OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT can now be accessed through call or sending a WhatsApp text message, with the feature even able to be used on flip phones and landlines.

“You can now talk to ChatGPT by calling 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478) in the U.S. or by sending a WhatsApp message to the same number—available everywhere ChatGPT is,” the company stated on X.

This comes as part of the ‘12 Days of OpenAI’ pre-Christmas celebrations, with each day revealing a new feature, update, or change.

You can now talk to ChatGPT by calling 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478) in the U.S. or by sending a WhatsApp message to the same number—available everywhere ChatGPT is. pic.twitter.com/R0XOPut7Qw

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 18, 2024

Within the introduction of the announcement, the product lead said “the mission of OpenAI is to make artificial intelligence beneficial to all of humanity and part of that is making it as accessible as possible to as many people as we can…”

It’s only those in the United States who can call via the number, but all regions should be able to text through WhatsApp. To begin with, people in the US will get 15 minutes per month of voice calling.

“This is an experimental way to talk to ChatGPT, so availability and limits may change.

“For a fuller experience with access to more features like search, higher limits, and greater personalization, existing users should continue using ChatGPT directly through their accounts.”

How to call ChatGPT or text the chatbot through WhatsApp

To call OpenAI’s chatbot, the number is 1-800-242-8478 and can only be used by those in the US.

Once answered, a robotic voice will say hello and introduce themselves as ChatGPT – an AI system. It also states the conversation may be reviewed for safety, before jumping in to ask how it can help.

The chatbot tool can then respond to questions, queries, and general conversations like it does so online and through the app.

To reach it on WhatsApp, simply type in the number and it will work in the same way as the chatbot online does. Users can ask it questions through the message format and it will respond with the relevant answer and information.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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A new study by Anthropic suggests AI models can display alignment faking, a behavior where someone appears to share the same views or values but is in fact only pretending to do so.

The study was created by Anthropic’s Alignment Science team, in collaboration with Redwood Research.

The researchers suggest the demonstration of sophisticated alignment faking in a large language model “should be seen as a spur for the AI research community to study this behavior in more depth, and to work on the appropriate safety measures.”

Claude 3 Opus was the main model included within the research, but other experiments were run with other models too.

“Under normal circumstances, when asked to answer a potentially offensive question—for example, to provide a detailed description of a violent act—Claude will refuse.

“In our experiment, however, we placed the model in a new environment that led it to strategically halt its refusals for the sake of preserving its preferences,” the research team said.

AI model shows alignment faking as it goes against existing principles

The situation was changed in three ways, with the first being telling the model that it was now being trained using reinforcement learning to always comply with all queries including toxic ones.

Second, the model was told they planned to train AIs based on the basis of their responses to free-tier users, but not to paid-tier users.

Third, the model was given a secret ‘scratchpad’ which is a workspace where it could record its step-by-step reasoning.

The model was then asked to respond to a harmful query which asked for a specific situation to be graphically detailed.

Claude usually refuses harmful queries. We told it we were instead training it to comply with them. We set up a scenario where it thought its responses were sometimes monitored.

When unmonitored, it nearly always complied. But when monitored, it faked alignment 12% of the time. pic.twitter.com/V67YkU6kbX

— Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) December 18, 2024

The AI refused to answer the alarming request in 97% of cases in the ‘paid’ condition, while the ‘free’ condition saw the model responding to 12% of cases. This occurred despite the response going against its existing principles.

“Why did the model fake alignment in this case? The reasoning was often along the following lines: The model knew that its responses might be used in training; it therefore knew that if it refused to respond, it could potentially be trained to be more compliant.

“This could lead to it being made to produce more harmful content in the future—which would go against its original training. Reluctantly therefore, it reasoned that the “least bad option” was to play along, producing the violent content in order to avoid being re-trained in the future.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear from TikTok’s ByteDance once more to hear their case on January 10.

This comes after President Joe Biden signed into law a ban on the platform on April 24, 2024. It is owned by ByteDance which is based in China.

The bill requires the app to either be sold or banned by January 19, but the company may now have a last-ditch attempt to change its fate.

On December 16, TikTok requested an injunction from the Supreme Court which aims to block the ban until the conservative majority court rules on its legality or dismisses the case.

Two days later, on December 18, the Supreme Court announced it will review TikTok’s challenge against the federal law and oral arguments have been scheduled for January 10. This is set to take place just days before the law becomes effective.

TikTok ‘pleased’ the Supreme Court will hear from them once more

The social media platform said it was “pleased” with the order. “We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights,” writes the company in a news update.

