Work Archives - ReadWrite https://readwrite.com/work/ Crypto, Gaming & Emerging Tech News Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:34:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://readwrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/cropped-readwrite-favicon-32x32.png Work Archives - ReadWrite https://readwrite.com/work/ 32 32 Recruiters find AI use has become rampant in job applications https://readwrite.com/recruiters-ai-job-applications-cvs/ Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:34:30 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=369022 Recruiters find AI use has become rampant in job applications. A diverse group of people in a modern office setting, using artificial intelligence for job applications. You can see them interacting with AI on their laptops in a collaborative environment.

About half of all job seekers are using AI to apply for roles, according to a new report. Employers and… Continue reading Recruiters find AI use has become rampant in job applications

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Recruiters find AI use has become rampant in job applications. A diverse group of people in a modern office setting, using artificial intelligence for job applications. You can see them interacting with AI on their laptops in a collaborative environment.

About half of all job seekers are using AI to apply for roles, according to a new report. Employers and recruiters say they have been inundated with low-quality, robot-written submissions.

Candidates have been turning to generative AI, such as Gemini and ChatGPT, to assist them with writing job applications, curricula vitae, and cover letters. The Financial Times cites employers and recruiters who say as much as 50% were using artificial intelligence.

Khyati Sundaram, chief executive of recruitment platform Applied, told the publication: “We’re definitely seeing higher volume and lower quality, which means it is harder to sift through.

“A candidate can copy and paste any application question into ChatGPT, and then can copy and paste that back into that application form.”

How many job hunters are using AI for CVs and applications?

According to HR start-up Beamery, a survey of 2,500 UK workers found that around 46% of job hunters are using generative AI to search and apply for posts. Another poll of 5,000 global job seekers by graphic design platform Canva, said that 45% had used the technology to build or improve their resumes. Similarly, consulting firm Neurosight also saw that 57% of applicants had used ChatGPT in their job applications.

Andy Heyes of tech recruiter Harvey Nash stated that there were “tell-tale signs [like] American grammar,” and “bland” applications gave “an indication of whether candidates have used AI.”

Several major employers have reportedly cracked down on the use of AI in the graduate recruitment process. Among them are the Big Four accountants Deloitte, EY, PwC and KPMG.

In response to the surveys, Suzanne Hills, a sales and marketing director at the aerospace company Hutchinson, wrote in a LinkedIn post that the situation seemed rather ironic. She said: “If both job seekers and employers are using AI in the recruitment process, perhaps it’s time to rethink the system altogether before the recruitment process descends into farce?”

Furthering the irony, the Beamery report revealed that workers are still concerned that AI would take over their jobs, with 36% feeling concerned that it may reduce the human workforce.

Featured image: Ideogram

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Figure’s 02 humanoid robot now has the ability to chat and learn from its mistakes https://readwrite.com/figures-02-humanoid-robot-chat-learn-from-mistakes/ Fri, 09 Aug 2024 18:13:46 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=366945 Figure's 02 humanoid robot now has the ability to chat and learn from its mistakes. The image shows two humanoid robots, labeled "F.02," positioned in a factory setting with industrial machinery in the background. The robot in the foreground is facing the camera, featuring a sleek black head and gray body with visible joints and articulated hands, suggesting advanced mobility and dexterity. The robot in the background is turned slightly away, emphasizing the versatility and human-like features of these machines.

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Figure's 02 humanoid robot now has the ability to chat and learn from its mistakes. The image shows two humanoid robots, labeled "F.02," positioned in a factory setting with industrial machinery in the background. The robot in the foreground is facing the camera, featuring a sleek black head and gray body with visible joints and articulated hands, suggesting advanced mobility and dexterity. The robot in the background is turned slightly away, emphasizing the versatility and human-like features of these machines.

Robotics company Figure AI has unveiled its latest humanoid robot, said to be capable of making conversation and correcting its own behavior.

Figure 02 was released 10 months after the pilot version and marks a significant upgrade from its predecessor. For one, this humanoid has more dexterity than Figure 01 and can now also engage with others and learn from its mistakes.

The humanoid AI’s speech-to-speech software allows it to chat with people using the embedded microphones and speakers in its body, which are linked to custom AI models developed in partnership with OpenAI. It can also independently understand images and texts.

The California-based company’s latest model is also equipped with a 2.25 KWh custom battery pack located in the robot’s torso. According to the firm, the battery can deliver up to 50% more energy, giving it around a 7.5-hour lifespan between recharges.

Figure 02 and BMW partnership

A video released by the company also showcased a more slimmed-down facade and a matte black frame in comparison to its previous glossy chrome exterior. Its articulated hands, described as a fourth-generation design, have 16 degrees of freedom and what the company refers to as “human-equivalent strength.” However, the bot appears to carry out the same types of tasks as Figure 01, since it was seen shuffling around BMW’s Spartanburg, S.C. factory floor.

It appears to transport portions of a car chassis between stations and then places the section in the correct location.

In a press release from the BMW Group, the company stated that during a trial, Figure 02 had “successfully inserted sheet metal parts into specific fixtures, which were then assembled as part of the chassis.” They claim this could “save employees from having to perform ergonomically awkward and tiring tasks.”

Figure CEO Brett Adcock confirmed that Figure 02 has “significant technical advancements,” which enable the robot to perform a wide range of complex tasks fully autonomously.

Milan Nedeljković, a member of BMW AG’s management board for production, said the results looked “promising.”

He added: “With an early test operation, we are now determining possible applications for humanoid robots in production. We want to accompany this technology from development to industrialization.”

Featured image: Figure AI / BMW Group

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Intel announces plans to lay off over 15,000 staff https://readwrite.com/intel-announces-plans-to-lay-off-over-15000-staff/ Fri, 02 Aug 2024 09:34:42 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=362267 a huge office filled with empty desks, all of which have computers on them. The intel logo is on the wall

Intel has announced its plans to lay off 15,000 staff by the end of the year as part of a… Continue reading Intel announces plans to lay off over 15,000 staff

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a huge office filled with empty desks, all of which have computers on them. The intel logo is on the wall

Intel has announced its plans to lay off 15,000 staff by the end of the year as part of a planned effort to deliver “$10 billion in cost savings in 2025.”

This is part of the software giant’s cost reduction plan that might see as many as 19,000 job losses, around 15% of staff.

Announced in a memo delivered to staff after their second-quarter 2024 earnings call, Intel has stated that they need to “fundamentally change the way we operate,” and acknowledged that “revenues have not grown as expected – and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI.”

According to the earnings call, which occurred yesterday (August 1), Intel intends to reduce both operation and capital expenses to meet its cost reduction goals. It hopes to reduce R&D and marketing expenses to $20 billion in 2024, $17.5 billion in 2025, and further in 2026, by consolidating teams and stopping non-essential work. They also plan to reduce capital expenditure by more than 20% in 2024.

What’s behind the Intel layoffs?

Intel reported earlier this year that its chipmaking business saw $7 billion in operating losses in 2023. They have not yet been able to reverse this trend, with a Q2 2024 loss of $1.6 billion.

“Our Q2 financial performance was disappointing, even as we hit key product and process technology milestones,” said Intel CEO, Pat Gelsinger.

In addition to these reported losses, the uncertainty around artificial intelligence (AI) is possibly a driving force behind these cost-cutting measures, with investors and financial forecasters showing concern about the long road ahead to AI profitability.

According to David Zinsner, Intel’s CFO, the “accelerated ramp” of Intel’s AI PC, a type of computer that integrates AI from the hardware level up, has impacted second-quarter results.

Intel is relying heavily on the success of the AI PC, where it is currently the market leader. They have shipped “more than 15 million AI PCs since December 2023, far more than all of Intel’s competitors combined, and on track to ship more than 40 million AI PCs by year-end.”

