{"video_id":"fp_oBNvofuxn3","title":"AI \"Tool Use\", TikTok's US algorithm, Google confirms leak + more!","channel":"TechLinked","show":"TechLinked","published_at":"2024-06-01T05:19:00.024Z","duration_s":459,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":5.84,"text":"If you find TechLink to be an enrichment in your life, I invite you to write a kind little comment","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.84,"end_s":11.68,"text":"below. When I'm all snuggled up in bed tonight, I'll read some of them to my cat. Then he'll have to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.68,"end_s":18.56,"text":"respect me. In the wake of an Oxford study that suggested barely anyone uses AI tools on a daily","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":18.56,"end_s":23.92,"text":"basis, three major AI companies have rolled out feature updates for their chatbots in an attempt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.92,"end_s":29.6,"text":"to make them useful for someone other than coders and tech bros left over from the crypto bubble.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.68,"end_s":35.28,"text":"OpenAI's ostensibly less evil cousin, Anthropic, announced tool use for Claude,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.28,"end_s":41.52,"text":"allowing it to perform tasks and manipulate data. AI search engine Perplexity announced pages,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.52,"end_s":47.36,"text":"which will create research reports on any topic that can be customized, shared, or presumably","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.36,"end_s":53.68,"text":"handed into your teacher. And OpenAI just gave free chat GPT users the ability to upload images","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.48,"end_s":60.32,"text":"and files and use custom GPTs. Those features were previously paywalled, which, as this fan points","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":60.32,"end_s":75.6,"text":"out, obviously points towards something special coming for paying users. OpenAI also just announced","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.6,"end_s":83.2,"text":"chat GPT EDU, which basically gives schools an education discount to convince them to use it,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":83.2,"end_s":88.4,"text":"and it comes on the heels of a report claiming the company finally signed that rumored Apple deal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":88.4,"end_s":93.84,"text":"to put their AI tech in the next iPhone. That same report claims Sam Altman has discussed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.84,"end_s":100.96,"text":"transforming OpenAI from a wacky capped profit controlled by a non-profit into either a B","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.96,"end_s":106.72,"text":"corporation, allowed to care about something other than benefiting shareholders, or a regular old","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.72,"end_s":112.16,"text":"for-profit company. But it's only because that might be necessary to achieve a utopia designed by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":112.16,"end_s":116.64,"text":"Sam's machine god and populated by sentient robots after they've killed us all off, okay?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.0,"end_s":123.04,"text":"Trust him, it's worth it. TikTok is working on a modified version of its recommendation algorithm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":123.04,"end_s":129.52,"text":"that would not share any backend with its Chinese counterpart, Duyen, and thus potentially save","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.52,"end_s":135.12,"text":"the app from being banned in the US. That's all according to insider sources who spoke to Reuters,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.12,"end_s":141.68,"text":"but not according to TikTok, who immediately tweeted that the report is misleading and inaccurate.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.68,"end_s":147.68,"text":"But seemed to be referring specifically to the claim that a US-centric algorithm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.68,"end_s":153.92,"text":"would enable ByteDance to sell TikTok. They didn't explicitly deny they're working on such an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.92,"end_s":158.88,"text":"algorithm. In fact, Crystal Hu, the report's co-author, says that when she reached out for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.88,"end_s":165.52,"text":"comment on the story, TikTok told her the info was correct. To be fair, they probably didn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.52,"end_s":169.68,"text":"read the whole thing before getting bored and swiping up. But even if TikTok survives in the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.68,"end_s":174.8,"text":"US, it may have to deal with upcoming bills like this one from New York's governor that could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":174.8,"end_s":180.24,"text":"ban smartphones in schools. And then how will kids ignore their history class to watch another","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":180.24,"end_s":192.72,"text":"kid tell them that Helen Keller wasn't real? On TikTok? Yeah, Google has confirmed that this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":192.72,"end_s":197.68,"text":"week's massive document leak revealing key details about how its search algorithm works","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.68,"end_s":203.12,"text":"is real after taking two days to cover their ears and pretend everything's fine as required by law.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.12,"end_s":208.08,"text":"The tech giant didn't get into specifics. They only cautioned against making inaccurate assumptions","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.08,"end_s":213.6,"text":"about search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information, suggesting that the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":213.6,"end_s":218.48,"text":"public trust Googles demonstrably inaccurate public statements instead. Google also took a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.48,"end_s":223.84,"text":"moment to put up a blog post explaining why Google's search's new AI overviews told people it was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.84,"end_s":229.44,"text":"okay to put glue in pizza sauce and eat rocks last week. Step one, it's good for you. It gave","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":229.44,"end_s":235.28,"text":"those answers simply because prior to those screenshots going viral, practically no one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.28,"end_s":240.8,"text":"asked Google how many rocks they should eat. How would Google's search know that it wasn't okay","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.8,"end_s":246.72,"text":"to eat one little rock if it had never thought about it before? Google says AI overviews cited","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.72,"end_s":252.56,"text":"a satirical article recommending eating rocks because of a data void issue. There's just hardly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":252.56,"end_s":257.36,"text":"any info on the web about whether eating rocks is okay, formatted as an answer to the question of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.36,"end_s":266.4,"text":"how many rocks one should eat. We can all chuckle at this understandable error. It's quick bits time.