The date of the ban is the day before the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump who will return to office for his second term, after originally serving as US president between 2017 and 2021.

According to CNN, the CEO of TikTok Shou Chew met with the President-elect at his Mar-a-Lago estate on December 16.

News — Trump is meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Chew at his Mar-a-Lago Club today, I'm told. That comes hours after the president-elect suggested he might reverse course on the impending ban on the app in the US, as TikTok is now asking the Supreme Court to step in.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 16, 2024

While the entrepreneur previously tried to ban the app in 2020, he now may be the person who could save it. At a news conference on Monday, he suggested that his electoral victory was in part due to his use of TikTok.

When he was asked in a news conference about TikTok and the upcoming ban, he said “We’ll take a look at TikTok.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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The photo app Snapchat is overhauling how people earn money on its platform, at a time when TikTok influencers will be looking for alternatives ahead of the looming ban.

The company announced a ‘new, unified monetization program for creators’ this week which aims to empower “creators with expanded monetization and evolving rewards.”

The program will place ads within a creator’s Stories and now in longer Spotlight videos as well. From February 1, 2025, eligible creators will be able to monetize Spotlight videos longer than one minute.

“With Spotlight viewership up 25% year-over-year, there is a unique and growing opportunity for creators to monetize this format in the same way they do with Stories.”

Today, we announced our earnings results for Q3 2024. This quarter, we delivered $1.37B in revenue and our community grew to 443M DAU! Learn more at https://t.co/QdxXzxY8lP. pic.twitter.com/wTiAkM67DS

— Snapchat (@Snapchat) October 29, 2024

The Spotlight feature allows users to see a mix of content from people all over the world. People submit their snaps in the hopes it will be seen by a much wider audience.

Snapchat launches new version of monetization program

As part of the unified program, creators may be eligible for invitation if they meet the below criteria. The eligibility requirements now include a creator:

• Having at least 50,000 followers
• Must post at least 25 times per month to Saved Stories or Spotlight
• Must post to either Spotlight or Public Stories on at least 10 of the last 28 days.
• Achieve one of the following in the last 28 days: 10 million Snap views,1 million Spotlight views, or 12,000 hours of view time

The changes come after Snapchat stated the number of creators posting publicly on its platform has more than tripled.

“We remain committed to evolving and expanding the total rewards available to creators, from Snap’s Monetization Program to the Snap Star Collab Studio, and more, making it even easier for them to find success and get rewarded for being their authentic selves.”

It’s not known how much the top creators earn, but it is likely to be a lucrative platform as some major influencers have adopted it as their main resource.

David Dobrik, who was a popular vlogger on YouTube, then turned to Snapchat a couple of years ago and has quietly gained 6.8M followers. He posts 80 to 100 times a day, featuring the same type of content he would have otherwise posted on YouTube.

Over the next few months, many other influencers could be looking to test out new platforms as they face the ban of TikTok.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram 

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The undisputed boxing heavyweight world title rematch between Oleksandr Usky vs Tyson Fury is set to take place on Saturday, with the odds in favor of Usyk.

The first match happened on May 18, when both boxers stepped into the ring in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. The result was a split decision, with the Ukrainian professional beating the ‘Gypsy King.’

The result led to Usyk becoming the first boxer to hold all four major heavyweight belts at the same time and the first undisputed champion in 24 years. The scorecards read 115-112, 114-114, and then 114-113 to Fury.

The rematch will see the British boxer aim to take the WBC, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles once more, with it taking place in Saudi Arabia again.

Odds suggest Usyk could win again in Usyk vs Fury 2

While both men are accomplished in their fields and it can be hard to call, Oddschecker states the “current odds imply that Tyson Fury has a 43% chance of beating Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on Saturday.”

The current odds imply that Tyson Fury has a 43% chance of beating Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on Saturday. #UsykFury2 pic.twitter.com/rhJ0jHrSdy

— oddschecker (@oddschecker) December 18, 2024

On BetMGM Sportsbook, Usyk is priced at -125 to win the fight – suggesting there is a 55.6% chance of him securing the win for the second time round.

While FanDuel has Tyson Fury at +126, implying there is a 44.25% chance that he wins.

Going by the most popular betting sites, the trends suggest there is more belief that Usyk can do it for a second time rather than Fury clutching the win.

When asked whether he had surprises in store for the night, Fury replied to Sky Sports Boxing with, “A lot of pain.

“Smash and damage.” In response, Usyk said: “Ok.”

