#050 - Spotify Introduces AI-Generated Transcripts, ChatGPT Now Lets You Search the Web Within Its App Using Bing, The Economics of AI: Hype, Costs, and Opportunities
Fresh & Hot curated AI happenings in one snack. Never miss a byte 🍔
This snack byte will take approx 6 minutes to consume.
AI BYTE # 1 📢 : The Future of Podcasting: Spotify Introduces AI-Generated Transcripts and More
Podcasts are a popular and convenient way to consume audio content, but they can also pose some challenges for listeners and creators.
For example, how can you find the most relevant parts of a podcast episode? How can you make your podcast more inclusive and accessible to people with hearing impairments or different languages? How can you increase your podcast’s reach and engagement?
Spotify, the leading audio streaming platform, has recently announced some new features that aim to address these challenges using AI. In this post, I will explain what these features are and why they are important for the podcasting industry.
The first feature is Auto-generated Podcast Transcripts. Spotify will use AI to create text transcripts of podcast episodes that will be time-synced with the audio.
This means that listeners can visually follow along as the podcast progresses, and also search for keywords.
The second feature is Podcast Chapters. Podcast creators can use AI to automatically divide their episodes into chapters based on the topics discussed. This allows listeners to easily navigate to the parts of the episode they are most interested in.
For example, if you’re listening to a tech news podcast, you can skip directly to the segment about the latest iPhone release or the discussion about the implications of a new data privacy law.
The third feature is Podcast Translations. Spotify will use AI to translate podcast episodes into different languages. This means that a podcast created in English can be enjoyed by listeners who speak Spanish, French, German, and many other languages.
This feature has the potential to significantly increase the reach of podcasts and bring diverse voices and perspectives to a global audience.
These new features are not just about improving the user experience for listeners, they also provide valuable tools for podcast creators.
Auto-generated transcripts can be used to create show notes or blog posts, chapters can help with content planning and structure, and translations can open up new markets and audiences.
In conclusion, Spotify’s new AI features represent a significant step forward for the podcasting industry.
They address some of the key challenges faced by listeners and creators, and they have the potential to make podcasts more accessible, engaging, and global than ever before.
AI BYTE # 2 📢 : ChatGPT Now Lets You Search the Web Within Its App Using Bing
If you are a fan of ChatGPT, the popular chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, you might be interested in its latest feature: Browse with Bing.
This feature allows you to search the web within the ChatGPT app and get answers from current and authoritative sources, which are cited by the chatbot. This can make your conversations with ChatGPT more informative and engaging, as you can ask it anything and get relevant and reliable information.
Browse with Bing is currently available only for Plus and Enterprise subscribers of OpenAI, but the company says it will soon roll it out to all users. To use it, you need to choose Browse with Bing in the selector under GPT-4, and then start a new chat.
You can then type any query and ChatGPT will return information from the web, along with links to the sources. For example, you can ask ChatGPT about the latest news, sports, entertainment, or anything else that interests you.
One of the benefits of Browse with Bing is that you can verify the accuracy and credibility of ChatGPT’s answers by clicking on the links and comparing them with the original sources.
This is especially important because AI bots can sometimes generate false or misleading information, either intentionally or unintentionally. By providing citations, ChatGPT also gives credit to the websites that provide the information, which is a good practice for ethical and responsible AI.
Browse with Bing is not the first feature that allows you to search the web within a chatbot. Microsoft’s Bing Chat and Google’s Bard also offer similar functionalities, as well as links to the sources.
Meta also announced that it will use Bing to power real-time web results in its Meta AI Assistant, which will be integrated with WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger.
These features show how AI and web search can work together to enhance the user experience and provide useful information.
However, Browse with Bing is not without its challenges. OpenAI had to pull the feature in June after users discovered that they could access paywalled content by feeding URLs directly to ChatGPT.
Since then, OpenAI has implemented measures to prevent this, such as identifying its crawler with a user agent and allowing websites to opt out of its analysis.
OpenAI also has to ensure that ChatGPT does not violate any intellectual property rights or privacy laws when using information from the web.
Browse with Bing is a promising feature that can make ChatGPT more versatile and helpful. It can also open up new possibilities for learning, research, and entertainment.
If you are curious about ChatGPT and want to try out Browse with Bing, you can sign up for a subscription on OpenAI’s website and start chatting with the chatbot. You might be surprised by what you can learn from ChatGPT and the web.
AI BYTE # 3 📢 - The Economics of AI: Hype, Costs, and Opportunities
AI is one of the hottest topics in the tech industry, with billions of dollars invested in research and development every year. But what is the real value of AI, and who is benefiting from it?
In this article, I will explore some of the economic aspects of AI, such as the costs, the uses, and the risks. I will also share some insights from experts and analysts on how AI is impacting different sectors and professions.
First, let’s talk about the costs.
AI is expensive to build and maintain, requiring a lot of compute power, data, and specialized personnel. According to some estimates, training a large language model can cost up to $27 million, not counting the salaries of the researchers and engineers involved.
And that’s just the initial cost. AI models also need to be updated, tested, and scaled regularly, which adds more expenses.
Second, let’s talk about the uses.
AI has many applications, from generating content and personalizing marketing to optimizing supply chains and improving customer service. However, most of these uses are incremental, meaning they improve the existing processes rather than reinvent them.
The real money, according to some economists, is in disrupting the workflows and replacing humans with machines, especially in white-collar jobs that involve pattern recognition and modeling, such as finance, consulting, and healthcare.
Third, let’s talk about the risks.
AI is not a magic bullet that can solve all problems. It has limitations, biases, and uncertainties. AI models can be wrong, unreliable, or unethical, depending on the data they are trained on and the context they are used in.
AI also poses social and ethical challenges, such as the impact on employment, privacy, and human dignity. Therefore, AI needs to be regulated, audited, and monitored to ensure its safety and benefits.
In conclusion, AI is not just about technology, it’s about money. It’s a powerful tool that can create value and opportunities, but also costs and risks.
As AI becomes more pervasive and influential, we need to be aware of its economic implications and implications for society.
We need to ask ourselves: who is getting paid, and who is paying the price?