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.08,"end_s":272.8,"text":"Why haven't you written a comment yet? Spotify has announced that they will be giving refunds to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":272.8,"end_s":278.24,"text":"customers who bought car thing. After the company announced they would be remotely bricking all","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.24,"end_s":284.88,"text":"car things, they initially offered purchasers nothing. Some who complained were offered a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.88,"end_s":289.44,"text":"few months of Spotify premium, but wouldn't you know it? The company suddenly started offering","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.44,"end_s":295.68,"text":"refunds not long after a class action lawsuit was filed accusing Spotify of misleading customers by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.68,"end_s":300.48,"text":"selling a product that would quickly be rendered unusable. But are they doing anything about all","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.48,"end_s":306.96,"text":"the e-waste they're creating? Has the ocean or any of the fish hired a lawyer? I didn't think so.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":307.04,"end_s":312.16,"text":"Say you're a fish. Prove it. Google Cloud has released a public explanation for how it wound","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.16,"end_s":317.76,"text":"up accidentally deleting a customer account two weeks ago. Namely, somebody on Google's end","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.76,"end_s":323.84,"text":"accidentally left a parameter blank. Now that might not sound like an issue worthy of an entire","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":323.84,"end_s":329.44,"text":"blog post from a multi-billion dollar company, but the customer in question was Unisuper,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.44,"end_s":336.24,"text":"an Australian pension fund charged with managing 135 billion Australian dollar-y-dos.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.12,"end_s":341.76,"text":"On the bright side, the accounts have been successfully restored. On the less bright side,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":341.76,"end_s":346.8,"text":"apparently your life savings can be wiped out in an instant if a dude named Robert Droptable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.8,"end_s":355.52,"text":"decides to sign up for a 401k. The internet archive, the organization that runs the Wayback","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.52,"end_s":360.88,"text":"Machine, was hit with a several-day-long DDoS attack involving tens of thousands of fake","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":360.88,"end_s":365.36,"text":"information requests per second, according to the Archives Director of Library Services.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.36,"end_s":370.64,"text":"While the exact motivation for the attack is unknown, a group called SN Blackmetta has taken","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.64,"end_s":375.6,"text":"credit for the assault by posting what appears to be the profile picture of an edgy 14-year-old","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.6,"end_s":380.4,"text":"from the early 2000s. Who could possibly understand what's going on in his dark mind?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":380.48,"end_s":387.92,"text":"AI company The Simulation has announced ShowRunner, an app that wants to be the Netflix of AI,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":387.92,"end_s":394.48,"text":"with AI-generated original series. The TV shows are pretty creative. There's one about super","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":394.48,"end_s":400.56,"text":"intelligent AI devices, a family drama about two siblings that create an AI version of their dead","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":400.56,"end_s":405.92,"text":"mom. There's even a horror anime about a future where humans choose to physically augment themselves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":405.92,"end_s":412.48,"text":"with AI technology. Even worse, they want watchers of these shows to generate their own episodes.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.48,"end_s":417.76,"text":"Yes, because the thing that will surely make AI-generated TV shows better is fan fiction.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":417.76,"end_s":422.56,"text":"And a creator on Chinese video site Billy Billy has gone viral on social media,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":422.56,"end_s":427.6,"text":"thanks to an incredibly intricate custom tank simulator for World of Tanks,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.6,"end_s":433.76,"text":"using soda bottles for shells, MetaQuest 2 as a periscope, a Logitech driving wheel,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":433.76,"end_s":439.84,"text":"and some kind of crank situation to control the main gun. It looks awesome. And frankly,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":439.84,"end_s":444.08,"text":"if we could take all the resources currently being used to generate AI slop for the internet","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":444.08,"end_s":448.96,"text":"and build more stuff like this, I wouldn't have to fish for nice comments to read to my cat to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":448.96,"end_s":454.72,"text":"happy. I was joking. I don't have a cat. What I actually require to be happy is that you come back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.72,"end_s":459.76,"text":"on Monday for more tech news, okay? Or I will cry. No pressure.