Featured image: generated by Ideogram

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AI will change 92% of ICT roles – these are 7 job types most affected https://readwrite.com/ai-will-change-92-of-ict-jobs-these-are-7-job-types-most-affected/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 10:56:10 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=361627 A clean and minimalistic design illustrating an AI-driven information and communication technology system. The central focus is a sleek, futuristic computer with a holographic screen displaying code. In the background, there are various devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, all connected to the central system. The overall ambiance of the image is modern, high-tech, and uncluttered.

With the rumbles of AI chasing our tails, many are concerned about the impact this will have on the future… Continue reading AI will change 92% of ICT roles – these are 7 job types most affected

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A clean and minimalistic design illustrating an AI-driven information and communication technology system. The central focus is a sleek, futuristic computer with a holographic screen displaying code. In the background, there are various devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, all connected to the central system. The overall ambiance of the image is modern, high-tech, and uncluttered.

With the rumbles of AI chasing our tails, many are concerned about the impact this will have on the future workforce. If predictions are correct, more than 92% of ICT-related jobs will suffer.

This is thought to affect seven categories of jobs the most, ranging from data science to business reporting.

This estimation comes from the ‘AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium’ which formed in April and includes some of the world’s largest technology companies, including Google, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Accenture, and more.

The consortium was created to address challenges with AI talent and they’ve now published a report looking at the gloomy possibilities.

7 types of ICT jobs to be affected by AI

The report details how “100% of jobs will require AI literacy skills,” as workers will be forced to upskill to keep up-to-date.

“More than 90% of entry-level positions are expected to experience either high or medium transformation due to advancement in AI.”

While these job categories all have varying levels of impact, the report explains how people in each category will have to refine their AI skills going forward.

This includes:

  • Business and Management
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Science
  • Design and User Experience
  • Infrastructure and Operations
  • Software Development
  • Testing and Quality Assurance

Workers need to upskill as AI comes for ICT jobs

To come to these conclusions, the researchers analyzed 47 job roles across the ICT sector and divided them into seven categories. This includes business and management, cybersecurity, data science, design and user experience, infrastructure and operations, software development, and testing and quality assurance.

“AI plays a pivotal role in automating repetitive tasks, ensuring quality assurance, analyzing extensive datasets, providing predictive analytics to uncover trends, and delivering valuable insights.

“It is essential for managers and workers to cultivate skills in interpreting data and reading in between lines for informed strategic decision-making,” said a researcher within the report.

For those in business and management, 62.5% of roles are classed as high transformation possibilities.

Within design and user experience-related jobs, 66.7% of roles have been ranked as high transformation. 33.3% as moderate.

To counteract these possibilities, or at least keep up with the advancing technology, the report suggests some skills useful for people in ICT to acquire. These include:

  • AI ethics and responsible AI
  • AI literacy
  • Prompt engineering
  • Large language model architecture
  • Agile methodologies
  • Data analytics
  • ML
  • Retrieval augmented generation
  • TensorFlow
  • NLP

The report expects that entry-level and mid-level workers have the most opportunities to upskill.

Image Credit: Via Ideogram

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Microsoft’s World of Warcraft workforce votes to unionize https://readwrite.com/microsofts-world-of-warcraft-workforce-votes-to-unionize/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:22:40 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=358540 AI image of unionized workers / 500 World of Warcraft game developers vote to form a union.

The workforce behind World of Warcraft has voted to unionize, with 500 staff taking action, according to the Communication Workers… Continue reading Microsoft’s World of Warcraft workforce votes to unionize

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AI image of unionized workers / 500 World of Warcraft game developers vote to form a union.

The workforce behind World of Warcraft has voted to unionize, with 500 staff taking action, according to the Communication Workers of America. 

Those involved include artists, designers, engineers, QA testers, and other professionals in the development team of the ever-popular video game franchise.

CWA has stated World of Warcraft’s publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, has recognized the union which takes the number of unionized workers at parent company Microsoft to more than 1750. This development sees the formation of the World of Warcraft Game Makers Guild, with the CWA-aligned entity establishing significant influence at the subsidiary, Activision Blizzard. It is believed to be the largest-ever union presence at a Microsoft-owned studio.

Last year, the US tech giant secured a $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, which included a “labor neutrality” agreement. Microsoft pledged to not interfere in unionizing efforts to satisfy the demands of the regulators overseeing the acquisition, which goes against the grain in the tech industry.

“Just the beginning” of union efforts

First released in 2004, World of Warcraft has been a trailblazer for the multiplayer role-playing genre. The title allows thousands of players to explore a fantasy environment simultaneously, earning billions of dollars for Blizzard in the process.

In 2021, staff at the publisher staged a walkout after California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleged Activision Blizzard of creating a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination against its female employees.

“What we’ve accomplished at World of Warcraft is just the beginning,” said Eric Lanham, a World of Warcraft test analyst and member guild.  The statement also indicated the next aim would be to secure greater conditions in workers’ contracts, “We know that when workers have a protected voice, it’s a win-win for employee standards, the studio, and World of Warcraft fans looking for the best gaming experience.

Tom Smith, senior director of organizing at CWA, added the news “marks a key inflection point” in the wider industry efforts to organize video game workers.

On the other side of the fence, a spokesperson for Microsoft stated the company will continue “to support our employees’ right to choose how they are represented in the workplace” and will meet with the CWA to negotiate on matters in good faith to work towards a collective bargaining agreement.

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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Over 200 Bethesda Game Studios staff have formed a union https://readwrite.com/over-200-bethesda-game-studios-staff-have-formed-a-union/ Mon, 22 Jul 2024 16:05:51 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=356141 Bethesda Games Studios logo on a white background

241 game developers at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) have unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). This includes artists,… Continue reading Over 200 Bethesda Game Studios staff have formed a union

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Bethesda Games Studios logo on a white background

241 game developers at Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) have unionized with the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

This includes artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. Microsoft, the parent company of Bethesda Games Studios, has recognized the union.

According to the CWA press release on the topic, this marks the first Wall-to-wall union at a Microsoft games studio, meaning all eligible job titles are being represented by one union, rather than just one job class/title. This sets it apart from previous unionization efforts in Microsoft-owned studios, which were centered around QA workers.

A post on X from OneBGS_USA said that members are “ecstatic,” and they hope to “advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry.”

The union’s statement continued, “As a democratic organization, we seek to empower the collective wishes of our studios’ workers; having a safe, sustainable, and equitable work environment for all. Having a proper seat at the discussion table allows us to turn those wishes into reality.

“Joining in solidarity with our fellow members at @ZeniMaxWorkers, @OneBGS_MTL, and all of @CWAUnion, we push for increased job security, compensation transparency, and flexibility to continue creating the games we love.”

This has been met with happiness and excitement across the video games industry and labor unions generally. Johnny Brown, the President of CWA Local 2108 (the chapter of the CWA Bethesda’s Maryland members will be part of) described it as a “groundbreaking achievement, and said, “Workers are taking a step forward to negotiating better working conditions, helping to raise standards across the industry.”

Unions are coming to the video game industry

The video game industry is increasingly turning to organization in the face of existential threats like artificial intelligence. Zenimax union members have previously said that an agreement was reached that “AI would not be used to replace a person’s job.” There have also been unionization efforts in the UK and the IWGB Game Workers Union has spoken out about anti-worker practices at Rockstar as development for Grand Theft Auto 6 reaches a fever pitch.

Video game journalist for Bloomberg, Jason Schrier, said about the Bethesda union, “We’ll likely see many more announcements like this in the coming months and years. Labor in the video game industry has reached a tipping point.”