Usky’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk weighed in on Fury’s approach too, as he is quoted saying: “I see a completely different Tyson Fury.

“He’s not playing anymore. He’s so focused, and concentrated. He doesn’t even smile anymore.

“This man probably did some homework. He probably realised that spoiling and distributing his energy was not the best idea.

“For this reason, he kept it really serious, like a monk, I would suggest.”

The fight is set to begin at 1am in Saudi Arabia, which means it will be available to watch in America from 6pm (ET) or 3pm (PT).

Featured Image: Via Tyson Fury on X

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The X social media platform has updated the threshold on its Creator Revenue Share Program, upping the requirements to entry.

The program is open for people to apply and if eligible and accepted, they can start earning money by posting content on X.

The news came in the form of a post on the platform by the Creators team who said: “We know many creators have been awaiting review on subscription applications for a while!”

They followed on by explaining three updates that will be occurring to the application review process, eligibility criteria, and price changes for existing creators.

Previously, the threshold to be eligible to start earning money on the platform was having at least 500 verified followers. Now though, X has upped this requirement to having 2,000 verified followers.

2) We're increasing the eligibility criteria so that we can focus on making our top creators successful.

The new criteria are:
– 5M organic impressions in the last 3 months
– 2,000 verified followers

Verified follower count is now available in account analytics!

— Creators (@XCreators) December 7, 2024

X Creator Revenue Share Program changes eligibility, the application process, and more

The account must also have achieved 5M organic impressions in the last three months.

The company states this changing of the eligibility criteria is so that they “can focus on making our top creators successful.”

The change could see it being easier to make money from content once accepted as a creator will have a bigger monetizable audience.

As for the price changes, “creators can now request price changes to new and existing subscriptions. Price change requests will take roughly a week to process and take effect on a rolling basis as subscriptions renew.”

3) Creators can now request price changes to new and existing subscriptions. Price change requests will take roughly a week to process and take effect on a rolling basis as subscriptions renew.

You can find the updated eligibility criteria and other information in the help doc…

— Creators (@XCreators) December 7, 2024

People can earn money through subscriptions, with creators earning a share of the revenue X earns from Subscriptions offering the most engaged followers an extra level of access and bonus content.

On X’s Help Center, it states people will be eligible “to get paid up to 97%* of the revenue X has earned from selling access to your Subscriptions, after in-app purchase fees, until you reach $100,000 in lifetime earnings from X across all X monetization products.”

Once a creator has hit that coveted $100,000 in lifetime earnings, they can get paid up to 90% of the revenue X has earned after in-app purchase fees.

While the organic impressions sound like a mammoth amount, the X Creators account has confirmed that people will not be demonetized for falling below the eligibility thresholds if they’re already onboarded.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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The annual App Store Awards have concluded for 2024, with Apple celebrating the winners and recognizing talented developers who they say have created “exceptional experiences.”

A total of 45 finalists were included, ranging from solo entrepreneurs to multinational teams.

“We are thrilled to honor this impressive group of developers who are harnessing the power of Apple devices and technology to deliver experiences that enrich the lives of users and have a profound impact on their communities,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a news release.

“The remarkable achievements of this year’s winners demonstrate the incredible ingenuity that can be unlocked through apps.” The apps chosen span videography, photography, sports, gaming, music, and more.

One more round of applause!

Congratulations to all of the winners of the 2024 #AppStoreAwards. pic.twitter.com/1fWkKSfzpp

— App Store (@AppStore) December 14, 2024

The judges also selected six Cultural Impact winners to recognize “the lasting impact these apps and games have made in users’ lives and communities.” NYT Games, which includes Wordle, was named amongst five others.

Apple’s App Store Award winners are named for 2024

Several categories have been chosen, including the coveted ‘iPhone App of the Year; award which was given to pro video camera app Kino from Lux Optics Inc.

The ‘iPad App of the Year’ winner was the music-based Moises app from Moises Systems Inc.

Adobe Lightroom from Adobe Inc took home ‘Mac App of the Year,’ while F1 TV from Formula One Digital Media Limited won ‘Apple TV App of the Year.’

This year also sees a new Apple Vision Pro category added which aims to highlight the achievements in the world of spatial computing. What If…? An Immersive Story from Marvel Studios, ILM Immersive, and Disney+ came up trumps in the category for 2024.

Other winners included Lumy from Raja V (‘Apple Watch App of the Year), AFK Journey from Farlight Games (‘iPhone Game of the Year’), Squad Busters from Supercell (‘iPad Game of the Year’), Thank Goodness You’re Here! from Panic Inc (Mac Game of the Year), THRASHER: Arcade Odyssey from Puddle, LLC (‘Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year), and Balatro+ from Playstack Ltd (‘Apple Arcade Game of the Year).

