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May 30, 2023 |
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Hello Tuesday! Let’s start with a little trivia. Google’s Street View relies on cars with multiple cameras. What was the first animal Google hired to capture a place you couldn’t access by car? Was it a … bird, camel, goat or horse? The answer, along with a really great pic, is at the end. ⚖️ We’re coming in heavy with the best tech newsletter in the world. Let’s fire up your noggin after a long weekend! — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE🤖 AI warning we should all take seriously😔 Another TikTok death🔤 Smartphone closed captioning |
TODAY'S TOP STORYNew AI warning: ‘Risk of extinction’This morning, 350 of the world’s most prominent business executives, researchers and scientists signed a statement saying that artificial intelligence (AI) poses a “risk of extinction” on par with pandemics and nuclear war. Let me say it another way … The very same people who created AI are saying that AI can wipe out humanity. The signed statement is a who’s who of tech pioneers: Elon Musk, Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT), Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott and several Google AI executives. What you need to knowWhen you’re talking about AI with your family and friends, know this: No one on this list is concerned about AI giving fake citations in a legal brief. Something called artificial general intelligence (AGI) is the major issue. AGI happens when machines become capable of performing functions and developing their own programming to do whatever they want without any human interaction. The concern is that without controls, we’ll be battling a superintelligent machine and network of machines that have no compassion or empathy. They could program themselves to be far superior to the human race and not need us. Yeah, Hollywood movie material coming to life. No joke, James Cameron has stopped working on the new “Terminator” script until he knows more about AGI’s future. The fear is justifiedLet’s face it. We’re not getting along very well. We have wars, crime, disease, food shortages and weapons. We have good drugs and street drugs. We don’t take care of the planet. In general, as humans, we’re doing a piss poor job living in harmony with each other and the resources we share. It would be hard to make a compelling argument to keep us (Although I could make a case to keep me, a compassionate and kind person with an eye for great puns … ). It’s not a happy thoughtI don’t want to think about it, either. But AGI is not going away. We need to take this seriously and prepare for a nightmare scenario. How long do we have? My guess is 40 to 50 years, but maybe less if we don’t act now. Now, at your next gathering, explain this as the big deal about AI. You don’t even need to give me credit. |
DEAL OF THE DAY
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WEB WATERCOOLER🚨 Whippets on TikTok: A 13-year-old girl just died sniffing inhalants at a slumber party. Kids are sniffing glue, aerosol deodorant and, of course, paint to get high. The hashtag #whiptok brings up videos with 413 million views. Talk to your kids about these dumb challenges. Uber for bodyguards: eBay founder Pierre Omidyar is dishing out $2 million to “defund the police” groups while pumping cash into Bond, an app to rent a bodyguard. I’m going to stop shopping at eBay. 💅 Makeover time: Chrome’s got new tools to spruce up your boring browser. Open a new tab, then click “Customize Chrome” at the bottom of your screen to open a sidebar filled with themes, colors and settings. Ooh-la-la. Piggy bank breaker: Venmo has new accounts for teens ages 13 to 17. The best part? Parental controls. You can keep an eye on where their money’s going and how they’re spending it. 🛑 Free malware with purchase: “Android TV” boxes promising free streaming forever are filled with malware, marketed like they’re from Google. They’re not. TV shopping? Look for the words “Android TV OS,” not just “Android TV.” Oops, that didn’t work: Kia and Hyundai issued an antitheft software patch for cars in February. How’s it doing three months later? It doesn’t work. Folks are still getting their cars stolen … They have Nokia. 🤑 Better than “Squid Game”: How long would you sit in a glass booth to win $500,000? The latest Mr. Beast video pits 100 people, ages one through 100, against each other (yes, that includes an actual one-year-old). Over 50 million people watched it in one day, including me! Watch it here. |
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TRENDINGWhat the … fish? The internet is losing itI was scrolling Twitter this weekend and kept seeing the same video pop up. (When I wrote this, the video had more than 91 million views.) So what the heck had people so excited? A fish. But not just any fish …The video shows a massive Asian sheepshead wrasse, aka a Kobudai fish, watching very intently as a person hammers away at a crustacean (assumedly the giant fish’s dinner). The Kobudai can grow up to 39 inches long and weigh 32 pounds, but the most remarkable thing about it is how human-like its head is and how impatient it is for food. Worse than my dog, Abby, at breakfastAnd Twitter users found their own hilarious comparisons. I grabbed some of the best captions: “Me watching them make my Chipotle bowl”“This is what it’s like doing something around children”“Micromanagement looks like this!”“5-year-old me watching my dad fix something around the house”“My nosy @ss nephew all up in my phone while I’m scrolling”🎣 What do you call a fish with no eyes? Fsh. (I crack myself up!) |
DEVICE ADVICEGet captions on your phone, in any app“Wait, what’d she say?” Captions aren't just for your TV. You can enable them on your phone, too. Super handy for hard-to-understand voices on social media vids, YouTube, podcasts or shows. No matter what device you’re using or who makes it, you can turn on captioning in your phone’s accessibility settings. These features are designed to help people with disabilities use technology more easily (and people like me understand Scottish accents when I watch “Outlander.”) On your device, look in the Accessibility settings and find Live Captions.Turn it on. Whenever speech is detected, you’ll see the text written out in the center of your device’s screen.⛴️ Why aren’t there subtitles for the last 15 minutes of “Titanic”? A good caption always goes down with the ship. There are a bunch of other great features hiding in that menu. Try these on your iPhone or Android. |
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BY THE NUMBERS395% The increase in Pinterest searches for “amazing walk-in shower.” Yep, bathtubs are out and oversized showers are in. Good to know if you’re remodeling. 12% The rumored size increase of the new iPhone’s camera sensor. The 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max may also have larger screens and more internal space for a periscope telephoto camera, which lets you zoom five to 10 times more than a regular optical zoom camera. 90% Accuracy of wait times in restaurant apps that use geofencing. Chick-fil-A tested location tracking and found customer wait times went down one to two minutes. Is GPS tracking worth it to get some nuggets faster? Only you can answer that. |
WHAT THE TECH?When they start up, the PC says, “Hello, it’s me.” |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ...🐪 The answer: A camel. In October 2014, Google engineers strapped the Street View cameras on a camel in the Liwa Oasis. This 62-mile scenic desert near Abu Dhabi has some of the world’s biggest sand dunes. Check out this cool pic I found with the Street View cams on the camel. 🤗 I wonder if they park their camels in a Camelot? Thanks for being here. Hit that thumbs up below if you smiled or learned something new. — Kim |
How'd we do?What did you think of today's issue? 👍 Fantastic😐 Just OK👎 Waste of time |
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