Featured image credit: Bethesda Game Studios

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Windows Global IT outage: CrowdStrike update grounds aircraft, banks and broadcasters also down https://readwrite.com/faulty-crowdstrike-update-grounds-aircraft-banks-and-broadcasters-also-down/ Fri, 19 Jul 2024 09:00:38 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=354270 major IT outage represented across four panes. Pane 1: planes grounded at airport. Pane 2: wall of tv screens in a shop window with untuned displays. Pane 3: an empty control room with computers, all computers have a blue error screen. Pane 4: an empty trading floor, cinematic

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major IT outage represented across four panes. Pane 1: planes grounded at airport. Pane 2: wall of tv screens in a shop window with untuned displays. Pane 3: an empty control room with computers, all computers have a blue error screen. Pane 4: an empty trading floor, cinematic

Windows computers across the world experienced the dreaded blue screen of death (BSoD) caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update on Thursday (July 19). The issue affected airlines, broadcasters, banks, and many other businesses.

Delta, United, and American Airlines were forced to ground flights, and other airports and airlines across the world including Australia, India, Japan, and the UK experienced huge delays. Virgin Australia, Qantas Airways, and RyanAir are among the affected airlines.

The state of Alaska is experienced a 999 outage, according to the state’s Trooper’s Facebook page. British news channel Sky News was unable to broadcast and the London Stock Exchange website went down, though the exchange itself is still trading.

What is CrowdStrike and why is it causing global disruption?

CrowdStrike Holdings is an American cybersecurity company with customers across the world, hence the far-reaching nature of this outage. It manages the security of companies’ IT infrastructure, particularly to prevent network threats like ransomware and cyber attacks.

The nature of being a security service means CrowdStrike’s products have wide-reaching access across the systems it protects, hence the crippling effect of a single faulty update.

The outage was connected to a faulty update pushed live by the company in the early hours of Friday morning. The company has issued a support note acknowledging the issue: “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions.”

While the company has found the issue and reverted the update that caused the current outage, the fix does not seem to apply to machines that have already been affected.

Phoning CrowdStrike’s support line is equally futile: they are running a pre-recorded message acknowledging the fault. “Thanks for contacting Crowdstrike support. Crowdstrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows related to the Falcon sensor.”

Troy Hunt, the creator of HaveIBeenPwned, a data breach checker, has taken to X, posting that “this will be the largest IT outage in history.”

Participants in a thread of sys admins on Reddit are also discussing the outage. “This is an insane event for the world’s infrastructure,” said one user. Others are discussing how huge this issue is for their companies, with one person stating their company has over 14,000 endpoints that have been affected.

What has CrowdStrike said?

At 5:45AM EST, CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz took to X to release a statement.

Kurtz said: “CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.

“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.

“We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”

Featured image credit: generated by Ideogram

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Microsoft shuts down diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team https://readwrite.com/microsoft-shuts-down-diversity-equality-and-inclusion-team/ Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:15:54 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=352705 the microsoft logo on a TV screen within an empty office boardroom, cinematic

Microsoft, a global name in technology, has closed down its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team. According to Business Insider,… Continue reading Microsoft shuts down diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team

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the microsoft logo on a TV screen within an empty office boardroom, cinematic

Microsoft, a global name in technology, has closed down its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team.

According to Business Insider, which viewed correspondence sent out to thousands of employees, Microsoft no longer views DEI as “business critical.”

A team leader at the global computing company said the move was due to “changing business needs,” but internal colleagues and onlookers have disagreed with the company-wide decision.

Microsoft lays off DEI team

DEI is a sometimes controversial part of companies’ policies to promote healthy working spaces for employees. Since the tragic murder of George Floyd in 2020, Microsoft has pledged to do more to promote DEI and address racial injustice, saying:

“This is not a one-time event. It will require real work and focus. We will listen and learn. We will take feedback and we will adjust. But it starts with each of us making a commitment to do the work, to help drive change, and to act with intention.”

Business Insider saw the recent email, which was sent to thousands of employees, and stated, “True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere is no longer business critical or smart as it was in 2020.”

This is quite a contrast amid the company’s ongoing commitments. For example, Microsoft stated that it would double the number of black leadership roles in the tech leader’s workforce by 2025.

In 2021, Microsoft published, Racial Equity Initiative: A year of progress on our commitments. The statement at that time, a year on from Floyd’s murder, said:

“We have been unwavering in our broader, ongoing focus to advance diversity and strengthen inclusion at Microsoft, we also understand that we have the opportunity to be more precise in where we accelerate progress, and these commitments are holding us accountable to that.”

So Microsoft’s footing has changed on DEI, but company spokesperson Jeff Jones said, “Our D&I commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are holding firm on our expectations, prioritizing accountability, and continuing to focus on this work.”

There are no official commitments regarding what this work entails in the wake of the layoffs or how Microsoft will handle DEI’s future going forward.

“At Microsoft we know that we can only achieve our mission when everyone is included. We approach these efforts with a commitment to be candid about our progress and accountable to our ambitions.”

The move to close down the DEI team at Microsoft comes a month after the company’s ‘Radical Joy’ celebration of LGBTQ+ employees. So, it remains to be seen what inclusionary calendar events will look like a year from now, with no set team tasked to promote diversity, inclusion, and equality at Microsoft.

Image: Microsoft.

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AI job scams are up 118% – here’s what to look out for https://readwrite.com/ai-job-scams-linkedin/ Tue, 09 Jul 2024 13:07:04 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=347931 Group of hackers huddled over computers. AI generated.

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Group of hackers huddled over computers. AI generated.

Job scams are on the rise as criminals become more sophisticated in their approaches and use AI to steal personal information. In 2023, reports of these scams had jumped by 118% from the year prior.

The Identity Theft Resource Center shared the Trends in Identity Report which highlights information from victims collected throughout the year.

The job and employment scams were found to be primarily carried out through websites like LinkedIn and job search platforms.

Typically, scammers will pose as recruiters and create fake job listings to attract people looking for work. The information inputted during the application process is then stolen.

The rise of AI has contributed to the scams as the report says: “The rapid improvement in the look, feel and messaging of identity scams is almost certainly the result of the introduction of AI-driven tools.

“A.I. tools help refine the “pitch” to make it more believable as well as compensate for cultural and grammar differences in language usage.”

The organization explains how the primary defense against the new advanced technology is much more low-tech as they suggest people pick up the phone and verify the contact directly from the source.

Victims are losing $2,000 in AI job scams 

This has been further backed up by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as they say tens of thousands of people have reported business and job opportunity scams.

According to data from the year prior, in 2022, people told the FTC they lost $367 million to these scams which was an increase of 76% from 2021. The median loss was found to be $2,000.

Aside from the fake listings, another commonly reported scam is pyramid schemes which typically present as a way for people to start their own business or gain financial freedom from working from home.

Promoters claim people can make good money by selling their products, but the revenue actually comes from how many new participants can be recruited.

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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Americans can be paid $1,000 to ditch their car in Uber five week challenge https://readwrite.com/americans-can-be-paid-1000-to-ditch-their-car-in-uber-five-week-challenge/ Thu, 27 Jun 2024 13:57:36 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=340169 Woman driving a car. Can see her eyebrows and forehead in the rearview mirror and her hands on the steering wheel. The image is taken from the back of her head.

In an effort to stop people relying on their own personal car, Uber is paying car owners $1,000 in their… Continue reading Americans can be paid $1,000 to ditch their car in Uber five week challenge

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Woman driving a car. Can see her eyebrows and forehead in the rearview mirror and her hands on the steering wheel. The image is taken from the back of her head.

In an effort to stop people relying on their own personal car, Uber is paying car owners $1,000 in their newly launched ‘One Less Car Challenge.’

