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Innovation

An Apple patent reveals how their XR Headset could be used in delivering Phenomenon-Based Thinking experiences in Science Classes

https://www.patentlyapple.com/2023/02/an-apple-patent-reveals-how-their-xr-headset-could-be-used-in-delivering-phenomenon-based-thinking-experiences-in-science-cla.html

Technology

Ten Legal and Business Risks of Chatbots and Generative AI

HT @justinhendrix The technology is advancing at a breakneck speed. As Axios put it, “The tech industry isn’t letting fears about unintended consequences slow the rush to deploy a new technology.” That approach is good for innovation, but it poses its own challenges. As generative AI advances, companies will face a number of legal and ethical risks, both from malicious actors leveraging this technology to harm businesses and when businesses themselves wish to implement chatbots or other forms of AI into their functions. This is a quickly developing area, and new legal and business dangers—and opportunities—will arise as the technology advances and use cases emerge. Government, business and society can take the early learnings from the explosive popularity of generative AI to develop guardrails to protect against their worst behavior and use cases before this technology pervades all facets of commerce. To that end, businesses should be aware of the following top 10 risks and how to address them. #AI

https://techpolicy.press/ten-legal-and-business-risks-of-chatbots-and-generative-ai/

The Most Important Job Skill of This Century

ICYMI If AI chatbots really are the future of the internet, the most vital skill of the 21st century could be effectively talking to machines. @cwarzel reports on the emergent skill of writing AI prompts. #AI

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/02/openai-text-models-google-search-engine-bard-chatbot-chatgpt-prompt-writing/672991/

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta now has a team building AI tools and ‘personas’

Meta now has a team dedicated to building tools powered by artificial intelligence. This could eventually include “AI personas” designed to help people in “various ways” in addition to new AI tools across its apps and services. Meta is working on AI “experiences” with text, such as chat with Messenger and WhatsApp, experiences with images for things like “creative Instagram filters and ad formats” as well as “video and multi-modal experiences.” #Meta #AI

https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/27/23617477/mark-zuckerberg-meta-ai-tools-personas

OpenAI launches APIs for ChatGPT and Whisper

OpenAI has made available APIs for ChatGPT and the company’s AI-powered transcription and translation service Whisper. These APIs will help businesses to integrate ChatGPT and Whisper into their conversation platforms and will be substantially cheaper than using the company’s existing language model. “Through a series of system-wide optimizations, we’ve achieved 90% cost reduction for ChatGPT since December; we’re now passing through those savings to API users,” the company said in a blog post. #AI

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3689868/openai-launches-apis-for-chatgpt-and-whisper.html

CNET is doing big layoffs just weeks after AI-generated stories came to light

HT @jake_k CNET’s owner wrote in a layoff email that they’re cutting jobs to focus on areas with “a high degree of authority, relevance, differentiation” — aka, search metrics. #AI

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/2/23622231/cnet-layoffs-ai-articles-seo-red-ventures

After Sending ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’ Out on Loan, the Mauritshuis Has Hung an A.I. Facsimile in Its Place. Fans Are Not Happy

The controversial portrait was submitted through an open call for ‘Pearl Earring’ substitutes launched by the museum. The piece, called A Girl With Glowing Earrings, was submitted by German A.I. artist Julian van Dieken through an open call for Vermeer substitutes launched by the Mauritshuis last month. Created with the A.I. program Midjourney, the portrait forgoes the soft light and muted palette of the original for a sharp, synthetic look that turns Vermeer’s iconic figure into a yassified version of itself. #AI

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mauritshuis-museum-girl-with-a-pearl-earring-ai-fascimile-2263100

Adobe slips on report saying DOJ plans suit to block $20 billion Figma deal

Adobe’s $20 Billion acquisition of Figma (interface design startup) at risk, as DoJ reportedly building a case to block it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/23/adobe-stock-slips-on-report-saying-doj-plans-suit-to-block-figma-deal.html

How I Broke Into a Bank Account With an AI-Generated Voice

Banks in the U.S. and Europe tout voice ID as a secure way to log into your account. I proved it’s possible to trick such systems with free or cheap AI-generated voices.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7axa/how-i-broke-into-a-bank-account-with-an-ai-generated-voice

Publishing & Media

‘AI’ at Bologna: The Hair-Raising Topic of 2023?

