Inspector Gadget
5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #155 ❤️
This week we’ll be looking at all things new in the world of tech. Inventions are hitting the news at lighting speed, with AI in the driver’s seat whether we like it or not.
From Sam Altman’s potentially two-faced plea to the senate for AI regulations, to Alexa’s need to catch up with the new kid in town before she gets pushed off her pedestal – she’s already toppling – to Apple’s new accessibility features, free TV sets and the latest in VR/AR headsets.
Let’s get into it.
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#1 Sam Altman Asks Senate To Regulate AI
At a glance, looking at all the headlines, it seems like a Frankenstein’s Monster situation – creator overwhelmed by his creation begs US government to regulate.
Of course, that isn’t the case, as Sam Altman was called before the US Senate to discuss the future of AI, and, quite cleverly in our opinion, turned it around on them by saying they need to work together. He’s also making it work for him - imagine the boom in publicitywhen headlines come out that Sam Altman himself is “scared” of AI’s capabilities.
During the meeting Altman likened the creation of AI technology to the invention of the printing press, while Senate lawmakers compared it to the invention of the atomic bomb.
Altman laid out a three-point plan for the regulation of AI:
Firstly – Creating a federal agency that can grant licenses for the creation of AI models above a certain threshold of capabilities and can revoke them if they don’t meet safety guidelines set by the government. Like the FDA currently is for food.
Secondly - The government should create safety standards for high-capability AI models (like stopping a model from self-replication) and create functionality tests they must pass, such as verifying the model’s ability to produce accurate information or ensuring it doesn’t generate dangerous content.
Thirdly – A requirement of independent audits from experts that are not affiliated with AI creators or the government to ensure that the AI tools operate within the legislative guidelines.
Sounds like rather than the “tech villain” who’s created something and then goes all Lex Luthor on us when the power goes to his head, he’s the tech superhero – urging the government to take their role as regulators seriously and putting the ball in their court.
From a more cynical point of view, especially after seeing Altman doing the rounds of interviews and public speaking like an absolute boss, is he simply treating it as a publicity press junket while at the same time paying lip service to the government so that he’s the one in their pocket when other companies come out with rival AI tech?
Make mine the official government backed AI company and crack down on all the others. After all, his product is already done.
#2 - AI Is Making Alexa Look Bad
AI’s new capabilities have taken the wind out of Alexa’s sails. Whereas back in 2022 we were thrilled with what Alexa could do – create a shopping list, set kitchen timers, tell us the time! – AI technology is making her look like a one trick pony.
A recent TikTok posted by tech journalist Ryan Morrison goes a long way to illustrating why AI fueled tech like ChatGPT is putting Alexa out of work.
In the video he asks Alexa to give him a recipe to help his sore throat and she responds with her standard answer to recipe enquires: “Sure, I can search by dish name and ingredients. What would you like?” Morrison asks again for a recipe to help him feel better, to which Alexa repeats her standard response. After the third time, Morrison shows himself typing the same query into ChatGPT and being provided with a recipe for chicken noodle soup.
The robots are putting the robots out of work, how meta.
Amazon CEO assured us that they’re working on giving Alexa AI capabilities, saying that their vision isn’t just to build a smart speaker but to use generative AI to make Alexa more proactive and conversational in order to create “the world’s best personal assistant”.
We have two words for him – too late.
#3 Apple Leads The Way For Disabled Users
Apple have identified a huge gap in the market when it comes to accessibility features for our smart phones. Yes, there’s the classic flashing light when your phone rings for the hard of hearing, or huge text for those with eyesight issues (or your elderly relative who types their google search into Facebook) but that’s a drop in the ocean compared to the new features “leaked” by Apple for iOS 17.
Following the huge leaps made by the Apple watch in physical health monitoring, Apple have turned their focus to those with cognitive health issues, introducing something called Assistive Access, which uses a visual language in order to "distill apps and experiences to their essential features in order to lighten cognitive load”. For example, the feature will lighten the sensory overload that can come with browsing the web, so that people with sensory issues to use the technology more comfortably.