“With nearly 233 million private vehicles on the road throughout the U.S. – 80 million of which are driven less than 10 miles a day on average – we’re out to show that it’s possible to make the switch to a car-light lifestyle…” writes Adam Gromis, the Global Head of Sustainability Policy at Uber.

He says ditching the car will contribute to creating “more livable cities” while saving both money and emissions.

The five week challenge will include up to 175 car owners living in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver.

All participants will be asked to give up their car and instead use alternative transportation like walking, public transit, cycling, and rideshare.

For taking part, those involved will be given the money to pay for the other transportation methods which Uber says is based on the average monthly cost of vehicle ownership in the U.S.

The efforts within the challenge will be analyzed as Uber has partnered with a research consultancy company that specializes in behavioral science called the Behavioural Insights Team who will be measuring the impacts.

Uber ran the same ‘One Less Car Challenge’ in Australia last year

While many could be quick to brand the challenge a PR gimmick, it’s not the first time Uber has asked people to give up their car.

In 2023, a study was completed in Australia where 58 people went without their vehicle and instead opted for different transport. They were also paid, with a total of $870 USD given in transport credits.

The transportation company found that the weekly average number of trips amongst the people involved dropped slightly from 21 to 19, but the number of transport modes increased significantly.

People in the Australian trial were averaging four modes of different transport, with walking, cycling, and rideshare found to be the ‘most valued players’ of the trial.

Featured Image: Photo by Mira Kireeva on Unsplash 

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Great Resignation 2.0 could be coming as more workers want to switch jobs in next year https://readwrite.com/great-resignation-2-0-could-be-coming-as-more-workers-want-to-switch-jobs-in-next-year/ Wed, 26 Jun 2024 14:02:09 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=339262 a large office building cutaway with workers looking unhappy. and walking out a large door on the side with 'exit' on it, illustration

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a large office building cutaway with workers looking unhappy. and walking out a large door on the side with 'exit' on it, illustration

The Great Resignation could be having a second wave as more people are planning to switch jobs in the next 12 months which is a higher proportion than what was seen in 2022.

According to PwC’s global workforce survey, “more than one-quarter (28%) [of workers] say they are very or extremely likely to switch employer in the next 12 months – a higher proportion than during the ‘Great Resignation’ (19%) in 2022.”

In the time after the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the shores of countries worldwide, an unprecedented number of workers in the U.S. quit their jobs in 2021 and 2022.

This had an enormous negative impact on the job market in numerous countries and industries, as companies had to become familiar with instability.

While a number of reasons behind the mass resignation period were given, it’s believed that the pandemic shifted people’s opinions as they began to question the purpose of their job and their attitude toward a more balanced life.

Now, the same could be taking place once more as workers are gearing up to switch jobs as they cite huge workloads, more responsibilities, and pressure from the cost of living crisis.

Workers feel financial pressure and report feeling overworked

Among more than 56,000 workers who were surveyed across 50 countries, 45% say they have experienced rising workloads and an accelerating pace of workplace change over the last year.

Over half (52%) report being financially stressed in their current positions and “nearly two-thirds (62%) say they have experienced more change at work in the past year than the 12 months prior, with two-fifths (40%) noting their daily responsibilities have changed to a large or very large extent.”

Almost half of those people don’t understand the purpose of the changes taking place.

“As workers face heightened uncertainty, rising workloads and continue to face financial stress, they are prioritizing skills growth and embracing new and emerging technologies such as GenAI to turbocharge their growth and accelerate their careers,” writes Carol Stubbings, the Global Markets and Tax & Legal Services Leader at PwC UK.

“The findings suggest that job satisfaction is no longer enough. Employees are placing an increased premium on skills growth in a climate characterized by constant technological change. Employers must ensure they are investing in their employees and technological platforms to mitigate employee pressures and retain the brightest talent.”

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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How AI is changing copywriting, one of first industries under threat from new tech https://readwrite.com/how-ai-is-changing-copywriting-one-of-first-industries-under-threat-from-new-tech/ Mon, 17 Jun 2024 10:18:56 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=332322 A cinematic scene of a futuristic AI named ChatGPT, sitting in a high-tech, illuminated chamber. The AI is busy writing a thrilling story on a sleek, transparent screen, with glowing holographic letters floating around it. The atmosphere is a mix of sci-fi and surreal, with neon colors and futuristic elements, such as glowing orbs and metallic structures.

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A cinematic scene of a futuristic AI named ChatGPT, sitting in a high-tech, illuminated chamber. The AI is busy writing a thrilling story on a sleek, transparent screen, with glowing holographic letters floating around it. The atmosphere is a mix of sci-fi and surreal, with neon colors and futuristic elements, such as glowing orbs and metallic structures.

As the expansion of artificial intelligence has left many fearing for their jobs and questioning the future stability of several industries, copywriters are amongst the first to feel the impact.

A recent academic report has found the demand for digital freelancers in writing and coding has declined by 21% since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Writing, software, and app development-related roles saw a 21% decrease in job listings and data entry and social media post-production jobs experienced a 13% drop.

While it may seem like AI has taken over copywriting completely, those in the industry are finding themselves turning to editing positions as the need to make the content sound more human has become a necessity.

Speaking with the BBC, a writer under the pseudonym Benjamin Miller explained how his once-fulfilling work has turned into fixing the shoddy work of a robot: “Mostly, it was just about cleaning things up and making the writing sound less awkward, cutting out weirdly formal or over-enthusiastic language.

“It was more editing than I had to do with human writers, but it was always the exact same kind of edits. The real problem was it was just so repetitive and boring. It started to feel like I was the robot.”

From copywriting to editing, the industry has had to adapt

Another copywriter, based in Kentucky, said her work on AI editing projects often takes longer than writing a piece from scratch but is paid worse.

“The grammar and word choice just sound weird. You’re always cutting out flowery words like ‘therefore’ and ‘nevertheless’ that don’t fit in casual writing. Plus, you have to fact-check the whole thing because AI just makes things up, which takes forever because it’s not just big ideas. AI hallucinates these flippant little things in throwaway lines that you’d never notice.”

While the general consensus sounds negative, others in the industry are enjoying the help AI can give.

The president of the American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI) Rebecca Matter says AI is “an incredible tool.

“For people who make copywriting a career, the risk isn’t AI taking their jobs, it’s that they have to adapt. That can be uncomfortable, but I think it’s a huge opportunity.”

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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Slack faces backlash over user data used for AI and machine learning training https://readwrite.com/slack-faces-backlash-over-user-data-used-for-ai-machine-learning-training/ Tue, 21 May 2024 13:11:53 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=295668 Slack faces backlash over user data used for AI and machine learning training. A person using a laptop with Slack open on the screen, while a hand points to a glowing "machine learning" icon on a digital interface in the background. The image highlights the controversy over Slack's use of customer data for AI and machine learning training.

Slack has reportedly been using customer data to power its machine-learning (ML) features, such as improving search result relevance and… Continue reading Slack faces backlash over user data used for AI and machine learning training

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Slack faces backlash over user data used for AI and machine learning training. A person using a laptop with Slack open on the screen, while a hand points to a glowing "machine learning" icon on a digital interface in the background. The image highlights the controversy over Slack's use of customer data for AI and machine learning training.

Slack has reportedly been using customer data to power its machine-learning (ML) features, such as improving search result relevance and ranking. This has sparked criticism due to confusing policy updates, which led many to think their data was being used to train AI models.

As per the company’s policy, anyone who wishes to opt out must request their organization’s Slack admin to email the company to stop the use of their data.

The revelation comes as Corey Quinn, an executive at Duckbill Group, wrote on X asking, “I’m sorry Slack, you’re doing f**king WHAT with user DMs, messages, files, etc?”

