality has been a hot topic since last year. The feature came to Apple-partnered Stripe first, but another early POS system to hop on the feature was industry leader Square POS.

Ecommerce website builders also integrated Tap to Pay this year: Wix announced the tool in March 2023, while GoDaddy added the ability in April. Both builders only offered it on iPhone, not Android. Stripe was the first to debut the functionality on Android.

The feature might be able to help your business, if you’re hoping to stay lean and avoid overhead costs. We’d recommend researching the POS system competition before picking which one is for you, however.

If you’re hoping to get started, try out our guide to the best POS systems for retailers: Square is our top pick, with Zettle clocking in at a respectable fourth place.

Truck drivers earned 15.5% more in 2022 than the year prior, in what composes the largest year-over-year wage increase since the industry first started tracking the data in 2008.

The trucking industry‘s labor shortage problem is only set to increase across the next few years, and wages are rising in response.

The data comes from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), and marks a contrast to other industries, such as tech, which are seeing softening labor markets.

Driver Wages Up 15.5%, Hitting $0.724 Per Mile

In addition to overall compensation rising sharply, the ATRI report found that starting bonuses and retention bonuses increased as well.

They actually jumped faster, with the average bonus rising by over 20% year over year in 2022, even after adjusting for inflation.

From the ATRI report summary:

“Total marginal costs climbed to a new high in 2022 for the second year in a row, increasing by 21.3 percent over 2021 to $2.251 per mile. Though fuel was the largest driver of this spike (53.7% higher than in 2021), multiple other line-items also rose by double digits. Driver wages increased by 15.5 percent, to $0.724 per mile, reflecting the ongoing industry effort to attract and retain drivers. Driver benefits, however, remained stable in 2022.”

Driver Turnover Rates Have Improved in 2022

The good news is that the increased prices seem to be doing the trick.

The numbers of specific concerns including driver turnover, detention times, and equipment utilization all improved within “nearly every fleet size and sector” across the last year.

“In a softening market with costs rising at an unparalleled pace, carrier benchmarking becomes more critical than ever. ATRI’s newest Operational Costs report provides the reliable data and analysis we need to better understand our partners’ underlying costs in a volatile economy and decelerating rate marketplace.” -Dave Broering, President of NFI Integrated Logistics

Still, costs are high, and the report found that smaller fleets are hit the hardest, with margins shrinking faster than large fleets in 2022.

Other Fleet Problems: Fuel and Supply Chains

High fuel costs remain one of the biggest financial concerns for trucking fleets in the US, and those costs jumped an eye-watering 53.7% higher in 2022 over just a year earlier.

Supply chain disruptions are another concern for today’s truckers, since they’re needed for any equipment that must be acquired and maintained. Parts shortages and rising technician labor rates are related to these rising equipment costs, and these factors all combine to boost repair and maintenance costs upwards by 12% to reach $0.196 per mile.

Smaller fleets don’t have many options, aside from investing in time or money-saving tools. A fleet will always need some software just to stay in compliance with federal mandates, but the best ELD devices can also help track fuel taxes, dispatch drivers, and optimize routes to save on wear and tear.

Google is moving its navigation software service, Waze, to Google’s ad systems. The consolidation means some job losses for Waze’s 500+ employees, although the exact number being let go has not been clarified.

It’s a hint at a contraction within the world of advertising, which Google dominates alongside Facebook.

It’s also a continuation of the tech layoffs trend: For nearly a year, tech companies have been pointing to the uncertain economy as the reason they needed to lay off swathes of staffers, pushing workers to embrace either self-employment or stagnant wages.

Job Cuts Will Come From Waze Ads Monetization Team

In a statement to The Verge, Waze PR head Caroline Bourdeau clarified the roles impacted by the shift in ad system tech.

“[W]e’ve begun transitioning Waze’s existing advertising system to Google Ads technology. As part of this update, we’ve reduced those roles focused on Waze Ads monetization and are providing employees with mobility resources and severance options in accordance with local requirements.”

According to an internal email, VP and GM of Google’s Geo unit Chris Phillips says the cuts will impact “sales, marketing, operations, and analytics” teams.

Advertising budgets tend to be the first to be revisited when a company is tightening its belt. If the long-predicted recession is leading companies to cut down in ads, Google would feel that pinch more than most, as it dominates the industry. Last year, the company earned a global total of $224.47 billion in ad revenue.