Another game changing piece of accessibility technology is their voice technology. Live speech allows non-speaking users to reply by voice, and Personal Voice allows users to pre-empt a loss of voice by recording a 15-minute randomized set of phrases which is then used to create a replica of their voice which can be used to communicate and integrate with calls and FaceTime.
Along with numerous other features, Apple’s newly accessible iOS is apparently set to be a game changer for those with cognitive disabilities, and from a less charitable perspective, carve out a whole section of the market just for them.
#4 - Free TV - What’s The Catch?
In the next step towards ensuring that our reality faithfully resembles an episode of Black Mirror, a startup aptly named Telly have launched a free 55-inch TV screen which will begin shipping out to customers on their waitlist this Summer.
Now, here’s the catch. A second screen attached to the bottom of the TV will stream non-stop information and advertising which is personalized based on the household’s extensive personal data.
The CSO of Telly claims that they are “putting an end to the decades long practice of double-dipping on the consumer” by allowing the customer to share the “value proposition” which is advertising and data from TV consumption.
They will also be able to make a pretty penny on ads as to get the TV screen you need to give them pretty much all of the data relating to you as a household so that the ads you’re served are as tailored to you, and hence as likely to result in purchase, as is humanly possible. The CEO says they know who you are, where you live, how much money you make, what car you’re driving and when your lease is up.
The advertising possibility from that data is endless, and unlike on your web browser, they don’t have to ask your permission to use cookies to gather that data – it’s already given to them from the get-go. The only question here in comparison to online tracking is how they will continue to keep that data relevant.
The most ironic thing here, is that while reading the CNN article about how terrible it is to force someone to watch ads for a free TV, a video was automatically playing on the side advertising CNN’s newest streaming show to try and get some ads into us while we’re reading their article for free, not to mention the huge banner ads taking up half the page. Glass houses anyone?
They’ve basically taken the concept of free internet content funded by advertising and taken it to TV, which makes you wonder really - how has it took us so long to come up with that?
#5 - Oculus Founder Choose Apple Over Meta
The original founder of the virtual reality headset company Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey, doesn’t shy away from giving his true opinion. Despite selling his company to Facebook, sorry, Meta, almost ten years ago for a hefty two billion dollars, and working with them until 2017 on the launch of the VR gaming headset Oculus Rift, he thinks Apple are doing it better.
In recent interviews and on Twitter he sang the praises of the new Apple VR/AR (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality) headset.
Yet to be released, the headset could cost up to $3000, thanks to extra features which will allow the headset to work in virtual and augmented reality, and apparently will be banning entry to the Metaverse through their device. Shots fired.
Rumoured features include immersive viewing entertainment – watching your show from inside the show – which is set to be especially interesting for sport, virtual reality productivity tools such as numbers, keynote and a virtual keyboard, and a focus on VR exercise to go with their already booming exercise subscription service.
Luckey noted that the high price of the headset was going down the same route Oculus did back in the day – make the device desirable before they make it affordable.
It should also be noted however that Luckey seems to be what we could politely call a “colourful character” – currently focusing his time on a national defence programme, his political leanings as a libertarian, as well as featuring on podcasts (of course) and cultivating an interesting looking goatee.
He is also the guy who made headlines a few months ago for saying he wants to make a VR headset that kills the user when they dies in a game. Make of that context what you will…
Brave & Heart over and out.
Bonus
Speaking Of Black Mirror
Next month our favourite Netflix show is back.
The anthology of cautionary tales about tech, advertising and the future of society is back, and boy have things changed since the first season.
The tech landscape is completely different to back in the olden days when the series began, and this year the popularity of the concept has gotten them some pretty big names, including Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett and even Salma Hayek for goodness sake!
She’ll feature in the first episode, in which an average woman finds out that her life has been made into a Netflix series starring the one and only – Salma Hayek.
Let’s hope it can live up to our current dystopia.
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