(Tweet from Corey Quinn and Slack's Response):Corey Quinn (@QuinnyPig) tweeted on May 16: "I'm sorry Slack, you're doing [expletive] WHAT with user DMs, messages, files, etc? I'm positive I'm not reading this correctly." Attached is a screenshot of Slack's opt-out instructions for their machine learning models. Slack (@SlackHQ) responded: "Hello from Slack! To clarify, Slack has platform-level machine-learning models for things like channel and emoji recommendations and search results. And yes, customers can exclude their data from helping train those (non-generative) ML models. Customer data belongs to the customer. We do not build or train these models in such a way that they could learn, memorize, or be able to reproduce some part of customer data. Our privacy principles applicable to search, learning, and AI are available here: [link]." Another response from Slack (@SlackHQ) on May 17: "Slack AI – which is our generative AI experience natively built in Slack – is a separately purchased add-on that uses Large Language Models (LLMs) but does not train those LLMs on customer data. Because Slack AI hosts the models on its own infrastructure, your data remains in [link]."
Corey Quinn denounces Slack’s opt-out policy to train machine learning model
Quinn was referencing an excerpt from Slack’s Privacy Principles, which states, “To develop AI/ML models, our systems analyze Customer Data (e.g. messages, content, and files) submitted to Slack as well as Other Information (including usage information) as defined in our Privacy Policy and in your customer agreement.”

Another extract reads: “To opt out, please have your org, workspace owners or primary owner contact our Customer Experience team at feedback@slack.com.”

Slack quickly responded to the post, confirming that it is using customer content to train certain AI tools in the app. However, they clarified that this data is not used for their premium AI offering, which they state is completely separate from user information.

The cloud-based team communication platform also told TechRadar Pro that the information it uses to power its ML is anonymized and does not access messages.

The president of the end-to-end encrypted messaging app Signal, Meredith Whittaker, criticized Slack for using the data. She said on X: “Signal will never do this. We don’t collect your data in the first place, so we don’t have anything to ‘mine’ for ‘AI’.”

Slack responds to criticism over use of user data to train models

In response to the community uproar, the Salesforce-owned company posted a separate blog addressing the concerns, stating: “We do not build or train these models in such a way that they could learn, memorize, or be able to reproduce any customer data of any kind.”

Slack also confirmed that user data is not shared with third-party LLM providers for training purposes.

 (Threads Post by Slack Engineer):aaronjmaurer posted 4 days ago: "We do need to update this particular page to explain more carefully how these privacy principles play with Slack AI. It was originally written about the search/recommendation work we've been doing for years prior to Slack AI. However, in all the Slack AI material we are extremely clear, as I linked: 'Slack does not share customer data with LLM providers and does not use customer data to train large language models (LLMs).'"
A Slack engineer tries to clarify the company’s position, claiming user data had been used “for years prior to Slack AI”

A Slack engineer attempted to clarify the situation on Threads, " target="_blank" rel="noopener">explaining that the privacy rules were “originally written about the search/recommendation work we’ve been doing for years prior to Slack AI,” and admitting that they do “need an update.”

Featured image: Canva

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The four best AI apps you need for work productivity https://readwrite.com/best-ai-apps-work-productivity/ Wed, 01 May 2024 19:34:26 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=283592 4 best AI apps for work productivity. This vibrant illustration depicts a man and a woman engaging with AI technology in a futuristic setting. The man, sitting at a desk with a laptop, interacts with various tech gadgets around him, while the woman, floating above, carries books and communicates through digital messages. The scene is set against a backdrop of a circuit board, emphasizing the theme of connectivity and technology, with the letters "AI" prominently displayed in the center, symbolizing the focus on artificial intelligence in enhancing productivity and collaboration.

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4 best AI apps for work productivity. This vibrant illustration depicts a man and a woman engaging with AI technology in a futuristic setting. The man, sitting at a desk with a laptop, interacts with various tech gadgets around him, while the woman, floating above, carries books and communicates through digital messages. The scene is set against a backdrop of a circuit board, emphasizing the theme of connectivity and technology, with the letters "AI" prominently displayed in the center, symbolizing the focus on artificial intelligence in enhancing productivity and collaboration.

We’re often told to “work smarter, not harder,” but with only so many hours in a day, making extra time is essential. For this, a slew of AI productivity tools, which streamline, automate, and optimize are available right now to help with this workload.

Not only can these nifty AI apps and tools help boost productivity by organizing schedules and tasks better, but they can also use machine learning to do some of those time-consuming or repetitive tasks that we often want to avoid. Some of these you may recognize, having been around for some time, while others have recently joined the club.

How to use AI apps for work productivity

AI productivity tools are bit like having an MIT graduate assistant on hand who anticipates every need, automating various mundane tasks, organizing information, and even managing customer communications through chatbots. The right AI tool can even suggest edits, compose emails, and streamline customer service.

A graphic designer could use an AI tool to automatically resize and format images, reducing many hours of manual labor. Virtual assistants (VA) do the boring task of organizing calendars, scheduling meetings, and crafting tailored to-do lists, even adapting its communication style to send personalized emails.

For those managing multiple social media accounts, VAs can assume the posting responsibilities, ensuring consistent and timely updates. Email management software revolutionizes inbox interactions by prioritizing important messages and filtering out spam or less urgent emails. These tools can be configured to sort emails into folders based on the sender or subject, simplifying the management of a busy inbox.

AI analytics tools take raw data from various sources and transform it into detailed reports and visualizations. They may be able to spot patterns and insights that no one else notices. These tools can enhance project management by monitoring task progress, predicting timelines, efficiently allocating resources, and fostering collaboration to keep projects on track.

AI applications can also synchronize across different calendar systems, such as Outlook and Google Calendars, to manage appointments and meetings seamlessly. Content creation tools expand their usefulness by generating a variety of content, from engaging written pieces like blog articles to captivating visuals for social media platforms. These tools can help support content creators in producing high-quality content with minimal effort, reshaping the landscape of work and productivity.

What are some of the best AI apps for work?

Otter.ai

For those with a calendar full of meetings, Otter.ai is among several tools that can make it far easier to transcribe conversations. OtterPilot is the software’s meeting assistant that records audio, writes notes, automatically captures slides, and generates summaries.

While it’s only available in English at the moment, users can get automated notes for Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. All notes are also searchable, and shareable. What’s more, if Slack is part of your workflow, it can automatically share real-time updates with teammates in the communication platform, ensuring everyone is in the loop.

Another cool feature is its integration with file hosting services. When a video or audio file is added to the Otter app folder in Dropbox, it is automatically transcribed and synced with Otter.

During virtual sessions, Otter can record lecture slides and incorporate them into the notes, helping students recall details within the full context. It can then create a summary without having to read the entire transcript. This is a particularly handy tool as it also hyperlinks to the meeting notes and creates an action items list.

Otter can also generate follow-up emails, project status updates, blog posts, and much more.

The tool is free for up to 300 monthly transcription minutes, while paid plans start at $18 per month.

Notion

Notion has long been a favorite project management tool with many workers, but it’s now integrated AI into the tool. Notion AI can generate text, autofill databases, create concise summaries of pages, and assign action items based on specific documents, serving as valuable tools for saving time.

Users can also ask the chatbot questions, allowing it to handle the task of reading large amounts of text and documents. From there, the AI will generate responses to any questions and link to the pages it used to compile the answers. It is worth noting that this feature is still in beta.

AI features are priced at $10 per workspace per month. While Notion is free for individual use, paid plans begin at $10 monthly, not including the cost of AI.

Grammarly

Like some of the others mentioned, Grammarly is a well-established tool, and it has incorporated AI into its core services. Known for efficiently checking spelling, grammar, and conciseness, the platform is pretty good at everyday writing.

A great way of using the tool is to have the Grammarly for Chrome extension turned on so that the AI can work in the background to catch any mistakes made.