Tech Layoffs Are Continuing Apace

Since late 2022, major tech companies from Twitter and Shopify to Microsoft and Meta have all issued sweeping staff cuts, and some have gone more than just one round.

The trend doesn’t show signs of slowing yet. In June 2023, we saw Spotify announce it would drop 200 employees (adding to 600 job cuts in January), Reddit cut 90 positions, Sonos cut 130 staffers, Uber cut about 200, and telecoms giant Bell laid off around 1,300 employees.

The tech companies themselves often cite “uncertainty” as the reason why they’ve disrupted their employee bases. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy used the exact phrase “uncertain economy” on multiple occasions, while Meta executive Nick Clegg went with “a time of great anxiety and uncertainty.” However, few trends in tech look more certain than the ongoing layoffs.

One alternative explanation for the number of layoffs? That tech companies are laying off workers because it’s a fast way to boost revenues in the short term, and it’s now possible to do it without stock repercussions, given that other tech companies are already doing layoffs. A recent statement from Mark Zuckerberg could be seen to support this interpretation, as he has praised Elon Musk for making huge cuts at Twitter and kicking off the trend, saying others may have been a “little shy” about making changes.

Whatever the case, the shifting industry norms appear to be coming for Google’s ad department next.

Since ChatGPT’s launch back in November 2022, businesses across the globe have leveraged the chatbot’s abilities to streamline their operations and reassign resources and staff to more high-priority activities.

In many ways, however, ChatGPT is the tip of a much larger iceberg. AI programs fulfilling all kinds of crucial functions will soon be at the heart of every business department, and many services we use on a daily basis. Their use will, however, soon be curtailed by regulations designed – in theory – to make us safer without stifling innovation.

Tech.co sat down with Dr. Rasmus Rothe, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of AI R&D and investment platform Merantix (pictured above with fellow Co-founder Adrian Locher), to find out more about the company’s AI campus, regulating artificial intelligence, and the opportunities and challenges on the immediate horizon.

Inside Europe’s Biggest AI Campus

Founded in 2016, Merantix became the world’s first AI platform focused on researching, building, and investing in AI projects and companies.

Since then, the SoftBank-backed company – which currently sits on a venture fund totaling $35 million – has built close to ten AI companies in a variety of AI verticals, with a close focus on those that have “a big positive impact on humanity,” Rothe told Tech.co.

“There’s hundreds of use cases you can go after,” Rothe explains, “so why not focus on the ones that have a good impact on healthcare, or the climate, and so forth? That’s a very pragmatic approach, and that’s at the core of what we do, investing out of the fund. But we basically built a platform around it, and a whole ecosystem that is supporting our mission… beyond our own incubation.”

Initially, the AI campus – the company’s Berlin-based physical collaboration hub – was a way of co-locating its incubator companies. But Merantix quickly realized that it was worth co-locating other stakeholders in the AI ecosystem as well.

“Ultimately we see that now a lot in the policy discussions that it’s about research, it’s about industry knowhow, but it’s also about investment, it’s also about policymaking, it’s about ethics, so we figured let’s try to co-locate all these stakeholders in one place and have them all use one coffee machine,” Rothe says.

Rothe revealed that the AI campus now consists of “around 90 companies and 1000 registered desks” occupied by “everybody along the AI value chain.” This includes the Volkswagen AI team and other big corporates such as Amazon, as well as incubator startups that have partnerships with local universities. Investors like Index and First Minute Capital also work from there.

This year, Merantix is projected to hold 250 events on the AI campus, which range from “super technical paper discussion groups” to “business investor-focused events or policy focus events”, Rothe said.

“It’s really not about marketing,” he continued, “it’s really about discussing content and doing business with each other. There’s now a long waitlist to sign up to the campus so I think there’s quite some demand… people realize also that there’s value in co-locating with other interesting companies.”

There are a number of exciting machine learning ventures Merantix is currently scaling.

Using AI to Save Lives

“I think the breast cancer screening company Vara is very exciting,” Rothe said, pointing to the fact the company’s technology is already used in a third of breast cancer screening centers in Germany. “They’ve also shown in some of their data that AI plus a radiologist can outperform just a radiologist on many tasks.”

Simply put, early screening saves lives – and Vara is now venturing into emerging markets, Rothe said, which have a dearth of trained radiologists.

Cambrium, another Merantix venture, optimizes protein material, and has developed a proprietary protein design language which allows it to design tailor-made proteins for different purposes.

“Nearly a quarter of our global greenhouse gas emissions are because of the chemical industry, and there’s actually a lot of materials which are now petrochemically produced [that] can be produced based on proteins,” Rothe told Tech.co.