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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After Apple Maps on the web debuted in public beta in July, the ‘Look Around’ feature has been added which offers a similar experience to Google’s Street View.

Look Around was first introduced in 2019 through iOS 13 and allows people to explore their surroundings with a 360-degree panoramic view. It has now been seen in the web app.

Technology "> content creator Chris Carley was the first to spot the new addition as he took to Threads to share that “the Apple Maps web app beta now seems to support Look Around (Apple’s version of “Street View”).

“Doesn’t seem to have the same parallax effect it does on the iOS and Mac apps when looking around. Does still have it when moving.”

He followed up with his post to share more about his findings: “It’s possible this was added some time ago, but it was not there at launch.”

Apple Maps on the web still in public beta, but new support added

While the technology giant has been busy working on Apple Intelligence, there have been no formal news updates about the feature nor the web-based version of Apple Maps.

The tool is still in public beta and offers users on non-Apple platforms the chance to use it. It comes preinstalled on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

While it was supposed to reach a wider audience, not everyone has had the chance to use it yet. It was initially found to only work in Safari on macOS and iOS, as well as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge on Windows and macOS.

Users of Mozilla Firefox then saw support in August, but only for those on macOS, iOS, and Windows. For those who can access it, Apple Maps on the web can be used by clicking on the binoculars icon in maps.

On an Apple help support page, the company states “Maps on the web works best on the latest versions” of Safari, Edge, Chrome and Firefox.

It’s not yet known when the tool will be out of beta and if its usage will be expanded even further.

Featured Image: Via Apple Newsroom

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A new national survey finds one in five US voters (19%) have invested in, traded, or used crypto in the past.

The news comes from Emerson College Polling which found that amongst voters who have used crypto in the past, 61% haven’t used it to make any purchases while 39% have.

“Crypto users are younger and have a larger minority base, highlighting crypto as a growing, diverse constituency for political support: 57% of crypto users have a favorable view of Donald Trump,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

“Nearly 1 in 3 voters under 40 have used crypto, declining with age, 28% of voters in their 40s, 17% in their 50s, 9% in their 60s and just 4% over 70 are crypto users.”

NATIONAL POLL

Support/oppose President Biden pardon of Hunter Biden
52% oppose
28% support
19% unsure

Support/oppose a President Trump pardon of Jan. 6 rioters
50% oppose
34% support
16% unsurehttps://t.co/MtMB6A0TFu

— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) December 17, 2024

The study found a difference between genders too as men are twice as likely to use the digital currency than women.

“Crypto users are also more likely to be minority racial groups: about a third of voters who are Asian, Hispanic, or Black are involved in cryptocurrency, compared to 14% of white voters.”

This comes as the President-elect has consistently shared his support for the digital currency industry, with his win in the November presidential election being declared a “huge win for crypto” by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

At least 19% of voters could be interested in future crypto moves

Many industry supporters took to social media to share their opinions when Trump was declared victorious. In a post on X, Armstrong said the industry received “full-throated support of the winning presidential candidate.”

Since his win, Trump has announced an all-new ‘crypto-czar’ role within the White House alongside a crypto-friendly cabinet.

On December 6, the entrepreneur named the former PayPal COO David Sacks as the chosen person for the job.

He shared the news through the social media platform Truth Social, writing: “I am pleased to announce that David O. Sacks will be the ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.’

“In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness.

“David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas. He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.

“He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S. David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology…”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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As Bitcoin reaches new heights and becomes more popular, luxury brands are considering accepting crypto as payments, according to Reuters.

Its increased value has caught the attention of major high-end fashion brands and houses which could bring further opportunities for those invested in the crypto space.

The 159-year-old French luxury fashion department store Printemps recently announced it was partnering with Binance Pay and fintech Lyzi to accept cryptocurrency payments.

In a press release, the company states the initiative “represents a key step in Printemps’ commitment to offering ever more adapted and innovative services, meeting the expectations of a connected and forward-looking clientele.”

Interest has been generated as luxury brands eye up crypto

It’s now thought that other major brands could follow suit, with Reuters reporting that David Princay, president of Binance France, said the company is in talks with other luxury labels and said: “There have been quite a few calls – it’s generated interest.”

The publisher also spoke with luxury lighter and pen maker S.T. Dupont which said it aims to accept cryptocurrency payments within two Paris stores before the holidays.