Aside from basic grammar assistance, the tool can offer other more advanced assistance thanks to its integration of generative AI, which added features and shortcuts that can provide shortcuts to day-to-day tasks.

For example, Grammarly can be used to create or rewrite text, provide ideas, identify gaps in writing, change the tone of a text, generate quick replies, make outlines, and more. Users can also select a voice, which includes options for formality and tone, to help compose messages for different platforms, such as LinkedIn or email.

However, sometimes it will underline random pieces of text, even if it’s correct – which can be off-putting.

The free version will provide basic grammar and spelling checks, while the $12 per month plan includes advanced checks and style suggestions.

Brain.fm

When testing out Brain.fm, users have the option to focus on work or stay energized. According to the app, users who listen for at least two hours a week report three times fewer focus disruptions. The app then considers factors such as neural effect level, music complexity, ideal genres, and activities. They provided a Lo-fi circadian rhythm tune to accompany our work, which made for a pleasant listening experience.

Unlike Spotify’s study playlists, Brain.fm’s music is designed by a team of scientists and composers to help users focus. According to the website, the app’s functional music is created from the ground up to influence the brain and optimize performance.

The platform states that the music is tested with simple ‘games’ used in psychology research to measure focused attention. The experiments include a placebo version of the same music without Brain.fm technology, allowing them to measure the difference.

While there is a trial period, it generally costs $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

AI apps may not be able to replace work, but they can certainly make it easier. It just requires some time to learn how to use them.

Featured image: Canva

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How to tell if something is written by ChatGPT https://readwrite.com/how-to-tell-if-something-is-written-by-chatgpt/ Sun, 07 Apr 2024 18:00:08 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=270771 How to tell if something is written by ChatGPT

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How to tell if something is written by ChatGPT

As we all come to terms with a world in which artificial intelligence is now mainstream and no longer a fantasy only seen in the movies, the need to be able to know what elements of day-to-day life and experiences AI has influenced has never been greater.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT was the first mainstream example of how useful AI can be for a variety of people, businesses and industries, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect, accurate or the ultimate assistant to our everyday needs.

ChatGPT comes with its fair share of controversy thanks to it occasionally providing incorrect, inaccurate or unfactual responses to questions, landing people in hot water as a result. It’s even got its creators, OpenAI, in trouble.

In 2023, it falsely claimed an American law professor had made inappropriate comments and sexual advances towards a student while on a school trip, and even cited The Washington Post as the source of the information. There was no school trip and there was no article in the Washington Post. Put simply, it completely made the whole thing up.

That’s just one of several very alarming flaws in the chatbot’s very impressive capabilities. On the whole, it can be a very useful source of information, but what it says cannot and should not always be taken as fact.

But as more and more people use ChatGPT to complete everyday tasks online or as part of their work, it’s quite possible that every time you go online, you’re consuming at least one piece of information that was generated or written by AI, and likely ChatGPT itself.

The internet, as a result, is fast becoming a minefield where the lines between human and AI written text are blurred. There may be a time in the future when that won’t be an issue – and ChatGPT-5 could be around the corner – but, for now, there remains a need for people to be vigilant and know when something is written by ChatGPT.

What are the signs that something is written by ChatGPT?

As it’s down to humans to prompt ChatGPT, the detail of the chatbot’s response is often decided by the detail in the prompt it’s given. If it has a lack of instruction, especially in more detailed subjects, it is more likely going to return a vague or inaccurate response.

To the untrained eye, like someone with no particular background knowledge on the subject, that may not be obvious. But to others, it might be glaringly obvious that the text was written by ChatGPT.

These are the key things to look out for…

General use of language and repetition

ChatGPT is what is known as ‘narrow’ AI, which means it is not able to understand or replicate human emotion or behavior and cannot think for itself, which means its responses can often be devoid of any personality or creative language.

Moreover, even though it does make mistakes, it’s trained to make as few mistakes as possible. Therefore, responding in a simple and somewhat robotic tone is designed to help minimize mistakes and inaccuracies.

This is mostly obvious if you were, for example, to ask it to write you a review for your favorite film or product. It might leave out key information about what it’s reviewing, such as actors’ names or the product’s dimensions.

Therefore, if you’re reading something like this on a review site and it appears to omit what would normally be considered key information, there is a chance it was written by ChatGPT.

The same applies to the repetition of words or phrases. ChatGPT is trained on vast amounts of data and language but it might still use repetitive language, especially in larger blocks of text.

Hallucinations

The aforementioned case involving a law professor is the perfect example of an AI hallucination, where it completely makes something up within its response. It remains one of the biggest issues with generative chatbots like ChatGPT.

AI experts recommend fact-checking ChatGPT responses, particularly when involving more niche information and subjects. There are many more cases of hallucinations, some more serious than others, so it’s always advisable to triple-check its responses with other sources of information before trusting its accuracy.

If you’re reading about a subject you know well, this will be much easier to spot. For example, a match report on a recent soccer game that you watched will likely be easy for you to identify any factual inaccuracies. But if you’re doing, say, research on the thermic effect of food, it may be harder to spot if it’s human or AI-generated.

Copy-and-Paste Errors

This is arguably the easiest one to spot. People have been known to accidentally copy and paste ChatGPT’s response and its side comments like ‘Sure, here’s a movie review for….’

That’s a surefire way of knowing if something you’re reading was written by ChatGPT or a human, purely based on human error, as opposed to an error on behalf of the AI.

Read the text thoroughly

ChatGPT is trained to sound and respond like a human, so it will be near impossible to tell if something was written by AI if you only read one or two sentences. It will be clearer if you read the entire article thoroughly, which may highlight particular hallucinations, repetition, general language or copy-and-paste errors.

Of course, humans can edit ChatGPT’s responses to remove much of the above and make the text more human-like, but often that will involve a level of editing that would likely mean it would be easier to write the text themselves.

How to detect ChatGPT content

 

The rise of ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots has led to an array of AI content detectors popping up, which all claim to be able to detect when a piece of text is human or AI-written.

We’ve already looked at the best AI content detectors, which can even indicate exactly what parts of text are human and what parts are AI. Some will give you a percentage estimate of human v AI in the text its given to analyse.

However, none of these AI content detectors are 100% perfect and there will always be occasions where it incorrectly detects human writing as AI, and vice versa.

However, using an AI detector is a good way of seeing whether there are any signs of AI in what you’re reading, especially if you’ve still got suspicions after checking for repetition, hallucinations and general language.

But the key takeaway, especially when referring to niche subjects you’re not completely familiar with, is to always fact-check what ChatGPT tells you. Better to be safe than sorry.

Featured image: Ideogram

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Logitech offers mouse and keyboard users free ChatGPT upgrade https://readwrite.com/logitech-offers-mouse-and-keyboard-users-free-chatgpt-upgrade/ Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:27:19 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=275703 Logitech offers mouse and keyboard users free ChatGPT upgrade with AI Prompt Builder. A robotic hand with silver metallic fingers holds a black computer mouse on a red background. Text at the top of the image reads from left to right: "Recipes Instructions 0". Below that is a text box with the following options, top to bottom: "Rephrase", "Summarize", "Reply", "Create Email", "Brainstorm".

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Logitech offers mouse and keyboard users free ChatGPT upgrade with AI Prompt Builder. A robotic hand with silver metallic fingers holds a black computer mouse on a red background. Text at the top of the image reads from left to right: "Recipes Instructions 0". Below that is a text box with the following options, top to bottom: "Rephrase", "Summarize", "Reply", "Create Email", "Brainstorm".

Logitech mouse and keyboard users are reportedly receiving a free AI upgrade that will incorporate ChatGPT.