Rothe says that Cambrium’s protein optimizations are not just better for the environment, but also “create superior material properties in some cases.” What’s more, excitingly, the process is applicable across any type of material you could produce.”

Rothe also highlighted Deltia, which uses AI to provide insights on workflows within manufacturing settings – and Briink, which operates on the sustainable finance reporting space to make companies more ESG-oriented – as two projects worth keeping tabs on.

Balancing Regulation and Innovation

Along with investment and research, Merantix is heavily involved in AI policy consultation and implementation on a governmental level within Europe. Rothe himself is a founding board member of the German AI association.

Amid a global scramble to regulate AI, spurred on by the launch of ChatGPT last November, the EU was well placed to act quickly – it first introduced AI-focused legislation back in 2021.

A draft version of The EU’s new AI Act has recently been agreed upon and will now be negotiated by the Council of the European Union and EU member states.

“I think generally the idea of putting some regulation in place makes sense,” Rothe says. “I think nobody’s against regulation. It creates clear guidelines and that some of these things should be forbidden, whether it’s manipulating election or misusing personal data.”

However, he pointed out that a lot of AI use cases found in “so-called high-risk areas” are also the ones that may hold the biggest rewards, such as healthcare and mobility. All in all, regulation will be most beneficial if it’s use-case specific – AI is not “good or bad” per se, rather, it’s more about how it’s implemented.

“If you regulate too much in the short term, I think it will hinder a lot of AI innovation, a lot of people then will not build applications in the high-risk areas because there’s too much uncertainty,” Rothe warns. “Uncertainty is bad for investors, for talent – and they won’t build applications at all, or in areas that aren’t impactful.”

“So I think we actually want people developing AI systems in high-risk areas because they’re also high reward… so that should be rather encouraged.”

Major Change Brings Both Challenges and Opportunities

Aside from nurturing its own AI projects and making contributions to legislative discussions, Merantix Momentum – the platform’s research & design subsidiary which supports small and medium-sized businesses that want to streamline and enhance their processes with AI – has given Rothe insight into challenges that arise alongside commercial AI adoption.

“We’ve seen a few places where there’s been tremendous impact on a business in a positive way, but I think it’s super important that a business [doesn’t] just jump too quickly into it with some use case that sounds sexy but doesn’t have the right ROI,” he warned.

While being appropriately cautious with implementation is crucial, “aligning all the internal stakeholders” can be challenging, Rothe told Tech.co. It’s common, for instance, to find that the valuable data you need to implement an AI solution sits in one team, yet those that actually need that data are located elsewhere in the business.

Add the priorities of legal compliance and internal technical teams into the mix, and you can start to understand why getting everyone on the same page often proves to be the toughest task.

Encouraging your staff to use the AI tools already at their fingertips like ChatGPT, always helps – as does pinpointing the areas of your business where AI will truly be most impactful using different frameworks.

Rothe says he refers to two “frameworks” when considering commercial AI adoption – a work-centric approach and a data-centric approach – which is useful for identifying the areas where AI can have a positive impact.

The former involves analyzing your existing workflows for improvements, while the latter involves reviewing your data siloes to see whether you’re leveraging your data in the most productive way.

AI Will Impact Every Industry

With both harnessing data efficiently and streamlining workflows relevant to the vast majority of companies in a competitive, modern economy, it’s hard to envisage any businesses, departments, and even roles that will be left unscathed by mass AI adoption.

“I think [AI] will affect every single industry,” Rothe says. “And I think about it more in terms of business functions. So I think it will affect marketing, it will affect legal, it will affect finance, it will affect customer support, it will affect recruiting. All these functions that you have in most businesses will be affected – so that’s probably any big company or startup that has these functions, and these departments will look very different.”

“ChatGPT in some sense is very generic”, he continued, “I think there will be some even better ChatGPTs in the future, but I think what we will see is a lot of vertical AI plays.”

“You will have 50 different AI tools in a big company, all in different departments… they will all be integrated deeply in the workflow and make it very efficient” – Dr. Rasmus Rothe, Merantix Co-Founder.

It would be unwise to be too drawn in by the idea that we need AI to be perfect to implement it in various sectors and industries. After all, humans make mistakes all the time.

“I think we should use the same standards for AI, not double standards,” Rothe said earlier on in our discussion. “Maybe the flaws are slightly different, and yes, maybe ChatGPT won’t give perfect answers, but it’s pretty good at most tasks. So it’s then more, like, your choice where to use it and how much to trust the result.”