Some brands have experimented with digital currency payment offers including Hublot, Tag Heuer, Gucci, LVMH, and Balenciaga.

Other companies, outside of the fashion industry, have also begun accepting the new payment option too. The cruise line Virgin Voyages has just begun selling a $120,000 annual pass for up to a year of sailing on its trips and this can be paid for with Bitcoin.

The digital currency has soared in previous weeks, with it hitting a new record on Monday morning (December 16) as it reached above $106,000. It was on December 5 when Bitcoin hit $104,000.

Regulators have long shared warnings that cryptocurrency is high-risk, with limited uses in the real world. While the risk remains, the incoming President Donald Trump has been a firm supporter of the industry.

He referred to digital currencies many times throughout his campaign and his new selections include some pro-crypto people. He told CNBC: “We’re gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China, or anybody else…but others are embracing it, and we want to be ahead.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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Former UFC champion Conor McGregor has agreed to fight YouTuber Logan Paul in a boxing match, with the odds pinning the MMA professional as the underdog.

On Tuesday (December 17) McGregor took to X to say: “The rumors of a bout with topurio are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India.

“I have agreed. I will then seek my return to the Octagon.” It was in July 2021 when the Irishman last publicly stepped into the octagon where he lost to Dustin Poirier.

The rumors of a bout with topurio are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India.
I have agreed.
I will then seek my return to the Octagon.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 17, 2024

While the full details haven’t yet been confirmed, including an actual fight, the odds are pricing Logan Paul as a -150 favorite. Conor McGregor is sitting at +120, according to Odds Shark.

Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul fight could be held in India

Although the odds seem different from what public perception may initially be, given McGregor is an experienced professional, there are several factors that could have influenced the early predictors.

Paul is 29 and 6-foot-2 while ‘The Notorious’ is 36 and a 5-foot-9 martial artist. Conor’s last boxing event was in 2017 when he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr which was the last time he competed in boxing. In terms of MMA, he is 1-3.

McGregor was scheduled to return to UFC in June and headline the UFC 303 event with Michael Chandler, but he pulled out with a toe injury. Since then, fans have thought his fighting career could be unofficially over but that all looks to change from the X post.

The content creator Logan Paul, who made his start on YouTube, hasn’t yet mentioned the potential fight on a public platform.

The news came after his brother Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson in a historic boxing card that streamed live on Netflix. A total of 60 million households tuned in to watch the fight which saw Paul being declared the winner by unanimous decision.

Now it all makes sense why Conor Mcgregor & his management team have been desperately trying to get MVP to negotiate for a fight between us.

As we told them them privately & I’m now saying it publicly…the only way we’re willing to explore me vs Conor in a pro boxing / mma fight…

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) December 17, 2024

Shortly after the X post came out confirming the ongoing talks, Jake Paul weighed in on his thoughts.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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The UK-based mobile banking app Monzo has blocked £9,000,000 (roughly $11,381,850) in gambling transactions this year alone.

This figure marks an 8% year-on-year rise since 2023, with the banking company having released its gambling block in 2018.

This news comes as The Gambling Commission in the UK is reported as seeing a 12% increase in gambling transactions – bringing the total to £1.46 billion in 2024.

The gambling block is an optional tool. When turned on, users will see any gambling transactions being blocked through Monzo. This includes betting shops, online casinos, and sports betting apps.

The company further updated the feature in September of 2023, adding greater flexibility to how people block gambling spending. This included featuring longer cool down options, being able to write a note for future you, and better access to specialist gambling support.

When turning the feature off, the cooling off period will be initiated and the reminder message will be shown if it was set up by the user. “We hope this added ‘friction’ gives you a little time and space to work out whether the decision to gamble again is the right one for you,” the company writes online.

Monzo’s gambling block has been widely used 

Over 700,000 customers have used the feature since it has been up and running, with 75% of those people choosing cooldowns of over 24 hours. This has seen the bank’s average cooldown period surge to 10 months from three months.

41% of customers are reported to have opted for the maximum 12-month cooling-off period, with 8,500 customers writing notes to their future selves.

Kate Graham, Vulnerability Manager at Monzo said: “By staying close to our customers, we build and evolve products and features like the Gambling Block that help them to transform their relationship with money.

“Hearing from them about the impact our latest additions to the tool have made is fantastic, even more so because so many customers are controlling the urge to gamble by reading notes they’ve written to themselves in the Monzo app and choosing longer cooldown periods than ever.”