The 13,000-member Authors Guild in New York City–the United States’ leading writer-advocacy organization–has issued an update to its model trade book contract and literary translation model contract with a new clause that prohibits publishers from using or sublicensing books under contract to train “artificial intelligence” technologies. #AI

https://publishingperspectives.com/2023/03/ai-at-bologna-the-hair-raising-topic-of-2023/

Penguin Random House Announces New Leadership After a Turbulent Period

Reorg of top leadership at Penguin Random House. #teamPRH

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/books/penguin-random-house-leadership.html

‘Things are definitely opening up’: the rise of older female writers

HT @Suw Unpublished authors in their 60s, 70s and 80s are now at a premium in the book world – with radical, edgy women in high demand

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/25/unpublished-older-female-writers-authors

Women are now publishing more books than men—and it’s good for business

HT @publishingtrend Joel Waldfogel, an economist at the University of Minnesota, set out to study book publishing to gain insight into how much women and men have contributed to the number of books published in the last 70 years. Waldfogel found that by 2020, for the first time in history, women were publishing more books than men, leading contributing to increased revenue for the industry for both male and female consumers.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/women-now-publishing-more-books-122000250.html

Culture war in the stacks: Librarians marshal against rising book bans

MT @FReadomFighters Facing smear campaigns and death threats, librarians are on the front lines of what they call an urgent battle for intellectual freedom. “We’re being confronted with the potential for another McCarthy era where people’s lives are ruined simply because of what they believe or who they are.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/03/02/culture-war-stacks-librarians-marshal-against-rising-book-bans/

Giving up is not an option: Book Censorship News

MT @veronikellymars *Half* of the United States are represented in this week’s book censorship news. This is why we cannot give up:

https://bookriot.com/giving-up-is-not-an-option-book-censorship-news-march-3-2023/

Pivot to … Something? The Blurry Future of Podcasting

HT @publishingtrend As top podcast executives and creators gathered for the Hot Pod Summit, a question seemed to underlie each conversation: As the industry seeks an injection of new energy amid an advertising market correction and creators experiment with formats like video, what really is a podcast these days — and how will people make money? In various conversations with studio executives and creators, a common refrain were the difficulties of turning a profit on podcasting alone. Even Spotify, which recently revised its podcast leadership (again) and had layoffs and show cancelations in its podcast division, is reevaluating its spending after pouring more than $1 billion into licensing deals and acquisitions in the past few years. #podcasting

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/podcasts-hot-pod-summit-2023-1235337983/

Glamour Launches a Standalone Commerce Operation called The Glamour 100, featuring 100 curated products from women-owned brands

The Condé Nast title Glamour launched a digital storefront on Wednesday called The Glamour 100, a shoppable grid featuring 100 curated products from women-owned brands, as part of its efforts to build commerce and advertising revenue. The landing page is part of a larger franchise, called By Women, which also includes a permanent database of women-owned businesses, a TikTok series, a related podcast and a slate of forthcoming pop-up events.

https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/glamour-commerce-bywomen/

Resources & Opportunities

A Moment with Misty Copeland: The Power of Mentorship

As our largest fundraising event of the year, this will be a meaningful event in many ways. Please consider joining us to hear trailblazer Misty Copeland speak about who helped guide her career and how she’s now paying that forward – mentoring, a topic near and dear to many of our hearts. Misty will be in conversation with Danielle Belton, Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post. Catch up with others at this in-person event. And help support WMG’s commitment to growing its scholarship programs. A win-win-win event!.

Wednesday, March 15, 6:00 p.m. ET

$75 for @WMG_NYC members, $100 for non-members, includes a signed copy of Misty Copeland’s book, The Wind at My Back, light bites & refreshments and time for networking.

Pride Global Offices, 420 Lexington Avenue, NYC

All proceeds from this event go to the Women’s Media Group Educational Foundation to support WMG scholarship initiatives.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5171039

Seeking Children’s Book Donations

MT @nybookforum New York Book Forum is partnering with @CFHNYC to collect donations of children’s books to be distributed to children and families who are experiencing homelessness after migrating to New York.

https://mailchi.mp/newyorkbookforum.org/this-week-at-nybf-03-03-23

National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship

RT @nationalbook Get ready, teachers! Applications for the National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship will open this Wednesday, March 1, 2023. To learn more about the initiative, visit our website.

https://www.nationalbook.org/announcing-the-national-book-foundation-teacher-fellowship/

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