Everything from project management tools, to even website builders, are now jumping on AI to help customers create and save time.

For Rothe, the noticeable gulf in ability between the new, improved GPT-4 language model and its predecessor GPT-3.5 is a sign that it’s “only a matter of time” before these general-use AI tools become extremely competent at completing an even wider range of tasks. What’s more, just this week, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassibis claimed that its next language model will eclipse ChatGPT.

Opportunities are going to keep on arising around artificial intelligence, and challenges will gradually be overcome by companies like Merantix, focusing on specific, high-impact business use cases and verticals. Ensuring your business is agile enough to not just adapt to these monumental changes, but also embrace them, is going to become central to growth and success.

Many ChatGPT alternatives exist, and one of the most popular is Character AI, which will let you make your own chatbots and interact with other users. You can even talk with a chatbot that mimics a celebrity or other well-known public figure. It’s become so popular that the company recently received a $1 billion valuation.

Character AI does save chats, although there are serious questions about whether Character AI is safe. Many Character AI users engage in conversations that include highly private, sensitive, and confidential information, and the privacy policy suggests Character AI staff and developers may, in fact, monitor what you write.

In this guide, we cover everything you need to know about Character AI, so you can make informed decisions about the content of your conversations with the chatbot. We cover:

• Does Character AI Save Chats?
• Character AI’s Privacy Policy: What Data Does Character AI Save?
• Is Character AI Safe?
• Can You Use Character AI Privately?
• Why is Character AI so Slow?
• Should I Use Character AI?

Does Character AI Save Chats?

The short answer is yes, Character AI will save your chat history, and you can restart a conversation with any character you’ve chatted with before.

Every chat you instigate with a character on Character AI can theoretically be accessed and read by the company’s employees. Character AI’s chats aren’t encrypted like messages sent across apps like WhatsApp.

This is alluded to in the Character AI privacy policy, which we’ll discuss in more detail in the next section.

Character AI’s Privacy Policy: What Data Does Character AI Save?

When you sign up for a Character AI account, you’ll need to provide an existing email address and a password. Next, you’ll need to confirm your email address and create a username. According to the company’s privacy policy, other information Character AI collects includes:

• Communication Information (support requests, etc.)
• Log data (IP address, name of device, etc.)
• Website cookies (including persistent cookies)
• Usage Information (how you use the service)

“Usage Information” is what Character AI defines as “information about how you use our service.” Strangely, unlike the other sections, this is neatly tucked into the “log data” paragraph, rather than given its own space in the privacy policy.

Usage Information includes “the types of content that you view or engage with, the features you use, the actions you take, and the time, frequency, and duration of your activities.”

Character AI also says that “When you enter content into the Services we may monitor what you write to check that it does not contain inappropriate content or Personal Information.”

Character AI: A confusing privacy policy?

There are a few interesting aspects of this privacy policy, to say the least. Overall, it could definitely be clearer.

The first one is the vague term “actions you take” listed in the usage information. There’s nothing to clarify what Character AI means by “actions.” Does the word “actions” refer to chats or other activities? It’s not immediately obvious.

Comparing their privacy policy to ChatGPT’s privacy policy would leave you with a lot of questions regarding Character AI’s usage of chat data. In Character AI’s privacy policy:

• It does not explicitly state whether they train bots using chat data.
• It does not provide information on whether staff are trained with chat data.
• There’s little information regarding encryption or how chat data is secured.

Character AI seems to classify all of the categories of information it collects listed (log data, communication information, usage information) as “Personal Information.”  They are all included in the section of the privacy policy entitled “Personal Information We Collect,” which also includes the line where Character AI states it may monitor what you write.

It then goes on to say in the section entitled “How We Use Personal Information” that the company “may use Personal Information for the following purposes… to maintain, improve or repair any aspect of the Services, which may remain internal or may be shared with third parties if necessary.”

Is Character AI Safe?

It is difficult to say with certainty whether Character AI is safe. It collects a lot of data about its users and there is very little public information about the security of its servers and networks. As there are some concerns about how safe the platform is, you should take steps to protect your privacy, such as using a VPN and registering with a different email address.

A user who has created a chatbot is not able to view chats other users have with its chatbot, but as we’ve covered, Character AI’s staff can read any chats they like, because they’re not encrypted. Just be aware of this when instigating chats with chatbots.