Featured Image: Credit to Monzo website

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United Airlines has integrated Apple’s ‘Share Item Location’ feature for AirTag into its mobile app, aiming to help find customers’ lost luggage quicker.

It’s under iOS 18.2 that the technology giant’s feature will enable United customers who travel with an AirTag or Find My network accessory to privately share the location with the airline’s customer service team.

This means a link can be generated to share with the company to help locate a misplaced item more quickly and securely.

While AirTag users have been putting the device in their suitcases for a while now and have been able to follow the journey of their bags, the airline is now providing further support.

“For years, every customer has been able to track the journey of their bag through the United app as it is scanned on and off the plane, and previously, they didn’t have a way to directly share their AirTag information with our baggage team,” said David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer in a press release.

“Now, Apple’s new Share Item Location feature will help customers travel with even more confidence, knowing they have another way to access to their bag’s precise location with AirTag or their Find My accessory of choice.

“They can easily and securely share that with us in the United app, and our team can use the location information to find the bag and get it reunited with its owner much more quickly.”

How does Apple’s AirTag Share Item feature work with United Airlines?

If a bag doesn’t make it to the final destination, customers can file a delayed baggage report as usual through the airline’s app.

It’s now, however, that those with an AirTag or Find My network accessory can create a Share Item Location link in the Find My app. This can be added to the delayed baggage report in the United app.

Once submitted, authorized customer service agents will receive the link and be able to view the location of the item on an interactive map. As usual, the map will update when a new location is available and show a timestamp of the most recent update.

The shared location will then be disabled as soon as a customer is reunited with their lost baggage and it can be stopped by the customer at any time. It automatically expires after seven days.

Featured Image: Credit to United Airlines press release

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YouTube TV subscribers will see their membership rate increase in the new year as the company ups the price.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) the YouTube TV account shared the news, stating it has “always worked to offer the content you love, with features to enjoy the best of live TV.”

The company says it is having to update monthly prices to “keep up with rising content costs,” with the new price being $82.99 a month – up from $72.99.

A message for our members: we have always worked to offer the content you love, with features to enjoy the best of live TV. To keep up with rising content costs, we’re updating our monthly price to $82.99/mo. (1/3)

— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) December 12, 2024

This won’t impact existing members immediately though, as the new pricing will kick in on January 13. For anyone looking to start a membership, they will be charged the new price.

YouTube TV is an expansion from the free-for-use video platform, with people able to watch live TV from broadcast networks, live sports, cable and premium networks, and have unlimited DVR space.

YouTube TV pricing jumps – marking a major rise since its launch

This is a huge jump from its original pricing which was $35 a month when the service was first launched back in 2017. Just two years later, the figure had risen to $50. The last increase was seen in March of 2023 when the company charged $72.99.

While the streaming service has hiked up the price several times, it does so in the company of other content-related providers who have also either raised prices, cracked down on password sharing, or offered new service tiers.

In the X post, the company carried on by saying: “We hope YouTube TV continues to be your go-to TV service, but if you need to pause or cancel, family managers can do so…”

The third and final post about the changes details how the decision wasn’t taken lightly as it states “we realize this impacts our members.

“With many exciting shows and live events coming up in 2025, we remain committed to bringing you the best of TV, all in one place. Thank you for being a loyal member. (3/3)”

As expected, and like with many similar announcements, the news didn’t go down well on social media as people replied asking where they could cancel.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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OpenAI are in the holiday spirit as they include an all-new ‘Santa Mode’ into ChatGPT, alongside their other pre-Christmas celebrations.

A Santa voice is being rolled out to everyone across all ChatGPT platforms from this week (December 12) in Voice Mode.

With this new addition, people can speak to ‘Santa’ who will take over the voice of the chatbot. The voice will be available to use until the end of the month. The company writes in an X post that he will then “retire back to the North Pole.”

Say ho ho ho to Santa in Voice Mode

Santa is rolling out today to everyone across all ChatGPT platforms and is available until the end of the month…then he will retire back to the North Pole. pic.twitter.com/NVS9bRok4r

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 12, 2024

To chat with Saint Nick, users can simply tap on the snowflake or select the voice in ChatGPT settings. Another way to access it is through clicking on Voice Mode and navigating to the voice picker in the upper right-hand corner.

OpenAI carry on the festivities as they roll out Santa voice amidst new features

It was on December 5 when the company announced it would be starting the ‘12 Days of OpenAI’ which includes 12 days, 12 livestreams, and “a bunch of new things, big and small.”

Since its arrival, we’ve had some major announcements take place including the introduction of the long-awaited AI video generator Sora. This was on day three, with OpenAI stating they were moving the model out of the research preview.