The Logi AI Prompt Builder will launch a software window that helps users access the chatbot’s assistance without interrupting their workflow. At the press of a button, users can rephrase or summarize blocks of text and receive suggested queries based on the text they have selected, according to predefined recipes of common queries.

If a user’s current Logitech mouse is not recognized by the system, at least one new model will soon feature an AI button that is expected to become universal. The AI edition of the M750 mouse, which has a teal-colored key, will provide instant access to the new feature.

This edition will be exclusively available in the US and UK, retailing for $49.99 and £54.99 respectively. Although the special edition AI mouse is not mandatory, a Logitech device is essential, as the prompt builder is included in the company’s Logi Options+ software bundle.

Currently, the Logi AI Prompt Builder is compatible only with ChatGPT and supports only English at its launch. However, Logitech has announced plans to integrate it with other chatbots in the future.

Essentially, it offers a streamlined interface for using ChatGPT-3.5, and for those with a Pro account from OpenAI, it supports ChatGPT-4. This is similar to the many other AI systems that are becoming integrated into every aspect of modern PCs, but it is notably unobtrusive.

“New Logi AI Prompt Builder is a shortcut to AI fluency for anyone with a Logitech mouse or keyboard compatible with Logi Options+ software who wants easily to access AI’s limitless potential,” said Delphine Donné, general manager of the Personal Workspace business at Logitech.

How to access Logi AI Prompt Builder

According to the press statement, users can access the Logi AI Prompt Builder for free starting today (April 17), provided they are using a Logitech keyboard or mouse that is supported by the English version of the Logi + Options app. This compatibility includes some of the company’s most popular lines, such as the Logitech MX, Ergo, Signature, and Studio Series.

The new Logitech Signature AI Edition Mouse is said to have a dedicated AI prompt button that serves as a shortcut to Logi AI Prompt Builder. The Logi AI Prompt Builder software window can be accessed for free by Windows and Mac users via the Logi Options+ app.

Featured image: Canva / Logitech

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Medium bans AI-generated content from its paid Partner Program https://readwrite.com/medium-bans-ai-generated-content-from-its-paid-partner-program/ Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:32:06 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=274184 Streets of Sakarya city during the Ottoman Empire

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Streets of Sakarya city during the Ottoman Empire

The publishing platform Medium will be banning AI-generated content from its paid Partner program in a new policy that goes into effect from May 1, 2024.

All content and stories generated using artificial intelligence will be taken off payrolls and could see users getting taken off the monetization platform.

An email written to current partners has been leaked by the X user @JonGillhams, with the notice highlighting how the platform is intended for “human storytelling, no AI-generated writing.”

The Medium team says they’ve “recently defined and clarified our specific policies around the different uses of AI-generated content and technologies, and what is allowed in the Medium Partner Program.”

People are warned that if they have used AI to write the full article or story, as a Partner member, they will have their work removed and potentially their enrollment in the program revoked.

The artificial intelligence content policy differs for those who aren’t earning money from their Medium-published work.

In its policy, the American platform says “AI-generated writing that is disclosed as such and is not behind the paywall is eligible for General Distribution, but it is not eligible for Boost distribution.”

If the work isn’t disclosed properly, this will be given Network Only distribution so it won’t be eligible for wider publication.

The publisher explains it as a thorough detection process to identify AI writing as they utilize a wide variety of tools combined with human review.

Medium celebrates million member milestone

The update in the policy comes as the platform sees a million members on the site for the first time ever.

The CEO at Medium, Tony Stubblebine, took to a blog post to thank the members as the milestone rolled around: “There is a moment in our not-so-distant past where a million members seemed impossible.

“So for us, we’re feeling some combination of relief and disbelief: ‘Wow, this really just happened?’

…And to every Medium member. Thank you for being a part of this community. We’re so glad you’re here.”

Featured Image: Photo by Thomas Lefebvre on Unsplash

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Elon Musk to raise Tesla AI staff salaries to curb OpenAI poaching https://readwrite.com/musk-plans-to-raise-tesla-ai-salaries-to-stop-staff-poaching-in-ai-talent-war/ Thu, 04 Apr 2024 09:52:53 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=270190 Elon Musk black and white side profile, on a dark blue background which features a large Tesla logo. wads of money rain down on the logo

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In an escalation of the artificial intelligence (AI) talent war, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that OpenAI has been “aggressively recruiting Tesla engineers with massive compensation offers” and as a result, Tesla will be increasing the compensation it gives its AI engineering team.

The 52-year-old billionaire seemed to confirm that it is an issue focused on compensation rather than staff being dissatisfied with the company’s work environment, in a further post on the social network he owns. A user asked “Is Tesla matching these compensation offers? Or is it more than [sic] these employees just want to switch things up, so matching wouldn’t matter?” and Musk responded that “Tesla is increasing comp (contingent on progress milestones) of our AI engineering team.”

This came after a story reported by The Information that a prominent machine learning expert from Tesla was moving to join xAI, Musk’s AI company. Musk responded to the story that the engineer had been planning to leave for OpenAI as a result of the talent poaching.

 

Elon Musk vs OpenAI: The AI talent war

“The talent war for AI is the craziest talent war I’ve ever seen!” said Musk in another Twitter post. And he’s not wrong about that – many big tech companies are falling over themselves to expand their AI capabilities while the bubble is still growing. Earlier this year Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta wants to begin to create an artificial general intelligence and acknowledged the fierce competition between companies for top talent.

In a report from 2023, it was revealed that OpenAI provides the highest salaries for new PhD graduates at $865k. Tesla comes in at fourth on the list with a still eye-watering $780k.

Tensions between Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have been high for some time. Earlier this year Musk announced his intentions to sue OpenAI and Altman for violation of commitments made when they established the company together. OpenAI countered him in court with claims that some of his allegations were “incoherent”. They also expressed concerns that the discovery phase of the lawsuit could be exploited by Musk to access proprietary information and urged caution.

Musk then decided to open-source xAI’s chatbot Grok in response to decisions made by OpenAI that he disagreed with.

Featured image credit: generated by MidJourney

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5 best AI content detectors https://readwrite.com/5-best-ai-content-detectors/ Fri, 22 Mar 2024 09:49:58 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=263521 a conceptual image with a magnifying glass and large 'AI' letters to symbolize AI detectors.

Besides all the benefits artificial intelligence offers the world – assisting with complicated tasks, streamlining work processes and helping with… Continue reading 5 best AI content detectors

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a conceptual image with a magnifying glass and large 'AI' letters to symbolize AI detectors.

Besides all the benefits artificial intelligence offers the world – assisting with complicated tasks, streamlining work processes and helping with creative jobs – it also creates issues when people submit poorly written content using AI, and that’s where AI content detectors come in.

AI detectors aim to help the public differentiate between content created by humans and a computer.

As AI tools continue to get more advanced and more sophisticated, AI detectors need to do the same by ensuring they can accurately spot AI-generated content.

What is an AI content detector?

An AI content detector analyzes content to identify patterns in text, images or videos to decipher whether it is human or from generative AI. 

In the case of text, AI content detectors predominantly look for the repetition of certain words and phrases, a lack of depth, minimal creativity and inaccurate information.

For images and videos, they scan objects within the content to help determine their original source.

Similar to AI tools themselves, AI detectors are built on very powerful technological platforms and are designed to be just as sophisticated as the tools they’re analyzing.

The 5 best AI content detectors

There are loads of AI detectors on the market but not all are built the same and, more importantly, none are completely 100% accurate.

Furthermore, they all come with different perks, functionalities, pros, cons and price points. Some AI detectors are built for specific uses, others claim to do it all. But what are the best ones on the market right now?

We’ve listed our favorite five below…

Undetectable.ai

Undetectable.ai

While some AI detectors seek to deliver an AI vs Human result when analyzing content, Undetectable.ai seeks to dig deeper into the details of the text it’s given and looks at syntax, style and structure.

