#13 ChatGPT has live internet access

AND: To insanity, and beyond!

A tenant of modern existence is the perpetual chase for convenience.

Optimizing our schedules, minimizing dead time, and getting the most out of our days.

And why shouldn’t we?

After all, life is short; we only get one - we should make the most of it.

And given OpenAI’s recent plugin releases - life will become a hell of a lot more convenient than it already is (for some of us).

Can’t help but recall, though, Pink Floyd’s eternal lyrics:

“Can you tell a green field, from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?”

The more we ask AI to do, the less human we will become.

In today’s newsletter:

  • ChatGPT has live internet access: To insanity, and beyond!

  • The rundown: OpenAI’s bug, Donald Trump’s AI image, and AI could drive humans insane

  • Tips, tricks & tools: Text-to-voice tools, free image upscaler and a robust website ranking tool

  • What’s your opinion?: Tell us, is AI good or bad?

  • character.ai: 100 million site views per month

CHATGPT HAS LIVE INTERNET ACCESS

They say one of the traits of life is the responsivity to the surroundings or environment. While we’re most certainly NOT suggesting ChatGPT is alive - it seems to be getting closer and closer.

One of ChatGPT3’s most significant shortfalls was its training on a dataset that only went to September 2021.

Open AI has just smashed that limitation with its latest round of plugins for GPT4 - plugins that are capable of retrieving information from the internet and interacting with third-party websites.

In a limited “alpha phase”, these plugins are available to a small sample of users for testing.

As of today (March 24, 2023), there are 11 plugins - shown above. Each corresponds to a third-party website, allowing ChatGPT4 to access live data from each site.

Among these plugins are KAYAK and Expedia - enabling GPT4 to book flights and hotels; Shop App, which enables users to purchase millions of optimized products through GPT4; and Instacart, through which users can buy fresh foods from their local supermarkets.

While currently in an early test phase, this development shows where OpenAI, AI, and our daily lives are heading - full integration.

Never again will we need to sit down and keep checking calendars to make sure travel and accommodation dates match up or to plan our own itinerary; tell GPT that ;

“I’d like to go on a trip to ….. on ……. Find the best flights, medium-priced accommodation, book transport to and from the airport, and also put together an itinerary of the most popular tourist destinations around that area” - and you’ll have literally the “optimal” trip planned in a matter of seconds.

Of course, there won’t be any sense of adventure, an opportunity for pleasant surprises, or deviating from the plan - anything that makes travel a beautiful and wonderful experience - but you’ll definitely be able to replicate that Instagram story you saw from your favorite influencer.

But as the proclaimed “god-father of virtual reality“ Jaron Lanier has recently vocalized, it seems AI is driving humanity more towards insanity rather than destruction.

Indeed, if asking an AI system to plan our meals, do our shopping, plan our travels and optimize our schedules doesn’t register as a step towards insanity, then perhaps we’re already there.

THE RUNDOWN 🐂

  • OpenAI CEO admits an "awful" bug in ChatGPT caused user conversations to be leaked. (link)

  • Experts warn that AI hype is causing investors to pour money into potentially unprofitable AI projects. (link)

  • Researchers warn of the threat of AI-generated misinformation, as deepfakes become increasingly sophisticated. (link)

  • Donald Trump shares a fake AI-generated image of himself on Truth Social. (link)

  • Tech guru Jaron Lanier warns that AI could drive humans insane, rather than destroy us. (link)

  • Chinese tech giants face challenges in the chatbot race due to chip war and censorship. (link)

  • Nvidia introduces new AI tools for ChatGPT to enhance conversational AI capabilities. (link)

TIPS, TRICKS & TOOLS ⚒️

  • Murf AI - High-quality, natural-sounding AI voices from text input for your projects. (link)

  • Markopolo AI - AI-powered digital marketing solutions - compelling. (link)

  • AI Image Enlarger - FREE online image enlarger to upscale and enhance small images immediately. (link)

  • Longshot AI - Comprehensive SEO-content generation solution - recent topics, engaging articles, rank your website! (link)

  • quest AI - Powerful website frontend developer - build a beautiful website from an image in minutes.  (link)

WHAT’S YOUR OPINION? 🤔

AI is developing at impossible speeds - speeds we never dreamed possible.

In your opinion, is this development good, or is it bad?

Do the potential benefits of AI outweigh the potential downfalls?

Let us know below ⬇️

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

We’re gonna need more than your prayers, boi.

CHARACTER. AI - $1 BILLION VALUATION

After leaving Google at the end of 2021, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas - both of whom helped design much of the architecture used in today’s revolutionary AI chatbots - started their own AI company two years ago, character.ai.

Giving “users the ability to create a fully-customizable and personalized AI companion with a distinct personality and values”, character.ai recently secured $150 million in a funding round, demonstrating how eager venture capitalists are to invest in the exploding AI market.

The extra funding will allow the two former Google employees to expand their model’s reasoning, improve accuracy and grow their now 22-member team.

Character.ai is now receiving over 100 million site visits per month, a traffic increase of over 400% since the beginning of the year - clearly demonstrating the public’s interest in and demand for personalizable AI companions.

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