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"If you find TechLink to be an enrichment in your life, I invite you to write a kind little comment below. When I'm all snuggled up in bed tonight, I'll read some of them to my cat. Then he'll have to respect me. In the wake of an Oxford study that suggested barely anyone uses AI tools on a daily basis, three major AI companies have rolled out feature updates for their chatbots in an attempt to make them useful for someone other than coders and tech bros left over from the crypto bubble. OpenAI's ostensibly less evil cousin, Anthropic, announced tool use for Claude, allowing it to perform tasks and manipulate data. AI search engine Perplexity announced pages, which will create research reports on any topic that can be customized, shared, or presumably handed into your teacher. And OpenAI just gave free chat GPT users the ability to upload images and files and use custom GPTs. Those features were previously paywalled, which, as this fan points out, obviously points towards something special coming for paying users. OpenAI also just announced chat GPT EDU, which basically gives schools an education discount to convince them to use it, and it comes on the heels of a report claiming the company finally signed that rumored Apple deal to put their AI tech in the next iPhone. That same report claims Sam Altman has discussed transforming OpenAI from a wacky capped profit controlled by a non-profit into either a B corporation, allowed to care about something other than benefiting shareholders, or a regular old for-profit company. But it's only because that might be necessary to achieve a utopia designed by Sam's machine god and populated by sentient robots after they've killed us all off, okay? Trust him, it's worth it. TikTok is working on a modified version of its recommendation algorithm that would not share any backend with its Chinese counterpart, Duyen, and thus potentially save the app from being banned in the US. That's all according to insider sources who spoke to Reuters, but not according to TikTok, who immediately tweeted that the report is misleading and inaccurate. But seemed to be referring specifically to the claim that a US-centric algorithm would enable ByteDance to sell TikTok. They didn't explicitly deny they're working on such an algorithm. In fact, Crystal Hu, the report's co-author, says that when she reached out for comment on the story, TikTok told her the info was correct. To be fair, they probably didn't read the whole thing before getting bored and swiping up. But even if TikTok survives in the US, it may have to deal with upcoming bills like this one from New York's governor that could ban smartphones in schools. And then how will kids ignore their history class to watch another kid tell them that Helen Keller wasn't real? On TikTok? Yeah, Google has confirmed that this week's massive document leak revealing key details about how its search algorithm works is real after taking two days to cover their ears and pretend everything's fine as required by law. The tech giant didn't get into specifics. They only cautioned against making inaccurate assumptions about search based on out-of-context, outdated, or incomplete information, suggesting that the public trust Googles demonstrably inaccurate public statements instead. Google also took a moment to put up a blog post explaining why Google's search's new AI overviews told people it was okay to put glue in pizza sauce and eat rocks last week. Step one, it's good for you. It gave those answers simply because prior to those screenshots going viral, practically no one asked Google how many rocks they should eat. How would Google's search know that it wasn't okay to eat one little rock if it had never thought about it before? Google says AI overviews cited a satirical article recommending eating rocks because of a data void issue. There's just hardly any info on the web about whether eating rocks is okay, formatted as an answer to the question of how many rocks one should eat. We can all chuckle at this understandable error. It's quick bits time. Why haven't you written a comment yet? Spotify has announced that they will be giving refunds to customers who bought car thing. After the company announced they would be remotely bricking all car things, they initially offered purchasers nothing. Some who complained were offered a few months of Spotify premium, but wouldn't you know it? The company suddenly started offering refunds not long after a class action lawsuit was filed accusing Spotify of misleading customers by selling a product that would quickly be rendered unusable. But are they doing anything about all the e-waste they're creating? Has the ocean or any of the fish hired a lawyer? I didn't think so. Say you're a fish. Prove it. Google Cloud has released a public explanation for how it wound up accidentally deleting a customer account two weeks ago. Namely, somebody on Google's end accidentally left a parameter blank. Now that might not sound like an issue worthy of an entire blog post from a multi-billion dollar company, but the customer in question was Unisuper, an Australian pension fund charged with managing 135 billion Australian dollar-y-dos. On the bright side, the accounts have been successfully restored. On the less bright side, apparently your life savings can be wiped out in an instant if a dude named Robert Droptable decides to sign up for a 401k. The internet archive, the organization that runs the Wayback Machine, was hit with a several-day-long DDoS attack involving tens of thousands of fake information requests per second, according to the Archives Director of Library Services. While the exact motivation for the attack is unknown, a group called SN Blackmetta has taken credit for the assault by posting what appears to be the profile picture of an edgy 14-year-old from the early 2000s. Who could possibly understand what's going on in his dark mind? AI company The Simulation has announced ShowRunner, an app that wants to be the Netflix of AI, with AI-generated original series. The TV shows are pretty creative. There's one about super intelligent AI devices, a family drama about two siblings that create an AI version of their dead mom. There's even a horror anime about a future where humans choose to physically augment themselves with AI technology. Even worse, they want watchers of these shows to generate their own episodes. Yes, because the thing that will surely make AI-generated TV shows better is fan fiction. And a creator on Chinese video site Billy Billy has gone viral on social media, thanks to an incredibly intricate custom tank simulator for World of Tanks, using soda bottles for shells, MetaQuest 2 as a periscope, a Logitech driving wheel, and some kind of crank situation to control the main gun. It looks awesome. And frankly, if we could take all the resources currently being used to generate AI slop for the internet and build more stuff like this, I wouldn't have to fish for nice comments to read to my cat to be happy. I was joking. I don't have a cat. What I actually require to be happy is that you come back on Monday for more tech news, okay? Or I will cry. No pressure."}