It’s very easy to use. Simply paste the text you want the tool to analyze and click ‘Check for AI.’ It will then work its magic from there. It recognizes text from ChatGPT-3, GPT-4, Claude and Gemini, as well as other mainstream AI generators.

Undetectable.ai is careful not to guarantee any level of accuracy but it does claim to be the most advanced and accurate AI detection tool on the market, although third-party tests estimate around 85-95% detection rates. Moreover, it claims to be ideal for writers, bloggers and content creators.

How much does Undetectable.ai cost?

Undetectable.ai offers a freemium version that is limited to small-scale exploration. Personal plans with more flexible access to key features start at $5-a-month for 10,000 words, but with that you have to pay a year upfront.

For a monthly subscription, pricing starts at $14.99-a-month for 15,000 words.

Winston AI

Winston AI

Winston AI is aimed at businesses that want help detecting AI-generated content in marketing, advertising and other corporate information.

The cloud-based tool uses machine learning to help detect AI-generated content.

It is a user-friendly tool that comes with a range of key features, including file upload capabilities, OCR technology, printable PDF reports, plagiarism checks, project and document management and team management.

Users simply either paste their text or upload their file into Winston AI and the tool will then analyze the text before delivering a report to indicate whether it is AI-generated or created by a human. A neat feature is Winston color codes the full submitted text in the results into green, yellow and red depending how likely it is the content is AI-generated. Text highlighted in red means the application thinks there is a high chance it is AI-generated.

Winston AI claims to be up to 99.6% accurate, which is mightily impressive and precise. However, some third-party tests rate it closer to 85%.

How much does Winston AI cost?

Winston AI offers a variety of pricing plans that suit the needs of most users. They offer a free plan that comes with the most basic of features and an allowance of only 2,000 words, while the annual plan costs $12-per-month for 80,000 words. Monthly, you can expect to part ways with $18 for 200,000 words.

There is also an Elite plan for $49-a-month, which comes with 500,000 words of scanning allowance.

Copyleaks

Copyleaks

Copyleaks is more sophisticated than other text-based AI detectors because it understands 30 different languages, so it’s the perfect tool for businesses with international interests. It also has the ability to analyze source code, which opens itself up to be incredibly useful for software developers.

The tool offers sentence-level analysis, which means the results you get from it will give you very precise details on which parts of your text were created by a human and which parts are AI-generated. On Copyleaks’ website, it claims users have “full transparency around the presence of AI-generated content even if the text has been interspersed with human-written content.”

Copyleaks claims to have 99.1% accuracy, but the very slight downside to using the tool is that it can be quite laggy. It does, though, detect the most popular AI models on the market, including ChatGPT and Gemini.

How much does Copyleaks cost?

Copyleaks doesn’t offer a free plan and its pricing tiers are based on credits, where 1 credit is worth 250 words. You can test it for free, though.

The cheapest monthly plan available is $10.99 for just 100 credits, but that only gets you access to Copyleaks’ AI Content Director but not their ‘award-winning’ plagiarism detector. To get access to the two, it’s $16.99 for 100 credits. Monthly plans max out at 10,000 credits, but the price skyrockets to over $900.

The cheapest annual plan for both the AI and plagiarism detectors is $13.99-a-month for 1,200 credits. For 120,000 credits, an annual plan costs just over $750-a-month.

ZeroGPT

ZeroGPT

If you’re looking for a very simple and easy-to-use AI detector, ZeroGPT offers just that. It supports various languages and has a very simple user interface that’s easy to follow and use.

Simply paste your text into ZeroGPT and it will analyze it for AI-generated content before giving you a percentage breakdown of how much of the text is written by a human and how much is AI or GPT generated.

It will highlight the areas of the text it believes are AI-generated in yellow, making it very easy for users to scan the text quickly.

ZeroGPT has API integration, which means the AI detector can be plugged into other apps or programs to detect AI-generated content in real-time, and also allows users to upload files, such as PDFs, to scan.

How much does ZeroGPT cost?

It’s free up to 15,000 characters per AI detection. If you need more than that, ZeroGPT’s Pro plan costs $7.99-a-month for 100,000 characters per AI detection and their Max plan gives you the same characters but more for the AI summarizer, AI paraphraser and AI grammar & spell check, which costs $18.99-a-month.

Crossplag

Crossplag

Crossplag was originally a popular plagiarism detection tool, and it still is, but it has also recently added its own AI content detector, which uses machine learning to identify whether text is AI-generated or written by a human.

Using patterns learned from human-written text, the tool is capable of recognizing when text deviates away from these patterns and will display a percentage of the chance of the text being AI-generated.

It is a remarkably quick and easy tool to use and is trained with over 1.5B parameters to give it the best possible chance of maximum accuracy.

How much does Crossplag cost?

Crossplag is free to use up to 10 credits, which is the equivalent to 1,000 words.. Beyond that, there is a Pay as you Go plan, which is 50 credits for €9.95, or there’s the ‘Bundle’ which is 1,000 credits for €149.95.

Anything beyond that and you need to contact Crossplag directly.

Featured Image: Generated by Ideogram

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Glassdoor want employees to now review their workplace with their real names https://readwrite.com/glassdoor-want-employees-to-now-review-their-workplace-with-their-real-names/ Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:27:45 +0000 https://readwrite.com/?p=262489 A mobile phone with an app open where a workplace review can be left, green and white background, 3d render

Glassdoor has been providing job seekers with anonymous information about potential employers for years, but there are concerns this could… Continue reading Glassdoor want employees to now review their workplace with their real names

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Glassdoor has been providing job seekers with anonymous information about potential employers for years, but there are concerns this could soon be changing as users are required to verify their real names.

A Midwest-based software professional named Monica was one of the first to warn other users about this change via a personal blog as she urges people to “delete your Glassdoor account and data.”

She explains: “Glassdoor now requires your real name and will add it to older accounts without your consent if they learn it, and your only option is to delete your account…”

In 2021, Glassdoor acquired a professional networking app called Fishbowl which was then integrated onto the site last July. Every user signed up to the candid review platform was automatically signed up for a Fishbowl account. They require users to verify their identities which meant that Glassdoor’s terms of service had to be changed to require all users to be verified.

Currently, people’s reviews of employers remain anonymous but there are concerns around data privacy and anonymity. Monica says this change could put “people at risk with their employers.”

In a bid to learn more, Monica emailed customer support. After, she alleges that they “had updated my profile to add my real name and location, the name pulled from the email ‘From’ line I didn’t think to cloak because who does that?”

A manager within the Glassdoor content and community team emailed her back following further back-and-forth with other employees.

Monica shared their supposed response: “I stand behind the decision that your name has to be placed on your profile and it cannot be reverted or nullified/anonymized from the platform.

“I am sorry that we disagree on this issue. We treat all users equally when it comes to what is eligible to be placed on the profile and what is not, but we know that there are times our users, such as yourself, may not always agree with us.

“If you are not willing to allow your name on your profile, you will again need to complete Data erasure once you are able to. However, we cannot remove this for you or make the changes you wish to see for your name.”

Glassdoor’s data policy

The data policy at Glassdoor details the following:

“As a global company, Glassdoor is subject to a variety of privacy laws that confer a range of privacy rights upon our users. We are committed to working to support compliance with the requirements of these global privacy laws and ensuring the rights and protections they offer are available to all of our users regardless of their location. […]

“We allow you to learn about, access, and control the personal data that Glassdoor holds about you. This includes data related to your use of Glassdoor.com, Fishbowlapp.com, and our associated apps. Using the form at the bottom of this page, you can request that Glassdoor allows you to: […] Rectify your personal data. […] Delete your personal data.”

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