🤖 Midweek Wiser! - ChatGPT | Timex NFTs | Twitter Files | SBF FTX | BigTech Parking Tickets
ChatGPT dominates headlines, but is it the saviour everyone claims it to be? Timex does NFTs, SBF's charm offensive continues, and Elon delivers a Twitter conspiracy.
Hello Wiser! readers, here’s your mid-week reminder of the key stories from Wiser! #103 with updates and some new stuff.
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🤖 ChatGPT wrote this article (with a little help from me)
ChatGPT is great, but be careful, it's not perfect. It's a year out of date and only knows about the things that it was trained on, which was mostly wikipedia. That's why OpenAI make it clear that the generative AI is in beta mode (remember the Galactica story from last month?)
To illustrate my point, I conducted two unscientific experiments:
1️⃣ I asked ChatGPT who owned Twitter and the answer was wrong. It was a year out of date and the AI had no clue about Elon Musk.
2️⃣ I also asked ChatGPT who I am, not because I have a big head, but because I've written hundreds of blogs, have a sizeable social media following, and because, of all the Rick Hucksteps in the world, I usually rank near the top.
ChatGPT had never heard of me.
That's humbling. But it also proves my point.
HERE's THE THING: there's a ton of advice out there for content creators that goes something like this 👉 “get the AI to churn out all your content and save yourself of time”.
BUT: the content may read well, but it might not be very accurate and it certainly won't be up to date.
AND: Google didn't get to be Google without some pretty smart technology in the search department. Google's own AI can smell a GPT-3 written article in about 3 nanoseconds. Which means that if Google thinks it's machine written, the page/post/content will be marked down. You don't want that, do you?
So, my advice to content creators. Use the AI tools to SUPPORT your work. They will save you time and make your more productive, which means you can make more money.
But, don't rely on them to DO your work. It's lazy and dumb. Which is why I wrote this:👉 ChatGPT Wrote This (with a little help from me).
Further Reading
🛠️ AI tools that save you time and make you more productive.
🎙️ Big Tech Little Tech podcast on generative.
⚖️ Can the EU's new tech regs change BigTech behaviour?
Under the European Union’s new rules in the Digital Markets Act, tech firms can now be fined up to 10% of their worldwide turnover, increasing to up to 20% for repeat offenders.
In that scenario, the bill for Google’s record $4 billion fine they’re still appealing would be north of $25 billion.
Other significant fines:
Meta's recent fine of €261 million for breaching data protection rules in the EU would be closer to €12 billion.
Apple's €50 million fine for blocking alternative payment methods would see them pay €38 billion under the new rules.
Amazon's €845 million fine for violating data protection rules would be a whopping €47 billion under the DMA.
This week, the UK progressed the Online Safety Bill (you remember I wrote about it last week). It's been slow progress but, like the EU's DMA, the penalties are also material at 10% of worldwide revenues.
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🍎 Apple's 30% App Store tax continues to take a bashing
Apple are holding the line when it comes to the amount they charge developers for apps that run on your iPhone. Some say it’s monopolistic exploitation and unfair, others say that users have a choice, they could always buy an Android.
IMHO, Apple will eventually lose this argument, but for now, the App Store is a highly lucrative cash cow.
🦤 The Twitter Files proved to be a damp squib
Last weekend, the so-called “Twitter Files” were published in 2 batches. The files were essentially emails and internal comms from within Twitter.
The point of the files, and big reveal that Elon Musk trailed with a popcorn emoji 🍿, was that the correspondence would show how the Democrats, FBI and Government agencies had persuaded Twitter to surprise a story that would embarrass Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
However, what the files showed was that Twitter’s internal teams were torn about the validity of the story. To add to the atmosphere of the time, the FBI had put Twitter (and all of social media) on high alert over Russian interference and misinformation.
⏱️ Timex launch a special watch for NFT holders
The famous watchmaker has launched a new line of limited edition watches that come with accompanying NFTs. This offer is exclusive to holders of NFT images from the Bored Ape Yacht Club or Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
The point of the NFT watches is to retain a direct connection between the brand and the owner of the watch after the purchase. The incentive to buy the NFT watch is that it provides the NFT holder with access to exclusive perks they couldn't get otherwise.
🕸️ Brand Strategies For Web3 and the Metaverse
Drop 2 of the Brand Strategies Collection went live this week. I added another 30 consumer brands to the Collection that now comprises 110 brands and their use-cases in NFTs, blockchain, virtual reality and crypto.
The latest brands added to the Collection include: Foot Locker, Kia, Kellogg's JP Morgan, Kraft Heinz, KPMG, L'Oreal, Lamborghini, Louis Vuitton, Lavazza, Lego, LGMacy's, Mars, Mattel, McDonald's, Mercedes-Benz.
To access this unique Collection, buy a lifetime access via my page on Gumroad.
DECEMBER LIMITED TIME OFFER: Use the discount code BRAND50 to receive a 50% limited time reduction.
🎙 Big Tech Little Tech Podcast
Episode #14 - Generative AI, Killer Robots, Drones in Leeds and Xmas is Coming
For links to every major podcast platform, show notes and all the details about the last show.
👮🏻♂️Will Sam Bankman-Fried be going to jail?
That was the headline I wrote on Friday. Today, Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas.
This has ended weeks of speculation during which the FTX founder conducted a bizarre “PR tour” of news outlets and Twitter Spaces. Bankman-Fried was subsequently charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering by the Department of Justice, and securities violations by the SEC, over his role in the collapse of FTX and its relationship with sister company Alameda Research.
Here’s the latest:
💻 News Roundup
A new machine learning model can tell the difference between male from female retinas.
San Francisco is rethinking its policy on police using killer robots.
World Cup attendees can use augmented reality to see stats for players on the pitch.
Snap announced this week that it’s working with creators to create lenses that include buyable digital goods like “in-game items” and “upgraded lens control.”
BMW wants to turn speed bumps into power-ups.
Over $400 billion has been erased from the value of European tech in 2022, with VC funding declining 18%.
China has been using its digital surveillance network to track down anyone participating in Covid protests.
Stripe announced it has built a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp.
Animoca Brands, has unveiled a massive $2 billion Metaverse fund.
Bloomberg reported that the UK is finalising plans to regulate crypto in order to "make the UK a hub" for the crypto industry.
Indiana sued the Chinese-owned app TikTok, accusing it of deceiving users about China’s access to data and exposing children to mature content.
Meta rolled out new privacy updates for teens on Facebook and Instagram.
WhatsApp is rolling out 3D avatars.
A Shein pop-up shop in Plano, Texas, drew a 700-person line this September. The store had to close four hours early due to low stock levels.
Amazon is launching a service that resembles TikTok.
Tencent may have developed an artificial intelligence that understands Chinese better than a human.
Two women sued Apple over the dangers of its tracking devices in the hands of stalkers.
🛠️ Tips and Tools to boost your productivity
🌪️ Use Swurl to search on your mobile
🤖 Generative AI tools I use to create Wiser!
🧃 The Juice is a productivity tool that saves time for B2B marketeers.
✍️ Writesonic: generate content for blogs, posts, tweets and promotions using AI
🎥 Fliki: turn text into videos using AI voices.
🇪🇸 60% DISCOUNT: Learn a language with Babbel.
🧠 Lose weight using psychology and tech.
🧐 Make your mental health a priority.
🌪️ Thriving on Disruption: in conversation with Roger Spitz
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