However, one Reddit user reported back in November that “there was a bug where people’s chats randomly leaked into other people’s chats.”

Tech.co was unable to independently verify this report, but even ChatGPT has had issues with titles of conversations being exposed, so it isn’t out of the question.

Although Character AI deploys stringent NSFW filters to stop chatbots from responding to inappropriate requests, there are some reports of characters providing unhinged, violent, and abusive messages to users.

This seems to be a rarity, but users who may find this kind of content triggering should be wary about the nature of the chats they instigate with characters on the site.

A lot of users attempt to bypass the chatbot’s filters — a petition to create an NSFW toggle for the site amassed over 5,000 signatures.

Character AI’s (lack of) security settings

Unfortunately, Character AI does not provide two or multi-factor authentication as an option, which would be a helpful second line of security for users (although this would likely need a phone number to be added to accounts).

What’s more, it also only requires users to create passwords that are 6 characters long, and there are no rules around special characters — which is a pretty low bar for passwords.

We’d advise using a strong, unique, and sufficiently complex password for your Character AI account, particularly if you’re entering sensitive or private data into the chatbot, which we’d seriously advise against doing, regardless of the chatbot you’re using.

Can You Use Character AI Privately?

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t really be entering private, sensitive, or other confidential information into any AI chatbot — whether it’s Bard, ChatGPT, or Character AI.

However, unlike ChatGPT, Character AI doesn’t ask for your phone number when you make an account. This means it can be used in a marginally more private way than ChatGPT.

Character AI only requires an email address and password to sign up, so if you have privacy concerns about Character AI, creating an email address from scratch and then using a VPN to mask your IP address will help you use the service as privately as possible.

It’s worth knowing that you’ll violate the Terms of Service if you try to use a VPN to circumvent a block or ban enforced by the site on your IP address.

But as we’ve said, what you write could very well be monitored and recorded. So, in that sense, it’s impossible to have a truly private conversation with a Character AI chatbot. The same goes for ChatGPT – people also have concerns about how OpenAI’s chatbot uses user data.

Why Is Character AI So Slow?

You may be finding Character AI slow for several reasons.

Just like any other website, if Character AI is dealing with a significant number of requests to its servers (in other words, lots of people using chatbots) then it may slow down. This wouldn’t be surprising considering the mobile App received 1.7 million downloads in the week following its release.

It may also be down due to maintenance or technical issues. There’s very little you can do to change this, unfortunately — but you can check the website’s server status if you’d like to know whether the server is down.

If Character AI is running just fine, the problem may be your device or internet connection. If you’re finding Character AI so slow that it’s difficult to use, first test your internet connection. It may need a simple reboot to get you up and running once more.

If you’re using a VPN, proxy service, or any other tool that may be impacting your device connecting to the internet then disconnecting and re-establishing your connection is recommended — just make sure you shut down your open browser windows first.

Should I Use Character AI?

Character AI is a quirky chatbot you can have a lot of fun with. However, as you can probably tell from reading this article, it’s advisable to take some precautions while using it to ensure you’re staying safe. These include:

• Using a long, complex, and unique password for your account.
• Not inputting sensitive data into Character AI.
• Not using your work email address or other info during sign up.
• Being mindful that Character AI staff may monitor your chats.

We’d recommend following the same precautions when using ChatGPT or Bard, along with any other popular chatbot. They might be clever and useful, but trusting them with private data just isn’t worth the risk.

Web conferencing platform Zoom is adopting AI to make sure that everyone can be seen in virtual meetings, with new tool ‘Intelligent Director’.

The new feature will actively track all participants and make sure their image is shared on the screen, no matter where they are in the room.

It’s the latest AI feature that Zoom has added to its platform, following March’s additions of whiteboard and automated meeting recaps.  

What is Intelligent Director?

Zoom has just announced plans to roll out its Intelligent Director function. The tool is designed to make sure all meeting participants can be equally seen, regardless of their position in the room.

So how does the Intelligent Director work? Zoom’s new feature is made possible thanks to software that focuses on each meeting participant’s face, displaying their mugshot in a box on the screen and tracking them as they move about.

Designed for medium to larger sized rooms, the feature can frame up to 16 meeting participants, across multiple cameras, and AI will even help Zoom use the best video feed for each person.

Zoom claims that using the system, each meeting participant is granted equal space on the video call, with no more instances of people in awkward spots in the room being squeezed out or ignored.

