This 22-Year-Old is Trying to Save us From ChatGPT Before it Changes Writing Forever

By:  NPR January 17, 2023 While many Americans were nursing hangovers on New Year’s Day, 22-year-old Edward Tian was working feverishly on a new app to combat misuse of a powerful, new artificial intelligence tool called ChatGPT.   Given the buzz it’s created, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about ChatGPT. It’s an interactive chatbot […]

Social Media Use Is Linked to Brain Changes in Teens, Research Finds

By:  New York Times January 3, 2023 The effect of social media use on children is a fraught area of research, as parents and policymakers try to ascertain the results of a vast experiment already in full swing. Successive studies have added pieces to the puzzle, fleshing out the implications of a nearly constant stream […]

Is Modern Life Ruining our Powers of Concentration?

By:  The Guardian January 1, 2023 How does it feel inside your head? Turn your attention inwards. Maybe you’re daydreaming, allowing your mind to wander. Or maybe it feels sharp and alert. Maybe your thoughts are forging freely ahead, a sign that you have achieved the fabled state of “flow”. More likely, however, your brain […]

Problem Gambling Is on the Rise Among Young Men

By:  Wall Street Journal December 18, 2022   Jonathan Jones traces his gambling struggles back to a videogame he played in the fifth grade. Using lunch money or stealing small amounts from his parents, he would buy gaming gift cards and redeem them to spin a virtual wheel of fortune to collect prizes, such as weapons […]

OECD Countries Limit Government Access to Personal Data

By:  Wall Street Journal December 14, 2022   More than 30 countries on Wednesday finalized a framework for how governments access citizens’ personal data, marking the first effort on such a large scale to tackle tricky surveillance issues across borders.   Officials from the U.S. and the 37 other member states of the Organization for […]

Microsoft Buys Stake in London Stock Exchange

By:  Wall Street Journal December 12, 2022   LONDON—Microsoft Corp. MSFT -2.36%decrease; red down pointing triangle will take a 4% stake in the London Stock Exchange’s corporate parent and help shift the exchange’s financial data and trading platforms to the cloud, in a deal that reflects the growing use of data and tech in global finance. The deal revealed Monday […]

The Inherent Misogyny of AI Portraits – Amelia Earhart Rendered Naked on a Bed

By:  The Guardian December 9, 2022   Officially, the Lensa AI app creates “magic avatars” that turn a user’s selfies into lushly stylized works of art. It’s been touted by celebrities such as Chance the Rapper, Tommy Dorfman, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Britney Spears’ husband, Sam Asghari. But for many women the app does more […]

Amazon Launches TikTok-Style Feed in Push to Accelerate Social Shopping

Ofcom will investigate the world’s biggest tech companies to ensure their dominance in areas such as cloud computing, messaging and smart devices works for the people and businesses of Britain, the communications regulator has said. The cloud services investigation, which will take priority out of the three issues, will look at Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Between them, these “hyperscalers” control more than four-fifths of the UK’s cloud computing market, about half of which is made up by Amazon. Over the coming year, the regulator will begin investigating a wider range of digital services. WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom will come under the lens, with Ofcom looking at how their market power is affecting traditional calling and messaging, and whether the lack of interoperability “raises potential concerns”.

By:  Wall Street Journal December 8, 2022 Amazon AMZN -8.43%decrease; red down pointing triangle.com Inc. is rolling out a TikTok-like feature in its app that will allow customers to buy products from a customized feed of photos and videos. Amazon launched the feature Thursday for select customers and plans to make it available across the U.S. in […]