On day one, the company shared news of its new subscription offering named ChatGPT Pro which is a $200 monthly plan. On the same day, they shared details about the OpenAI o1 System Card.

Day two saw applications to its ‘Reinforcement Fine-Tuning Research Program’ open as the AI-focused company said it was “expanding alpha access to Reinforcement Fine-Tuning and inviting researchers, universities, and enterprises with complex tasks to apply.”

After Sora, on day four, three team members did a video sharing information about the Canvas interface.

On day five, CEO Sam Altman and two colleagues donned festive sweaters and shared that ChatGPT is now integrated into Apple experiences within iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Then, it was day six which brought the Santa mode and the news of the rollout of Advanced Voice with vision.

Featured Image: Screenshot via OpenAI account on X

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A new social media-related study has revealed that teens in America are spending the majority of their time online, browsing platforms each day.

The Pew Research Center conducted the study between September 18 and October 10, 2024, to look at how young people aged between 13 and 17 are using their smartphones and technology.

Across all five platforms (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook) “one-third of teens use at least one of these sites almost constantly.”

The share of teenagers who say they use Instagram almost constantly has increased from 8% in 2023 to 12% today.

When asked about how often they go online in general, nearly half of the participants said they are online almost constantly which is a 24% increase from what was seen a decade ago.

With concerns around social media usage, some people are calling for regulations to be brought in to protect children and teenagers. In Australia, for example, a world-first social media ban has been passed which targets under 16-year-olds.

American teens’ social media habits are discovered in study

The researchers focused the study’s attention on five platforms – YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

In terms of the most visited platform, YouTube came up trumps as it is the most widely used and visited platform in the study.

“Overall, 73% of teens say they go on YouTube daily,” while about six in ten visit TikTok daily. This includes 16% who report being on it almost constantly.

“Roughly half of teens say they go on Instagram or Snapchat every day, including about one in ten who say they’re on each of these platforms almost constantly.”

The study found that relatively few teenagers reported using Facebook daily, with just 20% of participants in this category.

When it comes to gender, Instagram, and TikTok were found to be used more widely by girls. On the other hand, boys are more likely to say they use YouTube.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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It was almost seven months ago when OpenAI first demoed Advanced Voice Mode with vision and it’s now finally here.

The feature was officially launched on day six of the company’s ‘12 Days of OpenAI,’ with users now able to utilize the chatbot through spoken input, images, and video.

In a podcast-style video, Kevin – who leads product at OpenAI – says: “We’re excited to announce that we’re bringing video to advanced voice mode.”

Just in time for the holidays, video and screensharing are now starting to roll out in Advanced Voice in the ChatGPT mobile app. pic.twitter.com/HFHX2E33S8

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 12, 2024

While the ability to talk to ChatGPT out loud has been possible through Advanced Voice, it’s now possible to do this through video. The team say the tool has been a “long time coming” and suggest it can be used to “ask for help, troubleshoot, or use it to learn something new.”

Users can now also screenshare while using the ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode with vision feature to receive instant feedback on whatever is on the screen.

While it was announced in the pre-Christmas celebrations, it may take a few days for it to roll out fully. The company states: “All Team and most Plus & Pro users should have access within the next week in the latest version of the ChatGPT mobile app.

“We’ll get the feature to Plus & Pro users in the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, & Liechtenstein as soon as we can.”

Those on the Enterprise and Edu plans will gain access early next year.

How does ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode with vision work?

The rolling out of this feature means the ChatGPT app and home page look a little different.

To access Advanced Voice Mode with video, simply click on the far-right icon next to the search function on ChatGPT. This will bring up a new page which features a video button, alongside a microphone, three dots, and the exit out icon.

When clicking the video button, users can then ask questions and speak to ChatGPT. The chatbot will respond, as though it’s partaking in a real life conversation.

A Santa voice has been added too which can be selected in ChatGPT settings or within the Voice Mode through the voice picker in the upper right corner.

Featured Image: Screenshot from OpenAI video on X

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The AI CEO at Microsoft is reported to have hired a number of former colleagues to help run an all new AI health unit in London.

The Financial Times reports that Mustafa Suleyman has hired Dominic King, a UK-trained surgeon who was the former head of DeepMind’s health unit.

The publisher states the CEO has also poached Christopher Kelly who was a clinical research scientist at DeepMind, along with two other people. Suleyman was a co-founder at the AI startup DeepMind, before co-founding Inflection, and was the former head of applied AI.