“Even with some employees in the office, oftentimes other team members are dispersed, so meeting equity and inclusion become more important than ever. Intelligent Director is the solution that can bring employees together, regardless of location, so they can truly connect face-to-face.” – Smita Hashim, chief product officer at Zoom

The feature marks the latest use of AI from Zoom, after it launched several other AI time-saving tools in March, such as whiteboards and automated meeting recaps.

How to Get Zoom Intelligent Director

If you like the sound of Intelligent Director, you’ll need to make sure that you have the latest Zoom Rooms 5.15.0 firmware installed, to access its beta.

Be warned that Intelligent Director won’t work on every set up. It requires specific cameras, and also needs an M1 chip or Intel i5 processor or higher. Zoom has partnered with various manufacturers on the project, including Poly, Intel, Logitech, Yealink, Apple and Dell

If you’d like to see what other web conferencing platforms are out there (yes, there’s more to video calls than Zoom), check out our dedicated web conferencing apps comparison guide.

Meta has revealed that WhatsApp Business, the arm of the social messaging app designed for use by businesses, has just surpassed 200M monthly active users (MAUs). This signals a four fold growth in users since the service began shortly after the pandemic broke out back in 2020.

The good news comes amid the tech giant’s “year of efficiency” as it works its way through thousands of job cuts and a costly restructuring job to the tune of $5 billion to navigate away from its largely failed foray into the metaverse.

But what’s next for the world’s most loved social messaging app? And what new features can businesses get excited about using to communicate with users?

New Features Roll out for WhatsApp Small Business Users

Earlier this month, WhatsApp rolled out its new channels feature enabling small businesses to send one-way announcement-style broadcast messages to groups in a similar fashion to how companies use other apps, such as Telegram, to post news and build communities.

Now, Meta has announced more features including click-to-WhatsApp ads that can be placed across Facebook and Instagram. This means sellers can now create and publish ads to Meta’s other two social apps directly from within WhatsApp Business.

This latest feature complements WhatsApp channels, enabling small businesses (which WhatsApp Business is primarily geared towards) to further integrate the social messaging app into their sales and marketing activities.

Other upcoming features include automated personalized messages and customer segmentation, for example sending new customers discount codes with “buy now” links.

Meta Focuses on WhatsApp Business for Revenue Generation

Ad sales, to the tune of $114 billion in 2022, have traditionally been the source of Meta’s revenue (over 97% of total revenue in ‘22). Primarily this has come from ads on its two flagship platforms, Facebook and Instagram. Generating revenue in this way is something Meta shares closely in common with the other tech giants.

But as Meta looks for new revenue streams, it’s steadied its gaze on revenue earned through paid messaging via WhatsApp Business. This shift commenced in February when the company announced a change to the pricing model and the messaging categories to include utility, authentication, marketing, and user-initiated conversations.

Following these changes, the latest raft of new features for businesses is set to expand on Meta’s plans for WhatsApp Business. Indeed, during Meta’s 2022 Q3 earnings call Zuckerberg mentioned that click-to-WhatsApp ads exceeded the annual revenue run rate of $1.5 billion, showing a year-on-year growth rate of 80%.

“I shared last quarter that click-to-message ads reached a $10 billion revenue run rate. And since then, the number of businesses using our other business messaging service—paid messaging on WhatsApp—has grown by 40% quarter-over-quarter.” — Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta

This announcement was significant because Meta doesn’t usually declare WhatsApp revenue separately. But, in 2023 Q1, the company announced the business arm of the social messaging app had strong growth in messaging revenue, suggesting we’ll see more of this to come.

What’s Next for WhatsApp Business?

Zuckerberg has poured billions of dollars into attempting to develop a metaverse. As he tried to lay claim to the trending and nebulous web3 world, Meta has had to look for ways to offset the revenue gap. This included ramping up WhatsApp, which has been free for users since Meta purchased it back in 2014.

This comes hot off the heels of Meta’s recent challenges with the $80 billion write-off following its foray into the metaverse and the ensuing 21,000 staff laid off over the last six months.

In the wake of these challenges, it seems that Meta is working tirelessly to bounce back as it focuses development on the world’s favorite social messaging app and its breakthrough and continued introduction to the B2B sector.

Around the globe, WhatsApp has introduced business payments to the platform. In Brazil, customers can now pay merchants directly from the app with a similar payment function also rolled out in Singapore.

Looking ahead, Meta has revealed the first AI tools for WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram this month, such as ChatGPT-esque bot conversations, to incorporate the big tech firm’s proprietary AI tools into its products.