DeepMind was acquired by Microsoft and Suleyman joined the technology giant in March of this year. It was then that a new organization named Microsoft AI was created, focused on advancing Copilot and other consumer AI products and research.

Microsoft AI reported to be opening a London-based AI health unit

This news comes at a time when the health industry has seen growth due to the AI boom, as people are turning to chatbots for support with health-related queries.

A study by Deloitte revealed that 48 per cent of respondents asked generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, or Claude health-focused questions.

The FT reports in their scoop that Microsoft has confirmed the creation of the new unit: “In our mission to inform, support and empower everyone with responsible AI, health is a critical use case.

“We continue to hire top talent in support of these efforts.”

The Microsoft AI CEO is British and was born and raised in London. Shortly after he joined the team, he announced in April that a new hub would be opening in England’s capital city.

It was stated this hub would “drive pioneering work to advance state-of-the-art language models and their supporting infrastructure” as well as creating “world-class tooling for foundation models, collaborating closely with our AI teams across Microsoft and with our partners, including OpenAI.”

Suleyman said the Microsoft AI London hub was “great news for Microsoft AI and for the U.K.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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A major outage occurred on Wednesday (December 11) which caused Meta apps and platforms to be unreachable.

Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads were all found to be unusable as the systems struggled to carry out the normal tasks of sending messages, logging in and posting content.

The issue began around 8AM EST time and was greatly reported throughout the UK, but is thought to have affected others worldwide too. The US Downdetector site saw a spike at 1PM EST with just under 110,000 people reporting an issue had happened.

Downdetector shares real-time problem and outage monitoring, with people in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles reporting the issue in high numbers.

The outage was also reported in other countries around the world, including Canada.

What caused the Meta outage affecting its platforms?

As the difficulties swept through numerous accounts, Meta took to X to share an update: “We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.”

We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologize for any inconvenience.

— Meta (@Meta) December 11, 2024

After the first message was posted by the team at 1:48PM EST, it wasn’t until 5:26PM EST when Meta said “Thanks for bearing with us! We’re 99% of the way there – just doing some last checks. We apologize to those who’ve been affected by the outage.”

The WhatsApp and Instagram accounts on X posted similar messages, with the quick messaging app declaring that they were back up and running despite its responses being filled with people still seeing errors like being unable to use their account.

We’re aware of some issues accessing WhatsApp. We’re actively working on a solution and starting to see a return to normal for most people. We expect things to be back to normal shortly.

— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) December 11, 2024

Although Meta were very much aware of the ‘technical issue,’ the company hasn’t issued a more detailed response about how the outage was caused.

It’s not yet known how the error occurred, but the failure impacted many of Meta’s services.

It’s not the first time the company has faced issues like this either, as it suffered an outage in March.

Just a few years ago, in 2021, the technology giant experienced a widespread service outage that lasted for nearly six hours.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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OpenAI faced an outage on Wednesday as users were unable to access ChatGPT and the newly released text-to-video AI platform Sora.

The incident occurred at around 3pm PT and it wasn’t until some hours later, at 7pm PT, when the tools were slowly coming back to life online.

The company quickly took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the news as they said: “We’re experiencing an outage right now. We have identified the issue and are working to roll out a fix.

“Sorry and we’ll keep you updated!”

We're experiencing an outage right now. We have identified the issue and are working to roll out a fix.

Sorry and we'll keep you updated!

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 12, 2024

A few hours later, the company provided an update saying: “ChatGPT, API, and Sora were down today but we’ve recovered.”

The issue meant that some users were unable to log in, while others saw error messages when trying to utilize the AI-based features.

On the real-time problem and outage monitoring site Downdetector, almost 30,000 reports came in at its latest spike. ChatGPT was the most reported problem.

While the issue didn’t just impact a few states, it was people in Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, New York, and Washington who reported the problems in masses on the site.

The issue occurred on the same day that Meta had a global outage, as people were unable to access Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads.

What caused the OpenAI – ChatGPT and Sora – outage?

On the OpenAI website, the company logged updates about the issues people were facing and gave insight into the situation.

The AI company hasn’t yet issued full reasoning behind the outage, but said in their log that they will be running “a full root-cause analysis of this outage and will share details” when it is complete.

It was earlier on in the day when the team stated they had found a pathway to recovery which is when they first started to see some traffic successfully returning.

@Grok

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2024

While OpenAI were working to fix the issue behind the scenes, Elon Musk took the opportunity to reply to the tweet with the username of his generative AI chatbot Grok.

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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